Netbooks vs. Notebooks. Be realistic and you'll be happy

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a fierce battle between netbook detractors and lovers. Despite the opinions about usefulness or lack of it, better or worse brands and models, finished qualities, etc. the truth is that netbooks are being sold by the millions and the number doesn't seem to diminish. That has prompted some notebook PC makers to jump into the market. Asus, Acer and MSI were the usual netbook makers but now we have not only HP but also Toshiba and Lenovo. The growth of this segment has been so big that even Apple is rumored to be entering this market at some point in the coming months.

Although I became a Mac user and lover a few years ago, the truth is that I cannot eliminate completely my relationship with PCs and Windows. Almost every person I work with as well as the clients we deal with are PC users. For that reason, I decided to give a netbook a try and experience for myself the wonders and misfortunes of them.

I got a Samsung N110 which at the beginning of summer 2009 was one of the hottest netbooks on the market for two main reasons: an almost full-size keyboard and a promised battery duration of over 8 hours. The fact is that a netbook is as good as your expectations are about it. If you try to use your netbook as if it was a fully powered PC (notebook or desktop) you might end up very disappointed. On the other hand, if you understand that a netbook is a computer dedicated to providing basic features such as email capabilities, web browsing, word processing and videoconferencing, you will be very pleased.

Because of my work I fly regularly on domestic and intercontinental flights and I find that I can work on my netbook easily for about 8 hours with no worries. When I need to move around the city from meeting to meeting, I can carry my netbook without the charger for a whole day and easily have 40 percent of the battery left at the end of the day. Obviously, one has to learn a few tips and tricks to maximize battery life but I have to say that netbook makers have done a reasonably good job at creating battery management tools that help with those tasks. For example, when in battery mode, I have my netbook setup to run at the lowest possible brightness, to turn off my screen and hard drive after a few minutes of inactivity and even to go to standby or hibernation mode a few minutes after that if inactivity continues. Those tools, together with the incredibly easy option to turn off/on the wireless card, make a huge difference in battery life.

I am running my netbook with Windows XP as well as with Microsoft Office 2003. Yes, I am running Office 2003 instead of 2007 because I find it lighter in terms of power needs while I can get basically the same features. For videconference, I have found that applications such as Skype run very well both with voice only as well as with video.

New netbooks, lighter and with longer battery life, keep entering the market. The fact that you can get a very decent netbook that costs between $300 and $400 is still keeping that market niche growing.

The main conclusion is that a netbook is a very good second computer for those who travel regularly or spend their days going from meeting to meeting around the city. If you do not try to play high end games, edit video or photographs, but instead just perform the basic tasks mentioned above (email, word processing, web browsing, etc.) you can be very satisfied with a netbook.

Miguel Garcia-Gosalvez
www.miguelgarcia.org

Publicado en la portada de Infonomia el 30 de Noviembre de 2009.

Dropbox: sincronizar y compartir archivos de forma genial y gratuita

Hoy ya somos muchos lo que trabajamos en más de un ordenador (en la oficina, en la casa, con el portátil). Por el hecho de que muchos ya tenemos ordenadores portátiles, y últimamente los llamados netbooks, nos encontramos teniendo que llevar con nosotros los dispositivos USB (también llamados pen drives) con nuestros archivos y ficheros de aquí para allá.

Periódicamente, y con el fin de acabar el informe que empezamos en la oficina y que tenemos que acabar en casa durante el fin de semana o para acabar la hoja de cálculo de Excel con el último presupuesto, tenemos que ir cargando estos dispositivos y además hacer el ejercicio de saber en cada momento cuál es la última versión del mismo sin equivocarnos. Estos dispositivos portátiles USB también son utilizados en cierta forma como almacén de copias de seguridad e incluso, con aplicaciones como U3 Smart, como soporte para nuestras aplicaciones más comunes que podemos utilizar en ordenadores sin dejar rastro.

Durante los últimos años numerosas iniciativas han aparecido (y desaparecido) con el fin de ayudarnos a tener nuestros archivos sincronizados en más de un lugar. Desde hace unos meses he venido utilizando Dropbox que pienso que es la mejor de estas alternativas hasta el momento. Dropbox es la solución para sincronizar (y obtener copias de seguridad) archivos y documentos en múltiples ordenadores y en las tres plataformas más comunes (Windows, Linux y Mac).

