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What I’ve read and caught up on (102906)

A sunny then rainy weekend, filled with costume making and Halloween prep. Here are a few articles from the reading file and ones I re-read during the commute last week. Thankfully, most are available for download, making it easy to save for later reading on mobile devices.

BusinessWeek


Bill Gates Gets Schooled – “Why he and other execs have struggled in their school reform efforts, and why they keep trying.” By Jay Greene & William C. Symonds – June 26, 2006. Then read the follow up in the Readers Report, “What Else Bill And Melinda Need To Know,”  where BW readers responded to the story.


More Elbow Room On The Net – A pending upgrade will provide an almost limitless number of addresses. Nov. 6, 2006.


Big Blue Shift – “IBM is reorganizing its global workforce to lower costs without skimping on service.” By Steve Hamm – June 05, 2006. Also IBM’s India Pep Rally.


Net Calls Get A Better Hearing – I like Stephen Wildstrom’s articles. In this one, he covers “two new products can turn your laptop into a high-quality speakerphone” (June 05, 2006): “In many situations, a quality speakerphone provides an attractive alternative. The basic designs of the ClearOne Chat 50 ($149) and the Polycom Communicator ($129, available in June) are quite similar. These allow the portable versions to function as “full-duplex” speakerphones, meaning that parties on both ends can talk at once, with very good audio quality.” He preferred the Polycom for its sleek design and low price.


The View Beyond Vista – “Microsoft’s monopoly on operating systems may face new competition.” By Stephen H. Wildstrom – May 08, 2006. dowload the podcast here. Also see Vista Offers Brighter View for PC Gaming as “Microsoft’s Rich Wickham talks about the introduction of operating system Vista and what it means for the future of the industry.”


Hauling In The Hollywood Hackers – Interesting, short read on “how undercover FBI agents nab the bootleggers who threaten the movie biz.” By Roger O. Crockett – May 15, 2006


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Dawn Of The Idea Czar – “When the ‘I’ in CIO is for innovation, the post should go to a jack-of-all-trades.” By Jena McGregor, April 10, 2006, who writes:


“The structure of the role varies widely: Some CIOs have sizable teams while others are more like internal consultants, and the job may be most closely tied to strategy, marketing, or R&D. But able candidates are drawn by the position’s high visibility and the rewards that could accompany any successes. “If they’re incubating truly new businesses, they could ultimately go run [one of them],” says Spencer Stuart consultant Cathy Anterasian. “That’s very exciting.”


Google’s “Not Office” Launches – “Google has just launched “Docs & Spreadsheets,” notes TechCrunch’s Mike Arrington, one of the bloggers who got an early look. Yeah, yeah, they’re not trying to do an online version of Microsoft Office. Sure. Just the next thing that could…” By Rob Hof – October 11, 2006. and…


Google Vs. Microsoft, For Real – “So Google’s moving forcefully at last into the business software market, at least in a test version” with Google Apps for Your Domain. By Rob Hof – August 27, 2006


From Business 2.0


The mighty micro-multinational – The garage goes global as a new breed of startup operates worldwide in the battle for technology, talent, and customers. By Michael V. Copeland, July 28 2006. 


How to hacker-proof your business – “Is the information stored by your company secure? Here’s how to make sure your confidential data remains top secret.” By Kevin Poulsen, October 27 2006


Microsoft’s big nightmare: free online apps – “A new generation of browsers is about to make Web applications better than downloadable desktop software.” By Om Malik, October 23 2006


Fast Company


Like, Um, You Know – by Alyssa Danigelis, 2006-05-01. “Verbal tics may be holding you back. How to identify them and overcome them. Totally.”


The Future of Design – by Linda Tischler,  2006-07-01.


Fortune – free access


The big surprise is Enterprise – Quietly beating out rivals Hertz and Avis, this privately held outfit reigns as the No. 1 car-rental company in America, and the Taylor family aims to keep it on top.” By Carol J. Loomis, Fortune editor at large, July 14 2006. At Enterprise, “keeping customers happy is an obsession.”



