tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2837146995311961242024-03-14T22:46:14.550+11:00Detailed FilesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-22637088117539717202015-04-26T18:44:00.001+10:002015-04-26T18:44:34.222+10:00Handling survey data : XML or JSON?For a few weeks I have been pondering how best to handle 'survey data' for an organization that collects a lot of survey data and needs to make it available to people for a variety of 'business intelligence' needs.<div><br></div><div>The key needs are:</div><div>- must be in a format that is easy for the contributor of the survey data</div><div>- must allow for the same surveys to be repeated over time e.g. quarterly survey, for the same survey respondents e.g. Company ABC completes survey a number of times over a period of time</div><div>- must allow for survey results to be easily compared and contrasted e.g. same contributor, different survey submissions ( this quarter versus last quarter) and different contributors for the same time period e.g. Company ABC versus Company XYZ</div><div>- allow for the content of surveys to change over time e.g. questions can be added, deleted, changed</div><div>- allow people to access the data as surveys e.g. all data for a given survey's instance (all data for this quarter) or accessing the data for a given question over time e.g. answers to question 4 this quarter versus last quarter</div><div>- allow easy mapping of survey data to broader business concepts e.g question 2's answer is 'annual revenue' for a given respondent </div><div><br></div><div>*whew* I think that's about it.... easy, huh?</div><div><br></div><div>much of the research stuff I read suggested:</div><div>- XML is a good way of representing a survey and collecting survey data</div><div>- translate the XML data into a relational data model view of the survey and store in a SQL database</div><div><br></div><div>... sounds great but nothing a read really convinced me there could be a simple, generic approach that would work for all situations.</div><div><br></div><div>Keeping the data in an XML format, to allow data to be accessed in its survey form seems to hold some promise for addressing some of the requirements, at least partially, but thability to easily query the XML data seemed clumsy, at best... enter JSON</div><div><br></div><div>JSON seems to provide similar advantages for receiving survey data in a structured way and, with the advent of modern document databases, also the ability to easily query the data in its survey form</div><div><br></div><div>more to follow in this series... :)</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-60751215865054790842015-04-26T18:43:00.003+10:002015-04-26T18:43:42.761+10:00Virgin Business Class to BrisbaneToday I am flying Virgin Business Class to Brisbane :) I must say its a great experience so far Here's breaky ... Bircher muesli with macadamia nuts and yoghurt, fresh fruit, sparkling mineral water and a coffee to come *yum*<div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghlZx4AeKhKsRraGO_AR3G9k4rEV0T4e83JUARrCn91_J9_YmgEDkzCAgTV3R-DBtVTX84Rpvbz4cFwcp7AdS19Vx3SdWIyYK48jaxO4oUG_5_fx3jvukECelFYAH8tNEYczXgm-5goOba/s640/blogger-image--634707572.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghlZx4AeKhKsRraGO_AR3G9k4rEV0T4e83JUARrCn91_J9_YmgEDkzCAgTV3R-DBtVTX84Rpvbz4cFwcp7AdS19Vx3SdWIyYK48jaxO4oUG_5_fx3jvukECelFYAH8tNEYczXgm-5goOba/s640/blogger-image--634707572.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I'm in seat 1C, sitting in front of Dawn Fraser, trying to work out if I should say 'hello' :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I'm catching up in Bris-Vegas and Gold Coast with some good friends I have not seen in years... looking forward to it :)</div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-79148636062267939812015-04-26T18:43:00.001+10:002015-04-26T18:43:24.816+10:00I gave up a chance to sit next to DawnToday I am flying to Brisbane, to catch up with some friends I have not seen in a while. When I was checking in for the flight the lady at check in asked me if I preferred row 1 or 2, window or aisle. I had pre booked row 1 on the aisle so I stayed with that. Once on the flight, seated and ready for departure, on walked Dawn Fraser and she quickly found her way to row 2. There's a vacant seat next to her... that could have been mine *sigh*<div><br></div><div>Oh well, I'm sitting in front of Dawn instead,,,, maybe the title of this blog should be.... "Glenn beats dawn to finish line in Brisbane!" :D</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-76882282386606485362014-01-13T16:17:00.002+11:002014-09-05T11:59:25.060+10:00Next best thing as being at Strata Hadoop World 2013 Conference in New York<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">I reviewed a video series from O'Reilly recently: </span><a href="http://shop.oreilly.com/product/110000013.do" target="_blank"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Strata Conference New York + Hadoop World 2013: Complete Video Compilation - </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Tools and Techniques That Make Data Work</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">I have not yet watched all of the 71 hrs+ of conference content but from what I have seen I have been absolutely blown away by this series. The quality of the content and format makes it the next best thing to being there.</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">On my Mac, the conference sessions download as QT movies. The presentation from each speaker appears in a main window on the left and there is a smaller window in the top right where you can see the speaker. The quality of both the video and audio is first rate and I was able to stream the content to my Apple TV and watch it on a big screen and it was like having front row seats at the conference.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">One day I would like to get to a Strata Conference and this video series from O'Reilly has made me want to go even more. However, I don't think I have missed any of the content last year by not being there. For much, much less that the price of the airfare, I now have the whole conference program to watch.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">PROS</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Quality of content</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Able to watch any sessions from the conference I choose</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">CONS</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Presentations are large so make sure you have enough disk space and bandwidth</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Bottom line: </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> Yes, I would recommend this to a friend!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0Sydney NSW, Australia-33.8674869 151.20699020000006-34.711976400000005 149.91609670000005 -33.0229974 152.49788370000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-30050095846916360632013-12-28T16:02:00.001+11:002013-12-28T16:02:46.965+11:00Game theory can be funI reviewed a book recently: <a href="http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920029236.do" target="_blank">Theory of Fun for Game Design</a>, 2nd Edition by Raph Koster<br />
