Marketplace: Dungeons & Dragons goes digital

Marketplace: Dungeons & Dragons goes digital: "The role-playing board game for self-professed geeks is getting a facelift. David Chong takes a look at how it's being reinvented and going electronic."

Marketplace: Click-and-print replacing clip-and-save

If pinching pennies is one of your New Year's resolutions, take note: Coupons are going digital. Next week Valassis Communications plans to launch a website it hopes will reinvent the lowly paper coupon for the Internet age. Marketplace's Sam Eaton reports.
Marketplace: Click-and-print replacing clip-and-save

Future of IT: Web 3 0 and Web 4 0 will make social sites look quaint

Future of IT: Web 3 0 and Web 4 0 will make social sites look quaint: "With his 27-year government career, Brand Niemann, co-chairman of the Semantic Interoperability Community of Practice, seemed a likely choice to reflect on the past and future of government computing and what’s ahead for social networking and the Web.

Semantic interoperability — the ability of information systems to exchange data using a common vocabulary to guarantee that concepts and their interrelationships are not misinterpreted — is just one example Niemann cites of how technology can support data sharing. He sees the future of government computing as a place where knowledge is shared."

Bangkok's Independent Newspaper

Bangkok's Independent Newspaper: "Institute aims to encourage local software
To strengthen the country's software industry, Sripatum University is collaborating with Software Park Thailand and a private company, initially to establish the Information Science Institute."

Personal Technology - WSJ.com

Personal Technology - WSJ.com: "As the need for global communication increases, online translation services are in greater demand. Users are attracted to the breakneck speed at which online translation is done and the price. Those that aren't free are still fairly inexpensive.
New languages have been added to the traditional lists and Arabic, in particular, has been in demand recently. I spent the past few weeks tinkering with four free online services, translating various texts from English to Arabic and vice versa to test their speed and accuracy. I tested Google's Language Tools and services from Applied Language Solutions, WorldLingo Translations and Systran.
Customers who have been waiting for such services to be perfected will find improvements are slow in coming. Overall, I found the Arabic-English translations rife with syntactic and semantic errors -- from the merely too-literal to the laughably bad."

Andrew McAfee-Making Your Company Run Like a Ducati

My previous blog post on the benefits of commercial enterprise systems, which was a response to an article by Cynthia Rettig, generated some interesting comments, both on my blog and elsewhere. The ones that caught my eye argued that companies were digging themselves into a deep, dark, hole of complexity by deploying these technologies:
Andrew McAfee

Marketplace: Fiat takes road to building in U.S.

Scott Jagow: This morning, the dollar is weaker against the euro -- $1.47 buys one euro. Not much fun for American tourists visiting Europe, but it's serious business for European companies. The strong euro is killing their export business. There are rumblings that European companies like Airbus might build a factory in the U.S. And now, the car maker Fiat is saying that.
Marketplace: Fiat takes road to building in U.S.

Report: Many U.S. Parents Outsourcing Child Care Overseas | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Report: Many U.S. Parents Outsourcing Child Care Overseas | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

NPR : Thailand Celebrates King's 80th Birthday

[Ed note: 2007 class went to Bangkok. Long Live the King!]

NPR : Thailand Celebrates King's 80th Birthday: "Morning Edition, December 5, 2007 · Thailand celebrates the 80th birthday of its king. The birthday party comes just weeks before Thailand elects a new civilian government, a year after its last prime minister was ousted in a military coup. King Bhumibol Adulyadej gave a speech urging the country to resolve its differences. "

Soaring Above Traffic In a Flying Car Sooner Than You Think. | Autopia from Wired.com

Soaring Above Traffic In a Flying Car Sooner Than You Think. | Autopia from Wired.com: " The flying car has been a dream pursued by inventors since the dawn of aviation and a fantasy long held by commuters wishing they could soar above traffic like George Jetson."

The IT Factor: Tech Staff's Bigger Role - WSJ.com

The IT Factor: Tech Staff's Bigger Role - WSJ.com: "As Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings was finalizing a $3 billion deal to become the official clinical laboratory for a unit of UnitedHealth Group in mid-2006, it ran into an obstacle. So LabCorp turned to an unusual savior: its chief information officer.

Under the 10-year deal, LabCorp, a Burlington, N.C., operator of clinical laboratories, had to open 400 specimen-collection centers nationwide for the UnitedHealth unit within a three-month period that included Thanksgiving and Christmas. While LabCorp knew it could find and occupy the facilities in that time period, it was unsure whether it could connect them all to LabCorp's computer network. Scott Walton, LabCorp's CIO, had anticipated the problem. Mr. Walton had his information-technology, or IT, department test off-the-shelf 'air cards' that used the cellular-phone network as an Internet connection. Using those devices, LabCorp was able to open the centers in time. 'Having Scott and IT as part of the team during the United negotiations was an enormous advantage,' says LabCorp Chief Executive Officer David King.

