Intermingling Outlooks on Business and Technology

Multiple Operating System Syndrome

My laptop is running Windows 7 which makes for a smooth transition from the machines I use at work and the machine I use at home,  I drag a window and pop it clicks in no matter what the machine. (I love this new feature)

BUT

I am slowly using my laptop less and less because of the iPad. I have had the iPad 1 for over  a year and at first it was just fun and I used it all the time for fun, but now I am starting to depend on it more and more for the mudane needs I might have.  Checking the weather, reading the newspaper, looking up an unrecognized bird, flower or word, reading the latest favorite book.

BUT this isn't quite where the trouble starts to occur. I can handle two different operating systems and their full application suite differences, the iPad Apple OS and Apps and the laptop(s) and desktop Microsoft Windows 7 OS and "apps". If I couldn't handle two I wouldn't be in the field that I am in (technology) 

The difficulty starts when I start introducing even more. For instance I now have the Windows Mobile 7 Phone and it's marketplace. Now you would think that it is Microsoft so pretty good fit with the Windows 7 laptop and desktop, and to a certain extent it is. I can get Office on my phone and it looks and feels pretty much like my office applications on my desktop. Still it is different. There are applications in the Windows Marketplace for Mobile that are empowering and yet not available to me on my laptop or desktop.  So the Windows Phone makes my third daily use operating system.

Now the challenging part : The Family network tripped me up this weekend an age old question of multiple devices and operating systems with a need to be on the same network!

Over the last six months my family has pretty much migrated to the iPhone. In fact of the five of us I am the only one without one and we are all starting to talk about Video Calls. Carl mentioned over the weekend that he uses FaceTime all the time with his friends.

So I went on a search this weekend in the Windows Marketplace for a video phone call app for the Windows Mobile 7 phone and I failed :( I also realized that even if I find a video phone call app the hope that it would be compatible with iPhone's facetime is pretty slim.

Now it would make sense if it WAS! but alas we have a competitive motivator to make sure it is not.  

So although I like a LOT of things about my Windows Phone 7 this weekend I was sort of wishing I had an iPhone.

Lastly .. don't even get me started with Android. Everyone at work was scratching their head when I didn't upgrade to Google's offering, but my reasoning was clear to me. Why introduce a totally new vendor into the mix?

Now just watch - I am going to find a video conferencing app in Google's Android store :( that is compatible with iPhone's facetime.

Shoot maybe I should just get one of each and setup a control panel at home where I can drop each into it's respective seat.  I could even repurpose the retired blackberry from my home inventory.

 

 

Sharing Inspiration for Thought

Michael Maoz over at Gartner was thinking on Social Media and Peter Drucker and he captured a thought that rang so true that I thought it was worth sharing!  

"Terms like ‘knowledge worker’ trace back to Drucker more than anyone else. Warning organizations to be more enlightened about supporting lifetime learning? That was Drucker. While all of the quants were sucking money from the marrow of the worker to turn over to hedge funds and shareholders, Drucker was focused on how an ethical relationship of the enterprise with the employee, and an ethical relationship between customer and enterprise would set a course of success."

I love two key concepts in this little section.

The first is a corporate culture of lifetime learning. In this world of fast paced change and new technologies how can one not keep learning?

The second is the whole concept of an ethical relationship within the world of business. As we move to a more and more transparent model continuing to work towards mutual respect and win/win is something worth being reminded of.  

New England CIOs, Techies, Developers, Geeks and SQL Passionatos

Come bring your energy and passion for Databases to the Southern New England SQL User Group!

When:            March 09, 2011 6:00PM - 9:00PM

Where:           Hall of Fame Room at New England Tech

Speaker:          John Miner

Topic:            "Leveraging Transaction SQL 2008 to solve business problems (Part I)"

 

This presentation will review how to build a database solution from the ground up using SQL commands.  What if you were a SQL Server developer at a local consulting company tasked with creating a database for a local Boy Scout of America (BSA) Troop, where would you begin? The following topics will be reviewed to make sure you have a successful data storage solution.

Defining the Database:

Defining file groups for the database, Creating schemas to separate tables by functionality, Creating normalized tables to hold the BSA data, Adding data integrity to the design with constraints/triggers, Adding referential integrity to the design with primary/foreign keys, Adding logins/users and granting rights

Loading initial Data:

Loading data into staging area with BULK INSERT, OPENROWSET or BCP, Quick review of TSQL statements for TRANSACTIONS, CONTROL FLOW, and ERROR HANDLING, Writing Stored Procedures to move staging data to production, Schedule Procedures using SQL Server Agent

Giving Developers Access:

Using stored procedures to lock down CRUD (create, read, update, and delete) operations, Using functions and views to look at the data differently.

