Seventh Heaven?

October 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Windows 7 is now officially available for purchase and should be pre-installed on any newly purchased Windows computers. So now is the time for reality to set in. Is Windows 7 going to restore Microsoft’s credibility, or will it be another failure like Vista?

For the record, I do not recommend that users attempt to upgrade to Windows 7 right away, at least on computers that are considered important (if you have spare machines or virtual machine software feel free to go for it!). It is prudent to allow the early adopters to unearth real-world issues and let Microsoft release their first wave of updates before attempting to migrate to Windows 7.

Windows 7 has been getting good reviews during its testing phase. However, so did Vista. But this time it seems that Microsoft has taken the time to properly and thoroughly test this release of Windows (you may or may not recall that Microsoft was under great pressure to release the long-delayed Vista). However, with relatively few perceptible feature improvements, there are many that feel Windows 7 is mostly just a bug-fix release for Vista.

So will Windows 7 triumph or bomb? I think that the end result will be somewhere in the middle. Windows 7 will likely be perceived as better than Vista (assuming no major catastrophes), so the extremely negative reputation of Microsoft’s shipping operating system will be lost. And since most new PCs will ship with Windows 7, it will not be hard for Microsoft to claim that Windows 7 is being adopted at a steady rate (just like they did with Vista – even if the customer downgraded to XP). However, the flip side will be that most users won’t really find anything all that great about Windows 7, so it won’t generate any great buzz as compared to other popular technologies. Basically, I believe Windows 7 will be adequate for most Windows users so it will do well enough in the market, but it won’t provide any breakthrough new features that will rank it high in the minds of the mainstream.

The other factor that will drag on Windows 7 is the ever present threat of viruses and spyware. Windows 7 is virtually just as vulnerable to these threats as the previous few versions of Windows were. As adequate as Windows 7 may be, malware infections will continue to cause users frustrations. In my observation, malware is the most visible reason that users switch to other operating systems. Yes, Vista was bad, but many users will just put up with bad. However, malware is intrusive and dealing with it is time-consuming and expensive. Unless Microsoft can address this issue, it will continue to be the elephant in the room that will cost them mind and market-share in the long run.

Filed Under: Personal Computing, Windows Tagged With: ,

Head in the Clouds

October 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

A lot has been written in the last few months about “cloud computing”. Basically, cloud computing is the generic term for computing services and applications that are hosted over the Internet. They can be as simple as web-based e-mail services such as Yahoo Mail or Gmail. Or they can be more complex and full featured services such as Google Apps, which provide on-line word processing or spreadsheet software. Other companies such as Microsoft and Apple are taking steps to offer cloud computing services and applications.

If one were to read all that was being written about cloud computing, it wouldn’t be difficult to draw the conclusion that the future of computing is in the clouds – and that future is right around the corner. However, before taking that viewpoint, I have a few things for you to consider.

The reality is that “cloud computing” isn’t really a new concept. It has existed for years in various forms and names. Companies called Application Service Providers (ASP’s for short) have been around a long time providing hosted applications. Another name for cloud computing is Software as a Service (SaaS for short). Whatever it is called, the bottom line is that your software is hosted somewhere on the Internet, and not on your own servers or computers. This can be great if you or your employees are highly mobile. As long as they have an Internet connection they can access their software and data, virtually from any computer available. However, the fact that access to applications and data is completely dependent on an Internet connection can be a huge liability. It should be pretty obvious that if your Internet connection goes down or is not reliable, then you can’t access your software and data. Or if the service you are dependent on has problems, as both Google Apps and Gmail have done this year, you are out of luck as well.

In my mind, cloud computing will have its fit with highly mobile workers and some large organizations, but it will not filter down into the mainstream or small business until Internet services become a lot more reliable or redundant Internet services become extremely cost effective. As well, not all applications, such as digital media, are yet a good fit for cloud computing. So I foresee that while that the future may indeed be at least partially in the clouds, this future is going to take some time to get here.

Filed Under: Business, Personal Computing Tagged With: , , , ,

“Technically” Speaking, Who’s in Charge Around Here?

