http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/index.html Enterprise networking's best analysis and commentary, from NetworkWorld.com. Network World, Inc. Copyright(C) 1994 - 2009 Network World, Inc. http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/070609-gearhead.html Here's the answer to missing files compromising your plans for pizza, beer and TV. Mark Gibbs 2009-07-06T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/070209-net-buzz.html An item here last week about the Web site Corrupted-Files.com had one reader reaching deep into the memory bank for similar tale that also deserves sharing. Paul McNamara 2009-07-02T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/070209-cool-tools.html Savi Office, by Plantronics, combines the traditional desktop phone wireless headset with a VoIP headset connected to a PC. Keith Shaw 2009-07-02T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/070209johnson.html IT is undergoing one of the most significant transformations in recent memory -- yet most IT practitioners (including telecom managers) are only dimly aware of what's happening. Johna Till Johnson 2009-07-02T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/070209-backspin.html Mark Gibbs discusses the award of $1.92 million damages to the RIAA in the case of a single mother accused of pirating songs. Mark Gibbs 2009-07-02T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/070209-gaskin.html What goes up must come down, and lately what's coming down are netbooks, as more and more articles talk about the compact computers disappointing customers. However, we can't blame netbooks for that. We can only blame vendors who overhype and customers who underbuy. Before you buy a smaller, cheaper and less powerful netbook, determine if you need a notebook instead. If so, you can spend about the same money and get more power, albeit in a larger package. James E. Gaskin 2009-07-01T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/062909bradner.html I suppose that some people did buy iPhones because the phones worked on the AT&T cellular network. This is supposition on my part because I have not seen any articles claiming this to be the case nor have I read any blogs commentaries that support the concept. Scott Bradner 2009-06-29T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/062509-bradner.html It is too early to know if what is now going on in Iran is actually the start of a revolution in that country. Much of the western media and many commentators seem to think (or, maybe, hope) that is the case.  Scott Bradner 2009-06-25T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/062509-johna.html Here's one of the more ironic juxtaposition of events in recent memory: Last week, famed science-fiction author (and anti-censorship advocate) Ray Bradbury came out against the Internet — just as the 'Net's ability to evade censorship played a crucial role in advancing the cause of democracy in Iran. Johna Till Johnson 2009-06-25T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/062409antonopoulos.html In the wake of Iran's statistically and historically dubious election results, the world has been glued to screens (both TV and IP) watching the unfolding protests and violence. Despite a complete media and communications blackout, the videos, photos and messages are leaking out continuously. But how are all these leaks occurring? Andreas M. Antonopoulos 2009-06-24T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/062509-gaskin.html VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) is a terrible acronym but a great technology. But the industry thinks many people still believe many “myths” about running telephone traffic over the Internet. If Internet telephones don't work in your situation, that's one thing, but don't let old information keep you from leveraging new services and cost savings. James E. Gaskin 2009-06-24T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/062309-cool-tools.html I've got the same complaints that I had with the Sprint version of the MiFi. There should be a signal strength indicator as well as some kind of LCD screen on the device that tells you how good your 3G wireless is in your location. Keith Shaw 2009-06-23T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/061909-insider-threat-mobile.html As workers are required to go mobile in order to stay productive, the corporate network has had to go virtual - piggybacking on the infrastructure of the threat-ridden public Internet. Chris Parkerson 2009-06-19T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/062209backspin.html Gibbs replays the experience of an unhappy cell phone customer and scans the news. Mark Gibbs 2009-06-19T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/051809-net-buzz.html You have to hand it to the tabloid headline writers at the New York Post: They know nothing if not how to turn the tiniest spark into a five-alarm conflagration. Paul McNamara 2009-06-18T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/061809-gearhead.html Mark Gibbs starts by discussing audio editing tools and then wraps up his discussion of building an RSS feed for a podcast with a couple of news feed building tools. Mark Gibbs 2009-06-18T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/061709-cool-tools.html The touchscreen Pre is Palm's latest entrant into the smartphone market, and includes all of the features users would expect from today's smartphones. Keith Shaw 2009-06-17T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/061709-pc-mac-war.html Macs vs. PCs vs. Linux arguments are dominating two mailing lists I'm on. The vitriol may be slightly less than in the past, but many of the same attitudes exist with subjective arguments trumping logic on both sides. James E. Gaskin 2009-06-17T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/061709bradner.html Response to FCC Notice of Inquiry: Spending government money on broadband is not all that good unless broadband's synonymous for "Internet". Scott Bradner 2009-06-17T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/061709johnson.html I'm constantly amazed by the brazenness of certain large companies and governments when it comes to abuse of privacy. The most egregious recent example: The Chinese government announced that starting July 1, it will require the installation of rootkit software on all PCs sold in China — ostensibly to prevent its citizens from visiting "objectionable" sites on the Web. (If you believe that, I have a Great Wall to sell you.) Johna Till Johnson 2009-06-17T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/061209-backspin.html Twitter could fail, this time big time, for technical reasons. Mark Gibbs has written a play, to be exact, a tragedy, about this. He probably won't win a Tony. Mark Gibbs 2009-06-12T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/061109-net-buzz.html Next time a major Web site such as Facebook, Google or eBay changes their seldom-read terms of service, a new project from the Electronic Frontier Foundation will be there to chronicle the alterations and highlight them for all to see. Paul McNamara 2009-06-11T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/061109-gearhead.html Mark Gibbs continues to explore the details of creating an RSS feed for a podcast. Mark Gibbs 2009-06-11T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/061109gaskin.html Graduation season just finished and the air still rings with bad advice given to bored students. Calls for “digital literacy” filled many auditoriums as speakers unclear on the concept tried to hype technologies such as Twitter without understanding the technical details they struggled to explain. That made me wonder what people mean when they say digital literacy, because I can think of a dozen definitions. So I asked around, and my suspicions were confirmed: if you demand digital literacy for your employees, be prepared to define exactly what you expect. James E. Gaskin 2009-06-10T12:00:00-04:00 http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2009/061009johnson.html It's an old engineering adage that you can't have it all. As the saying goes: "Faster, better, cheaper — pick two." The idea is that any system can optimize at most two parameters, to the detriment of the third. Johna Till Johnson 2009-06-10T12:00:00-04:00