Quote to Note: Google and Its View Point
July 6, 2012
“Women Explain Why Google+ Is All Dudes” uses a categorical affirmative. I like universals but Google Plus is not “all dudes.” I think Google has a dudey view point. I did want to highlight what I think is a useful insight into the company:
But that internal testing process can lead to products too tailored to the distorted bubble in which Googlers operate, where the food and transportation tends to be free, where the internet is incredibly fast and reliable, and where coworkers tend to be brilliant male computer scientists. Facebook, in contrast, was built by college students, for college students. And Google+ can’t yet compete.
Does Google “care”? Maybe in an abstract way. Will it change? Not until the demographics of computer science, physics, and math majors change.
Stephen E Arnold, July 6, 2012
Sponsored by Polyspot
CIMdata Releases White Paper Identifying Industry Weakness
July 6, 2012
Within the manufacturing industry one constant need is a company’s ability to adapt and allow model changes. A recent article titled, “CIMdata Publishes New White Paper ‘CAD Selection Considerations: Design Changes’”, on Melodika.net, explains the premise for one of the world’s leading PLM providers’, CIMdata, latest white paper.
The article explains the fundamental problem facing many enterprises:
“Innovation in product development relies heavily on the fundamental engineering cycle of modify and improve, so most new products are built from changes made to existing products. The modeling tools most beneficial to product designers must align to that cycle and should contain a wealth of rapid and flexible editing methods. When selecting a modeling suite, prospective users must assess their past New Product Introduction experiences and compile a list of their most important and impactful needs.”
At the core of their argument is a desperate need for new data management solutions tying together the various departments, often spread out around the globe, enabling such changes as mentioned to be made smoothly and quickly. For that reason we recommend that those companies finding themselves shopping for new PLM solutions contact Inforbix, a company dedicated to enabling their clients to ‘find, reuse and share product data’. CIMdata’s white paper is probably right on the money as far as highlighting this deficit in many PLM solutions which is why we recommend those struggling with data management go straight to the best for new solutions.
Catherine Lamsfuss, July 6, 2012
New Version of Oracle Flexicube Boosts Banking
July 6, 2012
An article at 4-Traders reveals, “Oracle Corporation: Oracle Introduces Oracle FLEXCUBE 12.0 to Help Banks Meet the Needs of Gen Y Customers.” We are not sure what the banking needs of a Gen Y customer is. Isn’t unemployment in the double digits for this cohort? Actually, it seems the headline is using the phrase simply to mean bringing banks’ user interface technology up to date. Well, okay. The press release reports:
“New online capabilities provide spend analysis, alerts and reminders across portfolios and interactions, empowering customers to track expenses and investments and giving them greater control over their finances. Oracle FLEXCUBE 12.0 offers enhanced mobile banking capabilities with new versions of applications for the iPhone, iPad, and Java ME devices. Banks can now use Oracle FLEXCUBE to provide customers with real-time offers and coupons based on location for a more personalized experience.”
So, not Gen Y so much as anyone who banks online. On the bankers’ side, FLEXICUBE 12.0 boasts role-based dashboards, a more inclusive customer-interaction view, and built-in interaction with Oracle ATG Web Commerce and Oracle Real-Time Decisions. It also provides open development tools for creating and modifying the user interface, business logic, and integrations. This includes the Oracle FLEXCUBE Development Workbench for Mobile and Direct Banking, which helps with deploying functionality across platforms, including mobile devices.
Cynthia Murrell, July 6, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
Tools to Cut eDiscovery Costs
July 6, 2012
Enterprise Communications recently reported on an eDiscovery cost cutting method in the article “Cut eDiscovery Costs with Smarter Tools and Smart Scope.”
According to the article, eDiscovery has become quite the hiccup for people who work in the legal field due to the fact that it creates a headache for attorneys to manage the mass amount of electronic data that is constantly growing. Even more frustrating is the fact that the majority of the data being turned up is irrelevant.
