tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29583699.post384028210939531980..comments2023-05-25T20:12:33.937+10:00Comments on SteveJ-on-IT: The New Disruption in Computingsteve jenkinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064724730975745470noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29583699.post-55689264830206962892019-11-23T07:54:04.751+11:002019-11-23T07:54:04.751+11:00Great article...Great article...Natalia Zimniewiczhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12164467676517900798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29583699.post-29963565267893472372014-04-05T10:52:45.527+11:002014-04-05T10:52:45.527+11:00[Comments from an old friend, Part III of III]
Pe...[Comments from an old friend, Part III of III]<br /><br />Perhaps one unmentioned bottleneck is human adaptability! Maybe all the advances have moved capability beyond the limits of most humans’ adaptability. If so then the challenge may be to make the advances accessible to those with rigid minds? Perhaps the challenge is to fork everything so the old can coexist with the advances.<br /><br />The failure of Google Wave is a perfect demonstration of this lack of adaptability:<br /><br />· Why would you send a file out to 5 users to edit when you could get 5 users to look at the same file?<br />· Why continue using unsecured protocol that enables spam and leaves itself open to intercept?<br />· Why deal with reply all conversations that fork and exclude pieces of information in each thread?<br />· Why does our mail server attach a disclaimer asking people not to own the file they were just given when we could retain control of our files letting others come look at our content?<br />· Why do I have to create distribution lists and access control lists on behalf of my users?<br />· If users want storage in the same space as communication (evidenced by their desire to store everything on the mail server), then why are we propagating file servers, SharePoint servers, and mail servers which the user has to use a minimum of three different programs to access?<br /><br />To all of this I have only one answer: users could not adapt to the new capabilities because they weren’t lead/herded into this new space and so they all felt lost because it was too big a change for them to understand.<br /><br />Storage will keep growing because the culture of search is partially understood and “There is no point throwing anything away at these costs.” (I find that idea highly contentious). There is an increasing capability to gather data (often duplicating it) so the temptation to store data is yielded to.<br /><br />To an extent the capability to generate data (like photos videos and memes of cats) has grown in an unprecedented jump with smartphones because smartphones are so prevalent and so well suited to the first two tasks of content generation. Apps for creating derivative content are so low cost they spread quickly.<br /><br />Lastly data isn’t all tied to computing. The vast bulk of data I have has nothing to do with me, it is media someone else has produced.<br /><br />The landscape has changed and I think there is a gap between what is around and what people/enterprise recognise. It will all change but I wouldn’t dare to project how it will change.<br /><br />Rhys Ambler<br />rhys@ambler.id.austeve jenkinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16064724730975745470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29583699.post-40946772594573338082014-04-05T10:52:11.232+11:002014-04-05T10:52:11.232+11:00[Comments from an old friend, Part II of III]
The...[Comments from an old friend, Part II of III]<br /><br />The old maxim “Do one thing well.” is exactly what cloud can offer.<br /><br />Processors have traditionally been the driver of better computing speeds but perhaps what we are going to see it the better application of computing as our next step while the compute power slows in growth.<br /><br /> The demand for mobile “sub-powered” devices provides a whole new environment ripe for cloud offerings. In the 90’s everything had a clock added to it, in the 00’s everything had an LED added, in the 10’s everything had WiFi added.<br /><br />Perhaps the next step is sending information rather than data by adding compute power to everything. Intel were developing SD cards sized computers, which I was told have this week been downgraded to CF sized because of problems with the newer chips so Intel are reverting to a more powerful Atom but increasing the size. Small cheap ubiquitous low power computers paired with accelerometers, GPS, WiFi, and GSM/HSPA have made devices spatially aware (no gyroscopes in common production yet?). Doing useful things with them is still an ongoing problem but the market will take care of that in its own time.<br /><br /> I’d dispute the Microsoft 10 year monopoly on smartphones, palm were in there with handheld computing and they did have a phone which they failed to capitalise on. RIM developed the BlackBerry and grew an empire which they too have frittered away. In their latest upgrade they have sounded the death knell by moving away from their own global infrastructure which differentiated them from every other solution. They are now as easily replaceable as any other part of the market but they used to be the device of choice for most business people 10 years ago.<br /><br /> The prevalence of smartphones has led many consumers to segment their experience into many apps that each have a purpose. They do bring this to their attitude to work. The days of Mozilla (browser, mail client, PIM all in one) are gone – although I’m not quite sure I think this will effectively remain the case.