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May 1, 2004
SJ Mercury: Company's founders have power to do some good.
Dan Gillmor. That's a lot to extrapolate from a single financial document, the ``S-1'' prospectus that Google filed Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It announced a decision to sell shares to the public and revealed key corporate information. What a remarkable document it was.
May 2, 2004
uiweb: What they didn't teach me in Design & Usability school.
Scott Berkun. A few weeks ago I gave a guest lecture at the University of Washington on what I wished they’d taught me in college about HCI, design and usability (I studied these and other things at CMU). Here's an essay based in part on what I told the kind audience that showed up to listen.
May 3, 2004
InfoWorld: Microsoft premiers DRM technology.
With an eye to capturing a larger share of the budding market for online music and movie distribution software, Microsoft Corp. announced Monday a new version of its copyright protection software that will allow users to play rented content on portable devices...
Useit.Com: Change the Color of Visited Links.
Even people who believe in usability sometimes question the need for changing link colors. I think this is because they don't pick up on the problems caused by unchanging links when they conduct their own user testing. Unfortunately, the symptoms of these problems are among the most difficult to detect when you observe users.
IT World: If they develop it, will it work? Exploring Gmail.
If one million users, say, take Gmail up then, on the face of it, 1PB, one petabyte -- that's one million gigabytes, of hard disk would be needed. Double that for redundancy, add in more for indexing, and some lucky supplier could find a 2.5PB HDD order in the in-tray. But Google doesn't work like this.
May 4, 2004
News.Com: Microsoft to demonstrate home PC of tomorrow.
The Media Center PC of the future has a remote control with a built-in LCD screen for programming recordings. The PC, known as the Windows Home Concept, also supports Internet telephony, dual high-definition TV tuners, biometric security, and a built-in cable modem.
NY Times: Canada's Phone Giants Face Internet Threat.
The threat comes chiefly from rivals offering the increasingly popular technology known as voice-over-Internet protocol, or VoIP. Their entry has ignited a vigorous debate over the future regulation of Canada's telecommunications services. The crux of the discussion is whether the upstarts in VoIP will be regulated at all, while the two closely regulated market behemoths clamor to be set free.
May 5, 2004
EE Times: FCC forms wireless task force.
The task force will review U.S. spectrum management policies and regulations and develop recommendations for stimulating the growth of wireless Internet service providers. The group also plans a series of public hearings beginning on May 19 and extending through August to gather industry comments.
InfoWorld: Microsoft revisits NGSCB security plan.
Originally, Microsoft had limited NGSCB to provide strong protection for very small amounts of data through protected agents. Applications would have to be rebuilt to include a protected agent that would run in a secured space on the system. Now Microsoft is working to revise NGSCB so that it will be possible to secure more bits without having to rewrite applications..
May 6, 2004
eWEEK: Intel Showcases Advanced Computing Research.
Leading the way were development projects for optical microprocessor interconnects to accelerate processing, wireless sensor networks and server-network I/O acceleration; and new wireless communication handsets for commercial and consumer applications.
EE Times: Microsoft targeting portable power.
The drive concept is one of many ways Microsoft intends to lower power demands of Windows machines. Under an umbrella program called Power Sense, the company showed a capability to keep a consumer PC in a low-power state so that it can be instantly switched on and off like a TV or radio, yet be available to handle network requests such as preprogrammed TV recording.
May 7, 2004
Comuterworld: Intel researchers study cultures not circuits.
Though the chip maker may be better known for its research and development work in physics and computer science, a small group of approximately 10 anthropologists and psychologists has been steadily accumulating research on how people use computer technology in their work and home lives since 1997.
Christian Science Monitor: The accidental arbiter.
An unelected official, he's in charge of regulating what people see and hear, and how. His purview ranges from new technology - using the Internet as a telephone, for example - to old debates with new heat, such as how much profanity seeps into TV programs.
May 8, 2004
InfoWorld: Google's supercomputer.
Jon Udell. In an era when decentralization is in vogue and loose coupling is regarded as the only way to achieve planetary scale, Skrenta’s essay touched a nerve, suggesting that the right kind of centralized and tightly coupled architecture has no practical limits.
