The Gartner Group launched during the IT Security Summit, a book written by Richard Hunter (Gartner vice-president) entitled IT Risk: "Turning Business Threats into Competitive".

The Register published an article highlighting some of Hunter's statement. Extracts:

• IT systems have become so integral to businesses that their failure can have disastrous consequences for an organization.

• IT risk is too important to be left to IT departments
• IT risk is related to IT value. It would be short-sighted not to recognize either value or risk

The complete article in available on The Register site.

More interesting than the article itself are indeed the comments which clearly show how wide is the gap between the theory (or the analysis) and the reality.

Best of :

• So the Bean counters and all the people who have no clue about it should have control? BAD IDEA.
• …This is the reason why an I.T director needs to sit on the board. Not however just some one who did a MBA but barely knows how to turn on their PC.
• …much of the problem can be resolved with a bit of education and common sense – and some money of course
• Ignorance, from middle management to board level, of even simple issues relating to IT risks that can be seriously detrimental to the business as a whole.
• Management, up to board level, simply not listening to IT managers who DO know what they are talking about
• In my experience IT risk auditors are finance types who don't understand IT and thus cannot adequately assess the risk
• Yes, let's take away IT disaster management and network security from the people that have a clue.

All comments are here.

I recognize in most comments highly experienced, realistic and well grounded IT guys. About the, so called, IT Analysts… same consideration than for the Burton Group.

As expressed, common sense would be to have IT director on the board, and the management to wake up and become IT skilled.

What's your opinion ?

The Sony A700 DSLR microsite was briefly available on Sony UK website earlier this week. Yesterday, Sony officially announced the A-700 in a press release.

New A-700 specs are the following :  

• 12.4 megapixel CMOS sensor
• BIONZ image processor
• 11 point autofocus system
• ISO 6400
• 5fps (for 17 shots in RAW mode)
• 1/8000th shutter speed
• 3 inch LCD screen (with 921,000 pixels)
• Optional battery grip
• Wireless Flash support
• Both MemoryStick and CompactFlash cards supported
• Size: 142 x 105 x 80 mm
• Weight: 690g
• Price Tag: : 1400€ body only, 1500€ with lens 18-70mm, 2120€ with lens Zeiss 18-80 mm

3 new DT lenses will be available:

• 16-105mm F3.5-5.6
• 18-250mm F3.5-6.3
• 55-200mm f4-5.6

Availabilty : 16th of November in Japan

Sources : Photography Blog, Virus Photo.
Check the A-700 Hands-on preview on DPreview  

Additional pictures on Engadget site.
More information later this week with the official Sony launch.

Whisher, a Spanish start-up, backed by Switzerland’s leading phone company, Swisscom, and the venture firm Benchmark Capital Europe is apparently very active for few month now. The principle of Whisher is that Wireless Access to the Internet should be free and accessible from everywhere which is basically the same concept than FON Movimiento, except that you don't need to purchase any specific hardware.

Whisher' users are requested to download an application through which they can share their wireless access (works also with WEP or WPA connections) with other Whisher members 

The newly released version 2.0 beta of the software offers more than just storing and encrypting connections' passwords such:

• Wireless connection manager
• WiFi sharing
• Chat with other users connected on the same wireless access point.
• Multi Instant Messenger support (Yahoo, MSN, AIM, ICQ, GoogleTalk, Twitter, Jabber)
• File Transfer (with users sharing the same wireless AP)
• LAN Support
• GeoLocation
• Other Networks connections (access via commercial access; hotspot, etc..). FON is supported too.
• Around You. Gives you informations about coming events, restaurants around the wireless connection you are currently using.

New services that should be available soon :

• Voice Support
• Global File Sharing 

Plateform supported : Windows XP, Linux, Mac O/S. Vista not available yet.

The software is still beta and some stability and registation problems have been reported. More information on their Blog

Et voilà! As foreseen, my S620 is now running on Windows Mobile 6. 

Quick review:

The upgrade procedure was straight forward. 3-4 mins for the installation of the upgrade package and then about 5 mins to wait for the S620 to restart and finish the installation of Windows Mobile 6.

First impressions:

• No major changes on user's interface
• Predictive writing method (T9) working rather well. Definitively an improvement
• Calendar with a better view of your schedule at a glance
• More Alarm options, but still rather limited
• Improved wireless connection (faster link establishment) and better GPRS stability
• No improvement on memory management and closing running applications
• It seems that power management has improved (but perhaps just an impression)
• Can't say if the Smartphone is faster on WM6 than on WM5. Nothing significant.

