adoption curve dot net

I’m really not sure whether this should come as a suprise to anyone, but it’s not just the UK government that has problems with their projects, according to this story in Wired.

Although there is an interesting quote which goes some way to getting government off the hook (or at least to put their problems into perspective):

…while government technology blunders frequently make headlines, large-scale computer upgrades in the private industry fail almost as often. But these corporate blunders aren’t publicized by congressional committees, federal investigators and inspectors general…

Some pros and cons of online meetings, from Robin Good of Corante.

Technology is the art of arranging the world so that we don’t have to experience it

Martin Heidegger

While conference calls are a great way of bringing together a group of geographically dispersed people, they’re often frustrating experiences, particularly if you’re using a standard desktop phone. One of the problems of using a standard desktop phone on hands-free is the sound quality – they’re usually half-duplex meaning that you can speak, or listen, but not both; and most of the time you’ll sound as if you’re calling from the bottom of a well. All of which makes it very much more difficult to participate.

If you’re a regular user of conference calls, you’ll probably have used Polycom‘s ubiquitous ‘starfish’ conference phone at some point – and it’s a device that solves most of the problems I mentioned above. It’s great for meeting rooms, but not so practical on a desk – so check out a desk-top handset that includes conferencing facilities.

Although they’re more expensive than regular desktop phones, consider this – how much does your time cost, and how much time do you waste by asking everyone “Can you repeat that please?” Chances are, a decent-quality conference system will have paid for itself inside a month.

We’ve had some Gmail invites to give away over the last couple of weeks (sorry, all gone for now) – but if you’re new to the service, this might be of interest.

Jim Barr’s Complete Collection Of Gmail Tips is a complete collection of all the tips he’s posted on gmailtips.com It’s worth a visit if you’re new to the service and wanting to get up to speed quickly – alternatively if you’ve been using it for a while, chances are that you’ll learn something new!