Just a friendly reminder, several weeks ahead, that Daylight Savings Time will be undergoing a change this year. First mentioned by Benjamin Franklin, and first observed in the US in 1918, Daylight Savings Time will shift its schedule this year as part of an energy plan presented by President Bush last year. The plan, while currently under a trial basis, is hypothesized to cut energy costs by shifting the amount of time spent at home and in the office during sunlight hours and adding approximately four weeks to DST.
Why mention it now? Well, for those applications running on legacy operating systems, there might be a slight hiccup in their automatic time adjustments. For some of my friends still using Time-lapse VCRs (dinosaurs), this is just a reminder to set your schedule a bit differently this year. If you are running systems by Microsoft, here is a good link to keep you up-to-date on the updates for your PCs. If you are running a Unix-based DVR/NVR, you may have to adjust the schedule manually at 2AM on March 11th. Any comments on other update sites are appreciated.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Visio or AutoCAD?
Site design is an important process in security analysis. Understanding where and why devices need to be placed and relaying that information to the executive or building management in a visual manner is of critical import for any security team. Traditionally, this process has been done using Autodesk’s design software AutoCAD. AutoCAD was designed primarily for building architecture and infrastructure layout.
The downside to AutoCAD or CAD (Computer Aided Design) programs, in general, is the learning curve can be steep. This is especially true for sales professionals who are trying to understand what to bid in a quote or RFP and don’t have the time to fiddle with nuances of a program for each individual bid. For some sales teams the answer was yet another Microsoft product called Visio. Visio made its introduction in Microsoft Office 2000, and has progressed with each subsequent release of the Office suite up to this year’s release, Visio 2007.
I have worked with both programs and usually found Visio to be rudimentary when compared with AutoCAD, but I must say I am quite taken with the flexibility and ease of use of Visio 2007. There are still some quirks that bother me, but for the most part Visio is a tool that can be a great find for a security team or sales department. The learning curve is easy and the integration to Office applications and PDFs is inherent.
The downside to AutoCAD or CAD (Computer Aided Design) programs, in general, is the learning curve can be steep. This is especially true for sales professionals who are trying to understand what to bid in a quote or RFP and don’t have the time to fiddle with nuances of a program for each individual bid. For some sales teams the answer was yet another Microsoft product called Visio. Visio made its introduction in Microsoft Office 2000, and has progressed with each subsequent release of the Office suite up to this year’s release, Visio 2007.
I have worked with both programs and usually found Visio to be rudimentary when compared with AutoCAD, but I must say I am quite taken with the flexibility and ease of use of Visio 2007. There are still some quirks that bother me, but for the most part Visio is a tool that can be a great find for a security team or sales department. The learning curve is easy and the integration to Office applications and PDFs is inherent.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
A SharePoint Revelation; Maybe a Revolution?
Talk about your epiphany moments:
First, if you haven’t read Thomas Friedman’s latest updated revision of “The World is Flat,” I highly suggest you pick up a copy. The text illustrates a flattening of the global community by illustrating the leveling factors of politics and technology over the last 20 years. It is a truly insightful look at how we have moved into “an age of the individual.” This is a time when, based on technological advancements in the PC, the World Wide Web and telecommunications that any one person (the individual) can make an impact felt globally through digitization and mass communication.
As I was contemplating the astuteness and breadth of Mr. Friedman’s rationale, I was also separately doing some research on Microsoft’s advancement with their SharePoint platform. I was simply blown away by the scope of possibilities now available within this framework. Of course, there are a tremendous amount of blogs on the topic, but one of my favorites is Sahil Malik’s blah.WebSmarts page.
What I found (and I am far from the first) is that literally one person or a small group of savvy techs (not necessarily programmers, mind you) can utilize the framework of SharePoint to accomplish a wide array of business functions, up to and including application development.
With assistance from third-party providers like CorasWorks (Reston, Virginia), any size company, division, or department can literally compete on a global scale to provide the same advanced business functions, both internally and externally, as Fortune 100s.
The use of a SharePoint platform to develop functions and applications visually and without thousands of coding man-hours is a huge “flattening” development. As SharePoint and third-party providers continue to expand upon these capabilities, more and more processes and innovations will stem from this leveled playing field.
