My Reading Highlights 11/4/2012 - 11/10/2012

A great deal went on this week with election results in the US flooding Internet news reports.  Even tech journalists got into action explaining how lack of focus on mobile was a key factor in the election.  Reporting on hurricane Sandy and the cleanup and restoring of power in the North East continued.  Moving past these reporting channels there were some good tech reading to be had. Below are my reading highlights for this week.  Enjoy.

As Sandy Strikes, another big data opportunity emerges

Generally I'm not a big fan of these types of posts on the Internet.  It's basically a product advertisement with little substance. I made an exception with this one where Derrick Harris from GigaOm introduced two new companies in the big data area that I wasn't tracking:  SiSense and Datum Companies.  I was especially interested in SiSense's description of Management and Mashup Data features.  I'll be looking more into SiSense and seeing how it can help with analytic operations for my clients.

Big Data Right Now: Five Trendy Open Source Technologies

Tim Gasper provides a good run down on some open source technologies in the big data arena.   Two areas he mention are stream processing (noting Storm and Kafka) and graphs analyses (Gremlin and Giraph).  Both play a unique role in some specific application areas and are work a look if you are playing in this world.

As data gets bigger, what comes after a yottabyte?

I guess they are saying it is a brontobyte and gegobyte.  In any event it is a lot of data.  New fact here in this article if the one of the Boeing jet engines which produce 20 terebytes of data every hour.  Anyone that has tried to move multi-terabytes of data knows the difficulty; not to mention how long it takes to offload and ingest for analytics. 

Samsung Chromebook Review (2012)

I have to admit that I'm a big fan of the Chromebook.  I've been using the 550 with 3G exclusively since Aug 2012 when I ditched my 13" Macbook Air.  Samsung released a newer model recently priced at $249.  This was the best review that I've seen so far on the new Chromebook.

REVIEW: Google's Latest Smartphone, The Nexus 4

I've have been waiting half a year for this phone to be release.  The problem is that it was released with no LTE.  What a disappointment.  Here's a great review from Business Insider on the Nexus 4 which sounds like a great phone running the latest Jelly Bean OS.  But no LTE.....

Apple and Google Interoperability - Not!

If you are a user of Google products such as Gmail, calendar, contacts, etc and a heavy user of Apple hardware,  iPad, MacBook, etc, you know that these two worlds just don't integrate very well.  Basic poor interoperability which is very frustrating.  Apple pushes their solutions that compete with Google just like they push the ones that compete with Microsoft, e.g. Keynote.

Google release earlier this year a Capability, called google sync, that does address some of these interoperability issues with Apple software and account management.  Is does allow your contacts to stay in sync as well as your mail on their mobile devices, however it limits you to only one calendar.  Really!

If you are like me I have access to a number of calendars and need to see them on my iPad when I'm mobile.  Here is a good description from Google on setting up google sync on an iPad:  Google Sync Instructions for IOS.  For me I have enabled this from both my email and my contacts but have disabled it for my Calendar.  To get around the limit for only one calendar using this method I have gone through the typical Gmail account setup on the iPad and have only selected the calendar app not the email app.

All of this works without any issues but come on.  Google should be all about addressing this issue with Sync and Apple should be more responsive to working with other platforms.  Why can't they just get along? Oh right it's all about revenue.  I think that is a shortsighted quarterly view and they should know that if they work better together they can dominate in their respective areas instead of battling it out with these little annoyances.

So now let's move on to Apple's iCloud.  I was pretty excited about jumping into the iCloud world until I read the fine print.  This is from a google forum on how to set it up:

Full Blog The *Crucial Step* In order for your iCloud and Gmail contacts to remain synchronized with one another is to ensure that they are only ever edited on your iOS Device which is synchronized with iCloud and Gmail contacts. When you edit a contact on the Device, you will be warned that you are “editing 2 linked contacts”. This is how you know that your changes are being pushed to both accounts. If you edit the contact via iCloud or via Gmail directly, such as through their Web Contacts, it will only change that particular account’s “card”, not both. You will see changes on either iCloud or Gmail on your Device, but these changes will not have been, nor will they be synchronized across accounts. 

Only changes made directly to the contact on the iPhone or iPad will synchronize across accounts. You must also ensure that when you are editing the contact that you are editing the ‘linked contacts”. You will know you are looking at the linked contact when the contact says “Unified Info” at the top center of the screen. This is arrived at also by ensuring you are within the “All Contacts” group.

Oh come on! Really! This can't be!

I guess I'm staying away from iCloud and using my current setup for now.

Google Music - I'm Sold

I recently received my invite to the new Google Music Beta.  There has been a great deal of press surrounding the release of this service.  Especially of note was the inability of Google to receive agreements with major music labels prior to going live. This didn't seem like a big deal to me but I can see that it will be a big detractor in the future it they don't get it solved.  One other note, I haven't used Amazon's cloud service either, I'm pretty much an iTunes guy.

