Google's Attempt to Take Over - Recreate Email

I just read an article about Google releasing a version of GMail that includes a client side adapter that lets the user continue to use Microsoft Outlook. This makes it much easier for an organization to replace Microsoft's Exchange product and use Gmail, Google Calendar, and other features for $50 per user per year. In addition to that, the Google Wave (Open Source) product that was unveiled last month seems to be a direct shot at Microsoft's Sharepoint.

Washington Technology Article

The last couple of years have certainly been very exciting in the technology space and personally eye opening for me as well. I was once a "Die-Hard" Microsoft Fan, but through experience, education, and exposure I have been able to see and acknowledge the alternatives that are out there. Microsoft writes good code and has been the market leader for a long time in client desktop operating systems, email products, and even mobile devices for that matter. However, innovation has created strong competition in all of these areas. Apple has made significant progress in the desktop/client environment. First Apple, with the Iphone, and now Google, with Android, have taken over the mobile device market. I thought Microsoft had email locked up, but this announcement by Google seems to change that.

Email services are a standard and somewhat ubiqitous service that lends itself to be easily transfered into the cloud. There are a few potential issues still out there (Email Filtering, Active Directory Authentication, and Virus/Security) but those issues exists in both the internally hosted Exchange Model and the GMail Cloud option.

Bottom line... Innovation has brought significant value to the consumer and the enterprise through unique services and less costly "cloud" solutions. Innovation has also created a lot of competition for Microsoft. I wonder how Microsoft will react. Microsoft... Your Move.

(and don't tell me Bing.com is your first move)

Great Post by Tim Orielly on new Federal CTO Position

I had to post a link to this blog post. Very nice article on how the federal government should pursue the use of new technology.

http://tinyurl.com/cp3xen

How Cloud Computing is changing the IT Landscape

I haven't posted a blog post in a while. I think the dust has settled from my "academic endeavor" and I'm ready to pick up where I left off.

I have been overly critical, in other posts, about "Cloud Computing". Possibly, too much so. My own thoughts on the challenges involved in this technology can be misconstrued as a lack of support. In fact, it is not. Merely a hope that the discussion can move towards the "real world" implications of adopting these tools and the challenges we face. As a technologist I find these new advances as inevitable. Especially with cloud computing. In fact, "the cloud" can (and probably already is) be implemented without the end-user's involvement or action.

I recently came across this article on CIO.com. It is a great discussion of the cloud and two Nicholas Carr's books. He is controversial "IT Doesn't Matter" and his latest book "The Big Switch". I haven't read the 2nd book but the article gives some great information and parallels between how electricity was de-centralized and produced locally within corporations for years before the advent of the power grid and utility companies. This sound erily family to the in-house data centers that are slowly being migrated to "the cloud".

Check out the article. Very interesting read.

Computing Power - 1924

I wanted to post a link to this blog entry. Its a blog called Shorpy. http://www.shorpy.com/ It specializes in old pictures and I found this one particularly interesting.

http://www.shorpy.com/computing-division

And they say there is a shortage of women in the computing industry. Apparently Not.

6 Common IT Budgeting Mistakes

As part of my Master's Degree program, I have really been getting interested in the pitfalls of managing IT as an investment and asset. When companies construct new buildings, sign leases, and hire new employees (all assets) there are a number of underlying assumptions that most people are aware of. Like negotiating a lease termination fee or estimating local property taxes. These assumptions can have a rather large effect on a companies bottom line and are somewhat common sense (arguably) in the work place.

However, IT on the other hand requires a completely new set of expertise. The following article discusses 6 Common IT Budgeting mistakes. After reading them they all seemed like common sense (most good points do). However, I know there are a number of real-life situations just like this one. Something to keep in mind when trying to solve a problem with IT. "What will my operating costs be?" "What kind of reports will I need?" "What will my new problem be?".

Very good article.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=321645

Personal Note

On a personal note, the semester is finally over. Looking back on it I can say that I've accomplished quite a bit. I've learned ASP.NET, SQL Server, AJAX, CSS, and DOM concepts. I began (and will continue) to write a blog. I've established a GoogleReader account, a Digg Account, a GoogleSite, a GoogleGroup, and pretty much everything else Google. And of course I've learned far too much about the cloud.

