Best of the web - 17 Nov 06

UK faces IT skills shortage
Dependency on information technology makes availability of a workforce with the right IT skills essential if businesses are to prosper, or alternatively they could become dependent on outsourcing abroad. They may not be cheered then by comments from Professor Nigel Shadbolt, the president of the British Computer Society, as reported by the BBC, that the computer industry faces a skills crisis with not enough students graduating in computer science. So even more IT jobs and projects may go abroad unless the shortage is addressed.
Computer industry 'faces crisis'

Meanwhile, Information Week features a report saying that 95 per cent of IT workers are happy with their jobs and would recommend it as a career to others. The lesson for IT managers may be that good pay is declining as a major satisfaction factor, with the ability to keep skills current appearing to be most significant.
Study Shows 95% of IT Pros Happy With Their Jobs

Doubts over UK passport security
New features, such as biometrics and microchips that can embed sensitive information, aim to increase the security of financial applications and help protect systems where data needs to be kept confidential. Not hopeful then that one of the highest profile projects to use these techniques, the new British hi-tech passport, has already been hacked. According to an article in the Guardian, the encryption used is the 'equivalent of installing a solid steel front door to your house and then putting the key under the mat.'
Cracked it!

How to use blogs effectively
One of the emerging Web 2.0 applications, alongside wikis and other collaborative tools, are Blogs. These have graduated from a form of consumer journalism to a real business tool, but there are rules to using them effectively, as outlined in the Guardian.
Why CEOs should learn to love the blog

Staples questions ROI for RFID
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology promises to give retailers better control over their stock, with related efficiency savings. Recent reports, for example that M&S are to extend their RFID roll-out, suggest that good progress is being made. However, things may be less clear cut following comments from the director of retail processes at Staples, who has questioned whether sufficient return on investment (ROI) can be achieved, as featured in ITBusinessEdge.
ROI for RFID Is 'Iffy,' Says Staples Exec