Cell-to-Wi-Fi roaming is on the way, but may come with a price

Taken from:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225329/Cell_to_Wi_Fi_roaming_is_on_the_way_but_may_come_with_a_price?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2012-03-20

Imagine using your phone on a free WiFi network when you are in range - and then on your regular cell towers when you are not in range. The concepts are there and being worked on - but the details are not perfect yet.

And ... as the title suggests, it comes with a price - and frequently with some red tape - if the WiFi network is not the same as your carrier.

BUT ... it is coming - and is promising!!!

Apple's iPad - the "epitome" of what a tablet should be

Taken from:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225294/New_iPad_is_the_epitome_of_what_a_tablet_should_be?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2012-03-19

The author talks of how the new iPad (no name / designation - so not quite the iPad3 - and no the iPad2 - and definitely not the original iPad) is just what he expected.  He got the full version, with more RAM, and WiFi and 4G - which really should make it a powerful computer in its own right!!

In this blog for the past two years, I have talked of tablets (a lot?) and miss a real keyboard, but ... as time goes by, I guess I get used to the iPad's virtual keyboard; it is lighter and smaller than my PC, fast (generally), bigger than my iPhone (okay, my eyes aren't what they used to be - and a pretty interesting device!!!

LightSquared and LTE networks - in a legal battle

Taken from:
http://www.cio.com/article/702358/Defiant_LightSquared_Says_FCC_Action_Would_Violate_Its_Rights

This blog has talked about the technical aspects of limited 'bandwidth' in the past.  There is a certain spectrum that can carry the LTE (Long term evolution) or 4G wireless.  The amount of spectrum available has been limited - and last fall LightSquared and others made a deal to purchase some spectrum from cable operators.  Now it seems that the FCCis trying to stop the use of that spectrum.

The article notes: "IDG News Service (San Francisco Bureau) — The FCC's proposal to kill LightSquared's planned LTE network would violate the fledgling carrier's property rights by taking away its spectrum and destroying its multibillion-dollar investment in mobile broadband, LightSquared will argue on Friday in a formal comment to the agency."


Recently it was noted that AT&T were charging more and limited data transmissions because of the increased usage of the spectrum (largely due to iPhones and other smartphone usage).  Users with unlimited data plans are facing limits as the resource is being squeezed.


It will be interesting to see what LightSquared and the FCC do - the pressure to increase access to the spectrum is continuing to grow!!

iPad 3 - "The Devils in the Details"

Taken from:
http://www.gadgetbox.msnbc.msn.com/technology/gadgetbox/ipad-review-its-renovation-not-revolution-463973

Screen: Over 3 million pixels which are crammed into the 9.7-inch device and the iPad 2 only just over 700,000.

Speed:  15 to 20% faster (depending on application)

Wireless:  Some reviewers have up to 14.5 Mbps upload and 22 Mbps download

Battery life:  "Maybe" slightly less ... (new battery, but more drain with the screen and speed)

So, not a 'revolution' - maybe some nice 'innovations' - users will have to determine their needs

Social Networks take time and thought for corporations

Taken from:http://blogs.cio.com/collaboration/16901/enterprise-social-networks-deserve-time-careful-consideration

The article suggests that large businesses don't really know what to do with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others on a corporate basis.  It also notes that two years ago, most businesses blocked social networks in their company - and now are (generically) not quite knowing what to do with corporate policies, etc.

The article noted:
"Often, it's because businesses don't do their homework—or don't know what homework they need to do—before a rollout. They don't assess the social readiness of their business and they don't test it first with small groups of users. They don't know what, exactly, they're hoping to improve when they deploy an enterprise social network, and the tool's interface usually isn't as intuitive as it should be to promote adoption.
Those reasons, and a handful of others, are why 70 percent of internal social initiatives eventually fail, according to Gartner. That's a hard number to ignore when you're trying to gain buy-in.
But businesses that do invest time in researching workflows and take other measured steps are seeing success."

Intel to take on tablet chips

Taken from:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225282/Intel_ready_to_take_on_tablet_chips

While Intel has a 'lock' on regular computer chips, it does significantly lag behind other makers when it comes to smartphone and tablet chips.

The article suggests that Intel is behind the times and while it is working towards fabrication of the smartphone chips, it comes quite late to that market.  Apple's iPad is the hot tablet, but Intel is hoping to have appropriate chips for a Microsoft Windows 8 tablet coming in the fall.

Five things to take away from SXSW

Taken from BusinessWeek at:
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-13/five-things-to-take-away-from-this-year-s-sxsw

On the social media side, I'm reading posts from daughter and son-in-law on Facebook and Twitter.  (They may also have other accounts such as Foursquare and others).

The Business Week article is talking more about the computing nature of SXSW than the music scene.
These are their five things from SXSW:

1. There’s always something newer than the last new thing.  (the article mentioned Highlight and Glancee stepping in over Foursquare and Gowalla - and Twitter)
2. Popularity at SXSW doesn't necessarily mean success (the article mentioned two apps from last year that have pretty much died over the last year)
3. Big brands are desperate for social media glory - (American Express is sponsoring Jay-Z - and other big companies are doing similar events
4. Some tech gimmicks can seem heartless (a company took homeless people and made them into 4G hotspots - a little tasteless!!)
5. Old media wants to play, too (the article mentions the New York Times and CNN wanting to remain relevant in today's society)

So, in a tech rich environment, you can still learn something !!!  

Move over Foursquare

More social networking tools:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225171/SXSW_Location_location_location_fuels_mobile_apps?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2012-03-14

The SXSW music fest (South by Southwest) in Austin Texas is a hotbed for technology. Everybody carried a smartphone (or at least our daughter and son-in-law do).

The article noted: "Soon FourSquare won't be the only cool kid on the location-based apps block: A new wave of startups, including Highlight, Zaarly, TaskRabbit and Localmind, are generating buzz at South by Southwest by drawing on smartphone location data to deliver a range of social, commercial and informational experiences.
Highlight is a "social discovery" app that notifies users when they are near someone they don't know with whom they might share interests. It runs in the background, only requiring the user's attention when it has found a potential social contact."

So, if you are in the crowd, have an appropriate Highlight account, and get a chirp indicated that somebody with similar interests is in the crowd, you might want to go meet him or her!!!  (Of course, if you are single and looking for the "right person", it might not be good if he or she is there with a date!!!)

COBOL Brain Drain???

