Cameras are a feature of the digital age that are bound to increase in their presence and create new controversy. London in particular has experienced a wave of discussion about their extensive use of security cameras on the streets and in other places. New York has done something the same, watching for terrorists. It is easy to plant cameras and they can be very small. The latest is the embedding of cameras in billboards. If you stop to look at a billboard, it can take a measure of your age, gender and the length of time you looked and send the data back to a database. The manufacturers say it doesn't invade privacy because it doesn't take your picture. Not everyone agrees. In any event they could take your picture with a few minor modifications. We will see more of this. Computer monitors and televisions could easily have built in cameras. Some monitors do and TVs and monitors are converging. Lamps? Furniture? It's an issue that won't go away anytime soon. Billboards That Look Back - NYTimes.com

Smartphone Security: How To Manage Rogue Mobile Devices -- smartphone security -- InformationWeek

Smartphones are a booming product but they represent a potential security risk if they're not properly managed. This article sets out some ideas for approaching this issue. It's something that companies need to consider in developing their policies around network access. Smartphone Security: How To Manage Rogue Mobile Devices -- smartphone security -- InformationWeek

The (Virtual) Global Office

Virtual worlds are having a big effect on the real world. Companies like IBM and Xerox are using Second Life and their own customized virtual worlds to bring together people of different cultures in their far-flung global enterprises. They are using virtual meetings to plan strategy, learn about corporate policies and benefits and rehearse presentations. Generally virtual worlds provide an environment where people can get together and interact where they can feel comfortable and make a contribution. The (Virtual) Global Office

Advertisers to Consumers: We'll Text You - WSJ.com

Text message advertising seems to be catching on. One big advantage to them is that they are requested by the recipient, which makes them pull rather than push. So they are likely to be less offensive than unsolicited ads. It seems to be working. Advertisers to Consumers: We'll Text You - WSJ.com

globeandmail.com: Internet registry moves to protect privacy

Maintaining privacy is an ongoing issue on the internet. One of the sources often used by spammers and others has been whois, a site that records for public view the name, address and email of everyone who owns a website in Canada. The Canadian Internet Registration authority has announced changes to its rules that will remove some of this private information from public view. it will take effect on June 10. While the impact for established site owners will be slow, because the information is already out there, nevertheless it will be a step towards increased privacy for all who own or will own domain names in Canada. globeandmail.com: Internet registry moves to protect privacy

Second Life Marketing: Still Strong

Marketing in virtual worlds like Second Life has been going on for a couple of years now, and observers have been alternately lauding it as a wave of the future and questioning its usefulness. The fact is it has yielded little in the way of concrete results so far. However, virtual world marketing continues, largely because there are a lot of virtual world customers out there and if companies can find an effective way to reach them it could be very fruitful indeed. Second Life Marketing: Still Strong

XBRL US recently issued a document supporting and explaining the implications of the proposed new rules of the SEC requiring certain companies to file using XBRL. The document can be found at: http://xbrl.us/documents/rulingimpact.pdf

Technology Review: The Future of Business Technology

Everyone engaged in eBusiness or managing an IT system needs to be aware of new technologies that might help in addressing challenges that come along. Technology review has published a special report on several new technologies that will do just that. It merits a careful reading. Technology Review: The Future of Business Technology

globeandmail.com: BlackBerry: the new hot-button labour issue

The spread of Blackberrys and other hand-helds has raised a labour issue that is gaining momentum. They often cause employers and managers to feel they can contact their staff at any time of the day or night, meaning the staff really get no real time away from their work. Sure, they can turn it off, or not reply to calls or emails, but as long as there is the expectation , they will feel compelled to respond. There is increasing evidence that the managers and employers will have to re-think their approach to the issue - and that unions, governments and regulators will be addressing it. globeandmail.com: BlackBerry: the new hot-button labour issue

