Microsoft's own stalemate is helping push Small Business to the cloud.

A growing trend I've seen develop over the last months are many small businesses moving from SBS to Cloud. Companies are opening their eyes and seeing all of the opportunities of hosting their data verses housing their data in house. When a company thought of SBS they imagined a scaled down enterprise grade environment that would be iron clad. For the most part that vision is true. If you began your business three years ago. A major shift in business is just beginning. The name it carries right now is Cloud Services. If you look at where the curve began you can see where Microsoft failed to get ahead of this curve. Step back ten years ago there where many smoke signals displaying the shift that was going to happen. Palm and Microsoft started a great push in mobile technology that fueled what we have today. Many other players as well such as Nokia and Blackberry. Some of these companies road the lip of a wave too long. As you can see now both companies are surfing close-out waves. Both companies are pointing toward mobile management solutions. This is a trend I personal do not see fading.

I spoke of small business but let me push focus to a large scale environment for a moment. A few years ago Government was tied into the Microsoft ecosystem heavily. If you can understand the scale of equipment and cost it is very obvious this was not only a heavy upfront cost but a high maintenance cost as well. With technology this has been a given. The only way to truly bring this cost down is versatility. Though having active sync and web based access to you data and applications was a possibility it was not a friendly option. During my days of service with the 82nd Airborne I used a Palm i705 to access active directory and exchange while jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. Being the second man out of the bird directly behind my commander I had to have all communications up and live before my commander had time to lock and load his weapon. I had purchased the i705 personally. The military had not moved beyond toughbooks for access to email and data at the time. An advantage that I put into the hands of my commander was access to not only battlefield comms but quick and reliable access to email, calendar, and files. Before operations I removed my email account and loaded my commanders, as well as loading any Word, Excel, and Access data files he needed. I quickly saw a need but at the same time I saw a limitation. How could I push this envelope securely and give my commander more information. So I developed an in-house company website housed on a small server that only we had access to at the time. Now my operations data could be put on the internal website, updated, and we had real time data at our finger tips (stylus rather). Again this technology was not abroad in the military. Fast forward to today and you can understand that this vision has been but in play by all aspects of Government. Battlefield commanders have access to non secure data at any point during an operation. Secure data still has a tight lipped channel and solutions that differ and wont be spoke of here. A shift in having direct access to information has began to move from encrypted connections internally to devices that can decrypt the data in your hand remotely. An essential reason why Government can make the shift from a Microsoft environment to a Google Apps environment. Encryption happens at both ends. Devices can be remotely wiped and locked. Something that was available by Microsoft but at a higher cost. Files can be accessed remotely with a simple dropbox account. Workstations can be securely accessed via Remote Desktop Protocol. Anything now can be accessed remotely.

Lets shift back to small business. If anything can be accessed remotely then why fork out a high overhead in equipment for an internal workspace only option. Its understood that access can be granted to SBS servers and data can be remotely available. Equipment can have a heavy upfront cost but factor in maintenance and support and the cost continues to rise. Future development relies on the current equipment to be compatible and well tested. Hard drives fail and the equipment needs proper ventilation and cooling to maintain operations. Now you need to include warranty cost etc. The bill continues to rise for ownership of the equipment. Not to mention backup needs. For years we have thrown a lot of money at this solution that really doesn't fit properly for small business profit gains. The majority do not have in-house I.T. staff to shuffle this task and need 90% of it outsourced. Microsoft has not built directly around this concept and left most of these business needing more and spending more. Small Businesses want to buy iPhones because they can use them for business and personal. Complete an email, respond to a phone call, then shoot a photo or video of their child having fun. Where is the Microsoft equivalent device that fits this business model. Slowly getting out of the crawling phase and trying to run a marathon. Now visualize the documents you have created in that great Office suite you bought. It works well on your computer at work. It displays well, emails, collaborates, and functions great on the workstation in the office. Though can you find a good Microsoft provided option to use it mobile. Not without a third party workup that has minimal options. Without a notebook or netbook you can not recreate the experience properly. Many alternatives are available that is understood. That is why Cloud has become a common Small Business word. If you can not get all of this from the equipment you house then what is your alternative. A hosted option. Even though the hosted option has its own drawbacks and limitations the outcome out weighs the pitfalls.