I'm not sure why but this was the hardest semester so far. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the course work but a combination of the following factors:

A) Its summer and especially hard to be locked up in class on Saturdays.
B) Its the third straight semester (or almost one full year complete) and the tank is running on "E".
and
C) I took on a new role at my company and was doing a job transition.

I'm going to keep writing this blog. Great place to capture all of my ideas and thoughts on technology.

I'm on a much needed vacation next week, so no posts then. But will be back on shortly after. In addition, I may start another blog to capture the progress of our Capstone Project.

More on that later...

A New Role or a New Title

I recently read an article on CIO.com (which is quickly becoming my favorite web site / RSS Feed).

http://www.cio.com/article/441079/A_New_Role_for_CIOs

The article goes into detail about a new role that is springing up in organizations called the Senior Vice President for Operations and Technology. While I am fascinated with the growth of maturation of technology, I don't see this as a new role. This title is just a re-branding of the CIO title. As organizations (and the people in them) begin to mature and understand the role of IT in combining the "problem space" and "solution space" they are looking for a new term. Early CIO's had a major uphill battle to fight and often did not deliver on the true promise of the position. As corporate and government customers begin to see the value and benefit of these positions they are beginning to turn the corner. In order to get the CIO role out of Gartner's "Trough of Disillusionment" they had to come up with a new name. Hence... the President of Operations and Technology. Or more easily said... "POT". Ok, so they'll have to stick with CIO for now. But its promising to see technology being applied to solve problems on a more regular basis. And doing so in an organized framework that manages the investment and assets as a whole.

Here is a great excerpt from the Article...

********
Turn a cost center into a corporate investment. In addition to the age-old wisdom of knowing the business and building relationships, McNamee points to something more specific. "As CIO, you are responsible for a significant spend in IT. If you can build a process for engaging the company in how most strategically to spend that money and how to bring a return on that investment, suddenly the discussion moves away from mainframes and infrastructure, and you become a leader in driving operational improvements," he says. "If you build a successful governance process, you have just worked your way up to the point of controlling a corporate investment that drives business value and revenue." Less an order taker and more of a business driver, you are one step closer to the integrated role.

SOA Guy Walks into a Bar (part 2)

Seems like SOA is continuing to take off. I'm interested in how these organizations are using EA to define the SOA investments. Also, what type of ROI is being captures from Application Modernization in these cases. Or is this simply web-inizing legacy applications.

Cloud Computing

The Silver Lining is Lighting Ready to Strike

Ok, here is my long awaited post on Cloud Computing. I recently got involved in a heated discussion over the “Cloud”. In an effort to more effectively organized and communicate my ideas, I thought I’d turn to my blog.

For background on Cloud Computing go here... (http://www.cio.com/article/439814/Demystifying_Cloud_Computing)

In this (rather long blog entry) I’m going to organize voice my concerns over the cloud and attempt to identify the potential hurdles that will hinder the adoption of cloud computing for running specific applications.

First I will outline the technical limitations of the currently available consumer cloud offerings and other cloud implementations. Next I will look at the consumer market place and discuss how corporate and consumer trends will impact the adoption of applications running in the “cloud”. Lastly, I will argue against three general statements that I recently heard about the cloud.

TECHINICAL

To begin with the technical evaluation of cloud computing that is available to the consumer, I looked towards the Google App Engine and Amazon’s EC2.

The article linked below outlines a number of key points about the Google App engine. The current limitations of the Google App Engine are as follows. First it doesn’t support SQL or Standard DB schema. Instead it uses its own proprietary query language (Yes, Google has something that is not Open) called GQL. Apparently this is to make their environment scale more effectively when performing calls from Web and Application Tiers into the Database Tier. While I’m sure it exists for a reason this is a large down-side that already will limit the effectiveness and adoption of the Google Cloud. Next, it currently does not support TLS or HTTPS which are common security protocols used on the web. In my opinion this will drastically limit the amount of e-commerce traffic that is deployed with the Google App Engine. And Lastly, while the article stresses many more points, it currently only supports development in the Python Development Language. Google does have plans to expand to other languages but has not done so to date. One additional concern has been raised about Intellectual Property of these applications and if publishing these sites is akin to “Socializing IP”. So who does own the code and data within the application…. Google or You?

