Just when I was beginning to think that my increasing uneasiness about today’s computer applications was the result of my advancing age, I discovered that I’m not alone. My feelings are shared by a man who’s not only twenty years my junior, but who is also a computer science prodigy and pioneer in the field … Continue reading
As I look at new semantic web products and services, I can’t help remembering what it was like to be on the cutting edge of library automation almost 40 years ago. What can we learn from that history — if anything? In “From Automation to Transformation: Forty Years of Libraries and Information Technology in Higher … Continue reading
The phrase “think outside the box” means approaching problems in new, innovative ways. A “book” is a very old concept that is undergoing technology-driven change. The book is the focal point of a whole information ecosystem that includes the library science profession, the print publishing industry, and the higher education system. Computer analysts and project managers … Continue reading
In this month’s issue of the Montague Institute Review, I wrote about Mendeley, a collaboration and personal knowledge management service popular with academics (see A new knowledge platform: SharePoint vs. Mendeley). As someone who thinks for a living, I read with interest the most popular reference in the huge Mendeley archive — an article by … Continue reading
This month marks my twentieth anniversary in business as The Montague Institute. After nearly 40 years in the computer industry, I find myself reflecting on what has changed during that time. New technology gets most of the attention, but I’m more interested in what hasn’t changed, or least what changes much more slowly: 1. Technology … Continue reading
Originally publishing January 2006 Article in focus: “Companies look for ideas in all the wrong places” (Eric von Hippel, CIO Insight, June 5 2005). More articles on this topic: See innovation, personal fabrication, and usability and user behavior in the Digest index or the Montague Institute Review index. About the author. Eric von Hippel is … Continue reading
Originally published on October 2010 After spending a year compiling my SharePoint notes and slides into a book, I’m dismayed to learn that my efforts may be irrelevant. That’s the implication of a special issue of the Atlantic magazine devoted to “brave thinkers” — people who think out of the box and have the courage … Continue reading
