Teaching MIS: October 2005 Archives

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October 27, 2005

In Class This Week

I'm teaching 'How the Internet Works' this week. I explain the TCP/IP - OSI model using two groups of five students. Each student takes the role of a program processing a particular protocol (except for the last student who is represents the wires and hardware on the data link). Anyway, the first student plays a browser and sends a request for a web page. He/she hands it to the next student who plays TCP and breaks it into segments. Student 2 then passes the segments to student 3 who plays IP. That student packages the segments packets and hands them to the fourth student who wraps them into frames, and passes them the student playing the hardware. Then, we pass the frames to some switches (other students in class), and out of the LAN via a router to the Internet (more students in class), finally it reaches the second group of five students who pass it back up the protocol stack.

How well does it work? Well, I think it might help some students get the big picture ... at least in a big picture sort of way.

But thinking about yesterday's class brought to mind Triage in Education ...

Posted by DavidK at 08:54 AM | Comments (0)

Triage in Education

Many years ago I was reading about medical triage ... I don't remember if it was in the context of treating the wounded in war or victims after disasters, but I remember thinking it was a good strategy for teachers, too...

In medicine, triage treatment categorizes victims into three groups: those who will survive without medical attention, those who will not survive even with the best medical attention, and those who will survive only if they get immediate, proper medical attention. Medical services are provided to the third group, first.

Sometimes I think it's like that in my class. There are the students who will get the material no matter what I do. Great learners, high IQ, exceptionally motivated, whatever. Then there are those that won't get the material no matter what I do. Maybe they shouldn't be in school this term. Maybe they just don't care. Maybe business in the wrong major. Whatever. Finally, there are those students who will learn the material only if I do something right. Teach the right lecture, make the right assignment, follow up with just the right feedback. It is that third group that I most want to focus upon.

Years ago, I used that idea in seminars that I gave to fellow educators. About that same time Kurt Vonnegut published his autobiographical novel, Jailbird. In that book he wrote the very same idea. That we should apply triage to education. In frustration, I wrote to him, care of his publisher. My letter was something like this:

"Mr. Vonnegut, why did you publish my one good idea? You're already famous enough, you're already rich enough, and we all know that you're certainly creative enough. Why did you take my one good idea and publish it? I use this idea in speeches and now everyone will think I got it from you!"

Two weeks later, in a crumpled envelope with no return address (marked with the characteristic asterisk, in fact), I received the following letter:

"To Whom It May Concern: Let it be known that I stole the idea of triage in education from one David Kroenke. Little did I think I would ever be caught. Curses, (signed) Kurt Vonnegut (*)

Hand typed on a manual typewriter.

Of course he didn't steal the idea from me, but that letter has been fun all these years. My kids and some of the kids in the neighborhood have taken it to school whenever they're enrolled in the "American modern authors" course in high school! I wonder if my grandkids will use it, too? God bless you, Mr. Vonnegut! I hope the years have been good to you!

Posted by DavidK at 08:50 AM | Comments (0)

RAND Study on U.S. Workforce

The RAND Corporation published an interesting monograph last year on 'The forces Shaping the Future Workforce and Workplace in the United States." Written by Lynn Karoly and Constantijn Panis, and published by RAND's Labor and Population group, it looks at key factors impacting U.S. employment in the years ahead. I found the comments on the need for knowledge that enables innovation particularly interesting. A few key statements from the Summary:

"The rapid pace of technological change is expected to continue to propel demand for highly skilled workers who can develop the new technologies and bring them to market and who can exploit the new technologies in the production of goods and services... the transition to a knowledge-based economy continues to fuel demand for well-educated workers... Shifts in organizational forms ... favor such high-level cognitive skills as abstract reasoning, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration." (pp. xvii, xviii)

