Information
Technology
Accessibility:
A New Outlook for IT "NEW"
Societies face a major challenge in providing access to technology to all people
regardless of their physical or cognitive abilities.
By Tatiana Andronache,
August 1, 2008
Social Networking:
Trends and Traps
Social computing; social utility; social networking; social
publishing; social collaboration. "Social" is the
one common denominator for what is known as Web 2.0.
The web has outgrown the stage of personal websites and crude
file swapping, as well as the age of "pure" electronic
commerce.
By Tatiana
Andronache, January 16, 2008
Designing for Privacy
Without doubt, privacy is an issue we all feel strongly
about. We see the growing numbers of TV cameras in the streets.
We hear about biometric passports and are warned frequently
by the media about the dangers of identity fraud. We know
that, on the one hand, advances in surveillance and identity
management technology have the potential to provide great
benefits. On the other, they also carry the risk of damage
and failure, depending on their usage and depending upon
their design.
By Faye
Mallett, July 18, 2007
Second Life: The Virtual
Brave New World
Second Life is a collective virtual universe, with its own
landscape, residents, economy and culture developed by Linden
Lab, a young San Francisco based company, and the vision
of a 3D virtual world shared across several thousand servers
by millions of users. It all started just a few years ago
but its growth became exponential in late 2006, when it caught
the attention of BusinessWeek magazine. From 170,000 residents
at that time, today it reaches closer to 6 million.
By Tatiana
Andronache, I.S.P, May 9, 2007
The 43 Hour Day
Every morning, most of us wake up to the sound of an alarm. The radio is playing.
We turn on the television. We log onto the Internet, check our E-mail, answer
the phone. We text message a friend, join an IM conversation, often all before
8am. And this is just the warm up for a typical day in 2007.
By Trilby
McGaw, April 25, 2007
Beyond
Web 2.0
Just as we keep hearing and reading enough about Web 2.0 to realize that
something “hypernew” is
happening to the web, here is another term to digest: Web 3.0.
By Tatiana
Andronache, March 28, 2007
Language
Translation In The Global Age
Most business and technical people all over the world are fluent in English.
With globalization and communications technology spreading standards and uniformity,
the natural expectation would have been for the English language to marginalize
the usage of national languages in business. Yet globalization has brought
along an unlikely companion: localization.
By Tatiana
Andronache, January 24, 2007
Service-Oriented
Architecture
SOA (short for Service-Oriented Architecture) is one of the latest buzzwords
in the IT community. The keyword in SOA is integration: applications from different
players need to collaborate behind the scene in order to fulfill a precise
business mission (think on-line shopping). But on-line shopping is not exactly
a novel concept anymore. That said, neither is SOA. Why then, do we hear now
so much about SOA - this “perfect storm” - as IBM Executive Architect,
Ulrich Herrmann, calls it?
By Tatiana
Andronache, Oct. 25, 2006
Sarbanes-Oxley:
Four Years Later
On July 31, 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (commonly referred to as SOX) became
law in the United States following a series of corporate financial scandals,
including Enron, Tyco International and WorldCom (now MCI), that shook the
foundations of the North-American securities business. This landmark legislation
becomes effective this year for all publicly traded companies.
By Tatiana
Andronache, July 26, 2006
Next
Generation IT
IT has spent the last 40 or some odd years automating business processes. Now
it is being called upon to step forward and be a leader in business process
innovation.
By Faye
Mallett, May 10, 2006
Riding The
Age Wave
The IT industry approached the millennium under threat of the Y2K “bomb,” yet
was able to defuse it in time for the first of January, 2000. But another time-bomb
has been ticking for some time now, one which holds more far-reaching implications
than Y2K. Some experts are calling it the “Age Wave."
By Tatiana
Andronache, March 1, 2006
The
Vision On Vision Is Shortsighted
Do you know what CVS is? If you read these lines, you might well have it. CVS
stands for Computer Vision Syndrome. Your optometrist will be happy to oblige
if you ask for explanations. But try to find CVS in your company’s benefit
book – even when you yourself are the “company”. Why is it
that we care so little about vision in the one occupation which more than any
other is based on and caters to our ability to see?
By Tatiana
Andronache, February 15, 2006
The
Battle For The Internet
There is a war coming, and with the exception of some obscure blogs and the
occasional blip on the radar screen of the mainstream media, surprisingly few
people know about it. Two powerful forces, each with very different vested
interests, are about enter into a massive struggle to decide the fate of the
Internet.
