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Thursday, November 01, 2001 |
 >>>>
Made to number 7 on Daypop Top 40. Coool and thanks.
A little more about the Post Office. I hate the thought of 906,000 people doing outmoded work. What a waste. We used to have people that dug ditches for building foundations and others that did calculations for mortgage interest at banks. Let's get beyond that.
4:02:34 PM 
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Embedded computing vs. Wearable PCs
The current conventional wisdom is that embedded or small device computing will quickly overwhelm PCs as the preferred method of personal computing. Wrong! Wearable PCs will emerge as the successor of the destkop or laptop PC. It is the only solution that provides the power and personal control Americans crave.
Here is the analogy that will make this clear: Embedded and device computing will increasingly be seen as the public transportation system. It will be mostly available in big cities. It will be expensive to implement and require significant investments that many cities will be loathe to make. It will be slower and less nimble than cars. The system will be feature poor and provide much less control over destinations.
Wearable PCs will become the equivalent of cars for personal computing. They will allow individuals to travel anywhere they want. They will offer significant power, personal status enhancement, and a bewildering array of customized feature functionality.
In my mind, there isn't even a contest. If you cant afford it, embedded computing will be there. If you can, wearable PCs will be the way to go. I don't doubt that there will be many academics and big co's bemoaning this in the future with arguments about cost savings, the digital divide, and the elegance of centralized architectures vs. messy distributed systems. All I can say is: get over it.
9:15:49 AM
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Microsoft Wins Battle with the Feds
WSJ. The feds reached a tentative agreement with Microsoft that leaves Microsoft's products unchanged. States may opt to go it alone due to a "wimpy" settlement. Here is what the government is focusing on:
""Microsoft will agree not to retaliate, or threaten to retaliate" against any software or hardware maker supporting non-Microsoft software such as audio-video players, instant-messaging software, Internet browsers or Java programming language, the settlement offer says. It also would ban forced upgrades of Windows -- requiring the company to continue selling old versions for a period of time -- and would be in force for four years, Microsoft proposed.""
Unfortunately, the reason the Justice department is focusing on this is that the big PC companies are from TX (combine this with what Paul Krugman is uncovering and the picture is unsettling).
The reason this focus will fail is because Microsoft is moving to a subscription model with direct interactions with consumers. It will begin to sell upgrades and modify its product through direct consumer interaction making it much less reliant on the initial install of PC makers. It doesn't really care what PC firms do anymore. Additionally, Microsoft plans to enter the home PC market by 2003 with its ultrasecret "home server" which will put it into direct competition with PC firms Compaq and Dell. This is another example of Microsoft outwitting the government.
8:56:39 AM
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Viva K-Logs (and centralized resources)
This is another post dedicated to the discussion of K-Logs (Knowledge Management Weblogs).
Distributed desktop Weblogging software is essential to maximize the benefits of K-Logging due to application integration, cost, mobility, and control issues. Server-based software is still essential to a fully functional distributed K-Logs system. Here are the ways I see server software playing an important role:
1) As a place to post a K-Log on the Intranet. K-Logs need to be posted to the Intranet to gain from centralized search and taxonomy engines. This central repository also serves as an essential back-up to desktop K-Logs and as a way to preserve knowledge after an employee leaves.
2) Community functionality. Central servers can provide a way for people to find Weblogs that fit their interests. Hotlists, recently updated K-Logs (Weblogs.com), and link bots (Blogdex) need a centralized location.
3) Subscritptions. RSS (news headlines) subscriptions are best done through reference to a central repository.
4) Remote access and behind a firewall access.
8:17:43 AM
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>>>>
In response to my post yesterday, my father sent me a similar mishap (this is how pilots refer to problems that result in an emergency: mishaps) story.
__________
I almost blew a tire on landing - a F89 in Burlington - I used the
brakes too early - there was not enough weight on the tires and I
skinned the left main.
But the real F89 event was another time when on takeoff, the scissors -
connected above and below the strut to keep the wheel straight ahead -
broke... My left main tire rotated left about 45 degrees - why more I
do not know. After many radio discussions with LTC Neil Childs, our
Vermont Air Guard Maintenance Chief, I burned off fuel, and landed on
3,000 feet of foam at Plattsburg AFB. Came out of the foam at about 100
knots, and skidded the left tire and wheel down to the strut, and
finally stopped.
8:02:31 AM
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© Copyright 2004 John Robb.
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