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Smartphone Wars – How To Pick Sides

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A question I get a lot is which mobile phone I would recommend to my clients. This may seem strange at first that someone would ask their IT consultant, but considering how integral it can be to one’s business and overall communications, it’s a legitimate question to ask.

I read daily that Google’s Android mobile is growing in market share in leaps and bounds, surpassing the iPhone and even the BlackBerry. But is it the best mobile device for you or your business?

Google and Apple are now the market leaders of smartphones, but they have very different business models. Apple, adhering to its own policy of controlling the user experience from start to finish, has a restricted marketplace that requires that applications pass through a testing process before being available for purchase through iTunes. On the other hand, Android allows a user to run anything developed for it, no matter the source. And therein lies the problem. Without a strict QA process, malicious software easily infiltrates Android devices, to the point where 63% of malware discovered last quarter was on Android devices. Android’s other major issue is a phenomenon the industry refers to as “hardware fragmentation”. A more detailed description of the problem and how it applies to Android devices is available here -> http://bit.ly/tVI9gh. That being said, Google’s Android phones are great for the tech-savvy who love the ability to do whatever they want – much like the kind of user who chooses Linux over Windows or OS X. The cameras on current-generation Android smartphones are also noticeably superior to those on the iPhone or BlackBerry.

The old standard of BlackBerry for the business place  has lost a lot of traction due to RIM’s failure to keep up with the market for apps, and the notoriously painful BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Server) which, among other things, links the devices to Microsoft Exchange server to deliver email and offer other security options like remote wipe (allowing you to completely erase the device of all personal information and content in the event of a lost or stolen phone). The iPhone has this remote wipe feature out of the box with current firmware, and the Google Android phones have the feature available via third-party applications – but both without the need of expensive or clunky middleware. Then there was not one but two major BlackBerry services outages that affected the entire world this year for considerable periods. As a form of apology, the company offered customers free stuff, but it may be too little too late for many. The advantages of the BlackBerry though are not to be understated. They have put a lot of effort into the security of the devices, attaining security ratings that no others yet enjoy. The tactile keyboard is great, and BlackBerry messenger (BBM) alone is enough of a reason for some to sign right up. Their application pool is growing but is nothing compared to Android or iPhone.

The iPhone itself has a problems of its own. Complaints of shortened battery life plagued the 4s for a long time after launch (reported to be fixed with latest updates). The iPhone 4 similarly had antenna problems that Apple downplayed initially. And there is always the issue of screens cracking when dropped (though this isn’t typically a problem for those of us who have protective cases). As mentioned above, the iPhone app marketplace is strictly controlled, which for the very tech-savvy consider too restrictive. And the hardware itself is not user-serviceable, so is not an attractive option for tinkerers. Contrasting that is a massive marketplace of applications, tools and games, an active developer community, a company that is serious about streamlined experiences, and the intangible “cool factor” that goes along with Apple products.

Honorable mention goes to the Windows 7 phone, Microsoft’s relatively new entry into the smartphone market. Reviews are pretty good, but market share is quite low. Microsoft has had a rocky past when it comes to mobile devices. Time will tell whether their device will stick around.

Personally, I own an iPhone 4. I came from the BlackBerry world initially, frankly because the company I worked for required one. When my contract ran out I immediately chose the iPhone 4 because at the time, it was light years ahead of their competition with its high-resolution retina display. Since then, more advanced and faster competing phones have come available but I actually enjoy the fact that I don’t have to tinker with my phone to make things work. Past unpleasant experiences with both BlackBerry and Android have soured them for me, but I can certainly see the draw.

In my dealings with clients and even mobile solutions providers and other IT consulting firms, I frequently hear them express frustration with Android and BlackBerry and wishing they (or their clients) could “just get an iPhone”. That being said, personal preference rules, and company policy rules above all when selecting a phone. Weigh your options and see which feature set will best fit your needs and select your smartphone accordingly.

There’s not really a wrong answer, but it has a large impact as a piece of the overall IT infrastructure picture.

Manage Passwords The Easy Way

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Like most people, I have signed up for a vast array of internet services. Let’s start from the beginning, imagining you are a “new to the internet” user (if such a thing exists anymore).

When you sign up for internet service, you are given credentials to login to your online console where you can pay bills, check email, order new services, etc.

