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Letters to the Editor: 2007 Archive
This archive contains letters sent to the editor up to May 27, 2008. If you would like to comment on a current story, please visit the ECT News Network discussion area.
RE: OLPC VS. INTEL: DEVELOPING NATIONS OR EMERGING MARKETS?
In the article, it says that Intel has come under fire for competing with OLPC (One Laptop per Child). The statements I have seen from (OLPC founder) Nicholas Negroponte criticize Intel for dumping product on "emerging markets" at below cost -- as opposed to OLPC, who provide laptops at cost. This is different than normal market competition.
That is the key to understanding the conflict. Intel is accused of abusing their wealth -- by selling below cost -- in an attempt to shut OLPC out of the "market," rather then competing fairly.
--Alan Pater
BLU-RAY IS SONY'S IRAQ WAR
Hi!
I am upset with the "Blu-ray is Sony's Iraq" article. Aside from incorrect information in the article (Blu-ray movies accounted for 72 percent of all high-def movie sales last week, and has outsold HD DVD all year long, so I fail to see how HD DVD sold well and Blu-ray didn't), the comparison to the Iraq War was distasteful in my opinion.
The silly comparison was mocking all the men and women fighting in Iraq right now and was a poor tribute to those who have died in Iraq. I would appreciate it if future articles about Blu-ray, HD DVD or other electronics would leave out rude and unnecessary comparisons. I would also appreciate it if your authors would double-check their facts and list sources before making (false) claims.
Thank you!
--Jeff Gudorf
IN REGARDS TO "BLU-RAY IS SONY'S ... "
Mr. Enderle,
I'm writing you in regards to your recent online column posted on TechNewsWorld.com. As an analyst, it would have made some amount of sense for you to have thought what you were writing through before posting it publicly. Your analogy was tasteless, insensitive and appalling.
You write, "Now look at Blu-ray. Since bringing it out, Sony has trashed its PlayStation division, had to downsize a number of top executives including the guy that was credited with creating the PlayStation's success in the first place. The company's financial performance has largely dropped into the toilet and it has had to sell off parts of the company to Toshiba, the company behind the other format. Key studios have abandoned it, some of which have gaming properties that probably now won't go to PlayStation. Sony has nearly assured that whatever country gets the next media format, it won't be Japan and probably will be China, it will be constantly reminded of the Betamax mistake, Nintendo is No. 1 in the gaming segment, and it'll be locked into a battle it can neither win nor exit from. You'd have to believe that the guy making the proposal would be chased by ninjas out of the office and his ending wouldn't have been a good one."
You're are absolutely correct, sir. Your assumption of Sony's executive level business practices are quite similar to a war in which casualty numbers are so high that they are without accurate estimate. You're absolutely right that Sony's corporate atmosphere is very similar to a region of the world where American soldiers have gone missing or have lost their lives.
I'm sure you'll similarly be receiving countless mailings from the Blu-ray camp regarding your suspiciously vague blanket statements and assumptions that suggest you were far too lazy to fact-check your own opinion outside of the one non-Wikipedia link you posted.
But it's quite clear to me that you haven't had anyone close to you serve in this very real war. That you haven't lost a loved one or seen the torment of your buddy from high school who came back home missing a leg. That you are so completely removed from things that you deem it appropriate to compare a so-called "format war" to the real thing. Maybe you're just trying to get a rise out of people and think this is funny, and maybe this column was written in hopes of getting a few more hits based upon its sensationalism.
No matter what your intentions, you should be ashamed of yourself.
--Unsigned
EDITORIAL FAUX PAS?
As a U.S. veteran, I'm appalled by R. Enderle's editorial comparing events in an electronics format tussle to U.S. efforts in Iraq, essentially describing U.S. efforts as "brain-dead."
Such a comparison is inappropriate and uncalled for, and I can only conclude that your employee, Mr. Enderle is the one who is brain-dead. I've forwarded the article to friends in various military and retired military fraternities.
Regards,
--K. Barham, retired U.S. vet
(Editor's Note: Enderle's column is not an editorial. It reflects his own opinions and does not represent the stance of ECT News Network.)
