Google Shocks: $12.5 billion for Motorola Mobility
It’s too early to go through all the possible iterations. Robin Wauters posted an announcement in
Techcrunch on August 15th entitled “Google Buys Motorola Mobility For $12.5B, Says “Android Will Stay Open”. I’ll try to give you a brief synopsis and to put things into perspective; however, stay tuned as this mega-deal unfolds and as the players shakeout.
Google was sitting on $39 Billion in cash. Google owns Android and Motorola Mobility is a dedicated partner. Motorola Mobility is sitting on 14,600 patents and another 6700 patent pending apps. So the leading search engine and online advertising goliath is combining with not only a strong Android smartphone manufacturer but also the “market leader in the home devices and video solutions business”.
Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page stated that Motorola Mobility will “enable us to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies”. It remains an open question how HTC, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Acer, Lenovo and other Android device makers will handle this acquisition. Wauters gives us a link in his announcement to reaction already from some of these vendors.
Here’s the Full press release:
“Google to Acquire Motorola Mobility
Combination will Supercharge Android, Enhance Competition, and Offer Wonderful User Experiences
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. & LIBERTYVILLE, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Google will acquire Motorola Mobility for $40.00 per share in cash, or a total of about $12.5 billion, a premium of 63% to the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday, August 12, 2011. The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.
“Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.”
The acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a dedicated Android partner, will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business.
Larry Page, CEO of Google, said, “Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.”
Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola Mobility, said, “This transaction offers significant value for Motorola Mobility’s stockholders and provides compelling new opportunities for our employees, customers, and partners around the world. We have shared a productive partnership with Google to advance the Android platform, and now through this combination we will be able to do even more to innovate and deliver outstanding mobility solutions across our mobile devices and home businesses.”
Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile at Google, said, “We expect that this combination will enable us to break new ground for the Android ecosystem. However, our vision for Android is unchanged and Google remains firmly committed to Android as an open platform and a vibrant open source community. We will continue to work with all of our valued Android partners to develop and distribute innovative Android-powered devices.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals in the US, the European Union and other jurisdictions, and the approval of Motorola Mobility’s stockholders. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2011 or early 2012.”
Microsoft Announces Cloud "Office 365": Will Skype Be Next?
Well it looks as though we may be entering the doldrums of a long hot summer with no exciting news to spark our interest. And then Stuart J. Johnston’s article in Small Business Computing.com entitled “Microsoft Launches Office 365 for SMB Markets” and its companion article in Small Business Computing.com entitled “Is a Low-cost Calling Plan in the Works for Office 365” comes to save the day. Actually, I think we have to give Microsoft a bit of the credit as well, because after all it was their recent announcement that the cloud applications suite known as “Office 365” was ready for GA (“General Availability”) to the SMB market place.
The enterprise suite will contain the following applications in the CLOUD:
· Exchange Online for email
· SharePoint Online for collaboration
· Lync Online for unified communications
· Web versions of its Office applications -- called the Office Web Apps
The price is right. Microsoft will be offering an optional monthly subscription fee for those SMB’s without a full-time or even part-time IT department. A Microsoft Spokesman stated:
“With Office 365 for small businesses, customers can be up and running with Office Web Apps, Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Lync Online and an external website in minutes, for $6 per user, per month. These tools put enterprise-grade email, shared documents, instant messaging, video and Web conferencing, portals and more at everyone’s fingertips.”
Microsoft is building an infrastructure of service providers to help service the SMB market place which include: AppRiver, Intuit, Premier Global Services, CDW, Bell Canada, Telefonica, Telstra, and Vodafone. Microsoft Spokesman stated:
“These companies will package Office 365 with their own services -- from Web hosting and broadband to finance solutions and mobile services -- and bring those new offerings to millions of small and midsize businesses globally"
Is Skype Next?
Back in May 2011 Microsoft announced its purchase of the low-cost calling service Skype for $8.5 billion. Microsoft’s purchase has obtained US Regulatory approval. What remains is obtaining such approval globally. Sharon Pian Chen, technology reporter for the Seattle Times, quotes Kurt Delbene, president of Microsoft’s Business Division:
“Office 365 will be the first place Skype will be added to a Microsoft product when Microsoft closes its purchase of Skype"
The cloud version of Lync 2010, Lync Online, a key component of Office 365, provides instant messaging, voice, and video calling. Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, envisions huge benefits to be obtained by combining the Lync’s unified communications server and Skype.
More Government Intervention Needed Says FCC Chairman
The Consumer Electronics Show (“CES”) was held last week in Las Vegas. So the tech industry showed up with all its gadgets, smartphones and tablets and whatnot, and all the promises of 4G and mobile computing. So we’ve got this new, relatively speaking, and burgeoning wireless industry. Isn’t this what economists and critics and politicians and enthusiasts predicted and clamored for, American inventiveness and exceptional-ism to come to the rescue and reverse the global economic downslide. Not so fast my friends. As Kenneth Corbin reports in his article for Datamation entitled FCC Boss Takes Spectrum Shortfall Warning to CES, The FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski, announced plans at the CES for his agency to intervene into the wireless industry and forcibly reallocate bandwidth among the major players. Corbin explains the situation succinctly in his article:
“Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski was talking about spectrum, the invisible airwaves that power the wireless networks that are coming under increasing strain from the surge in mobile computing.”
It comes as no surprise to the industry that the possibilities and wonders of the new wave in mobile computing are dependent upon sufficient supply and access to the air waves. However, as Corbin reports, The FCC has plans to conduct auctions of the air waves licenses currently owned by the TV broadcasters to the wireless vendors. Maybe not a bad idea, but along with incentives to do so, the FCC would impose fees, fines, and penalties in order to ensure the government’s idea of the proper allocation of the Spectrum to be implemented. So is this truly voluntary.
Once again, the age old question must be addressed …. Who is better equipped and suited to put into practice and maintain a sound business strategy, the Free Market or the Government. You decide.
2011: The Next Computing Platform
David Needle reports in EnterpriseMobile Today on IDC’s prediction of the plethora of sales of mobile devices expected in the coming year with over 25 billion apps expected to be written for these devices in his article entitled Mobile Apps Will Heat up to 'Staggering' Levels in 2011: IDC. This will be the eventual merging of Cloud Computing, Mobile Computing, and Social Networking. This will be the next paradigm shift in the computing world. For me this shift is clearly signaled when Needle quotes Frank Gens, IDC's senior vice president and chief analyst:
"In 2011, we expect to see these transformative technologies make the critical transition from early adopter status to early mainstream adoption"
“In addition to creating new markets and opportunities, this restructuring will overthrow nearly every assumption about who the industry's leaders will be and how they establish and maintain leadership"
Apple’s iPhone will dominate, but Android’s Marketplace will not be a distant second for long. With the staggering prediction of over 25 billion apps to be written and sold for all the new mobile devices, the other two budding technologies of cloud computing services and social networking will combine to move the new way of computing to warp speed.
Should we expect the acquisition by major software vendors of social networking providers? The IDC research says yes.
Facebook Secures Patent
Facebook’s most popular feature, News Feed, has been patented thus locking in the Intellectual Property Rights. This popular feature shows a member’s activities, to those allowed to view it, across the site.
