10 things Android does really well

I believe that Android has a number of things that need to come up to speed for it to remain a long-term player in the mobile space, but there are also a lot of things I think Android gets right. This is a list of 10 things Android does well that provide it with competitive advantages.

1: Hardware access

The Android development model’s wide open nature allows app developers to do things (or do them more easily) that they can’t do on other platforms. As a result, entire categories of applications can be written for Android but not for other platforms. If that is what you need (and for many folks it is), Android is a winner.

2: Variety of device types

Because OEMs can access the source code and modify it to fit their needs, and because of the Linux-underpinnings of Android, it is relatively easy for Android to find its way into all sorts of things that are not smartphones or tablets. When you think of Android not as a phone OS but as a compact Linux distribution with specialization in certain capabilities, a lot of avenues for use open themselves up.

3: User modifications

Android phones are much easier for end users to directly control with software. Its use of certain common computing standards and ideas (for example, presenting its storage as a standard USB thumb drive when attached to a PC) makes it easy to make those modifications, put data onto the device outside the applications themselves, and do much more with the phone.

4: In-depth system information

Again, what we see with Android is that applications (and users) have much more access to the device’s guts. While this may not be necessarily useful for the typical user, the capability certainly does not hurt, and power users and developers get a lot of mileage out of it.

5: Multitasking

The Android multitasking model is identical to a PC’s. Although this has drawbacks (particularly around resource usage), there is no substitute for it if you want to write certain types of applications. Sure, other systems may allow tricks like push notifications, but they really can’t do everything that a full multitasking system like Android can do. Again, this speaks to Android enabling applications that just aren’t possible on other platforms.

6: Support for new hardware concepts

If you have a great idea for a hardware device, and that idea goes outside the established hardware universe, Android is your only real option as a manufacturer. Apple and RIM completely control the iOS and BlackBerry hardware, respectively. And with WP7, Microsoft has established certain baselines that devices must meet. While it doesn’t forbid going above and beyond it, it is much harder for an OEM to do something like the Droid Bionic with WP7 than it is with Android.

7: Widgets

The Android widgets allow for some really neat functionality to be put directly on the “desktop” of the device. Yes, the WP7 Live Tiles are a great way of providing a basic at-a-glance piece of functionality, but the widgets go so much further than that. For example, as much as I like my WP7 phone’s Facebook integration, the Facebook widget that came with the MotoBlur UI is phenomenally easy to use and is not possible on anything other than Android.

8: Google integration

If you have brought Google’s services into your workflow in a significant way, Android does a good job of bringing those services to your phone, tablet, and other devices. Other OSes have their own integrations, but they are with systems that right now do not have much traction or usage outside those integrations. Lots of people are heavily invested with Google’s products long before they buy a smartphone, so for them, Android is a natural extension of their work habits.

9: Carrier compatibility

At this point, Android is ubiquitous. Every carrier offers Android phones and usually has a good variety of them to boot. If you make an investment into the Android ecosystem, you can be sure that even if your device can’t transfer, your knowledge and integrations will go to the new device pretty smoothly. As iPhone owners could tell you, before non-AT&T carriers had the iPhone, it was pretty miserable to be tied to just one carrier.

10: Price

The cost of Android itself ranges from “free” to “cheap” depending on the OEM and who they are paying patent protection to. (I know, that’s a mess!) While the cost of the OS itself isn’t a major component of the cost of making a phone, Android has been easy for phone makers to work with, so they can put it on a wide range of phones at different price points and still make a profit. This allows you to get an Android phone at a very attractive price.

Link:

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-things-android-does-really-well/2848?tag=nl.e101

Five Microsoft apps that will change IT

Let me preface this article by saying that I don’t believe that these are the only five upcoming Microsoft releases that will have a major impact on IT in the coming years. I specifically chose these products because I have some strong opinions on how they will help shape Microsoft’s enterprise future.

1: System Center Configuration Manager 2012

In a former life, SCCM was known as Systems Management Server (SMS). With the upcoming release of SCCM 2012, Microsoft is introducing major changes to the product designed to enhance the end-user experience and streamline IT operations.