ROB ENDERLE ARTICLE
I'm absolutely disgusted in the recent article by Rob Enderle comparing the format war and Sony's position to Iraq. Regardless, whether true or not, the absurdity of comparing something as trivial on the world stage as HD media to a very real and very heartbreaking war is probably some of the most irresponsible reporting I've ever read. Ask any soldier how they would feel having HD DVD compared side-to-side with them dying.
--Mario Vengoechea
EFFICIENCY OF IBM MAINFRAMES
The energy savings IBM realized from replacing smaller servers with Linux mainframes ("IBM Turns a Brighter Shade of Green With Linux Mainframe Switch") has, of course, nothing to do with Linux and most to do with the inherent capabilities of mainframe architecture.
As the article points out, the mainframe eliminates all those power supplies. Note that this implies that the recent architectural trope, bladed servers, cannot be as efficient in this sense as the mainframe. IBM has done a great job upgrading the mainframe since it came under attack from Unix boxes and minicomputers two decades ago.
If bandwidth for most remote users can be dramatically raised and its cost kept within reason, we may see a reprise of mainframes. Being able to run applications remotely would eliminate having to struggle with the increasing complexities of PC OSs, firmware upgrades, compatibility issues, and most importantly it would offload the bother of trying to cope with viruses and spam to those running the mainframe.
--Tom Shillock, M2 Consulting
PRIVACY COVERAGE - PATRIOT ACT
RE: "Civil Liberties, ISPs and the FBI's Letter-Writing Campaign"
ECT is to be commended for its sustained editorial commitment to the protection of liberty from the wanton appetites of an executive whose thirst for power is unlimited.
Please continue to cover the story with more articles that examine the excesses of the domestic war on terror. Obviously, this is a real fight against a real enemy ("Web of Terror, Part 1: Extremists Take to the Net"; "Web of Terror, Part 2: Chasing a Moving Target") ... but it is a grave mistake to assume everyone everywhere is the enemy.
--David Faibish
COMPUTER GREMLIN STRANDS THOUSANDS OF UNITED AIRLINES PASSENGERS
This (story) is a Harbinger of things to come.
The people who created and maintained these large complex systems are retiring. The computer industry is showing that it is not able to attract, train and retain replacements. Our education system and our reward system, indeed, our culture is focused on creating people who know very little that relates to resolving this problem.
The Internet environment is a probabilistic environment and suffers from lockups and other failures. We accept these failures as just a fact of life. This attitude spills over into our education, on-the-job training and reward system. Otherwise, skilled people are worrying about how to download ringtones rather than making a career in mission-critical systems.
A mission-critical system must be deterministic and must have strict operating rules to ensure complete reliability of operation. This is a tough environment, and people naturally prefer the easy money and an easy life. I'm just as guilty as many and perhaps symptomatic of the times: Leaving a job in a division of Ferranti dedicated to creation and operation of mission-critical systems to work on office automation at Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center). In parallel, leaving a teaching post in the Computer Science Department at the University of Edinburgh, where I had the opportunity to help students identify the mission-critical environment as a career opportunity rather than a curiosity.
Bottom line: The story basically says that we should expect this sort of outage and get used to it. The more we accept this sort of thing, the worse it will get: An inconsistent data set will put two people into a seat designed just for one. While this may be resolved by bumping and a skillful customer-oriented gate agent (i.e. operator) a similar situation in Air Traffic Control (ATC) can lead to disaster.
We are already seeing situations in ATC where the computers are putting two aircraft into airspace for one. The reservation system collapse is therefore symptomatic of other mission-critical environments where aging systems are now prone to failure due to poor maintenance and inappropriate operating procedures. To make matters worse, we are not providing training and incentives to replace the operators that are retiring. Operators that have the skill and judgment to intervene when they see that a system is operating incorrectly and that data is inconsistent.
A big and growing problem is in the ATC arena. (President) Reagan dismantled the Air Traffic Controllers Union with the effect that this high-pressure and very skillful job is not seen as a suitable career by enough people. The result is that the skills and reflexes of the controllers will not be there in sufficient numbers to partially overcome the increasing failures of these systems. Sorry to say, but things will get a lot worse.
--John Ellenby, president and CEO, GeoVector
IN THE ARTICLE "MIT WIZARDS ZAP ELECTRICITY THROUGH THE AIR"
I found it sad that no mention was made that Nikola Tesla demonstrated the transmission of electrical energy without wires. That depends upon electrical conductivity as early as 1891.