In order to cost effectively and efficiently manage this data, the majority of courts set parameters that lay out the scope of eDiscovery. Once these are reached there are a variety of solutions available to search and manage your data.
When discussing the eDiscovery tools out there, the article states:
“More and more eDiscovery providers are developing software algorithms that in addition to searching your data, can also help you with the collection, review and analysis process. Known as computer-assisted review, and also including predictive coding, it is the latest trend to hit litigation circles and eDiscovery. Tools such as Axcelerate Review & Analysis from leading providers, Recommind, and Zoom from Equivio are examples of comprehensive predictive coding software that is available.”
We enjoy the way that this article simply lays out the eDiscovery tools available. Here are our only questions: Is this the ultimate pitch for search and content processing? and what about risk reduction?
Jasmine Ashton, July 6, 2012
Sponsored by IKANOW
Protected: E-Discovery Standards Are On the Way
July 6, 2012
Microsoft Acquisition Acumen
July 5, 2012
When big technology companies buy other companies, the trajectory of those weddings is fascinating. Google has been a voracious consumer and discarder of acquisitions. Anyone remember Dodgeball? I read some of the stories about Microsoft’s purchase of aQuantitative. The Reuters’ news story is representative. Navigate to “Microsoft Takes $6.2 Billion Charge, Slows Internet Hopes.” The failure of acquisitions is common, and I am not too interested in what is obvious. However, I did want to document this factoid, which unfortunately we don’t know if it is accurate:
In addition to the write-down, Microsoft said its expectations for futuregrowth and profitability at its online services unit – which includes theBing search engine and MSN Internet portal – are “lower than previousestimates.”
How big is the Microsoft online business? “Chalk Up aQuantitative as Another Bad Microsoft Buy” from the “new” ZDNet:
Last quarter, Microsoft’s Online Services Division, the home of Bing andits online ad technologies, lost $480 million (which was actually $300million less than the comparable previous quarter).
My conclusion? Microsoft has deals with Nokia, the Surface alienation of some hardware partners, and the Fast Search & Transfer technology. The company seems to have had some bad luck with its new initiatives. Perhaps this is a management issue? I suppose one can blame the customers which some Microsoft competitors employ.
Stephen E Arnold, July 5, 2012
Sponsored by Polyspot
Guide to Conditional Content on Mobile Devices in SharePoint
July 5, 2012
Waldek Mastykarz is a software developer and SharePoint Server MVP. In his post, “Conditional Content on Mobile Devices the Easy Way in SharePoint 2010,” Mastykarz looks at some issues with displaying content in SharePoint on mobile devices. The author explains the issue,
Although mobile devices lower the bar for accessing information on the Internet they have their restrictions, such as screen size or bandwidth. In order to deliver optimal experience to your visitors you not only have to consider laying out all the different elements on the page, given the limited screen size, but also have to think about the amount of information you want to serve to your users to ensure that your website will load fast.
Mastykarz adds that responsive Web design allows you to ensure that your Web site is easy to use and content displays well in the limited screen space. He also provides guides and code snippets for enacting conditional content on mobile.
It seems that the experts at Fabasoft Mindbreeze understand the value of powerful search and mobile access to add more efficiency for SharePoint.
. . . makes company knowledge available on all mobile devices. You can act freely, independently and yet always securely. Irrespective of what format the data is in. Full functionality: Search results are displayed homogenously to the web client with regards to clear design and intuitive navigation.
With the full functionality of Fabasoft Mindbreeze for Enterprise and united on-premise and Cloud data, users will be able to act quickly in business matters with smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. Read more about the full suite of solutions at http://www.mindbreeze.com/.
Phillip West, July 5, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Facebook and Delicate Editing
July 5, 2012
Facebook’s cover was recently opened and some un-pleasantries were discovered within the multi-million dollar companies own pages. The Chief Operating Officer stepped in, according to the Business Insiders article ‘How Sheryl Sandberg Stamped Out Sexism At Facebook’ and swiftly edited the inappropriate faces inside Facebook.
