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  • The challenges of competing with Cloud computing providers

    In discussions about cloud computing and in comments readers leave on my blog posts, I commonly get statements along the lines of "Yeah, this cloud computing stuff sounds great, but at the end of the day, you have to have an IT guy solving problems like they've always done." In personal interactions, I often hear this sentiment portrayed as, "Public cloud computing is fine for the SMB and startup market, but enterprises aren't ready to move to that model." The tone of much of this feedback is that anyone who advocates cloud computing is at best naive or at worst incapable of understanding the real details of IT.

    Written by Bernard Golden • 27 Aug. 11 03:32

  • Cloud computing: A sustaining or disruptive innovation?

    If you've read this blog over the past couple of years, it should be no surprise that I am a huge advocate of the theories of Clayton Christensen, author of "The Innovator's Dilemma." Christensen and his book were brought to mind this week by the cover story in Forbes about his severe health problems, his experience with the U..S healthcare system, and his prescriptions for how to fix it.

    Written by Bernard Golden • 17 March 11 05:28

  • The cloud issue you really can't ignore

    Maybe it's time to rethink the cloud. Yeah, I know -- at this point, most IT shops haven't thought through the cloud the first time. But Microsoft's recent troubles keeping its cloud services available to users shine a harsh light on the issue of cloud availability and reliability.

    Written by Frank Hayes • 27 Sept. 10 20:08

  • Culture Clash: Office 2010 v. Google Docs

    Microsoft held its official launch event this morning for Office 2010--the latest release of its dominant office productivity suite. Some of the new elements of Office 2010 make the suite more Web-enabled, while recent changes to Google Docs make it more "Office-like", setting the two up for head-to-head battle.

    Written by Tony Bradley • 14 May 10 00:10

  • Broadly speaking? Or speaking of broadband. . .

    Australia is finally getting a National Broadband Network!

    Written by Matt Rodgers • 01 May 09 14:44

  • iPhone hackers go too far, get shut down by Apple

    I was all set to give this week's column over to a new register-direct implementation of a JavaScript interpreter that's many times faster than all currently available implementations. It's not exactly growing hair on a billiard ball, but a nitro-boosted JavaScript will put a shine on AJAX and keep my most beloved language on track to becoming the gold standard for dynamic languages.

    Written by Tom Yager • 07 Aug. 08 10:51

  • Mojave just part of Microsoft's much-needed makeover marketing campaign

    You may have heard of the Mojave Experiment: Microsoft took a bunch of XP users who were afraid to move toward Vista because of all the negative press it had received. In an attempt to reverse their negative feelings, the company sat them down in front of the latest desktop OS -- but didn't tell them it was Vista. And, lo, the people said they like it!

    Written by J. Peter Bruzzese • 07 Aug. 08 10:40

  • Reconsidering Vista

    OK, it's not perfect. But Windows Vista on a new PC is perfectly serviceable for many users. In some ways, in fact, Vista is a better operating system than Windows XP. Unfortunately, XP's heir apparent is also the most derided and discounted Microsoft operating system since Windows Me.

    Written by Robert L. Mitchell • 29 July 08 09:33

  • I returned the iPhone 3G after only 6 days!

    I have no excuses - I should have known better than to let my gadget envy get the better of me. But, with all the new way cool features added to the iPhone 3G and the fact that my existing AT&T plan allowed me to upgrade at US$199, I decided to join the other crazies in line last Saturday afternoon and spend 2 hours to get my hands on a new iPhone 3G. I've spent more than 20 hours since then trying to get it to do what I needed it to do (i.e., synchronize with Outlook, stay charged up for more than a day, not die when I touch a button, etc.) and then I spent another 3 hours yesterday trying to return it. For more about why I now feel like a moron, read on...

    Written by Susan Hanley • 22 July 08 12:17

  • For some, the longest week in iPhone history

    With the iPhone 3G launch now a week behind us, it's time to look back and see how the second coming of the iPhone turned out.

