XML is not a real data model

Quote from Date defends relational model:

"XML is not a real data model."

Discuss :-)

Come the glorious impersonal computer revolution

Sitting, waiting for a delayed flight to Dublin out of Jacksonville, Florida yesterday I was struck - as I always am - by the number of phone kiosks - all empty - littered all over the place.

These kiosks serve more as post-modern art installations than as useful devices these days thanks to the ubiquity of cellphones.

What to do with them? I have a suggestion : lets start The Impersonal Computer Revolution.

Balancing security, risk and freedom

The CIO summit is over. Some interesting presentations and lots of very interesting people with lots of very interesting integration problems.

Looking back on it, I think my favourite presentation was Jeffrey Rosen from George Washington University Law School who talked about ways in which security measures can be implemented without overly impacting privacy/freedom if they are approached carefully.

His book The Naked Crowd is well worth checking out if you are interested in this stuff.

Kicking back on Amelia Island

I'm posting this in the Marche Burette Deli on Amelia Island, Florida. I'm here getting ready for the FCW Government CIO Summit start starts tommorrow.

I will be talking about the Public Services Broker - an eGovernment SOA I have been working on for the last two years with the Irish Government. (Geeks go here. I travelled sans portable this time so postings will be patchy for a few days.