<br /><br /> As an iPhone user I would have to say the quality of the product is in decline. More crashes, less stability of interface, little incremental change and a closed shop approach (Safari is the only browser that can be called by other apps – reminiscent of the successful anti-trust case against MS for their bundling of IE). This just means consumers suffer – there isn’t a rising star because Android is still full of problems that show it as an immature OS despite being more prevalent than iOS (Win vs Linux shows this can stand for many years).<br /><br /> Tech ratios have changed but so has the preferred consumer platform. Consumers may not know it but with their purchases they are recognising the changed environment, and the feedback loop means they are reinforcing these changes.<br /><br />It is up to enterprise to catch up, capitalise the new environment and lead positive change for the consumer. Enterprise is where the “experts” are. However I don’t have faith there are many IT departments that are up to the task.<br /><br /> As far as end users go I still work with people who can’t see the benefit of search over browsing/filling. Even when it comes to filing they can’t step away from a physical analog: Outlook has been pushing categories for 13 years, when Gmail started 10 years ago (plus a few days) they saw the future was tags which are functionally the same. Gmail wasn’t tied to history so they never implemented folders. Yet I still see the vast majority of users spending a large portion of their day operating Outlook, and blind to the power they are given. Many, if not most, are actively rejecting the different modus operandi, and the only reason I ever get is that they know how to work the less efficient system.<br /><br />Rhys Ambler<br />rhys@ambler.id.austeve jenkinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16064724730975745470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29583699.post-10818957595346703552014-04-05T10:51:29.190+11:002014-04-05T10:51:29.190+11:00[Comments from an old friend, Part I of III]
I se...[Comments from an old friend, Part I of III]<br /><br />I see much and hopefully gain a little insight.<br /><br />I think progress will continue, but we will not progress in the same directions hence the measures we have used will show an unprecedented slowdown.<br /> <br />I work in an enterprise that is still on 32bit OS, and 32 bit programs. Probably six years ago it became difficult to purchase single core CPUs. While their multicore counterparts could do more from a computing perspective, from a user perspective performance from a single program that was not multi-core-aware dropped.<br /><br />Storage may have missed targets but it has kept growing. In my opinion storage is not actually understood by the majority of people including many storage professionals.<br /><br />Storage is an increasing risk for anyone who has not changed modes to adapt to the changed realities of storage.<br /><br />Optical drives are now almost a footnote in computing if not entertainment media.<br /><br />The prevalence of USB storage is a heinous circumstance we have arrived at, but it meets the lowest common denominator.<br /><br />Networking has not done so much because it has not been an economic bottle-neck.<br /><br />9 years ago I saw a 10Mbps hub (not switch) linking 45-55 staff to the switch that had the rest of the LAN. I had never used anything under 100Mbps before that.<br /><br />Today I look after a branch office (5 staff) that has stepped down from all services on a 100Mbps LAN to a 2Mbps link serving everything (telephony, email, internet, file, DHCP, NTP, LDAP). WAN optimisation has meant that the users haven’t complained! We have moved forward 9 years and dropped network capacity to 1/50 without bothering the user – it doesn’t sound right but it works.<br /><br />In consumerland gigabit has been over and above needs for so long it is only now with 3D HDTV that gigabit is truly looking like it needs an upgrade.<br /><br />Prevalence of networks goes beyond fixed networks. The prevalence of WiFi devices has been a major impact, and GSM/HSPA data has changed the game entirely.<br /><br />9 years ago I had the privilege of using a mobile data card that could deliver a maximum of 2Mbps and cost hundreds of dollars per month. Now every mobile in our fleet can hit 40Mbps, every laptop has inbuilt HSPA modem, and all this is delivered at ~$60 per unit per month.<br /><br />Connectivity has revolutionised IT services and has a lot to do with the 24h service expectation because there is “always” connectivity so there always needs to be a service running behind that.<br /><br />FTTP could change things, but only if people are given the tools to make the change. For many many professionals a solid 10Mbps connection from a home office would more than adequately replace a desk in their office (see WAN acceleration above, and contemplate what is possible). But this still ties peole to fixed lines or WiFi networks they can utilise. Where is the WiFi mesh we should have?<br /><br />In the enterprise it has been harder and harder to keep ahead of consumer technology, particularly as cloud based systems become more mature.<br /><br />· We offer a 50Mbps internet connection shared to 60 staff, compared to a home user with 24 Mbps to themselves it’s not impressive.<br />· Gmail/Outlook.com offer services we are hard pushed to beat.<br />· DropBox etc sync to HDD, which beats accessing files over gigabit<br />· Backblaze, and CrashPlan offer backup solutions that are much the same as our enterprise solutions only they keep deeper history and are far more accessible.<br />· We won’t even pretend to offer something as useful as LastPass.<br /> ("controversial"? it’s just single sign on via internet).<br /><br />Rhys Ambler<br />rhys@ambler.id.austeve jenkinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16064724730975745470noreply@blogger.com