Mr. King isn't the only business leader who is finding that he needs to tie his business deals more closely with his company's IT department. According to a study by Diamond Management & Technology Consultants Inc., of Chicago, 87% of business leaders say they believe that IT is critical to their companies' strategic success. The study finds that few businesses have yet positioned IT in a way that allows it to achieve this. Only 33% of business leaders say IT is very involved in developing their company's strategy, and 30% say the business executive in charge of strategy works closely with IT, according to the Diamond study. That has an impact on performance: 76"

Business Technology : IT Struggling? Put a Business Person in Charge

Business Technology : IT Struggling? Put a Business Person in Charge: "Here’s a suggestion for companies struggling to get value from their information-technology departments: put a business person in charge. "

Don't Fear the Wiki! Business Can Benefit -- Socialtext -- Confluence -- StructuredWikis

Fear is one of the obstacles keeping businesses from realizing productivity gains by using internal wikis. But the business gains -- collaboration, informed employees, sense of community -- may outweigh any risks.
Don't Fear the Wiki! Business Can Benefit -- Socialtext -- Confluence -- StructuredWikis

Low-Cost -- and Free -- Collaboration Tools -- Zoho -- GoToMeeting -- Yugma

Project management, shared calendars, contact lists, and other collaborative software can be pricey. Companies such as Zoho, Yugma, and Google aim to provide cost effective solutions. Are they right for your business?
Low-Cost -- and Free -- Collaboration Tools -- Zoho -- GoToMeeting -- Yugma

How to Get Ahead By Going Backward - WSJ.com

When it comes to advancing a career, sometimes the best way to take a step forward is to take a step back.

For most people, a promotion is the cure for a stagnating career. They've accomplished and learned all they can at one job, so they aim for the next one up the ladder, hoping it will bring them bigger personal and financial rewards.
How to Get Ahead By Going Backward - WSJ.com

Hot Technologies to Watch in 2008 -- iPhone -- Second Life -- mobile search

The year 2007 may be remembered for Web 2.0, the rise of social networks, and YouTube. But what new technologies will impact business in 2008? We spoke with top technology forecasters about what is on the horizon.

What new technologies and technological developments will the coming year bring? More importantly, are there new technologies that can help contribute to your business success?
Hot Technologies to Watch in 2008 -- iPhone -- Second Life -- mobile search

Google Plans Service to Store Users' Data - WSJ.com

Google Inc. wants to offer consumers a new way to store their files on its hard drives, in a strategy that could accelerate a shift to Web-based computing and intensify the Internet company's competition with Microsoft Corp.

Google is preparing a service that would let users store on its computers essentially all of the files they might keep on their personal-computer hard drives -- such as word-processing documents, digital music, video clips and images, say people familiar with the matter. The service could let users access their files via the Internet from different computers and mobile devices when they sign on with a password, and share them online with friends. It could be released as early as a few months from now, one of the people said.

The Mountain View, Calif., company plans to provide some free storage, with additional storage allotments available for a fee, say the people familiar with the matter. Planned pricing isn't known.

A Google spokeswoman declined to comment on any specific online storage plans beyond what it already offers as part of its email and other services. But she said in a statement that "storage is an important component of making Web [applications] fit easily into consumers' and business users' lives."
Google Plans Service to Store Users' Data - WSJ.com: " to be unannounced Google initiatives, including one dubbed 'GDrive' and said they could help compete with Microsoft."

Email's Friendly Fire - WSJ.com

Until recently, Mukesh Lulla, president of a networking and security-software company called TeamF1 Inc., spent so much time sorting through emails he received each day that he barely had time to run his business.

"I probably had the highest email load in the company," says Mr. Lulla, who was getting 300 to 400 messages daily -- not counting annoying spam. So a few months ago he downloaded a new software product from a company called ClearContext Corp. that automatically sends some noncritical messages into folders so he doesn't have to see them right away. He can forward other messages to subordinates and receive notifications later if they don't respond. Now "entire conversations automatically go somewhere where I don't see them, until I want to see them," says Mr. Lulla, who says he mentioned the program to others.
Email's Friendly Fire - WSJ.com

'Socializing Within Limits' - WSJ.com

In this third entry, four business-school students share thoughts on their social lives at school: How to find time for family and old friends, and deal with all the costume parties?'Socializing Within Limits' - WSJ.com

Annoying ads got you down? Conan's writer knows how to fix the problem: Go to the source, India.

Internet could clog networks by 2010, study says

User demand for the Internet could outpace network capacity by 2010, according to a study released today by Nemertes Research. The study found that corporate and consumer Internet usage could surpass the Internet access infrastructure, specifically in North America, but also worldwide, within the next three to five years.Internet could clog networks by 2010, study says

Webinar: Essential Elements of a Credible Cost Estimate

FREE 45-Minute Webinars on Customer-Requested Program Affordability Management Topics
Next Webinar: Essential Elements of a Credible Cost Estimate

Date: Thursday, December 13, 2007
Time: 12:00 - 12:45 PM (US EST)
Location: Online Webinar (passcode emailed upon registration)
Format: Interactive/Lecture
Facilitator: Robert Young, Executive Director at PRICE Systems and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Army ODASA-CE

This webinar will discuss the many components of a good cost estimate including the top 10 causes of a poor cost estimate, the causes and benefits, the tools and databases, and what the analysis should be telling you. We will also discuss how to achieve marketable results. Lunch and Learns are presented from a technical perspective; this will NOT be a sales pitch.

About Lunch and Learn
"Lunch and Learn" educational Webinars address Program Affordability Management topics that our customers feel are vitally important to today's procurement, cost management, and program management professionals. CEU's are now being awarded for your participation in the lunch and learn Webinar. Successful completion of a quiz covering the materials will be required.