1. Google Under Pressure As App Engine Requests Rise
http://www.cio.com/article/424864/Google_Under_Pressure_As_App_Engine_Requests_Rise/1

The article below details some problems identified with the Amazon EC2 platform related to the inappropriate use of customer data. Apparently spammers were using the EC2 platform to create malicious applications and spamming logic. The EC2 logic allows these solution to simply “hop” to another IP to avoid being shut down. As a result the EC2 space is now being actively blocked by Outblaze and Spamhaus, two market leaders in secure enterprise level email services. This represents a huge problem for the EC2 platform and will require Amazon to create a “trusted” partnership for programs running within its environment. This in turn would make it more difficult to create a new web solution and deploy it quickly. Amazon may now require code scans, system monitoring, and pilot time periods before your application is promoted to an “unblocked” range of its Domain. One current users expressed his concerns with Amazon’s lack of response to situation like this:

‘I got the impression the only thing Amazon considers abuse is use of their servers and not paying the bill. If you’re a paying customer, you can do whatever you like.’

Read the entire article and discussion below.

2. http://taint.org/2008/07/02/162007a.html
Amazon EC2’s Spam and Malware Problems

Below is a great article addressing the concerns regarding the cloud from the CIO's perspective.

3. The Dangers of Cloud Computing
http://www.cio.com/article/426214/The_Dangers_of_Cloud_Computing


CONSUMER AND ENTERPRISE VIEW

I believe that most large organization will begin to use ITO activities and allow their chosen vendor to implement their own version of the cloud. Nowhere, is this more apparent then in the Government. Silo'ed departments and offices may soon be mandated to utilize the cloud that has been built for their entire agency. This could have a significant impact on the amount of control that the CIO has. However, using Google or Amazon's publicly available cloud is not an option for most companies and government offices. There are too many concerns about security and vendor tie in.

4. 10 Reasons Enterprises Aren’t Ready to Trust the Cloud
http://gigaom.com/2008/07/01/10-reasons-enterprises-arent-ready-to-trust-the-cloud/

The end consumer will also be VERY SLOW to adopt the cloud. (See article below)

5. Are you ready to subscribe to Microsoft Office?
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/38221/140/

Microsoft is carefully targeting the introduction of an Online Microsoft Office subscription. It is tentatively being priced at $69.99 a year and bundles Email, Calendar, Virus and Computer Maintenance with Office 2007. In a consumer industry used to owning their software this would be a major leap for consumers. In addition, there are entire web companies whose revenue model is based on FREE RIA based office products. (See below)

6. What's Holding OpenOffice Back?
http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/63684.html

So to sum up my points. Cloud computing presents an exciting way for IT Infrastructure to become increasingly more efficient and agile in order to support the business of the enterprise. In addition, System Administration procedures and management controls can become more widely adopted to provide more secure and available software. HOWEVER, contrary to other's opinions, all applications will not run in the cloud in the next 10-15 years. A) Organizations with concerns over information privacy and differentiation will build their own "grid computing" models. B) Some complex applications that utilize extensive data sets have no business being in the cloud because of bandwidth and scalability concerns. AND C) Consumer trends are very difficult to change. Subscription based models for software people are used to owning will require time to penetrate the market place.

Myth #1. “Eventually Everything Will Run in the Cloud” – This statement is absolutely untrue. While enhancements and uses of to Internet Development Technology (such as AJAX, JSON, and Ruby) have expanded to allow for the creation of Client Style Applications or Rich Internet Applications (RIAs), there are a number of applications that due to security and bandwidth efficiency make more sense being run on the client machine. In addition, the Google or Amazon Cloud creates a single point of failure between the client and providing solutions. There are still a number of emergency response and disaster situations that will require the client pc to be capable of running independently of the server.