<br />
I have always been an aspiring game designer and developer and thought this would be a good one to read to get a few ideas.<br />
<br />
When I think of 'theory' I usually envisage something that, while useful, is going to have a hypotheses and some research and analysis... a stereotype I know, but I dot usually expect it to have any fun. Despite its title, this book bucks my stereotype.<br />
<br />
The author's style is easy to read and 'conversational' and gives good practical examples of the 'theory', supported by lots and lots of nice hand drawn illustrations.<br />
<br />
One of the points made in the book is that fun games are a form of 'pleasurable learning' and I certainly had fun reading this book and feel like I learned a lot.<br />
<br />
As an aspirational game designer, I am not sure how I would apply what I have learned as there appears to be no 'formula' for designing fun games (and maybe that is just as well) but there are a lot of good stories and examples to get you thinking and this is what makes the book a good read.<br />
<br />
<b>PROS</b><br />
Easy to understand<br />
Helpful examples<br />
Well-written<br />
<br />
<b>CONS</b><br />
Might Be Hard To Apply The theory<br />
<br />
<b>Bottom line: </b> Yes, I would recommend this to a friendAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0Sydney NSW, Australia-33.8674869 151.20699020000006-34.711976400000005 149.91609670000005 -33.0229974 152.49788370000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-9456582388010560482013-12-03T08:18:00.000+11:002013-12-03T08:18:57.330+11:00Too sexy for my job?I found this article on being a <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/big-data-analytics/data-scientist-the-sexiest-job-no-one-has/d/d-id/1112832?cid=NL_IWK_CIO_20131202&elq=%3Cspan+class%3Deloquaemail%3Erecipientid%3C%2Fspan%3E" tabindex="0" target="_blank">Data Scientist: The sexiest Job no one has</a> <br /><br />It could be
a case of 'the grass is greener' syndrome but this is the job I want and I think
Im on the way to getting it :) ... to me, its an exciting prospect that 'the
universe (is) one large data set' ... *big data* indeed ;)
<br />
<div class="image_frame">
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://img.deusm.com/informationweek/2013/12/1112832/datasciencehistory.jpg" /></div>
<br />
<br />Now here come the 'damned lies and statistics'... Gartner estimates that
there will be <a href="http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2207915" tabindex="0" target="new">4.4 million IT jobs</a> created to support data analysis in just the
next two years... and about half of those will be outside the US... I wonder
what the stats say for data scientist jobs being generated in
Australia?<br /><br />I wonder what qualifications and experience I will
*really*need, maybe its all that geeky stuff I keep hearing about...<br /><br />-
watch The Big Bang Theory religiously ... maths, science, history, unravelling
the mystery ... (tick)<br />- can recite the script of The Matrix, 1, 2 and 3
(tick)<br />- think that leela and amy are hot (tick)<br />- yada, yada, yada
(tick)<br /><br />... oh, oh, what's this.... <br /><br />- PhD is advanced
statistics<br /><br />... darn, I was really close... well there's something to work
on!<br /><br />I just hope this 'wave' is really and not all sexy hype... cue <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUTWkFpv7As" target="_blank">LMFAO</a>
;)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0Sydney NSW, Australia-33.8674869 151.20699020000006-34.711976400000005 149.91609670000005 -33.0229974 152.49788370000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-38096274142824621522013-11-29T11:12:00.000+11:002013-11-29T11:12:37.659+11:00 Technology leadership and innovation at Google - how does this relate to 'normal' organisations?I came across the following article by Google on <a href="http://www.google.com/think/articles/8-pillars-of-innovation.html">'the 8 pillars of innovation'</a> a few weeks ago and it got me thinking... what is innovation and technology leadership for a 'normal' company? <br /><br />'Normal' companies are not Google... but there are many companies that would *love* to be 'like Google' (at least in some respects e.g. market cap, revenue streams, etc.) and so do some of the ideas presented in the article apply?<br />
<br />
In many ways, companies like Google, and Apple, and others, are synonymous with innovation. The visible innovation occurs in the market, with new products and services that are offered. The less visible innovation is happening on the inside - as illustrated in the article and also in Hollywood films like <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2234155/">'The Internship'</a> ;) lol<br /><br />Its hard to imagine a 'disconnect' between the internal culture and the external culture. They may not be the same in every respect but there is no doubt IMHO that there is significant congruence between the two.<br /><br />I think that is one reason why when I see a focus on client-facing-innovation I get excited because it probably means that there is a very innovative company on the 'inside'. It makes me want to be part of it :)<br />
<br />
One of the interesting points made in the article is how Google handles 'failure' - never fail to fail! That part reminded me a lot of when I first became a consultant, at Simsion Bowles & Associates (good 'ol SBA)... Graeme (Simsion) did not mind failures, they were a chance to learn, the only rule was 'fail fast and learn quickly' ;) SBA was a very innovative company, at least in my own experience to that point, and its was a really fun place to work and to grow.<br />
<br />
As an IT guy, one of the 'spin offs' I look for in an innovative company is how innovative they are in their use of technology. I just hate it when IT is seen as 'pure expense' or a 'necessary evil' that makes it really hard to enjoy my work... in my career I have had a gut full of 'bureaucratic IT departments' pushing their view of how technology can and can't be used... the worst thing is its done from a purely 'selfish' or 'ignorant' 'don't create work for me' point of view :-/<br />
<br />
As a disclaimer, let me say that last part is not a criticism, it is more of a challenge!<br />
<br />
Every company needs to have some control over their technology, its cost, impact, etc. but I think it sometimes goes too far... people so far removed from the 'customer' think they are in charge and that they can make up the requirements... this is where it all goes pear shaped IMHO.<br />
