April 2007 - Posts
At last, some UK partners are starting to promote the SBSC 'blue badge'.
BMS has a nice bit of signwriting on their new van.
Here at TiGra Networks, we've just taken out an advertisement (reproduced here on the right) in Business in Focus magazine, which has a circulation of about 98,000 across Wales. Vijay's blog has long sported the blue logo (I preferred the previous skin though, Vijay).
Some other UK SBSCs that are correctly and proudly displaying the logo on their web site home page: LuxTech, The Oxford Knowledge Company, Farmore IT, and many more. I've also found a number who are displaying an incorrect logo (no date) and some who are shooting themselves in the foot by displaying an out-of-date 2006 logo.
It's nice to see so many people proudly displaying the badge.
In closing, a call to action: If you're an SBSC, add a comment to this post with a link back to your web site. It'll improve your Google ranking and help me promote the blue badge. Please check your web site or blog to see if you are displaying the correct logo, which should include the tagline "UK Partner Qualified for 2007" if you are in the UK. Please don't display it without the date as that dilutes the value and will call into question whether you have really qualified this year. If the logo isn't on your home page, shame on you!
According to the BBC's technology magazine Click, Dell is to offer 32Gb solid state flash memory hard drives by Sandisk as an option in some of its laptops. Flash memory can be both faster and more robust than the mechanical equivalent because it has no moving parts and doesn't rely on magnetic fields.
A few months ago, in an article I wrote about backup devices, I predicted that magnetic hard drives would be obsolete within 'five to six years'. It looks like I might have to revise that estimate downwards. I can see an era where magnetic tape will be completely redundant, magnetic hard drives will be used predominantly for bulk backup and most online storage for personal computers will be solid state flash memory - I now expect to see 500 Gb flash drives well within 5 years.
The effects of this could be significant, allow laptops in particular to become lighter and much faster.
I love geology, especially the messy, dangerous kind. I'm just fascinated by the processes and effects of our planet going through its normal cycles. Of course these things happen on such a large timescale that we often only notice the rare remarkable events. Even then, the experience is coloured by whatever is the local norm. I'm bemused today by the news coverage of the earthquake in Kent, magnitude 4.3 to 5.0 on the Richter scale (depending on who you ask) and from the reports, appears to have been about IV (Moderate) on the Mercalli scale. Although this is clearly a significant event in the UK - the news media are milking it for all its worth - a quake of this size would hardly even merit a comment in California. While I was living in the San Francisco Bay area, I experienced a magnitude 4.4 quake, I was in bed at the time and it felt like someone just shook the bed to wake me up. Grace was standing in the next room and didn't even feel it at all. The house didn't shake, nothing broke. It was a non-event. In California, they are accustomed to earthquakes, they know the risks and they mitigate them in the design of the buildings. A good example is the little catches on kitchen cupboard doors, which I initially assumed were some sort of child safety device, that stop the doors flying open during a quake and keep the crockery from leaping out onto the floor.
In contrast to this country, where news coverage takes several hours to piece together what has happened, in America details of quakes are always available online within a minute of happening and there are always dozens on any given day in North California. In fact, the BBC had to wake up a USGS scientist for an official pronouncement on what had happened in Kent today. The Americans have more idea about what's going on in our country than we do, sometimes.
The last "big one" (that everyone can remember) in the bay area, Loma Prieta in the 80s was magnitude 6.9 - an increase of 1 on the Richter scale means that the quake released ten times as much energy, so Loma Prieta was more than 100 times bigger than our little wobble today. Amazingly for such a heavily populated area, there were only 63 fatalities and the major damage was a section of freeway that collapsed. They loved to talk about it and I loved to listen. Now that was a real earthquake. Imagine if we had a 6.3 in the UK - the devastation would be widespread, UK buildings just aren't designed to withstand quakes.
The campaign is hotting up here in Wales with Welsh Aseembly Government elections looming. Everyone is trying to win my vote on 3rd May - my birthday, by the way!
