Web 2.0 and the Federal Government (Jaideep Venkatesan)

The Center for American Progress has an interesting report on the Federal Government's potential use of Web 2.0 technologies (defined as free hosted services for posting and sharing content) both for internal government processes and in its interactions with the public. The Report notes the need to update Federal government procurement rules applicable to the software, which predate the internet (much less Web 2.0 technologies). It recommends that the government bridge the tension between encouraging government employees to use hosted services as much as possible with the potential that the government be seen as endorsing certain services without following the strictures of procurement rules.

Web 2.0 Report (pdf)

Oracle & Sun: Concentration in IT (Jaideep Venkatesan)

The reaction to Oracle's acquisition of Sun Microsystems has people buzzing about the potential combination of Oracle's database and enterprise application technology with Sun's hardware expertise (as well as its software innovations such as JAVA). The San Jose Mecury news notes that the acquisition makes sense in light of the efforts by other IT giants such as IBM, Cisco (noted in this post) and HP to acquire smaller companies at bargain prices to expand their product line. Cisco Subnet (a blog serving members of the Cisco customer community) relates that at least one analyst suggests that the merger is good for Cisco, which has partnered with Oracle and generally has a good relationship with Sun. InfoWeek contemplates whether Oracle's acquisition will spell the end of Java, by manipulating the development of a language relied upon by Oracle competitors IBM and SAP.

Cisco Expands in the DataCenter and Consumer Electronics (Jaideep Venkatesan)

Cisco was in the news last week for two ambitious but seemingly disconnected expansions from its core of dominating electronic equipment.

Cisco first announced its entry into server market, offering its first blade servers for Datacenters, many of whom already use Cisco's networking equipment. The server will be part of Cisco's Unified Computing System, which would include a Cisco Switch and third party software, and is offered to reduce DataCenter costs. It is widely seen as a threat to IBM and HP, who have traditionally partnered with Cisco in offering complementary products to its networking equipment, including servers. It has also provoked a Youtube video response from Mike Klayko, CEO of Brocade Communications Systems, another Blade server provider threatened by Cisco's new foray. Klayko argues that customers will not want to buy into Cisco's propietary system, as that risks higher costs and lock-in.

Cisco also announced its acquisition of Pure Digital , maker of Flip digital camcorders, signaling a foray into consumer electronics and inspiring immediate speculation that it would challenge other consumer electronics firms or companies such as Apple with a presence in several markets.

Curiously, no one has really linked the two developments or explained how they fit into Cisco's overall strategy.

Atari video games (Jaideep Venkatesan)

Slate Senior Editor Michael Agger has an interesting article about the Atari 2600, Montfort based on a new book by Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost, Racing the Beam. Montfort and Bogost are professors in Media Studies who have written the first book in what is to be a series on technology platforms. Reading about Atari certainly brought back memories of playing Combat, Yars Revenge, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. It is amazing how Atari started the home video game industry, was seemingly successful in the early 1980's, only to fizzle out and then watch Nintendo flourish and take over the industry.

Agger doesn't really explain how Atari failed, other than to say:

"A lot of us started playing games on home computers. A bunch of big-time cartridges, like the infamous E.T., were huge busts, and retailers became gun-shy about ordering more titles and sent the ones they had on the shelves back. The returns bankrupted third-party game developers and fueled an industry consensus that video games were a fad—a toy whose time had passed. In two years, Nintendo would prove everyone very wrong."

It would be intriguing if Atari suffered, at least in part, because of the availability of home computers, a general purpose technology that allowed access to some interesting games but nothing like was available on single purpose devices such as Atari or Nintendo. The video game industry eventually evolved to use both general purpose PCs or Apples and single purpose devices such as the Xbox or the Wii. So I suspect that the availability of home computers wasn't really what did Atari in, but further investigation is needed.

Windows 7 Allows Disabling of Several Features (Jaideep Venkatesan)

CNET and PC Magazine report that the Windows 7 operating system will allow users to turn off several Microsoft features. PC Magazine leads with the Internet Explorer's disabling option. This represents a departure from Windows Vista, and could have ramifications in the popularity of Microsoft products beyond IE, including Windows Media, Windows Search, and XPS Viewer.

Microsoft: Lots to turn off in Windows 7

Internet Explorer Will be Optional in Windows 7

Technology Investment and Stimulus Updated (Jaideep Venkatesan)

NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman argues that instead of bailing out what he views as the "losers" (Big 3 auto manufacturers), the Federal Government should invest in information technology by funding venture capitalists.

Start Up the Risk Takers. 

Friedman's simplistic approach taps into a definite rising popularity of a basic idea - that government can, and should, invest in the American economy through appropriate spending mechanisms. Whether or not funding venture capitalists is the best option, his idea that government must play a strong role in the American economic growth through strategic investment is a sound one.

Technology Investment and Stimulus (Jaideep Venkatesan

EE Times breaks down the different types of technology investment in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Naturally, most of the "technology investment" is in clean or alternative fuel technology, and rightly so. I'd be interested in additional government investment in high technology, given its roles in the recovery from the most recent recessions (early 1990's and early 2000's). The only non-energy technology spending listed is $580 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology for technology innovation and manufacturing standards programs. , according to EE times.


Stimulus breakdown: $43 billion for energy technology

Massive deficit spending is clearly the only way that the economy can regain confidence, if it is done intelligently. It clearly wasn't done intelligently in the 2001-2002 period, as the stimulus was not targeted at those income groups, or economic sectors, most likely to stimulate the economy. Indeed, even economists who have opposed government spending to stimulate the economy have warmed to the idea, recognizing a crisis where the nation's economy shed over a million jobs in the last few months alone.

Economists Agree Time Is of the Essence for Stimulus