Registration

Ning In Full

Ning In Full: "I have to hand it to Ning - it took them well over a year after their initial beta launch to fulfill their promise of allowing “anyone” to create social applications, but they’ve done it. Ning relaunches tonight with new functionality and an interface that allows even the most novice of web users to create their own highly customized social network in moments. The site has been down most of the day - the new stuff should be online around 10 pm PST."

Ning In Full

I have to hand it to Ning - it took them well over a year after their initial beta launch to fulfill their promise of allowing “anyone” to create social applications, but they’ve done it. Ning relaunches tonight with new functionality and an interface that allows even the most novice of web users to create their own highly customized social network in moments. The site has been down most of the day - the new stuff should be online around 10 pm PST.Ning In Full

TCS Daily - So You Want to be a Masonomist

In 1962, few people knew that the future of popular music was to be found in Liverpool, England and Hamburg, Germany. In the early 1970's, few people knew that the future of information processing was to be found at the Homebrew Computer Club. In 1993, few people knew that the future of online software was in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.
TCS Daily - So You Want to be a Masonomist

The Information Security Association (ISA) group up and running!

Information Security Association (ISA) Announces its November 2007 Meeting

Meeting Date: Wednesday, November 14th
Networking Starts: 6:30 PM
Meeting Starts: 7 PM
Speaker: Mr. VanBelleghem and Prof.Stavrou
View Bios ( http://www.gmu.edu/org/infosec/meetings.html )
Topic: Fraud Schemes and Information Security Career Paths
Location: George Mason University, Johnson Center, 3rd Floor, Rm. F, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030
Cost: Free

Free pizza will be available on a first-come first-served basis. The reception starts at 6:30. Mr. VanBelleghem of GWU will speak at 7 PM. Profesor Stavrou of GMU will speak at 8 PM.

About Information Security Association (ISA) ( http://www.gmu.edu/org/infosec/index.html), a student group at George Mason University, sponsors monthly membership meetings geared toward scholars of the information security profession. The Chapter provides educational forums, information resources and peer interaction opportunities that enhance the knowledge, skill and professional growth of its members.

The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP to Erik Vadnais, VP of Communications, ISA (evadnais@gmu.edu).

New Social Sites Cater to People of a Certain Age - New York Times

Older people are sticky.

That is the latest view from Silicon Valley. Technology investors and entrepreneurs, long obsessed with connecting to teenagers and 20-somethings, are starting a host of new social networking sites aimed at baby boomers and graying computer users.

New Social Sites Cater to People of a Certain Age - New York Times

WAMU 88.5 FM American University Radio - The Computer Guys

It's a symptom of our busy society: multi-tasking with electronic devices. But how efficiently can we use what's at our fingertips and still be productive? Plus, we look at the nuts-and-bolts process of designing a blog. The Computer Guys are back to answer your questions and update us on the world of technology.
WAMU 88.5 FM American University Radio - The Computer Guys

Agencies advance use of online social networking tools

Government agencies are moving well beyond the experimentation stage in adapting online social networking tools to advance internal collaboration and in reaching out to citizens. Efforts by the Centers for Disease Control, the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA and the intelligence community were among a number of working examples attracting public and private sector interest in Web 2.0 technologies at what is being billed as the largest Web 2.0 conference on the East Coast in Reston, Va., today.Agencies advance use of online social networking tools

What Will Google Mean to Phones? - WSJ.com

With its expected announcement as soon as today of the details of its ambitious plans, the Web search and advertising giant hopes to induce software companies to develop an array of new features for cellphones, from more widely available location-aware services that automatically link users to reviews of nearby restaurants to ways to almost instantly share photos with everyone in a user's address book.
What Will Google Mean to Phones? - WSJ.com

NPR : Collective Wisdom: 'We Are Smarter Than Me'

Morning Edition, November 1, 2007 · When Barry Libert and Jon Spector set out to write about how social networking might help businesses, they allowed just about anyone with an idea to help write the book. Thousands of people contributed to We Are Smarter Than Me, which is about the wisdom of the crowd.
NPR : Collective Wisdom: 'We Are Smarter Than Me'

The Mossberg Solution - WSJ.com

Have you ever felt guilty for hearing news about your mother second-hand? It's all too easy to fall out of sync with your family, especially when relatives are spread out in different states, time zones or countries. So it makes sense to use the Web to keep in touch. And while email has its place, as do photo-sharing sites and blogs, none of these solutions truly knits family members together in an environment where everyone can share, post and comment on content -- much like sitting around the dinner table.
The Mossberg Solution - WSJ.com

Contracting, Tech Help Lower N.Va. Jobless Rate - washingtonpost.com

Unemployment in Northern Virginia fell to 2.1 percent in September from 2.3 percent in the corresponding period last year as strong employment growth in high-tech and government contracting businesses continued to fuel one of the nation's strongest job markets.
Contracting, Tech Help Lower N.Va. Jobless Rate - washingtonpost.com

