Social Software for Grown-ups

I'm at Lotusphere 2007 in Orlando.

For those not "in the know", Lotusphere has been for a number of years the prime event for IBM Lotus Software, and is particularly relevant this year, due to a particular announcement made last monday.

Basically, IBM is launching a new social software oriented to businesses. Relevance of that "modest" announcement might be bigger than it sounds.

In the recent couple years, we've seen sites like MySpace, Facebook, Hi5 and the such, growing and creating a loyal and faithful user-base.

A user-base largely formed by teenagers talking about topics as relevant to them a dating, popularity, sports, and their favorite music or shows. But not only that. Also, has provided a platform to expand their social network, creating personal connections in several levels (our friends are my friends and their friends are now my friends and so on...).

Does this mean that a big corporate giant like IBM will now cater to the needs of 15-year olds?

No. But social software can and will be a big part of corporate life. Just like "grown-ups" caught up with teens in the use of now widespread technologies like e-mail or instant messaging -and more recently blogging, and wikis-.

We'll be seeing how this social software will be more and more relevant to such important issues like innovation, cost-reduction, efficiency and collaboration.

Got Bista?

I started typing this post's title with the intent of writing "GOT VISTA?", but somehow I committed a typo and ended up writing "Bista".
I thought about correcting it, but then I realized that the most appropriate thing was to leave it like that: I started off badly, just like MS Vista did.
Seems like the early release of MS Vista is facing a lot of problems, among them, an exploit that could potentially allow a hacker to take control of your PC.
Yikes.
Yet another flawed OS by the evil empire.

War of the consoles

We are all aware of the state of things in the arena of gaming today. We can distinguish these factors:

1. Convergence. It's not just a gaming console, it's also an "entertainment center", complete with DVD, Blu-ray, HD-DVD, internet connectivity, and all your family pictures, music library and cooking recipes. If it only could toast bagels!

2. Tricks are not just for kids. Game consoles are geared more and more to a more mature audience... -well, except for Nintendo-. This has brought to us the delights of playing a drug-dealing, thug-smacking psychopathic criminal -in the Grand Theft Auto series- or a football game that puts you not in charge of scoring a touchdown in the superbowl, but rather dealing with the nuances of free-agency and hot-dog pricing... Games are more and more complex, more violent and darker. All to appeal adults in addition of (not instead of) kids.

3. On line play. ALL new generation consoles have now internet access capabilities. This is the major feature at hand. This also offers more interesting possibilities not only for gathering players on a single game, but also to get updates on-line (play an NFL game with the current real-life injuries list in mind, or interact in simulators that take real-time weather information). It will also eventually change the way we buy games, game add-ons, and other useless stuff.

The tree players in the game console arena are:

Microsoft Xbox 360.

Pros: Microsoft really got it right with this one. The x-box 360 is for real and is a mature product with lots of games already developed. But most important of all, it is fun. Xbox Live works great and it's easy to use... provided you can pony up the cash needed.
Cons: It is yet to be seen if they can make Xbox Live profitable. Games cost is also a problem. Another thing that can be questioned about the Xbox 360 is this: a hard disk? sure, at an extra cost. Connectivity? of course... if you get the corresponding Xbox Live kit at an extra cost. Same goes for a yet to be seen HD-DVD attach.

Nintendo Wii.

Pros: The Wii, came with a lot of hype, and it seems, that at least on first impression, it delivered. The major innovation here is a "wand-like" control (called the Wii remote), that enables you to a wide variety of game play... and a "Numchuck" that adds some control to the above mentioned control. It seems like a lot of fun. Online connectivity is included.
Cons: Will there be enough games developed to take full advantage of these "proprietary" controls? Some issues with users updating their console and being unable to use it again...

Sony PS3.

Pros: The PS3 also came with a great deal of hype, and putting supply issues aside, it delivered. Better graphics, a blu-ray player, Internet connectivity, and an internal hard disk.

