Geocaching profile

There are a number of utilities around aimed at helping the Geocaching community.  Here's one that I came across recently that automatically produces a prodfile signature.  If you click on the image below, you will be able to create one of your own.

Windows Home Server Power Pack 3

Power Pack 3 for Windows Home Server is available to download today.  Login to your Windows Home Server and click on Windows Update. More information on Power Pack 3 here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/pp.mspx

 If you have installed any of the beta versions, you will need to follow the instructions here: http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windowshomeserver/archive/2009/11/24/power-pack-3-instructions-for-users-running-pre-release-versions.aspx

Belkin N+ wireless router and Xbox Live

If, like me, you have been having problems getting Xbox Live to work over your Belkin N+ Wireless route, here's a great article that takes you through the solution (or workaround!).  Judging my the number of comments on this article, I was not the only one suffering with problems.  This fixed mine.  :^)

http://www.zath.co.uk/how-to-get-xbox-live-working-with-belkin-n-wireless-router/

I just loved this video (and the concept!)

Breeze reflection by Djeff @ "Mal au pixel" France from djeff on Vimeo.

Geocaching in the FT

Here's a nice article from the FT on Geocaching.  It seems like a well balanced introduction to the topic.  It is from September this year, but I have only just come across it. :0(

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/f16b1dce-a18f-11de-a88d-00144feabdc0.html

Here's another article from a little further afield...http://www.rapidgrowthmedia.com/features/110509geocaching.aspx

Ordance Survey maps to be free to download from 2010

I have been a great fan of online maps and GPS based devices, but the current price charged for digital online maps far outweighs their advantages for my usage.  This isn't anything to do with the maps themselves, but relates more to the current generation of GPS devices that have relatively small screens that ultimately limits the usefulness of the map.  It doesn't mean that an online map is totally useless, but it is difficult to justify the price of the OS maps which can run into hundreds of pounds.  Enter the OpenStreet Map projects that provides digital maps of the UK for free.  You can download them here.  The maps are pretty good and I find them usable for geocaching and have them loaded onto my Garmin 550 (see the review here).

But ideally, I would like to use the OS maps.  I am used to using them, having used the paper based ones for years, and it would be neat to have the same map on paper and in digital format. This article in the Guardian outlines changes to the access of digital OS maps potentially to come into force next year.  It looks promising for end users and businesses alike, but I wonder what effect it will have on their Ordance Survey's business model.  While it is good news for councils and businesses everywhere that use OS data, this sort of revenue cannot disappear without it having an impact somewhere.

I also hope this potential change in the access to OS maps will also help publishers.  One of my pet hates is the use of hand drawn maps in walking and cycling guide books.  While Wainwright added much value in his hand-drawn guides, I think the use of such "unique" maps in books just makes them more difficult to use in practice.

How Windows Mobile lost the lead to the Apple iPhone

Here's an interesting article about how Microsoft stumbled in the smartphone race.  While Microsoft decided the route to success was via the enterprise (by chasing RIM's success with the Blackberry), Apple decided that success lay in the arms in the consumer.  And success here is determined by mobile applications.  Apple's AppStore has become hugely popularly with tens of thousands of applications for consumers to choose from.  This, somewhat surprisingly, is also helping driving penetration in the Enterprise market as many corporate useres admit downloading games and travel applications onto their iPhone.

If mobile applications are the route to your success, then developers being the critical audience.  Pander to them by providing them with the right tools, support and eco-system and they will do the rest.  Since the iPhone is a single hardware platform (as opposed to Windows Mobile that is available from LG, Samsung and HTC), this also helps developers since they only have to build and test one version of the application.

Winston Churchill (auto tuned!)

There has been a lot of discussion about the use of "auto tune" technology on many pop records. It started off as a method for correcting the odd vocal slip up, but then started to appear as a vocal effect in it's own right (on Cher's 1998 recording of "Believe"). There has been much discussion lately about it's overuse by less talented artists, however, I really like the effect that schmoyoho has produced by re-mixing famous speeches and even news items. Check out the videos on YouTube.

Mental Floss

This is an American website full of all sorts of facts and trivia, including:

• Bizarre Brand Extensions
• A history of toilet paper
• The nautical roots of common phrases
• 15 companies that originally sold something else
• And lots of other stuff!

The ultimate iPod protection...make it look like a Microsoft Zune!

Yes, it is a joke, but it made me laugh.....You can get to the spoof site here.

It's great to be British! Now where did I park my Austin Princess?

Clash of the Titans trailer

Over the summer, Clash of the Titans was being filmed in the Dinorwig Slate Quarries in Llanberis.  Access to the quarries during the filming was restricted and a numberof the permissive footpaths closed to the public.  It seemed to go on for a number of weeks during which time mysterious "COTT" direction signs appeared on surrounding roads.

I have taken a number of photos in the Dinorwig Quarries over the years including this one.

Here's the trailer.  It is clearly not only filmed in Llanberis, but if you are familiar with the area you will recognise bits.

Table tennis manual

It is often said the photographs reveal more about the photographer than the subject.  I wonder if the same is true of books? 

After a break of almost 20 years, I am back playing table tennis again (and still just as badly!).  A few coaching lessons and my playing has improved dramatically.  Next step? Read a book on the subject. 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and it has improved my table tennis no end. I am an intermediate player and have been coached on a number of occasions. I recognise much of the same information in the book from some of my coaching sessions. So, in this regard, this book has provided useful additional information.