For example, in SCCM 2012, Microsoft is making the user the focus rather than computers. This really makes sense, particularly as users begin to rely on more and more devices. With SCCM 2012, as users roam between different computers, their applications can follow them.

To this end, Microsoft is also adding a better software portal to SCCM 2012. While SCCM has always had a concept of a portal, it wasn’t very intuitive. With SCCM 2012, the software portal is a Web-based service from which users can proactively choose to install new software.

The big deal: These features are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what’s new and good in SCCM 2012, but they demonstrate Microsoft’s focus on the end user, which, along with initiatives such as BYOD and even VDI, are the continuation of a trend in this direction.

2: System Center Operations Manager 2012

For quite a while, SCOM has had availability monitoring for network devices, and there have been third-party tools that could get more detailed information from network devices. However, SCOM 2012 provides support for much more in the way of native device monitoring. SCOM 2012 offers the ability to discover and monitor network devices, including the various interfaces and ports on those devices. With SCOM 2012, you can go far beyond simple up/down monitoring in SCOM.

The big deal: Microsoft offers various System Center bundles that make the products available in affordable ways. Now, SCOM can be used for much more than it could before. SCOM has always been an outstanding monitoring tool for Microsoft environments. SCOM 2007 added support for some third-party platforms, and SCOM 2012 extends the infrastructure monitoring capabilities of the product.

3: Windows 8 client

Much has been written about Windows 8, and Microsoft is certainly making the product an emphasis in the coming form factor war. If Windows 8 works the way that Microsoft seems to want it to work — and the market accepts it as a viable option outside the confines of the traditional computing space — the product could revolutionize computing by allowing the same operating system and applications to run seamlessly across a wide variety of devices, including PCs, laptops, tablets, phones, and even gaming consoles. Obviously, Microsoft has Windows Phone 7 as another mobile option for mobile devices, but the interface similarities may help when it comes to widespread adoption.

The big deal: It’s clear that Microsoft has an uphill battle ahead of it when it comes to the mobile space. If the company can get Windows 8 right, it could create massive opportunities for developers to get their applications in front of audiences on any device form factor they use.

4: Lync

I like Lync. The product has the potential to seriously disrupt the telephony space, and it adds serious unified communications capabilities to organizations that deploy it. Lync 2010 added a number of user-centric features, including the “me” area, which allows users to set their own status and track their own visibility. Lync also enables users to share individual desktops and to collaborate with other users. In addition, Lync includes audio and video conferencing capabilities and much more.

The big deal: Between Lync and Microsoft’s Skype acquisition, the company is well positioned to own the voice and video space if it can execute well. Lync can be a full-fledged replacement for an existing PBX and makes person-to-person communication very easy via a number of different channels.

5: Hyper-V 3.0

Microsoft has gone on record to say that Hyper-V 3.0 will catapult the company’s virtualization efforts and move it, in some ways, beyond what even VMware is offering. Hyper-V 3.0 will add the ability to perform multiple concurrent live migrations and introduces the new VHDX virtual disk format, a virtual fibre channel adapter and boot from SAN capabilities.

From a scalability perspective, Hyper-V 3.0 supports up to 160 logical processors on a host, as well as up to 2 TB of RAM. Guests will be able to support 32 vCPUs and up to 512 GB of RAM.

The big deal: Again, this is not intended to be a complete Hyper-V 3.0 primer. However, this is another instance where a combination of circumstance and feature gap closing may help Microsoft. VMware has, in the opinion of many, made some serious errors in its new licensing schemes. This may provide an outstanding opportunity for Hyper-V 3.0 to begin to supplant VMware in some environments. Hyper-V 3.0 will begin to erase some of VMware’s feature lead, which may help this process along.

What do you think? Will Microsoft supplant VMware in any significant way?