Projects@Work - Enter The Business Analyst

One third of a typical development project’s budget goes to rework — half of which is traceable to poorly written requirements. Some $80 billion is spent annually developing software against requirements that are never used. Combine those facts with reports showing a majority of projects fail to deliver on early expectations, finish late or come in overbudget, and the picture isn’t pretty. Does the emerging project role of business analyst offer hope for improvement? Projects@Work - Enter The Business Analyst

Internaut | Commentary: I’ve collected some important operational rules which I offer as a Government Information Technology Manifesto

As a neutral observer of government operations for several years, I’ve collected some important operational rules, which I offer as a Government Information Technology Manifesto.
Internaut | Commentary: I’ve collected some important operational rules which I offer as a Government Information Technology Manifesto

The New New Internet Web 2.0 for Business, Government

ExecutiveBiz is proud to present the second annual The New New Internet: Web 2.0 for Business conference on November 1st, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency in Reston, VA. Featuring a nationally recognized line-up of engaging speakers and panelists, three tracks for industry, government, and more technical topics, 800 attendees, a Web 2.0 application competition, and much more, this is the region's major annual Web conference.*
The New New Internet Web 2.0 for Business, Government

Will Google Crush The iPhone? - Forbes.com

Take one look at the smart-phone market, and it's easy to see a murderer's row. Apple sold one million iPhones in less than three months this summer. Palm is rejuvenating its lineup with the cheap, pretty Centro. Research in Motion's BlackBerry continues to enslave the corporate class. And Microsoft looms large as well, with its software on 140 phone models available from 160 mobile-phone carriers. Will Google Crush The iPhone? - Forbes.com

MySpace to Open Up, Too

When media tycoon Rupert Murdoch surveys his empire, something looks amiss. His Internet crown jewel, MySpace, boasts 110 million users—more than double the tally for archrival Facebook. Yet Facebook is on the verge of taking a chunk of cash that could give it a value of $15 billion, while shares of Murdoch's News Corp. (NWS) family of businesses have barely budged this year, despite rapid online growth.
MySpace to Open Up, Too

Will Social Features Make Email Sexy Again? - WSJ.com

Email providers are trying to steal some of social networking's thunder as fast-growing services like Facebook Inc. begin to encroach on their turf.
Will Social Features Make Email Sexy Again? - WSJ.com

Earned Value Management Best Practices

Part 1 Tuesday evening, October 23 

A four-part series on this proven project management strategy used throughout the federal government--and gaining momentum worldwide 

Designed for both the novice EVM user and season practioner, this series offers all participants an opportunity to advance their EVM maturity levels. 
Presenter Kimberly Hunter is a Senior Project Manager at KeyLogic Systems, Inc., a small business specializing in EVM and project control for the federal government. She has been a major contributor to the review of federal project control metrics and conducts EVM workshops throughout the government and private sectors.

SERIES SCHEDULE--Tuesday evenings
October 23: Earned Value Management and its role in the US Federal Government  RSVP

November 13: Compliance with the American National Standards Institution 748-B EVM Standards RSVP

January 22: Developing and Locking the Performance Management Baseline RSVP

February 19: Conducting Successful Integrated Baseline Reviews RSVP
All sessions will be held in Mason Hall on George Mason University's Fairfax Campus.

Light reception: 6:30 p.m.  Program 7:15 p.m.

Free; friends and colleagues welcome
Sponsored by the Master of Science in Technology Management Program, George Mason University School of Management.

Part of the Hot Topics in Technology Management Series
Information: jpalmisa@gmu.edu

5 Reasons to Deploy a Corporate Social Network

5 Reasons to Deploy a Corporate Social Network

Worship Goes Big-Screen and Hi-Fi, With Direct-Deposit Tithing - washingtonpost.com

At First Baptist Church of Glenarden in Prince George's County, parishioners who don't make it to church on time are directed to an overflow room to watch the Sunday service on a huge projection screen. If they can't make it to church at all, they can catch the service online, anytime.Worship Goes Big-Screen and Hi-Fi, With Direct-Deposit Tithing - washingtonpost.com

The Economies of Virtual Worlds

It's an emerging marketplace, worth billions of dollars, and many Americans don't even know it exists. In virtual worlds like "Second Life" or "World of Warcraft," members buy and sell everything from clothes to real estate for their online selves. The goods may not be "real" but the money often is. Join Kojo for a tour of virtual economies and explore the debate over whether they should be more tightly regulated.
WAMU 88.5 FM American University Radio - The Kojo Nnamdi Show for Tuesday September 25, 2007

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Further Improvements Needed to Identify and Oversee Poorly Planned and Performing Projects

OMB and federal agencies have identified approximately 227 IT projects—totaling at least $10.4 billion in expenditures for fiscal year 2008—as being poorly planned (on the Management Watch List), poorly performing (on the High Risk List with performance shortfalls), or both.

Lawmaker suggests cutting losses on mismanaged IT projects (9/20/07) -- www.GovernmentExecutive.com

Lawmaker suggests cutting losses on mismanaged IT projects (9/20/07) -- www.GovernmentExecutive.com: "Some poorly performing and overly expensive technology projects should be scrapped, even if that means the government incurs a major financial loss, the chairman of a Senate panel investigating the cost of federal IT systems said Thursday."

SAP's New Model: Think Smaller - WSJ.com

German technology giant SAP AG became a leading software player by selling the programming equivalent of a Mercedes-Benz -- large, expensive and engineering-heavy applications that help the world's biggest businesses manage everything from payroll to manufacturing and billing.

