Data encryption

We all have more and more data floating around. Surely we have it on our PCs at home but those of us who have laptops have some further consideration. SUrely we can get and use one of the USB attached hard drives but the question really is about the security of the data we take with us. It is about time that the hard drive companies allow for data encryption as part of the hard drive electronics. The user is authenticated, could be at the OS layer and the remainder of the data becomes accessible. This way it is less painfull to just have the laptop stolen but at least the information that is on the drive such as social security number from that tax software we have on there is nice and safe

Spyware...nasty stuff

It is a constant battle on the internet to ensure that one's PC does remain free of crap also known as spyware. This stuff comes in various flavors. Some poses as a cute game or card or picture show. Some is embedded in an application that is offered free on line. Some of it is within the ActiveX or plug ins that are downloaded. ALl of it points to the need for a software package that will detect this stuff. The reason being is that this stuff will get through the firewall on the PC no problems as it is just like any other internet traffic. Once it gets to the client i.e. the PC, then it is up to the protections on that machine. Unfortunately most people running windows use an account that has administrative priviliges which allows for things like sfotware installation. Surely, this is the least hassle route, but it does require a separate layer of protection in the form of anti spyware product. There are quite a few out there from the free ones like Lavasoft or Spy bot to ones that come with a fee. Bottom line is to get one, free or otherwise, please install one on your machine and scan your PC frequently, daily is not too much.

Multiple Blackbeerries...what???

Some people have a tough time with the Blackberry as their work life never leaves them alone. Some people however enjoy the craziness....and then take it to the next level. The next level being a usage and carrying of multiple black berry devices. CRAZY!!! Here is an idea. On the server/computer side we have a capability to host multiple systems on one piece of hardware. We install multiple network cards and really one piece of hardware efficiently supports multiple systems. Translate this to the phone/blackberry world and I see a gizmo that will be one physical gizmo but will actually have multiple phone numbers in it, kind of like multiple phone line office phones. The gadget will allow the owner/user to maintain separate address books, separate calendars etc. In fact with each phone number that would be implemented by inserting a card or an ID of some kind or scanning a 2D barcode, the gadget would not only get the new phone # as well as setting up security on whether the address boook, calendar, e-mail etc. associated with this phone # can actually be shared within the device or not. This would allow a person to have several phone numbers and use a single phone book, but in case of a corporate/work stuff, the company could set it up so its information could not be copied within the gadget or added to either. Here is an idea...You heard it here first!

Computer systems

It is interesting to think about the computers we have at home, then some systems that power amazon etc. Then there are the systems that support very complex functions, I guess what some people referred to as "mission critical" applications. The areas that come to mind are foreign exchange trades (FOREX) out there, air traffic control and nuclear plant operations. Pretty cool stuff when you read about it.

The projectors...

It is very interesting to see the prices of the video projectors dropping and also the quality of the image going up and up and up. It is certainly the case that most houses have basements that could be home to a set up with a projector and a screen or just a blank wall. Such a home cinema would definitely be a hit with the kids in the family and also with the sports fanatics in the house and around the neighborhood. Definitely recommended item to look at closely.

Technology continues to eliminate economic inefficiencies

Since technology has become part of the society it has managed to eliminate inefficiencies in the society. This in turn allowed savings of capital through the elimination of inefficiencies. These savings are of course redirected towards other, hopefully and potentially more value add activities. The most recent examples are outsourcing of jobs to India which allowed companies and individuals to obtain significant savings. As such those resources were devoted toward activities such as R&D (corporate) and various spending(consumers). In the early days of the last century it was the invention of the assembly line that allowed many workers to leave the hazardous manufacturing jobs. They in turn could focus on more value add activities such as design of cheaper and more durable products. Surely, inventions such as post-it, plastic wrap, microwave etc. all came because fewer people were needed on the assembly lines. In the internet age the impacts are much more wide spread. One of very interesting examples is the land of professional photography or stock photo business to be specific. Prior to the internet "coming to this space," it was a fairly limited business in that the relatively few agents for the photographers had high standards, were very selective etc. etc. There were of course second tier agents, but overall it was a "tribal" business that was not really well known to the wide world. Just like in any industry, excellent product is accompanied by lower quality product etc. etc. Because of the limited exposure this industry has seen in the society, many people whose products were of medium quality were participating in the marketplace that would reward them disproportionately high capital for the quality of delivered work. Since not so distant past, the digital camera ownership has been spreading wider and wider. In addition the quality of the photos coming form the digital cameras is going up and up. Some of it is due to people trying to take better photos, some of it is due to the camera makers trying to compensate for the lack of photo taking skills. This can be well observed by Nikon, Canon, Sony and others pushing professional level capabilities to consumer level cameras. All of this activity spurs a huge amount of quality photographs being available. Even a small percentage of 100M pictures taken a year is a large number of photographs that are quality enough to be considered for stock, especially when considered to mid level stuff. Put this together with microstock sites and there is bound to be inefficiency eliminated from the market. Those individuals who have been relying on their income from producing stock photos yet producing mediocre quality are now in competition with everyone out there who took a photo of one thing or another and will sell it for pennies. This is done not because of desire to make a fortune but for desire to get a recognition of how cool their photographs are. Unfortunately, this reality is causing some people a lot of "indigestion." Some of which is actually resulting in personal attacks on those individuals. This shows not only how effective the technology is at eliminating inefficiencies in the market place, but also shows the level of faith individuals have in their skills as well as the deep down held confirmation that the inefficiency did exist and as such was eliminated. A great example of this is a blog post by John Harrington on his blog. It is really rare to see this type cause and effect in real life. We often read things like this in the press, but to actually see it is of great value and significance as the $$$ in the society are redistributed.

Blue screen of death....on an Apple???

Reports on tomshardware and other sites suggest that the joke Apple used to make of Microsoft is now on Apple. It appears that Apple's new Leopard operating system produces a blue screen with nothing on it on many Macs. It seems that the operating system has not been properly tested prior to its release probably due to the popularity of Mac computers and the infinite combination of hardware that popularity brings. While Microsoft has been dealing with this for many years and has set up programs with its partners to deal with such a thing, Apple appears to be caught with its pants down here. The company seems to have missed the boat here big time and it is looking really bad, probably not much better than a high school project by a few children thrown over a weekend. Hopefully Apple gets its act together. It is definitely true that Steve Jobs can sell this stuff, but Apple must ultimately deliver a product that is more than just demo system for Steve or an Adobe Photoshop workstation for a few fans out there of Apple's products. It is time for Apple to show that the cute commercials they make making fun of Microsoft are really what Apple is like. At this point, it looks like the roles in those commercials should be reversed.