RIP: IT Department

A number of the developments that have been happening over the past few years have made me realize how a company can literally run their IT department on the cloud. And if (or when) I were to start my own company, that is exactly what I would do. So here's how you would do it:

• Google Apps: For $50 / user / year, you get email (w/ exchange), docs, chat, reader, sites (intranet) and true real time collaboration. No more licenses to pay for Exchange, MS Office, OCS & IIS etc.
• Amazon Web Services: All the server services (to test & run your software). Comes in a variety of configurations and prices.
• GitHub: For hosting your source code securely and track bugs in real time. Plans start at $25 a month.

So unlike, an IT department, you don't need to schedule a down time for services as Google Apps has 99.9999% uptime (so does AWS & GitHub). Other benefits include portability - you can work from anywhere in the world.

Granted, not all companies can do this - "old school" companies are run by "old" executives who have this aversion to these Web 2.0 technologies - but you can be sure that all the startups that are being founded right now are going this way and that means in the next 10 to 15 years, you are going to see IT departments disappearing.

Thoughts on Microkia

The tech world is abuzz with the recent announcement that the once proud Nokia would be abandoning their own Mobile OSes for Microsoft Windows Phone 7. Having spent a weekend thinking it over, here are my thoughts:

• However irresponsible this deal might have been perceived by folks, it is bold and I think it was the only card Nokia had to play after they missed out on buying Palm (which they still probably regret after the way HP is swallowing it). Though boldness doesn't generate revenue. 
• With this deal, Nokia has been (or will soon be) relegated to the statuses of the likes of HTC, Samsung, LG & Dell. Translation: Just another OEM Phone manufacturer. Although Nokia claims that they have complete freedom to retool the entire Windows Phone 7. I doubt they will (and they said they won't).
• But if I were HTC, Samsung & LG, I would be pretty upset with what went down between Nokia & MS (as MS seems to have made several concessions that are specific & exclusive to Nokia) and I would go to MS and ask for a better deal as they would be holding the water (releasing Windows phones) until Nokia gets there. And I think they all would soon abandon ship and go over to the Android camp.
• In the end, I bet that this deal is not going to work as it is way too late (first Nokia Windows Phones are not expected until next year).

Can you imagine someone leaving a company and joining a direct competitor as a CEO and 3 months later essentially selling his new company to his former employer? It's essentially what happened here... 

The beginning of the end for Microsoft

There are two main reasons why Microsoft is still a profitable company, irrespective of how many mistakes they make: Windows & Office. Even though Mac & Linux have tried for years to unseat (or even unsettle) Windows from its dominant market share, they have hardly made a dent. There are several reasons why they haven't been able to:

1. Apple made MacOS X a closed operating system without licensing it to anyone which means that it is tied to computers made by apple, which are pricey (and beautiful). The barriers for entry for anyone who want to switch are high. Apple refuses to acknowledge that most people grew up and own Windows PCs and does not accommodate them by making it easy. While BootCamp made it easier but still they weren't addressing their core concern: what can I do with my existing windows computers. With the iPhone, Apple has diverted its engineering resources on to that. Instead of addressing the core OS concerns, Apple is spending its time and resources trying to mimick Vista & Windows 7.
   
2. Linux & various other linux-like variants. There have been several notable efforts in the Linux front. Most notable being Ubuntu and the most recent effort from Intel, Moblin. I've gotta say Ubuntu is years behind from becoming an usable, mainstream, home operating system. There are so many issues with keeping it open-source and not being able to provide "proprietary" device drivers. There are just too many variants and ways to do the same thing and none being easy.

I think Google is spot-on in its post about the needs of a computer user:

We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don't want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates.

Everyday, I wait for about 5 minutes for my PC to become usable. Every year or so, I have to re-install Windows on my computers as it has slowed down considerably from when it was a fresh install. I have to use a myriad of programs to backup my computer. And have a myriad of hard drives and storage to move around my media over and over.