Kenneth Corbin reports in his Internetnews.com article entitled Facebook Lands Patent for News Feed that facebook described the feature in its patent application as follows:
“The method includes generating news items regarding activities associated with a user of a social network environment and attaching an informational link associated with at least one of the activities, to at least one of the news items, as well as limiting access to the news items to a predetermined set of viewers and assigning an order to the news items. The method may further include displaying the news items in the assigned order to at least one viewing user of the predetermined set of viewers and dynamically limiting the number of news items displayed.”
There have been numerous privacy concerns and protests from members regarding how much of one’s activities could be broadcast on the site. However, these privacy protests have waned as other social networking sites such as MySpace, Twitter, and LinkedIn have imitated the feature.
So what are the ramifications? With the granting of the patent, Facebook may now sue any social networking site that includes an algorithm-driven mechanism for sharing and distributing information.
In a related Reuters’ story Military Allows Twitter, Other Social Media:
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The Pentagon announced on Friday it has authorized the use Twitter, Facebook and other so-called "Web 2.0" sites across the U.S. military, saying the benefits of social media outweighed security concerns.
The decision, which comes at a time of growing concern over cyber-security, applies only to the military's non-classified network.
"The purpose of the policy is to recognize that we need to take advantage of these Internet-based capabilities. These Web 2.0 tools need to be part of what we use," David Wennergren, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, told Reuters.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, 66, has said that he wants to use social networking to help the Pentagon interact with U.S. military members, many of whom are in their early 20s.
But opponents have cited the risks of information leaks, of opening gateways to hackers, along with a potential overload of precious bandwidth on the Defense Department's network.
Training people so they know what can and cannot be disclosed on the Internet is a more effective policy than simply banning use of social media on work computers, he said.
"So part of this is about having a trained workforce that is savvy in how you operate in the information age."
Copyright 2010 Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Year In Review: Another Top Ten List
Did somebody famous ever say “We won’t know where we are going until we know where we’ve been”? I did a quick Google search and could not come up with this quote being attributed to any person. If somebody did say this, then I’m borrowing the line for this posting. If not, then feel free to use it (but mention my name please). As my regular readers can imagine, I’ve been gone for about 3 weeks simply due to a very busy fourth quarter/year-end close. While scanning the internet recently for interesting and important information to bring to your attention, I stumbled upon a very interesting and thought provoking article in Internetnews.com by Kenneth Corbin entitled The 10 Most Important Social and Digital Media Developments of 2009. As I have stated in the past, I am a bit of a History Buff (What’s a Buff? See definition 2; enthusiastic, yes; knowledgeable, maybe). So I like to know the background of why things are as they are; and so I think it is nice to know what has happened in the past relating to technology in order to get a better understanding of where we may end up in the technological future. Corbin’s article is a gem. It informed me more fully of things I might have heard but should know more about. It reminded me of things that happened and how society dealt with it. It made me laugh (e.g. someone threatened to kill their cat if Miley Cyrus did not reinstate her Twitter account – really). And it made me wonder about the future. Here is a brief synopsis of Corbin’s Top Ten List peppered with my editorial comments. I hope I can do it justice:
#10. Amazon.com’s Kindle will change the world: I read somewhere that the Invention that changed the world was the printing press. Well move over Gutenberg, the Kindle has arrived. In 2009 Amazon sold more digital books than printed editions. This e-reader will change the world. For an interesting take and a more in-depth analysis see Don Reisinger article entitled The Most Important Tech Product Is the Kindle, Not the iPhone.
#9. Craigslist Killer: Some med student solicited an escort off of Craigslist and murdered her. The story was sensationalized due to the use of this new technology. As Corbin correctly points out, this story would have not garnered the attention that it did if the escort was solicited from the many personal ads or from the too numerous to mention yellow page advertisements.
#8. Social Networking Sites Made Money: Facebook and Twitter, both a free service to their customer base of MILLIONS (yes I’m shouting MILLIONS) managed to figure out a way to make money. Facebook does it through advertising and the sale of virtual products; and Twitter did it by licensing the ability to add real-time content to Search Engines Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo.
#7. Social Media in the Government: Is this a good thing? I don’t know. The Obama Administration seems to think so. They’ve done weekly addresses to the nation on YouTube and hosted online town hall meetings. There are numerous government websites and blogs.
#6. The slow death of the Newspaper: Is this really happening? Are we really getting more (or most) of our news from the internet? What will the new business model turn out to be? Dare I say, do we need yet another industry bailed out?
#5. Miley Cyrus deletes Twitter account: I honestly do not understand this phenomenon. Apparently there are millions of fans of all sorts of celebrities and Star Athletes that are interested in knowing and these Celebs/Sport Stars are interested in tweeting what they may be doing most hours of the day. Is this the downfall of our society? Well, it is at least another reason for it. Oh how I long for much calmer days and “Home Tweet Home”.
#4. Social Web becomes target for hackers: Why do they do it? I don’t know. Some do it for the thrill of the “hack” and some are out to steal our identity. We put too much personal stuff on these social sites. Regulators and privacy advocates have fertile ground for their causes and activities.
#3. The Twitter revolution in Iran: In June of the last year as Iranian authorities were cracking down on protestors, these same protestors began to twitter their cause, and when the foreign correspondents were thrown out, became the only source of hard data on what was really happening in the country. Corbin reports that the US State Department convinced the people at Twitter to postpone a planned power outage for scheduled maintenance just so they would keep the twitter lines of communication open.
#2. The growing sense of urgency about information: It seems that everything is about immediacy. We’ve got to have it real-time.
And the #1 important issue that materialized last year relating to Social and Digital Media was VIDEO: The web is free and on-demand. How does one derive a business model out of that? TV Everywhere offers paying subscribers the option to watch content on the web. Hulu pulls content from sites, and its owner News Corp is thinking about making it a paid site. So is free TV over the air waves supported by its advertising (i.e. commercials) a thing of the past?
Droid: Can Verizon Topple AT&T with the Newest Smartphone by Motorola
Well, by now you probably have seen the commercials. The first commercial began with a children’s lullaby playing in the background as a series of “i don’t” phrases appeared on a whiteboard. This was just enough to catch one’s curiosity when the final “i don’t” phrase dissolves into an eerie Sci-Fi fuzzy screen and a voice is heard announcing the coming of Droid. As a fighter pilot wannabe, the second commercial was much more to my liking. A squadron of what look to be 2nd or 3rd generation stealth fighter-bombers is flying in formation when the order is given to release the pods. A shower of what appears to be meteors fills the skies. Upon impact the locals gather around each crater and the pods begin to open when the background voice announces the arrival of Droid.
Last Friday Verizon’s iPhone killer went on sale. Motorola’s Droid has a mobile open source
platform on the Verizon network. Michelle Megna reports for Internetnews.com on the impending battle between Apple, the maker of the iPhone, and the PC community in her article entitled “Droid First Step in iPhone Fade Away?”. Megna quotes Tim McLaughlin, CEO of Siteworx, a mobile app and Web development company,
"History shows that unlike Apple, PCs gathered the ecosystem of profitable companies, such as Dell and IBM, thanks to its open technology. Apple, however, only develops systems that benefit itself. It all comes down to economics, and the only company interested in making the iPhone ubiquitous is Apple. On the other hand, you have Google, Verizon, Motorola, all these big companies together, the cumulative market value is huge. You put all of those resources together, and even though it's less effective because it's not centralized like Apple, it will still have a huge impact"
Brad Reed and Matt Hamblen have done their due diligence research on the product and have come up with a nifty review in their article for Computerworld entitled “Four reasons to buy (and one reason to avoid) the Droid”. I’ll try to provide a brief summary of their five points:
1. Droid is the strongest device on the Verizon Network with the following three characteristics:
a. Mobile browsing capability
b. A very good voice recognition functionality
c. The largest 3G data coverage network of Verizon
2. The Google connection: The open platform will stimulate development of new apps and allow users to switch to new carriers while maintaining the same device.