"A growing emphasis on knowledge workers and knowledge-based organizations can further define a source of competitive advantage for U.S. workers and employers. The shift ... also favors strong cognitive and entrepreneurial skills. Workers who increasingly interact in a global marketplace and participate in global work teams will require the skills needed to collaborate and interact in diverse cultural and linguistic settings." (p. xxxv)

"Demand differentials have been driving up the salary premium paid to workers with higher education levels. For example, between 1973 and 2001, the wage premium for a college degree compared with a high school diploma increased 30 percentage points, from 46 percent to 76 percent." (p. xxiii)

I found that study comforting, particularly for those of us in higher education who are helping students learn to innovate. Thus, the next item from the news last week was particularly disturbing.

Posted by DavidK at 08:47 AM | Comments (0)

Cicso Innovates in India

According to Forbes last week, Cisco is stepping up its investment in India, but for reasons that go beyond lower costs:

"Cisco has invested in and had operations in India for several years but is stepping up its investment partly because it can't ignore India's brainpower and partly because of market reforms that favor business and foreign investment.

"'We originally came to India for the [low] cost. We stayed because of the quality, and now we're investing because of the innovation,' says Dan Scheinman, senior vice president of corporate development."

Now that's news. Cisco is investing in India not because of cost or quality, but because of innovation? The U.S. has always considered itself the font of innovation and invention. Are we losing that edge as well? The article quotes IBM on the same topic. Worth reading the whole thing.

Posted by DavidK at 08:46 AM | Comments (0)

Gosh, My Computer Sent the Wrong Version

Do I believe this? I mean I believe Word's editing and reviewing features worked as designed. But surely not an extraordinary computer gaffe.

"The confidential changes were revealed by an extraordinary computer gaffe because an electronic version distributed by UN officials on Thursday night allowed recipients to track editing changes.
"The mistaken release of the unedited report added further support to the published conclusion that Syria was behind Mr Hariri’s assassination in a bomb blast on Valentine’s Day in Beirut. The murder of Mr Hariri touched off an international outcry and hastened Syria’s departure from Lebanon in April after a 29-year pervasive military presence."

Further down, the document even gave the time:

"Mr Annan had pledged repeatedly through his chief spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, that he would not change a word of the report by Detlev Mehlis, a German prosecutor. But computer tracking showed that the final edit began at about 11.38am on Thursday — a minute after Herr Mehlis began a meeting with Mr Annan to present his report. The names of Maher al-Assad, General Shawkat and the others were apparently removed at 11.55am, after the meeting ended.

Maybe we could call it an extraordinary human error? Or???

Posted by DavidK at 08:42 AM | Comments (0)

Click to Call via VoIP

I've been asking my friends, colleagues, students, almost everyone I can, about the consequences of nearly free data communications and data storage. All of the maneuvering among Google, MSN, AOL, and other content sources must be part of that phenomenon (see No Wonder I'm Confused below).

Another consequence has to be telephone use. Voice over IP (VoIP) is getting better and better and I'm told that it's hard to tell a quality difference between VoIP and a regular cell phone. As we have more and more wireless clouds, what will we need a cell phone for?

Microsoft must see something similar. They bought Teleo, a small California startup this week:

"Teleo's technology, still in development, is notable for such features as click-to-call: a user can click on a phone number — listed, say, on a Web page — and immediately reach someone with a regular phone number on the circuit-switched network.

"The company also is looking at other options, such as making it part of a localized search engine offering. A person looking for a nearby restaurant could, for example, search for area eateries and then use the technology to call and make a reservation."

I'm not using VoIP, but why not? Surely, it's only inertia. And if I could click to talk to a number I'd just looked up -- the restaurant is a great example -- I'd do it.

Posted by DavidK at 08:39 AM | Comments (0)

In the Mail This Week

Received an email from Carl Drott at Drexel University. Carl, who's made several thought-provoking comments to items on this blog, is on sabbatical in Budapest, Hungary (intriguing pictures and commentary on his blog). He sent along these links 1, 2, to a site concerning student-written case studies. As Carl said in his email, they seem to be more general business, MBA-level links, but there might be some interesting ways for the undergraduate MIS class to use them or write cases, too.