    Written by Dan Turner • 21 July 08 09:21

  • Exchange for the rest of us

    Like the presidential seal that vanished without comment from a politician's press podium, the competitive marketing brickbat that Apple flung at BlackBerry -- that BlackBerry's push e-mail works only with Microsoft Exchange, as if Exchange were an onerous burden -- quietly vanished from Apple's campaign.

    Written by Tom Yager • 17 July 08 09:49

  • First Reviews: iPhone 3G Improved, but Still Flawed

    Is the iPhone 3G worth waiting in line for? Early reviewers of Apple's new smart phone are mostly positive, but they share some common gripes about battery life and two aspects of dealing with AT&T: the service-plan costs and the skimpy 3G coverage areas.

    Written by Edward N. Albro • 10 July 08 16:08

  • Top Ten worst uses for Windows

    After all these years I am willing to admit that Microsoft has won the desktop and server wars. Thanks to VMWare Windows is spreading throughout the datacenter. And, of course, there is only one operating system to use if you are dependent on Microsoft apps like Outlook, Word, and Excel. While I have joined the chorus of security folks who rail against the Microsoft Monoculture I still cannot believe some of the uses for Windows. Some of them are just downright silly, some you may claim are criminally negligent.

    Written by Richard Stiennon • 09 July 08 09:35

  • It's not the Gates, it's the bars

    What really matters is not Gates, nor Microsoft, but the unethical system of restrictions that Microsoft, like many other software companies, imposes on its customers.

    Written by Richard Stallman • 07 July 08 12:50
  • 1

    Seven ways the iPhone sucks

    I've used iPhones and I have an iPod Touch. I love the interface, and I dig the device. Initially, I had to resist the urge to just buy an iPhone and deal with these problems, but I didn't, opting to get a Nokia N95 instead. A year has passed, and I've realized that I definitely made the right choice -- the limitations of the original iPhone (and the iPhone 2.0) are simply too numerous. Perhaps I've been spoiled by my N95 (and truth be told, I'll be getting an N96 in the next few months), but no matter how you slice it, I've decided that the iPhone just isn't my cup of tea. Here's why:

    Written by Paul Venezia • 02 July 08 11:05

  • Are smartphone viruses a threat to your network?

    All evidence points to the fact that smartphone viruses will be a threat to your network even though they aren't at this moment. After all, the latest mobile devices are packed with more and more applications and corporate data, are enabled for real Web browsing and online collaboration, and can access corporate servers. What's more, they live outside your firewall and often make use of three wireless networks (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and cellular).

    Written by John Cox • 24 June 08 11:14
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    Will gadgets make knowledge obsolete?

    In the 1984 cyberpunk novel, Neuromancer , author William Gibson describes a future in which people can acquire knowledge by buying special chips called "microsofts" that plug into a surgically installed jack behind the ear. Once you plug in the chip, your brain can access its database and - voila! Knowledge!

    Written by Mike Elgan • 24 June 08 07:36

  • Can you stop the iPhone now, IT?

    One of my initial thoughts after hearing about the iPhone 3G was, "Hmmm, I wonder how the enterprise is going to keep this device out of the office." Last year, the checklist of reasons why IT shouldn't support it was pretty long, but Apple appears to have seen the lists and solved lots of these items.

    Written by Keith Shaw • 12 June 08 10:10

  • Five reasons why it's not business as usual for Microsoft

    Bill Gates will be leaving Microsoft for good at the end of the month and Microsoft would have you believe that it will be business as usual for Microsoft. I understand they also have a great bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn that they'd like to sell you. Cheap!

    Written by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols • 12 June 08 09:15

  • Move over .Mac., here comes MobileMe

    When Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage on Monday at Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC), the focus of attention was on the new iPhone 3G and iPhone 2.0 -- the coming firmware update for all iPhones that will bring with it a slew of new apps.

    Written by Michael DeAgonia • 12 June 08 08:15
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