The book covers a wide range of topics and is pretty concise - in some sections, I can't help feeling tht it is a little too concise. However, this book is one in a series of sports guides and I suspect that the format of the series has dictated the layout and format of this book. One improvement to the format of the book would be the use of annotated diagrams to explain the different strokes rather than using a series of photographs. These strokes can often be difficult to describe in words and I think the use of diagrams would make them easier to understand. I am not sure that using photographs of different players has helped in conveying the different strokes (although it does illustrate the different playing styles).

A picture might be worth a thousand words, but an illustrated diagram is worth a thousand photographs. At least when trying to describe table tennis strokes!  However, I suspect photographs are cheap to produce and are thus prefered by publishers.

All in all, a great book that has helped me improve by playing and understanding of the game. I am sure that I will come back to the book in the future and use it as a reference book. Recommended.

Images of Russia

I came across this set of images of Russia from Aleksey Petrosian - a Russian photographer. They are just a fantastic set of images - some moving, some tragic, and some that make you smile.  But all of them stunning.  Many of them are very reminiscent  of Henri Cartier Bresson (including this one to the right).

I love this style of photography where the photographer has capture images of what would appear to be just everyday life.  The results though are anything but just ordinary!

Logos with hidden messages

Came across this article today on logo design with hidden messages.  Great article that goes a long way to explaining what makes a great logo.

http://www.graphicdesignblog.org/hidden-logos-in-graphic-designing/

Garmin Oregon 550 GPS

First things first, this GPS receiver is really targetted at the outdoor enthusiast and is not really intended for in car use. If you are looking for an in car navigation device, then I suggest you look elsewhere. If you are a Garmin fan, the NUVI series are pretty good. These in car devices are both cheaper and more appropriate than this device. If you are looking for a device for walking, geocaching, cycling etc, then read on.

I have the 550 model - the one without the maps. I find the software based maps of limited use (prefering to use the real paper based ones in the mountains) and find the free maps from the OpenStreetMap initiative more than adequate for my needs. They have contours and paths as well as routable roads and Points of Interest (POIs). The whole of the UK comes in at around 250MB, so it will easily fit on the SD card in the device. A quick internet search will take you to the appropriate download page. You will find the page here: http://sites.google.com/site/talkytoasteruk/ukmaps

The device boots up quickly and seems pretty accurate. I bought this device specifically for geocaching (more on this later) and currently use a GPSMAP60csx. The Oregon seems as accurate as the 60csx and works well under tree cover. The device is easy to set up and configure - everyone seems to set theirs up in a slightly different way.

For geocaching, it is a really great device. You can run a pocket query on geocaching.com (you need to be a premium member to do this) and can then load the subsequent GPX file onto the device (this involves copying it into a directory on the device). The GPX file contains all the information you need for each cache - description, location, previous logs and even the hint. Using this approach, I have loaded up all of the caches within a 20 mile radius of home. It means no more printed out pages and enbles me to look for caches on an adhoc basis. It is even possible to log your attempts on the device and then upload the file to geocaching.com. These attempts can even contain field notes. This comes into it's own when you are logging a number of caches per day or logging caches over a number of days before you can log them on the internet.

So, now the not so good features. More niggles than anything, but here there are! The user interface is a bit cumbersome. The use of a touchscreen has led to a very convulted UI. For example, when geocaching I often flip between the map page, the compass page and the cache description page. Each time you move between pages, you need to go back upto the main menu. On the 60csx, you can just flip between the screens. Another thing to bear in mind for geocachers is that if you put the answers to clues into your field notes on the device, these cannot be read on the device. You have to load them up to the internet to be able to access them. So if you are looking for a bonus cache and want to do the calculation in the field, then take a paper and pen with you.

Battery life on AA alkalines is pretty poor, but much more respectable on the rechargable NiMHs supplied with the unit. You can use battery saving mode to extend the life of the batteries, but this just turns the screen off after every few seconds and gets annoying. I can spare alkaline AAs as backups for the rechargables.

The unit will run off power supplied to it via the mini USB cable, but it will not charge the batteries via this cable. Shame.

The touchscreen can be difficult to see in bright sunlight and can be scratched. I already have a scratch on my unit, but then I tend to leave it loose in a rucsac pocket.

The 550 does have a 3.2MB pixel camera, but it is pretty limited in terms of camera controls.  My advice is don't leave your camera at home.  However, if you do, you could use the 550 at a push.  The good news is that it does store location data with each of the picture that you take.  Thus, when you browse through the images in the album, you can navigate back to that location.  I haven't had any reason to use this feature, but I can imagine that there are other users out there who might have a need for this.

All in all a great device. I am hoping that Garmin will improve the UI and this will be available through software updates.

Urban Voodoo Machine

Saw these guys playing live today and was really blown away.  Just a great show!!

Nudging users to do the right thing!

To encourage people to take the staircase instead of the escalator, Volkswagen converted a set of steps at the Odenplan subway station in Stockholm into working piano keys. The effort is just one stunt that appears on the carmaker’s Rolighetsteorin.se or “Theory of Fun” website, which showcases efforts to get people to change by simply making things more fun.

Anyone who has read "Nudge" will recognise how important this is!

Free maps for GPS recievers

If you have a GPS reciever (not one that you use in the car, but a handheld device for trailwalking), you will find that it comes into it's own with an installed map.  Some units come with a mapbase installed, but often it is very basic (as is the case with the Garmin GPSMAP60csx).  Some have a map preinstalled, but then you have paid extra for it. With most of the devices, you can purchase and install additional maps separately.  They are available through Garmin directly or other third parties.  However, they are expensive and (in my experience) of limited use on a small display. However, there is an alternative.

