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	Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Sense and Simplicity  (techdrivenlife) I am intrigued and excited about Philips coming out with a new slogan, "Sense and Simplicity". In a special advertising feature spanning several pages, Philips make a case that simplicity should be the goal of technology, and promised that they will use all their ingenuity and expertise to deliver their brand promise to make technology as simple as the box it comes in. They created a special board called the Simplicity Advisory Board, which is tasked to help in the journey to simplicity, and I particularly like the quotes that they came out with. 'Simplicity is knowing when less is too little and more is too much. '  -- John Maeda 'Simplicity is the basis of good design. Style is not about complication and excess, but about being designed around the individual.'   -- Sara Berman 'Simplicity involves two major processes: eliminating redundant elements and integrating things to make them flow.'   --- Ken Okuyama 'Simplicity requires focusing on the similarities between entities, not the differences.'  --Gary Chang 'Simplicity means products of the best quality displaying essential elements, but without additional ornamentation or clutter.'   --   Peggy Fritzsche This is a great campaign, and I hope they will succeed.  The more simpler and affordable the technology is, the more all of us will use it.  Indeed, the most complex technologies should go to make things easier for the enduser.   3:24:29 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Monday, June 27, 2005

Doing Search in Gmail  (techdrivenlife)   If you are using Gmail, you might be excited to know that not only does it have over 2 gigabytes of storage space for you, but it also, as expected have lots and lots of features that allows you to search fast.  I got this from the tech site AskDaveTaylor which you should visit if only it has really some great advices and answers on various technologies.   This is part of his answer on how to search Gmail:   " I did some digging around and was rather pleased to find out that the Gmail search system has lots and lots of what we search engine folk call predicates, specific tags you can apply to a word so that it matches a specific type of data. It's like the powerful site: predicate in the regular Google search system (and you know about that, right?) .   The easiest search predicates to learn for Gmail are from:, to: and subject:. For example, want to find a message from me? Look for from:taylor in your Gmail archive. Want to find all messages from me that mention blogging? Try from:taylor subject:blog. You can also <more>....     9:20:39 PM     comment []   trackback []

Getting Important People to Notice You   (techdrivenlife) According to the excellent suggestion of Mark Pincus ,   the easiest way for you to be able to talk to influential people, or for most technical people, the venture capitalists, is to write about them in your blog.  If somehow they have heard about you before, it is easier to do certain things.  At least you won't come in as a total stranger.   It is almost like brand recognition ---   if you were in a department store, and you are buying something you don't know, and there are 10 brands staring at your face, you might be apt to choose the one which brand name has a slight name recall , or you read about it once or twice somewhere.   4:50:19 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Sunday, June 26, 2005

The Future of Email  (techdrivenlife) Email has changed our lives.  But there are better ways to do things.  Sometimes, it just doesn't make sense to keep emailing back and forth documents to dozens of people to get it revised or updated. It clogs up the email system and so many people get lost on tracking version control.  There are better ways.  Here is an excellent interview on how Bill Gates see where the industry is going, together with Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's newest tech guru when Microsoft purchased Groove Networks to improve on collaborationware <more>....   1:12:33 PM     comment []   trackback []

Outsourcing and Offshoring  (techdrivenlife) According to a study, one tenth of the developed world's service job is capable of being outsourced to low-wage countries like China and India.  In reality, only an estimated 1% of this will probably be outsourced by 2008.  That translates to 4.1 million jobs ( as opposed to a theoretical possibility of over 41 million jobs).  4 million jobs may sound a lot , but it should not be a concern because according to statistics ending March 2005,  actually 4.6 million jobs were started every month in the United States alone. At any rate, when we look at the numbe of engineers that is capable and have the skills to work in a multi-national company, Fortune presents a following study based on a McKinsey report on where the engineers are: The United States - 540,000 China - 160,000 India - 130,000 Germany 100,000 Philippines 60,000     10:07:45 AM     comment []   trackback []

	Saturday, June 25, 2005

Future Windows to Support RSS  (techdrivenlife) Microsoft Corp. said Friday that the next version of its Windows operating system will have built-in support for Internet data feeds, an increasingly popular way to get news and other information channeled straight to a computer. RSS, short for Really Simple Syndication, hasn't broken into widespread use yet, but the world's largest software maker believes it will become a mainstay. "We really believe that RSS is key to how people will be using the Internet in the future," said Megan Kidd, a Windows product manager.   9:54:05 PM     comment []   trackback []

