Do Not Seek to Understand…

by Rog42 on 19 May 2012

Project 2012: Day 140

Understanding can bring problems. Frustrations.

Sometimes we need to develop “muscle memory” or “intuition” or simply a counter-intuitive “reflex.” And at these times it’s more important not to try to understand, but just to “Do!”

In the Doing…

  • After hours of playing scales, you understand the intricacies of music, and the best way to play the instrument.
  • After hours of coding, patterns begin to emerge that take your problem solving to a higher plane
  • After miles of riding on the road in every weather and traffic condition, you react in the safest manner.
  • After weeks of attending tedious meetings, you begin to understand the informal power structures and influence points.

“Do not seek to understand, simply do…
…in the doing, comes the understanding!”

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Cloud in the Enterprise–Agility 2–Mobile Computing

by Rog42 on 18 May 2012

Project 2012: Day 139

Last week we introduced the topic of Agility for the enterprise, three main areas we can approach to remove/reduce latency, then focussed on Real Time Intelligence.

This week’s post is to explore in a little more detail the topic of Mobile Computing.

 

 

 

The Latest Fad or Imperative Opportunity?

There is no question that mobility is one of the big tech trends sweeping the world today. I joke with my dad that as a parent he never had to have a communications budget, IT refresh cycle, or helpdesk. I do.

Even at home I’ve noticed a shift from my eldest two spending hours in their room on their desktops, to the younger two on their laptops in the lounge room, to now everyone on a phone or a tablet.

Of course this doesn’t only occur at home, but pretty much anywhere.

The same is true at work. It was only ever the senior execs that used to bother with email on their phone. Well them and the email administrators. Today, more people get their work email on their phone than don’t.

More than Email

But mobility is a lot more than email. As mentioned last week, mobile computing allows us to remove the latency between where work is completed, and the IT systems that need updating. I believe that as CIO/CTO’s we need to consider 4 areas carefully:

  1. Architecting not only the front end systems for any device access, but also the back end systems for anywhere delivery.
  2. Managing Mobile Devices, whether looking to BYOD or not, any device that enables a corporate process needs SLA’s. If for no other reason than being able to prioritise core processes.
  3. Matching Devices effectively. Mobility is more than smartphones and tablets. Whilst multi-use devices, enabled with software make sense in an increasing number of contexts, single use devices still make sense in others.
  4. Securing against all risks to the enterprise. As with management, every access of corporate data presents a tangible risk to the organisation. This risk needs to be managed.

1. Architecture

When looking at providing mobile access to applications via smartphones and tablets, the question is often asked: “Native App or Mobile Web Site?”

Of course, there is no straight answer. I do know of a large web travel firm that decided their B2C mobile strategy would be to create a mobile website rather than an app. At the outset this seemed to make sense as they didn’t believe they needed access to the phone hw (GPS, Camera etc) and they wanted to provide access to a large number of devices with version 1.

The issue came in testing. Suddenly they found that testing required 12 devices (just iPhones) because they were getting different errors depending on:

  • The phone model (3Gs, 4) Note: This was over a year ago, today there would be more models.
  • The phone OS (iOS n & n-1)
  • The cellular network used to connect to the Internet (Telstra, Optus, VHA)

Had they decided on a native app many of these issues are catered for in the OS API model.

The issue with native apps is the skill sets you need to develop for multiple mobile OS’s, and on some platforms, like Android for multiple device chasses (screen sizes, hw inclusions etc.)

Finally with mobile apps, it’s not true that a .NET, Linux, or Objective-C developer can just develop a mobile phone application. There are a number of constraints, such as memory management, screen size, I/O peripherals, loose connectivity, power management etc. that simply don’t translate from the desktop world.

As to your back-end systems, many of these are architected for a Client/Server, or n-tier delivery model. I.e. for powerful machines on fast networks. So when considering mobile device access, you have the opportunity to shift to an SOA approach.

This is definitely a compelling time to move systems to the cloud (whether private, or public)

Consider your email. If more users are accessing their email on a mobile device from airports, coffee-shops, or home, i.e. outside the corporate firewall, than on; why have the messaging servers on corporate premises? Moving them to the cloud reduces your vulnerability footprint (it changes the security model), increases access, and removes CapEx, future system upgrades etc.

The same can be said for all applications.

2. Device Management

Again there is no rule on whether the organisation should provide hw, and lock down the management; or whether you should allow or even force people to bring their own device.

