A form of knowledge management (KM), a decision support system (DSS) is basically an interactive, flexible, computer-based system that aids in the process of decision-making. Decision support systems streamline the process of turning decision into action are key to the success of e-commerce. Within the world of e-commerce, companies have built data warehouses containing an incredible amount of information on customers, suppliers, and their transactions with them; this information would be useless without DSS. Decision support systems provide companies with the ability to query, sort, filter, analyze and report this information to facilitate intelligent decision-making. So, what are the e-commerce-driven DSS?
You are currently browsing the archive for the Technology category.
Russian cellphone companies will soon offer the Apple iPhone 3G. Now the iPhone is nothing new to half-million Russian consumers who’ve paid $1,000 purchase earlier generation devices on the “grey” market, plus another $100 to unlock the darn thing. This actually makes the former Soviet nation one of the biggest iPhone markets outside the U.S.
Let’s hear it for capitalism!
The rapidly changing e-marketplace is forcing companies and their enterprise partners to become more responsive to their customers. There are several forces in play putting pressure on companies to better manage their supply chain, improve logistics operations and manufacturing efficiency while remaining responsive to customer demands and constantly changing market conditions. These forces are:
- The trend toward worldwide dispersion of manufacturing and distribution facilities due to the increased demand for customized products.
- Channel unpredictability resulting from the new technologies that allow companies to better manage customer demand. This requires coordination of several distribution channels.
- Responsiveness over efficiency is disrupting traditional inventory management processes as customers drive the need for faster deliveries and increased product customization.
- Companies’ willingness to accept lower margins to increase market share as they redesign supply chains to increase efficiency and eliminate delay, error, excessive cost and inflexibility.
These forces are driving manufacturers and distributors to transform their operations to become more responsive to retailers and customers. Under pressure to reduce costs, decrease order cycle times and become more operationally efficient, companies are implementing new technologies to integrate processes and attain collaborative information sharing and planning capabilities. This means that in a real sense, information is replacing inventory.
With the advent of growing supply chain capabilities, companies are facing the prospect of managing external inventory that it never actually sees and does not own. To maintain adequate control of this ghost inventory a company must become adept at controlling information about this inventory, specifically, where it is in the supply chain at any given time. Failing this, a company is forced to maintain a physical inventory of products, which increases overhead and inefficiency.
The rapid growth of the Internet and the adoption of its use as a platform for business operations has enhanced the ability of companies to integrate their business processes through collaborative planning to synchronize internal assets and production with external demand and supplier capabilities. Today, as Internet technology is adopted globally and supply chain strategies converge, companies glean a competitive edge by reducing the cost of goods sold, improving customer service, building global brands and increasing global supply chain visibility as they move products to market quicker.
A form of knowledge management (KM), a decision support system (DSS) is basically an interactive, flexible, computer-based system that aids in the process of decision-making. Decision support systems streamline the process of turning decision into action and are key to the success of e-commerce. Within the world of e-commerce, companies have built data warehouses containing an incredible amount of information on customers, suppliers, and their transactions with them; this information would be useless without DSS. Decision support systems provide companies with the ability to query, sort, filter, analyze and report this information to facilitate intelligent decision-making. So, what are the e-commerce-driven DSS?
The general technology trend of infrastructure convergence or the coming together of various data and voice networks in simply the next step in e-business infrastructure evolution. Borne out of the needs of consumers for greater convenience in social and business networking, companies are in a race to 1) provide optical networks to convert electrical signals into optical data; 2) obtain sound quality of service solutions; 3) integrate services to provide voice and data over a single line; and 4) dominate the customer’s home contact point, expanding from the browser and modem to a myriad of in-home and portable appliances. This service convenience trend will only continue as customers’ needs are met through e-business initiatives.
An interesting group decision support system is currently evolving to help fight the global war on terror (GWOT). A National Virtual Translation Center connects linguists embedded with troops on the front line with networked translation assistance technologies. Currently this is accomplished with thousands of linguists pouring over the actual documents and audio clips brought from the front in an effort to extrapolate useful information. The new technology will digitize, parse and digest raw intelligence material, to facilitate the analyzing of material, instead of simply translating it.
One of my biggest interests is technology. Not that I’m the first one in line to buy the latest gadget, but I’m probably not too far behind. I had the opportunity to explore the new Kindle, Amazon.com’s wireless reading device. I have to say it’s pretty darn cool! The “electronic paper” is a 600×800 pixel, 167-pixels per-inch screen covered with a layer of transparent electrodes, a technology designed by E Ink of Cambridge, MA. The display is very crisp, the text is sharp and easy to read (and it does kinda look like paper). The electronic pages “turn” with a simple click and the reader can bookmark passages and write notes using the keypad. The Kindle comes with 256 megabytes of internal flash memory, with 180 megs available for storage (which equates to about 200 books). Its wireless connectivity means you can download a book directly from the Kindle and, according to Amazon, the process takes less than a minute. It runs on a modified version of the Linux 2.6.10 kernel, so the modified source code is freely available for developers to play around with. It also uses an easily replaceable lithium-polymer battery and Amazon says with the wireless connectivity turned off, you can read for a week on one battery charge.
Cool indeed!
So, I’m not going to buy one.
Why? Because reading a book is an experience to savor. Imagine the sound of the rain as it descends outside your window…the gentle litany is soothing and the quiet rumbling of distant thunder relaxes your mind. The chill in the air is dispelled by the warmth of the cup clasped between your palms. You inhale the evaporating steam and take a sip…the liquid warm and pleasing. The candle’s flicker draws your attention to the table where a book beckons. You replace the drink in your hand with the familiar tome…the nostalgic fragrance of time permeates your memory as you turn the book to that one dog-eared page…
And therein lies my heart. Therein is my joy.
Electronic commerce is disruptive to merchants by driving some kind of radical development that changes their business so severely they suffer setbacks. This problem was faced most dramatically by traditional, brick-and-mortar businesses that couldn’t adapt or didn’t adapt fast enough to the emergence of disruptive technology. Companies naturally play to their strengths, but many have suffered decreased market share or even bankruptcy when their strengths suddenly faced obsolescence.
International Business Machines (IBM) is such a company. Busy playing to the large corporations, IBM missed the boat with the introduction of the personal computer (PC). Although IBM eventually reacted effectively to the rise of the PC, its strength was to play to the heavy-hitters. In doing so, they missed a huge opportunity, and a significant opportunity to lead the market, because the tremendous growth in PC sales lay outside the big companies IBM played to. Therefore, IBM’s market share, once 80%, plummeted to the single digits. This is an example of a disrupted merchant, what about the disrupter?