3. Ability to run two applications simultaneously: iPhone can’t do it. Once Droid develops the appropriate security features, then Blackberry will need to pay attention as Droid could become the device of choice for the enterprise user.
4. Connection to the internet through Wi-Fi: Also use of the same processor as the iPhone will allow a fast and smooth browsing experience.
5. AND the one reason to avoid this device is the keyboard: Droid has the touchscreen capability, but in order to get that feel of hitting the keys, they have also developed a slide-out keyboard. This feature allows enough room for a larger display screen. Reed and Hamblen report that users do not get the same feel with this shallow keyboard.
That is One Small Step for Bandwidth. One Giant Leap for ISP's.
Actually it is not that small of a step for bandwidth. NASA has come up with a device that transmits data at the rate of 100 megabytes per second. This compares to the 1 to 3 megabytes per second from a typical high-speed internet service provider.
I have got to hand it to Sean Michael Kerner for posting his article in Internetnews.com entitled From the Moon to the Earth at 100 Mbps. I was simply minding my own business, surfing the net for anything of interest, when I stumbled upon Kerner’s article. So my first thought was, ‘So NASA has come up with yet another innovation in order to justify its existence.’ .jpg)
I recalled the ever popular “Tang” and then there was Velcro, digital watches, and the ubiquitous handheld calculators. To be fair most, if not all, of the modern conveniences we enjoy today and cannot live without began or in some way had their impetus in the space program. And so I read on. This one will truly be revolutionary.
Kerner’s article linked to Jan Wittry’s article entitled The Ultimate Long Distance Communication. Wittry reports that NASA has launched the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (“LRO”) to collect data about the moon to include massive amounts of images, and data about the moon’s geography, climate, and environment. This information will then be sent back to earth to help scientists create high-resolution 3-D maps of the moon’s surface. 
The transmission of this massive amount of data, in almost real time, is due to a NASA custom designed and handmade 13 inch device called a Traveling Wave Tube Amplifier.
I strongly suggest you read Wittry’s article and discover the various uses already contemplated for such technology (i.e. use in communication satellites for tracking oceanic flights, icebergs, volcanic eruptions, forest fires, and severe weather.) Kerner mentions the most obvious use in his article when he mentions the ability to “boost data delivery” for content delivery on the internet.
Microsoft and Nokia: An Alliance
Stuart J. Johnston reports in his article in Internetnews.com for August 12, 2009 entitled Microsoft, Nokia Team to Make Office Mobile that these mobile operating system competitors have signed an alliance whereby Microsoft’s Office Mobile applications will run on Nokia’s Symbian operating system. The Microsoft Office Mobile applications will be ported over to the Nokia Eseries Enterprise devices. The plan begins with porting Office Mobile to the Nokia devices, which then will lead to allowing access to Microsoft enterprise products such as SharePoint and Office Communicator. Next year Microsoft will bundle other apps onto the Symbian operating system such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. As RIM’s Blackberry hold’s the lead in the enterprise market-space, the Microsoft/Nokia alliance could provide some significant inroads into that market. With Nokia’s market share for smartphones worldwide at 45%, it is easy to understand Microsoft’s willingness to join forces, at least in this arena.
For some more interesting reading which could help lay a foundation to understanding an alliance such as discussed above see the April 30, 2009 posting in this Blog entitled The Mobile Revolution Is Upon Us.
The Mobile Revolution Is Upon Us
Well folks, I’m out of breath. I was minding my own business just cruising the net for interesting stories and then all of a sudden I stumbled upon a treasure trove of fundamental information. It all began when I came across an article by Michelle Megna entitled What’s Behind the iPhone Success Story? and read in the first sentence that Apple sold 3.8 million iPhones in the last quarter (that’s three months for the non-accountants) for a $1.5 billion boost to sales revenue during the worst recession we’ve had in approximately 70 years. I was interested to read Megna’s reporting of the reasons behind this success story – 1) the too numerous to list apps, 2) the interconnectivity with the Mac for ease of data transfer, 3) the consumer preference of the iPhone to the Netbook. You’ll have to read further down into the article before you come across the astounding sales numbers for RIM’s Blackberry devices for the comparable time period. And so the story ends – or so I thought.
So I’m in this smartphone / mobility state of mind when I come across Andrew Dod’s article entitled Strategic Considerations for “Going Mobile”. Dod’s article takes this topic into the stratosphere with countless references to vital information. He begins by calling our attention to the old days and another revolution, 1994 that is and modems firing at 14.4 bps. Companies quickly realized that the paradigm had shifted and they needed to be a part of the internet and figure out how to compete and make money. With over 4 billion mobile devices in existence today the same questions asked in 1994 are being asked again:
· How do we get our business on mobile?
· How can we easily create and distribute content on mobile?
· How do we integrate mobile into our business operations?
· How do we ensure effective adoption of our mobile applications?
· How do we extend and grow our business on mobile?
Dod cautions us that mobile is not just for marketing but can help the enterprise achieve its core business objectives. With the excess of mobile devices out there Dod declares that content should be upper most in the mind of the business strategist to address the“significant variations in operating systems, screen sizes, display resolution, processing speed, memory, and performance.” Dod lays out the three major types of content, each with its own unique character and requirements to fit into the business strategy:
· Text messaging SMS (short message service) delivers simple content but is limited in how much it can deliver - only 160 characters.
· Mobile Web (WAP): This is where your smartphone uses WAP (wireless application protocol) to access Web sites. The WAP browser is simplified for your handheld device but is fully interactive. Use of the WAP browser is different from a PC browser. Web sites usually display clumsily on the smaller mobile screens. It is better to deliver tailored offerings with a limited portion of the content and functionality available at the full Web site.
· Mobile Applications: Since mobile devices support numerous platforms, rich media applications have become available enabling a much more vibrant user experience with video and audio. This allows for content developed specifically for the mobile device. Dod suggests that the smart business treats the mobile medium as its own medium, rather than an off-shoot of online.
Dod’s emphasis throughout his article is the importance of content when delivering it to a mobile device. He has devised a list of what he calls the ten C’s of mobile strategies. It is really quite ingenious. I could not do it justice in this blog posting and so I highly recommend his article to all my readers.
Continuing on with this treasure trove of information, many of my readers may remember my Blog posting last August 4, 2008 entitled Mobile Computing: A Unified Platform Is Essential As Technologies Converge regarding Jim Hemmer’s “Mobile Bang Theory”. Just to refresh your recollection Hemmer’s theory simply states that one action from a mobile device can be the catalyst for many other internal, as well as external, business reactions yielding significant ROI. Well Hemmer is back with a follow up to his Mobile Bang Theory entitled The Mobile Bang Theory – Part II: Let the ROI Sparks Fly. He sees the global economic meltdown as an aid in bringing cost containment more into focus for the enterprise and thus putting mobility projects on the top of the “to do” list for IT managers.