The OpenStreetMap project is a wiki map project that is a free editable map of the whole world. OpenStreetMap allows you to view, edit and use geographical data in a collaborative way from anywhere on Earth. You can download part or all of the maps for the UK for free - both with contours and providing routable maps.  The UK routable map with contours weighs in at around 250MB, but with micro SD card slots in many recievers this is not a problem.  A 1GB micro SD card will cost you less than £10.

You can download the maps from here http://sites.google.com/site/talkytoasteruk/ukmaps which also contains an FAQ and full instructions.

The instructions are straight forward and I installed it within 20 minutes on my 60csx.  The maps from what I can tell are as good as any other on the market (and these are free) and installing the maps opens up a whole new set of features on the device.  If you don't have any maps on your Garmin, I strongly suggest investigating these.  You won't be disappointed.

Geochecker

Here's another useful geocaching resource.  If you set a puzzle and want to allow finders to check their calculations, then this site will allow you to input the cache name and GC code.  It then automatically allows finders to check their location.  It generates an easier URL which you can then enter on your cache page.

http://www.geochecker.com/

It's not about the numbers. Or is it?

Here's a useful website that will take the list of your found geocaches and provide a graphical representation of the data.  You will need to be a premium member on geocaching.com to be able to run the pocket query to produce the zip file, but other than that it is just a case of uploading it to the website. 

It does seem to get overloaded on occasion and throw a server error, but I guess that is the price we pay for using a popular (and free) website. You will find it here: http://www.itsnotaboutthenumbers.com/

Once you have uploaded your zip file, you can generate various pages.  His my current summary page:

Useless customer reviews

I don't know why people feel they need to write a review of a product that they haven't used YET.  Why do people think that a review of a product you haven't used will be of any use to anyone else?  Isn't this what we have advertising agencies for?

You occasionally see them on Amazon, but this one made me smile.  It is for the review of a pair of walking boots:

"Ordered this product miday wedesday, received it Friday morning. Excellant service. Not worn the boot outside yet but it fits fine and feels really comfortable."

Having not worn the boots yet, the reviewer compelled to give it a 4 out of 5 star rating.  Thanks.  Really useful (not)!

Geocaching resources

Here's a couple of useful resources for geocaching:

Logbook templates
This page contains a number of logbook templates for a number of different types of containers: 35mm cannisters, bison tubes, magnetic keysafes etc.  Both in black and white, and colour.

Distance between two co-ordinates (long/lat)
If you are into setting up caches, there is a minimum distance between caches of 161 meters. So when you set up a potential cache, you need to check the distance from any existing caches.  Normally, this is not a problem, except in built up urban areas.  This page allows you to enter two co-ordinates and automatically calculates the distance between them.  Handy!

Multichannel delivery and customer loyalty

Yes, we have all heard how important multichannel delivery is too many organisations these days.  This is the ability to be able to deliver your goods and/or services via a variety of mechanisms (face to face, via the telephone, online etc) and to do so consistently.  It is something that has been discussed ad infinitum which makes it even more frustrating when companies still get it wrong.  Here's my ancedote from last week.....

My car insurance was due for renewal.  I took out a policy many moons ago with DirectLine.  The intial insurance was taken out online and each year they send me a renewal notice in the post before it expires.  This year's renewal notice arrived a couple of weeks ago.  All I have to do is ring up and agree the renewal, provide payment details and I am all done.  So far, so good.  However, this year I thought I would check the renewal amount (the one in the letter they sent me) with their website. Just for fun. Guess what!  The online quote was over a £100 cheaper than the renewal notice.  This can't be right, I thought.

When I rang up to point this out, I was put through to the customer loyalty department and they matched the online price.  Apparently, there is an online "discount".

How can this possibly make sense? This episode really underlines how important it is to get multichannel delivery right.  This episode was not about MONEY, it was about TRUST (my trust in DirectLine) and customer loyalty.  As a loyal customer (yes, I have been with them for many years), my reward was an over inflated insurance premium (one that was higher than the online equivalent).  Surely as a loyal cusomter, I deserve the best quote not just one that they think they can get away with.  I can't help feeling let down.  It is almost as if the company is spending all of it's time trying to attract new customers while failing to look after it's existing customers.

All I want is to be treated as a loyal customer.  If you give me your best deal, I will give you my business.  If you give your best deals to your least loyal customers (i.e. those who give their business to others currently), your most loyal customers will reward you - by moving their business elsewhere!

HTC Snap review

I have just replaced my HTC Touch Diamond with a HTC Snap.  I have been using a Touch Diamond for over a year and haven't really been that pleased with it.  Looking back on the review I wrote on it over a year ago, I can see that my initial impressions weren't far off the mark.

My initial impressions with the HTC Snap couldn't be more different.  The unit boots up quickly and is very responsive to use.  I love the QWERTY keyboard - I have had Blackberrys in my work life on a couple of occasions and this is about as close to a Blackberry as you are going to get for a Windows Mobile (6.1) device.  However, the keys are still a little close together for me, but it is still pretty good.  Even some of the Blackberry like UI features (e.g. inserting a capital letter after a fullstop) are present.  About time!

The battery life seems pretty good for a 3G device and in normal use I find it will go 3 days between charges.  Obviously battery life depends on usage, so your mileage may vary.  The GPS works well with Google maps (preinstalled on the device) and if you are a big Facebook user, I recommend downloading the Windows Mobile version (you will find it here).

The overall build quality is great- it feels robust and the matt black finish works really well.  The screen is bright and clear (if a little small compared to some other devices these days).  It locks/unlocks very easily and considerable thought seems to have gone into the UI to make it even more usable.  Somehow all the features that you need are right at your finger tips.  The email was easier to set up and internet connectivity was a breeze. 