While IBM and like-minded companies play from a position of strength, disruptive innovators play from a position of weakness. Sun Tzu said, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” A disruptive innovator knows he or she can’t compete with an established business, with established customers, so they have to create a new strength from their competitors’ weaknesses. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com is just such an innovator.
In 1995, Amazon.com debuted as an online bookstore that maintained about 2,000 titles in its Seattle warehouse. Most of Amazon’s orders were placed directly through wholesalers and book publishers, so no warehouse was necessary. Amazon would simply receive a book from the source and then ship it to the customer. At any one time, Amazon would only have about 2,000 titles in its warehouse. Amazon had virtually no overhead, and maintained no inventory. This became Amazon’s strength and traditional brick-and-mortar stores like Barnes and Noble and Borders couldn’t compete. In fact, had they not entered the electronic marketplace themselves, they might be nothing more than a memory today. While electronic commerce is often disruptive to merchants who don’t recognize the waves of change, it is continuous to consumers who are willing to ride the wave.
Electronic commerce is continuous to consumers who change with the growing technology. I began working with computers in the mid-80s. My first computer was the floppy-based IBM PC Portable. To use this computer, I had to learn DOS commands and eventually became quite productive using Enable OA. Now, over 20 years later, I’m a dedicated Mac-user at home and a reluctant PC-user at work. Over the years, electronic commerce was continuous for me, as I grew with the technology.
A SuperNet is the implementation of classless inter-domain routing. Classless inter-domain routing changed the way IP addresses are interpreted by replacing the previous generation’s address syntax. Instead of allocating eight-bit address blocks which forced 8, 16 or 24-bit prefixes, it used a technique called variable-length subnet masking, which allows address block allocation on discretionary-length prefixes. A SuperNet is the combining of several contiguous subnetwork addresses into one subnet, much like one area code represents an aggregation of telephone numbers in a geographic area.
SuperNets are used to combine multiple networks into groups, which the router then treats as one big network. Internet service providers use supernetting to segment a TCP/IP network for more effective allocation of IP addresses. An organization containing several LANs, WLANs or VLANs would benefit from this same technique. A SuperNet allows an organization to use components from a public-network infrastructure for its enterprise network, which means the organization no longer has to maintain a private network infrastructure. As such, the burden of maintaining an enterprise network is greatly reduced.
A SuperNet would enhance communication because its not geographically restrictive, so a user may plug his or her device into the Internet from virtually any portal in the world and still be able to use the resources of their private network in a secure and robust manner. Each organizational SuperNet would be assigned a single public web address for its members to contact. After authenticating themselves and accessing the network, they could securely retrieve files and collaborate in real time, from anywhere in the world. Essentially, there would be no difference between the organization’s conference room and an individual’s home office.
A SuperNet expands an organization’s network by combining contiguous IP addresses into a single address. By incorporating components of a public network infrastructure, the organization eliminates the need to maintain a private network infrastructure. The SuperNet enhances communication by providing users’ single-point entry to a specific network from anywhere in the world.
Without discounting the leadership and management abilities of the project manager, I believe the single most important attribute to a well-managed and successful IT project is sound quality management. So what is “quality”? For our purposes, quality is the degree to which a set of characteristics fulfill requirements. There are three key elements in that definition: 1) degree is the relative intensity or amount, 2) characteristic is a distinguishing feature and 3) requirement is a necessity or prerequisite. All three of these elements are established and ultimately evaluated by the customer. Therefore, the quality of a project refers to the perception of the degree to which the project meets the customer’s expectations. Therefore, quality is a conditional and somewhat subjective attribute, and ultimately determines the project’s level of success or failure.
Moore’s Law would suggest that IT used to build systems today is superior to yesterday’s technology. However, new is not always better. Certainly, today’s IT is smaller and faster, but that doesn’t necessarily make it superior to the technology used in legacy systems. In fact, implementing new IT systems carry inherent risks that may outweigh the drawbacks of modifying or converting existing systems.
I’m happy to return to my favorite theme: Tarski. Ben Eastaugh, the theme’s designer, is very responsive to users’ issues and works hard to maintain Tarski’s currency. This glitch occurred when the theme attempted to check for updates. According to Ben,
“The Tarski version check tries to phone home, and until the latest version there was a problem with the code that would mean if it couldn’t contact the server, the request would never time out and the page would never load.”
This is why I couldn’t access the Site Admin page. Fortunately, this little difficulty allowed me to learn a little more CSS, which I have the opportunity to do every time I change a theme.
Anyway, thanks, Ben!
I’ve added a new blog theme to the mix today.
Why?
The Tarski theme I was using blew-up! Although the page would display okay, I suddenly lost access to the administrative portions of my blog. Hence, I was unable to post anything new. This may be a systemic problem because I noticed the Tarski website is down as well.
Anyway, the new theme is a homage to Apple and is called iTheme , designed by Nick La at n.design studio. It’s actually pretty cool, users can drag-and-drop the sidebar boxes to sort the content. Also, the user can collapse and expand the sidebar boxes, as well. Give it a try.
Today, Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the new iPhone 3G. This new iPhone was the focus of Jobs’ keynote speech at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. The new iPhone which goes on sale July 11 carries several competitive enhancements. First, its faster! By accessing 3G cellular networks the new iPhone is twice as fast as the old one. Second, business users can access office email, calendar and contacts with Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support (this will also allow iPhone to go head-to-head with Motion Ltd’s Blackberry as an enterprise communication solution!). Third, the new iPhone has built in GPS, combining GPS, Wi-Fi and cell tower location technology into its interface to provide “the best mobile map application ever.” Finally, at just $199, the new iPhone is half the price of the old one!
Is it too soon to replace my old iPhone?
Al Gore and other global-warming doomsday fanatics are on a crusade to save the planet by reducing carbon emissions. A great article in Wired warns that the problem is more than just a single-minded focus on CO2 and requires those who truly wish to save the planet to first change their perspective. This means giving up on same of environmentalism’s sacred cows. One of which is protecting the forests.
