It's been possible for me, in recent years, to maintain a
pretense of sanity (in writing, that is; in person I've
given up); but only because I try to emulate those
info-smoothies at The Economist.
We know-it-alls--and all you know-it-all wannabees--would
be utterly lost without this magazine. Admit it. Arguably,
we're a pretty lost bunch anyway, but even in denial you have
to cling to something. In lieu of a firm, feet-on-the-ground
base in reality, we'll grasp at any old flapping hot-air balloon
full of glibness, for the sake of getting a grip, any grip. Especially
if we can subvocalize a droll British accent while being dragged
aloft.
The articles summarized below illustrate both the heights and
depths of this venerable rag. All are germane to topics brought
up recently in keitai-l; all are from The Economist Technology
Quarterly section (from way back in Sept, sorry):
----------------------
Article: Tapping the Ether
Gist: 802.11b security -- it's the next best thing to yelling in public
Grade: B+/A-
Link: http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=779411
Giggle: mentions a cracking tool called "AirSnort" (Well, but of course--
how else does one snort?) Rhymes nicely with "AirPort", which is
both a product name in this space, and when not InterCapped,
an actual space (one currently bristling with post-9/11 paranoia)
that's been suggested for widespread 802.11 wireless deployment.
Significance: VoIP over 802.11b might be pretty snoopable. Your
company will be able to sue espresso chains for security lapses.
Maybe. Unless your boss points out, "Why the hell were you
blabbing out loud in Starbucks about our secrets, anyway?
From now on, we test your urine for caffeine, twice a week."
----------------------
Article: Seeing is believing
Gist: pricey, laser-scanned, high-refresh-rate LCDs will replace reality
Grade: A
Link: http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displayStory.cfm?Story_id=779439
Giggle: the notion that petroleum engineers will get a 30x productivity
increase in drilling-site analysis from this innovation alone. Maybe
oil prospecting firms should just hire analysts who aren't technology-
junkie prima donnas?
Significance: if they can somehow fit laser rastering behind handset
screens, it could mean near-photo-quality movies for your mobile
screen. 3G killer app! 3G killer app! Hmm ... might burn a hole in
your pocket in more ways than one, though.
----------------------
Article: A lingua franca for the internet
Gist: cornucopia of programming language-related pop-tech truisms
Grade: C-
http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displayStory.cfm?Story_id=779459
Giggle: if you haven't seen it already, check out the "Programmers
Progress" illustration at the end. (Blurry image, unfortunately.)
Significance: with articles like this for general audiences, we might
be able to blame The Economist for scaring educated people away
from forthcoming JavaPhones in the West. Java gets vaguely
compared to viruses; Microsoft C# flacks get a lot of licks in.
----------------------
Article: List makers take control
Gist: directory services uber alles (Passport, LDAP, UDDI, XNS, Magic
Carpet, etc.)
Grade: B+ (for overview); C- (for unintentional humor)
Link: http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displayStory.cfm?Story_id=779517
Giggle: Gosh, where to start? How about this: "Increasingly, firms
need an anchor?an electronic list that keeps track of everything?
to stop things from sliding into chaos." Hey, I'm glad we got that
straight. Maybe we'll call it a "Management Information System."
What? That was taken in the 70s? And things still slid into chaos?
OK, we'll call this stuff "Enterprise Resource Planning". What?
That was taken in the 90s? Um ... what ERP package was Enron
using?
In the going-for-brisk-and-ending-up-stale sweepstakes: "Just as
Oblix and other directory firms propose to create a virtual
backbone for their corporate clients, Microsoft promises
consumers that it will unify their digital lives." *Gack*, *spew*.
I guess in our increasingly-fractured corporate world, "virtual
backbone" spins more brightly than "digital body cast," but it's
still the most ghastly use of the v-word I can remember. Is
there some way we can get it worked into a lot of Bill Gates'
.NET speeches?
Finally, let's tune into Management As If Meaning Mattered: "In
corporate life, conflicts are often avoided by keeping things
ambiguous. But directories force firms to make these hierarchies
explicit?a task that is not always easy. At Schwab, there were
several definitions of 'supervisor' that had to be clarified. Not
everybody was happy." You can already hear that raised voice
down the hall, can't you? ("What do you *mean*? You're trying
to tell me I can't be a Vice President if nobody reports to me, just
because 'We keep getting this error message.'??")
Signficance: you can take corporate intranet-connected GSM phone
on travel only if you use it to fill in a zillion forms a day from HR,
from purchasing, from payroll ... all marked 'urgent', and all containing
mandatory fields you filled in years ago--on your job application.
-michael turner
leap@gol.com
Received on Mon Dec 24 09:27:54 2001