The New Global Enterprise

Police Using ALPR/ANPR to Track People

2012-01-23T15:12:00.001-05:00

Automatic License (or Number) Plate Recognition has been around for several years. In the UK, a CCTV network -– with more than 10,000 cameras just in the London area -- can be used to track vehicle movements in real-time. The data is stored for five years and can be analyzed by intelligence services and used as evidence in a criminal case. When the system became operational in 2006, the ANPR

Mondragon Co-Op Movement, The Power of Collaboration

2011-12-29T15:50:00.000-05:00

In a recent article, I discussed how geographic location can make a huge impact on innovation -- how an industry can benefit from being in close physical proximity to the suppliers, researchers, educational institutions, and other organizations that support and complement the industry. In this blog, I introduce the Mondragon Co-op, an organization that has harnessed this "power of the commons."

America Can't Manufacture Hi-Tech Products Anymore

2011-12-05T10:45:00.003-05:00

"American companies discovered that they could have their manufacturing and even their engineering done more cheaply overseas. When they did so, margins improved. Management was happy, and so were stockholders. Growth continued, even more profitably. But the job machine began sputtering." -- Andy Grove, former Intel CEO, a year ago in Businessweek.Other voices go much further, even claiming that

The European Union Wants to Ban Wireless in Schools

2011-11-14T12:20:00.000-05:00

The proliferation of mobile devices and wireless technologies has raised concerns about the safety of being continually bathed in the airwaves. Yet several industries -- telecom, gaming, etc. -- insist that the frequencies and power output of these devices are safe. That may be so on a single device, but the types and number of devices are quickly proliferating and consuming ever larger swathes

What is the EU RoHS directive and why it matters to the US Enterprise?

2011-10-25T11:55:00.002-04:00

Fifteen years ago, I remember hearing talks about lead-free soldering at a turnkey manufacturing facility. At that time, the factory managers were already contemplating the possibility that future regulations would ban the use of lead in electronic circuits, and they were studying possible alternatives. Just five years later, the European Union passed Directive 2002/95/EC on the Restriction of

Malware Distributed as Pay-Per-Install Business

2011-09-28T09:48:00.000-04:00

Malware is a business today. The idea that virus and malware developers are doing it for fun is long gone. There are established organizations doing it for profit. The Mariposa botnet, closed by the Spanish police last year, was one of the largest botnetworks in the world, responsible for numerous attacks on servers, while installing millions of copies of malware in computers. The owners were

China uses Site Certificates and Proxies to Hack Gmail and others

2011-09-06T11:22:00.000-04:00

Uprisings in Africa and the Middle East, where protesters have been using social media sites, Twitter, and text messaging to communicate, has China and other countries worried about the use of the Internet to bring about revolution. There is no doubt that today it is much more difficult for governments to block communications and control information flow. Nevertheless, the attempts made to shut

Is the new Sony's Tablet for Gamers Fit for Business?

2011-08-23T06:00:00.001-04:00

When you ask the Gen Y-ers about Sony, they immediately think about the PlayStation. But for most of the Baby Boomers and X-ers, Sony has been a leader in innovation throughout the company’s existence. Sony -- home of the inventors of the CD (together with Philips), the Walkman, the Trinitron, and the Camcorder -- is now coming out with two innovative Android tablets aimed at the corporate

Europe Wants Advertisers to Eat Their Cookies

2011-08-10T10:18:00.003-04:00

A European Union-wide directive that went into effect May 25 could be the end of the online tracking business in Europe. The directive, 2009/136/EC, is actually an amendment to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive of 2002. Initially, cookies were used to manage the interactions between users and Websites to provide the best visitor experience. Later, marketing companies discovered

License Costs May Delay 4G in European Markets

2011-08-05T11:25:00.004-04:00

Several years ago, European cellular providers paid billions of euros in almost every European country for the licenses to operate 3G networks. Mostly, these purchases were made in auctions organized by the governments. In some markets, the high prices paid made it almost impossible to invest in developing the network itself.The reason cellular providers were willing to pay the high license

The Battle of Digital Rights in Europe

2011-07-25T06:00:00.000-04:00

One of the main differences between the United States and the European Union lies in the treatment of regional exclusivity agreements. While in the US it is possible to restrict channel partners, service providers, and distribution of goods to specific regions and states, in Europe such restriction is basically against the law. Nearly 20 years ago, I had access to a large computer manufacturer's

4G Wars: LTE vs. WiMax

2011-07-20T06:00:00.002-04:00

While 4G (fourth-generation cellular data) is mostly targeting mobile devices and cellular users, it can be a suitable solution for the enterprise to provide high-speed connectivity in some areas with poor network infrastructure. It provides great potential -- at least when we get real 4G.In the last couple of years the claims to offer 4G mobile Internet have been escalating between cellular

