IDC: IT Enjoys Renaissance In Current Economic Recession

May 5, 2009
IDC Chief Research Officer, John Gantz, believes enterprise computing is having a good time. But in which planet?

IDC Chief Research Officer, John Gantz, believes enterprise computing is having a good time. But in which planet?

Well that’s thinking way out of the box!

Speaking at the Citrix’s Synergy conference, IDC chief researcher John Gantz told an audience of IT executives that despite the economic meltdown, their line of work is enjoying a long period of growth.

“That’s about as good as it gets,” said Gantz.

For IT, the boom-bust cycle works this way: 5 years of exhuberance, a crash and a long period of growth until the next bubble.

And since the launch of the IBM 360 in 1964 there were only 3 technology crashes (70s, 85, 2000s), and today is just not one of them!

“We just had the IT bubble in 2000-2001,” Gantz recalls.

So what’s all the fuss about IT budgets shrinking and all that?

Well for Gantz, the economic recession is simply forcing companies to “do more with less,” and “sharpen their senses.”

The IDC chief researcher ended its presentation with another unbelievably optimistic line:

“The next four years are a once-a-career opportunity.”

I wonder for who! And with that, “good luck,” he ended!

IDCs point: the IT bust and boom cycles do not coincide with the worlds economys cycles

IDC's point: the IT bust and boom cycles do not coincide with the world economy's cycles

Leave a Comment » | analysis, news, services/outsourcing, software | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by TechPulse 360

Facebook Becomes Twitter

May 5, 2009

The social network site announced what had been expected for some time: that its news feed is updated in real time.

Live updates will be rolled out gradually to Facebook members

Live updates will be rolled out gradually to Facebook members

Up to now, to get the most recent posts from your friends and fans, you needed to refresh your browser. Facebook said earlier this year it would enable live updates, mirroring the continuous live flow of micro-blog site Twitter.

In a blog post it announced the change took place this week.

“The stream (news feed) now updates automatically and gives you the option to view new posts with a prompt at the top of the page, immediately below the Publisher,” according to the company’s post.

The change comes with some obvious benefits. Live streaming was the number one request from Facebook members, the company reports.

So it gives the company ammunition to fend off the popularity of Twitter and to solidify its lead over other social-networking rivals.

The live streaming will be rolled out gradually to Facebook userss,

Leave a Comment » | web 2.0 | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Mark Boslet

[Review] Presto Boots Windows PCs In Seconds… Really!

May 4, 2009
Presto an old Windows PC a second lease on life!

Presto an old Windows PC a second lease on life!

[Update] We successfully ran Presto on Windows 7. And while we couldn’t print on our IP-based Dell and HP network printers with Windows 7 (no drivers yet perhaps), Presto had no problem!

If there’s a piece of software that really is worth its price, it’s Presto.

For $20, the Xandros utility will boot your Windows XP or Vista machine in seconds instead of minutes.

Don’t believe me? Well, check out the videos below comparing the loading and shutting down times for the same dual-core Athlon 64 PC used for the test.

Installing Presto on a Windows machine takes only a few seconds (here’s a link to the screencast of the installation).

On the next reboot, an option appears giving the option to start Windows or Presto, which is actually an optimized version of Linux that loads very very fast.

How fast?

About 30 seconds from start to loading the Firefox Web browser. In comparison, it took over 3 minutes from the Windows login prompt – which took about 30 seconds to appear – to loading Internet Explorer and getting the first Web page up.

Same thing with shutting down the PC: 3 seconds with Presto, over 40 seconds for Windows!

As reported when it was announced last March at the Demo conference, Presto is perfect if all you want is access to the Internet (browse, email), chat on Skype, load a few documents to view and perhaps edit, watch a video, listen to music.

Which, when I think of it, is most of what I do.

Presto is also useful to give that old PC a second lease on life!

To be fair, I thought I’ll include the video for Windows XP booting up:

And shutting down:

2 Comments | computers, review, software | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by TechPulse 360

9 Reasons Why Google G1 Is A Bad Phone

May 4, 2009

Whats wrong with this message? The Android G1 is a phone made by geeks, for geeks, not humans!Over the weekend, I finally made the switch from my “old” Blackberry Curve to the Google G1. And what a disappointment it was.

