Saturday, February 21, 2009
Worst of Recession Lies Ahead
I attended a frankly chilling discussion Wednesday on the economy at an event sponsored by the Churchill Club, a public affairs forum. Two Silicon Valley executives, a venture capitalist and a well-known law professor presented a sobering forecast about how the economy is going to fall further before picking back up again. I wrote about the event in an article titled Worst of Recession Lies Ahead, which is posted on Suite101.com. One of the panelists, Lisa Lambert of Intel Capital, pointed out that it has been during some of the worst economic downturns that some of the biggest innovations have come to market. Such Historical Perspective can provide reason for optimism in these bleak times.
Friday, February 13, 2009
A burst of creative energy on Suite101.com
I got ambitious the other day and pounded out TWO Suite101.com posts. The first was on SaaS...software-as-a-service...the new distribution model for software in which enterprises access applications online rather than installing it on their own network. The story "SaaS Growth Depends on Integration" looks at how SaaS applications have to work well together with on-premise apps.
The other story was on cars, specifically plug-in hybrid electric cars. I've written a couple of stories of gas-electric hybrids, but this was my first on plug-ins. The story, "Electric Cars Will Need a Fill-up, too," looks at two different business models for developing electric car charging stations.
The other story was on cars, specifically plug-in hybrid electric cars. I've written a couple of stories of gas-electric hybrids, but this was my first on plug-ins. The story, "Electric Cars Will Need a Fill-up, too," looks at two different business models for developing electric car charging stations.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Robert the car guy
Besides writing about technology, I've also been blogging of late on one of my favorite subjects: I'm a car guy. I write for a blog site called Suite101.com. It's called 101 because a lot of the posts are how-to in nature, like an introductory college course, 101.
Here's one I posted recently on the Honda Insight, an upcoming challenger to the Toyota Prius among hybrid cars.
I also wrote this preview of the Ford Fusion Hybrid due in the spring.
Earlier I wrote about other gas-sipping cars that aren't hybrids, such as the Honda Fit.
My neighbor just bought one of these. I'm not sure whether this dilutes my "brand" as a tech journalist or just shows my versatility. In the stories, I do write about hybrid technology so I think it covers both. And according to sage career advice: "Do what you love and the money will follow."
(Photos are courtesy of Honda and Ford.)
Here's one I posted recently on the Honda Insight, an upcoming challenger to the Toyota Prius among hybrid cars.
I also wrote this preview of the Ford Fusion Hybrid due in the spring.
Earlier I wrote about other gas-sipping cars that aren't hybrids, such as the Honda Fit.
My neighbor just bought one of these. I'm not sure whether this dilutes my "brand" as a tech journalist or just shows my versatility. In the stories, I do write about hybrid technology so I think it covers both. And according to sage career advice: "Do what you love and the money will follow."(Photos are courtesy of Honda and Ford.)
Friday, January 30, 2009
E-discovery versus Web 2.0
I had a new blog item posted this week on Suite101.com about the concerns companies have that communications on new technology like texting, Facebook and even Twitter could be subject to e-discovery laws. Check it out.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
GigaOM Post
I've had the opportunity to also write for the popular technology industry site GigaOm. One of its properties, Earth2Tech, is devoted to green tech news. It posted Jan. 14 my report, "Solar's Dirty Side is Being Ignored, Report Says," about an environmental group's study of hazards related to solar panel manufacturing. It's a followup to a story I posted on Earth2Tech earlier, previewing the upcoming report, "Cadmium: The Dark Side of Thin Film?"
It's clear that green technology is an emerging field that offers new opportunities for me as a journalist.
It's clear that green technology is an emerging field that offers new opportunities for me as a journalist.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
IDG News/Network World
From August 2006 to November 2007, I was a writer for IDG News Service, the wire service for multiple IDG publications, and for Network World, one of the IDG titles. Here are a few samples of my work.