It seems that when it comes to fighting climate change, older trees actually contribute to global warming. Certainly, a tree acts as an atmospheric vacuum cleaner by taking in CO2 and giving off O2; however, as a tree ages it shifts from a CO2 absorber to a CO2 emitter. According to Wired, a tree will absorb about 1,500 pounds of CO2 during the first 55 years of its life. After that, its growth will slow and the tree will absorb less carbon. If left untouched, the tree will gradually decompose or burn in a forest fire and all the stored CO2 will be released back into the atmosphere. So, what’s the alternative?
Treat trees as crops! A tree farm would act as atmospheric cleaning factory, taking CO2 out of the air and replacing it with O2. As the tress ages and it’s usefulness as an atmospheric filter diminishes, it would be cut-down and used for some other purpose, like making furniture. A continuing cycle of planting seedlings, as the elder tress are recycled would provide an extremely efficient mechanism for atmospheric CO2 removal.
What are some of the other debunked environmental myths?
- Urban living beats suburban living
- Air conditioning is better than heating
- Traditional agriculture beats organic
…and more
From Technology Review: The greatest amount of SPAM originates in China, Brazil, Turkey, USA and Germany; these are the worst offenders with a combined total of approximately 500 million SPAM emails annually. These five countries account for nearly half of the world’s email SPAM! Incredible!
What can be done? In the absence of a more intelligent Internet user, what we need is a more intelligent email client…
Electronic or “e” commerce is built on a networked landscape. Understanding how to traverse this complex landscape is the key to business success. An essential rule to follow in this network age is incorporating relationship technology to the e-marketplace. A business following this simple rule will gain a competitive edge.
The Internet, as a growing innovation, touches nearly every part of our lives. It improves communication, eliminates physical barriers, enhances education, stimulates commerce and keeps us connected. The Internet is a wonderful tool, full of information on practically any subject and disturbingly, practically any person. The Internet, though generally accepted by most, is still largely unregulated and the societal rules protecting one’s privacy in the physical world, may not necessarily apply to the digital world. Is Internet privacy something society should expect?
Moore’s Law would suggest that information technology (IT) used to build systems today is superior to yesterday’s technology. However, new is not always better. Certainly, today’s IT is smaller and faster, but that doesn’t necessarily make it superior to the technology used in legacy systems. In fact, implementing new IT systems carry inherent risks that may outweigh the drawbacks of modifying or converting existing systems.
There is still a great deal of controversy surrounding the role of cell phones in cancer development. The cell phone industry insists that cell phones are safe, and conflicting scientific evidence hardly refutes their claim. Only time will tell if the cell phone is the new cigarette. So, what does the research tell us?
Is information meant to be free? That is the question that plagues the masses in this Internet age. There is really no legal debate regarding ownership, it is quite obvious the developer actually owns the intellectual property. This ownership gives him or her the right to hide the source code of the software from the prying eyes of outside developers. The real debate is one of utility. Where is the greatest benefit derived: hiding the code or sharing it?
In 1998, Lego Company introduced the Mindstorms Robotic Invention Systems. This toy allowed users to build and program working robots using a simple computer interface. However, soon after its release, Lego enthusiasts hacked the system’s proprietary source code and posted their discovery on the web for all to see and use. Others built onto the hacked code to improve and enhance Mindstorms software, increasing the utility of the product. Though illegal, this was a boon for Lego because the hackers antics actually fueled sales of the toy; in the first year, Mindstorms would exceed sales projections by over 800 percent. Considering the outcome of the hackers illegal act, did they do anything wrong?
Lego didn’t intend to release Mindstorms source code, so there is no arguing with the fact that the hackers actions were tantamount to stealing, and constituted a criminal act. However, it is quite possible that Mindstorms would not have experienced the level of success it achieved without the help of the hackers as outside developers. This begs the question, what is the value of proprietary software?
Microsoft is the leader of the proprietary software establishment, arguing that unless a company protects it’s intellectual property, it will be stolen. Subsequently, investors will not get a return on their investment and no one will invest in future innovation. Microsoft’s main argument in support of proprietary software is that total cost of ownership is lower using their software than the non-proprietary, open source, alternatives. Microsoft also claims superiority in reliability, security, performance and interoperability, but are these arguments relevant? Certainly they are, but are they substantial?
I believe the answer is unequivocally, no. The problem with proprietary software is that the user never truly knows how good or bad the software is. The manufacturer hides the source code behind binaries so no one can get to them. This centralized management approach will not allow the user to adapt the software into a more useful form. Open source software, on the other hand, takes a decentralized management approach and “harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process”. As well as promising an end to predatory vendor lock-in, the open source initiative touts better quality software that costs less, and is more reliable and flexible than its proprietary counterparts. So, is open source the way to go?
Open source programs significantly increase innovation and utility in the Internet age. Eric S. Maskin, a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, and winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Economics, has done significant research in the area of software patents. He determined that innovations in the software market were achieved as a series of sequential steps, where each innovation was built on the work of predecessors. Since each innovator followed a different path to attain the same goal, software patents tended to stifle innovation. The bottom line, as Metcalf’s Law suggests, is that the more attention and software code a company has from outside developers, the greater the utility of the overall product line or brand.
Businesses have the right to protect their intellectual property through software patents and licensing. However, Lego’s Mindstorms experience should serve notice to these proprietary companies that the value of their product is not contained within its secrets. True innovation and ultimately consumer benefit will come at the hands of the users themselves. Like Lego Company, when business expose their code to the open source network of developers, the skies the limit.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of a computer system to perform functions that generally require intelligent thought. Although the system can make choices and determinations about problems posed to it, it can only respond to the extent it’s programming allows. The computer systems inability to think outside this programming ultimately limits its usefulness. What exactly is the limiting factor?
According to the Business Encyclopedia, the intent of AI research is to develop computer systems having the ability to perceive and to learn, to accomplish physical tasks, and to emulate human decision making.” Furthermore, researchers attempt to design and develop intelligent systems as well as understand them. Although there has been significant advancement in the field of AI, such as neural networks and expert systems, the key factor restricting AI evolution is the lack of commonsense knowledge.
Researcher Philip Eni-Dor, in writing Artificial Intelligence-A Short History and the Next 40 Years, explains that commonsense knowledge is that knowledge everyone should possess and
is essential to interpreting the information acquired by the senses and in understanding natural language, which itself consists basically of real-world phenomena, sensory stimuli, and behaviors.
