Yeah, so Microsoft has search engine envy. Google must be going up its ass sideways the way Netscape did with that whole "browser thing" back in the 90's. Not only is Google way younger, it's got 58% as big of a market cap, it gets way better press (mostly), it has a bunch of free online products that - gasp - people use, and most of all - it makes money by serving web pages with ads.
What? No CD's? No tech support? No rushing out consumer boxes and multi-million dollar consumer advertising?
Hmmm.... daddy like.
So - the first thing is - let's build it ourself. We all know how much MSN sucks - so that didn't work out so well.
Plan #2 - who can we buy?
Let's see.... Google? No, that would take all the income Bill Gates makes in 18 months... hmmmm... hmmmm.. hey, I know! Let's buy the other company that was totally blind-sided and pissed off by Google getting all the attention - Yahoo!.
But is that really the reason? Does Microsoft really have "ad envy" on that scale? I don't think so.
I think it's all about SaaS (Software As A Service). Yahoo! is a multi-national company, it's market cap is (only) $40 billion - and they really know how to build and deliver web pages. Plus, they already own Zimbra a spiffy AJAX-y email app - maybe we can just buy it and get into this here "saas" game... before someone else (eg Google) eats our online services lunch like Netscape almost did with the browser.
Spiffy idea, guys!
Meanwhile both Google and Yahoo! are going on the offensive defense. Google has already filed a motion with Federal Regulators noting any objection "...should this deal happen." and the founders of Yahoo! are urging all the nervous (perhaps to be "assimilated") employees that it's all "business as usual."
How will it all shake out? Who knows. The important thing - is that the 800 pound gorilla has been awakened - and it's also betting the future on SaaS.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
Pondering the Cloud
I've been reading and hearing an awful lot about "cloud computing" over the past few months - and I don't think it's going to stop any time soon. I think, to a certain degree, it's the wave of what's to come.
It's sort of like the computing (r)evolution itself. No one really knows what's going to happen - they all just wait until someone is making money - or comes up with something that really resonates with people's pocketbooks - and all of a sudden "it's the future."
Think about centralized computers with "dumb" terminals, then personal computers, then VisiCalc and Excel (and office), then desktop publishing, then Mosaic, then the Internet, then Yahoo, then SalesForce.com, then iTunes, then Google, then AJAX, then SaaS (Software As A Service), then"offline computing", and now "cloud computing."
It seems like everyone is jumping on the modified SaaS bandwagon - not content in just offering up their services via the web (whether in native desktop clients or just via a browser) - but now they want folks to develop software on their platforms where they will do all the hosting as well.
This has some interesting impacts on how we do business. It will decrease the traditional IT costs - in the sense that no one has to babysit (or pay the cooling and utility bills for) a server room (or 5), and it means that developers can get applications up and running (at least simple ones) relatively quickly. Cloud computing could also benefit users who want to throw together an application and share it with others - without having to wait 3 years for an overworked IT staff to "get around to it."
Sounds good - if it didn't totally and completely suck.
I mean really, really suck. Maybe the technology just isn't "there" yet. I don't know about you - but I've tried a bunch of these online "cloud" development environments (CogHead, QuickBase, Rollbase, Yahoo Pipes etc.) and while there are good things to say about all of them - they are all very limited in what you can do - and really don't even come close to the robust applications you can create "offline."
Maybe I'm just too old - but I'm not really sure how much cool stuff you can create that:
Why can't we have both?
We need a smarter GUI tool that will unlock the data we already have - and one that will allow us to deploy that GUI over a native client (for hardware integration) and/or over a browser for multiple access (bonus points if you can do it from the same code base - because who the hell wants to learn .NET??).
We need a tool that will allow us to combine our ERP databases with our frontline business applications - and allow easy reporting and slicing and dicing - AND is easy enough to use so that we're not caught in "Excel Hell" (or "Google Docs Hell").
Oh, and IT should LOVE it - not grudgingly support it.
There is a tool. It's called Servoy. Check it out!
It's sort of like the computing (r)evolution itself. No one really knows what's going to happen - they all just wait until someone is making money - or comes up with something that really resonates with people's pocketbooks - and all of a sudden "it's the future."
Think about centralized computers with "dumb" terminals, then personal computers, then VisiCalc and Excel (and office), then desktop publishing, then Mosaic, then the Internet, then Yahoo, then SalesForce.com, then iTunes, then Google, then AJAX, then SaaS (Software As A Service), then"offline computing", and now "cloud computing."
It seems like everyone is jumping on the modified SaaS bandwagon - not content in just offering up their services via the web (whether in native desktop clients or just via a browser) - but now they want folks to develop software on their platforms where they will do all the hosting as well.
This has some interesting impacts on how we do business. It will decrease the traditional IT costs - in the sense that no one has to babysit (or pay the cooling and utility bills for) a server room (or 5), and it means that developers can get applications up and running (at least simple ones) relatively quickly. Cloud computing could also benefit users who want to throw together an application and share it with others - without having to wait 3 years for an overworked IT staff to "get around to it."
Sounds good - if it didn't totally and completely suck.
I mean really, really suck. Maybe the technology just isn't "there" yet. I don't know about you - but I've tried a bunch of these online "cloud" development environments (CogHead, QuickBase, Rollbase, Yahoo Pipes etc.) and while there are good things to say about all of them - they are all very limited in what you can do - and really don't even come close to the robust applications you can create "offline."
Maybe I'm just too old - but I'm not really sure how much cool stuff you can create that:
- Isn't being created and hosted for free by some .com 2.0 company
- Can match the look and feel of your other legacy applications
- Can interact with the hardware layer of PC's (think cash drawer or bar code scanner)
- Can broadcast data to other connected users to avoid session dirty reads and writes
- Are very useful beyond what people do with spreadsheets (online or traditional Excel)
- Can't easily get to
- Have to re-key into multiple systems
- Can't visualize the way you need it to
- Is incomplete based on your business role
Why can't we have both?
We need a smarter GUI tool that will unlock the data we already have - and one that will allow us to deploy that GUI over a native client (for hardware integration) and/or over a browser for multiple access (bonus points if you can do it from the same code base - because who the hell wants to learn .NET??).
We need a tool that will allow us to combine our ERP databases with our frontline business applications - and allow easy reporting and slicing and dicing - AND is easy enough to use so that we're not caught in "Excel Hell" (or "Google Docs Hell").
Oh, and IT should LOVE it - not grudgingly support it.
There is a tool. It's called Servoy. Check it out!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
5 Year Olds Run Society
It could be just me - but I'm really sick and tired of 5 year olds grabbing headlines and trying to run this country.
It's more than just politics - although the way Clinton and Obama are going at it - I would have sent them both to their room and then made them apologize to each other. I mean, REALLY. One guy playing the race card to the other playing the gender card - they have nothing better to do than to bitch and moan about the other.
They should observe what I tell my kids: if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all.
Then there's the writer's strike. Don't even get me started.
