This is new Kia Optima, available with a 274HP turbo! Looks a little bit like a Chevy Cruze on steroids. Detroit, you are doing, well, but still need to go more aggressive with styling...
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Hot new Sedan from KIA
And the surprise auto maker in recent years...has got to be Kia. Kick-ass styling, pricing to win recession era pocketbooks, and quirky, original advertising.
This is new Kia Optima, available with a 274HP turbo! Looks a little bit like a Chevy Cruze on steroids. Detroit, you are doing, well, but still need to go more aggressive with styling...
This is new Kia Optima, available with a 274HP turbo! Looks a little bit like a Chevy Cruze on steroids. Detroit, you are doing, well, but still need to go more aggressive with styling...
Monday, November 15, 2010
Gartner's Top 10 Technologies for 2011
October 20, 2010
Larry Dignan
1: Cloud computing
This group of technologies has been on the top 10 lists for a few years. Now everything as a service will alter business models and IT procurement. Gartner analyst David Cearley said what has changed is that there are multiple services. Companies will probably need cloud computing brokers. Things to watch:
Where does the public cloud fit? IT is generally scared of the public cloud, but select workloads are fine.
Beware cloud washing. IT execs are comfortable with the vendors cloud washing but may not get real capability.
Limit access to specific clouds based on community and groups. That approach would minimize security risks. Gartner has exclusive clouds and community clouds as services to watch.
Private clouds are custom and packaged.
My impression: A safe pick for sure, but the cloud is getting more granular as it matures. Think cloud washing magnified.
2: Mobile apps and media tablets
Tablets and touch aren't new. Claunch said that the selection of applications changes the game for businesses. "Apple has leveraged the ecosystem of the iPhone," Claunch said. "And Apple has created consistency." In addition, Apple's iPad is the poster child for how consumerization is affecting corporate IT. Things to think about for enterprise IT:
Enterprise apps will need to be designed for the tablet.
Delivering these apps gets complicated due to the selection of platforms.
Context-aware computing can connect to customers better.
Marketing will drive a lot of projects to utilize tablets, but these devices can be used for inspections, surveys, image capture, documentation, and training.
Cearley added, "The PC era is over. Think of mobile design points."
My impression: It's stunning how many iPads are in this crowd of 7,000-plus IT execs and managers. Another thread: Almost all of these IT execs are carrying PCs not Macs. Typically, CIOs and the like are the last to get on board an early adoption curve for a new device. There's a frenzy over tablets.
3: Next-gen analytics
Companies need to develop "operational analytics" to make predictions and use data mashups. "There's value in very current information. We are now shifting our focus to start doing simulations and modeling to predict the future," Claunch said. These simulations would ultimately be run on smartphones and other devices. Algorithms will really matter to companies to support the right type of prediction.
Gartner didn't advocate doing a lot of analytics investment yet, but be ready to invest.
My impression: Analytics is largely untapped ground for many companies. Claunch's key point: "This is just being enabled now." Another key item: A show of hands revealed that the entire room had business intelligence software. A show of hands also indicated that no one thought those applications were delivering real value.
4: Social analytics
This concept revolves around taking social networking data and incorporating it into enterprise analysis. Sentiment, context, and influence are key areas for companies. "We're starting to see the tipping point," Cearley said. "It's moving from bleeding edge to mainstream activity." For now, look at communities you have to support and analyze an entry.
My impression: CIOs should be watching this stuff, but given the crowd response to business intelligence, I'm not seeing much progress on the analytics-social intersection.
5: Social communication and collaboration
Social collaboration is "inevitable," Cearley said. "Over the next few years, it will be impossible to ignore this," he added. By now, companies should have policies, high value social uses identified, and have experiments to link social with CRM systems. Meanwhile, unified communications will merge with social. Expertise location will probably be the best use case.
My impression: Gartner makes a good point, but I'd be willing to bet that enterprises are way behind the curve on social communication and what it means for collaboration and productivity.
6: Video
Corporate use of video is going mainstream. Low-cost video recorders are everywhere. Companies will need video content management systems and better design skills, and they'll need to address privacy issues and policy concerns. Will all conference rooms be recorded by default? E-learning, merchandising, marketing, webinars, and telepresence will all be key video uses. The tipping point will come in 2011 to 2013. In addition, video will be needed to reach younger employees.
My impression: Video has hit mainstream, but networks haven't. Will Vlogs really be the best use of employee time? One other key point: How will business intelligence systems digest video content?
