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.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The .Car Era (Dot Car Era)
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".
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".
Monday, May 19, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
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.
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.
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