<br />
The 'effect' of client-facing-innovation is a catalyst to putting the focus squarely back on the client and their needs and when this happens it can help <a href="http://hbr.org/1990/07/reengineering-work-dont-automate-obliterate/ar/1">'obliterate'</a> the way companies think about technology (to borrow an expression from <a href="http://hbr.org/1990/07/reengineering-work-dont-automate-obliterate/ar/1">Michael Hammer in his famous 'don't automate, obliterate' article in the HBR</a>).<br /><br />The 'spin off' winners are the internal staff who get to share in the innovations created for clients and, to coin another term, '<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peggy-mccoll/cobblers-children-have-no_b_819026.html">the cobblers children will *finally* get new shoes</a>'... because the shoes will have been designed for the client and, as we all know, there is nothing more enlightening than 'walking a mile in another person's (the clients) shoes' ;)<br />
<br />
I hope our 'cobblers' in your organisation are up for it, there are a lot of new shoes to make ... <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xgcxd9wtXUE">welcome to the revolution</a> ;) **1<br /><br />**1 I had a choice between the song 'Children of the Revolution' by T-Rex or Tommy Lee Jones' quote from 'Under Siege' ... I went with the song :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0Sydney NSW, Australia-33.8674869 151.20699020000006-34.711976400000005 149.91609670000005 -33.0229974 152.49788370000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-41762076534151957712013-11-11T08:56:00.000+11:002013-11-11T08:56:02.868+11:00Agile Data Warehouse developmentI am currently 'brushing up' on Agile Data Warehousing approaches to match a need which has arisen in my work.<br />
<br />
Being a Scott Ambler fan, I decided to start with <a href="http://www.agiledata.org/essays/dataWarehousingBestPractices.html" target="_blank">Agile Best Practices for Data Warehousing (DW)/Business Intelligence (BI) Projects</a> and also with the <a href="http://tdwi.org/Home.aspx" target="_blank">TDWI</a> as I recalled that the <a href="http://events.tdwi.org/events/san-diego-world-conference-2010/home.aspx" target="_blank">2010 conference in San Diego</a> was about agile DW/BI approaches <br />
<br />
From the Abler article, I found a link to <a href="http://www.agiledata.org/" target="_blank">AgileData</a> methods and also to <a href="http://www.agilemodeling.com/" target="_blank">AgileModelling</a> . One thought I really liked was the 'Let's keep the modeling baby but throw out the bureaucracy bathwater. ;-)' ... this I *really* like, to me, modelling (and the design aspects that go with it) are key. If you don't have a 'top down' view of the model and the key design points its very hard to be effective using Agile IMHO... Agile without modelling is a bit like Monty Python's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYvbaqfq9mI" target="_blank">100 yard dash for people with no sense of direction</a> ;)<br />
<br />
I'd be happy to hear about anyone's experiences with Agile DW/ BI approaches. I will post more on this as I read more and formulate an overall approach for 'my project' Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0Sydney NSW, Australia-33.8674869 151.20699020000006-34.711976400000005 149.91609670000005 -33.0229974 152.49788370000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-28078417784122452602013-11-11T08:38:00.000+11:002013-11-11T08:38:43.935+11:00My new 'project' - Wordpress and GIT So, my new 'project' is getting Wordpress and GIT working together.<br />
<br />
My 'ultimate' goal, at this stage at least, is to have a local install of Wordpress and GIT, running on a Mac Mini on my home network, that 'mirrors' a hosted install of Wordpress (except for some Wordpress settings that need to be changed).<br />
<br />
The idea is to be able to make changes to the local development installation, track changes with GIT, and be able to 'push' updates up to the hosted install once I have had a chance to test things out.<br />
<br />
Its early days but I have found a few articles on the net that sound promising... here is one that I am studying to learn the basics of what I need to do <a href="http://markjaquith.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/developing-on-wordpress-using-git/" target="_blank">Developing on Wordpress using GIT</a> and here is another <a href="http://kuttler.eu/post/using-git-for-wordpress-development/" target="_blank">Using GIT for Wordpress development</a> and this Adding GIT to your Wordpress development workflow <br />
<br />
Anyone know of any other articles worth reading?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0Sydney NSW, Australia-33.8674869 151.20699020000006-34.711976400000005 149.91609670000005 -33.0229974 152.49788370000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-59992549425038377732013-11-02T12:17:00.001+11:002013-11-02T12:17:13.886+11:00Recommended ebooks on Wordpress MultisiteCheck out http://wpebooks.com/2010/09/how-to-enable-multisite-in-wordpress/#comment-478<br />
<br />
There are two ebooks on WP multisite that I have bought and can recommend<br />
<br />
The first book is by Andrea Rennick and is a short guide to enabling WP multisite. Its clear and well written, easy to follow and explains the basics of WP multisite. I knew most of it but it was a good refresher to check my understanding of the key concepts.<br />
<br />
The second book is one that has been co-authored by Mika Epstein and Andrea Rennick and is a more in depth look at WP multiple networks and multisite… I'm only part way through but I like the easy to follow style of the book. I'm learning heaps about WP multiple networks and multisite and I hope I can learn enough to be confident to manage my WP multiple networks / multisite installation. You can find more info about the second book here http://halfelf.org/ebooks/wordpress-multisite-101/<br />
<br />
Both come in Kindle format for use on a Kindle or, as I do, on an iPad with the Kindle app installed. There are also PDF and ePub formats.<br />
<br />
Good work Andrea and Mika I love your work :)<br />
<br />
p.s. I came across Mika on some of the Wordpress.org support forums… a very knowledgeable and helpful person :)<br />
<br />
See http://wordpress.org/support/topic/warning-upgrade-to-37-killed-my-multisite?replies=12#post-4832058 for an example<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0Sydney NSW, Australia-33.8674869 151.20699020000006-34.711976400000005 149.91609670000005 -33.0229974 152.49788370000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-11015903195898643602013-09-27T10:56:00.000+10:002013-09-27T10:56:06.401+10:00The value of 'a topic on a page'Some time ago, I become interested in summarising a topic on a page. The interest sprang from some really good posters I found that summarised all the important stuff ragarding a topic e.g. Rational had a really good one on UML and another on RUP.<br />
