Tablets and Mobile - How Handheld Electronic Games Started a Mobile Revolution

Did you have a Mattell Auto Race (above, 1976) or a Mattell Handheld Football (1977) electronic game growing up?  Coleco also made a number of handheld electronic games.  (BTW, Coleco stands for Connecticut Leather Company!)

If you played handheld electronic games growing up, you helped start the mobile revolution we're enjoying today in ultra books, phablets, smartphones, wearables, and now the Internet of Things.

In the 80's we started flirting with mobile business devices... really no more than glorified calculators.  It was really in the mid-90's that things picked up.  Did you ditch your DayTimer for a Palm Pilot?  Know what an Apple Newton was?  Did you have the then-awesome Windows Mobile 6.5 phone?

After spending more than five years working with cloud computing, 18 consulting in IT, and a lifetime as a gadget geek I've participated in most of our major steps toward mobility over the last 30 years:

• Handheld electronic (and video) games
• Mobile phones
• Digital organizers
• Laptops
• Smart phones
• Netbooks
• Convertible touchscreens
• Tablets
• Phablets (smart phones with REALLY big screens)
• Wearables
• Mega and mini tablets

After all this time, are we there yet?  Has the vision painted for us in the 60's by Gene Roddenberry in Star Trek finally been realized?  (See the original Communicator device, pictured below.)

Yes.  And No.  On one hand, I have more computing power in my pocket than supercomputers had 20-years ago.  Unfortunately, however, I still cannot talk to it in natural speech and have it respond likewise in a useful fashion.

We've actually gone backward somewhat.  My Windows Mobile 6.5 had really useful voice commands that could control much of the functionality on the phone.  It couldn't really talk back to me, but that was fine by me at the time.

Today, my Windows Phone 8.1 talks to me quite well.  I love Cortana... I think she's amazing and is going to be a defining feature for Windows Phone.  Unfortunately, however, she (and her wicked step-sister, Siri) is really only good at understanding my speech for the purpose of searching the web at this point.  There are some voice commands, but it's not nearly at the level I had in Windows Mobile 6.5 - over four years ago.

So, how did the electronic games of yesteryear lead to a mobile revolution?  The real trick was learning to miniaturize the technology.  At first we had circuit boards with large transistors and LEDs... not LCDs... LEDs.  Our "pixels" we're almost the size of an eraser on a pencil!  And sound on the devices was comprised of beeps of various pitches and lengths.

MSI nMOS chip made in 1977

When the first large-scale integration (LSI) circuits appeared in the mid-1970's a true revolution in micro computing was born.  For the first time, thousands of transistors could be compressed to fit on a chip that fit in your hand and be combined with many more on a circuit board.  For a good feel for what miniaturizing computer technology was like you should watch the first few episodes of Halt and Catch Fire, the new AMC series... where they work on developing one of the first laptop computers... LCD screen and all.

Fast forward 20 years to 2004... the release of the Nintendo DS.  A marvel of modern computing and miniaturization, the DS and its successors the DSi, 2DS and 3DS have owned the handheld video gaming market for the last 10 years and show no sign of stopping despite continued competition from Sony with the PSP and more recently with the Vita.  There were others - they were rapidly forgotten.  The only credible threat to the Nintendo DS is likely the device we all keep in our pockets all day... our smart phones.  With instant access to free and paid games and graphics and sound that now exceed those on most gaming systems, how long will it be before the era of the dedicated handheld gaming device ends?

In any case, I'd like to personally thank Mattel and Coleco for getting the ball rolling.  I'm a life long gamer and am looking forward to seeing if the next 20 years is as exciting as the last 20 has been!

From gamers of all ages everywhere... thank you Mattel!

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Rebranding my Blog

This morning I was reviewing my blog after posting the update about mobile computing yesterday and I realized... I haven't been posting about any topics aside from mobile and cloud computing for months now.  I like these two subjects and I find that there is lots to talk about that is relevant not just to technical people but to end users and decision makers.

So, I've decided that Consulting Notes is no longer an appropriate title for the blog.  To reflect the content that dominates my articles I have changed the name to "Cloud Notes by Scott Cameron."  I apologize for any confusion this may create for existing readers.  The old content is still here for those that want it, I'm just not going to focus on delivering content for consultants and IT providers any more.  Many of the topics I cover will be of interest to them I am sure, however.