To fully understand where I am coming from, I recommend the book and highly recommend looking into the “quiet” revolution Microsoft is putting together with SharePoint. As I am still grasping the capabilities of WSS and MOSS, I welcome readers’ comments and thoughts.
By the way, it is not lost on me that I am writing a blog enabled by technology to reach anyone in this “flattened” world.
First, if you haven’t read Thomas Friedman’s latest updated revision of “The World is Flat,” I highly suggest you pick up a copy. The text illustrates a flattening of the global community by illustrating the leveling factors of politics and technology over the last 20 years. It is a truly insightful look at how we have moved into “an age of the individual.” This is a time when, based on technological advancements in the PC, the World Wide Web and telecommunications that any one person (the individual) can make an impact felt globally through digitization and mass communication.
As I was contemplating the astuteness and breadth of Mr. Friedman’s rationale, I was also separately doing some research on Microsoft’s advancement with their SharePoint platform. I was simply blown away by the scope of possibilities now available within this framework. Of course, there are a tremendous amount of blogs on the topic, but one of my favorites is Sahil Malik’s blah.WebSmarts page.
What I found (and I am far from the first) is that literally one person or a small group of savvy techs (not necessarily programmers, mind you) can utilize the framework of SharePoint to accomplish a wide array of business functions, up to and including application development.
With assistance from third-party providers like CorasWorks (Reston, Virginia), any size company, division, or department can literally compete on a global scale to provide the same advanced business functions, both internally and externally, as Fortune 100s.
The use of a SharePoint platform to develop functions and applications visually and without thousands of coding man-hours is a huge “flattening” development. As SharePoint and third-party providers continue to expand upon these capabilities, more and more processes and innovations will stem from this leveled playing field.
To fully understand where I am coming from, I recommend the book and highly recommend looking into the “quiet” revolution Microsoft is putting together with SharePoint. As I am still grasping the capabilities of WSS and MOSS, I welcome readers’ comments and thoughts.
By the way, it is not lost on me that I am writing a blog enabled by technology to reach anyone in this “flattened” world.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Joost and Boost
As an aspiring serial entrepreneur, I am interested in what successful serials have done or continue to do. This morning an article in today’s Journal caught my eye.
Remember Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom? You know these guys -- they came up with KaZaa, the file sharing program that helped to rock the music industry while Napster was shut down and in court. They followed this success by forming a company called Skype which earned a modest $2.6 billion in a sale to eBay in ’05.
Recently the Swedish duo announced plans to launch a video content provider (formerly titled “The Venice Project”) to compete with the ever popular You-Tube. The catch, however, is that their site (Joost) is looking to offer higher quality content, up to and including commercialized network TV shows and movies. Keep your eye on this company; if past success is an indicator of future projections, Joost should bode well in this space.
Another venture (not-related) that caught my eye this morning was an initiative called Boost from Sprint Nextel. Boost is a subscription service that enables users to monitor their network contacts via GPS through their cell-phone. This has been used by service B2B companies for some time through the Nextel arm of Sprint Nextel, but is now being marketed to social networking “twenty-somethings” and families concerned about their children’s whereabouts.
The $9.99-a-month service called “Family Locator” is an interesting tool in line with family plans by Sprint’s competitor AT&T’s Cingular Wireless. Talk about knowing where your child is, this service allows parents to turn on their phone and look directly at a GPS map with an indicator of the child (or at least the child's phone). I guess the parent will have to actually call to ensure he or she didn’t simply hide the phone inside a copy of War and Peace at the school library.
Remember Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom? You know these guys -- they came up with KaZaa, the file sharing program that helped to rock the music industry while Napster was shut down and in court. They followed this success by forming a company called Skype which earned a modest $2.6 billion in a sale to eBay in ’05.
Recently the Swedish duo announced plans to launch a video content provider (formerly titled “The Venice Project”) to compete with the ever popular You-Tube. The catch, however, is that their site (Joost) is looking to offer higher quality content, up to and including commercialized network TV shows and movies. Keep your eye on this company; if past success is an indicator of future projections, Joost should bode well in this space.
