From the dWb website
News Snippets

April 2001 News

  • How to make dot-com succeed
  • Unbreakable encryption
  • E-mail overkill is corporate illness
  • Mainframes strike back ....

How to make dot-com succeed

Some guaranteed ways to make the dot-com succeed:
  • Spread web functions all over the company. If they get too many hits say its over-hyped
  • Give the leadership role to an experienced veteran with limited internet experience. We don't want another Napster
  • Only use tried and tested software. No risks and saves wasted costs
  • Use as many technology suppliers as possible. Get value for money for their ideas
  • Make sure that online and offline is the same experience
  • Make sure that the developers are kept under control so they don't spend time innovating
  • Let users manage their own content and design. Give them different tools from the developers. Competition is healthy, chaos is better
  • Don't worry about performance or content just make sure the pages are colourful and easy to use
  • Communicate via pages on the intranet. If people want to know they will have to look

Unbreakable encryption

A Harvard professor has claimed to have found a 100% uncrackable code that cannot be deciphered even by unlimited computer power. The term being used is unlimited security. Others are calling it snake oil.

E-mail overkill is corporate illness

Studies show that e-mail overload is causing undue strain on managers. The amount of e-mail and the reliance upon it is causing security concerns. Survey results are:
  • 25% of managers receive > 30 e-mails a day
  • 40% users receive 11-30 e-mails a day
  • 50% of directors receive > 20 e-mails a day

Mainframes strike back ....

The mainframes and mainframe-like servers are enjoying a renaissance as consolidation and e-business are needing 99.999 availability. Some wag has also said that PC's, workstations and servers get stolen - who wants to steal a mainframe !!!!!

Shorties

  • The promise of solving storage and search problems by using Peer-to-peer networking stumbles over the NAT. Like many other good ideas they are stopped when some of the foundational services are missing. There is a definite need for a universal secure directory. Without this all of these good ideas will have a long and difficult gestation period.
  • Ariba and CommerceOne are hit by the general downturn in the e-business industry. Ariba are planning cut up to 50% of their workforce.
  • Microsoft plan to charge .Net users for accessing online data using Hailstorm technology.
  • eGovernment projects will lead to e-Identity cards so that they users can be authenticated. Without it the benefits cannot be achieved or even paid !!
  • Oracle and Compaq suffer from the slowdown. This could mean that there are some interesting deals out there. Anybody want to buy some Oracle licences with a big, once-off, never to be repeated, discount?
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