August 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

During the 80’s and 90’s the average user made technology decisions based on information they usually received from “the computer guy” at work. This was definitely a hold-over from the 60’s and 70’s where most technology was deployed and controlled by the “data processing” department at big businesses (“data processing” was the name that technology departments were widely called before they were called “Information Services” then “Information Technology”)

Today, most people are on their 3rd or 4th personal computer (if not 5th or 6th). Many have owned PDA devices or smartphones. They’ve played a lot of video games and have bought DVD players. The average consumer today is much more tech savvy. And instead of taking the advice from their IT department as gospel, users are now starting to dictate to the IT departments what technology they want to use. While this trend has been in motion for a long time now, IT departments are being forced at an accelerating rate to shift their roles – from being solely in control of the technology decisions – to partnering with those they serve to define the technology platforms in use at a company. The era of top-down technology management is giving way to bottom-up technology decisions. It’s a “grassroots” movement, to steal the political term du jour.

I write this now because I will be referring to this trend in future articles. Stay tuned …
Filed Under: Business, Miscellaneous, Personal Computing Tagged With:

Windows 7 Bug Revisited

August 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

My previous article on a recently discovered Windows 7 bug evoked a few comments regarding the severity of the bug and if it is really a big deal or not. I thought I’d follow up on that article to make sure I got my point across.

The severity of the bug isn’t really an issue at this point. The real issue is how the industry and the public react to this news. It seems the whole world is watching with a very keen eye how Windows 7 turns out. Microsoft is very vulnerable to bad publicity at this point. They desperately want to distance themselves from Vista. The worst thing that could happen to them is for Windows 7 to develop a bad reputation at launch.

It won’t take too many more reports of problems like this – justified or not – to give Windows 7 a black eye. So again, we’ll all wait and see how it all shakes out. This fall should be very interesting to say the least.

Filed Under: Windows Tagged With: ,

Critical Windows 7 Bug Discovered

August 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

A critical Windows 7 bug has been uncovered that can cause a complete “blue screen” crash when triggered. You can read more about it at InfoWorld’s site.

The bug is triggered during the use of a disk checking utility that is part of the Windows OS. While the use of this utility is not too common by average users, it is definitely heavily used by power users and IT professionals. The real problem is that this bug may be rooted in the file system code, which is causing a great deal of worry in the IT industry. As quoted in the InfoWorld article:

The bottom line: A file system-level bug, at this late stage in the development cycle, should be considered a showstopper by most IT organizations.

A recent survey showed that only 16% of companies plan to deploy Windows 7 within a year. With the economy straining IT resources already, news like this may only serve to make companies put off Windows 7 even longer. The longer it takes for Windows 7 to gain significant traction in the business market, the longer the “Vista hangover” effect will haunt Microsoft, allowing competitors to continue to gain marketshare. Microsoft really needs to hit a home run with Windows 7, so this discovery is certainly unwelcome news to them.

Filed Under: Business, Windows Tagged With: ,

Mac-berry at Last!

July 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Hot off the virtual presses, RIM has announced that they will be releasing a Mac version of their Blackberry Desktop Manager software for the Mac in September. You can read the full announcement on the Official BlackBerry Blog.

For as long as the BlackBerry has been in the market*, the lack of Mac support has been a glaring omission. Mac users have had to resort to various 3rd party utilities to sync their BlackBerries with no support from RIM.

Two things to consider: Is RIM introducing Mac support in an effort to head off the growth of the iPhone in the ever increasing base of Mac users? And will this introduction make more businesses consider the Mac?

As more users are switching to the Mac, the lack of support for the BlackBerry could be leading to those users switching to the iPhone as well. It would be interesting to find out if RIM has any data bearing this out. By introducing Mac support, they may figure that users can keep their BlackBerries when they switch to the Mac.

In contrast, those businesses who are heavily vested in the BlackBerry platform may have been holding off on considering the Macintosh due to the lack of Mac support from RIM. Now that RIM will officially support the Mac, those businesses may now take another look at the Mac. Interestingly, I’ve read studies that show Mac users are more likely to buy an iPhone. So wouldn’t it be ironic if by supporting the Mac, RIM is opening the door for more iPhone sales?

On a related note, I wonder to what extent the complete lack of BlackBerry support (along with lukewarm support from Palm) over the years played into Apple’s decision to create the iPhone. Perhaps the moral of the story is that those tech vendors who don’t support the Mac run the risk of Apple deciding to make their own competing product.

