The forty-niners rushed to California in search of gold. Some even found it. But most stayed poor and the only people who got reliably rich were people who made and sold the picks and shovels the miners needed.  Image: http://www.news.com.au/ Is that the way it is with big data? Will the only people to get rich be the suppliers of big data computer software, and computer and storage hardware? How will we know? It is damnably difficult to calculate the ROI on a big data project. You have to ask questions…

Read More

Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday unveiled its next Windows operating system, Windows 10, and gave a first look at an early technical preview for the PC. The announcement highlighted advancements designed for business, including an updated user experience and enhanced security and management capabilities. The company also introduced the Windows Insider Program, kicking off its largest-ever open collaborative development effort to change the way Windows is built and delivered to best meet the needs of customers. Program participants will receive the technical preview of Windows 10 and a steady stream of…

Read More

Busan Declaration looks like a statement of intent The ITU has kicked off three weeks of wrangling over the future of the Internet – the 2014 Plenipotentiary – with a ministerial statement that’s likely to spark concerns about the direction of the coming summit. The Busan Declaration, issued at the close of the Busan ICT ministerial meeting, is filled with high-minded language about inclusion and the spread of the Internet, but there are angles that will worry those who believe the ITU is preparing a takeover of the Internet. The…

Read More

The days of experiencing a snapshot of the world through a tiny plastic porthole when you fly may soon be a thing of the past, as future aircrafts could offer a crystal clear panoramic view of the world below, without any windows at all. At the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), our scientists and engineers are developing ultra-flexible, high-definition display technologies that could line the interior walls of cabins and display live footage from external cameras. As well as cocooning passengers with a panoramic view of the skies, this interactive…

Read More

The U.S. reiterated its stance in favor of a multistakeholder model for Internet governance today. Speaking before the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker said that the United States will “not allow the global Internet to be co-opted by any person, entity, or nation seeking to substitute their parochial worldview for the collective wisdom of this community.” At a minimum, the United States appears cognizant of the risks at hand. Earlier this year, the United States’ National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)…

Read More

Competition to offer cloud services is heating up. Here’s how to take advantage of the cloud pricing battles — even if you have no interest in adopting these technologies.  A strange thing is happening in cloud computing: pricing continues to drop even as more competitors enter the fray, and the functionality available increases. For smaller companies or limited-use cloud applications, pricing may be the ultimate in affordability: free. An interesting confluence of factors has created this unique period in cloud computing. Cloud gets nasty From a vendor perspective, the cloud is…

Read More

The most creative innovations of the digital age came from those who were able to connect the arts and sciences. They believed that beauty mattered. “I always thought of myself as a humanities person as a kid, but I liked electronics,” Steve Jobs told me when I embarked on his biography. “Then I read something that one of my heroes, Edwin Land of Polaroid, said about the importance of people who could stand at the intersection of humanities and sciences, and I decided that’s what I wanted to do.” The…

Read More

Skype launches a free mobile messaging app for users to send and receive short videos. Microsoft’s Skype joined the hot mobile messaging market Tuesday with the launch of a simple and straightforward video messaging app called Skype Qik. The app is available for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone and doesn’t require a Skype account to use. Skype Qik was born out of the mobile video streaming website Qik, which Skype acquired in 2011 for $150 million and shuttered in April. The stripped-down and reimagined service combines a hodgepodge of characteristics from other…

Read More