Windows vs Linux should not be an Emotional Issue  (techdrivenlife) I wrote before about a business case by a client who feels that it was not financial viable for him to move his applications and platform from Windows to Linux.  I got a lot of feedback, and the usual flame. As discussed here, the move to Linux should not be an emotional one. Business executives don't respond to the "Microsoft is evil" approach with the same vigor college kids reading Slashdot while having their morning coffee. If the people who feel that Open source is more viable, should try to present a business case and proper methodologies which are more acceptable to business people.  Sometimes, their attitude that those who don't appreciate open source must be stupid know-it-all attitude may do their movement more harm than good.     9:51:34 PM     comment []   trackback []

Programming Jobs not Popular  (techdrivenlife) There's now lots of reports that programming jobs in the US is increasingly becoming an unpreferred job.  There used to be a time during the dot com days when a programmer was not only cool, but also earned much.  Now it is seen as monotonous, uncreative and easily farmed out. Research firm Gartner predicts that up to 15% of tech workers will drop out of the profession by 2010, most because they can't get jobs or can get more money elsewhere.  <more>... However, people from other countries should not view this with the same apprehension.  There seems to be a continued need for creative developers, and the demand is expected to be strong, and what it does mean is that there could be also opportunities for people from developing countries where these jobs are expected to be increasingly outsourced.     4:12:00 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Friday, June 24, 2005

A Great Guide to Blogging  (techdrivenlife) Shel Israel and Robert Scoble, two notable technology personalities and famous bloggers are planning to come out with a book called Naked Conversations - How Blogs are changing the way Businesses Talk with Customers. Of particular significance, is that they are actually also using a blog to test market their book and solicit comments.  So far, they are now halfway through the book which should see publication and distribution before end of the year. I particularly like Chapter 12: How Not to get Dooced.  ( Dooced is a new word coined by a blogger which means to get fired for blogging). In this chapter, they reiterated the Corporate Weblog Manifesto which is a set of now 35 rules on what you should do if you are blogging in the business world, or in behalf for your company. Check it out.  There is a wealth of information on how blogging is changing the world, and many other information.       6:48:39 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Longhorn Update  (techdrivenlife) Here is the latest update on Longhorn as per interview with Microsoft's Chris Jones.   By the way, there is a lot of talk on Longhorn, and many of them served to give the impression that this version of Windows is going to be very complex, yet powerful.  That is not true at all.  As per this post by a senior executive from Microsoft, Longhorn's goal is to be  simpler, sexier, and safer.     12:42:37 PM     comment []   trackback []

The Price of Staying Connected     ( techdrivenlife) One of the great technology wonders I am thankful in the last 10 years is the development of the mobile phone, the PDA and the internet.  Combine this together into the pocket PC  phone, and you can virtually go anywhere and still be connected.  Today's selection, from the BlackBerry , to the Treo, to the Ipaq Windows Mobile phone sports Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GSM phone.  You can check your email either through  HotSpots or through the cellullar network.  You can roam most cities  ( in my case, except those without GSM networks)  and you would instantly be connected seamlessly through a network of partnerships between the cellullar providers. Of course, the price of getting connected goes beyond not only never having a totally interrupt-free trip.  Sometimes, you get sticker shock.  A few years ago, I learned that telecom networks will provide you roaming at a price.  If you don't know ( and it is difficult to get from your cell provider what roaming charges each potential roaming partner charges), you could be in for a shock.  In this day and age, it is still shocking that there are phone networks that charges over a dollar per minute for international calls .  You can pay that or more if you go roaming, and is indiscriminate in using. After a few months, I thought I was an expert-- just minimize calls, and use HotSpots when you can. If you cannot, use GPRS to check email. The other week I was in Australia, and I log into Telstra as roaming partner.   Instantly, I was using my pocket PC phone to check my email.  Imagine  when a few days ago, the telco company called me.  My phone bill was now well over a thousand dollars.  I asked for details.  There was something wrong with the roaming.  I was being charged over 900 US dollars for 2 days of roaming charge for checking my email.  I checked the price. Their prices were not only about 5 to 6 times per KB compared to most Asian cities, but I was billed for downloading over 40 megabytes of email over a 5 hour period.  Ha???  With the rated data rate of GPRS of about 9.6 kbps ( lower in actual) , I could not even download 15 megabytes in 5 hours even if I wanted to.   Moreover, I had my email settings to download only email no more than 20 kilobytes, and I only had a handful of them. There was something wrong with the bill.... and I am waiting what my provider says. There is a price for being connected, and sometimes, it comes with the ocassional shock that indeed, our quest of being constantly connected does not pay -- either in tense hours, or in ocassional price shocks . Do we want to go back to yesteryears when a vacation  or being out of the office really meant being out of reach?   12:05:47 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Sunday, June 19, 2005

