Entries Tagged 'Trends' ↓

It’s been a pretty busy week for Dell - word is that they’re creating a new iPod killer.  And this fact might’ve slightly overshadowed a more immediate occurrence - the arrival of Dell’s new desktops: Dell’s family-friendly Inspiron 518 and its stylish Studio Hybrid.  I think that the Studio Hybrid is an excellent device to show off in your living room (as opposed to a clunky typical-looking computer).  And, the importance placed on form-factor is noted - a leaf taken out of Apple’s book, perhaps?

With computer makers stepping the form-factor up, I think that this can only be a positive for the integration of computers into living rooms - something that I thought would have happened a lot sooner.  It started with PS3’s and Xbox 360’s being “media centres”, but Dell steps it up by connecting an actual PC to the TV.  However, I’m certain that I missed something - where is the TV tuner card?  Without it, the Dell Studio Hybrid certainly misses one major convenience - the ability to schedule and record TV shows onto your computer.  Asides from that, I can see few appealing reasons to house a computer in the living room.

Starting at $499 USD and $529 CDN (reasonable dollar matching, I suppose), the Dell Studio Hybrid is an affordable and interesting product.  It’s extensible, but only through Dell - after all, you’re taking a huge risk if you’re going to personally try fitting something in such a tiny and unique machine.  And although I don’t guarantee its commercial success, I’m certain that it’s a step in an interesting direction.

Press Release: http://www1.ca.dell.com/content/topic…&s=corp

There’s been huge buzz about Canonical and Ubuntu as of late, and I must say that I’m pretty impressed.  Mark Shuttleworth is emerging as a charismatic leader worthy to lead Ubuntu to battle, the blogosphere is going crazy, and Ubuntu is well on its way to hitting retail shelves.  I think that even though Ubuntu is a great product and operating system, it’s still not going to be enough as of yet - namely because of the lack of mainstream awareness.

Source: http://upload.wikimedia…_NASA.jpg

I realize that Canonical might not have the financial resources that Apple or Microsoft does, so I guess we can count the example of iPod ads out of the picture (I still feel that those iPod ads with dancing silhouettes are a huge factor in how they sold so well).  Still, if Ubuntu somehow manages to find their way to the front page of a huge mainstream newspaper or the main story on CNN, I’m sure that they would have reached many consumers that otherwise would never have heard of it.  Now, I’m not saying that Canonical has to work out a publicity stunt, but perhaps Shuttleworth could do a presentation or press conference that finds its way to G4 or something (start small, think big, right?).

Ubuntu is ready for mainstream, but we have to ask ourselves, is mainstream ready for Ubuntu?  Have a look at the success of Apple, the lack of general dissatisfaction and consumer reaction with Vista (not to say I personally don’t like Vista - I think it’s fine), and I think you’ll know the answer.

Keyloggers.  Spyware.  Data corruption.

Nowadays, these three words strike fear into hearts of users everywhere.  However, I will direct this article towards the organizations - such as schools, libraries, Internet cafes, as well as even corporations.  These behemoths serve a multitude of users daily - ranging from a couple hundred at a local library, to several thousand at a popular university.  The chances of having a careless user download rogue spyware or a bad egg installing keyloggers are insanely high - in fact, a rumour that I myself had caught flying around was that an organization I attended had been infected with keyloggers.  The rumour was dispelled when a friend of mine informed me that the organization used Deep Freeze - which then sparked the question: What is Deep Freeze?

Deep Freeze is an intelligent solution that offers absolute system integrity, according to its creator, Faronics.

Faronics Deep Freeze helps eliminate workstation damage and downtime by making computer configurations indestructible. Once Deep Freeze is installed on a workstation, any changes made to the computer—regardless of whether they are accidental or malicious—are never permanent. Deep Freeze provides immediate immunity from many of the problems that plague computers today—accidental system misconfiguration, malicious software activity, and incidental system degradation.

Deep Freeze ensures computers are absolutely bulletproof, even when users have full access to system software and settings. Users get to enjoy a pristine and unrestricted computing experience, while IT personnel are freed from tedious helpdesk requests.

Source: http://www.faronics.com/html/deepfreeze.asp

Basically, a computer (or workstation) is programmed to retain certain programs - for example, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Word 2007, but otherwise is reformatted everytime the system reboots.  Sure, that means that everyone’s documents stored in My Documents will be deleted besides the Sample Pictures.  But, that also means that if the system gets infected, it will also be removed as soon as the computer is rebooted.  This is what I would consider an ideal solution to most organizations’ problems with system integrity.

If you’re a home user reading this and contemplating getting Deep Freeze, I would think twice - although the chances of you accidentally installing spyware are still high, I think that it would be impractical for you to sacrifice your computing experience for paranoia.  Addressing keyloggers, no one would be silly enough to install a keylogger on themselves (besides, there would be no point to that).  However, for organizations that can’t afford to leak information, or organizations that treasure the security and trust of their users (such as libraries), I think this is a great big picture piece of software.  Heck, it gained my trust.

