silicon.com : The Brampton Factor by Martin Brampton

Brampton Factor: Open source goes commercial

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT

Businesses may be comfortable using well-known open source products. But how will they take to more modest efforts? Martin Brampton looks at one commercial wannabe.

Is the arrival of Acquia an indication of changing times for open source?

Brampton Factor: Open source stands up for its rights

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 12:42:01 GMT

Open source developers need to guard their intellectual property rights if they want to compete with the big boys, says Martin Brampton.

Intellectual property rights (IPR) are usually associated with large software or music companies. This impression can easily obscure the critical connection between open source and property rights. Just because software is given away, it does not mean all property rights are thrown out of the window. In fact IPR is critical to the health of the open source movement.

The Brampton Factor: Analysts fail on open source

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:28:01 GMT

For open source software to achieve its full potential, people's perceptions must change. Yet how can that happen when open source is so woefully neglected by analysts, asks Martin Brampton.

Industry analysts can play a valuable role. But their shortcomings are particularly evident in their coverage of open source software. And, apart from analysts, what viable alternative information sources exist?

The Brampton Factor: Is there really a skills crisis?

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:21:01 GMT

Confused IT skills policies in schools and colleges are part of the problem. But they're being combined with a widespread failure to tap into existing talent, says Martin Brampton.

The perennial skills shortage seems nowadays to have been transformed into a training crisis. Schools are boring IT students to death, and it's the fault of universities that computer games companies are struggling to recruit. How do we get it so wrong?

The Brampton Factor: Licensed to bill

Wed, 07 May 2008 16:52:02 GMT

Software piracy may well be a very bad thing. But does it justify inflicting misery on legitimate software buyers, asks Martin Brampton.

A phrase often crops up in connection with housing - "peacefully enjoy". It nicely captures the expectation of someone who has bought or rents a property.

The Brampton Factor: Open source 'brotherhood' closed to co-operation

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:23:02 GMT

The open source brotherhood prides itself on its collaboration and community spirit. The reality is sadly very different, says Martin Brampton.

Open source has become a powerful force. The internet depends on it, as do many commercial operations. But despite the successes, I have a sneaking suspicion that the open source movement could do better.

The Brampton Factor: Do great firms innovate?

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:19:02 GMT

Despite the rhetoric, most large firms are simply poor at innovating. Microsoft is no exception and its bid for Yahoo! just emphasises its route to success, argues Martin Brampton.

"Innovative" is one of those words that always seems to have a positive ring. Rather like "new" or "modern". The assumption is always that any successful IT company has to be innovative.

The Brampton Factor: Why big government IT projects fail

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:10:02 GMT

A £500m prisoner-tracking project failure barely causes a ripple these days. We're so hardened to government IT problems we no longer see the underlying causes, says Martin Brampton.

I've been feeling sorry for the government. Well, perhaps not very sorry. But it is easy to criticise government attempts at implementing major IT systems. If anything, things seem to be getting worse, with frequent reports of disasters. So it seems worth thinking again about the problems facing government IT.

The Brampton Factor: Software costs under pressure

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 15:22:01 GMT

Hardware prices may have fallen over the years but software costs have always headed in the opposite direction. Now experts are saying that may be about to change. Martin Brampton has his doubts.

The Gartner Group assures us software costs will fall over the next decade. The analyst group says buyers will find ways of cutting costs much in the same way they have done with hardware and services.

The Brampton Factor: Chinese whispers

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 11:13:02 GMT

From cheap laptops to budget routers, China's low-cost products have helped bolster economic stability in the West. So, Martin Brampton asks, what's really fuelling the wave of criticism against the current workshop of the world?

For the past decade, Chinese workers have toiled away creating cheap goods for the world, not least in the IT sector. There's even a sneaking suspicion that the relative economic stability of the period may owe more to Chinese low prices than to politicians, or to whatever virtues we wish to claim for ourselves.

The Brampton Factor: Microsoft vs EU

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 15:56:01 GMT

Microsoft is a pioneer in pushing anti-competition laws to their limits, argues Martin Brampton. The real lesson of this week's EU decision is that it is pointless issuing a court ruling 10 years too late.

Commentators are saying Microsoft has suffered a stunning defeat at the hands of the European Union's second highest court.

Brampton Factor: Bringing tech to the developing world

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 14:26:01 GMT

The many schemes pioneered by Western tech powers to spread hardware and software into emerging markets appear to be well-meaning. But what are the deeper motives - and the best approaches? Martin Brampton takes a closer look.

Suddenly activity is heating up to provide low-cost computing to developing countries. But questions about the participants' motives are never far from the surface. And is development best achieved by charity or by self-interest?

Brampton Factor: Public sector woes

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Although technology has long been touted the saving grace of government services, it has yet to prove true. What is needed, says Martin Brampton, is some more original thinking.

As Gordon Brown heads for 10 Downing Street it is worth having another look at his old claim that IT expenditures would drive down government costs - especially with Richard Granger, the leader of the troubled NHS IT programme, heading for the public sector exit door.

Brampton Factor: Ageism myths

Tue, 22 May 2007 12:57:01 GMT

Ageism in IT is much like other kinds of prejudice, says Martin Brampton - most of what we assume is untrue. And the solutions require the overcoming of deep-rooted ideals.

