Mobile Technology Key To Stopping U.S. Slide From Tech Preeminence, Intel Chief Says.

Another Intel executive playing Cassandra with the future of US technology supremacy.  Very good analysis indeed.

"Otellini pointed to the World Economic Forum's Global Information Technology Report 2004-05, which ranks the United States as fifth in terms of "networked readiness," a measurement of the policy, institutional, and structural obstacles that prevent countries from fully benefiting from information and communication technologies. Otellini noted that the United States held the report's top spot the previous year. It now ranks below Singapore, Iceland, Finland, and Denmark. It's not that the U.S. has slowed down, but rather that the rest of the world has accelerated their efforts, Otellini added.

Intel has for years pushed for the adoption of wireless broadband technology as a way for businesses to improve productivity and cut networking costs. Much of this can be achieved through the development of WiMax, a long-distance wireless networking technology designed to replace DSL and cable Internet access. WiMax performs up to six times faster than DSL, Otellini said.

[NetStumbler.com]

11:12:47 AM    

Cisco Targets Mesh Networking (Ziff Davis). Ziff Davis - Building on the strength of its recent acquisition of Airespace, Cisco plans a move into the emerging wireless mesh networking market.

"Motorola Inc. and Nortel Networks Ltd. already offer mesh hardware, but industry observers said that Cisco's entrance into the space should help expedite the passage of 802.11s, a wireless mesh protocol under development at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers."

[Yahoo! News: Wireless and Mobile Technology]

10:49:22 AM    

Russia looks to make IT its 'next natural resource'. LONDON -- In an effort to jump-start its economy and diminish its dependence on natural resources like oil, Russia has made local IT development one of its top priorities, with plans for infrastructure growth, regional "technoparks," and industry-friendly legislation.

"telecom is the country's fastest growing sector, and by the end of this month the government expects 100 percent of the Russian Federation to be covered by a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) network. However, there are still 46,000 communities that lack a single fixed line. "We need to address this unbalance," Reiman said. "

[InfoWorld: Top News]

10:33:41 AM    

French may have to buy compulsory biometric ID cards. PARIS -- French citizens will have to pay for new identity cards that hold their biometric information in electronic format -- and carrying the cards will become compulsory, if the minister of the interior gets his way. [InfoWorld: Top News]
10:15:37 AM    

Chinese leader predicts 'Asian century' for IT

"On Monday, Wen says the two countries must make use of their complementary IT skills--China's hardware expertise and India's in software--to make the 21st century the "Asian century of the IT industry." "

9:57:37 AM