Como muchos, me enviaba desde la oficina mensajes de correo a mi mismo con el fin de tener acceso a determinados archivos desde mi casa. Igualmente tenía problemas para compartir con colegas, amigos y familia ficheros muy grandes. Esos y otros problemas los he resuelto, de forma gratuita hasta 2 gigabytes, con Dropbox.

Es una pequeña aplicación que se instala en los ordenadores deseados. Se elige la carpeta a sincronizar y a partir de entonces todos los ordenadores elegidos tendrán el mismo contenido en el momento en que se conectan a Internet. Por ejemplo, cuando guardo un documento Word en la carpeta de Dropbox este documento queda sincronizado de forma casi instantánea en todos mis ordenadores e incluso puedo acceder al mismo vía web desde cualquier sitio. Además de acceder a los archivos vía web puedo compartir carpetas específicas con las personas que decida.

Un gran añadido es la posibilidad de mantener versiones de los ficheros con los que trabajamos por lo que podemos recuperar versiones antiguas (hasta 30 días de forma gratuita) de un mismo documento en caso de que sea necesario.

Miguel Garcia Gosalvez
www.miguelgarcia.org

PS. Este artículo no está subvencionado o patrocinado por DROPBOX en ninguna forma. Está basado en mi propia experiencia como usuario y no he recibido ningún tipo de favor, regalo o incentivo por parte de DROPBOX ni de nadie.

Publicado en la portada de Infonomia el 24 de Julio de 2009.

IT Rapid Deployment Kit White Paper

A few months ago I wrote the attached white paper (8.7 Mb. PDF file) based on my experience in deployments around the world. Usually these deployments are in places where conditions might be difficult and usually are associated with events such as natural disasters, health related emergencies or even political transitions. Hard to reach, unreliable or non-existent utilities, and absence of reliable communication facilities are common in these places and situations.

International donors and non-governmental organizations make efforts to reach these places and assist people on multiple arenas, ranging from basic health assistance and food programs, elections monitoring. It is common to see deployments of experts on particular areas but often they lack the equipment, and in many cases, the basic skills that today are needed for day-to-day communications activities such as creating and establishing an internet connection, setting-up a wireless network, set-up and configuration of email accounts, printers, etc. These are real needs that must be covered in order to streamline the work of these staff as well as for safety reasons. There is no longer the option of calling the IT guy to come up and fix these issues. Many of these skills are today as basic as learning to drive. No matter what position you are in it is needed.

In this white paper, I attempted to provide an explanation and a hands-on checklist of the basic equipment needed for these situations. The emphasis is on the ability to "hit the ground running" meaning that the need to be fully functional from the information technology perspective and be able to communicate starts immediately, often as soon as the plane lands. Because of that, all the examples, images and illustrations explained here are related to equipment that people can carry with them in addition to whatever other luggage they might travel with. It is based on my own experience in activities all over the world

Download the 8.7 Mb. PDF file

Miguel Garcia Gosalvez
www.miguelgarcia.org

CIO vs. IT Manager. Much more than just a title.

These days, very few organizations can operate without the use of information technologies and systems. If these technologies and systems are used as a support tool rather than as a strategic tool, the organization is likely missing a lot of strategic opportunities (to increase demand, reduce costs, gather better information for customers, optimize stocks, etc.)

Often times, employees tend to perceive the staff that works on information technologies and systems as a "computer guy", a "web guy" or a "techie". This perception shows a lack of understanding of current organizational developments and frameworks and, more importantly, is a reflection of how they handle these matters within whatever organization they work (public or private, large or small, for-profit or not). Consequently, this perception is a reflection of how a modern organization is understood (not very well) and how it is run (most likely, poorly).

A Chief Information Officer (CIO) and an IT Manager are not the same. Of course, in medium or small size organizations you might find a single individual playing both the CIO and the IT Manager role and understanding very well the differences between each position. Unfortunately, it is not enough for the person filling this role to know what each role entails. What really matters is how the CEO and other senior staff members perceive this person, if they know which “hat” she or he is wearing at any particular moment and, most important, if her or his comments and contributions are part of the strategic decisions being taken by the organization.

When playing the CIO role, either full or part time, the focus should be on how information technologies and systems can help the business strategy and to make sure that there is alignment with that strategy. The IT manager, on the other hand, should make sure that all systems are up and running properly and that the different IT staff members are doing what they are supposed to.

It is true that you cannot be an admiral without a fleet and if you are just managing a handful of Help Desk guys you are not a CIO. CIO is a leadership position and an IT manager is a managerial position.