7: Context-aware computing
The idea here is that social analytics and computing leads to knowledge about preferences. User interfaces would change based on context. Today, it's all reactive. By 2011 to 2013, there will be more proactive alerts. By 2014 to 2018, you'll have context integrated with enterprise systems. Ultimately, there will be a context platform. Portals, mashups, mobile, and social will combine. Vendors will offer "user experience platforms."
My impression: I have a hard time seeing strapped enterprises going all contextual. Look for business units such as marketing to launch these projects to drive sales. Companies will need to deliver context-aware services to businesses. Can't wait for all of those user experience platform pitches.
8: Ubiquitous computing
This topic has been discussed in previous years on Gartner's lists. In a nutshell, computers melt into objects. There will be machine-to-machine connections, portable personalities, and connectivity changes across multiple devices. There will be thousands of computers for each person on the planet, and you'll have multiple devices.
My impression: Ubiquitous computing is more a guiding principle for projects than something you think about in terms of budget. The timeline here is decades. What's also notable: Everyone has punted on getting one device to consolidate them all. We're doomed to carry a bunch of devices.
9: Storage class memory
When Flash meets RAM, there are differences in speed and costs. Persistent storage will also alter management. Claunch said that storage class memory goes beyond solid state drives. This new class of storage will lead to software where operating systems determine where data goes. Storage class memory will become more important over the next two to three years.
My impression: It's a bit experimental, but storage class memory will ride shotgun with analytics. Companies will have to define what data goes into fast memory.
10: Fabric based infrastructure and computers
Every vendor will talk fabric computing, so get ready for fabric-washing. The overall idea here is that you'll have infrastructure that manages resources in an integrated fashion. Cisco UCS and HP Matrix are examples. New ways of building servers will mean you buy pools of processors and memory instead of physically swapping boxes.
My impression: Forming your own flexible servers sounds appealing. The fabric thing sounds way futuristic for now, but the seeds are being planted.
This article reprinted courtesy of TechRepublic.
Larry Dignan
1: Cloud computing
This group of technologies has been on the top 10 lists for a few years. Now everything as a service will alter business models and IT procurement. Gartner analyst David Cearley said what has changed is that there are multiple services. Companies will probably need cloud computing brokers. Things to watch:
Where does the public cloud fit? IT is generally scared of the public cloud, but select workloads are fine.
Beware cloud washing. IT execs are comfortable with the vendors cloud washing but may not get real capability.
Limit access to specific clouds based on community and groups. That approach would minimize security risks. Gartner has exclusive clouds and community clouds as services to watch.
Private clouds are custom and packaged.
My impression: A safe pick for sure, but the cloud is getting more granular as it matures. Think cloud washing magnified.
2: Mobile apps and media tablets
Tablets and touch aren't new. Claunch said that the selection of applications changes the game for businesses. "Apple has leveraged the ecosystem of the iPhone," Claunch said. "And Apple has created consistency." In addition, Apple's iPad is the poster child for how consumerization is affecting corporate IT. Things to think about for enterprise IT:
Enterprise apps will need to be designed for the tablet.
Delivering these apps gets complicated due to the selection of platforms.
Context-aware computing can connect to customers better.
Marketing will drive a lot of projects to utilize tablets, but these devices can be used for inspections, surveys, image capture, documentation, and training.
Cearley added, "The PC era is over. Think of mobile design points."
My impression: It's stunning how many iPads are in this crowd of 7,000-plus IT execs and managers. Another thread: Almost all of these IT execs are carrying PCs not Macs. Typically, CIOs and the like are the last to get on board an early adoption curve for a new device. There's a frenzy over tablets.
3: Next-gen analytics
Companies need to develop "operational analytics" to make predictions and use data mashups. "There's value in very current information. We are now shifting our focus to start doing simulations and modeling to predict the future," Claunch said. These simulations would ultimately be run on smartphones and other devices. Algorithms will really matter to companies to support the right type of prediction.
Gartner didn't advocate doing a lot of analytics investment yet, but be ready to invest.
My impression: Analytics is largely untapped ground for many companies. Claunch's key point: "This is just being enabled now." Another key item: A show of hands revealed that the entire room had business intelligence software. A show of hands also indicated that no one thought those applications were delivering real value.
4: Social analytics
This concept revolves around taking social networking data and incorporating it into enterprise analysis. Sentiment, context, and influence are key areas for companies. "We're starting to see the tipping point," Cearley said. "It's moving from bleeding edge to mainstream activity." For now, look at communities you have to support and analyze an entry.