One idea relating to a topic above: Ask the students to find and describe innovative applications of IS to a business case. Maybe use an existing case and ask how innovative applications could deal with a case problem, or maybe take a company and ask the students to write a case on how an innovative IS could facilitate the company's competitive strategy.

Food for thought!

Posted by DavidK at 08:36 AM | Comments (0)

October 20, 2005

Thursdays, It Is!

Given the theme of this blog as "Fridays at the Coffee Pot" (see About Teaching MIS above), I'm going to try to make new entries every Thursday. That way, if you find something you can use in class next week, you have Friday and the weekend to work it in.

This week's entries start with a call for ideas and then a reference to an inspiring book about teachers. After that, some org theory from McKinsey, wireless down at the ranch, and a series of security articles, columns, and blogs. Last is a book report on encryption.

Please keep writing and commenting!

Posted by DavidK at 04:47 PM | Comments (0)

Read the Book (Con't)

I'd like to compile a list of the 20 best ways to get students to read the book. Please see the readers comments on the Help!!! entry last week. I agree with Professor Davidson that it IS the students responsibility to read, but, darn it, it is so frustrating to look at a sea of blank faces -- when everything I'm saying so far is clearly in the reading. Anyway, let's compile the list. Please contribute!

Posted by DavidK at 04:44 PM | Comments (0)

Inspiring Teachers

The book Teachers by John Yow contains brief biographies of great teachers and is a "tribute to enlightened, exceptional, and extraordinary teachers." Truly an inspiring book – one to read when we're gathering up the courage to try something risky and innovative in class. One biography caught my eye this week -- it describes Myron Blosser, a high school science teacher in Harrisonburg , VA. He's having great success with creative projects in his classroom, but it all started some years ago:

"Myron Blosser's defining moment as a teacher occurred during his second year in the classroom. His students were finishing up their test on atoms and subatomic structure – electrons, protons, molecules, etc. – and as they handed in their papers he asked if anyone had any questions before they moved on to a new unit of study.

"Clint, one of my best students, full of energy, very precocious, raised his hand and said, 'Mr. Blosser, are there any atoms in this room?'"

"'At that moment I realized I'd failed' … In the sixteen years since, making a practical application has been what Blosser's science classes have been all about." p. 24

I wish this story didn't seem so familiar. Am I about to hear, "Prof. Kroenke, are there any IS on campus?" Please tell me "No."

Posted by DavidK at 04:31 PM | Comments (0)

The 21st Century Organization

McKinsey publishes free (but registration required) articles on the web. One this week concerns new organizational structures and supporting technology for increasing the productivity of knowledge workers. Key graphs:

"About half a century ago, Peter Drucker coined the term "knowledge worker" to describe a new class of employee whose basic means of production was no longer capital, land, or labor but, rather, the productive use of knowledge. Today, these knowledge workers, who might better be called professionals, represent a large and growing percentage of the employees of the world's biggest corporations. .. These talented people are the innovators of new business ideas. They make it possible for companies to deal with today's rapidly changing and uncertain business environment…

"The inefficiency of these professionals has increased along with their prominence. Consider the act of collaboration. Each upsurge in the number of professionals who work in a company leads to an almost exponential—not linear—increase in the number of potential collaborators and unproductive interactions. Many leading companies now employ 10,000 or more professionals, who have some 50 million potential bilateral relationships...One measure of the difficulty of this quest is the volume of global corporate e-mail, up from about 1.8 billion a day in 1998 to more than 17 billion a day in 2004. As finding people and knowledge becomes more difficult, social cohesion and trust among professional colleagues declines, further reducing productivity…

"Four principles for the new organization:

1.       Streamlining and simplifying vertical and line-management structures by discarding failed matrix and ad hoc approaches and narrowing the scope of the line manager's role to the creation of current earnings

2.       Deploying off-line teams to discover new wealth-creating opportunities while using a dynamic management process to resolve short- and long-term trade-offs

3.       Developing knowledge marketplaces, talent marketplaces, and formal networks to stimulate the creation and exchange of intangibles

4.       Relying on measurements of performance rather than supervision to get the most from self-directed professionals."

