Recommended reading: Effective e-mail, Conflicker and cloud computing

My favorite read today is from Harvard Business blogger David Silverman, who offers some tips on how to write effective e-mails.
 
Here's a sample grab: "The number one thing that separates a memo, report, or PowerPoint from A Tale of Two Cities is a call to action. A novel is to be enjoyed. Business writing is intended to get the audience to do something: invest in a popcorn factory, fill out a kidney donor form, or flee the building in an orderly manner."

Also worth reading:

From the Department of the Disturbing: Computerworld reports that the Conflicker worm, which has been wreaking havoc around the world for several months now, has gotten sneakier. A new variant is able to sidestep recent measures taken by security researchers to defend against it.

From the Department of Cool: InformationWeek reports that the Marines are offering $75 million to any vendor that can develop a briefcase-ready computer system that provides Special Forces troops with secure e-mail, videoconferencing and similar applications.

From the Department of the Skeptical: InformationWeek's John Foley has serious questions about the role of "trust clouds" for government agencies. Cisco and Swan Island Networks recently floated the idea of tailoring cloud computing to facilitate the sharing of sensitive but unclassified information among government agencies. But the security questions already being raised about cloud computing ought to give agencies pause, he writes.