B.T.W

By Eileen Yu

By the way, ZDNet Asia has more to say

Archives for 2008

Why make consumers pay more for e-services?

Friday, December 26 2008 03:07 AM

Electronic services have long been touted as a way for governments to improve operational efficiencies and facilitate better communication with their citizens. Offering government services over the Internet not only provides cost savings, it also allows for better service delivery.

So why do some e-services come at an additional cost for consumers?

Over dinner with my cousin on Christmas Day, she..... Read more ť

Tags: Cousin, Internet, E-government, back-office, bank, payment, Singapore, e-Service, MasterCard International, Visa Inc.

The German rule of order

Friday, December 19 2008 04:51 AM

I'm back in Germany for another stopover this week, after catching a quick flight from Vienna, and staying with some friends in Cologne.

It's my first visit to the city, the fourth-largest and one of the oldest in Germany, founded by the Romans in..... Read more ť

Tags: Security, Rule, Wine, Germany, Women, corporate governance, Singapore, Vienna, beverage, Europe

Why Starbucks still brews in Vienna

Friday, December 12 2008 06:35 AM

I'm chilling out in wintry Vienna this week, home to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and where boutique cafés can be found at almost every street corner.

There's probably nothing more Viennese than to sit in a cozy little café, tucked away in a small side street, sipping a warm cup of coffee as you watch the world go by.

Imagine my..... Read more ť

Tags: Cafe, corporate culture, industry, Vienna, beverage, Starbucks Corp., M&A

What's in a name?

Friday, December 05 2008 09:45 AM

Plenty, it seems, especially in tougher economic times. When the chips are down and almost every company in the market is clocking negative growth, some tech buyers rely on reputation to decide which vendor to invest in.

A company's financial stability is typically a key consideration in most buyers' decision-making process--nobody wants to be left stranded in the middle of..... Read more ť

Tags: Vendor, Reputation, CIO, information technology, financial, ERP, Visa Inc., IT investment, brand name, brand

It sure ain't easy, or cheap, to be green

Friday, November 28 2008 11:08 AM

The TV was running in the background the other night when U.S. actor Ben Affleck appeared on screen, urging viewers to download their music online.

No, he wasn't plugging a BitTorrent ad. Affleck was driving a green campaign to get people to buy their music via the Web, instead of consuming them on polycarbonate CDs that have to be shipped..... Read more ť

Tags: Car, Hybrid Car, Tax, Music, broadband, Ben Affleck, carbon footprint, Singapore, BitTorrent, broadband service

How much of IT are you willing to give up?

Friday, November 21 2008 03:07 AM

A CNN report this week discussed the likelihood that the country's first tech-savvy president will have to give up the one thing that differentiated him from his predecessors--his BlackBerry.

U.S. president-elect Barack Obama is the country's first government head whose hand seems glued to the mobile device. Various video clips show Obama constantly peering at his BlackBerry, so much..... Read more ť

Tags: RIM BlackBerry, Mobile Device, messaging, information technology, electronic communication, netbook, CNN, Silicon Valley, president, mobile

Ailing companies, turnaround CEOs

Friday, November 14 2008 03:02 AM

Back in 1997, Apple Computer was far from the revered company that it is today. The company was bleeding cash and then-CEO Gil Amelio was booted out after a boardroom coup.

Steve Jobs, who himself was ousted from Apple in 1985, returned to the company and guided it back to profitability--and beyond. With the introduction of iconic products such as..... Read more ť

Tags: Jerry Yang, Dell Computer Corp., Apple Inc., Steve Jobs, Yahoo! Inc., CEO, Microsoft Corp., strategy, antitrust, Google Inc.

What difference a tech-savvy president maketh

Friday, November 07 2008 10:32 AM

In a typical newsroom where every journalist is fighting for a space on the front page, there are often days when you don't really want to be a tech reporter. Why?

How do you convince the chief editor that your piece about Asia becoming a breeding ground for..... Read more ť

Tags: Barack Obama, E-government, Technology Company, president-elect, Silicon Valley, president, leader, mobile, U.S., Agence France-Presse

Importance of top support often overlooked

Friday, October 31 2008 10:51 AM

Over coffee a couple of weeks back, I had an interesting chat with a Singapore-based CIO who listed a string of deployments and potential projects that he was either working on or currently evaluating.

He works for a company that has the biggest share of the market it plays in. And in my opinion, while the technologies it has implemented isn't..... Read more ť

Tags: Asia, CIO, information technology, payment, CEO, business strategy, mobile, e-business, IT investment, IT infrastructure

How technology has ruined relationships

Friday, October 24 2008 03:03 AM

Years back, I had a discussion with some friends about what defines adultery. If one fantasizes or thinks about committing adultery but never acts on it, is that still a cardinal sin?

Some believe the mere thought of adultery is no different from the act itself. I personally prefer to deem only the act itself, not the thought of it,..... Read more ť

Tags: Second Life, Internet, Virtual World, Women, London, British Broadcasting Corp., computer, MSN, Skype Technologies S.A., Web

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About the blogger

Eileen Yu

Eileen Yu began covering the IT industry when Asynchronous Transfer Mode was still hip and e-commerce was the new buzzword. These days, she gets stirred up over issues concerning Internet regulation, intellectual property rights and software patents, online privacy and data protection. Eileen is senior editor at ZDNet Asia, where she oversees the business tech news site.