Entries tagged as 'cio'
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Posted Sunday, 18 May 2008
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I’ve been writing articles about the iPhone since the device was announced in January 2007.
billso.com uses the WPtouch plugin to provide iPhone and iPod touch users with a touch-friendly interface, search and menus.
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Posted Thursday, 8 May 2008
IDG, the publisher of InfoWorld, ComputerWorld, MacWorld and other technology magazines has been shifting away from paper to online editions. This New York Times article mentions that the transition has generated more revenue than the company expected:
Today, I.D.G. says, the InfoWorld Web site is generating ad revenue of $1.6 million a month with operating profit margins of 37 percent. A year earlier, when it had both print and online versions, InfoWorld had a slight operating loss on monthly revenue of $1.5 million.
This is remarkable given that some IDG titles like CIO magazine are distributed free of free of charge. Advertisers subsidize the content for both the web-based and print editions. While some IDG titles like InfoWorld are online only, CIO is still available in a twice-monthly print edition, largely because advertisers believe the target audience is less likely to read the online version. CIO also features longer articles than InfoWorld these days.
IDG has also added multiple RSS feeds to its web sites, to capture readers who prefer to use feed aggregators.
Many of these IDG magazines have been cited in previous billso.com articles, such as this post from 7 May 2008. I also list some of these titles on my references page, which contains many reliable and authoritative sources for researchers, managers and my students.
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Posted Tuesday, 29 April 2008
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According to Fortune, AT&T will sell the 2nd generation iPhone with a US$200 subsidy when it goes on sale on or around 27 June 2008. I’ve compiled a list of my billso.com iPhone articles below, as they contain hints or information about iPhone 2.0
It’s an Interesting way to mark the first year of the iPhone, and it’s unlikely that AT&T will lose money, given the costs of data plans for the iPhone. The subsidy may or may not be available at Apple’s retail stores.
Those discounts would make the 8GB model US$199 with a new 2-year contract, and the 16GB model US$299. Those prices make the iPhone more attractive for consumers. Expect to see more iPhones in Starbucks stores around July, as customers use AT&T WiFi access points to download songs and videos from iTunes.
The new model iPhone will be 2.5 mm thinner than the original model, and will also have 3G, GPS and 802.11n chipsets. Current models support the slower EDGE protocol, a simulated GPS system and 802.11 b/g WiFi connections
It will also include version 2.0 firmware, which will support Microsoft Exchange servers. It will be interesting to see what AT&T charges its corporate customers for iPhones.
Many of these items will help some CIOs justify the iPhone as a corporate device. RIM is preparing its own “iPhone killer” model to support its Blackberry line, according to this New York Times article.
The new firmware will also support true applications for the iPhone, instead of web-based apps.
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Posted Friday, 8 February 2008
The Washington Post reported yesterday on allegations that US Customs agents have inspected and confiscated laptop computers, iPods, and mobile phones during passenger inspections. Passengers claim they were asked to provide passwords and open files. In some cases, mobile phones were inspected and returned with purged call logs. One person claims their laptop has been held for an over a year.
According to this article, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Asian Law Caucus have filed a civil lawsuit against the Federal Government, based on 20 complaints from Northern California residents. The goal is disclosure of the US government’s boder search policies. One sourse of concern is an apparent pattern of racial profiling, in which agents targeted Asian and Muslim passengers.
The US Department of Justice asserts that electronic equipment falls into the same category as a briefcase, and may be searched and confiscated for inspection.
However, the scenarios described in this article sound more like coercion or out-and-out robbery.
Of course, many corporate travelers have confidential or private information on their computers and phones. The Post article cites a Canadian law firm that sends corporate travelers headed to the United States with “empty hard drives”. There’s an operating system and a web browser on the laptop, of course, but employees access their email and documents through a secure Internet connection such as a virtual private network (VPN). This helps keep confidential data off the drive, as the law firm fears discovery by search more than a hacked Internet connection.
BoingBoing and the Consumerist each had articles about the Post report, although both blogs misidentified US Customs as the TSA.
Sadly, the activities alleged in this lawsuit do not surprise me. BusinessWeek recently reported on Indian IT outsourcing firms that have systematically underpaid IT workers who were brought to the United States on H1-B visas. These workers make tempting targets, as their outsourcing companies can send the workers back home for any reason. By the time some workers determined they would never get their back-pay, they were no longer in the US. It seems that only a few lawyers or client companies will step in to help these guest workers.
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Posted Monday, 1 October 2007
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HPU has rolled out a campus emergency notification system that will notify students and employees by email and text message. The system was announced on Pipeline on 25 September. I discussed similar systems on 17 April, and USA Today discussed Rave in an article on 25 October 2006.
HPU students and staff can enroll online with Rave at https://www.getrave.com/login/hpu/
The service is free, and the enrollment process requires a Pipeline ID and password.
I did notice that the telephone number fields will not support international calling codes. Most students on Oahu would use a North American phone number, but there might be distance education students who would want emergency notification messages. The Rave system could be used to announce unscheduled WebCT and Pipeline outages.
Subscribers can get their Rave notifications by email, which is a good alternative for users of push email systems like the iPhone, Blackberrys, Sidekicks and some Windows Mobile devices.
Also, the enrollment form appears to validate entries as they are typed. Many web forms include programming code to catch data entry errors in the web browser, before the submit button is pressed. Client-side validation can reduce network traffic and server load, if the validation scripts are well-written and carefully tested.
To test the form, I entered some incorrect data. Then I tried to edit the data. I had to click and hold with my trackpad while retyping the numeric fields.
It’s not the most obvious solution – I tried deleting and backspacing over the bad data, but the cursor kept jumping to another field. The validation script assumed that I’d entered the data correctly the first time.
The Rave system does send a confirmation message to the mobile phone number that was entered on the enrollment screen. The user get on a web browser and enter a 4-digit code from the text message to activate their account.
The email side of the system does not send an activation or conformation code, which I found curious. I entered my Gmail email address.
There’s been a surge in notification system deployments since April, as universities and colleges look for better ways to notify stakeholders of important events.
Some universities have found these systems useful when the weather gets bad. At other schools, these systems are also used to notify students when classes are canceled or events are rescheduled.
An emergency notification system is also an important part of disaster recovery planning (DRP) for any large organization. CIOs and their staff must have a reasonable, well-tested action plan to resolve issues that threaten the organization’s employees, staff and information systems. Rave’s system can improve a DRP implementation by asking people to staff off-campus during an emergency.
Of course, the Rave system works best when many users are registered with their correct information. Students tend to change email addresses and phone numbers often, and there’s nothing that compels students to use the system.
Another issue involves marketing. An emergency notification system should not be used to send advertising and marketing messages to users. There are some services that allow these messages. However, the last thing I expect from an emergency notification service is spam and ads.
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Hawaii,
HPU,
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Sidekick,
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student,
usability,
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