Real Time View

In the days of the cold war, we were all spectators to an arms race but with the end of the cold war, we rarely use this expression. However, events of the last couple of months have made us realize that indeed, the race is on, yet again … This week I participated in the half-yearly sales meeting of Integrated Research, the company who brings you the much-deployed Prognosis monitoring solution. When it came time to sit down with the account teams responsible for NonStop systems and Payments platforms, the topic of fraud (and its detection and neutralization) wasn’t far from their minds – routinely through the day, we made references to the most recent attack on Target, affecting almost one in five Americans. In the introduction to the post Cruising to EMV eventuality? to ATMmarketplace on May 17, 2013, I wrote of a trip only a few years before to St Petersburg, Russia. Back then, the topic of the day was the ATM attack that pilfered some US $40 million from unsuspecting banks,...

Genetics play a big role in how we all develop and it’s not too hard to speculate that “good genes” also helps products prosper. When it comes to NonStop systems, they have participated in hybrid computing throughout their history so embracing hybrids today will not be a daunting challenge for NonStop … Ever since they first showed up on Los Angeles freeways, hybrid cars have aroused a strange mixture of curiosity as well as optimism. Rushing headlong down the high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, or car-pool lanes as they are sometimes called, they generated considerable envy among the less fortunate still ensconced in vehicles with more conventional powertrains. Yet for many, these cars’ boxy, often-ugly appearance was a turn-off for many likely purchasers, including the likes of yours truly. Margo grew up in Poland where there were few options apart from the Trabant, so there was little opportunity to look forward to anything other than little boxes, leaving her with little a...

It’s just not cricket! Picking up on a previous post featuring clichés, and adding the quote,“if we knew the answers, we would be doing it,” has led me to wonder why CIO’s don’t have all the answers even as they remain clueless about NonStop! Has the NonStop community somehow failed to educate? Staying up late, reading of the cricket test matches under way in Australia (as the return to the natural order continues, with results harking back to much happier times for Australians) – yes, Australia is beating up on England somewhat fiercely – I was reminded of just how much slang makes its way into everyday use. Few readers who read the last post by Margo will have missed how clichés can prove to be painful, when too many are strung together, but the use of slang is something else again. I loved the picture above and can almost hear the two intrepid anglers discussing the merits of backing the trailer into the water. “You don’t like reverse – try something different; just keep...