Scouring the latest IT news stories to bleat about on this blog, we’ve found it pretty difficult to find anything that isn’t banging on about Google’s Nexus One and other assorted bits of gadgetry being touted as the ‘next best thing’ at the glittering CES event in Las Vegas. 

Forgive the cynicism, but isn’t it true that all these ‘devices’ follow a predictable journey? It goes something like this…

 1) Appear to be conceived as the vision of the world’s social, cultural and business future

2) Get a design and a price tag

3) Launch in a blaze of publicity, despite severely restricted product availability everywhere

4) Everyone (seemingly everyone) goes out and buys one

5) Everyone then brings theirs into work and shows everyone else

6) Oh joy…

Whatever shiny junk gets launched at these shows will likely end up under the noses (and possibly in various broken pieces under the fists) of IT departments, along with users unapologetically wondering why it isn’t as easy/safe as they hoped to integrate it into the company’s IT systems. 

How about this for an idea… a system that automates the integration and management of mobile devices… worth flying to Las Vegas for?  We’d bloody walk there!

It doesn’t happen often of course, but sometimes IT pros can get a little carried away, by trying to automate things that just shouldn’t be automated.

A recent article on The Register, tells the tale of some Japanese programmers who have developed an algorithm for emergency call centres that can tell whether you are about to die, by the sound of your voice. What a great idea, it means that workers will be able to prioritise and organise calls, time wasters will (quite literally) be eliminated. The only downside is that seriously sick people could die. Ho-hum…

Unlike these misguided techies, the rest of us value automation approaches which are as good in theory as they are put into practice.

If you know of any crazy automation stories or creations, let us know on our forum.