The focus of my content will for the most part be on mobile and cloud computing topics.  I will try to use non-technical language as much as possible to make the content accessible to those not in the IT industry.  That doesn't mean there won't be some good technical nuggets in there as well, though.  I hope you find the topics I cover illuminating and am looking forward to a good discussion.

Thanks for reading!

Smartphones, Tablets and All Things Mobile

I was recently asked "What's the one hot technology to watch in 2011?" and my response was immediate: Mobile devices without a doubt.

The explosion of new form factors for mobile computing is staggering to behold. Smartphones and tablets are changing the face of information technology.  New devices are released monthly and highly anticipated by users.  Owners of mobile devices fanatically scour the app stores for good deals on the highest rated apps.  Services ranging from Netflix access, to CRM software, to electronic medical records (EMR) are revolutionizing how and more importantly WHERE we access and interact with our digital lives.  When combined with cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) the possibilities are staggering.

Smartphones have been a challenge for the enterprise for several years now. Starting with the Blackberry and then moving through Windows Mobile, Apple ios and now Google Android, end-users are demanding mobile access to corporate resources with their personal equipment and businesses are being forced to support them. It's not just rank and file information workers either, executives have bought in to the productivity gains to be had by delivering high-quality mobile products on the smartphone platform. And most everyone agrees... mobile is just plain fun.

Regarding tablets, some consider them just a larger form factor smartphone, but they're only partly right. Many consider them mainly entertainment devices, but that's only the start. Tablet computers (iPad and now Android and maybe Microsoft Windows 8 and the Playbook) are a new type of device with many of the capabilities of a full desktop or notebook computer, but that run an embedded "system on a chip." This category of device is changing how operating systems are developed and delivered. Trying to understand how having a single-chip appliance with all of the capabilities of a desktop computer will change information technology is going to be a full time occupation for R&D analysts for the next several years.

Mobile technologies are the place to watch this year. They're rapidly maturing after being in the marketplace for several years now. Businesses are in the process of determining how they can harness their capabilities and as we see new products come to market that take full advantage of the mobility that we've been granted by them there's going to be a massive change in how people interact with their information technology systems.

For a taste of how "hot" mobile is check out the articles linked here:
1. This cnet article mentions that almost 20 BILLION apps have been downloaded from the Apple and Google marketplaces. Apple developers alone have made over $4.5 billion since the release of the Apple App Store in 2008.
2. Susan Fogerty at TechTarget wrote a great article about the surging popularity of tablets today. According to their research, tablets lead even smartphones as the mobile technology of choice for 2011. Both technologies far outstrip traditional notebook computers in their survey.
3. Gartner analyzes tablet use in the enterprise in the final link. Gartner says that tablets are neither "better laptops" nor "better smartphones" but will compliment and enhance both.

Keep your eyes on mobile technologies in 2011 and 2012 and you won't be disappointed.

Links:

• http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20069658-17/study-app-downloads-to-hit-ne...
• http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/news/2240036570/Tablet-growth-i...
• http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1618814

A Taste of the Cloud

For those who don't know what's possible with mobile computing and cloud services I thought I'd do a little analysis of which core business functions you can provide to highly mobile people.

If you are in and out of the office but need to have full access to everything regardless of where you are, now is a good time for you. Here are some of the top services companies use and examples of how you can take them on the road:

1. E-mail - open up your Microsoft Outlook program sitting in the office, at Starbucks, on the road in a hotel over their wifi.  It works the same no matter where you are.  Just use it the way you always have.  Simple.  Easy.  Powerful.
2. Mobile - get your e-mail on your phone.  Get your calendar and contacts too.  It's all synchronized over the internet with your corporate e-mail system.  Lose your phone? Securely wipe its memory remotely, get another one and resync.  All of your data is right back on the new phone in minutes.  Access your apps from your phone too if they're compatible - and more of them are every day.
3. CRM - much like e-mail, you can access it from anywhere.  Some CRM apps are 100% web based, but others are increasingly designed to work over the internet with their central servers hosted in the cloud.
4. ERP - if it's web-enabled it's easy to access your ERP from anywhere, and many of them are now.  Even those that aren't web-enabled are easy to set up for remote access with technology like Remote Desktop Services that is included with Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and later.  You click an icon on your desktop, are prompted for your logon, and the app pops up just like it does in the office.  You can even print to a local printer if you like without fighting device drivers.

