Report: iPhones secretly track their users’ locations

Posted by & filed under Civil Liberties, Electronic Surveillance, IT Security, Mobile Computing, Open Source, Privacy, Video, Wireless.

Discussion: A team of researchers at iPhone Tracker recently discovered that iPhones and 3G-enabled iPads appear to be tracking and storing data about their users’ whereabouts without their knowledge.  Although most cell phone providers collect similar data as part of their operations, it is kept behind a firewall and normally requires a court order to… Read more »

Tech upstarts reveal the flaws in healthcare IT

Posted by & filed under Change Management, IT Infrastructure, IT Investment, IT Planning, IT Security, IT Strategy, Privacy, Video.

Discussion: In an ideal world, all hospitals would integrate their medical files via single online platforms and share patient information efficiently and accurately.  But as different hospitals adopt different IT products ad hoc, integrating these systems is very complicated.  So tech companies are focusing less on concentration of existing patient records and more on communication… Read more »

Inside Google’s China misfortune

Posted by & filed under Business Analytics, Civil Liberties, Cyber Security, E-Business, E-Commerce, IT Security, IT Standards, IT Strategy, Privacy, Search Engine.

Discussion: On January 27, 2006, Google.cn went live in China, and within a few months, Google China’s headquarters was outfitted with the usual frills: foosball tables, a fully equipped gym, massage room, a huge cafeteria with free meals.  But signs of a distressed relationship soon followed: unexplained outages, Google’s operating license was suddenly no longer… Read more »

Startup mating rituals 101

Posted by & filed under Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, E-Business, E-Commerce, IT Planning, IT Projects, IT Trends.

Discussion: TechStarsNY, one of the most successful tech incubators in the country, recently hosted Demo Day, a ritual that allows young startups to strut their stuff in front of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and the media.  Illuminated through a series of slides or videos, the startup founder begins with a problem – i.e. digital billboards aren’t… Read more »

Online photos: Are they the new digital fingerprint?

Posted by & filed under Cyber Security, IT Security, IT Standards, Privacy, Social Computing, Social Networks.

Discussion: Digital photos on the Web may contain information revealing where and when the shot was taken and might even lead to the identification of the faces in the photo.  Coye Cheshire, A UC Berkeley professor, is researching people’s perceptions of the pictures they post online and he’s learning that people tend to perceive a… Read more »

Does your firm need its own mobile app?

Posted by & filed under App Economy, Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, E-Business, E-Commerce, IT Planning, IT Strategy, IT Trends, Mobile Computing, Wireless.

Discussion: ABI Research, a marketing intelligence company, says that almost 8 billion apps were downloaded in 2010.  Ebay claims 15 million people worldwide have downloaded its iPhone app in 190 countries and in eight different languages.  Clearly apps are popular but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are right for every business.  Apps are expensive and… Read more »

Manufacturing the dream: Game changing new production

Posted by & filed under Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, Business Process Outsourcing, E-Business, IT Trends, Print.

Discussion: Using just a laptop and a full-featured three-dimensional (3D) design software program, anybody with a creative vision can now build a prototype and have it “printed” layer by layer out of plastics or metal.  Shapeways, a company on the cutting edge of manufacturing, can take a 3D design submitted over the Internet, build it,… Read more »