My impression: CIOs should be watching this stuff, but given the crowd response to business intelligence, I'm not seeing much progress on the analytics-social intersection.
5: Social communication and collaboration
Social collaboration is "inevitable," Cearley said. "Over the next few years, it will be impossible to ignore this," he added. By now, companies should have policies, high value social uses identified, and have experiments to link social with CRM systems. Meanwhile, unified communications will merge with social. Expertise location will probably be the best use case.
My impression: Gartner makes a good point, but I'd be willing to bet that enterprises are way behind the curve on social communication and what it means for collaboration and productivity.
6: Video
Corporate use of video is going mainstream. Low-cost video recorders are everywhere. Companies will need video content management systems and better design skills, and they'll need to address privacy issues and policy concerns. Will all conference rooms be recorded by default? E-learning, merchandising, marketing, webinars, and telepresence will all be key video uses. The tipping point will come in 2011 to 2013. In addition, video will be needed to reach younger employees.
My impression: Video has hit mainstream, but networks haven't. Will Vlogs really be the best use of employee time? One other key point: How will business intelligence systems digest video content?
7: Context-aware computing
The idea here is that social analytics and computing leads to knowledge about preferences. User interfaces would change based on context. Today, it's all reactive. By 2011 to 2013, there will be more proactive alerts. By 2014 to 2018, you'll have context integrated with enterprise systems. Ultimately, there will be a context platform. Portals, mashups, mobile, and social will combine. Vendors will offer "user experience platforms."
My impression: I have a hard time seeing strapped enterprises going all contextual. Look for business units such as marketing to launch these projects to drive sales. Companies will need to deliver context-aware services to businesses. Can't wait for all of those user experience platform pitches.
8: Ubiquitous computing
This topic has been discussed in previous years on Gartner's lists. In a nutshell, computers melt into objects. There will be machine-to-machine connections, portable personalities, and connectivity changes across multiple devices. There will be thousands of computers for each person on the planet, and you'll have multiple devices.
My impression: Ubiquitous computing is more a guiding principle for projects than something you think about in terms of budget. The timeline here is decades. What's also notable: Everyone has punted on getting one device to consolidate them all. We're doomed to carry a bunch of devices.
9: Storage class memory
When Flash meets RAM, there are differences in speed and costs. Persistent storage will also alter management. Claunch said that storage class memory goes beyond solid state drives. This new class of storage will lead to software where operating systems determine where data goes. Storage class memory will become more important over the next two to three years.
My impression: It's a bit experimental, but storage class memory will ride shotgun with analytics. Companies will have to define what data goes into fast memory.
10: Fabric based infrastructure and computers
Every vendor will talk fabric computing, so get ready for fabric-washing. The overall idea here is that you'll have infrastructure that manages resources in an integrated fashion. Cisco UCS and HP Matrix are examples. New ways of building servers will mean you buy pools of processors and memory instead of physically swapping boxes.
My impression: Forming your own flexible servers sounds appealing. The fabric thing sounds way futuristic for now, but the seeds are being planted.
This article reprinted courtesy of TechRepublic.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
I'm sorry, who did HP hire as their new CEO again?
Well, he would now something about technology.
The name of the actual new HP CEO, Leo Apotheke translates as 'pharmacy' into english. A poisen pill for HP, or just the prescription needed?
.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Normally I'm a car guy, but this motorcycle made me gasp
Usually, my opinion about motorcycle design is kind of critical, mainly because I've never subscribed to the macho Harley mythos, and don't ride myself, so I think I should keep my mouth shut.
However, I saw several Victory Vision touring bikes over the summer here in Michigan. Of course, Michigan is very much the spiritual home to many things macho (hunting, fishing, V8s, Bob Lutz, drunken snowmobiling on frozen lakes, etc) so I was somehow not surprised that a) this beautiful piece of design didn't come from a traditional motorcycle maker, and b) it's made by a snow-mobile company.
Long and short of it is that the pictures don't do it justice. This bike is just sensational. Swooping, flowing, tight design. Widely expressionistic, beautifully engineered. The industrial design team got away with so much here, its a wonder. My favorite feature is the huge V shaped tailight that would give the Vision huge road presences as it glides past you in the night. The bike is huge. It's hard to grasp the size from the pictures below, but the website has better pictures of the bike in its element - rolling hills and forests of the North American summer.