Just a few minutes into it, after setting my Gmail account, synching my contacts and calendar (cool!) and even downloading some applications, I realized I made a mistake.

Some applications even started crashing like the Dialer (what’s up with this name?) or the Photo application. The good thing is that it didn’t crash the phone!
Here’s a rundown on some of the reasons why I think the G1 is just a bad phone:

  1. The keyboard is terrible, at least if you’re used like me to the comfort of a Blackberry or Palm keyboard. The keys are too low, the touch imprecise. And I don’t have large fingers! And when the G1 is plugged-in, typing on the keyboard gets really hard.
  2. The Android software does not support multi-touch (although the hardware can!), making it hard to navigate the Web: you can’t zoom on a page for example;
  3. Applications randomly crashes;
  4. Cryptic system messages like the “Force Close” error message when applications crashes. Would you say that to a human? The G1 is a phone designed by geeks for geeks. Not for humans!
  5. Low battery life. With Twitter, Facebook, NewsRob (Google Reader) installed the battery lasts about half a day before I need to charge the phone. That’s a showstopper don’t you think?
  6. SMS messages and emails are in different applications. I was used to receiving both in the Blackberry’s mail application. How nice it was!
  7. The phone plastic feels cheap, fragile and the camera button is nearly inaccessible when the keyboard is open.
  8. Finally, the back of the phone gets really hot when use for 10 minutes or more;
  9. And T-Mobile, where’s my Android 1.5 update? I’m still at 1.0!

So what’s the alternative for me?

Of course I could go back to the Blackberry Curve, but my goal with the G1 was to access the potentially thousands of applications and do more with my phone, and the Blackberry AppWorld store just don’t look that appealing.

Why not the iPhone? Because I need a keyboard.

So? I’m considering a Palm Pre (nice keyboard), even though it means moving to Sprint, or perhaps one of the Motorola’s Android phones, that are not expected before Fall!

5 Comments | hardware, review, software, wireless | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by TechPulse 360

Tech Job Seekers Should Brush Up Online Presence, Social Network

May 1, 2009
Do not post goofy things on social networks, recommend executive search expert Kyung Yoon

Do not post goofy things on social networks, recommend executive search expert Kyung Yoon

With over 10% of unemployed in Silicon Valley and news of more layoffs to come, events like AAMA‘s on navigating the treacherous job market this week, prove to be very popular.

The hot topic attracted a full room of people at law firm DLA Piper in East Palo Alto, to hear  Talent Age CEO Kyung Yoon – a veteran in the executive search business – talk about “Navigating Your Career in Todays Job Market.”

“In these times, the only constant is change,” started Yoon.

For Yoon, to be successful in a career, it’s important to know your direction, what you really want to do, that you are passionate about. And not only take jobs for just the pay-check, the prestige or the respect.

“If you loose your job, and take the first job that somebody will pay you to do, I can guarantee you that it will be very bad for your career, that will then look like a succession of jobs and not a career. Follow your vision and don’t get paralyzed by fear because of all the statistics about this recession,” added Yoon.

Her advices also included:

  • The core asset of managing your career is your network, that is going to support you, validate who you are and which in the end mitigates the risks of somebody hiring you;
  • It’s no longer enough to have a well written chronological resume. You actually need a Web presence, a social network presence. If you can’t Google a person, they must be a nobody;
  • We use LinkedIn a lot because it’s a professional social network where people upload their resume, references, etc. It’s an important site to keep updated;
  • I would encourage you not do goofy things in Facebook or MySpace, because it will part of your Web presence;
  • Keep a resume really simple, and tailor it for the job you seek;
  • For the interview, do your homework and know who you are talking to;
  • Mentors are important too;
  • It’s important to take the time to invest in yourself, especially when you’re busy working to learn new skills, attend leadership seminars, etc.

Leave a Comment » | news, startups | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by TechPulse 360

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