Pete Rose/Branding (Short Take)

Yesterday as I was walking around I saw several signs out saying that Pete Rose would be appearing at noon at at one of the nearby shops to sign stuff. Most people in the US will know Pete Rose as "Charlie Hustle", arguably  the greatest baseball players of all time. Derek Jeter may have just gotten his 3000th hit, but Pete Rose had over 4000 over the course of his career and is the all time hits leader.

Rose would seem like a sure fire first ballot hall of fame player. There is only one problem. He's barred from baseball for life for betting on the game. Baseball and betting do not go hand in hand for reasons I won't go into here but look up the "Black Sox scandal" if you want to know more. Suffice it to say that Rose is persona non gratis in baseball and has been for more than two decades. Early on in his exile he had a lot of supporters. Over time his star has continued to fade and you seldom hear about him these days.

I walked past that shop a few times after Rose showed up. He was seated outside at a table with an attendant who was trying to drum up business. I'm a big baseball fan and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't cool to get to see him in person. I didn't stop though and almost nobody else did based on my observations. At most I saw one person at his table. Rose sat, somewhat slumped and staring disinterestedly the two times there was nobody there. The third time he was signing something but he was also talking on his phone.

A couple of things were reinforced for me based on this experience. One, you can have the greatest brand of all time and through poor choices completely destroy it and two, when you're down it's obviously tough to look like you care which only compounds the problem.

Image via Wikipedia

Related Article:

• Could Derek Jeter Pass Pete Rose As MLB's All-Time Hits Leader? (newyork.cbslocal.com)

Cisco Live 2011 Day One (Collaboration, Mega Trends)

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

I'm attending my first Cisco Live conference. This is one of the reasons I'm very busy. Between foraging for food, studying for a certification exam, going to the various sessions and walking too and from the conference there is just enough time for sleep and little else. Cisco Live is in Vegas this year and if you've been to Vegas you know it's big. Huge, monstrous. It can take a day just to get from one end of your Hotel to the other even if you don't stop to gamble. OK, maybe I exaggerate but not by as much as you might think if you've never been here before.

Here are some statistics to show how large this conference is

~14k attendees

~40k virtual attendees

~200 partner exhibitor/sponsors

~550 sessions

I attended a session today that was focused on collaboration. Here are some things I learned. Note, these are my almost raw notes. Hopefully there were not errors but if there were, assume I made them.

Notes (GENCOL 1001, Collaboration)

We are in the post PC Era. Hardware platforms no longer matter.

There are 500K daily activations of Android based devices.

If Facebook were a country it would be the third largest in the world. 50% of Facebook users login several times per day.

YouTube has 48 hours of video uploaded per minute

Our personal and professional lives are being impacted by these trends.

10 billion downloads in the three years the Apple App store has existed.

Open standards, integrated collaboration services. Open standards make it easy to support collaboration across different platforms. This is one reason we're in the Post PC era.

Business drivers: The mobile trend in an enterprise setting. July and August is traditionally holiday time in Europe. 63% of workers this year are planning on logging in and conducting work remotely. This is a major shift/change as anyone who has tried to deal with a company in Europe during these months will know. 

Cius (Cisco's Tablet) Cisco is positioning it as an enterprise tool. It has a higher level of security and access back to the enterprise with integrated collaboration services. Enterprises can develop and push applications as well in a secure way. Runs Cisco Jabber. A complete UC client that runs on various platforms including PC, MAC, Android, Smartphones. Does not lock you down to one device or type of device.  "People should not be locked down around one type of application or type of device".

WebEx runs on many types of devices as well. Including Android now/soon.

The world is getting mobile, but social as well. These are both mega trends. Customers form opinions not only by way of company marketing but also how customers communicate perceptions by way of Twitter, Facebook, etc. Many companies are reactive. Cisco uses SocialMiner to prioritize and locate things being said in the social space which gives companies an opportunity to be proactive.

The world is also getting virtual. This is a mega trend. There are two drivers. Security risks are one. Having data on the mobile device is a big risk. TCO is the other. Operating a wide variety of PC's and devices is very expensive. Providing a virtualized platform mitigates both these concerns.

Bringing rich media to virtual clients is tricky. Performance is important and it is complicated to get the level of performance people expect. 

