IT Fingerprint Tech Blog

  • Now That's Innovation!

    Posted Thu, 07/02/2009 - 19:53 by wirtes

    Following Apple patents can be a mind-warping experience, but everyone once in a while they patent something so compelling that I just have to mention it.

    Here's how Information Week describes some of Apple's new touch screen patents:

    The fingerprint detector would make it possible for a person to initiate commands on a device through the use of a particular finger. For example, the system could detect the unique fingerprint on the middle finger to play music, or the touch of a person's pinky could fast-forward or rewind music. The variety of commands could be increased by launching functionality by double tapping with a particular finger.

  • The Future Is Closer Than You Think

    Posted Wed, 06/17/2009 - 06:59 by wirtes

    This is an excellent post from Jason Hiner over at ZDNet about why the world will change very quickly to a cloud computing infrastructure:

    http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=19733&tag=nl.e539

    What all of these vendors will argue is that they can save organizations from overprovisioning and overspending on server capacity while also adding 24/7/365 monitoring, scalable load management, and a high level of IT service management (ITSM). Of course, the trade-off is that IT departments give up some control, and usually some staff positions as well.

  • Leveraging Free and Open Source Tools to Improve User Experiences

    Posted Sun, 03/22/2009 - 08:47 by wirtes

    Today's successful web companies are building tools and environments that give non-programmers the ability to quickly add professional, interactive functions to their websites.

    For example, here's an interactive map of a hike my family took yesterday. My total time investment in this map is under ten minutes. Not only is this map fully interactive, but you can view a larger map on the the Google Maps site. There you have access to additional options such as launching this map in Google Earth, where can follow our trail in a three-dimensional Earth simulator or roll back the clock on the satellite photography to see the surrounding terrain as it looked years ago.


    View Larger Map

  • Technology As Commodity vs. The Value of Strategic Alignment

    Posted Sat, 02/21/2009 - 15:59 by wirtes

    It's happening everywhere. IT budgets are being slashed and outsourcing is becoming increasingly attractive when compared to a full-time staff of IT professionals.

    While it is still true that you can get a developer overseas for one-third to one-fourth of price of hiring one to sit in a cube in your office, you should think long and hard about an outsourcing strategy before you tout a significant cost savings.