I'm Loving my Froyo

Being the Android fanboy that I am, I was eager to install the latest and greatest 2.2 release (aka Froyo) that just became available over the weekend onto my Nexus One. After several days of playing around with the release I have to say that there are some really nice new features and enhancements, but most of them are relatively small and so I wouldn't say the release is a "must have" for everybody. However, for those techno-geeks like me it is a worthwhile upgrade. Among some of the niceties are:

• Built-in tethering support: This is the feature I've been eagerly anticipating. You can now configure your Android device to be a MiFi and save yourself the 50 bucks a month you're currently spending with your carrier. You can also tether to your device via USB, and if you're using Windows 7 then it just plain works without your having to install additional software or drivers...and no cheesy Dial-Up Networking config either.
• The home screen has a few subtle but useful changes. Shortcuts to the phone and browser apps now appear on the lower section of each home screen, making it easier to launch both apps without having to search for their specific icons. The search bar has also been enhanced to allow you to limit your searches to just websites, applications or contacts.
• Voice search appears to be quite a bit more accurate than before. You also now have the ability to select several different languages/dialects for voice search.
• Battery life seems to have improved a bit as well, although it's hard to quantify.
• The entire OS seems a bit more responsive than before. I've read some benchmark reports indicating that Froyo is up to 5 times faster than Eclair (2.1). I'm certainly not seeing a 5x improvement, but nonetheless the speed improvement is noticeable and appreciated.
• You now have the option to auto-update any of your downloaded/purchased apps when new versions become available.
• For those like me who are rapidly turning grey, the Gmail app finally supports scalable fonts. Why you can't use pinch-to-zoom across all apps is still beyond me, though...come on Google.
• Flash support: Finally! And it seems to work pretty well as best as I can tell.
• I also found out about this send-to-phone Chrome extension and Android app that let's you instantly send a web page or Google Map from your PC to your Android device, a la Jack Bauer on 24. Very cool indeed!

Is the Point and Shoot Digital Camera Dead?

As much as I enjoy personal technology, it's rare that I'll walk into an electronics store such as Best Buy and just look around. But I happened to do just that over the weekend, and while there I spent a few minutes browsing around all the different departments, looking at the latest and greatest they had to offer. When I went over to check out the digital cameras I marveled at how far they've come along...it's hard to believe that they keep getting smaller but even more feature rich, and at prices that are lower than ever before - here's an example of the one of the newest Canon's about to be released. But what was even more striking is the fact that during the time I was looking at cameras, not one other customer wandered over to that department. Now granted, I was there for only about 5 minutes or so, but if you've ever walked into your local Best Buy you know just how much foot traffic those stores generate, especially during weekends. But the lack of camera interest from other customers was very enlightening and confirms what I had already been thinking for some time now....Point and Shoot digital cameras are a dying breed.

I've mentioned in previous blog entries that we now live an era where accessibility is often more important than functionality, and taking pictures is another great example of that. I used to keep my trusty Canon SD700 packed permanently in my briefcase, in case I ever felt the urge or need to take a picture. But several months ago, after realizing that I was using my camera phone for pretty much all spur-of-the-moment picture taking, I decided to unpack it and it rarely has been touched since then. If you go out on the street today and see people at restaurants, sporting events and family gatherings you'll notice that the majority of them are now taking pictures with their camera phones instead of with standalone cameras. And they are doing so because: 1) it's easier not to have to carry around an extra device; 2) the emergence of killer smartphones such as the iPhone and Nexus One; 3) camera phone technology keeps getting better and better (btw the Nexus One's built-in camera is pretty stellar); and 4) within a matter of seconds the picture or video you've just taken can be uploaded to Facebook or YouTube and instantly shared with anyone. Now, before someone starts declaring that camera phones are not intended for serious photo use, please note that I am only talking casual use here...and that is why I focus specifically on the point and shoot variety of cameras.

Need more proof? I recently stumbled across this great webpage from Flickr which breaks down camera usage on their site by type, brand, etc...I've taken the liberty of including some of their screenshots here:

The graph above shows the most popular cameras being used across all of Flickr, and as you can see the iPhone is already at the very top, with a number of digital SLR's taking up the other top positions.