Another mega trend is Visual. We are moving towards a more visual focused world. Visual is becoming more integrated into business processes. Cisco is moving towards a single architecture. The communication manager is the platform for Cisco's entire architecture across the entire range. Video Everywhere. All devices will be video enabled. IP phones, tablets, etc. MX200 is a full fledged telepresence system. Engineered and priced lower to increase the reach of telepresence.

Any to Any interoperability. We should take this for granted. Would the Apple iPhone have been successful if you could have only called other people with iPhones? All communications should take place through open standards. Customers must demand the use of open standards.

Related Articles:

• Welcome to Cisco LIVE (blogs.cisco.com)
• Cisco's Android-based Cius tablet to go on sale July 31 (infoworld.com)
• Vegas or Virtual? (blogs.cisco.com)

Google Plus(+)/Integration (Short Take)

Image via Wikipedia

The next few days are going to be very busy for me so I'm going to see if I can limit myself to short topics on my BLOG entries. I'm a write-a-holic though so we'll see how well that goes. I seem to have settled into near daily postings. There is enough going on in the world of business and technology that this isn't that hard to do, though I do like to have something unique to say. News outlets are a dime a dozen, if I don't have something to add then what's the point?

My topic for today is Google+'s integration with the Google toolbar that is present in GMail, Google Ready, Google Docs, etc. This integration means that so long as I'm using almost anything Google I know when something new. There are exceptions. Google's soon to be re-branded blogger service for instance totally lacks G+ integration so far as I can tell.

The really nice thing about this integration is that the notification widget is clickable. When you click you get a list of the topics that have been updated recently. You can then click on those topics and see at least part of the conversation for instance. You can even type a quick reply without ever having to open the G+ site.

Facebook has a lot of advantages in this fight. One leg up that Google has is their ability to integrate G+ into their suite of offerings. They've tried this before, notably with Buzz and had minimal success. Early indications are that they've learned from those experiences as the G+ integration feels much more natural and useful to me.

One other observation about G+. Almost all of my more tech obsessed friends have either made the shift or are anxious to do so. The less tech obsessed ones seem fairly indifferent. This could be a serious sign of trouble for Google or it could just be the typical early/mid/late adopter dynamic in action.

Related Articles:

• Google To Retire Blogger / Picasa Brands in Google+ Push (thetechscoop.net)
• Google Releases New Docs for Mobile Interface (searchenginejournal.com)
• Google Plus Looks Good But Needs An Application Platform (regulargeek.com)

G+/Facebook/Circles/Lists

The Google+ feature that is arguably getting the most coverage right now is Circles. Circles allow users to organize their friends into different groupings. You could have Circles for Friends, Family, Work, etc. You then have the choice of what Circles you include any time you post. Those of us who are fond of our privacy like Circles a lot. Those who are fond of Facebook seem to make one of a couple of different arguments. Either they insist that people don't want to be bothered with organizing their friends or they point out that Facebook has had Circles in the form of lists for a while now.

I can't speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself when I say that yes, I do want to be able to easily sort people into different groupings. This is as much for their benefit as it is for mine. If I'm going to make a trip up to Oregon do the 75% of people on my Facebook friends list who do not live up there really need to know? With Circles they don't have to. So long as I take a few minutes to create a circle of my Oregon based friends I can simply and easily send out a message that only they see. Everyone wins.

I'm an input junkie. I'm in front of a computer an average of around fourteen hours a day between work and recreation. I'm constantly reading, chatting, writing, etc. In short I can take a lot of incoming bandwidth without too much trouble. Even I have my limits though. Anything that encourages others to filter what they share is good so far as I'm concerned. So, in addition to enhancing privacy, Circles also encourage people not to waste the time of others. These are both good things.

In regards to Facebook and Lists, I recall fairly clearly that lists were added begrudgingly. They were never easy to use and have gotten buried deeper in the Facebook UI as time has gone on. It seems clear based on this that Facebook is a bit lukewarm on the concept of giving us tools to protect our privacy and minimize the amount of spam that we send to people in our social circles. (no pun intended)

Featuring Circles prominently may just end up being the make or break feature of G+. It's certainly Google's strongest differentiator right now and while the current implementation is fairly powerful it still needs some refinement. A stronger tie to Google contacts and the ability to choose a default circle are two suggestions I've seen that I'd like to see Google put in place.