Either way there are a number of considerations:

  • Installing, upgrading, and supporting applications. Each device management model has their advantages, but at the end of the day, you’re going to need to enable users to access the systems they need to prosecute their job. Increasingly we see apps being deployed to App stores, and user self-service to distribute sw. Whilst this won’t work in every organisation, over time as the changing workforce is replaced by people who’ve been doing this since their teens, this will become the norm.
  • Device support. Users may be used to bringing their broken laptop for a replacement within hours. To wait for a consumer “next day replace” warranty may adversely affect their productivity. Not to mention satisfaction. Equally users may be constrained by having to use a corporate standard device, that has to go through rigorous testing, so is slower than the device they picked up at the local electronics superstore.
  • Lost devices. These cause a business risk, and it’s imperative, no matter your approach to be able to retrieve or wipe lost mobile devices.

3. Device Matching

Yes, I have the Kindle app on my laptops, iPad, and iPhone. But there is nothing that beats the reading experience on my Kindle. Weeks long battery, nice size screen, no problem outside in bright light, and no interruptions from email or social media.

The same is true in the warehouse. Whilst you can scan barcodes with an Android, Windows, or Apple phone, why do that if all you need to do is scan barcodes?

So here think of creative ways you can introduce rugged, inexpensive, durable single use devices to reduce latency. GPS trackers for logistics, barcode and RFID scanners, IP connected cameras, counters, the list goes on.

4. Security

The mainframe, mini, PC, and client/server paradigms where all about securing the IT systems. IDS/IPS systems, identity and access management systems, & firewalls are the “tools du jour”

Mobility (& cloud) shift the paradigm to thinking about the data. How can you secure the data in transit and at rest, no matter where the data ends up, or on what device.

Some of the considerations need to include a combination of role, device, and location. E.g. A solution that lets your Production Manager access their email on an iPad at home, but not the assembly line control system. For that they’d need to be on an approved device in the factory.

We’ve already mentioned lost devices. But what about devices that are just be “borrowed.” If we consider how to secure the data, rather than the network, we can still provide agility for the organisation, whilst managing the risks.

Conclusion

I’ve been helping organisations mobilise various IT systems for over a decade now. Yet even I find current technology unprecedented, and this will only accelerate. Think about the difference you could make to your organisation, not by reducing operational costs by 10%, but by giving sales staff 25% more time in the field, or reducing your Day Sales Outstanding by 1 day.

With mobility, IT has the opportunity to impact the business in a profound manner. The opportunity to create an agile organisation that can respond to business imperatives far quicker than today.

However, because of the consumerisation of IT, there is a very real risk for the business to bypass IT. They can afford personal devices, and procure public cloud applications like never before. As technology professionals we can take the lead, and direct our organisations to a secure, efficient, and most importantly, effective IT landscape.

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Finding the End of the Rainbow–the 6th Degree

by Rog42 on 17 May 2012

Project 2012: Day 138

I was privileged to be mentored by 2 great guys back in 2009 when working on my first start-up. Roger Kermode, who like me now works in the Office of the CTO at HP, and Tim Parsons, who is the CTO for Quickflix.

It was Tim who spoke about the 500 coffees. What I now refer to as “finding your 6 degrees.”

Working on the popular premise that every person on the planet is connected by no more than 6 people, from the John Guare play (and later film) “Six Degrees of Separation;” every start-up is no more than 6 degrees away from their investors, or their customers, or partners, or suppliers.

The trick of course is to find the right 6 connections.

This takes effort.

This is where the “500 coffees” comes in. Every person you connect to is either a potential stakeholder in your business [partner, employee, investor, client, supplier] or an introduction to a potential stakeholder.

Tips for your 500 coffees:

  • Never turn down an opportunity to catch up with someone. Even if it’s patently clear that there is no synergy between you, and they can’t help you in any way, there are still 2 areas of value spending time with someone can bring: 1) Everyone is a potential customer. If not now, sometime. 2) You never know who people know. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had a coffee with someone, and sparked a thought that led to “I really should introduce you to…”
  • Take active interest in your conversation partner. Again, they may add direct value to you, they may not. Only by listening to them, really finding out about what they’re passionate, frustrated, or worried about, will you uncover opportunities. Opportunities where you can add value to them, which brings me to:
  • Add value, always give more than your receive. In other words, become someone of value to the person you’re meeting. Again, they may not be your investor, but they may know the person, who introduces you to the person, who is friends with the brother of your investor. By constantly adding value you become known as someone “to be introduced to.” Reciprocation is our most basic, and powerful, principle of influence. Which leads to:
  • Always introduce someone else to your conversation partner. In fact in the TED talk (below) about levels of tribes, the 5th level is evidenced by people moving beyond: “I’m great” and even: “We’re great” to “Life is Great.” The way to change the world is to lead your tribe to change the world, and you can’t do that without nudging them forward. So form that triadic relationship that David Logan talks about…

That’s it. 500 coffees to find the right 6 connections to your pot of gold Hot smile

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Movie Review: Marvel’s “The Avengers”

by Rog42 on 16 May 2012

Project 2012: Day 137

What can I say that hasn’t already been said about this movie? David and Margaret gave the movie 3.5 and 4 stars. Critics have by and large praised the movie, but I think that the success will be evident in the box office.