Myth #2: “The Cloud is More Secure” – As mentioned above the cloud creates significant efficiencies for operations and management of computing resources but can also create a single point of failure. As we’ve seen with new roll-outs of Windows, IPhone OS, and new Firmware, security flaws are inherently found after the fact. If the Google Cloud was running 90% of all E-Commerce sites and a vulnerability was inadvertently deployed they a hacker could gain access to a larger amount of data than ever before. While I agree that this risk exists today with e-commerce sites it exists in “silos”. The separate servers and applications create an environment where it is nearly impossible to access a wide collection of information in one hacking effort.

Myth #3: “All Computers in the Future will Run Applications Directly Through the Internet Browser” – While I agree that the Internet browser will continue to dominate the user interface development for a vast majority of client applications, I still think that Client Applications will exists. Java, .NET, and other languages that allow you to create a client application can offer three things that the cloud can not. First, is the ability to function without a connection. The ability to type a word document, edit a picture, or listen to music while my Comcast connection goes down for the 4th time that day is invaluable. Second, client applications can also offer the developer the ability to utilize system resources and memory more efficiently than most browser platforms. As javascript and RIAs become more prominent it may become difficult to ensure the machine is capable of withstanding the needs of the application, specifically when working with complex and sensitive data sets. For example, when analyzing market research data and comparing it with the latest census data, it would seem more appropriate to me that these actions be performed by the client than using up unnecessary bandwidth do an ad-hoc data mining function. Lastly, when attempting to use proprietary plug-ins and visualization techniques (think Adobe Shockwave) a client installation may be required to allow the application to run. The use of a proprietary or new software processing logic remains a key factor in the ability to differentiate your product offering, for video, picture, and media editing especially. Allowing these codecs and development frameworks to become open is contrary to the needs of a sound

CEO Guide to Technology

Found a great website from BusinessWeek.com that has published a CEO Guide to Technology.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ceo_guide/index.html

I won't comment too much on this site other than to say I know a lot of people who would find this useful. Everything from SecondLife, Wikis, Web 2.0, Mashups, Mapping, etc. All boiled down into somewhat easy to understand concepts.

Now taking these ideas and impacting your customer and marketplace. That is hard.

New Proposed Rules Governing Intellectual Property

The Senate has proposed new set of rules towards increasing damages to IP infringement. While we have done some extensive research into IP as it relates to software in technology, it certainly seems like something that has to be experienced to understand the intricate details and nuances of the legal processes. It is important for a company to have a strong in-house team or partnership with a legal provider in order to protect its interests. Companies like IBM have mastered this art over time and Microsoft, Apple, and Google are right behind them. These new laws will only increase the importance of IP protection.

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/07/senate-introduc.html

User Experience is Paramount

Ok, its been a while since I've written a post. Its been a busy month at work and school. However, I've just gone through my Google Reader account and came up with a ton a great articles that I wanted to share with you.

I've always been a big fan of "usability". While the term sounds simple, creating a powerful application for technology requires the use of a number of different techniques. In my opinion this all starts with strong executive sponsorship for an Agile Development Methodology.

I've found two articles that highlight the business value of having usability as a key design component of any type of produce. We're starting to see the promise of connecting the "problem space" and "solution space" using technology.

First the article "Design Up Front for HP" describes their approach to "The Computer is Personal Again". One could argue that they are the closest "apple-like" hardware manufacturer in the market today.

http://www.cio.com/article/439232/Design_Up_Front_for_HP

The second article references a recent memo sent by Steve Ballmer the CEO of Microsoft. He outlines Microsoft's approach towards conquering Google and Apple by providing a more "apple-like" user experience. He recognizes that these vendors are thriving "Because they are good at providing an experience that is narrow but complete, while our commitment to choice often comes with some compromises to the end-to-end experience." He brings up some great points. While Microsoft has been capable of creating a variety of complex solutions into its products (Word, Visio, Excel, etc) the user experience has often suffered from these variations. I believe that a free Online Office version would give Microsoft the ability to demonstrate/compete with both of these vendors. While SaaS (Software as a Service) has a number of concerns, I do not believe that Microsoft is agile enough to make the changes necessary to compete. I would expect for the next Microsoft Mobile device to be more like the current Iphone.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/07/24/microsoft_sets_sights_on_providing_an_apple_like_experience.html

Should Our Next President Know How to Use "The Google"?