Lots more in this interesting article.

Posted by DavidK at 04:29 PM | Comments (0)

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch ...

According to Breitbart.com, the Biggest Wi-Fi Cloud Is in Eastern Oregon.

"Parked alongside his onion fields, Bob Hale can prop open a laptop and read his e-mail or, with just a keystroke, check the moisture of his crops.
"As the jack rabbits run by, he can watch CNN online, play a video game or turn his irrigation sprinklers on and off, all from the air conditioned comfort of his truck...This lonely terrain is served by what is billed as the world's largest hotspot, a wireless cloud that stretches over 700 square miles of landscape so dry and desolate it could have been lifted from a cowboy tune...

"Similar wireless projects have been stymied in major metropolitan areas by telephone and cable TV companies, which have poured money into legislative bills aimed at discouraging such competition."

Not apparently in eastern Oregon.

"'Outside the cloud, I can't even get DSL,' said Hale. 'When I'm inside it, I can take a picture of one of my onions, plug it into my laptop and send it to the Subway guys in San Diego and say, "Here's a picture of my crop."'"

Ubiquitous wireless cannot be far away.

Posted by DavidK at 04:26 PM | Comments (0)

Business Continuity and Disaster Preparedness (BC/DP)

Lucent Technologies and CIO.com published a thirty minute web cast on IS/IT disaster preparedness. Free, but registration required.

Posted by DavidK at 04:09 PM | Comments (0)

Alarmed about Security and Privacy

Alarmed is a column at CIO.com on security and privacy. Key graphs from recent article, "Life beyond Passwords:"

"... single-factor authentication—user name and password—is still the Internet’s calling card. ... And it’s simply not good enough. The proliferation of phishing has made that much clear."

"Whatever we’ve done to educate the general public about spoofed e-mails and websites is failing. Miserably. Last week a young relative of mine—one who is smart, plugged-in and a recent grad of a good business school at a major university—told me that she’d never heard of phishing... (and a) report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project ...Of 2,001 adult Internet users polled this spring, only 29 percent said they had a good idea of what phishing is. Fifty-five percent weren’t really sure, and a full 15 percent had never heard the term."

"Vendors are just starting to create a whole category of nifty software that will, without causing customers much if any consternation, protect their accounts much better than user name and password ever could.

"It’s the kind of program that Bank of America just announced. With SiteKey, online banking customers will have the option of picking an image and phrase and answering three additional security questions of their choice. Then, when they log on to Bank of America’s site, they’ll see the image and phrase. If they don’t, they’ll know something is wrong

"This kind of technology is so new that there isn’t a silly name for it yet; Tubin refers to it loosely as 'risk-based authentication.' The idea is to look at, say, the IP address, operating system and clock setting of the computer or computers where a customer generally accesses his online accounts."

Alarmed is a biweekly. Look for a new version every other Thursday.

Posted by DavidK at 03:43 PM | Comments (0)

50 Cent Holes

CIO.com has an article on "50 Cent Holes" -- simple blunders that violate millions of dollars of security safeguards.

Examples:

Exchange servers with documents named Passwords.doc

The university office of Financial Aid sent out an e-mail to 119 students, informing them that their failing grades put them at risk of losing their financial aid. The e-mail included all 119 students' names within the e-mail address list.

MCI said that an MCI financial analyst's laptop had been stolen from his car, which was parked in his home garage. That laptop contained the names and Social Security numbers of 16,500 current and former employees.