Taken from: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225079/Brain_drain_Where_Cobol_systems_go_from_here_?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2012-03-14

The article noted: "David Brown is worried. As managing director of the IT transformation group at Bank of New York Mellon, he is responsible for the health and welfare of 112,500 Cobol programs -- 343 million lines of code -- that run core banking and other operations. But many of the people who built that code base, some of which goes back to the early days of Cobol in the 1960s, will be retiring over the next several years.

"We have people we will be losing who have a lot of business knowledge. That scares me," Brown says. He's concerned about finding new Cobol programmers, who are expected to be in short supply in the next five to ten years. But what really keeps him up at night is the thought that he may not be able to transfer the deep understanding of the business logic embedded within the bank's programs before it walks out the door with the employees who are retiring."

Cobol might not be 'sexy' - but it does exist - and this article suggests for one company 343 MILLION lines of code!!!  That is a lot of brain power that went into creating that code for business processing.  And ... now more and more of those experts are retiring.

There is obviously a question for academics - teach Cobol - forget Cobol; and for companies - start having Cobol classes?

Grass Root support for Apple in the Enterprise

Taken from: http://www.information-management.com/blogs/Apple_mobile_infrastructure_BI_iPad_enterprise-10022129-1.html?ET=informationmgmt:e3041:2262124a:&st=email&utm_source=editorial&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=IM_Daily_030912


Apple has tried to NOT be the enterprise computing company.  In fact (from the article), Steve Jobs stated: " Steve Jobs himself regularly stated that he did not want Apple to be, or become, an enterprise IT provider, preferring to focus on more creative and new types of devices, content, and services that enabled consumer/end users."


BUT ... Apple is creeping into the business world.  With the BYOD (bring your own device) philosophy, the iPad is showing up in salesmen's hands - with iCloud (or DropBox) cloud storage, CRM (with links to Salesforce or Soho) and other tools.  


The demand comes from the bottom up - from users who want the flexibility of tablet devices - not from the top down of CEO to CIO to users.  That brings standardization, bottom up generally brings innovation

How IBM has wooed Wall Street (as a solid investment)

Taken from:  http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-06/how-ibm-wooed-wall-street

IBM, known at one point for the IBM PC (which it sold off some time back); and big hardware (mainframe computing); has really reinvented itself as a technology services company.  

The article notes: "The answer to that is less sexy than IBM might have you believe. The company, with annual revenue of $107 billion, still makes tens of billions of dollars per year selling traditional data-center hardware and software. In fact, Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., estimates that about 20 percent of IBM’s revenue and 40 percent of its profits can be traced to hardware, software, services, and financing on mainframes, the grizzled veterans of corporate computing. Such machines are not analytics dynamos but rather workhorses crunching away at the most mundane tasks. The bulk of the rest of IBM’s business revolves around high-profit software and services, in which the company deploys tens of thousands of people to customers’ sites for what can be very lengthy technology installation and consulting engagements."

Services - especially long term contractual services at client sites is lucrative - and IBM has done well with that - and has a period of steady revenue growth (that keeps investors / Wall Street happy).

Plus IBM has remade its image - to a 'smarter / greener' company - truly 'good guys' - and it didn't hurt to have a winner with Watson on Jeopardy!!!

And ... the announcement (iPad 3)

The long awaited announcement for the iPad 3 is out.

The quick highlights:  (all quotes from a press release):

"Apple CEO Tim Cook took to the stage in San Francisco Wednesday to announce a new iPad. In fact, he just called it simply "the new iPad." It will have a quad-core chip, "retina" high-resolution display, a 5-megapixel camera and 4G LTE networking for fast connection on Verizon Wireless and AT&T.

The display has 2048 x 1536 pixels. That's over 3.1 million pixels, "the most ever on a mobile devices," says Phil Schiller, worldwide marketing boss.

The new iPad will have an A5X chip, which is a quad-core processor. It delivers four times the performance of the iPad 2.

The camera on the new iPad has a 5-megapixel center, optics with an IR filter, and some nice controls to maximize picture taking. As you may expect from the camera and the screen, you can shoot 1080p video with this baby.

There's voice-to-text for emails and other text-input windows, but it doesn't look like there's full-blown Siri here, which seems odd. The voice is some guy's voice, not the sultry Siri we've come to know (in the U.S.)."

Of course, this begs the question - "When do I move up to the new technology?"  A quad-core processor - that's good (and fast); a better camera (nice - (okay, the old camera on the iPad2 is lacking, but okay - my stand-alone camera is good - but that means I have to carry both a tablet and a camera); high resolution display (nice - but ... actually I have no problems with the display on my iPad2 (after all, if it is too small, I can enlarge it ...); LTE / 4G connections - that's good (but ... I'm not on a data plan currently - but looking at one);  voice to text?  (dragon speech is already available); no Siri (doesn't sound right).

So ... will I upgrade?  Not yet!!!

New iPad's might be slow to market

Taken from: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9224931/Expect_shortages_of_new_iPad_say_analysts?source=CTWNLE_nlt_pm_2012-03-06

The new iPad is to be unveiled today (March 7th) in San Francisco!!! 

This article suggests that "But as with the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S last year, experts expect that supply will be out of sync with demand for at least several months after the tablet hits stores.

"They'll face a shortage for a while," said Ezra Gottheil of Technology Business Research today."

This is not an unusual situation.  With a new product, companies can guess at how strong the demand might be - but accurate predictions might be hard to come by.  

Top 25 iPhone / iPad apps for business

Taken from:

http://www.cio.com/slideshow/detail/33317/Top-25-iPhone---iPad-Apps-for-Business?source=CIONLE_nlt_insider_2012-03-01

Some of the hot applications include:

• BatteryBoost Magic App - keeps track of your battery and when you will need to charge it
• CardMunch - keeps business cards for you
• CloudOn - a free version of Microsoft Word, Excel, etc. (and with Dropbox, a place to put those documents!!)
• Dragon Dictation - translates spoken word to text 
• HootSuite  - post to Twitter, Facebook, Linked in at the same time

I'll be trying some of these soon!!!

Why you should not buy your child an iPad

Taken from:
http://www.cio.com/article/701182/Why_You_Should_Not_Buy_Your_Child_an_iPad?source=CIONLE_nlt_insider_2012-03-01

The author makes a point that children should be spending time outdoors, playing basketball or soccer (etc.) and socializing rather than indoors playing on an iPad.  He relates an experience from his youth of wasting a summer playing a computer game with friends - he writes: "During that summer, three of us kids spent entire days playing a game on the computer instead of shooting hoops with friends. (I can't even remember the name of the game.)"

Another point: "Let's face it, iPad isolation can lead to poor social skills at a time when kids are just learning how to interact with each other. The iPad is supposed to be a creative device but instead blunts the imagination with rigid apps that define reality and choices, as opposed to a child's boundless thinking."