I agree that people should be fairly treated and fairly compensated for their work - that's a no brainer. And, yes - the producers have been "shoving it" to the writers in a couple of areas, and they do deserve some additional consideration for their efforts.
BUT, kids, if you take your toys and go home (i.e. Golden Globe Awards) - don't be surprised when the other kids (producers) don't want to play with you.
The other thing that I would remind both the producers and the writers is - we don't want to watch reality shows forever. We (the public) are the ones that have made stars into stars by watching the shows, buying the merchandise and supporting the advertisers.
HOT TIP: Lots of people want to be stars. Lots of people want to write TV shows, movies, award shows, etc.
If they are so egotistical to think that the general public will put up with their bullshit for an indefinite period of time - they're wrong. We're the ones that made LOST a hit, we made The Office campy and the Jon Stewart show popular.
If the writers and producers (and the director's guild and actor's guild, etc) are arrogant enough to think that the world will just come to a creative stop while the whine and bitch - they are sadly mistaken. Just look at the music business... can you say iTunes?
People will seek out and find creative content, engaging characters and gripping story lines - with or without "established media." You can see the startings of that in made-for-web productions and YouTube collections.
Now, kids - do NOT make me turn this thing around. Stop poking your brother - and play nice!
It's more than just politics - although the way Clinton and Obama are going at it - I would have sent them both to their room and then made them apologize to each other. I mean, REALLY. One guy playing the race card to the other playing the gender card - they have nothing better to do than to bitch and moan about the other.
They should observe what I tell my kids: if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all.
Then there's the writer's strike. Don't even get me started.
I agree that people should be fairly treated and fairly compensated for their work - that's a no brainer. And, yes - the producers have been "shoving it" to the writers in a couple of areas, and they do deserve some additional consideration for their efforts.
BUT, kids, if you take your toys and go home (i.e. Golden Globe Awards) - don't be surprised when the other kids (producers) don't want to play with you.
The other thing that I would remind both the producers and the writers is - we don't want to watch reality shows forever. We (the public) are the ones that have made stars into stars by watching the shows, buying the merchandise and supporting the advertisers.
HOT TIP: Lots of people want to be stars. Lots of people want to write TV shows, movies, award shows, etc.
If they are so egotistical to think that the general public will put up with their bullshit for an indefinite period of time - they're wrong. We're the ones that made LOST a hit, we made The Office campy and the Jon Stewart show popular.
If the writers and producers (and the director's guild and actor's guild, etc) are arrogant enough to think that the world will just come to a creative stop while the whine and bitch - they are sadly mistaken. Just look at the music business... can you say iTunes?
People will seek out and find creative content, engaging characters and gripping story lines - with or without "established media." You can see the startings of that in made-for-web productions and YouTube collections.
Now, kids - do NOT make me turn this thing around. Stop poking your brother - and play nice!
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
I'm a Total Slacker
Yikes! I mean- Happy New Year.
Yes, OK, so I'm a total, 100% slacker for not updating this blog for TWO MONTHS. Damn, time flies. I can't believe it's a whole 'nother year.
New Year's Resolution #8 - I'll see if I can be better about getting something up here - at least once a week.
The last quarter of the year is typically the busiest time - not only in terms of Holiday preparations, but business-wise as well. Thanks to our terrific developers, partners and community - Servoy finished yet another banner year!
I wanted to take a quick minute to thank all of you that have helped to contribute to Servoy's on-going success. We couldn't have done it without you.
Speaking of being a slacker - during the (woefully short!) Christmas break - I had a chance to do all the default things - get together with family, spend too much, eat too much, drink too much... and... go sport fishing.
Really. Me. On a boat. At 5:00am.
It was my son's "big" Christmas present - he's a hard-core outdoors guy (loves hunting, fishing, etc.). I mean really hard core. My buddy Aaron Archer (a fellow Servoyian) calls him "Davey Crockett."
It was actually Aaron's idea to go on this "adventure" in the first place. I thought - "Hey, it's Christmas - Brennan will LOVE it. How bad could it be?"
And with that - I sent wheels in motions that I knew nothing about. We booked the trip - and even though I did my best to conceal the trip from my son - a well-intentioned, blabber-mouth relative let it slip and he found out about it early.
From that point on - he was officially counting down the days. He would wake up in the morning and say "Just 14 more days!" You would think he'd be referring to Christmas. Nope. He was referring to the fishing trip (set for December 27th).
Needless to say, he was excited.
Well, the day finally arrived - and just by the way it started, I should have suspected that something was up. Because Aaron and his friend and brother were going to meet at my house at 3:30am - I slept downstairs, fully dressed, ready to go. I told my son not to worry, that I would wake him up and get him dressed in his 87 layers of clothes (it was 38 degrees the day before and the winds were howling like crazy).
At about 3:25 he wakes ME up "Hey Dad, time to wake up - it's almost time to go!"
I grab some food out of the fridge, get my outer layer of clothes together and we depart with Aaron and crew in tow right on time.
We meet my brother-in-law (Jim), his 20 year old son (Wes) and my father-in-law (Don) at the dock, rent the poles, get the gear - and off we go... into Hell.
It's about 39 degrees, and there are 3-4 foot swells that toss our 42 foot boat like a cork in a bathtub. After about an hour, the wind isn't the only thing blowing.... Brennan is puking in the galley, Jim is puking on deck, and I feel like I have the black whirlies while still wide awake.
It's all I could do to not join the puke party - lucky there was nothing in my stomach that wanted to leave in a hurry.
Don't get me wrong, I love holding my now-limp, 75 pound, dead weight, puking son up on the deck of the SS Minnow while inhaling diesel fumes on our 2 HOUR ride out to the Channel Islands.
I figured IF I lived - and once the sun came up the winds would die down and we could fish. Well, the sun came up, and so did another round of yellow bile from poor little Brennan's stomach. We were sitting there rocking and rolling (Don was puking WHILE fishing - NOT kidding!) - but Aaron and crew were having beers!
I just wanted to go home and die and in peace.
The boat was rocking so much from side-to-side that the water almost breached the gun whale (the little wall on the sides of the boat). After about an hour and a half of this - I told the captain that we had one more hour and we're D-O-N-E, done.
He explained that he would take us to a calmer spot - but my reaction was (literally) - "I don't give a crap what you do - you've got an hour, and we're done."
On the way to calmer waters - we spotted a whole pod of dolphins that were racing the boat, we saw several sea otters and even a grey whale! (that was the best part of the trip)
Well, we did get to calmer waters, the sun was bright, and the winds calmed down. Aaron and crew were fishing like there was no tomorrow - along with Don (the Super Angler) - while Brennan and I and Jim were dozing in the sun.
In the end - everyone was really kind to Brennan and let him reel in some fish (which he was thrilled at - and later took full credit for). I even plopped a line in the water and reeled it in - just to prove that I'm not a total pussy. Jim even fished for awhile - and did pretty well (while he wasn't STILL puking).
