Bluetooth ache
In June 1998, the concept of Bluetooth was introduced to the wireless world by Intel, IBM, Toshiba, Ericsson and Nokia. The technology was described as having a radio built into a computer
that allows the user to access different networks as well as a cell phone. Simon Ellis, an Intel spokesperson predicted that Bluetooth would eliminate problems of connecting laptops, cell phones and PDAs.
However, Barney Dewey, an analyst from Andrew Seybold Consulting Group Inc. cautioned that Bluetooth wouldn’t work without enterprise support. “”It’s an exciting development — as long as it gets implemented. A lot of things get all hyped up and then the companies drop it if it doesn’t turn out to be affordable.””
It turns out that Dewey was right. In an article from January of this year it was declared that Wi-Fi has officially stolen Bluetooth’s thunder with companies like Bell Canada investing in Wi-Fi solutions over the Bluetooth option.
Will that be cashier’s cheque or diploma?
A Mississauga, Ont.-based computer training centre announced a money-back guarantee for its students in June 1998: get a job when you graduate or get a refund. TriOS Training Centre charged $12,495 for a 27-week program, and promised students a tuition reimbursement if they were unable to find a job earning more than $30,000 within 30 days of graduation.
Today, even co-op students are struggling to fit into IT positions as more experienced professionals are on the job hunt.
Microsoft runs pirates aground
Microsoft got tough on software pirates in June 1998 by implementing anti-piracy measures into its Windows 98 release. This included a redesigned certificate of authenticity moved to the front of the package and a three-dimensional hologram. Kim Lauder, Microsoft Canada’s anti-piracy manager, estimated that piracy in the reseller channel broke down like this: 47 per cent was counterfeit goods; 24 per cent involved illegal hard disk loading; 26 per cent was leakage; and three per cent was the unbundling of authentic OEM packages.
Despite these precautions piracy hasn’t gone away for Microsoft or any other vendor, however, some pirates have recently been forced to walk the plank. In April of this year a marketing firm was forced to pay the Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft a fine of $175,000 for using pirated software from Microsoft, Adobe Systems, Autodesk and Symantec.
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