I think the author is right.  There needs to a good mix of activities.  On rainy / snowy days, maybe some time with an iPad (or computer) might be okay for kids.  The author notes that there are some great ebooks available for children (but ... the children he observed were not reading, but playing games).

Google to dig deeper into our lives!!

Taken from:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46580123/ns/technology_and_science-security/ 

As we well know, Google has a great search engine - and many other products - and all (I think) are free.

So ... how do they make money and how do they pay their employees?  By knowing a lot about people (like me) and selling that information (or selling specific ad areas).  This article indicates that they are 'simplifying' their privacy notes - which means that they really will have more information about me.  When I search (with Google) they know about all my old searches; they know that I have a blog (this one); they know my age, address and more; they can select ads based on my age, income, family status and more to show on the search results page.

I do not get ads for dog food (or cat food - or for pets) - and I have never done a search for such information.  I wonder if for two day, I search for the best dog and cat food, how to train and teach dogs to do tricks and how to groom cats might cause Google to start putting related ads on my searches.

It is not quite a two-way street though.  I have added Ad Sense to this blog - and when I checked last, I had made 25 cents!!!  (Now ... how do I require all my students to click on the ads for me? )

New iPad release on March 7th

Taken from:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/hardware/Apple-to-launch-iPad-3-on-March-7/articleshow/12079728.cms

The article states: ""We have something you really have to see. And touch," Apple said today in an invitation, which features a picture of an iPad screen. The new device will sport a high-definition display, run a faster processor and work with speedier wireless networks, people familiar with the product said last month. 

After pioneering the tablet market two years ago, Apple is counting on the new model to beat back competition from newer devices running Google Inc's Android software. The company has sold more than 55 million iPads, generating at least $34.5 billion in revenue. Amazon.com Inc's Kindle Fire, which uses Android, emerged as the iPad's biggest rival over the holiday shopping season last year. "

In some respects the "Tablet Wars" haven't really taken off.  It is the Apple iPad versus the other tablets.  At this stage (third iPad), the market is all Apple.  The Kindle Fire and the Barnes and Noble Nook are mostly e-readers and the newer versions are approaching the multitasking nature of the iPad, but are not there yet.  There is the Samsung Galaxy tablet - which approaches the website of the iPad, but really doesn't complete.  

Still tuned - tablets will continue to be hot news for a long time!!!

Is investing in Facebook wise?

Taken from:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/why-facebook-may-not-be-a-wise-investment/2012/02/03/gIQA6P7UnQ_story.html

The article notes that Facebook makes about 85% of its revenue from advertising.  It further suggests that that is a lot of dependence on one source of revenue and that while in the short run emotional trading may happen as people want to "own a piece" of Facebook, in the long run, that heavy dependence on advertising could weaken.

For a bystander - I've seen the rise of Facebook (and other social networking sites) and at the time think not much is going to slow it down; but also as a realist, think that in (say) 10 years, Facebook maybe passe and the 'next big thing' will be getting the advertising dollars (look at MySpace for a similar example)

Barnes and Noble Nook - attempts to get back in the Tablet market

The Kindle Fire is a nice e-reader that is attempting to be in the low-end tablet market (but ... in this authors estimation not quite a tablet like the iPad).  It is priced at $199.  Barnes and Noble recently reduced the price on it's color Nook e-reader to $169.  (The illustration below is a bit older showing similarities).

Can the Nook compete?  Only time will tell - but Amazon has more resources, and the Apple iPad has more apps (from the iPhone) ready to go!!

Doing Windows apps on a iPad???

Taken from:
http://informationweek.com/news/software/enterprise_apps/232601317

Absolutely you can do Windows Applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) on an iPad.  The concept is to have a 'Virtual Desktop' in the cloud (for those reading this blog - and also in my graduate class, this was last week's assignment!!).  Some issues are the speed and the cost.  Tackling the cost first - the article says $5.99 a month.  The speed will depend on your connection - WiFi - or 3G / 4G connection.

So, you are a Windows user who wants to have the smaller, more portable (and ... many 'sexy') iPad - you don't have to change much - just get the Virtual Desktop and run with it!!!

iPad Mini at $299?????

Taken from:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9224377/iPad_Mini_priced_at_299_would_crush_tablet_rivals_says_analyst?source=CTWNLE_nlt_pm_2012-02-17

One analyst said: "Her reasoning was based on tablet numbers from the fourth quarter of 2011.

During those three months, Apple's share of all tablet unit sales dropped to 57% from the prior quarter's 64% as lower-priced rivals, particularly the Kindle Fire and Barnes and Noble's Nook tablets, sold in volume."

An iPad mini with a much smaller screen (almost 8 inches as compared to the 9.7 inch full version) (and probably smaller internal memory), but with full color, full internet would be more attractive than the Kindle Fire (priced about $199).  For those that like to read ebooks (my wife is among those) - getting too small of a screen is a problem, but a 7.9 inch screen should be reasonable and competitive with the Kindle and other similar smaller tablets.  

Tracking (How Google Tracked Safari Users)

Taken from the Wall Street Journal:
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2012/02/16/how-google-tracked-safari-users/

First - how does Google make money?  They collect and use your information to have sponsored ads on places (like even this blog).  If you do a Google search, they put relevant information on the top of the search and collect because the company paid to be among the top results - and collect more if you click on the ad / link.

Safari was intended to not allow tracking software - so if you went to HomeDepot.Com and looks for a new kitchen countertop; and then used Google to search for countertops, Safari would not know that you had already been to HomeDepot.com.

BUT ... Google found a way around this with what acted like an 'invisible form' - but opened Safari to be tracked.

When the Wall Street Journal found this and asked, Google (supposedly) stopped this.

(For us PC users, I think everything I do is tracked - and I need to occasionally 'clean-out' my tracking cookies!)

More Apple news

In a Wall Street Journal article, there was this note:  "Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook unveiled a new version of the company's Macintosh operating system that incorporates numerous features from the software that powers the iPhone and iPad.

The new features include Apple's messaging service, notifications app, gaming center, sharing features and integration with the company's online service iCloud."

For you Apple lovers out there, this can make a complete vertical line-up of products with common features:  the hand-held iPhone; the iPad table; the Mac notebooks, laptops and desktop units.

It will make it easy to go back and forth from one to another device!!!

iPad Trademark controversy

Taken from:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46380126/ns/business-us_business/

It seems like a Chinese company claims it has the rights to the name "iPad":

"A Chinese tech firm that says it owns the iPad trademark, plans to seek a ban on exports of Apple Inc's computer tablets from China, a lawyer for the company said."

