Jan

22

Response Lag

Filed Under Computers | Leave a Comment

I would be willing to bet these police computers are using 802.11 MHz of 2.4, the same frequency that 802.11b and 802.11a use. I heard recently police can use 4.9MHz. Maybe the Keene IT guys don’t know?

Police Computers Clash With Dunkin’ Donuts System

For Keene, New Hampshire police officers, getting through the drive-through at Dunkin’ Donuts can be quite a nuisance.
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It turns out the officers’ in-car computers interfere with Dunkin’ Donuts computer system. Police using the drive-through have to disconnect their computer modems to avoid clashing with the restaurants’ system.

Jan

22

Rice Seeks To Transform Diplomacy

Filed Under Gov't & Politics | Leave a Comment

A few years ago, I happened to be looking at the CIA World Factbook (probably specifically at Seychelles) and ended up looking at job descriptions for the Consular Officer (now apparently a Passport and Visa Specialist). At the time, I thought it was be an ideal job. Go live in a country for a few years helping people out of jams, see the country on my days off, and hopefully stay out of trouble.

That was before the US invaded, Iraq, I am pretty sure. Now, Condoleeza is Secretary of State. In a way, I am glad that I never really followed up on pursing that.

CBS News | Rice Seeks To Transform Diplomacy | January 20, 2006 18:25:40

Rice’s objective, she told students and faculty at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, is to forge a new way to work with other countries “…to build and sustain democratic, well-governed states that will respond to the needs of their people and conduct themselves responsibly in the international system. Let me be clear,” Rice continued, “transformational diplomacy is rooted in partnership; not paternalism. In doing things with people, not for them; we seek to use America’s diplomatic power to help foreign citizens better their own lives and to build their own nations and to transform their own futures.” [Bold added.]

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This Secretary of State sees the early years of the 21st century as a period during which dramatic and innovative policy changes are called for and in fact are overdue in the aftermath of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union. Rice often cites the bold changes made after World War II by her predecessors, Secretaries George C. Marshall and Dean Acheson, which led to the formation of NATO and, ultimately, as she said to her Georgetown audience, “…..a Europe whole and free and at peace.” If viewed simply in that historical light, we should not be too surprised at the steps announced this week.

Jan

21

BellSouth vs. Google - Round 1

Filed Under Computers, Interweb | Leave a Comment

What about the customers? Companies all too often play chicken. It is the consumers who get screwed. A few years ago, a Sun vs. Microsoft disagreement meant no adequate Java Runtime Environment for the brand new Windows XP personal computers for months. Developers for online classes often tap Java for mini-applications (HTML editors, chat, file managers, etc.). No Java? May as well find an old computer that does or drop or fail. Sorry….

The Jeff Pulver Blog: Jeff Pulver to Eric Schmidt: Turn the Tide – Turn off BellSouth!

Given the market power that Google has today, they are more relevant to the Internet community than BellSouth. Given that, if I were running Google today, I would choose to implement a BellSouth Boycott and stop offering access to Google to BellSouth customers and would start advertising Cox Cable service on any requests that came from BellSouth customers in their regions. I’m willing to wager that by Q3 2006, BellSouth’s DSL group will feel the effects of their grave error in judgment.

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As the battle between the Internet Access Providers and Internet Application Providers rages on, it is the customers who will be hurt more than any of the underlying companies selling access or offering applications. Welcome to the game of Internet Chicken and the race to mutually assured destruction. Who will flinch first before it is too late?

Customers are not all as dumb as you think. Placing ads to BellSouth’s competitors on through the BS network would not convert many. They listen to people like me, who would view Google acting like a bully as very, very counter to what we like about Google. At that point, I would remove Google as our search engine of choice and drive my clients to Yahoo!

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