So iTunes became the biggest issue for me in considering Google Music Beta.  All of my current music is stored within iTunes.  Reading through the release notes Google said there would be no issues with importing my music into their cloud from iTunes.  So I decided to give it a try.

BLUF:  I'm a big fan of Google Music Beta.  Their seamless integration with Android and the cloud where my music is copied is a perfect combination.

After I receive the invitation to try our Google Music I downloaded their application from the log in page. It is called Music Manger (See below).

As you can see I selected the iTunes player, hit OK and 1950 songs were automatically copied to Google's Music cloud.  Actually it was that easy.  It did take over an hour for all the music to appear and be available to play.  Also all of my playlists were copied over intact with links automatically set up for playing.  Artwork was also associated correctly and I was offered free music to get started.  See below for a screen snapshot after the sync.

One question that I had with this process was whether or not I would run into any licensing issues with my music.  I've ran into this with Apple all the time, especially when I change computers.  Basically there were no issues with licensing with Google Music that I found.

So onto the most important question.  So how does this work with my Android phone?  Basically I already had Google Music on my Nexus S already.  As I opened up the application all the music I had loaded up to Google Music cloud was there and ready to play.  I was about as seamless as you can get.  No more fussing with iTunes and my android phone.  Music Manger now keeps my iTunes library in sync with my Google Music cloud and my Android.  I was basically sold from that point forward.

I've used Google Music Beta now for over two weeks and have traveled with it across the country.  Basically all the 1950 songs are not automatically downloaded to my Droid, they are playable over the internet.  As I play them they are then downloaded and available whether I'm connected into the internet or not.  This is only a problem when seating on a plan when you are disconnected.  Basically in that situation you can see and play the songs you've listened to before, but the songs that you havn't listened to are not available for playing.  That seems like the only drawback that I can find.

If Google can figure out how to solve the partnerships issues with the major record labels I can see using Google Music exclusively for management of my music as well as purchasing of tracks.  From what I've read this may not be a quick offering by Google.

7 Days Using the Samsung Galaxy Instead of the iPad

This is an update to my previous post on the Samsung Galaxy Tab where I was using it exclusively over my iPad for a week in my normal work day.  Now I'm not a professional gadget reviewer, but I'm a heavy user of technology and a developer of knowledge enterprise solutions for my clients. So being on top of technologies that help in my normal workday as well as ones that can be utilized in enterprise offerings is essential.


Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF):  The Galaxy Tab performed extremely well for me and I noticed no real loss of productivity when switching from the iPad.  Actually in some cases I preferred the Galaxy Tab over the iPad (portability, Google integration, typing blackberry style, double camera, and of course flash).  I will give my iPad its due when it comes to the screen size (reading and drawing/writing on the screen). So I’m now switching over completely for the next month to see how it goes.  I’ll report back in Feb.


One of the first things that I noticed was the size of the device.  It is small compared to the iPad.  Smaller than I thought it would be.  But I have to say that the portability of the device was a major plus throughout my day.  I can actually fit in my jacket pocket without any issue and it is large enough to use effectively.  The most surprising feature of the Galaxy Tab was the virtual keyboard which gets a benefit from the size of the Tablet.  The Blackberry is the gold standard as to how I rate keyboard use on a mobile device. The size of the Galaxy Tab affords the user a two handed thumb input like I use on the Blackberry.  It is truly more efficient to use than the iPad for typing – just shy of Blackberry efficiency.


One of the first challenges I faced with the Galaxy Tab was applications.  I’m very comfortable with my lineup of apps for the iPad (see my latest post on productivity apps).  Within minutes I was cooking with gas downloading some of my favorite apps like Evernote, ZumoDrive, DocsToGo, Yammer, Newsy, Pulse, Twitter, Dropbox, Movies, and Pandora as well as setting up apps that came with the Galaxy such as Gmail, Calendar, Voice, and YouTube to name a few.  Now I admit I’m a heavy Google user so the Android on the Galaxy Tab is just a natural fit and its integration on the device is much smoother than on the iPad.  One of the concerns I had for the Galaxy Tab was integration with pod casts.  iTunes and the iPad just work well with my media.  Google Listen fixed all those pod cast concerns.


In two cases I was not able to get the same app that I use on the iPad.  Those are Reeder and Instapaper.  But with both, there was a quick solution.  For Reeder I just downloaded Google Reader (which is my go to desktop RSS application) and InstaFetch which integrates seamlessly with my Instapaper account.  So with all the hype about there being more and better apps from the iTunes store it really turned out to me a non-issue for me.  I do have to say that I miss Flipboard on the iPad, but I can live with Pulse on the Android instead.


There were a couple new apps that I discovered that added to the usefulness of the Galaxy Tab (Fring, Chrome to Phone).  Fring is basically a VTC capability for the Galaxy Tab utilizing the forward facing camera.  You can get it for the iPhone but it doesn’t do much good on the cameraless iPad.  I’ve used it between other Android devices, the iPhone and between other Galaxy tab devices.  It works pretty well but requires a lot bandwidth to be effective. 


