Good to know [from Google]

 

From DSC:
I originally saw this at elearningexamples.com.

2012 tech predictions: From IDG’s editors worldwide– from InfoWorld by David Bromley
Consumerization of IT is the consensus choice of the new year’s major technology force, one that will manifest itself in several forms

Several other commonly-mentioned items were:

  • Mobility
  • Patent disputes
  • Apple & Steve Jobs
  • BYOD (bring your own device to work) movement

Also see:

NEW: Google Student Blog

NEW: Google Student Blog

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Interesting quote from Larry Page wants to return Google to its startup roots — from Wired.com by Steven Levy

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

“You can’t understand Google,” vice president Marissa Mayer says, “unless you know that both Larry and Sergey were Montessori kids.” She’s referring to schools based on the educational philosophy of Maria Montessori, an Italian physician born in 1870 who believed that children should be allowed the freedom to pursue their interests. “In a Montessori school, you go paint because you have something to express or you just want to do it that afternoon, not because the teacher said so,” she says. “This is baked into how Larry and Sergey approach problems. They’re always asking, why should it be like that? It’s the way their brains were programmed early on.”

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From DSC:
Alan November has spoken to these items in the past as well…nice, informative infographic that I saw at Getting Smart (via Sarah Cargill) as she discusses the infographic from HackCollege:

 

Get more out of Google
Created by: HackCollege

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HTML5 program promises to be game changer — from mediapost.com by Diane Mermigas

Also see:

  • Elevation Partners Director and Co-Founder Roger McNamee [Video-based presentation]
    Chapters (full program: 52 min 22 sec)
    01. Introduction
    02. Demise of Microsoft means opportunity
    03. Google in a tough spot
    04. Creativity rules in HTML5
    05.  Apple domination in tablets
    06.  Access from any screen
    07.  The social wave is over
    08.  TV the last protected media
    09.  Economic context and seed investing
    10.  Why Apple supports HTML5
    11.  Privacy regulation
    12.  HTML5 implications for content protection
    13.  Investment in Forbes
    14. Ringback tones
    15. Money in the music industry
    16. Subscription television

 

  • #1: “Next” web architecture = Hypernet + Hyperweb
  • #2: The decline & fall of Windows unlocks revenue
  • #3: Index search is peaking
  • #4: Apple’s model threatens web
  • #5: HTML5 is game changer for publishers
    HTML5 is not just a programming language; enables new models of web experience
    – Developers will embed audio and video directly in web pages, replacing Adobe’s Flash plug-in; enables much greater differentiation in sites, advertising, etc.
    – Content publishers will redesign their sites to reduce power of Google, ad networks
    HTML5 will be disruptive in ways we cannot imagine today: pendulum swinging to favor content creators and publishers. Imagine Amazon or eBay storefront as an ad.
    – Everything can be an app . . . every piece of content . . . every tweet . . . every ad
    – Ads: create demand and fulfill it at the same time . . . without leaving publisher’s page
    – Other tech (e.g., Wordnik) enables publishers to protect and monetize text onsite and off
  • #6: Tablets are hugely disruptive
  • #7: First wave of “social web” is over
  • #8: Smartphones in US: Apple + 7 Dwarfs
  • #9: Wireless infrastructure is a competitive threat to US
  • #10: Integration of TV & Internet could be disruptive

 

From DSC:

  • A recommendation that caught my eye:
    Focus 100% on companies that are cloud + multiscreen; HTML 5 as proxy.

 

Google TV reboot expected imminently — from informitv.com

Excerpt:

The release of Google TV 2.0 is imminent. It was supposed to be available in the United States before the end of the summer. Developers were told in May that existing devices would be updated to the version of Android known as Honeycomb, which has already been overtaken by a new release. While the first release of Google TV failed to impress many, the presence of Android applications on television could be the start of something.

Designing an infinite digital bookcase -- from Google

Designing an infinite digital bookcase -- from Google

 

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Polycom® RealPresence Mobile — now for both the iPad and Android-based devices
Take video collaboration mobile with the first enterprise HD software solution for Motorola and Samsung tablets

Polycom® RealPresence™ Mobile is a new, free-to-download software solution that extends our legendary HD video collaboration technology, built on the Polycom RealPresence Platform, beyond the office and conference room to your Apple® iPad® 2, Motorola XOOM™ and Samsung Galaxy Tab™ tablet PCs.

 

Polycom RealPresence Mobile brings HD video conferencing to the tablet

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Addendum on 10/18/11:

On October 12, Polycom president and CEO Andy Miller gave a keynote address during the CTIA Enterprise & Applications™ 2011 conference in San Diego, Calif., discussing video collaboration in today’s mobile society. During his keynote, Andy presented key industry trends, and share how Polycom is delivering video to mobile platforms, extending HD video collaboration technology beyond the office and conference room. The keynote included a live demonstration of a game-changing mobile video solution for enterprises – the Polycom® RealPresence™ Mobile.

