While swapping cars with one of my peers, I had to come back running and ask her to provide her keys for the second vehicle, which I did not bring with me. I started thinking about why we need keys for a car, and then some other similar parts/devices in order to start, turn on, or make something function.
With so much technology available nowadays, why do we still need to carry around metallic keys for cars? Or doors?
When visiting a hospital or business, why do we still need to sign on a sheet of paper at the reception to state our name and the reason for our visit? Most of the plastic cards we carry around already contain our main information, wouldn’t it be simpler to just swipe our ID or even a credit card to let them know who we are?
How about disks? CDs, DVDs, Blue-rays, etc. Wouldn’t it be easier and cheaper for the big entertainment and software manufacturers to invest all that money spent on creation and distribution of such devices into networking technologies, so that we get the electronic files quickly and easily without the need to have to insert a piece of plastic into mechanical trays or slots?
How about newspapers and magazines? The Kindle is out, Sony Reader too, PDAs have better resolutions now... and we still receive newspapers and all kind of resource-intensive publications in our doorsteps and mailboxes. How come nobody in the newspaper industry distributes one of such readers just once? That would allow the unit to update daily or weekly using any kind of wireless technology, so that we do not have to recycle and waste so much every single day.
Have they ever read about what the words “vision” and “innovation” mean?
I could rant on and on with so many examples; I can’t believe we are almost into the completion of the first decade after the turn of the century and we are still carrying so much baggage from the previous one.
Well... you get the idea. I wish the next time you read about the latest innovations on these subjects you do it on a Kindle-like unit.
As the latest Mac ads state: Cheers! To innovation
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Being more mobile now
At kid's soccer practice. An entire hour to kill. The acquaintances I used to talk to have left. The other parents seem intent to either focus on watching their kids play or read magazines, write on existing documents and/or simply use that 20th century organic material they call Paper in one way or another.
I thought about bringing my netbook to reply to a few mail messages or simply craft a document or two while I wait and glance every so often to my child.
However, and despite the fact that the netbook is light and very portable, more and more I feel inclined to use a totally different device that does not require me to sit or find a flat or stable surface or position in order to type. I'm finding my PDA easier and easier each time.
From my first Palm Pilot Pro all through the changes to this BB, I've found that it's just a matter of getting used to any of such devices in order to become really productive. The new Palm Pre is out already and it has a keyboard! Long gone are those Styluses that helped us easily transition from that wood derivative I referred before to these amazing devices.
A month or so ago I posted a piece about how easy I found it to be to type and upload a Blog article created and uploaded entirely on my BB. I'm pretty sure that eventually will become the norm rather than the extreme.
True mobility. And simpler every time.
I thought about bringing my netbook to reply to a few mail messages or simply craft a document or two while I wait and glance every so often to my child.
However, and despite the fact that the netbook is light and very portable, more and more I feel inclined to use a totally different device that does not require me to sit or find a flat or stable surface or position in order to type. I'm finding my PDA easier and easier each time.
From my first Palm Pilot Pro all through the changes to this BB, I've found that it's just a matter of getting used to any of such devices in order to become really productive. The new Palm Pre is out already and it has a keyboard! Long gone are those Styluses that helped us easily transition from that wood derivative I referred before to these amazing devices.
A month or so ago I posted a piece about how easy I found it to be to type and upload a Blog article created and uploaded entirely on my BB. I'm pretty sure that eventually will become the norm rather than the extreme.
True mobility. And simpler every time.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Technical training
I attended a 2-day event last week. The purpose of such was to “train” people on new or latest technologies and show what's coming down the pipe.
The topics were varied and the organization allowed attendees to choose from a variety of tracks throughout the day. I was in three different tracks; some of the topics were very technical and fast, non-understandable for the regular Joe, while others were simpler and better explained in the allotted time.
On my calculations, the number of attendees was around 800. During the presentations, on breaks between speakers, and at lunch time I spoke to some fellow technicians, engineers, consultants, contractors, business owners and such.
In the entire 2 days and despite my best efforts to pull information about it nobody touched on the business side of the -mmhh- business. The focus was on software, and the boxes that can use that software, and the interconnections between such boxes and so on...
But no Business Case. No comparison tables. No white papers on case studies –beta or not-. No ROI graphs.
Now don't get me wrong, on average it was good and most of the speakers knew their stuff and delivered very good sessions. However, there was nothing but tech talk all thru the event. There was mentioning obviously on companies already using this and that; and real demonstrations on existing systems working and so on.
However, I felt there was this need to know the appropriate application of all these new toys to real world cases; in brief I think I was expecting more than what they can really deliver. Or perhaps I wanted them to do my work: analyze technologies and crunch numbers to come up with such documents.
I might had simply made a mistake on the training and signed up for something I did not need or want.
Oh! Well... I will wait for such thing to come to my town.
Hope you do enjoy your events.