This is the sort of design language that I've been waiting on for years from Harley Davidson, but they are staying true to their deliberately noisy exhausts, and hopelessly nostalgic retro design language, despite the fact that their core market now is 55 year old baby boomers who probably would appreciate a little more comfort and style.
At $23K, this is a pricey ride, but one which every owner would regard as a personal Victory, I'm sure.
Photos: Victory Motorcycles
However, I saw several Victory Vision touring bikes over the summer here in Michigan. Of course, Michigan is very much the spiritual home to many things macho (hunting, fishing, V8s, Bob Lutz, drunken snowmobiling on frozen lakes, etc) so I was somehow not surprised that a) this beautiful piece of design didn't come from a traditional motorcycle maker, and b) it's made by a snow-mobile company.
Long and short of it is that the pictures don't do it justice. This bike is just sensational. Swooping, flowing, tight design. Widely expressionistic, beautifully engineered. The industrial design team got away with so much here, its a wonder. My favorite feature is the huge V shaped tailight that would give the Vision huge road presences as it glides past you in the night. The bike is huge. It's hard to grasp the size from the pictures below, but the website has better pictures of the bike in its element - rolling hills and forests of the North American summer.
This is the sort of design language that I've been waiting on for years from Harley Davidson, but they are staying true to their deliberately noisy exhausts, and hopelessly nostalgic retro design language, despite the fact that their core market now is 55 year old baby boomers who probably would appreciate a little more comfort and style.
At $23K, this is a pricey ride, but one which every owner would regard as a personal Victory, I'm sure.
Photos: Victory Motorcycles
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
HP Prayer for Relief against ex CEO
I had never heard of this quaint legal terminology before, found in the civil complaint against former CEO Mark Hurd. The irony suggested by the wording is that the HP board is in desperate straights over the escalating Hurd debacle and has resorted to worshiping the Palo Alto money gods.
Having just paid about 2 million dollars per employee for ArcSight, I don't think the powers that preside over Silicon Valley's indulgences will consider this prayer happily. Rather a reprimand for stupidity is probably in order.
Having just paid about 2 million dollars per employee for ArcSight, I don't think the powers that preside over Silicon Valley's indulgences will consider this prayer happily. Rather a reprimand for stupidity is probably in order.
Not only did Hurd fleece the HP board of 25 million to avoid further scandal, he delivered a follow up scandal within days, seemingly out of sheer spite, as he walked straight into the waiting wallet of Larry Ellison spoiling for a fight against his biggest competitor.
Maybe prayer is the best strategy right now after all.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
HP ranks number 10 in Interbrand Global Brand Survey
Kudos to HP, it's global strategy of awe-inspiring bigness seems to be working. It's rated as number 10 on the list of world's most well known brands, pushing Toyota out of the top 10 with a rise in brand value of 12%.
The top 10 is remarkably dominated by tech companies, with IBM, Microsoft, Google, Nokia and Intel all within the top 10.
Source: Interbrand Best Global Brands 2010
The top 10 is remarkably dominated by tech companies, with IBM, Microsoft, Google, Nokia and Intel all within the top 10.
Source: Interbrand Best Global Brands 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
HP Acquisition Rampage continues - ArcSight in the sights
HPs seemingly monopoly-like buying spree continues with ArcSight being the next billion dollar purchase.
Obviously because of the embarassing bidding war with Dell over 3PAR that I commented on in an earlier post, HP was keeping a low profile on the ArcSight acquisition. It wasn't even announced on the company intranet, I had to dig it out from the public internet site after reading it in the paper. Perhaps given that this is "cybersecurity, cyberdefence and cyberwarfare company", it was thought a little cloak and dagger understatement was in order, although it appears from the stock chart, that someone got a whiff of the transaction in late August based on the huge one day jump in stock price prior to the official announcement today. Oh to be part of the Silicon Valley rumor mill...
You have to wonder what the market thinks of these aquisition. HPs share price has fluculated quite substantially for a big tech stock in the last months. Much of this was due to the volatile swings in the overall market since May, but the all knowing stock market is supposed to price in all known pricing factors such as multi-billion dollar acquisitions.
Maybe I should start trading these swings (see my Daily Income for Life blog). Its probable that I would make more money trading HP stock that I will in HP bonuses this year, given how much cash has been flying out the door to the moneyed mansions of Los Gatos, and not to mention the embarassing pay off of Mark Hurd. Oh, sorry Peter, we just spent our employee bonus pool on paying a huge premium for 3PAR, ArcSight, legal bills fighting our ex-CEO and trips to Hawaii for our Sales Team. Because, umm, our executive team gets their bonus based on how much market share we grow, and well this pile of cash is not growing market share unless we buy market share with it right?
