It’s been more than a half decade since our mobile phones started to come with a digital camera and an mp3 player. However, so far they have all looked like a mobile phone. There were some PDA-looking phones which offered better office and web capabilities. However, if you weren’t a businessman or businesswomen then there was no way that you would carry one of these. Even if you had one, there was no way that you would expose them. But why not? Simply because you were cool!

Well, I think we are all about to start to redefine both the meaning and the look of being cool. Recently, Apple announced their long-waited phone iPhone. It is not just a phone; it is an iPod, a digital camera, an organiser, a web browser, a googleMap, an email client and more. Ohh, I almost forgot: of course, it is really “cool”.

When I look at it, it becomes so obvious to me that the future is going to be the Web. Goodbye to all PCs, digital cameras, mp3 players, mobile phones, PDAs etc. Whatever the names of the devices are going to be, they will all serve for one purpose: connecting us to Web. They will all connect us to our friends, favourite music, emails, photos, diaries, etc.

We will be all connected to the “Web”.

Technology, Web | 2 Comments »

Last week in Globalisation and IS lecture we looked at the digital divide in the world. There was an interesting article from Financial Times which focuses on how efforts to spread IT’s reach is progressing. More interestingly, a comment made by the president of Cisco Systems’ emerging markets group made me rethink about the role of ICT in connecting people. The comment was:

“For people in emerging countries to be members of a connected society will ultimately make the world a more stable and safer place.”

After we read the article, a question was asked to the class: why would a “connected society” make the world a “more stable and safer place?” The first question I had to ask myself was whether ICT really creates connected societies or not. I think it is beyond doubt that ICT connects us to people in distant and remote locations. However, I think at the same time it implicitly separates us from neighbouring people. As being social existences, we all need some sort of connection to and interaction with others. I think today, this need is mostly addressed by ICT. Therefore, we do not know about our neighbours and neighbourhood as we know about celebrities, political characters, actors, football players, friends on Facebook etc.

Don’t you think it is much easier to find a connected society in a remote little village in the countryside - most likely also that place would also be a more stable and safe place to live- than in a global world?

Thoughts, Information Systems | 1 Comment »

I came across with this extraordinary video last night and wanted to share it here.
The Inner Life of the Cell : Animation :Low

Dr. Robert Lue and Dr. Viel from the department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University created an educational video for their students. “The video vividly illustrates the mechanisms that allow a white blood cell to sense its surroundings and respond to an external stimulus. This animation explores the different cellular environments in which these communications take place.”

If you would like to learn more about this animation here is a video which explains everything happening in the animation.

Science, video | 1 Comment »

What is the best anti-virus software? What is the best firewall application? I think these are the most common questions among computer users who concern about both their computer security and privacy. I have been asking these two questions for a considerably long time. I met firewall concept when I had heavily involved to IRC chat rooms almost a decade ago. Kicking out and banning people from chat rooms, capturing their IP addresses and sending them ‘nukes’ were becoming usual activities especially in Turkish chat rooms. Conceal Firewall was the first firewall and F-Prot was the first anti-virus application I had used. Since then I have tried almost every application in the market to find the ultimate best solution that will solve all today’s problems of privacy and digital security.

I have recently tried ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite version 7.0.302. Last time the reason I uninstalled ZoneAlarm was because of their unsuccessful anti-virus engine. When I had learned ZoneAlarm had started using Kaspersky’s antivirus engine, I was quite curious about the result. I do believe that ZoneAlarm’s firewall was and is still one of the best firewall applications in the market today. On the other hand, Kaspersky made a promising entry to the market and surprised its all competitors. The Moscow-headquartered Company gradually has built their reputation and won many awards. Therefore, I thought that the combination of both would result in a big success. However, I was disappointed unfortunately. Read the rest of this entry »

Review, Technology, Software | 1 Comment »

The technology is just one component in competitive strategy and that the way in which it is used and embedded in an organisation’s processes and strategies are what gives companies a competitive advantage. Amazon.com gained a sustainable competitive
advantage against its competitors. However, its advantage is multi-dimensional. It is a global brand with a broad product range and high market share. It established good relationships with customers and suppliers. It enhanced its operations and built superior supply chain management, customer relationships management and technical support. It possesses a great deal of implementation knowledge and experience. Therefore, it created a value chain which is very difficult to be fully understood hence it is very complex for competitors to duplicate it. Read the rest of this entry »

Information Systems | No Comments »

Two bank robbers have been caught by the police and now being questioned separated from each other. The situation is that if one of them turns crown witness he will get off scot-free while the other will face 10 years in prison. If they both confess, they will each face 8 years. If they both keep mum then the best the police can expect is that they each get two years. This is known as The Prisoner’s Dilemma.

In 1979 the political scientist Robert Axelrod decided to organise a tournament which a number of game theorists from different academic fields were asked to submit a game which plays The Prisoner’s Dilemma. Each game computed to each other for 200 rounds.

What would you have submitted? In other words, what kind of strategy you would have come up with. You are one of the prisoners and you have to make a choice of defecting or cooperating 200 times. After each decision you will be informed about the other prisoner’s choice. Read the rest of this entry »

Thoughts | No Comments »

Photography, My Photos | 1 Comment »

Photography, My Photos | 2 Comments »

Photography, My Photos | No Comments »

Photography, My Photos | No Comments »