I did have a HTC S620 which was the 2G predessor to this device.  I loved it, but unfortunately it had an accident (let's just say it suffered severe water ingress!).  This is a great replacement for the S620 and I feel relieved now that I have retired my Touch Diamond.

Marc Salem Video

I loved this video on Non Verbal Communication from Marc Salem. Very entertaining.

Marc Salem at Gel 2006 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.

Danny Meyer

Hospitality is the key element of success, argues New York restaurateur Danny Meyer. This is a really interesting video of Danny presenting at GEL earlier this year. You will find the presentation here.

He should know: his restaurants are consistently the highest-ranked in Zagat's New York survey. Go to Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack, or any of Danny's other restaurants and you'll have an opportunity to see how hospitality forms a good experience.

O2's 21202 service

Do you never use up all your monthly mobile minutes and text messages? Well on the O2 network, if you text a blank message to 21202, you will get a return text message with the current minutes and text messages left for this month.

I am surprised that it has taken this long to provide such a feature. From an end user's perspective, it is very useful to know exactly how many minutes/texts you have left. But from an operator's perspective, it also makes sense. OK, you may think that the operators would prefer to see as many unused minutes per month as possible (since users are paying for a service that they then don't need to provide), but giving customers this information we tend to drive traffic onto their network and away from the alternatives. If you can get customers to use their mobile in preference to a landline (or another mobile operator for that matter), then that is a result.

Either way, nice one O2.

The 9 biggest social media failures of the year so far....

Came across this on ZDnet recently and I found it pretty interesting given all the hype about social computing at the moment.

Garmin 60CSx

The first Garmin handheld unit that I bought was a GPS12XL and it must have been more than ten years ago. At the time, I remember connecting it to AutoRoute running on a laptop and being amazed while watching the moving map in the car (with all the kit sat on the passenger seat). At the time, it felt like a gadget worthy of James Bond! Today, all that kit comes in a piece of hardware so small that you can attached to your windscreen with a rubber sucker!

Well, ten years on and I have bought my second Garmin unit (I lent the 12XL to someone and never got it back!). Thinking about it, I have bought a number of devices recently with GPS built in (a car, a camera, a watch), but this is the first (well, second) dedicated GPS handheld that I have bought. And boy, how the technology has improved!

First off, the power up and location time is amazing. No more hanging around, waiting for the device to find it's location. It locates itself in under 60 seconds. No doubt this is longer if you have moved significantly distances between using the unit, but in normal use it is stunningly quick.

Great reception. Even under trees. In open ground, I am frequently picking up 9 satellites simultaneously at full signal strength. Thanks to the responsiveness of the unit, you can see the signal strength dip when under a tree canopy, but this has little effect on the unit (it does seem to reduce the accuracy slightly). With EGNOS enabled, the device's accuracy is usually reported as +/- 2M (under cover this gets reduced to +/- 3M).

Barometric altimeter. You need a signal from at least 4 satellites to be able to provide an estimate of altitude and GPS devices are notorious for not being great at providing height readings. Not too much of an issue if you are using it for marine use, but if you are using it for outdoor activities, this can be much more important. Anyway, the inaccuracy of GPS altitude readings are solved with the 60CSx by using barometric readings instead. These work well and the unit will provide graphic display of the readings (you can also configure the device to use GPS altitude rather than barometric altitude, if necessary).

Great User Interface. I read the quick start guide, played with the unit and then read the instructions. As they say, we all else fails read the instructions! But I haven't needed to with this device. For me, the Garmin UI is becoming like the Nokia UI for mobile phones - the UI that everyone is familiar with and the benchmark against which other devices are compared. The device is very configurable and the software includes functionality for geo caching, parachuting and marine usage.

Great battery life. The unit takes 2 AA batteries and it meant to last up to 10 hours. Well, I have been using mine for about 4 hours and it still displays full battery strength. I suspect that I will get more than the rated 10 hours. When connected via a USB cable, the unit is powered via USB rather than it's batteries which is another neat feature.

Rugged form factor. The device feels great and handles well. The rubber grip around the base of the device makes it easy to use with gloves on and the device looks robust. The unit is water resistant to 1M and the battery compartment has a full gasket. If you are a marine user, you might want to attach a float to it since I suspect it will not float on it's own!

And the downsides.....

Well there aren't that many really and these are more of a nit pick that anything.

The default map is a bit ho hum. This is not a biggie for me since I use it in conjunction with a map. However, the device has great display capabilities and the default map does not do the device justice. Sure, you can buy additional maps (they are installed on the MicroSD card that will be found under the batteries), but it just feels like a missed opportunity.

Is that karabiner loop strong enough? You can see this in the photo and it is just a loop in the soft rubber that covers the top of the unit and aerial. Although the device isn't heavy, I bet that it wouldn't take much to break the karabiner loop. I am not so worried about breaking the loop as I am in losing the device itself.

All in all, a fantastic device and all for around £230. If you are into Geo Caching, then this device has to be on your list.

Green Graffiti

Here's an idea that looks like it has got some potential and all it needs is a template and a high pressure jet washer. The rest is down to you! You can find out more here: www.greengraffiti.nl.

Olympus Advert

How could I resist this? Courtesy of the Fire Wire.

Cloud computing and Netbooks

Netbook sales this year are expected to top 22M this year according one of the industry analysts (iSuppli). Although the volume is still trailing behind traditional laptop sales, Netbook sales are set to increase by 69% this year. I have been a fan of Netbooks for a while and have had a trusty Sony TR1-MP since 2004. The TR1 was around before anyone had even invented the word "Netbook", but the machine was aimed at the same market. At the time, it was marketed as an "ultralight" notebook. I use it almost exclusively for travelling and often take it on trips abroad (yes, even holidays!) for accessing the Internet. It is getting a bit old now, but who cares when all you use it for is web browsing.

