We’re continuing to see more developments in the cloud space that go beyond the obvious (the hype) and address some of the important issues. One in particular is also demonstrating some important facts about the cloud and cloud services; it’s the “Database.com” offering from Salesforce. Cloud databases have been an issue of increasing importance because…
Succession Lessons from TMF and Cisco/Microsoft
TMF’s Management World conference continues to show itself as a kind of cross-section of market and technology issues for the NGN. This particular body, unlike most standards bodies, has long been almost a business, a marketing powerhouse that’s jealously guarded and effectively promoted its prerogatives. The question is whether it can now overcome some of…
Under the Ebook Covers
Amazon and Barnes & Noble are obviously engaging in a war over the ebook market, and there are new dimensions to the battle emerging every week. In the latest move, B&N announced a new gray-scale Nook that’s conceptually between the older dual-screen eInk Nook and the color model that’s grabbed attention as a poor man’s…
Public Policy and Broadband
The FCC just announced that US broadband is failing to meet the requirements set in the Telecom Act, which isn’t exactly a surprise given that’s what it’s been saying all along. What’s infuriating about the release is the blatant manipulation that’s inside. For example, they headline that over 20 million Americans are “denied access to…
Carrier Clouds, Amazon Tablets
Verizon has taken yet another “leadership” step in defining how operators see their revenue futures. The company has indicated it would be likely acquiring small software companies to create SaaS offerings hosted on the Verizon cloud. I don’t think that the significance of this move is being appreciated, and so I want to open this…
Taking the Pulse of Tablets
Some data from Nielson suggests that tablet users are perhaps more focused on social media than on streaming video. The data shows that while e-readers outnumber tablets by an enormous margin, people are relatively unlikely to be e-reading while watching TV, but are rather likely (presuming they have a tablet) to be using a tablet. …
The Network Core: Opto-Electrical Wars
The optical networking conference this week is opening some interesting issues about the future of “the core”, and probably even more interesting issues regarding networking overall. While the focus of media coverage has been 100G Ethernet, the real question is how networks are valued, or made valuable. We might call the current situation in the…
Dell, and Netflix: The Meaning
Intel has embarked on what might be the biggest battle of its corporate life, the battle to become relevant in the embedded system and appliance space. While Intel has a license to produce ARM chips, it realizes that exercising it isn’t the answer to getting into the smartphone/tablet space. Not only would it suffer in…
A Tale of Two Companies
HP has lowered its forecast for the year, and the threat of that move that broke yesterday caused tech stocks to shudder. It raises a serious question about just what’s going on in tech, a question that doesn’t have any easy answers. That means the future of tech as we know it may be…well…uneasy. To…
Cloud Musings
A recent research report on cloud computing says that SMB buyers prefer to get their cloud applications from a single provider rather than to mix and match. That’s not surprising given that for over a decade, SMBs have cited difficulties in sustaining strong technology talent as being among their top three tech problems. But it…