Black humor aside, like 3PAR, HPs ArcSight acquisition does make commercial lsense. It gives HP some valuable intellectual property in the area of cyberthreft, cyberwarfare, and cyberespionage. Maybe it could even be used to keep tabs of the expense accounts of future CEOs? I think $1.2 billion is cheap to make sure the next one hired is honest. The HP board has already been through a spying scandal, so
Hang on, a guy in a trench coat and hat has just walked into my cube... later.
Obviously because of the embarassing bidding war with Dell over 3PAR that I commented on in an earlier post, HP was keeping a low profile on the ArcSight acquisition. It wasn't even announced on the company intranet, I had to dig it out from the public internet site after reading it in the paper. Perhaps given that this is "cybersecurity, cyberdefence and cyberwarfare company", it was thought a little cloak and dagger understatement was in order, although it appears from the stock chart, that someone got a whiff of the transaction in late August based on the huge one day jump in stock price prior to the official announcement today. Oh to be part of the Silicon Valley rumor mill...
Maybe I should start trading these swings (see my Daily Income for Life blog). Its probable that I would make more money trading HP stock that I will in HP bonuses this year, given how much cash has been flying out the door to the moneyed mansions of Los Gatos, and not to mention the embarassing pay off of Mark Hurd. Oh, sorry Peter, we just spent our employee bonus pool on paying a huge premium for 3PAR, ArcSight, legal bills fighting our ex-CEO and trips to Hawaii for our Sales Team. Because, umm, our executive team gets their bonus based on how much market share we grow, and well this pile of cash is not growing market share unless we buy market share with it right?
Black humor aside, like 3PAR, HPs ArcSight acquisition does make commercial lsense. It gives HP some valuable intellectual property in the area of cyberthreft, cyberwarfare, and cyberespionage. Maybe it could even be used to keep tabs of the expense accounts of future CEOs? I think $1.2 billion is cheap to make sure the next one hired is honest. The HP board has already been through a spying scandal, so
Hang on, a guy in a trench coat and hat has just walked into my cube... later.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Does HPs 3PAR acquisition give a new tilt to the Tech playing field?
HP has 300,000 employees and counting. Add to that another another multi-billion dollar acquisition of 3PAR to fuel the meglomanical expansion of the worlds biggest technology company. Can HP really handle all these ideas and cultures with a corporate version of feature bloat?
Does this remind anyone of IBM in the early 90s?
We've known a while that the best HP Labs can produce is off the wall solutions for manure powered data centers. Could be a boon for Wisconsin and New Zealand, but it certainly doesn't showcase HP Labs.
So it looks like the HP executive suite in Palo Alto has given up on actual innovation, they just go buy it at whatever price they need to pay. If you can afford to blow 25 million on shutting up a dishonest CEO, then you can reward yourself lots of really neat other stuff as well.
What is HP really trying to do here? Even a 'in the trenches' HP salary slave like myself (I nearly slipped and said 'in the firing line', which off course wouldn't be far from the truth given HPs record of downsizing employees of it's acquisitions) can't really figure it out. The media and blogosphere is where I go for accurate commentary on HP, certainly not our intranet or standard sanitized internal corporate announcements.
Surely if it's all about the cloud, IBM is running circles around HP with it's quiet stranglehold on the mainframe market. I agree with the ZDNet article on that topic, that it's big iron that will allow IBM to dominate the corporate cloud computing space.
So, my bets on the new IT landscape.
IBM: Corporate cloud dominance
Apple: Consumer apps, device and media dominance
Google: Analytical dominance and cash machine ohne ende.
Facebook: please, please die a grim death at the hands of government privacy watchdogs before something really, really bad happens with all the data you are collecting.
HP: Services dominance with all that cumbersome cross-selling within the feature-bloat-cloud
Microsoft: Windows and heathcare (it's Bill's passion now anyway)
Does this remind anyone of IBM in the early 90s?
We've known a while that the best HP Labs can produce is off the wall solutions for manure powered data centers. Could be a boon for Wisconsin and New Zealand, but it certainly doesn't showcase HP Labs.
So it looks like the HP executive suite in Palo Alto has given up on actual innovation, they just go buy it at whatever price they need to pay. If you can afford to blow 25 million on shutting up a dishonest CEO, then you can reward yourself lots of really neat other stuff as well.
