May 24, 2007 by jesse.

Here are my three annotated bibliographies from the proposal I submitted for Comp 690:

Zappone, Chris. “RFID Backlash Gains Momentum, From States Up - May. 21, 2007.” CNN Money. 21 May 2007. 22 May 2007.
State officials and security experts give good reasons for the potential risks of creating walking, unsecured beacons of personal information by including RFID in passports.

White, Dave. “Japan to Establish Wireless Island.” Mobile Magazine. 16 May 2007. 23 May 2007 .
Japan is planning to set up an “experimental landmass” where a several RFID sensors will “allow doctors to remotely monitor the health of the elderly.” The plan will allow instant communication between hospitals and an ill person, which has priceless benefits.

“Spanish Port City Enhances Building Security with IBM-Based RFID Solution.” IBM. 26 Aug. 2006. 23 May 2007 .
A Spanish city was the target of a failed terrorist attack and the topic of improving security propped up. IBM discusses the flaws in a magnetic strip access system and the benefits of an RFID badge system.

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May 24, 2007 by jesse.

In class, we had to read an article about Walter Mossberg’s influence on the tech industry and come up with 2+ comments/questions/observations. The article starts off with Sprint and Samsung representatives going to Walt to show off the UpStage, a phone/MP3 player hybrid. Walt’s quick to point out it’s flaws and failures to keep up with the iPod Nano in terms of MP3 functionality, while complimenting them on the ingenious design.

The author goes on to compare Walt to bloggers who do similar product reviews, but because of the current trend in media will soon replace Mossberg.

Walt gets paid large (obscene) amounts of money to review products mostly because he’s respected and has an install base. In fact, the author calls Walt a ‘brand name’.

Here are my responses to the assignment:

1. Has Walt (or reviews in general) created the last word on technology? Will consumers look for a second opinion?

2. Hundreds of thousands of dollars seems excessive to get an honest reviewer.

3. Companies should encourage hones commentary in the product development life cycle so that Walt’s early critique isn’t needed.

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