Prejudice is a strange thing. Hardly anyone admits to it, yet what people say is often indicative of entrenched attitudes. So perhaps ageism is a typical example of prejudice. It is the people who think themselves free of prejudice that alarm me the most.

Brampton Factor: Network convergence is no simple task

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 12:47:02 GMT

As businesses rush to roll out converged networks, few are taking the time to consider whether it's really the right move for them. Martin Brampton considers the subtler elements of convergence.

Talk of network convergence is pretty odd when so much is said about IT needing to be business-oriented. Naturally, using the most cost effective technology is a business issue but it is hard to see how deployment of any particular technology can ever be a business issue. Sometimes convergence provides a good solution, sometimes it doesn't. Often other issues are more important.

Brampton Factor: Customer woes

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 11:30:03 GMT

Ever been infuriated by a hardware maker or IT service provider who just didn't seem to care about you? Martin Brampton shares two recent tales of customer service woe - and ponders what they mean for IT users everywhere.

For homes and small businesses, highly sophisticated technology is incredibly cheap. Sadly when things go wrong, support is likely to be abysmal. It's two sides of the same coin - larger organisations forever cut customer service costs in the name of 'efficiency'. The result is a good experience if things go well and an awful one if they don't.

Brampton Factor: Vista complaints

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 12:15:03 GMT

Martin Brampton sounds off on the ways Windows Vista fails to live up to its promise - and what it tells us about the stagnant state of software engineering today.

Windows Vista has arrived and if you buy an off-the-shelf PC you will almost certainly get a copy. Vista has been described as the biggest software development ever attempted. I've been puzzling over what that might imply.

Brampton Factor: CIO ideology

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 14:00:03 GMT

CIOs and IT directors are typically concerned with how an organisation carries out its business goals - not in debating whether those aims are worthwhile. Martin Brampton asks: is this really the way it should be?

For some time now, I've been puzzling over the ideology of the CIO. Ideology is the thinking that is presented as common sense yet from sufficient distance turns out to be geared to particular interests. Gartner, among others, has consistently promoted the view that the CIO should aspire to an ideology in line with that of the CEO. But is this ideology really working against the interests of society?

Brampton Factor: What's so great about one telecoms provider?

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:55:03 GMT

Telecoms companies may like the idea of providing customers with multiple services - fixed-line, mobile, broadband and data. But, asks Martin Brampton, is this really what customers want?

The season of goodwill seems to have passed by call centres. Maybe that is not surprising, with so many of them located in a distant continent. Or perhaps the whole philosophy of call centres is alien to the idea of goodwill to all men (and presumably women). Ho hum. It all contributes to my policy of digital divergence.

Brampton Factor: Data theft a warning

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 15:35:03 GMT

Data theft is rampant, we've heard again and again. This shouldn't be too surprising, says Martin Brampton, but more importantly it may be telling us something about the state of our society.

Talk of data theft has often focused on faceless criminals grabbing credit card details or emptying bank accounts. But the recent conviction of a couple who made £140,000 per year selling personal data points to the institutional tendency in misuse. And it raises deep questions about the kind of society we want.

Brampton Factor: Don't get your hopes up for BT's 21CN

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 16:45:04 GMT

What can we expect from BT's next-generation network? New IP services for cheap? Not so fast, says Martin Brampton. It may well fail to deliver, as BT repeats past mistakes.

The BT programme to roll out a national IP network is moving towards fruition. A pilot scheme begins in Cardiff at the end of this year and national implementation is planned to start in January 2008. It's a big project but do we have cause to be excited by it?

Brampton Factor: NHS IT - can this project be saved?

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 12:30:03 GMT

Martin Brampton tallies up the organisational and financial missteps that have put the NHS IT overhaul in dire straights - and surveys what solutions could be put in place at this juncture.

Attacking NHS IT may seem like shooting at sitting ducks. But the issues are so important for us as a society that they cannot be ignored. Those who are tied to the project continue to defend it but other opinions range from doubtful to contemptuous. The aspect that I want to consider most is the financial one. Before coming to that, though, what are the main reasons for pessimism with regard to NHS IT?

Brampton Factor: Man and machine

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 16:00:03 GMT

Martin Brampton discusses the complex relationship between humans and computers - and how to create reliable systems when we can't put complete faith in either.

People love automating things and there are some obvious benefits to be gained. One example is Network Rail implementing remote monitoring of trackside equipment. But systems of this kind have to overcome deep-rooted problems. They relate not only to technology but to the complex behaviour of human beings.

Brampton Factor: IT and the environment - friend or foe?

Tue, 25 Jul 2006 09:00:00 GMT

Computers and other IT hardware aren't being recycled and use up loads of energy - and there appears to be no end in sight to this inefficient behaviour, says Martin Brampton.

While most of us enjoy long hot summers, the overall impact of global warming is a serious concern. And there is little sign that we will deal with it until we are faced with disaster. IT is by no means an innocent bystander in all this.

Brampton Factor: You call this an information society?

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 13:35:02 GMT

Martin Brampton debunks the idea that we live in an information society - and even if we did, he says, it wouldn't provide all the benefits everyone keeps saying it will.

We are often told that we now live in an information society. This claim is highly suspect, and depends on a technical, and largely meaningless, definition of 'information'. And what about the often cited corollaries - the claims that information is power or that information is immensely valuable?