So all of this got me thinking. Why are Netbooks popular now? And it suddenly occurred to me that there is a link here with Cloud computing. Let's ignore all the rhetoric and hype around cloud computing and focus on what it means for real people (people like you and me). Well, first off it means that I can access applications that I need from wherever I am - I have a work email account that I access via OWA and a personal email account that I access via a web interface. Sure, I use Outlook running on a PC to access them too, but this becomes less and less necessary as the web (or should I say "Cloud") versions of Outlook improve. Plus, I can use applications like this one (Blogspot) and all I need is Internet access.

Secondly, as well as being able to access applications on the web, I can now access data on the web. Increasingly, I am using secure storage on the web for photos and documents. Is it secure? Probably, more secure that the 4GB data stick that I used to carry around in my pocket (I used to get palpitations every time I thought I had lost it, so now I leave it at home and use online storage instead).

So given that it is getting easier to access applications AND data online, it is no wonder that devices such as Netbooks are becoming more popular. The interesting thing here is whether this is going to be a trend that will impact other devices. If this is the case, then:

• Why aren't more Netbooks 3G ready? In other words, they don't need the dongle. There are very few machines to choose from. Dell seems to be going backwards - the Mini 9 did have 3G, the Mini 10 does not. Since the Mini 9 has been discontinued, Dell no longer sells a 3G enabled Netbook.


• Battery life will be king. Blackberries have great battery life, smartphones suck. The Mac Book Pro is great, but it's battery life wipes it many of it's advantages (IMHO). The Samsung N120 has a battery life of 9 hours (now we are talking!), but it still isn't 3G enabled!


• Mobile broadband will need to get better. Much better. I am a Vodafone Mobile Broadband customer and, maybe it is me, but my experience hasn't been great. I would hardly say that it has worked "out of the box". I have found coverage to be very patchy (yes, I know if I only used it at home it would be fine, but that kind of defeats the object of "Mobile" broadband!) and the connection software has been very temperamental (I suspect there are driver conflicts on the three (!) laptops that I have tried! I can get it to work, but it is a bit of a fiddle and would not like to rely on it in a jam). And when I do get it to work, the download speeds are very variable.
  

However, as with all new technology, these wrinkles will get ironed out and the trends we see today in the early adopter community, will be set to become mass market 2-3 years from now.

Postscript: An article on the BBC website today (16-07-09) reported that according to Gartner that like for like PC sales are down over 10% on this time last year. Netbooks (or mini laptops as they refer to them), on the other hand, are up 20%. More information here.

Design Matters

With a background in user interface design, how could I resist a book with this title? But if you are expecting a book that concentrates purely on product design, then think again. This book really gets underneath what good design means: making products and providing services to customers that really matter to them. And not just at a superficial level, but really matter in terms of providing them with deep value - get this right and you will start to connect with your customers at an emotional level, building an ongoing dialogue, rather than a one off transaction. This is the key ingredient in building long term, successful businesses - ones based on establishing relationships with your customer base.

This book is easy to ready and exceptionally compelling. It is written with a passion and enthusiasm that is infectious. The user of examples throughout the book just help to bring the text to life. By the end of the book, my attention had moved away from Product design and start to concentrate on how to build customer centric businesses. I suspect this book is as relevant to those running Service companies and it is to those running Product companies. Thoroughly good reading and highly recommended.

WHS Connectivity Problems

I have had some problems with my home server over the past couple of weeks. It all started when I tried to install the latest Power Pack (Power Pack 2) for Windows Home Server. In reality the problem had nothing to do with Power Pack, but the update process highlighted that my Internet connection for the home server was down. This was due to the issues with my Netgear router (see previous blog entry), but in trying to fixing it I thought it was a firewall issue. In trying to identify the problem, I set the firewall settings back to their defaults.

Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, but I am using a Tranquil Harmony Home Server and you can only connect to it remotely (via a remote desktop connection). The firewall defaults are to deny file & print sharing AND remote desktop connections. Duh! I realised about 10 seconds after hitting the restore default button what I had done.

To fix this, you need to connect to the Tranquil server directly. Fortunately this is fairly straightforward. Remove the rear face plate (just three screws) and you will find a VGA, keyboard and mouse sockets (see photo above). This will allow you to logon to the machine directly without having to use a remote desktop. Just set the firewall settings back to normal (firewall set to "ON", but file & printing sharing and remote desktop selected on the "Exceptions" tab). And bingo, you are back in business.

Once you have the back plate off, the motherboard assembly just pulls out of the front of the unit. The motherboard and hard disk all come out as a single unit. There are a couple of screws on the top of the unit that allow you to remove the hard disk and access the memory. There is a single module - PC2-5300 DDR2 - I just happened to have a spare 1GB module, so I swapped it for the 512K already installed.

Bye bye Netgear DG834N

Well after just over 2 years of faithful service it looks like I have reached the end of the road with my Netgear router. It started to have problems a few weeks ago (denying Internet access and sporadically losing WiFi connectivity) - all of which could be resolved by rebooting it. It is amazing how reliant we have become on Internet access (the TV in the house is streamed over a WiFi connection adding an additional inconvenience!). Having to reboot the router daily was a major inconvenience. Originally, I thought it might have been issues with my ISP, but sadly not.

I have just replaced it with one of the new Belkin N+ Wireless Routers. It doesn't have the same aesthethic appeal as the Netgear router, but at least this one works. The documentation is not brilliant (more about this later), but it didn't take very long to install. Plus, much to my relief, all of the issues that I had been encountering seem to have disappeared. So it looks like it was the Netgear router that was faulty after all. I would have expected it to last longer than 2 years, but with the cost of a replacement being so low (around £70), I am not going to lose any sleep over it.