What's a day like in a technology-enabled small business owner's life?  In the following example, John is the owner of Nebraska Widget Company (NWC):
6:00 AM
The alarm on John's phone goes off and first reads (yes, speaks aloud!) him today's weather forecast and then lists his appointments for the day.  He hits the snooze button and it reminds him again in 10 minutes but this time plays some music from his collection so he can listen while getting ready for the day.
8:00 AM
John meets some fellow business owners for breakfast at a networking meeting.  He has a couple leads to share and instead of passing around business cards, he pulls up the contact on his phone, bumps the phone against his friend's phone and the contact is automatically transferred.
8:30 AM
While at the meeting John gets a call from the office.  He needs to approve a contract for a new client that wants to order some widgets and if he waits until he can get to the office he'll lose the contract.  John turns on his tablet computer, brings up his e-mail in Outlook, gives it a minute to sync on-line and then checks for the important e-mail with the contract.  He clicks a link in the e-mail which brings him to a web page where he can review and e-sign the contract.  He does so and the application generates signed PDF copies for both him and the client and delivers it to them by e-mail.  He wirelessly sends the PDF to his portable printer so he can hand a physical copy to his new client later.
10:00 AM
John drives to the new client's office... the one he just signed the contract for.  He has never been to this office, just his sales staff, but he wants to close the deal in person.  He needs directions.  He presses the listen button on his phone and tells it "Navigate to ACME Block Company."  The phone uses his GPS in combination with his e-mail contact list to look up and give him turn-by-turn spoken directions to the client's office.  He signs the deal, shakes hands, never calling the office for help.
12:00 PM Lunch
Since he has been busy all day, John hasn't had a chance to keep up with the news.  There's a big merger going down with one of his clients in Texas.  John is in Nebraska.  He wants to listen to the local news radio show in Texas though.  No problem, he connects his wireless stereo Bluetooth headphones to the phone, starts his world radio app and then selects the right station in Texas.  He listens to the broadcast streamed over the internet while he eats.
1:00 PM
John goes in to the office, docks his tablet computer so it can charge and plugs in his phone so it can too.  He checks in with his admin person and she has already processed the contract he signed, sent the order for processing and submitted it to the billing department.
1:30 PM
Wondering how the new order for widgets is coming along he opens up his corporate dashboard in his internet browser.  The dashboard has several tabs across the top and on the front page lists important and recent items.  The order for his new client is listed at the top of the recent item list.  He clicks the item and the reviews the status page, verifying the right number and type of widgets.  He clicks the "Verified" button and the status changes to show that the order has been verified.  The order is forwarded for payment to the billing department and is processed to his client's credit card within minutes.  The order status then changes to "Shipping".
2:00 PM
John has a sales meeting with his staff.  They sit down, pull up the company dashboard on a projector screen and review their pipeline.  The CRM program they use ties in and all the sales execs record their opportunities and wins in it.  He does a simple sort of open opportunities and identifies some key items for his staff to concentrate on using charts and graphs that are all generated on the fly with live CRM and ERP data.
3:00 PM
An e-mail comes in notifying John that the widget order has been completed, shipped and billed.  A notification has also been sent to the client letting them know the status.  Their e-mail includes a survey to be returned, however.
4:00 PM
John receives another e-mail.  It's the survey results from his client.  In the 3 key areas of responsiveness, value and service the client scored them with top marks.  John clicks a link in the e-mail approving the survey.  The survey is tabulated in the system automatically and pushed live out to the NWC web site where it appears in the "Recent Wins" section on the front page.
5:00 PM
John packs up and heads home to get caught up on some e-mail and review the latest numbers from the billing department.  He opens up his tablet computer out on the deck and connects wirelessly in to the corporate server with a single click.

All of this and more is possible with the right technology and the right partners.

What Makes Sense in the Cloud - TODAY

So it's been a while since I talked about why you might not want to jump in to the cloud yet. Let's talk about why now is a great time to get your feet wet.

Cloud services have matured and the product offerings in the marketplace have really come a long way in the last 24 months. In 2009 we had the bare beginnings of cloud services and the only real mainstream services were Salesforce, Google Apps and some mail applications (Yahoo, Google, Hotmail, etc.) Since then the options have EXPLODED and we're already on version 2 or later of some of the more prominent ones.