The company’s “Enterprise Service Quality index, or ESQi, derived from prompt follow-up phone calls to one out of every 15 Enterprise customers. The survey asks just two questions: First, on a scale ranging from “completely satisfied” to “completely dissatisfied,” how would you rate your last Enterprise rental experience? Second, would you rent from Enterprise again? The answers to the first question are next compiled into an index. Each segment of the company – each branch, for example–then gets its score. And here is the kicker: If the ESQi for your bailiwick doesn’t at least meet the company average, you don’t – absolutely don’t – get promoted.”  


PC Magazine


Build It: The Ultimate Game Room – By Dan Evans and Nathan Edwards – 030106 – “Make your game room a vip room, with custom-painted PCS, a giant-screen plasma TV, an Xbox 360, and the world’s first LAN scoreboard.”


Smarter Homes – PC Magazine writers “take you inside three of the smartest homes in America to show you what they’ve done and how they did it. We also give you DIY tips and product recommendations for creating your own high-tech habitat.”


From Forbes.com (subscription/registration sometimes required)


Move Into the Light – August 14, 2006, By David Armstrong – “Philips finally figured out how to make money selling TVs in the U.S. Credit a funky backlight–and a stern threat from the boss.”


Is The Internet Out Of Room? – April 11, 2006. A look at the move to IPv6.


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Your questions: do I need to do anything for IPv6?

I was asked this week: “What is IPv6 and what do I have to do to my PC now to support it?”


So first, what is it?


In the simplest terms, Internet Protocol version 4 an 6 (IPv4 and IPv6) are the Internet network standards that are and will be used (resp) by any device connected to the Internet. IPv4 is the Internet Protocol that is currently used, and IPv6 is the next generation. You might’ve seen articles proclaiming that we’re running out of available addresses — this from Forbes, “Is The Internet Out Of Room”? (4/11/2006):



“The Internet is supposed to be limitless–a boundary-free exchange of digital information and profit. So how can it be running out of real estate?


“The answer, according to information technology experts, lies in cyberspace’s ever-growing popularity. In theory, each new user who wants to log on needs a new address, as does each new Internet-enabled gadget, like smartphones that can access the Web. Routers, which allow multiple users and devices to use a single address, are helping stave off the problem for now, but it’s only a stopgap measure.”


Moving to IPv6 will increase the available addresses, just as adding digits to phone numbers increases the possible number of phones you can support. In the case of Internet-connected devices, this means that we will move from a system with a limited number of addresses today to an almost unlimited number. BusinessWeek has an article in print and online this week that looks at this worldwide network upgrade that provides “an almost limitless number of addresses.”


IPv4 vs. IPv6



“The problem — all the possible Net addresses will be used up in five years — can be solved by upgrading the decades-old standards that govern how different devices communicate with each other. The upgrade, called Internet Protocol version 6, was developed a decade ago and mostly has been sitting on the shelf — until now, that is. Anxious about how China and Asia are starting to upgrade their computer systems to take advantage of IPv6 capabilities, the Defense Dept. and the White House are trying to jump-start IPv6 use in the U.S. through billions of dollars in technology improvements… Says Charles Rossotti, a senior adviser to private-equity firm The Carlyle Group… “Some significant sectors of the economy, notably the Defense Dept., are starting to move quickly.”

“Or at least as quickly as a bureaucratic behemoth can move. Even simple shifts in organizations as complex as the Defense Dept. are difficult. Although the government plans to spend tens of billions over the next 10 years to upgrade its computer and phone systems, it faces competition for that funding from the Iraq war.”


Chris Harding, an IPv6 Forum Fellow, says that “it is not a matter of whether, but of when, IPv4 addresses will run out. Commercial users will increasingly demand guaranteed levels of service, (and) without improved and selectable quality, some services will not be feasible.”


Adding more IP addresses will allow every device to have their own, unique IP address on the network: according to the wiki, IPv4 supports 4.3 billion addresses, which won’t cover everyone and their mobile phone, TV, PC and Internet toaster. In contrast, IPv6 virtually supports an unlimited number of addresses, with about 50 octillion for everyone on the Earth today. That’s enough for everyone in our home, where we are barely into using two digits worth of IP addresses… including business use.


So what do you have to do?