<br />
Around the same time, I found a template that Apple were using for creating 'posters' to summarise a topic on a page and the notion of 'poster sessions' where people would put their poster on a wall and people would meet in a room with multiple posters and read them to get a quick update on topics of interest.<br />
<br />
Most recently, I have rekindled my interest in 'topic on a page' and find them a great way of communicating a lot of concepts quickly. The digital equivalent seems to be a really good <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_graphics" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">infographic</a> or a really good <a href="http://prezi.com/" target="_blank">Prezi</a> presentation.<br />
<br />
The only trouble is, a good poster is hard to produce.<br />
<br />
I'm currently working on a 'Big Data on a page' poster and will post it back here when I have something to share.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, any tips on how to create good posters, infographics and the like are most welcome :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-37553127998490571762013-09-18T10:04:00.001+10:002013-09-18T10:04:29.656+10:00Microsoft knocking down barriers to BYOD<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Apparently there has always been some legal issues with companies installing or providing access to Microsoft software on their employees' BYOD's - see this Forrester article from 2012 ... </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; white-space: nowrap; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">http://blogs.forrester.com/duncan_jones/12-07-13-how_to_navigate_microsofts_licensing_of_byod_scenarios</span><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; ">However, it looks like Microsoft have taken some good steps in knocking down the barriers with the introduction of Windows Intune - see http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windowsintune/explore/byod.aspx </span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; "><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; ">Im keen to see the barriers knocked down and this seems like it just might - now all we need is for the legal agreements of companies with Microsoft to 'catch up' ;)</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; "><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; ">Does anyone have any experience with Windows Intune yet? </span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0Sydney Sydney-33.868025 151.211224tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-26884237360050029472013-09-03T15:59:00.000+10:002013-09-03T15:59:37.550+10:00The Rosie ProjectLast night, I went to another book launch. Actually, it was the first one I have ever attended but I'm sure for some people and the book store on Norton St, Leichhardt, Shearer's Bookstore, it was another one of many.<br />
<br />
The book launched was Graeme Simsion's "The Rosie Project" and having read a 'preview' of the book before it was officially published, Im looking forward to starting the official book this weekend, Graeme tells me it's even better now and I thought it was great before.<br />
<br />
I won't spoil things by telling you too much about the book itself other than to say I think you will find it a "very good read", as did the Woman's Weekly.<br />
<br />
I'd rather give you some of the highlight's from the book launch itself which, unless you were one of the 50 or so people there, you probably missed :)<br />
<br />
Graeme addressed the audience from a 'pulpit' above the floor of the book store, with the audience spread out in a number of directions, following the aisles of the book store that radiated out from the corner of the room above which Graeme was standing.<br />
<br />
The first part of his address concerned how he'd become rich and given up his day job which apparently had happened about a month ago.<br />
<br />
Ive known Graeme for many years and while I know he sets his goals very, very high, I think the part where he told the audience how much money it had taken to give up the day job was, there was a hint that Graeme was slightly incredulous that it had all happened so quickly.<br />
<br />
Many months before, I had been having drinks with Graeme and had contemplated putting $10,000 into the project, believing that it would succeed. I wish now I had wired the money the next day or taken out my cheque book there and then *sigh* ;)<br />
<br />
The rest of the address concerned how the story had been inspired, how it was originally produced as a film script, and how it had been Graeme's project at his Screen writing course in Melbourne and that he had repeated the subject because a prior version had not been ready and he went back again to finish it.<br />
<br />
I was mesmerized by the story, never having heard it before, all the time thinking that this was typical Graeme :) ... listening to the story I felt sorry for the jugernaught, they have nothing on Graeme :DAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0Sydney Sydney-33.73959 151.295131tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-60288885184808800352013-09-02T12:29:00.001+10:002013-09-02T12:35:51.089+10:00I want to be a Data Scientist<h2>
I want to be a Data Scientist</h2>
I saw a really interesting YouTube video today on called [The Data Scientists Toolset] [1] <br />
[1]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEdfhTLFXaA "YouTube video"<br />
It is a video of a panel discussion from a conference called Data Scientist Summit (note to self: I have really missed the boat if the others are already having summit’s… back in 2012! ;) ) <br />
I admit, I did not know anyone on the panel but after listening to them talk I believe they must all be experts of some note.<br />
Some of the key points for me were:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>The 3 big things you need as a Data Scientist</li>
<li>Value from Big Data = having Big Analytics</li>
<li>Run experiments ‘at scale’</li>
<li>Room for Everyone - Hadoop, NoSQL and “new SQL”, and</li>
<li>The ‘Desert Island challenge’</li>
</ul>
<br />
I’ll cover each in a bit more detail below.<br />
<h3>
The 3 big things you need as a Data Scientist</h3>
According to the experts on the panel, there are 3 big things that Data Scientists need to have:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><b>Domain</b> skills and expertise,</li>
<li><b>Great modelling</b> (read statistics) skills, and</li>
<li><b>Tech literacy</b> with the Big data (and other) tools and technologies required.</li>
</ol>
<br />
To me, this is a great list of reasons for good collaboration between the Business and IT. Business professionals ideally have good Domain skills and experience. Visa versa, IT professionals typically have technology literacy.<br />