What is HP really trying to do here? Even a 'in the trenches' HP salary slave like myself (I nearly slipped and said 'in the firing line', which off course wouldn't be far from the truth given HPs record of downsizing employees of it's acquisitions) can't really figure it out. The media and blogosphere is where I go for accurate commentary on HP, certainly not our intranet or standard sanitized internal corporate announcements.
Surely if it's all about the cloud, IBM is running circles around HP with it's quiet stranglehold on the mainframe market. I agree with the ZDNet article on that topic, that it's big iron that will allow IBM to dominate the corporate cloud computing space.
So, my bets on the new IT landscape.
IBM: Corporate cloud dominance
Apple: Consumer apps, device and media dominance
Google: Analytical dominance and cash machine ohne ende.
Facebook: please, please die a grim death at the hands of government privacy watchdogs before something really, really bad happens with all the data you are collecting.
HP: Services dominance with all that cumbersome cross-selling within the feature-bloat-cloud
Microsoft: Windows and heathcare (it's Bill's passion now anyway)
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Oops..even less complimentary commentary about HPs disgraced CEO
From Newsweek, further confirmation that public opinion is flowing strongly against disgraced HP CEO Mark Hurd.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Spunkiest small car in the world headed to the USA
I've seen a few Cincociento models around Rochester Hills recently...with blacked out body panels and so on. Not so unusual for our area which is full of big three auto engineers. Confirms Chrysler is ramping up their plans to bring Fiat models to the USA. This article provides a little more detail.
I'm particular excited about the Alfa Romeo Mito, which I consider the spunkiest small car in the world.
After my Alfa love affair with my 156 in Germany, I'd love to own another Alfa. Doesn't everyone that owns an Alfa call it a love affair?
I'm particular excited about the Alfa Romeo Mito, which I consider the spunkiest small car in the world.
After my Alfa love affair with my 156 in Germany, I'd love to own another Alfa. Doesn't everyone that owns an Alfa call it a love affair?
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Oh dear oh dear. We will not miss you Mark.
Our dear leader leaves in a scandal worthy of his karmic debt to 40,000 laid off employees.
You have to admit, a salary of 30 million while you lay of that many people reeks of a certain lack of integrity. That is without a doubt how Mr Hurd was perceived by myself and many other HP colleagues.
So somehow it doesn't surprise me that he's been caught with his hands in the HP till, and by all reports, all over the executive event greeter he hired to polish HPs image with fellow overpaid CEOs.
Mark, we look forward to your replacement. May he or she be a better man or woman that you have proved to be.
Good luck with your undeserved millions, and repairing your conscience.
You have to admit, a salary of 30 million while you lay of that many people reeks of a certain lack of integrity. That is without a doubt how Mr Hurd was perceived by myself and many other HP colleagues.
So somehow it doesn't surprise me that he's been caught with his hands in the HP till, and by all reports, all over the executive event greeter he hired to polish HPs image with fellow overpaid CEOs.
Mark, we look forward to your replacement. May he or she be a better man or woman that you have proved to be.
Good luck with your undeserved millions, and repairing your conscience.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
HP Acquires Melodeo - targets set on iTunes users
Hewlett-Packard confirmed on Wednesday that it had acquired Melodeo, its second recent acquisition in the mobile market.
Melodeo offers a service, called NuTsie, that essentially lets people stream songs that are in their iTunes collections to a mobile phone. A user first exports iTunes playlists to NuTsie online. After downloading an application to their phone, they can start listening to their playlists.
My sense is that HP is moving aggressively as possible into the consumer cloud. With it's strong new touch screen models, and Palm acquisition of WebOS, HP is looking to create an entire WebOS based hardware and cloud based consumer services ecosystem to rival Apple.
- Printers will use WebOS on their inbuilt touchscreens.
- HP printers will migrate to wireless, and be internet enabled as standard. Connect your printer, connect to wifi, and print from any wireless device to the printer through cloudprint
- HP will start to use WebOS on it's Slate tablet device, just like Apple uses the iPhone OS on the iPad.
- Possible conflicts with Microsoft could arise as it becomes more and more obvious that Windows may not be the user interface of choice for the new mobile computing paradigm
- HP touchscreen PCs may migrate to a WebOS/HP Touch combination
What is key in this new ecosystem, is that the interface becomes completely transparent to the user. iPhone users like myself already understand this: Reading the iPhone manual is a waste of time, because the OS is so utterly intuitive that a manual is largely uncessary.