Another venture (not-related) that caught my eye this morning was an initiative called Boost from Sprint Nextel. Boost is a subscription service that enables users to monitor their network contacts via GPS through their cell-phone. This has been used by service B2B companies for some time through the Nextel arm of Sprint Nextel, but is now being marketed to social networking “twenty-somethings” and families concerned about their children’s whereabouts.
The $9.99-a-month service called “Family Locator” is an interesting tool in line with family plans by Sprint’s competitor AT&T’s Cingular Wireless. Talk about knowing where your child is, this service allows parents to turn on their phone and look directly at a GPS map with an indicator of the child (or at least the child's phone). I guess the parent will have to actually call to ensure he or she didn’t simply hide the phone inside a copy of War and Peace at the school library.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Apple has Chutzpah?
Apple Inc., the official new title for the company formerly known as Apple Computers, is trying to beat Microsoft at its own game. No, I’m not talking about their OS-X software or a new line of office products. Nope, I am referring to the title of a most brazen, disregarding company. Apple is now so big they don’t have to worry about trifling items like trademarks or patent law.
Of course I am referring to the iPhone and the blatant trademark infringement upon Cisco. It is amazing to me that anticipated sales would be so large they assume they could handle such a clear-cut lawsuit from a player like Cisco. Hey, that takes some Chutzpah, Cojones, Bigones.
Yes, I think the iPhone looks cool. A full touch screen with an embedded Mac OS-X and the ability to make calls and the special feature called visual voice mail (really neat). Sounds great. However, they made a few assumptions that could cause a lot of problems for the electronics giant. First, they partnered with AT&T’s Cingular Wireless exclusively. While it was probably a good move not to sub-lease airtime, it may not be wise to become beholden to one service provider for the next 2 years. Secondly, Apple is coming to market with a $499-$599 price tag (depending on hard drive size). While the cellular market is huge, only 5% is spent on phones over $300. Mr. Jobs is quoted as saying they are targeting 1% of the market or 10 million phones through the end of 2008. That is a huge target when analyzing the type of consumers who purchase “high-end” smart phones are not traditionally swayed by Apple’s style-over-substance approach.
All of this risk and a legitimate claim against the title by Cisco could mean another phone disaster for Apple. Even if they do get some traction with the iPhone, they risk losing their marketing progress when the courts award the claim to Cisco. Cisco obtained the iPhone trademark in 2000 after acquiring Infogear. Linksys (a subsidiary of Cisco) launched plans for an iPhone of their own last summer. The idea differs from a cellphone (as is Apple’s iPhone), but rather a device to integrate home, mobile, and work phones as one.
Long and short, big risk for Apple, all to make waves at the CES tradeshow this week.
Of course I am referring to the iPhone and the blatant trademark infringement upon Cisco. It is amazing to me that anticipated sales would be so large they assume they could handle such a clear-cut lawsuit from a player like Cisco. Hey, that takes some Chutzpah, Cojones, Bigones.
Yes, I think the iPhone looks cool. A full touch screen with an embedded Mac OS-X and the ability to make calls and the special feature called visual voice mail (really neat). Sounds great. However, they made a few assumptions that could cause a lot of problems for the electronics giant. First, they partnered with AT&T’s Cingular Wireless exclusively. While it was probably a good move not to sub-lease airtime, it may not be wise to become beholden to one service provider for the next 2 years. Secondly, Apple is coming to market with a $499-$599 price tag (depending on hard drive size). While the cellular market is huge, only 5% is spent on phones over $300. Mr. Jobs is quoted as saying they are targeting 1% of the market or 10 million phones through the end of 2008. That is a huge target when analyzing the type of consumers who purchase “high-end” smart phones are not traditionally swayed by Apple’s style-over-substance approach.
All of this risk and a legitimate claim against the title by Cisco could mean another phone disaster for Apple. Even if they do get some traction with the iPhone, they risk losing their marketing progress when the courts award the claim to Cisco. Cisco obtained the iPhone trademark in 2000 after acquiring Infogear. Linksys (a subsidiary of Cisco) launched plans for an iPhone of their own last summer. The idea differs from a cellphone (as is Apple’s iPhone), but rather a device to integrate home, mobile, and work phones as one.