<br />
The 'middle ground' Great modelling (statistics) skills is the interesting one. Some people have this based on whatever they did in Uni and continued into their professional career.<br />
<br />
Its more likely that Business professionals are going to have the right skills and experience, especially in business domains such as Economics, Finance, Science, Research, etc.<br />
<br />
However, of the 3 required areas of skills/ experience, this is the most likely to 'fall between the cracks' i.e. no-one has them.<br />
<br />
I think this is (perhaps) the reason that higher education qualifications being offered by Universities around the world are so 'heavy' in statistics and maths.<br />
<h3>
Value from Big Data = having Big Analytics</h3>
I think this was a great point!<br />
<br />
I see a lot of excitement (almost hysteria) about Big Data and how **cool** it is to be able to parse the Petabytes of log files and other Big Data out there but … where is the value?<br />
<br />
Big Data is often associated with the 3 'qualifying' V's - Volume, Variety and Velocity.<br />
<br />
I think it is a good idea to add 2 more 'quantifying' V's to the list - Veracity and Value.<br />
<h4>
<b>Veracity</b></h4>
Veracity to me examines the question of the 'validity' of the data source in terms of what people want to do with it.<br />
<br />
One of the lessons I have learnt from just 'normal' Data warehouse and Business Intelligence/Analytics solutions is just because there is data out there it does not mean you should try and capture it and make use of it. You really need to ask yourself the question: is this data appropriate to my needs? or, in a qualitative sense, how appropriate is the data? (does it do part of the job?)<br />
<h4>
Value</h4>
The 'flip side' is, Is there value in using this data? Does it help me tell the right story?<br />
Big Data to me has a huge risk to be addressed - the GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out) principle means that people risk *Big Garbage*.<br />
<h3>
Run experiments ‘at scale’</h3>
Gone are the days of having to have small amounts of data to test your 'models' and to validate that they produce the 'right' results before trying them out on the 'real data' (usually Production or a copy of Production).<br />
<br />
The panel stressed that Big Data tools and technologies allow you to operate 'at scale'.<br />
<br />
Personally, I'm not sure about this one. I may not be a gun at statistics but I seem to remember that it does not take much data to provide a statistically valid model e.g. to predict the outcome of an election all you really need is a relatively small, but representative, sample from the population to have confidence in the results predicted… assuming that the rest of the population follow certain rules.<br />
<br />
I think there's a difference between validating your models and running on full scale data.<br />
Just because Big Data has 'resources to burn' I don't think people should lose sight of good modelling and testing.<br />
<h3>
Room for everyone</h3>
I think its 'reassuring' that Big Data is seen as a complementary technology and is best applied to suitable 'problems' (or classes of problem).<br />
<br />
The panel made it clear they see a role for all of the data technologies: Big Data (e.g. Hadoop), NOSQL, and 'new SQL'.<br />
<br />
One criterial they suggested for deciding which data technology was a best fit was whether the model of the data was 'to be discovered', partially agreed, or agreed (respectively).<br />
<br />
Big Data technologies are typically associated with 'a model at use time' versus 'new SQL' where the modelling takes place first and then the data is poured in.<br />
<h3>
The ‘Desert Island challenge’</h3>
When it was time to wrap up, the moderator for the expert panel session posed a question: If you were (to be) stranded on a desert island, what tool or technology would you take with you … and only one!<br />
Interestingly, **all** of the panel members named a programming language technology: Java, C++, Python, etc.<br />
<br />
I guess this speaks to the 'roots' of the panelists and the fact that the Big Data tools and technology, while all useful in their own right, are not quite there yet to be able to dislodge the versatility and power provided by a programming language.<br />
<br />
I hope this 'commentary' was of interest. I would encourage you to view the YouTube video for yourself. I am sure you will get different stuff out of it than I did.<br />
<br />
More on Big Data to come in future Blogs.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com1Sydney NSW, Australia-33.8674869 151.20699020000006-34.711976400000005 149.91609670000005 -33.0229974 152.49788370000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-83296576673009233722013-07-19T09:43:00.002+10:002013-08-27T15:19:16.429+10:00This is Big! (Data) :)Today in my inbox, I found an email with a link to this article on 'waiting for Big Data' <br />
<br />
As a consultant for an Australian consulting and technology firm, the article reflects a lot of my own thoughts and the key point for me is the one about the 'maturity of the market' at the moment with the industry being likened to 'a collection of tools that are not really integrated and are very technical in nature'.<br />
<br />
A friend asked me the other day what 'my company' was doing with regard to Big Data and my response was that we were currently partnering with technology partners, such as Microsoft, to assist clients do a Proof of Concept (PoC) and also, where appropriate, helping them move these through to 'production' <br />
<br />
but , me personally, its still just an area of great interest and something I am educating myself on with the view to moving into this area over the next few years e.g. Big Data strategy, architecture, road-mapping.... it's a WIP but I am working on it :)<br />
<br />
Some of the questions I am trying to answer for myself at the moment include...<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>is Big Data just a BI/DW thing?</li>
<li>is it a new capability or just incremental?</li>
<li>are existing IM tools and techniques useful? e.g. data modelling or does Big Data require new approaches? (as people seem to indicate)</li>
<li>are there patterns of requirements? and corresponding patterns of solution types?</li>
<li>what would a 'domain architecture' comprise? and how could it be leveraged for strategy, architecture and road-mapping purposes?</li>
</ul>
I'm sure others will arise but these are the main ones in my head at the moment.<br />
<br />
I'd love to hear anyone's ideas on this topic... the lines are open, call now! ;)<br />
<div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-79259136920070429192013-02-13T09:18:00.000+11:002013-02-13T09:18:18.000+11:00Is BYOD really about BYOA?<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here's a question for you: Is BYOD really about BYOA?