YES!!! Saw a special on CNN that showed McCain unable to dial a number on a BlackBerry. Come on. Really? There is a huge generation gap when it comes to technology. The same special described how Obama is addicted to his BlackBerry and uses Video Chat to speak to his family while he is on the road.

Not to be political, but if the United States is going to become competitive in the World's technology economy, we're going to need a President who understands the power of "The Google".

By the way, the video of Bush saying "The Google" made me laugh for 15 minutes straight. (See Below) He also was recently quoted as saying ... The kids at home get can on the computer and DIAL-UP Volunteer.Org. Just a status check, but I got rid of my 2400 Baud Modem ten years ago.

I predict the Democratic Ticket for the 2008 Presidential Election will be Obama / Google.

It's Not Easy Being Green...

There are some very interesting developments going on with the development of Data Centers. The EPA has contacted EDS as well as other companies to determine how best to run a Data Center. But there is a very interesting dynamic going on here.

Companies are interested in running more efficient data centers as a profile and loss activity in order to remain cost competitive. However, for an organization that is both corporate facing and government facing it gets a little complicated.

I anticipate that the EPA will create "guidelines" that you will see in future government procurements around environmental performance of a Contractor Operated data centers. Companies who operate large data centers and have government customers would be wise to help the EPA with their study and shape the future EPA procurement requirements in their favor.


Related Articles:

http://news.oreilly.com/2008/06/building-the-green-data-center.html





http://www.cio.com/article/404164/Data_Center_Operators_to_Share_Energy_Tips_Next_Week

That's It... I QUIT!!!

I post this article with the utmost respect for my generation. However, this is ridiculous.

http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/tve/?p=338

Turns out that certain members of my generation are actually quitting their jobs because they don't have access to Facebook. You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me.

Grow up. 39% of responders to this survey said they would consider leaving their job if they didn't have access to Facebook.

This says to me that 39% of responders are getting a bad rating on their performance evaluation.

For everyone reading this, I'd like to apologize for those 39% of the people. Their resume will be on your desk in a manner of months. To save you the suspense, here is how it will work out.

******

Manager: "Do you have any questions about the positions?"

Candidate: "Do you block Facebook on your corporate network?"

Manager: {dumb founded}

SOA Guy Walks into a bar...

"Forty-two percent of respondents to a recent IBM-funded study said SOA (service-oriented architecture) is the top spending priority of their organizations, the company announced Wednesday. "

http://www.cio.com/article/391464/Study_SOA_Deployments_on_Rise

I read this article and almost laughed out loud. WOW, so 42% of people are spending most of their money on SOA. That number is 4 times higher than the people who actually understand what SOA is. Which I figure is roughly at 10%. :-) Even this article says this about SOA...

"While definitions of SOA vary"

So let me get this straight, SOA is taking off all over the place and companies are spending lots of money on it. But, we don't have common definition for it.

Basically, SOA was already being applied by forwarding thinking designers and developers. The idea of reuse has been around for 10 years or so. But now having a nebulous term "SOA" means that it is the most important thing to spend money on. The only difference I see is that the technology used to enable reuse (ESB, WebService, XML) has matured enough to become highly effective. Call it what you want, but everyone is doing SOA... just to a different degree of maturity. In addition, only with a well thought out strategy will SOA actually result in improved performance.

By the way, what is a SOA pilot? Can you even do that?

IPv6 Impact on Applications

As most of you know, I'm a software guy. I understand networking and hardware its just not as fun for me. The application of Software to solve business problems really allows for both the creative and technical aspects of a team to flourish.

I found this article a particularly important twist on IPv6.

http://www.gcn.com/print/27_14/46455-1.html?topic=&CMP=OTC-RSS

While the implementation of IPv6 within the Federal Government (and industry for that matter) has been a policy driven initiative, true adoption and permeation of IPv6 won't happen until there is a really cool Application that takes full advantage of its features.

Much the same way that email and "static" web pages allowed for the growth of the first interent, IPv6 will require a killer feature to really take off.