Understanding natural language requires the ability to process speech. Speech processing is all about input and output, and each is accomplished with varying levels of difficulty. Speech synthesis (output) is already well developed and is used extensively across the computing world. However, speech recognition (input) is limited in use and much more difficult to master because understanding speech requires an understanding of context, which requires cognition. Furthermore, interpersonal differences in speech patterns are greater than individual differences. Therefore, I believe the future of AI hinges on the ability of computers to understand human speech. The ability to understand speech at the phoneme-level and to differentiate between nuances such as voice inflection is the key to obtaining commonsense knowledge.
To understand how speech recognition relates to commonsense knowledge, consider the following statement: “I took the money.” This is a simple admission of guilt, but if one of the words is stressed, the statement actually becomes a question and an implication:
- “I took the money?” says I didn’t take the money, but I may know who did.
- “I took the money?” says I didn’t take the money, but I may have done something with it.
- “I took the money“ says I didn’t take the money, but I may have taken something else.
As one can see, a computer system’s ability to differentiate between voice inflection, tone and pitch would provide significant insight into understanding human emotion. In fact, there’s software in use in call centers today that will automatically alert supervisors when a customer’s voice pattern indicates frustration or anger. The software actually understands the customer’s behavior and acts accordingly. This will only improve as time advances.
Artificial intelligence is the imitation of cognitive (human) thought by a computer system. Artificial intelligence systems certainly help humans better understand data relationships; however, this helpfulness is limited because the computer system can not think past its programming. The ability to understand human speech could change this and would possibly allow the computer system to actually communicate on a cognitive level with a human being. The implication of this achievement is the word “artificial” may no longer accurately describe the computer system. It might just be considered “intelligent”.
An important aspect of network management and potentially the most unpredictable is information security. As the name implies, information security is concerned with monitoring and controlling access to data on a network. This in itself is a daunting task, but companies with a web presence can be even more vulnerable to security breeches.
According to an April 2007, PC World article, eight out of ten web sites contain common flaws that could allow attackers to access networks and steal customer data, create phishing exploits or craft a variety of other attacks. In fact, network security analysis company, WhiteHat, says that 30% of analyzed computer sites contain an urgent vulnerability, such as one that allows direct access to company databases with customer information.
On a positive note, WhiteHat also reports that a type of database vulnerability allowing SQL injection attacks is becoming less common. Fewer than one out of five sites contain this type of vulnerability, but a successful incident can give a sophisticated attacker access to everything in a company’s database. Still, overall WhiteHat’s reporting echoes an increasingly common theme, which is that web-based attacks are growing in prevalence and have grown considerably in the last two years. As web programming grows more sophisticated and complex, allowing for desktop-like applications, it also becomes even more vulnerable. So what is the problem?
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is the “trade group that represents the recording industry.” With member organizations that include the “Big Four”, EMI, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. In addition to certifying gold, platinum and diamond sales awards, the RIAA,
“works to protect intellectual property rights worldwide and the First Amendment rights of artists; conducts consumer, industry and technical research; and monitors and reviews state and federal laws, regulations and policies.”
The RIAA is a fierce opponent of copyright infringement through file-sharing over the internet using P2P software, and rightly so! The RIAA claims the recording industry loses over $4 billion dollars per year through illegal distribution of music over the internet. However, the RIAA now seems to be extending the definition of “copyright infringement” to the copying of a legally owned CD to a personal computer for personal use in an MP3 player, such as an Apple iPod.
Wired magazine posted a letter written by the RIAA to the U.S. Copyright Office, that said “creating a back-up copy of a music CD is not a non-infringing use.” Despite the double-negative, the RIAA leaves no doubt that it believes ripping legally owned CDs is illegal. However, this contradicts their previous stance.
In an archived FAQ page, the RIAA said making personal digital copies of CDs is just “great,” in fact they encourage it!
“There are lots of legal MP3s from great artists on many, many online sites. The problem is that some people use MP3 to take one copy of an album and make that copy available on the Internet for hundreds of thousands of people. That’s not fair. If you choose to take your own CDs and make copies for yourself on your computer or portable music player, that’s great. It’s your music and we want you to enjoy it at home, at work, in the car and on the jogging trail. But the fact that technology exists to enable unlimited Internet distribution of music copies doesn’t make it right.”
(emphasis added)
As one can easily see, the RIAA didn’t have a problem with personal digital copies, only the distribution of those copies to third parties. So why the change of heart?
The Audio Home Recording Act includes blanket protection from infringement actions for private, non-commercial digital audio copies made with digital audio recording devices. The RIAA knows this an is trying to write new legislation through the courts. I believe the RIAA is trying to take advantage of consumers by forcing them to 1) purchase multiple versions of identical music for replay via different media, or perhaps 2) adding fees for permission to rip legally purchased music. Stopping illegal distribution of copyrighted material is one thing, but holding consumers hostage through distribution control is something else altogether. What it all comes down to is corporate greed!
In the business world, the letters “CIO” ostensibly stand for “Chief Information Officer,” but there is a common misconception that they more realistically mean one’s “career is over.” At one time the CIO may have indeed faced a short lifespan within a company, but the fact is today’s CIOs are holding-on to their jobs much longer. This is largely due to the relationship between the CIO and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). So, why the misconception?
The notion of low CIO tenure seems to have its roots in the 1990’s. Allan Alter, writing for CIO Insight, explains that the early CIOs had a difficult time making the transition from “technology manager [to] something far more visible and strategic.” It was generally believed that the average tenure for a CIO during that time period was only 18 months. However, Alter questions the accuracy of the 18-month CIO:
“Critiques of CIO effectiveness, such as the February 26, 1990, Business Week article, “CIO is Starting to Stand for ‘Career is Over,’” popped up regularly in the IT, business and scholarly press. These articles claimed that CIOs had an usually short tenure, and the writers often relied on executive recruiters to provide job turnover data–although the methodologies used by these recruiters weren’t necessarily rigorous.”
Regardless of the accuracy of the reporting, many still believe achieving the position of CIO is the kiss of death, but that simply isn’t the case.
Today’s CIO has been on the job for about 5.7 years, this is an 83 percent increase compared to tenure in 2005. In fact, it appears that the CIO is actually holding his job longer than the average CEO. Allen Bernard, writing for CIO Update, believes the improved tenure resulted from IT being run “like any other operating department” and CIOs are providing some return on investment. Another reason for improved tenure is that today’s CIOs have become IT-business hybrids, rather than placing their reliance in a singular IT background. This is good news for the CEO.