<div>
</div>
<div>
BYOA = BYO Application</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
You want to BYO Device so you can use an application or applications you have on that device but not others. e.g. you iPhone, iPad, or Andriod equivalent has lots of Apps that are sometimes unique to the device (or class of device) and you just can't run them on your work's SOE device.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
In my case its certainly a good part of the reason I BYOD, there are lots of Apps that I use every day in my work. The reasons I don't or can't install the same Apps on my work's SOE device include:</div>
<div>
</div>
<ul>
<li>they won't run on Windows</li>
<li>I don't have a license to install on multiple machines (its already installed on my BYOD), and possibly</li>
<li>its against your work's IT policies regarding installing non SOE software on work equipment</li>
</ul>
<div>
So here's my straw poll: What's your main reason for BYOD? (where BYOD includes the OS part and anything essential to running the device, Apps are on top of that)</div>
<div>
</div>
<ol>
<li>I love my BYOD over the work SOE alternative</li>
<li>I need the Apps</li>
<li>Its a 50/50 split between BYOD reasons and BYOA</li>
<li>Some other reason - please share :)</li>
</ol>
<div>
p.s. with the recent trend towards cloud Apps, BYOA may only be a fleeting concept as may Apps are available on just about any device. If this trend continues, maybe BYOA will become more about the legal right to use your Apps accross any device you have access to</div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0Sydney NSW, Australia-33.8674869 151.20699020000006-34.712017900000006 149.91609670000005 -33.0229559 152.49788370000007tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-49355741594342109682013-02-01T07:42:00.001+11:002013-02-01T07:43:17.075+11:00Year of living paperlesslyWith apologies to Christopher Koch (Year of Living Dangerously) I am trying a bit of a 'science experiment' this year, an attempt to live as paperlessly as I can this year, at least for my work as an IT consultant.<br />
<br />
Here is an except from a Q&A post I published to LinkedIn a few weeks ago when embarking on my experiment...<br />
<br />
========== <br />
<br />
Year of living paperlessly**<br />
<br />
** as far as possible at least<br />
<br />
Just looking for some new ideas on how to live as paperlessly as possible this year - mostly from a work point of view but will also try out at home.<br />
<br />
My ideal use case is:<br />
<br />
When I come into contact with some paper I need, I 'scan' or take a pic and dont need the paper any more. <br />
... be able to make notes on scanned/photo'ed paper I receive. <br />
... tag the content I create/ capture and make search, discovery and retrieval easy where ever I am (assuming I have device with me or connection to 'cloud')<br />
<br />
My current devices include an iPad, iPhone, Mac at home and PC laptop at work so anything cross device, cross OS would also be good.<br />
<br />
The apps I currently use include:<br />
- Evernote - plan to keep this but also looking for companion apps to collect and use content I collect<br />
- Notetaker (for iPad) - ok, but looking for better ability to annotate and also 'tag' my content<br />
- Dropbox - plan to keep for storage but would like to be able to tag content easier and search it better<br />
<br />
Open to any other ideas on how to improve things, especially in apps that make it easy to scan/ take a pic of paper and then file it electronically. Currently I use Evernote for this and its ok but looking for ways to make it better.<br />
<br />
============<br />
<br />
Here is a link to some of the replies I have received so far... http://www.linkedin.com/answers/technology/information-technology/information-storage/TCH_ITS_IST/1087577-12337876?browseIdx=0&sik=1359662184595&goback=%2Eamq<br />
<br />
I'll be following this blog up with a 'so far so good' post to share some of the ideas I have tried, some that have worked and some which Im still working on.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, I thought I would also share this interesting site that I came across... http://paperfreeclass.wordpress.com/<br />
<br />
Its a very interesting site that uses WordPress to provide the digital hub for the classroom and how the students and the teacher interact with each other and, as a by product, cut down on their paper usage.<br />
<br />
Im using a Wiki to cut down on my own paper usage but so far its just a local one that uses TiddlyWiki ... http://tiddlywiki.com/<br />
<br />
TiddlyWiki is great but I have aspirations to upgrade to Confluence http://www.atlassian.com/software/confluence/overview/team-collaboration-software so I can easily share my info with others and have others contribute as well<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com1Collaroy Collaroy-33.739489 151.29517tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-75555394962747610492012-11-06T12:14:00.001+11:002012-11-06T12:46:22.969+11:00Helping friends switch to Mac from Windows<p style="text-align: left">Wanna do your friends a favour helping them switch to a Mac from Windows?</p><br /><p style="text-align: left">I found this article on <a href="http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-ways-to-help-your-users-switch-from-windows-to-mac/3482?tag=nl.e101&s_cid=e101">10 ways to help people switch to a Mac</a> From my own experience of helping some of my friends it has some good tips and tricks.</p><br /><p style="text-align: left">The best ones highlighted in the article for me were:</p><br /><ul style="list-style-type: disc"><li style="text-align: left">Explaining the Dock - a key part of Mac OS X</li><li style="text-align: left">Providing an overview of Mail, Calendar and Contacts - as most people will need this and it’s a little different to (say) Outlook on Windows… more like using an iPhone, which many switchers will probably already have</li><li style="text-align: left">App store - something that a lot of people will get into, a new way of buying and maintaining software on your new Mac</li><li style="text-align: left">Printers - a must!