Read the article for more -- readers' comments are interesting, too.

Posted by DavidK at 03:40 PM | Comments (0)

Book Report

I finished The Code Book by Simon Singh last week. A fascinating journey through centuries of cryptography. Well written and interesting. Cryptography isn't my field, but his descriptions seem accurate and they make sense. Can anyone vouch for the accuracy of this book?

From the Preface:

"In writing The Code Book, I have had two main objectives. The first is to chart the evolution of codes. Evolution is a wholly appropriate term, because the development of codes can be viewed as an evolutionary struggle. A code is constantly under attack from codebreakers.... the book's second objective is to demonstrate how the subject is more relevant today than ever before. As information becomes an increasingly valuable commodity, and as the communications revolution changes society, so the process of encoding messages, known as encryption, will play an increasing role in every life." pp ix, x.

Interesting and great background reading for class.

Posted by DavidK at 03:38 PM | Comments (0)

October 14, 2005

Help!!! Getting Students to Read the Book

I'm teaching the database module in my MIS class this week, and I've stumbled upon a great example, just the right size to implement in a simple Access database. I know that we can model and design it in class, if the students will only READ THE BOOK. If I have to define and explain basic and simple concepts like primary and foreign keys, if I have to take 30 minutes to explain those basics, we'll never be able to get it done -- or the example will consume too much of the course.

How do you get your students to read the book? I know there's no silver bullet, but I'm wondering what innovative and novel techniques exist. Begging is so unseemly. I tried starting the class with quick exam on the reading (with a sophisticated question like, "what is the subject of last night's reading?") and then forcing the students who couldn't answer the question to leave the room. That technique had too many side consequences. My Latin teacher, back in the old-school days, would humiliate those of us who hadn't done the translation. But, humiliation has gone out of style in teaching circles today.

So, what do you do? Am I the only one teaching this class who has this problem? If not, what do you do about it? What solutions exist? What have you tried that didn't work? What have you tried that did work? Help!!!

Posted by DavidK at 08:04 AM | Comments (0)

October 13, 2005

No Wonder I'm Confused ...

Today's Seattle Times says "Changes in Tech World Almost Too Fast to Follow."

A massive shift has begun, and it's centered on Microsoft:

"That's created a wave of tech news this week that feels like the boom of 1999 viewed through a funhouse mirror: Apple rolls out video players, Google bids on America Online, Microsoft makes nice with RealNetworks and does deals with Yahoo!

Industry watchers say it's only the beginning...."

According to Standard & Poor's analyst Jonathan Rudy,

"It's getting to the point where it's a little ridiculous until something is announced... With so many different, disparate rumors, ...I don't know if anybody has a handle on what's going on."

The full article has a cheat sheet about the latest moves ...

Posted by DavidK at 11:36 AM | Comments (0)

In This Week's Mail

Professor Paul Ravi at East Carolina University brought my attention to the results of a survey of professors of the introduction to MIS class. The survey was sponsored, I believe, by ISWorld. Many interesting questions ... the first concerns whether or not Excel and Access are taught within the MIS course. It looks like the practice is split about 50/50.

With that split, no wonder opinions vary widely. Or, perhaps the question centers on the proper role of these tools? Are we to teach fundamental Excel and Access skills, or do we ask students to apply skills learned in a prior class to MIS topics? For example, re-enforcing IS management responsibilities by asking students to build a database application to keep track of employees, computers, and software licenses.

Bob Grauer at the University of Miami wrote to Ideas@TeachingMIS.com on this same topic. In case you don't know, Bob is the author of an excellent series of texts on Office Applications. Bob is preparing to teach the MIS class this Spring and is developing a sequence of Access projects for his class. I asked if he'd share them with TeachingMIS readers and he said 'Yes' when he likes what he has. I saw Bob demonstrate the teaching of Excel and Access at a conference two years ago in New Orleans, and he is a maestro! Watch here for his examples!

