Category: General

Lots of coverage about Chris Anderson's new book Free, which have triggered a few thoughts. Should be noted that I haven't read it yet, and won't be doing so unless someone gives me a copy. (That's not a point of principal, more that I thought The Long Tail was an overly strung-out magazine article). 'Free' … Continue reading Thoughts on "Free"

...as the gaps between my blog entries get greater and greater. What I have found in recent months is that my use of social networking tools is increasing. I have a professional interest in all of this stuff, so I'm not a "typical" punter, but nonetheless, I'm noticing a distinct move in my habits. Facebook … Continue reading So maybe Wired had a point…

Back in the UK after three weeks away on holiday (and three Internet-free weeks to boot), to the maelstrom of debate about the Google StreetView app that launched the week before last for Great Britain. It's a remarkable application. From a technical perspective, the data volumes, the collation of imaging and geographic data, the sheer … Continue reading The privacy of streetview

There have been a few new services (or new to me, at least) that I've picked up on in the past couple of weeks that I'm finding particularly entertaining... Google Earth seems to go from strength to strength. With 3d terrain mapping, an increasing number of 3d buildings modelled about the place, and now even … Continue reading Current stuff I like…

Realisation today as to the the sheer processing power of modern mobile phones (or "Multimedia Computers", as the manufacturer would have us say) - my mobile is now a web server. Not sure of the implications of this specifically (other than even worse battery life). However, it does give a key indication to me of … Continue reading The power of mobile phones

Today's Observer column by John Naughton quotes something from Umberto Eco about drawing analogies between Catholicisism and Protestantism and Macs and PCs which I hadn't heard before. The rest of the article goes on to talk about the Apple-toting Obama team being shocked by the locked down state of the White House's IT infrastructure (I'd … Continue reading The true church of Steve

With about half of the 400 people who are provided IT by my team using Apple devices, I'm particularly sensitive to all of the news about Steve Jobs' ailing health (see Medical leave for Apple boss Jobs). The future of Apple as a supplier is one thing (and concerns about the company's imminent demise without … Continue reading Steve Jobs – get well soon

Interesting article on The Register, summing up some of the challenges that I find in trying to provide Mac OS on a corporate scale... http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/04/apple_more_closed_than_microsoft/

An interesting day spent today at a conference run by IDC looking at the world of Unified Communications (the convergence of telephone, mobile and data). The main observations that I had out of the back of the event was that there seems to be little or no unification of mobile and fixed-line technologies at present (mainly … Continue reading Unified communications

Over the years I have had many a heated discussion about how generally ineffective money is in motivating people. "Oh, but the only reason I go to work is to get paid" and similar... Now, this isn't to say that there is no connection between money and how motivated someone is - just that it … Continue reading The (de)motivational effect of money