By Jake
Gosselin, February 1, 2006
Can Wikipedia
Be Trusted?
According to John Seigenthaler, journalist, civil rights activist and former
assistant to Attorney General Robert Kennedy, Wikipedia is a groundbreaking
online encyclopedia that is "populated by volunteer vandals with poison-pen
intellects."
By Matt
Davis January 4, 2006
How
Information Changes The World
It is no great mystery that major shifts in cultural and societal processes
are marked with new advances in technology. This is also true of information
technology. The printing press, the camera, the telephone, the computer, the
Internet and the cell phone, are all inextricably linked to major changes in
human culture.
By Shelley
Lightburn December 30, 2005
E-Waste:
Where Gizmos Go to Rest
When will be the first time you decide to buy a computer based on the recycling
policy of its manufacturer? It’s a question that came about at least
two decades ago, but as individuals and society we failed to notice, or chose
to ignore it.
by Tatiana Andronache, I.S.P., October 26,
2005
The Broadband
Bid
It is a subject the media seems to be pre-occupied with, and most of us likely
have some idea about broadband – what it is, how it’s making our
lives better, and where this technology will take us into the future of communications.
By Faye
Mallett
IT Humour
Lest you take life - or that headache produced by your computer - too seriously!
By the Editor, August 31,
2005
IT Innovations
In Health Care
While modern medicine continues to evolve at a fast pace, it remains quite
slow in the creation of patient filing using electronic databases. Medical
information is not readily available and it needs to be: timing is everything.
By Melissa
Montgomery, August 3, 2005
Conquering
IT Complexity: Mission Impossible?
Any software developer will attest that building new and more sophisticated
features into a program is addictive. The dilemma is: Will software technology
be bridled by consumers’ refusal to comprehend or use its capabilities
to the fullest?
By Tatiana Andronache, I.S.P, July 6, 2005
Privacy
Today: The "Survellience Society" Or "Anonymous Me?"
More than 100 years ago, Louis Brandeis, the famous US Supreme Court judge
and “People’s Attorney,” defined privacy as the “right
to be let alone.” It’s a different world from when Brandeis made
this statement, and the issue of privacy has become much more complicated.
By Tatiana Andronache, I.S.P, June
1, 2005
Identity
Theft Still An Issue
Most people know what identity theft is by now. According to the law, it is
the appropriation of an individual’s personal information (social insurance
number, bank account information, address, etc.) with intent to commit fraud
by impersonating the victim. Most people also know (or should by now!) how
to protect themselves against identity theft. Yet the problem still occurs,
prompting a few recent studies that have discovered some very interesting findings
and angles on the issue.
By Tatiana Andronache, I.S.P, May
4, 2005
Emtional
Intelligence In The IT Industry
Emotional Intelligence became a new term in psychology and a hot topic in academic
circles just over 10 years ago. The works of Daniel Goleman (Emotional
Intelligence and Working with Emotional Intelligence) brought
forward the idea that a person’s emotional intelligence has a larger
role to play than his or her IQ in achieving career success and overall well
being. But how does this work in IT (Information Technology) – a field
perceived to be mainly IQ-oriented territory?
By Tatiana Andronache, I.S.P, April
6, 2005
The Global
IT Village: What Language Do We Use?
Today, the world (or the global village, as we have come to think of it) shares
no less than 6809 living languages. At the same time the Internet, satellite
communications and cell phones have made their way to the remotest places on
the planet. It brings up the questions: what language do we use now, and how
do we use it?
By Tatiana Andronache, I.S.P, March 9, 2005
Transforming
Technology To “Ambient Intelligence”
The notion of “Ambient Intelligence” is a strong theme in the European
Commission’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) research
agenda for the next 5 to 10 years. This concept describes an environment where
people are surrounded by mechanical interfaces that are both intelligent and
intuitive.
By Faye Mallett, December 14, 2004
Mobility
Of The Workforce: How Far Have We Come, How Far Will We Go ?
Most people who have started their careers about 20 years ago would agree that
a desk, a stack of files and the nine-to-five schedule were the “trademark” of
any office worker. Unprecedented advances in computer technology, compounded
by the advent of the Internet and the falling price of communication have made
possible a dramatic evolution of office work - not only in terms of tools and
technology, but also from a human and organizational perspective.