Long and short, big risk for Apple, all to make waves at the CES tradeshow this week.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Response to Emails About President's Speech
Whew! The emails are coming in regarding my last post on the President's Speech, "President Responds to Study Group."
The purpose of my blogs in general are to muse on business and the security industry. I am not writing a slanted political blog one way or the other (I have enough outlets for that). However, I felt that the President's speech last night was particularly important because of its historical significance.
If you can, put politics and personal thoughts of the war aside for one moment and consider the foreign relations import of the speech and what it stood for.
My attempt in the previous post was to point out that we (as a society) can avoid acting rash and emotional and rather take a strong analytic approach. Find out what the problem is, where it stems from, and try to address it from all aspects (military, policing, economics, and religion). It is a bold approach to foreign relations, to have a group (of the stature of the Iraq Study Group) propose a plan of action for the nation, and for the President to acknowledge these suggestions (in a time of war) and act upon them. History, decades from now, will view this as not a power play by a sitting President but rather an admission that other views are relevant and act publicly on this admission.
The purpose of my blogs in general are to muse on business and the security industry. I am not writing a slanted political blog one way or the other (I have enough outlets for that). However, I felt that the President's speech last night was particularly important because of its historical significance.
If you can, put politics and personal thoughts of the war aside for one moment and consider the foreign relations import of the speech and what it stood for.
My attempt in the previous post was to point out that we (as a society) can avoid acting rash and emotional and rather take a strong analytic approach. Find out what the problem is, where it stems from, and try to address it from all aspects (military, policing, economics, and religion). It is a bold approach to foreign relations, to have a group (of the stature of the Iraq Study Group) propose a plan of action for the nation, and for the President to acknowledge these suggestions (in a time of war) and act upon them. History, decades from now, will view this as not a power play by a sitting President but rather an admission that other views are relevant and act publicly on this admission.
President Responds to Study Group
For anyone who missed President Bush’s address last evening, I encourage that you take a serious look at the video or official transcript. Without getting into partisan politics in this piece, I am encouraging those following current events and modern history to take note of the next few months. Among the notable aspects of the speech, it was hard to miss the definite overtones from the Iraq Study group. The failure to “clear and hold” troubled areas was mentioned as a crucial stumbling block that requires immediate attention. Study group recommendations #26 thru #28 regarding constitutional review, de-Baathification, and oil revenue sharing were addressed almost verbatim, as was mention of the troubling attempts with training and embedding military leadership with Iraqi forces.
While everyone freely admits the answer is not clear-cut by any means, the President is showing the ability that this nation has to draw upon our resources of a qualified intellectual base. Regardless of political affiliation, Americans, all humanity, should be encouraged by the development of a process to resolve a painful and inhumane situation. While the trouble in Iraq with sectarian violence, poverty, and limited expectations may not be resolved overnight, there is hope that by analyzing the trouble openly and devoting resources globally, we may be able to provide a positive influence in 2007.
The President has used political verbiage to address a strategy; it is now up to the global society to listen to the words and respond to the actions in an attempt to move forward in 2007 and beyond.
While everyone freely admits the answer is not clear-cut by any means, the President is showing the ability that this nation has to draw upon our resources of a qualified intellectual base. Regardless of political affiliation, Americans, all humanity, should be encouraged by the development of a process to resolve a painful and inhumane situation. While the trouble in Iraq with sectarian violence, poverty, and limited expectations may not be resolved overnight, there is hope that by analyzing the trouble openly and devoting resources globally, we may be able to provide a positive influence in 2007.
The President has used political verbiage to address a strategy; it is now up to the global society to listen to the words and respond to the actions in an attempt to move forward in 2007 and beyond.
