Hangout for experimental confirmation and demonstration of software, computing, and networking. The exercises don't always work out. The professor is a bumbler and the laboratory assistant is a skanky dufus.

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Eliminating Mutual Incomprehension in Interoperability Arrangements
 
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Like It Or Not, We're In This Together -- The Software Improvement Cycle
 
Demos - Catalogue - The Pro-Am Revolution
 
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Failure Is Your Friend

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Tech Challenges I Want to See

ACM News Service: Tech Trends That Should End.  This blurb points to a number of technology trends that should end or be curtailed in some way, refering to an Anne Chen, Cameron Sturdevant, and Jim Rapoza 2004-12-27 eWeek article.  A few of these provide interesting challenges, and I feature those:

Sane Patching & Updating

Cameron Sturdevant says that patching chaos must be controlled.  "But the real answer to the patching problem is to obviate or at least decrease dramatically the need for patches.  And the only hope for that is if applications are developed much more carefully from the get-go."  I don't know where to start yammering over this.  Perhaps it is enough to observe that it is going to take great strength of will, consistency of purpose, and a test of character to pull this off.

Balanced Backup

Peter Coffee notices that the capacity of backup techniques is swamped by the ever-growing capacity of desktop computers.  He recommends movement to hierarchical storage with automatic archival tools and intuitive backup aids.

Standardized Information Lifecycle Management

Henry Baltazar comments on the current difficulties of ILM (where was I?).  ILM is intended to analyze data and support migration to economical storage as access needs change.  "The storage industry must standardize the process of ILM and do it in a hurry.  With standardization in place, vendors will be able to develop systems that are interoperable."  This seems tied to record management and, in many circumstances could be usefully tied to the balanced backup situation too, with effective provisions for searching for digital assets that might be off-line.

I notice how my mind leaps after solutions and how things I know about document-management technology should be applicable.  The rational me suggest that perhaps I don't understand the problem.  I suppose my failure to backup my critical digital information might figure in here.  What would be a solution with value exceeding the cost of using it?

posted by orcmid at 12/28/2004 01:43:21 PM, rating data by NewsGator Online