More will follow, as soon as I will get familiarized with WM6.

A warm and friendly greeting derived from the Dabawenyo word "dayaw" that means good, valuable, superior or beautiful. Such is "Kadayawan," a celebration of life, a thanksgiving for the gifts of nature, the wealth of culture, the bounties of harvest and serenity of living.

Photos of the today's parade have been now published on Flickr

More about Kadayawan.

Found on BBC website a study, which questioned 1125 IT professional in Europe, revealing that more than 50% of IT projects are not delivered on time.

 

The study conducted by by HP and the Economist Intelligence Unit says the the 3 most commons causes for delay are :

• Outsourcing (it reminds me something)
• Changing priorities half way through (certainly not always an IT responsibility)
• Poor coordination between managers (sic!)

Other interesting points found on the article are that : 

• 51% of European IT's say there would be not risk to their job. This percentage slips to 33% in Asia and 22% in Americas.

• 57% of participants to the study said that less than 50% of the IT initiatives in their firms had a positive outcome. In 2006 this figure was 54%

In Europe Sweden comes first when it is about delivering IT project on time with 44% then follow

• Switzerland 24%

• Czech Republic 20%

• Germany 19%

• Denmark 16%

• UK 11%

• Finland 8%

• Israel 8%

• France 6%

• Belgium 4%

• Italy 4%

• Netherlands 4%

• Russia 4%

• Spain 4%

Source : BBC News

Previously announced in June and then in July, last received HTC Europe newsletter says S620 upgrade is now foresee in August 07.

HTC has made a Windows Mobile 6® OS upgrade available for users of the popular HTC TyTN device.

The TyTN becomes the first HTC device to get the upgrade, with the HTC P3300, S620 and Advantage also scheduled to receive the upgrade from August.

HTC TyTN users can download the Windows Mobile® 6 upgrade exclusively from the “My Downloads” section of HTC eClub.

A week after the announcement of the New Seven Wonders of the World, Bangkokpost's Roger Crutchley felt a bit disappointed that the Kingdom didn't feature on the list.

As it's not called Amazing Thailand for nothing, Crutchley decide to establish seven nominations for places, people and things that deserve acknowledgement when conversation turns to the real wonders of the world.

1. The Samlor (Samlorus clatterus or Tuk-Tuk)
2. The Bangkok Hole (Craterus enormus)
3. The Thai Taxi Meter
4. King Cobra Swamp
5. Sergent Nop (Coppus extraordinus)
6. The Inactive Post (Snorrus muchus)
7. The Thai Smile (at least 13 different variations)

   extract..
   
   The Thai Smile:
   This should really top any Wonders of the World list. Some say the famous yim Siam comes a tad too easily and may even be superficial or – heavens forbid! – insincere. But I'd rather a country where people smile too much than a place where they don't smile at all. There are at least 13 different variations, depending on the situation, and most of them are good news. But beware of the yim haeng. This apologetic "dry smile" is what you get when there's been a total screw-up – usually at your expense. And if a yim mee lay-sa nai is aimed in your direction it probably means you're about to be ripped off. But who cares? When you're feeling down a Thai smile is guaranteed to brighten up your day

   The complete article is here on BangkokPort website.

Sources: BangkokPost, UtopIsland  

Yet another post about Apple iPhone, even if, as most of people, I haven't seen it yet. However, reading some articles about this "famous" iphone (11'000 print articles and 69 millions hits on Google in the last six months according the New York Times. 

I find very surprising that following support or services (according Presse-Citron review) will not be available on the, soon to be release, first Apple iphone :

Audio jack is not a 3.5mm standard. An adapter is needed if you want to use your iPod headphones.

Without 3G, Web browsing with the iPhone will be an experience..if you're patient enough and unlucky enough to not find a WiFi hotspot close by!

and last but not least, the antenna is located at the bottom of the phone, right there were your hand holds the phone. This will surely helps a lot when the signal is weak.

Cherry on top of the cake, iPhone will be available only with a 24 months operator's subscription and its price tag is above 500 USD. Even without seeing it live, the so much expected iPhone will not replace my HTC 620.

Sources : Pogue's iPhone Tour & Presse-Citron 

No comment

p.s: if someone has the source of the sketch, I’d like to name the author on this page.

update: the author is Thomas Körner