Vidyo: Video conferencing on the iPad, iPhone and Android tablets and smartphones

 

Ad-hoc Room System

VidyoMobile on iPad 2 joining an HD multipoint video conference at 720p with 4 other laptops and a room system. (Note: This picture has not been photoshopped in any way.)

From DSC:
This posting evolved after having read $500 billion TV market new battlefield for Internet companies (from forbes.com and the Trefis Team therein) as well as the posting at Future TV disruption – Forbes says it’s worth half a trillion dollars for Internet companies (from appmarket.tv).

As the convergence — and the movement of data/apps/content/services towards the cloud — continues, I wanted to jot down some thoughts re: the current field:

  • Apple, Google, Cisco and Microsoft seem to be solid players to watch in terms of cloud-based computing architectures, tools, and functionality — something to keep in mind when planning for the future directions of your organization’s set of tools and technologies.
  • Personally, I vote for vendors that “get the web.”  Apple and Google have traditionally been very solid innovators on the web and have turned in solid report cards in terms of innovation, performance, and web-based applications.  (Adobe — with their Macromedia purchase years ago and their current lineup of tools — has also done a pretty good job, but doesn’t have the arsenal to make my top 4 picks here.)
  • I don’t need to say much about Apple in terms of innovation — as they have out innovated every company on the planet while becoming the world’s most valuable company in terms of market cap.   Apple is on the verge of adding enormously powerful, cloud-based functionality and apps to their ecosystem when they introduce iCloud this fall (and perhaps a web-connected/smart TV type of device in the future).  They have proven themselves to be #1 in terms of working with multimedia-based content — its creation and distribution. Given the continuing trend of the convergence taking place with computers, telephones, and televisions, the ability to create and work with multimedia is key for many technology-related vendors, and, in my mind, Apple leads in this area.
  • Google has shown themselves to be solid innovators as well — and they “get the web.”   Their current set of web-based apps — including Google Docs, Calendar, Hangouts, Reader, Alerts, etc. — provide a solid menu of web-based apps to choose from.
  • Cisco has proven themselves to be innovative as well, and owns some powerful technologies in their WebEx Meeting Center, Videoscape, networking infrastructures, and some of its other tools.
  • Though traditionally not a leader/innovator on the web, I think that Microsoft has deep pockets and they are a savvy business (having just purchased Skype as an example).  So with SharePoint, Skype and Office 365, Microsoft is laying the foundation for a solid, web-based collaboration space.

Having said this, one can see that it is getting harder to practice the KISS principle in the IT departments out there.  But where we can do so, it makes sense to do so — as there is less finger pointing and more accountability.  It’s easier to support a fewer amount of tools and, often times, it seems that things simply work better with a reduced amount of vendors/technologies involved.

So I’ll wrap up this posting by listing some of the things that I’m trying to (simultaneously) keep in mind:
  • Web-based collaboration tools such as videoconferencing, shared interactive whiteboards, shared document creation, calendars/scheduling, form creation and reporting tools, chat, other
  • Cloud-based content/data/apps/services
  • Synchronization across multiple types of devices
  • Web-based updates (think publishers’ content in addition to apps)
  • Storage plans and pricing
  • Types of integration and tools a vendor provides on the cloud
  • The end user experience and the usability of proposed solutions
  • A vendor’s strategic direction(s) for the future
 

Who will win the cloud war? Apple vs. Google vs. Microsoft — from TechNewsDaily.com by Dan Howley, LAPTOP Staff Writer

Excerpt:

Defining the Cloud
Although the cloud and the various services it supports have been around for quite some time, tech companies have done a fairly poor job of explaining exactly what the cloud is. “When you say cloud services, it’s pretty broad,” explained Michael Gartenberg, research director with the technology research firm Gartner. “Are you talking about digital lockers? Are you talking about cloud-based applications? Streaming music services? Cloud sort of becomes one of those catch-all phrases that becomes hard to define.”

In truth, the cloud is a nebulous term to describe the Internet and the various ways it can be leveraged by users.

For example, cloud storage allows users to upload and access their data via the web, much like an Internet-connected hard drive. When you upload a document or photo to Dropbox, you are storing it on the company’s servers, which allows you to access your files from any computer. Playing a game on Facebook? That also uses the cloud as a backbone.

Cloud-based applications, such as Google’s Docs productivity suite and online music services such as Grooveshark and Pandora, give users access to programs that they previously would have had to install on their PC. Such services save precious resources on users’ computers. However, most of these cloud apps require an active Internet connection. If you’re offline, for the most part you’re out of luck.

Google spending tons of money turning YouTube into a cable alternative — from dvice.com

 

Google TV will disrupt television, ready or not — from informitv.com

Excerpt:

Google TV is set to launch in Europe early in 2012, following a reboot in the United States that will help developers to create applications for the platform. Dr Eric Schmidt, the chairman of Google, used his keynote speech at the Edinburgh International Television Festival to call for co-operation with the television industry, between the luvvies and boffins, saying Google seeks to be a friend, not a foe, in addressing an increasingly global opportunity. Yet many in the traditionally territorial television industry may still be wary of geeks bearing gifts, suspiciously viewing Google TV as a Trojan horse at the living room door.

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