Windows is still a far cry from user interface intuition, and Microsoft is appearing less and less able to close this gap. If you've every used the interface on a Windows mobile device, you'll understand why. My windows mobile work phone sits in the drawer at home - I use my iPhone for work calls if necessary because its just so frustrating to use the clumsy, menu based system.
Peter is an HP employee, but not involved in printer/web/PC strategy.
Melodeo offers a service, called NuTsie, that essentially lets people stream songs that are in their iTunes collections to a mobile phone. A user first exports iTunes playlists to NuTsie online. After downloading an application to their phone, they can start listening to their playlists.
My sense is that HP is moving aggressively as possible into the consumer cloud. With it's strong new touch screen models, and Palm acquisition of WebOS, HP is looking to create an entire WebOS based hardware and cloud based consumer services ecosystem to rival Apple.
- Printers will use WebOS on their inbuilt touchscreens.
- HP printers will migrate to wireless, and be internet enabled as standard. Connect your printer, connect to wifi, and print from any wireless device to the printer through cloudprint
- HP will start to use WebOS on it's Slate tablet device, just like Apple uses the iPhone OS on the iPad.
- Possible conflicts with Microsoft could arise as it becomes more and more obvious that Windows may not be the user interface of choice for the new mobile computing paradigm
- HP touchscreen PCs may migrate to a WebOS/HP Touch combination
What is key in this new ecosystem, is that the interface becomes completely transparent to the user. iPhone users like myself already understand this: Reading the iPhone manual is a waste of time, because the OS is so utterly intuitive that a manual is largely uncessary.
Windows is still a far cry from user interface intuition, and Microsoft is appearing less and less able to close this gap. If you've every used the interface on a Windows mobile device, you'll understand why. My windows mobile work phone sits in the drawer at home - I use my iPhone for work calls if necessary because its just so frustrating to use the clumsy, menu based system.
Peter is an HP employee, but not involved in printer/web/PC strategy.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Jing Screen capture software test
Nice software. Very cool graphic interface. Free. Captures screen shot or video.
Allows sharing via a link on Screencast.com
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saab Sold to Spyker..so what does this mean for Saab
First a Swedish supercar maker wants to get SAAB on the cheap...now a Dutch one does. Well, there must be something special about SAAB.
You might recall I was pretty excited in a previous post about the Saab deal with Konigsegg, given the interesting connection between the design arm of Konigsegg, Ecker design. Admittedly I am biased, having studied industrial design long ago.
Maybe Spyker Cars is an even better fit. With over one hundred years of history behind them, Spyker to me epotimises everything european about the car industry. Instead of building itself to a global comglomorate like Ford and GM, Spyker has quitely made unusal performance cars since the birth of the automobile industry. Merging with an aircraft maker prior to world war I, Spyker represents the long term view of European vs US business. I hope helps to keep SAAB alive.
SAAB was never a fit in the GM stable, so lets hope Spyker can get the brand out of it's blandness and back to the quirkly, interesting and well engineered vehicles that built the reputation in the first place. Maybe, like FIAT, SAAB will now thrive having escaped the corporate death sentance that belonging to the (old) GM entailed.
I'm sure the aeronautical connection will endear Spyker to all those quirky SAAB engineers (admitedly rumored to behind of SAABs, notorious cost overuns).
Perhaps some of the extravagent Spyker design will also rub off, making the SAAB brand interesting for the designers, architects and educated professionals that tended to be their traditional buyer demographic. Below is the gorgeous if slight outlandish Spyker Aileron. How many car companies are confident enough to put their companies latin corporate tag line actually on their car. ‘Nulla tenaci invia est via:’
‘For the tenacious no road is impassable’. Lets hope this holds true for SAAB as well.
You might recall I was pretty excited in a previous post about the Saab deal with Konigsegg, given the interesting connection between the design arm of Konigsegg, Ecker design. Admittedly I am biased, having studied industrial design long ago.
Maybe Spyker Cars is an even better fit. With over one hundred years of history behind them, Spyker to me epotimises everything european about the car industry. Instead of building itself to a global comglomorate like Ford and GM, Spyker has quitely made unusal performance cars since the birth of the automobile industry. Merging with an aircraft maker prior to world war I, Spyker represents the long term view of European vs US business. I hope helps to keep SAAB alive.