By Tatiana Andronache, I.S.P., November
9, 2004
The
Importance Of “Being Engineer” - Part 2
The engineering profession has traditions that span centuries, and a heightened
sense of professional status awareness among its members. Modern engineering
has over 80 very diverse specialties. However, in Canada, “Professional
Engineer” is a blanket title, which does not prevent, for example, a
civil engineer to undertake work of chemical engineering. As Ken McMartin of
the Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) explains, “the onus is on
the engineer to undertake work he or she is competent to perform by virtue
of the practitioner’s training and experience.”
By Tatiana Andronache, October
12, 2004
The Importance
Of “Being Engineer” -
Part 1
The Information Technology (IT) profession does not have that all encompassing,
recognizable one-word name to bestow recognition upon its practitioners, the
way "doctor", "teacher", or “engineer” does. “Informatician” could
have been it, but somehow did not catch on. "Programmer" almost made
it, but it has recently become a four-letter word to be avoided at all costs
(think outsourcing…).
By Tatiana Andronache, September 8, 2004
Alternatives
To Outsourcing
A number of Canadian organizations are contemplating offshore outsourcing to
reduce software development costs. Part 2 of this article reviews the current
outsourcing scene and presents strategies for reducing in-house development
costs as an alternative to offshore outsourcing. These strategies would help
stem the flow of much needed high tech jobs from Canada to other countries.
By Raj Phalpher, August 4, 2004
Certifications
In IT: Shooting For The Moon?
While trying to avoid the “hot/not” rhyme, the goal
of this article really is to explain why, in the current depressed
IT climate, some certifications are (still) hot, and some are not.
I am not sure how good the explanation is going to be, but the new
metaphor in the title is not without merit.
By Tatiana Andronache, July 06, 2004
Escalating
Software Development Costs?
A number of Canadian organizations are contemplating offshore outsourcing to
reduce software development costs. This article reviews the current outsourcing
scene and presents strategies for reducing in-house development costs as an
alternative to offshore outsourcing. These strategies would help stem the flow
of much needed high tech jobs from Canada to other countries.
By Raj Phalpher, June 8, 2004
Business
Continuity Moves Front Stage Center
In a post 9/11-world, security and business continuity have become the top
two spending priorities for IT executives. Although each organization must
develop its own blueprint for business continuity, certain core components
exist.
By Samuel Greengard, May 12, 2004
The Internet
Trap
It was said before and it may be repeated with no fear of mistake, the Internet
brought to us the EF world - Easy and Fun - Efficient and Fast. We work, play,
learn and shop on the web – not necessarily in that order of priority.
We have access to worlds of information and possibilities that generations
before us could not even start to imagine. Aren’t we - the children of
the 21st century - the most privileged and luckiest bunch in history so far?
Well, the answer is worthy of some elaboration.
By Tatiana Andronache, April 14, 2004
Grid
Computing Goes Mainstream
Solving many of today's complex computing problems requires enormous resources.
Grid computing ratchets up the equation by connecting hundreds, even thousands,
of idle computers to produce impressive results.
By Samuel Greengard, March 10, 2004
Hide
And Seek: The Question Of Ethics In IT - Part 2
In the first installment of this article we took a quick look
at why ethics – a sign of maturity in any profession – has
not developed proportionally with IT’s growth in importance and
complexity. Ethics have not been at the forefront of the profession – rather,
they were hidden behind the technical and business issues circumscribing
IT. But in the last years, seeking the ethics in IT has undoubtedly
become a growing trend. Why now? And, what now?
By Tatiana Andronache, February 11, 2004
Hide
And Seek: The Question Of Ethics In IT - Part 1
Everyone knows about the Hippocratic oath and what it means
to the medical profession. Yet while there is nothing as notorious
that the much younger IT profession can boast about, the question of
ethics in IT has become more prominent in the last few years. Events
such as Y2K, the dotcom crash, and the recent string of corporate accounting
scandals, have pushed the question of ethics in IT into the spotlight.
By Tatiana Andronache,
January 13, 2004
Gender
Gap In IT: Snow White And The Seven Dwarves?
A look at the employees’ picture boards, a count of the
team I currently work in (seven males, one female – same count
as another team I worked in two years ago!) would confirm that what
statistics and the IT media are saying is true: there are fewer women
working in IT these days. But quite honestly, only after seeing the
media reports did I notice the facts. So now the questions are: why
is this happening and does it really matter?
By Tatiana Andronache, December
09, 2003
E-Business
On Demand: One Year Later
About one year ago (end of Oct. 2002), the concept of e-business
on demand was launched, with big fanfare and a big budget by IBM, as
the new paradigm by which businesses could redefine themselves in this
era of constant change, unprecedented risks – and global opportunity.