When it was all said and done - we (they) caught over 100 fish.
I drove us home and slept for a day and a half.
The next day when Brenda (my wife) asked Brennan how the trip was - he replied "It was the best fishing trip ever! I caught a ton of fish - and I even threw up!"
Maybe I'm not a TOTAL slacker...
Yes, OK, so I'm a total, 100% slacker for not updating this blog for TWO MONTHS. Damn, time flies. I can't believe it's a whole 'nother year.
New Year's Resolution #8 - I'll see if I can be better about getting something up here - at least once a week.
The last quarter of the year is typically the busiest time - not only in terms of Holiday preparations, but business-wise as well. Thanks to our terrific developers, partners and community - Servoy finished yet another banner year!
I wanted to take a quick minute to thank all of you that have helped to contribute to Servoy's on-going success. We couldn't have done it without you.
Speaking of being a slacker - during the (woefully short!) Christmas break - I had a chance to do all the default things - get together with family, spend too much, eat too much, drink too much... and... go sport fishing.
Really. Me. On a boat. At 5:00am.
It was my son's "big" Christmas present - he's a hard-core outdoors guy (loves hunting, fishing, etc.). I mean really hard core. My buddy Aaron Archer (a fellow Servoyian) calls him "Davey Crockett."
It was actually Aaron's idea to go on this "adventure" in the first place. I thought - "Hey, it's Christmas - Brennan will LOVE it. How bad could it be?"
And with that - I sent wheels in motions that I knew nothing about. We booked the trip - and even though I did my best to conceal the trip from my son - a well-intentioned, blabber-mouth relative let it slip and he found out about it early.
From that point on - he was officially counting down the days. He would wake up in the morning and say "Just 14 more days!" You would think he'd be referring to Christmas. Nope. He was referring to the fishing trip (set for December 27th).
Needless to say, he was excited.
Well, the day finally arrived - and just by the way it started, I should have suspected that something was up. Because Aaron and his friend and brother were going to meet at my house at 3:30am - I slept downstairs, fully dressed, ready to go. I told my son not to worry, that I would wake him up and get him dressed in his 87 layers of clothes (it was 38 degrees the day before and the winds were howling like crazy).
At about 3:25 he wakes ME up "Hey Dad, time to wake up - it's almost time to go!"
I grab some food out of the fridge, get my outer layer of clothes together and we depart with Aaron and crew in tow right on time.
We meet my brother-in-law (Jim), his 20 year old son (Wes) and my father-in-law (Don) at the dock, rent the poles, get the gear - and off we go... into Hell.
It's about 39 degrees, and there are 3-4 foot swells that toss our 42 foot boat like a cork in a bathtub. After about an hour, the wind isn't the only thing blowing.... Brennan is puking in the galley, Jim is puking on deck, and I feel like I have the black whirlies while still wide awake.
It's all I could do to not join the puke party - lucky there was nothing in my stomach that wanted to leave in a hurry.
Don't get me wrong, I love holding my now-limp, 75 pound, dead weight, puking son up on the deck of the SS Minnow while inhaling diesel fumes on our 2 HOUR ride out to the Channel Islands.
I figured IF I lived - and once the sun came up the winds would die down and we could fish. Well, the sun came up, and so did another round of yellow bile from poor little Brennan's stomach. We were sitting there rocking and rolling (Don was puking WHILE fishing - NOT kidding!) - but Aaron and crew were having beers!
I just wanted to go home and die and in peace.
The boat was rocking so much from side-to-side that the water almost breached the gun whale (the little wall on the sides of the boat). After about an hour and a half of this - I told the captain that we had one more hour and we're D-O-N-E, done.
He explained that he would take us to a calmer spot - but my reaction was (literally) - "I don't give a crap what you do - you've got an hour, and we're done."
On the way to calmer waters - we spotted a whole pod of dolphins that were racing the boat, we saw several sea otters and even a grey whale! (that was the best part of the trip)
Well, we did get to calmer waters, the sun was bright, and the winds calmed down. Aaron and crew were fishing like there was no tomorrow - along with Don (the Super Angler) - while Brennan and I and Jim were dozing in the sun.
In the end - everyone was really kind to Brennan and let him reel in some fish (which he was thrilled at - and later took full credit for). I even plopped a line in the water and reeled it in - just to prove that I'm not a total pussy. Jim even fished for awhile - and did pretty well (while he wasn't STILL puking).
When it was all said and done - we (they) caught over 100 fish.
I drove us home and slept for a day and a half.
The next day when Brenda (my wife) asked Brennan how the trip was - he replied "It was the best fishing trip ever! I caught a ton of fish - and I even threw up!"
Maybe I'm not a TOTAL slacker...
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Synch This With Gears
So, Microsoft has come out with a Community Technology Preview (CTP - just another fancy name for "beta") of it's new Synch Framework.
This ball of magic and wonder is supposed to allow developers to synchronize anything (contacts, drives, RSS feeds, relational databases, etc) to and between anything and over any protocol for online/offline goodness.
The framework contains a runtime and several pre-built "providers" that allow Windows developers to call Windows APIs to handle synch stuff. It's going to be built-in to Visual Studio 2008 which should go to the duplicators at the end of the month.
Where Google Gears is mainly targeted at developers who want to bring their online applications offline (with data) and then synch them up in the background, the Microsofties are billing the Synch Framework (really just an extension of ADO.Net) as an end-all-be-all answer to synch - covering multiple services and devices.
To be fair, I have not seen the Synch Framework personally. However, whenever I hear the word "runtime" in the same sentence as "Microsoft" - I begin to involuntarily shutter. I can just picture the 15,000 security alerts, patches, and other goodies just waiting to happen. Now picture when "services and devices" have the ability to synch anything to anything over any protocol... can you say Apocalypse?
Not that Gears is any less of a security nightmare waiting to happen, but at least with Gears you can screw yourself cross-platform!
This ball of magic and wonder is supposed to allow developers to synchronize anything (contacts, drives, RSS feeds, relational databases, etc) to and between anything and over any protocol for online/offline goodness.
The framework contains a runtime and several pre-built "providers" that allow Windows developers to call Windows APIs to handle synch stuff. It's going to be built-in to Visual Studio 2008 which should go to the duplicators at the end of the month.
Where Google Gears is mainly targeted at developers who want to bring their online applications offline (with data) and then synch them up in the background, the Microsofties are billing the Synch Framework (really just an extension of ADO.Net) as an end-all-be-all answer to synch - covering multiple services and devices.
To be fair, I have not seen the Synch Framework personally. However, whenever I hear the word "runtime" in the same sentence as "Microsoft" - I begin to involuntarily shutter. I can just picture the 15,000 security alerts, patches, and other goodies just waiting to happen. Now picture when "services and devices" have the ability to synch anything to anything over any protocol... can you say Apocalypse?
Not that Gears is any less of a security nightmare waiting to happen, but at least with Gears you can screw yourself cross-platform!
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Time Machine - OOPS!