Hemmer’s take on the current mobile revolution is quite fascinating. He really sees a BIG PICTURE when he describes the inherent benefits of mobility. His vision combines multiple systems and devices and networks and processes and people and the end result is faster ROI. He emphasizes this faster ROI by explaining that the global recession provides opportunities in the sales cycle to impress your customers. He takes this lesson from the former president of Scandinavian Airlines, Jan Carlzon, who turned the company around during a deep recession. As Carlzon explained each customer interaction was a “moment of truth” for the company to impress the customer. Hemmer takes the moment of truth approach and refines it to fit today’s economic environment. These moments of truth become “Trigger Points” where the sale can be won or lost based on the timely and relevant use of data that can be brought to bear via mobile devices.
To be sure, mobility is not solely for the sales cycle. Hemmer’s article is full of other real examples of the use and benefits to the enterprise deploying the latest mobility devices and applications. He presents examples of mobility’s use for field service operations and also the productivity gains for IT Management itself as data can be retrieved real time to provide visibility into the operations. Jim Hemmer’s article is a nice companion piece to Andrew Dod’s article. And as Andrew Dod stated in his article:
“Mobile is here, now, and only going to dwarf the first Internet wave due to its ubiquity, essentialness, convenience, and proximity to nearly all we do.”
BlackBerry Bold; Stimulus Money for Broadband; and the News Media's Imminent Demise
In my reading and search for noteworthy events in the IT world, I have come across several interesting, but not necessarily connected articles. I thought I would list out a few of these to keep my readers apprised of these current events and what is or may be happening in the not too distant future. I’ll give you a very brief synopsis and provide the link to each article if you feel the need to dig further into the story. My selections (not in any particular order of importance) are as follows:
BlackBerry Bold Keyboard Is Hot
Judy Mottl reports that all sales of the BlackBerry Bold in Japan have been halted. It seems after the first week that NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s mobile carrier, received more than several complaints that the keyboards were hot. At present it is not a battery issue, just hot keyboards. Mottl puts an interesting twist in the article by listing out some component prices for the BlackBerry Bold. The highest priced component is the processor at $34.34 while the keyboard is listed at $1.85. For more on this see BlackBerry Bold too hot to handle in Japan.
Stimulus Money for Broadband
Kenneth Corbin reports that $7.2 billion of the total $787 billion stimulus package passed by Congress has been allocated for broadband deployment. The National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) will be meeting with ISP’s soon all looking for some of the approximate$4.5 billion the NTIA has to spend. The remaining $2.5 billion will be administered by the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) for broadband in the more sparsely populated areas. Corbin seems to buy into the Obama Administrations claim for transparency on the spending of these funds. His article is entitled Feds pressing forward with broadband stimulus plans.
The Demise of TV News
If you are as frustrated as me with the TV News, then Mike Elgan’s article Why Social Media is Killing (Bad) TV News is a must read. Elgan’s opinion piece is a no nonsense approach to the obvious bias and search for ratings and career boosting antics of the anchors. Elgan holds nothing back as he illustrates his point using CNN's Wolf Blitzer “doing his clumsy ‘Situation Room’ shtick”. Elgan is infuriated at the rehashing of the 4 top stories (as the editors see it) and suggests reporting on the top 20 stories. He presents a list of 5 things to do for TV News to become more timely and relevant while taking a swipe at the “over-paid personalities” delivering their own slanted opinions on what they have decided are the top 4 news items of the day. I disagree with one of his points though. In his third point he wants to do away with all opinion show personalities. He states the following, “Bill O'Reilly, Lou Dobbs, Sean Hannity, Jim Cafferty, Keith Olbermann, Rachael Maddow and their ilk — show them the door.” I think we already have a system set-up for that. It is called ratings. As long as each opinion show personality makes it clear to the viewers that the show is an opinion show and not a “Hard News” show, I say let the viewers decide. Just in case you are not sure where Elgan’s true feelings lie after reading his 5 points, he concludes his article as follows:
“Of course, I don't expect the TV new media to do any of these things. The medium is the message, and the number-one objective of any organization is to blindly pursue the interests of the organization itself. TV networks need their advertising dollars, and believe that the only way to make money is to be phony, non-responsive propaganda machines that barely cover the news and spend half their time on self-promotion.
Fine. Just don't expect me to watch. I'll be getting the real news on Twitter.”
Obama Appoints IT Security Czar
Michael Markulec, COO of Lumeta Corporation, writes in CIO Update that the Obama Administration has appointed Melisa Hathaway as Advisor to the President on National Cyber Security. For a more comprehensive review of the appointee and her relationship to the Bush Administration see Siobhan Gorman’s article in the Wall Street Journal, Hathaway to Head Cybersecurity Post. Markulec is all for the newly created position. He points to the disconnect between the federal government and the private sector when it comes to our infrastructure and the necessary control systems in these most important industries. He states the obvious that their connection to the internet leaves us open to a cyber-attack. He also touts Hathaway’s concern that simple hand-held devices can be used to conduct foreign and industrial espionage.
I’m sorry but I just don’t see anything new or any quantum leap towards more effective cyber security from this newly created position. But one only needs to read further and the newness becomes apparent. Markulec predicts, and I agree with him, that new regulations are on the way. He compares the coming new regulations for the IT community and the CIO to the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation aimed at corporate CFO’s. Well, I guess we all know how that went. Do we really need more regulations or do we just need enforcement of the existing laws? If we are using our latest string of financial debacles as our guide, I guess arguments can be made for both sides. Some might say if the Congress didn’t block the creation of regulations for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae we might not have had the subprime mortgage meltdown. Others might argue if the SEC had only investigated and enforced its own existing regulations the Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme would have been discovered much sooner with less devastating financial losses for investors.
I think the Obama Administration may have tipped their hand at what may or may not be coming down the pike as it relates to cyber security, and that I am afraid is more of the same. Gorman reports that James Jones, National Security Advisor, has requested a further study on cyber security. Hathaway is tasked with conducting this 60 day study. And so the end result will be a study that will collect and discuss issues that are apparently known. Will the ends justify the means? Will we have tougher regulations for CIO’s as Markulec predicts, and if we do, will they be enforced and make any difference? That remains to be seen.
Technology Predictions for 2009
Jeff Vance, president of Sandstorm Media, a marketing services firm focused on emerging technology trends, has an article in CIO Update entitled 5 Hot Trends for 2009. This article is the next in his series of predictions as evidence by his article last year entitled 5 Hot Trends for 2008. He begins with an honest critique of his 2008 predictions. I admit I was too eager to find out what was anticipated for this year and so I skipped right to the 2009 predictions. After reading the latest predictions, I confess that my first thoughts were, “Well how good did you do last year?” and so it was easy to find out. Depending on your patience, either order is fine. I’ll give you a brief synopsis of his 2009 predictions and leave it up to you to decide if you agree and need to check his score from last year. For 2009 Vance sees the following unfolding:
1. Major Mergers and Acquisitions: Vance expects some big names to come in and buy at bargain prices. One place to look is in the wireless market-space.
2. Disappointing sales in the mobile market space: The recession will cause consumers to delay purchases of new handsets with all those nonessential features. One business model to watch is pay-as-you-go.