On-demand is a long-term strategy; the vision is grand, the promise
compelling, and the implementation daunting. One year has passed. What
has really happened in the on-demand arena?
By Tatiana Andronache,
November 12, 2003
The
Future Of Wireless
Many of us firmly believe that wireless technology is to computing
what the PC was to computing back in the 80’s, nothing short
of a revolution. On the other hand, just like many other emerging technologies
before it, this one is not without its share of challenges.
By Victor J Garcia, October
14, 2003
Offshore
Outsourcing In IT: Boom And Boomerang
You can hardly open an IT magazine today without seeing at least
one headline about outsourcing. Outsourcing (even the offshore variety)
isn’t new to IT, but until recently it had not enjoyed the wide-spread
attention it commands these days, from IT’s corner offices and
boardrooms to cubicles and water-coolers.
By Tatiana Andronache,
September 10, 2003
Where
Did King Harold Go?
“Hastings” is not the answer. What’s more,
you should have no idea where King Harold went, because only one person
on the planet should know, and that person is not you. The trouble
with that question starts when the unique person who is supposed to
know cannot recall making up the question, let alone the answer!
By Tatiana Andronache,
August 12, 2003
That
Web Full Of Spiders!
While biologists and philosophers have yet to give a clear answer
to the old question: What one came first, the chicken or the egg? We
can take comfort in the fact that things are much easier to explain
when it comes to spiders and webs: the first to come was the web -
the World Wide Web that is. Only after it was built did we have to
create the spiders.
By Tatiana Andronache,
July 08, 2003
All That
Spam...
Spam is the cancer of the Internet. Although this is not how
spam is officially defined, many victims would agree with the metaphor:
spam proliferates at an alarming rate and encroaches on this vital
communication organ called email, causing anything from mere nuisance
to forcing some addresses out of existence. There is no sure cure and
sometimes the treatment is as damaging as the disease itself.
By Tatiana Andronache, June 03, 2003
From
Shakespeare To IM: Does Language Still Matter?
A few centuries ago a few enlightened scholars and writers were
using their feathery pens and their best language skills in order to
create masterpieces for the elite of their time - and for the elite
of times yet to come. Today, however, we have a myriad of ways to create
and communicate an untold amount and variety of information to a diversified
audience around the globe who are tuned-in to the "here and now".
But what happened to the content of this communication? And what is
the quality of the communication skills of those individuals devising
all these wonderful communication technologies?
By Tatiana
Andronache, March 11, 2003
IT
Training Today: Trends And Paradoxes
While IT professionals are constantly reminded that upgrading
their skills is paramount to being and remaining an IT worker - especially
in this ultra competitive IT market, training has surely become the
Cinderella of IT corporate budgets. How can the IT worker make sense
out of this and what's really the consequence for organizations? How
does the training equation add up?
By Tatiana Andronache, February 11, 2003
Coming
Of Age: What's In Store For The IT Worker?
"I am not 45. I am a twenty-year old with twenty-five years
experience!" - proclaimed a T-shirt in the crowd. Now, if I were
to guess the profession of the T-shirt owner, I would say that person
was not a doctor, lawyer or teacher: in these professions the older
you get, the more respected and sought after you become. Therefore,
this person could only be an IT professional - probably looking for
work!
By Tatiana Andronache, January 14, 2003
Crawling
From The Wreckage: Learning The Lessons Of 2002
Forget 2002 at your peril. For many, the past year will be one
they would be more than happy to forget. To do so, however, would be
to lose a major opportunity to learn a few good life lessons.
By Geof Wheelwright, December 31, 2002
E-Business
On Demand: The New Paradigm Of Business
We all remember the days when checking one's bank account balance
meant a trip to the branch; when placing a phone call while outdoors
meant finding a telephone booth; when buying goods meant a trip to
the store. A few years only (albeit a millennium border was crossed!),
and we no longer care about some store's business hours, the location
of a phone booth or a bank branch.
By Tatiana Andronache, December 11, 2002
Hack
Attack
The world is seemingly marching on towards conflict on both
home and foreign fronts, with terrorism capable of striking anywhere
at any time. In the face of all this military and political activity,
much has been said and done to prevent hostile attacks from a variety
of political and religious groups. But, it is the growing battle in
cyberspace that experts are calling for increased attention on.
By Mario Cacciottolo, November 26, 2002
Exploring
The Need For Certification
I was recently surprised to see some new faces behind the counter
of the small store where I buy my vegetables. Occasionally, the owner
would chat about his long hours in this always-open-when-you-need-it
outfit.