Posted by DavidK at 11:18 AM | Comments (0)

Two Great Comments

Two great comments from Charlene and Carl to the MISsed Opportunity article. Please take a look. A corollary to Carl's motto might be:

"People do business with people."

Businesses are inanimate and don't do anything. In business, people work with other people. To me, the goal of an IS must be to help people work with others more effectively, more efficiently, with less hassle, etc, to accomplish business. And, as Carl says, we're not doing it for the sheer joy building data models.

Please keep writing and commenting!

Posted by DavidK at 07:21 AM | Comments (0)

In Class This Week

This week I did an in-class exercise on Questioning Your Questions. It's an adaptation of a theme developed by Paul and Elder in Critical Thinking (Chapter 6 of the 2001 edition). In the exercise (link here), I ask the students to question the kinds of questions they ask various sources. Simple what-is-it questions ought not to be asked of expensive sources. For example, don't ask an expensive consultant what IPv4 is; go to whatis.com, instead. Etc. Anyway, as an example of an expensive source, I asked, "What questions are appropriate for asking your professor?" Total silence. So, I asked again, louder: "Give me an example of a question that would be appropriate to ask your professor." Silence again, and then a small, quiet voice in the back of the room says, "Have you lost weight?"

I'm still laughing. And, darn it, the answer is "No, I haven't."

Posted by DavidK at 07:08 AM | Comments (0)

October 09, 2005

Critical Thinking Skills

The news this week seems particularly bleak. The EU wants governmental control of the Internet, Italy is giving the names of Internet cafe customers to the police, and Google and Sun don't know what they're up to.

But before turning to all that, I found a great Web site and some happy news for bridge-playing teachers. The Web site is New Horizons for Learning. Lots in there for sessions on problem solving and critical thinking.

"How would it affect educational systems if everyone truly believed that the human brain could change structurally and functionally as a result of learning and experience--for better or worse? How would it affect how we teach and how students learn if everyone believed that the kinds of environments we create for learning, how we teach, and the learning strategies we offer students could result in better mental equipment they will use throughout life? In News from the Neurosciences, you will find articles that support the validity of this concept, as well as articles of current interest on various other aspects of brain research and its implications for education."

I continue to teach at least one ten minute group exercise per week on problem solving. I believe it's a key part of undergraduate education, and easy to justify in an MIS class. My mantra to the students: "You are part of every information system you use. If you don't know how to utilize the information you get, what value is the IS?"

But back to New Horizons. Many interesting topics, and I, of course, was drawn to "Successful Aging of the Healthy Brain" Check this:

"... I set about finding a game everybody has heard of and decided on the card game of "bridge". Playing bridge calls for working memory, planning ahead, sequencing, initiative, and judgment--all functions associated with the dorsolateral frontal part of the cortex.

"We invited 12 women to come to the lab to play bridge with one another. Before they started playing, we took blood samples from them to measure the initial level of their T cells. Then we took blood from them after they had been playing for an hour and a half. The before and after data were exciting to us because we found a significant increase in their CD4-positive T lymphocytes. We did not find such a T cell increase in the blood samples of the control women who did not play bridge, but sat listening to quiet music during the time the others were playing bridge.

"We were terribly thrilled with these results. Clearly, the cerebral cortex has a role in controlling the immune system, and our present task is to find ways to "educate" the critical dorsolateral cortex and keep our immune systems healthy."

All these years I thought I was wasting time, at worst, or having fun with friends, at best. But, no. Alas, we were increasing our CD4-posititve T lymphocytes. Deal 'em out!

On to the news ...

Posted by DavidK at 09:36 AM | Comments (0)

Breaking America's Grip on the Internet

Everyone wants a part of a success story. Brazil claims that because it uses the Internet to collect 90% of its tax revenue that it needs part control of Internet. Hmmm. I use Excel to compute my taxes; will Bill Gates give me part control? This is nuts.

