We remember her year-ago departure. While for the younger ones, she is known more for being the mother of a very popular television host, for us who are richer in the number of years, she is the epitome of true leadership.

Humble to a fault, she also showed in more than one occasion her steely nerve and disposition. Despite a late newspaperman’s wrongful assertion that she hid under her bed during the height of one of those coup attempts against her government, she was always unafraid.

We miss her comforting presence. Seeing her on TV was enough to calm us and comfort us, knowing that we are not alone.

Ecommerce Grows in China

What do you get when you throw into the mix venture capitalists eager to invest on almost anything, the absence of Western-standard retail outlets (shopping malls), millions of salaried consumers with rising wages, expanding credit-card market, and booming number of Internet users?

An ecommerce coming of age, this is what some cyber-industry analysts are seeing or forecasting to happen in China. As the world’s largest manufacturing country continues its red-hot economic expansion, Chinese consumers are becoming more comfortable with online shopping.

Why then do some observers fear an Internet economic bust, similar to what happened in the U.S. about a decade ago?

Bigger Brother in Hong Kong

Google has agreed to delete all personal WiFi data the Internet giant said its Street View mapping service accidentally gathered in Hong Kong. Previously, Google ran afoul with a number of national governments after the online search giant admitted its street-mapping cars siphoned off people’s personal WiFi data.

At present, only Hong Kong’s privacy regulator succeeded in securing Google’s nod to delete its citizens’ personal data.

Hmm. I wonder why.

Humans Weakest Links

A hacking contest at the DefCon event showed once again that people can cause the downfall of even the sturdiest computer networks. A social-engineering competition challenged hackers to phone workers at 10 companies, including technology vendors Google, Apple, and Microsoft.

Using smooth talk, hackers were able to coax employees to reveal enough information about their computer networks. These revelations were enough for hackers to tailor-fit their hacking attacks. This shows that companies, after spending on their network infrastructure, should be equally prepared to invest on adequate training for their staff.

That’s all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.