By Tatiana Andronache, November 6, 2002
Moves
Afoot To Give Consumer E-Commerce Legal Certainty
With recent polls showing that Canada ranks a paltry 11th internationally
for on-line shopping, experts ponder why a nation that ranks second
for high-speed Internet service, boasts wired schools from coast-to-coast
and enjoys one of the world's cheapest Net access rates, has yet to
see a boom in consumer e-commerce.
By Michael Geist October 1, 2002
Internet:
Achieving The Dream
The birth of what would later become the Internet occured in
1965. It all began as a Cold War experiment, to develop a communication
network that could withstand a nuclear attack. The Advanced Research
Projects Agency (ARPA) of the US sponsored the study. As a result,
three computers were linked to form "The Experimental Network", laying
the groundwork for the next four decades.
by Shelly Brennan August 12, 2002
A
Rupture In History
Technology is on a path to transform our world. Within the next 20 years, we
could see the end of incurable diseases, the cessation of our need to deplete
the earth's natural resources, and the restoration of our ozone layer. The
continuation of last week's article on Moore's Law.
by Shelley Brennan. August 6th, 2002
Intel
Faces Silicon Limitations
Within the next 15 years, the steady progress in producing more
powerful computer chips will be impeded by the laws of physics. It
all started 37 years ago with a paper written by a young researcher
who would later co-found Intel.
by Shelley Brennan. July 30th, 2002
Your
Identity May Be At Risk
Identity theft, the crime-du-jour for a new class of technologically
savvy criminals, is becoming a rampant global exigency affecting hundreds
of thousands of victims each year. You don't think you are at risk?
Think again.
May 28th, 2002
Computer
Rage
Technology is supposed to be our friend: it is meant to improve
our lives, make things easier for us and assist us in doing many complicated
things quicker and all at once. "How did we ever do 'this' before our
ever-helpful technological device was invented?" is what we supposedly
all ask ourselves whilst shaking our heads in wonderment. However,
according to new research there is a fine line between using PCs and
software devices that is often slipped off to violent effect.
Netiquette
There are distinct advantages to E-mail and the phenomenon of
electronic communication...
Technology:
Why Aren’t More People Online?
In the developed world, the Internet is literally in your face.
Opportunities to go online are everywhere, and an estimated 400 hundred
million people use the World Wide Web daily.
Special
Series: eCommerce Management
Over the past few years, eCommerce has become the buzzword of the business
and finance communities. As a result, more and more companies are jumping
into the Internet and eCommerce for fear of being left behind.
An eCommerce Management Primer
(Part 1)
An eCommerce Management
Primer (Part 2)
An eCommerce Management
Primer (Part 3)
An eCommerce Management Primer (Part
4)
An eCommerce Management
Primer (Part 5)
Wireless
Web: A Load of WAP?
According to the advertisements appearing in magazines of late its possible
to receive and send email in the back of a cab, check stocks and share markets
while walking down the street and even book flight tickets en route to the
airport.
'Connected'
Town Gets Wired Community
A former textile town, one hour south of Atlanta, Georgia, is gearing all of
its 27,000 citizens towards the digital age. The 'LaGrange Internet TV' initiative
is the first time a city has made this kind of investment to ensure that potentially
all residents can tap into the power of the Internet by providing free Internet
access to all cable television households..
Interns,
Companies Benefit From Experience
An increasing number of employers are using interns as a
valuable resource by which they can inject fresh input into their business
both temporarily and for the longer term.
Firewalls
- A Flaming Nuisance Or Red-Hot Protection For Your Data?
If your company network is connected to the Internet, a
firewall should be used to protect your data. However in today's marketplace,
the presence of a firewall is currently (and most unwisely) not a certainty.
Helping
Others - And Yourself
Like its dot-com counterparts, ImpactOnline believes reaching
a critical mass is essential to keep it thriving. The difference is
that this supply and demand company trades in a commodity that is given
away free - volunteers.
Hackers
For Hire Keep Firms Safe
Computer attacks and cyber-crime is becoming more virulent,
and corporate systems managers should move quickly to plug holes in
their networks.
But
Names Will Never Hurt Me?
Cybersquatting, the practice of registering an Internet domain
name with the hopes of profiting due to its association with a trademark
owned by someone else, can be punished by fines of up to US$100,000
under a law recently signed by President Clinton.
© Copyright 2003-07. Galt Western Personnel
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Galt Western Personnel Ltd.
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