Apple is getting a black eye over it's new Time Machine backup utility unveiled in it's new Leopard release. From the postings on the Apple Support site - the majority of users are wishing they had a time machine of their own - to go back to Panther!
Many are complaining that they are getting 90% done with the backup - only to hit the dreaded "An error occurred" dialog. Others are complaining that certain drives are not even being recognized at all by the Time Machine application.
Apple is pointing the finger at certain drive makers - saying that the user should just re-format the drive before trying to use Time Machine. Helpful.
The Mac fans are also really pissed off at LaCie - as they have been a prominent Mac drive maker for years - and users are having to re-format those drives as well. The other problem with various flavors of LaCie and other drives is that there are some Mac folks on the other end of them that don't really understand what they are doing - and some of them are losing their manually copied backups.
Isn't this the type of user that Time Machine was intended to "help?"
Either way, Apple has taken some of the shine off their terrific app by not making it really, really easy (and bulletproof) to connect and use it.
Many are complaining that they are getting 90% done with the backup - only to hit the dreaded "An error occurred" dialog. Others are complaining that certain drives are not even being recognized at all by the Time Machine application.
Apple is pointing the finger at certain drive makers - saying that the user should just re-format the drive before trying to use Time Machine. Helpful.
The Mac fans are also really pissed off at LaCie - as they have been a prominent Mac drive maker for years - and users are having to re-format those drives as well. The other problem with various flavors of LaCie and other drives is that there are some Mac folks on the other end of them that don't really understand what they are doing - and some of them are losing their manually copied backups.
Isn't this the type of user that Time Machine was intended to "help?"
Either way, Apple has taken some of the shine off their terrific app by not making it really, really easy (and bulletproof) to connect and use it.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Open (Anti) Social
Social Networking... yawn. Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Flickr, Engage.com, Friendster, hi5, Hyves, imeem, Ning, Oracle, orkut, Plaxo, Six Apart, Tianji, Viadeo, and XING and 100 more "networking" sites - *sigh*.
Now Google has plans to "open up" a new single API so that developers can create their own mashup applications built on a bunch of social networking platforms.
The new API thingie is called OpenSocial and Google is pretty excited about it: " The web is more interesting when you can build apps that easily interact with your friends and colleagues."
Really?
I always thought that's what IM, email, web forums, wikis, the telephone and (gasp!) Friday nights at the bar were for.
I mean, really! Here's yet ANOTHER way you can avoid face-to-face contact - and now it's even cross platform! Clearly this was invented by geeks for geeks. I mean with all the places (above) you can create "profiles" and link to other people and it's hard enough to update this blog - forget about constantly adding "friends" to link lists and tracking their RSS feeds. Unless you're a predator - who has the time to monitor all this virtual "interaction?"
I barely find the time to do my normal work, my take-home work, keep up with the kids' activities, say hi to the wife every now and then, and work on my "honey-do" list. Do most people really have that kind of time? If you are one of those people who love these social networking sites and keep up with multiple online profiles and subscribe to your friends Twitter RSS feeds - please let me know. I need to get a job like yours.
Now Google has plans to "open up" a new single API so that developers can create their own mashup applications built on a bunch of social networking platforms.
The new API thingie is called OpenSocial and Google is pretty excited about it: " The web is more interesting when you can build apps that easily interact with your friends and colleagues."
Really?
I always thought that's what IM, email, web forums, wikis, the telephone and (gasp!) Friday nights at the bar were for.
I mean, really! Here's yet ANOTHER way you can avoid face-to-face contact - and now it's even cross platform! Clearly this was invented by geeks for geeks. I mean with all the places (above) you can create "profiles" and link to other people and it's hard enough to update this blog - forget about constantly adding "friends" to link lists and tracking their RSS feeds. Unless you're a predator - who has the time to monitor all this virtual "interaction?"
I barely find the time to do my normal work, my take-home work, keep up with the kids' activities, say hi to the wife every now and then, and work on my "honey-do" list. Do most people really have that kind of time? If you are one of those people who love these social networking sites and keep up with multiple online profiles and subscribe to your friends Twitter RSS feeds - please let me know. I need to get a job like yours.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
The Haunting Truth of Project Management
Sometimes managing a project can become downright scary. There are times when it seems like all the players have taken on these masks and have just randomly re-mixed themselves - playing the part of others.
If you've been in software development for any amount of time, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. There's a certain point in the development process (normally between 3/4 and 9/10 finished) when people do or say things that just don't match up with what was agreed upon or stated clearly in other meetings.
It's like - they have the face and voice of Tom, but the things they're saying just don't make any sense. They voice objections for issues long resolved or introduce new requirements at the 11th hour. It's like they weren't even in the room when the issues/requirements were agreed upon.
I keep waiting for them to say "Trick or Treat!" or "April Fool's Day!" or something.
But they don't.
They're serious.
Really.
I can understand the typical CYA (Cover Your Ass) moves that inevitably crop up as a project comes closer to completion - but there are limits. No one wants to take blame (only credit!) and not only that they start treating the project like a Mission Impossible agent who's fallen into enemy hands: "In the case you're caught or captured we will disavow any knowledge of you or your mission..."
It's like someone has completely deleted the file named "The Project We've Been Working On For Months" from their hard drive. Needless to say this can cause some "friction" between the developers and the other stakeholders in the project.
This goes beyond the traditional "...it just doesn't work.." from the users and the developers claiming "...it does too work...". I've found that it's a lack of communication. Next time I run into this situation - I'm going to try this:
Feel free to submit your own tips...
If you've been in software development for any amount of time, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. There's a certain point in the development process (normally between 3/4 and 9/10 finished) when people do or say things that just don't match up with what was agreed upon or stated clearly in other meetings.
It's like - they have the face and voice of Tom, but the things they're saying just don't make any sense. They voice objections for issues long resolved or introduce new requirements at the 11th hour. It's like they weren't even in the room when the issues/requirements were agreed upon.
I keep waiting for them to say "Trick or Treat!" or "April Fool's Day!" or something.
But they don't.
They're serious.
Really.
I can understand the typical CYA (Cover Your Ass) moves that inevitably crop up as a project comes closer to completion - but there are limits. No one wants to take blame (only credit!) and not only that they start treating the project like a Mission Impossible agent who's fallen into enemy hands: "In the case you're caught or captured we will disavow any knowledge of you or your mission..."
It's like someone has completely deleted the file named "The Project We've Been Working On For Months" from their hard drive. Needless to say this can cause some "friction" between the developers and the other stakeholders in the project.
This goes beyond the traditional "...it just doesn't work.." from the users and the developers claiming "...it does too work...". I've found that it's a lack of communication. Next time I run into this situation - I'm going to try this:
- Offer them a piece of candy - because surly some alien being is just pretending to be them - OR if that fails;
- Offer them a glimpse at the 300+ pages of notes and emails (yes, it's good to print them out and save them!) and see if that refreshes their memory - OR if that fails;
- Grab their ears and try to force the damn mask off
Feel free to submit your own tips...
