Douglas Engelbart invented the computer mouse and was an early pioneer of the Information Technology profession.  As such he is an excellent pick to be our IT Thought of the Day Quote of the Week Series feature.

I like Information Age quotations.  I find some of them very inspirational and like to carry a new one around about every week.  I thought that i could share mine with you from time to time. This week it will be a funny quote.  You can read more about the author at Wikipedia.

“The digital revolution is far more significant than the invention of writing or even of printing.”
Douglas Engelbart

What did you think of the quote?  Did you like it? Do you know of any other similar ones?  Please share.

That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for July 21, 2010.

quote credit: Information Technology Quotes on EnglishForum

image credit: Hypertext History

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On Mondays I offer comments on some   of the most interesting information technology stories that I have found on the web that week.  Please feel free to join in the discussion or suggest other stories.

Today’s comments were generated after I read the fore mentioned CNN story.  Great article that I recommend to you.  Give them a read below.

CNN.com – Inventor of cell phone: We knew someday everybody would have one

By Tas Anjarwalla

“Cooper and his team at Motorola, the communications company, created maybe the only thing that runs the lives of business professionals and teenagers alike — the cell phone.

It was the size of a brick and wasn’t commercially sold for another decade. But as Cooper demonstrated on a New York sidewalk, it worked.”

What I loved about this article was that it represented the exact best that an outfit like CNN can deliver.  It showed journalistic ethics, special access granted by being a big name, and rigorous fact checking and research without opinion or slant. To me, it shows exactly what big media can and should  deliver that bloggers never can, will, or should.  I wish that CNN and the rest of mainstream media would stick to this type of story and get out of the business of trying to beat bloggers to scoops, or drive a political agenda, even involving tech reporting, by spinning news to create positions.  Bravo to CNN and  Tas Anjarwalla for showing us how it can and should be done.  Great story.

OK, that is what I think of this topic. What do you think about this topic?  Do you agree or disagree with me? Do you have a recommended news story for next week? Please share your ideas below.

That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for July 12, 2010  by Scott Coughlin.

Image Credit: Fukuoka Prefectural University

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I like Information Age quotations.  I find some of them very inspirational and like to carry a new one around about every week.  I thought that i could share mine with you from time to time. This week it will be a funny quote.  You can read more about the author at Wikipedia.

""Management is the gate through which social and economic and political change, indeed change in every direction, is diffused though society."
Robert McNamara

What did you think of the quote?  Did you like it? Do you know of any other similar ones?  Please share.

That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for July 7, 2010.

quote credit: iwise

image credit: Scrape TV

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On Mondays I offer comments on some   of the most interesting information technology stories that I have found on the web that week.  Please feel free to join in the discussion or suggest other stories.

Today’s comments were generated after I read not one, but two stories from The Economist about the threat, fear, and realities of CyberWar.  Great articles, both, that I recommend to you.  Give them a read below.

The Economist – War in the fifth domain: Are the mouse and keyboard the new weapons of conflict?

“After land, sea, air and space, warfare has entered the fifth domain: cyberspace. President Barack Obama has declared America’s digital infrastructure to be a “strategic national asset” and appointed Howard Schmidt, the former head of security at Microsoft, as his cyber-security tsar. In May the Pentagon set up its new Cyber Command (Cybercom) headed by General Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency (NSA). His mandate is to conduct “full-spectrum” operations—to defend American military networks and attack other countries’ systems. Precisely how, and by what rules, is secret.”

The Economist – Cyberwar: It is time for countries to start talking about arms control on the internet

“As with nuclear bombs, the existence of cyber-weapons does not in itself mean they are about to be used. Moreover, an attacker cannot be sure what effect an assault will have on another country, making their deployment highly risky. That is a drawback for sophisticated military machines, but not necessarily for terrorists or the armies of rogue states. And it leaves the dangers of online crime and espionage. “

Seriously good writing about seriously complicated topics containing serious information, commentary, and consideration.  What is not to love here.  If you are an Information Professional then you need to read these stories.  Enjoy them.  I suspect that if The Economist is now writing about this weekly, the topic will be showing up everywhere!

OK, that is what I think of this topic. What do you think about this topic?  Do you agree or disagree with me? Do you have a recommended news story for next week? Please share your ideas below.

That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for July 5, 2010  by Scott Coughlin.

Image Credit: Help Net Security at net-security.org

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On Mondays I offer comments on some   of the most interesting information technology stories that I have found on the web that week.  Please feel free to join in the discussion or suggest other stories.

Today’s comments were generated after I read a CNN story.  It is all about “race” between Lady Gaga and President Obama to get to 10 million Facebook followers.  I recommend it to you.  Give it a read below.

CNN.com – Obama, Lady Gaga compete for Facebook fan record

“Lady Gaga and President Obama don’t often travel in the same circles, but they’re the top competitors in a popularity contest that could have one of them setting a record by this weekend.

Facebook publicists told CNN on Thursday that the pop star and the president are neck-and-neck in the race to become the first living person with more than 10 million fans on the social networking site.”

I am just going to go ahead and say it.  WHO CARES!  I cannot believe that so many people go through life trying to relive their High School Class President election.  That is exactly what this manic obsession with Twitter and Facebook followers represents.  Can you image if Ghandi, Albert Einstein, or Mother Teresa had spent even a millisecond worrying about what others thought of them – let alone who had more people willing to “follow”” them on these social media services?

OK, that is what I think of this topic. What do you think about this topic?  Do you agree or disagree with me? Do you have a recommended news story for next week? Please share your ideas below.

That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for June 28, 2010  by Scott Coughlin.

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