To conclude: unless Microsoft moves quickly the only shift Microsoft will see in its favor is its own software being used for Enterprise Management. Sitting still and working on an OS that will serve two purposes is not the answer. Microsofts stalemate is not deciding between itself to separate the desktop from the mobile scene.

Though a serious subject I smirk at the "Go Green Save a Tree" bit:

Don't get me wrong I'm all for saving the environment. Though I must say people really go about this the wrong way. Now take away what you wish from my post but this is my opinion and not a full researched one. So before you criticize I'm saying up front I could be completely wrong. This is just how I see it thats all.

My first note is about companies like Apple who produce advertised eco-friendly products. Now it is great that they are using these materials. But! The whole Apple business plan is for you to buy their new product. They are very brilliant marketeers. I give them that. How do they make their sales numbers pop? They entice their customers to buy something new every year with options they omitted in the prior product. How many people buy an iPhone and upgrade as soon as the new one comes out with more features? Quick answer for you. Watch a Steve Jobs Keynote. Now is this a bad business practice. No it's not. Though I do find this is when a company as large as Apple should look into providing solutions and incentives for customers to donate their old product when they upgrade. I use Apple products despite the fact they have a closed platform. I'll go into that in another thread. I also recommend them to many people because they are great products. We can compare the same theory to the automotive industry but I'm a tech guy. Very few of us want our sports cars or race cars not running on fuel. We want performance and appearance that suits our taste. So we need to find a happy medium. My opinion for this happy medium is for companies offer a trade-up program that is eco-friendly. Thus reducing waste.

The next thing I want to go into is paper and software. We hear a lot of recycle paper and we're wasting so many trees. Part of this is true but here in America our tree farmers actual replace the majority if not all the trees during their process of harvesting trees. Though many will not complain when they get their fresh Christmas tree at the end of the year. If your going to be on the wagon use all of the wheels. A missing wheel can make for a wobbly ride. Again where is the happy medium when it comes to paper. This day and age there are always connected smart phones and computers. Becoming paper independent is actually a little easier than people think. Apple has an option build into the Mac OS, Windows has a free app called CutePDF, and other paid software that allows you to print your files in a .pdf format, and Linux has a built in function all the same. For those who don't understand this option; you actual are just printing your file into a format that you can use almost anywhere. Your phone, home computer, work computer, and so on. This is only a eco-friendly option. Of coarse there is always times you will need a paper format. On the why you should print to pdf vs paper: that file can travel in your pocket in a phone with out getting a wrinkle, you can store many pages with limitations usually based on what viewer you use to open the file. What will this help accomplish? One is that this file is going to save you ink in your printer and use of paper. Two as I mentioned earlier is portability as in you can take it any where. This helps in reducing paper but not having to go completely paperless since you can always print this file when needed.

Onto the software. One of the largest problems in computing which changed I think in the late 60's "I'm still young so correct me if I'm wrong" was proprietary software. Meaning software companies made it so you had to buy their software to view or edit their files. I will pick on Microsoft for this one. Lets look at Microsoft Office. Until recent years the only option was to purchase Microsoft's Office suit to create and edit a Word document. If your asking what impact does this have in the eco-friendly environment, then consider how large businesses must constantly purchase new software and hardware to stay current with business needs. As an I.T. Director I purchased more equipment that was tailored strictly to the Microsoft environment because there were no options for using current equipment to handle the workload Microsoft was putting on them. Yes that is part of growth and staying a high tech business. But for tasks as simple or complex as editing documents; this should not be the case. I am not on the same page as a full blown FOSS (free open source software) I still think that companies need to earn their money but there needs to be a happy medium. Quick example. There would be no Pepsi if we could only drink Coke. Two different drinks that are classified as a cola. In the computer field I think the happy medium is for software vendors to focus more on offering their functions (options) over format. A recent case for example is Bluray and HD DVD. Both formats were capable of delivering great content. We chose to make a final industry decision to ditch the other. Thus we created a huge HD DVD waste.