US Out of Sync With Global Mobile Network Standards

2011-07-01T08:00:00.001-04:00

Interoperability is a wonderful thing, but achieving and maintaining true interoperability is a challenge -- and it only gets more challenging when your enterprise goes international. An enterprise application that leads the US market may be a minor player in another nation. A technological standard that's followed in the US might not be used anywhere else. One important example: mobile network

Invest in Tomorrow’s Infrastructure

2011-06-20T06:00:00.001-04:00

During weak economic times, investing in technological infrastructure may seem expensive, but it may also save the economy. Many European countries realized a few years ago that providing inexpensive, easy Internet access to the majority of the population was a necessary investment. It helped their government administrations to be more efficient, providing many services online. Also people

SMS (Texting) as a Business Tool

2011-06-13T05:00:00.008-04:00

I remember when SMS (Short Message Service) started in Europe 20 years ago. It was part of the European GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standard. The idea was to use the data channel to send short messages (of up to 160 characters) between phones. In the beginning it was free to use, since the big telecoms that owned the networks were still focusing almost entirely on the revenue

Mobile Encryption & the Unsecured Airways

2011-06-03T12:05:00.000-04:00

While I was doing research for this post, I saw a news report about the FBI requesting the US government to force VoIP and other non-conventional voice communications providers to install backdoors, so it could wiretap conversations of suspected criminals. This comes after the FBI allegedly paid developers to place a number of backdoors and side-channel key leaking mechanisms into the OpenBSD

Cellphones as Sociometers

2011-05-27T06:00:00.005-04:00

Every time we use a cellphone, we are creating a record that can be stored, transmitted, retrieved, and analyzed. Phones are pinging the nearest cell towers, making it possible to establish their location. The networks then store information about the calls we make and receive, the duration of those calls, and the numbers dialed. Text messages are also stored and delivered. While many people don

Interactive Digital Signage Increases Sales & Learning Experience

2011-05-23T06:00:00.001-04:00

Among the comments to my last post on the digital signage series before the holidays was a repeating topic about the possibility of interacting with the audience and providing a personal experience. One of the best solutions on the market for interactive displays, games, and product information comes from EyeClick, a company that has been developing and installing interactive walls, large

Helbing's Living Earth Simulator, A Real Hari Seldon's Prime Radiant

2011-05-20T06:00:00.003-04:00

Imagine a technology that uses, in real time, data from financial transactions, health records, travel details, carbon dioxide emissions and so on to build a model of not just the planet but the entire society that populates it. Dr. Dirk Helbing, Professor of Sociology at ETH Zurich calls it 'reality mining'. I remember reading the Foundation Trilogy written by Isaac Asimov 60 years ago. Of

Human Chip Implants Provoke Interest & Outrage

2011-05-17T06:00:00.002-04:00

Over dinner with friends, our conversation happened to touch upon the topic of human microchip implants. Among us, both Republicans and Democrats, from professions including: IT professionals, an entrepreneur, a teacher, and a policeman. The attitudes about using this new technology were as varied as our backgrounds. My knee-jerk reaction regarding the notion of human microchip implants was “No!

The Basics of a Digital Signage Network

2011-05-16T06:00:00.007-04:00

As I discussed in a previous article, digital signage has many uses and can pay for itself when used to the best of its ability. So how do you get it work at its best? When planning a digital signage network most companies think it is only a way to serve some ads and play some videos on different sites to inform and "entertain" customers. The complexities of different locations, time zones,

Governments Encourage Stealing Data

2011-05-11T06:00:00.006-04:00

Despite concerns regarding protecting their own data from outlets like WikiLeaks, governments have never had the same qualms about accessing supposedly secure data from corporations. I’m not talking here about conventional espionage done by government agencies. I’m talking about government payments to thieves to steal data from their employers. Enacted in 1934, the Swiss Banking Secrecy Law has

Restructuring Office Hours for the 21st Century

2011-05-06T11:14:00.000-04:00

In the United States we still have one long, almost continuous work day. But does it really still make sense in light of all the portable networked communication devices, telecommuting, and a global marketplace with offices in time zones all over the world? And can we be more productive using another model? Most jobs I held in the US required me to begin at 8 a.m. When I left work was entirely

The Unified Collaboration Market: Convergence Is King

2011-05-04T08:35:00.000-04:00

I still remember when WebEx Communications started, back in 1996, creating a new way of sharing information in the first few years of the Internet. We were at that time using basic dialup connections and ISDN (not so popular in the US), and sending and receiving files was a painful process. WebEx allowed us to share basic PowerPoint presentations on a one-to-one basis. No voice-over-IP or

Energizing Your Team in an Uncertain Economy

2011-04-28T01:00:00.001-04:00

Signs the economy is improving are making news lately, but it may be a while before it trickles down to the majority of employers and employees. Layoffs, outsourcing, and lack of well-paid, full-time permanent jobs are still causing uncertainty and lowering morale. Software engineering and jobs in IT are predicted to gain in popularity. When demand for certain skills rises, it presents a