RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, NOT EMPIRES Up until last year, when things really got tough (fiscally and image wise), it was commonly felt that companies went through two types of management–one that could carry them through the tough start-up period and another that could run a successful enterprise. The same group of people seldom managed the company […]

Nikon, Digidesign and Garmin have several things in common.  They all produce products that I’ve personally shelled out cash for.  They all produce high quality hardware that is as good, or better, than their direct competitors.  But yet I’m reluctant to purchase product from them again because, to be blunt, their software sucks. My primary […]

In security circles we often discuss why some individuals and businesses find themselves in a perpetual state of high risk. While there can be complex factors, the bottom line is that many of us make poor risk management decisions in our business and personal lives. Sometimes a high risk position results because we don’t correctly […]

There Are Things More Important Than Size…Just Ask Flash “I’d much rather see you on my side, than scattered into… atoms.” – The Emperor Ming, Flash Gordon (Universal Pictures – 1980) We like things that spin, things that go fast. You know, like flying saucers and rocket ships…drives and flash memory. It’s a good thing, […]

A new student-run program in Indianapolis called Now Think Now encourages teens to think and make better decisions behind the wheel.  Their web site explains, Now Think Now is a social site where teens and other community members can gather and share their stories, ideas and opinions. Our ultimate goal is getting teens the information […]

If being acquired isn’t part of your business plan…prepare your survival strategy. Nothing focuses the mind better than the constant sight of a competitor who wants to wipe you off the map. — Wayne Calloway When Eric Schmidt (Google) said he paid a premium of one billion for YouTube he spelled out part of the […]

As H1N1 (swine flu) continues to spread, so does misinformation on the Internet. There are several emails in circulation that are simply wrong, and web sites with false information are popping up all over. And scams are starting to emerge. We share this planet with people who still believe the earth is flat, lunatic conspiracy […]

Making The Transition to a Social Business “Look, I’m all about loyalty. In fact, I feel like part of what I’m being paid for here is my loyalty. But if there were somewhere else that valued loyalty more highly, I’m going wherever they value loyalty the most.” – Dwight Schrute – The Office, ABC-TV Seriously… […]

Tens of thousands of pounds of disgusting and dangerous sewage gets pumped into the basements of homeowners in Ottawa, not just once or twice, but three or four times – in what the City claims is a “hundred year occurrence.” The top public servant in Ottawa claims the sewers are working just fine, the way […]

I hope that regular readers of my security column will forgive me, but today I’d like to get a few things off my chest. With the holidays approaching, we’ll undoubtedly hear Canadian retailers whinging about how the Internet is costing them revenue and begging us to “shop local.”  They’ll tell us how Internet shopping hurts […]

We often hear banks complaining loudly about the losses they suffer from payment card fraud.  Campaigns like “Protect your PIN” and humorous commercials with a miniature armoured truck following a customer down the street must cost tens of millions of dollars. But then consumers still receive calls like I did on Saturday afternoon.  The bank […]

Ars Technica has a great article this morning entitled 30 years of failure: the username/password combination. One of the things that they didn’t discuss is why we continue to use passwords for authentication even though they’re known to be a serious weakness. The first reason is that, as long as we don’t include the cost […]