The article indicates that Apple says they purchased the rights ("Apple said it had bought the worldwide rights to the trademark long ago."); but the article also states: "Apple lost a case to Proview Technology (Shenzhen) in a Shenzhen court in southern China late last year when the court agreed that Proview owned the iPad trademark."

The Proview Technology company is asking the Chinese import / export agents to stop Apple from shipping iPads out (or in) to China.

While Apple has had great successes lately (highest stock price ever, huge sales and profits); it also has problems (disputed use of child labor, and labor practices in China in general).

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.  Who knows, you might be using an "iTablet" (instead of an iPad) in the future!!!

Tablet wars - continued

In the slide show from eweek:

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Enterprise-Networking/Tablet-King-for-2012-10-Factors-That-Will-Determine-the-Leader-167869/?kc=EWKNLBOE02102012STR1TOC

The slide show notes that the Apple iPad is the overwhelming leader in the tablet market (very true) - but suggests (like my last post) that Apple needs to be proactive if they want to keep that lead.  The iPad 2 is a minimal upgrade to the iPad 1 - and the on-the-horizon iPad 3 is still unknown, but probably not 'earth shaking'.

Some of the suggestions include:

• Price!!  (The Kindle Fire is $199, the iPad is $499 and up)
• Improvements / innovations - if Apple can push the envelope, the iPad 3 could really push the other tablets into oblivion
• Size - the Kindle Fire is smaller - but that can be attractive (especially with the price)
• Quality - if Android tablets can continue to grow in quality, features (and a better price), watch out Apple!!
• ENTERPRISE, ENTERPRISE, ENTERPRISE - tablets are nice, but they currently are nicer for reading books, getting the news, email, facebook (and facetime) on a screen that is larger than a phone - but to really catch on, they need to be in corporate America - with Enterprise apps (can anyone say SAP on the iPad?)
• Integrated services - Apple and Amazon have great integration - with the iTunes store, apps store, etc - or with the Amazon services - cloud, books, store and more.  Tablets need to have features!!

iPhone 5 over iPhone 4.5 rumors

Taken from:
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/iPhone-5-10-Ways-Apple-Can-Improve-on-the-iPhone-4S-371188/?kc=EWKNLBOE02102012FEA1

So, while not announced, it is a solid guess that Apple will release the iPhone 5 this year (the article suggests late summer).  While Apple is very tight lipped about what will be on the iPhone 5 as compared to the iPhone 4.5s, the authors have some suggestions:

• The iPhone 4.5s is boring - do something to 'jazz' it up a little; have some design innovations, etc.
• Consumers are vary of 'nominal' upgrades - the iPhone 4.5 was NOT all that earthshaking as compared to the iPhone 4.  Ho hum - another new iPhone - big deal (not).  Put some real new features and excitement into the phone
• Competitors are gaining (if not ahead) of Apple - [the article suggested the LG Spectrum] - if Aapple wants to be viewed as progressive - or reactionary - might depend on what they do to the iPhone 5
• Use a quad core processor (not just a dual core) 
• Apple needs to improve its corporate / enterprise approach - (and take over the Blackberry market)
• It must have 4G - bring it on!!!

The article (really slide show) suggests that Apple is losing its competitive edge with 'just another new iPhone' mentality - and needs to make a serious effort to make the iPhone 5 a leader in many ways!!!

There's an App for that

Taken from:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9224069/Election_fever_6_mobile_apps_that_can_keep_you_informed?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2012-02-10

The staff at Computerworld looked at some political apps for your phone (or tablet) and liked these:

• CNN Mobile (although for CNN, you can get to the political discussions)
• Election Caster - aggregation of other news feeds
• New York Times Election 2012 app - 
• PolitiFact Mobile
• USA Election 2012
• VoterMap

We'll be looking more at these in the next nine months!!!!

Google doing home entertainment?

Taken from:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203824904577213430617644196.html?mod=djemalertTECH

The online Wall Street Journal indicates that Google will come out with a

"Google Inc. is developing a home-entertainment system that streams music wirelessly throughout the home and would be marketed under the company's own brand, according to people briefed on the company's plans."

Google, to this point, has worked with others on products, such as developing the Android operating system that is used on several phone systems.  To have their own brand is a change for them.  Google and Apple have been competitors in some markets and this (home entertainment) is an area rumored for Apple products as well.

Apple iPad3 to come in March??

Taken from:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9224120/March_debut_of_iPad_3_a_sure_bet_says_analyst?source=CTWNLE_nlt_pm_2012-02-09

The article (from a Dow-Jones source) indicated an early March announcement for the 3rd version of the iPad.
Among features anticipated is SIRI - the voice activated help function that came out with the iPhone 4.5S; and better screen resolution.

In the discussions are a smaller iPad tablet - probably later this spring.  In tablets, the iPad is definitely the leader in the marketplace.

Social Media at the Superbowl

The prediction is that Superbowl watchers (like my wife and myself) will be on Social Media during the game (like I am currently).  I have been on Facebook (and seen a lot of posts and comments (including, of course, the review of Madonna for the halftime show).  Almost all of the commercials give both a web address - and even a Twitter feed.

I have already been watching the commercials for a week - and talking about it in class!!!

How many of you were on line (and commenting, posting, tweeting, etc.) while watching the game?

More on Facebook IPO

Taken from:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9223929/Facebook_IPO_filing_reveals_some_eye_poppers?source=CTWNLE_nlt_pm_2012-02-02

There have been many comments about Facebook going 'public' - and the IPO (initial public offering).  There were some interesting factors in this article:

• Facebook spent about $700,000 on a personal plane for Mark Zuckerberg (CEO) and Sheryl Sandberg (COO) - mostly for security reasons (would you recognize Zuckerberg if he was on a flight you were taking?  Would you want to talk to him if he was in the seat next to you on a plane?)
• Zuckerberg also has a home security system (probably more than my little one) and security personnel 
• The company is growing (about 50% growth last year)
• Facebook is available in 70 languages (I'll have to try the Russian and German versions!!!)
• It spent about 10.5% of revenue on research and development (compared to about 14% for Google)
• Most popular (over 80% of people) in Turkey, Chile, and Venezuela - and least in China (prohibited)

The revenue comes from ads, from a percentage of purchases made on Facebook.

Not bad for a relatively new idea!!! 

Apple in the Enterprise??