Although some CEOs do not have an accurate view of the important roles CIOs play, this is likely the exception to the rule. The terrific growth in e-commerce has actually led to closer relationships between CIOs and CEOs. The CEO understands that today’s business is inseparable from IT and it is to his advantage to team-up with the CIO to respond to change and build the infrastructure necessary to ensure business success. This results in the CEO understanding more about IT and the CIO understanding more about business.
To effectively compete in today’s e-commerce marketplace requires a heavy reliance on IT. This reliance has led CEOs to partner with CIOs in building an IT infrastructure to support business goals and objectives. This relationship has resulted in increased tenure for CIOs in business organizations. The notion that “CIO” means “career is over” has had its day.
Looks like Intel is pulling out of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program. The OLPC, a noble endeavor and the brainchild of MIT’s Nicholas Negroponte, promised to provide, just as the name implies, one laptop per child all over the world. Evidently, Mr. Negroponte expected Intel to end its support of non-OLPC programs, which also produced low-cost laptops for sale to the general public.
I get the feeling Intel’s business ventures were undercutting Negroponte’s altruism. What does it matter where the laptops come from, as long as they get into the hands of people who need them (and not necessarily just children)?
Shameful!
The OLPC organization needs to reassess the reason it got into this business in the first place!
The Apple rumor site, ThinkSecret.com, has settled its nearly 3-year long lawsuit with Apple and will shut-down as a condition of the confidential settlement. Although it may seem that Apple has bullied this blogger into submission, I believe this is actually a victory for ThinkSecret publisher, Nick Ciarelli, specifically, and all bloggers collectively.
In early 2005, Apple sued Ciarelli for posting Apple trade secrets and for encouraging and inducing employees to provide product information in breach of nondisclosure agreements. To Apple’s chagrin, Ciarelli filled a counter suit and ignored the mountains of “cease and desist” letters that followed.
The intent of Apple’s lawsuit was to pressure Ciarelli into revealing his sources and when he balked, he essentially called Apple’s bluff. Why else was there a settlement? If Apple had the legal high-ground, they certainly could’ve induced Ciarelli to reveal the sources of the leaked information or the court would’ve likely held him in contempt. It didn’t go that far because after the counter suit was filed, Apple stopped litigating, and Ciarelli never revealed the sources of his stories. Ciarelli leaves with his integrity intact and this is a boon for online journalists’ First Amendment rights.
Many are speculating over the terms of the settlement and think Ciarelli received a large sum of money to close the ThinkSecret doors, but that’s immaterial. The key to the issue of victory or defeat is the impetus to shut-down the website.
Indeed, Mr. Ciarelli, now a senior at Harvard, told the WSJ that he is shutting down the site because he has other career interests. He’s a senior at Harvard and suggests he was ready to quit anyway. If this is the case, he may have simply agreed to something he was planning on doing anyway. He leaves a winner.
Incidentally, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak urged Apple to call off the dogs, arguing that it hurt the company’s reputation. Apple has never sued a professional news organization for publishing similar stories containing purported “trade secrets.” So why go after “little guy” Ciarelli and ThinkSecret? Because the “little guy” doesn’t have a legal department.
The Internet provides the technical environment for businesses who manufacture new technologies. New technology innovation occurs with any increase in the efficiency (Moore’s Law) and utility (Metcalf’s Law) of the telecommunication mechanism. This premise can be seen in the explosive growth of the Internet itself.
The Internet was born in the 1960s with the idea of allowing computers to share information on scientific and military research and development. It evolved out of the theory of packet switching, which formed the basis of Internet connections. The Internet was first known as ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) and basically connected four computers at four universities. The Internet at this time was a very complex system and required extensive knowledge of the system. It certainly wasn’t the user-friendly system it is today.
The Internet matured during the 1970s. Email was introduced to ARPANET allowing users to message each other. The new telnet protocol allowed remote login to computers residing in another physical location and the file transfer protocol (FTP) enabled file transfers between Internet sites. The Ethernet protocol was introduced, but was initially rejected. Probably the most significant development during this period was the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) architecture that provided the basis for transmitting and routing data packets on the Internet. The Department of Defense adopted TCP/IP in 1980 replacing the former Network Control Protocol. TCP/IP was universally adopted in 1983 and remains today.
The World Wide Web was established with the introduction of the hypertext transfer protocol (http) in 1991 and the introduction of the Mosaic graphical browser in 1993. These two developments allowed Internet access without the complex coding/computer knowledge previously required. The opening of the Internet to commercial activity in 1992 literally caused the Internet to explode with activity.
As one can see, each new innovation, Email –> TCP/IP –> HTTP –> Mosaic improved the ability to and ease of transmitting data, hence a greater efficiency. As the efficiency of the transmission mechanism improved, usage increased. This increased utility, allowed the government to stop funding the Internet, which is now solely supported by commercial sponsorship. So where are we now?
The first years of the 21st century saw Internet access develop from desperately slow dial-up connections to lightening fast cable connections in personal residences. Now wireless connections allow people to access the Internet from home, at work or in the local coffee shop. People no longer need a computer to access the Internet; cell phones, PDAs and other portable devices have greatly enhanced connectivity of the population. Businesses and consumers buy, sell and trade globally. The latest news and information is available with a keystroke 24 hours a day. The Internet is used more and more for entertainment with downloadable digital music and movies, and online gaming is gaining popularity.
Therefore, based on the laws of efficiency and utility, in the coming years, expect the Internet to continue to move toward universal wireless access, where almost everywhere is a “hot spot.” Metropolitan and citywide access with wiMAX, which offers much broader ranges than today’s wi-fi, will become the “norm.” The Internet remains the business environment for technology development and execution. The advantages of each new development are increased efficiency and utility.
San Francisco based company Radar Networks has developed a web-based tool that changes the way people organize their information. The tool is called “Twine” and is a website were people can store important information, collect visited web sites, send and receive emails, etc. Although it sounds like just another data storage solution, it’s what Twine does with the information it possesses that establishes the tool as an emerging web pull technology.
When Twine receives information from a user it begins to analyze it, sorting the information into various categories, including the people involved, concepts discussed, and places, organizations and companies mentioned. This provides the user with quick access to their information and anything related to it. Twine also incorporates social networking elements into the sorting process to give the user access to information collected by others. So, how does Twine work?
Twine is the offspring of a concept known as the “Semantic Web.” The Semantic Web, also known as the “Defined” Web, utilizes XML-tagged data conforming to the Resource Description Framework (RDF) developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The RDF is a standard for defining data structures that identify interrelationships between web-based data. The goal of the Semantic Web is to make Internet searches more productive. Twine’s software was written with Semantic Web standards. This makes Twine compatible with other Semantic Web applications, and its information can also be shared across applications. Is there anything else?