Thursday, October 25, 2007
It's Better to Look Good
So, all of my Mac buddies are waiting with bated breath for the release of the new OS X Operating System dubbed "Leopard" this coming Friday. Their eyes are wide, their cheeks are flush and they have credit card in hand - just bursting to buy and install this OS update.
Folks - it's NOT the freakin' iPhone... it's an operating system. I didn't see any of my Windows buddies lined up to install a .0 version of Vista. They weren't all a twitter over new features or time-saving doohickeys. They were waiting for the other shoe to drop. In the Windows world there is NO WAY you would ever install an operating system that is at .0 status. You would wait for the first service pack (at least).
Nonetheless, my Mac friends can't wait to get their hands on this product (in most cases they pre-ordered). Never mind the fact that most of the commercial applications will break, or that some 3rd party drivers need to be updated or that there are tons of bug in the Java implementation - frankly, they don't care.
They are drooling over the interesting new features in the OS: Time Machine (automatic backup), Spaces (organized groups of running program windows) and Cover Flow views in the Finder (browse documents like you browse albums on the iPod). There are supposedly loads of more improvements (Apple says over 300+) to Safari, the mail program and others - but those three (Time Machine, Spaces and Cover Flow) are a couple of the most noticeable "WOW" features.
I was watching the video overview and the stuff they've done is pretty cool. I was especially impressed with Time Machine - their new backup program. In typical Apple fashion, they have taken something that used to be relegated to tree lists and scrolling lists of files - and made it a totally visual experience. You can open up a folder and click the button on the dock - and the screen "slides up" and now you see lots of windows that are "stacked" on each other and lines down the right side of the screen.
The lines represent days, and you can click on a day - and the windows will move forward (right at you!) until it comes to the day you selected and will show you a snapshot of the way the folder (or iPhoto album) looked on that date. To "restore" an item - just click it and click "restore" and you are zoomed out to the current view of the window - and that item will appear just where it was before you deleted it.
Same kind of thing with "Spaces". It's really just a way to hide selective windows of running applications - but it's pretty cool. You tell it how many "spaces" you want and then you can have any number of windows open and you can put them into a "space." This lets you have games in one space, browser and text editor in another, etc. You can even drag and drop windows between spaces to re-organize it. Cool.
Finally, there is the Cover Flow view of your documents. It shows previews (on that glossy, reflective surface) just like on the iPod. BUT, you can also click on a document (in the demo it was a slide preso) and you can page through the document while you're in that Cover Flow view.
Cool? You bet!
Life-changing? Not so much.
Worth having a bunch of broken productivity apps and utilities for 3 months? Not hardly.
Hey, don't get me wrong. I love the Mac OS, it's very cool. And now that they're bringing their default OS more in-line with iTunes - they are creating one great (closed and proprietary) franchise. Just like Windows...
Folks - it's NOT the freakin' iPhone... it's an operating system. I didn't see any of my Windows buddies lined up to install a .0 version of Vista. They weren't all a twitter over new features or time-saving doohickeys. They were waiting for the other shoe to drop. In the Windows world there is NO WAY you would ever install an operating system that is at .0 status. You would wait for the first service pack (at least).
Nonetheless, my Mac friends can't wait to get their hands on this product (in most cases they pre-ordered). Never mind the fact that most of the commercial applications will break, or that some 3rd party drivers need to be updated or that there are tons of bug in the Java implementation - frankly, they don't care.
They are drooling over the interesting new features in the OS: Time Machine (automatic backup), Spaces (organized groups of running program windows) and Cover Flow views in the Finder (browse documents like you browse albums on the iPod). There are supposedly loads of more improvements (Apple says over 300+) to Safari, the mail program and others - but those three (Time Machine, Spaces and Cover Flow) are a couple of the most noticeable "WOW" features.
I was watching the video overview and the stuff they've done is pretty cool. I was especially impressed with Time Machine - their new backup program. In typical Apple fashion, they have taken something that used to be relegated to tree lists and scrolling lists of files - and made it a totally visual experience. You can open up a folder and click the button on the dock - and the screen "slides up" and now you see lots of windows that are "stacked" on each other and lines down the right side of the screen.
The lines represent days, and you can click on a day - and the windows will move forward (right at you!) until it comes to the day you selected and will show you a snapshot of the way the folder (or iPhoto album) looked on that date. To "restore" an item - just click it and click "restore" and you are zoomed out to the current view of the window - and that item will appear just where it was before you deleted it.
Same kind of thing with "Spaces". It's really just a way to hide selective windows of running applications - but it's pretty cool. You tell it how many "spaces" you want and then you can have any number of windows open and you can put them into a "space." This lets you have games in one space, browser and text editor in another, etc. You can even drag and drop windows between spaces to re-organize it. Cool.
Finally, there is the Cover Flow view of your documents. It shows previews (on that glossy, reflective surface) just like on the iPod. BUT, you can also click on a document (in the demo it was a slide preso) and you can page through the document while you're in that Cover Flow view.
Cool? You bet!
Life-changing? Not so much.
Worth having a bunch of broken productivity apps and utilities for 3 months? Not hardly.
Hey, don't get me wrong. I love the Mac OS, it's very cool. And now that they're bringing their default OS more in-line with iTunes - they are creating one great (closed and proprietary) franchise. Just like Windows...
Friday, October 19, 2007
Culture Is Not Dead
The ServoyWorld Conference was absolutely wonderful - the best yet - and it was really, really great to see all the new faces as well as all the familiar "fans" as well. I've been in The Netherlands for the past 10 days - and this time around I actually got to actually see the city of Amsterdam.
Sure, I had the usual plate of speaking, organizing, customer meetings, sales meetings, staff meetings, partner meetings, etc. that always goes on - but I actually got a chance to get out of the hotel (not my default mode, if you have ever traveled with me).
In fact, the first day we arrived my wife, Brenda, and I used almost all forms of transportation known to man: walking, car, bus, plane, tram, boat, subway and taxi. I think we only left off biking and skateboarding! Needless to say, we had a blast. In all the times I've been to Holland and the times I've been to Amsterdam, I really had never gone past the "tourist" sections.
This time was very different. We had a wonderful dinner with Marcel Trapman (CEO of IT2Be) and his girlfriend Monique at a very charming restaurant located in the basement of a building. I would have NEVER even known it was there - and forget about ever going there on my own. After dinner we walked to the downtown "Theatre District" and had a couple of drinks at an old bar. It was really, really nice.
Then there was the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The home of the grand master Rembrant - and viewed all the paintings, artwork, porcelain, swords, etc. from the 15th - 17th Century. You could literally stand 2 feet from the stuff - and it was really awesome viewing the famous (and not-so-famous) works of these artists from hundreds of years ago. There were some that were so photo-realistic, that today people would just use Photoshop and give it the "brush look." But these folks were hard-core - they even had to mix their own paints, and would work on single paintings for up to 2-1/2 YEARS. Amazing.