Realistically, no new changes for consumers. Today, current schemes to re-use IP addresses dynamically works fine for e-mail and surfing the Internet, so you may not need to worry about setting up anything new on your PC our router at home. In most cases, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) will handle the heavy litfing. Many major businesses, ISPs, CE companies, network equipment manufacturers and governments are making changes already, or should be mapping out their plans.


Microsoft supports IPv6 in Windows Server 2003, Windows XP SP1 and SP2, and Windows CE .NET 4.1. Windows Vista and Windows Server “Longhorn” include the Next Generation TCP/IP which supports IPv4 and IPv6 . If you want to make the move today with current products, TechNet has more details in the IPv6 FAQ, available online, including details on installing the IPv6 protocol for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.


More information


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CNET review: T-Mobile Dash vs. Motorola Q

Email this afternoon on my Smartphone: “I am thinking about switching providers. Which of the new Smartphones should I get: the Dash of the Q?”


OK, last Dash post until we get one: we decided this weekend that this is the phone for my wife.


As noted previously, the new T-Mobile Dash Smartphone is now available, and is proving to be quite popular. Now CNET has a review comparison between the Motorola Q and the T-Mobile Dash


Motorola Q
Motorola Q


T-Mobile Dash
T-Mobile Dash


“When it first debuted, the Motorola Q was undoubtedly a knockout. The Windows Mobile device was sleek and sexy, unlike any other smart phone before it, and generally delivered on performance. However, when you’re sitting there at the top, there’s always going to be someone who wants to knock you down, and let’s just say the T-Mobile Dash is ready for a fight. This new kid on the block is throwing up some big claims, with its own slim design, productivity tools, and wireless options.”


The winner in the review? The T-Mobile Dash with 63 total points, and the Motorola Q close behind with 58. Unless you’re on the Verizon’s 3G EV-DO network, the Dash is a good choice. It really depends on the provider coverage in your area – they are both great phones. If you need a Smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard, these are pretty good choices, and a little slimmer than the popular Cingular 8125, the new and popular Palm Treo 700wx smartphone on Sprint’s network.


For more Smartphones in North America, see the Windows Mobile home page, and in the States and Canada see the Windows Mobile Devices for the Americas.

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Of interest: Dvorak on the best digital SLR camera for the money

John C. Dvorak wrote in his Inside Track column (v25n10) about the Best Camera for the Money Dept. Now, this was from May when he noted that at a keynote address at one of the largest users groups still operating that “every other member was shooting photos, and all of them were using the same camera: the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30.”


“This camera does a lot right. Although it has a fixed-mount lens, it looks like a hot digital SLR, both stylish and professional. Its 12X Leica zoom lens, combined with an 8-megapixel sensor and image stabilization with in-camera image processors, is pretty much all you need short of professional gear.


“The camera is underappreciated because Panasonic still shows zero marketing prowess. If these guys ever wake up, they will dominate the industry along with Sony, another company that fell asleep at the wheel. I visited with both companies at the Photo Marketing Association show, and Panasonic still talks a big game and Sony is still arrogant. I see no changes. It’s now getting funny.”


More info:



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“How can I find out if my PC is compatible with Windows Vista?”

The New York TimesTechnology section has an article online today “On the Horizon: A Vista Upgrade.” In it, the author provides some answers to the question: How can I find out if my current computer hardware (including my scanner and printer) will be compatible with the coming Windows Vista system? Will this be as simple as merely downloading new drivers?


From the article…



“If you are holding off on any hardware purchases until after your Vista upgrade, Microsoft recently announced that about 250 hardware and software products for sale this holiday season will be labeled “Works with Windows Vista” or “Certified for Windows Vista.” Products with the “Works” label will work fine with Vista, but “certified” products (including some graphics cards), will be able to take better advantage of certain Vista features.


If you are planning on installing Windows Vista on your current computer, you can check to see if your hardware can handle Vista’s system requirements at www.windowsvista.com/getready.”  


Many PC OEMs (like Dell, HP, IBM, Gateway, Toshiba, Sony…), third party manufacturers and software makers are beginning to list the products that are compatible with Windows Vista. To check your current PC, you can evaluate your current PC with the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor.