billso.com

I’ve had a few students ask me why businesses should upgrade to Windows Vista, the newest version of Microsoft’s operating system. Microsoft has spent a great deal of money and time promoting Vista, and has claimed that businesses are accelerating their Vista migration plans.

I always tell people to wait until Microsoft releases their first Service Pack before installing new Microsoft software.

This article from ZDNet features an interview with Simon Szykman, the CIO of NIST, the US government bureau that sets Federal standards for cryptography, information security, and other areas. NIST also runs the Computer Security Response Center, which posts alerts and warnings about virus, worms, and other computer security threats.

Sadly, that article has a deceptive title. NIST hasn’t banned Windows Vista. The agency is evaluating the operating system.

NIST, like many large organizations, has several applications that were developed in-house. While Microsoft tested Windows Vista on thousands of computers worldwide, companies usually perform their own testing with these homegrown programs. This is crucial, as Windows Vista might not support hardware or software that companies rely upon every day.

In January, ZDNet described how Microsoft invited NIST and the National Security Agency and to review and comment on the official Windows Vista Security Guide. NIST is still examining how to secure its own computers wafter Windows Vista is installed. The Janaury 2007 version of the guide is available here.

Dell, HP and other computer manufacturers have largely stopped shipments of Windows XP on new computers. Customers who haven’t switched to Windows Vista usually wipe the new hard disk, and install Windows XP. However, some new machines might be used as testbeds to determine how much value Windows Vista might deliver.

NIST, like other organizations, has already adopted Internet Explorer 7, which was included in Windows Vista. IE 7 also shipped for Windows XP, and for most Windows users, it’s a good upgrade that closes some security holes and adds helpful features like tabbed browsing. Of course, Firefox has offered tabbed browsing for years.

Microsoft Office 2007 shipped earlier this year, but as I mentioned on February 21, some companies are encountering problems with Office 2007’s new file formats.

Personally, I don’t plan on using Windows Vista any time soon. I’m hoping to replace my university Windows XP computer with a Mac. I’m waiting for Office 2008 for the Mac, also.

powered by performancing firefox

My IS 7010 students just finished a case about MySQL earlier this week. In that case, MySQL had entered an alliance with SAP and planned to merge SAP DB into MySQL software. That product became MaxDB, and it’s an essential part of SAP NetWeaver.

Today, Oracle sued SAP. Among the charges: employees at TomorrowNow, an SAP subsidiary in Texas, used Oracle customer passwords to copy Oracle software and documents. SAP then offered support services to Oracle customers who were considering switching to SAP NetWeaver.

The TomorrowNow home page doesn’t list SAP at all, notr does it mention Oracle. TomorrowNow does provide third-party support for ERP systems from J.D. Edwards, Siebel and PeopleSoft. Siebel and PeopleSoft were both purchased by Oracle a few years ago. PeopleSoft had previously purchased JD Edwards.

This lawsuit isn’t a big surprise, considering how much the Oracle and SAP sales forces hate each other. According to this article, “Oracle has spent US$20billion over the past three years” to buy smaller competitive rivals in the ERP (enterprise resource planning) industry. The lawsuit states that “theft appears to be an esential — and illegal — part of SAP’s competitive strategy against Oracle.”

powered by performancing firefox

I’ve seen many articles about residential broadband and its growing popularity in the US. I always ask my classroom students if they use broadband or dialup. In 2002, I usually had 5 or 10 students in each class who used dialup or who had no internet connection at home.

This semester, most of my students have broadband at home. Even so, it seems like most of of my students have no idea how fast their broadband connection is. I’m not surprised. Services can claim that the offer the “fastest”, “most reliable” or “best” connection.

As Wired pointed out earlier today, the FCC doesn’t require Time Warner Cable, Hawaiian Telcom, Clearwire, or any residential broadband provider to disclose speed data to customers! In fact, most broadband ISPs prefer to avoid the topic altogether.

Of course, there are several ways for users to test the speed of their broadband connection. I have accounts on Speakeasy or BroadbandReports, as these tests are web-based and free. Both services store my previous results, so I can compare results from various locations, devices, carriers and days.