With all the culture, history, architecture (there are buildings leaning at a 15 degree angle - in more than one direction - so much that they have to trim the doors so they will open every few years), atmosphere, shopping and cool stuff - I could STILL pick an American out of the crowd, no problem.
The first tip-off is the white shoes and socks, followed by the volume of their voice and their hurry in getting their check and leaving (not done in Holland - where people love to just hang out and having dinner is a 2+ hour experience). They were always the ones in the coffee houses trying illegal (but tolerated) substances, were the ones at the Red Light District taking up a collection for a buddy to go into one of the "red light" houses (brothel), etc.
I wore non-white shoes, with non-white socks and dressed like everyone else (jeans and nice shirt). If anyone asked - we were from "Canada", eh? The public transportation system is amazing, and the people are very nice - and 99% of them speak very good English (WAY better than my Dutch!).
If you ever get a chance to go there - I would highly recommend it!
Sure, I had the usual plate of speaking, organizing, customer meetings, sales meetings, staff meetings, partner meetings, etc. that always goes on - but I actually got a chance to get out of the hotel (not my default mode, if you have ever traveled with me).
In fact, the first day we arrived my wife, Brenda, and I used almost all forms of transportation known to man: walking, car, bus, plane, tram, boat, subway and taxi. I think we only left off biking and skateboarding! Needless to say, we had a blast. In all the times I've been to Holland and the times I've been to Amsterdam, I really had never gone past the "tourist" sections.
This time was very different. We had a wonderful dinner with Marcel Trapman (CEO of IT2Be) and his girlfriend Monique at a very charming restaurant located in the basement of a building. I would have NEVER even known it was there - and forget about ever going there on my own. After dinner we walked to the downtown "Theatre District" and had a couple of drinks at an old bar. It was really, really nice.
Then there was the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The home of the grand master Rembrant - and viewed all the paintings, artwork, porcelain, swords, etc. from the 15th - 17th Century. You could literally stand 2 feet from the stuff - and it was really awesome viewing the famous (and not-so-famous) works of these artists from hundreds of years ago. There were some that were so photo-realistic, that today people would just use Photoshop and give it the "brush look." But these folks were hard-core - they even had to mix their own paints, and would work on single paintings for up to 2-1/2 YEARS. Amazing.
With all the culture, history, architecture (there are buildings leaning at a 15 degree angle - in more than one direction - so much that they have to trim the doors so they will open every few years), atmosphere, shopping and cool stuff - I could STILL pick an American out of the crowd, no problem.
The first tip-off is the white shoes and socks, followed by the volume of their voice and their hurry in getting their check and leaving (not done in Holland - where people love to just hang out and having dinner is a 2+ hour experience). They were always the ones in the coffee houses trying illegal (but tolerated) substances, were the ones at the Red Light District taking up a collection for a buddy to go into one of the "red light" houses (brothel), etc.
I wore non-white shoes, with non-white socks and dressed like everyone else (jeans and nice shirt). If anyone asked - we were from "Canada", eh? The public transportation system is amazing, and the people are very nice - and 99% of them speak very good English (WAY better than my Dutch!).
If you ever get a chance to go there - I would highly recommend it!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Pick An Office, Any Office
"Psssst... buddy.... you wanna' use our version of Office?" With everyone and their dogs getting into the already-crowded Web/Offline/Open Source Office lately - it will be interesting to see who comes out on top.
Just in case you haven't updated your scorecard lately - here's some of the offerings:
On the Web 2.0/SaaS side we have:
Most of the online/web solutions allow you to save/upload/import/export into any of the Microsoft formats (which are read by the offline Office versions - more or less). So, you have a bunch of companies who are trying to get you to dump MS Office with free or low cost versions of their open source or hosted software.
Which one will you choose? Personally, I use OpenOffice (as I have said here many times). I just got fed up at paying Microsoft thousands of dollars in licensing for Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The results have be generally good - I use the suite on a regular basis, and have hardly any complaints (it's harder to bitch about something if it's free and you're not contributing to making it better).
I must say that the Thinkfree folks absolutely BLOW AWAY Google Docs and Zoho on their implementation - IF you're looking for a free, online replacement - that's where you want to go. It has really, really advanced functionality in the word processing department, and very good support in the spreadsheet arena. The online version is free (for now), they have a desktop version for $49 and a mobile edition for playing slides shows on iPods as well as the full suite for a Windows Mobile device. Thinkfree also has a Premium edition that will allow online/offline synch of documents.
If you don't already have a Microsoft Office bias - any of the tools - including any Open Office variant - will be fine - as they have all the stuff you really need (although the feature sets vary). The best idea is to download one or two of them and compare them with their online cousins and find the one that's best for you.
Hey, let's face it. In today's world - 85% of people just need a simple word processor with spell checker, a basic spreadsheet, and a decent slide presentation application. For years I've used notepad (and BBEdit on the Mac) to write HTML and create database-driven websites.
I used to manually type stuff on a typewriter and then use call outs to specify the font, size, leading, and kerning so a typesetter could set the type, so that I could WAX it to a board and shoot negatives so I could then have it published.
If you need more than what the free/online tools offer above - shouldn't someone else be fidgeting with that stuff so you can concentrate on the business?
Just in case you haven't updated your scorecard lately - here's some of the offerings:
- Sun Microsystems - Star Office. $69. This is the granddaddy in terms of "open" productivity software*
- Open Office Org - Open Office. Free. This is an off-shoot (open source) version of Star Office*
- IBM - Lotus Symphony. Free. Based on Open Office 1.0 code - supports Microsoft XML as well as Open Office XML and PDF.
*Share the same file format
On the Web 2.0/SaaS side we have:
- Google - Google Docs. Free. Basic word processing, spreadsheet, email (gMail) - although a presentation package is rumored
- Yahoo - Zimbra. Messaging and collaboration, email (Yahoo! Mail) - still hasn't really jumped in yet - but it looks like they are testing the waters with the Zimbra acquisition.
- Zoho - Zoho Office. Free. Full featured word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, pro jets, collaboration, etc.
- Thinkfree - Thinkfree Office. Free. Looks a lot like MS Office - includes word processing, spreadsheet and presentation applications.
Most of the online/web solutions allow you to save/upload/import/export into any of the Microsoft formats (which are read by the offline Office versions - more or less). So, you have a bunch of companies who are trying to get you to dump MS Office with free or low cost versions of their open source or hosted software.
Which one will you choose? Personally, I use OpenOffice (as I have said here many times). I just got fed up at paying Microsoft thousands of dollars in licensing for Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The results have be generally good - I use the suite on a regular basis, and have hardly any complaints (it's harder to bitch about something if it's free and you're not contributing to making it better).
