jrtrana

Project Presentation

I am curious as to how the project presentations will work for next week. I could not find any requirements for the presenting on the course website. Should we present about our project goals in general or should we get into techinical things? I feel like we will all say the same things as far as the technical functions and it may be more interesting to hear how each group thinks their project could serve the organization they have chosen. Are we going to discuss any of these things in class?

Hail to the Victors: DocuShare

Link: Hail to the Victors: DocuShare.

I am not the most tech savvy person in the world so I don't know if this already exists, but I have some dreams of my own for group work. I think the ideal situation for a group of students all working on a single paper is to have multiple interconnected computers. Each student would be able to see the exact same document on their own screen and see any changes being made in real time. Each computer can make their own changes and it automatically changes on all the computers. You can then save on your own respective computer's hard drive. This would solve the "huddling" problem.

If anyone knows if this already exists let me know. I think the business implications are enormous.

Blog O' Rama: Creating my own TypePad

Link: Blog O' Rama: Creating my own TypePad.

Like Scott, I have also been using Blogger and it does indeed have a system like the Type Pad "Quick Post". If you go into any blogger blog there is a bar across the top that has a link called "Blog This." In Firefox you can simply drag it to you Bookmarks Toolbar. When you open the link it is a system almost exactly the same as Typepad's.

Check out my BIT301 blog if you want to take the link

All together

The second half of the semester we have learned all sorts of very techinical information. What I don't understand is WHY the whole process of converting SQL to HTML has to take place. It seems to me like things are far more complicated than they need to be. The process of converting SQL to XSQL then to XML then using XSLT ... and on and on until we finally get HTML seems too tedious. Why isn't there some sort of software than can basically just do it all automatically?

More on Google

In a previous post I mention Microsoft's release of new search engine technology and how it will potentially compete with Google.  Visit this link to compare the two company's stocks against one another over the past 5 days.

In a posting from Blog O' Rama, he mentions Google's new "Scholar" service.  I think this is a very innovative and creative way for Google to differentiate themselves from other search engines.  I see great potential for Google to sign contracts with major research universities to run their engine as the primary means to obtain library resources.  I know for a fact that our very own University of Michigan is making an attempt to update the MIRLYN library catalog system.  Could Google technology be implemented?  How about the possibility of Google becoming the next IBM?  (Turning into an IT consulting group for major coroprations, universities, database systems .....?

Hail to the Victors: Comply or else...

Link: Hail to the Victors: Comply or else....

I find this all to be extremely interesting. The first thought that pops into my head is, "what took so long." Why has nobody tried to implement this type of system sooner?

As far as IT is related, I couldn't agree more that this whole process is going to be a major factor in the planning of IT departments within corporations. I think it will also be very interesting to see if there will be any new software developments to expedite the processes.

frankcc: BIT 301 blogging as well?

Link: frankcc: BIT 301 blogging as well?.

We are indeed blogging in BIT 301. However, we are doing it on a more social level than business. We are allowed to chose any topic to blog about in our teams of 4 or 5.

If you would like to visit some of the BIT 301 progress, go to

Our main blog project site here.

My team blog on Michigan football here.

Or, my individual blog here.
For anyone that follows, I am indeed up to to 3 blogs now!

Personal Blog

The blogosphere has me inspired.  Check out my own personal blog here.

Microsoft vs. Google

The first caption in the US Business section of the Wall Street Journal this morning is an announcement of Microsoft's first official search engine.  The service will be publicly available starting tomorrow.  There is a lot of speculation as to how this release will affect Google's business.  I personally feel that there will be strong initial customer loyalty to Google ... but this won't last.  I feel as if Google must start to offer more features through their site in order to retain their customer base.  I don't think they need to go over the deep end like Yahoo!, but adding features like finance, weather, travel, etc. may help.  I also feel like now is just about a good a time as any to release G-Mail to steal some of Microsoft's thunder.

Here is a link to there WSJ artile (must have a subsription to read).

This may be a fun link to watch in the coming days as well.  Keep an eye on Google's stock.  You may notice the sharp decline early this morning.  The stock traded faily well all day, however, the poor close may be a sign of things to come.

I think this is definately something to follow for the months and years to come.

Blooger.com

Being a BIT 301 student (and in Bud's class), his mention of using Blogger today piqued my interest.  Here is the site if you would like to check it out.  What I find interesting is the personal aspect they focus on.  We have been using the blogosphere in class as mostly a business related forum.  However, blogger encourages very personal use.  In fact, they even call it a "daily diary."  I completely understand this perspective and I see the possibilites of it catching on especially among the youth.  I have had friends that have kept "Live Journals" in their Instant Messenger profiles which let the world know their day-to-day activities.  I, frankly, find it all a little too personal and kind of weird but I know many people who would truly enjoy the ability to rant online for everyone to see.  It seems like an easy effective way for people who are away from home (eg. studying abroad) to communicate with a large community without having to send mass e-mails.

I think this personal form of blogging is a great idea, but I think a more technical business form has much more potential for use and development.