From there you may decide not to use the email address you were provided by your ISP (in case you decide one day to change providers), so you sign up for a free Hotmail, Yahoo, or Gmail account. Then your friends tell you about Facebook. “You have got to get on Facebook” they say. And so you do.

Then you discover all the things the internet has to offer. eBay. Amazon. Twitter. Netflix. Flickr. LinkedIn. PayPal. YouTube. Dropbox.

And if you’re anything like me, over the last few years you’ve accumulated multiple accounts of each. I personally have three Gmail accounts, two Hotmail accounts, and two Yahoo accounts – and that’s just E-mail. Making things worse, as a Google Apps user, I needed to make an additional Google account to access their new Google+ network (which has angered a large mob of angry *paying* Google Apps fanatics).

In light of all this, I’d absolutely love to have the same password for everything, but there are two major problems with that. One is that having the same password for everything is a security faux-pas (one should theoretically have a different password for each service so that if one password is compromised, you need not replace all of them). The other is that many services (such as banks and other sensitive areas) require passwords within specific parameters, for example “password must be a minimum of 8 characters with at least one uppercase, two symbols and one number”. Unless your initial password happens to coincide with the strictest of parameters, you’re forced to imagine a new password.

So how does one manage all of this? How do you escape from password hell?

There are innumerable options between all platforms, but the one piece of software I can recommend without hesitation is AgileBits 1Password. The key selling points for me are as follows:

  1. It’s multi-platform including mobile. Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Android.
  2. It’s pretty, especially for Mac. Never underestimate the impact aesthetics has usability.
  3. There are browser plugins. These will automatically detect a login form being filled out and will prompt you to save the credentials for storage (and later automated use)
  4. Flexible licenses. Have more than one computer? Purchase a family license which covers both Mac and PC and includes 5 licenses.
  5. It syncs! 1Password leverages Dropbox to synchronize the password vault between all devices. You are not required (as with some other programs) to manually copy the database or create each record individually.
  6. Password generator. Can’t think of a new password? Select the parameters you need and let the password generator do the thinking. Since you’ll be saving the password in the software anyway, it doesn’t have to be memorable.
  7. AgileBits appears to be a Canadian company. Not really a selling point per-se, but worth noting. We make good stuff.

There are other password management tools out there, one worthy of notable mention is the open source program KeePass, which bears some resemblance to the Windows version of 1Password. The major advantage of KeePass is that it is free, whereas 1Password starts at around $40, depending on what license option you pick. But if you want a streamlined program that integrates seamlessly securely, I can highly recommend 1Password to anyone.

And before you ask, no. This is not a sponsored blog post.

Backup or Archive? Know The Difference!

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A topic that sometimes comes up in conversation is that of backups. I can’t stress enough the importance of backups. Storage is cheap and there are lots of tools that make it ridiculously simple to enable, so there’s really no excuse not to.

A device that comes to mind is Apple’s Time Capsule. Integrated into recent version of OS X is the Time Machine utility which automatically creates differential backups at regular intervals, and as the hard disk fills up, it automatically removes older backups to make room. Sounds great, right?

What may not be evident is that there is a small but important difference between a “Backup” and an “Archive”.

In general terms, a backup utility or service will provide short-term protection in the event of a catastrophic hard drive failure. A recent backup means you can simply restore to the most recent state or at the very least recover just the important files. What this backup does not do is keep files forever. As noted previously, backup utilities will typically delete the oldest backup to make room for the newest. So let’s say you have a backup of a file you just created. Now, if you were to delete that file, it still exists on the backup drive – until perhaps six months from now when it runs out of room, and deletes it. Now because that file wasn’t on your computer for the last six months to be backed up, it is no longer there to recover.

That’s where a proper archive comes in. You can do this yourself by manually copying files to a disk outside the scope of the backup utility, or by simply making a backup and stowing it away in a safe or a safety deposit box. That data will go nowhere. There are also cloud-based storage services that can be configured to keep at least one version of every file every stored – forever (or for a specific period).

Knowing the difference between the two concepts can save you a lot of headaches, especially small businesses that rely on these handy tools.

Save By Going Green

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I’ve mentioned in the past that I specialize in “Green Computing” and I thought I should explain what that means.