Sheryl Sandberg met individually with the female engineers at Facebook, of which there were only around 15 within the hundreds of engineers. She learned through her interviews that these educated women were facing some discrimination inside the company from the men and discreetly took action to remedy the situations.
One of the engineers cited two examples of sexist behavior as:
“One of the senior managers had been known to proposition women in the company. I also had an issue with an engineer who behaved, by turns, dismissively or aggressively toward female product managers.”
Sandburg discreetly resolved the issues and stated:
“The manager who propositioned employees has been demoted and the aggressive engineer was moved to another team. You see, I’m so good that I make things happen and no one even knows about them.”
Situations like the ones mentioned can swiftly get out of hand if not handled correctly. Facebook’s COO dealt with existing problems to the satisfaction of disgruntled employees, while managing to keep publicity minimal. Sandburg presented an excellent example of professional management skills when she discreetly edited the sexist pages of Facebook.
Jennifer Shockley, July 5, 2012
How to Know If Customized PLM Solutions Are the Best Fit
July 5, 2012
When companies make the decision to implement product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions they are faced with an overwhelming number of vendors vying for their business. While some vendors claim out-of-the-box solutions are the best, others claim customization is the way to go. The MCAD Café article, “Understanding PLM System Customization”, tackles this issue. The article gives examples of when out-of-the-box would work as well as customized solutions. The recommendation, though, is a blend – configuration.
As the article wraps up,
“…organizations should steer clear of a dash to customize. It is to be expected that any new PLM system will have inadequacies, both factual and alleged. All workarounds and alternatives should be investigated first before making a commitment to changing the system. It is important to take into consideration that though customization might bring in a competitive gain, there are risks and costs associated with different types of customization. The heavier the customization is the riskier and costlier it becomes.”
We agree with the author in his analysis of companies who often go with a customized PLM solution:
“Over-reliance on heavy customization suggests a deeper problem – It can mean that due to poor PLM selection and evaluation process, the software is ill-fitting with the business requirements.”
To avoid this situation we recommend companies leaning toward customized PLM solutions contact the professionals at Inforbix, a PLM solutions provider who strives to help each customer meet their PLM needs. In most situations companies will realize a well-chosen PLM solution will do the job as well as a customized one.
Catherine Lamsfuss, July 5, 2012
Harness the Power of the Google Compute Engine
July 5, 2012
“Oh, me too, me too!” At the recent Google I/O Conference, Google made the announcement heralded in ExtremeTech’s “Google Compute Engine: for $2 Million/Day, Your Company Can Run the Third Fastest Supercomputer in the World.” Yes, Compute Engine is now available as an infrastructure-as-a-service (a.k.a. the Cloud), positioning itself in direct competition with Amazon EC2 and Microsoft Azure. Writer Sebastian Anthony reveals:
“Citing more than a decade of running and optimizing its own data centers and network infrastructure, Google is claiming that the Compute Engine is more scalable, more stable, and cheaper than the competition. . . . Google is claiming that Compute Engine gives you 50% more bang for your buck — though the company didn’t go as far as calling Amazon or Microsoft out. A quick glance at the Amazon EC2 pricing page suggests that Google’s $1.16/hour is actually more expensive, but perhaps it isn’t an apples-apples comparison.”
Perhaps not; that claim would bear some more investigation. The article examines the numbers behind the scalability assertion, noting that the Compute Engine has access to 777,000 processing cores. Compare that to Sequoia, the reigning fastest supercomputer, with 1.78 million cores. Ah big cars, big cigars, and big clouds. Boys will be boys, even when they are men.
In related links, click here for a Google tutorial on how to start, log in, and stop a Compute Engine virtual machine and set up a basic web server for it. It is a useful reference to tuck into your files.
Cynthia Murrell, July 5, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
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