Taken from:
http://www.cio.com/article/699115/Will_This_Be_the_Year_of_Apple_in_the_Enterprise_?source=CIONLE_nlt_insider_2012-02-02

Traditionally, PC's have been the computers in the business enterprise.  BUT ... with the huge increase in Smartphones (especially the iPhone); and tablets (especially with the iPad) - and the flexibility of the various Mac laptops and notebooks is causing businesses to look at Apple products as part of their computing platform.

The article noted: "All of the major trends in IT -- cloud computing, mobile solutions and the ongoing consumerization of IT -- look good for Apple. It's more accommodating to the enterprise than it used to be, and its popularity in the mainstream consumer culture should offer advantages in the months ahead."

It could be a very good year for Apple in the business enterprise!!!

IT Security can't keep up

Taken from:

http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Mobile-Revolution-Threatens-IT-Security-385243/?kc=BLBLBEMNL02012012STR5

The huge growth in the mobile market for employees does threaten security.

Some of the points in this article:

- employees think of their device as a simple 'phone', not as the way into the corporate data bases (and probably has the passwords saved on the device!!!!)

- the number has doubled in the past two years - with many of those having access to sensitive data

- insecurity WiFi - can allow others to access devices

Companies need to have strong security policies on corporate usages on smartphones (and tablets devices / iPad). Employees need to log out of applications fully. The data needs to be secure and require full authorization to get.

This will be a topic for years to come!!!

Facebook to go public!!!

Facebook is going public.

It is going to have an IPO (initial public offering) of stock.

"The company is looking at a valuation of $75 billion to $100 billion, a person familiar with the matter said."

Would you invest? The number of Facebook users is more than all individuals countries other than China and India

According to Facebook: "

• More than 800 million active users. More than 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
• Average user has 130 friends"

Speculation - what does the iPad 3 need

Taken from:

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Enterprise-Networking/Apple-iPad-3-10-HighPriority-Features-We-Want-in-the-New-Tablet-739540/?kc=EWKNLBOE01272012FEA1

The next version of the iPad is rumored for March or April 2012. eWeek looked at ten features it thought were needed:

1) Siri - the voice activated personal assistant

2) Different screen sizes - more options for more people

3) 3D support - especially good for gamers

4) Glare control - when compared to the Amazon Kindle eReader, the iPad has glare issues for reading books

5) Wireless charging - get away from the plug

6) Longer battery life - it seems like we plug ours in over night

7) Gorilla glass - thinner, more sensitive and brighter

8) Retina display - better for the naked eye

9) Vibration effect - for gamers (and other app developers)

10) Near Field Communication - like Google Wallet

If I were to pick my top three, they would be:

Siri - voice activated personal assistant

Near Field Communicaiton

Gorilla glass

But, I'd also like

- better interfaces - like being able to easily adapt my iPad to a screen projector in a classroom

- more memory - so I can really have documents on the iPad (or ... a great interface to save documents on DropBox or other)

- standard software - Microsoft Office (see previous posts on Windows phone)

Best apps for staying productive

Taken from:

http://www.cio.com/slideshow/detail/27689/10-Best-Windows-Phone-Apps-for-Staying-Productive?source=CIONLE_nlt_insider_2012-01-24

This article looked at some apps for the Windows Phone (not the iPhone). Some I liked were:

• Microsoft Office Mobile 2010. When I get a message with a Word (or Excel) attachment on the iPad, I can generally view it, but not much more.
• Evernote. I've used Evernote on the iPad - just a quick 'jot it down' kind of app, but useful in meetings - and can have images
• SkyDrive - store those documents in the cloud!!!
• HandyScan - so ... when I'm traveling and I want to scan receipts, documents, etc, this looks like a good app to have!!
• eWalletGo - a solidly encrypted place for all those many passwords
• My Trips - a way to store trip information - flights, hotels, rental cars, etc.

Apps are growing more robust!!!

Why Apple doesn't make iPhones in the US

Taken from:

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2012/01/why-apple-doesnt-make-the-iphone-in-america/

and

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/business/apple-america-and-a-squeezed-middle-class.html?_r=4&pagewanted=all

Two quotes:

"It isn’t just that workers are cheaper abroad. Rather, Apple’s executives believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers have so outpaced their American counterparts that “Made in the U.S.A.” is no longer a viable option for most Apple products."

and

"Apple’s executives had estimated that about 8700 industrial engineers were needed to oversee and guide the 200,000 assembly-line workers eventually involved in manufacturing iPhones. The company’s analysts had forecast it would take as long as nine months to find that many qualified engineers in the United States.

In China, it took 15 days."

The article would make it sound like the number of people, engineers and high tech facilities in China outpaces the US - so .. while Apple would love to sell the iPhone (and iPads and iPods and computers) to all Americans; they make them in China!!

An entertainment diversion (Spotify)

Taken from:

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2011/tc2011055_645076.htm

Spotify is moving from a free service to a sales app - as it competes with Apple. With Spotify, you can now buy music - and through their app load it up to an iPod (and avoid going through Apple's iTunes).

The article suggests:

"There are still plenty of weaknesses: It doesn't have an American service (some have suggested that Apple is exerting influence over record labels to stymie Spotify's move into America). It's still pretty poor at the process of music discovery—the service is great if you know what you want to listen to, but if you're looking for a radio-type service, then it's got a long way to go.And, if we're comparing it to iTunes, it still only does music."

It isn't the only company that has tried to be alternate to Apple / iTunes - so we'll have to wait and see how successful they become!!!

BYOD!!!

Loosely taken from:

http://www.cio.com/article/698358/Can_Employee_Owned_Devices_Save_Companies_Money_#disqus_thread

So ... your employees want to bring their tablet computers, smartphones, and all kinds of laptops into the environment (i.e. BYOD - bring your own devices). Is that good?

Quinnipiac University used to have a standard laptop - (maybe with two or three options for processor and storage) - basically a Dell Laptop. If you ordered it from the campus - it came preloaded with standard campus-wide software (Microsoft Office, etc.). It had security on it.

But students (yes, those crazy students) [with their parents] started to bring in Macs, and other laptops. This was a real problem for the help desk - who (at that time anyway) said "Sorry, we don't support that device". If you had a problem with a campus laptop - great - turn it in, get it fixed, reimaged, even get a new computer if things were too bad. (I once got a new keyboard after I spilled coffee into the old one).

In recent years (with some reluctance), campus IT has allowed (and somewhat supported) all laptops and devices - Mac's, other PC's, tablets, etc. This is harder for the help desk to support, but is more user-friendly to the campus population.

Can a business get by with a BYOD policy? Maybe - what if the applications the business wants are only on iPads or iPhones? (Or Blackberry or just PC laptops?) What about security and protection of data? With a lot of work and support, a company can do the BYOD - and keep employees happy - and productive!!!