I must say that the Thinkfree folks absolutely BLOW AWAY Google Docs and Zoho on their implementation - IF you're looking for a free, online replacement - that's where you want to go. It has really, really advanced functionality in the word processing department, and very good support in the spreadsheet arena. The online version is free (for now), they have a desktop version for $49 and a mobile edition for playing slides shows on iPods as well as the full suite for a Windows Mobile device. Thinkfree also has a Premium edition that will allow online/offline synch of documents.
If you don't already have a Microsoft Office bias - any of the tools - including any Open Office variant - will be fine - as they have all the stuff you really need (although the feature sets vary). The best idea is to download one or two of them and compare them with their online cousins and find the one that's best for you.
Hey, let's face it. In today's world - 85% of people just need a simple word processor with spell checker, a basic spreadsheet, and a decent slide presentation application. For years I've used notepad (and BBEdit on the Mac) to write HTML and create database-driven websites.
I used to manually type stuff on a typewriter and then use call outs to specify the font, size, leading, and kerning so a typesetter could set the type, so that I could WAX it to a board and shoot negatives so I could then have it published.
If you need more than what the free/online tools offer above - shouldn't someone else be fidgeting with that stuff so you can concentrate on the business?
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Sort Attention Span Theatre
I think Americans are coming down with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). For years, all the news clips on TV and the Internet have been 15-30 seconds (max). Don't believe me? Time them yourself tonight when you get home.
USA Today has become the #2 newspaper in the US by trimming out all the "yucky journalism" stuff in regular, longer articles in favor of short pieces with lots of pictures - oh yeah, and that really relevant and "cool" graph on the front page!
Don't even get me started on the YouTube generation. Useless clips of people doing truly stupid things for one or two minutes - the max that people seem to watch (unless some no-talent freak is doing a lip synch to a song they like).
I found a product the other day that will now enable more and more people to put up useless crap for all the world to see.... introducing the new Flip Video Ultra personal camcorder - with editing and upload software built in.
This $149 device (8GM with a $119 4MB cousin) is available from big box retailer and online. The camera is by Pure Digital Technologies, the makers of those "disposable" cameras and has OK specs for such an inexpensive item.
The camera features 2x digital zoom, 1.5-inch display on-camera playback and delete, one-click video e-mailing or video “greeting cards,” custom editing of movie mixes, capture of still frames from video, and DVD processing at more than 9,400 labs nationwide.
The picture quality - if the online videos on their site can be trusted - looks pretty good. It's a helluva lot better than trying to capture stuff with your cell phone. It's got a built-in USB 2.0 thingie that will connect right up to your computer, and built-in software that will let you upload directly to YouTube, AOL Video, as well as other sites.
For more "upscale", but still cheap video - I came across the Aiptek A-HD 720P camcorder. It shoots in HD at 30fps, had an expandable memory slot, 4x zoom with auto-focus, 2.4" reversable LCD viewfinder, red eye reduction, HDTV component output, night shot feature, 8 mega pixel still camera, and records directly to the QuickTime format (.mov). Price? $170. Really.
The Flip Video Ultra looks like a very interesting product, and if you're just into sharing some video online with your family, or the world via YouTube, then it might be a good option. I'm sure it doesn't have the video quality of more "upscale" recorders - but hey, do you really need that for the 475 x 350 format of most online videos? Probably not.
The Aiptek camera seems like it's getting closer to a "real" camera - although I must admit that I haven't personally tested either model - so I can't attest to the image quality (or lack thereof).
However, if I ever get my mom a video camera - it'll be the Flip Video Ultra... then it will only take me 4 hours to explain how to find the USB port on her computer.
USA Today has become the #2 newspaper in the US by trimming out all the "yucky journalism" stuff in regular, longer articles in favor of short pieces with lots of pictures - oh yeah, and that really relevant and "cool" graph on the front page!
Don't even get me started on the YouTube generation. Useless clips of people doing truly stupid things for one or two minutes - the max that people seem to watch (unless some no-talent freak is doing a lip synch to a song they like).
I found a product the other day that will now enable more and more people to put up useless crap for all the world to see.... introducing the new Flip Video Ultra personal camcorder - with editing and upload software built in.
This $149 device (8GM with a $119 4MB cousin) is available from big box retailer and online. The camera is by Pure Digital Technologies, the makers of those "disposable" cameras and has OK specs for such an inexpensive item.
The camera features 2x digital zoom, 1.5-inch display on-camera playback and delete, one-click video e-mailing or video “greeting cards,” custom editing of movie mixes, capture of still frames from video, and DVD processing at more than 9,400 labs nationwide.
The picture quality - if the online videos on their site can be trusted - looks pretty good. It's a helluva lot better than trying to capture stuff with your cell phone. It's got a built-in USB 2.0 thingie that will connect right up to your computer, and built-in software that will let you upload directly to YouTube, AOL Video, as well as other sites.
For more "upscale", but still cheap video - I came across the Aiptek A-HD 720P camcorder. It shoots in HD at 30fps, had an expandable memory slot, 4x zoom with auto-focus, 2.4" reversable LCD viewfinder, red eye reduction, HDTV component output, night shot feature, 8 mega pixel still camera, and records directly to the QuickTime format (.mov). Price? $170. Really.
The Flip Video Ultra looks like a very interesting product, and if you're just into sharing some video online with your family, or the world via YouTube, then it might be a good option. I'm sure it doesn't have the video quality of more "upscale" recorders - but hey, do you really need that for the 475 x 350 format of most online videos? Probably not.
The Aiptek camera seems like it's getting closer to a "real" camera - although I must admit that I haven't personally tested either model - so I can't attest to the image quality (or lack thereof).
However, if I ever get my mom a video camera - it'll be the Flip Video Ultra... then it will only take me 4 hours to explain how to find the USB port on her computer.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Shock and Awe
I was working at home on the computer early in the morning when my friend from the UK sent me an IM message saying "i'm so sorry, mate." I wrote back - "...ummm, it's OK... sorry about what?"
"plane just hit the twin towers"
"ha ha ha :-)"
"no, really - turn on the tele"
So I did. Lots of smoke and fire. Obviously lots of people dead, and you could almost see people jumping out of the windows (or what looked like it - and later was confirmed that's what it was). I was really shocked.
Then - I watched on live television as the second plane hit the second tower. My mind simply couldn't contain what it was seeing. It was like I was watching a movie with really terrific special effects.
It was no movie. It was real.
As the drama unfolded - I was glued to the TV as was most of America (and indeeed, most of the world). Then the really unthinkable the #$%@* building just collapsed! Then the other one!
Then the rubble. Standing like a bombed-out cathedral circa 1945. Thousands of innocent lives lost. Dozens of firefighters lost.
Absolutely unbelievable.
Unthinkable.
Real.
Here's to all of the innocent people, courageous first responders, and the thousands of family members who will never the same again. Along with you - we will never forget. God Bless You All.
"plane just hit the twin towers"
"ha ha ha :-)"
"no, really - turn on the tele"
So I did. Lots of smoke and fire. Obviously lots of people dead, and you could almost see people jumping out of the windows (or what looked like it - and later was confirmed that's what it was). I was really shocked.