Monday, January 8, 2007
The Blogosphere, RSS, and the Wall Street Journal
I need to say “Thank you” to my local paper delivery service for not being able to deliver the Wall Street Journal. I have been a WSJ subscriber for years and I still believe the Journal is the best source for unbiased and critical reporting of today’s top issues. However, upon moving about a year ago, I was dismayed to find out that even though I have moved to the fastest growing county in Virginia, I could not receive morning delivery of the Journal. Instead, I would have to wait until the postal mail came sometime after lunch to get the news that I needed to keep on top of the day. Obviously, short of starting my own paper-route there was nothing I could do that would allow me to keep my routine of reading the top stories with my morning java, or was there? Along with my print subscription to the Journal, I also signed up for an online version that I could read 24/7 (as the news broke). Of course, I set my homepage (or actually one of my home "tabs" using IE 7.0) to this link and I was back in business.
Now by starting my cyber-routine at “coffee-time,” I can not only browse the Journal article I want, but I can scan my RSS feeds and keep up on the blogs that are of interest to me. That’s the difference in today’s online media versus the old days of 2002-03. Today we are much more aware of targeted media outlets like blogs or RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds that allow us to digest more relevant information and not wade through the cosmetic crap that fills up the AOL or MSN homepages.
Most of the readers on this page have probably figured out how to use RSS or scan blogs, but for those unlucky few who came across my musings by happenstance, I have listed a couple of tips that may help you consolidate your morning routine and ensure you have the information that is important to you.
First, get yourself a good mail program and/or browser. As a “Microsoft” guy, I use Outlook 2007 and IE 7.0, but you can use Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird as a ready alternative. The key is to have the ability to integrate RSS feeds into your mail or favorite websites section. There are specific RSS Readers that are great for this ,too. With a little preparation, you can open your program of choice and, voila, have the news feeds you care about. They may be from the Journal, Department of Homeland Security, or possibly Bob the Builder. Whatever it is that you are looking for, if it was posted, written about, or captured on video while you slept, it will be ready for you first thing in the morning. Personally, I like the integration with Outlook 2007 and IE 7.0. When I subscribe to a feed using the RSS button in IE 7.0, it automatically adds the feed to Outlook. Then any time a new feed is written, it comes into my mailbox like email messages. I can scan the subject line and determine its relevance before I engage the story itself.
But how do you find what you are looking for? Well, fortunately most traditional news outlets use RSS today, and most have topical RSS feeds (such as Tech Journal or Washington Wire). Also, a lot of today’s companies are instituting RSS feeds or blogs to discuss topics relevant to their development. If you want information from a supplier or vendor and want to be alerted of a change, a blog subscription or RSS feed is a great way to stay on top of it (i.e. Suite-Soft Blogs). Finally, there are several engines devoted to sorting out relevant blogs. My favorite is Technorati (http://www.technorati.com/). Blogs are a great way of communicating with other like-minded thinkers out there. Some great blog topics for businesses deal with tax strategies, corporate policy, and, of course, a plethora of sites on programming.
By the way, look for the RSS Gadget in the Microsoft Windows Vista™ Operating System. It is nice to have a feed for RSS always on the desktop. I am sure there is a “Widget” available for you Mac guys as well. Finally, I have a friend who lives by the phrase “Cash is King,” but I am repeatedly thinking to myself, “Information is King,” and the blogosphere is becoming a great place to find it.
Now by starting my cyber-routine at “coffee-time,” I can not only browse the Journal article I want, but I can scan my RSS feeds and keep up on the blogs that are of interest to me. That’s the difference in today’s online media versus the old days of 2002-03. Today we are much more aware of targeted media outlets like blogs or RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds that allow us to digest more relevant information and not wade through the cosmetic crap that fills up the AOL or MSN homepages.
Most of the readers on this page have probably figured out how to use RSS or scan blogs, but for those unlucky few who came across my musings by happenstance, I have listed a couple of tips that may help you consolidate your morning routine and ensure you have the information that is important to you.
First, get yourself a good mail program and/or browser. As a “Microsoft” guy, I use Outlook 2007 and IE 7.0, but you can use Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird as a ready alternative. The key is to have the ability to integrate RSS feeds into your mail or favorite websites section. There are specific RSS Readers that are great for this ,too. With a little preparation, you can open your program of choice and, voila, have the news feeds you care about. They may be from the Journal, Department of Homeland Security, or possibly Bob the Builder. Whatever it is that you are looking for, if it was posted, written about, or captured on video while you slept, it will be ready for you first thing in the morning. Personally, I like the integration with Outlook 2007 and IE 7.0. When I subscribe to a feed using the RSS button in IE 7.0, it automatically adds the feed to Outlook. Then any time a new feed is written, it comes into my mailbox like email messages. I can scan the subject line and determine its relevance before I engage the story itself.