Some suppliers gain from failed Wal-Mart RFID edict

The experience of Walmart in trying to get their suppliers to adopt RFID is a good case study in technology adoption. Often, with technology projects, the costs are up front and the benefits are long term and hard to measure. With RFID this is the case, and that meant that many of the suppliers balked at Walmart's initiative. The same issues plague any number of technology initiatives and as a result, companies sometimes sell themselves short. Some suppliers gain from failed Wal-Mart RFID edict

reportonbusiness.com: Canadians click to buy from coast to coast

eCommerce is growing with leaps and bounds. Recent data show that the revenue generated on or with the help of the internet grew 49% in 2007 over 2006. The trend shows no sign of abating, as the country becomes increasingly wired. reportonbusiness.com: Canadians click to buy from coast to coast

E-Commerce News: Communication Systems: Communication in the Workplace: Beyond the Virtual Water Cooler

As Wireless systems grow, we are losing that valuable F2F time. There are benefits to the speedy world of IM and email, but there are risks too. How are we going to manage that? E-Commerce News: Communication Systems: Communication in the Workplace: Beyond the Virtual Water Cooler

BlackBerry profits double on iPhone success - Times Online

It seems Blackberry can do no wrong. The success of its rival, iPod, has also prompted a surge in Blackberry sales, because of the increased awareness of the public about email enabled phones. In fact, during the past quarter, Blackberry outsold iPhone by almost 2 to 1. Investors in RIM have certainly enjoyed the results on the TSX lately. BlackBerry profits double on iPhone success - Times Online

Amazon launches music download service to challenge iTunes - Times Online

Amazon has announced its new music store, designed to rival iTunes and using the same business model. There are now three business models for music on the net for music, but the iTunes model seems to be a viable one (low priced single tracks and "albums") and one that the industry has bought into. The others are the "all you can eat' subscription model of Napster and the advertising supported model of Spiralfrog. Amazon launches music download service to challenge iTunes - Times Online

Ten Canadian wireless firms worth watching: IDC > Network Devices

IDC has conducted a survey and selected 10 Canadian tech firms as being worth watching. They all focus on communications, many on various ways to integrate mobile devices with networks. But they all have unique and often targeted marketing strategies. Ten Canadian wireless firms worth watching: IDC > Network Devices

The New E-spionage Threat

Businessweek has conducted a probe into cybercrime at the US Military and revealed a very large-scale set of attacks going on that has involved all military branches, the pentagon and even the US president. It really amounts to a little-reported Cyber War that is proving difficult to fight. The New E-spionage Threat

E-commerce growth threatened by legacy systems, study finds

A study just released by Retail Systems Research of Miami, commissioned by IBM and SAP, finds that the existence of legacy systems in companies may limit the growth of their e-commerce activities. The problem is not so much integration of online and offline processes, where companies have made progress, but rather the fact the different sales channels tend to be supported by different systems, and the lack of integration limits the ability of the company to provide a single view of a customer. Many companies have moved slowly with replacing their legacy systems because of the tremendous conversion and process change costs. However, the long term benefits may be growing. E-commerce growth threatened by legacy systems, study finds

Technology Review: Google's Wi-Fi Dreams

Google and others are lining up for the new broadband channels coming available as a result of the forthcoming switch to digital TV. Some of the TV channels will become available for Broadband and work at frequencies that have a high ability to penetrate walls and transmit at high speeds in the gigabyte range and therefore have considerable commercial potential. Technology Review: Google's Wi-Fi Dreams

Ads on Facebook and other social networks have the potential to reach millions of people. But actually having an effect on those people presents new problems. Conventional advertising doesn't seem to work in that environment. So companies are turning to widgets - small packages of software that contain little applications like games and quizzes that can be forwarded to others. They are being tried by a lot of companies.
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Web Site Design Dos and Don'ts

Keep it simple and clean. That's the bottom line for website design even in an era of increasing availability of sophisticated technology. this site offer sup some good tips especially for small businesses designing their websites. Web Site Design Dos and Don'ts