The Dreamliner and Telecom
A couple of months ago I wrote a series of critical articles on the brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Yes, a bit off topic from Telecom, but a great lesson on corporate and governmental politics, massive engineering projects, and spin. None of those things are far from the world of Telecom. Besides, we are all geeks […]
Does The Telecom Industry Still Exist?
Does the Telecom industry even exist anymore? I am in Vancouver Canada and am having a conversation with a branch office there. One of the questions came up as to why our company still has a Telecom department. After my knee-jerk explanation that they supply phones, inter-communication services, and manage our gateways the manager stated simply: But […]
The Best Government Money Can Buy
I work in Asia where government influence (“bribes”) is exceedingly common. Granted, it is officially illegal, but as a practical matter it is essential. I remember traveling into Cambodia via rail. At the border crossing there is an immigration office where you apply for and get a visa to enter. The room was packed with […]
Patently Messed Up
What is innovation? It’s a simple enough question, except that it is not. Most innovation is synthesis of other ideas. Rare is there something entirely new that is invented. (And even then the argument can be made it is just synthesis.) And, is something really innovation if five other people come up with it concurrently? […]
Apple iPhone 5 – Meh
The iPhone 5 is breaking all iPhone sales records, another hit on their hands. Or not? I think it’s the beginning on long slide south for Apple. Yes, it is going to sell well. Very well. So why is Apple going to decline? Two very simple irrefutable reasons: What Goes Up Must Come Down, and […]
The Magic at DreamForce 2012
Dreamforce is an impressive conference, though I have never actually attended one. At least not in person, I always make it a point to watch the posted videos as the show has some truly impressive content. This year there was decidedly less video posted, I think the CMOs that get featured are increasingly restricting their […]
Clouds Forming Over Orlando #EC12
Enterprise Connect (#EC12) is coming-up at the end of March in Orlando. Lots of Pre-EC activities are already filling my days. This year’s event looks to be shaping up nicely. Corporate wallets are opening again, R&D is up, and the vendors actually have some exciting products to share. This year, I expect lots of cloud stuff […]
Dell’s Rock and Hard Spot
The Apple iPad is booming, but does that mean the PC is dying? The enterprise seems to to view the iPad not as an OR, but an AND. But the consumer PC is not so resilient. This week Dell reported Fourth Quarter Results: “Dell Inc.’s (DELL) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell 18% as the computer maker saw revenue […]
Cisco Calls the Skype Kettle Black
I didn’t see this one coming – but it makes perfect sense. Cisco communicates to the EU that Microsoft and Skype together may not be such a good thing for the industry, and thus appealed the approval of the merger to the EU. That isn’t in itself too surprising until you consider that the EU […]
Google Voice Offline
Evidently at least one of the engineers at Google Voice woke up and came up with a new feature…Offline Texting. It was announced with the following blog post: Sometimes the times that we’re offline can be our most productive times. However, whe…
Is the Stylus Retro?
The Samsung Note is a smartphone tablet thing. It is either the largest smartphone or smallest tablet depending on your point of view. I saw it at CES, and it was advertised on national television during the Superbowl. The ad poked fun at the hipsters …
Big Blue’s Sphere
LotusSphere is an odd name for an event about non-Lotus software. That was just one of the themes from IBM’s (presumably last) LotuSphere 2012, that it is killing the Lotus brand. Not that the show is dying – it’s a huge show. IBM has slowly been distancing itself from the name/brand Lotus – and replacing […]
StartupCamp5
StartupCamp5 will be taking place at ITExpo Feb 1-3 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. I’ve attended the past four ITExpo’s and StartupCamps, but won’t be at this one. Feeling a bit wistful as so many people I know are heading that way. ITExpo is a good show – particularly strong for hosted service providers […]
Contempt for Customers
Thinly disguised contempt for the customer is an easy trap to fall into, after-all, without customers our jobs would be a lot easier. There is just one problem with this line of thinking… The first time I heard the term Thinly Disguised Contempt for the Customer was from the book In Search of Excellence. The example provided […]
10 Reasons Why RIM Won’t Die
It has been fun to kick RIM. Text book example of why incumbents get disrupted – they owned/invented email on a mobile phone. They invented the smartphone. We used to call their addicts ’”Crackberries.” But they (along with everyone else) underestimated Apple. Blackberry had a huge market share – relationships with every major cellular carrier, a […]