I'm betting on the expansion of Mobile based computing platforms and increased Video features. In a recent, and now determined to be fake, IPhone 2.0 feature the world jumped at the thought of having video calls via the cell phone. I think the corporate and general consumer environment is ready for increased video content to be delivered to them in a relevant manner.

This video content can take advantage of the more efficient and effective communication protocol built into IPv6.

Google and Apple Working on Open Source Projects

Well, I hate to say I told you so, but this article gives me a little "street cred". It turns out that Google, which sounds like one of the coolest places to work, lets their employees spend 20% of their work time on projects of their choosing. And most of them are working on projects for Apple.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-9960547-16.html

In addition, you may not have heard but Apple released a new phone today. Something called the IPhone 2.0. Hm, I've never heard of it. Ok just kidding.

Part of the announcement was a demonstration of its new "Me" push platform. I was really really really impressed. In fact, I want an IPhone now. I only wish my company would support something like this. This might be the first application that takes the "cloud" and implements a great solution.

In fact, I showed the video to my wife and she was like "I want that. Why haven't they come up with something like that yet?" This solution, along with the OS X approach and IPhone move towards simplicity seem to be winning the day.

I'm a lifelong PC guy and I would seriously consider buying a Mac.

Visual Communications in Digital Design

Usability, Usability, Usability.

We've all heard it, "A Fool with a Tool... is still a Fool." I've even heard a GS-15 Rocket Scientist (works for National Science Foundation) stand up during a usability forum with 200 people in an auditorium and say the following:

"We are all intelligent people here. Heck, I have 4 degrees and two doctorates. But you need to treat us like we're idiots."

His response generated unanimous applause from the crowd. For the record, I agree. He was an idiot.

I found a blog entry on a text book called "Visual Communication in Digital Design." I'd like to check it out and see what it has. The art of software development has a lot of capable developers who can create function. But there are very few Frank Lloyd Wrights of web design who can couple both Form and Function into a valuable business system.

http://books.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/04/1310210&from=rss

Geo-Aware Application Primer

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/04/location-technologies-primer/

We all know that I'm in love with GIS, GoogleMaps, and VirtualEarth. This article was very eye opening as to the limitations and features of new handheld devices. I strongly recommend you read this article to understand what is possible with hand held devices as far as GIS is concerned.

I think almost all mobile based applications will require an implied location based element. In addition, the hardware (devices) that runs these applications will need to provide functionality to support the determination of the user's locaiton.

Great article.

Online Elevator Pitches

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/04/introducing-a-new-techcrunch-video-project-elevator-pitches/

This is a pretty cool idea. Tech Crunch has allowed start-up CEO's to pitch thier ideas. I guess they are trying to take advantage of Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point concept. I haven't viewed any of these yet, but I definitely will. There might be some good EMIS CAPSTONE Project Ideas.

Pandora: The Music Genome Project Application

http://www.webmonkey.com/blog/Pandora_Puts_Streaming_Music_on_the_Desktop

Had to post this. I'm a big fan of Pandora. Its a free streaming music website that plays some great music. If you're at a spot without your Ipod, I strongly reccomend going to this site. I'm going to download this application and give you some feedback.

I guarantee I will write an IPhone App

You heard it hear first. I am going to write an IPhone App. I'm not sure when, but it will happen over the next 3 - 6 months. So before the end of the EMIS program. Now you may be wondering why I'm going to do this. The obvious answer is that I'm a dork that likes to write code. The other reason is I think that these mobile applications will become increasingly important to the corporate enterprise. Blackberries, Online Scheduling, and Cell Phones have made individuals increasingly productive. Creating powerful and (do i dare say it) user friendly applications can allow companies to capture important information in real time in order to enable business decisions.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-9958320-37.html

Touch Screen Monitors & Windows v7

http://gizmodo.com/5013010/albatron-windows-7-multi+touch-screen-is-looking-feeling-great

I generally agree that this concept is a solution in search of a problem. While the "cool factor" of a touch screen monitor is definitely high, I'm not sure it will have huge market adoption initially. Obvious exceptions could be the medical space and other areas that have unique end user needs.





