Windows 8 Is For Tablets, Newbies, Windows Phoners & 64 Bit Upgraders

Windows 8, to be or not to be?

In the enterprise, for current users, for small biz, a solid NO.  Get 64 bit Windows 7 instead.  While you still can.  You DO want 64 bit computers, they are way faster for compatible 16 and 32 bit programs as well as 64 bit and will be able to use far more RAM.  32 bit Windows of any flavor can only use a mere 4GB.

For tablets and touchsreens, a solid YES.  Even though we are not seeing anything at CES 2013 that really takes advantage of it.

For Windows phone users, YES.

For those users who are new to Windows, YES.

All others, NO, and note enterprise comment above. 

Right now, you will pay a premium to get Windows 7 and not 8 on your new notebook, and that about wraps it.

Google Nexus 4 Phone - Wheel 1.0 Beta

Hey, Apple is not the only one to try to re-invent the wheel.  Does this phone really have no next gen net support?

Gosh, Google, embrace the android fragsphere already.

This is a good camera, but... NEXUST.

Apple Maps Sent Me To Hell!

You know folks, just because you have a pocket calculator does not mean that you forget how to add 2+2.

Maps and GPS are the same way.  You are not supposed to simply accept what they tell you.

But, there was so much recent controversy over Apple maps ostensibly stranding some poor dumb tourismos in the Aussie outback, that Tim Cook had to write us a letter and heads rolled.

Fortunately, not as a result of the vengeance of native peoples.

Anyway, you are supposed to be able to tell the difference when you
are entering this hell, left; and Hell, Michigan, right.

Courtesy of Google Maps, which is a dumb wheel to reinvent, best to incorporate (and for biz, likely into an ESRI solution).

Also, we have an old saying.  When you are knee deep in crap you don't need a map.

Rick Majerus - Good Man, Great Coach, Late Mac Adopter

We lost Coach this week, and I don't mind telling you, I cried.

I first met Coach in 2004 at a business conference in San Diego, in the hot tub at Le Meridien on Coronado Island- and with the two of us big guys  in there, we pretty much had it to ourselves.  and we talked for hours, and hours, about everything.  I got to learn more about life than I ever had from anybody in that time.

I learned that an explosive first step and a good family gets you to the pros, because that is the easiest way to glimpse talent and to know whether a kid will be coachable.

I learned where to get the best pizza in MY town, in any town.  Rick truly knew food, he was more gourmet than glutton, despite what you've heard.  And he told me, "all the regional styles of pizza you see each have their merit."  Which is really how he saw people.  If he was tough on you, it was because he expected a lot.  He was a no-kidding Jesuit and aimed very, very high at all times.

What I am proud of is, I turned Rick into a PC user.  He knew that other coaches were using PCs, and for a long time, to evaluate talent.  That, Coach could do, and did do, all over the world, Australia, Eastern Europe, he was the first to recruit there.  What he was fascinated by, and why I chose a Macbook for him, was the communications angle, what it could add to how he could reach kids.

He sure reached me.  Told me I was a good guy.  I told him, there is only one You, just like there is one John Wooden, and I learned equally from both of you.  The difference is, Rick was human, and Coach Wooden was like a God.  I could never approach myself to even say "Hi" to him at Pauley, where he was real easy  to find, and still is.  His seat in the new Pauley glows.  If you look real close.

If you are local, or in St. Louis tonight, there is a memorial for Coach Majerus tonight, Friday, December 7, 2012 at 3:30 p.m. at Chaifetz Pavilion on the SLU campus. The funeral service is private, but will be held tomorrow, Saturday, December 8, 2012 at 11:30 a.m in Milwaukee's Church of the Gesu, 1145 West Wisconsin Avenue.

Drumbeat for CES 2013 - CES 2012 Disappointments

Is it December already?  It must be, because CES is right around the corner.

Looking back, I'm kinda disappointed.  I really loved the two most hyped products from last year, the Nokia 900, and the Samsung Note.  And they really have underperformed in the market.

The 900 is a real GPS with real emergency response type data in it from Nokia having purchased our friends at Navteq.  It should have been great for business logistics.  But, despite being updated (right), it is just sitting there - as a Windows phone, it is clearly in last place.

And the Note was what I wanted, and what I thought a lot of my associates would want, more convenient than a tablet, works like a phone.  Ended up being neither.  Even with its update as well.

So, what am I about to see, what are WE about to see?  More on that to come.

- Joe Lackow
(Revised)

Drumbeat for CES 2013: Does Whispercast Signal Mass Adoption of Tablets for Business?

Content is king, we all know that.

But, as tablets reach the mass adoption phase, it is becoming clear that CONSUMING content on a tablet rather than on a PC is king.  RPM primary research shows a strong increase in penetration among business users.  And this Holiday season, the early sales numbers clearly show that tablets are THE hot electronics gift this season.  The question is not whether to get one, the question is now which one to get.

And, the answer to that question will dictate to content providers what platforms to develop on. 

Obviously, iOS has led the way and created the category.  And, we show it is still the overwhelming preference of business users.  But what now?

Kindle Fire appears to be the what now, and is driving both form factors and price points down, down, down.  As in, a startling $159.

At that price point, this is going to be about way more than consuming content, it is going to be a major collaborative tool.

For business.  Welcome to Whispercast, Amazon's attempt to satisfy both user and IT demands (good luck on that one, Jeff).

For IT, we can...

• Centrally manage Kindles.
• Save valuable time registering Kindles—no more need to manually configure each Kindle one at a time for your users.
• Provide Internet access by sending your wireless network and proxy settings to your Kindle.
• Protect corporate information by requiring passwords.
• Control how your Kindles are used with the ability to block social media integration, and control access to content and content purchasing.
• Block factory reset and device de-registration on Kindles you give your users.

For collaborative computing...

• Share information by uploading and distributing documents (.pdf, .doc., .docx) to your Kindles.
• Develop and wirelessly procure and distribute Kindle book formats to your organization's Kindles or any PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android tablet or phone with the free Kindle app.
• Create user groups for a specific class, grade level, or corporate department to send relevant content and documents.

OK, it is hardly a robust API.  But, it is compelling.  Because at this price, we can deploy them EVERYWHERE. But, until Amazon is more forthcoming about Kindle sales figures... they are their own worst enemy, and they are nearly all alone in failing to disclose sales in anything but the most vague terms.

Drumbeat for 2013 CES: Giant Tablet Invaders from Space

Yes folks, it's that time again, where a young man's (or not so young anymore man's) fancy turns to thoughts of...

electronics!

While I was enjoying my sabbatical, we have evidently been attacked by giant tablets called "All in Ones".  About time!  We've been enjoying "Donald Rumsfeld Computing" while standing up to our 42 inch Samsung touchscreen for YEARS now.

Of course, the damn thing weighs a ton and cost over $3,000.  This 23 inch Lenovo costs less than $700, and it's the whole thing, all in one.

Well, almost.  As you can see with the Dell here, there is no integrated input device!  We are still stuck with keyboards and mice. 

Not to mention Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers that are as old as...

a computer.  Want to see what's really happening?  Just walk down the street and notice how truly ubiquitous the smart phone has become.  And how, thanks to leaders and visionaries like ShoDogg and other, that smartphone is about to be thrown onto a touchscreen for which IT will be the input device.  And not just for entertainment. 

Just ask the Donald, Rumsfeld that is.

Joe Lackow and Thomas Ballister contributed to this report.