If (and that's a big if) Google is able to address all these concerns and make an Operating System that's secure, simple & fast, then they would own the home market in a few years. Cracking the enterprise market is much harder as it requires change of thinking & operating model for a lot of enterprise IT departments (which means re-training or even hiring new people) and that aint gonna happen in years - maybe in a decade or so.

But sure enough, Google has both the money and the engineering prowess to pull this off. Go Google ChromeOS!

MacBook (Lotta) Air?

I'd have to say I'm kinda disappointed that Apple chose to introduce the MacBook Air as the rumors indicated that they would (hmm, is apple slipping in keeping its lids tight? Lately, the leaks have been spot on mostly) but stopped short of going the entire length.

I agree its an engineering marvel - its sleek, very light weight and extremely well built. I'd have to agree with Apple about dropping the integrated CD/DVD drive. I hardly use mine in my laptop other than that occasional time when I have to re-install my OS and/or install an app that comes on a CD (like MS Office etc).

But, who is it exactly targeted at? Regular consumers - not really? MacBook was already thin and small enough to be carried around. So its clearly aimed at people who are extremely mobile and absolutely must check email/write long emails while waiting in the boarding line in the airport, namely the Business minded folks and executives on the move. Although I wonder how many of those "suits" would really "switch" to a mac? Ofcouse you can run Windows Vista on a MacBook Air, but what's the upside for Apple in that?

Instead I'd have liked to see a complete refresh of the notebook line - MacBook Pro design is almost two years old and is looking like its "old" when compared to MacBook. I'd have also liked to see more "multi-touch" screens (multi-touch touch pad doesn't really do justice) a la Microsoft Surface in MacBooks.

Anyways, the most exciting news that came out of MacWorld atleast for me is the fact that you can now rent movies right from your couch using Apple TV (which if you remember, Steve Jobs said is just a hobby :-)). Not just Standard definition (DVD quality) movies but real High Definition movies. And they've got all the major studios on board. That's gonna be game changing. Netflix which was driving Blockbuster out of business, is now going to be driven out of business by Apple. Ofcouse, the studios and Apple have to put in crazy limitations such as a) once you start to watch a movie, you have to finish watching it in 24 hours b) HD movies can only be viewed from Apple TV and c) You can only rent HD movies not buy them. Arghhh. Also, apple should have really refreshed Apple TV hardware to support 1080p output. Oh well, next MacWorld I guess.

The Paradox of Choice

Another gem of a talk from TED, this one by Professor Barry Schwartz in which talks about how more choices make your life miserable.

I'd have to say he's spot on in his hypothesis. I go through this almost all the time - from selecting a computer, to selecting what milk to buy. Only recently have I started to practice the art of keeping my expectations low.

Here comes another bubble

While not the funniest, but drives home the point that we are in the midst of another tech bubble:

Waiting for Products

David Pogue of The New York Times has become my favorite tech columnist of choice for his straight talking, no-nonsense commentary and blog posts. Case in point about his recent post on Pogue's Posts:

The pocket SLR. As much as I love that little Canon, its photos only sometimes attain the spectacular visual quality of an S.L.R. (one of those big black semi-pro cameras that cost over $500 and can’t record movies). Apparently it’s really, really difficult to get that kind of quality in a small camera, thanks to the obnoxious intrusion of something called physics. [...]

The great cellphone carrier. When the iPhone came out, everybody grumbled and moaned about how Apple had chosen AT&T as its exclusive carrier. I grumbled along with them—and then it hit me: Whom wouldn’t people have grumbled about? [...]

The universal adapter. I’m very good about returning all the equipment I review. I’ll confess, though, that I have a drawer full of orphaned black power adapters that, in the course of re-packing 500 products over 7 years, I somehow left out of the return shipping boxes. And because they’re never labeled with the product or company’s name (and because the companies never bother asking for them later), I now don’t know where they go. [...]