What Business Travelers Want  (techdrivenlife) In a survey which polled what international business travelers want most from a hotel conducted by American Express, the first choice of Americans  ( 49%), Mexicans ( 48%), Chinese ( 48%), and Japanese ( 46.5%) was internet access.  The first choice of Norwegians ( 47%), British ( 43%), and Germans ( 40%) was complimentary breakfast. In a similar survey about the most important service international business travelers want from an airline, the overwhelming favorite of Norwegians ( 38%), Austrlaians ( 32%), Americans ( 25%), Canadians ( 24%) was flat bed seats.  A second most popular choice was food service as chosen by the French ( 30%), British ( 29%) and Germans ( 24%).  The Chinese ( about 25%) choose on-board email or internet access.   4:52:17 PM     comment []   trackback []

The Changing Tech Scene  (techdrivenlife) I gathered some stats that shows how technology is changing the way we live.  Apparently, for the last few years, video games is becoming a big bet compared to Hollywood.  Halo 2, Microsoft's Xbox game got sales of over $125 million the first day, in contrast to Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Sith at $115 million, and Madagascar at $61 million.  Over 41 million people have downloaded Skype, and over 150,000 more people are doing every day. Over 10 million people blog, and over 5 million have signed up with Microsoft's MSN Spaces in just a few months it was launched.  Digital cameras now outsell traditional cameras, and cell phone now outnumber computers. China based Lenovo just bought IBM's PC division, and just recently Taiwan-based BenQ bought Siemen's cell phone division. Sale of anti-spyware products expected to grow from $50 million in 2004 to almost $300 million by 2008, according to IDC group.   2:02:21 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Friday, June 17, 2005

Top 10 Celebrity Email Viruses  (techdrivenlife) According to this report by Panda Software, Britney Spears edged out Bill Gates as the top celebrity asscoiated with malicious software distributed via email.   This is a study as to which celebrities most often had their names involuntarily used in association with malicious spam.  Rounding out the third to 10th places were 3.) Jennifer Lopez ,  4.) Shakira , 5.) Osama BinLaden  , 6.) Michael Jackson , 7.) Bill Clinton ,  8.) Anna Kournikova,  9.) Paris Hilton  and 10.) Pamela Anderson. Next time you received an email from any of them, unless you know them personally, just put it in the recycle bin...     11:02:11 PM     comment []   trackback []

Preferences on reading news  (techdrivenlife) Reuters reported that over 20 percent of the web users now prefer to read news online and have forgone reading papernews.  A significant 72 percent though still read print editions, and 7 percent read both.  Of the online news only, the number one choice is New York Times, with over 11.3 million audience in May.  Second was USA Today  with 9.2 million while the third was the Washington Post who posted a significant 10 percent year on year to garner 7.4 million visits.  For internet only companies who gather news from various sources, Yahoo got an online audience of 23.8 million, while Google News garnered 7.1 million. We have slowly change our habits, and this report further reflects the traction that internet is gaining on our lives.   10:41:05 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Thursday, June 16, 2005

Windows 2000 doing Too Well  (techdrivenlife) It seems that forty eight percent of PCs are still running Windows 2000, even after 5 years it was launched, and as Microsoft takes steps towards ending full-pledged support and maintenance. This compares to 38 percent for Windows XP, according to PC inventory and asset analysis company AssetMetrix... <more>   8:22:34 PM     comment []   trackback []

Voice Over Wi-Fi Update  (techdrivenlife) Over the last 2 conferences that I have attended, it had provided free Wi-Fi connections, and it has helped me stayed 'connected'. On both times, also, I have tried to use my Windows Mobile Phone  ( Ipaq 6315) to make a call using Skype over the Wi-Fi, though the voice quality to some of the target locations was not so good.  This is a great phone.  With integrated WiFi, Bluetooth, as well as the normal cellular connection, I can go using WiFi to download mail or surf when available, or I can use the normal GSM GPRS.  Incidentally, here is another article that offers a gadget that allows a cell phone also to use SKYPE and VoWiFi. As Wi-Fi grows, so will VoWiFi ( Voice Over Wi-Fi), as says the WiFi/VoWiFi Planet Conference and Expo report from InfoWorld. Here is another link that says Vodaphone adding 10,000 WiFi hotspots all over Germany over the next four years, adding to the numerous number of cities who believe in setting up WiFi zones all over the city to increase the ease of communication. 7:41:55 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Techniques to use to Rise up in Google Rankings   (techdrivenlife) One of the things every webmaster needs to know is how to rise up in Google search rankings -- it being the premiere source of over a hundred million people in searching for information in the internet. According to this site which studied Google's recent patent application 20050071741, here are some of the things that Google looks at it when it ranks your site. One is that  if you register your domain name only for one year that is a point against you.  This is because the majority of spam websites only register a domain name for one year.  A domain registered for a longer period of time is more likely to be legitimate and serious about their site. Google has been making changes in the way it ranked sites due to the link spams that they received in 2004 in order to make their search more relevant and powerful.   It also says the speed at which your site gain links might be hold against you because that might be indicative of spam.  The way you are linked, the frequency and amount of updates to your websites, the length people stay at your sites, the number of times you are bookmarked, and many others are considered. Here is the site on other more important factors.    2:04:47 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Sunday, June 12, 2005

