The problem with staring at the horizon is that it becomes easy to trip. The UK software darling Autonomy has undoubted potential. It is the market leader in “unstructured search" – clever software that can grasp context and identify relationships across a variety of files, from e-mail and spreadsheets to audio and video. It can listen to call centre conversations, for example, and suggest actions to staff as they speak, cutting down on training needs. Duplication of effort can be avoided in large and disparate organisations. Productivity gains as yet undiscovered lie in wait for businesses who can better exploit information not gathered up into neat databases.

So the grand hope is that Autonomy's technology will become embedded into the very infrastructure of business software.

Kick That Tin Can: Banks Adopt VoIP

Bank CIOs convinced that "huge savings" and "improved operational efficiencies" were terms that wouldn't be found in the same sentence have learned to rethink their IT strategy, thanks to the advent of voice-over Internet protocol. Banks have found that VoIP, which is being rapidly adopted by mid-sized and small banks, is akin to replacing their tin-can telephones with powerful new models that promise to dramatically change the way they do business in the next decade. Think Jetsons, not Flintstones.

Instead of circuit-switched networks, sound waves of voice calls can be digitized and divided into data packets before being routed over a data network. The upside is profound: huge telecommunications savings, increased bandwidth for movement of larger pieces of data, more flexibility for mobile workforces, more security for disaster-recovery and business-continuity backup systems, more CRM capabilities, and more options for in-house training with video and other applications.

Hughes to Acquire Helius for IPTV Data Broadcasting Solutions

Hughes Communications, which provides broadband satellite network services, agreed to acquire privately-held Helius, Inc., which specializes in business-class data broadcasting solutions.

Hughes said the acquisition will combine the skills of Helius, a leader in providing business IPTV solutions for applications such as training, corporate communications, and digital signage, with its own extensive broadband networking experience and customer base. Hughes plans to deploy Helius' IP video technologies to enhance its existing HughesNet service offerings.

Helius is a portfolio company of Canopy Ventures. The acquisition is expected to be completed on or about February 4, 2008. Financial terms were not disclosed. Upon completion of the acquisition, Helius will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Hughes and will operate closely with Hughes' North America and International enterprise businesses.

Hillary Clinton on Foreign Policy

But I will not be penciling in the leaders of Iran or North Korea or Venezuela or Cuba on the presidential calendar without preconditions, until we have assessed through lower level diplomacy, the motivations and intentions of these dictators. Raul Castro, for example, has a stark choice. He can continue to stifle human rights and economic freedom in Cuba, or he can chart a new course toward democratic reform. We need to engage with our allies in Latin America and Europe to encourage Cuba on to the right path. But we simply cannot legitimize rogue regimes or weaken American prestige by impulsively agreeing to presidential level talks that have no preconditions. It may sound good but it doesn't meet the real world test of foreign policy. I have traveled to so many countries working on issues involving some of the most intractable challenges we face.

Archives for: February 2008 , 09

It's been a while since I've posted. School, work, play - you know, general life stuff that tends to get in the way. But rest assured that I AM going to make a concentrated effort to update this thing more often because there are a lot of really great things going on.

Like tonight: Daniel Johnston at Slowdown. It's gonna be real interesting, and good to boot. Eighteen bucks to see a legendary singer-songwriter. Plus, I haven't seen Flowers Forever yet, and I've heard mixed reviews...very anxious to decide for myself. On a very unrelated note, today I read an excellent article in the Jan. 28 New Yorker on the Obama/Clinton race. I'm not well versed in politics, and frankly, not terribly interested in them either. But this article made me think about the differences in ideology of the two candidates, which was really great.

SPAMfighter: Global Economic Troubles Trigger Phishing Attacks ...

Phishing is when a scammer sends a fake e-mail, linking to a fake site where they in turn ask for personal information from the e-mail recipient. This information is usually bank information, which is then used to hack into their personal bank account. Phishing is very hard for a user to detect as both the e-mail and the site they are redirected to look very legitimate.

The amount of attention on the global economic crisis has caused consumers to be more attentive to their financial assets, and in turn, an easy target for phishers.

Haitian soccer legend Emmanuel Sanon dies

Emmanuel Sanon, one of Haiti's most celebrated soccer players, died at his Orlando home Thursday from pancreatic cancer, family members said. He was 56.

''To this day, we really feel -- it may be naive, it may be romantic -- that Manno Sanon won that game,'' recounted radio commentator Herntz Phanord, who watched the match in a crowded movie house in New York.