[JDEV] Fw: Fw: ROBERT X. CRINGELY: "Notes from the Field" September 14, 1999

[Eliot Landrum]

Hey guys! Someone just sent this my way, and I was wondering if he is talking about Jabber..

Eliot Landrum
eliot at landrum.cx

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Cringely at BDCImail2.com <Cringely at BDCImail2.com>
> Date: Tuesday, September 14, 1999 1:13 PM
> Subject: ROBERT X. CRINGELY: "Notes from the Field" September 14, 1999
> 
> 
> >================================================================
> >ROBERT X. CRINGELY: "Notes from the Field"    September 14, 1999
> >================================================================
> >
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> >Come learn about the technologies and best practices
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> >
> >--------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >BOBBY'S SPATS WITH ROSE ARE NOTHING
> >COMPARED TO THE ARGUMENTS AT IBM
> >
> >Rose persuaded me to join a gym last week. She claims
> >it's for my overall well-being, but if you ask me, she's
> >more concerned about my rapidly expanding waistline.
> >
> >I protested that I don't have the time to commit to going to
> >the gym, but she already had that one answered: She had
> >managed to find San Francisco's only fitness club that
> >boasts Internet access from its cardiovascular machines.
> >
> >"You can do all your Web research while you exercise,"
> >she said.
> >
> >
> >Can't we all just get along?
> >
> >I agreed to Rose's request without an argument. I've had
> >enough of arguments.
> >
> >There seem to be a fair amount of those going on at IBM at
> >the moment. A well-placed source has told me stories of
> >internal politics, a mass exodus of important staff, and a
> >resulting lack of development of some core technologies
> >needed for the company's electronic-commerce platform,
> >specifically Payment Server. Apparently, the company
> >failed to prioritize development of Payment Server,
> >meaning that it is not as tightly integrated with IBM's
> >Net.Commerce platform as it needs to be. One potential
> >customer of Net.Commerce who has seen this stuff in
> >action described the product as "a complete joke."
> >
> >There's intrigue of a different kind over at Dell, I'm told. A
> >reader got in touch last week, following my tip that Dell is
> >using Compaq (née Tandem) Himalaya servers for its
> >Build to Order system.
> >
> >Apparently the thing that has really gotten up Michael
> >Dell's nose is not just that the company is using the
> >Himalaya servers (he apparently tried to get rid of them
> >but realized it would have cost too much), but that even
> >now the company is having to spend money with Compaq
> >in order to upgrade them.
> >
> >If I were Compaq's CFO, I'd break that out as a separate
> >line item in the company's next financial report.
> >
> >
> >I get the message
> >
> >I normally don't report tips that I suspect come from
> >vendors' PR hacks, but I must admit that I'm intrigued by
> >this one.
> >
> >I got an e-mail last week from someone who says that in
> >about two weeks he'll be telling me about a new, free
> >instant messenger that supports Microsoft's, AOL's, and
> >Yahoo's systems, simultaneously.
> >
> >I don't know whether it's true -- and I'll be interested to see
> >how AOL reacts following the debacle over its
> >interoperability with Microsoft Instant Messenger.
> >
> >
> >Bogus URL
> >
> >Finally, a confession: I should have done more research
> >before I wrote about Microsoft's URL problems last week.
> >My thanks (yeah, really) to everyone who e-mailed me to
> >say I was the victim of a hoax, when I said that a URL on
> >Microsoft's support site included the words "Bill," "Gates,"
> >and "anus." It was pointed out to me that it is possible to
> >type anything after the question mark of the page's real
> >URL and still have the page load. A less sincere thank you
> >to those who suggested alternative (mostly obscene)
> >URLs.
> >
> >Now that's the kind of research I can do while I'm at the
> >gym. I love this technology-convergence trend: I'm just
> >waiting for Compaq to launch its first notebook with an
> >integrated rowing machine.
> >
> >---------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >Exercise your ability to come up with tips for me.
> >You can call me at cringe at infoworld.com.
> >
> >---------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >MORE CRINGELY
> >For a complete archive of his InfoWorld columns visit
> >http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayNew.pl?/rcringe/rclist.htm
> >
> >INFOWORLD OPINIONS
> >Weekly commentary from 16 of the most trusted voices in IT at:
> >http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayNew.pl?/clmindx.htm
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> >--------------------------------------------------------
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> >Advertising Sponsor-------------------------------------
> >A FREE WEB SEMINAR BY THE EXTRARPRISE GROUP"
> >E-Commerce: The Demise of Dot.Com"
> >http://www.extraprise.com Everyone is talking about
> >dot.com, but brick-and-mortar companies are leading the
> >second wave of e-commerce. This second wave involves
> >more than the Internet. It's about creating "click-and-
> >mortar" business models that unite the worlds of
> >physical and digital commerce. It's about integrating
> >all customer-touch points, both human and electronic.
> >Come learn about the technologies and best practices
> >that will help you find, attract and keep your customers.
> >
> >--------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >Copyright 1999 InfoWorld Media Group Inc.
>