You’ve done awesome with it! R…
You’ve done awesome with it! RT @MiwaOgletree: “Mahalo” to @PeterKay who introduced me to Twitter over 2 yrs ago. #Aloha
Archive for year: 2011
Facebook officially launches Skype integration
In what might be the most predicted announcement of the year, Facebook now integrates with Skype. You can click on the link below for more details and or just get started right now. What I want to think about is what this means in terms of the Facebook vs. Google battle. Skype is now owned Microsoft. Facebook surely could have bought a lesser-known video chat company and launched its own service. Why partner with Microsoft? Perhaps “The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend” is doing its little magic here? Perhaps a tight relationship between Facebook and Microsoft is what both companies see as necessary to take on the juggernaut which is Google. It will be interesting to see how the Google+ “hangout” video chat compares to the Facebook Skype integration. I haven’t checked recently, but I don’t think Skype handles multi-person video chat very well so that might be a place where Google+ will win out. Stay tuned for more fun.
Google Maps for Android adds Transit Navigation
Aside from the bus routes you might have already memorized, there’s really no easy way, when you’re out in the open, to figure out what bus you need to catch to get to where you’re going. Google’s recent addition of transit navigation should make life that much easier to get around using public transportation. On our last vacation I used Google Maps on my Sprint EVO 4G phone so extensively the only thing I missed was sufficient battery power. I better start looking for an external battery to wear in my backpack.
Time to update your WordPress Blog
I’ve got a few Joomla sites and after several years, I’ve decided to move them all to WordPress. One of the reasons is that WordPress updates have become so drop-dead simple. The latest 3.2 went about as fast and easy as any, which on one hand doesn’t say a lot (because they are all so fast and easy) but then again, speaks volumes. Get your update now.
https://videopress.com/v/ac07H291
via wordpress.org
Google+ “Hangout” looks like a big hit
Going through Google’s youtubes describing their Google+ service. I was particularly struck by the Hangout feature. Basically Google’s Hangouts let you start a spontaneous multi-person video chat. From the buzz around the web, this looks like it’s going to be a big hit. Will be fun to see how Facebook responds. More interesting still will be to see how many patents that Google filed on all their new social network goodies.
Folks @foxnews features @hawai…
Folks @foxnews features @hawaiireporter Malia Zimmerman. You go girl! http://t.co/aaClVQZ
Good, Soon, or Cheap. Which is it?
Reading “What’s more important, re-use, or time to market?” by Quinton Wall brought back a classic lesson in developing business software and a timeless principle. It doesn’t matter what kind cloud-based application service you’re using, be it Salesforce.com or Quickbooks Online or Google Apps. And it also doesn’t matter whether you’re located in Hawaii or Chicago or anyplace in between.
When a business manager asks for a custom web-based cloud application to be developed, they have to make a choice: do they want the app to be Good, Soon, or Cheap? Here’s the catch: they can only pick two out of the three. So if you want the app to be Good and Soon, it won’t be cheap. And if you want it Good and Cheap, don’t expect it soon. You get the idea. This simple question forces the manager to make a clear resource-based decision.
90% of the time, the right combination (in software development) is Cheap and Soon, meaning it won’t be Good. But that’s OK because it just needs to be Good Enough.
Why Cheap, Soon, and not Good? Because I can guarantee that regardless of how well-researched the custom cloud-based software is, the first version will be wrong and require revisions. So even if you picked Good and Soon, knowing that it would not be cheap, the fact is that you would still have to revise the software anyway.
Why will the software have to be revised anyway? Because until users actually interact with software, they really don’t know what they want. Only after they play with it will they have a better idea of what they want it to do.
So the key, then, is to develop it Soon. (Guy Kawasaki says “Don’t worry, be Crappy”). And it might as well be Cheap, because you’re going to have to revise it anyway. Probably several times.
And it’s this basic, timeless principle that kicks back to Quiton’s article which basically says to develop the software now (Soon) and don’t worry about building in additional functionality (Good).
Make it Soon. And Make it Cheap. Then be prepared to revise it often.
Fun to see Google’s serious as…
Fun to see Google’s serious assault! @dleuck Google+’s UX design is fantastic. Its the UI I always wanted from Facebook.
Google Launches Facebook Foe: FB is sloppy, scary and insensitive
The Clash of the Titans: Google is finally going after the social network space with “Google+”. It’s about time. Facebook has been quickly emerging as a serious threat to Google with its eventual takeover of the web. As an avid Google ecosystem subscriber myself, I will be looking into this with great interest. You should too.
Why Google Apps instead of Microsoft Online
I’ll state my bias up front: I was a 110% Microsoft guy until about 2 years go and since then I’m about 90% Google and 10% Microsoft (not counting the O/S). Microsoft is the world’s PC software company. The problem is that we live in a post-PC world. Today I use my Android phone more than I use my desktop. And when I’m using my desktop, I’m usually in a Google-based application. I only use Microsoft for the rare moments when I need extensive Word or Excel functions and even then I still use Google to store my documents.
So it came as no surprise that Google took the offensive on Microsoft’s upcoming Office 365 cloud-base app platform. Microsoft’s problem is that they only want you using Microsoft-based products to run their software. Google doesn’t care what you’re using so long as you’re using their software. Huge difference.
Very few companies are able to make the leap from one paradigm to the next. Microsoft did manage to stay in the game when the Internet came of age in the mid-90s but I think that was due to Bill Gates’ sheer will. Notice that Bill decided to retire. I would too.