MSN predicts the future

I can never resist articles like this http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/lists/?article=FuturePredictions

The truth about innovation

This book provides some really useful reading. The book is organised into a series of 55 two to three page "truths" on the subject of innovation. Each of the entries has additional reading material listed in the back of the book which is really useful.

If you have read other innovation books, you may have encountered some of this material before. However, I suspect that it is exactly these readers that will get the most out of this book. It is packed with great tidbits and really thought provoking material. It almost reads as a set of blog entries. Because of the structure of the book, it is very easy to dip in and out of. If you are new to innovation, you might be better off with another book initially - just to provide a bit of context around the innovation process. Then come back to this book.

It is a well written and well structured book that I suspect that I will come back to time and time again. Recommended.

Getting the best from people

I like this series of books. They present information in easy to read bite pieces. Great reading for short tube journeys where you are constantly picking up and putting down the book. The material is well written and accessible. If you have read the "usual" management books, I suspect there will not be an awful lot of new material here. However, it is always useful to be reminded as all too often it is easy to get caught up in the day to day running of any business.

The main drawback (and probably it's biggest asset) is that the material is presented in no particular order. You don't need to start the book at the beginning and you can dip in and out. It does mean that it lacks a thread that develops throughout the book. However, I suspect this is an artefact of this book format. I enjoyed reading it and it provided me with some useful reminders.

The Drunkard's Walk

The is another one of those fascinating books that I would put into the category of "behavioural economics". To be fair, it probably has a much wider appeal than that and will be of interest to anyone interested in popular science.

The book provides fascinating insights into the way our brains are wired and the way that we process probability and randomness can lead us to misinterpret events. For example, if we take the three events below and ask people to rank them in order of their probability, they will often put C before A or B. Yet, statistically it is the least probable (based on both A and B have to happen so it is impossible for the probability to be less than A or B).

A. My company's profits will increase next year
B. The economic climate will improve next year
C. My company's profits will increase next year and the economic climate will improve next year

Why is this? As Mlodinow puts it "if the details we are given fit our mental picture of something then the more details in the scenario, the more real it seems and hence the more probable we consider it to be - even though any act of adding less than certain details to a conjecture makes the conjecture less probable".

Fascinating stuff! And this book is full of such examples based on our peculiarly human understanding of conditional probability and randomness. In fact, I got halfway through this book and found it amusing that I was finding conditional probability so interesting! Just goes to show how well written it is! Highly recommended.

Blogs that no one reads!!

With number of blogs exploding, the number of bloggers out there (including me) who write stuff that no one ever reads is ever expanding.

Which raises the question: Why would anyone continue to write stuff that no one appears to read?

So here is the strange thing: I read my own blog! I know that it sounds weird, but on more than one occasion I have been faced with a situation where I can't remember where I came across something piece of information. Then it suddenly occurs to me! I blogged on it. Since access to the Internet is just about universal these days, a quick search on my own blog reveals where I saw the information. How weird! It is almost as if the blog has become an online scrapbook for those little snippets of information that I come across. And let's face with the Internet, everything is a "snippet of information".

Now if I remember back to the work that I was doing on Innovation, much of what we see as being innovative is actually someone making connections between different ideas that are already out there in the real world. What is innovative is not having an idea that no one has had before, but making connections that no one else has made before. Thus being able to access these bits of information will become key to the innovation process. Maybe there is something to be said for these sorts of blogs after all!

High speed broadband and piracy

There was an interesting article in the Sunday Times today (p.B7) suggesting that there is a potential link between online piracy and high speed broadband. In 1995, the South Korean government pledged over a £1 billion to rollout high speed broadband throughout the country. Today, it is not unusual for households have broadband connections in the region of 100Mb/s.

At these speeds, it is possible to download a full length movie in a couple of minutes. So it will be no surprise to find that online piracy has become a significant issue. This coupled with the fact that DVD players haven't been that popular in South Korean (only 20% of households have a DVD player compared to 80% in the UK), further fuelling online piracy. You will find more information here on boing-boing.

There is concern that the uptake of high speed broadband in the UK might drive a corresponding rise in piracy. While music has been subject to piracy for some time, the increases in connection speed are making movie piracy more practical.

So the question is how do we provide high speed Internet access without driving piracy?

I think the key to this is providing legitimate access to this content. For example, I have been a great fan of the series "24" - you know, the one with Keifer Sutherland as the government agent. I have watched every series to date, but although series 7 is currently playing on TV in the US, you will not be able to get it in the UK until later this year (it is released on October 19). Unless, of course, I download it illegally. It is possible to download it via a number of bit torrent sites. If I could buy it online, I would. But I can't. Who knows? I might even pay a premium.

Why not take an opportunity to convert a potential pirating opportunity into an opportunity to make money?

Otherwise, you can pre-order your copy of Series 7 here.

Predictably Irrational

I just loved reading this book. It was the sort of book that you know by the time you get to the end of the first chapter that it is going to be a good read. This book doesn't disappoint.

Our irrational behaviours are neither random nor senseless - they are systematics and predictable. This book takes us through a set of experiments across a wide range to subject areas to prove the point. And it proves the point well. The material is presented in an engaged, and often humourous, style that makes the book very easy to read.

This analysis of irrational bevahiour (and it's impact on our decision making) is in direct contradiction to standard economic theory that assumes we all conform to simple rational rules (e.g. supply and demand). This book provides a new way of thinking about these behaviours and ultimately brings into question many of the assumptions that underlie traditional economic theory.