In addition to its distinction as a Semantic Web application, Twine utilizes advanced machine learning and natural-language processing algorithms. This gives the tool capabilities superior to anything that relies on manual tagging. The tool’s algorithms allow the extraction of key concepts from information text, and can even determine the subject of a text in the absence of a specific keyword. This intuitiveness is achieved through statistical machine learning that compares the text with information sources like Wikipedia. According to Nova Spivack, CEO and founder of Radar Networks, “we can determine the when a document is about a subject even if the subject isn’t mentioned in the document.”
The Twine system brings web-pull technology to the next level through the integration of RDF standards and social networking tools. The system brings the Semantic Web into mainstream computing, enabling a sort of collective intelligence that becomes smarter as information is deposited by users. Twine has the potential to help users and organizations achieve significant increases in productivity and efficiency; it also lays the groundwork for future learning information delivery systems.
I can’t believe I’ve been away so long; it’s been almost a month since my last post. So much has happened this month, so much I’ve wanted to comment on. I’ve certainly got some catching up to do!
My absence was the result of the course load for my master’s program. I’ve spent the last month with my nose buried in books and my fingers typing feverishly on the keypad. Thankfully, I’m now able to take a break. I’ll be starting up again in January and should be completely finished about this time next year!
My wife and I just enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with all the kids (and grandkid)–this was the first time we’d all been together in five years! After a great meal and lots of laughs everyone returned to their lives. That left a couple days for my wife and I to dig out the Christmas decorations and fix up the house for the Holiday. In just a couple of weeks my wife and I will be taking a trip to Prague! We’ll be back in town for Christmas, though…and another visit from some of the kids.
Anyway, more about that later.
I’ve loaded a new theme for the blog: It’s called Copyblogger and it was designed by Chris Pearson. Nice!
And with that, I’m back in business…
Two researchers at the University of Cincinnati have developed a
software program that recognizes jokes. The developers, Julia Taylor and Larry Mazlack, introduced the “bot” at the American Association for Artificial Intelligence conference in Vancouver. At first glance, this may not sound like a significant achievement, but it actually represents a giant step forward in computers obtaining the capabilities of the human mind.
The bot is a product of Taylor’s research in humor in robot’s. Mazlack describes this as a work of “sociable computing.” He explains that “computers are often difficult to communicate with” and have difficulty understanding problems that are “informally stated.” Probably the most important aspect of achieving sociable computing is the ability to communicate the nuances of the human language with computers. A computer with a fundamental understanding of humor could effectively dialogue with human beings. So how does it work?
Taylor explains that the underlying idea is the computers recognition of jokes based on the “phonological similarity of words.” This bot can indeed recognize jokes, but only after the required background and word knowledge are programmed into it. Training the bot consisted of providing it with information relative to a child’s understanding of American English. In doing this, Taylor and Mazlack developed an extensive list of knock-knock jokes, as well as introducing several homonyms. How does the bot use this information?
First, the bot looks to see if the message is consistent with what would make sense given the context. If it isn’t, the bot searches its “memory” for words with similar sounds to a word that would fit. If it finds such a word, the bot identifies the massage as humor. The bot’s ability to distinguish between a logical command and a joke, which is an illogical command, is a significant achievement in sociable computing.
The obvious potential benefit of this technology would be in engineering robot’s that could be used as companions for human beings. Another potential for this technology would be the integration of voice recognition and command attributes into computer programs. This would allow the issuance of commands through normal conversation, rather than the user having to learn one- or two-word static commands as in current voice recognition systems. A computer with the ability to understand human behavior will open doors previously seen only in science fiction. H.A.L. may not be too far away.
The only truly safe computer is one disconnected from the Internet and powered-off. Basically, if no one can get to it, no one can harm it. Of course, it isn’t useful in that state, so the extent of computer security and the magnitude of associated risk is a tradeoff between putting the computer into use and restricting its misuse or abuse. In practical terms, the expense in time and money a company spends securing its network has to be weighed against the likely losses if it is broken into or damaged.
There is also a cost-benefit tradeoff for the hacker. After all, it’s unlikely someone will break into Fort Knox to steal a roll of quarters. So a modicum of good housekeeping can serve as an effective deterrent against the relatively harmless doorknob rattlers and window breakers.
Basically, there are three kinds of threats to a computer network: malice, ignorance and acts of god or nature. Malfunctioning sprinkler systems in the computer room, an electrical storm, disgruntled employee or a well-intentioned secretary can each do equal amounts of damage. A company must consider each of these components and think “what-if.” As the company designs or modifies the computer network security structure, they should also consider how the system is to be used and what they stand to lose if the system is compromised. With the answers to these questions, they can develop both technical and non-technical solutions, and compute the associated cost-benefit tradeoffs. This will help the company decide which solutions will meet security requirements, while staying within established financial boundaries.
Finally, computer and network systems consist of three components, the software and hardware parts, the people, and the procedures. Computer system and network security means protecting the software and hardware, ensuring the trustworthiness of the people who use and manage it, and the reliability of the procedures for using and managing the system. The bottom line is it’s really all about housekeeping, and it is up to the company to decide what kind of network house they keep.
Comcast is actively interfering with some of its high-speed subscribers who share files over the Internet. Seems the nation’s 2nd-largest cable company is delaying or blocking altogether, uploads of large files through peer-to-peer portals, such as BitTorrent. Comcast’s aggressive network management is designed to keep the file-sharing traffic from swallowing too much bandwidth, and slowing speeds from other subscribers. Seems fair, right?
Wrong!
It’s true ISPs have long complained that the majority of bandwidth is swallowed by a relatively small number of subscribers, specifically those who utilize file-sharing programs. According to Comcast spokesman Charlie Douglas,
We have a responsibility to manage our network to ensure all our customers have the best broadband experience possible,” … “This means we use the latest technologies to manage our network to provide a quality experience for all Comcast subscribers.”
Comcast certainly has a right to manage its network, but it don’t have the right to interfere with the service subscribers pay for. First of all, Comcast doesn’t tell anyone it’s doing this. Basically, when one BitTorrent (or other file-sharing application) user tries to share a complete file with another user, Comcast’s technology interferes, though not consistently, and probably only during times of heavy traffic, by sending each computer a message that appears to come from the other computer, telling it to stop communicating. But neither computer generated this message; it came from Comcast. Secondly, Comcast currently doesn’t place bandwidth limitations on subscribers.
