Opinions

Reports of the death of IT departments in the Bring Your Own Device era have been exaggerated. However, if IT doesn't accept its new role one that's focused less on individual user support and more on setting policies then it might be time to write the obituary.

Windows XP is 10 years old, yet a substantial number of businesses are still using it. They’re not really at fault. Upgrading to Windows Vista was considered too much work for too little payoff, and for many businesses upgrading to Windows 7 has for a long time seemed unnecessary.

Much outrage has been expressed about Google's new privacy policy. People are acting as if they are shocked that Google would consolidate the personal information it gathers from its customers through all of its varied services. What is shocking to me is that none of these people, including members of Congress, seemed to see it coming.

In discussions about cloud computing and in comments readers leave on my blog posts, I commonly get statements along the lines of "Yeah, this cloud computing stuff sounds great, but at the end of the day, you have to have an IT guy solving problems like they've always done." In personal interactions, I often hear this sentiment portrayed as, "Public cloud computing is fine for the SMB and startup market, but enterprises aren't ready to move to that model." The tone of much of this feedback is that anyone who advocates cloud computing is at best naive or at worst incapable of understanding the real details of IT.

I love my iPad, but I hate what it represents.

The Planet of the Apes series of sci-fi thrillers in the late 1960s and early '70s depicted a world in which intelligent apes are the dominant species and humans have been subordinated.

It seems like only yesterday I was writing an article about the merits of cloud computing, storing your precious irreplaceable data and photos online. At the time it was topical as the Victorian Black Saturday fires had devastated parts of the state. Many treasured memories were lost forever. I thought about online storage and backups once again when the floods and then cyclones ripped through Queensland recently.

If you've read this blog over the past couple of years, it should be no surprise that I am a huge advocate of the theories of Clayton Christensen, author of "The Innovator's Dilemma." Christensen and his book were brought to mind this week by the cover story in Forbes about his severe health problems, his experience with the U..S healthcare system, and his prescriptions for how to fix it.

Why was Eric Schmidt suddenly demoted as Google's CEO? There are as many opinions as there are analysts, but I think the reason is clear: Google is worried that it's suffering from Microsoft syndrome, and thinks having Schmidt step aside may be the cure.

I'm still getting acquainted with my new company. As a security manager, that means I'm seeking out all the risks that are lurking in various functional areas.

Where is the iPad's competition?

"This business will get out of control. It will get out of control, and we'll be lucky to live through it."

As an IT management consultant, I look at a lot of processes. They're everywhere. And so are the misconceptions about what makes them useful.

Google has been found guilty of libel by a French court as a result of the company's automated search suggestions. Google plans to appeal the ruling, a company spokeswoman said Monday.

Maybe it's time to rethink the cloud. Yeah, I know -- at this point, most IT shops haven't thought through the cloud the first time. But Microsoft's recent troubles keeping its cloud services available to users shine a harsh light on the issue of cloud availability and reliability.

God, I love the InterWebs. Years from now, scholars dissecting the complete disintegration of journalism in the 21st century will look back at us and say, what the frak? The example du jour: The Facebook Phone rumors, which were sparked this past weekend by TechCrunch and continue to burn.

Last week, Facebook announced that it had amassed 500 million users, a formable portion of the global Internet audience. But even as Mark Zuckerberg and company celebrates, others are busy trying to uproot Facebook's popularity by establishing a set of open standards to share Facebook-like features across the Internet.

It probably won’t surprise you to know that companies in Australia are using social media as a core part of their business strategy in greater numbers every day. This includes Dell, Coca-Cola, V Australia and Toyota to name a just a few high profile organisations.

As the red mist clears and Julia Gillard assumes the top job in politics, many of the anti-filter crowd are hoping that pro-choice Senator, Kate Lundy, will take out the more divisive Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy. But they shouldn’t hold their breath.

The former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has stood down and been replaced by Julia Gillard as the leader of Australia.