Technology May Increase Costs

The controversy in the 20th century over the productivity benefits of technology has died down since the evidence seems to indicate that it does indeed increase productivity, since among other things it allowed outsourcing to lower cost countries, as well as the elimination of people from processes. But medicine is a strange industry, in which more technology sometimes leads to more costs, as this NY Times article notes: electronic medical records, the holy grail of the movement to reduce medical costs, cam actually increase costs as doctors order more and more costly tests.

As usual, simple technology solutions to complex problems aren't.

You Don't Control The Vertical...

Big Brother is not only watching you, but controlling you. Smartphones, Kindles, and now Windows have "kill switches" (Bloomberg BusinessWeek) that let companies, among other things, delete stuff off your personal possessions, and change code without you knowing. Of course, those companies say that this is for your protection, and that they only use it in extreme cases, but in essence, people you don't know have control.
Not sure about you, but this creeps me out.

The Film Is Not In The Can

Technology transitions can be extremely costly. According to Paul Strassman, who writes a lot about the uses and value of technology, "When applications began to be stored on disk…instead of magnetic tape (about 1972), more than $5 billion worth of programs had to be replaced. When minicomputers began shaping the distributed computing environment (about 1976), as much of $150 billion of software needed a complete overhaul." And, of course, the transition to PCs cost companies immense amounts.
So businesses tend to resist technology transitions. Doctors and hospitals have resisted converting to electronic health records for years. And movie theaters resisted the conversion to digital projection. Now, the movie studios have converted, and the theaters have no choice (NY Times). And like all technology transitions, some will not be able to afford the new devices.
Technology transitions are apparent years before they happen, especially where there is resistance because of the cost of converting. Smart businesses will understand that, no matter what, the transition will come, either because, as in the movie industry, a strong central provider makes the choice, or because, as in the case of the telephone, it became necessary to have one if for no other reason than to appear a modern business.

Cracking The Case

So today I noticed that the case on my Kindle had a small crack, starting at the screen and running a small distance diagonally towards the corner of the case. I was concerned since I bought a leather case to protect it at about the same time as I got the Kindle, and I certainly don't treat it roughly. So I immediately checked the Kindle forums and found, of course, that a number of other people have had the same problem. One lucky person, still under warranty, has that Kindle replaced. Mine, alas, is out of warranty. But considering the cost of a Kindle, I'm not upset at possibly eventually needing a new one. What does upset me is that is obviously a manufacturing defect and Amazon has kept quiet about it. Yes, they have done the right thing for those under warranty, but they have not issued an announcement. I can understand the economic consequences for Amazon, considering they probably sell them at a loss. But it still rankles that they would hide this problem. I hope they have at least fixed whatever the defect is so that people with new ones, or even worse, with the Fires, don't have this problem. This is often an issue with mass market technology, and ethical vendors need to work out ways of retaining trust.

One Device To Rule Them All

Tech manufacturers want to own your life, by selling a device and all the content that comes to it. Of course, we have Apple to thank for that business model, which has been wildly successful. NY TImes

Tech War

Business people have finally heard about laptop thefts and cell phone scanners and are doing like the movie spies: one use devices, no connectivity, etc. NY Times

Told You So - No Data Is Secure On The Internet

This article from Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and especially the accompanying graphic, details the sad facts: 282.8 million records exposed or stolen in 2011.

Best Buy Gets A Lump Of Coal In Its Stocking

You would think that retailers would know by now that lots of orders may come in online (it is the 21st century, isn't it?). But not Best Buy, which also commits the customer-unfriendly error of explaining it using "PR Speak": something happened - it wasn't our fault. Santa knows, Best Buy, and you're on the naughty list. SF Chronicle

I Think I'll Post Some Personal Data On The Internet - NOT

I know I've ranted about this before, but how can people -- the media, the highly paid gurus, the techies, the bureaucrats -- continue to be so stupid? Banks protect data exchange with a separate gated network (SWIFT) and nobody cracks it. Medical data should be protected in the same way. NY Times

You Bought 1.0?

The Kindle Fire is yet another example of the "customer beta" mentality among tech companies. The push is to have the latest and greatest out NOW (a trend no entirely due to greed, since blame can be assigned to media pundits and people who line up at 2AM to get bragging rights, among others), and so they push it out the door. NY Times

I learned this the hard way with the foremost practitioner, Microsoft, and their late, unlamented Vista. But there are plenty of other guilty parties out there, and one would have thought that Amazon was smarter. But Xmas was coming, and so good luck 1.0 buyers.

