Month: October 2001

Technology Review – Show Your High-Tech ID. Trevor Darrell, who researches biometrics at MIT, is developing applications that go beyond traditional face, hand or iris recognition. He demonstrated a system to identify people by the way they walk; another to do it by the way they talk; and a third to spot suspicious behavior, such… Continue reading Show Your High-Tech ID

Conflict News from Wired News – Terror Act Has Lasting Effects. Though some of the provisions in the sweeping anti-terrorism bill will expire in 2004, many have no sunset clause and broaden police powers indefinitely. After the president signs the measure on Friday, police will have the permanent ability to conduct Internet surveillance without a… Continue reading Wired News

Hats Off to Feingold. He reminded his colleagues that our Founding Fathers “wrote the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to protect individual liberties in times of war as well as in times of peace.” And he pointed out that “they did not live in comfortable and easy times of hypothetical enemies.” Feingold was quite… Continue reading Hats Off to Feingold

ACM: Ubiquity – Breaking Down the Digital Walls. Quote: “In Breaking Down the Digital Walls, Mr. Burniske, now a researcher in the computer-writing laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin, and Mr. Monke, now an assistant professor of education at Wittenberg University have given us a book that is no run-of-the-mill “how to do… Continue reading ACM: Ubiquity – Breaking Down the Digital Walls

Forrester may survive, but as long as they put out garbage like this, they are at risk: “Simply put, mastering HTML, site maps and Visual Basic doesn't cut it anymore for Web site design. Architecting a first-class site requires advanced skills in Enterprise JavaBeans and N-tier architectures, such as C# and XML ontologies.” I am… Continue reading Forrester may survive, but as long as they put out garbage like this, they are at risk:

“Simply put, mastering HTML, site maps and Visual Basic doesn't cut it anymore for Web site design. Architecting a first-class site requires advanced skills in Enterprise JavaBeans and N-tier architectures, such as C# and XML ontologies.”

I am fairly certain that nobody at Forrester has ever built a major Website.  A good low cost CMS would radically improve most corporate Web sites for very few $$ [John Robb's Radio Weblog

How will Microsoft attack the hardware biz?  The hush hush Microsoft home server will sit in a closet and connect to multiple users via wireless connections.  Multiple users will be able to use it simultaneously (thank you Moore's Law).   Tablet touchscreen PCs, TVs, Laptops that are just screens and a keyboard, phones, devices, home appliances, will… Continue reading John Robb's Radio Weblog

Interactive Week: Net Worth. Prudential financial spent nearly $10 million redesigning its web site, but the company isn't expecting a hard-dollar return on the investment. That might seem strange in these troubled times, but it's an indication of just how integrated Web assets have become in Prudential's overall corporate strategy. [Tomalak's Realm]

The Chronicle of Higher Education: Penn's Bandwidth Impresses Some and Frustrates Others. Administrators say they are committed to providing a network robust enough so that professors and students can experiment with new technologies — like virtual conference rooms and digital video libraries — but they also say there are limits on what the university can… Continue reading Penn's Bandwidth Impresses Some and Frustrates Others

Forbes: Fixed Wireless Is Beyond Fixing. For fixed wireless, the cavalry has arrived too late. The technical problems that once held it back have been fixed, but rival technologies now dominate the “last mile” broadband business–and now some major defections have thinned the already dwindling ranks of its supporters. [Tomalak's Realm]

Web Techniques: User to User Support. Derek Powazek. Archibald is the poster child for a kind of online community that's not new, but one that companies are just now learning to foster. These are support communities, gift economy ecosystems where what you give is what you get. [Tomalak's Realm]