May 9, 2004
Computerworld: Intel planning shift toward mobile designs for chips.
Over the next few years, Intel Corp. will shift its desktop processor architecture away from the power-hungry design that fuels the current Pentium 4 processor to a more power-efficient design that builds on the success of the Pentium M chip, sources familiar with Intel's plans said this week.
Forbes: Wearable Wireless Displays Are In Sight.
Imagine having a 17-inch screen constantly at your disposal that lets you look up information online, check your e-mail or watch a movie--and that isn't attached to a laptop. Soon, thanks to the burgeoning microdisplay industry, you probably will.
May 10, 2004
IBM DeveloperWorks: All I want is a quick, easy install.
Installers have become unnecessarily complex over the years. Most are trying to solve a number of unrelated problems at once, while they're often unable to perform their primary task reliably. The solution is obvious: stop trying to reinvent the wheel.
PC World: Web-User Satisfaction on the Upswing.
Chances are two in three that you'll be happy with the outcome of your next Web site visit, according to a recent survey. That's not bad, considering that only seven years ago your odds of a successful visit were only two in five. The news isn't all positive, however: Newbies still suffer from information overload, and site-specific searches need a lot of help.
May 11, 2004
Wired News: MIT Aims for the Bottom Line.
With its building extension project still in limbo, and layoffs a fresh memory for some of its staff, the leaders of the MIT Media Lab met with electronics companies this week to persuade the businesses that the lab is serious about making technologies for the consumer market.
PC World: What's Next for Consumer Gadgets?
Our digital future may offer do-it-all devices that are nonetheless simple to use; batteries that can be recharged on the fly, perhaps wirelessly; and tech gadgets that resemble nothing available today, say some of the experts who will be developing it.
News.Com: Sony makes over Vaio line.
Additions to the line include a new portable music player built around a hard drive, a diminutive Windows XP PC and new PCs with enhanced audiovisual functions. Also, the company revealed that it is working on a hard-disk recorder with more than a terabyte of storage capacity.
May 12, 2004
InfoWorld: Verizon races toward wireless broadband.
Until now, the missing link has always been wireless. But with the rollout of a new technology called EvDO (evolution, data optimized), Verizon wireless users will enjoy burst data rates of 2.4Mbps and average data rates of 300Kbps to 600Kbps.
EE Times: Fuel cells to start powering PDAs, laptops in 2005.
The use of micro fuel cells for powering laptops and PDAs will begin next year, but it will be a long time before the technology is widespread, a study released Wednesday by ABI Research claims.
May 13, 2004
EE Times: FCC to free TV spectrum for wireless services.
Emerging services like software-defined smart radios should be able to detect and use the TV spectrum when it is not being used for broadcasting. The FCC said it hopes the spectrum initiative will spur development of new unlicensed, broadband devices and services.
NY Times: Google to Sell Type of Ad It Once Shunned.
Now advertisers will have the option of adding a graphic image to their text ad. But the advertisers will have no guarantee that the graphic version will be shown. Google's computer system will decide whether to show the text version or the graphic version of the ad...
May 14, 2004
Discover: Winning the War on Spam.
Steven Johnson. Maybe we just need a new model: Spam as a digital version of pollution. We can fight pollution in two ways: Either invest in technologies that protect individuals from the effects of environmental hazards or try to identify and eliminate the root cause of those hazards.
The Economist: A perfect market.
So e-commerce is already very big, and it is going to get much bigger. But the actual value of transactions currently concluded online is dwarfed by the extraordinary influence the internet is exerting over purchases carried out in the offline world. That influence is becoming an integral part of e-commerce.
May 15, 2004
Wired News: New Spin on the Music Business.
Fisher advocates an alternative compensation system that would pay artists based on the popularity of their music. Artists would first have to register their work with the copyright office, which would track how many times that work was downloaded.
InfoWorld: Push me, pull you.
Jon Udell. The lone exception has nothing to do with push vs. pull and everything to do with the locus of control. You can subscribe me to a (poorly managed) e-mail list without my permission, but you cannot subscribe me to an RSS feed without my permission.
May 16, 2004
SJ Mercury: Movers and thinkers.