My point in this post is to shed a little light on the whole go green campaign. Yes it is a good thing. Yes it makes for great advertising. But there lies our problem. We have turned a debate into a profit. When it should be more like knowing you need to brush your teeth in the morning. It should not be a burden or an expensive change in life style.

Though I'm not a heavy eco-friendly person I have began to make some changes. Here to list a few.

1. I've gone from a custom built top of the line computer down to a netbook only option. Limited but its capable. Before I migrated I stored my data on large drives and donated the machine to a family member in need.

2. I've began to store my files (except private information files) in the cloud (online) using multiple sources. Examples: I no longer have to purchase that $80 planner anymore by migrating all my calendar info to Google calendars and sharing is not a hassle. I have told people I need to share files with about Windows Live Office and its 25GB storage option. Create, edit, and share your docs right from there. I also use Google Docs. I use multiple file hosting and sharing sites that integrate into computing and mobile environments well such as box.net, dropbox, Windows Live Mesh, ZumoDrive. All have folders that you can sync between computer, cloud, and mobile for greater access to your files.

3. For printing I use Adobe Acrobat 8 Pro which installs a pdf printer for paperless printing. Though the occasional paper print is still needed. At one point in time I had a digital picture frame for viewing my personal photos. With smartphones, tv's, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, and networked BluRay and DVD players I can view my favorite prints on almost any screen.

All of the products we use in this technology age produce a high carbon foot print. But we are not going back decades to change our habits. So lets find the happy medium and go about it from every angle not just a way to create profitable marketing.

The friends and family must haves.

There are a few apps I want to throw out there that are almost must have for your friends and family users. Most are Vista and Windows 7 but some can apply to the still using XP users.

With the exception of all XP users; this download adds the new features for Vista users and adds the missing features for Windows 7 users. Two main features that most home users will use most from these services are Live Photo Gallery and Mail. Most of the users I recommend this software to enjoy the Live Photo Gallery for the tagging and the new facial recognition process of organizing and enhancing their photos. While not perfect it gives Windows users a great free tool to manage photos in a fashion similar to iPhoto. The option to sign into your SkyDrive, Flicker, Facebook, YouTube, and others including the option to add a few select others such as Picasa Web etc. (Click the picture for the link to download.)

The second part to Live Essentials requires a Hotmail or Live mail account to access Windows Live SkyDrive. With SkyDrive you get 25 GB of online secure storage that you can use to upload Photos, use as a backup drive for computer files, or share files across multiple computers you may use. In addition to getting free online storage; with the Live account you have access to Office Online to edit Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations, and One Note for Notes. None of these require the application installed on the computer but does require an active internet connection to change edit. (Click the picture for the link to signup.)

The next application I would like to share is Trillian Instant Messenger. We all know our family members use IM or Facebook to communicate every now and again. Trillian has a great interface, tons of options, and connects to almost every chat client you can throw at it. To include: Facebook, AIM, Yahoo!, GTalk, MySpace, IRC, Skype, and so on. Not only can it chat; it also sends you notifications on arriving emails for the attached accounts. For social sites such as Facebook you can view wall posts from friends and comment right inside the application without opening your browser. Double click and it brings you right to the page in you web browser. (Click the picture to download Trillian.)

The last application I want to include is TeamViewer. This is the best remote desktop application I have personally used over the years. It is free and has a Business solution for Premium users. Almost four days out of the week I tend to receive a call to work on a friends or family members computer. The first thing I tell them is to load this program. Once installed you receive a unique set of numbers that represent the computer it is installed on. It also provides a alphanumeric password that changes daily automatically. Or for the more worried user you can click and change it with one click if you like. It has the essentials needed to do almost anything such as; remote control, presentation, chat, file transfer, video and audio, and the option to record the session etc. A must have application if you ever need to work on your friends computer or just want to access your home computer from the office, smartphone, or laptop (thumb drive app, iPhone, and Android apps available). Click picture to download TeamViewer.)