Already I’ve seen the movie twice, and would gladly shell out my money to watch it again instead of other movies on the circuit. It really is that good. Well, I thought so anyway.

The Whedon Touch

Joss Whedon, of Firefly, Serenity (his only other movie to date), and Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame, is the writer, director, and co-producer of this movie. It shows.

There are very few creative writers in Hollywood at the moment (evidenced by the number of sequels we see, not to mention movies based on boring board games), and none that have the breadth and depth of mythology & psychology expertise of Whedon.

His hallmarks all on display. A tight dialogue that drives characterisation within 1 or 2 sentences. You immediately know the characters, who’s good, who’s bad, how characters should react, and enjoy the surprise when they shift out of character. On the one hand, Whedon masterfully brings these comic book heroes to life viscerally. On the other, he’s clearly constrained by their limitations. He doesn’t have the opportunity to create the delightful, eclectic mix of characters he had in say Firefly.

Other hallmarks are the witty, and often hilarious comedy he brings to the screenplay. There’s a scene where Loki, the antagonist, rails at the Hulk about his god status, and how the earth is beneath him. If you’ve seen the movie, you’re probably already chuckling again about the outcome.

Effects

As you’d expect the effects are breathtaking! They are on a scale right up there with Avatar, Transformers, Battleship etc.

Of course you have to suspend your disbelief at the door. But that’s why we go and watch these movies

3D

I saw the movie in 3D (just about the only option on opening night) and 2D. Whilst there are some effects that are magnified with 3D, the frustration of wearing the glasses easily outweighs the minimal benefits.

I enjoyed the movie as much, if not more, in 2D. Mostly because I didn’t have to wear those stupid glasses. The effects, and immersion of the movie is quite powerful enough without 3D.

Seriously, Hollywood: We don’t give a crap about 3D! At least not if we have to pay for and wear crappy 3D glasses.

Detractions

Loki isn’t evil enough. As a villain he’s more of a whiner, than a force to be reckoned with. He has none of the latent threat of Vader, or the scheming evil of Palpatine, none of the power of Sauroman. Although the real threat is with the alien race he’s working with, these are cardboard cut-outs and get nothing of the humanising treatment that Whedon gives the Avengers, or even Loki himself.

Frankly we saw Thor take on Loki, by himself in the past, why do we need all of the Avengers now. Loki teaming up with some other antagonists may’ve been more of a credible threat.

Also why is attacking New York the symbol of the entire earth at risk?

The scale wasn’t epic enough for me to really feel we needed all of the Avengers. I mean, who really cares if we lose one city (apart from the inhabitants of course). Over history we’ve had many more people killed by human dictators. 6m in the Holocaust (not to mention in the war), Stalin exterminated 85m people. These are threats to humanity, and the planet at a scale that boggles the mind.

In this the X-Men franchise is more credible, and ultimately more satisfying.

Rating

4.5 stars! See it, at least twice at the cinema, and buy the Blue Ray.

It’s true, I’m a Whedon fan through and through. His grasp of story, characterisation, myth, and the ability to thrill audiences is second to none. This movie shows that he’s at the top of his game, and on a par with Lucas, Spielberg, Abrams, and Cameron.

On a par? No, on the ascent.

Now if he could have a shot at the X-Men Smile

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Review: Contour GPS Helmet Camera

by Rog42 on 15 May 2012

Project 2012: Day 136

Ever wanted to capture the action on the road? Down the slopes? Underwater? Well, I have, and have been looking at hands-free cameras for some time.

So at last year’s Sydney Motorbike show, when I saw the Contour GPS on special, I made an impulsive decision and bought one.

Mounting

You get a couple of flat surface, rotating mounts with the device. As well as a goggle mount. The flat surface mounts attach with double-sided tape.

So I haven’t stuck any to either my last, or my current bike. I just can’t bring myself to stick double-sided tape, or an ugly plastic mount on my shiny bikes. What can I say.