Essentially it turns hardware investments into savings opportunities, with the added benefit of helping the environment by reducing or limiting power consumption. An easy example of this is when purchasing a new computer, you can invest in a high-efficiency power supply. The savings vary depending on the system, load, and electricity costs, but the ROI will typically happen between 6 to 12 months. Add to this a “smart” power strip that turns off peripheral devices when the “master” device is off or in standby, and any “One-Watt Initiative“{{1}} compliant devices (see Vampire Power), and you’re looking at significant savings, especially in the case of a large office space with multiple workstations. Newer computers run cooler and quieter due to better power efficiency and reduced heat, which will cut down on noise pollution in the home or office.

The initial investment in these technologies is minimal, and to conform to their respective standards the devices have excellent build quality and may well last longer than other non-green options. For information regarding smart power strips, you can read articles from BC Hydro here. Of special interest to businesses would be BC Hydro’s “Product Incentive Program” which grants you $7 for each smart power strip and many other devices, which you can read more about here, and see the list of eligible technologies here.

The Energy Star program is the international standard for energy efficient consumer products. The bar is constantly being set higher and higher to reduce energy consumption. Look for the Energy Star label in all consumer products, including many construction materials.

For the more environmentally conscious individual, industry directives such as RoHS aim to reduce or eliminate the use of hazardous substances such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and others from electronic equipment. Again, compliance with this standard results in superior build quality for devices.

There are green software solutions, too. Instead of running multiple costly servers, consider or outsourcing your infrastructure via cloud computing. With virtualization, you can run multiple “virtual” servers in parallel on the same physical device using software such as VMWare or Microsoft’s Virtual PC or Hyper-V. Added benefits to this and cloud computing include easy backups, system snapshots{{2}}, better uptime and reduced maintenance cost.

I use every opportunity to reduce gas consumption by offering phone support and remote desktop assistance to clients. To take advantage of this service, call me at 250-514-2639 and I will walk you through initiating a remote session. Remote sessions are billed by the minute with no minimum charge. All invoicing is submitted and processed digitally making McLean Consulting virtually paperless.

Please contact McLean Consulting for more information about green computing and how you can benefit.

Edit: I just discovered Microsoft’s Environment site: http://www.microsoft.com/environment/. It features articles and initiatives for more efficient and sustainable IT.

[[1]]The “One Watt Initiative” seeks to reduce standby power consumption in all consumer devices to one Watt, instead of the “power vampires” that needlessly plague homes and businesses today.[[1]]
[[2]]A system snapshot is basically a “saved system state” which you can return to at the click of a button.[[2]]

Microsoft Kinect–Gaming Creates a Natural User Interface Renaissance

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Unless you are a gamer, you may not have heard of Microsoft’s Kinect, or at least haven’t paid attention. But you will.

I’ve always been amazed at how science fiction can predict, inspire and even dictate real innovation. Jules Verne predicted the moon landing in very close detail, Star Trek gave us touch screen and voice-commanded computers and flip phones, Mark Twain predicted the Internet nearly 100 years before it ‘s current form. HG Wells predicted the Atomic Bomb in 1914. More recently, I was impressed by many of the “future technology” from the film Minority Report.

In the last case, the part that got me at first was how most of the inventions weren’t overreaching or particularly ambitious. Holographic imaging, flexible displays, targeted advertisements, sick sticks (nonlethal weapon that induces vomiting as its method of incapacitation – one of my favorite sci-fi inventions ever), and gesture-based user interface. I can’t confirm whether sick sticks exist yet, but now everything else does.

The Kinect was a combination camera/microphone/infared floodlight meant to use the human body as a controller in games for the Xbox 360 console. It seems to have come as a surprise to Microsoft that scientists and other bright minds saw a greater potential and hacked together software to let it run in other unintended applications, particularly in scientific and medical communities.

As an enthusiastic IT professional, any and all uses for this device fall within my realm, but getting back to films inspiring innovation, I’m most excited to see advances in gesture-based interfacing. I don’t believe the keyboard or mouse will go away anytime soon, but imagine the power of such a device when sitting at your computer. As a microphone and video camera, it can provide biometric security – detect when you are sitting at your computer and discern when someone else is. You can give verbal commands, and even hand gestures to manipulate objects on the screen. Carpal tunnel syndrome could be virtually a thing of the past, and you could potentially go for hours without ever having to touch an “old-school” mouse or keyboard.

It was recently announced that Kinect support would be integrated into Microsoft’s next operating system, aptly titled Windows 8, at the same time as they released an official Kinect SDK (Software Development Kit) so there is no further need for software engineers to cobble together their own.

Bottom line is that gesture interface or “Natural User Interface” is here, and it’s a game-changer.

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