In my next presentation, I will be going over advance topics such as PARTITIONING – for keeping track of all those Christmas Trees they sell each year, FILESTREAM – for showing images of the merit badges they might earn, SPATIAL – for keeping track of GPS latitude and longitude coordinates when hiking, and XML for interacting with other systems via messages.

John Miner has twenty years of data processing and proven project management experience, specializing in the banking, health care, and government areas. His architecture expertise encompasses all phases of the project life cycle, including design, development, implementation, and maintenance.

His credentials include a Masters degree in Computer Science from the University of Rhode Island with concentrations in database technologies and programming languages. He has Microsoft Certificates for Database Administration (MCDBA) and System Administration (MCSA).

 

A short life

We lose touch
Was it really so long ago?
When we spent every day together,
When we broke new records for # of hours on the phone?
When we knew each others dreams
And shared so many hopes?
When tears were shared as often as laughs,
When deep pain was not part of our world?

Today I learned that a very dear friend from high school's son died. I met him as a toddler and in the blink of an eye he is a teenager and gone. I am so sorry to have missed the chance at getting to know him. His mom is incredibly special and I know our world is a better place because he lived and loved and dreamed.

Being Thankful

I am thankful for the health of my family members and the joy and health that so many of them experience.

I am thankful for the people I work with, who all bring to my life extra insight, and perspectives that force me to think, learn, and flex. Sometimes with joy, sometimes with frustration and sometimes with pure misunderstanding.

I am thankful for being able to prepare, enjoy and share the meal that my husband and I just shared. Timed so that all was hot, rich and steamy and for the dish washer that made the dishes so easy to get done! (as well as the washing machine that is taking care of that big gravy stain)

I am thankful for all my contacts who might not know me as well as my family, but who have shared with me the passion of technology meeting people's needs and who continue to believe in the possibilities.

I am thankful for all of my friends on facebook who have tolerated my happy posts and understood my sad ones.

I am thankful for the social media tools that allow me to mix and mingle in a wide variety of audiences. Offering me the ability to stay connected in worlds that I don't get a chance to currently physically participate in. Providing me with answers when I am stuck on tough questions and offering me perspective and smiles from all corners of the earth.

and there is so much more I can be thankful for. Sometimes I have to wonder why I ever get in a bad mood, why I am ever unhappy, why I ever get angry or disappointed. For each frustration, there is a balancing joy - for each grief a shread of light.

May all that read this be blessed with the vision to see the positives as well as the strength to cope with the negatives on the road of life.

Information Shared - ITA Fall Collaborative

 
It is that time of year when one of my favorite associations is finalizing their annual meeting for members and non-members. Mark your calendar for Nov 7-9th.

This association focuses on a set of three  audiences. Each comprised of an elite group. 

1. Large ERP Value added Resellers and Vendors with the ITA Consultants and Reseller track.
2. CIOs/CTOs in industry particularly those people managing the technology decisions at the largest consulting firms in the world with their Internal Technology Leaders - ITL Track.
3. Managed Service Providers and Information Services, Information Technology specialists with the ITA Infrastructure and Managed Services Providers track

This year the conference is in Salt Lake City and I would love to be there, but alas I am now in a different audience. Still my time with ITA over the last 10 years has been invaluable so I am sharing the secret. The small group automosphere and the shared information from some of the best, most profitable minds in the business is priceless.

To get more information, the below is a little bit more on the bundled content.

 You know you can count on getting a great deal of valuable insight (and help) from your peers during all the network time you’ll have at the meeting, but we also have sessions that should provide immediate take home value as well:

For Consultants and Resellers – 2 full CR tracks.

•  The Cloud and How To Make It Work For You. This multi-session “deep dive” will give you a strategic overview of the dynamics of SaaS and Cloud based Computing, insight from a panel of SaaS vendor members, and the benefit of the real world experiences of a panel of members with SaaS based practices.  
• Reenergizing Yourself, Your Business, and Your Top People
• Business Changes around Taxes, Health Care, and SBA Incentives
• Emerging Opportunities – with emphasis on adding more services to your existing client base and changing clients perceptions of your value and role in their world. 
• Social Media - Member Survey Results 
• And more

 For Infrastructure and Managed Services Providers – 1 complete ITC track

•  Legal and Licenses Complexities with MSP and Hosting Services
• 2010 SharePoint and Internal Use Portals
• Security Issues Surrounding Apple and Droid based Devices 
• New Technologies and Ways to Improve The Practice – a panel discussion of ideas and tools that are making a difference.
• And more

 For Internal Technology Leaders – 2 ITL tracks.