</li><li style="text-align: left">System Preferences - so people can tweak the settings ‘under the hood’, or at least the easy and visible ones anyway… there are deeper ones that require a knowledge of Unix and use of the Terminal</li><li style="text-align: left">…. and of course…. loading Office for Mac (so they don’t get homesick ;) )</li></ul style="text-align: left">A few other tips I would have added are:<br /><ul style="list-style-type: disc"><li style="text-align: left">Good tips on filing documents and how to make good use of Spotlight</li><li style="text-align: left">… and how to use iLife (Music, Photos) and maybe even iWork (Pages, Numbers and Keynote) to help them let go of Office, if they want to experience a more creative way of doing stuff.</li></ul style="text-align: left">I am sure there are many others I have forgotten, having used Macs for over 10 years its easy to take it all for granted now…. but part of the fun of switching IMHO is exploring and learning.<br /><p style="text-align: left">For those switchers out there, enjoy! and contact me if you need help, I’ll give you details of how to transfer donations to me PayPal account ;) lol</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-90587266117328597352012-10-19T12:10:00.000+11:002012-10-19T12:10:47.993+11:00Managers have bigger brains... at least in the long run ;)<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is an article from UNSW that confirms what managers have long known and the rest of us have long doubted ;)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well it's official, not only do they get the 'perks', Managers also have bigger brains, at least in the long run. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a quote from some research... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the first time, researchers have identified a clear link between managerial experience throughout a person's working life and the integrity and larger size of the hippocampus – the area of the brain responsible for learning and memory. It seems managing other people at work triggers structural changes in the brain, protecting its memory and learning centre well into old age. </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the full article </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">see </span><a href="http://knowledge.asb.unsw.edu.au/article.cfm?articleId=1536" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Grey matter: How managing others... </a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0343 George St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia-33.8674869 151.2069902-34.289521400000005 150.57527620000002 -33.4454524 151.8387042tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-69475843794828219602012-10-19T12:04:00.001+11:002012-10-19T12:04:08.002+11:00Towards a common schema for web content<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For those interested in tagging, check out this article about <a href="http://schema.org/" target="_blank">schema.org</a> which is described as</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Schema.org -- launched in June of 2011 -- exists to support this initiative and develop the categories and tag sets for commonly used items across the Web.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To me, this is a great development. Well worth looking at if you need some ideas on how to classify and 'tag' web content and information published on the web.</span><br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0343 George St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia-33.8674869 151.2069902-34.289408900000005 150.57527620000002 -33.4455649 151.8387042tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-7296369802261324272012-10-19T11:56:00.000+11:002012-10-19T11:56:36.073+11:00VDI simplifies BYOD<style>
.myquote {
font-size:1.25em;
display:block;
padding:2.5em 0.5em;
font-style:italic;
}
.myquote:before, .myquote:after {
display:block;
position:relative;
font-size:100px;
line-height:0px;
overflow:display;
text-align:left;
font-style:normal;
opacity:0.25;
}
.myquote:before {
content:"\201C";
top:5px;
left:-5px;
}
.myquote:after {
content:"\201D";
bottom:-40px;
right:-5px;
text-align:right;
}
</style>
<div class="myquote">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the biggest challenges that any organization allowing BYOD will face is that of support. It is simply unrealistic to expect the helpdesk to be able to support all manner of mobile devices, so organizations may turn to VARs. Solution providers can sell revised maintenance contracts that include services such as provisioning end-user devices and offering support for certain mobile operating systems. </span></blockquote>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BYOD is a pet subject of mine. Being an Apple user in a corporate sense is 'challenging' and I can't wait for the day when BYOD is a non event in terms of using any device you like inside and outside of work to get stuff done.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The latest thread in the BYOD discussion seems to be the use of VDI (Virtual Desktop Integration) to 'eliminate' the potential complexity and cost of managing physical devices.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Virtualisation is nothing new, its been around for a while, but the idea that VDI is an appropriate solution to facilitate BYOD is relatively new.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some of the press, including articles by Gartner, indicate that <a href="http://searchcio.techtarget.com/news/2240039360/Desktop-virtualization-now-being-pushed-by-the-business-not-by-IT" target="_blank">the TCO for VDI is worth it over a 3-5 year period but that may companies balk at the initial costs</a>. Strangely, it seems to be 'business' pushing for it rather than IT... I think this is '<a href="http://searchvirtualdesktop.techtarget.com/tip/Consumerization-of-IT-Whats-VDI-got-to-do-with-it" tabindex="0" target="_blank">consumerisation</a> in action' - what people now take for granted in their lives must ultimately be available at work. BYOD is the 'norm' in real life, people just expect stuff to work on the device of their choice, the same expectation permeates their expectations at work.