Take a look at the website that goes with the book. There are updates to much of the research as well as Dan's blog highlight how his analysis can be applied to current affairs.

Enova HD digital camcorder

I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the video produced by a digital camcorder costing well under £100. Although these low end camcorders can look like a bit of a toy, this device is incredibly well made - it feels very solid.

Like many of the other digital camcorders it has a "flick out" USB port that makes connecting the device to a laptop an absolute breeze. The camcorder appears as a mass storage device and files can be uploaded by dragging and dropping them onto the laptop.

I like the fact that the device uses rechargeable AA batteries. The batteries and the charger are included. These means that the batteries will be cheap and easy to replace and if they run flat while you are away from home, you could use disposable batteries as an alternative.

The downsides:

• The interface is not as simple to use as similar devices. The Flip is easy to use and it is surprising that such a simple hardware UI could be made this confusing. The UI to the Flip is much simpler and easy to use;


• To compound this, the instructions are pretty minimal (a folded up piece of paper about 3 inches wide and 12 inches long). I was expecting to find detailed instructions as a PDF document on the enclosed CD. No such luck. Why didn't the manufacturer do this? It wouldn't have cost anything (other than producing the material in the first place). Failing that, why not include a URL to the instructions? No luck here either. Strange.


• The battery life is pretty poor and doesn't last more than about 30-40 minutes if you are lucky, so an 8Gb memory card probably is going to lead to a flat battery. Maybe there was a reason why the batteries are replaceable!


• I was disappointed that the recorded format is .mov. I would have preferred either .avi or .wmv. The enclosed software does allow you to edit and then transcode to the content to .avi or .wmv, but it is an additional step. Some video editing software (e.g. Pinnacle 12) won't import .mov files for editing, so watch out. More fool me, I should have checked before purchasing the device.

I would be tempted to use a Flip rather than one of these devices, but the quality of the video is pretty impressive for a digital camcorder under £100. If you are looking for an inexpensive HD video recorder, then take a look at the Flip HD. It is slightly more expensive than the Enova, but it is probably worth the extra cash (I only have the "normal" version of the Flip).

A Microsoft future?

Microsoft Sustainability from Kray Cédric on Vimeo.

The Big Bang Theory

I watched a couple of episodes of this when I was in the US last month. I had never seen it before even though I believe that it has been broadcast in the UK.

This has to be one of the US's funniest sitcoms in years. Really fun and unfortunately sometime I can see bits of myself in it. Many years ago, of course!

I have just about finished watching Series 1 courtesy of LoveFilm.com. Series 2 starts next Thursday (26th March) on Channel 4, 9:30pm. If you haven't seen it, keep an eye out for it.

Mastering the Hype Cycle

Most people working in the IT industry will have come across the Hype cycle in one form or another - if the "trough of disillusionment" rings a bell, then you have come across the Hype cycle.

The book is split into two parts: Part One provides an overview of the Hype cycle. It takes us through each phase of the Hype cycle describing the characteristics of each phase. The (particularly) up to date examples help add life to the narrative. For me, I spent some time trying to work out where I thought many current innovations were in their journey through the Hype cycle - this is not as easy a task as you might think! However, it can be crucial to the success implementation of any innovation.

Part Two describes a process (termed STREET by the authors) for identifying, tracking and then introducing innovations based on the Hype cycle and your organisation's drivers and appetite for risk. This part of the book takes us through the process, step by step.

I think this book will be particularly useful to those people who are working in organisations that are involved in decisions about introducing new innovations. While it is aimed primarily at external innovations, there is no reason why the same process could not be applied to innovations that are generated from WITHIN your organisation.

Well written (which is exactly what you would expect from two Gartner analysts!) and exceptionally useful. Practical and definitely not overly theoretical. It certainly made me stop and think a little more deeply about the innovations that I am involved with and how (and when) they should be pursued. Highly recommended reading.

Sony Zeotrope

Just goes to show that sometimes some of the best ideas are old ideas!

Reality check

Improv Everywhere

If you follow the links on YouTube, you will find lots of other Improv Everywhere videos. Another one of my favourites is the Food Court Musical. You will find it here.

25 things to hate about FaceBook

By understanding how a few become great, anyone can become better

This is a well written and accessible book. I found it compelling reading and finished it in a few sittings. The main tenet of the book revolves around the Nature vs Nurture debate and there is no doubt that this book is on the side of Nurture. It debunks very effectively the myth of innate talent and lays out the argument that the route to World class performance is through deliberate practice. I, like most of us, am all too quick to blame my inability to master a musical instrument or an artistic pastime on my lack of talent. This book argues that with deliberate practice, this mastery could be within reach. It wouldn't be easy, but neither is it impossible.

It is critical to understand what is meant by "deliberate practice" as I suspect for many of us this will be a key learning. Deliberate practice is an activity designed to specifically improve performance, often with a teacher's help; it can be repeated a lot; feedback on results is continuously available; it highly demanding mentally; and it isn't much fun. There are great examples of what it is NOT and I can empathize with much of the anecdotal comments from my years of trying to master playing the drums. Understanding how to design deliberate practice is clearly key.

The book covers how this can impact organisations as well as individuals. Chapter 9 covers innovation and how deliberate practice can impact the creative process.

As the previous reviewer has commented, some of the material covered in this book also gets a mention in Malcolm Gladwell's latest book (Outliers), however, I found this book more interesting and definitely more practical. It leads the reader to a conclusion as well as providing practical ideas about how to improve your own and your company’s performance.

But probably best of all, I found it inspiring and upbeat. Great reading. Highly recommended.