The topics were varied and the organization allowed attendees to choose from a variety of tracks throughout the day. I was in three different tracks; some of the topics were very technical and fast, non-understandable for the regular Joe, while others were simpler and better explained in the allotted time.
On my calculations, the number of attendees was around 800. During the presentations, on breaks between speakers, and at lunch time I spoke to some fellow technicians, engineers, consultants, contractors, business owners and such.
In the entire 2 days and despite my best efforts to pull information about it nobody touched on the business side of the -mmhh- business. The focus was on software, and the boxes that can use that software, and the interconnections between such boxes and so on...
But no Business Case. No comparison tables. No white papers on case studies –beta or not-. No ROI graphs.
Now don't get me wrong, on average it was good and most of the speakers knew their stuff and delivered very good sessions. However, there was nothing but tech talk all thru the event. There was mentioning obviously on companies already using this and that; and real demonstrations on existing systems working and so on.
However, I felt there was this need to know the appropriate application of all these new toys to real world cases; in brief I think I was expecting more than what they can really deliver. Or perhaps I wanted them to do my work: analyze technologies and crunch numbers to come up with such documents.
I might had simply made a mistake on the training and signed up for something I did not need or want.
Oh! Well... I will wait for such thing to come to my town.
Hope you do enjoy your events.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
September already
WOW! This has surely been the fastest year ever! I'm pretty sure our hours have been 59 or 58 minutes each …or so it feels.
We IT inclined people know that in economic slowdowns, after government and heath care, IT is the most resilient field there is nowadays. Even so, I know many peers and companies that constantly whine about our industry status quo.
Not me. I am so fortunate to work in good company, and working with great suppliers while servicing clients that I really like and who seem to like us too. We have been very busy each day. Not a single opportunity for slacking.
So, what is the fuzz about? With September, school starts, vacations end, fall is almost here, and then holidays abound. With all that coming down the pipe, there is no time for complaints.
Did I mention a few changes in the IT horizon will take place too? (Ubuntu 9.10, Windows 7)
So, sorry for the briefness. Work calls.
Enjoy being busy. If you are not, believe me it is your fault.
We IT inclined people know that in economic slowdowns, after government and heath care, IT is the most resilient field there is nowadays. Even so, I know many peers and companies that constantly whine about our industry status quo.
Not me. I am so fortunate to work in good company, and working with great suppliers while servicing clients that I really like and who seem to like us too. We have been very busy each day. Not a single opportunity for slacking.
So, what is the fuzz about? With September, school starts, vacations end, fall is almost here, and then holidays abound. With all that coming down the pipe, there is no time for complaints.
Did I mention a few changes in the IT horizon will take place too? (Ubuntu 9.10, Windows 7)
So, sorry for the briefness. Work calls.
Enjoy being busy. If you are not, believe me it is your fault.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Where are we going?
Besides the myriad of applications that already exist for practically anything, the pace of new releases for, well… practically everything, is just amazing. How can we, humble IT Professionals keep pace with both the existing and mature applications in the marketplace; and on top of that learn or maybe just get to know the nascent programs that people find on the Web and simply start using?
Nowadays you can even find video clips explaining the way to utilize such applications, some of which are more complicated than others and require a good amount of hours to understand.
And this is just the beginning: all will be ported to the cloud and therefore the pace of releases and new applications will become exponentially faster. There is absolutely no stopping on this race; and the finish line is nonexistent.
Do not worry, though. All these new developments will become eventually so easy to use that they'll also be disposable.
Hang on tight. The whirlwind ride is just starting.
Nowadays you can even find video clips explaining the way to utilize such applications, some of which are more complicated than others and require a good amount of hours to understand.
And this is just the beginning: all will be ported to the cloud and therefore the pace of releases and new applications will become exponentially faster. There is absolutely no stopping on this race; and the finish line is nonexistent.
Do not worry, though. All these new developments will become eventually so easy to use that they'll also be disposable.
Hang on tight. The whirlwind ride is just starting.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
True value
Last year I had to take a device for fixing to a shop that returned it to me in worse shape than before. Although it was working, I constantly had to tweak it so that it would work better for a while, then it would start the annoyance again. This situation took a few months, so I decided to take it back to the shop for them to fix it once and for all.
They inspected, tweaked, disassembled, put all back together and could not find a single problem, and returned it to me once again; just to have the same situation as before. Two months later I went to the shop: same story.
For the past month it was getting worse day after day. I decided I needed to fix it myself and so I purchased a kit that most likely would make it work as expected. Turns out I could not fix it, and made it worse; however, in so doing I realized the shop did not do things properly in the first place. Hence, the main failing component was in such a poor shape that practically just touching it made the whole thing collapse. It would have been so easy and cheap for the shop to simply replace such part and really fix the problem.
I spent countless hours dealing with what was such an easy fix. I felt like suing the shop, or starting a bad publicity campaign on-line; or simply get there and shout to the owner, the technicians, and everybody who would port the shop logo.