*I have a long history with the BlackBerry. I visited the (then small) RIM production facility in Canada back in 2001 as part of an evaluation for Anheuser-Busch (where I worked at the time). This was during the time of the original BlackBerry device, which was shaped like a large pager and was an e-mail only device. However, it was very advanced for the time and in part due to the evaluation our team performed, A-B started deploying the BlackBerry across the company. When I left the company a year later, one of the hardest things I had to do was give up my BlackBerry.

Filed Under: Apple, Business, Personal Computing, Smartphones Tagged With: , , , , ,

"Pre"-emptive?

June 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment

June 6th, 2009 was the 65th anniversary of D-Day, the allied invasion of German-controlled France during World War II. It was also the day that the highly anticipated Palm Pre smartphone was released on Sprint’s network. Many people are noting the potential symbolism of this date for both Palm and Sprint.

The analogy is that the iPhone has so quickly and thoroughly dominated the smartphone market, it has been like the German Blitzkrieg of Europe. Palm, the originator and former leader of the PDA/smartphone market, has been pushed to the brink of irrelevance by its competition. Sprint, a once powerful player in the wireless industry, has fallen upon tough times lately, hemorrhaging customers over the last few years. The fact that the iPhone is only available on AT&T’s network has certainly contributed to Sprint’s troubles. The Pre will either be these companies’ last desperate gasp, or the bold attack that will lead them back into contention. June 6th may have been a D-Day for both Palm and Sprint, but unlike the Allied attack, the outcome of this battle is far from certain.

There are many detailed reviews and articles analyzing the significance of the Pre, as a quick Internet search will show. And the hype surrounding the device is causing a lot of polarization. Many are pitting the Pre against the iPhone in an all-or-nothing struggle, as if there can be only one smartphone in the market. Of course, this is silly, as there is yet plenty of room for competitors. However, perception can be reality and if the Pre does not make a big splash, the media attention the iPhone juggernaut generates could very well drown out the Pre.

My take is that the Pre is quite advanced and feature-wise can compete with the iPhone. However, as has been proven over and over again in the technology industry, it takes a lot more than good technology to make a product successful (a lesson that Apple learned the hard way and is sure to never forget). The unfortunate fact is that Palm has a lot riding on this device (and Sprint to a lesser degree). In a different time and place, one where Palm was a stronger company and where there was no such thing as an iPhone, the Pre could possibly be extremely successful, or at least appear to be much more successful with no iPhone to compare it to. However, this is 2009 and the iPhone has a 2 year head-start in this “new world” of smartphone market, one which Apple basically created. With the speed that technology has been advancing lately, 2 years is a long time for a product to have gained momentum, and few products in the history of tech have had the type of success that the iPhone has had. Add to that the strength of the Apple App Store and it will take an extraordinary level of success for the Pre to dislodge any significant share of the market from the iPhone.

An interesting subplot to all this is the timing of the release date of the Pre. Palm has decided to release the Pre two days before the keynote speech at Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference, where is it widely anticipated that Apple will be introducing a new iPhone device, as well as the 3.0 version of the iPhone software. At first glance, it seems unwise to release a new product only 2 days before your competition dominates the media. But some have theorized that this was actually a smart move on Palm’s part, as it allows the Pre to ride the coattails of the iPhone publicity. In effect, Palm will be co-opting Apple’s media exposure, as there will be much made of the comparison between the two devices. A different release date may have not garnered the same amount of media attention. In a kind of preemptive attack, Palm’s gamble may give the Pre the best chance of success.

Filed Under: Apple, Smartphones Tagged With: , , , ,

iTunes 8.2 adds support for iPhone 3.0; Steve Jobs Update

June 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Apple quiety released iTunes 8.2, which adds support for an iPhone or iPod Touch with the iPhone 3.0 Software Update. The timing of this release, given that Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) is next week, makes it seem likely that Apple will release the 3.0 update during the WWDC, likely during the Monday morning keynote (10 AM Pacific Time).

Speaking of the WWDC, according to a highly reliable source of mine, Steve Jobs will make a “surprise” appearance at the WWDC, a little ahead of schedule for his return from medical leave of absence.

… Ok, I don’t really have any inside information 🙂 …  but the source is Steve Chazin, author of the Marketing Apple blog, and former Director of Marketing for Strategic Programs at Apple. In a seemingly unrelated blog post, he quietly writes a single line P.S. stating that Jobs will make a surprise appearance at WWDC. No more, no less. Very interesting.