3. Virtualization is a winner in 2009: And the reason is obvious, cost. Seems like the recession plays a big part in most predictions for this year. Quicker ROI and less upfront cost will be the tipping point for most technology winners. Vance sees virtualization marching past the servers and moving to desktops and quite possibly the mobile desktop sector as well.
4. Businesses crack down on social networking: Lack of worker productivity and data leakage are the two main reasons.
5. IT Spending saves the economy: Admittedly this may be too brash of a boast, but look for major IT expenditures to support a fundamentally changed economy due to the global recession. Regulatory agencies will look to data mining in an effort to detect fraud and forestall market collapses.
So what do you think? If you are interested on how well Vance’s 2008 predictions turned out, read the article, (HINT: he wasn’t too far off).
Canadian Telecom Colossus Nortel Files for Bankruptcy
Canadian Telecom Colossus Nortel Files for Bankruptcy
Sean Michael Kerner, a senior editor for InternetNews.com and a proud Canadian (so says his Bio), has written a commentary on the financial woes and bankruptcy protection filing of the giant telecom equipment maker. On January 14th Nortel filed for protection and reorganization in the US under Chapter 11. As Kerner points out, the $2.4 billion Nortel has for continuing operations is a mere shadow of the $366 billion value it once held on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
From Kerner’s article it seems that the anticipated demise of Nortel is a convergence of two distinct events. One of the culprits was the bursting of the telecom bubble as a consequence of the larger dot.com bubble bursting in the later part of the 20th Century and into 2001. The second reason was a huge accounting irregularity that forced Nortel to restate its financial statements for 2000, 2001, 2002 and the first and second quarters of 2003; for more on this see Kerner’s 2004 article Nortel Fires CEO Over Accounting. The lack of a quick response only compounded matters. I might add a third reason; the current global recession did not help the situation at all.
Kerner does not believe that Nortel can emerge from a reorganization and sees a break-up and a selloff of its most attractive business units to either Cisco, Juniper, Avaya, HP, or perhaps Nortel’s partner Microsoft. The New York Times reports that this opinion is back-up by Mark Sue, an analyst with a unit of the Royal Bank of Canada, who stated “I don’t think it’s going to exist”.
The New York Times gave a brief synopsis of Nortel’s accomplishments:
“During the 1990s, Nortel designed and built much of the fiber optic equipment that now carries most of the Internet’s data. Along with the company now known as Alcatel Lucent, it computerized the operation of telephone networks during the 1980s. Nortel pioneered the development of equipment and software that brought the world wireless phone networks.”
Kerner concludes his commentary on a somber and poignant note:
“The true lesson in all of this though is simple. It is execution as well as prudent financial management that is the key to the success of a technology business. It's a lesson that Nortel is learning the hard way.”
For more on this story see also CNET News, Nortel Files for Bankruptcy.
Tips for SMB's: Better Network Technology Increases Competitive Advantage
In order for SMB’s to compete with their larger counter-parts, they need to increase their operational efficiency. CISCO interviewed Laurie McCabe, vice president of small and medium-sized business (SMB) insights and solutions for research firm AMI-Partners, and came up with some suggestions to enhance SMB’s ability to compete using network technology. Here is what they’ve come up with:
1. Give employees access to information: SMB’s need to react quickly. Slow and unsecured networks erode competitive advantage.
2. Mobile employees need access anytime and anywhere: Virtual Private Networks (“VPN’s”) and wireless networks allow mobile employees to stay connected to the network.
3. Develop business processes with partners: Operational efficiency is enhanced when you can meet your partner’s requirements.
4. Collaborate, Collaborate, And Collaborate: With partners, employees, suppliers, and customers. Use integrated voice, video, data, wireless, and other technologies.
5. Your phone system should go where you go: Missed calls mean missed opportunities. Solutions exist making one phone call ring multiple devices.
6. Modernize customer communication: Link your IP communication system to a Customer Relationship Management (“CRM”) solution. Before your employee answers the phone a pop-up appears on their screen with customer information including recent orders and returns.
7. Travel time kills operational efficiency: Use video conferencing whenever possible to reduce travel to offsite meetings and training sessions.
8. Outsource IT tasks to a Managed Service Provider: Employee’s time is better spent on supporting the enterprise’s core competencies rather than on managing network security.
9. Employee retention is key: Frustrated employees affect customer’s confidence in the enterprise. Burned out employees leave and time & money is spent rehiring. A reliable network alleviates this frustration.
10. Develop a long-term technology plan: Eliminate disruptions from replacements of massive obsolete hardware by devising a mapping of solutions to objectives.
To read the full details see Ten Tips for Increasing Operational Efficiency.
Mobile Device Management: Strategies for Smart Phones and PDAs
Mobile Device Management: Strategies for Smart Phones and PDAs
It is estimated that by the year 2011 there will be over 82 million mobile devices in the.jpg)
workforce. IT departments will be tasked with providing controls over the deployment of these devices. A good mobile device management strategy is essential to ensure that risks and costs are in control. The payback will be increased productivity. Lisa Phifer, vice president of Core Competence Inc., a consulting firm specializing in network security and management technology, has put together a checklist of such strategies in her whitepaper Mobile Management Checklist: 6 Essential Steps that will guide you through the entire lifecycle of such devices, from activation to retirement.
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Previously cell phones and PDA’s were not considered deserving of IT management. Their capabilities were limited and employees did not utilize them sufficiently to call for a Mobile Device Management (“MDM”) policy. With the new and more powerful devices, IT is being called upon to develop and manage the smartphones of the workforce. Phifer has provided a checklist for such a strategy. Admittedly not all the items in this checklist are needed for every IT department and some items are slight variations of desktop management, but other items are unique to the MDM strategy. The following is a summary of that checklist.
· Mobile Asset Inventory: includes
· classifications
· maintenance
· physical tracking
· database integration.
· Mobile Device Provisioning:
· which platforms must you support
· how will you register devices
· how do you install the MDM on the device
· how to configure and override factory installed defaults
· Mobile Software Distribution:
· which applications to bundle
· do you push or pull software to the device
· Mobile Security Management:
· user authentication
· password enforcement
· device wipe – ability to delete data or hard reset device
· Mobile Data Protection: consideration must be given to
· encryption
· backup & restore
· data tracking (i.e. and audit trail)
· Monitoring and Help Desk Support: among other things this includes
· self-help
· diagnostics
· remote control
Phifer’s whitepaper contains a further detailed discussion of this checklist and developing and managing a MDM strategy. It is well worth the time to read her discussion and suggestions. She concludes her paper with the following:
“Gartner predicts that more than 70% of enterprises will implement converged management and security policies for corporate-owned and non-corporate mobile devices by 2012. Mobile devices are already proliferating at a rapid pace, both in terms of platform and ownership. The sooner you develop a mobile device management strategy to deal with this daunting but inevitable scenario, the better life will be for both your employees and your IT staff.”