I did not do anything: partly because I have better things to do with my time, and mainly because the headaches associated with any of such actions would have made me older in a matter of a few months.
I decided to swallow all of the time wasted, the money lost and all. I went to a different shop to have it fixed knowing that they would charge for the fix, but I'd much rather pay these unknown guys than going back to the original shop.
To my surprise, they accommodated my request in their busy schedule, had it seen before the expected waiting time, and fixed it in a matter of minutes. I was so glad I had it back in perfect shape that I was about to pay whatever fee I would see in the invoice.
Here comes the best part: FREE. They realized somebody else messed up long time ago, and without asking me anything simply replaced the broken part with a new one. Then they only asked me if I would be willing to come back to them for future service.
My gosh! They had me at the reception. I'm sold!
Kudos to such human and really service-oriented people.
That's what I call true value.
They inspected, tweaked, disassembled, put all back together and could not find a single problem, and returned it to me once again; just to have the same situation as before. Two months later I went to the shop: same story.
For the past month it was getting worse day after day. I decided I needed to fix it myself and so I purchased a kit that most likely would make it work as expected. Turns out I could not fix it, and made it worse; however, in so doing I realized the shop did not do things properly in the first place. Hence, the main failing component was in such a poor shape that practically just touching it made the whole thing collapse. It would have been so easy and cheap for the shop to simply replace such part and really fix the problem.
I spent countless hours dealing with what was such an easy fix. I felt like suing the shop, or starting a bad publicity campaign on-line; or simply get there and shout to the owner, the technicians, and everybody who would port the shop logo.
I did not do anything: partly because I have better things to do with my time, and mainly because the headaches associated with any of such actions would have made me older in a matter of a few months.
I decided to swallow all of the time wasted, the money lost and all. I went to a different shop to have it fixed knowing that they would charge for the fix, but I'd much rather pay these unknown guys than going back to the original shop.
To my surprise, they accommodated my request in their busy schedule, had it seen before the expected waiting time, and fixed it in a matter of minutes. I was so glad I had it back in perfect shape that I was about to pay whatever fee I would see in the invoice.
Here comes the best part: FREE. They realized somebody else messed up long time ago, and without asking me anything simply replaced the broken part with a new one. Then they only asked me if I would be willing to come back to them for future service.
My gosh! They had me at the reception. I'm sold!
Kudos to such human and really service-oriented people.
That's what I call true value.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Dreading new Data Backup setups
I remember the old days when backing data up took not only lots of preparation in every sense, but also lots of time for practically every task associated with the process.
Choosing the right type of tape drive, then the software to be installed, configured, and finally monitored. The daily, weekly, monthly resources allocation for simply inserting, extracting, labelling, storing tapes was then replaced by either CDs and DVDs or HD cartridges. The options for backing up to these would range from very expensive-corporate-like products, to affordable-but-difficult proprietary packages.
Lately, most of the big names in data backup have finally switched their attention to NAS and external Hard Drives. Finally! ...a little too late though.
Last year I set into production our first Windows 2008 Server box. A few months ago I used its Data Backup console to set a scheduled job that has been working like a charm. I already tested the data recovery and all; all just works. So, no extra software to be purchased, no hassle.
Today, I added a 2nd drive to the equation; I expected a somehow difficult setting having the existing job not interfere with the new. I was surprised to find that I could simply add the second drive to the existing schedule with not much thinking or tweaking.
I dreaded this task for a couple of months, I even avoided it somehow. It is SO easy now to manage all these tasks that I wonder why it took so long to the BU SW manufacturers to get to this. Mind you, this is a Microsoft product (service).
Not dreading anything anymore.
Next “complex” task, here I come!
Choosing the right type of tape drive, then the software to be installed, configured, and finally monitored. The daily, weekly, monthly resources allocation for simply inserting, extracting, labelling, storing tapes was then replaced by either CDs and DVDs or HD cartridges. The options for backing up to these would range from very expensive-corporate-like products, to affordable-but-difficult proprietary packages.
Lately, most of the big names in data backup have finally switched their attention to NAS and external Hard Drives. Finally! ...a little too late though.
Last year I set into production our first Windows 2008 Server box. A few months ago I used its Data Backup console to set a scheduled job that has been working like a charm. I already tested the data recovery and all; all just works. So, no extra software to be purchased, no hassle.
Today, I added a 2nd drive to the equation; I expected a somehow difficult setting having the existing job not interfere with the new. I was surprised to find that I could simply add the second drive to the existing schedule with not much thinking or tweaking.
I dreaded this task for a couple of months, I even avoided it somehow. It is SO easy now to manage all these tasks that I wonder why it took so long to the BU SW manufacturers to get to this. Mind you, this is a Microsoft product (service).
Not dreading anything anymore.
Next “complex” task, here I come!
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