Soduku Grab

Here's a blog from a friend of mine who has written an application for the iPhone. The application allows you to grab the image of a soduku puzzle using the onboard camera, the software then identifies the grid, the numbers that it contains, and then provides the answers! There is a video on youTube showing the application in action. You will find it here.

You can buy the application via the Apple store and Chris has kindly published his sales data on the blog. It will be interesting to see how this develops. Good luck, Chris.

Groundswell

There have been a few books written about "social computing", but few that go much further than simply providing observations or commentary. This book is different. If you are trying to make some sense of what you see happening on blogs and social networking sites and are trying to work out what you and your company should do, then this book is for you.

It is written by a couple authors from Forrester, so it will be little surprise that it is really strong on the strategy front. It successfully manages to link what we are seeing happening today on the Internet to strategies for succeeding in this space. The first part of the book provides us with an understanding of how to match solutions to an organisation's specific customer base. Users are categorised according to whether they are: creators, critics, collectors, joiners, spectators, or inactives. This categorisation comes from Forrester's Social Technographics tool and you can find more information on the book's website (http://www.forrester.com/groundswell) and even generate your own profile. The blog on the website is very good, by the way.

The authors then match technical solutions to an organisation's objectives: namely, listening, talking energizing, supporting and embracing their customers. Part 2 of the book is dedicated to stepping through each of these objectives providing worked through examples of how organisations have succeeded in each of these domains. As you might imagine, adopting the appropriate technique for your particular audience is absolutely key.

If you are interested in Innovation, chapters 8 and 9 have some useful insights on the role customers can play in the innovation process.

In a area that is frequently over-hyped, this book provides significant insight and examples that reinforce what following a successful strategy can do for you and your company. If you are about to embark on your first venture into this space, I would strongly suggest that you read this book first. Highly recommended.

Ideo innovation videos

I have long since been a fan of IDEO and here is a blog from Larry Fire over at the FireWire that contains links to a number of YouTube videos showing how IDEO works. Originally, from a ABC TV programme shot in the late 1990's (in fact, this programme is referenced in Tom Kelley's book).

Interesting stuff. You will find the blog entry here. Part 1 is below. You will find the other 2 parts on the FireWire blog entry.

Greenspeak

I love wordplay, particularly when it is pointed at something topical. I did some work recently on strategies for Sustainability, and while not a Green Freak, it did alert me to many of the issues that surround us.

I guess the first words that I encountered were the "Green Wave" and "Sustainability" but there are others....

Eco-Chic - anything fashionable made of recycled materials
Eco-Iconic - Toyota Prius?
Ecoholism - an addiction to everything ecofriendly
Carborexia - an addiction to reducing your carbon footprint
Negawatts - an excessive use of energy that will inevitably lead to negative PR
Dark Greenie - an extreme Green fanatic

And if this is all too much for you, you are probably suffering from "Green Fatigue" which will eventually lead to "Eco-pathy" if you are not careful!

Back to Windows Vista Media Centre

Well, the combined issues of non-supported dual tuners and network congestion means that the only choice I have is to re-install Windows Vista. Having taken the decision and re-installed it, I must admit I had forgotten how rock solid Windows Vista + Linksys DMA2200 are as a combination. Even when streaming live TV over WiFi.

Network connectivity and 7MC

It turns out that the network connectivity issue that I mentioned in previous entry is a known issue. Apparently, Microsoft are working on it. Good summary thread here.

Shame, it looks like this issue and the dual tuner issue means I will be reinstalling Vista!

7MC and Dual Tuners

Having installed Windows 7 onto the box that I am using as a Media Center everything seems to work fine, except Media Center treats the dual tuner card as if it only has one tuner. It recognises the dual tuners during set-up, but when you try and use the two tuners in practice it says there is a conflict and shows the two tuners are already both in use. Argh!

A little bit of investigation shows that this is a common issue. Try here for a great summary thread that lists the affected cards (which includes the Hauppauge dual tuner that I am using) on The Green Button.

Windows 7 Media Center (7MC)

I have just upgraded the Intel Atom based machine that I have being using to run Vista Media Center. I connect it to my TV using the Linksys DMA2200 Media Extender. The combination works a treat although occasional the Media Extender does need to be rebooted. This set up is described elsewhere on this blog, but I think it is fair to say that running Windows Vista on such a small footprint machine is pushing the limits (1.6GHz HT processor with 1GB of memory).

Well, I thought I would push the limits a bit further and install the Beta build for Windows 7 onto the machine. I am using the Beta build (build 7000) that was released last week and you can download off MSDN.

I did an upgrade from Vista SP1 using the ISO download on a DVD. The process is fairly seamless and can be done completely unattended, except the bit at the end where you need to insert the license key. Amazingly, it came up first time without any problems. Not bad for a Beta! I have included the performance data above. You can compare it to the results from Windows Vista here running on the same box.

OK, so onto Media Center. First time you start it up, it asks if you want to import that previous Media Center. This is what I did and it worked well - it sorted out the tuners (the drivers all worked), it re-tuned the tuners and even imported the existing scheduled recordings. The Media Center UI has been revamped in Windows 7 and it looks a little more polished with some additional features. As always, it is going to take a little time to get used to. More of this once I have had more time to play with it.

I powered up the Media Extender (expecting to have to set it back up again) and it worked first time without any fiddling or re-setting up. I hadn't really thought much about it, but I was pleasantly surprised when the new Windows 7 Media Center UI appeared on the extender. Cool.
I do seem to be suffering from some more network connectivity issues than I have had in the past. But I can't see how this is due to the new version of Media Center. But let's see how it performs over the next week or so.