When running these tests, it’s a good idea to close down any other programs or processes that are using the interent on the same machine. If I run these tests at home, I close down every other computer that is on my home network, as they are linked to my router and my internet connection.

High-speed residential broadband is faster and more redily available in other countries. South Korea is a good example. Then again, that country has a large population (49 million) crammed into a land mass smaller than many US states.

The quality and availability of residential broadband are two key factors that influence the adoption of e-commerce by consumers. Consumers are less likely to shop on the internet if they have a slow connection. Consumers who use dialup or slow broadband connections seem more liekly to lose patience and abandon their online shopping carts.

Abandoned carts are one metric that sellers can analyze to measure the success of their e-commerce efforts. Sometimes I have abandoned an online cart because all I wanted was a price or a shipping quote. I’ve dumped more than a few online shopping carts because I had to register for the site before my purchase. Once in a while, I get to the payment page and realize that the merchant doesn’t support Paypal or one of my payment cards.

Of course, consumers are very unlikely to use e-commerce themselves if they have no internet connection. As I mentioned in last week’s class, however, because more businesses use e-commerce to order supplies and sell products, more consumers are becoming involved in e-ecommerce in a more indirect ways.

I recently had a conversation with the owner of Bungalow Bay, a store that sells t-shirts and other items at Aloha Tower and online. E-commerce has helped him sell items to an international market, through the store’s web site and eBay listings. These online purchases sometimes catch local customers by surprise when the store runs out of popular items!

Mobile phone users are finding more reasons to use e-commerce. Phone carriers are driving customers online to computers for bill payment, customer support, and other services. It’s cheaper to have the customer do the work than someone in a call center. Electronic payments are usually less expensive to process than paper checks. Carriers, utility and finance companies are pushing consumers to schedule their monthly or regular online payments, as one more way to guarantee that customers will pay what they owe on time.

T-Mobile’s Sidekick devices and all Windows Mobile phones rely on a computer to help the user synchronize and use data. The Apple iPhone will bring similar capabilities to the Mac in June.

Amazon, Paypal and other companies have been developing mobile APIs and sites that let mobile users order and pay for products and services with their PDA or phone. Google supports searches, maps, Gmail and other services on mobile phones and on SMS. Try sending a search such as the ones shown in this example to 466453.

Outside the US, it’s not unusual to find vending machines that will accept payment via SMS instead of coins, bills or cards. Here’s an example that Esther Dyson found in Poland last November 21. Coins are heavy and expensive to retrieve by vending and laundry machine operators. Paper money is even more difficult to use with some vending machines, although I know some folks who disagree with me.

I won’t be holding office hours next week during spring break. I will check my e-mail at least once every weekday next week, but my response time may be up to 72 hours, rather than my usual goal of 24 hours.

The IS 6100 midterm and IS 7010 Paper 3 assignments will be graded by Monday, March 26.

I had planned on finishing the IS 6100 midterms by last Friday, March 16, but jury duty put me two days behind on my grading, for which I apologize.

On Monday, March 26, I won’t hold office hours because the university is closed for Prince Kuhio Day.

On Thursday, March 29, I will be away from campus, so I won’t be holding office hours. Professors need a break, too!

I will resume my normal office hour schedule on Monday, April 2 and Thursday, April 5. I’m preparing for an onslaught of Paper 3 questions from IS 6100 students, and Paper 4 questions from my IS 7010 students.

TurnItIn.com will be up and running for the entire break, except for a brief period on Saturday, March 24. In the same link, I mentioned that Pipeline will be down from March 26-29. As I mentioned in the IS 6100 and 7010 course syllabi, that includes access to the online library resources and databases. Plan accordingly!

Finally, I will post the IS 6100 and IS 7010 final exams and reflection papers by April 15.

My students should remember that several university systems will be down during spring break.

Turnitin.com will be unavailable on Saturday, March 24th,
2007 from 7-11 AM HT for database maintenance. I have no assignments that are due on that day.HPU Pipeline will be down from , as I announced earlier in the term on this blog and in my course syllabi.

I’m finishing the grades for the IS 6100 Paper 3 topic assignment this evening. Please check Grademark, as I am including some comments and suggestions with each paper.

powered by performancing firefox