4 Tips on How to Start a Software Company and Succeed
Shashikant Chaudhary is the current Vice President of GlobalLogic (formerly known as IndusLogic). He recounts his journey from founder of Lambent Technologies, a provider of mobile solutions, through his trials and tribulations as the company grew, to the eventual sale of his company in an opinion article in SandHill.com entitled Growing a Software Company on a Shoestring. Along the way he developed what he considers the 4 most important points that any software entrepreneur should keep in mind on his/her way to financial success. Isn’t this everyone’s dream? Doesn’t everyone wish they could start a software business, watch as it builds to a crescendo and then sell it on the upswing? Bet you thought all you’d have to do is read this posting, take note of a few tips and/or tricks, and soon you would be rolling in the money faster than you could count it. Well they are no guarantees in life. In fact I have this Blog loaded with disclaimers, but let me add just one more: the 4 tips included in this posting do not guarantee success. These tips are merely a recounting of how one person did in fact start a company and helped it grow and then eventually cashed out. I do admit that his story is quite compelling and his “Tips” although not groundbreaking theory, do provide any interesting twist to some age old formulas. When writing this posting for this Blog I wasn’t quite sure which category to place it in because it is only tangentially related to software licensing and outsourcing. The story of the business discussed and how it grew and was eventually sold has an element of Telecom, but I decided that it is most likely best considered as “Other Interesting Items” and so that is how this posting wound up here.
I like that Chaudhary starts off in his article by identifying the stakeholders in his business as the employees, investors, and customers. Too many times business people center their efforts on the investors (usually shareholders in a publicly traded company) and relegate the employees to a second tier. Customers are sometimes not even considered stakeholders. They occupy some other category maybe on a par with stakeholders, but not quite the same.
Chaudhary wastes no time and dives right in with his 4 key success factors for the software services entrepreneur. These 4 key success factors are:
· Talent: Putting together the right team is essential
· Employee Loyalty: One must be able to keep the talent. Chaudhary used an innovative stock plan to keep his employees loyal.
· Find your niche: As a small company Chaudhary took some inspiration from Al Ries and Jack Trout, authors of “Marketing Warfare”, and sought to attack his bigger competitors at their weak points, hence “win battles” but not the whole war.
· The CEO or Owner must be the sales leader. This is too important a role to be left to anyone else.
He tells an interesting story on how he identified potential customers. He describes his strategy of face to face meetings and the absence of email or the phone as part of that strategy. He did target seven cities in the US and visited them on a regular schedule. The word “frugal” does not even begin to describe his approach. His strategy worked and he identified people of influence and companies who had a need for his services. His article concludes with a very brief discussion on the pitfalls that can lead to failure. It’s not an indepth discussion on pitfalls. Perhaps it didn’t need to be since his company was merged long before any of the pitfalls he identifies had time to get a foothold.
Gartner Reports Smartphone Sales Strong
Gartner reports that worldwide sales for Smartphones topped 32 million units for the second quarter of 2008. It seems that the North American consumer shrugged off any thoughts of a downturn in the economy. This market experienced an annual increase of over 78%. Even with new competitors and the new touch screen technology, Nokia kept its leading worldwide market share, although its growth rate was half the market average. Nokia will address this sluggish growth by introducing its own touch screen Smartphone later this year.
On the other hand, Research in Motion (“RIM”), the maker of the Blackberry, came in with a stalwart performance for 2008 topping 126% growth from last year. Gartner reports:
“RIM continued to execute well at the consumer level, increasing its global market reach. In the second half of the year, the company is expected to launch smartphones based on new form factors, which are necessary to keep pace with the competition at the consumer level”
The apparent lackluster sales for the Apple iPhone was due to inventory troubles on the initial sales of the iPhone, but we should expect record sales numbers for the second half of this year.
Read the complete story as reported by Judy Mottl of InternetNews.com in her article Smartphones Show No Signs of Slowing.
Speaking of RIM and its latest clamshell BlackBerry …
Research in Motion announced its latest entrant into the consumer market with the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220. This model is aimed at Apple’s iPhone consumer based market.jpg)
and not the conventional RIM enterprise user. The usual full keyboard has been reduced to a 20 button keyboard which favors the web surfing of consumers over the text entry preference of the enterprise user. Competition in this space can be fierce with such competitors as Apple’s iPhone, Nokia’s Symbian OS, and the soon to be released Google Android.
AR Communications analyst, Carmi Levy, commented on RIM’s strategy,
"RIM's ability to get all of its next-generation devices out the door and into the channel by year's end as originally planned is critical to its continued market and revenue growth,"
This latest 8220 Flip open Smartphone boosts 2 LCD screens. When closed, the outside LCD allows the user to preview calls, emails, and text messages. Also available on the 8220 will be AOL AIM and ICQ instant messaging services, and AOL Mail.
Read RIM's BlackBerry 'Flips' Out to Woo Consumers for a more complete story.
Apple's iPhone: Bumpy Start
I must confess that I just don’t get it. I am not a person that has to be the first to have the newest gadget, especially when it comes to the latest technology. Give it time. Let them work out the kinks.
Long lines were the order of the day for those wanting to be the first to get their iPhones.
Some people even got creative in their quest to be first in line.
One consequence that should have been anticipated was that iPhone buyers were unable to activate their phones as Apples online iTunes store was swamped.
Customers were told to go home and activate their phones by connecting them to their own home computers. The media is loaded with horror stories on this information meltdown.
Here are some links to articles just to give you a flavor of what happened today:
iPhone goes on sale, problems arise
Software problems bug Apple's launch of new iPhone
My other nightmare -- first the -4 and then AT&T activation
4G and The Mobile Web: WiMAX vs. LTE
The next phase in the rapid move to the mobile web is 4G. I discussed this progression in my post to this blog Future of Wireless Devices on December 26, 2007. What this means for us no one can say with any certainty. Right now it is safe to say that we will be getting faster downloads and much more functionality to include mobile-video sharing. The two wireless networking standards are WiMAX and Long Term Evolution.
Wikipedia defines WiMAX as follows:
WiMAX, the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a telecommunications technology that provides wireless data in a variety of ways, from point-to-point links to full mobile cellular type access. It is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard, which is also called WirelessMAN. The name "WiMAX" was created by the WiMAX Forum, which was formed in June 2001 to promote conformance and interoperability of the standard. The forum describes WiMAX as "a standards-based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSL" (and also to High Speed Packet Access). Currently, Pakistan has the largest fully functional Wimax network in the world.
Wikipedia defines Long Term Evolution (“LTE”) as follows:
3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) is the name given to a project within the Third Generation Partnership Project to improve the UMTS mobile phone standard to cope with future technology evolutions. Goals include improving spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of new spectrum and refarmed spectrum opportunities, and better integration with other open standards. The LTE project is not a standard, but it will result in the new evolved Release 8 of the 3GPP specifications, including mostly or wholly extensions and modifications of the UMTS system. The architecture that will result from this work is called EPS (Evolved Packet System) and comprises E-UTRAN (Evolved UTRAN) on the access side and EPC (Evolved Packet Core) on the core side.
Judy Mottl has an excellent analysis in her InternetNews.com article entitled Who’s ahead in the 4G race? At present it would seem as though the winner in the race could be WiMAX. They have deployments up and running, however there is a surge in the acceptance of the LTE networking standards by the likes of AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Nortel. Sprint-Nextel is backing WiMAX. Mottl has done her homework and I highly recommend her article. She concludes with a look to the acceptance of 4G by enterprises and quotes Carmi Levy, senior VP, strategic consulting for AR Communication:
"Enterprises need to be watching and be aware of what's coming though it's not really in the line of vision at this point," Levy said, adding that vendors will be focused on providing what's most important to business -- solid voice and data networking performance at lower price points.