For more information and case studies, please visit Faronics’ web page for Deep Freeze:

http://www.faronics.com/html/deepfreeze.asp

Yep, I hopped onto the Twitter bandwagon. There were many reasons I didn’t do this earlier - I didn’t know what the heck it was, I didn’t feel up to trying something new, I’m already a part of a ton of other social networks, etc. But, I felt as though Twitter was something definitely unavoidable, so I joined Saturday morning.

Image by: dpade1337

What is Twitter?

The idea’s simple - you get 140 characters to update your status on what you’re doing. We’re not talking about your job or your biography, but just your task at hand (i.e. boiling an egg, hunting deer, etc). You can choose to follow other people to have their 140 characters show up on your feed every time they update it. You will also end up having fellow Twitterers following you.

…but why?

1. It’s a great way to network.

I’ve started following my regulars - Darren Rowse of Problogger, Cali Lewis of Geekbrief.tv, et al. I’ve also started reciprocating followers following me. I realize that my 8-2 following-follower ratio isn’t that hot for now, but I’m still just getting warmed up to Twitter. Hopefully, I meet more people and find more people to flock to CutEdge and my other blog, Digital Media Break.

2. It’s a great way to share.

Sharing content, news, and thoughts/dialog, links, and ideas are just part of the norm at Twitter. When I feel idea-drained, I can figure I can simply log on to Twitter and get the juices flowing. The exchange of such sharing really helps.

3. It’s a great way to meet readers!

Believe it or not, this is the third reason I got Twitter. I love meeting people, and I’d definitely be interested in meeting my readers! And you can pretty much bet that I’ll be following you, just as you follow me (it’s common courtesy, but also because you are my beloved readers).

Find me at http://twitter.com/HerbertLui and follow already! If you’re not signed up with Twitter yet, what are you waiting for? Hop on board right now!

Image by: dpade1337

Microsoft’s got their work cut out for them. With a flopped operating system - by flopped, I mean not widely accepted nor comparably commercially-successful, not that it sucks - and the expectations of Windows 7 being of titanic proportions (it’s revolutionary, and it’s to be done in the next couple of years), Microsoft is going to have to completely blow us away, or lose customers by the flocks.

I’m not going to lie, I thought modular Windows was the best way to go. The article Ars Technica published really shook me up. All hope is not lost, however - Ars Technica assumed just one tiny thing that would make modular Windows suck: people would have to pay for it.

Free is the future of business, as Wired has stated. However, the only way I could see Microsoft actually implementing “free” would be giving away Windows and then charging subscriptions as Ars Technica had already suggested.

Thus, you might think I took it a bit out of context, but I think that it’s clear there are tons of other methods for companies like Microsoft to earn their money. The first one that struck my mind would be…

Advertising in Windows

It still might suck to some - but not as much as paying per module. Charge for that little banner at the corner of Windows 7, just like Microsoft charges for the little banner already implemented in Windows Live Messenger. It’s not going to be pretty, but everyone’s going to get used to it.

Just how much are they going to earn? Not enough - if the banner was as small or as un-intrusive as Windows Live Messenger’s. How about sticking one on the boot screen - it’s a pretty boring fifteen seconds without something to read, anyway. Or having Windows Sidebar’s gadgets flash around with bells and whistles? I’m sure that advertisers would be clawing by the dozens to try to get an advertisement on a certain region’s computers.

This also negates the possibility of pirating Windows. No more piracy - because you can really get the full-out version of Windows 7 for free. No CD-keys, no Microsoft “genuine” software crap. Sounds good, right?

The Solution:

Pay. You’ve got the power to turn off those damn bells and whistles, pay a hundred dollars just like you ordinarily would have for Windows 7. No more bells, no more whistles.

Charge the Developers

Make applying for developing a module for Windows go under two categories - the first for companies that will pay Microsoft a (possibly huge) premium and get free advertising banner boxed in their own application. The advertising banner thus introduces a medium for the developers to earn their own money.

The second category goes for freeware applications - which will be dominant in the sense that they are free, but still don’t have any advertisements on them. The freeware developer would then receive the credit he deserves, and probably a lot of donations too (even if it’s for something as simple as a school project).

Different Types of Modules

By now, you might’ve realized that I don’t see modules the same you might - I see every single application out there as a module. That might not be what Microsoft is up to, but I still think it’s an idea definitely worth thinking through. It’s going to be hard, and it’s going to be tough, and it’s definitely got the makings to stir up controversy, but it’s still an idea for free Windows that might not suck.

Actually, in retrospect, this all does sound kind of…dreary. Everything is controlled by Microsoft, as opposed to freedom that modules should be bringing. And people can dispel all that with just a $100 fee - is that enough to offset the revenue that advertising could bring in?

After all, it’s just an idea

The real world is leading the virtual world by example, and the virtual world could learn a few useful lessons. This banner/billboard idea is nothing new, but I think is still great solution for users that can’t afford (or don’t want to pay for) Windows and don’t mind advertising.

…err, the idea might not be too kind to developers though, it sounds kind of restricting.