Wise Registry Cleaner. Each plays a key role in keeping a computer running great. Though user error can never stop most problems that accumulate viruses, spam, and such. I can personally say after years of use practices and working in the I.T. industry these are the apps I recommend. All free and not to heavy in the resource area. A few quick details on their uses. Microsoft Security Essentials will scan you computer for virus and malware. ccleaner scans the hard drive and registry for temp file, unused data, ect. Basically rids all the things left unused. SpyBot S&D checks for spyware; usually downloaded from the internet and sends back data from your computer. Lastly Wise Registry Cleaner will rid the registry of unused components that can begin to degrade Windows. Hope this list will help users enjoy their computer use and aide in productivity.

Finally Office is catching up to the real world

With more and more need to share information among users and businesses we have been forced to seek solutions that require a separate app or a long about way to accomplish the task. Sharepoint came along and help ease some of the pain but there was still a piece missing. Microsoft may have mended a solution in the upcoming Office 2010. Time will still tell how well they develop this suite but they are definitely headed the right direction this time.

Integrating share and Skydrive seems to be one of the best features I have seen an Office suite offer yet. I know there are many other options and new features that has been improved upon but this is actually breaking ground for a Microsoft Office product. I don't know how many times I have been at a family affair and asked if I could borrow a family members PC to get a doc out that someone asked me for. It is still in the works but I can soon edit that doc right online with a Word Web App and send it on its way. Lets face it carting around the notebook everywhere gets old. Editing a doc on the cell is still in infancy. The web is the best choice for out of the office work.

Even though I have used Google Docs and countless other solutions before now it is finally time Microsoft has come of age and is delivering. I have to say that 2009/2010 is the age Microsoft has finally listened to the customer and developed decent products that has worth to its customers. If they stay on point and don't get lazy they may improve their image some and gain some stock in the mean time.

Why all the hype Positive and Negative on the latest Windows OS's

All across the web we see Pros and Cons to Microsoft's latest Windows 7. Every blog, tech site, and news feeds have put out their input on the product. It has become such a heavy topic that it has drawn controversy from every corner. When the reality of the whole thing is; Microsoft has done the best their staff and developers can to produce a product within the business model they put together in delivering an OS around the every three year mark.

The many MS haters and Apple haters out there are going to criticize the OS and produce one sided opinions all day long. The end result will have very little to play on Microsoft's bottom line. Take a look at a couple of things Microsoft has to consider when they create a new OS. They know that no Mac user is going to fully convert to Microsoft. So they either conscious or subconscious (don't work for them so no facts) produce a UI that Mac lovers will purchase and run with bootcamp or completely virtual. You will not get that from Apple nor should you expect that. Microsoft is software centric. If the previous OS fails then they need to listen more closely to the community and fix what failed. While keeping in mind they're not going to please billions of users individually. If that were the case then they would lay the OS out like a Linux distro and you pick your favs. They attempt to at least put out a few versions with different options and price range but they keep to the core market they are approaching with each. They did that while improving compatibility in Windows 7. Microsoft is business first and consumer second. Their product has to fit the business model first and then adapt to the consumer. It has lacked to do this properly with Vista. That is why they had to go back to the drawing board and re-engineer Windows 7. I don't know of many businesses other than small businesses that ever upgraded to Vista.

The opinion that Vista was the worst OS: Well I upgraded when Vista came out and personally I would not completely put it on the worst side. Is it fast? Depends how much hardware you have! Is it slow? Depends on your tolerance! For those who say that Windows 7 is the greatest well guess what. It is only an improvement on the kernel from Vista. Sure some better code, performance tweaks, and UI changes have set it aside and to the norm people believe that it is a complete overhaul. So why should Microsoft not market it as such. Vista was a huge risk that Microsoft needed to take to make a serious change in their OS. I give them props for making that shift. We did at least get a more improved kernel. Vista was not the greatest but it functioned and provided some needed security that lacked from previous OS's. It is not like you have to upgrade from Windows XP or Vista to Windows 7.