But how do you find what you are looking for? Well, fortunately most traditional news outlets use RSS today, and most have topical RSS feeds (such as Tech Journal or Washington Wire). Also, a lot of today’s companies are instituting RSS feeds or blogs to discuss topics relevant to their development. If you want information from a supplier or vendor and want to be alerted of a change, a blog subscription or RSS feed is a great way to stay on top of it (i.e. Suite-Soft Blogs). Finally, there are several engines devoted to sorting out relevant blogs. My favorite is Technorati (http://www.technorati.com/). Blogs are a great way of communicating with other like-minded thinkers out there. Some great blog topics for businesses deal with tax strategies, corporate policy, and, of course, a plethora of sites on programming.
By the way, look for the RSS Gadget in the Microsoft Windows Vista™ Operating System. It is nice to have a feed for RSS always on the desktop. I am sure there is a “Widget” available for you Mac guys as well. Finally, I have a friend who lives by the phrase “Cash is King,” but I am repeatedly thinking to myself, “Information is King,” and the blogosphere is becoming a great place to find it.
Friday, January 5, 2007
Business Networking
I think I will end this week of blogging by stating an absolutely obvious statement, “Networking is an instrumental component to any company’s success.”
Of course that is true. The question is: What are some new ways to network using today’s “cyber-based” society? One such way is by using LinkedIn.com. I was first turned on to this site about a year ago from a venture capitalist. I paid little attention to the site for a few months, and then during our fundraising efforts I started connecting some of my contacts from my “little black book” (No, not that one, the other one, with professionals… oh, that doesn’t sound right, either).
Anyway, I have found it to be somewhat useful, and based on a handful of articles I have read, so have many others. A relevant example can be found in this link from Business 2.0. Another example is from a much more relevant blogger than I, Guy Kawasaki, who lists 10 ways to use LinkedIn.
If you are interested in joining, you can take a look at my profile and contact me directly as a connection. I am more than happy to promote cyber-socialism (That doesn’t sound right, either). Other hip forms of networking are through MySpace.com or SecondLife.com. MySpace, of course, is much more social than professional and SecondLife is… well that’s a whole separate blog. Best of luck and good hunting.
Of course that is true. The question is: What are some new ways to network using today’s “cyber-based” society? One such way is by using LinkedIn.com. I was first turned on to this site about a year ago from a venture capitalist. I paid little attention to the site for a few months, and then during our fundraising efforts I started connecting some of my contacts from my “little black book” (No, not that one, the other one, with professionals… oh, that doesn’t sound right, either).
Anyway, I have found it to be somewhat useful, and based on a handful of articles I have read, so have many others. A relevant example can be found in this link from Business 2.0. Another example is from a much more relevant blogger than I, Guy Kawasaki, who lists 10 ways to use LinkedIn.
If you are interested in joining, you can take a look at my profile and contact me directly as a connection. I am more than happy to promote cyber-socialism (That doesn’t sound right, either). Other hip forms of networking are through MySpace.com or SecondLife.com. MySpace, of course, is much more social than professional and SecondLife is… well that’s a whole separate blog. Best of luck and good hunting.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
“Constitutional Crisis”, Defended
Happy New Year!!! 2007 is already shaping up as a banner year. Well, that is for you fellow Penn State, USC, Auburn, Boise State or Wisconsin fans out there.
Let us begin 2007 with a nod to Chief Justice John Roberts’ new report on judicial pay. For those of you unaware, here here is a link to a “biased” report from today’s WSJ blog.
Let me preface my opinion by saying that I was fortunate enough to attend a breakfast seminar last month with Associate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and heard a parallel lecture by the former lawyer and law professor, followed by a thoughtful defense and somewhat worrisome forecast that is thoroughly neglected in the linked blog.