If you're convinced the future is no longer what it used to be, if you're fretting that inventors and scientists have stopped dreaming big dreams, then set aside a few hours this weekend to visit the NextFest exposition at Fort Mason in San Francisco.
May 17, 2004
USA Today: 321 Software head asked to testify to House subcommittee.
Robert Moore, founder and president of 321 Studios, said Friday he was invited to appear May 12 before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. The panel will hear testimony concerning the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act.
WIRED: Watch This Way.
Q&A with Rob Glaser, Yair Landau, William Gibson and Ed Zuckerman. There will be a feature in your phone that knows all your media preferences, be it your Rhapsody playlist, be it what you TiVoed, so that rather than tying your media preferences into a physical device, you access all of this programming as a function of subscriptions. It operates like a Visa or library card.
NY Times: Intel's Big Shift After Hitting Technical Wall.
Last week after the company said that it was making a fundamental break with its traditional chip design approach, some analysts and former Intel designers said that Intel was coming to terms with escalating heat problems so severe they threatened to cause its chips to fracture at extreme temperatures.
May 18, 2004
News.Com: ICANN wins round in Internet suit.
U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz dismissed allegations that the ICANN had violated federal antitrust laws in its attempts to bar VeriSign from adding services like Site Finder, which effectively took control of all unassigned .com and .net domain names and redirected them to the company's Web site.
Computerworld: Wireless LANs Find Their Voice.
And thanks to accelerated hardware and software development, these phones are morphing into wireless IP headsets and Star Trek-like voice-activated communicators and software phones, also known as softphones, that are just another program on a laptop or handheld computer.
May 19, 2004
Technology Review: The World's Hottest Computer Lab.
Indeed, with 150 full-time researchers and more than $80 million from its parent company since opening in 1998, Microsoft Research Asia has become a powerhouse of infotech R&D. Far faster than even Microsoft’s top brass expected, the Beijing research outpost is influencing the company’s global business.
News.Com: Microsoft to submit antispam standard.
While all three companies are testing or endorsing separate technologies, these efforts are not yet considered competitive. Microsoft's Sundwall and AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham said the companies are working together to test both systems and achieve some common ground.
May 20, 2004
eWEEK: Berners-Lee Takes Shot at .Mobi Domain.
Tim Berners-Lee, the man who created the Web 15 years ago, opened the 13th annual International World Wide Web Conference here on Wednesday by voicing his concerns over 10 new top-level domains being considered by ICANN, including .mobi, a top-level domain for mobile content.
News.Com: New York classifies Vonage as phone company.
New York is the latest state to weigh in on regulation of so-called voice over Internet Protocol services, a hot-button policy issue that has some local officials worried about potential tax losses as the technology grows in popularity.
News.Com: Some users to auctioneer: Bring back old 'My eBay'.
The popular online auction site launched a new version of its My eBay site on Thursday with a string of new features and a new navigation scheme that's left some longtime users baffled. The company said the frustration was understandable, as with any new product or revision.
May 21, 2004
EE Times: Plastic, not glass, to spawn new breed of thin, flexible displays.
Display R&D efforts at Royal Philips Electronics are "no longer on glass-based displays," which are breakable and expensive to manufacture, said Peter Wierenga, a senior vice president with Philips Research. Instead, the company is pursuing "plastic-based and cheap manufacturing technology..."
InfoWorld: Microsoft eyeing merger of two secure e-mail specs.
E-mail experts from the Redmond, Washington, software company will spend the weekend meeting with SPF author Meng Weng Wong of Pobox.com and looking for ways to merge the closely related Caller ID and SPF standards, according to Wong.
eWEEK: ICANN's Bid to Double Budget Raises Ire.
The Internet's domain-name oversight body is proposing to double its budget and raise fees for the companies that register Web addresses—a move that is unleashing criticism about who will pay for the heftier spending.
May 22, 2004
InfoWorld: Blogging behind the firewall.
What a difference a few Weblogs can make. In January, I wrote about the importance of leveraging the inherent simplicity in technologies such as RSS for enterprise information-sharing, and I mentioned a particular effort I had in mind: experimenting with a simple intranet Weblog.
ComputerWorld: Wi-Fi provider Cometa shutting down.