To conclude; Microsoft is by no means a perfect solution. There is no perfect solution when it comes to computers. There never will be. There are only options and niche. If you love Apple then you sacrifice some gaming and office solutions. If you love Microsoft then you sacrifice simplicity, media to a point, and elegant design. If you love Linux then you are going in your own path the same way the three big names did in the beginning. So hype! Yeah that is why these three guys did their own basement work to begin with. They wanted it their way. To be known for what they think the OS should be. Like it or love it you at least have an option to have your OS of choice and they are almost to a point running along the same hardware. So I get the fanboyism. Though the post may look fanboy on the Microsoft side, I use variants of all three OS's everyday and IMO they are what they are and should stop being compared. They are OS's sure but each serve a different purpose.

Tablets and why we need better products

Tablet PCs have yet to hit the market properly. A device that can be put in the category of "before its time" should be hitting prime time right now. This is no longer a niche market. It is 2009 and multitouch has shown pure adaptation in the computer field. Lets look at some benefits already out that could push the tablet form factor a little bit. E-readers have really started to explode on the market. What may be a simple device to read a book has shown place in today's tech savvy lifestyle. So if you are more opt to read on a device rather then pick up a paper or book why should we not be apt to write on a said device. Sure a keyboard is a great input device. That is why most tablets are hybrids. Look at cellphones. We are already adapting to the touch screen technology on our phones why not our computers. With the price of notebooks dropping like flies splurging on a ink-able touch screen should not be a hard hit on the pocket anymore. Manufactures need to step up and start using this technology more than they have in the past years.

There has been some great tablet products that just did not take off. Most due to price and performance compared to the notebook. Tablets have a market. A large market too if done right. College students can really benefit from tablets. And lets face it what has been a bigger Marketing campaign adults or students lately. Netbooks hit a boom for a while because of price and the economy. What happened as a result is price wars on the average sized notebooks to compete. So how can you put the notebook back on the market. Simple start giving more options on hardware other than just performance and looks. If manufacturers start putting ink ability built right in to the average notebook then I can almost guarantee it will catch on. Take for instance the notebook I have currently. Plain ole Acer Aspire 5610Z. Nothing special. But what if the monitor had ink or multitouch. The screen does not necessarily have to rotate as a tablet but I could just pull out the pen and edit right on the monitor. They do not have to be pure rotate and fold tablets. More so just the tablet technology built right in. Its time folks for this to be a common option.

Sure Microsoft and Apple have been in the spot lite lately on new tablet technologies and some new twists to tablet use. That is all well and good but as we can see may not be for everyone. All I am asking is lets really make the notebook more of a personal device by giving me an option to put my real signature on my emails, hand write a personal letter, circle a snippet on the web, or make a doodle. I'm sure some may say why not just go and buy a tablet out right. To that I say why can't I go and get the notebook I want and have that as an option package. Why can this not be an option package on the majority rather than a separate category all together that limits me on the types of notebooks I have to choose from. Components for notebooks have really come of age. Speed has become almost second nature in development of newer devices. So the tablets of yesterday and their limitations should be out of the question. Processors and memory have made great leaps since. So to the manufactures "there is no excuse on why this could not be an option let alone a standard just as bluetooth and wifi."