•  The Firm of the Future – two sessions, one reflecting Gartner’s view on how Professional Services firms will work in the future, and a second on the ways that the roles within IT will change as a result.
• A 6 Sigma look at the CPA Practice – a case study look at the work being done at McGladrey 
• Integrating Apple and Droid Devices – a panel on the different policies and practices members are adopting.
• CCH and Thomson Roadmap updates
• HTML5 vs SilverLight vs Flash
• Windows 7 – Lessons Learned To date
•  Portals and Client Stickiness Initiatives
•  Email and Document Retention – a panel look at different policies and practices.
•  Enterprise Data Management – what the mergers might mean to you.
•   And more

 Plus, two great Keynote Sessions – one that will humor and energize you, and the other that will teach you essential success readiness skills. And of course, the famous Monday night dinner party, which we think will be especially fun and entertaining this year!

The Fall Collaborative meeting is ITA’s signature event - Don’t miss it!

In addition to the details in the attached “brochure”, we will be sending emails over the next 2-3 weeks introducing you to our newest ITA members, and the speakers who will provide great added value to the ITA community.  We encourage you to learn more about them before the meeting, and then to meet with them at the Vendor Reception Party on Sunday night the 7^th.

See you there –  Ron and Jo Ann

   

 

 

 

Checking out new things - Groupon

Latest cool thing  I am checking out  Groupon!  http://www.groupon.com/r/uu6931759

 I am tapping into it for the discounts and to get to know this area a bit more. Maybe it would be useful in your area as well.

White Noise

If you haven't noticed the world has become a noisy place. To counter balance this noise many large offices have introduced the concept of background white noise.

Well, I for one, am not a fan. Perhaps I am unusual, but I like quiet particularly when I have a lot of hard concentration to do to get done what I need to get done.

Needless to say today I really appreciated reading this article on some of the recent studies about white noise and productiviity.

To Quote: "Several studies have indicated that stress resulting from ongoing white noise can induce the release of cortisol, a hormone that helps to restore homeostasis in the body after a bad experience. Excess cortisol impairs function in the prefrontal cortex-an emotional learning center that helps to regulate "executive" functions such as planning, reasoning and impulse control. Some recent evidence indicates that the prefrontal cortex also stores short-term memories. Changes to this region, therefore, may disrupt a person's capacity to think clearly and to retain information."

and here I thought some of my senior moments were really "senior moments" now I can just blame them on noise. Oh and excess cortisol is also involved in weight gain so reducing stress has more than just health benefits, it can also help you control those pounds that keep just creeping on.

The iPad experience

I was honored with the chance to experience ownership of an iPad

And the last couple of weeks have been fun.

I have not only experienced a new device, but also Apple as a vendor. Apple and I go way back to the apple 2e, but over the last couple of years they have not been in my world very heavily.

So what has it been like?

I am enjoying the refreshing changes to things like the keyboard layout and the approach to applications.

I am also missing some old favorite like the back button on every screen or an undo.

Some of the apps make me grin and others well others show potential, but are far from there and the app vendor will have to step up.

Overall refreshing.

Top Tips and Increasing this blogs Lifetime Page Views

90727

 

Seems to me that we can easily push this number over the 100,000 mark. What can I blog about that will be of particular interest and value?

 

Some of my Favorite Tips

 

1) Free Conference Calls! www.freeconferencecalls.com Most people now have an IP Phone, a mobile phone or unlimited service and as such a long distance number isn't a big deal. This service really is cool for those who want a professional, organized, reminders included, FREE Conference calling option.

 

2) Quick, Easy, Small batch and Professional Business Cards and Brochures! Vista Print www.vistaprint.com The spam gets to be a bit much, but the ability to upload your own graphics or pick from some great canned ones and quickly make a handful of business cards is awesome. Tie them to Microsoft Tag and look out!

 

3) The Microsoft Action Pack: Are you out there running a small IT Professional business? Helping small businesses leverage Microsoft technology? You need the Microsoft Action Pack so that your business can use all the great software you sell every day! Price? One very low subscription price. You also need to know about Eric Ligman and his MS Small Biz blog!!