Before I was hired, most of Network World's reporters were based in Boston or scattered elsewhere in the U.S. I offered the advantage of being based in Silicon Valley. My editor said this was the type of story they were looking for from a Silicon Valley-based reporter: "Unauthorized iPhone Apps Market Fluorishes" Sept. 26, 2007
Network World has been active in making their Web site more dynamic, with multimedia features such as slide-shows. I covered a conference at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif. My story, "Deconstructing the PC revolution," was accompanied by a slide show of photos I took of computers that are literally museum pieces! Nov. 5, 2007
This is a major project story I wrote about an IT upgrade for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in San Francisco: "Process makeover keeps BART on track" Oct. 12, 2007
One of my main beats at Network World, as well as at IDGNS, was storage technology. This article explored the problem many enterprises experienced of buying too much storage because much of the capacity was set aside for various groups but little used. "When in doubt, buy more storage" April 23, 2007
At IDG News, I was the lead reporter on coverage of the HP pretexting scandal. My experience included being prevented by handlers from trying to interview CEO Mark Hurd about the scandal at an HP conference in Houston. Some of the other stories:
"HP CEO calls pretexting probe a 'rogue' investigation" Sept. 26, 2006
"Dunn to 'set the record straight' in HP case" Sept. 21, 2006
I also covered a federal court hearing over a lawsuit against telecoms for cooperating with the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program. This analysis column was called "Reporter's Notebook: NSA suit like Alice's Wonderland" Aug. 16, 2007
To inquire about Robert Mullins' availability for full or part time work, please write me at mullico@gmail.com or call at 408-243-4302
Before I was hired, most of Network World's reporters were based in Boston or scattered elsewhere in the U.S. I offered the advantage of being based in Silicon Valley. My editor said this was the type of story they were looking for from a Silicon Valley-based reporter: "Unauthorized iPhone Apps Market Fluorishes" Sept. 26, 2007
Network World has been active in making their Web site more dynamic, with multimedia features such as slide-shows. I covered a conference at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif. My story, "Deconstructing the PC revolution," was accompanied by a slide show of photos I took of computers that are literally museum pieces! Nov. 5, 2007
This is a major project story I wrote about an IT upgrade for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in San Francisco: "Process makeover keeps BART on track" Oct. 12, 2007
One of my main beats at Network World, as well as at IDGNS, was storage technology. This article explored the problem many enterprises experienced of buying too much storage because much of the capacity was set aside for various groups but little used. "When in doubt, buy more storage" April 23, 2007
At IDG News, I was the lead reporter on coverage of the HP pretexting scandal. My experience included being prevented by handlers from trying to interview CEO Mark Hurd about the scandal at an HP conference in Houston. Some of the other stories:
"HP CEO calls pretexting probe a 'rogue' investigation" Sept. 26, 2006
"Dunn to 'set the record straight' in HP case" Sept. 21, 2006
I also covered a federal court hearing over a lawsuit against telecoms for cooperating with the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program. This analysis column was called "Reporter's Notebook: NSA suit like Alice's Wonderland" Aug. 16, 2007
To inquire about Robert Mullins' availability for full or part time work, please write me at mullico@gmail.com or call at 408-243-4302
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Robert can take photos, too
This photo of Neil Young making a cameo appearance
at JavaOne made the front page of Software Development Times.
Photo credit: Robert Mullins
Photo credit: Robert Mullins
As a senior editor for Software Development Times, I, of my own volition, used my personal camera to take photos. Invariably, on production day for each of the print issues of SD Times, someone form the graphics department would e-mail me asking for a headshot of whomever was featured in one of my articles. I'd have to scramble and call the PR people at a company to send me a headshot, which may as well have been the guy's driver's license photo. Finally, I decided to take my own photos, when possible. Here are some photos and some related stories:
Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz
Showfloor at JavaOne 2008
Ian Murdock, VP of Developer and
Community Marketing, Sun Microsystems
Reuven Cohen co-hosts "unconference" oncloud computing in San Francisco in May 2008
Participants at the "Cloud Camp" in San Franciscoline up to suggest breakout sessions for their
"unconference" on cloud computing in May 2008
The Firefox mascot greets visitors to Mozilla'sheadquarters for a launch event for the
Firefox 3 browser in June 2008
Moscone Center, San Francisco, May 2008
To inquire about Robert Mullins' availability for full or part time work, please write me at mullico@gmail.com or call at 408-243-4302
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