IS251-02 @ Loyola University in Maryland

Gangup on Groupon

2010-12-08T05:53:00.001-05:00

Groupon has become what any e-business dreams to become; after only two years in operation as a daily deals site, Groupon has been offered a $6 billion acquisition offer from web giant Google. But instead of accepting early retirement, Groupon’s owners surprised everyone…they turned the offer down. Now we’re waiting to see whether Groupon just signed its own death warrant, or if Google will show mercy.

Groupon launched in November 2008 as the answer to the Chicago city-dweller’s dilemma: there’s TOO many choices. Too many restaurants. Too many museums. Too many events. And too many reviews about all of the above. Groupon’s purpose is to feature one good or service each day with an incredible discount so users feel comfortable trying something new. The site has spread rapidly and now includes deals for more than 300 markets and 35 countries.

Daily deals sites have been getting a lot of spotlight thanks to Groupon. This week’s Baltimore Sun included an article about a local rookie trying to get in on the daily deals game, Chewpon. While Chewpon is still a newborn, the site is already handicap by launching without a larger database of restaurants. Baltimore is a big and demanding city and a site like Chewpon is just going to die if it can’t keep up with the $7 for $15 worth hamburgers and milkshakes at Z-Burger that Groupon is currently offering me. (Side note: I just opened an account with Groupon, how can a college kid refuse free anything??)

So it’s obvious why Google would find purchasing these company so appealing. The integration of Google Maps and the Groupon service alone is worth millions. Imagine the apps, for example. The problem is figuring out exactly how much Groupon is actually worth. According to Sharon Gaudin’s Computerworld article, the estimates of its revenues vary from $500 million to $2 billion, incredible numbers for a two year old company. Some are skeptical of the $5 billion appraisal since it was last valued at $1.4 billion eight months ago.

Either way, Groupon is taking a big risk to think that they can either get a much better offer, or beat out Google.

Because it will come down to beating the Google machine if it so chooses to make its own model of Groupon, something Google is more than capable of doing. Needless to say not Groupon or any other lookalike, has the resources to beat Google at that game. Groupon’s only chance is if Google tries again with them, something that Dan Olds, an analyst at The Gabriel Consulting Group, thinks could happen:

"I'm not convinced that this deal is completely dead. I think it's only three-fourths dead…Google might take another run at them.”

I think Groupon would be extremely blessed if Google did decide to try again because there are going to be many emerging competitors, such as Chewpon, chomping at the bit, so to say. Groupon should enjoy its view from the top before Google rips it down.

Google Tackles eBooks

2010-12-08T05:47:00.002-05:00

It should come to no surprise to anyone that as popularity rises for eBooks, Google is already claiming a big piece of the pie. With the launch of Google Books on Monday, it is already claiming to offer 3 million titles, both free and priced, in comparison to Amazon’s 750,000. Now the world has front row seats for the race to be the eBooks King. But is the title really worth it?

Before Google, Amazon and Apple were the top contenders with Amazon at an obvious lead. Now, Google is only a few short strides away. Both offer free and priced titles. Both have deals with Random House Publisher which means they will have that new John Grishom or vampire teen romance novel. Both offer mobility. Amazon with their Kindle while Google is planning on releasing Web reader software for browsers to be used on Androids and iPhones.

This is all well and good, but I don’t think it matters who comes out on top. Just like radio was the end of print and television the end of radio etc, etc, eBooks are going to start getting credit for ending how we get our literature. But as a reader, I can’t think of a substitute for weathered binding, dog-eared pages, and sand still in the creases from last summer’s beach book. I am not saying that eBooks is a dead end of market. On the contrary, eBooks is a new market that will continue to skyrocket. In fact, the industry is expected to triple by 2015 to almost $3 billion. I myself have thought how great it would be if I could Ctrl + F my way through a book. I just don’t believe that by then our bookshelves will be left bare except for a lone eBook reader and its charger.

So maybe Google will win this battle in its war for total Internet domination, or maybe Amazon will continue to dominate. Frankly, I don’t think it matters since only 7% of online adults currently read eBooks. Yes, we still plenty of time to watch that number rise, but we won’t see paper printed book prices drop drastically. Everyone believed that the Internet would destroy magazine sales, but this print ad reveals a surprising truth.

Google has, so far, had a great sense for what is important on the Internet. So important, that people when people think “search,” “maps,” “news,” and “images” they say “Oh, just Google it.” But Amazon is a worthy competitor and I think that Google Books has a long way to go until they are on equal footing.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/smb/hardware_software/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=228500296

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/08/google_books/

Salesforce Unveils Database Product, Taking On Oracle

2010-12-07T12:54:00.000-05:00

Salesforce.com, a leading seller in online customer-relationship management programs, is attempting to catch up to Oracle Corp. by introducing Database.com. This new software is a database full of information that can be used by developers to build online applications. This is a great step forward for Salesforce because it is expanding the company into a new market, a market of developers. Now, in addition to selling finished programs, they are supplying information to developers who would like to create their own programs. This use of IT and expansion is going to skyrocket the company to Oracle's level, if not higher. There is no limit to how successful this could be, since program developers are always looking for the next best thing. Now, with the help of Database.com, all the tools needed are in one location, something that some developers have been looking for and is too good for the others to pass up. CIOs of corporations will be pleased to hear this news and are expected to jump on it immediately, which will bring a ton of revenue to Salesforce, and the companies helping them (Informatica Corp. and Progress Software Corp.). The article states that revenue may increase 22 percent for the 2012 fiscal year, a huge increase for a single company to make in such a short period of time.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-12-07/salesforce-unveils-database-product-taking-on-oracle.html

Facebook Under Pressure to Be Greener

2010-11-10T16:51:00.001-05:00

Facebook, the popular social networking site, is currently receiving complaints from an environmentalist group called Greenpeace International based on the construction of a data center in Oregon that will be powered by PacifiCorp, a company that “gets 58 percent of its energy from burning coal” (Ross). With membership of more than 500 million people as of this past July, Facebook is a company that uses unimaginable amounts of energy to store and send messages, pictures, and other information.

Facebook’s decision to move to Oregon was incredibly wise in terms of creating an energy-efficient data center; however, representatives for Greenpeace have called their choice of power supplier “terrible” and have referred to Facebook as “The So Coal Network” on their website. Greenpeace has even gone so far as to start a movement, as part of their IT sector climate campaign, that urges Facebook to “Unfriend Coal” and stop using “the dirtiest source of energy and largest source of global warming pollution in the world” (Greenpeace.org). Furthermore, Greenpeace outlines the steps Facebook needs to take to be greener, which focus on moving the company away from coal and advises them to turn towards renewable energy sources such as wind, sun, and geothermal.

Greenpeace International presents a valid argument in their attempt to get companies to “choose environmentally friendly energy sources to fuel their servers” (Ross). According to Tom Brokaw of the Discovery Channel, “Burning coal emits almost twice as much carbon per unit of energy as natural gas and 1.25 times as much oil. As a result, coal is behind 93 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions from electrical generation in the U.S.” (discovery.com). Greenpeace International’s executive director, Kumi Naidoo, has even challenged Mark Zuckerberg himself. He pushed him “to drive the deployment of renewable energy sources needed to avert the most devastating possible effects of our changing climate” (Ross). Naidoo also stressed to Zuckerberg how important it is for global business leaders to be aware of their “company’s environmental impacts” and noted that “it is both a threat to a company’s reputation and financial health risk to ignore [these impacts]” (Ross).

According to AllFacebook, the unofficial Facebook blog, the site is gaining about 450,000 people per day. Moreover, “Facebook may have become the Internet’s second most popular destination after Google [and] is essentially acquiring a small state every day” (betanews.com). For this reason, it is essential that Facebook is aware of our global environment and begins to move towards a more energy efficient strategy. Although “coal-burning power plants are the largest U.S. source of carbon dioxide pollution, produc[ing] 2.5 billion tons every year,” there are some states that are moving in the right direction (nrdc.org). California and New York are examples of this positive progress: “California has required its largest utilities to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2017, and New York has pledged to compel power companies to provide 25 percent of the state's electricity from renewable sources by 2013” (nrdc.org).

Greenpeace has been campaigning to make the IT industry more environmentally friendly for about five years now, and they are adamant about this cause for many reasons. One particular concern that Greenpeace has is the current growth rates of data centers and telecommunications networks. At their existing growth rates, these key components of “the cloud Facebook depends on, will consume about 1,963 billion kilowatts hours of electricity in 2020, [which is] more than triple their current consumption and more than the current electricity consumption of France, Germany, Canada and Brazil combined” (Greenpeace.org). Mark Zuckerberg has replied to Greenpeace’s campaign saying, “Some of the old data centers we rent use coal, but most are already green” (Ross). He also pointed out that the new center in Oregon uses hydro power dams. Moreover, Facebook rented out various data centers, which were also being used by other companies, so it was virtually impossible to change the facilities without an agreement between all of the companies using the facilities (Ross). Another positive change that Facebook has made is their shift from “many small leased data centers to fewer large customized ones” to increase energy efficiency. Barry Schnitt, a spokesman for Facebook, has even said that Facebook is “one of, if not the most, energy-efficient data centers in the world” (Ross).

As Facebook continues to grow, they will seek out new methods of obtaining energy without harming the environment. The company’s widely known name and status allow them to set the standard for other IT companies, so hopefully they will continue on their path to becoming entirely environmentally friendly. This will not only help their business, but it will also benefit our planet as a whole.

-Katie O’Neill

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/business/energy-environment/04iht-rbogface.html?_r=1&scp=6&sq=information%20technology&st=cse

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/cool-it/ITs-carbon-footprint/Facebook/?thingstodo

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/globalwarming/interactive/interactive.html

http://www.betanews.com/article/Just-how-fast-is-Facebook-growing/1231372431

http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/f101.asp

New cell phone STD testing

2010-11-10T09:31:00.001-05:00

With the rate of sexually transmitted diseases rising steadily in the United States, especially around college campuses, some British health officials decided help people find out if they have an STD quickly. By urinating on a small USB sized chip and inserting that into your mobile phone, you will immediately be able to tell whether you have been infected or not. This saves people the humiliation of getting checked and saves a lot of time by avoiding doctor's offices. By creating this device, it will hopefully stop the spread of STDs because people would become aware of them immediately and would be able to save future partners.

If this technology is not too expensive (price has not been determined yet), we should see a huge decrease in the STD rate and many lives saved. One of the main reasons that STDs spread is because the carriers of these diseases don't get checked, and continue to unknowingly have relations with different partners, infecting them as well. Another thing that this technology does is that if the user tests positive, the software in the device can tell him where the nearest medical office is in order to get treatment. So this device allows you to avoid the doctor for testing, but if treatment is needed, it will even help you find the treatment you need.

I think this is a great idea because it will help college kids who don't want to have to have their parents set up a doctor's appointment and don't want to go to the school's doctor. With this innovation, they can check themselves easily and discreetly and take the necessary steps for treatment after testing positive. This also saves parents from the scare they experience when they hear their child is getting tested for an STD.

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2010/11/pee_on_your_pho.html

Health IT Improves Patient Care

2010-11-10T01:01:00.000-05:00

There have been many advances within the medical field recently, and one of the most dominant is the introduction of IT into the field. As the article states, the HITECH legislation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has allocated over $20 billion for the adoption of health IT. E-health records and e-prescription systems enable patients to access medical records wherever they are, and they reduce the risk of medical errors. Health IT includes systems that can check for adverse reactions to medication as well as confirm medical IDs, which ensure that patients receive the proper medical care. Health IT also is able to keep patients out of the hospital and treat them at home, which is useful for chronically ill and elderly patients.

Examples of Health IT are e-medical records and mobile prescribing. Doctors can access medical records and send prescriptions to pharmacies via their mobile smartphones or laptops, which enables the speedy and accurate delivery of prescriptions. E-medical records are particularly useful for doctors who are at home and on call, because it enables them to keep track of current patients and monitor their conditions from their own homes. E-prescribing also gives the opportunity to cell service providers to create applications on their cell phones and make a profit off of them from medical professionals and patients. AT&T is one such company that has already entered this market. RFID devices are also being used by hospitals and other medical facilities. They can keep track of both patients and medical devices. This enables hospital staff to know when patients have left a specific ward, and it ensures that all equipment can be found quickly in the case of an emergency. Before drugs are administered, health care providers have begun to make use of Bedside Medication Barcode Scanning, which helps ensure that patients are receiving the proper drugs and avoids medical errors.

Medical errors have been the cause of many avoidable deaths, and the medical profession is constantly trying to minimize them and avoid them from being repeated. According to the article, a study published nearly 10 years ago estimated that close to 98,000 Americans die each year due to preventable medical mistakes. Since the baby boomers are now elderly and in need of more health care, this is a time with the opportunity for many more such mistakes. Medication error tracking is one such method used by doctors to prevent them. The article discusses a clinical decision support tool called Monarch, created by Datawatch. Tools such as this help to analyze data to discover the reason for medical mistakes, and they allow healthcare providers to discover ways to avoid these mistakes in the future, through methods such as health process modifications and increased staff training.

These health care advances have the potential to drastically improve health care within the US. They give the opportunity for IT tech companies to make an enormous profit, because these technologies will quickly become commonplace in every medical institution.

Eileen Browne

http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/healthcare/patient/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=227700175&itc=ref-true

MyBlank?

2010-11-09T23:53:00.002-05:00

By the end of November, people ages 14-35 will be tuning in to all of their entertainment and pop culture needs through My_______; that’s MySpace for anyone who hasn’t yet seen the new logo and design of the website. As of October 27, the beta version of the new MySpace has been released for select users and is expected to be open to everyone by late November. But it will no longer be the social network it has been for the past seven years. Actually, according to CEO Mike Jones, it won’t be a social network at all.

“We want to be the leading social entertainment destination…connecting users to content that defines different entertainment tastes. We’re not a social network.”

It seems that MySpace is trying to take the best ingredients of its social media competitors to make some giant, super entertainment hub. Users can trend and follow topics like Twitter, receive badges for recognition like on FourSquare, and, of course, view Facebook-y topic “Pages.” And, not only is MySpace taking chapters out of its competitors books, it’s teaming up with them! So users can link this plethora of entertainment and pop culture to every other social media site that they already use.

The new bracket logo suggests that this site is going to be the gateway of personalized entertainment, a one-stop shop at your fingertips. Honestly, I’m not sure if this will be more convenient for me than it is to just Google news, single releases, and reviews. As of know the plan seems pretty ambiguous. Here’s the promotional video that was posted on MySpace:

Welcome to the new Myspace

Myspace | Myspace Video

MySpace has turned into such a joke since Facebook stole the spotlight that I don’t think it can redeem itself. The increasingly popular “Dear Blank Please Blank” website might have put it best:

Dear MySpace,

It’s so cute when you try.

Sincerely, Facebook

I think that at this point in the game people are comfortable with their social media sites. Even the biggest pop culture fanatic has settled in with who they want to follow on Twitter, perfected their likes on Facebook, and probably doesn’t give a hoot about FourSquare. Hell, every time Facebook changes its layout there’s an uproar expressed on statuses for at least a week. MySpace is playing catch-up but everyone else is already at the finish line.

Not that this concept of using (stealing) the best ideas from its competitors is a bad idea. But we can already link our FourSquare to our Facebook and our Facebook to our Twitter, and our Twitter to our Tumbler, and well, you get the idea. Who need ANOTHER link in the social media site chain? It may be too early to tell, but MySpace may have just hung itself with that chain.

http://blogs.forbes.com/velocity/2010/10/27/the-new-myspace-has-arrived-not-a-social-network-but-an-entertainment-hub/

http://dearblankpleaseblank.com/permalink.php?viewid=22614

Crunch Time

2010-11-09T23:50:00.000-05:00

It may soon become very difficult to use our cell phones any more. According to The Federal Commission, there is a “looming spectrum crunch”, the result of the rapid increase in mobile data and the fear of being unable to keep up. According to CNN’s Amy Gahran, “users [will] end up waiting and waiting for Web pages, maps, apps, and more to update”, which some are feeling already. Gahran is someone who feels effected and admitted that she “switched from an iPhone to a Droid Incredible, which offers much snappier performance, largely due to relatively low congestion on Verizon’s network”. In her article, “FCC warns of looming mobile spectrum crunch”, she refers to the Federal Communication Commission as her lead source. As this crunch draws upon us, will we be able to bear it or will it overload the spectrum. The FCC claims that in the last six months, “subscriptions to data services [have] increased by 40 percent” and between the first quarter of 2009 and the second quarter of 2010, data used by wireless consumers have grown “by more than 450 percent”. This rapid growth is currently affecting the speed of some company’s phones such as AT&T, which is the major contributor to recent data expansion. With recent developments in the technology world, such as the iPad and smart phones, the data world needs to expand. ABC News’ Ann Compton, Yunji de Nies, and Sunlen Miller, published on June 28, 2010 that “President Obama today signed a presidential memorandum approving a new effort to sell off government-owned and commercial spectrum to be used to upgrade communications nationwide”. This reveals the government’s ability and desire to capitalize on this growing issue.

