February 16, 2007
Who’s really to blame for the failings of DRM?
Daily Tech
Steve Kovsky blogs about the pitfalls of digital rights management.
“Before I continue, let me reveal my bias in the matter. You see, I’m one of the unenlightened slobs that never wanted an iPod to begin with. I had already been listening to MP3s for well over a decade when latecomer Apple came on the scene with iPod. Personally, I was unmoved by its pretty colors and newfangled navigation buttons. I was all about bigger storage capacity and connectivity to my PC.”
Why isn’t the SCO/IBM feud over?
Tech Dirt
A blogger by the name of Mike lets us in on Pamela Jones and why she is important in the ongoing, never ending SCO/IBM dispute.
“There’s been a lot of talk in the last couple days about the fact that SCO is trying to subpoena Pamela Jones of Groklaw. For years, SCO has claimed that Pamela Jones is really a front for a group of IBM lawyers, and this latest move has started that discussion going again. However, in all the “does she or does she not exist?” questioning, an important point is missed: what does it matter? Groklaw has remained an excellent source of information about the SCO lawsuit, consistently pointing out accurate information about how far off-base SCO has been with the lawsuit. Whether it comes from some random paralegal or the entire legal team at IBM, the quality of the site has been consistent. If SCO is really so concerned about Jones and Groklaw, there’s a really simple solution. They can just respond to the critics on the site. The problem is that, so far, they haven’t been able to do so credibly. Every time SCO tries to respond, they just end up digging themselves into a deeper hole. Instead of worrying about who Pamela Jones is (or is not), why don’t they put some effort into saving their troubled company?”
Dennis Hwang, the Google Doodler isn’t the only one who thought Google misspelled its own name on Valentine’s Day.
“When you look at the logo, you may worry that we forgot our name overnight, skipped a letter, or have decided that “Googe” has a better ring to it. None of the above. I just know that those with true romance and poetry in their soul will see the subtlety immediately. And if you’re feeling grouchy today, may I suggest eating a strawberry.”
Wednesday, February 15
Your virtual mother in law is just one click away
Cisco
Nick Earle posts from Cannes the site of Cisco Networkers show.
“Having done the keynote presentation at last year’s Cisco Networkers and knowing how much preparation goes into it I was incredibly impressed with Marthin de Beer’s contribution on the first full day of Cisco Networkers 2007. Not only did he give a great speech which captivated the audience but he also only found out that he was giving it 5 days previously when unfortunately Charlie Giancarlo, our Chief Development Officer, had to pull out due to a family illness back home. Marthin runs our Emerging Technologies development activities and is clearly relishing his role as the ‘Chief Innovator’ for Cisco. The basic summary of the pitch was that if you think you’ve seen rapid pace of change and innovation over the last few years then buckle up because you ain’t seen nothing yet. If you can imagine it then it’s probably coming to an IP world near you soon.”
Why rich geeks can’t get cell-phone signals
Business 2.0
Tom Foremski writes about keeping the Bay area deliberately off the hook.
“Getting a decent broadband connection is as difficult as getting a decent mobile phone signal in large parts of Silicon Valley. That has to be deliberate. My theory is that this is done by the telcos just to mess with Silicon Valley and it’s so called disruptive companies and technologies–it’s a finger in the air rather than a signal in the air.”
Gmail finally open to all
PC World
Peggy Watt blogs about Google’s decision to drop the invitation-only restriction for its Gmail e-mail service.
“Google has concentrated on building its infrastructure for its service-based offerings. Gmail currently offers users about 2.8GB of storage space for e-mail, one of the more generous limits for free services.”
Wednesday, February 14
Does colour matter in an IT provider?
Pink Slip
Maureen Rogers of Boston blogs about working in the high tech industry and lay offs.
“And take company color schemes. In the early eighties, there was a lot of pink and gray going around. In the nineties, it was teal and purple. Now it seems like there’s more use of orange.”
AMD and graphics
Technology News
This blog examines the business case for AMD latest moves with graphics technology.
“With more than a billion handheld devices expected to be sold worldwide in 2007, and a growing demand for visually compelling content for these devices, there is a need for rich graphics and 3D hardware acceleration technology. The new AMD IP licensing initiative combines engineering expertise, AMD graphics technology, and application developer and publisher support to deliver solutions for the development of low-power 2D and 3D graphics on mobile phones.”
Toronto Technology Week
Profectio.com
David Forde blogs about the upcoming Toronto Technology Week in May of this year.
“TTW is an initiative that has been created by ITC Toronto and represents a week of various events and activities being organized by several stakeholders that are part of Toronto’s ICT community, including associations, government bodies, companies and schools. The purpose at a high level is to have one week dedicated to celebrating success within the sector, create a platform for Toronto based companies to share their story with Toronto and the world at large. To give you a very simple explanation, think of what Toronto Fashion Week or the International Film Festival do by bringing those industries together for one week for networking, celebration and education, that is similar to what we are looking for TTW to do for the tech sector.”
Mourning the microprocessor
“Unfortunately, the rewards are shrinking. Revenue for the chip industry grew about 16 per cent a year from 1960 to 2000. From 2000 t