I've just watched a party political broadcast by the Wales Green Party and I was completely blown away by it. No white haired politician in a grey suit droning on. Instead, a bright, colourful video with a catchy upbeat sound track, which is actually a piece of very familiar classical music that I can't quite identify. The camera is down at knee height and a series of people's legs and vehicles pass by against a backdrop of green hills. Occasionally passers by stop and walk up to the camera and hold up a message. A homeless person, a cyclist complaining about lack of fresh air, a mother with child waiting for the bus. A deaf person signing "one world, one chance".
I can't really do it justice, but it was out of the ordinary. A remarkable piece of campaigning that actually motivated me to visit the Green Party web site, where I found information about how they are opposed to software patents, an area close to my heart. I have no particular allegiance to the Green Party, and I will not be voting for them this time around, but I was impressed and captivated by their innovative campaigning. What a shame the video is not available on their web site! They should upload it to YouTube and link to it from their home page.
Via the iQubed blog, this article describes a lecture by Richard Stallman, leader of the Free Software Foundation (FSF) about the morals, ethics and politics. He says of free-software (free of restrictions, not necessarily free of charge): "This is about ethics [...] that is, good and evil".
Of course, free software is the good and by extension, commercial software with restrictive licenses sold by companies such as Microsoft and others, must be the evil.
While there is a place for free software, I have a somewhat different view to Stallman. When Stallman and the FSF talk about "free", they don't mean no cost. They refer to certain rights (or freedoms) that the user of the software is guaranteed. Nevertheless, much free software is in fact free of charge and this fuels a common perception that free software is, well, free. In my view, this is where the danger lies. The misleading name has created a ubiquitous public perception that software has no intrinsic value. It has lead to widespread public misunderstanding about the way software is sold and the attitude that piracy is acceptable and harmless. This perception is damaging to the software industry. People who will pay hundreds or thousands for a piece of hardware are unwilling to spend a few tens to acquire the software that makes it work - the ingredient that truly adds value is considered worthless by the majority.
To reiterate, I believe there is a place for free software, but we've got to stop calling it "free". I dislike the term intensely because it is so misleading. Free is a term widely understood to mean "no cost" and the FSF definition of "free software" is explicitly at odds with that understanding.
An interesting post on the IMPACT blog referred to an incident where two people were arrested and cautioned for wardriving (piggybacking on WiFi networks). This got me thinking about the whole area of protecting your wireless network.
Whose responsibility is it to ensure that you have permission to use the wireless network that you're accessing?
It is easy to make arguments both ways. Some would say that it is difficult for an end user to understand the difference between a secure network and an open one. I'm not so sure. British Telecom has started supplying wireless DSL routers that are secure out-of-the-box, each with a unique SSID and WEP key. On the client side, Windows Vista, for example, makes it abundantly clear when you are connecting to a security-enabled network and if you try to connect to an unencrypted network, the warnings are severe. In general, encrypted (or "security enabled") networks are not meant to be accessed publically and I think most people understand that. One analogy would be a locked door. When faced with a locked door, it is pretty obvious that if you don't have the key then you're not supposed to go in there. 
An unlocked or open door is a different matter. There is a grey area where different people may make different interpretations. Sometimes a sign on the door will give guidance, as will the SSID (name) of the wireless network. Sometimes the network provider intends it to be used openly by members of the public, other times not. Where an open node broadcasts its presence to your computer or wireless device, is it unreasonable for you to use that connection? Is it your responsibility to check? In my mind, the answer is not clear cut. There is no one rule that works in all situations.
Whether or not it is reasonable and whatever the legality, if your network is open then someone will use it. Ultimately, its your network, your data and your responsibility to protect it. If you're a business, then the recent case where Nationwide was fined almost £1M ought to drive home the consequences of failing to protect confidential customer information. TiGra Networks conducted a survey in late 2005 that revealed widespread use of unsecured wireless networks - we even found a financial services company merily broadcasting their customers' data for all to see.