Whoops - There Go The Brakes

So now hackers can attack your car. Terrorism has a new tool. And don't piss off any geeks or you're in big trouble. Bloomberg Business Week

Lost In The Computer?

How, in the 21st century, with everything computerized, can a firm "lose" hundreds of millions of dollars? And how is it that the auditors can't find it? I would love to do a case study on this one. Even if there was fraud, the story says they "found" about 200 million when they started looking - how hard should it have been to "find" the money deposited in a financial institution? Sure hope my banks have better "books and records." NY Times

Too Big To Fail?

Microsoft's latest update for 2007 Office Suite Service Pack 3 is 433M. What could possibly be in it that is worth downloading that much, and why the hell can't Microsoft break it into understandable chunks so one could pick and choose? But, no, like Apple, with Microsoft, it's our way or the highway, and as much of a black box as Apple's OS.

Toilet Tech

I saw something like this in Toyko's Akihabara tech marketplace a decade ago, so it has taken a while for the US to "rush" to the forefront in Toilet Tech. NY Times

Oops - 2!

Through what is called a "series of mishaps" (stupidity as well as the unthinking use of private data which is all too common) data on Stanford Hospital patients ended up on a tutoring site on the Internet. NY Times

When will IT and business/nonprofit folks realize that data needs to be protected throughout your chain of suppliers? Just because you can easily send/give data on thousands/millions of people doesn't mean you have abrogated your responsibilities.

Oops!

An app on an iPhone snapped a pic of the thief and sent it to the owner, who forwarded it to the police. This is one instance of Big Brother that I approve. NY Daily News

Banks To Small Business: Hacked? Tough...

This is yet another example of how insecure online transactions and institutions are, and another example of the all too usual complete lack of corporate social responsibility. The numbers on hacking thefts from small and medium businesses are depressing, as is the behavior of the banks.

Hire a security consultant to do a security audit of your systems and the systems you attach to, because your partners, suppliers, and customers are a threat to you through their computers and Internet connections. And think about insurance to protect you from banks as well as from hackers.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Target Miscalculates Web Hits

You'd think by now, after so many well-publicized server outages due to higher than anticipated visits, that big companies like Target would have capacity expansion plans. Obviously they didn't. NY Times

Honest, I Really Wrote This Post

The very clever software created by Narrative Science doesn't prove that computers will replace people. It does prove that certain categories of writing, such as sports journalism, is full of simple narrative expected and beloved of many. Which, after all, is the basis of much literature (and TV and movies and epic poetry) - we expect and like formulas. What is really fascinating is that it took so long for it to be instantiated in software. NY Times

Don't Say That Digital Stuff Never Dies

If your Internet presence depends on others, then you need to "trust, but verify." Otherwise, as this NY Times article shows, Google can declare you dead.

Much Technology Is Not Neutral

There are, of course, those technologies that can only be afforded by the well off. And, as this SF Chronicle article notes, technology is useful not just for law abiding citizens, but also for criminals and worse (terrorists carry cell phones and use social media).

Knowledge Wants To Be Free, But With Freedom Comes Responsibility

Yes, perhaps the so-called Western style of verified knowledge is sometimes onerous. But the article in the NY Times is careful to cite an example where no verification appears to be needed -- the children's game dabba kali -- but doesn't seem to understand that anyone could post such an article which was completely false, or made up, or scurrilous, or racist. And if we let that standard be established, then we no longer have "knowledge," but simply spoutings. Look at so many blogs if you doubt that is what we would get.

The Internet Will Make Everything Insecure

Seems crooks are better at understanding the value of technology than most. And attacking small/medium businesses, where the folks are more likely to not have a good understanding of technological security (which is OK, since they need to run a business, not be techies), is very clever. After all, stealing a billion a hundred or thousand dollars at a time from millions of people adds up. Hackers Take $1 Billion a Year as Banks Blame Their Clients, SF Chronicle

We Value And Protect Your Data - NOT

in 2007 an intern in the Ohio Office of Budget & Management, asked to safeguard a hard drive with sensitive information, left it in his car and it was stolen, exposing Social Security numbers for 859,852 people in Ohio.
Great Moments In Intern Hostory, Marnie Hanel, Bloomberg BusinessWeek,18-24Jul2011

The Government Finally Gets It

Consolidation of data centers has been the reality in corporations for at least the last 15 years. It provides many benefits other than lowered costs, such as less power use, less real estate costs, and many fewer unnecessary applications and software packages.

Too bad it took a budget Armageddon to get the government to do it, but good for taxpayers and, who knows, maybe we'll even get better service from the government.

NY Times