The state university I work at has used Ellucian (formerly SCT) Banner for over 10 years now. Ellucian is in the midst of a significant UI move, away from Oracle Forms and PL/SQL-based web pages to Groovy/Grails. These interfaces can launch background tasks written in C, COBOL, or Java as well.

One of the big advantages is taking Oracle Application Server out of the picture, as the Banner XE code can run in Tomcat on Linux under VMware (people that understand Oracle's licensing, VMware support, and the like get the implications).

The first step was to add columns to all of the database tables to make record select/update easier. Then they're rolling out the new interface in pieces, whether it's enhancements/new features or updating the existing application or interface.

They've also implemented SSO so that you don't have to re-log as you move from one interface to another. This is helpful while components are transitioning.

Caveat: I work as a server admin and sometimes Oracle DBA. I've had very little to do with the Banner XE implementation, other than sit in some meetings and webinars and create a bunch of VMs.

I would hope that Facebook protects credit card data in accordance with GLB, PCI, other regulations and best practices.

But the reason they want people to put a credit card on file with them is so they can market things - they figure you're more likely to buy an impulse purchase when you have a number on file (a la Amazon) than when you have to enter a card number for each purchase.

Which is exactly why I've resisted EVERY overture Facebook has made for me to purchase something - I don't play games, I don't give gifts via Facebook, and I won't pay the $1 fee to get an FB email into someone's "inbox" rather than "other" box.

Doug

I moved from ATT to Sprint the day that the HTC Evo 4G came out. I asked that day and they said "4G will be coming to this area in six months." 18 months later, WiMax 4G still hadn't come to the area, and Sprint had changed from deploying WiMax to LTE, so my Evo would never see 4G. They tried to sell me an LTE phone, and I politely advised them that I couldn't believe their deployment.
Meanwhile, their "unlimited data" users - many coming from other carriers at the time - were swamping Sprint 3G, which was the only service available to me. I ended up switching to Verizon before my Sprint contract was up (it cost me $50 since I was close to the end). My Verizon contract costs more, although I've not come close to hitting my data quota, and it's MUCH more usable and reliable.

Doug

I can get ICS for my phone, and in fact I have been rejecting the update. Reports are that my phone performs better on GB, and it's already rooted and working fine. I am going to leave it as it is until maybe some killer app comes along that won't run on GB. Most likely that won't happen until my next phone comes along, and by that time I may bite the bullet and get an iThingie.

Doug

I don't think AT&T would try this if Steve Jobs was still alive. With him gone, and with Android as a healthy alternative (and several carriers have been pushing Android over iPhone for various reasons - lower subsidies, availability of 4G, etc), I think we'll start to see more carrier control of the platform - limits like this, crapware infestation, and the like.

Doug

VNC, as others have noted, works on lots of platforms (including older ones). You'll have to configure it in their firewall, and I use a non-standard port as well.

Some VNC versions allow a form of access control, but that doesn't help if your IP or IP range changes.

And while I realize that there is an actual cost involved to fix it, letting them stay on primitive hardware and OS is not really helping them. Sadly, "because it still works" is less and less a good reason to keep an old PC running. Not too long ago I was asked to clean up a virus-infested Windows ME box - yes, it still boots ... but it had so little memory that none of the current antiviruses I had available would even run.

Doug

Particularly given that they INTENTIONALLY and KNOWINGLY left Windows Phone 7 folk in a lurch with Windows Phone 8...

This is exactly the kind of thing I don't want from a condo association - a middleman that takes a cut of my fees and adds no value. I would rather contract directly with DSL or cable provider. That way if it breaks I don't have to call the condo offices (during business hours only, of course) to call the internet contractor (again, only reachable during business hours) to commence the finger-pointing.

Enterprise management capabilities, genuine software (Office, in particular) as opposed to "compatible" or "capable" software, familiarity, upper management, vendor packages that require MS servers, and relative lack of people that can "fix things" along with their regular responsibilities, are just a few reasons why.

The carriers won't agree, because it would eliminate or restrict the ability to get people to sign two-year contracts.

Rapid-update philosophy sounds good for early adopters and hobbyist users (does Chrome have much traction in the corporate environment?)

But what about corporate environments that require software to stay stable and on fixed known-working versions? For example, Firefox 3.6 broke compatibility with a plugin that we have widely distributed at our site, and the solution to this issue requires another mass deployment. We've had similar issues with Java's auto-updater breaking compatibility with some applications (and no, we're not an IE6 shop).

Doug

If you're looking for something in the 10" range and/or to spend $400+ then wait. Even then, there's going to be only a few real winners and a lot of losers.

Many of the $250-and-under tablets are junk (slow processors, older Android versions, low-resolution screens with crummy touch sensors, etc), and I don't know that that's going to change in the short term. Probably the best choice in that price range is a rooted nook color. And when you're ready to get something new/better, you can restore it and resell it, or pass it on as-is.

For what it's worth, I have an Evo (practically a mini-tablet) and an iPad. The iPad has its merits, and you can do programming on it now (there's at least three BASIC interpreters, for example), but if you want to do app development, it's much cheaper to get started on Android.

Doug