As we have seen in multiple business books, leaders inspire while managers measure; leaders guide and managers navigate; leaders envision and managers maintain; leaders talk and managers listen; leaders support and managers teach; leaders hope and managers direct; leaders expect and managers demand, etc. Obviously, success requires both.

If your business card says CIO but you do not sit at the senior staff meetings with CEO, CFO, Vice-Presidents, etc. you are not a real CIO. Obviously, organization size, type of business, etc. are key factors, but by no means are they founded excuses to not allow the CIO to sit in the key strategic meetings.

A real CIO is supposed to take a strategic view of the organization, understand the business requirements and facilitate interaction with the other departments. He will have to set the agenda for strategic projects and technologies. For this agenda to work, the IT managers have to make sure that the basic and support technologies are running smoothly.

Organizations that do not have anyone performing CIO activities, even if it is just part time, show a lack of vision and a lack of understanding about the role that information technologies and systems can play today. Information technologies and systems have the capacity to transform the way organizations do business. They are not just solution providers but, even more important, they are enablers. They solve problems but also create value.

Published at the front cover of Infonomia on May 8-11, 2009.

Miguel Garcia-Gosalvez
www.casals.com
www.miguelgarcia.org

Smart Grid: Google and GE teaming up

By now we all know that Google is no longer (if it ever was) a search-engine related company. Obviously it is much more than that and is trying to be part of all aspects of our lives. We have enjoyed, for a while now, services like web search engine, email, word processor, spreadsheet, library, news provider, etc. Back in November 2008 I wrote about how Google is using the information gathered to provide innovation services such as real-time information about the spread of Flu infections. As we know Google doesn’t stop and continues innovating on all kinds of fronts. Here is another example.

Back in the Fall of 2008, Google teamed up with General Electric (GE) to assist building what they called the Smart Grid. This will provide two-way communications, using the power grid, between customers and suppliers. This may not sound like anything new. In fact, though, the interesting thing about this is the new approach.

Google’s approach goes one step further by trying to take advantage of the flows of information that can occur. For example, utilities can better monitor electrical usage while users can obtain more accurate and faster (even real-time) information about their own electrical usage.

What lies behind all of this is even bigger and is an attempt, by both Google and GE, to push for policy efforts that facilitate and enable the availability of renewable energy generation in the United States. With a SmartGrid like the one proposed, we should be able to manage better our home energy use in order to reduce costs. Later on, and if the whole green technology movement catches up, we should be able to power our electrical cars when energy costs are lowest based on real-time consumption data (see RechargeIT Google initiative) or even sell to the grid the excess power we generate at home, for example through solar panels, wind, etc.

Some skeptics think that this will never happen or is many years away. Despite their arguments, I believe that when companies such as Google and GE make this kind of agreement (and back them up with resources in terms of minds and money) we should expect some results. Let’s see what happens!

Published at Infonomia the week of February 23, 2009.

Miguel Garcia-Gosalvez

http://www.miguelgarcia.org/
http://www.casals.com/

MBAs vs. Ph.Ds. The debate about innovation is open.

I just finished reading “The Venturesome Economy”, a new book by Columbia Business School Professor Amar Bhidé that I highly recommend. The book focuses on the sources of innovation and why some innovations receive funds from venture capital companies while others do not. The answer seems obvious but, according to Bhidé, it is not. His research leads him to suggest that successful innovation is unrelated to the creation of new solutions but depends instead on inventing new applications for existing solutions.

Over the last few years many articles and lectures, especially by the CEOs of large corporations, have expressed concern about the United States losing its leadership position in innovation against emerging economies, especially India, China and even Brazil. Part of the argument is the lost battle about the so-called hard sciences (Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, Engineering, etc.) not interesting as many students as they used to. While this is happening in the U.S., emerging economies have focused on ensuring that their most talented students receive the best possible science education. Paradoxically, many of them go to the United States where the percentage of foreign Ph.D students has been growing for the last few years.

Malcolm Gladwell, in his latest book "Outliers", mentions that Asian students perform much better in Mathematics, Physics, etc. than the rest simply because they work much harder. Many people in the U.S. fear that this will allow these countries to overtake the U.S. in innovation and consequently the emerging market economies will become much stronger and even superior to the U.S. economy.