Cons: the price tag... at over 600 USD it is way more expensive than it's competitors. It seems that it was rushed to the stores, but the first consoles were not finished at 100%, 'cause you have to connect and get the updates as soon as you take it out of the box. Not that many games developed yet.

All and all... there is no easy answer as to what console is better. I guess it depends on your gaming habits and personal likes and dislikes. Most people will go out and buy the console that can play the games that they already own, but then again there are multiple factors that could influence the decision.

X-mas gadgets... Zune

So, the holiday season is coming.

And you know what that means: getting your hands on stuff you don't really need and buying things for people that really don't want what you're giving them. So, I'll try to pick some goodies, and write something about them, so you can make up your mind and know a little bit more about them.

Not so long ago, it seemed like there would not be anyone to steal any thunder from the iPod. Mainly because most competing digital music players on the market were, in few words, crap.

Then some manufacturers started delivering some good devices, like Panasonic, RCA, Creative Labs, and even the "it-came-from-the-grave" Sony MiniDisc technology. But quite frankly, none could match the iPod sexyness (or it's awesome features, simplicity and, oh yeah... iTunes Music Store' attached value to purchase music online).

And now it seems like there is a new player in the court: welcome Microsoft's Zune.

I like the fact that MS is entering this arena, yet we know that MS first attempts at something are usually quite awful. But first things first: The Zune is a music, video and photo player... and it's backed with an online store... meant to be easy to use... (so far, nothing different from the iPod). Where the two players start to diverge is here: the Zunes has some wireless capabilities, so you can send a song sample to your friend's Zune and if he likes it, he can buy it from the Zune Marketplace.

We all know that wireless capabilites are the next killer feature of music players, and really, Zune did not got it right. You cannot connect to a WiFi network and buy music online... you cannot pass along the full song file... it seems very limited to me. Plus, I think that until this is a popular gadget, you'll feel like the first guy with a telephone... with no one to call.

And things don't get better on the PC side (of course don't even dream about getting one of these if you happen to have a Mac or Linux machine). To begin with, you cannot use Windows Media Player to synchronize your device to your music library, you have to use the software provided with Zune... kinda like a Windows Media Player lite.

Regarding how you get your music... seems like the Zune Marketplace will allow unlimited downloads for a monthly fee. This scheme was already tried by the Yahoo! Music store, and it miserably failed. Yeah, it figures... you could listen to your songs for as long as you were subscribed, so you actually did not own them (who the hell rents a CD?), and there were a ton of limitations to the way you could use that music on different portable players, different pc's and so on.

You can also get "Microsoft points" to individually download songs. Songs you actually own from then on.. right? weeeeell... we'll see about that. I think this will work out just like the iTunes Store. Even the price per song is similar.

But hey, not everything is wrong about the Zune: It is cool to look at, since the screen is a bit larger than the iPod's, (though with the same definition). Operation is fairly easy, it even has a "pseudo-clic wheel"... that is no wheel at all, it's just a round soft thingy with buttons underneath.

To sum up, I think Microsoft will take two or three generations to get a competitive music player that can be as good as the iPod. Considering this is attempt n.1, it's fairly ok.

Crash

Time for a Crash.

Crash is what happens every time a zero is placed in the wrong place in a data sequence. The system is basically unable to understand what and why, therefore it "crashes". And as in every crash on a highway, there will be victims to different degrees.

This is about tecnology and how affects our life, to the degree of changing our perception on life, relationships and ultimately, ourselves.

And it has come to the point where what we are the most afraid of, is a crash. A glitch in the information super-bahn, the electrical grid, the transit network... any of these can break our day, or our life. We've become so dependent on technology that we're useless without it.

And yet... we gratefully embrace these tiny 1 and 0's, because they seem to fill a void we did not know was there in the first place.

And that what this blog is about: all the goods and bads of our technology-addicted lives.

Enjoy.