In order to fix the crunch carriers need to update their networks as well as operate on more frequencies. The memorandum signed by Obama calls for making 500 MHz of spectrum available over the next 10 years. White House officials believe that the memorandum will generate “‘hundreds of thousands of jobs’ with revenue potential that could reach, ‘in the tens of billions of dollars.’” Chloe Albanesius, on pcmag.com, wrote that the FCC and Senators Jay Rockefeller, Joseph Lieberman, and John McCain support an open sale, as opposed to a handover of “a swath of spectrum known as the ‘d-block’” to public safety officials. According to Gahran, “the FCC’s National Broadband Plan calls for freeing 300 megahertz of spectrum… [adding] at least $100 billion in value to the U.S. economy”. So far, we can only benefit from the sale of spectrum. Money generated may help U.S. carriers begin switching to 4G and LTE network technology, but probably not enough, according to the FCC. If this all fails and the spectrum becomes overloaded, mobile broadband will become slow and “your smartphone ends up feeling like an expensive, fancy turtle”. Slowing the network would upset a lot of people and impede the way some people live their lives. The entire economy that is centered on broadband would begin to crumble and some businesses will fall. These reasons are why the sale of additional spectrum is gaining interest. The National Association of Broadcasters claims to be in support of selling spectrum as long as broadcasts are not interrupted. The next few years will really change broadband balances, as decisions are made to sell or expand on current spectrum. The only thing known for certain is that if more is not freed, then there will be a major slowdown in broadband connections.

Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/11/05/gahran.mobile.spectrum.crunch/index.html

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/06/-the-spectrum-crunch-president-obama-takes-on-the-shortage-of-wireless-capacity.html

http://www.pcmag.com/print_article2/0,1217,a=253000,00.asp?hidPrint=true

Finally, Pop-Ups that Save Time and Frustration

2010-11-09T23:43:00.005-05:00

Andrew Diddel Blog 4, 11/9/10

IS 251, Tallon

Though Google has held its place as the most dominant online search engine for many years, they seem to be continually progressing and installing new ideas and innovative ways to enhance the online search process. As highlighted in Thomas Claburn’s recent article, Google Debuts Instant Previews, the latest advancements in Google’s technology allows users to see images of the available Web sites following the Google Instant search. The goal for this application is to allow users to access information more quickly, as well as maximizing the relevance of the search, as the users receive aid from the pop-up windows containing screenshots of the link.[i]

As a reader, I found that the most intriguing piece of the article was the information on what Instant Previews can and cannot provide. Claburn informs his readers that one of the intentions of the new technology is to improve the way that the Google searchers can anticipate what they are clicking on, following their search. “Previously, Google relied on contextual snippets, the one or more lines of text culled from Web pages and matched to users’ queries for display on search results pages” (Claburn). In the past, I have always found that the website titles as well as the snippets have been sufficient in the preview of my search results. Considering that I typically search for pretty specific things, I would not need screenshots of the Web site in order for me to click on the link. If I typed “Lebr” into Google, in .28 seconds, I would have the most recent and relevant news and links pertaining to LeBron James. Following my search, the first three links available to me are LeBron James’ Wikipedia page, his NBA.com player profile, as well as www.lebronjames.com. The main purpose of this argument is that, the search engine is already so advanced, and so filtered, that as a user, the images are not necessarily going to convince me to go to one website rather than another, as I already know what I am looking for.

This being said, it would be irrational for me to completely ignore the effect of Instant Previews when searching for topics that are not so familiar, or so clearly in the public eye, i.e. LeBron James. With the hopes of allowing for more interaction within the search, Google product manager Raj Krishnan said, “It allows quickly comparing the results in a way that wasn’t possible before.” When doing research on foreign topics or statistics, having Instant Preview would be a HUGE help considering the amount of time that could be saved without having to click on each link, hoping to find which results seem credible. In her recent article, Google adds Instant Preview to search, Sharon Gaudin points out that Instant Previews “will also at times highlight the most relevant parts, as well as where the search term appears on the page. If a user is looking for a chart or list, they'll be able to see if one appears in the preview.”[ii] Initially, I found that some of the points that Thomas Claburn made did not necessarily help promote the new technology, as I found Google’s online search to be flawless, and of the utmost simplicity even after each new improvement. However, after trying out Instant Previews for myself, and further reading on Gaudin’s views of the technology’s benefits, I feel as if Claburn definitely understated its relevance and overall helpfulness to the typical online searcher.

[i] Claburn, Thomas. "Google Debuts Instant Previews." Information Week. 9 Nov. 2010. Web. 9 Nov. 2010. .

[ii] Guidan, Sharon. "Google Adds Instant Previews to Search." Computer World. News Analysis, 9 Nov. 2010. Web. 9 Nov. 2010. .

Medical Informatics

2010-11-09T23:43:00.002-05:00

The increasing importance of information technology has spread to the field of medicine. The University Of Maryland School Of Nursing has recently offered a new option for degree, in the field of nursing informatics. This decision is based heavily on the 2009 federal stimulus package which funds information technology and employment for medicine. In this package, electronic health records by means of RFID bracelets would be administered to every United States resident by 2014.
This bracelet, according to Carol Sorgen of the Washington Post, would improve science research, patient care, profession education, and overall public health. The importance of these nurses with degrees in informatics is indescribable has Marisa L. Wilson, assistant professor at the University Of Maryland School Of Nursing. “Informaticians are responsible for effectively organizing, analyzing, managing, and using the complex and increasing amount of information necessary in both healthcare delivery and research,” says Wilson. This high demand in the field of nursing informatics will not only open up the job market, but allow nurses to increase and refine their knowledge.
The program at the University of Maryland includes practice in the busy workflow of a hospital, and the practical information management. Using this information, these newly IT trained nurses can consult patients using this information, implement a support specialist, give patients technical support, and even train them to use these RFID tags as well.
These bracelets are very innovative in the field of information technology. Offered disposable for hygienic purposes, these RFID tag bracelets can make the process of a hospital visit quicker, more accurate, and easier for both patients and doctors. RFID tags are capable of storing a large amount of information, offered quickly and inclusively. Some of the things made available in these bracelets would be past medical records, doctor information, drug intake and disposal, and insurance information.
In my opinion these RFID medical tags will improve the medical process in the United States. Even better, is the ability of schools across the United States to acknowledge the importance of this medical innovation and offer students in the nursing field with an educational background when entering their careers as nurses.

-http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/05/AR2010110504551.html
-http://www.hoise.com/vmw/05/articles/vmw/LV-VM-03-05-10.html

Here is Carl Kesselman, professor at USC school of Engineering discussing Medical Informatics:

What is HTML5?

2010-11-09T23:43:00.000-05:00

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the code that is behind every webpage on the Internet. It controls how webpages look. You can use it to put a picture, song, text, and even embed a video into a webpage giving it shape and form. HTML was last revised in 1998 but until now it has undergone quite a few adjustments. Since 2004, HTML5 has been in development. The development of HTML5 is a slow ongoing process that will ultimately provide a better and simpler experience for Internet users and website developers.
HTML5 will make creating websites easier and simpler. “HTML5, according to people who would know, is the inevitable future of the Internet—we're told it will make our favorite web pages richer, faster or just vaguely better.” HTML5 offers more features that give developers more flexibility. They will be able to insert Web Videos and web apps right in the webpage instead of having the person at home on their computer download the video or app to use another app like Adobe Flash to watch a video. HTML5 consolidates all of these useful tools into one compact package. Regular HTML could only embed pictures in websites, with HTML5 you will be able to embed videos. Steve Jobs says that HTML5 “will win” against browser plug-ins like Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight. In order to use Adobe Flash and Silverlight, you need to download it from the Internet and then it runs with your browser. With HTML5 you won’t need to do any downloading and that would make it take less time to load the video. “HTML5 replaces the fragile ecosystem of JavaScript, HTML, plug-ins and undocumented de facto standards with a rigorously specified standard,” says Bruce Lawson. The iPad is one of the first mobile devices to exclusively use HTML5. Steve Jobs is so confident in it that he is bold enough to say that Flash is “no longer necessary.” This may seem scary for some and for others great. The downside is that everyone will have to get used to it. People may be able to learn how to make websites easier but people may have to completely rebuild their websites if Flash suddenly stops its services.
Uploading videos is not the only benefit that HTML5 brings. You can edit text in a document or blog. Images and page elements can be easily be dragged and dropped, like icons on a desktop. It makes using a computer more natural. With things in the real world, when you want to move something, you just pick it up and place it where you want it. This requires much less code for Web developers and makes their lives much easier. It takes out a lot of complex parts and they can be more consistent and efficient.
HTML5 allows sites, like Gmail, to store data on your hard drive so that you can keep working without an Internet connection. Instead of downloading all of the applications that you use on your computer, the applications are run in the cloud. "HTML5 makes it much easier to make robust applications that are delivered over the Web rather than installed on desktop machines," Ford says. “Web apps like Gmail and Google Docs will act and feel as snappy and rich as their traditional software counterparts, Outlook and Office.”
With apps running in the cloud, this may save memory on your computer, but if you want to use one of those apps and don’t have an Internet connection, you are in trouble. The next thing that needs to be invented is free, easily accessible Internet. If we want to run everything in the cloud and access it from anywhere, we need to be able to access Internet everywhere. There are ways to get Internet in most places but at a price. I think that wireless Internet access should be free sine no one person owns it. I hope that one day, everyone will be able to have wireless Internet for free just like the radio or standard television. Then HTML5 will be in full effect and computers will need minimal memory since everything is instantly accessible.

When the Assembly Line Moves Online

2010-11-09T23:11:00.000-05:00

In today’s business world almost all documents and records are electronically stored. Companies spend millions of dollars on man-hours to try and convert the old paper documents to the new electronic storage systems. This often entails people working many hours doing painstakingly boring work. The time spent on these menial tasks decreases the overall productivity of the company, as well as employee moral. Microtask has created a way to computerize this normally menial task. Microtask has developed cloud software that automates this task over millions of computers that are connected to the Internet. Microtask’s software, simplifies the process of transcribing written documents into electronic documents. This software will allow for companies to convert documents quickly, since the worker will not get bored and lose focus during the work. By making the tasks simpler it also lessens the chance for error. With less errors being made in the conversion, productivity also increases.

There are drawbacks to this system, however. Amazon released similar software in 2005 called Mechanical Turk. This program paid users a nominal amount to do certain tasks. However, the payment was so small people did not spend time. To off set this problem Microtask simply supplies the software to the companies, and allows them to distribute the work as they please, either internally or externally. This raises the issues of worker productivity. While this software is supposed to simply the large tasks and make workers more productive, it makes the system mundane and boring. While both companies tried two different approaches, both seem flawed.

Cloud computing will only become effective when you can get a vast number of people to do a few small tasks for a small price. Making employees do these tasks at a normal wage seems bad management. It is wasteful spending to hire a worker to do simple tasks such as copy numbers from one box to another, while there talents and attributes can be used elsewhere. Simple, small tasks such as these can be done by a large number of people for a smaller amount of money. This increases the speed the work is done and lowers the cost it takes to do the job.

Cloud computing has allowed companies to expand the power of the computing technology by spreading large tasks over millions of computers. Microtasks created a program that breaks down menial tasks and sends it to a network of computers as small, simple tasks. While attempted before by Amazon with Mechanical Turk, which paid people a few cents to do a simple a task, this system has yet to become commonplace in the workplace. This can be attributed to one of two things: either the money that is being paid to the general public is so insignificant that people do not see it necessary to spend their time, or companies must dedicate workers to simple tasks such as copying hand-written numbers from one box to another on a computer screen. While far from perfect Microtasks software shows us the potential that is available in cloud computing, if the correct program is created.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/31/business/31digi.html?_r=2&ref=business-computing

HBO Moves Onto the Computer

2010-11-09T22:50:00.003-05:00

The restrictions of television have long limited HBO. In ancient times, the average viewer was bound to the regularly scheduled programming published in the TV Guide. What if their was something else on? Then, in 2001 the average viewer was enabled to choose shows and movies at their own fruition threw the service of HBO on Demand. However, this service has become just too restricting as we are tied down by the lack of mobility our HDTV's have. HBO on Demand is just not "on demand" enough in the "on demand" world we live in today. Thankfully, our prayers have been answered as a new service, "HBO Go," comes to our lives and HBO has officially saved us from regularly scheduled programming. If only we knew that they were only doing this to save themselves from the Grim Reaper that is Netflix.

HBO Go is a service that promises online viewing via streaming for hundreds of titles. Finally viewers can watch their favorite shows and movies not only whenever, but wherever they want. It allows for online streaming not only to a persons computer or laptop, but also to mobile phones like Droids and iPhones. This was a necessary move for the company to make, because of the technology that is present to people today. I know of friends who can illegally download the most recent episode of "Trueblood" or "Entourage" onto their iPhones within minutes of the completion of its original airing on TV. They say its not even that hard to figure out. Netflix offers online streaming and a much more extensive movie collection than HBO. It has already killed blockbuster. Why on earth would anybody in the right mind pay for HBO? Well unlike Blockbuster, HBO has its terrific TV shows to offer. Still, HBO out of necessity needed to make their product more accessible to their paying customer, or else they would realize that their may be greener grasses elsewhere. With HBO Go the customer has the accessibility with HBO, that it is provided to them by the internet with everything else it seems today.

HBO also realizes they must attack their customer on every front. They have begun using the popularity of social networking sites to their advantage. However they do not just put advertisements up on the sites, but interact with them to market their product in other ways. They have used Facebook and Twitter to allow the average joe to advertise their shows for them. They want people to watch their shows and think that HBO is the only place that a show like this can be found, and is why it must be available on the TV. Now with HBO Go, it is also available on the internet for the first time (at least legally). Today HBO is the biggest cable service in the world with 28 million subscribers ( compared to Showtime's 18 million), and that is only going to grow, given the satisfaction most subscribers receive out out of it, and with HBO Go, only more customer satisfaction can come. I guess that's why they say it's not just TV.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118026452?refCatId=1009

DriverSide.com Aims for Car Owner's Market

2010-11-09T22:29:00.000-05:00

DriverSide.com, created by Trevor Traina in 2007, is a interactive website that addresses one of the largest markets in the world: car owners. The website acts as a median between car owners and car dealerships and repair shops by reminding the car owners of maintenance and other activities of that nature. The website also provides a support line which enables car owners to ask questions to a mechanic. Although the automotive industry has been increasing risky to invest in, DriverSide.com has been expanding at a impressive rate. With five hundred dealerships and repair shops and 1.9 million car owners registered, the website has proven to be a seriously attractive investment. The website has cleverly offered membership to car owner's for free, and only charges dealerships and repair shops up to $895 a month. With such a low cost to the member automotive businesses, the decision to join the website is obvious. In addition, by providing car owner's with a free membership, the prospective client pool for the repair shops and dealerships can only increase.

The genius of DriverSide.com is massive market the website almost exclusively addresses. The relationship between car owners and automotive businesses previously was limited to literal negotiations and exchanges between the respective parties. Now, the car owners have a tool that will remind them of maintenance, estimate potential auto repair costs, and provide ways to diagnose potential problems without the user having to leave their home. It is no secret that Americans especially appreciate convenience. A website that manages a car owner's dealings with dealerships and repair shops is almost promised to succeed. With the success of websites that manage a user's taxes, schedules, and even laundry, automotive maintenance was the next logical step.

Aside from the innovation regarding user convenience, DriverSide.com also has the potential to expand to other industries. The article mentions that DriverSide.com is partnering up with insurance corporations such as Geico. DriverSide.com has the information that insurance corporations desire. In collaboration with DriverSide.com, insurance agencies would know what customers are having problems with what car models, the recent fluctuations in repair price trends, how customers are dealing with different issues, etc. Insurance agencies would adjust rates based on a car owner's service activity, dealership preferences, and so on. These agencies could even speculate on the customer's driving tendencies based on the information provided by DriverSide.com. For instance, a customer who has replaced their brake pads five times within a six month time span maybe be driving a bit too fast. Insurance companies are not going to be able to handle all the information thrown at them if the website becomes a sensation in the Facebook manner.

This information regarding customer - automotive business behavior also would be valuable to marketing firms. Marketers could use the customer activity history to design customized advertisements through DriverSide.com for a price to automotive businesses. With ads that are more relevant to the users, sales because of those ads would increase. All of these prospective financial transactions would result from DriveSide.com. This website has the potential to give the domestic automotive industry a kickstart, or at least stabilize the auto insurance industry.