MIT Wizards Zap Electricity Through the Air
--Russell Rice
HILLARY'S TECHNOLOGY PLAN
It is with deep disappointment that my husband and I read Hillary Clinton's stance on increasing the numbers of H-1B visas in the U.S. There is a total misconception that we do not have talented software engineers in the U.S. available to work. The problem is that the industry standard is to hire them at fire sale prices. Or perhaps the better comparison is to compare the H-1B visa recipients as indentured servants.
The fact is they can probably get work, where my husband has had difficulty.My husband is a very talented software engineer but he cannot compete with the lower paid H-1B recipients. The corporate mentality is that they must hire these workers at approximately half price to remain competitive. The fact is, my husband and many other software engineers would be willing to work at half price, just to stay in the industry and to feel valued. Also, there is a little known fact that the H-1B recipients must stay at THE SAME U.S. corporation for several years to become eligible to get their green cards. So therein, they are indentured and suffer less than optimal employment environments.
So, the corporations have it figured out. Half-price engineers who cannot afford to move -- unfortunately, this is not good for the U.S. at any cost. We are paying the price of a decreased standard of living that is a direct result of outsourcing or going offshore to decrease the quarterly bottom line of corporations. It makes sense, right? Lower prices, better earnings, sell more stock. The corporations are fat and happy. Unfortunately, the next generations are smart enough to talk to their mother/brothers/cousins and are not majoring in computer science at all. From the peak of the 1990s, the number of new computers science majors has dropped 70 percent.
So, let's make our stock holders happy and the new developments, engineering achievements and discoveries will not be made in the U.S. We are selling out for the short term and our children will not have the opportunity to be middle class because there will be no middle class. So teach your children well. Teach them a skill where they must be present to be paid. And Hillary, please educate yourself and don't sell out to the big business lobbyists who can finance your campaign. Even if Chelsea is not at risk, think of your grandkids ... and mine.
--Jo Jenrette
IPHONE - AFTER-PURCHASE ACTIVATION NIGHTMARE
After waiting in line at a remote AT&T store to buy my gadget -- and paying my nieces $200 for switching places while I was at work, I was the first customer purchasing an 8 MB from a Lakeville/Apple Valley store in Minnesota. Fourteen hours later and perhaps no less than 13 runaround phone calls to AT&T, my costly iPhone is yet to be activated. Having been an AT&T customer for the last four to five years, I am completely embarrassed to have stood up for their service and so on. AT&T service reps are "great" at apologizing and "sympathizing" with my issues, yet it does not change the fact my phone is not yet active. Furthermore, their stories demonstrated the lack of well-informed AT&T customer service representatives and the information flow between their departments. Calling their "activation experts" render my deepest concern for my investment in their technology.
The individual who answer the phone actually told me that activating my iPhone through iTunes was INCORRECT. That I needed to activate it through AT&T and provided me with a URL that in fact, took me back to iTunes. In talking to very many individuals within AT&T trying to resolve my issue, I learned that there are thousands or tens of thousands of customers experiencing the same fate I am. I was aware of "growing pains" and "bleeding edge," but these issues are embarrassing to the lamest persons. AT&T states that their "network" is "bugged down." How difficult is it to truly do a job well? Not very, testing and proper forecasting would have prevented this.
Future buyers beware -- your phone could take no less than 24 hours to be activated and, if you are like me as one who is merely upgrading phones, make sure they don't deactivate your 'functioning' phone or else you will be like me ... no phone ATT all.
--Axel Sasso, The Sasso Group
SYMANTEC'S ULTIMATE INSULT
I just received the ultimate insult from Symantec. I renewed my subscription to Internet Security in November 2006. I haven't had any problems until today (May 22). I got an error message stating an internal program error with Norton AntiVirus occurred.
I followed the on-screen prompts and received two options: 1) Move to Vista (?) or run AutoFix Tool. I have no use for Vista. I'm running XP Pro, so I selected option 2. I got to the end of the install, and Symantec said it couldn't determine my system.
Norton has recognized my system since November 2004. My subscription is supposed to be good until November 2007. So, now what? I think it's time to contact the attorneys general of a number of states and see what shakes out of the tree.
