Wednesday, January 14, 2004

Yahoo! News - The Long Goodbye for Lotus Notes

Yahoo! News - The Long Goodbye for Lotus Notes"Instead, when IT managers ask for guidance on what technology to bet on—Domino or WebSphere—they get a definitive "It depends" from Ken Bisconti, IBM vice president of messaging. Despite his affinity for Notes, Bisconti is well aware of the road map that Big Blue execs have spelled out: wrapping Domino constructs inside J2EE portlets and integrating the Notes legacy with its Sametime and QuickPlace real-time collaboration products. The native Notes data store will slowly fade away as WebSphere and DB2 take over by 2005."
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"But don't count Notes out. Being dead has been good for the architecture that inspired the Web. As long as IBM keeps the porting path open—from those original Notes apps to Domino to Lotus Workplace portlets to a DB2 alternate store in Domino 7 to an Eclipse assembly tool in 2006—it keeps Global Services busy and profitable."

Monday, January 12, 2004

BW Online | January 7, 2004 | Intel Bets Big on the Digital Home

BW Online | January 7, 2004 | Intel Bets Big on the Digital Home: "Intel (INTC ) will create a $200 million Digital Home fund within its investing arm, Intel Capital, to support startups in the networked PCs and consumer-electronics market. Two years ago, it created a similar fund to support Wi-Fi technology, which allows for high-speed wireless network access. The fund's investments created a flurry of interest in Wi-Fi. Soon after, Intel came out with its own new chips that go into Wi-Fi-enabled laptops -- chips that ended 2003 as its hottest sellers. Indeed, Intel's involvement drastically sped up Wi-Fi's adoption and greatly expanded the market, say analysts.
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Q: In what areas do you see an investment opportunity?
A: In five areas: One, technology that will make the PC more consumer-electronics friendly, offering better video and graphics processing, better audio capabilities. Second is improving networking capabilities, which would allow for this communication between devices within a home. Third is improving networking software. No. 4 is improving the technology behind content -- things that can print, code, or transcribe content so it can be adjusted for different devices. Last is improving tools that would allow developers to create products for this market."

SAD: part of Q&A with Scott Darling, vice-president for digital home and enterprise at Intel Capital

Fast Company | The Soul of a Sports Machine

Fast Company | The Soul of a Sports Machine: "On December 7, 1991, the De La Salle Spartans lost a football game, for the North Coast Section championship. The next season, they stopped losing -- period. No losses at all, nada, zilch. Since then, Coach Ladouceur has led his team to 11 straight unbeaten seasons: 138 victories, 0 defeats.
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But leave the stats to the guys on ESPN. Ladouceur's accomplishment is best savored by those far removed from the halcyon days of high-school gridiron glory. Anyone sweating over the realities of running a business in today's environment will relish how this coach does it.
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In other words, here is a model for all of those who are outmanned, underfunded, and outgunned -- which fits a lot of us these days. So pipe down and listen up, because you'll want to take a page from the Ladouceur playbook. You're getting a blueprint for, yes, a sports machine, but one with the soul of a great business."

SAD: Through my own experience I am convinced that you can achieve heroic results without a single hero on a team if you develop and nurture a teaming culture. This article offers useful perspectives on one man's approach...