Debates by Category: Technology

February 7, 2012

Mobile Banking Is More Secure Than Online Banking

Accessing your bank’s mobile website or using your bank’s mobile application to access your account is much more secure than conducting traditional online banking on your computer. Pro or con?

January 30, 2012

Forget the Office: Let Employees Work from Home

Businesses are more efficient and employees more productive when people work remotely instead of at one central office. Pro or con?

November 22, 2011

IT and Millennials: It’s All Good

With their desire for quick answers, use of personal smartphones in the office, and yen to solve problems on their own, millennial workers are a boon to the IT departments that serve them. Pro or con?

September 30, 2011

E-Hoarding Is Unhealthy

Psychologists are right: Workers must organize and delete their e-mails—or risk cluttering their mental space. Pro or con?

June 14, 2011

Death for the Traveling Salesman

Cloud technologies and other Internet-based tech will make it unnecessary for sales reps to visit buyers for product demos and pitches. Pro or con?

April 15, 2011

Let the iPhones in the Office

Employers should allow workers to freely use personal smartphones in the workplace. Pro or con?

March 22, 2011

Residential Landlines Face Extinction

Thanks to cell phones, competition from cable providers, and such Internet calling services as Skype, Vonage, and Ooma, homes will have virtually no need for traditional landline phones. Pro or con?

October 22, 2010

Bye-Bye to the Phone Call

As a means of communication, the phone call is dying, soon to be replaced by a mix of text-based exchanges over e-mail, IM, and social networks. Pro or con?

October 14, 2009

Cloud Computing: Not Just Fluff

Governments should embrace cloud computing as a means to strengthen and liberate their IT infrastructure. Pro or con?

March 17, 2009

Nanofood: Safe and Green Cuisine

Food created with nanotechnology is healthful for humans and environmentally friendly. Pro or con?

March 4, 2009

Service Oriented Computing Is Overrated

Information infrastructure problems cannot be solved by service oriented computing (SOC) alone. Pro or con?

January 27, 2009

Virtual Meetings Will Erase Face to Face

Forget hauling your briefcase on a no-frills airline flight to attend a stuffy convention. Online events are the best, most cost-effective places to exchange information and meet and greet. Pro or con?

January 20, 2009

Obama: Hang on to the BlackBerry

Security concerns notwithstanding, Barack Obama is right to keep his trusty BlackBerry as he assumes his responsibilities as President. Pro or con?

August 6, 2008

Scrabulous, Facebook, Hasbro: A Bad Breakup

Hasbro should have just let the beloved, Scrabble-like online game remain on Facebook. Pro or con?

March 2, 2008

Spam Will Never Die

Regardless of how hard IT experts work to intercept the trillions of junk e-mails that bombard hapless in-boxes, the spammers will find ways to defeat them. Pro or con?

January 16, 2008

Video Games Are Still for Kids

Electronic games haven’t reached a level of sophistication commensurate with adult intellect. Pro or con?

November 5, 2007

Computers: Where’s the Green?

Manufacturers of information-technology hardware still aren’t eco-friendly enough. Pro or con?

October 12, 2007

E-mail Faces Deletion

Web 2.0 applications such as Twitter will unseat simple electronic mail as the No. 1 business communications tool. Pro or con?

September 19, 2007

Bust the Cyberslackers

Businesses should crack down on workers who visit recreational Web sites—such as Fantasyfootball.com and Facebook.com—on company time. Pro or Con?

July 11, 2007

Google Is Making You Dumber

The search engine giant has so much information and is making it so easy for us to obtain it, that it discourages traditional avenues of learning such as studying, doing one’s own field work, and taking classes. Pro or con?

Update! The first Debate Room Podcast: Jakob Nielsen and David Alan Grier respond to reader comments about the Google Debate. Hear it now.

April 12, 2007

Too Much Cell Phoning, BlackBerry Pecking

Mobile wireless-device users should start practicing some etiquette in public. Pro or con?

April 1, 2007

Motorola: Cut Icahn’s Interference

CEO Edward Zander should resist activist investor Carl Icahn’s pressure to spend the electronics giant’s cash on a stock buyback. Pro or con?

February 25, 2007

Apple’s International iTunes Controversy

The revolt by European regulators against Apple’s digital rights management (DRM) technology that protects music tracks from copyright infringement —and restricts iTunes interoperability with all digital music players—is wrongheaded. Pro or con?