If Google starts to gain significant momentum we'll likely see Facebook do a quick UI makeover that brings into the light of day. Or, Facebook could continue trying to trash the whole concept. I think there is a good chance that is the route they'll take, at least for awhile.

I wonder if the people at Facebook are wishing they'd completed their IPO already. I sense the very real possibility that billions of dollars are rapidly evaporating with each passing day.

Image via Wikipedia

Related Articles:

• Can Facebook and G+ Coexist? (emkey1.blogspot.com)
• Facebook engineers copy Google+ with 'Circle Hack' app (digitaltrends.com)
• What do Google execs know about Google+ privacy that you don't? (zdnet.com)
• Confused About Google+? You Already Know How to Use It (theatlantic.com)
• Google Plus Feature Request: Automatic Circles (readwriteweb.com)
• Privacy Experts Praise Google+ Rollout So Far (pcworld.com)
• With one simple metaphor, Google+ beats Facebook (pravdam.com)

Can Facebook and G+ Coexist?

I recently read an article that posited that Facebook and and Google's new plus service could somehow split the social networking space between them. Frankly I don't see how that can happen. Besides Facebook the only social networking sites with any traction as I write this are niche players like LinkedIn. MySpace was just sold for chump change and is all but forgotten. I'll go out on a limb here and say that the same will be true of G+ or Facebook a few years from now. I think this is a case where "There can be only one".

Right now Facebook is the place where almost everyone I want to communicate regularly with hangs out. I was never on MySpace, but I'm going to assume it had a similar feel/vibe at its height. Then Facebook came along. First it was College students but then they expanded to include everyone and eventually a tipping point was reached where there were enough people on Facebook that it became the default place to be and MySpace was for all intents and purposes dead because most of us just want one place we can go to post about our great/lousy/cool/whatever day and find out what our friends and family are up. Having to make those kinds of updates in more than one place is not enjoyable.

So to me this battle comes down to one question. Can Google build enough momentum to reach that tipping point where just over 50% of the people I want to keep in touch with make it their primary place to hang out. If that day comes Facebook will be in a lot of trouble.

I've been playing around with G+ for a few days now and I have to say it's growing on me. I use Google's various other tools extensively and the integration of G+ into Gmail alone is a huge advantage for Google. Every time I check my email I'll see an icon in the upper right corner that tells me that my G+ feed has had some activity. I can that click on that notification and get a quick and concise view without even having to go to the G+ site. That includes being able to read text from other peoples responses.

On the other side of this equation Facebook's rollout of Skype has been yet another example of their inability to understand my feelings in regards to what is appropriate. Right now I have a big pane on the right side of my Facebook screen entitled "A Faster Way to Message" that gives me two options. "Learn More" or "Try it Now". There is no "I don't care, go away" option. That bugs me, big time. Facebook has been smacked several times for defaulting to "opt out" on new services that infringed on their users privacy. I suppose it could be characterized as progress that in this case they are forcing people to make an informed decision but frankly I'm going to click on "Learn More", read as little as I can and then assuming it is possible I'll disable the feature.

OK, so it's probably clear who I'm rooting for at the moment. That could change as things develop though and I'm only one vote. It will take hundreds of millions of people moving to decide things in Google's favor.

This is an example of why it's bad to regularly be doing things that annoy your customers. You may be able to get away with it when you're the only credible player in a market but the minute another one comes along the market can turn against you quickly. Our relationships to companies have a lot of similarities to our relationships with people. If we feel victimized and taken advantage of we're not going to stick around if something better or even just different comes along. It remains to be seen if this is the situation that Facebook finds themselves in though.

Zuckerberg's recent criticisms of G+'s Circles are apropos and fair though. The fact that only the creator of a circle knows who is in it does have the potential to cause confusion and frustration for those who might, or might not be in a particular circle. Time will tell how much of an issue that is and whether Google addresses it in some way.

I think it's going to be begin to be clear which way this race is going by New Years. That's fast even in tech time but I don't think Google's window of opportunity is all that long here.

Image via Wikipedia

Related Articles:

• MySpace Creator: We Had Video Chat Years Ago (newser.com)
• MySpace was sold for a reported $35 million (promodirect.com)
• 
  
• Everyone's Talkin' About Google+ (grahamwolfe.wordpress.com)
• Does Google+ Rapture Indicate "Pent-Up Demand" For Facebook Alternative? (searchengineland.com)

iPad 2 Keyboard/Case (Short Take)

Yes, I'm a tech junkie. Even  before I bought my first computer at age fourteen I had an obsession with electronic gadgets. Truth be told, I'm also a wee bit jaded though. I know it might seem like I'm constantly getting excited by one new gadget or another but that's not true. Really.

