John McCormick

A thin plastic security strip is sometimes all that protects a ship against the introduction of illicit materials. Every day, 1,500 containers arrive at the port of Oakland, California, ready to be moved swiftly onto the rails and highways that will take their contents into the heartland of america. While they are being unloaded, a […]

Here are links to key reports, white papers and other research on homeland security and how marine terminals play a key role. Brookings Institution: “Protecting The American Homeland.“ Rand: “Seacurity: Improving the Security of the Global Sea-Container Shipping System.“ Unisys White Paper: “A Safe Commerce Blueprint: Securing Your Inbound Supply Chain.” Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-SC) […]

When youre selling a $500 scarf, the scarf is the last thing you sell. First, you persuade the customer your products are worth that kind of price. After that, you never let the customer go. But apparently Prada forgot to convince its floor sales force to use the technology that would do that. A handful […]

THE OBSTACLE: Salespeople are not using the tools theyre given. Prada spent millions of dollars creating a new type of handheld terminal, implementing new technologies to control video monitors, and attaching antennae in tags to thousands of shoes, garments and other products. The idea was to help salespeople interact with customers better, to meet their […]

There was a story in a big daily newspaper the other day that stated that only 65 percent of the people on the Web shop while theyre online. Notice the word “only.” Whats the thinking here? (Is there any thinking here?) If only 65 percent of the people who visited any other community stopped to […]

The Interactive 500 is more than a list of which companies generated the most hard dollars from their web operations in the past year. Its also Interactive Weeks annual checkup on the state of e-commerce. And this year, surprisingly, the health of the online economy appears to be a lot better than most people think. […]

Microsoft introduces XP. Microsoft and Sun Microsystems detail their Web services plans. AT&T makes a series of strategic announcements about its future. Communications companies offer up new, robust IP services. And Amazon.com inches closer to profitability. Yes, those big news stories, and others, broke last week. Id classify them as the Pushes, the Pulls and […]

Critical business papers floating through the New York air. Documents stored on PCs lost in smoke and rubble. Information-laden storage devices crushed under mountains of concrete and steel. How corporate data was input, stored and backed up wasnt the first thing on peoples minds in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. We were […]

A few years ago, I worked for a publisher launching a new magazine to cover emerging Net software developments. The editor, a bright 28-year-old with a computer science background, needed some tech-savvy writers. I offered the name of someone we both knew and expected a positive reaction, but his dismissal was matter-of-fact: “What does he […]

“The person who does not worry about the future will shortly have worries about the present.” — Chinese proverb Yes, its difficult to think about the future. Todays executives, used to working up three- and five-year business plans, now look no further than the next quarter. And, as the events of the last few weeks […]

Its time to do a lot of thinking. Since Sept. 11, plenty has been written about public networks and their ability — or inability — to withstand attacks. Our cover story this week, however, takes a deeper look, revealing those areas where the nations communications infrastructure is most vulnerable. Its a chilling reminder of just […]