Web/Tech: October 2003 Archives

Yesterday I joined PMI, the Project Management Institute so that I could get certified as a project manager. Lately, as I have been selling new work, or applying for a job, companies keep asking about whether I have my PMP or CAPM, or certified project manager. I have about 30 years of project management experience which makes this question funny, but it seems to be an obstacle, which I don't need right now. I have to study a bit, so I need to find time for that. The test questions seem pretty simple for someone who has done this kind of work, so, I think I can do it.

My windows machine garbled the music played on iTunes. I originally posted that I liked the program, however, I discoverd that after 1 minute 40 seconds of play time, the output became unlistenable. I assumed first that it was a buffer problem and read lots of newsgroups to discover an answer. NONE! Finally, on the Apple site, someone made a reference to quicktime settings. Quicktime and iTunes are linked and iTunes borrows functionality from Quicktime. So I adjusted the preferences in Quicktime and the program works as I would expect. Now, however, it is the quality of MP3s and AAC files that I have to worry about. Neither format is satisfactory.

There is a good article in the USC Annenberg Online Journalism Review about Maggie Wilderotter, who is now working on Corporate Strategy and on the leadership team of the company. She explains the Microsoft strategy and how content fits into the overall Microsoft vision and platform. I don't know if her assertions about the market and where growth will come from are correct, but it a good read. It gives you some insight in to the insular working environment at Microsoft.

In a post by the Head Lemur in raving lunacy on Amazon's selling machine, I think that he's got it wrong. Who cares if Amazon uses this channel to sell books, in fact having the books as a part of the search result may actually be helpful; there is no requirement to buy anything. I think that Amazon does have an amazing selling machine, and finding other avenues to build revenue is good business.

On the other hand, I don't particularly like the research task pane. Although I have tried it on occasion, I find it gets in the way of good research and is not very helpful at all. I don't think that there is much of a worry that this will reduce productivity since it is a worthless bit of functionality.

There is lots of activity in the search space with new search technologies being acquired quickly. Here is the story from InfoWorld by Cathleen Moore . I am looking forward to more precise searching.

Google on Tuesday announced it has acquired Kaltix, a search technology start-up based in Palo Alto, Calif. The terms of deal were not disclosed. Kaltix is a developer of context-sensitive and personalized search offerings designed to speed information search on the Web. The start-up had been in existence only since June of this year. Google plans to continue the development of Kaltix's search technologies, according to Google officials.

Google is moving to fortify its search offerings, as competition in the Web search arena has heated up. Yahoo is the process of acquiring paid search provider Overture. The deal, which was first announced in July, is worth about $1.63 billion.

In addition, Microsoft is aggressively ramping up its investment in a homegrown Internet search product. The company is currently developing a revamped MSN Search product, which the company plans to pit against Google. Microsoft's MSN Search currently uses search technology from Inktomi, which was acquired by Yahoo earlier this year.