Filed Under: Apple, Smartphones Tagged With: , , ,

Windows 7 Release Date Confirmed

June 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

A post on the Windows Team Blog states that Windows 7 will be on store shelves October 22nd. Additionally, the “release to manufacturing” or RTM date will be sometime in late July. RTM is basically a term for the final production version of a software project, or the version that will be pressed onto discs. Basically, Microsoft partner companies will have access to the production version of Windows 7 about 3 months before it is released to the general public. Companies that will receive the RTM code are usually PC manufacturers, software developers, and large corporations.

It is interesting to note that while this blog post seems to come from an “official” Microsoft source, there has not been a truly offical press release from Microsoft yet on this. Why, I’m not sure. Perhaps they will hold a press conference soon and just wanted to float the news via the blogosphere first.

So assuming this info is true, Microsoft will have Windows 7 available in time for the holiday shopping season, which should make PC manufacturers happy since they should see a surge in sales. Microsoft was not able to make this happen with Vista, which in hindsight, was probably for the best.

So we will now see what will come of Windows 7. Will it be simply “a stripped down version of Vista” that brings nothing new to the OS table, or will it be well-received and bring some credibility back to Microsoft. It should be an interesting last quarter of 2009.

Filed Under: Windows Tagged With: , , ,

One More and We’ve Got Steak Sauce

May 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I was checking my e-mail this morning and saw I had a message from one of my friends on Facebook. As usual, I click on the link within the e-mail to take me directly to that message on Facebook’s site. However, this time my web browser didn’t open up to Facebook. It took me to some strange site with a numeric address. After a few seconds I realized I had been the victim of a malware attack. Lucky for me, I use a Mac so the attack was useless on my computer. I noticed that a Windows EXE file had been downloaded, so out of curiosity, I scanned the file using ClamAV for Mac and it identified it as the Koobface worm. A little research on Google found that a new variety of the Koobface worm had just started making the rounds the day before. One article stated that this was the 56th variant of the Koobface worm. An astute commenter noted that one more and we’d have 57 varieties, just like Heinz. Heinz 57, of course, is their famous steak sauce.

More importantly, this latest example of a Windows vulnerability highlights just how risky it is to use a Windows-based computer in today’s world. If my computer were running Windows, I could have easily gotten infected this morning. It would have depended on whether or not my anti-virus software was completely up-to-date and/or if other security measures in place were able to stop this worm. Apparently, enough users out there aren’t well protected enough for this worm to be spreading like it is. Those that consider themselves technical “elite” will chide me for falling for this e-mail, and I probably should have noticed that the message was a little suspiscious. But honestly, why should I have to ensure that my computer has constantly updated multiple layers of security and always be viligant that the next e-mail message I open may hold impending doom? I shouldn’t – and long ago I made the conscious decision to not put up with it.

Which brings us to the crux of this article. Increasingly, it seems more and more people are making the decision to not put up with it anymore and switching to the Mac (including, today, that poor Facebook friend who sent me the worm). After the unmitigated disaster that Windows Vista has been for Microsoft, the company has quickly moved to bring out the next version of their operating system as soon as possible. They’ve also spent a lot of money on advertising trying to distance themselves from the “Vista” name and simultaneously undo the momentum that Apple’s “Get a Mac” campaign has generated for Macintosh sales.

This is curious, given that Microsoft still holds approximately 90% marketshare vs. Apple’s approximate 10%. True, Apple’s share is currently about double of their previous historical best, but the desparate nature of Microsoft’s ad campaigns seems out of place here. It’s as if they know something we don’t know and have a reason to be scared. Perhaps Microsoft feels their future hangs in the balance with the release of Windows 7. Regardless of what they really think, they are doing a great job of developing the perception that they are betting the farm on Windows 7. And as the old saying goes, perception is reality.

The problem is that as much as Microsoft tries hard to distance itself from Vista, every time a new virus or malware hits the news, it’s yet another reminder that Windows is not secure. And similarly to many political races, it could be this issue and this issue alone that determines the final outcome. Microsoft claims they are shooting for a Windows 7 release by the end of this year. So until then, we shall see …

Filed Under: Apple, Personal Computing, Social Networking/Social Media, Windows Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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