Professor Bhidé argues that hard work and innovation per-se is not enough. His main argument is based on the idea that U.S. companies are much more sophisticated when it comes to marketing, distribution, sales and customer service. He claims that these are the factors that provide the advantage over the rivals. We all remember the typical examples such as Betamax being better than VHS or HD-DVD being better than Blue-Ray. These technologies did not succeed despite their technical superiority. All the other factors (marketing, distribution, etc.) ended up being more relevant. Bhidé insists that for the U.S. to keep its advantage as an economic power, there is a need for more and better MBAs, not more Ph.Ds.

I believe there are enough arguments on either side to merit more research and debate in the area of innovation, both on technical and business aspects.

Published at Infonomia the week of December 9, 2008.

Miguel Garcia-Gosalvez
www.casals.com
www.miguelgarcia.org

How the Apple iPhone is leading the way against Blackberries and the rest of the smart phone industry

In the November 24, 2008 issue of Fortune magazine there is an article that briefly explains what Research In Motion (RIM), maker of the Blackberries, is trying to do to maintain its current dominance in the smart phone market in the US (Up to July 2008 its market share was 50% and it was the same for 2007).

Their latest, and most advanced model, Storm, went on sale this week in the US through Verizon Wireless. This model has pretty much every feature that you can imagine (GPS, Media Player, Browser, Camera and Video Recording, Voice Activated Dialing (VAD), Multi Band, etc.) but one of the strongest selling points is a "feeling" on-screen keyboard. They call it SurePress Touch Screen, which is a subtle click that lets you know the letter has been entered. In the Fortune article they also mention that a big feature, compared to the Apple iPhone, is that the Blackberry Storm has a removable battery. It is also mentioned that, immediately after the creation of a $100 million fund for iPhone applications, the Blackberry Partners Fund was launched with $150 million to spur new software development for Blackberries.

If a new kind of on-screen keyboard, a removable battery and $50 million more on venture funds is the strategy to maintain RIM market share and to cope with the iPhone and others (mostly Android-based T-Mobile G1 and unlocked Nokia E71) I honestly believe they don't get it.

Although, from a practical point of view, a removable battery would be a nice feature for the iPhone I look at it differently and as follows: if the battery is going to last me for two or three years it is quite likely that, by then, I would have already upgraded myself to whatever new iPhone or other smart phone is available at that time.

I do not have any figures but it is my guess that many, if not most, of the hundreds of iPhone applications already available have not benefited from the $100 million venture capital fund created for that purpose. I believe it will be the same for the Blackberry one if indeed they are able to attract developers to the platform.

You will not find here a criticism for the Blackberries. I have been a user, a happy one, for many years and it has always been a great tool for me. It was the company that I work for who got me an iPhone (they decided to get rid of blackberries and moved to iPhone but it was becasue of an issue with carriers and prices rather than devices themselves).

It is certain that, up to now, the iPhone is not as efficient for me when sending email messages as any of the multiple blackberries I have had in the past. But, yes, but all the other things I am getting from the iPhone such as a nice and smooth web browsing experience, hundreds of, mostly not useful, applications that I enjoy testing, my music and pod casts, my pictures, games, etc. are much better than the, so far, unsuccessful attempts Blackberry has made. Yes, the latest blackberries have many, if not all the features, that the iPhone provides but they are not as smooth and nicely integrated.

I am not, and do not pretend, to be an expert on Marketing or Design but there is no doubt that Apple knows how to do and market nice products. They also provide them with additional factors that make them attractive. Factors such as coolness (as an expression of admiration and approval), slim design, easiness of use (as low or null level of difficulty. No training or manual needed), smooth integration with desktop software, etc.

Apple has already attracted many of the non-corporate users (made the smart phone market bigger) and now is trying hard with the corporate customers (gaining market share from RIM) by providing E-mail, address book and calendar integration with Exchange, corporate IT Management and Virtual Private Network (VPN) capabilities.

Despite I believe that Blackberry email capabilities are still superior to those of the iPhone the rest are not. Software applications and media handling (music, movies and pictures) are far better on the iPhone than on Blackberries. My guess is that iPhone market share will continue to grow. Let's revisit in a year to find out where things stand.

Miguel Garcia-Gosalvez
www.miguelgarcia.org

Google y la Gripe. Usos innovadores de la información existente.

