Stories by Robert L. Mitchell

What the Web knows about you

She had me at hello ... or just about. Our conversation had barely started when privacy activist Betty Ostergren interrupted me to say that she had found my full name, address, Social Security number and a digital image of my signature on the Web.

Enterprise Linux? Not so fast.

Migrating business applications from high-end Unix-based systems such as Sparc/Solaris to commodity x86/Linux platforms has been a popular idea for the past few years, but not everyone thinks going full-on with Linux is the best solution -- at least not yet.

The big server push

Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead! Admiral David Farragut's famous American Civil War exclamation could be the rallying cry of the IT executives behind server and virtualization efforts. Rather than cutting and running as they face deepening economic woes, these IT professionals are pushing harder to complete their projects.

Replacing high-end Unix with enterprise Linux? Not so fast.

Migrating from high-end Unix-based systems to commodity x86/Linux platforms has been a popular idea for the last few years, at least in theory. But it turns out that not everyone thinks going full-on with Linux is the best solution -- at least not yet.

Privacy is a thing of the past, says private investigator

In his 25 years in business, Steven Rambam has worked on some high-profile cases, including tracking down Nazi war criminals in Canada. He also owns PallTech, an investigative database service with more than 25 billion records on US citizens and businesses.

Microsoft demos robotic receptionist

Move over, Laura Croft. At the EmTech08 Emerging Technologies Conference Thursday, Microsoft’s Craig Mundie introduced the audience to “Laura,” a disembodied face that serves as a robotic receptionist - and a technology demonstration of spatial computing in action. Mundie, who is chief research and strategy officer, gave the demonstration of “spatial computing” during the keynote speech this morning.

Review: Universal printer drivers from Xerox, HP aren't so universal

If, like me, you travel regularly with your laptop between different locations, you know how annoying it can be to get even a simple document printed to the right device and in the right format. And if you forget to choose the right printer when you come into a new location? Everything disappears into the wrong queue, only to spit out in a torrent when you connect at the other location.

Dairy farmers milk tech to keep herds fat, happy, profitable

When US retailing giant Wal-Mart began its push to integrate state-of-the-art radio frequency ID technology into its supply chain four years ago, the world took notice. But one industry might have greeted the announcement with a collective ho-hum. Dairy farms, which began using computerized record management systems in the 1950s, have been using electronic smart tags and sensors to manage dairy herds since the early '80s.

Reconsidering Vista

OK, it's not perfect. But Windows Vista on a new PC is perfectly serviceable for many users. In some ways, in fact, Vista is a better operating system than Windows XP. Unfortunately, XP's heir apparent is also the most derided and discounted Microsoft operating system since Windows Me.

E-medical records: What seems to be the problem?

It's been about three years since San Diego's five major hospitals first convened to discuss sharing electronic medical record data in an effort to improve diagnoses, reduce errors and improve the quality of patient care. The group held several meetings and entered discussions with a vendor as a possible corporate sponsor -- and that was that.

The great 32-bit turnoff

Don't say you weren't warned. Your 32-bit Windows applications are going the way of analog television: Unless they're upgraded, in the next few years they'll go dark.

The verdict on Vista

Windows Vista has been slow to catch on in business. Could Windows Server 2008 ride to the rescue? The new server operating system shares the same code base as Windows Vista and includes some features that are optimized to work with Vista.

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