[Note: subscription required. Check to see if your company has a corporate WSJ subscription]
SAP's New Model: Think Smaller - WSJ.com

Class of 2007 at the CIO University Graduation

(2008 hang in there-you will be there before you know it!)

Webinar: TruePlanning 2007 Rollout Overview, Sept 13

Dear Cost & Performance Management Professionals:

Join PRICE Systems for a 45-Minute Lunch & Learn Webinar, "TruePlanning 2007 Rollout Overview", Thursday, September 13, 2007 from 12:00 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time. Speakers include PRICE Systems cost management experts.

This Webinar will introduce you to the new PRICE TruePlanning® toolset now available to our customer's worldwide. TruePlanning is the new generation of cost estimating framework and family of models developed to provide a fully integrated System-of-Systems estimating capability. During this session you will be introduced to the full suite of cost models, understand the benefits of these powerful tools, as well as how to apply them to your project to aid in program success. Lunch and Learns are presented from a technical perspective; this will NOT be a sales pitch.

"Lunch and Learn" educational Webinars address Program Affordability Management topics that our customers feel are vitally important to today's procurement, cost management, and program management professionals.

REGISTER TODAY!
http://ipost.com/rd/9z1zg31v0bisdgeegbkd8bot72nqqah91chm3q60f4o

Upon registration, you will be emailed a dial in number for the audio and a link to Microsoft's Live Meeting for the web presentation. If you have trouble with your organizations firewall, we will send you the presentation in advance; you can then follow along with the audio.

NPR : Indian Software Firm to Outsource to U.S.

[Ed. note: TECHMAN 06 visited Wipro in Bangalore.]

Morning Edition, September 6, 2007 · Indian software firm Wipro plans to open a big software design center in Atlanta. The Bangalore, India-based firm expects to hire around 500 computer programmers in the next three years. It's a curious turnabout from the much more familiar story: a U.S. software company creating jobs in India.NPR : Indian Software Firm to Outsource to U.S.

Hardcopy...

Websites and online columns are great for seeing the latest headlines, but I really like to kick back with hardcopy magazines for in-depth reading. Here's a list of the free subscription magazines that I think are worth my time:

CIO Decisions: http://searchcio.techtarget.com/
CIO: http://www.cio.com
CSO - The Resource for Security Executives: http://www.csoonline.com
Oracle Magazine: http://www.oracle.com/oramag/index.html
Information Security: http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/
Government Health IT: http://governmenthealthit.com
SC Magazine: http://www.scmagazineus.com

What magazines are on your list?

Business Alliance of George Mason University

The Business Alliance connects business executives with each other and with faculty experts, students and leaders at George Mason University through a variety of networking events, partnership activities and volunteer opportunities which benefit the region's business community and George Mason University through the exchange of ideas and expertise. In addition the corporate members of the Business Alliance Board listed above, a number of administrators from the university are appointed to the Business Alliance Board of Directors each year by George Mason University President Alan Merten. More information is available online at www.businessalliance.org

Marketplace: Traffic and corruption in New Delhi

India's accident rate is one of the worst: over 80,000 traffic-related deaths a year. In New Delhi, it's so bad the High Court increased fines 50%, but the roots of the problem go much deeper. Miranda Kennedy reports.Marketplace: Traffic and corruption in New Delhi

Marketplace: No Office party for Microsoft

It may seem Microsoft has already taken over the world. But the software maker has taken a hit from a computing group in Switzerland. Its members declined to designate a key Microsoft product as an international standard. Stephen Beard reports. Marketplace: No Office party for Microsoft

For Montana Sect, Cellphones Send Mixed Message - WSJ.com

MARTINSDALE, Mont. -- Elsie Wipf lives a simple life, picking vegetables, sewing clothes for her brothers and sisters and butchering chickens. She also goes to church every day and knits slippers in her spare time.

That is, when she isn't sending her friends text messages, like "btw how r u 2 day."
For Montana Sect, Cellphones Send Mixed Message - WSJ.com

Graduate Programs Annual Picnic

Join in the fun and network with the MBA, ExecutiveMBA and MS in Accounting
students and alumni -

When: September 22, 2007
Where: Hemlock Overlook, 13220 Yates Ford Road, Clifton, VA
Time: 4 - 10 p.m. (campfire starts at 9:00 p.m.)

Click HERE
HERE to RSVP.
(We do need the RSVP for a food head-count)

Why not make this a class reunion opportunity for your Techman class???? :-)

Clodagh

TECHMAN Breakfast Friday Sep. 7 at Fairfax Silver Diner 7 am to 9

Started by the Class of '05 but open to all. Click below for directions. Breakfast is the 1st Friday of the month. Come network and talk technology and business over pancakes!

Starts at 7 a.m. but show up anytime after. Map of 12250 Fair Lakes Pkwy Fairfax, VA by MapQuest

Business Technology : Don't Blame the Internet for Workplace Slackers

If you’re reading this post, you’re probably doing it – using the Internet for personal reasons while at work. A Reuters article that’s gotten picked up widely labels this activity “cyberslacking,” and argues that it’s costing companies in wasted time and lost productivity.
Business Technology : Don't Blame the Internet for Workplace Slackers

Social Networking Goes Professional - WSJ.com

When radiation oncologist Michael Tomblyn recently saw a 21-year-old patient whose eye was protruding from its socket, he turned to his fellow physicians for help. Dozens of doctors offered suggestions, including fungal infection, HIV-associated lymphoma or a cocaine-associated sinus problem, eventually steering him toward the correct answer: rhabdomyosarcoma, a fast-growing cancer most often observed in young children.

