My colleague Eve Maler (@xmlgrrl) eloquently articulated the feelings of many a road warrior on Twitter this evening:

“When did SJC Terminal C get all these luscious power strips mounted at chair-top height? Awesome. (It’s pitiful what makes me happy.)”

I trust my response to her accurately represents all of us who have spent so much time searching for electrical outlets in airport waiting areas:

“The sign of true techie – appreciation for available electricity!”

Eve’s response:

I noticed they have “power bars” (think “oxygen bars”, in more ways than one) in LAS and DEN…

Yep, Eve passes the test … a true techie!

Technorati Tags: Travel, Electricity, Productivity

A few weeks ago, Bruce Schneier posted an interesting article explaining how Barack Obama will need to give up his Blackberry to minimize his personal “electronic trail” that could prove troublesome or worse:

“When he becomes president, Barack Obama will have to give up his BlackBerry. Aides are concerned that his unofficial conversations would become part of the presidential record, subject to subpoena and eventually made public as part of the country’s historical record.”

Interestingly enough, when I re-visited that article this afternoon, the sidebar list of Most Popular posts listed “Governor is Arrested on Graft Charges” as the second most popular post today. I wonder what Governor Blagojevich thinks about the damning electronic trail he left behind?

Technorati Tags: Blackberry, Obama

170-year old technology triumphs over text messaging. Samuel F. B. Morse would be proud.

Technorati Tags: MorseCode, SMS, JayLeno

In his Network World column this morning, Dave Kearns addressed the issue of online “pseudonymity” – the use of artificial or “fake” identities.  He indicated that the use of a fake identity or fake persona online doesn’t automatically make one a criminal.

I acknowledge Dave’s reasoning, but propose that any attempt to use a false identity with the intent to defraud, harm another person or otherwise do mischief is at least unethical, if not criminal.  I loathe the practice of people hiding behind the cloak of online anonymity or pseudonymity to do and say things they apparently do not have courage enough to do or say in the open. 

A long time ago, one of my engineering professors told us, in essence, “Always be proud enough of something you produce that you will gladly put your name on it.”  That is sage advice that bears repeating, even in the online world.

Technorati Tags: Anonymity, Pseudonymity