Google Offers Free In-Flight Wi-Fi for the Holidays

2010-11-09T22:09:00.002-05:00

Michael Hatzidakis

Google Offers Free In-Flight Wi-Fi for the Holidays

As the holidays are coming near many individuals are planning exciting vacations, whether for business, with families, or friends. But, this holiday season not many people using air transportation will have to worry about losing connection with the Internet. Whether their prerogative is to keep clients happy or check their facebook statuses constantly they will have the opportunity to. The Google Chrome browser team has joined with AirTran, Delta and Virgin America to provide over seven hundred planes or an equivalent to fifteen million passengers with Wi-Fi connection during their flight. This is the second year in a row that Google has promoted free Wi-Fi during the holiday seasons. This Free Holiday Wi-Fi website exclaims that this deal will last from November 20, 2010 through January 2, 2011. An individual would simply search for the Gogo Inflight Network and connect your device. About two weekends ago I had traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada to meet with customers of my fathers. During the flight I wished to access Wi-Fi connection, but there was a cost. For a four and a half hour flight the cost to access Wi-Fi on my mobile device was $7.95. This to me is worth it, but I would have loved to get it for free. Last year the users were sent to a page upon ordering the Inflight internet access that promoted the Nexus One, just before it was about to launch. Google, the number three browser in the world, is now using this opportunity to promote their new Google Chrome. This will enable many individuals to get rid of the time they waste on vacations making up for lost business. The time lost not only puts a halt to business productivity, but it can also cripple a business for that duration of time. Many flights are described as somewhat uncomfortable or people become antsy. Why not give people the opportunity to put together stock portfolios, play games, or send e-mails to a long lost friend. This was a big interest to me because this connection affected my personal life. While traveling back and forth to Las Vegas my father and I had to keep in touch and conduct business while flying. My father’s flight at first had no access to Wi-Fi, but mine did. In response my father switched flights and was able to use Wi-Fi for whatever he needed. This enabled him to keep in touch with the clients that were meeting him there so they would be content and more than satisfied. Also he was able to e-mail our hotel and make sure all of the accommodations for our customer and ourselves were met perfectly. There is nothing worse than traveling for half a day and than finding out your room is not ready yet. Also my father was able to purchase stock at a great discount that he would have otherwise missed if the e-mil had not come through. This form of wholesale that we are involved in creates opportunities that don’t come around as often as you think. So for any business including our own you always need to be in touch or able to be in touch with the Internet. This creation of Wi-Fi on airplanes has become a luxury and is one of the best innovations I have seen yet.

http://www.nytimes.com/external/readwriteweb/2010/11/08/08readwriteweb-google-offers-free-in-flight-wi-fi-for-the-31395.html?ref=technology

Online Assembly Line

2010-11-09T21:49:00.000-05:00

When Henry Ford introduced the assembly line to his automotive company in 1908, his perfection of mass production not only changed the car industry, but almost every other industry in existence. Now, the assembly line is coming online. Companies such as Microtask, Amazon, and CloudCrowd are revolutionizing work efficiency by applying the concept of the assembly line to online jobs.

Microtask is a company based out of Finland that created software that takes “dull, repetitive work” that is undesirable from its customers and divides it into smaller portions and distributes them to their several workforces, and also offers the option of using the customer’s staff. This service is in high demand for many small companies that cannot afford to make their employees fulfill tasks that are necessary but a waste of time for that person to complete for they interfere with the employee’s work when they could be completed by someone for a cheaper price. Mechanical Turk is a program created by Amazon.com that uses concepts similar to those of Microtask. It is an online marketplace where companies can post tasks that they need completed and people can complete these mini jobs for them and get paid by the amount of work completed, such as correcting grammar, verifying websites, etc. Although associate professor at the University of the Pacific, Miriam Cherry, claims that people using Mechanical Turk earn less than minimum wage, Kay Kinton, a spokesperson for Amazon, stated that if one works fast enough, their pay rate “can add up quickly.”

Mechanical Turkers have the option of picking which tasks they complete. This way, tasks are completed by people who understand them and therefore they can be completed quickly and effectively. Microtaskers are assigned tasks and have no choice. And although all Microtask employees are trained to be able to complete every type of job, this auto match-up does not guarantee the best possible worker for every job. However, Microtaskers are also supplied with everything they need on a single screen, which increases productivity since they waste no time gathering any additional information.

Ville Miettinen, the chief executive of Microtask, says that the goal is to have several different kinds of these mini jobs for each worker and to have them vary and switch often so that the employee does not have to endure the same tedious task for hours on end. However, this luxury is not yet available since the company is still in its beginning stages. But hopefully it will soon be incorporated into the service.

CloudCrowd is another company that helps businesses with outsourcing. The benefit of using CloudCrowd is that it splits up information so that a worker only sees bits and pieces of an assignment and never sees the full source. For example, if a business needed something translated, CloudCrowd first has a machine translate the text, then it is broken up into several small parts and sent to “garble hunters” to determine where errors are. Then, workers with experience in both languages look at these sections and correct them. After this, an editor checks the final product, but only about a page at a time. So while many companies may be skeptical about their information being exploited, CloudCrowd ensures that each worker only works on a small, randomly chosen section at a time to guarantee that the information as a whole is unattainable by any of their workers.

Although Mr. Miettinin of Microtask claims that monetary compensation for boring and “soul-draining” tasks such as these is a “20^th-century concept,” the demand remains high, and is a result in the growth in technology, according to Socialtext. Crowdsourcing, the process of outsourcing tasks, is an option that can cut major costs for small businesses. These three companies are ahead of the curve and should expect major increases in traffic as the word gets spread.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/31/business/31digi.html?ref=business-computing

http://www.microtask.com/

https://www.socialtext.net/ism4300/index.cgi?crowdsourcing

Windows 7 Phone

2010-11-09T20:48:00.001-05:00

The past couple of weeks the new windows 7 phone has been advertised over and over again, trying to win over customers for the November 8th launch date, which it did by selling 40,000 of the new phones. The windows 7 phone is supposed to be changing the way people handle tasks with their phones by implementing an interface that easily connects to the most popular parts of using a phone. The windows phone is now joining the ranks of the iphone and the Google phone as the top phones in the market. Considering that the phone will be running on windows software it will hurt the android market, and more companies will try to get their employees to switch over to the more effective and highly anticipated windows phone. This is not a guarantee but most companies use Microsoft software on their computers, and having it on their phones can really only help a company. The iphone has been a customer favorite and the android has been used by business people throughout the world, and the new windows 7 phone might give people a compromise between the two different phones. The windows phone is supposed to be easy and fun to use, but it also allows for business applications due to the Microsoft software. Microsoft is already a staple for software on desktops and laptops in businesses throughout the world, and there is no reason why they cannot move onto phones. Many companies have benefited from Microsoft software in the past, and it looks like it will continue in the future. If all parts of a company can run through Microsoft software it will be more efficient for the company and probably produce returns in the future. While Microsoft basically failed in the past with the last two phones they released, this time it seems as though they have got it right. This phone will easily help businesses communicate better, and allow for information to flow through people in a company in a timely manner. Not only will people be connected at all times, people will be able to perform certain tasks that they could not have with another phone. It basically allows for people to stay fully connected with nothing but a phone. Many companies use Excel and PowerPoint, and the only phone to give full potential to these applications is the windows 7 phone. The phone will also allow you to connect to the Microsoft cloud, making things easy for people who are always on the road for a company, as ideas can be shared and spread quickly and efficiently. I personally think that the windows 7 phone will become a huge hit, especially with large companies that are trying to push themselves in the business world. I do not believe that the phone will become popular among the average person, as I think that the iphone will continue to dominate the market, however the phones easy to use interface may capture the interest of some people.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/microsoft_news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=228200486&itc=ref-true

http://www.blackenterprise.com/uncategorized/2010/10/15/the-pros-and-cons-of-windows-phone-7-os/

IBM Donates to Smart Cities

2010-11-09T20:27:00.000-05:00

Technology is quickly becoming more prevalent not only for individuals and corporations, but also for entire communities. Cities throughout the world are trying to utilize technology to make themselves more cost effective and efficient. This can be seen in the way societies run everything from transportation systems to security. IBM has recognized this trend, and is offering $50 million to 100 cities worldwide to help support technology and innovation. An article entitled “IBM Earmarks $50 Million for ‘Smarter Cities’” by Elizabeth Montalbano reports on the company’s generous contribution. The article analyzes that “The move comes amid a trend by the federal government to offer technology challenges as a way to promote more openness and innovation at all levels of government”. Cities will present their case to IBM by entering the Smarter Cities Challenge. The judging of recipients will be based on how the cities plan to use the money to further themselves technologically. IBM will also take into account the city’s past use of innovations. This project is by far the company’s largest charitable contribution, and will likely lead to better cities throughout the world.

This project is a very good idea because many cities in the United States and overseas are in desperate need of modernization. The use of technology in cities will result not only in conveniences for the citizens, but it will also save a lot of money. These technologies can be implemented by the government of the region or by corporations, but either way citizens will most likely benefit. An example of a corporation instituting innovations was the testing of city-wide WIFI throughout Baltimore. This allows the citizens of Baltimore to plug a device into their computers that enables them to get internet access throughout the city, even outside. An example of technology that is instituted by the government is the TriMet transportation system in Portland, Oregon. This is an advanced data sharing system that provides riders of Portland’s public transportation with up to date information. They can use this system to find out if the trains are running on time and other important information. These are just two quick examples of how technology can make our everyday lives easier. The full capabilities of innovations such as these is almost limitless. IBM is very smart getting involved in the community in this way because it gives them a good philanthropic position in the public eye and it will help position them as a leader of technology at the communal level. The community of the future will be much more streamline and it will likely be powered by technologies from companies such as IBM. This is an excellent chance for IBM to position itself as a leader in technological services in many different cities.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/government/state-local/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=228200541

Mobile phones may diagnose STDs

2010-11-09T19:33:00.000-05:00

Mobile Phones may Diagnose STDs

There are many applications that phones have in today’s society, but is it possible to have an application that dictates to you whether or not you have a Sexually Transmitted Disease? People can self diagnose if they have an STD like HIV or syphilis by using computer chips that connect to mobile phones. The ESTI2 project is developing small chips that people would have to either put urine or put saliva on and then connect it to a person’s Smartphone. It's possible that a Smartphone application would be able to tell a person if they'd tested positive or negative for a particular STD in 5 to 15 minutes says Tariq Sadiq, who is the manager to the projects development. This project is geared toward having people become more aware of their health with STD’s. It is bringing the diagnosis to the people, and making people feel more comfortable then having to go to a hospital or clinic to have tests. The idea of having these chips on sale to the public would not be until seven to ten years from now. However, the hope coming from the Electronic Self-Testing Instruments for Sexually Transmitted Infections group is that this on-the-go STD testing will be accurate, affordable, costing only $3.00 to buy, and safe for the public to use.

With the growing rate of people having STD’s, the process that comes with testing and the wait of time for testing turns many people off to the idea of getting tested. The convenience and privacy of having your Smartphone tell you what health problems you may have will lead to more people getting tested. With this testing though, there are several risks involved, including that of being secure and accurate. There has been HIV saliva tests in the past that were used, but were not accurate. This project does not want people to believe they have an STD, unless they actually do have one. Looking at the technology point of this, the Smartphone will only process the results that it is given by the chips. The testing chips require most of the development and will configure all of the testing. The on-the-go testing method would allow for the chips to only be used once, after that they would be thrown away and discarded. Once the chips have the proper technology, this project can be sent to the developing World and lead to cheaper and faster ways to diagnose HIV, Malaria, Hepatitis and other diseases.

There are pros and cons to making these chips that can attach to my mobile Smartphone. The number one pro is its convenience. As a college student, many kids fear of obtaining an STD. With this technology, you can buy a chip for $3.00 and then take this test in the privacy of your dorm room. If it’s positive, then you can go to the hospital and receive medical attention, if its negative then no one knows and you feel like nothing ever happened. The number one negative aspect to this is at this primary stage how accurate will this home testing be. Many women have taken home pregnancy tests and some rely on just one test, but others feel the need to buy several to rely on the accuracy of the test results. Its interesting how my phone, which I use for talking, taking pictures, watch video, GPS, listen to music, and basically anything, will in the near future be able to calculate if I am healthy and clean or not.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/11/09/diseases.mobile.phone/index.html

Microsoft fills out Hyper-V cloud Ecosystem

2010-11-09T18:42:00.002-05:00

Microsoft is taking cloud computing to a whole new level. In the article “Microsoft fills out Hyper-V cloud ecosystem”, Microsoft reveals their plans to provide reference architectures to private companies to help these companies build IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) styled clouds. So far, many big name corporations including Dell, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and NEC, have all signed on with Microsoft as partners to the “Hyper V-Cloud Fast Track Program”. This program will provide these companies with the blueprints for how to detail their hardware so that the companies may run private clouds.

This is an amazing new offering to companies, one that they should take immediate advantage of. Cloud computing has been ever evolving as a great way to help share resources through the Internet, but for many large corporations this may be too risky. These companies have mass amounts of data, which cannot be lost or leaked to anyone. Private clouds could be the answer to many people’s safety concerns. While other companies have began to use private clouds, Microsoft is taking this to the next level with their Hyper-V based clouds, which allow multiple operating systems to run off of a single server.

Essentially, Microsoft’s new Hyper-V based clouds should present many advantages for the companies that decide to use their IaaS, according to David McCann, Microsoft’s general manager of product management. He said, “We believe it will take months off your project, it will reduce your risk and increase your conference in switching on a private cloud”[1]. Microsoft is very confident in what they can offer as a cloud computing provider. Their website lays out the belief that, “Microsoft provides the most comprehensive approach to cloud computing, so that you can harness the full power of the cloud on your terms. Whether in your datacenter, with a service provider, or from Microsoft’s datacenters—and whether in a private cloud, public cloud, or software as a service environment—Microsoft provides the flexibility and control to consume IT as a service, whichever way best meets your unique business needs”[2]. They say that with their IaaS cloud computing service, a company can use their infrastructure resources, such as computing, networking, and storage use as a service to help better your company. Finally, Microsoft says that their Hyper V-Cloud Service is a “key part of Microsoft’s approach to cloud computing, enabling you to build out a dedicated cloud environment to transform the way you deliver IT services to the business”2.

Microsoft has predicted that their Hyper-V Cloud Service Program should be capable of working with more than 70 other providers. In addition, Microsoft has been providing assistance with their Hyper-V cloud services, such as providing training material for the software, deployment guides, and a program called Accelerate that will help test the systems. In addition, they are also offering to help customize the architecture of the hardware for whichever company has partnered with Microsoft. Overall, I believe that this is really a great opportunity for Microsoft, as well as many other companies and organizations. This should provide a significant source of income for Microsoft, as well as a great opportunity for many companies and organizations to take advantage of. Microsoft’s hardware and Hyper-V Cloud system provide a private cloud that offers safety, while running many operating systems all on a single server, that include support and customizability, to help better the efficiency of a business.

Thomas Dolan

[1] http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/microsoft-fills-out-hyper-v-cloud-ecosystem-537

[2] http://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/en/us/private-cloud.aspx

“Factual Wants to put the Web in Order”

2010-11-09T18:18:00.000-05:00

“Factual Wants to put the Web in Order”
By: Amanda Kelsten

Gil Elbaz, the man whose first startup company inspired Google’s Adsense, is getting new attention for his next company, Factual Inc Factual, Inc. is “organizing bits of useful data strewn across the Internet” into more intelligible “databases” that can be sold to companies for their own websites and business operations (MacMillan). Factual, Inc. aims to transform this seemingly chaotic and useless data on the Internet, including names, numbers, dates, and locations into meaningful information that other businesses can utilize. For example, the company is currently building databases regarding “health, entertainment, and other topics” including “basic information about businesses and geographic points of interest” (MacMillan). These basic applications are currently being used by some powerful brand names, such as Facebook, which has recently launched Facebook Places. Facebook Places allows people to update their location to Facebook friends through their mobile phones. Another example of a practical application of Factual’s work is Navigating Cancer, a website that allows cancer patients to access names of “oncologists, including details on what type of insurance they accept and areas of specialty” (MacMillan). As a result, Factual is working hard behind the scenes of many popular brands as well as lesser-known firms to make information more accessible for other companies as well as consumers.

While Factual has yet to make a profit, the firm is representative of a recent trend in data-as-a-service, which involves companies that compile open database. This makes a “fairly difficult-and expensive- set of data much easier to access” (“Factual Ties…”). This connects to the concept of cloud computing, witnessed with business ventures like Amazon’s Web Services. These services allow businesses of all sizes to attain extra storage space or organized databases at a fraction of the cost of manually gathering and storing the data themselves (“Factual Ties”). There are numerous positive benefits associated with this type of business model, as well as the IT applications available for other businesses and consumers. For example, Factual, Inc. can hopefully grow to gain a profit like Amazon’s Web Services, which will reinforce the prevalence of data-as-a-service in the business world today. Furthermore, the businesses that use Factual’s databases will be better able to manage their company data and create better products through their technological innovations. For example, Booyah uses Factual’s database for its mobile game, which allows virtual players to visit “real-world bars, restaurants, and other hot spots” in the game itself (MacMillan). It is also much cheaper for businesses (especially smaller startups like Booyah) to use pre-organized databases as opposed to gathering the information manually, which would require a lot more manpower and resources than these smaller companies have at their disposal. Finally, Factual’s databases benefit the consumers who use applications like Facebook, for we gain access to more applications like Facebook Places. Receiving this information is made possible through technological advancements that companies can make as a result of their improved and more organized data.

Nonetheless, as with most startup companies and business ventures, there are risks involved. For example, as of now, Factual, Inc. is not making a profit, considering they are only making “50 cents for every thousand data requests…totaling $500” per customer on average (MacMillan). Thus, data-as-a-service needs to become more lucrative so that companies that enter this up-and-coming field can actually survive long enough to sell their services to other companies. Also, since this new industry is up-and-coming, there are a lot of competitors that offer very similar services. This past summer, Google bought Metaweb, a company that uses more employees to perform similar services to that of Factual, Inc. (MacMillan). As a result, there is potential for companies like Factual to gain large profits, as Google has seen with its Adsense application. However, without powerful clients like Google to give large profits to new firms like Factual, the future for the data-as-a-service sector is still very much unknown. It appears the more data amassed and collected, the more competitive edge in the market, leading to higher revenues and profits in the future.

