Re: Lessons in legacy (Aug. 22)
You’re right on the money with your observation about excellent corporate leaders grooming excellent successors. This is one of the core elements of
a great leader – as described in the book Good to Great. It’s a fascinating look at what makes good companies great.
Christina Talford
Re: Can>Winners and losers (Aug. 21)
I enjoy your wit about this business and its personalities. Good content, too. Keep it up.Rick Fearman
Director of sales – Toronto
Documens Group Inc.
Re: Short message spam (Aug. 20)
You forgot to mention the truly evil part of short text message spam. I get charged 10 cents for every message. So far there are few spam messages, but I can imagine a near future where I get 20 or 30 spam messages per day on my cell phone just like I do on my Eudora mail. Also my phone beeps at me when I get a text message. Even when it is a 2 a.m. advertising message. Cheers for a future full of spam. I will have to start using snail mail.
Gregory Melle
Re: Pretty on the inside (Aug. 19)
Thanks for the insight. I think the biggest reason PGP has not prospered is that it only solves the low probability problem—secure delivery. It does not address the high probability risk—redistribution by the legitimate receiver (rarely maliciously, sometimes deliberate but well intentioned, more often accidental.) So the communication is delivered safely, but once the user unlocks it the sender/owner/rights holder has no idea or control over what happens to it after that.
Merv Matson
Re: One to Watch: Seaway Networks Inc. (Aug. 16)
One small part of this new chip that is of interest to me is the ability to detect and stop a virus. The next logical step would be to detect and stop spam. As well as being a wonderful tool to help ISPs bill for bandwidth usage, it would be a great help to the millions of users who are fed up with the garbage. It would be a good thing to just get billed for what we really want. If users are billed for garbage as well, I for one can see hundreds if not thousands of complaints about the use of this new chip every day. Some times new technology can be a double-edged sword that cuts both ways.
Peter Wesoly
Re: U. Waterloo nets $2.3 million Microsoft investment (Aug. 14)
As an alumnus of UW, I too am disappointed that my alma mater has essentially sold out to Microsoft.
What bothers me the most is the stipulation that “”projects must demonstrate a proven market need.”” True innovation does not arise from pursuing narrow business interests. As many other commentators have noted in the past, the ever-increasing shift from pure academic research to commercially oriented research is a detriment to mankind’s progress.
Mike Kohut
MIS Coordinator
Teck Cominco Ltd.
Re: U. Waterloo nets $2.3 million Microsoft investment (Aug. 14)
There are many schools in Ontario that do not have the resources to allow potential Waterloo technology students access to the necessary computing power or internet capability. There’s still lots of communities with no high-speed Internet access at all. My daughter’s high school is in one of those. This means, of course, that engineering at Waterloo will be limited to students from the few high schools who can, by some means or other, provide the necessary resources. In addition, how are the students going to find time to do the C# course when they are already cramming five years of high school into four?
The good news is that my daughter has graduated from high school and is studying music at McGill. She’ll provide more benefit to society than I ever did in 40 years of engineering.
Trevor Armstrong
I enjoy the newsletter everyday. Keep up the good work.
David W Neufeld, I.S.P.
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