Sería interesante poder saber el número diario de nuevos enfermos de gripe, también sería muy interesante poder saber en qué ciudades y hacía dónde se va expandiendo cada día. Esta información, hasta ahora, le costaba al Centro de Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC, siglas en inglés para el Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) de los Estados Unidos no sólamente mucho dinero sino además el hecho de que la información no era inmediata. Siempre se iba con unos días de retraso. La información es recogida en los miles de centros sanitarios, agregada periódicamente y entonces enviada a Atlanta, sede del CDC, donde aún hay que realizar trabajos de análisis y evaluación de datos.

Google (si, otra vez ellos) está proporcionando toda esta información y una nueva forma de seguir la expansión de la gripe en los Estados Unidos. Además permite hacerlo de forma instantánea. Google Flu Trends analiza las búsquedas que las personas hacen de temas relacionados con la gripe y localiza la posición geográfica de estas búsquedas en un mapa.

Esta ya demostrado que en lugares donde el acceso a Internet está muy extendido existe una gran correlación entre los casos de gripe y las búsquedas en Google acerca de temas relacionados con la misma. Si bien el modelo no es perfecto podemos ver en el gráfico anexo que la información proporcionada es de muchísima calidad.

La doctora Lyn Finelli (Jefa de Seguimiento de la Gripe para el Centro de Control y Prevención de Enfermedades) afirma que “[...] la información que nos está llegando es prácticamente en tiempo real. Nos proporciona, día por día, toda la información relativa a la gripe para un área determinada”. Del mismo modo afirma “El año pasado, cuando validamos este modelo, nos permitió predecir los casos, ubicación y tendencias de la gripe con una semana de antelación. Esto puede ser utilizado como una herramienta de aviso y control, en este caso para la gripe”.

Esta información puede ayudar a que los hospitales y centros de salud se preparen con antelación y tomar medidas en caso de una posible pandemia. El acceso a esta herramienta es gratis y Google afirma que sólo se proporciona información agregada mientras que los datos individuales se mantienen de forma confidencial.

Una vez más hablamos de innovación, innovación en los usos de información que ya existe. Gracias al comportamiento de las personas la tecnología nos permite obtener información muy últil para la sociedad. Obviamente, el debate acerca de la privacidad, de Google como Gran Hermano, etc. continúa y no pretendo entrar en él ahora, pero el hecho de que esta información es tremendamente útil no es cuestionable.

Innovar, entre otras cosas, es encontrar usos nuevos a cosas que ya tenemos, proporcionando un valor añadido que pasaba desapercibido. El uso de la información para analizar comportamientos está muy estudiado y el llamado data mining se ha convertido en toda una industria, dedicada a saber más de nuestro hábitos de consumo y comportamiento pero con el fin de vendernos más cosas. Si conseguimos que, además, haga aportaciones positivas como la mencionada, vamos mejorando en tono positivo.

Publicado en Infonomia la semana del 24 de Noviembre de 2008.

Miguel Garcia-Gosalvez
www.miguelgarcia.org

Ifest, TED & PopTech

I haven't had the opportunity of attending the iFest gathering that recently took place in Barcelona and that Alfons Cornella and his team put together, but from what I have read and watched over the web I have some comments to provide.

iFest is defined at their website as "A gathering of 400 people in Barcelona to exchange their ideas, hybridize projects and connect each other to accelerate business growth through the effective use of innovation. During two days, more than 30 speakers as well as thinkers and doers from business, entrepreneurship, creativity,art, marketing, science, technology, and social innovation from all over Europe, Japan and the US shared their unquiet minds and cutting-edge knowledge to ignite new projects to boost competitiveness of companies and people attending the event."

For the last few years I have been attending PopTech! in Camden, Maine and have been following closely TED. iFest is pretty much a combination of those two, so nothing new on that area (some people will refer as just a copy. A copy of content and format).  The same applies to PopTech: some people that PopTech! is just a copy of TED but on the east coast of the USA vs. the east coast.

That kind of comments, I personally believe, are unfair. First because neither TED and/or PopTech are patented products neither you can block ideas from traveling. These events are not just the content and the format but also the location and the people that attend it. That mixed combination is what makes these events unique and special.

Congratulations to my friend Alfons for all he's doing. Congratulations to those who had the opportunity to attend. I wish that the flow of ideas and communications do not keep itself just for the two days of the event but for the whole year, until next time.

My humble advise is to keep it under control. TED has become so big that participants are not longer that but spectators. I appreciate, at PopTech, the opportunity to interact with other attendees, with the speakers as well as the tools to keep it alive during the other 362 days of the year (blog, email, podcasts, etc.). Please make sure that iFest keeps itself that way.