Less than 18 months after it was created in a well-publicized bid to bring about nationwide wireless access in the U.S., Wi-Fi wholesale network operator Cometa Networks Inc. has announced that it's suspending operations, citing a lack of money.
May 23, 2004
PC World: Camera Phones Hit 3 Megapixels.
Japanese cellular carrier KDDI plans to begin selling in early June a cell phone with an embedded 3-megapixel resolution digital camera, it said Wednesday. The handset will be the first in the world at this resolution, according to the carrier.
May 24, 2004
Useit.Com: Thirty Years With Computers.
For the field in general, it's worth remembering the downsides to centralized computing. We must take steps to keep users in control as we grow the power of the network. It's essential that we keep a strong front end to balance out improved back-end features.
EE Times: Humble cell morphs into device for all seasons.
Some received radio and TV broadcasts; some played music, videos and games. Others functioned as electronic money or personal identification systems, with the help of wireless ICs; still others accessed the Internet to remotely control home robots.
News.Com: Flash memory makers slash prices.
Although new technologies typically become cheaper as increasing sales maximize production efficiencies, analysts said the particularly sharp drop in flash prices is partly a strategic move by Samsung and Toshiba to protect their business.
May 25, 2004
InfoWorld: Security as an immune system.
His behavior-based strategy is a significant departure from traditional approaches to IT security, such as knowledge-based (knowing what attacks look like before they occur) and signature-based (spotting invaders by their signatures) techniques. It also does away with the need for constant IT updates, maintenance, and patch deployment.
Wired News: A Break From Annoying Ads?
Speaking at the Ad:Tech conference, a three-day expo of Internet advertising technology, a panel of representatives from CNet, New York Times Digital and Yahoo said customer feedback would play an increasingly important role in decisions involving the deployment of new advertising technologies.
May 26, 2004
First Monday: The state of copyright activism.
Siva Vaidhyanathan. One of the great hopes I had while I researched and wrote Copyrights and copywrongs, a cultural history of American copyright, during the late 1990s was that copyright debates might puncture the bubble of public consciousness and become important global policy questions. My wish has come true.
eWEEK: Want Wi-Fi with That?
Wayport would not have pursued the business if it didn't want it—and it wanted it very much. The reason why became obvious yesterday when Wayport introduced Wi-Fi World, a whole new business model—designed around its partnership with McDonald's...
May 27, 2004
Technology Review: Wicked Innovation.
Michael Schrage. The proliferation and permutation of viruses and worms offers a superb case study in wicked innovation and innovative wickedness. Why do such innovations succeed? What can and should we learn from their continuing success?
Washington Post: Build It, and They May Not Come.
But today, many of those buildings are decorated with "for lease" signs in front, begging clients to inhabit the windowless fortresses that were built to house the large servers that perform high-speed Internet and telecommunications functions.
May 28, 2004
PC World: Sony Shows Portable Audio, Video Player.
Unlike many Sony products, the HMP-A1 supports MP3 audio and doesn't require users to transcode their music into the company's ATRAC format. Transcoding involves converting from one format to another and usually results in some loss of quality.
May 29, 2004
Wired News: Visual Gadgets of the Future.
The gizmo-packed exhibition hall at the Society for Information Display's international symposium offers a tantalizing vision of what's to come. This week's meeting was all about extremes -- monitors that are very big or very small, very thin, very light and very, very high-resolution.
May 30, 2004
eWEEK: Spam Battle Moving to Authentication.
Enterprises will be getting new tools to combat the intractable spam problem as e-mail server software developers and third-party software tools embrace efforts to authenticate e-mail senders at the gateway to block both spam and viruses.
May 31, 2004
CIO: The Virtues of Chitchat.
Michael Schrage. Different organizations have the opportunity—I would now say the obligation—to explore how best to marry this medium of expression with the insatiable need for better managing communication, coordination and collaboration with IT and its clients.
SJ Mercury: New wireless TV offers freedom -- at a high price.
For the first time, you can pick up a TV screen and move it to a place that's convenient for you. At least that's the theory. As is often the case with first-generation technology, the wireless Aquos is underperforming and hugely expensive at an astounding $1,699.
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