Linux Command Line

Command	Description
# arch	show architecture of machine(1)   [man]
# cal 2007	show the timetable of 2007   [man]
# cat /proc/cpuinfo	show information CPU info   [man]
# cat /proc/interrupts	show interrupts   [man]
# cat /proc/meminfo	verify memory use   [man]
# cat /proc/swaps	show file(s) swap   [man]
# cat /proc/version	show version of the kernel   [man]
# cat /proc/net/dev	show network adpters and statistics   [man]
# cat /proc/mounts	show mounted file system(s)   [man]
# clock -w	save date changes on BIOS   [man]
# date	show system date   [man]
# date 041217002007.00	set date and time - MonthDayhoursMinutesYear.Seconds   [man]
# dmidecode -q	show hardware system components - (SMBIOS / DMI)   [man]
# hdparm -i /dev/hda	displays the characteristics of a hard-disk   [man]
# hdparm -tT /dev/sda	perform test reading on a hard-disk   [man]
# lspci -tv	display PCI devices   [man]
# lsusb -tv	show USB devices   [man]
# uname -m	show architecture of machine(2)   [man]
# uname -r	show used kernel version   [man]

For more commands, follow this link;
http://www.linuxguide.it/commands_list.php

Apple begins recall of first-gen iPod nanos after battery problems

Apple has begun its recall program to replace the first generation iPod nano, after determining that there is a problem with the battery. Any iPod nano that was sold between September 2005 and December 2006 could “overheat and pose a safety risk”.

The company has said that it traced it to a single battery supplier, and says that the likelihood of the battery overheating increases as the battery ages. Because of that, you should stop using your old iPod nano NOW and replace it.

Apple will give you a replacement unit, free of charge. However, most likely, you’re going to get one of the later generations of the iPod nano. We’re not expecting Apple to just give you another first-generation iPod nano, because its five-to-six years old and most likely doesn’t have any more stock. I do have a first-generation iPod nano that is eligible for this, so we’ll see what Apple gives in return since they are keeping it all hush-hush.

Apple’s recall program includes Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. You’ll also need to make sure your serial number matches between the dates of manufacturer, which you can find on this handy image below:

If you do use the online form, then you have ten business days to get the product sent to Apple. For Australians, print out the dispatch label and go to the nearest Australia Post. You should not include the power or USB cord, or manuals, as they will not be returned to you. Please also note that it could take five business days for your package to sent to Apple, depending on your region.Then you will have to wait up to six weeks from when Apple receives your iPod nano to ship out a replacement unit.

If you don’t want to use the online form, you can head over to the Apple Store or an Apple Authorised Service Provider to help you send the product over to Apple for validation and trade it in.

The new iPod nano, whatever it is, is “warranted to be free from defects for 90 days from the date of service.”

Short URL: http://bit.ly/vpGaic

Article from:

http://techgeek.com.au/2011/11/13/apple-begins-recall-of-first-gen-ipod-nanos-after-battery-problems/

HP holding “all-hands” meeting tonight, finally decide the fate of webOS

UPDATE: Rumours are intensifying after Meg Whitman, current CEO of HP, told a room of HP and Palm employees that a final decision to continue or not continue to support the fledgling webOS will come in three to four weeks.

She says that “It’s really important to me to make the right decision, not the fast decision” and that if HP does decide to keep the platform it will “do it in a very significant way over a multi-year period.” The delay has been caused by the recent decision on HP PC business and the work behind HP’s Autonomy aquisition. If HP does decide to keep webOS, Whitman has suggested they will focus on tablets more than phones.

It’s going to be interesting, but today all we can say is stay tuned to TECHGEEK.com.au.

ORIGINAL: The rumours that HP is selling webOS have grown stronger since last nights report from Reuters. Now The Verge is reporting that, according to “multiple sources”, HP is holding a all-hands meeting tonight, led by Meg Whitman, that will decide the fate of webOS.

As we told you yesterday, the purchaser is rumoured to be IBM, Oracle, and RIM as well as a few unlikely contenders.

Details are scarce, but you can be sure TECHGEEK.com.au have all the news on the sale of webOS as it comes to hand. Fingers crossed something good happens.

Short URL: http://bit.ly/rPes1B