christopher dawson Resources

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ZDNet Author Biography: Christopher Dawson grew up in Seattle, back in the days of pre-antitrust Microsoft, coffeeshops owned by something other than Starbucks, and really loud, inarticulate music. He escaped to the right coast in the early 90's and received a degree in Information Systems from Johns Hopkins University. While there, he began...; more about Christopher Dawson »

ZDNet Resources

COPA suffers another blow: InformationWeek is reporting on the latest blow to the Child Online Protection Act, or COPA. COPA imposes heavy fines on libraries and schools among other institutions that fail to prevent children from "content harmful to minors." If you're asking just what constitutes "harmful to minors", so...; Tags: Child Online Protection Act, Minor, Regulations, Government, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-23
Managing growth - a followup to yesterday's guest blog: Yesterday, Dean Cycon of Dean's Beans wrote a guest blog for this column on "Starbucks' Dirty Little Secret". The blog is worthy of some followup, as well as some additional information that Dean shared with me about their corporate philosophy. Growth is good for a company,...; Tags: Trader, Blog, Dean Cycon, X2 Development Corp., Strategy, Management, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-23
Guest blog - A lesson in compassionate capitalism: I've mentioned Dean's Beans a few times recently, probably because too many late nights of thesis-writing this summer have me fixated on caffeine. Regardless, Dean Cycon, the company owner and a local guy doing business a couple towns away from me here in central Massachusetts, offered to write a...; Tags: Blog, Starbucks Corp., Recruitment & Selection, Human Resources, Workforce Management, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-22
Deals abound for back to school: I took a walk through Circuit City today to see where consumer PCs stood. We'll be back to school in a matter of weeks and parents are already asking about laptops for their high school and college-bound students. The good news is that for $700 you can pick...; Tags: Circuit City Stores Inc., Ubuntu, Microsoft Windows Vista, Laptop Computer, Notebooks, Microsoft Windows Vista (Longhorn), Desktops, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Operating Systems, Microsoft Windows, Software, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-22
Homeschooling + marketing = great coffee?: I really love coffee. Not Folgers or Maxwell House, but the good stuff. My current favorite is Dean's Beans' "Ahab's Revenge" (with "the highest caffeine content of any organic coffee!"), but there are few things that make me happier than a really good cup of coffee. ...; Tags: Coffee, Scout Hunt, Marketing Research, Operational Accounting, Financial Services, Marketing, Finance, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-21