The non-tape camcorder with tape quality. OK, OK, I get it: Americans don’t want tape camcorders anymore. Sales and development of MiniDV camcorders are sinking. Sales and development of mini-DVD camcorders, hard drive camcorders and memory-card camcorders are on the rise. [...]

The long-life battery. In the last ten years, cameras have gone from 1 megapixel to 12. Processors have gone from 300 megahertz to 3 gigahertz. Music players have gone from holding 20 songs to 20,000. [...]

Couldn't have said it better - When are these products going to come?

P.S: I'm on my last week of cast. It comes off (hopefully) next week. After that, a couple of weeks of rehab, and then I should be back to blogging at normal pace.

Clutter Free Desktop

Simply amazes me as to how much electronics Apple can cram on to their devices. The one on the right is pretty much my setup at work and home (although I use a laptop on a docking station instead of the tower)

A Touching Father's Day Story

One of my favorite websites, Engadget was found by Peter Rojas and Ryan Block, is a must visit blog for anything technology, gadget and I visit it almost every hour in any given day. I've followed their meteoric rise from the very first day literally.

So when I encountered this absolutely stunning piece of emotional post by Peter, I was moved and I thought I'd share this with you. I spent my Father's Day with my father after something like 7 or 8 years. I bought him a new set of clothes. We cleaned my car together and had a fight :) - just a regular day in a father-son relationship. This post made me realize how lucky I'm to have him around to spend time with.

iPhone Hype at its highest

This ad created by iPhone enthusiasts is clearly clever and better than all the Apple's ads.

So many buttons, so little use

These represent the number of remotes I own and use. Don't you think electronics manufacturers should have come up with a standard for Remote Control so that you don't have to re-learn every single remote that you encounter?

I know you can configure so called "universal remotes" (like each one of them on the picture above) to control the basic stuff (play/pause/rewind/fast-forward etc) but you cant control each and every functionality (Input selection/sorround/DVR etc) of the individual remote.

It seems like a perfect opportunity for someone to step right in and fix it.

Intel's vision of the Future

This is a cool video of what Intel thinks Ultra Mobile PC would do in the future:

Vista's early troubles

Microsoft's Vista and Office 2007 has been out almost a month now and I have been eagerly waiting for various reviews to come out from the blogosphere. So far, some of the early reviews haven't been good. Here are some samplings:

Where Windows Pundits Went Wrong - Chris Prillo
Vista, Office and Outlook 2007 are a nightmare - Jason
Slow Outlook 2007
Vista pauses Fox Video on Demand - Om Malik
Vista iTunes Fiasco - Om Malik

Now I understand a new OS would always have its issues but so many early adopters having problems and deciding to stay with XP is trouble for MS because these early adopters are the ones who are going to encourage the normal users to upgrade by word-of-mouth marketing. I myself haven't planned on upgrading my primary machine to Vista but I do plan on putting Vista on a brand new machine that I'm putting together (more on that later). Hopefully my experience would be better.

Much Buzz About Nothing

If there's one company that's making right moves in every direction and department, its gotta be Apple, Inc. The most recent example is their upcoming Apple Store in Boston. They can generate buzz about anything - even things like opening up a new store - although they sure have changed the retail experience and have brought new meaning to consumer retail.

The High Definition Experience

Just before Christmas of last year, I made the plunge and bought a HDTV. I have been wanting to write about the buying experience and the HDTV experience so far for a while and here goes:

Buying Experience:

I did my research on and offline on what is the best value for money deal out there. I had a 27" Sony Trinitron TV that I wanted to replace and my living room isnt that big to hold a huge size TVs. So I settled on either a 32" or a 37" and I wasnt ready to spend more than $750 (Yes, I know that's not very much for a HDTV). Ofcourse, there were a lot of acronyms to get through - RPTV, DLP, LCD, HDMI. But it basically came down to Plasma v LCD. From talking to friends and seeing plasma in action at friends' places, I knew Plasmas had the "burn-in" issues although they have been improved tremendously over the last year or so. LCDs on the other side have lag issues where fast action sequences produce "lagging" effects -- that means you need a LCD TV with a fast response time.

