Stories by Ira Brodsky

Microsoft's mobile strategy set to pay off

The biggest news from the recent CTIA Wireless 2007 show: After years of mostly talking about mobile applications and content, the industry is finally acting. And, lo and behold, Microsoft is positioned to cash in.

How to be a more creative IT professional

Good news: You don't have to be a sorcerer or even a genius to come up with brilliant ideas or inventions. According to Professor R. Keith Sawyer at Washington University in St. Louis, the latest research shows that you have a much better chance of being creative than previously thought.

Are you ready for the mobile extranet?

Your organization's marketing operations soon may be transformed. With access to more than 2 billion people worldwide, mobile phones increasingly feature color screens and GPS navigation, and mobile TV is just around the corner. The advertising, transaction-handling and customer service possibilities are endless.

802.11n reaches the starting line

Last year a group of companies attempted an end run around the IEEE committee developing the next-generation wireless LAN standard, 802.11n. Its goal was to obtain a time-to-market advantage over the one firm that has successfully commercialized the advanced technology central to 802.11n. The industry rebuffed this maneuver.

The well-connected laptop

Wi-Fi has become a standard feature on laptop PCs since Intel introduced its Centrino chipset. About 80 percent of the more than 50 million laptops expected to ship worldwide this year will include built-in Wi-Fi support.

IM expands its enterprise

There are more than 100 million instant-messaging users, the majority employing free services provided by AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft MSN. But most of IM’s growth lies ahead. As the technology expands into enterprise and wireless applications, the number of IM users worldwide easily could top 500 million.

Debunking the hot-spot hype

Industry analysts forecast spectacular growth for public wireless LANs, also known as Wi-Fi hot spots. Some proponents go even further, suggesting Wi-Fi hot spots spell doom for mobile phone operators’ third-generation wireless technologies.

Wireless security not an oxymoron

Wireless LANs became the industry's laughingstock when reports surfaced about "parking lot attacks" on corporate networks. Now, WLANs are shaping up as the battleground for enhanced security products that could lead the way for the entire network industry.

Totally Unplugged

As we head into the final campaigns of 2000, the Internet's role in our political process is growing. More information empowers the electorate to make better-informed decisions. But beware of direct democracy schemes that could help dishonest politicians fool more of the people more of the time.

Guest column: What's spooking high-tech stock investors?

Over the last few years, prices for technology stocks have soared. But recently, they've taken a real drubbing. During the week of April 10 alone, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite average plummeted more than 1,100 points. Why is this happening?

[]