Google has officially launched its Apps marketplace this week. These are third party applications progammed to integrate with everything else you or your company has sitting on the Google cloud (i.e. Gmail, Google calendar, Docs&Spreadsheets, etc.).

The Good

These apps are built to seamlessly integrate with other Google offerings (like Gmail, for example). Ideally you can do all your work in one universe with one password. How handy!

The Bad

These apps are built to seamlessly integrate with other Google offerings (like Gmail, for example). So, what happens to your business when Google has another one of their day-long or even 3 hour outages?

The Ugly

These apps are built to seamlessly integrate with other Google offerings (like Gmail, for example). As the video below demonstrates, it is as easy as pie to set up an app on your network. Step one: give the third party app maker carte blanche access to all your Google accounts (that's Gmail, the calendar, files, etc.) so that it can do all that promised seamless integration.

((insert the souind of a car screeching to a halt))

The idea is to hand over the keys to your data kingdom to a thirdy party company (two college drop-outs working out of their parent's basement).

What about network security?

What about compliance?

If someone isn't already doing it, how long will it be before all the bottomfeeders who create elaborate phishing schemes and DNS attacks think to create apps just to get access to company information?

This is not the first attempt that has been made in this area. In 2008, the Paris Motor Show unveiled “The Eclectic,” a self-powered electric car that had been designed by French carmaker Venturi.

It does not look like a bastion of safety.

Curt's company has software that helps the accidental project manager.

Amazon has officially balked. Effective today this week it pulled the plug on all its Colorado-based affiliates or associates. This isn't the first time it's happened. Amazon made the same decision in the wake of similar legislation in North Carolina. It's currently battling the State of New York and only continuing its affilliate program there while the case is under appeal.

As many as 15 other states are considering similar new taxes.

Amazon says it doesn't want the "compliance burden".

Imagine this; a mobile phone that reads your lips.

The prototype of such technology called "electromyography" (in English that translates to "silent communication") was on display at CeBit in Germany last week. Cebit is Europe's biggest electronics tradeshow.

Electromyography is already in use by NASA (remember; they were the early adopters of Tang, too!).

Electromyography is able to read the most subtle facial movements and twitches to interpret what is being said, so that you don't even have to say it out loud.

The hope is that this would cut down on obnoxious people who overshare their phone calls in a loud voice in public. Having someone mouthe their conversations silently in public may be less obnoxious. But, I think it would be pretty disturbing and lead to a lot of unnecessary stroke scares.

Nevertheless when these hackings do occur, it reminds us all of the potential damage that can be done to corporations or even the government. We continually hear that the United States is extremely vulnerable to cyberattacks, something that has led the House of Representatives to pass the Cybersecurity Amendment.

Curt works for Journyx, which has solutions for project management and execution.

By comparison, 66% of computers still have Windows XP; 17% with Vista (Vista? Vista, who?)
(And yes, I know there are other brands of operating systems out there. But, this is a posting about Microsoft.)

Microsoft's chief financial officer, Peter Klein, told investors on a Morgan Stanley conference call this week that he's predicting Windows 7 sales will really pick up later this year or early next year when more companies are poised for a "tech refresh".

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to make sense of this one. Companies are still reeling from the "Great Recession" and therefore most IT budgets are still tight; really, really tight.

As months (years!) go by with all this clench-fisted spending, it stands to reason that lots of technologies are not getting upgraded on their normal cycles. At some point, the money taps will open again.

My question is when do you think your company will have it's next "tech refresh" and is the wait to upgrade noticeable?

• Every geek should be able to give the Vulcan “Live long and prosper” hand signal from Star Trek.

• A true geek must be able to carry on a conversation using only Monty Python quotes.

• A romantic geek can say “I love you” in binary.
  

Generally to be a geek is to take things that are basically irrelevant far far too seriously. (guilty as charged.)

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The examiner is reporting that the iPads will actually arrive in stores as early as March 10th for store employees to start their training.

iPad commercials will be coming to a television near you on March 15th.

Apple is expected to roll-out only the WiFi version of the iPad first. The 3G version will likely not come available until April or May.

Here's my favorite part of this "sources say" update: Apple will be offering a
"special gift" for those who camp out at stores to purchase on launch day.

Hmmm.. after the winter most of us have had, I hope it's glove warmers. Tell me again why this couldn't wait until June, like all the iPhone launches?