Here is a Youtube for Metaweb, the data-as-a-service company recently purchased by Google, and how it works to help make word searches more accurate based on various meanings and contexts.

Sources:
"Factual Ties With Partners On Local Data Effort." SocalTECH.com. 05 Nov. 2010. Web. 09 Nov. 2010. .

MacMillan, Douglas. "Factual Wants to Put the Web in Order." BusinessWeek. 04 Nov. 2010. Web. 08 Nov. 2010. .

2010-11-09T17:56:00.002-05:00

Java Worm Targets Mac OS X

Macs have long been known for how resistant they are against viruses. I myself switched from a very susceptible HP to a Mac and it was incredible. However there is a new trojan horse virus that is now sweeping through Apple computers. This trojan horse is affecting Macs, especially those running the new version of OS X. This virus is disguised as a video and is transferred through social networking sites such as Facebook, and Myspace. When the infected link is clicked, the trojan runs first, as a java applet which downloads other files to the computer. The trojan runs immediately and invisibly and modifies the system to bypass the need for passwords allowing access to all files on the system.

Although this is a terrible thing for computer users the creation of this virus does have some good sides. It creates the opportunity to make money by creating an advanced security system for the Mac. It will also make the users of Mac products think twice about what they click on and where they go. It will increase the how much spam email is deleted as well as how many computer trojan defense systems are purchased by users and corporations.

These results aside, this new trojan is obviously going to have mostly negative results. The amount of people that go on Facebook and other similar websites everyday is an mind boggling. As stated in the article, once a computer is infected, the virus sends itself to other computers through spam emails and social networking websites. There will be a sharp increase in the amount of identity thefts, and credit card fraud if a solution is not found to counter act this virus. There is a lot of personal information on a computer that can get accessed and used with bad intentions if it falls into the wrong hands. The fact that the virus runs invisibly in the background while the computer is downloading Java is almost genius. The user will think that the computer is just downloading something that i did not have while in reality this virus is changing the system so that a hacker some where can bypass all of you computers passwords and gain all of your information. Not only will it access you computer, but you online passwords will be bypasses as well. This means that if you have an account with Bank of America online banking, or Charles Schwab and online stock trading, all of that information could be accessed as well.

In my opinion, it was only a matter of time before a virus was created that could hack Apple computers. I think that the hackers new exactly what they were doing when they created it because they targeted one of the most heavily visited on the entire internet, with the most amount of users. I think that by the law of numbers, an extraordinary amount of people are going to click on this link and ultimately get an infected computer.

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2010/10/java_worm_targe.html

At GM, High-Performance Computing Curbs Test Costs

2010-11-09T17:29:00.000-05:00

Eddie Tomasek

At GM, High-Performance Computing Curbs Test Costs

We are in an age in which we rely more and more on computers to do everyday things. As technology advances computers abilities are also increasing. They are now developing supercomputers which are capable of running the most sophisticated systems. One of the leaders in developing supercomputers is IBM. IBM developed a supercomputer for GM that allows the company to simulate crash tests. This has saved GM millions of dollars over the past three years.

Before GM started using supercomputers to simulate crash tests it would cost them roughly $300,000 because they cannot built on the assembly line. The high cost of the vehicle sells for one-tenth that price so it is a huge loss GM has to cover. Since implementing the super computer GM has cut the number of crash test cars from 600 three years ago to 300 this year. Not only is the supercomputer significantly cutting costs for GM, it allows them to test all types of accidents. GM can simulate literally every possible situation to ensure the cars safety. Since GM can simulate all crash situations the can ensure the safety to their customers. This is good for their business because it builds a sense of trust between them and the customer.

GM is cutting severe costs with this supercomputer. I think this is a great investment for the company considering how much American car companies are struggling. GM can rebuild their brand name because it is making for safer vehicles and upgrading performance. GM is now bringing in more revenues because of this allowing them to pull themselves out of the hole. I think more car companies should look at what GM is doing and follow in their footsteps. It could be great for American car companies to make a new name for themselves.

The supercomputer is not only used for crash tests. It was recently used in GM’s development of their new car the Volt. The supercomputer was used to, “develop some of the Volt's critical electronic controls for the vehicle's innovative battery system, electric drive unit, and cabin electronics.” (IBM.com) GM is using the new innovative computer to gain an edge in the hybrid market. This is good considering the Asian car companies own most of the market share. The IBM supercomputer is driving GM revenues up and allowing them to gain a competitive advantage in the car business.

GM is not the only company involved with supercomputers to simulate new products without spending money on making a prototype and risking it to fail. Boeing used it to design their new dreamliner. Boeing was able to simulate the new aircraft without risking failure. Dreamworks used it to make such movies as Shrek and Kung Fu Panda. The supercomputer is taking over and saving companies millions of dollars.

I think the implementation of supercomputers will change the business world. Companies will be able to use them to forecast sales, design a new product, or see if a new system will work. It will save time and money. My only problem is relying too heavily on them. If the system crashes your company can be left with nothing.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2010/tc2010104_422293.htm

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/32902.wss

How To Get High Performance Cloud Storage

2010-11-09T17:07:00.001-05:00

Daniel Benisatto

IS 251

Prof. Tallon

Blog #4

How To Get High Performance Cloud Storage

Cloud storage is a model of online storage that is networked. The data that is stored in this way is stored on multiple virtual servers. The data is also generally hosted by a third party rather than being hosted on a single dedicated server. These hosting companies use large data centers in order to operate on a bigger scale. People who use cloud storage can either buy or lease storage capacity from these companies. The companies that are in charge of these data centers virtualize the resources in accordance to what the requirements of the customer are. Using cloud storage has a couple of different potential advantages and concerns. One advantage of cloud storage is that a company only has to pay for the specific amount of storage that they are going to need. One other advantage is that companies do not need to install storage units into their own offices and data centers. This allows companies to save space on their own privately used units. The potential concerns for cloud storage include major security issues. Companies that look into such storage companies tend to doubt that their stored material remains safe in these data centers.

Referring to the article, one major challenge with cloud storage is the connection between the company and the stored data. The cloud storage tends to be slower within the data center. This does not necessarily mean that there should be a limited use of cloud storage. This simply means that a greater intelligence is needed to load data into the cloud and make it more efficient. With such intelligence, cloud storage would gain leverage and become a top of the line application.

With the use of cloud storage there are certain practical steps that should be taken. A strong connection to the Internet is the first thing that is needed. Tests have shown that a stronger bandwidth made the cloud storage application significantly more usable. Next, the data selected should be gradually migrated into the cloud. This includes migrating the oldest data sets a one time. This results in almost no difference in the usage of the data in the cloud. This also allows there to be performance improvement in the local response time of the data center.

Even with these conditions in mind, it seems as though cloud storage is a feasible option for different applications and data sets. This is considered a hybrid technology and it continues to improve. Something that lets this improve is the cost of certain bandwidth, as it is decreasing.

It seems as though cloud storage should be something that a lot more major companies should be turning to in the near future. The advantages seem to outweigh the disadvantages and it allows companies to more efficiently use their in-office computers. If there comes a time where it is ensured that the data stored in the cloud is entirely secure and safe, I believe it is something that will become a booming technological advancement. Companies will be able to earn revenue from setting up different data centers and it can only benefit others from there.

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2010/11/how_to_get_high.html

"Deal Gives Amazon a Diaper Strategy"

2010-11-09T17:06:00.000-05:00

Gracie Konopka

Amazon.com is a super website that sells everything from posters to gardening tools. Virtually anything and everything can be found on this website, and they are still constantly trying to expand themselves. Back in July 2009 Amazon purchased the large online shoe company, Zappos.com. This was a big merge for them at the reasonable price of $928 Million. Amazon adopted Zappos form instead of revamping everything to make the transition easier. This obviously greatly improves Amazon’s overall value, while also excluding their competition. By purchasing Zappos, Amazon cornered the online shoe market. This was an extremely intelligent move by Amazon because they completely improve their company without putting in all of the work. Amazon does not have to worry about their competition once the purchase is official.

Currently Amazon is offering Diapers.com about $500 million to purchase them. Amazon is looking and hoping for situation similar to the Zappos takeover. With the exception of Zappos, Amazon has been a company known for building from the bottom up. The company traditionally uses many different marketing strategies and price cuts to beat out their competition. If the sell goes through, Amazon would yet again corner the market for online diapers with the purchase of Diapers.com. Amazon would not change much with Diapers.com to help keep it the same for its old users. This yet again would make the transition smoother for the users of both websites. Amazon has already started prepping for the takeover by creating Amazon Mom which is a part of the website that offers deals on products most mother need. Although many users of the two websites are disappointed because some of their bargains will disappear if these companies merge. Overall this should be a quick and easy change for everyone involved, and would leave Amazon with even more power over the internet market.

Although it seems that Amazon is taking the easy way out, this seems to be the best and quickest way for the company to rise even more. Amazon was traditionally a company that built from the bottom up, but has taken liberties with buying other companies these days. These takeovers is similar to the monopolistic ideals that the United Sates has been based on. Amazon quickly corners the market by buying these companies and continues to grow. Does this change how online shopping will be done? If Amazon continues to buy over online shopping companies, eventually everyone will be buying all their products on one website. Amazon could in the future even corner all online shopping because they could buy all the best companies in their specified market. This could make companies’ goals not to be successful, but to simply be bought out by Amazon. I believe that if Amazon continues they way are going they will be the biggest online super power. If this merge goes smoothly it will only be a matter of time before Amazon looks into more companies to buy. I believe that this merge will be great for Amazon, other online companies though I am not sure.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/deal-solves-amazons-diaper-dilemma/?ref=technology

http://www.diapers.com/

http://www.amazon.com/

http://techcrunch.com/2009/07/22/amazon-buys-zappos/

Speeding Up Google (Even More)

2010-11-09T16:22:00.003-05:00

Already the world's most dominant web browser, Google has unveiled its new Instant Previews technology to make searching the web even easier. Through Instant Previews, a person scanning the web can simply click on a tiny magnifying glass on the side of a page's URL located on Google's search results, and a preview of the page will appear for the user to view.

The good: Web browsing has become even quicker than it already was. Efficiency during browsing should skyrocket using Google Instant Previews. Often times, certain web pages that have the desired key words prove to be useless and unnecessary clicks. The information on the selected page might also be less than satisfactory to the user. With this screenshot, the viewer can see exactly where his or her search keyword falls on each page and if multiple terms show up close together. Since the goal of Instant Previews is quickness and efficiency, speed is obviously a major part of the process. Instant Previews estimates that it should take less than a tenth of a second for the preview to appear, so there should be an instantaneous feeling to browsing, as 6 or 7 pages of information can be scanned in mere seconds.

Security is obviously one of the major issues on the internet nowadays. Whether its internet predators or cyber squatters, safety rates should rise and privacy should be at an all time high. Cyber squatters often prey on mistypes such as "rbay" or "hoogle" where the desired pages are only a letter off, but that one error proves to be fatal, as the user's computer information is now hostage to an internet predator. Passwords, account information, family information, and tons of other information is lost continuously to cyber predators every year. Likewise, children on the internet are subject to random clicks on websites that they are unfamiliar with, such as chat rooms. Through Google Instant preview, people of all ages can save their accounts and families alike from internet predators and prevent tragedy. I'm sure that a businessman who accidentally clicks on a link and loses millions of dollars to a cyber squatter wouldn't mind a page preview before viewing a page while searching for information to ensure company safety.

The bad: Well, there are not many negative effects that Google Instant Previews will have, if at all. Companies who advertise with Google and receive money based on clicks will surely lose some business if Instant Previews works as desired. Random browsing will be shortened, if not eliminated, so companies whose pages are stumbled upon accidentally will surely see fewer clicks coming their way.

For businesses, Google Instant Previews could become an asset that puts a company over the top. Searching the internet has now become quicker and more efficient, while privacy and safety has increased. Google Instant Preview will most certainly increase production for most, if not all, companies. Whether it is research, development, or browsing in general, Google Instant Previews will assist in a company's growth and development.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/google-introduces-visual-previews-of-search-results/?ref=technology

http://venturebeat.com/2010/11/09/google-instant-previews/

AT&T Goes Medical

2010-11-09T15:16:00.001-05:00

"Today's announcements signal an exciting new era where our technology and smart networks can help improve the quality of care, reduce costs, and contribute to a healthier world.” Words spoken from Dan Walsh, VP of AT&T’s ForHealth practice, speak of another advance in the medical industry through technology. Based upon efficiency, AT&T has introduced new technological devices such as bottles that remind its beholders schedule, remotes that read differences in heart levels, and audio and video capability to watch patients on a 24/7 basis. Included also in the ForHealth program, is the acceleration of “innovative wireless, networked, and cloud-based solutions” involved in the healthcare industry.

AT&T didn’t seem to strike me as a company to deal with health issues, but surprisingly companies such as Verizon and Sprint are both quickly entering and growing in the healthcare industry. Over the past few years AT&T have been contributing small amounts to the health business, but the new ForHealth program has been their greatest stride in the field. With more of a wireless network present and a strong company behind the connection, the medical industry can work both more cost effectively, faster, and more consistently. Another product being introduced into the medical field that runs on these wireless networks is the IPad. The IPad has been changing the face of the medical field because of the use by doctors to receive information while on the move. With the addition of an improvement of cloud networking, doctors can be in contact with the entire medical community with a single reliable source.

With the addition of the video and audio controls, staff can keep an eye on patients on a very broad perspective instead of having one person checking in on each patient on a frequent basis. Wage costs therefore can be cut because a person doesn’t need to be hands-on all the time in each room of a hospital. Also in-person visits can be minimized because these video and audio systems can create conferences with doctors through the use of the AT&T network. Though however, the AT&T network hasn’t always have 100% connectivity. All networks fail or don’t work at some point. It’s clearly shown with dropped calls on cell phones. A disadvantage therefore brought forth is the reliability of the network sustaining.

The medical field and new innovations as of late has been becoming a growing topic of discussion lately. With the introduction of electronically recording of medical records, AT&T is trying to get ahead and be engaged in the new system, which will be applied to every citizen of the United States in the near future. A new business system hence will begin to appear in hospitals and the use of wireless or cloud networking in order to share files between doctors and hospitals is becoming an essential part to the future system.

A discussion by Dan Walsh is present in the following video about ForHealth:

Article:

AT&T Launches Health IT Portfolio

By Nicole Lewis

http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/mobile-wireless/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=228200285&subSection=News

"IBM Targets Healthcare with Government Cloud"

2010-11-09T14:47:00.002-05:00

In this article, it discussed how IBM’s Federal Community Cloud will be allowing healthcare providers like Medicare and Medicaid, to “manage their data and services in scalable data centers that can be quickly accessed by federal organizations at a fraction of the cost.” Cloud computing will be used by federal government clients. This article discussed the many advantages that will be present with healthcare now using IBM’s Federal Community Cloud. “Organizations focused on healthcare have opportunities to consolidate processes, and leverage a common capability that is available in the cloud, rather than creating, hosting, and supporting their own individual redundant capabilities.”

Cloud computing seems to be the new way that data and services are being managed. According to IBM, “cloud computing capabilities can be used by federal health agencies to reduce costs and identify common business processes and requirements that are repeated across agencies.”In an article titled “What Cloud Computing Really Means”, cloud computing is described as “an updated version of utility computing: basically virtual servers available over the Internet.”
I think that cloud computing is the new way to manage data and services and that over time it will completely take over how we do things. Also, with all the changes in legislation and policies, cloud computing will allow for an easier way to implement the data. It will also result in cheaper cost, and it will cut the time it takes down. Also, it helps “organizations meet government consolidation policies mandated by the Obama administration’s chief information officer.” Cloud computing will make

“IBM said Federal Community Cloud benefits include a secure, private, multi-tenant cloud that meets federal government requirements; flexibility to control technology environments and operation costs to match fluctuations in demand; cost reductions by eliminating the need to own infrastructure or software licenses; faster implementation of development and test environments, application, and web hosting and backup; access to distributed information and advanced analytics solutions via cloud-based applications; and consulting services and infrastructure as a service, with plans to soon add platform as a service and software as a service.”

Not everyone is sold on the idea of cloud computing. Some people feel that instead of helping to reduce the risks involved in it, it is actually increasing them. People feel that it is much easier to get information from a cloud then the normal way. In an article titled “Weighing the Risks of Cloud Computing”, it discusses how there is the risk of losing customer data, and the risk of other people being able to see the information. Also, it discusses the risk of being able to use the cloud efficiently. Also, there is the risk that the “on-demand fees could actually wind up costing a firm more.”

While there are some risks involved in cloud computing, I believe that the pros outweigh the cons, and that it will make things a lot better. Cloud computing will make things easier for federal government clients. It will help companies meet the policy and legislation requirements, and it will make their work go a lot quicker. Medical records will be safe and secure in the cloud. Cloud computing will improve claims processing and will make things a lot better for companies such as Medicare and Medicaid.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/admin-systems/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=KCSAS450S4Q0XQE1GHRSKH4ATMY32JVN?articleID=228200424&pgno=1&queryText=&isPrev=

http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/what-cloud-computing-really-means-031

http://www.information-management.com/news/cloud_computing_security_risks-10018659-1.html

Company taps Cisco to monitor social networks

2010-11-09T14:02:00.003-05:00

The use of social networks like Facebook and Twitter is only increasing. As more and more people join these websites, different opinions and feelings are tossed around for others to see. This freedom of speech however is not always appropriate when released onto the Internet. People, namely companies, can see what is being said about them and it can be upsetting or helpful. One small company, Zone Labs based out of Massachusetts, has integrated Cisco Systems software product called SocialMiner to help listen and learn to their customers. The product is designed to help companies find and respond to customers communicating in social networking sites. It monitors status updates, blogs, and posts on popular networking websites.