TiGra Networks will give you free advice on securing your network, or they will turn up and do it for you for a small fee. So there's no excuse.
I've been quick to criticise the Microsoft Action Pack Subscription (MAPS) this year, so I decided it was time to take a deep breath and focus on the positive things.
Small things matter. I like the new presentation box over the old paper folders. The new boxes are more manageable and easier to stack or file on a shelf. They snap shut and keep the contents securely enclosed. I complained vociferously about the paper folders and I'd like to think that Microsoft listened to me and others in making this improvement.
Focus on small business. This month (April) I've received two deliveries: the Action Pack proper and a supplement for Small Business Specialists. Both items specifically focus on small business products and technologies. As a small business specialist, this is something close to my heart.
Increasing Visibility of the Blue Badge. This has been a hobby horse of mine and some other SBSCs for the last year or so. Generally, my pleas were met with sympathy and a whole host of reasons why nothing could be done. 
Well, this is a first step in actually doing something. Included in the SBSC supplement are sheets of stickers sporting nothing but the Small Business Specialist 'blue badge' logo. Some of these are non-sticky for application to glass. There is now a little red and silver smart car running around South Wales covered in blue badges. I hope all other SBSCs will do likewise. It's a small thing but this is a very easy and free way to get that logo in the public eye and we must all play our part. I also hope you are all wearing your lapel pins that Microsoft handed out at the SBSC Symposium.
Value For Money. Although I think the value of MAPS has been eroded a little bit lately, it still represents a great business asset for Microsoft partners. In general, the 10 licenses/CALs is enough to run a small business and never need to buy another piece of software. There are at least 24 distinct products in the pack, including servers, desktop operating systems and of course the 2007 Office System. All this for basically the cost of one retail license of Windows Vista Ultimate. Whatever way you slice it, it is still a fantastic resource. In January I was disillusioned with MAPS mainly because of the licensing changes and perceived installation problems with Windows Vista. However, on reflection and in part due to the hard work put in by David Overton in resolving some of the issues I have reversed my opinion on that. Emotion aside, when you take a cold look at it, MAPS is not just good value, it is great value.
I installed some new PCs last week for a customer. My supplier imaged the new PCs with OEM Windows Vista Business and Office 2007 Small Business Edition - in other words they were "Office Ready PCs". Just a clean, unadulterated Windows + Office image, no third party junk, no funky partitioning scheme. Genuine brand name components throughout - Intel motherboard with Intel Core 2 Duo 1.86 GHz, 1 Gb RAM and integrated Intel graphics. Screaming-fast even with the Vista Aero theme. What a pleasure to use a computer that wakes up from sleep faster than the monitor can respond. My supplier brands the units front and back with my company logo and I'm very pleased with the results.
My main concern was whether the users would take to the new user interfaces of Windows Vista and Office 2007. They are very different from their predecessors and I was expecting some culture shock. However, I needn't have worried. Here are some of the comments I received:
"I love my new computer - I've bonded with it straight away".
"Wow, it's quick, isn't it!"
I can't think of anything that would be a better testimonial.
After all the build-up, finally Microsoft has shipped our "special" SBSC edition of the Demo Showcase for the People Ready Business. What's on it?
- Microsoft CRM 3.0 Small Business Edition
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2
- Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2004
- Microsoft Office 2003
- Microsoft Office Communicator 2005
- Microsoft OneNote® 2003
- Microsoft Small Business Accounting 2006
- Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003
- Microsoft Windows XP
- Windows Mobile® 5
Well, there's really nothing new there that we didn't already get in MAPS or can download from the web. It's just a recycled 2006 release that doesn't even contain any reference to Windows Vista or Office 2007. Snoozeville. Come on Microsoft, whatever happened to "business at the speed of thought"? At least send us relevant content for the latest major product releases. This content might have just been relevant had you delivered it in January as originally promised, but now half way through April, it's too little too late. This content is several major product releases out of date. I'm not even going to waste my time installing it.