This graph shows the most popular point and shoot cameras. You can clearly see that the popularity of these cameras is waning over time.

Much like the standalone GPS companies, camera manufacturers should either focus on partnerships with handset manufacturers or concentrate their efforts in competing successfully in the DSLR or other "high end" camera categories. Traditional point and shoot is going to be dead before you know it.

What do you all think?

Goodbye Blackberry - Hello Nexus One and Android

I've been a pretty devout Blackberry user these past 10 years, starting with the original, clunky pager-looking model and ending with the Curve 8900. And between that time I must have cycled through half a dozen other models including the 7100T, 8700 and 8320. The main reason I've stuck with Blackberry so long is because it does a few things really well, push email being at the top of the list. And if you happen to be using the combination of Microsoft Outlook/Exchange on your desktop then the integration with Blackberry is rock solid and hard to beat.

So...what's finally gotten me to make a move after all these years? Well, three things really. First off, the popularity of the iPhone and other newer smartphones has certainly made me think of all the functionality I am losing out on by sticking with Blackberry. Though the Blackberry has made good strides to close the gap, I feel it's quite stuck in the stone ages by comparison. Secondly, as I mentioned in my last blog post my dependency on all things Microsoft has been drastically reduced over the past few years, corresponding with my increased dependency on Google-based apps. And finally, one year after the launch of Android there's finally a device cool enough that captures my imagination and allows me to migrate without having to switch cell phone carriers - that device is the new Google Nexus One.

I ordered the Nexus One on the day of the official launch and received it promptly the next morning via FedEx. Setting up the device was an absolute breeze, especially since I am a Gmail user. I entered the credentials for both my work and personal accounts, and it automatically began syncing all my email, contacts and calendar with my new phone. No software installation, no tethering of the device in order to sync...very painless! I then configured some of the preloaded applications such as Facebook, Google Voice and Google Maps...the latter is simply awesome, BTW. Finally, I downloaded a number of my "must have" applications including Yelp, OpenTable, Pandora and an RSS reader. All were downloaded and installed painlessly from the Android Market. I was actually quite surprised (in a good way) at the abundance of good applications already in the Android Market.

How do I like the phone? Well, I have to say that I love it and I'm never going back to the Blackberry! In addition to do all the normal phone sorts of things the apps themselves are highly functional, and the built-in browser is quite good as well. I'm one of those types that always likes to be near my computer in case I need to have access to something, and with the Blackberry I never felt that it could replace much of the functionality of my computer except when it came to email. But with the Nexus One I feel that I'm not compromised much, if at all, when using its browser or applications in lieu of my PC. In fact, being less dependent on my PC now feels quite liberating.

Inevitably there will be questions regarding the Nexus One and whether or not it is an "iPhone killer". There is plenty written about this already, so I'm not going to even make an attempt to tackle the topic. I suspect that most people will feel right now that the iPhone is still a better device, mainly because of the thousands upon thousands of cool apps that have already been written for it. But I also think that with the emergence of Android, along the hype surrounding some of the latest Android-based phones such as the Nexus One and Motorola Droid, that the gap will start to diminish rapidly. But there are a number of other reasons why I feel the Android platform has a good shot at beating Apple in the long run:

• Carrier independence - In the US you can already purchase Android phones that work on the T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint networks. And AT&T just announced upcoming availability of several Android-based phones by this summer. With the iPhone your choice is currently limited to AT&T and AT&T...lousy 3G and all. Yes, there are rumors floating around about some deal being cut with Verizon, but nothing official just yet.
• Device manufacturer independence - If you're an iPhone user you've got just one single handset choice. Yes, it's a great handset. But what if your requirement is that you need a hard keyboard, or maybe a flip-style phone? Sorry folks, you're just out of luck. But with Android you can already purchase handsets made by a variety of manufacturers such as HTC, Motorola and Samsung...and more are on the way. Device independence also allows for things that we sometimes take for granted, such as the ability to expand memory or replace the battery. Sorry, you can't do either of these on the iPhone.
• Developer frustration - The iPhone application approval process has been a source of consternation for many developers, and many have expressed their disdain over the sometimes draconian attitude that Apple seems to impose. As an open source platform I feel that Android is much more developer friendly. Yes, being more open can have its drawbacks too, but overall I think in the long run both the developer community as well as the end users are better served by an open model.
• Background applications - Being able to run Pandora in the background while using another Android application is pure joy. Part of the reason Google Voice works so well on Android is because it also runs the background. Apple claims that background applications can negatively affect the user experience, so that's why they don't allow it. Well, I say screw their lame excuse and tell them to get on board with every operating system that's been in existence since the 1950's.