 

4) Grassroots Marketing? Twitter, Hootsuite, Blogging (typepad.com), Facebook Pages, LinkedIn Groups and Company Follows. Just Do It!  

 

5) Events: Buttons, Stickers, Remember me by items, your own eStore: CafePress at www.cafepress.com or higher quality shirts then perhaps Zazzle at www.Zazzle.com

 

 

 

Keeping up with the Tweet Reading

Visible Tweets offers a really fun way to catchup on your twitter feeds. You can query on a specific person or on a subject of interest.

Check It Out at http://visibletweets.com/

Reasons to iPad

Barnes & Nobel's eReader is now available on the iPad. OK I have to admit it - that is a good reason to reconsider ownership.

Technology general tools, features, functionalities - I have those on my laptop and they are easier to use on my laptop then perhaps an iPad. The eReader now that is something that on a laptop just doesn't do it for me and on a phone well forget it and as it's own device, why have one more device?

Combine some of the features of the laptop, an eReader and perhaps one or two other nice to half utilities and we are talking about a motivating device.

Internet Radio - Tip of the Day

Check out Pandora Radio

 

An internet radio station that learns

 

You choose the Genre, you listen to songs, you optionally indicate which songs you like more than others and it then only offers similar songs for you to try in the future.

 

Cool Stuff!

 

The new world of voice control.

A hand can only have as much dexterity as a specific person can learn, but what if we replaced the movement of the hand with the power and depth of voice.

"Susumu Harada is a Ph.D candidate in the Computer Science and Engineering department at University of Washington."  Check out what he has been working on: Vocal Joystick Project. "The system uses a method of vowel sounds to move the mouse, and discrete constant sounds to click the mouse buttons."

When it comes to Social Networking's future Foursquare and Localization become something to get your mind around. http://www.relationship-economy.com/?p=9557&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRelationshipEconomy+%28The+Relationship+Economy......%29

Jim Glass has a nice little tip today over on his CRM RIFF blog at

http://blogs.msdn.com/jim_glass/archive/2010/03/30/tips-and-tricks-push-pop-ups-to-a-new-tab.aspx

Have you checked your IE settings recently?

Blogging from the 13th Annual Bryant University Women's Summit

Mmmm - Lots of sessions on Social Media, but a kickoff with a please restrain from texting in respect to the speakers.

Is sharing information live via blogging considered bad manners? #wsummit

Where oh Where is that RSS Feed setting?

Format Changes

Typepad continues to challenge me with new utilities, designs and options to choose from and as such I continue to change the blogs both to learn new things and just for fun.

Needless to say this blog has had a few changes.

Save Battery Power on your Android Phone

Do you have an Android Phone? Want to save some battery power? Check out this nice post on WikiHow. http://www.wikihow.com/Save-Battery-Power-on-an-Android

Add Voice to your Photos

Add voice to your photos and then share with your friends! I love it when technology comes out that stretches the envelopes into something new. Check out it Out at http://www.fotobabble.com/

A Shout Out to My New Orleans Friends

Despite the timing (it is Monday)

According to WikiHow -  It is National Margarita Day

National Margarita Day! Here are a few ways to celebrate.

Business Intelligence Development Studio

Looking for recommendations on favorite Business Intelligence Development Studio Blogs (BIDS)

If you have a favorite site it would be cool if you shared it!

Quote of the Day

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
- Arthur C. Clarke

Thoughts on Graphic Design

"Graphic design has been likened to a wine glass. When we drink wine we barely notice the glass it’s served in. It wouldn’t be true to say that we don’t care what glass we drink out of — we wouldn’t choose to drink a rare vintage out of a Tupperware mug, for example — but it’s the wine that matters, not the vessel it comes in" Adrian Shaughnessy

Mapping Technology Advances

Over the weekend I saw this great little video on new advances in mapping technologies. This industry is maturing so fast that all you need to do is wait a month or two and then take another peek. Some really big wows!

Augmented Reality Maps

If you are interested in the future and technology growth the TED blog and website are also a great ones to follow.

Dynamics CRM Thought of the Day: Have you tested your plugins for scalability?

Reviews are in and the new hair cut and style are a success.

Will Ping.FM update Google Buzz? We will have to wait and see. Google Buzz has now been added to my account.

Few people can see genius in someone who has offended them.
- Robertson Davies

But many times it is present and clearly visable