In the long run, changing the office layout to include video, touch screen desktop (actual desks), and integrated interface components would be a great improvement. I think my previous post for a Keyboard enhancement is much more useful.

IBM Uses Social Networking To Increase Productivity

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_22/b4086056643442.htm?chan=technology_technology+index+page_top+stories

Interesting timing on reading this article today. I just talked to some upper management folks about implementing an internal Social Networking program. While it is always difficult to determine the value of these types of tools, the costs seem to be reasonable. We use Microsoft Active Directory, Exchange Servers, Communicators, and Sharepoint. Seems that this wouldn't be tough to implement.

The benefits would be amazing. Tracking skill development, creating matrix projects, delegation of tasks, collection of knowledge, and many other things could be accomplished. Right now we seem to use Distribution Lists and SAP to determine who you are and what group you are in. Not a very effective way to communicate and collaborate.

In addition, it is important to develop an application development framework that allows for future enhancements and new product lines. You could possibly even implement Google's OpenSocial Format and allow Third Party Developers to license their products internally within the company.

I will keep you posted on the progress.

Sony Signs on to Tru2Way

http://gizmodo.com/393517/sony-signs-on-with-tru2way-kiss-your-cable-box-goodbye

Finally. I was an early adopter of Tivo and was impressed with the possibilities. They had Tivo to Ipod downloads they were just way too slow. This seems to be a jump towards making TVs more like computers.

I'm not sure how the Apple TV fits into this, if at all. There is a huge push right now for delivering on demand content to the television. Apple of course and Netflix and Blockbuster are creating on-demand boxes as well for all of their content. So for $20 a month you can watch any movie anytime in HD. Sign me up. The Wii also has Internet channels that will be browser based allowing individuals to create custom applications for the Wii.

I know my wife will be on board with this. She always complains about the "ugly" cable box and those wires coming out of the wall. :-)

Kind of reminds me of the article "IT Doesn't Matter". IT is creating new markets and new distribution medium for existing content. I think the "go to market" time frame for these digital products has become greatly reduced. This isn't necessarily a good thing though. Companies may be less likely to evaluate the long term viability of the product line before rolling them out. This could lead to less support for these products and products with safety and privacy as an afterthought. In addition, this may have an effect on the willingness of companies to build these products. The competition is creating identical product lines or "me too" products just as fast. This reduces the time of a company's competitive advantage and also put more importance on getting Patents and protecting Patent Infringement.

So, along with the Dot Car era article, I think that Web 2.0 is not only increasing socialization of the Internet community but also increasing the mediums in which we interact.

Funny Article on Twitter: Real Messages Describe 101 uses for Twitter

http://www.insidecrm.com/features/101-twitter-uses-052008/

Some funny posts here from Twitter. Seems like people think Twitter is a therapist or anonymous friend. This one is weird.

@harveymilk I secretly love a person who admits that s/he dislikes most people. I have the problem of liking almost everyone.

I plan to use my twitter account if and ONLY IF two of the following three conditions are true.
1. I am stuck in a situation that is boring. This could be Traffic, a Meeting, or dare I say it... Class. (Just kidding Professor Lumley)
2. I think of something pretty funny to say.
3. I think of a really good idea. (that might also be funny)

There is one caveat to this. If I can somehow work in a Second Life Reference then I'm allowed to post whenever I want.

EDS & FedTraveler.com in the News

http://www.fcw.com/print/22_14/features/152562-1.html

My program was just featured on an article on Federal Computer Week's online magazine. By the way this GCN and Federal Times do a great job of capturing IT and Government Issues. Centrally managed travel is certainly a complex issue that is heavily effected by agencies unique and complex business and accounting practices. This article does a good job of highlighting the enterprise level savings and efficiencies that the government could realize from this program.

The .Car Era (Dot Car Era)

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/05/gearing-up-for.html

Now here is a cool article. We all know its coming. On-Star has been a big hit for GM. Just imagine what this will do for custom Web Apps. Geo-Aware web applications will certainly take a boost with the implementation of this technology. What about Travelocity for your car. Of course who gets in the car to take a trip before they know where they are staying. Seriously.