For small companies, especially Marblehead, Massachusetts based Zone Labs, [1]a tool like SocialMiner presents a big improvement on communicating with customers. In this case, Zone Labs only has seventy employees, within which requires three of them to spend half their day weeding through Facebook posts. With the new software it cuts that number down to one employee only spending a couple hours. Peter Etholm, CEO of Zone Labs calls this next generation software “a game changer” to his company. His employees certainly could not catch all the information being put out on the Internet, but SocialMiner constantly monitors social media material so humans don’t have to.

The ability for a company like Zone Labs to understand what customers are saying about them is prevalent to their future growth and development. By hearing consumer reaction, Etholm can identify problems to create solutions. If a certain product is working well, they definitely want to know about it. Having workers constantly check statuses thwarts them from retrieving all information. Small companies especially have trouble with manpower and growth. When SocialMiner identifies all the news feeds, Zone Labs’ personnel can then focus on their task at hand. Do they need to change a specific aspect of their product? Do customers think we have good service and support? These areas are vital to company progress and growth potential. Having a simple software application like SocialMiner provides the tools to tackle these questions and find better solutions.

In a day where social media is one of the hottest trends, it has become imperative to various companies to make a presence on these websites and communicate clearer with consumers. CEO Etholm claims, “Now, [SocialMiner] is saving us man-hours and we respond to customers in a much better way." Zone Labs, a company that sells wholesale vitamins and supplements online, needs any sort of feedback to conduct their business. They need to know if their diet products are effective in the body or if people are “posting” their unhappiness from results. With Cisco’s new product it takes less time to locate the gossip so they can shift their focus on how to improve their company. Don’t be surprised if companies jump on this bandwagon to utilize such innovative software because it provides better time management and efficiency.

Michael Dolan

[1] http://www.manta.com/c/mmyjzcy/zone-labs-inc

Article Source:

http://www.itnews.com/collaboration/24755/company-taps-cisco-monitor-social-networks

Air Force CIO Priorities: Networking At Mach 6

2010-11-09T13:44:00.001-05:00

Air Force CIO Priorities: Networking At Mach 6

As the push for improved cyber security continues, the US Air Force looks to take a lead. For the past decade, the advancements in cyber security have been dwarfed by the skill of computer hackers. It’s been very interesting to watch the Internet develop throughout my lifetime, but I cannot remember a single time when it wasn’t susceptible to cyber crime. Even the US Government has been unable to prevent hackers from infiltrating. It is a known fact that there is no way to prevent all cyber crime, however the US Government cannot allow their system to be infiltrated as it was a few years ago.

Lt. Gen. William Lord, the Air Force’s CIO, isn’t satisfied with the steps taken thus far to protect the military branch’s computer systems and networks. Lord worries that intruders will get past the Air Force’s network perimeter defenses and he’s aggressively trying to prevent it. Lord’s goal is to advance the Air Force’s cyber security operations from their current level of “information assurance” to "situational awareness”. While Lord seems to have an excellent plan and the credentials to execute such an operation, the task is extremely difficult. There are some major areas where security lacks that need improvement in order for the fight against cyber crime to succeed.

There are some major areas that need to be improved for the US Air Force. Cyber security must be improved. Cyberspace defenses are the first priority for the USAF. Without immense improvements to this system, any other changes will be pointless. The plan to improve security is a “layered defense” strategy composed of packet inspection, network mapping, sensors, and more. Another goal of Lord’s is to use IT in the most efficient ways possible, which will save the US Government billions. A large part of the government’s lack of security is the fact that outdated technology is used. Closing that gap is a difficult task, but with the savings from more efficiently using IT, should not be a problem. The Air Force has a good working relationship with the IT industry, but “we need a better one,” Lord added. The Air Force also wishes to improve technological communication in the air. For years, satellites have been able to relay information to personnel on the ground, but the USAF has been testing equipment that can stream live video from spy planes flying 6 times the speed of sound to tanks on the battlefield.

I think the Air Force has made some good decisions on how to tackle the problems surrounding IT and cyber security. Lord is definitely an excellent pick to be the CIO because of his extensive experience in cyber security and he is technologically savvy. During the past year, the Air Force has changed the job classification of 30,000 personnel to that of Cyberspace operators and officers. This conversion shows the USAF is finally acknowledging the seriousness of our nation’s security, and that immense damage can be done to a nation without stepping foot on their land or dropping a single bomb.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/government/leadership/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=228200339

Andrew Gilmore: Failing car industry relies on technology to boost sales

2010-11-09T13:33:00.002-05:00

In 2007, Trevor Traina and two other business partners decided to develop a website catering to car dealerships, mechanics, and car owners looking to buy/sell or repair their vehicles. Traina made this drastic decision amongst one of the worst decrease in the car industry in history. The website that Traina and his partners developed is called DriverSide.com. As I stated before, it connects car dealerships, mechanics, and drivers all on one website. This allows for faster and easier connections to develop. The website makes money by charging as much as $895 for each car dealership and mechanic shop. The car owners use the website for free to search for the best dealership and mechanic shop. Subscribers number at 1.9 million, and over 500 dealers and repair shops.
Traina's website utilizes IT and internet capabilities to attract car dealers to pay for and use his website. The first feature the article discusses is a tune-up reminder. This allows the car owner to automatically receive reminders on when their car needs service. A very attractive technological feature that attracts customers. Ownership tools also include a repair-cost calculator, and a way to diagnose car problems before contacting mechanics. All of these IT features are great ways to attract new customers and make a higher profit. The dealers who subscribe to DriverSide.com pay for access to the special website features including personalized virtual garages embedded on their sites to maintain contact with drivers and showcase lucrative parts and services. This feature targets a recently growing market. Since the economic recession, less people have been purchasing new vehicles. This means that repair shop, and new part sales are increasing. This is because more people are adapting to their circumstances and saving money rather than buying a whole new car. Paul Taylor, chief economist at the National Automobile Dealers Assn. in McLean, Va said DriverSide is "trying to put all the decision-making in one place for the consumer and marketing that to dealers." The article states that parts sales from franchise dealers totaled $76.2 billion last year alone. Traina estimates that the revenues from repair shops, insurance, extended warranty products, and other services will extend into a hundred billion dollars in the following years. DriverSide.com is not Traina's first start up website. He has sold two other companies to Microsoft and Intuit for roughly $160 million combined. Traina used his knowledge of internet tools to connect drivers to their repair and parts needs.
When Traina started DriveSide he received some opposition. Everyone perceived the auto industry as a failing industry and didn't think investment in a online website catering to dealer and repair shops was a good idea. I believe Traina's idea for this kind of website is a great investment. One might look skeptical towards this website at first but once you really look into the market you will soon realize it is booming. With new car sales down, parts will be a great industry. Traina is using this website and IT to tap into a booming market and connect customers to franchise dealers.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2010/tc2010114_953498.htm

RFID Agriculture

2010-11-09T02:27:00.000-05:00

Companies across the agriculture industry have recently adopted digital tools that enable them to prevent or contain harm caused by contaminated food. Recent food contamination scandals have led companies to spearhead preventative efforts, as these scandals are costly, harmful to the American public, and damaging to reputation. Proponents of this information technology claim that it was only a matter of time before the industry would begin to see this change, especially due to the public outrage created by recently contaminated eggs, which prompted a mass recall. Ashish Chona, Chief Executive of InSync Software, whose technology is used by Dole, contends that “a recall can bring a company to its knees. Everyone knows it.”

The idea behind this technology has been compared to FedEx’s tracking system. On the farm, animals and crops are assigned unique “smart labels” which are associated with transport containers. Workers can use a hand-held computer to scan these smart labels and record important information such as the date, time, location, temperature, and transport method of the product. This information is subsequently uploaded to a central database, where it is stored and can be accessed easily. Each time the product is moved or handled, the information can be updated to reflect the latest changes. This technology should go a long way toward containing contamination problems should they arise or even eliminating them before they have a chance to spread.

With food-safety legislation in the works, Congress is on its way to regulating even more tightly the agricultural industry in the aim of preventing the possibility for contamination. However, some farmers are not too quick to jump on the bandwagon, as the type of RFID technology necessary to implement the necessary techniques is quite costly. Some farms boast an already flawless operation with no record of contaminated products, and feel it would be unnecessary, even unjust, to be forced to adopt RFID technology when no problem exists. In addition, cultural barriers, formed by generations of farm hands, have become so used to traditional methods of running a farm that they may not want to see such a revolutionary change that disrupts their conventional ways.

This new technology seems quite promising in the context of agricultural safety. As of now, the agricultural industry must comply with a “one-up, one-down” standard, a federal policy which dictates that each company must know where its materials came from, and where they are being sent. As a result, it can take weeks or even months for investigators to track down a contaminated product. By that time, hundreds or even thousands could be affected. This new RFID technology, if widely adopted, will drastically reduce the time it takes to track down and contain a contaminated product. Officials would be able to trace the GPS coordinates of a field where a product grew with accuracy up to 100 feet, and easily contain the product and find the source of contamination. Since Dole Food has implemented this system, there have been no contamination problems. Consumers will likely view this new RFID technology as a necessary precaution, and will support legislation which mandates its implementation. However, powerful agricultural lobbyists, content with conventional methods of running their farms, may put forth a strong effort against it.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-food-safety-tracking-20101003,0,699198,full.story

Matt Girandola

Bayer Workers Get Social with IBM Software

2010-11-09T00:49:00.000-05:00

Bayer MaterialScience is a company in Germany. The company has decided to deploy IBM social software to promote greater collaboration and information among its employees. IBM has been trying aggressively to turn businesses focus towards social networking. Bayer MaterialScience chose IBM’s Lotus connections to try to improve their business. This will help Bayer’s employees to communicate more easily and to collaborate and process information globally. This will also be involved with a Bayer initiative, Personalized WorkPlace program. Lotus connections allows Bayer’s employees to have access to blogs, wikis, profiles, bookmarks, communities, forums, file sharing, and other activities. This access will then allow these workers to have contact with a larger network of their co-workers. Bayer and IBM are hoping that this allows their business to become more of a “community” relating to their business needs and focuses. This software at IBM is already playing a role at Bayer. Employees have used the blogs, wikis, and activities to share media reports. Other employees have used the live discussions to reach critical global decisions quicker and more efficiently. IBM hopes that Lotus Connections will continue to play an important role in Bayer.

I think that this software can be very successful for Bayer and other companies. I also think it shows how quickly things are changing in our generation. Social networking has become a major part of technology today. Most people of my age and people both younger and older are very involved with this technological trend. You will rarely walk by a computer and not see some form of social networking being used. People previously would use phones and send mail (post office). However, present day this has changed into people using Myspace, Facebook, instant messaging, blogging, e-mail, file sharing, and other forms of social networking. If anyone now does not use these things they are considered to be not caught up with modern times. This has extended into businesses now as well. Businesses use social networking to keep in touch with their employees, monitor behavior of employees, make it easier for communication globally, and to allow files to be shared over the internet. Businesses that do not take advantage of social networking are considered to be falling behind. They can struggle to keep this idea of a business “community” in the workplace. It also creates difficulty in trying to share files and communicate over long distances that are a common for businesses traveling globally.

Bayer MaterialScience is trying to keep up with this movement towards social networking. IBM is trying to help them to do this. Although it will not be the key to success of any business, software like Lotus Connections will be beneficial to whatever company uses it. It allows more collaboration among employees. This software will help to get rid of things like delays in communication. If it works as well as it should it help businesses to be even more efficient with their time. Social networking is one of the major technological developments in our generation and is going to continue. If people and businesses want to keep up with the times, they have to be involved in social networking.

http://www.ramanmedianetwork.com/bayer-workers-get-social-with-ibm-software/

The Future of "Guard-Bots"

2010-11-08T23:02:00.011-05:00

Imagine leaving your home and being confident that it's secure. Forgetting to turn the alarm system on may not cause as much worry when you have a one foot guard patrolling your house. This is the case for programmer, Robert Oschler. If he ever gets concerned that there may be an intruder, he can view his home from his laptop through the use of a surveillance robot. Surveillance robots can simply be toy robots that are altered to fit each owner’s needs. Oschler’s particular robot, the Rovio, has been equipped with a camera, a microphone, and speakers. As long as there is Net connection, he can send the robot around the house, returning video signal back to his laptop along the way.[1] But, can this inexpensive security system really get the job done?

Oschler installed a speaker system to his robot, so that if there were ever someone entering his home, he would be able to talk to them over the speaker system, warning them to leave or that he will call the police. Costing less than two hundred dollars, after a simple computer installation, the surveillance robot was ready to explore. The programmer has even added enhancements, such as creating routine paths around his home for the robots to follow. Creatively, Oschler wired his robot to a headset that will pick up subtle electrical activity produced by his brain, so that if he turns his head left or right, the robot will move in that direction.[2]

These modified “guard-bots” are also being seen in other countries. In China, a hobbyist added small fire extinguishers to his robot and software that can detect the shape of a fire[3], so that if one were to ever begin, it could try to keep it under control until the fire department arrived. Others have added special lights so that the robots can patrol homes and offices at night. A software program, Vitamin D, allows you to watch your office with the use of the toy robots and will beep whenever someone walks in.

Unfortunately, these guard-bots have physical limits. Robots that aren’t able to fly, can’t go up and down stairs, which hinders them from surveying two or three story homes. In cases like these, additional robots would be necessary, one for each floor. Also, if the robot hits a bump, it can tip over and become immobile. Wheel treads can become uncalibrated and the robot will then curve to one side. Until all of these kinks are worked out, the flaws of guard-bots make them less effective compared to traditional home security systems. However, toy makers are successfully matching both the technology and flexibility of the computer industry. Many people have found that for home experimentation purposes, the reliability of these inexpensive toy robots is adequate.[4]

It would be unrealistic to say that toy robots like the Erector Spykee or the Rovio will soon replace home security systems, but maybe in the future, this less expensive option will become more appealing and widespread. At this point in time, when it comes to surveillance for large corporations, robots around the office won’t do the trick. Traditional security systems seem to be more convenient. Years down the road, however, enhancements will be made so that these guard-bots will be able to be used extensively. Through the use of these toys, costs are being cut and homeowners and offices are saving thousands of dollars. I never would have thought that stores like Toys R Us would be able to aid and possibly change the face of security systems.

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/technology/personaltech/04basics.html?src=me&ref=technology

[1] http://www.nytimes.com

[2] http://www.nytimes.com

[3] http://www.nytimes.com

[4] http://www.nytimes.com

Phone Apps Aim to Fight Harassment

2010-11-08T22:10:00.001-05:00

Many women are both verbally and sexually harassed everyday. Most women do not even report these offenses even though it is a criminal offense according to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[1] About a year ago, a man on a crowded Queens-bound W train sexually harassed a woman named Violet Kittappa. She tried to ignore the man until she felt him nudge her on the leg and could feel him heavily breathing on her. Because of these many attacks on women, companies like Apple and Verizon are helping fight back.

The iPhone and Android are both coming out with applications that will allow users to report the offender within seconds. The iPhone application cost about $15, 000 to develop.[2] It was financed through online donations and built by a company called OrangeMico. This company is a technology firm based out of Brooklyn that specializes in high performance computing and smart phone applications.[3] Jill P. Diamond, who is studying for her doctorate at Georgia Tech in domestic violence and technology, developed the Android application.[4] With this new application, users can now take photographs of the men who accosted them and publicize the pictures. These pictures will then either assist the police in arresting these criminals, embarrass the men who have harassed them, or both.[5] In addition, there are also many blogs women can take advantage of such as ihollaback.org.[6] The blogs allow women to talk to talk about their different stories. Through these blogs women are comforted in the fact that they are not the only ones out there that had such a terrible thing happen to them.

Technology is a positive way for all people to fight against something they believe in. These phone applications are only ninety-nine cents and are being used to put criminals in jail for extremely repulsive acts. Why wouldn’t you purchase this application? No man would ever want their wife, daughter, sister, relative, or any close family friends to even be touched by one of these men. I know my father would make sure any one that ever touched me was put in jail. The iPhone and Android applications are just doing that. They can also be used as a protection device for many women against these people. If this application becomes extremely effective, it will also increase the sales of both products. You would be crazy to not have one of these phones because you never know when something will happen to you. Violet Kittappa did not know that she was going to be harassed by a man on the subway that day, but these things happen to many different women all over the world every day. It is just the reality of life, but at least these new technological devices will help put these men away.

Technology is rapidly increasing. Five years ago would you have thought that you would be able to catch a criminal by taking his picture on your phone? With the new iPhone and Android applications, it will not only increase the demand for these two phone, but it will also decrease the number of sex offenders and the number of harassment cases. Women across the globe are going to use this application to help put these men in jail. If it were not for the technological advances, these people would still be getting away with all of these terrible offenses.