P.S. I know Symantec was planning to gouge people over paying for updates at intermediate times during a year.
--George Brewer
THE LONELY VOICE OF DISSENT AT NOVELL'S BRAINSHARE
This whole thing with Novell and Microsoft looks more like the Time Warner/AOL merger.
Those of us that have been paying attention can clearly see that the big boy's are playing "Monopoly" with software and services and we the little people are the ones that get to pay the price for the mistakes of the big boy's like Microsoft and Novell.
I would think that if Microsoft truly wanted to make a difference in the OS community for the end user's that they would come up with an actual stable working version of windows before moving on to crush the competition.
--George Sjostrom
GETTING OUT OF CELL CONTRACTS
If you are locked into a cell contract, it's usually pretty easy to get out of.
Call them and tell them you can't afford the phone, and you want to downgrade to a less expensive package. Most companies will let you change packages, as long as you don't cancel. Keep downgrading until you get to the least expensive package, and then downgrade to the emergency standby package.
Most companies have a low cost "Grandma needs a cellphone package" for people who just want to be able to call for help if the car breaks down.
Pay for the emergency package for a few months, and then cancel. At that point they may charge you for the remainder of the contract, but they will do so at the rate of the package you are currently on, not the one you signed up for originally, since they already let you off the hook for that one at their own discretion.
Often they will look at the package you are on, and the buyout for the emergency package isn't even worth sending out an invoice for, and let you go. Once you are free, you can go out and buy yourself that shiny new iPhone.
Whee!
--Bernard Becker
HELLO IPHONE, GOODBYE CELL PHONE?
Why so much hype over Apple's iPhone? We already have smartphones that can connect to the Web, take pictures, etc. It sounds to me like Apple's latest move is more advertising than substance.
--Tarsee Li
MICROSOFT, NOVELL AND UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
I'm of the opinion that what these global 2000 corporations should be doing, is pressuring Microsoft into signing a uniform escrow deal with them -- i.e., if Microsoft goes out of business or gets delisted, all the Microsoft software they currently have installed gets released under either the GPL or a similar reciprocal license.
The effects would be twofold: tne, Microsoft may have to realize that it's just as likely to collapse as PanAm, another company renowned -- in all the wrong ways -- for its service, and whose customers need to be legally protected against such an eventuality as much as Linux users need to be protected against SCO-alleged "stolen code"; two, the companies that undertake such an arduous undertaking would get some seriously needed education in the escrow effect of the GPL -- it's a built-in escrow.
I can take up the maintenance of an abandoned software package; I can set up a company to do it; anyone else can do the same with whatever I have written and/or maintained.
Have a think about it.
--Wesley Parish
YEAR OF THE TECH PATENT LAWSUIT
Thank you for your article. Please permit me to respond to a few things.
Regarding patent reform, my experience has been that it is anything but easy to get a patent. I have patent applications that have been pending for over 14 years!
Rather, this misconception about bad patents is but a red herring fabricated by a few multinational tech firms who more often than not find themselves on the wrong end of patent lawsuits -- a la RIM. This is merely an attempt by such firms to legalize their theft and make it harder for anyone but them to obtain and enforce patents. They come not to fix the patent system, but bury it.
Sadly, some legislators and other parties have been duped by these slick firms and their well greased lawyers, lobbyists (some disguised as trade or public interest groups), and stealth PR firms. Don't be surprised to find the Washington lobbyist scandal spreading into the patent deform proceedings.
--Stephen Wren, actuary/inventor, St. Louis
VISTA SECURITY
The article on Vista security missed one very important point. While MS made the OS more secure, it failed to harden Outlook 2007. A scanner in Outlook 2007, based on heuristics of malware design that would identify specific threats and allow safe attachments through, would have gone far to improving MS's image and confidence in their products.
As things stand today, Vista as an OS is very secure. A person would have to intentionally allow malware onto the Vista OS. However, other MS products running on Vista are not secure beyond the standard warning about opening unsafe attachments in Outlook.
Who at MS didn't see this coming? Why weren't common preventive action techniques used during development? MS, with the money and manpower to do the job right, is apparently still living in a corrective action world (patches and "updates") of their own.
--Bob Sireno
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