Apple is this decade's version of the "Microsoft Monopoly". That monopoly has started to crumble apart, and I can foresee the same thing happening to Apple if they continue with this display of arrogance. It's good for them that their products are the ultimate in "cool" at the moment, but at some point the luster will wear off and they will have to start playing some ball.

My Ever-Decreasing Dependence on Microsoft, aka My Growing Dependence on Community and Open Source

Ten years ago I was an IT executive at a Fortune 500 financial services company, and I had overall responsibility for all the desktop and server technology that ran our internal applications. At the time we were on the leading edge of Microsoft technologies, and had rolled out Windows NT-based desktops to the entire company along with hundreds of Windows servers that ran everything from our corporate email to our internal CRM application. I was a staunch proponent of Microsoft during this time, as not only were their solutions a lot cheaper to run than the alternatives at the time (mostly UNIX-based) but the tight integration between Windows-based apps and the relative simplicity of dealing with a single platform seemed to make a lot of sense to me. Plus, some of their apps were clearly the best at the time, e.g. Microsoft Exchange which arguably still provides the best email experience out there.

Fast forward now to present day. I am now the co-founder in a Web 2.0 startup with less than 40 employees, and like most startups we try to do as much as we can on the cheap. How much Microsoft technology am I using today? Well, I am still quite dependent on my Windows laptop which is now running the latest and greatest OS, Windows 7. And I do spend a great deal of time within the Microsoft Office suite, whether it's managing my calendar and email or working on slides for a presentation. But that's pretty much it. Our major IT expense outside of people costs are the hardware and datacenter fees associated with running our website, but outside of that our IT expenses are close to zero. Let's look at some of the details.

The Wigix website is run completely on open source, mainly the LAMP stack plus some Java that is required for our search engine, which is also based on open source. The corporate IT types may shudder at the thought of relying on the community for support instead of going with one of the big players (e.g. IBM, Oracle), but my experience has been that the community provides a level of support and interaction that often exceeds that of the big software companies. And from an installation, integration and ease-of-use standpoint open source tends to be far easier to deal with than their licensed software counterparts. We are not in the minority here, as nearly all startups are heavy users of open source technology. BTW, does anyone even care about IIS anymore?

Like all other companies we are quite dependent on email. While I would love nothing better than to have the rich experienced associated with Exchange, I find that the free mail service provided by Google Apps (based on Gmail) is more than sufficient for our use. In fact, in this day and age of "real-time" I believe most people place a higher priority on accessibility and ease-of-use over pure functionality. Google has been nothing short of masterful on this front. I still use Outlook in order to access my mail, because I never got used to the way Gmail threads its discussions. But my fondness for Outlook is diminishing over time as well...right now it is the one app that routinely seems to bog down my laptop. Some of my employees have been pleading with me to switch to Thunderbird or another open source solution. I may eventually do that, probably at the same time I ditch my Blackberry Curve and switch to the upcoming Google Phone.

Another good example is the web browser. Up until 2 years ago I used Internet Explorer exclusively, as I felt I needed all of its rich functionality, all of its toolbars and plug-ins, etc. But when Chrome came out I decided to give it a try, and I haven't looked back since. The speed and simplicity of the browser seemed to outweigh everything else, and I realized that I didn't even really miss all the add-ons and extensions of IE. In fact, in the time it just takes to launch IE 8 on my laptop I could bring up Chrome and already be browsing a few websites...seriously. And now that Chrome supports extensions and does so in an elegant manner that does not bog the system down there is simply no reason to ever go back.