Network Security  (techdrivenlife) It is really a hot topic nowadays.  Two months ago, I was in a Microsoft conference.  Priority no. 1 - Security.  Last week, I was in a Cisco conference.  Opportunity no. 1 -  Security.  The other week, Businessweek had its cover story the 'hacker hunters'.  It highlighted that things like viruses, spyware and the like are not only nuisances.  It is a big global business. Total damage last year through cybercrime -- $17.5 billion dollars, which was 30% higher than 2003, according to Computer Economics Inc.  The number of internet fraud complaints monitored by the Internet Crime Complaint Center ( a joint venture of the National White Collar Crime Center and the FBI) reached 207,449 in the year 2004, up from only 48,252 in 2002. The article highlighted the quest to run down a cybercrime syndicate called ShadowCrew.  The size of the syndicate -- over 4,000 members all over the world.  So far, the Secret Service has uncovered that the group alone had over 1.7 million credit card numbers, access data to more than 18 million e-mail accounts, and fake identity cards made for thousands of people, from driver's licenses to British passports. Yes, it is big business. The important thing to be aware of that is today's malware authors are a different breed from those of 5 or 10 years ago.  They are really intent to use their skills for financial gain.  One of the biggest devilish trickery occured in January 2004 when a virus called MyDoom  appeared purportedly to do a denial of service attack to the website of the SCO Group.  The SCO company was embroiled in a copyright battle against Linux, and security experts said the virus writer was probably a Linux fan seeking revenge.  In fact, in some websites, many even volunteered to be 'infected' so that they could help attack the SCO site.They were wrong.  It was a Trojan horse.  While it did attack the website, it also contains a key-logging program that can record a user's keyboard strokes.   There was a backdoor program that could steal passwords and credit card information through monitoring keystrokes, and mailing it out. Here is a simplified guide to some 'cybertricks' that are prevalently used: 1. Phising.  These are normally emails that are sent to people purportedly from legitimate outfits ( like banks or telco companies) asking people for passwords, or asking them to link to a website to verify or give some personal data.  The website of course, is spurious, but designed to look legitimate.  Rhymes with fishing, which is actually what it is -- fishing for information. 2. Pharming.  This is the virus similar to MyDoom, which is normally a keyboard logger, that is planted to the computer so that it can monitor keystrokes.  The intent of course, is to steal confidential information, particularly passwords to financial websites.  Rhymes with farming, which is the accumulation or collecting the information. 3. Wi-Phising.  This is the trick where a fake wireless network is set up for consumers to log into the internet.  Of course, they use the network to steal passwords, and other information.  You should be wary of using wi-fi hotspots that are not properly identified.  Or hotspots that is made to look legitimate but is not.  For instance, if your wifi SSID is HotWire, some enterprising people may set up an almost similar Wifi spot like HotWise, which may lure the unexpected to log into their network instead of the correct one. 4. TypoSquatting.  Hackers may set up a website that may look like the real one, but may not.  When people type the wrong word, ( for instance,gooogle, instead of google), they may end up with computers that are infected with viruses. 5. BOT Networks.  Which computers are the least guarded?  Not the ones that belong to big corporations, but many of those small or individual computers.  The hacker can infect your computer, and use it to attack the big computers.  Many unprotected computers nowadays are used to be the staging point where to launch spam or network attacks.  BOT networks allows an unsuspecting person to be part of an international terrorist computer network without the user being aware of it. hackers are dreaming of new scams everyday.  In case of doubt, always remember caution is essential when surfing the internet.   6:43:18 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Thursday, June 09, 2005