OK, so maybe it is. My latest obsession is a very cool looking/sounding Aluminium iPad 2 case I spotted yesterday that comes with an integrated keyboard. Total price for two of these with shipping? $120. That's not chump change but if they are anywhere close to as nice as they look it should be a great investment. My wife now has her own iPad 2 and immediately wanted one of these as well when I showed it to her.

I've been looking with envy at the Asus Eee PC Transformer for awhile now. As I've written before, the concept of a tablet with optional detachable keyboard is appealing to me as it combines the best of both worlds. I already have a small Microsoft Bluetooth keyboard that I use with my iPad occasionally. It works great but is a bit cumbersome to lug around. In two or three weeks when my new purchase arrives I won't have to any more. As an added bonus this thing kind of makes an iPad 2 look like a Macbook Air.

I'll write a real review once I've had  some first hand experience with my new purchase. Delivery is likely a couple of weeks out and I'll want at least a day or two of use before I venture an opinion. At least that's the plan. Cool tech toys and poor impulse control tend to go hand in hand with me.

Image by dishfunctional via Flickr

Related Articles

• Aluminum Keyboard Disguises iPad as MacBook Air (wired.com)

Orders Of Magnitude/High Performance Computing

I've been working hard recently to get back up to speed on the current state of the art in super computing so that I can get a better understanding of the race to Exaflop capable systems. This may sound esoteric but it's important and foundational to understanding many of the developments we'll be seeing over the next several years.

Between 2001 and 2007 I worked at one of the leading High Performance Computing (HPC) centers. I supported the day to day operations and siting of many of the worlds fastest computers including BlueGene/L a system that in various forms held the number one position from September of 2004 until June of 2008 on the top 500 super computers list and is still in the top twenty at number fourteen. That is and was an amazing run that is unlikely to ever be duplicated given how quickly technology is moving forward.

To give an example, another system I worked on was Thunder which was an Intel Itanium based system that first appeared on the top 500 list in November of 2004. Thunder clocked in at 19.94 Teraflops which was good enough for number two. Today that number wouldn't even scrape the very bottom of the list which is held by a Chinese Intel Xeon based system that is over twice as fast.

BG/L at it's peak was bench marked at 478 Teraflops with put it close to half a Petaflop. BG/L is a cousin of the Watson super computer that IBM used to make human beings look mostly obsolete on Jeopardy recently.

The number one computer in the world today is K which runs at 8.2 Petaflops.

A Petaflop is 1024 Teraflops which is 1024 Gigaflops which is 1024 Megaflops which is 1024 Kiloflops which is where this litany will end. A FLOP is a floating point operation. So for instance calculating the answer to

3.4 * 4.4

would be a single FLOP. Floating point is all about the decimal place. A computer capable of doing 1024 such calculations in a second would be a one Kiloflops system. A system capable of doing

1024 * 1024

floating point calculations a second would be a one Megaflops system, and so on. Today's laptops and personal computers are generally capable of several Gigaflops using just their central processors and potentially much more than that if their GPU (Graphic Processing Units) are brought into the picture.

Enough of the boring math. Suffice it to say that hitting the really large numbers we're seeing today requires a lot of computers running in parallel.

So, in June of 2008 BlueGence/L was number one at 478 Teraflops. As of June 2011 the number one system is 8.2 Petaflops, or just over seventeen times faster. That's and impressive leap in three years. The thing is, to reach one Exaflop we'll need a system that is ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY ONE TIMES FASTER than the current top system.

The three companies most likely to play a big part in getting to that destination in no particular order are AMD, Intel & NVidia. Trying to predict who is going to be the key player in the first Exaflop based system is going to be fun.

Image via Wikipedia

Related articles

• Intel HPC plans need exascale I/O and storage (go.theregister.com)
• Moore's law will not hit the wall at exaflop supercomputers (nextbigfuture.com)
• Japan takes the Top 500 lead with K super (go.theregister.com)
• IBM's Blue Gene retains green supercomputer crown (infoworld.com)