Within my budget, the choices were limited to few unknown brands - Syntax Olevia, Westinghouse, Magnavox and Vizio. In the past, I have been a very brand-loyal customer and used to treat Sonys and Panasonics as the standards. But after looking and reading a lot about these no-name manufacturers and how they are giving big guns a run for their money, I decided to pick up a Vizio. Why Vizio? Simple: It has gotten the best reviews of the unknown brands. All its LCD HDTVs come with two HDMI inputs which reduces the cable clutter (I have a Cable box on HDMI 1 and an Upconverting Oppo DVD Player on HDMI 2 - two cables is all u need). I like their Black Piano-look and Silver finish for the speakers. Even though I'd have liked the speakers to be on the side rather than the bottom. The decision was made simpler by the fact that the Vizio 32" (VX32L) was just refreshed and was available at Costco for $699 and with tax that met my budget to the dot. And Costco's generous return policy meant worry-free shopping.


HDTV Experience:

For the first few days, while I did not have the HDMI cable, we were watching the 480i signal and we were amazed by that. But when the HDMI cable arrived and we found out the hidden menu in the Cable box to turn on HD output (1080i), the picture quality was amazing. For the first week or so, we werent following the programs but were wondering how we can read things we could never read before and how that Amanda Peet looks really old in HD than on SD.

Overall, watching HD programs on the HDTV has been amazing. But not all programs are broadcast in HD - in fact about 50% of all the TV I watch is in SDTV which is letter-boxed with black bars on both sides. Some channels dont broadcast in HD at all. Of the hundreds of channels, we have, only the following are HD-capable: CBSHD, NBCHD, FOXHD, ABCHD, HBOHD, SHOHD, ESPNHD, ESPN2HD, INHD, UHD, TNTHD, DHD. Even in these channels, only about 20 to 30% programs are broadcast in HD. Some of my favorite programs (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, Scrubs etc) are not HD. Watching Sports on HD is probably the most rewarding experience. Particularly the NFL games on HD look amazing and you get to see the extra-wide view of the field.

Sometimes, I felt it was annoying to see the switches between the HD and SD programs. I'd say that's probably the biggest disadvantage of having a HDTV. Since you are so used (read: spoiled) to watching HD programs, when you go to a friends' place, you cant stand to watch SDTVs. Another con is that you end up watching channels that you never used to just because they are on HD - like INHD and Discovery HD. Even on those programs that are broadcast on HD, the commercials may or may not be on HD - which is what irks me the most. How hard (or expensive) would it be for the networks to make sure that the experience is smoother to the viewers. I kinda feel that the whole HDTV experience isnt ready for "primetime" although I dont see people waiting for it to become ready - thanks to the free-falling HDTV prices and the push by TV networks and studios.

It's a great ice-breaker and conversational piece when you have guests over at your house. Overall, it has changed my TV viewing experience like how DVR had changed it a couple of years ago.

Most Annoying Program Ever

The "Most Annoying Program Ever" award goes to McAfee Security Center. Here are its accomplishments to win this prestigious award:

• When all I want is an Anti-Virus software, why am I being forced to use Email & IM Protection, Parental Controls, Windows Firewall, Anti-Spyware, System Guard, Identity Protection and hundred other features that I dont need.
• You know a program is evil when it takes up major percentage of your CPU irrespective of whether you are actually doing anything or not.
• Why, oh, why does it start a scan of my machine when I have clearly configured it to "never start" a scheduled scan?
• And why when I decide that I dont need any IM scanning it considers and repeatedly warns every time that "my computer is not protected".
• When it has 7 (yes, seven) processes running all the time in your system - one of which keeps checking whether there's an update or not every 10 minutes or so.

I can't wait to switch to a Mac which I plan to do this later this year. And if you know or ever meet someone from McAfee, please give them my peace of mind.