The diagnosis didn't take place in a doctor's lounge. It happened on Sermo.com, a social-networking site for licensed physicians, which Dr. Tomblyn and 25,000 doctors like him visit regularly to consult with colleagues specializing in areas from dermatology to psychiatry.
Social Networking Goes Professional - WSJ.com

Is Corporate Social Responsibility Responsible? - Forbes.com

What does 'corporate social responsibility' mean? Does it involve charitable contributions, recycling, and embracing alternative lifestyles?

This commentary is almost one year old, but I stumbled across it today and found it pretty interesting, especially the 'experiment' carried out in Masschusetts.

Sometimes it is hard for folks not running public companys to remember that a corporation's goal is to act on behalf of its owners (shareholders).

Is Corporate Social Responsibility Responsible? - Forbes.com

So...is it irresponsible for a CEO or board to deploy corporate assets for social causes?

What do you think?

NPR : Problems Surface at 'Net Phone Service Skype

Morning Edition, August 27, 2007 · When the Internet phone service Skype went down recently, millions of its customers lost contact with the world. Skype says 30 percent of its customers are business users. Scott Gilbertson of Wired News tells Renee Montagne that Skype may not be reliable enough to be a sole provider for big businesses.
NPR : Problems Surface at 'Net Phone Service Skype

CIOs Want Their Web 2.0 Applications

We asked CIOs who participated in this month's Emerging Technologies Survey to tell us which Web 2.0 applications they use personally. It turns out they're avid consumers of many of these technologies. Around half watch video online and use wikis, blogs and RSS; about a third use social networking sites like LinkedIn; and 12 percent even use virutal worlds like Second Life.
CIOs Want Their Web 2.0 Applications

NPR : Virtual Recruiting for Real-World Jobs

Morning Edition, August 22, 2007 · There's an unusual job fair taking place this week, but you can't get there by plane or car or drop off your resume in person. You have to travel in cyberspace — to a virtual world called Second Life, the online community where people — or their avatars — hang out for enjoyment, and increasingly, work and business.
NPR : Virtual Recruiting for Real-World Jobs

Facebook Gets Personal With Ad Targeting Plan - WSJ.com

Facebook Gets Personal With Ad Targeting Plan - WSJ.com: "Social-networking Web site Facebook Inc. is quietly working on a new advertising system that would let marketers target users with ads based on the massive amounts of information people reveal on the site about themselves."

NPR : Beyond Sex and Tourists in John Burdett's Bangkok

[Note: The Class of 2007 went to Bangkok] Morning Edition, August 21, 2007 · John Burdett's Bangkok is far more than the bizarre murders, corrupt cops and big-hearted bar girls of his novels, which include Bangkok 8 and Bangkok Haunts. NPR : Beyond Sex and Tourists in John Burdett's Bangkok

Is This Irresponsible Journalism?

Information Week, in the August 13th print edition (August 10th online), takes the Wall Street Journal to task for publishing an article that purportedly teaches employees how to get around the rules and policies of their company's IT departments.

Here's the link to the WSJ article:

Ten Things Your IT Department Won't Tell You - WSJ.com

Here's the link to what Information Week had to say about it:

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/08/the_wall_street.html

What do you think?

Top Tips on Public Speaking

Forbes magazine collected tips from 28 people that are well known and successful public speakers. At the bottom of the article are links to more do's and don'ts.

http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/01/sun-microsystems-nokia-ent-sales-cx_ll_0801byb07_publicspeaking.html

Kotter: 5 Things I've Learned About Change

A fresh look at change from Kotter...the 8 step man:

http://www.cio.com/article/129253/Five_Things_I_ve_Learned_About_Change

Day Spent On Internet Comes Full Circle | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

DAYTON, OH—A day of web surfing poetically ended just as it began Monday, when a random string of links brought area man Howard Nagel back to the same Facebook page on which he started nine hours earlier.
Day Spent On Internet Comes Full Circle | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Internaut | Commentary: The dual goals of cutting costs and completing projects can put IT managers in an impossible position

Federal data center managers are serving two masters now, and unless they are experts at juggling conflicting demands, they could find themselves in an impossible situation.Internaut | Commentary: The dual goals of cutting costs and completing projects can put IT managers in an impossible position

TelecomHUB 2007 National Conference on the Creative Economy

TelecomHUB wants you to know about the 2007 National Conference on the Creative Economy being organized by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, a TelecomHUB sponsor. HUB participants will receive a special reduced registration fee. Read on!

October 24-25, 2007
Hilton McLean Tysons Corner
Fairfax County, Virginia

Plan now to attend the 2007 National Conference on the Creative Economy, set for October 24-25, 2007, at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner. The conference will examine the role that a strong, creative workforce plays in the growth and success of businesses and communities in an information-based economy. TelecomHUB participants get a special rate of $325 – type in “Hub” when prompted at the end of the registration process.