The Mobile Enterprise - Killing IT's Sacred Cows

Taken from:

http://www.cio.com/article/698334/The_Mobile_Enterprise_Killing_IT_s_Sacred_Cows

I found this to be very interesting. One paragraph from the article has this:

"Only two years ago, Starkey began buying up iPads and spinning out apps for salespeople, executives, customers, audiologists and patients of its hearing aids, ear-molds and other hearing-related products. Like the crowd gathering in the wee morning hours, CIOs wanting to adopt cutting-edge iPads and mobile apps must break from tradition and look excitedly toward the future." (note ... Starkey is a hearing device manufacturer).

The article goes on to describe how the (new) CIO of Starkey came in from the outside - from having to fit IT to being its leader. He says you need to "kill" these sacred cows of IT:

1) "NOT Approved" activities (Starkey started using iPads, smartphones, etc. - where traditional IT would not approve them)

2) Justifying by ROI (the iPads may not justify themselves in the balance sheets [yet], but there is greatly improved customer service - and an impression that this is a good company!!)

3) Start-ups need not apply (many companies avoid start-ups - not enough history, may be bought up and be unable to continue) - Starkey CIO things innovation and excitement come with start-ups

4) Don't rock the boat (he contends that being aggressive is the way to go)

Bruce's comment - I love innovation and forward thinking ideas (I tend to be an entrepreneur at heart) - but one needs to do his/her research and "look before you leap"

3) Start-up need no apply

Zappos Hacked

I'm a guest speaker ("expert") on Fox News out of Hartford this evening about Zappos getting hacked - with an estimated 24 million account holders being compromised.

Supposedly, they lost this information: Name, address, email address, phone, and last four digits of their credit card account.

Two questions - how did it happen and what should a consumer do?

1) Seemingly the hacker(s) got into through a server in Kentucky. Whether they knew a person who worked there, or could guess what his/her password was, they were able to get through the firewall. The question is generally "Not if a company can be hacked, but when it is hacked". If somebody wanted to hack into my online accounts enough, I'm sure they can do it.

2) When you get notification that you have been hacked; change your password online as soon as possible; then (generally) the company should give you credit card monitoring (Experion, TransUnion and Equifax) for a period of time - take advantage of that - check your account monthly. It might be that no action will occur for a few months, then the hackers will take out new credit cards, buy items, etc. on your account(s).

In this case, they also (supposedly) got the email addresses - that could be a massive phishing effort - with fake Zappos accounts. I can see "Dear Zappos Customer. Our system was hacked and we need to verify your account - go to http://fakezapposite.com and enter your Zappos account number and credit card number" it could be massive!!!

Microsoft Comeback in 2012 (??)

Taken from:

http://blogs.cio.com/operating-systems/16742/microsoft-2012-comeback-kid?source=CIONLE_nlt_insider_2012-01-16

"Look, it's not as if Microsoft lacks for money ($70 billion in revenue in 2011). Yet the Redmond-based company has been getting its butt kicked over the past decade in emerging markets as Apple, Google and Amazon became mobile and cloud computing innovators. If there was any year for Microsoft to break out of it "profitable but boring" pigeon hole, this is it."

Let's see .. profitable but boring - is that Microsoft? We all use Microsoft Office. PC users user the Microsoft Operating Systems (unless you install Linux). Yes, a bit on the boring side.

But ... the article highlights some Microsoft activities at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Two new Windows phones (but ... still less than Android or Apple); XBox Kinect (okay - that is more than boring); and ... work towards a 'real' (functional, competitive) Windows tablet.

Having been a PC user all my life (my iPad is more of a novelty yet), and loving two buttons (click and right click - and not knowing how to do it on a Mac), I do hope that Microsoft does make a comeback in 2012!!!! (Bill Gates or not ...). Maybe I am the geek on the old Mac versus PC commercials!!!

SOPA - Stop online piracy act

Taken from:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9223444/SOPA_author_to_remove_ISP_blocking_provision

"The lead sponsor of the U.S. Stop Online Piracy Act, a controversial copyright enforcement bill, will remove a much-debated provision that would require Internet service providers to block their subscribers from accessing foreign websites accused of infringing the copyrights of U.S. companies."

The concept of the Stop Online Piracy Act is simple - block access to companies that imitate American companies - and / or sell illegal copies of software and services.

There are many websites and countries that are unregulated. These might like the table vendors in NYC that sell Coach purses for $10 (or ... fake Coach purses). The internet is largely unregulated - and almost anything goes. While this proposal has controversial points, it might be a step in the right direction.

Google Social Search - part II

(see previous blog post).

The article suggests four things:

1) No one can see your private content (unless you have shared them)

2) You don't have to see private results - there are icons on the search menu to show - or not show the private results. You can also log out of Google (logout / close Gmail / Google Plus / etc.) and the searches will not include the private results. So, if you don't want to see Jane Doe's Milky Way pictures, use the option to not show private results

3) You can manage the Google+ information (such as people that you don't know well always showing up in your search results - you can take them out of your circles or choose to ignore them)

4) You don't have to appear in autocomplete lists (you can opt out by changing your profile - so that it doesn't get indexed by search engines [aka Google])

There is an adage - what goes onto the web, stays on the web!!! Thorough sites like the "Wayback Machine" http://www.archive.org/web/web.php - you can find what websites looked like sometime in the past. So, even if you deleted that embarrassing picture from that wild party five years ago, it still exists ... someplace on the web!!! (Scary thought for some of us!!)

Google Social Search

Taken from:

http://www.cio.com/article/697954/4_Google_Social_Search_Tips_for_Control_and_Privacy?source=CIONLE_nlt_insider_2012-01-13&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cio%2Ffeed%2Fdrilldowntopic%2F3154+%28CIO.com+-+IT+Organization%29

Google recently (Tuesday January 10, 2012) announced some 'enhancements' to the Google search that incorporates social networking sites (most specifically Google accounts - like Google Plus; Google Photos; etc.

There are three new features:

-Personal Results. This will feature information from your Google+ photos and posts

-Profiles in Search. Which displays people you know or (according to Google) might be interesting to you.

-People and Pages. This feature (supposedly) will help you find people's profiles and Google+ pages related to a specific topic or area of interest, and enable you to follow them with a few clicks.

So ... a Google search now includes more social networking (depending on the search). So, if you search for "The Milky Way" (galaxy), and your friend Jane Doe has pictures of the Milky Way on her Google Photos site, that may come up in the results. (Note, the results must be public).

