Merchant Bankers finally get the Internet and FIX?

From second Tanenbaum elephant hump comes the story about how emerging markets are booming because of gasp! - the application of internet technology to investment banking. It's rather ironic that the technology was there in 1970 - trouble was - the business just wasn't listening - messaging is as old as the hills - FIX is messaging in verbose clothing (XML) - suitable for the trading of web "services" by the externalisation of business processes as I observed in my 1999 paper on "The Role of XML in Enabling Business Solutions Built from Collaborative Web-Based Services". This was further extended in the blog article here.

Pot, Kettle, Black

I had to laugh last week, when I had dinner conversation with an IT journalist. Some fairly innocent conversation about firearms, internet security and shredding documents came up. But whilst the journalist writes stirring columns about ecommerce; security; credit card fraud and atms, he blanked me when asked about identity theft and cross-shredding shredders. Of course he has home insurance, and expects some sort of burgalar. But stealing credit card statements and gas bills. Thats the assumption that his new live-in girlfriend wont read through the pile, and decide what he can afford or not for xmas. So where does this guy keep his password or atm pin. Oh how silly of me, its in his wallet of course. (that I dared not to ask)