News Commentary
News Commentary: Lions and Tigers and CyberWar – Oh My!
Jul 5th
You know that a topic has become du jour when The Economist puts out multiple stories about it in rapid succession. I greatly respect this venerable news magazine and appreciate that it is one of the last fronts on the attack on quality journalism. That being said, they can never pass up the opportunity to pile on to a topic! Hence, they get to be the subject of the IT Thought of the Day News Commentary of the Week. 
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
News Commentary: The Lunacy of Follower Counting
Jun 28th
SPOILER ALERT! I am going to ruin the surprise! When it is all said and done, President Obama is going to have had a more substantial effect on our world than Lady Gaga. OK, now that being said, we can discuss our IT Thought of the Day News Commentary of the Week. 
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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News Commentary: Three Cheers for the Cell Phone
Jul 12th
Posted by Scott Coughlin in Business of IT
No comments
CNN has a really nice piece commemorating the creator of the cell phone, Mr. Martin Cooper. This story is the IT Thought of the Day News Commentary of the Week.
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
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