"In three to four years we'll know what will be. At this point it's about watching the landscape develop and adapting, if necessary, to leverage what's coming," Levy said.
Augmentation of Recent Posts
In my reading of interesting and relevant articles posted on the web, there have been several follow-on articles which expand on some of my more recent posts to this Blog. Due to the number of articles that I have come across, I thought it best to cite to some these articles, with a line or two of brief explanation, and let the reader pick and chose any article(s) of interest. I found the following to be of particular interest:
Time to Scrap Your BPM Spreadsheets? SMBs have powerful SaaS alternatives: Here is a way to streamline the budgeting and financial planning process. This will facilitate collaboration, what-if scenarios, and contingency planning.
Apple Watchers Salivate Over 3G iPhone Rumors - Developer conference expected to be launch venue for new iPhone: This will be one to watch this week. Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) starts Monday, June 9th in San Francisco. Could this be Apple’s answer to the recent flurry of applications announced to be integrated into the BlackBerry?
Software Sales in 'SaaSy' Transition - The consumer-inspired trend of easy, online access to applications is finding a ready market in the enterprise: What can I say. We told you so. This is a discussion about applications designed for the end-users and not colorful reports to impress the top brass.
BlackBerry Defies Stagnant Tech Spending - Companies are untying IT purse strings for smartphones but not for much else these days: With IT spending slowing down, RIM’s market share is estimated to reach 82% this year.
BlackBerry Bold: RIM's next 3G High-Speed Wireless Handset
Let’s start with full disclosure – I own a BlackBerry Curve. It provides me the freedom I require. I am not tied to the office. I can be out of the office and still receive my emails and determine if the email or document promised to be sent to me has indeed arrived. I can also get a quick note out and/or be responsive to a client’s email and simply state “Not in office. Call U later.” Instead of waiting to the end of this article for the “Moral of the Story”, let me state upfront in my opinion that the secret to high-tech (and especially wireless) should be to make the technology work for you and not the other way around. As of late, there has been a flurry of news surrounding 3G and RIM’s BlackBerry and so I am not quite sure that making the technology work for you instead of you being tied to the technology can remain as my mantra, but I will try. I do not intend for the following to sound like a commercial, but I confess that it might.
RIM announced its latest handheld device, the BlackBerry Bold. We can expect to see this new smartphone this summer. While the corporate customer is RIM’s target market for now, the added features to the BlackBerry Bold may help extend RIM’s reach into the consumer market as well. The new BlackBerry Bold will have “the most vivid display ever on a BlackBerry, a 2-megapixel camera with video recording capability and a media player for watching movies and managing music collections.” To be more descriptive, “the enhanced display” will be “twice the resolution of the Curve. The half-VGA color LCD is ‘fused’ to the undersurface of the device lens, which RIM says, improves definition and clarity.” Further the new BlackBerry Bold is “Sleek, shiny and sharp in design” and comes with “a newly designed full QWERTY keyboard, integrated GPS and 802.11 Wi-Fi. In addition, the unit has a 624MHz mobile processor for faster document downloading and support for triband HSDPA networks.” The more consumer-friendly features of this new device puts Apple’s iPhone squarely in its crosshairs. Read all about these new features in the article as reported by Reuters in the Internetnews.com post A Bold New BlackBerry for Business and also Judy Mottl’s article BlackBerry Goes Bold for Market Gold.
Continuing with this flurry of announcements, as I explained in my post of May 8, 2008, SAP Sapphire 2008, SAP will be integrating its CRM functionality into the BlackBerry with an aim at integrating all the functionality of the SAP software suite in the near future. This announcement was quickly followed by Microsoft announcing that it will make available Windows Live service on the RIM device as well. Users will now have available Windows Live Messenger and Hotmail. If this wasn’t enough, IBM announced that it is making the BlackBerry the only handheld enterprise device to have full mobile access to all Lotus collaboration solutions which includes Lotus Notes and Sametime. Users will now be able to collaborate across documents. “With the Lotus Collaboration Software suite, enterprises also gain access to IBM WebSphere Portal technology. The IBM dashboards software lets businesses build Web sites and single screen dashboard views that deliver information, applications and processes personalized to the individual BlackBerry user.” Judy Mottl reports this and more in her article IBM Lotus Goes Mobile Via The BlackBerry.
And if you aren’t out of breath yet from all these announcements, I’ve got one more. Mottl reports further that the BlackBerry will carry the RSA software in her article BlackBerry Becomes Security Token Device. With this new technology from RSA, the BlackBerry will be able to function much like a key fab security token. “The software generates a one-time passcode that users copy and paste to log in to corporate VPNs, enterprise wireless networks or network applications.” This technology will give greater security for network connectivity. As Mottl points out, such a need for this type of security for our mobile devices was magnified when several White House staffers’ Blackberries went missing during a recent visit from the President of Mexico.
That’s all I have for you now. But ask yourselves, with all this new functionality will we really be making the technology work for us or will we be working more because of the technology. At this point I am not certain.
Europe: Talk and Text As You Fly
The other day the Chicago Tribune picked up an Associated Press article regarding airline passengers in Europe and the use of cell phones. It was reported that late in 2008 such passengers while flying throughout the 27 member European Union nations will be able to make cell phones calls and send text messages. There are 2 main issues addressed in this article regarding this new offering. First can it be done safely from a technological perspective, and second should it be done at all considering the disruptive affects of cell phone users to those in the immediate vicinity of the user.
As to the first issue, the EU is confident it can be done safely. Cell phone usage will not be allowed during takeoffs and landings and may only be used above 10,000 feet. The cockpit crew will have the ability within its discretion to turn off the service at anytime. In order to avoid any interference with flight navigation each aircraft will be equipped with a “miniature cell phone tower”. The tower will be linked to a satellite which will then be linked to a ground network. The signal will go from cell phone to onboard base station to satellite to ground. The on board base station prevents the individual cell phones from sending out indiscriminate signals, however one FAA study showed that there still is a slight risk that a cell phone might try to connect to a ground tower. The EU stated that the system has been thoroughly tested and has even added safeguards against terrorism.
The second issue addressed in the article is a bit more tricky. The airlines will need to strike a delicate balance between the cell phone users and those passengers wanting to sleep on longer flights or just seeking a bit of quiet from the hustle of the workday. Lufthansa, the German airline, has chosen not to offer the service. Their own internal studies have shown that their customers do not want the service. I believe it was another German, Greta Garbo, who once famously said, "I want to be alone," spoken with a heavy accent which made the word 'want' sound like vont. Some of the annoyances from this service are loud talkers, obnoxious ringtones, and calls during long night flights. The author suggests instituting some rules of etiquette. Now enforcing such rules is another thing. Good Luck!
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
BlackBerry Service Out in N. America
Monday afternoon February 11, 2008 at approx. 3:30 EST MSNBC pick-up the following Associated Press story:
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BlackBerry smart phones have lost service across the United States, wireless carriers said Monday.
In a statement, AT&T spokesman Fletcher Cook said the disruption is affecting all wireless carriers. Cook said the company first learned about the problem from BlackBerry maker Research in Motion about 3:30 p.m. EST.
There was no word on the cause or how widespread the outage was.