If your organization uses Exchange e-mail but has less than 100 users you might be very interested now in Microsoft Business Productivity Online Services (BPOS). For a fixed, low, monthly fee per user you get the full functionality of Exchange - hosted in the cloud. The experience is almost identical to the end user. A short and easy migration gets you off your old Small Business Server or Exchange server and you're now a highly-mobile fully-functional mail user.

Microsoft will be releasing their upgraded version of BPOS in the next few months. It's being re-branded as Office 365 and they are expanding the products offered along with it. For instance, you can now purchase hosted Exchange (and get Sharepoint for collaboration, Lync for instant messaging and presence, and LiveMeeting for group training/presentations) for $6 per user per month. If you don't have the latest version of Microsoft Office on your computer and would like it too you can pay $24 per month per user.

So, now you can rapidly turn up and down the number of e-mail boxes and even the number of Office licenses you're paying for. Those Office licenses are $399+ each if you buy them up front and you pay for them regardless of whether you use them or not!

Take it a step further... you can now rent workstations or laptops (and servers!) with an included service agreement... and without going through financing... from many I.T. service shops. You've been doing this with mobile phones for a while, and lately you've seen it in printers. You choose a level of service you want, sign up for a contract term and the hardware is included. Many of these services allow you to increase and decrease the number of machines as needed.

So, scale up your number of computers and all the software required as needed. If you cut down on staff you're not stuck with the equipment and software investment... simply return it and stop paying for the unused items.

You can purchase many items this way: printers, computers, MS Office software, antivirus software, e-mail services, ERP applications, accounting software, CRM software... the list goes on and on. If you have a savvy trusted advisor talk to them about what options make sense for you. You'll want to have an analysis of the services done and compare the cost of hosting the applications and hardware yourself to the cost of outsourcing. Get a full proposal and shop it to make sure you're getting the best deal with the right combination of hardware, software and services.

So, back to the original question: What Makes Sense in the Cloud Today?

The answer is... everything that makes sense. Do your homework. If you can push it to the cloud and maintain your quality of service while decreasing costs get to it!

Apples, iPhones and Business

Over the last 24 months or so I've noticed a trend in some of my clients toward using more Apple devices. Considering the business market and Apple's continuing penetration I guess I should have seen it coming. I have lots of users with iPhones now and while that's annoying (because they didn't ask me before buying them) the more disturbing issue is that they're insisting on having Macs on their desks - to run Windows.

What's up with this? Why are clients buying Apples to run Windows? They're more expensive to buy. They're definitely more expensive to support on a business network. I guess they're more concerned with being trendy than being productive?

A friend of mine is looking for a new computer and getting advice from everyone under the sun. She's a long time Windows user and is seriously considering purchasing a Mac. I did some research on Google using the keywords "Apple Windows Comparison", "Mac Versus Windows" and the like. I found mostly Apple propaganda and enthusiasts and very little in the way of real-world business evaluations of the two.

So, here are some of the considerations I came up with:

1. The Mac is very different than Windows. You do everything in new ways and will need to learn how to use a computer all over again.
2. If you’ve never touched a computer before, learning to use a Mac may be easier than using Windows. If you've used Windows before its not.
   
3. If you exchange files and interact mostly with people that use Windows, your life will be easier if you use Windows also.
4. Macs don’t always run the same programs Windows does. If you have computer software you’ve been using in Windows, the Mac may or may not have a version of it. If it does, you’ll likely have to pay again for the Mac version.
5. I can’t help you with a Mac, so if you get one make sure you have a Mac expert you can call. If the local Apple store offers that for free (or more likely for a charge) then that might help. If you don’t have a local Mac store then you’ll be calling their tech support.
6. Macs are definitely trendier than Windows computers. (Is this really a good reason to buy a computer?)
   
7. Macs are better for people who do graphic design and for musicians that use computers in their art. (Not so much any more, but still somewhat true...)

So, understanding that I'm going to need to deal with supporting Macs and iPhones, one of my techs is now running Windows on a Mac and using an iPhone to connect to our corporate Exchange server. I'm not happy about un-standardizing our environment, but as a service provider we always tend to be test beds anyway I guess.

By the way... iPhones cost $150/mo compared with a PDA phone (HTC Diamond Pro or Palm Pre) at Sprint for $100/mo for comparable unlimited minute/data plans. That's another topic I think. Are iPhones really worth an additional $600/mo per year?