I have stuck one of the mounts on my Black Fly Trekker Helmet. Not quite as easy at it seems. It turns out that helmets by and large don’t have too many flat surfaces. Those flat surfaces that are on helmets aren’t either vertical, nor are they perpendicular to looking directly ahead.

Then, when you do find the best non-ideal spot, you accidentally stick the tape on too early or late. Gah!

Still, I got the mount onto the helmet pretty damn close to the eye-line on the right-hand side of the Trekker. The mount isn’t vertical, but the camera compensates for that brilliantly. You can rotate the lens up to 90o left or right. The mount allows you to position the camera from the right or left (i.e. looking forwards or backwards) and pitch it up or down 360o.

Laser Targeting

When you switch the camera on, or press the power button when it’s on already, it projects 2 laser dots that indicate the horizontal line of the camera. So you can instantly see if:

  • The camera is pitched too low or high
  • The camera is rolled left or right

Brilliant. Like beer in a bottle….

…well, almost.

This works well when you’re wearing the helmet at home and can see the laser dots against a (light) wall.

Not so good when you’ve just changed the battery in the rain at a stop on the side of the road in the country. For that you need a view finder. I have a bunch of video that captures not much more than my bike instruments and a bit of the front of the road. Doh!!

Contour Connect Card

As it turns out, you can attach the Contour GPS to your iPhone via the magic of Bluetooth and an App. This allows you to see on your phone exactly what the camera is seeing.

I was led to believe at the show, that my Contour came with this connectivity. (wrong) So I was pretty pissed when I got home and learned I still had to buy a connect card ($50 in Aus, $30 on Amazon)

Then I ordered one from Amazon.com with a voucher I got for Christmas. This has been the first item ever not delivered from Amazon in my experience. Asking for a resolution hasn’t met with results either, because Amazon wasn’t the seller just the distributor. Grr!

So as soon as I get a connect card, I’ll append this review.

Svelte, functional and simple to use

IMG_1850As you can see, the camera is black, and slim. The grooves on both sides allow you to slip it into a mount on either side of the helmet. It’s not a white, polycarbonate encased, block like the competition. The camera matches the helmet perfectly, and is pretty aerodynamic.

The thing that I like most about the camera is the record button. It’s this massive sliding switch that you slide forward (Record) or back (Stop). When recording starts there’s an audible beep. And by audible I mean you can hear it through the helmet at speed. When you stop recording, or power the camera down, you get a double beep.

Lasts Forever

The camera comes with a 2GB MicroSD card to store the .mov files. This will record an hour or so at HD, or a couple at 720p. I picked up a 16GB (Class10) card, which will pretty much record an entire day’s riding.

The battery on the other hand lasts a couple of hours, depending on mode of recording. So I picked up a spare one of those too. Generally before a day on the bike, I’ll ensure the memory card is empty, and the batteries both charged.

Results

You can record in true High Def, 1080p at 25 or 30FPS. Then of course there are other video modes, 720p at both 25/30 or “Action” at 50/60 FPS. There’s also a “Tall” mode, which allows you to turn the camera 90o which is designed for following skiers down a hill.

At 1080 the camera films with 111o field of view. At the lower resolutions your view widens out to 135o.

What can I say, the video is brilliant. The clarity is spectacular, colours brilliant, and exposure rapid. Even at high speed, through a dappled forest, the camera readjusts exposure promptly.

Still Life

FILE0164You can pre-set the camera to two configurations, then switch between these with a dip switch in the field. I discovered the other day that one of the pre-sets is to put the camera in still photo mode. The camera will take geo-tagged photos every 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, or 30 seconds or every couple of minutes.

FILE0018This is a great option if you’re on a long ride. The idea is to leave the camera plugging away, then delete everything you don’t need.

If you’re thinking (which is something that you kind’ve forget at stops) you can position your helmet to keep a record at stops too.

FILE0024

Sound

Of course the camera is in the wind. You can change the sensitivity of the mic so as not to pick up the wind noise, to record the sweet sound of your engine rather. To date, I haven’t had too much success with this yet. Either there’s nothing but wind, or nothing…

…hopefully I’ll get there.

What About the GPS

The GPS will record both your track on a map, as well as your elevation. That last is great for rides through the mountains, or for extreme height sports like skiing, mountain-biking, or skydiving.

As with the photo modes, you can configure the GPS to record once or twice a second, or to be off. Having the GPS off will of course save battery life, and if you’re spending the day on a track, there’s probably no real reason to be tracking interminable laps.

