It's time to explore the joy of
videoconferencing
John McGhee
It was satisfying to see your article
"Videoconferencing is technology to watch"
(Computer Weekly, 20 February), but surprising that it has taken
so long to catch on.
I have been an avid exponent of videoconferencing since working
at Xerox as an IT manager in the 1990s where it was most cost
effective, often replacing trips to the US, with resultant savings
on air fares, hotels, meals and the man-hours involved in
travelling.
Having sat through countless monthly telephone conferences with
faceless colleagues across the globe, it was a delight on those
occasions when we could use videoconferencing and actually see the
other attendees. The ability to view each others' facial
expressions and individual mannerisms definitely made the meetings
friendlier and more productive.
Some teleconferences, however, were held at break-of-day in
China and required me to sign in from the UK at midnight -
sometimes dishevelled and with a strong nightcap in my hand - so it
might have been fortunate that these were never video-enabled.
As with internet trading, the multinationals showed the way,
followed by home users and small businesses, while the rest of the
business world reluctantly joined in mainly to avoid being left
behind.
Industries should look at the technology attracting home users
and see how it can work for them.
Should you give the finger to biometric
security?
Andrew Meredith
Your article
"Know the legalities of Biometrics"
(Computer Weekly, 20 February) said biometric systems "promise a
high degree of reliability because it is impossible (short of
amputation or mutilation) to lose or forget biometric traits,
and very difficult to copy, distribute or misuse them".
This is a dangerously flawed assumption. It has even been shown
on several popular science TV programmes that fingerprints and iris
scans are in many cases quite simple to forge. The US programme
Mythbusters used gel caps and even a photocopy to defeat supposedly
foolproof machines.
The fact this can be done reverses the logic. You only get one
set of fingerprints and eyes and they cannot be revoked, although
they could be removed with a knife.
Imagine if you were issued with your bank ATM code at birth and
had to tell it to every person to identify yourself and that you
leave it printed on every wine glass and door knob you touch. Would
this make you feel comfortable?
Even the unnerving concept of sub-dermal ID chip implants is
safer than biometrics. Were the chip to be cloned, it could at
least be dug out and replaced.
The reverse of this assumption is equally dangerous. How can
you, as the victim of identity theft, claim that you did not buy
this product, authorise that access or enter the building and plant
the bomb if people believe in the absolute authority of biometric
evidence?
What businesses need to know to get on the
grid
Ian Osborne, project director, Intellect
I read with interest your article on
grid computing (Computer Weekly, 20
February). I would like to applaud the fact that grid computing
is finally being recognised as a viable application for
business.
Grids provide tangible benefits for businesses. I imagine many
companies have decided they want to put themselves on the grid, but
are not sure where to start. My advice is to view the key building
blocks as consolidation, virtualisation and appropriate
middleware.
This approach can be taken in small steps within the department,
and then grow organically to bring other departments and eventually
the whole organisation under one management regime.
No nostalgia for hard times with floppy
discs...
Dave Peter, senior software engineer, Unix Clients Citrix
Systems
With regard to the outpourings of
floppy nostalgia (Downtime, 20 February), I
cannot imagine that the floppy disc would be "fondly remembered"
by anyone. Not if you have ever tried to install an operating
system or application from a stack of a dozen or more as I have
had to do in the past.
...but don't give your old floppies the boot too
soon
Paul D Smith
While USB flash drives have completely replaced floppies for
most things, Bios upgrades are one place where floppies are still
required. Many older PCs will not boot from a USB flash drive or a
CD-ROM, and Bios upgrade programs are designed to create bootable
floppies. Do not throw out those old floppies just yet.
Have your say
What is your take on John McGhee's opinion, or the other views
on our letters page? E-mail
computer.weekly@rbi.co.uk