[1] http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/titlevii.cfm

[2]http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/nyregion/08hollaback.html?ref=technology

[3] http://www.orangemico.com/

[4]http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/nyregion/08hollaback.html?ref=technology

[5]http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/nyregion/08hollaback.html?ref=technology

[6]http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/nyregion/08hollaback.html?ref=technology

A Change in Internet Use

2010-11-08T21:39:00.000-05:00

Social Networking sites have been on the rise for the past decade. People have undoubtedly used sites like Facebook and Twitter much more over the past few years, and the statistics now prove it. Social networking sites are used 23 percent of the time by Internet users, the most by any type of website. Social games, such as Farmville, jumped all the way up to the number two spot, which was previously held by e-mail use.

Websites like Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace have changed the way people communicate with each. Instead of having to make an e-mail account and wait for back-and-forth e-mail messages, people can just as easily log on to their Facebooks and write on each other’s walls. Another cause of the rise in usage compared to e-mail is the ability to look at photos of yourself and friends. With Facebook, people can click and view hundreds upon hundreds of photos of things they or friends have done. This cannot be done as easily via e-mail.

Social gaming has also increased rapidly. Games like Farmville and Family Feud have become much more popular applications for users of Social Networking sites. These games allow friends to compete against each other and communicate in a different way, leading to their rise in popularity. They are also a big alternative to doing work, causing a large increase in procrastination, especially amongst college students.

People no longer have to use portals to find the latest news. They do not have to go to Bing or Google or Yahoo! to search for stories about their favorite celebrities, sports teams, or even political issues. They can join groups on Facebook or join a Twit List and find out information from their peers and voice their opinion on the issues at hand. This way, they are able to participate in current events, instead of simply reading about them in a browser. People want to do things with people they know, and get to know more people, instead of being restricted to the text-only e-mails with picture attachments.

The main idea is that Social Networking websites have become very popular for computer use. It is not saying that Portals and e-mail sites have decreased in total usage. In fact, it is almost as if the e-mail industry is morphing in to the mobile communication industry. People spent 42 percent of their time on mobile devices using e-mail; the most used application for mobile devices. The second most used application for mobile devices was portals like Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo!. The use of e-mail for mobile devices has become increasingly popular. Many companies require their workers to have smart phones with e-mail capability so that they can e-mail from wherever they are and get the job done.

The rise of Social Network sites was quite drastic, rising 16 percent from last year, the biggest increase in any sort of Internet usage. Social Games rose 10 percent, the second largest jump. Portal usage decreased 1.1 percent from last year, and e-mail declined 3.7 percent from last year. Video streaming stayed relatively the same, only rising .4 percent.

Click here to see the article: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2010/tc2010081_994774.htm

Social Media Browser

2010-11-08T21:23:00.001-05:00

The New World of Internet Browsers

Today, RockMelt, a company that was founded by a group of people from Netscape, is going to release a new browser and offer free downloads to help get the word out[1]. RockMelt is a browser built around the idea of social networking. Most people spend far more time on their Internet browsers than on any other program on their computer, but most browsers have not adapted and evolved with the introduction of social media on the Web.

When you first look at the new RockMelt browser it looks like any other browser you have ever seen, but the difference comes on the sides of the screen. Each side of the browser has a thin rail with icons on it. The left shows peoples friends, and the right shows the users favorite social media sites including twitter and Facebook. The browser also includes a “share” button that will help to make it even easier to share links and post items from the web onto twitter or Facebook. Users will also be able to update their statuses and see what their friends are doing right on the browsers main window.

Another added feature makes using Google easier. Usually when a person searches on Google, a list of options comes up with a description of the page, but with RockMelt the browser gets the page so the user can see the page they are about to go to before they click on it. “Had we known about Facebook and Twitter and Google back in ’92 or ’93, we would have built them into the browser,”[2] said Mr. Andreessen, whose company is providing much of the financial backing for RockMelt (he is referring to when he was involved in the creation of Netscape).

RockMelt will be free, and they plan on making their money by earning a share of the revenues that come from Web searches that the users conduct. RockMelt knows that a major challenge is simply going to be making sure they are heard. Being a new browser, it will not be easy, but they are hoping word of mouth and the uniqueness of their browser will help. Chrome, Google’s browser, has been promoted heavily and has been out for two years, but still only holds 8% of the browser market. And with Internet Explorer coming out with a new browser, it is important that RockMelt is heard.

RockMelt is not the first company to attempt a browser like this. Flock came out with something similar three years ago, but that was before social networking went mainstream. RockMelt is hoping that coming out with their browser now will work out better than Flock, simply because of timing.

Something like this could especially take off in colleges across the country. Students are always looking for the next cool thing, and recently that often relates to social networking. So if you could have a browser that helps you keep up with Facebook while you are browsing, why not? Getting the word out may be tough, but it is an interesting new product and one that may not have a large following at first, but it will have a loyal following.

[1] http://www.rockmelt.com/

[2] http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/technology/08browser.html?_r=1&ref=technology

Microsoft Pushes Platform As A Service In Cloud

2010-11-08T18:17:00.000-05:00

In class we have recently learned about cloud computing, or software as a service. We talked about Amazon as the market leader in cloud computing; however, Microsoft is now trying to compete with Amazon. They want to make it easier to create the cloud computing infrastructure. In my opinion, Microsoft will definitely benefit from this for a number of reasons. For example, I think that many people think of Microsoft before Amazon when talking about computer software. Most common consumers turn to Amazon for products rather than services, especially with something like cloud computing. On the other hand, I do applaud Amazon’s strategy because they have been able to master the market of cloud computing up to date.

Microsoft will provide tools so that you won’t have the same confusion that you may face when using Amazon. You will not have to mess with the infrastructure because these easy tools allow you to build something that will run in a “pre-defined, Windows environment.” This is extremely beneficial to Microsoft and to the users of Azure - the cloud which Microsoft has developed. I think that it’s beneficial to Microsoft for obvious an obvious reason. This simplified technology will attract more simple-minded consumers. These consumers will be able to do things such as market themselves through cloud computing. I’m thinking that businesses, especially small businesses, aren’t always as technologically informed as they should be, so Microsoft’s simplified version of cloud computing will only benefit them.

I really like the introduction to this article because it kind of simplifies the idea of cloud computing. It talks about how the Outback Steakhouse chain did not have a lot of money for marketing in 2009, but still wanted to increase its business. As a result, they put a coupon on Facebook for a free, delicious Bloomin‘ Onion appetizer. They wanted to give out 500,000 of these coupons by the end of the year. Instead, 670,000 were distributed in only five weeks. Azure made this possible for Outback during its preview, and in my opinion, most likely will benefit hundreds of other companies as well. I thought this was good to write about because many people simply use things such as Facebook as a social networking system for friends, not realizing that businesses are indeed a part of this social network.

Another strategy that Microsoft has developed will be profitable because it helps the company save a lot of energy and money. If something fails in Microsoft’s servers, they don’t immediately fix it. They are able to transfer the data to another server and keep working, leaving the other one idle until the next eight-hour maintenance shift. Amazon constantly fixes disks that have something wrong with them. In my opinion, I think they should take the same route as Microsoft because obviously Microsoft is still able to function even if something is wrong. It saves a lot of money, and money is exactly what every company is seeking, so the twenty-four hour maintenance scheme seems like a waste in my mind. I guess it helps the environment as well, since it saves a lot of energy. For many people in present day, this is a pretty big deal.

Cloud computing is something I never heard of before this course. However, I now know it is a big deal and extremely beneficial. Companies can use it in a number of ways to market, as well as other things. Look at Outback Steakhouse, because I know they appreciate Microsoft’s Azure as much as anyone.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/hosted/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=228200447&pgno=3&queryText=&isPrev=

Facebook’s initial Crew Moving On

2010-11-03T18:44:00.001-04:00

Facebook was started six years ago. It’s hopes to reach the stock market or a public offering are a long ways away. Some employee of Facebook are giving things like job stability, free food, and the laundry services provided up to branch off and start their own businesses. Of these individuals they are leaving early with big checking accounts. Dustin Moskovitz who was a co-creator of facebook with his roommate has resigned his position at Facebook to start a company called Asana, that assists workers calloboration with new and advanced software. Chris Hughes has also left to start Jumo, which is a social network for “people who want to change the world.” Other employees are leaving to create companies such as Path which is a secret venture and Quora which is a question and answer sight. There are about half a dozen start up internet websites or companies that can be connected to an origin of facebook. This accumulation of funds and starting your own venture after has also occurred with Yahoo, eBay, and Google. The newly formed Facebook society is different from older retirees. These earlier men and women cashed out before resigning their positions. These ex Facebook employees leave before any Initial Public Offering of that companies shares. There is a start exchanges like the Second Market and SharesPost that have allowed shareholders in private companies to trade more easily. The markets are surprisingly liquid. A Russian company bought up to one hundred million dollars in stock from employees and retirees to up its existing stake in facebook. Mr. Moskovitz owns about six percent or about 1.8 billion dollars of facebook. This only consists of a few employees and not a mass exodus. This company also has grown significantly from a few hundred to 1700 today. This makes people want to return to that small business feel as well. Mr. Jacobson was the head of International Business at facebook. He resigned and is now starting a game helping website called PlayHopper. He at 40 is taking a huge risk in opening this company. He and his wife feel it might be a financial suicide. This is a big worry for older employees keeping them with their existing jobs. Many of the young Facebook employees have the potential to work as hard as they can to make their company reach full potential. Many men like Mr. Morin express that almost everyone working at facebook shows potential or advanced entrepreneurial skills. He is currently working on a program called path with twelve other employees. Former and current facebook employees help to set up a network to aid each other with problems and obstacles they may come encounter with. This network is a vas form of resources they can all tap into. Quora created by a former employee launched, but with facebooks power, money, and experience created a similar program that was added to their site a month later. Facebook has tried to limit these conflicts by having employees agree to no-poaching agreements when they resign. “The stakes are higher if you fail” said Mr. Jacobson. This is true because you are going up against a company that can develop that you take two years to develop and develop it in a month. This increases competition and makes their entrepreneurial pursuits very challenging. In the end starting your own company only promotes the growth of our country. Also an idea can take off as facebook has and make you a genius instead of a flop.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/technology/03facebook.html?pagewanted=1&ref=technology

Facebook’s initial Crew Moving On

2010-11-03T18:44:00.000-04:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/technology/03facebook.html?pagewanted=1&ref=technology

No Man Is an Island, Updated

2010-11-03T10:01:00.002-04:00

In his article, No Man Is an Island, Updated, Edward Glaeser explores whether or not information technology will make “face-to-face contact and the places that enable that contact” obsolete or will it make meeting people face-to-face “more effective and more valuable” (NYTimes). The story of Facebook’s existence, made popular by Ben Mezrich’s “The Accidental Billionaires” and recent film, “The Social Network,” demonstrates that the Internet is making in-person interactions more important than ever before.

Many people assume that technology makes it easier to connect without meeting in person, which suggests that new technology is bad for places that enable face-to-face meetings. Contrary to this belief, technology like e-mail and Facebook often allows users to maintain friendships and transmit information, which in turn makes in-person connections more rewarding. Furthermore, surveys of Facebook users have shown that “students view the primary audience for their profile to be people with whom they share an offline connection” (NYTimes). Therefore, most users utilize the information they gain from technology to further develop their relationships and to continue both online and in-person communication, rather than use the technology to form new relationships.

Facebook and other similar networks can be viewed as a substitute for a face-to-face interaction but more often; they serve to complement an in-person meeting. Rather than viewing technology as a foe, we should learn to view it as a tool that helps us to create and maintain healthy bonds with other people, including those who are far away. Facebook allows for “virtual friendships with people that you have never physically met” (NYTimes). Glaeser notes, “If these virtual friendships are sufficiently satisfying, then Facebook may make it unnecessary ever to be in the same room.” To some, this idea may seem feasible due to the heavy weight businesses place on technology; however, while innovation is regarded as highly important in the business world, maintaining personal contacts and relationships is vital to a successful business strategy or idea. Facebook is a prime example of an idea that was developed from in-person collaboration amongst a group of intelligent people. Harvard’s Mark Zuckerberg, as well as a few of Mark’s college friends and Napster innovator Sean Parker, discussed their plans for Facebook during face-to-face meetings, where they could clarify their thoughts and complex ideas in an efficient manner.

In regards to small companies, Peter Delgrosso, strategic vice-president for corporate communications with Web.com, agrees that, “social networking sites should be viewed as complementary to your online presence… When used properly, it is something that can gain your business some attention. However, you need to realize it shouldn't be seen as a replacement to your traditional online presence” (BusinessWeek). Other businessmen agree with Delgrosso. Greg Sterling, of Sterling Market Intelligence, “considers social network sites primarily for meeting people, asking for advice or referrals and, carefully, doing online marketing” (BusinessWeek). He believes varying sites have different uses. For example, “Sites such as LinkedIn can be helpful in connecting with people you want to meet for one reason or another [while] Twitter and Facebook can be helpful when you're trying to notify a group of people about something you want to promote or about a happening of some kind” (BusinessWeek).

Sterling also believes that various sites have varying strengths, which can be used to achieve different tasks. He recommends that users who are online for networking and human resources purposes should utilize LinkedIn, while those who are looking to gain exposure to larger audiences should use Facebook (BusinessWeek). Sterling notes that LinkedIn “requires some résumé creation, then offers the opportunity to link in to other like-minded professionals. When used selectively, it can be a very powerful tool for identifying new business partners, new employees, or simply building your personal or business presence” (BusinessWeek). He also adds that Facebook may serve as an aid to, “establish or join a network based on your business or industry category to tap into people’s affinity for the topic. By doing this, you'll… clearly establish your niche, keeping the interaction focused on the specific subject matter” (BusinessWeek).

Students sometimes use social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook in preparation for an interview. If they know the name of the person interviewing them, the sites can allow them to find out more about that person, which may give them an advantage in the long run. Although most interviews are conducted in person, technology is almost always used to follow up after an interview. Students are told to e-mail the interviewer after their interview to create a lasting impression on the person and to better their chances of obtaining a job with that company. The use of technology may, in fact, make getting a job easier. Since there are so many ways to communicate and meet people online, there is a greater chance that a connection will be made between a person looking for a job and an employer.

Company representatives may also use social networking sites when they are looking to hire new employees. It is for this reason that people of all ages must be careful about what they post on the Internet, because anything inappropriate that is posted could mean the difference between getting hired or not. Although employers can get a basic impression of potential employees by looking at their online profiles, meeting in person will give them a better idea of who the employee actually is; what his or her personality is like and how he or she interacts with others.

Despite the ambiguity of social networking sites, companies benefit from technology every day. Rick Julian, CEO and chief creative officer of Quo Vadis, says he's getting a positive return on his investment from using social media sites. “It puts a human face on your business and allows people to get an impression of what a relationship with you would be like. When all things remain equal, people want to work with people they think they'll have an interesting relationship with” (BusinessWeek).

Robert Jenson, CEO of the Las Vegas-based realty firm the Jenson Group, takes a “strictly corporate approach” to social networking. He explains that he “educates[s] visitors on important, universal industry matters. I try my utmost to ensure the content I post is…applicable and of interest to… any real estate consumer nationwide” (BusinessWeek). Jenson posts articles and blogs he’s written to establish his credibility as a real estate expert. Moreover, when companies belong to multiple social networking sites, their chances of appearing in search engines increases, so more of customers are likely to find them.

Almost all companies today utilize technology and social networking sites to get ahead in the business world. However, it is evident that these companies could not function without basic relationships and in-person meetings between groups of intelligent people. These face-to-face interactions amongst great thinkers allow people to express their true character and develop ideas together, a concept that has yet to be digitized. Although new conference call technology and GoogleDocs allow people to easily collaborate online, most people today still appreciate the comfort of meeting in person. The technology industry may have “the ability to connect over vast distances,” but new ideas are more likely to stem from being in the right place with a “cluster of smart people” (NYTimes). Changes in technology have created tremendous opportunity for people looking to develop new ideas, and collaboration with our neighbors allows us to make these ideas a reality.

-Katie O’Neill

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/no-man-is-an-island-updated/

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/aug2008/sb2008086_346094.htm

2010-11-03T00:42:00.002-04:00

Windows Phone 7 'Early' To Smartphone Market, Says Ballmer

Apple has been dominating the market for smart phones for some time now. Microsoft hopes to change this by introducing the windows phone 7 to the market early. Steve Ballmer believes the the smart phone market is still very young and therefor, they will still be able to make waves amongst their rivals. On the other hand, many researchers are saying that the new windows smart phone will not move windows stock very significantly. Some predict Microsoft’s world wide market share from 4.7% to 5.2%. However some analysts say that it will eventually decrease again to 3.9%.

I believe that Microsoft is playing with fire here by releasing this phone early. They are currently being scrutinized for their premature release of the xbox 360 which cause many problems for consumers. Many researchers have said that this new phone beats the iphone and android in a few areas of technology, but falls short in many other ways with missing features and fewer applications. The new phone features apps like allowing the owner to work on Microsoft office documents through the phone which is a great advantage for businesses. However the fact that Microsoft decided to launch this phone early, will only prompt consumers and critics to look more carefully for the flaws in the product. The early release of this product could also turn consumers away from this product. This is because there could possibly be a lack of faith in the fact that all aspects and apps on this phone will be running correctly. Furthermore i feel that consumers will read many reviews before investing, and this create a lot of indecisiveness amongst the buyers.