Having said that, the GPS does record accurate speed and would be good for practice or training purposes Hot smile

The Contour camera comes with it’s own Story Teller video editor software that recognises the GPS data. This will show your video alongside the synchronised map and elevation track. You can actually select where you are in the video by clicking on the map or elevation. Great for editing after a long ride.

But wait there’s more

Another quick benefit to the GPS highlighted itself to me recently when trying to create a Google map of a ride route. Saving a route for future rides. As long as your camera is recording (even photos), you can export the GPS track, to save onto the web later.

Share the Experience

The whole point of recording your ride is to share it with those who can’t be there with you. (or those who were there) In this, the Contour gives you a couple of options.

You can pop your movies onto popular sharing sites like YouTube and Vimeo. You can also save the movie, along with the real-time mapping on the Contour site, then embed this later.

I personally find the Contour Story Teller app frustrating. At least I haven’t worked out how to do simple things like add music, titles or transitions yet. I’m sure for video editing noobs it’s a great and easy app to use. But there’s so much I want to do that I can’t (yet)!!

The dilemma?

Simple.

I have 6 rides, i.e. about 20 hours of video to edit that I don’t have the time to edit. Oh yeah, and I had to move 60GB of video files off of my laptop because I was running out of HDD space. Sigh. Confused smile

 

A Camera for Bikers

Contour have definitely thought this through, right.

  • They’ve thought about aligning and configuring a helmet camera when your head is in the helmet (laser sights and Bluetooth connect).
  • They’ve thought about how to control a shoot when you’re wearing gloves. (Large sliding record switch with audible indicators)
  • They’ve thought about what happens when it rains (splashproof)
  • They’ve thought about different mounting options for any number of applications  (flat surface, goggle, suction cup, handlebar, universal tripod mounts)
  • They’ve thought about underwater (5m & 60m underwater cases)
  • They’ve thought about making it easy to share for novices (StoryTeller software, Contour Website)
  • They’ve thought about being away from civilisation for a long time (replaceable battery & memory)
  • They’ve even thought about helping you find the best points of your video, and share where you are in the world (GPS tracking)

In short, there’s is little these guys haven’t thought of. Perhaps a WiFi or 4G connectivity to stream video live Smile but apart from that, I can’t think of much else.

There are plenty of ride videos, even TV documentaries. Whereas in the past you’d have needed cameras, tapes, batteries, and another camera man (think Long Way Round). Now you could have a couple of these cameras, with some spare MicroSD cards, batteries, and a universal mount for a tripod to get shots of you riding past.

I think this should be essential for any travelling rider…

..every rider.

Wishlist

Apart from a live stream capability, I wouldn’t mind a mode that records just the last 60 seconds. I would have a couple of these cams mounted on my bike recording constantly, almost like a black box for the bike.

If you move, you need your hands, and you shoot video. This is the camera for you.

Well either this, or the Contour Plus

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How’s Your Presence?

May 14, 2012

Project 2012: Day 135 You’re looking for a job. Your dream job. You see a role that suits you perfectly, and it has the hiring manager’s name on the bottom of the ad. What is the first thing you do? If you’re anything like me, you’ll probably Google her name. (Substitute your favourite search engine [...]

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Bread for Blokes

May 13, 2012

Project 2012: Day 134 There are very few foods as enjoyable as fresh bread, hot, out of the oven. As a sensory experience, the smell, the sight, the fluffy texture, not to mention the taste of home made bread with real butter and your favourite spread, is pretty close to heaven. Our lives are so [...]

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Money Does Buy Happiness

May 12, 2012

Project 2012: Day 133 “(The love of) Money is the root of all evil.” Well, yes. I agree with that. How about you? But money isn’t the root of all evil. Surely? Two quick thoughts: Money is a man-made construct to ease the exchange of value. Just like time is a man-made construct to make [...]

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Cloud in the Enterprise–Agility 1–Real Time Intelligence

May 11, 2012

Project 2012: Day 132 Latency. Latency is the number one inhibitor to success in the enterprise. That’s a pretty big statement, so let me try to unpack that a bit. As organisations grow in size, we get specialisation: business units, departments, roles, teams. The larger the organisation, the more disparate the specialisation. This leads to [...]

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The Key Ingredient for Start-up Success

May 10, 2012

Project 2012: Day 131 Last week we spoke about the inability of start-ups to value their business. Much of this is driven because of a focus on the wrong thing. Their business idea. But the fundamentals of business show us that it’s not about your business idea. Your app. It’s about your customer. The key [...]

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