Most ISPs manage their networks with an approach called “traffic shaping.” Traffic shaping is basically the slowing down of some forms of traffic, like file sharing, while giving other forms priority. Comcast’s approach is a drastic form of traffic shaping, in that they only target one type of traffic, and not only do they slow down the traffic, sometimes they stop it altogether. Also, their discriminating method results in the falsifying of network traffic.
So, what does this mean?
I believe this deceptive practice is akin to a breach of contract on the part of Comcast between the ISP and its customers. Comcast has an ethical responsibility to subscribers to disclose any practice that affects their service. Furthermore, Comcast does not have a right to actively stop the legal upload of download of any information on their network…ever!
What else?
Stuff like this will give Congress the incentive to enact regulations, like “Net Neutrality,” that, as with most legislation of this nature, will end up taking more freedom than it gives.
A nanoelectronics researcher has decoded a radio signal through a semiconducting single-walled nanotube. These nanotubes make up an atom-sized component called the nanotech device. Alex Madrigal, writing for Wired magazine explains that the nanotech device is “a demodulator, [which is] a simple circuit that decodes radio waves and turns them into audio signals.” Peter Burke, a professor at the University of California at Irvine, connected the decoder to two metal wires and transmitted music over an AM radio from an iPod to speakers across the room. So, how is this a killer app*?
Presently, this technology isn’t a killer app, but it certainly has the potential to become one. The continued miniaturization of electronic devices depends on nanoelectronic systems. There are several companies interested in the long-term potential of nanoelectronics applied to the standard semiconductor technologies. Burke writing for the American Chemical Society’s Nano Letters, stated,
“Though we have only demonstrated the critical component of the entire radio system out of a nanotube (the demodulator), it is conceivable in the future that all components could be nanoscale, thus allowing a truly nanoscale wireless communications system.”
In fact, nanotubes have piqued the interest of researchers due to the unique electrical properties arising at the atomic scale. Currently they’re working on a significant number of nanotechnology applications.
The reason this technology hasn’t quite reached killer app status is because of manufacturing problems. Imperfections in atoms can have a serious impact when working at the atomic scale. Burke says, “If one atom is out of place in a regular transistor, it’s not a big deal; if one atom is out of place in the nanotube, it has a big impact on the electronic properties.” This means it’s nearly impossible to manufacture identical components consistently. Currently, the big unsolved problems in nanotechnology are cost and manufacturability.
Nanoelectronics is potentially a killer app. In keeping with the information presented in this module, the recognition of this technology is worth exploration. Moore’s Law actually requires the discovery of nanotechnologies, and its future commercialization will no doubt result in significantly improving existing technology. The extent to which it disrupts the industry it’s applied to, will determine its strength as a killer app.
*A “killer app” (short for “killer application”) is a completely new good or service; something so unique it disrupts the status quo and, at least for a time, becomes the new industry standard.
A merger of projects between the Department of Defense and Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory gives the Military Health Service (MHS) the ability to track and isolate disease outbreaks and other biological events worldwide. According to Sean Gallagher, writing for Government Computer News, “If you go to sick call on a military post anywhere in the world,” you’re going to be a “datapoint in the Electronic Surveillance System for Early Notification of Community-based Epidemics” or “ESSENCE,” as it’s more commonly called. ESSENCE is a web-based biosurveillance application used to provide medical awareness to the military medical community.
The ESSENCE system links medical data with geographic information systems, providing a mechanism for the MHS to track the spread of symptoms worldwide to within a zip code or specific military unit. The advantage of this system is the early warning it provides of potential biological outbreaks or attacks. This allows the MHS, and other organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control, to mount timely defense actions to protect the population. Col Kenneth Cox, the Air Force Medical Service director of Force Health Readiness, explains,
“Systems like this identify cases that are consistent with flu-like illness early on, and then–once outbreaks have started at any point around the world, since this system encompass[es] all of our units around the globe–then we can move to protect those people and move vaccines and antiviral drugs around, since they’re in limited supply [and prepositioned] in regional depots.”
The only real issue with the system is security; ESSENCE isn’t impenetrable to cyber-attack.
Originally, the ESSENCE application was served on a web-based platform and provided purely statistical information. The information was anonymous and only aggregated data was available to users. The current version of ESSENCE has been integrated into the MHS architecture and has the ability to isolate events to a specific service member’s medical record. This added new requirements to the application’s deployment, including compliance with federal laws pertaining to patient privacy and the release of medical information. Although more useful, the added capabilities have made the system more attractive to hackers; an acceptable tradeoff considering the knowledge gleaned through this emerging technology.
There’s an emerging technology trend in the U.S. Air Force. On November 2, 2006, Secretary of the Air Force, Michael W. Wynne announced the establishment of a new command devoted to “preserving the freedom of access and commerce, in … cyberspace.” The creation of the Air Force Cyber Command is an indication of the evolving warfare landscape.
Secretary Wynn makes a point of saying that he considers cyberspace to be an actual “battle domain”, on par with land, sea, air and space. As such, cyberspace becomes a location, a battlefield. Previously, cyberspace was simply considered a component of the function of telecommunication. The significance of this revelation is the recognition of the importance of cyberspace to our national security, and our country’s commitment to its defense.
The importance of this event to emerging technologies is the tremendous opportunity for innovation. The area of military research has given the world the technologies of nuclear weapons, stealth, electronic countermeasures and recently, to the benefit of many outside the military, geosynchronous positioning. Our enemies already use information technology to their advantage, and are essentially unopposed in any organized fashion. The Secretary illustrates this point with several examples, such as,
“Right now a Finance Technician is moving U.S. dollars via a laptop to support terrorist ops, while sipping coffee in an Internet café. His use of cyberspace is practically uncontested.”
It’s evident the cyberspace domain provides an excellent operational platform for criminals, terrorists and all manner of evil determined to harm Americans and America. In the next few years, expect the U.S. Air Force and the Department of Defense to develop offensive and defensive cyber-weapon technology to combat these rogue forces and protect the homeland. However, we may not be reading about their breakthroughs for some time to come.
A couple of weeks ago a teenager unlocked the iPhone, but a group of anonymous software developers just did him one better! These folks have accomplished a complete software hack, meaning one doesn’t have to open the case to unlock it (the teenager’s method required the iPhone’s disassembly). Their new software will allow users to use the iPhone on systems around the world, not just AT&T.