As we well know, Google "knows" a lot about me (from my searches over the years, my gmail account, my Google Plus account, etc.). It uses that information to customize ads that might be relevant to me (and thus gain revenue when I click on those ads). But ... I think it might be a little disconcerting when a 'regular' search now shows me information that my friends have posted in public places as well.

Eight ways to better BI

Taken from:

http://www.information-management.com/gallery/BI-Scorecard-business-intelligence-success-10021581-1.html?ET=informationmgmt:e2764:2262124a:&st=email&utm_source=editorial&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=IM_Daily_120211

This articles has these 8 points:

1. Focus on Value during development - it doesn't have to be perfect!!!
2. Establish leadership and communications between business and IT - can your business find a 'hybrid' person - who has business skills and IT skills?
3. Provide ongoing measurement - BI wants (needs?) analytical data - quantitative stuff (like ROI)
4. Get agile - okay - we'd all like to be more agile - but this is referring to a methodology called "agile" - where users (i.e. 'the business') and IT works together very closely
5. Initiate dialogue - BI MUST have communication with the business side (IT needs to be part of the strategy!!)
6. Seek standards - it is generally good for an organization / company / enterprise to use the same tools - tool A for some departments and tool B for others might cause a mis-match (hey - an ERP system might help too!!!)
7. Keep an eye on innovation - what neat stuff is going on with the users in regards to analytics? Are some people using the data for some great results?
8. Don't forget support - a tool that isn't supported isn't going to get used. If something hangs up - who do you call?

Building your career on LInkedIn

Taken from:

http://www.cio.com/article/697424/5_LinkedIn_Tips_for_Career_Success_in_2012?source=CIONLE_nlt_insider_2012-01-09&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cio%2Ffeed%2Fsolution%2F1375+%28CIO.com+-+News%29

This article has five points: (summarized below):

1) Focus on your profile - what is your focus? What do you want to be? Is it clear?

2) Make LinkedIn Today part of your daily routine. (I have not done this in the past - I need to check it out!!)

3) Brand yourself as an expert with 'answers' - be able to give good, solid technical answers (and look like a 'good guy' to others

4) Refresh your profile - even if not job seeking - keep on top of what you are doing and have done

5) Make new connections in 2012

I am on LinkedIn - but am not looking for a new job. For my students, this is a professional network that you can use to your advantage!!!

Will the new CMO spend more on IT then the CIO?

Taken from:

http://www.information-management.com/blogs/CIO_CMO_tech_spending-10021722-1.html?ET=informationmgmt:e2865:2262124a:&st=email&utm_source=editorial&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=IM_Daily_010512

In the article: " Now, according to Gartner analyst Laura McLellan, the next and biggest fiefdom to claim IT ownership is marketing, and she predicts that by 2017 chief marketing officers will spend more on IT than their counterpart CIOs."

Hmm ... the blending of IT and Marketing is getting closer. In my last blog post before this one, one of the hot IT jobs for 2012 was: "Socialite".

So ... master's students - you need to understand ALL the tools (including IT and marketing and ... finance, accounting, management, etc.)

Bruce

Up and coming tech jobs - and how to land one!!!

Taken from:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9222928/Up_and_coming_tech_jobs_and_how_to_land_one?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2012-01-03

Some highlights:

• Director of Cloud Transformation (IT professionals to oversee the process)
• Socialite!!! (people with strong marketing and IT skills - interesting!!)
• Data Scientist (collect, understand, interpret and make business sense of data)
• Augmented Reality Specialist (???) (frequently a mobile app with streets, landscapes, etc.)
• Chief Agile Officer
• Flexible Resource Manager
• Health Informatics Expert
• Machine to Machine Communications integrator
• Outsourcing / offshoring manager

Thinking of the first title - director of Cloud Transformation - the article wrote: ""This position is like being a conductor of an orchestra. It's a series of 500 projects over seven years. You have to make sure it works and it's sequenced," he says. "No one person is an expert on all of it," which means multiple specialists are often involved -- and that, in turn, spurs some companies to seek out an overseeing director."

Moving to the cloud has some great advantages - but also some threats (like control of data and security). The Director of Cloud Transformation will have his/her hands full - but it should be an exciting ride with lots of hard work (and good financial rewards).

More from the six hot IT jobs for 2012

User Experience Designers:

Taken from: http://www.cio.com/article/695585/6_Hot_IT_Jobs_That_Will_Pay_Well_in_2012?page=2&taxonomyId=3123

#3 on the six hot IT jobs list is "User Experience Designers" - so ... what is that?

"Because so many of the apps companies are developing—whether for PCs or mobile devices—are customer facing, they need user interface or user experience designers to ensure the apps are fun and intuitive to use. Robert Half anticipates starting salaries for user experience designers to rise 6.7 percent, to between $71,750 and $104,000 per year."

Designing the front end of an app takes a person with user understanding - the layout needs to be aesthetically appealing, consistent, with a minimum of user effort and designed for ease of use.

So, even for the lesser technical person, designing the graphical interface is important - and takes some different skills!!!

Six Hot IT jobs for 2012 #1 - Mobile application developer

Taken from:

http://www.cio.com/article/695585/6_Hot_IT_Jobs_That_Will_Pay_Well_in_2012?source=CIONLE_nlt_insider_2012-01-02

From the article:

"T professionals who can develop applications for mobile devices are hands down the hottest commodity in IT these days. IT staffing experts agree that this group will remain in this enviable position through 2012, as companies race to adapt their Websites and apps for smartphones and tablets."

In this article: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/02/smartphone-growth-in-the-u-s-nothing-but-blue-sky-ahead/ - it says that in the last twelve months (July 2010 to June 2011), Android phones grew by 25 million and iPhones by 9.5 million (and ... probably more in the last six months). The demand for smartphones continued to grow - and the demand for company apps, specialized apps, game apps, news apps, etc. is great!!! The main article indicated that some developers make from $70 to $100 an hour (or ... from $140,000 to $200,000 a year!!).

Exciting times for IT smartphone developers!!!

Statistic errors in Business / Data Analysis

Taken from:

http://www.information-management.com/newsletters/statistics-analytics-data-quality-mistakes-10021691-1.html?ET=informationmgmt:e2823:2262124a:&st=email&utm_source=editorial&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=IM_Daily_122711

1. Sophistication in statistics compensates for lack of data and/or business understanding. - hey - I can do the second derivative and rotate around the mean, and do advanced analysis - but ... what? You only wanted the average - or what does this mean? [Many years ago, teaching mathematics, students would divide 1000 by 50 and get something like 2000 - a little common sense would have helped!!]