Number of VOIP Users  (techdrivenlife) In the Cisco Asia Pacific Partners Conference in Australia, I was able to glean a lot of studies about the use of technology and network that will affect our lives.  One of the more significant statistics was the findings of Synergy Research that the number of VOIP users ( Voice Over Internet Protocol - a means to make voice calls over internet bandwidth) will rise worldwide from 8 million in 2005 to over 58.9 million in 2009.  That is seven times growth ( as in over 700%) in 4 years!   6:07:48 AM     comment []   trackback []

	Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Scoble raves about the new Lenovo Thinkpad X41 Tablet PC  (techdrivenlife) Robert Scoble, one of internet's foremost bloggers, raves about the new Lenovo Thinkpad.  He thinks it has the industry's best keyboard, it has the lightest convertible Tablet PC, and is thin, fast, beautiful, sexy, a battery life of six hours and a great fingerprint reader.  <more>...   10:49:16 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Monday, June 06, 2005

Bluetooth Starting to Fly   (techdrivenlife) Computerworld, reporting from Computex, the world's second largest computer show which is held annually in Taiwan,  reports the increased popularity of Bluetooth devices.  According to their projections, bluetooth chips should exceed 264 million, more than 3 times the 69 million sold in 2003, according to the Industrial Economics & Knowledge Center (IEK), a Taiwan research group. After a slow start back in 1994, it seems that Bluetooth will be one of the defining technologies in the next few years, especially for wireless headsets.     8:17:34 PM     comment []   trackback []

Email Addiciton is Good    (techdrivenlife) A few days ago, I wrote about a study that talks that we may be addicted to email.   Here is a rejoinder from Forbes magazine, The Digital Life, that says access to e-mail allows executives and other people to respond more quickly to problems, as well as allow them to be more productive amidst more flexibility on where to work.  Addiction has negative connotations while the net effect of these technology is supposed to be positive for our lives. I concur.  Sometimes I complain that a vacation is not a vacation at all!  What with having to worry everyday on where to log on just to stay in touch and 'connected'.  But then again, come to think of it, if not for mobile phones, wifi connections and internet, would I be able to take a vacation in the first place with the increased demands now on the business?   8:12:04 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Saturday, June 04, 2005

Current IT Trends  ( techdrivenlife) According to Current Analysis, a San Diego based research firm, more notebooks were sold last year in the United States than desktops.  Notebooks now account for 53% of the total units sold last year, and moreover, 95% of them are already equipped with wireless. In another survey by Opinion Research, a majority of us are so hooked to email that 41% of people checked their email after they get up in the morning.  It was gathered that the average person has three e-mail accounts and spends about an hour every day reading, sending and replying to messages.  The average person checks their inbox at least 5 times a day, and even more for those with Blackberry and PDA mails.   Upto 60% of respondents admitted checking their inboxes even on vacations. This one news is even more extreme... a Wi-Fi wireless network access point, known as a hotspot, was installed by British Telecom in Reverend Keith Kimber's St John's Rectory church in the city of Cardiff.  If you want a break on the sermon, you can check your email ... or surf !  According to the reverend, the objective is to make the church the proper sanctuary for people -- even business people with notebooks and mobiles...  Talk about a techdrivenlife! A CIO Magazine poll noted that 15% of their respondents complain that it is harder to find key IT labor.  Even harder for big companies --- for those with over 5,000 employees, a higher 34.9% said IT labor was indeed hard to find.  The largest segment, about 54% plan to increase spending on security, 46.5% to increase spending on storage, while about 45% plan to increase spending on computer hardware.   5:01:29 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Wednesday, June 01, 2005

HP's Solution for the Pain in the Neck   ( techdrivenlife) More and more people are working on notebooks.  There are also now more news about workplace injuries due to hunching over notebooks for extended periods of time. According to CNET, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported over 9,200 workers missed at least a day of work in 2003 due to these injuries associated with worker motion or improper position of computers in the workplace. The main problem with laptops is that the screen and keyboard are so close together. Without the aid of peripherals, laptop users have two choices, neither of which are any good long term. First choice is to cramp their neck down to view the monitor or they can elevate the machine to eye level, which in turn , can wreak havoc on shoulders and arms. It was not a big problem before - notebooks were for ocassional use.  But now, more and more people are using the notebook fulltime to replace the desktop, and they are using it 8 hours a day,  almost 365 days a year. HP's solution is a designed docking station that works as follows.  Of course, you will have also to procure a special ergonomic keyboard to go with it. It will need some doing, but then again, life's success depends on how fast, and well you solve the pain in the neck, right?                           8:01:26 PM     comment []   trackback []