To sum the report by the Chief Justice, there is a need for pay increases in the judicial branch in order to compete for the best and brightest legal minds. The objective is to recruit thoughtful professionals to sit on the bench and give us an unbiased approach in the duties of legal interpretation.
Even though there are obvious opinions levied in the WSJ piece, I highly doubt Mr. Roberts’ report was created out of greed. In fact, I would argue that the Chief Justice is financially “okay” and far from needing a handout. Therefore, rather than selfish motivations, Mr. Roberts is illustrating effective corporate forecasting. He understands the marketplace trends and is presenting a logical approach to correct market imbalances. Mr. Roberts does not use personal citations in his report; nor is it an indictment on existing judges and their ability to perform. It is, rather, a thoughtful social exercise that assumes trends based on capital market philosophies. In order to assume the best interpretation of law is being made, we would want the best legal minds responsible to issue those interpretations. In our capitalistic society, compensation is a barometer for achievement, and while the argument is not to compete entirely to scale with private sector firms, there should be some attempts to correct the gross imbalance and make the honor of Judge a notable achievement again.
Currently, salaries for District Judges are fractionally higher than those of other state legal positions such as associate attorneys at the state and local levels, but significantly lower than counterparts from the private sector. Again, I do not (and neither do Justices Roberts or Scalia) advocate matching salaries, but at least increase the pay to allow for some of these legal minds to entertain the possibility of serving on the bench without the penalty of departure from their current lifestyle.
The fear here is that we are encouraging the process of promoting a prosecutor whose only career experience is that of a state employee to become a judge whose job it is to mediate cases directed against the state. To me, that sounds a little too socialistic for my tastes. As a business owner, I want my judges to have a firm understanding of the private sector and what it means to defend us from the oft-times overbearing nature of government. Of course, if you don’t believe Justice Roberts or Scalia and want to view a case study of this process yourself, simply analyze corporate law in the European Union.
Let us begin 2007 with a nod to Chief Justice John Roberts’ new report on judicial pay. For those of you unaware, here here is a link to a “biased” report from today’s WSJ blog.
Let me preface my opinion by saying that I was fortunate enough to attend a breakfast seminar last month with Associate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and heard a parallel lecture by the former lawyer and law professor, followed by a thoughtful defense and somewhat worrisome forecast that is thoroughly neglected in the linked blog.
To sum the report by the Chief Justice, there is a need for pay increases in the judicial branch in order to compete for the best and brightest legal minds. The objective is to recruit thoughtful professionals to sit on the bench and give us an unbiased approach in the duties of legal interpretation.
Even though there are obvious opinions levied in the WSJ piece, I highly doubt Mr. Roberts’ report was created out of greed. In fact, I would argue that the Chief Justice is financially “okay” and far from needing a handout. Therefore, rather than selfish motivations, Mr. Roberts is illustrating effective corporate forecasting. He understands the marketplace trends and is presenting a logical approach to correct market imbalances. Mr. Roberts does not use personal citations in his report; nor is it an indictment on existing judges and their ability to perform. It is, rather, a thoughtful social exercise that assumes trends based on capital market philosophies. In order to assume the best interpretation of law is being made, we would want the best legal minds responsible to issue those interpretations. In our capitalistic society, compensation is a barometer for achievement, and while the argument is not to compete entirely to scale with private sector firms, there should be some attempts to correct the gross imbalance and make the honor of Judge a notable achievement again.
Currently, salaries for District Judges are fractionally higher than those of other state legal positions such as associate attorneys at the state and local levels, but significantly lower than counterparts from the private sector. Again, I do not (and neither do Justices Roberts or Scalia) advocate matching salaries, but at least increase the pay to allow for some of these legal minds to entertain the possibility of serving on the bench without the penalty of departure from their current lifestyle.
The fear here is that we are encouraging the process of promoting a prosecutor whose only career experience is that of a state employee to become a judge whose job it is to mediate cases directed against the state. To me, that sounds a little too socialistic for my tastes. As a business owner, I want my judges to have a firm understanding of the private sector and what it means to defend us from the oft-times overbearing nature of government. Of course, if you don’t believe Justice Roberts or Scalia and want to view a case study of this process yourself, simply analyze corporate law in the European Union.
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