2. Extracting meaning out of randomness. - there are times where there really isn't a pattern in the data (or ... you are not using the correct data - or not using the correct data in a meaningful fashion) - this might be another version of #1 - what is the business understanding - what does this really mean and imply?

3. Correlation versus causation – modeling will help uncover causal relationships. - so which came first - the chicken or the egg? Did A CAUSE B - or did B cause A - or are they just related? Did Steve fall in love with Sara; or did Sara fall in love with Steve or did they both fall in love with each other? (the article has this illustration:)

QR codes on headstones??

Taken from:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/qr-codes-grave-markers/story?id=14102071#.Tvh_VzXOV2A

While QR codes are used in marketing - how about marketing 'from the grave'? Really putting a QR code on a grave market can be a good idea - as it takes you to a webpage where you can learn more about the person. Whether QR codes survive the test of time - and in 50 years you can read about John Doe who died in 2011 from his QR code on his market, it makes for an interesting concept!!

Tablet computing Growth

Taken from:

http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/Innovation/Tablet-Computing-Experiences-Remarkable-Growth-174141/

This is this kind of adoption curve that, when multiplied by the millions, has made tablet computing the top business technology trend for 2012. Half of midsize and larger organizations expect to increase their investments in tablets at least moderately.

With the increase in interest, there is a corresponding growth in applications and development. As Apple says "There's an App for that"!!!

Top Ten Business Trends for 2012

Taken from:

http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/Innovation/Top-10-Business-Trends-for-2012-149938/

Predictions for 2012 (click on links for more information)

Trend 1: Tablet Computing Experiences Remarkable Growth

Trend 2: The Marketing Tech Revolution

Trend 3: Network and Wireless Build-Out

Trend 4: Advanced Communications

Trend 5: Business Intelligence and Big Data

Trend 6: IT Strategies Shift Toward Revenue Growth

Trend 7: Development of the Customized Cloud

Trend 8: Security Investments Remain Strong

Trend 9: The Consumerization of IT Continues

Trend 10: Hardware Investment Continues

More on these in future posts

So you plan on skipping work this week?

Taken from:

http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/Careers/Worst-Excuses-for-Missing-Work-226705/?kc=BLBLBEMNL12262011STR1

Some of the excuses that were used:

• I drank antifreeze by mistake
• Bats go into my hair
• A refrigerator fell on top of me
• A deer bite
• Brother-in-law was kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel
• My daughter stole my car (she was age 12)
• Calling in sick (when really well - taking a 'mental health day'?)

And ... some employer reactions:

• Fired workers for illegitimate excuses
• They have called their bluffs (called home / doctor / other)
• Some have driven by the employees house to verify

(Aside note - I've had students 'email' in sick - (I'm not feeling well) - and then I've run into them later in the day. It makes it hard to write a glowing recommendation!!)

Google's Pitt Patt

Taken from:

http://www.fastcompany.com/1768963/google-may-be--to-face-recognize-the-web

Google has worked with Carnegie-Mellon University and then acquired the rights to the Pitt Patt (from Pittsburgh Pattern) facial recognition application.

Google is making it an opt-in for Google Plus (Google +) - to avoid privacy issues of facial recognition with approval.

One can only start to imagine what facial recognition can mean in a varieties of uses. With Google's Android phones (with built in cameras), you can be identified. With Google Wallet technology - this can be a verification that the person making the charge / payment is who he/she is (because of the facial recognition).

Other organizations are using facial recognition - like homeland security and other governmental groups. In class we have looked at a retail store using it.

Top Paying Business Skills for IT Pros

Taken from:

http://www.channelinsider.com/c/a/Careers/Top-Paying-Business-Skills-for-IT-Pros-323148/?kc=CITCIEMNL12072011STR1

The first item was that "Technology plays a driving role in the automation necessary for impactful business process changes, but if those who deploy it don't know how the business works in the first place they won't be nearly as effective at their jobs". That is: IT pros need to know the business environment and how IT brings a value to that environment.

The second item is using prediction models - business analytics - the best decisions are based on the best models.

The third item is enterprise architecture. IT professionals who want to advance need solid understanding of business process workflows and technology. (The Open Group Architecture Framework [TOGAF] is given as a good start)

Skunk Works

Taken from:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/359534/When_IT_Gets_to_Play?source=CTWNLE_nlt_dailyam_2011-12-05

Skunk works are places where staff are encouraged to play. (Meaningful play that is ...)

Google Labs has been known for creating new ideas as well as Apple. This article mentions several examples, but largely looks at the success NASA's Jet Propulsion labs has had with their skunk works.

The concept is that it is a place to try (and fail if that happens) - to try out new technologies, see what might give a company or organization a competition advantage.

If you want to try some of Google's new ideas you might like this link: http://www.google.com/experimental/

Do you want an "Ice Cream Sandwich"?

Taken from:

http://www.phonesreview.co.uk/2011/12/02/android-ice-cream-sandwich-review-ranks-of-mobile-os/

"Originally unveiled back in May, Google’s new Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS is now here".

New operating systems almost always are faster, more robust and more fulfilling. Some features that look interesting are: easier and more functional screen lock (with sliding lock - like on the iPad and iPhone); and better text editing and spell check.

Innovation is generally good, and this looks like a very good innovation for android phone operating systems!!!

Will you invest?

Taken from:

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/facebook-said-to-be-planning-10-billion-ipo-11282011.html

So, Facebook is planning an IPO (initial public offering) of stock? Will you invest?

While users of Facebook get it for free; the data is valuable. Ads are tailored for users. With millions of users and ads customized based on their status, profile and usage, Facebook looks to gain a great deal of revenue from the ads - and here 10 billion in stock.

I think it would be a great investment.

Android phone spies on users

Taken from:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2068225/Secret-app-installed-millions-Android-phones-reads-messages.html

The article notes that there is software on Android phones that keeps track of keystrokes, all Google searches, your browsing and your messages. Supposedly the company uses the data to analyze the effectiveness of the phones and software and does not save the data; but ... what if they do?

Over the years, technology has developed so that we can 'spy' almost anytime / almost anywhere. Our cars have GPS units that keep track of where we are, our speed, and driving habits; video cameras exist in parking lots, stores and more (yes, they do help catch bank robbers and convenience store thefts); and our phones are being tapped. If I tell my wife (or a very close friend) that "person X is a jerk" (or some stronger language), can I eventually be sued for libel? If I express a very personal 'dark secret' (if I had any), will my phone save that - and eventually if I run for president, it will come out?

Is George Orwell from the novel 1984 correct when he stated that "Big Brother is watching you"?