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A good blog I recently on the <a href="http://searchcio.techtarget.com/tip/Mobile-device-security-Rewards-outweigh-risks?asrc=EM_NLT_19090590&track=NL-983&ad=882482&" tabindex="0" target="_blank">benefits of BYOD outweighing the costs</a> makes the point that VDI is not a complete answer to all of IT's concerns about BYOD, there still needs to be a way of allowing people to properly deal with the data and handle <a href="http://searchvirtualdesktop.techtarget.com/tip/Tackling-BYOD-security-issues-with-data-access-control-methods" tabindex="0" target="_blank">data security and privacy issues</a>. Interestingly, the blog highlights that, using VDI often means that the data being used is on a server or a cloud somewhere and probably even more secure than on many different physical devices... or at least its possible to manage it as a whole rather than worry about the data being out on many physical devices. This sort of speaks to the 'belief' by some IT shops that if its on an 'SOE device' its secure, if its not, it isn't. I've always thought this argument was spurious at best ;)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another article I came across recently, talks about the <a href="http://searchvirtualdesktop.techtarget.com/news/2240118547/IT-pros-mix-VDI-with-BYOD-to-simplify-device-management" tabindex="0" target="_blank">various technologies needed for VDI</a>... including VMWare, Citrix, etc, etc. Some of these technologies have been perceived as being 'too expensive' but I think that's just the initial outlay for new software and the TCO appears to more than pay for itself over a 3-5 year period, as highlighted in one of the earlier article I linked to.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As it stands, I think VDI certainly shows a lot of promise in helping some companies realise their vision for BYOD and to overcome some of the perceived (and real) issues.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One issue that does seem to 'stand in the way' is the way some companies are licensing their products and how this impacts BYOD and VDI, etc. Microsoft has certainly been in the press with regard to this, as most of us use their software every day. I know this has affected how internal IT departments have approached BYOD - as highlighted in highlighted in this article about the risks of <a href="http://searchenterprisedesktop.techtarget.com/news/2240114591/Microsoft-licensing-rules-for-BYOD-not-set-beware-of-snags" target="_self">"violating Microsoft's licensing rules by letting end users access corporate email and applications on their personal devices"</a> but, IMO, things appear to be changing and its important for businesses to review the situation periodically to see if things have changed and how this may facilitate doing more with BYOD.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd be happy to hear other people's feedback or latest news on this subject. Please feel free to post back to the Blog :)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0Sydney NSW, Australia-33.8674869 151.2069902-34.289408900000005 150.57527620000002 -33.4455649 151.8387042tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-33890713348183996212012-10-04T11:34:00.001+10:002012-10-04T11:44:31.120+10:00Its a scientific experiment!<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyone who has seen the Back to the Future movies, especially Back to the Future III, you may remember this quote:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVq9TXg-ZENnZ3x1gLyuUizwg7vjmxTVwbFJM2utwA8jfqzzRIGChuHmNsTci0bYteMUdzms1W6mwH3Js1GVzQhjjGlJCYTpiCN9t6zVvnAzjah1rl2byPdW6AB2MPHAxGXWTM7BYd8Y01/s1600/Back+to+the+Future+III.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVq9TXg-ZENnZ3x1gLyuUizwg7vjmxTVwbFJM2utwA8jfqzzRIGChuHmNsTci0bYteMUdzms1W6mwH3Js1GVzQhjjGlJCYTpiCN9t6zVvnAzjah1rl2byPdW6AB2MPHAxGXWTM7BYd8Y01/s1600/Back+to+the+Future+III.jpg" /></span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">[Doc Brown and Marty are hijacking a train] </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Doc: Reach! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Engineer: Is this a holdup? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Doc: It's a science experiment! </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">*My* science experiment is to create a blog post and then use it in another blog by using an iFrame... wish me luck :)</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com1Sydney NSW, Australia-33.8674869 151.2069902-34.289408900000005 150.57527620000002 -33.4455649 151.8387042tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-17928958854512880772012-08-16T08:10:00.002+10:002012-10-04T11:35:17.466+10:00BYOD myths<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I found this article about the <a href="http://m.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-myths-of-byod-in-the-enterprise/3049">myths of BYOD</a> in Tech Republic this morning. I must say the 'myths' are on the mark based on what I hear and see being discussed online <br /><br />They left off the one about the sugar crazed developer (coke and pizza) bringing their custom game machine in to their work to do development during the day ;) the one <br /><br />I found most interesting was Myth 9 A friend of mine used to work for a very well known device management solution company and he sad business was on the cusp of booming Some organizations were getting the need to manage their devices most were coming around to understanding the need but had not done it yet... I think the flood gates are about to open <br /><br />A few of my clients at work are facing this challenge right now They need to be able to allow customer and supplier devices access to their services rather than mandate a single device/ platform and how these devices will be managed is a real challenge</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-22581399076564150412012-07-25T14:18:00.001+10:002012-10-04T11:35:39.689+10:00One for the web developers out there<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.coderholic.com/invaluable-command-line-tools-for-web-developers/" target="_blank">invaluable command line tools for web developers</a></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283714699531196124.post-3042842309169523612012-07-25T14:11:00.000+10:002012-07-25T14:11:08.980+10:00Wrong! Disagreement and dysfunction - a Blog by a friend<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Good advice from a Blog by a friend of mine... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Constantly remind yourselves of the things you agree on. Play them back. Write them down. Recognize that you will be working together to do these things going forward if you can get over the things you disagree on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To see the rest read... <a href="http://graemesimsion.com/?page_id=44" target="_blank">Wrong! Disagreement and dysfunction</a></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11722470065363348740noreply@blogger.com0