No prices have been set yet, but the programers intend to sell the software via their website: www.iphonesimfree.com.
Is this legal? I believe the answer is yes and no.
The law: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was enacted in 1998 and provides penalties for developing hardware or software that overrides copy protection schemes for digital media. Although many consider the DMCA as an infringement to freedom, its still the law of the land.
The application: Just like any other piece of code, the iPhone’s firmware is “intellectual property” protected by the Copyright Act. Circumventing the access controls to get at the code is a violation of the DMCA. Now the Copyright Office issued six exemptions to the DMCA last year, one of which allows consumers to unlock their cellphones “for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network.”
The reality: I’m no lawyer, but it appears that to unlock the iPhone for one’s personal and private use is legal. However, to sell software to unlock the iPhone is not legal (neither is selling unlocked iPhones on eBay).
Of course, that’s just my opinion. It’ll be interesting to see how this all pans out.
I was recently asked, “What one thing would you say has had the most profound effect on telecommunications in the past fifty years?”
The general answer around the table was, as one might imagine, “the Internet.” I thought about this for a moment and realized this answer was too simple. Citing the Internet as having the most profound effect on telecommunications is akin to comparing the impact of oxygen to mankind.
Without a doubt, the Internet has had a profound effect, but more specifically I believe it was the introduction of the Mosaic browser, that has had the most profound effect on telecommunications in the past fifty years. On March 14, 1993, Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) Software Development Group introduced the Mosaic 0.10 for X-windows. Mosaic was (is) a simple, yet powerful graphical browser that allowed users to essentially travel through the world of electronic information using a point-and-click interface. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) was developed between 1989 to 1991, but it didn’t really take off until there was a useful browser to display inline images. With the introduction of the Mosaic browser the internet exploded with activity. The browser for the fist time brought the world wide web to the common man. One didn’t have to possess programming knowledge to access information on the internet because the complex methods used to extract the information were hidden within the browser application. What’s more, Mosaic was free for non-commercial use.
Also, about the time Andreessen and Bina were introducing Mosaic to the world, Congressman Rick Boucher authored a law, which allowed the first commercial traffic on the Internet. These two events led to the enormous growth of online business (e-commerce). The Internet provided an unprecedented opportunity on a global basis for businesses to interact with and reach out to customers without limitations such as physical location or time zone. The overwhelming success of e-commerce would not have been possible at that point-in-time without the Mosaic browser. According to the Computer Desktop Encyclopedia, Mosaic was “the app that caused the web to explode.”
Mosaic…the biggest thing to happen to telecommunications in 50 years!
Apple’s new iMac went on sale today! These sleek new iMacs come with a brushed-aluminum shell and glass screen. The new design resembles the iPhone and replaces the mostly plastic casing previously used. Steve Jobs says the change in materials will give the computers a clearer display and a nicer appearance. The new iMacs are still a bit pricey, starting at $1,199 for a 20″ display and $1,799 for a 24,” and although still more expensive than low-end Windows PCs, Apple says they compare favorably with higher-quality PCs.
With the new iMac, Apple returns to its roots, shifting the focus from fancy gadgetry such as the iPod and iPhone. The new aluminum-and-glass look reflects the company’s emphasis on design and aesthetics. A revamped line of consumer software for the Mac used for creating home movies, Web pages and other content is intended to further distinguish Macs from rival PCs running Microsoft’s Windows operating system.
More: Apple Insider.
Today marks the 25th birthday of the computer virus. It all began when Richard Skrenta, a 15 year old computer nerd in the 9th grade was given an Apple II for Christmas. In the months that followed, he spent his time devising ways to play jokes on his friends using his new computer. According to Skrenta “I had been playing jokes on schoolmates by altering copies of pirated games to self-destruct after a number of plays,” … “I’d give out a new game, they’d get hooked, but then the game would stop working with a snickering comment from me on the screen.”
Of course, when Skrenta’s friends figured out what he was doing, they banned him from their computers. Without access to his friends machines, he had to figure out another way to mess with them. That’s where he got his viral inspiration. He discovered that he could put his code on the school’s computer, and make it copy itself onto floppy disks that students used on the system. Viola! The Elk Cloner, the world’s first computer virus was born! The Elk Cloner didn’t do too much damage, though.
Elk Cloner spread by infecting the Apple II’s OS, which was stored on floppy disks. When the user booted the computer from an infected floppy, a copy of the virus would automatically start. Apart from monitoring disk access, the virus would not normally alter the workings of the computer. When an uninfected floppy was accessed, the virus would copy itself to the disk, thus infecting it, too, slowly spreading from floppy to floppy.
Like many of the early viruses, Elk Cloner did not cause any deliberate harm, although it could harm disks not containing the standard DOS image by overwriting its reserved tracks regardless of the contents. Like many of the early viruses, however, it did cause annoyance: on every 50th booting the virus would display the following short “poem:”
Elk Cloner: The program with a personality
It will get on all your disks
It will infiltrate your chips
Yes it’s Cloner!It will stick to you like glue
It will modify ram too
Send in the Cloner!
So, Happy Birthday, Elk Cloner! An American icon?
Think Secret has disassembled a new iPhone and posted the pics (49 in all) as the product was taken apart, step-by-step.
There’s also a number of full-resolution screen captures of the iPhone’s interface, including shots of the calendar, email, alarm clock, timer, and RSS reader functionality.
TS adds: “the iPhone supports Microsoft Exchange servers, adding that Apple has likely licensed Microsoft’s ActiveSync to accomplish that integration.”
Interesting. This would certainly make the iPhone a viable business alternative, most of whom rely heavily on the Microsoft Exchange Server and Windows OS platform.
Steve Jobs acknowledged that the company’s new iPhone won’t surf the Internet as fast as he would like on the network, called “Edge,” but added that the device’s ability to connect to Wi-Fi hotspots would give consumers a speedier alternative for Web browsing.
Still, I think I’ll wait for the next generation of iPhone before dropping the $$$.
UPDATE:
Jul 2, 2007-7:39am: AT&T Inc. said it was working to resolve problems preventing some buyers of Apple Inc.’s iPhone from activating the device, illustrating the complexities Apple faces in working with a partner and in offering a consumer product that plugs into a cellular network.
The hiccup for one of the most eagerly awaited electronics products in years