Everyone thinks of Microsoft as a company built on perfection… a recent article in ExtremeTech describes Microsoft’s Top 10 Flops: 1. Microsoft BOB: A product Microsoft released in 1995, was set to be the next-generation interface for Windows 3.1. It
Category: Business
Israel & Technology
How hot is technology investment in Israel? The tiny Middle Eastern country, with a population smaller than Manhattan’s, has become a global player in innovation, thanks to its thriving venture capital scene and many home-grown start-ups. There are now 75 Israeli
Evolution of IT Capabilities
Chris Lininger and I had a discussion today about the slow evolution of information technology that truly empowers the business end user. We talked about all of the failed promises over the past 25 years including 4GL (4th Generation Languages),
Microsoft and George Orwell
Microsoft acknowledged Wednesday that it needs to better inform users that one of its automatically installed updates quietly checks in daily with Microsoft servers. The company said the undisclosed daily check is a safety measure designed to allow the tool, called Windows
Affirmative Action and the EEOC
An interesting article in today’s Wall Street Journal discusses the planned — and subsequently cancelled — testimony before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It appears that the bureaucratic EEOC was not interested in hearing the realities associated with affirmative action.
Chinese Continue Theft of Intellectual Property
A prominent Chinese scientist, one of the founders of the chip manufacturing industry in China, has admitted to stealing his research. The New York Times article notes: “Chen Jin, a dean of Shanghai’s prestigious Jiaotong University and the leader of a government-funded
The Cost of Driving a Car
There is a recent analysis in American Spectator that reads like it came from my friend Jerry Heidenreich… The author notes: “So gas prices zoom up to, and sometimes past, $3.00 a gallon, and here I am driving a 1992
Labor Unions – The Enemy of the Automotive Industry
The domestic automotive industry seems to have gone to hell in a hand basket. While the automotive industry indeed is in trouble, it’s mostly gone to hell in the Midwest — the once-strong regional bastion of Big Manufacturing and Big Labor. For
Biggest Dot-Bomb Duds
As a former CEO of a venture-backed technology company, it is interesting to take a look back at some of the hair-brained ideas that received millions $$$ in venture capital. In 1999, I joked with my management team that we needed to
College Tuition and Market Pricing
CNN reports that college tuition has risen an astonishing 40 percent since 2000… For those of you in a situation similar to mine — i.e., planning to send a child off to college in the next year or so — you