Summary of the meetings at the EU in this week's Guardian. Key graphs:

"Old allies in world politics, representatives from the UK and US sat just feet away from each other, but all looked straight ahead as Hendon explained the EU had decided to end the US government's unilateral control of the internet and put in place a new body that would now run this revolutionary communications medium."

"A number of countries represented in Geneva, including Brazil, China, Cuba, Iran and several African states, insisted the US give up control, but it refused. The meeting "was going nowhere", Hendon says, and so the EU took a bold step and proposed two stark changes: a new forum that would decide public policy, and a "cooperation model" comprising governments that would be in overall charge."

China, Cuba, Iran? Controlling the Internet?

According to Milton Mueller, author of Ruling the Root, an overseeing council "could interfere with standards. What would stop it saying 'when you're making this standard for data transfer you have to include some kind of surveillance for law enforcement?'"

"Then there is human rights. China has attracted criticism for filtering content from the net within its borders. Tunisia - host of the World Summit - has also come under attack for silencing online voices. Mueller doesn't see a governmental overseeing council having any impact: 'What human rights groups want is for someone to be able to bring some kind of enforceable claim to stop them violating people's rights. But how's that going to happen? I can't see that a council is going to be able to improve the human rights situation.'"

The Wall Street Journal weighs in with pragmatic implications today with an editorial by Adam Thierer and Wayne Crews:

"The implications for online commerce are profound. The moment one puts up a Web site, one has "gone global"--perhaps even automatically subjected oneself to the laws of every country on the planet."

"A global Internet regulatory state could mean that We Are the World--on speech and libel laws, sales taxes, privacy policies, antitrust statutes and intellectual property. How then would a Web site operator or even a blogger know how to act or do business? Compliance with some 190 legal codes would be confusing, costly and technically possible for all but the most well-heeled firms. The safest option would be to conform online speech or commercial activities to the most restrictive laws to ensure global compliance. If you like the idea of Robert Mugabe setting legal standards for everyone, then WSIS is for you."

Read the whole article. And see Can This Be True, below.

Posted by DavidK at 09:06 AM | Comments (0)

How the World Turns!

AOL and MSN? Just a few years ago, they were duking it out in the browser wars and now they're talking? Speculation:

The two companies are focused on combining AOL’s Web content with Microsoft’s search-engine technology, although other aspects of the talks are sketchy. It isn’t clear whether they are considering merging their Internet dial-up businesses, which generate lots of cash, the paper said. Link.

I'll bet those talks were sketchy!

Posted by DavidK at 08:42 AM | Comments (0)

Can This Be True?

Check your email in Italy? Bring your passport:

"After Italy passed a new antiterrorism package in July, authorities ordered managers offering public communications services, like Mr. Savoni, (owner of an Internet cafe) to make passport photocopies of every customer seeking to use the Internet, phone, or fax.

"Like other owners of Internet cafes, Savoni had to obtain a new public communications business license, and purchase tracking software that costs up to $1,600. The software saves a list of all sites visited by clients, and Internet cafe operators must periodically turn this list into their local police headquarters." Link.

So every time you check your email or visit the web at an Internet cafe, your name is recorded and delivered to the local police headquarters. My friends tell me I'm paranoid, but every week I see another chink in the infrastructure necessary for totalitarian control put into place. Orwell had 1984 thirty years too early.

Why is this not major news?

Posted by DavidK at 08:29 AM | Comments (0)

Google and Sun Announce to Announce

Watching the Google/Sun press conference on Tuesday for something important. It turned out to be a press conference to announce a future press conference. Rumors had Google throwing its market presence and money behind StarOffice. Nothing happened. Maybe the deal fell through in the last minute? Maybe Sun is desperate for something? Who knows? Keep watching. InternetNews says Steve Balmer sure lives in interesting times.

Posted by DavidK at 08:17 AM | Comments (0)