And some users reported being able to access their service Monday afternoon.
"This is not an issue with AT&T's wireless network," Cook said. "Customers could experience difficulties using their BlackBerry devices. RIM has not given us an estimated time of when this problem would be fixed."
Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Brenda Raney said RIM also confirmed the outage to the company.
Research in Motion did not immediately return a phone call.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Mobile Multimedia from RIM Courtesy of LiquidTalk
The maker of Blackberry has teamed up with software developer LiquidTalk and will be providing the capability for audio-visual content right to their multimedia-enabled devices. My post in this Blog of December 26, 2007 entitled Future of Wireless Devices discussed the coming next generation (“4G”) of handheld devices. It seems the future is upon us. This latest development for your smart-phone utilizes a web-based portal and will allow ‘Road Warriors’ (i.e. frequent business travelers) and other users the ability to access tutorials and podcasts. Chicago Tribune's, Wailin Wong, reports further that:
Employees can catch up on recorded training sessions while stranded at an airport, or technicians can view step-by-step video guides while they're making service calls. LiquidTalk users can also take content with them to use in presentations. The company's first client used LiquidTalk software to put video testimonials on iPods that could be played during sales pitches.
Read the full article LiquidTalk makes solid gains and follow LiquidTalk’s Founder, Dave Peak, through the birth of his idea while mired in rush hour traffic, through his trials and tribulations, and eventual success.
Micorsoft Bids $44.6 Billion for Yahoo
My stated purpose for this Blog is to discuss current developments in the software industry and other nuances that may affect the industry. I do not intend to become a daily reporter, but when something big happens in the industry I believe I should include it in this Blog as a service to my readers. I did such a post yesterday, January 31st ,regarding the cut undersea cables affecting the bandwidth in India see post on 1/31/08. And now this:
MSNBC has picked up an Associated Press story regarding Microsoft’s bid to purchase Yahoo, the search engine pioneer. The complete story follows:
BREAKING NEWS
REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft Corp. is offering $44.6 billion in cash and stock for search engine operator Yahoo Inc. in a move to boost its competitive position in the online services market.
The unexpected announcement Friday comes as Microsoft, the world's biggest software company, seeks new ways to compete more effectively against the search and online advertising powerhouse Google Inc.
In a letter to Yahoo's board of directors, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said the company will bid $31 per share, representing a 62 percent premium to Yahoo's closing stock price Thursday, and emphasized that the deal isn't subject to financing.
"In February 2007, I received a letter from your chairman indicating the view of the Yahoo board that "now is not the right time from the perspective of our shareholders to enter into discussions regarding an acquisition transaction," Ballmer wrote.
"According to that letter, the principal reason for this view was the Yahoo board's confidence in the ‘potential upside’ if management successfully executed on a reformulated strategy based on certain operational initiatives, such as Project Panama, and a significant organizational realignment."
"A year has gone by, and the competitive situation has not improved," Ballmer added.
Under terms of the proposed deal, Yahoo shareholders could choose to receive cash or Microsoft common shares, with the total purchase consisting of 50 percent each cash and stock.
Microsoft said it sees at least $1 billion cost savings generated by the merger and intends to offer significant retention packages to Yahoo engineers, key leaders and employees. The software giant said it believes the takeover would receive regulatory clearance and close in the second half of 2008.
© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Telecommuting Envy
Looks like the obvious has finally been reported for all to read. How Corporate America intends to deal with this one is anybody's guess.
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Telecommuting may boost morale and cut stress, but it can have the opposite effect on those left behind in the office, according to a new study.
When a number of their coworkers toil away from the office using computers, mobile phones or other electronic equipment, those who do not telecommute are more likely to be dissatisfied with their job and leave the company, said Timothy Golden, a management professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Several studies have touted the health and morale benefits for flexible workers, but Golden's research suggests that their coworkers tend to find the workplace less enjoyable, have fewer emotional ties to coworkers and feel less obligated to the organization.
"While reasons for the adverse impact on nonteleworkers are varied, it possibly is due to coworker's perceptions that they have decreased flexibility and a higher workload and the greater frustration that comes with coordinating in an environment with more extensive telework," Golden said.
He added that with a greater prevalence of telecommuters in a work unit, nontelecommuters find it less personally fulfilling to do their work.
"There's little doubt that work life impacts one's role in the family. However, organizational decision makers need to take into account the broader impact of telework on others in the office," Golden said.
Copyright 2007 Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Read the complete article Telecommuting not so Great for Workers in The Office
Surfing the Net at 30,000 Feet
The airlines know that long flights are really “down-time” for business travelers. Boeing’s foray into this arena proved to be devastating due to the high cost of the service and the sudden downturn in air travel after 9-11. Instead of building their own satellite based system as Boeing tried, Airlines are opting for air to ground connections. This will enable email and text messaging on laptops and handheld devices. Aircell, a provider of airborne communications, has licensed significant bandwidth and will be offering internet services to airline passengers in 2008. The first flight offering such services will be on American Airlines using 92 ground based cell towers. JetBlue had purchased a smaller spectrum and has been conducting tests across the US utilizing 100 cell towers. International flights over the ocean will not be left out of the mix. Alaska Air will be using Row 44’s satellite based system, which is part of Hughes Communications Satellite Network. Qantas Airlines will take a similar approach with a satellite service from Matsushita’s Panasonic Avionics through Intelsat Ltd. Panasonic will be able to buy smaller capacity and add to it as the need arises as opposed to leasing satellite transponders whether they need the capacity or not. Another alternative would be to use existing cellular phone systems as OnAir is doing with Air France. Their “on board” cell tower does not emit strong enough signals to interfere with the planes navigational equipment. Boeing, who took a $320 Million pretax hit for its efforts, won’t be reentering this market space. Boeing spokesman John Dern stated:
"There are others out there with different business models, and I don't know anyone who's mounted a successful stand-alone business yet. No doubt there will be firms that try, and I'm sure somebody will figure out a way to do it."
Read the complete story and get a sneak peek at the cost estimates as reported by the Associated Press.
Future of Wireless Devices
Faster and more efficient high-speed networks will be yielding more functionality and greater flexibility for handheld devices. As connectivity speeds increase, manufacturers will be developing multimedia devices that look and function like your cell phone. We are on the verge of the fourth generation (“4G”) of this technology. The data that is anticipated to be transmitted necessitates the development of these more powerful networks.
Wailin Wong, Chicago Tribune staff writer, describes in an article our sojourn from 2G which was our ability to make and receive calls as well as share photos and download ringtones, to 3G our present system which allows surfing of the net and accessing data-intensive media, and now the future which is 4G and will allow us to upload personal videos.
Two of the players in the market, Verizon and Sprint, are developing their technology now. Verizon’s technology is called Long Term Evolution and Sprints is WiMax. Ken Dulaney, of the Gartner Group, points out that the handset is key to this market:
“In the cellular world, it’s all about the handsets. If you have a new network and no handsets, who cares?”
Motorola, a late comer to the handset market for 3G technology, is trying to redeem itself against such competitors like Samsung. Motorola makes the WiMax technology for operators as well as consumers and is betting on this new technology to be embedded in numerous consumer devices in the coming year. They will enter the market with WiMax and continue to prepare for development work in Long Term Evolution in the coming years.
To read Wailin Wong’s full article click here.