Microsoft's answer to virus protection (Microsoft Security Essential)

"Hey its about time my software provider addresses its most vulnerable weakness!" You know most people don't care if Microsoft will put out a perfect virus protection solution. In fact we all know there is no such thing. Security suites are always a reaction to an action. Though Microsoft after all these years have finally addressed this fact and gave the users a solution that helps put owning a Microsoft product a little safer. Still not a perfect solution but it does the the job and holds its own ranking in the top five with the current free solutions. I really have to give Microsoft an attaboy on this one. I don't see anything revolutionary about this product but I finally see Microsoft doing one thing right. For years and years users have been frustrated with Microsoft on this issue. They even did a great job as a set it and forget solution. Most of the built-in recommended settings will do the trick. It also gives the more comprehensive user with options such as excluding file types, processes, and file locations. Though if your are real serious about security and still want the best from a free solution then Avira AntiVir is the solution for you. But if you just want a piece of mind virus solution I would far recommend this free solution to anyone I know. Kudos Microsoft for listening to your supporters and giving them something that should have been there a long time ago.

Waiting for Great Products

In 2006 I opted for an invite from the scrybe team to test the beta organization product. Before Adobe Air and Google Gears were available this company had produced an online calendar product that was available for offline use. It got so much attention at the time that everyone was under the impression the product would be available in the near future and would change how the calendar would be used. Well all of us that got the invite are still awaiting the launch of this great product. In fact many including my self have actually stopped using the product because no news or updates have been added in over two years. So here is my opinion why in the next coming months or year this company will bring us a product the users have been waiting for.

One. The time is now. So many new tools have been produced to put this product in everyday lives of the public and the public not looking at the product as something that came out before its time. Users are more interested in offline use of web apps. As cloud computing is become a thing of the present and not the future this products prime time opportunity is to get back into the public eye and soon.

Two. The fan base that was created in 2006 have provided the scrybe community with suggestions that has given the company some great feed back to implement and be the complete product they are looking for. Scrybe has had almost three years to gather trends to but together something the public is looking for.

Three. Still to this day I have yet to see a calendaring product produced that gives me the functionality as scrybe did. Here is why. Microsoft Outlook has the worst calendar options I have seen. Sure it is a good productive tool but not as functional as today's life demands have become. Using the calendar on multiple devices requires tethering a device. Google calendars are just that. A Calendar, subscription options, and some basic task options. No one has produced a true calendar that you can fully integrates notes, tasks, reminders, web clips, photos, videos, contacts, and other file formats. I would like a calendar that I can add people to and completely share almost anything with. Set up a conference and post an image or document the will show on the calendar for all to see. So when I look at the calendar I know what the meeting is about, have a few items on there that I can share with whom ever and we are all on the same page with, and everybody already has the notes right on the calendar. Here is a scenario that I used to go through every day while serving our country. As these meetings were more intense than any job I have had to date. Here was what I had to carry. A planner either PDA or paper type, at least five to ten documents I created on the days meeting, a note pad to take extensive notes from all of the departments, a company printout calendar that include many extra pages of what the other departments were doing on each sheet since they could not fit on a daily or weekly printout view, and a manual or two about the classes I had to perform. There were more depending upon the meeting but these were the basics. So having all of these options on a multiple platform based product would have really made each meeting more endurable since backpacks were not a uniform option.

In conclusion It would be nice to see the scrybe teams idea of an organizational product finally be put into place. If not then I may just try and find some great coders and do this myself.

Blah..Blah..Blah..bing

Lets face it; Microsoft is not going away. Can they really steal the search spotlight? I think not. After 15 minutes with the search app I quickly abandoned it. Why? Well one thing Microsoft does well is candy coat crap. I don't feel they have brought enough to the table with bing. Sure it shows a few features that some would like from Google. More so in images and video. But there is just not enough there to convert me. Microsoft does not understand that what Google does so well is simplicity. Ever since Microsoft released Office 2007, Vista, and Server 2008 I have been turned off from their products. Which is sad since I have been an avid user since the release of Windows 95. Mainly due to the fact that they are pulling away from what people really want. Microsoft does not understand the public. Business yes but not the masses. Back to bing. To be honest I don't think bing will even hurt Yahoo stocks. Once the dust settles I am sure that users will go right back to their previous search engine habits. My opinion is there is nothing new here worth talking about. Which is where Microsoft has been heading with the majority of the products they are putting out. I mean they bring in the designer of Office for their search. Out side of business people who really pays for office anymore. So what is your opinion?