Odds And Ends

A timely snapshot; read the full article for more context

Compare Jobs’s recent recklessness to the way Microsoft managed the delicate hand-over of the company from Bill Gates to Steve Ballmer. Gates, you’ll recall, was every bit as synonymous with Microsoft as Jobs is with Apple.

Yet Gates managed to slide out of his company with virtually no disruption. He accomplished this by setting up the transition years in advance, giving Ballmer the CEO post and letting him get more exposure even while Gates stayed on as the figurehead and official outside representative of the company. By the time Gates did step down officially, in June 2008, his departure was practically a non-event.  Read more... (182 words, estimated 44 secs reading time)

Traction Software President Greg Lloyd posted a perspective on the NYT Ted Nelson article; an excerpt:

So when people ask what will deliver two-way links, fine grain comments and tagging, traceable transclusion and the promise of the Semantic Web, I suggest an approach which layers these hypertext capabilities over the basic Web in way that exposes readable content which is absolutely compatible with the basic Web for all readers and existing engines.  Read more... (275 words, estimated 1:06 mins reading time)

An interesting case study in information quality and information literacy; see the full article for more details

A report in The Times of London on Sunday generated a firestorm of controversy when a Harvard physicist was identified as saying a typical Google Web search on a desktop computer generates about 7 grams of carbon dioxide, making two searches comparable to bringing a tea kettle to boil.

"A Google search has a definite environmental impact," Alex Wissner-Gross was quoted as telling the newspaper.

Problem is, Wissner-Gross tells TechNewsWorld, his study never singles out or even mentions Google.  Read more... (111 words, estimated 27 secs reading time)

Glad to see this

Microsoft, Intel, and Cisco plan to announce Tuesday that they are working together to help ensure that proper standards are created for measuring digital literacy.

The three companies aren’t coming up with the assessment criteria themselves, but rather bringing together a group of education leaders and academics to identify the characteristics that should form the basis of global standards.

Tech giants team on education push | Microsoft – CNET News

The abstract of a 2004 Web-as-hypertext perspective added as a comment reference to my Ted Nelson post:  Read more... (624 words, estimated 2:30 mins reading time)

A timely reality check — see the full article

Microsoft Research has published a new report that takes an interesting look inside the criminal business of Phishing. Written by Cormac Herley and Dinei Florêncio, the report explains the economics behind the criminal enterprise, and paints a picture that is in stark contrast to what many analysts have reported in the past.

“Conventional wisdom is that Phishing represents easy money,” is how the report starts. The headlines have grabbed the attention of the masses time and time again. The headlines report that criminals — who are often falsely labelled as hackers by the media — are making money hand-over-fist thinks to a form of scam called Phishing.  Read more... (132 words, estimated 32 secs reading time)

I want one – with Windows 7…

Could the Tablet PC concept break out of its "niche" if combined with one of the hottest trends in computing? That’s the question raised by the upcoming Asus Eee PC T91, which takes the company’s tiny netbook computer and turns it into a convertible Tablet PC. William Lai of Asus gave me this quick tour of the device on the CES show floor today.

Demo: ‘Eee PC’ Tablet – TechFlash: Seattle’s Technology News Source