On the positive side, the smart phone market is still relatively young, and Microsoft wanted to jump on the bandwagon, before new technology starts to emerge. I feel that the features like allowing the use of Microsoft office through this phone, will entice people in the work force to move away from the iphone and test out this new product. By releasing this product early Microsoft will receive a lot of feed back, positive or negative, on how to fix this product and create a more efficient model. I feel that in the next few months, Microsoft will be collecting a lot of information on how to make this product work better, and in turn come out with a new and improved product relatively quickly. Other apps such as netflix will help the phone appeal to younger customers. Finally the phone allows for multitasking. In effect, multiple apps can be run at once which will be a great advantage for consumers who need to find documents, search bing.com, and make calls at the same time.

I feel that overall, this is a poor decision for Microsoft to do. I feel that by releasing this product early, they will turn customers who were on the fence about purchasing it away. I think that there will be an initial spike in purchases due to some of its new features, and the ease the owners will be able to share information such as documents, and spreadsheets with others, but in turn there will be negative reviews.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=228000339&subSection=Mobility

Becoming the Microsoft of the Robot World

2010-11-02T23:48:00.002-04:00

Robots have become increasingly important in the manufacturing world. Companies such as General Motors rely on them to create the most modern and reliable products in the fastest and most efficient manner. Many people fear that they will replace human workers in the manufacturing industry and eliminate jobs, although companies have proved that this is not the case. In fact, the use of robots has actually opened up new jobs, and the need for human workers to work alongside robots still exists. A new GM plant contains over 1,100 robots, but GM is still looking to hire back some of its laid-off employees to keep up with the growing demand of new cars.

Since robots are in such high demand and have been proven to open up new jobs, (people are needed to design, build, program, and service robots) an even bigger opportunity for programmers has arisen. Approximately 8.6 robots exist today, and most of them have been designed from scratch, as stated by the article, “Becoming the Microsoft of the Robot World.” The article goes on to say that creators of these robots have basically reinvented the wheel each time a new robot is created. The hardware and code, which drives the robots’ actions, is designed anew with each new robot.

This provides an opportunity to make an enormous profit for whatever company can become the “Microsoft of the robotic world.” Companies are competing to see who can have the dominant operating system for robots. It will be a standard system that can be used and adapted for any robotic needs. The lack of a standard is inhibiting progress with robots and it is lowering revenues for companies that produce them, since each one is so expensive to make.

Right now, there are several companies, such as Microsoft and Evolution Robotics, who have released operating software for robots. Another company is trying to create an open-source robot operating system. For it to be open-source, it was have to be “non-dedicated as to use, nondiscriminatory as to software, and modular in design.” This system, which is being created by a former Google employee, is meant to be able to be used by the entire robotics industry. However, it cannot be used to household robots. It is meant to be used by researchers who need robots with massive processing power. For tinier robots, this open-source does not necessarily make sense.

Other researchers have also considered creating open-source hardware. People with access to laser cutters would be able to download the designs and create the hardware for robots themselves.

As profitable as the open-source software systems would be for whichever company can design it, there are downsides. For example, these systems would be more vulnerable to hackers. They would have to rely on more safety controls than software alone. It also would not make sense for smaller robots with less computing capacity. Its benefits would be limited to larger, more complicated robotic systems.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2010/tc2010111_884564_page_2.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2010/tc20100526_198981.htm?chan=technology_special+report+--+ceo+guide+to+robots+in+the+workplace_special+report%3A+ceo+guide+to+robots+in+the+workplace

Eileen Browne

2010-11-02T23:46:00.001-04:00

Daniel Benisatto

IS 251

PayPal Banks on Mobile Payments

This is an article taken from informationweek. The article is written by Esther Shein from October 27^th, 2010.

PayPal is an electronic commerce business that allows payments and money transfers to be made entirely online solely using the Internet. The PayPal system serves as an alternative to the standard paper methods of checks and money orders. PayPal is also a very efficient way to go online shopping. One particular website in which PayPal is widely used is, eBay. PayPal is not restricted to just eBay though, it is widely used between a wide variety of online stores and companies. This variety ranges from Recently, PayPal has been making many changes in order to making its services more mainstream. The main change involves trying to add in and incorporate mobile uses for PayPal. The recent proposition was followed by the launch of a new service called “Mobile Express Checkout”. This provides customers with a secure “two-click” checkout process from any mobile device. Business owners that have already integrated a version of express checkout with PayPal will have no difficulties setting up with the new mobile technology. The well-known coffee retailer, Starbucks, will be among the first to use the mobile express checkout. The uses of this will include reloading Starbucks cards with the use of and iPhone or and iPod touch from a mobile application. There is also a newly incorporated location-based application that will help iPhone owners to find which business in their immediate area will accept the mobile payments. Currently, this feature is only available in the San Francisco Bay area. VeriFone, a large-scale device manufacturer for payment technology, is going to be the first to work with PayPal and begin developing technology to incorporate the mobile uses. PayPal has also partnered yp with a platform developer known as Appcelerator to help the current 8 million PayPal providers to create more customized mobile apps. PayPal itself is expecting up to $700 million worth of purchases from mobile devices.

This technology really brings out my curiosity. Mobile devices are constantly expanding and broadening their horizon. There comes a point where the completely unimaginable will be right at our fingertips. In my mind, I can never see what technology is going to come about next. Whether its cell phones, iPods, laptops or even cameras, I always try and think about what they can possibly do next to make their product more futuristic and more advanced. That is why this article really interested me. Though, I must say I do have my doubts about this particular technology. Something about the security of this technology just seems uneasy. I believe that if this is a proven safe method of purchasing goods, and dealing with money, this technology will take off. Like I said before, my curiosity is driven by such topics. I anticipate what will come next in the technology world. Soon I see this technology expanding to more smartphones, such as blackberrys and droids.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/web_services/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=228000162&subSection=News

Is “Staying Connected” a Good Thing?

2010-11-02T23:39:00.000-04:00

Today, competing IT companies are trying to find the best ways for you to “stay connected” in the most convenient ways. Through your phone alone you can be logged into your email, Facebook, Twitter, Google account, and almost anything else. But is staying connected to everything a good thing? Not when someone can access everything you’re currently logged into.

Through a new extension to Mozilla Firefox called Firesheep, it is possible for people to hijack other people’s personal accounts if they are currently logged into them if you are on an open network. Amy Gahran of CNN.com tried this program out at a coffee shop where, after a quick installation, was able to pull up the Facebook and Google accounts of the people around her that were using the same open WiFi network. Not only could she pull their accounts up, but she could also navigate through them as if they were her own. This is called “sidejacking” and is defined by Webopedia as “the malicious act of hijacking an engaged Web session with a remote service by intercepting and using the credentials that identified the user/victim to that specific server.”

Gahran claims that Firesheep can only can only detect network traffic if it passes through a web browser, giving the example that her Twitter account was inaccessible because it was open in TweetDeck, which is a third-party software. However, this information is hardly comforting. Having just your Google account alone hacked is incredibly dangerous because all the rest of your Google accounts, including Gmail, Google Health, Google Calendar, Google Docs, and several more, are connected. This means, by simply searching something in Google on an open WiFi network, if someone is sidejacking you, they can not only learn your name and contact information, but also your medical history, your schedule, and read your emails and personal documents. Your identity can be stolen just that simply and just that quickly. You can avoid having this happening by avoiding open networks, and when on your cell phone, sticking to your carrier’s network.

The creator of Firesheep, Eric Butler, claims that he invented the program to prove the weakness in web browser security and how feasible sidejacking is. His point was surely proven, for now anyone on any computer is capable of sidejacking. Although Butler arguably created a monster that potentially made it easier for sidejackers to get the job done, if he hadn’t had created so much commotion with Firesheep, this much attention would probably never have been brought to the danger of sidejacking, and many people would never even know that they would need to protect themselves against it. Before now, most people still believed usernames and passwords to be protected on web browsers, trusting in their network’s security too much. It is better to have pointed out the problem now than to after massive attacks and scams when it is too late. This way, websites and online services can work on improving their security and, since the problem has become public, it can't be ignored.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/11/01/firesheep.wifi.security/index.html

Google Offers Cloud-Based Learning Engine

2010-11-02T22:49:00.002-04:00

There are already many companies that are using machine-learning algorithms. These algorithms enable software to learn how to respond to new information or events with intelligence. For example, Amazon has product recommendation. The software chooses products related to ones that you have clicked on or purchased and recommends that you look at them. It chooses products that you may be interested in and may want to buy. Pandora also uses an algorithm that can guess what other artists you may want to listen to. The service that Google has recently launched will bring this “learning” ability to many more apps. For example, a Google-Hosted email app could sort out your junk mail from important mail by “remembering” the senders of the mail that you don’t open and the mail that you always open. Instead of developers coming up with their own algorithm, Google makes their Google Prediction API available.
The way that Google’s service works is with a “kind of machine-learning black box -- data goes in one end, and predictions come out the other.” “Developers can deploy it on their site or app within 20 minutes,” says Green. This will put bring the predictive API into more apps easily making it a smother and quicker transition into this new technology. “We're trying to provide a really easy service that doesn't require them to spend month after month trying different algorithms.” Only large companies like Amazon have been able to make and use prediction API but now that Google will make it available to more companies, it will have a leveling effect. This will help other companies to get a better competitive edge.
Some people are already making plans on what they want to do when they gain access to the Prediction API. They could use it in applications used in popular websites such as Facebook and Twitter. Chris Bates agrees that Google's black box will enable wider use of machine learning. “Today it is good at predicting which language text is in and also sentiment analysis, for example to pick out positive and negative reviews,” he says. Even before the API is released, people are coming up with great ways to use it to improve applications.
New creations such as the Prediction API help take technology one step further. These new programs make using a computer even easier and take less steps. More things are becoming automated so that we don’t have to do as much work. Applications can predict what we want to buy, listen to, type, or the next person we want to add as a friend on Facebook. I think that this API will allow programmers to easily put this cool predictive feature into most of the online applications and websites that we use. And since the API is in the clouds, not requiring users to download anything, it will run much smoother. Anyone with internet will be able to experience it. Most people might not even notice when more websites start sing it because it will seem so seamless and natural.

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/26093/

Sentiment Analysis Comes to the 2010 Campaign

2010-11-02T22:36:00.000-04:00

Politicians and candidates who are running for political office are always looking for ways to tell if their message is making an impact on voters. The usual way all campaigns do this is by polling voters through phone calls, emails, or online surveys. The drawback of this has always been that this takes time to collect and often does not get an extremely clear picture. A new software has emerged called sentiment analysis. This is passive software that simply tracks what people put on public sites about a political candidate. This gives the politician an unbiased view of his campaign, since it is simply what the people are saying about it, rather than a strict set of questions and answers distributed by the campaign.

There is a wealth of information on the Internet that if used correctly can provide valuable information for a political candidate. This information previously was left untapped since the software was not developed. John Hancock, however changed that. He developed software for political campaigns to mine data from the Internet. This software is an invaluable asset to anyone running for a political position. People often use the Internet as place where they can speak their mind freely, as many blogs and posting websites allow for people to use a made up name. With the protection of namelessness, people will often be more truthful about their opinions, rather than try and make them more pleasing to masses. By being able to mine data from these anonymous posts, candidates can get a feel for which messages are resonating with voters.

The uses of this technology are limitless. While as of right now only political candidates are using this software, after refining the software, I believe almost all companies with a marketing division will adopt some form of it. The advantage to being able to see what the consumer truly feels about a product is immeasurable. For a company such as Coca-Cola to be able to find out what its consumers think of a new product idea, before going through millions of dollars to simply develop a sample to distribute to the customer, would save them millions. Many companies use a large portion of their budget to fund marketing schemes, while many of them are often successful, some do fail causing a loss of millions of dollars to the company. This software would also allow companies to find out which marketing strategy is most effective.

There are a few drawbacks to this system though. Only a small number of people post their opinions online, and those that due are usually extremists to either side. This can lead to an overconfidence leading to either elections or release of product. Skewed results are also likely. Secondly if something in spread through mass messaging it would show a spike in either positive or negative sentiments, once again skewing the results. Additionally, the people posting online will not always represent the general public accurately.

While still in the earlier stages of software development, sentiment analysis software presents and new and interesting development in the way political candidates and companies collect data. By tapping into the resources available on the Internet, companies and candidates will be able to make more informed decisions on product development and political campaigns by seeing what the buzz is online.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/technology/01sentiment.html?scp=1&sq=John%20Hancock&st=Search

William Neubauer

MicroStrategy

2010-11-02T22:33:00.001-04:00

Eddie Tomasek

Applications on mobile devices seem to be affiliated with everything. There are apps for what seems like everything. For the most part thought they tend to me on the smaller scale and only used for personal use on smartphones. Until recently apps were only on iPhones and smartphones which limited the productivity the app could do because the phones did not have the operating power to have a more complicated app. The recently released iPad has broadened the possibilities. The iPad has much more computing power than smartphones and iPhone. Companies are taking advantage of the mobile computing power of the iPhone by developing apps that allow quicker decision making.

One of the leading companies in the new software development for these apps is MicroStrategy. MicroStrategy is looking to develop their own software to run on the iPad. The company has bought, “1,200 iPads and is cranking out applications that run on them in hopes of helping its staff work more efficiently.” This is a major investment for MicroStrategy because if the idea fails it could take a major hit. The program MicroStrategy is developing could be revolutionary in many ways.

One way the apps MicroStrategy is developing could make business decisions occur much quicker. Since the app was introduced within the company they have been able to successfully transfer 80 important sales documents. This can help sales people who are always on the run and can only meet clients for a short time. It allows for companies to show customers and potential customers what they have to offer on the go. Places where it can be really successful would be places of travel like an airport or hotel. Sales people will not be required to carry loads of paper. Since sales people would only be required to carry a small iPad the customer basis becomes much easier to access. The mobility of the app has the ability to expand to a lot of other companies.

Another aspect in which this app can help businesses is it can cut costs of paper and mobilizes presentations that used to only be accessible through flashdrives. The cut costs in paper could be exponential especially if the sales documents are extrememly long. It also would make it much simpler and easier to read for customers.

The increase in productivity is the biggest reason why the new app should be incorporated throughout a company. Sales people can be more productive because they are able to make decisions at all times of the day. MicroStrategy is not the only company looking into this transformation. Deloitte is another company researching the new idea. Their software allows sales people to reserve work and meeting as well as projectors and blackboards from mobile devices. This helps productivity because time is not wasted calling in and talking to some to reserve stuff. It allows for companies to move quicker and generate more revenue.

Google and IBM are also working together to do something very similar. Their apps are more for smartphones. The idea is good but the computing power is not equivalent to the iPad or other small computers.

One problem I see here is on the return on investment. It is expensive to equip every sales person with an iPad that contains the app. Would the app increase sales enough for the purchase to be made is the question. I personally think this is a good idea but the dividends will not pan out until a couple more years. Once the idea becomes more popular I think you will be seeing more and more of this in the future.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2010/tc2010111_549315.htm?chan=technology_ceo+guide+to+tech_special+report%3A+ceo+guide+to+mobile+business+apps

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2010/tc2010111_326784.htm?chan=technology_ceo+guide+to+tech_special+report%3A+ceo+guide+to+mobile+business+apps

Robots in Space?

2010-11-02T22:26:00.002-04:00

On November 1, 2010, Kenneth Chang from The New York Times published an article that sparks new interest in the slow moving NASA. “NASA’s Quest to Send a Robot to the Moon” discusses Project M, “a guerilla effort within NASA, cooked up a year ago by Stephen J. Altemus, the chief engineer at Johnson (Space Center)”. “That’s the magic” said, Mr. Altemus, referring to the integration of technologies, and prototypes. This project includes companies such as General Motors, who worked with NASA to develop the humanoid dexterous robot named Robonaut 2, which is “packed on the shuttle discovery, scheduled for liftoff on Wednesday”. Boston Power donated a $300,000 lithium battery prototype to NASA in exchange for assistance with battery management. Armadillo received from NASA about $1 million, engine technology, and access to test facilities, in exchange for their lunar lander prototype. Project M uses data from other NASA project “including rocket engines that burn liquid oxygen and methane – a cheap and nontoxic fuel combination – and an automated landing system that could avoid rocks, cliffs and other hazards.” All of which can be used to better our own society in the future, proving integration of many technologies will benefit society as a whole, and should be something to invest in.

Project M was started as a cheap and effective way to go to the Moon, and possibly beyond. The cost of sending astronauts to the Moon is stated to be $150 billion, and the cost of the robot to the Moon would cost “less than $200 million, along with about $250 million for a rocket”. If such technology were created and given enough support towards, it may be possible to discover much more about other planets than we can currently discover. However, this project remained unnoticed by everyone in NASA, “including the administrator, Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden Jr.” and therefore was under tight budget constraints. According to Project M’s planners, “a robot walking on the Moon would capture the imagination of students, just as the Apollo Moon landings inspired a generation of scientists and engineers 40 years ago”. The planners’ opinion of our reception of this robot is very progressive. Certainly seeing any being walk on the Moon live would capture our imagination, but this is because it has not happened in our life time. By having a robot do this walk on the Moon, many would be captivated that technology was this capable, but others may not see this as a feat since a robot making a one way trip is far different from a human living the trip there as well as the trip back. NASA claimed to be able to accomplish the robot to the Moon in 1000 days, said to be arbitrary since they claim to work better under sense of urgency. Although this project has cost about $9 million to date, plans to the Moon are on the back burner, and there is not enough money to work on legs for Robonaut, the project sparked some interest among International Space Managers and is the reason for Robonauts’s launch to the Space Station.