The conference (www.creativeeconomies.org) will feature compelling keynote speakers: Professor Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class and The Flight of the Creative Class; Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman, author of The World is Flat; and Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock, The Third Wave and Revolutionary Wealth.

And there's more: FORTUNE and FORTUNE SMALL BUSINESS columnist Anne Fisher will lead two panel discussions: one about FORTUNE’s "Best Companies to Work For" list and another about how emerging firms can compete with established companies for creative talent. Robert J. O'Neill, executive director of the International City/County Management Association, will moderate a panel discussion on how creative communities can help build a diversified local economy. Joe Watson, Reston-based CEO and author of "Without Excuses: Unleash the Power of Diversity to Build Your Business," will lead a discussion of using diversity to build a culture of corporate creativity.

These breakthrough thinkers and a host of intriguing panelists will address topics such as:

Attracting and retaining the creative class

Creating a culture of creativity in the workplace to improve the bottom line

Using diversity to promote creativity

Harnessing the power of an aging workforce

Boosting creativity in homeland security industries

Improving communities and the economy through creative companies

The conference is being organized by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, a TelecomHUB sponsor, and is being sponsored in part by the Fairfax County government and FORTUNE magazine.

Come and be part of this visionary event. Plan to attend the 2007 National Conference on the Creative Economy on October 24 and 25. Remember that TelecomHUB participants will receive a special rate of $325 – type in “Hub” when prompted at the end of the registration process. Visit www.creativeeconomies.org for more information and to register!

www.som.gmu.edu/techman
CREATIVEECONOMIES.ORG

GAO COST ASSESSMENT GUIDE-Best Practices for Estimating and Managing Program Costs

Because federal guidelines are limited on processes, procedures, and practices for ensuring credible cost estimates, the Cost Guide is intended to fill that gap. Its purpose is twofold—to address generally accepted best practices for ensuring credible program cost estimates (applicable across government and industry) and to provide a detailed link between cost estimating and EVM. Providing that link is especially critical, because it demonstrates how both elements are needed for setting realistic program baselines and managing risk.

IT Quarterly Forum Aug 14

The cost of litigation involving electronically stored information (so-called “E-discovery”) is burgeoning: according to one Forrester study issued in 2006, corporate America is expected to increase its spending on e-discovery from $1.4 billion dollars in 2006 to $ 4.8 billion in 2011. As part of this trend, party litigants – including Federal agencies -- increasingly are the likely targets of preservation orders, injunctions, subpoenas, and other demands for access to records and information stored electronically, and the greater IT community has a crucial role to play in preserving and providing access to these forms of electronic evidence. This lively session will be aimed at focusing on how CIOs and IT shops can best interact with lawyers and senior agency managers, based on lessons learned from some of the “worst case” disasters that have happened in recently reported cases, including involving email and backup tapes.

Date: Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Time: 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
IT Quarterly Forum Registration

EVM Modules Tailor-Made for Government Users — FedTech Magazine

Earned value management isn’t a new concept to the information technology chiefs at the Naval Air Systems Command. They’ve used it extensively to monitor contractor performance. But turning that lens inward is another matter.
EVM Modules Tailor-Made for Government Users — FedTech Magazine

Intel’s E-Mail Overload Solution - CIO.com - Business Technology Leadership

June 22, 2007 — CIO — Nathan Zeldes has been battling the negative effects of information overload for a decade, since his employer, Intel, first moved from mainframes to PCs. "It became incredibly easy for people to bombard each other with information," says Zeldes, a principal IT engineer. "Within a year, we were in a total disaster state."
Intel’s E-Mail Overload Solution - CIO.com - Business Technology Leadership

Projects@Work - Make Your Organization Work for You

The most efficient projects consist of multifunctional teams reporting to a project manager who manages the day-to-day work and team interaction with the rest of the organization. If only it were always so. Here’s some advice for those managing functional or matrix teams. Projects@Work - Make Your Organization Work for You

PRICE Systems Delivers Affordability Simulation with TruePlanning 2007 Modeling Companions

Updated Offering Empowers Engineers to Seamlessly Evaluate Cost in Real Time Within the Modeling and Simulation Environment

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. - August 07, 2007 -- PRICE Systems, L.L.C., the world leader in cost estimating and analysis solutions, today announced the launch of TruePlanning® 2007 Modeling Companions, a series of “add-ins” enabling integration and interoperability between engineering tools and the TruePlanning framework to effectively conduct affordability simulation. Starting with PTC® Pro/ENGINEER®, Phoenix Integration’s PHX ModelCenter 7.0®, and Engineous’ iSIGHT- FD®, PRICE Systems developed a complete line of fully integrated TruePlanning Modeling Companions. The result allows engineers to rapidly produce designs optimized for both performance and cost.

PRICE Systems Delivers Affordability Simulation with TruePlanning 2007 Modeling Companions

Class of '05 hosting Happy Hour

The Class of '05 is hosting a Happy Hour at Crystal City Sports Pub in Crystal City, VA, Saturday Aug. 18 at 5 PM. All welcome!

