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.