Human Spaceflight is currently over-rated with our cost of life being so great. In order to live we require food, oxygen, water, and many more things. To provide people with so many substances where they are lacked, in space, costs a lot of money that can be put elsewhere, where it may be of more use. I feel like people would understand and be very welcome to the idea of sending robots into space on shuttles knowing the cost difference. For now it would be best to invest the appropriate money into NASA and Project M, so that research may be done on enough planets and new technological possibilities in as reasonable a time as possible.

The Following is a link to the video of Project M’s lander test flight:
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/11/01/science/1248069258460/project-m-lander-test-flight.html
(Video unable to be embedded)

Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/science/space/02robot.html?_r=1&ref=technology
http://robonaut.jsc.nasa.gov/default.asp

The Automated Swiffer

2010-11-02T22:24:00.003-04:00

Ever wish you didn't have to go through the grueling process of cleaning a floor? Sure, robots have been invented that will automatically clean your floor for you. Independent vacuums, if you will, but there has never been a product like The Mint. It is being sold as a cleaner combined with a GPS to enhance cleanliness and overall productivity.

The Good: The Mint has veered off the course that other automated cleaners have forged and now mops and sweeps, rather than vacuuming or scrubbing. It works by communicating with an electronic sensor placed separately in the room desired for cleaning and created a virtual map of the area. The sensor and traffic pattern used by the Mint gives it a huge step up in efficiency over previous models. The Mint will cover every single inch of the floor it is told to clean and has a multitude of settings for various surfaces. The Mint also happens to be a very quiet product, as you can simply run it overnight and have the whole floor cleaned entirely and quietly while you rest. Energy that could have been spent on cleaning a floor is now stored or used on other endeavors.

The Bad: The Mint is limited to the virtual cube sensor. In other words, if the signal of the sensor does not reach the entire room, then the Mint will not clean it. Manufacturers suggest that buying more than one cube sensor would be a quick fix for that problem, but who wants to spend unnecessary money? Table and chair legs seem to be quite the obstacle for the Mint, as it seems this product has been meant more for wide open spaces, rather than those with obstacles.

So what does this mean for business? Well, companies who decide to use the Mint to clean their buildings and office spaces would be eliminating expenses that they would have had to spend on cleaning employees. That extra money could be put to other tasks such as research and development or hiring more workers for the more important jobs. Companies could save copious amounts of money by having their cleaning done automatically and expand further with their extra funds. Overall, I would call the Mint a valuable product that could enhance a company's productivity and raise its funds.

http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2010-10/testing-goods-mint-automatic-floor-cleaner

Can Nintendo 3D Work?

2010-11-02T22:17:00.009-04:00

When the current generation of video game consoles hit with the Microsoft Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo Wii, I for one never looked to Nintendo as my brand of choice. Back in the 90's it was everybody's favorite company with an innovative console in the Nintendo 64 and some of the best looking and most fun games around. However as their competitors progressed, they misfired with the Nintendo Gamecube, and when the current generation hit I figured the Wii would be another bust. Promising bad graphics and less power than its competitors I saw no appeal, and I was sure other consumers would agree. I was drastically wrong as the Wii raked in cash by appealing to the casual gamer, offering a cheap price and motion controls that none of the other new consoles offered. But since 2008, after the initial boom for the Wii, Nintendo's stock has dropped 21% while their competitors steadily got stronger. Now, looking at their lowest net income in six years, they are leaning on their new 3Ds handheld gaming device to boost their sales, and I am once again skeptical about its impact.

The problem with Nintendo's strategy of going after the casual gamer was that once they sold them the console, a casual gamer probably won't buy many games because they aren't strongly invested in their Wii. When a consumer, likely a hardcore gamer, invested more money into buying an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3, they looked and needed to buy games in order to make purchasing the console worthwhile. After buying the Wii, a casual gamer looks to have some fun with it, but probably does not want to spend much money on new games. The Wii has lost further appeal now that their competitor's consoles finally cost a reasonable price and they too have motion controls coming out. Their motion controls look to be more ambitious, with greater capabilities than the Wii. The only thing Nintendo has new on their plate is the 3Ds, but the idea of a handheld gaming device changing their fortunes greatly in this day and age is a bit of a reach.

One of the reasons I doubt this as a game changer is because of Apple. Apple is beginning to churn out apps and games for Ipods and Iphones that will curb mosts' handheld gaming appetites. Though the 3Ds will probably be a fun gadget, it is not a phone, and while phones continue to move into the realm of gaming device with each passing day, the 3Ds will not move into the realm of mobile phone. The 3Ds' big selling point is the 3D screen it promises in its name as well as web access, touch screen, and a powerful processor for advanced games. They are trying to work with studios to bring streaming movies in 3D to the device, which would certainly be cool.

The 3Ds will probably be an interesting product, but there seems to be a lack of a market for it. It does not have the amazing processing capabilities of a stationary video game console like the Xbox 360, nor does it have the communication abilities found in a cell phone with limited but fun apps and video games, like the iPhone. Another problem I foresee with this is that in changing approach in going for the hardcore gamer, Nintendo is trying to steal customers who are probably loyal to Microsoft or Sony, and alienating all of those who purchased the Wii, who are just looking for simple gaming fun. I just can't see people saying they "need" to have the 3Ds with all the other alternatives around. 3D is getting annoying anyway.

Facebook Says Data Broker Bought User IDs

2010-11-02T21:51:00.000-04:00

The popularization of social networking sites such as Facebook has created a valuable tool for companies that are interested in finding out more about their target markets. They can use these sites to mine data that is relevant to consumers. However, this strategy is risky because at some point it may become invasive of the public’s privacy. Thomas Claburn analyzes this problem in his article “Facebook Says Data Broker Bought User ID’s”. This article reports that a data broker has paid Facebook developers for user ID’s. These user ID’s are important because they can be used to track individual users. Claburn points out that the main problem is that “UID numbers can be used to determine a Facebook users name and possibly other information. Fortunately, however, the ID’s were not used to access any personal data. The perpetrator of this misdemeanor was a company known as RapLeaf. As punishment for this offense, RapLeaf must delete the user ID’s that they took and they are no longer allowed to work with Facebook. In addition to this, the developers have been suspended for six months. One of the greatest questions of data mining is finding where public information ends and where privacy begins.

Many Facebook users may be scared away from social networking because of this lack of privacy. The idea that companies can follow your interests by tracking you on the internet is a discomforting idea that could cause a lot of people to turn away from the website. Facebook argues that selling information is not only against their principles, but it is also unnecessary because most users willing give up this data when they use the website’s applications. Facebook engineer, Mike Vernal, defends the website by explaining that “Facebook has never and will never sell user information. We also have zero tolerance for data brokers because they undermine the value that users have come to expect from Facebook.” It is also comforting to know that Facebook plans on creating the optional encryption that hide user ID numbers. Despite these reassurances, however, it is well known that the advertising success of Facebook is based upon the fact that social networking gives marketers an inside look at the interests of their consumers. It is this personal insight that gives advertising on Facebook an advantage to promotion through other social mediums. Users must simply trust that social network sites will be responsible and protect their privacy, but the protection of information is inherently contradictory to the goals of social networking. People use these sites to share their personal interest with their friends and family. There are positives, however, that can come from a business knowing more about you personally. They can use this information to customize their products to the exact wants and needs of individuals. If people begin to feel that they cannot trust these websites with their personal information then there may be a decline in the popularity of social networking tin the near future.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/vulnerabilities/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=228000508

Apple Mesh Shopping With Social Network

2010-11-02T20:59:00.000-04:00

At the beginning of September, Apple launched a new utility called Ping within the iTunes store. The purpose of Ping is to connect iTunes users who purchase similar music to each other and the artists that create the music. Famous artists can now interact with their fans on a more personal basis, comparable to Twitter. The ability of users to 'follow' artists and friends brings a societal aspect to iTunes which was previously not present. Users can view the activity of friends with Ping, such as album purchases and reviews. Friends now never have to leave the iTunes application to communicate with their friends regarding the newest movie or album release.

Ping's most revolutionary aspect in my opinion is the integration of the social aspect to the iTunes store. At any point in the Ping section of iTunes, a song can be purchased. This feature will prove extremely profitable for Apple since users are able to buy songs on a whim. A user can view the new purchases that a user with similar tastes also bought, which in turn encourages sales further.

Though Ping is a new feature of the iTunes store, it already holds great potential. It could be used as a powerful marketing tool since all the activities of the iTunes users are now recorded. It could also be used as a trampoline for new artists looking to get some face time in front of a production company. Ping also has the potential to alert users when their favorite artists are in town playing at a concert. Ping could also communicate to artists where their fan base is the strongest. Which in turn would bring that artist to that very location just because the users expressed the desire for that artist to preform in that location all made possible by Ping. Ping, like Facebook, is the beginning of a revolutionary aspect of internet communications. Artists and fans now have a median besides Twitter to communicate. The genius of Ping is that the communication is all under the control of Apple, and not one of its competitors. This in turn strengthens Apple's hold on the online music purchasing market.

Apple recognized the efficiency of a social network in gathering useful data by analyzing websites such as Facebook. Now Apple has a social aspect of the iTunes store which will generate sales and record data. This is the perfect hybrid between a social network and store. The article also mentions that Amazon has also partnered with Facebook Connect, which virtually the same idea as Ping only using Facebook and Amazon. I believe many other big corporations will begin implementing social networks within their business strategies in order to promote sales while recording user information. Like Facebook, the creation of these new social networks within mainstream applications will also offer advertising potential. Whether the social commerce phenomena catches on beyond Ping is still up in the air. Regardless of the success of social commerce, it does promise a very interesting move in marketing and social connection.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2010/tc2010092_114158.htm

Data Sharing

2010-11-02T19:40:00.000-04:00

Information is key to helping companies perform to the best of their abilities and that is why data sharing is the future for most companies. Not only will this allow for information to flow freely from businesses to consumers and suppliers, but it will also help cut cost and allow for the company to maximize profits. The problem with some data sharing is that right now it is taking IT way too long to connect where the information is coming from and going to. IT really needs to speed up the process in creating bridges for information to flow, as information helps companies greatly. Some companies are starting to notice how important data sharing is, with IBM paying for a 1.4 million dollar system that will allow for data sharing. Other companies like UPS and FedEx have already realized how important data sharing is, and that is the reason why they share package tracking with their customers. This might explain why FedEx has been number one in customer satisfaction for the last 12 years in express delivery. FedEx truly cares about their customers and allows for them to have access to a lot of information, and some companies have realized this and expanded their data sharing efforts. Basically from the time something is shipped to the point where a package ends up at your door, you have access to information about that package. (FedEx) Of all the companies polled for this article, around 22% of them say that they try to keep from data sharing, but I personally think that this will change as the more information people have the more comfortable people are making purchases and decisions. This means the companies that are resisting data sharing are going to be less trusted in the future when other companies continue to give more and more information to consumers and suppliers. What I find even stranger then companies not wanting to share data, is that around half of the companies are required to share a certain amount of data with outside groups. One of the main problems with data sharing at the core levels of companies is that core has been around for a while, and the company does not want to make a drastic change in the way that they run business in fear of losing profits. Not only may a company lose profits, but it also must pay for the new data sharing system which may not produce a great return on investment. IT is relatively new, and with a lot of companies trying to run their business traditionally, IT has a difficult time integrating into certain situations. The truth is “IT really needs to have an active role in educating the different teams about capabilities and options available both internally and externally.” (Data Sharing) If IT never tries to integrate, companies will continue to run traditionally, and they may never be running at full pace, holding themselves back from making a higher profit that they are currently at. To conclude, data sharing is in the future for almost every company out there, because consumers and suppliers both like to have as much information about a product or service as possible. Not only will it help customers and suppliers, but it will help the businesses in the fact that they will be trusted more, which in turn will most likely lead to higher profits. The only problem is taking that first step in implementing IT which a lot of companies are afraid to do, but I believe in the long run it would be completely worth it.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/services/integration/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=225700544
http://news.van.fedex.com/ACSI2009

2010-11-02T19:37:00.001-04:00

Oracle to Acquire ATG for $1 Billion

Its always interesting to see technologies come and go during your life, and it seems that my generation will have the opportunity to see this happen countless times. The pace at which programming and other software is advancing is exponential, and has been for nearly two decades. Oracle has noticed the accelerating advancements and has conformed business strategy to keep up without becoming outdated. Oracle said Tuesday that it reached an all-cash deal to buy out e-commerce solutions provider Art Technology Group (ATG) for $6.00 per share, or about $1 billion. ATG provides software and services that help organizations establish Web storefronts and conduct e-commerce operations.

In the past, corporations purchased software from other companies rather than designing their own systems in order to save time and money. Oracle has always offered certain, specific programs for companies, but never a comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) system. In order to use Oracle’s programs along with other programs to run a business, translators must be implemented to ensure compatibility. However, with Oracle’s purchase of ATG the need for program translators will no longer be a factor. Oracle said ATG's front-end commerce tools will fit nicely with its lineup of back-of-house customer analytics and database offerings.

"Driven by the convergence of online and traditional commerce and the need to increase revenue and improve customer loyalty, organizations across many industries are looking for a unified commerce and CRM platform to provide a seamless experience across all e-commerce channels," said Thomas Kurian, executive VP for Oracle Development.

"Bringing together the complementary technologies and products from Oracle and ATG will enable the delivery of next-generation, unified, cross-channel commerce and CRM," said Kurian.

Oracle's deal to buy ATG is the latest splash from a wave of consolidation that's swept across the IT industry over the past several quarters. ATG's customers include blue chippers like AT&T, Best Buy, AARP, and CVS drugstores. Big vendors like IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Oracle itself are racing to assemble comprehensive product portfolios that extend from data center hardware to customer-facing applications and services.

Oracle’s hope is CIOs will prefer to fulfill the bulk of their requirements through a single vendor rather than risk an integration mess by cherry picking offerings from multiple sources. Oracle fired the first big salvo with its $7.4 billion purchase, completed earlier this year, of server builder Sun Microsystems, and has followed up with deals for Silver Creek, Convergin, AmberPoint, Phase Forward, and several others.

The transformation going on in the technology sector of the economy is incredible. The amount of money being spent on research to improve the CRM systems that corporations use is crucial in order for business to stay competitive. Also, the transformation from companies using several different components to them using Oracle’s system will create a system which will run more smoothly.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/database_apps/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=228100031

"Facebook and Twitter Will Try to Mobilize Millions of Voters Tomorrow"

2010-11-02T19:19:00.002-04:00

Gracie Konopka

Tomorrow, November 2, 2010, are the Midterm Elections, and as usual people are doing all they can to try and increase the number of voters in the election. This year Facebook.com is trying to get involved in the effort to increase the number of voters. Facebook all day will have many reminders and posts about the Midterm election. They even created a new application that allows users to put in their location to find the closest polls near them. This is yet another effort to get young Americans to vote in these elections. Twitter is also trying to get their young users involved in the election as well, offering specific codes to tweet about their election. A lot of this information will be used by companies like CNN to help predict what will happen. These are two great campaigns that hopefully will lead to more voters getting involved.

Both of these campaigns by Twitter and Facebook are similar to the other previous attempts to get young voters involved, for example the “Rock the Vote” or “Vote or Die” campaigns. Both of these campaigns were not biased towards either candidate, but simply just trying to increase the number of voters. Coincidentally, the majority of the young voters that participated seemed to be more on the left side than the right. It is very likely that the same will occur with the young voters with this election as well. Does this mean that there is something wrong with the campaigns? Can anything be done to help change this trend? Honestly I do not what this means about the two campaigns to increase voter participation. I believe that the increase in voters is essential to have a fair election, but is the fairness of the election being compromised by have more people on the left side than the right.

There are several ways to try and help decrease the bias in the election I believe. Along with the effort to get people involved, these campaigns should offer information about each candidate to go with the information about how to vote. This should be a long term campaign for all of the companies trying to get involved in the efforts to increase participation. Facebook.com months ago could have posted information about what each candidate was working for. On the Rock the Vote website under the information tab the three main headlines are “Who Are Young Voters?” “How to Mobilize Young Voters,” “Young Voter Polling,” and “News from Rock the Vote.” Not one of the articles under the research tab even mentions who is running. Based off of this website I, a young voter, cannot tell who is even running. No, I do not believe that this is why young voters are leaning towards the left side, but I do believe that this website is not offering as much information as they could to help inform young voters. I do not think any of these campaigns to get people involved are negative, but I do think that in the future these campaigns could be greatly improved.

http://www.nytimes.com/external/readwriteweb/2010/11/01/01readwriteweb-facebook-and-twitter-will-try-to-mobilize-m-36492.html?ref=technology

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/US-Midterm-Elections-Only-Hours-Away-106492298.html

http://www.rockthevote.com/about/about-young-voters/