And it will take 10 years or so for this to filter into the car population so that applications and SaaS websites will have enough volume to make a profit. Pretty cool though.

Final Thought: Car instant messaging will be dangerous if someone cuts you off. :-)

Apple's Industrial Design Echoes Value of Usability and Web 2.0

http://gizmodo.com/392020/apples-top-designer-explains-design

This is a short article that interviews the Senior Vice President of Industrial Design from Apple. Not to much content but it has a great quote from Jonathan Ive. His team is responsible for the IMac, IPod, and IPhone. Pretty good resume if you ask me.

"I'm not driven by making a cultural impact. That's just a consequence of taking a remarkably powerful technology and making it relevant. My goal is simply to try to make products that really are meaningful to people."

This really isn't all that different then what IT has failed to do in many cases. Take the internet, software, and computers and apply it in a "relevant" way to solve problems. Some of the most powerful applications are the most simple. It certainly goes without saying that User Interface design and usability should not be the afterthought that it normally is. Web 2.0 is just a piece of that. Industrial design, human cognitive response, and visual accuity have only been applied in a few instances to develop a truly interactive software application. I think the industry should focus on this more. God knows I've used SAP enough times to curse the low priority that the user interface gets. SAP can order me a new spaceship, build a detailed WBS, track my EVM towards completion, route all invoices and payments at the same time. But only if your smart enough to know that Shift + F8 is "execute".

Apple Keyboard - Like IPod touch

Interesting how Apple is really jumping back into the Market Place. I went to an Apple store over the weekend and was pretty blown away by their product line. I've been a life long PC guy cause I used to love to build computers and take them apart and all. The more complex and lets face it, SMALLER, the machines get that really doesn't happen much anymore.

If you throw the XP/VISTA issue and that the Macs can run XP, I think you're going to see a larger market share for Apple computers. Here is an article showing the release of a Multi-Touch Apple Keyboard. I'd love to have one of these things for my computer now. Could be a cheaper alternative to the push for touch screen monitors.

http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/05/17/a-rumor-apple-to-release-multitouch-keyboard-for-apple-tv/

One thing is for sure. For larger companies and for the CIO's "enterprise level" PC purchase decision, Macintosh is still seen as a risk. Companies like EDS, NG, and Booz Allen all have ingrained experts, desktop images, and long term supplier contracts. I don't think these companies will be the first to try the Macs. The first adopters will most likely come from the corporate sector where art and presentation are larger. Publishing, Entertainment Industry, Sports Marketing, maybe even Law Firms. Government and IT companies will be the last to go. Of course there are some government organizations already using them, but they are being used out of necessity within those organizational units and are not the chosen platform for employee computing.

One last note. Google must be loving Apple's resurgence and Microsoft's stumbling. The door has certainly been left open. But they both have a long way to go.

SeaDragon and Photosynth

This is amazing and very insightful. Images are getting so large there can be many applications for this. With increased bandwidth, this technology is basically saying, its easier for me to send your screen the necessary pixels it needs then the whole image. Truly a "thin client" app.

YouTube Video showing how Fiber Optic Cable is made

Interesting video on how Fiber Optic Cable is made. Applies to ISTM 404. Really is just glass stretched and treated.

Comments on : Why Twitter Matters

Article: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2008/tc20080514_269697.htm


Interesting article. I wonder if this could be an inexpensive mechanism to implement and transmit campus security notifications. Virginia Tech looked to implement a Hardware (Cell Phone Towers) solution and there can be a ton of hurdles and compatability issues. Of course you would have a hard time to controlling the subscribers. But it could include parents, friends, and students alike.

Just some thoughts.

Facebook Blog Success

Ok, so apparently everything Web 2.0 works with everything else. Kind of hard to keep track on. But having everything on Facebook seems like a pretty neat idea.

Facebook & Blogger

Ok. I just added Twitter and Google Analytics. Pretty interesting stuff. Not sure how I would use this stuff though. I am going to see if there is a Facebook / Blogger application.

Initial Blog

This blog has been created for the use of capturing my thoughts and feedback for ISTM 490 Internet Computing @ George Washington University.