A lawsuit that is moving forward in the state of Hawaii adds another dimension to the ongoing debate over Internet addiction -- while prompting more than a few cynical guffaws from tort reform advocates. The suit, filed by plaintiff Donald Smallwood against the company NCSoft, claims that he became "psychologically dependent and addicted" to the fantasy massive multiplayer online role-playing game "Lineage II," as it gave him "great feelings of euphoria and satisfaction." His charges against the game publisher include negligence and infliction of emotional distress.
Video Game Junkie Tells It to the Judge
August 24th, 2010
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A lawsuit that is moving forward in the state of Hawaii adds another dimension to the ongoing debate over Internet addiction -- while prompting more than a few cynical guffaws from tort reform advocates. The suit, filed by plaintiff Donald Smallwood against the company NCSoft, claims that he became "psychologically dependent and addicted" to the fantasy massive multiplayer online role-playing game "Lineage II," as it gave him "great feelings of euphoria and satisfaction." His charges against the game publisher include negligence and infliction of emotional distress.
The Paradigm of Cross-Channel Marketing, Part 1
August 23rd, 2010
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Marketing channels have evolved over the past few decades from just print to electronic media to the Internet. With the advent of information technology, today's marketers have the luxury to decide on the most potent mix for the products they are trying to sell. With marketers using these myriad channels, it becomes essential to understand the difference between a multichannel marketing approach and a cross-channel marketing approach. The main purpose of cross-channel marketing is to coordinate efforts across channels to drive a consistent message for a marketing campaign.
Networking Your Way to a More Flexible Data Center
August 21st, 2010
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As data center planners seek to improve performance and future-proof their investments, the networking leg on the infrastructure stool can no longer stand apart. Advances such as widespread virtualization, increased modularity, converged infrastructure and cloud computing are all forcing a rethinking of data center design. And so the old rules of networking need to change because specialized, labor-intensive and homogeneous networking systems need to be be brought into the total modern data center architecture.
Health IT: The Race Is On
August 20th, 2010
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A $30 billion information technology market is hard to pass up. That's why the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' program to invest that huge amount of money in health records technology has received a lot of attention in the IT vendor community. That's normal. It is decidedly unusual, however, for Congressional committees to conduct hearings into a federal initiative only days after regulations governing the initiative have been issued.
Healthcare’s Great Wireless Transformation
August 19th, 2010
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About 15 years ago, I had an office next door to Barry Green. At the time, our businesses had nothing in common. I was a wireless analyst and he was in healthcare. I recently got a call out of the blue from Barry asking for my help in evaluating an opportunity. When I took a look at what he was doing, I realized the world has changed dramatically. Suddenly, our previously unrelated businesses of wireless and healthcare were crashing together. This is true not only for healthcare, but also for many other industries. All are angling to transform themselves in the new wireless world.
The Dog Days of Summer and High-Tech Hijinks
August 18th, 2010
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In the mid-to-late 1980s, colleagues and friends were surprised when I transitioned from working as an on-camera investigative TV reporter to cover the then-fledgling high-technology industry for specialized trade magazines. After all, they reasoned, how could I be content covering semiconductors, memory boards, server hardware, software and computer networks after working as a mainstream journalist covering stories such as lurid political and law enforcement corruption scandals; drug trafficking; prostitution; toxic waste dumping; and big business cover-ups?
Android’s Racking Up Points, but Is iPhone Even Playing the Game?
August 17th, 2010
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So I've been watching all the latest smartphone and mobile device and operating system numbers come in from various analysts, and they've basically been saying the same thing: The Android horde is here. The NPD Group reported that Android accounted for 33 percent of all smartphones purchased in Q2, ahead of RIM and Apple. Gartner says the Android OS has overtaken Apple to become the third most popular smartphone OS in the world. Google CEO Eric Schmidt even put a more interesting spin on the numbers when he said about 200,000 new Androids are making it into the hands of consumers each day.
Plug-and-Play State of Mind
August 16th, 2010
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Young folk under 30 may not remember this, but years ago "plug and play" referred to hardware installation for computers. As the information revolution penetrated American households, consumers demanded setup procedures that did not require an advanced degree in computer science. Today, this process is standard for almost all hardware. This plug-and-play mentality has transformed consumer expectations. Today, consumers demand that the learning curve be a learning spike -- you should instantly be able to master the new product.
The Importance of Being Fungible
August 14th, 2010
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As enterprises examine the use of cloud computing for core IT functions, how can they protect themselves against service provider lock-in, ensure openness and portability of applications and data, and foster a true marketplace among cloud providers? Indeed, this burning question about the value and utility of cloud computing centers on whether applications and data can move with relative ease from cloud to cloud -- that is, across so-called public- and private-cloud divides, and among and between various public cloud providers.
The Nexus Between Open Source and the Cloud
August 13th, 2010
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Since its inception, the cloud computing industry has been the beneficiary of various outputs of the open source movement. The symbiotic relationship between these two forces has helped to transform the technology industry and continues to reshape the marketplace. In my view, the open source movement has influenced the cloud computing industry in three primary areas: technological innovation; business model innovation; and community-building initiatives.