Newsvine - Bad Thai Cops to Endure Kitty Shame

Thai police officers who break rules will be forced to wear hot pink armbands featuring "Hello Kitty," the Japanese icon of cute, as a mark of shame, a senior officer said Monday.
Newsvine - Bad Thai Cops to Endure Kitty Shame

Editor's Desk-IT’s Achilles’ heel

Information technology managers won’t find many surprises in the 450- page report being delivered to members of Congress this week on the sagging state of federal procurement.
Editor's Desk

2007 China Seminar and Workshops

Navigating the China Markets with Experts

2007 China Seminar and Workshops
September 7, 2007, 8:30 am 4:00 pm

CIT Building
2214 Rock Hill Road
Herndon, VAÂ 20170

The Seminar Covers:Â Â Â
1) How to Establish your business and Navigate the China Markets with Experts
2) How to protect your intellectual property and business
3) Selecting the best markets and distribution channels in China
4) Exporting your goods/services to China
5)Sourcing and importing China goods
6)Finance and investment perspectives
7) How to make money in China!

Who Should Attend?

Business Owners, Presidents and Chief Technology Officers, Regional and/or International Marketing Managers/Directors; Senior Executive/Coordinator of International Marketing & Sales, Channel Relationship Managers, and anyone involved with Exports Sales, District Sales etc.
To register, visit: http://som.gmu.edu/files/China_Seminar_Registration_Form_D.doc>
Educators and students are welcome. Discount student passes are available.
For Discounted Student Tickets Visit:
http://som.gmu.edu/files/China_seminar_student_reg_form_D.doc

 For a complete program - including seminar agenda, speaker bios and sponsor descriptions visit: http://som.gmu.edu/files/China_seminar_program_D.pdf

For more information and to register visit:Â
www.som.gmu.edu/china

Does Offshore Outsourcing Still Make Sense?

This is an interesting article on continued viability of offshore outsourcing especially in call center environments. It is interesting to note the proposed Congressional rulemaking requiring location announcement by call center employees to consumers. On an anedotal basis, I've heard many complaints about Verizon's call center outsourcing. Earlier this month, I also had an interesting conversation with several CWA (Communication Workers Association) union members returning from their annual member meeting in Toronto regarding Verizon metrics and gaming that is occuring in regards to repairs. Per the union reps, the Virginia PUC is investigating Verizon repair metrics for accuracy and may end up imposing fines. It will be interesting to see if customer and union complaints causeVerizon to change their call center outsourcing decision in the next few years. -Cheryl London

The enterprise trend to contract out contact-center operations overseas as a means of saving the high costs related to supporting an all-American staff may start to reverse, due in part to customer backlash and pending government oversight.

According to a new feature now posted on TelecomWeb's "The Next Generation Contact Center Report" microsite, in a recent report, Michigan-based CFI Group in Ann Arbor, Mich., raised questions about the wisdom of contracting out contact-center operations to foreign countries, again warning about potential negative effects of offshoring on customer goodwill and retention.

The study found that customers who believed they were dealing with a contact center outside the United States rated their overall satisfaction 26 points lower than those who believed the center was U.S.-based. In addition, callers to foreign centers were almost twice as likely to sever business relations with the company. Specifically, service reps at offshore centers were rated much harder to understand and less adept at solving customer problems.

Despite the cost savings, "there is concern that customers will be turned off both by the loss of American jobs and by the lower level of service," CFI Group noted, thus bolstering the "patriotism" consideration.

And if customers fail to influence an enterprise's decision when it comes to offshore contact centers, at least one pending rulemaking in Congress, if signed into law, will.

House Resolution (H.R.) 1776 (slated to be called "The Call Center Consumer's Right to Know Act"), was introduced in March by Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) and 24 co-sponsors. If passed, H.R. 1776 would "require employees at a call center who either initiate or receive telephone calls to disclose the physical location of such employees." The bill was referred to the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection for initial debate and review.

The bill's proposed language, which could be changed during mark-up, says in part, "A United States corporation or its subsidiaries that utilizes a call center to initiate telephone calls to, or receive telephone calls from, individuals located in the United States, shall require each employee in the call center to disclose the physical location of such employee at the beginning of each telephone call so initiated or received."

To read the complete text of this story, go to "The Next Generation Contact Center Report" microsite at http://www.telecomweb.com/ccr. [note-registration is required but free].

In Hunt for High Pay, Be Specific - WSJ.com

When Scott Wood began his search for a job paying around $130,000 earlier this year, he did what many senior professionals do. He reached out to recruiters at executive-search firms about his interest in a senior law position at a large East Coast company. But recruiters typically pursue job candidates, rather than the other way around, so it wasn't surprising that his efforts failed to generate any interviews.
In Hunt for High Pay, Be Specific - WSJ.com

NPR : Groups Urge FCC to Open Wireless Networks

The FCC is being urged to include rules that would ease the way for open, flexible cell-phone networks when it sets the rules for an upcoming auction of the wireless spectrum. Consumer groups, and some businesses, say the change would benefit users.

NPR : Groups Urge FCC to Open Wireless Networks

Business Technology : The Hottest Jobs in IT

If your company’s information-technology department is anything like the ones in most mid-to large-sized companies, it is desperate to hire the vaguely titled–but evidently indispensable–director of business technology. That position and other hot tech jobs highlighted in a new study shine a light on how companies are prioritizing IT-related issues.Business Technology : The Hottest Jobs in IT

TECHMAN Class of 2007

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