Then - I watched on live television as the second plane hit the second tower. My mind simply couldn't contain what it was seeing. It was like I was watching a movie with really terrific special effects.
It was no movie. It was real.
As the drama unfolded - I was glued to the TV as was most of America (and indeeed, most of the world). Then the really unthinkable the #$%@* building just collapsed! Then the other one!
Then the rubble. Standing like a bombed-out cathedral circa 1945. Thousands of innocent lives lost. Dozens of firefighters lost.
Absolutely unbelievable.
Unthinkable.
Real.
Here's to all of the innocent people, courageous first responders, and the thousands of family members who will never the same again. Along with you - we will never forget. God Bless You All.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Is That A Web Browser In Your Pocket?
So the latest interesting vapor-hardware from Apple is the iPod Touch. This $299 (8GB - $399 for 16GB) device that's based on the iPhone (minus the phone) - looks pretty interesting.
The thing isn't even shipping until later this month - and already I can hear all the non-early-adopters ripping plastic from their wallets in anticipation. It's a pretty interesting idea - take the iPhone - take out the proprietary AT&T part that doesn't work in Europe and pisses everyone off here, then add WiFi connectivity - and shebang - you have a wireless mobile platform.
Apple realizes now that it really blew it by going exclusive with AT&T with the iPhone (for "visual voicemail" capabilities) - as the many recent splashes about "unlocking" the iPhone can attest. However, the real interesting bit is having a web browser in your pocket.
What in the hell would you do with such a device? Well, it's pretty interesting to have a device that allows you to check web mail, view/edit your Google calendar and docs, get directions, and have a data-entry device (not to mention music player) all-in-one.
Not to mention that you're not tied to the crappy Edge network - but you get the full benefit of b/g WiFi at much better throughput and way less latency - and the device is about 1/2 as thick as the iPhone. There is even rumored to be a Bluetooth chip in there - although Apple has not activated it. This could, in theory, lead to Skype-like telephony applications - which I'm sure is part of the reason why it's turned off (AT&T must be sh**ting bricks at the though of free calls on an Apple device!).
I will be interesting to see what happens with the iPod Touch - hopefully it will turn into more than just an under-capacity iPod.
NOTE TO WHINY EARLY ADOPTERS: The capacity will increase and the Bluetooth chip will be turned on in future versions! So if you can't deal with it - DO NOT BUY IT yet. If you DO buy it - DO NOT WHINE when it's cheaper, better and faster in 6 months.
The thing isn't even shipping until later this month - and already I can hear all the non-early-adopters ripping plastic from their wallets in anticipation. It's a pretty interesting idea - take the iPhone - take out the proprietary AT&T part that doesn't work in Europe and pisses everyone off here, then add WiFi connectivity - and shebang - you have a wireless mobile platform.
Apple realizes now that it really blew it by going exclusive with AT&T with the iPhone (for "visual voicemail" capabilities) - as the many recent splashes about "unlocking" the iPhone can attest. However, the real interesting bit is having a web browser in your pocket.
What in the hell would you do with such a device? Well, it's pretty interesting to have a device that allows you to check web mail, view/edit your Google calendar and docs, get directions, and have a data-entry device (not to mention music player) all-in-one.
Not to mention that you're not tied to the crappy Edge network - but you get the full benefit of b/g WiFi at much better throughput and way less latency - and the device is about 1/2 as thick as the iPhone. There is even rumored to be a Bluetooth chip in there - although Apple has not activated it. This could, in theory, lead to Skype-like telephony applications - which I'm sure is part of the reason why it's turned off (AT&T must be sh**ting bricks at the though of free calls on an Apple device!).
I will be interesting to see what happens with the iPod Touch - hopefully it will turn into more than just an under-capacity iPod.
NOTE TO WHINY EARLY ADOPTERS: The capacity will increase and the Bluetooth chip will be turned on in future versions! So if you can't deal with it - DO NOT BUY IT yet. If you DO buy it - DO NOT WHINE when it's cheaper, better and faster in 6 months.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Earlier Adopter Tax: $100
So you bought an iPhone at the top of the hype -- or you even stood in line to get one of the first ones? Well, that'll cost you $100.
Seems that since Apple dropped the price of the iPhone by $200 yesterday (the 8GB version) - people have been ... um... really pissed off. So, Apple said that anyone that ponied up the full amount up to 14 days ago can get $200 back in Apple credit.
Not good enough for the hard-core Mac/iPhone folks - they still put up so much of a stink that Steve Jobs himself apologized and agreed to give everyone who bought an iPhone $100 in Apple credit. OK, good PR move - and they still have to buy Apple stuff with the credit (probably iTunes stuff, no doubt).
Apple credit costs Apple a whole lot less than the venerable "real" buck that was spent by the early adopters - but hey, it's better than nothing.
And to the early adopters - what the hell did you think would happen? That there would never be a price decrease? Never be newer/better/cheaper versions of the iPhone?
OK, I'll give you the fact that it's only been 9 weeks since the introduction of the iPhone - but did you really think that Apple wouldn't try to capitalize on the early holiday season rush? I'll also wager that the early adopters of the iPhone (read: fans) - are the same type of people that bought the original iPod, the original iMac and probably the original MacBook. All of which are smaller, cheaper, more powerful and "better" than the originals.
So, folks, stop the bitching and either: A) take a pill and actually WAIT for the 2.x or 3.x version of a device - or B) shut the hell up and write off the $100 (roughly $2.40 per day - or the Starbucks equivalent of a grande drip) as the tax for being an early adopter.
Seems that since Apple dropped the price of the iPhone by $200 yesterday (the 8GB version) - people have been ... um... really pissed off. So, Apple said that anyone that ponied up the full amount up to 14 days ago can get $200 back in Apple credit.
Not good enough for the hard-core Mac/iPhone folks - they still put up so much of a stink that Steve Jobs himself apologized and agreed to give everyone who bought an iPhone $100 in Apple credit. OK, good PR move - and they still have to buy Apple stuff with the credit (probably iTunes stuff, no doubt).
Apple credit costs Apple a whole lot less than the venerable "real" buck that was spent by the early adopters - but hey, it's better than nothing.
And to the early adopters - what the hell did you think would happen? That there would never be a price decrease? Never be newer/better/cheaper versions of the iPhone?
OK, I'll give you the fact that it's only been 9 weeks since the introduction of the iPhone - but did you really think that Apple wouldn't try to capitalize on the early holiday season rush? I'll also wager that the early adopters of the iPhone (read: fans) - are the same type of people that bought the original iPod, the original iMac and probably the original MacBook. All of which are smaller, cheaper, more powerful and "better" than the originals.
So, folks, stop the bitching and either: A) take a pill and actually WAIT for the 2.x or 3.x version of a device - or B) shut the hell up and write off the $100 (roughly $2.40 per day - or the Starbucks equivalent of a grande drip) as the tax for being an early adopter.
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