Another area where the Galaxy Tab really shines was with Flash integration.  No more web sites that don’t work.  Also this is a picture of me watching the Tuesday night NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings on the Galaxy Tab for free.  I couldn’t get that to work on my iPad.  Enough said.


One last comment on the comparison, reading on the iPad is far better than on the Galaxy Tab.  The screen size is far better for this function.  Magazines, articles, and even drawing on the iPad are more comfortable and natural.  I also haven’t found a comparable app to Penultimate on the Galaxy either. 


With a good initial experience on the Galaxy Tab, I'm switching over to the Galaxy Tab from the iPad to really kick the tires on it over the next month.  I've really seen no loss in productivity using it instead of my iPad and have found some benefits.  I'll report back in February on how it goes.  Probably just in time to be getting the new iPad..

My 2010 Productivity App Lineup for the iPad

This is an update to my post back in May when I had my iPad for only a month.  Now I’ve got over 8 months of time working with the iPad in my daily work life.  I have come to use it exclusively over my laptop.  As you know I’m also experimenting with the Samsung Galaxy Tab as well; more to follow on that later.  Here is an update to the list of Productivity Apps that I currently use the most.  I’ll be updating the other categories of apps in a later post.

This is my essential workhorse throughout the day.  It allows you to type a text note, clip a web page, grab a screenshot, organize into notebooks, search, and synchronize it all across the cloud with all of my computers and mobile devices.  This is the number one app that I use in every meeting.  www.evernote.com

GoodReader.  This is really my local file management system for the iPad.  It allows me to open .doc. .ppt .xls, and PDFs, download them into folders and have them available even when offline. http://www.goodreader.net/goodreader.html

Penultimate.  When you need to draw a picture or collaborate with someone on an idea this is my go to app.  It works with a stylus or finger stroke and is very accurate and easy to get started quickly.  One thing to note is that drawings can be shared directly into Evernote via email as a multiple page PDF document for later access. http://www.cocoabox.com/

DocsToGo.  As much as I try to use Google Docs these days, you just can’t get away from Microsoft completely.  DocsToGo is my go to app for creating and editing .doc, .xls, and .ppt on the iPad.  The editing of .ppt is really limited and I rarely use it but it does do some simple stuff.  It has a feature to allow you to save to Dropbox which I’ve linked to my ZumoDrive – which I’m a heavy user of these days.  There are two versions of this app; I’ve selected to us the premium one costing a whopping $14 when I bought it making it my most expensive app to date.  It does make you wonder why everything having to do with Microsoft is so expensive. http://goo.gl/1lgd

I’ve made a complete move into the Cloud and ZumoDrive is my go to storage location. ZumoDrive keeps me synced up across all my different devices thereby eliminating the fragmentation problems of yesteryear when I had files stored on multiple hard drives.  Today, I can access files on my iPad, Macbook Air, Dell Precision at work, Samsung Galaxy, etc… On the iPad I find the file I need on the ZumoDrive app and open it into GoodReader or DocsToGo without any issues.  No more fragmentation. http://www.zumodrive.com/

We’ve recently rolled out Yammer into our enterprise at work and it has taken off.  Yammer is an enterprise microblogging capability meant to make organization more productive through the exchange of short frequent answers and discussions.  It is really Twitter for the enterprise.  I’ll post later on our experiences using Yammer at work. www.yammer.com

I started using Google Voice back prior to the Nexus One being release.  A single telephone number that I own really appealed to me, especially when I usually change cell phones once a year or more.  GV is a go to app for me to help manage my voice mails.  It allows me to triage the inbox as well as listen to them on any one of my mobile devices or computers.  Their transcription lacks a lot to be desired but you can get the jest from it most of the time. http://goo.gl/1LLSg

When you travel as much as I do you need options when the unexpected arrives.  Kayak has a great user interface allowing me to play “what if” scenarios when traveling. http://goo.gl/OX7vv

Two other apps that I get a lot of use out of and should be in the productivity category for me are Reeder and Instaper.  Both of these are used throughout my day but are really classified as News within the iTunes store.

Reeder.  Over the last few months I’ve tried NewsRack, Pulse, and Flipboard for linking into my RSS feeds.  I’m a heavy user of Google Reader on the desktop and having that synced with all my mobile devices is a must.  Although I like Flipboard’s interface on the iPad a great deal, Reeder has become my go to app for reading my feeds.  Its offline capability is a must when sitting on an airplane and it syncs well with my Google Reader account. http://goo.gl/VuQW

Instapaper.  How many times do you start reading an article on the web and don’t really have the time to finish it.  Instapaper is the solution.  When you find something of interest and don’t have much time to read it, just send it to into your Instapaper que.  Instapaper has a bookmarklet available for your desktop browser and syncs great when on the go with you iPad.  Also the ability to read when disconnected on an airplane is a key as well. http://goo.gl/lSYH4

So there you have my line up of key productivity apps for my iPad.  I’m sure there will be more to come in the next year.