SAAB was never a fit in the GM stable, so lets hope Spyker can get the brand out of it's blandness and back to the quirkly, interesting and well engineered vehicles that built the reputation in the first place. Maybe, like FIAT, SAAB will now thrive having escaped the corporate death sentance that belonging to the (old) GM entailed.
I'm sure the aeronautical connection will endear Spyker to all those quirky SAAB engineers (admitedly rumored to behind of SAABs, notorious cost overuns).
Perhaps some of the extravagent Spyker design will also rub off, making the SAAB brand interesting for the designers, architects and educated professionals that tended to be their traditional buyer demographic. Below is the gorgeous if slight outlandish Spyker Aileron. How many car companies are confident enough to put their companies latin corporate tag line actually on their car. ‘Nulla tenaci invia est via:’
‘For the tenacious no road is impassable’. Lets hope this holds true for SAAB as well.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Way to go GM! Camaro, Cadillac, Corvette Test drives for HP employees....
My colleague Bill, and I strolled up on a brilliant spring day in Michigan to our HP Pontiac Facility carpark.
The lot was full of the latest GM vehicles.
"What's the deal here?", asked Bill as we spotted a dozen HP employees milling around. "Oh, we're all waiting to drive the Corvette. But you can drive anything here"
"You mean I can just take the Camaro for a spin?"
Last up: 2010 Corvette Coupe V8. The line for the Corvette was down to four people, and the GM folks were starting to lock up cars. The cherry red coupe slunk up, V8 burbling. "Anyway want to drive the stick shift?" the guy from GM called out. "Last drive of the day". Murmurs of nervousness from those waiting. "I'll drive it" I called out. " You can tell I didn't learn to drive in the USA!" I added... More sliding in to deep leather buckets. Surprisingly, my 6ft frame had 3 inches of headroom to spare. I eased it out to the main road, gettting the feel for the angled, leather shifter, then stepped on the gas.. First gear 40mph, second, 60mph a second or three later, the headup display flickering higher in fluro green over the sweeping bonnet. Ah, whoops, speed limit is 45 mph ... The drive was way too short, with my colleague Bill riding shotgun, in between the laugther at how good this car made us feel, worried about the Pontiac police catching the guys in the red Corvette doing 15 over the limit in second gear...
Need to stop smiling like an idiot...
The lot was full of the latest GM vehicles.
"What's the deal here?", asked Bill as we spotted a dozen HP employees milling around. "Oh, we're all waiting to drive the Corvette. But you can drive anything here"
"You mean I can just take the Camaro for a spin?"
Oh dear. What a choice. Cadalliac CTS, Buick Lacrosse, Enclave, Acadia, Terrain, Malibu (OK, so who would really want to test drive a Malibu?) All the vehicles that prove GM is more than back in the game in terms of design, functionality and style.
First up: 426-hp 6.2L V8 SS Camaro. This car puts a smile on your face. Slide in to the deep bucket seats, retro dash and dials, red leather, broad fat bonnet. Throaty howl. Loads of fun. Macho through and through. The window down and the elbow hanging out just happened, honest.
Need a bigger ego...
Need a bigger ego...
Next up: Cadillac CTS Estate. Slide in to walnut, the most beautiful set of instruments I've ever seen, luxury everywhere. Makes Audi, BMW, and Mercedes seen, ah, well, Teutonic. This is really how luxury should feel like. Drives smooth as silk, no feeling that this is as good size estate with slick styling to boot.
Need a payrise...
Need a payrise...
Last up: 2010 Corvette Coupe V8. The line for the Corvette was down to four people, and the GM folks were starting to lock up cars. The cherry red coupe slunk up, V8 burbling. "Anyway want to drive the stick shift?" the guy from GM called out. "Last drive of the day". Murmurs of nervousness from those waiting. "I'll drive it" I called out. " You can tell I didn't learn to drive in the USA!" I added... More sliding in to deep leather buckets. Surprisingly, my 6ft frame had 3 inches of headroom to spare. I eased it out to the main road, gettting the feel for the angled, leather shifter, then stepped on the gas.. First gear 40mph, second, 60mph a second or three later, the headup display flickering higher in fluro green over the sweeping bonnet. Ah, whoops, speed limit is 45 mph ... The drive was way too short, with my colleague Bill riding shotgun, in between the laugther at how good this car made us feel, worried about the Pontiac police catching the guys in the red Corvette doing 15 over the limit in second gear...
Need to stop smiling like an idiot...
Monday, March 22, 2010
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