Microsoft has a huge challenge in front of itself competing with free. For sure, they can feel secure for awhile that the Fortune 500 types will continue to provide a steady revenue stream for them, but for how long? Except for Windows itself and the Office suite I've completely removed my dependency on them, and I suspect it won't be too long before I no longer have a need for Office either. And I have to think that many others feel the same way that I do too. This is unfortunate, because despite my commentary I've always had much admiration for the company, its leadership and the innovative technology they've brought to the market over the years.

Windows 7 - Nothing to Write Home About

A few of my co-workers had been playing around with Windows 7 for the past few months, so I finally bit the bullet myself and upgraded one of my machines to the RTM code, specifically the 32-bit Ultimate version. Before the install I had to make the always difficult choice of performing a fresh install or upgrading from my current OS (Vista Ultimate). I decided on the latter, because I was feeling lazy and didn't want to bother with figuring out all the apps that needed to be re-installed, configuring them correct post-install, etc. This actually turned out to be a mistake, which I will talk more about in a second. I was also disappointed to discover that there was no option to upgrade directly to the 64-bit version of Windows 7 from my 32-bit Vista, although I guess in putting on my techie hat and thinking about this more I have to admit it would be a difficult process for Microsoft to pull off.

The actual upgrade process itself is easily the most straightforward and hassle-free upgrade that Microsoft has ever come up with for any of its operating systems, so congratulations are in order here. Once the upgrade begins you're asked just a minimal amount of questions and once the process gets going it's pretty much hands-off until it completes. One of the really nice things it does right at the beginning of the process is take inventory of all your applications and tells you which ones it thinks has known issues and what the workarounds might be, along with other warnings. For example, even though iTunes is compatible with Windows 7 it reminded me that I should deauthorize my machine from iTunes before the upgrade and reauthorize it afterwards. I've often forgotten to do this, so that was a great reminder!

Anyway, I began the upgrade around 11pm and things were chugging along pretty well, but at around midnight or so I hit upon what I thought was a major snag. The upgrade was in the final step, which was titled something like "transferring program files and settings". The progress bar had gotten "stuck" at 42%, and didn't move at all for the next hour and a half or so, though you could still hear constant disk activity on my machine. Feeling a bit panicked I did a bunch of Google searches on the problem and found that a number of other users had come across the same issue. Some of them decided to just abandon the process and reboot their machines...fortunately, the install process detects this and restores the prior OS properly, according to the reports I read. Others claimed that the upgrade will actually complete given enough time and patience. Since it was nearly 2am by now and I was getting sleepy, I decided to take the "hope and pray" approach and went to bed.

Fortunately, when I got up the next morning my prayers were answered and the install completed successfully - all I needed to perform was one final reboot. So now this begs the question...Is Windows 7 really worth the upgrade? I would have to say that generally speaking the answer is no. Probably the biggest benefit I've seen so far is that fact that the OS loads a fair amount quicker and generally speaking apps seem to be more responsive when compared to running under Vista. It seems like Microsoft devoted much of its efforts to streamlining the OS and making it less resource intensive. Outside of the performance improvements I think the other changes are relatively minor and are mainly UI tweaks...In fact, I can't even think of a single "must have" feature that the OS provides. Check out Engadget's Windows 7 review for more specifics on all the new features.

The other problem I ran into is that several of my applications no longer worked correctly post-upgrade. These were mainly shareware-type applications that installed their own device drivers, and for the most part all it took was a simple uninstall/reinstall for the app to begin working correctly again. Some apps require being run in "compatibility mode" in order to work correctly, and Windows 7 provides a nice wizard to help you select which mode to run in. I only have one application, Acronis TruImage, that doesn't run 100% correctly.

In conclusion, here are my recommendations for those of you considering the upgrade:

• If you are already running Vista and are happy with its performance, stick with it unless you just need to have the latest and greatest.
• If you're stuck on XP and haven't upgraded to Vista because of its stiff hardware requirements and/or were concerned about performance, Windows 7 might be the ticket here.
• If you do decided to upgrade, do so by performing a fresh install. Even though you'll have to hassle with reinstalling your applications, I think at the end of the day it will be less time consuming for you.