Monday, June 27, 2005

Cryptography is gaining in importance as concerns about security and privacy continue to make headlines. It seems that new and better technologies may be nearing the marketability stage, and that's a good thing for e-business. A Quantum Leap in Cryptography

Thursday, June 23, 2005

CVS Corp, a US Drug store chain, has a customer loyalty card called Extracard, which is used to gather information about customer purchases. Companies often use such information for their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. Data is gathered and analyzed to find better ways to serve the customers. In itself, it's a worthy exercise. But it's critical to provide tight security over such data about customers, especially drug store purchases, which can include sensitive items. In the case of CVS, a consumer group found that the data could be easily accessed by anyone who had a card number so CVS had to cut off internet access to the data until they fixed the problem. It's yet another example of the need to make sure that the privacy of customer information is protected with strong security measures. Globetechnology: Security flaw exposes CVS data

Monday, June 20, 2005

For years, Cell phones have been used for making payments in Europe and Japan. But North America has been behind in this trend. That may be changing as efforts to launch new payment schemes using cell phones and pda's get serious. There's also much more coming.Globetechnology: Cellphones now playing role of wallet
If you're interested in doing business in China, whether e-business or conventional, you might want to check out the site alibaba.com. It has an impressive array of contacts in all industries. B2B has been flourshing in China, as has the domestic economy, and the opportunities are impressive indeed.Open Sesame? Or Could the Doors Slam Shut for Alibaba.com? - Knowledge@Wharton

Saturday, June 18, 2005

Indigo reports profits almost doubled, with one of the reasons being that online sales of books rose almost 25%. Store sales remained almost flat and in some cases declined. Books has always been a prime area for online sales. Indigo made some big moves a few years ago, with their stores, but maintained a strong website. That seems to be paying off. CBC News: Indigo fiscal 2005 profit more than doubles

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Watch out for that grafedia! Next time you're walking a street and see a yellow arrow by a building, you can find out the history of that building by sending a text message to the number on the arrow with your cell phone. The return message gives the history. It's an intriguing idea with lots of possibilities. CNN.com - New graffiti bridges worlds for cell user - Jun 14, 2005

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

In an interesting development, Napster and Ericsson have entered into an agreement to enable music to be ported directly to cell phones. It may well be that cell phones will become the vehicle of choice for music downloads in the future, given their popularity with young people. Globetechnology: Napster, Ericsson plan downloads on the road

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

It's very notable that wireless is growing in use, and eventually the masses of wires we see around will disappear. Also interesting, however, is the fact that some cafe owners are taking wireless out of their cafes, because laptop users can be antisocial. It's all part of determining when and where continuous wireless computing will prevail. Society will need to map it out, and it's fair to say right now that we don't know the answer. But it will be interesting finding out.Tech Coast - The Gathering Wave of Wirelessness

Monday, June 13, 2005

Technology is playing a major role in the efforts of large companies to conform to the demands of Sarbanes-Oxley, particularly the section that requires the executives to sign off on their company's control system. similar legislation in Canada is found in the Investor Confidence rules of the Canadian Securities Regulators. E-Commerce News: Business : Technology To Aid SOX Compliance Headaches Abounds

Friday, June 10, 2005

The world of technology has long been led by computer games. Advances in graphics, for example, can be heavily attributed to games technology. Microsoft may have been on the right track when it decided to lead its initiative into the digital living room with a games console - the xbox 360. It extends well beyond games, and may be the leading edge of a new era of convergence in the home. Ultimately, everything in the average home will be run through a wireless computer network - tv, stero, telephone, games, computers as we now know them - all will be under one system. That's a prediction. Tune in Tomorrow for the Digital Living Room? - Knowledge@Wharton

Monday, June 06, 2005

Bluetooth is starting to make some headway. according to the experience at the recent computex show in Taipei. Computex: Bluetooth wireless technology starts to show some bite - Computerworld

Friday, June 03, 2005

The adoption of VoIP for telephone service is gaining the attention of more companies. It not only reduces the direct cost of telephone calls, it can result in other cost savings, and at the same time result in better customer service. A combination that is hard to beat. Transferring your call

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Rogers Communications is emerging as a major competitor in the telephone and internet market. Bolstered by the emergence of VoIP as a viable technology, offering telephone over the internet, and the prospect of expanding its cable internet business over phone lines, Rogers will enjoy the best of all worlds. We can expect the traditional carriers - Bell and Telus - to be scrambling to deal with the new shape of the industry. Globetechnology: Rogers touted as next force in phone market