Please tell me an actual Apple netbook is on the way: I've said it several times before: I want a netbook. An Asus Eee would be great, the HP MiniNote is a bit pricey but looks very slick, Dell's proposed netbook is still vaporware but worthy of excitement, and I'm still waiting for US OEMs to pick up on the...; Tags: Apple Inc., Productivity, Notebooks, Apple Mac OS X, Keyboards, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Operating Systems, Software, Apple Mac OS, Peripherals, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-21
Intel World Mural project - just what will the next 40 years bring?: Intel is turning 40 and while most of us by fast cars, take up motorcycling, or go bungee-jumping to deal with our mid-life crises, Intel asked 500 kids in 21 countries what they expected the next 40 years of computing to bring us. It's actually a great...; Tags: Computing, Computer, Intel Corp., Kid, Productivity, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-20
I'm back!: I'm back from vacation and getting a bit of a late start blogging tonight since my dog got sprayed by a skunk. It's great to be back out here in the woods! However, my getaway left me with a renewed appreciation for home (be it ever...; Tags: Camera, Kid, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-20
Office 2008 vs. iWork vs. NeoOffice vs. OpenOffice: The more I use these, the more I really don't care for iWork. Sure, Keynote makes some darned pretty presentations, but NeoOffice and OpenOffice for the matter cuts the mustard quite handily. For real polish, you still can't beat Office 2007/2008, as much as I hate to admit...; Tags: Suite, Apple iWork, Office 2008, NeoOffice, X11, OpenOffice, Open Source, Microsoft Office, Office Suites, Software, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-18
Hands on with the XO Sugar OS: Haven't heard much from these guys lately. This is me, not caring, while I'm on vacation. However, is the lack of news after their vaporware announcement of the next gen XO a sign of impending doom? I'll read what you think when I get back. For...; Tags: Operating System, Kid, Linux, Operating Systems, Open Source, Software, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-17
Can HP's new ULPC compete?: I just might be buying a bunch of these...this is a repost while I'm on vacation, but I'd appreciated any new feedback now that these have been in the wild for a bit. Tell us what you think of them. HP announced today that it would...; Tags: Misconception, Hewlett-Packard Co., Video Editing, Video, Laptop Computer, SuSE Linux, SuSE, Corporate Communications, Open Source, Notebooks, Operating Systems, Marketing, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Software, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-16
2nd-generation Intel Classmates reviewed: I just love these little laptops, so here's another repost while I've "gone fishin'". Intel recently sent me two examples of their second-generation Classmate PC for testing. The Classmates include numerous improvements on their already well-thought-out first-gen machines and mark the first versions that we can...; Tags: Intel Corp., Intel Classmates, Microsoft Windows, Corporate Communications, Memory, Mesh Networking, Notebooks, Operating Systems, Software, Marketing, Semiconductors, Hardware, Components, Networking, Notebooks & Tablets, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-15
My kid hates Linux: This one irritated quite a few folks, so I figured it was worth a repost while I'm on vacation. Enjoy! My oldest son is a fairly typical 15 year-old end user. He's on the computer all the time, has a decent idea how to get...; Tags: Computer, Linux, UNIX, 64-Bit, Operating Systems, Open Source, Productivity, Software, Processors, Semiconductors, Hardware, Components, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-14
Gone fishing...: I'll be taking my first break from blogging in over two years next week. It's family vacation time for the Dawson's before I have to really dig in for the summer and deploy a few hundred computers, rebuild servers, and roll out new servers for our central office. ...; Tags: Blogging, Servers, Internet, Hardware, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-11
Two Friday polls: Here's a couple questions for a hot, lazy, Friday in the middle of July: What are your training goals for the coming year? Summer is an ideal time to develop training for the coming year since none of those pesky users are around to bug you....; Tags: Training, Workforce Management, Training And Certification, Human Resources, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-11
What was that about cutting music?: Every year it's the same story for too many districts. Do we cut music, art, technology, physical education, or some unsavory combination thereof? Obviously we have to teach the core subjects; we don't get dinged on our standardized music test scores and nobody cares if we have students...; Tags: Music, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-09
Now I know what to do with those Eees!: I'm really enamored of the Asus line of Eees. I really want one for myself (I'd much rather take a cheap 7" Eee on vacation next week than my Macbook since I just want a place to download pictures, write, and catch up on homework), but I have a...; Tags: Class, Laptop Computer, Computer, Productivity, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-09
Should free broadband be neutral?: A lot of politicians are bandying about the idea of licensing unused or underutilized radio frequencies to create a free, nationwide broadband network. As the US gets repeatedly dinged for a lack of broadband penetration, especially in the inner city and rural areas, an initiative like this would have...; Tags: Broadband, Broadband Internet, Network Technology, Telecommunications, Networking, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-08
Summer reading for kids: A user on Slashdot asked yesterday for summer science fiction reading suggestions for his preteen kids. There were, of course, plenty of great thoughts from other Slashdot members that included all of the usual suspects from Bradbury to Asimov to Pratchett to Douglas Adams. However, the...; Tags: Kid, Slashdot, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-08
They don't all really need laptops, do they?: I've been getting this question a lot lately from administrators, parents, and taxpayers. The question isn't malicious, but rather comes from folks with a vested interest in making sure that our technology dollars directly benefit students. Does giving teachers laptops directly benefit students? For people who aren't...; Tags: Teacher, Laptop Computer, Notebooks, Productivity, Benefits, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Human Resources, Christopher Dawson; Blog posts 2008-07-08