Texting in a car NOT

Anyone who knows me is aware that I believe distractions while driving are going to be the scurge of the earth. Texting while driving is highest on my list of dangerous activities. It appears there may be an answer coming in the technology world, take a look at this article:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2010/09/starttalking-lets-drivers-send-texts-by-voice/1

Hands free voice and texting, now that is something I can live with (probably because I won't get hit by a driver texting with their hands)

Green Energy

I will keep this short today, but why is it that countries like Scotland and France can be totally independent from oil for their energy needs and the US can get within a solar system of independence? The stranglehold that oil bearing countries has on the US is ridiculous and as long as gas is below $4 a gallon, the outcry is silent.

Our ability as a country to snap out of recessions/depressions is limited by our energy needs and sources. It is time to get an aggressive stance on renewable energy and alternative sources of energy. If your congressman is not active or knowledgable about greeen energy, alternative or renewable energy, fire them. If they take money from oil companies or garbage companies (ie Waste Management), fire them. If they visited Saudi Arabia under the guise of visiting our troops, yet met with Saudi or other OPEC officials; fire them. If you love $4+/gallon of gas, then fire me!

George Blanda

Most people won't even know who George Blanda is or was. Unless you were alive in the 50's, 60's or 70's you probably wouldn't have heard his name; but let me tell you he was possibly the fiercest competitor who ever played the game of professional football.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5622590

Let me take you back to 1970. My father and I used to always sit in front of the TV on Sunday and watch the "boys play ball". I usually played my high school games on Friday night or Saturday, so Sunday was a rest day for me and my dad who worked long hours 6 1/2 days a week. To add, the Seahawks weren't around so the only feed we got was either the Raiders or the 49ers with John Brodie under center. I had a 49ers jacket, so I thought Brodie walked on water.

The scene was Alameda County Stadium, middle of the season and Blanda was the place kicker and back up quarterback for the Al Davis' Raiders. Daryl Lamonica, the "Mad Bomber", was the starting quarterback for the Raiders. Lamonica gets hurt and Blanda steps in throwing three touchdown passes in a 31-14 win over Pittsburgh. The following week he kicked a 48-yard field goal in the final seconds to give the Raiders a 17-17 tie against Kansas City. Blanda was just getting started. He threw a tying touchdown pass with 1:34 remaining and then kicked the game-winning 52-yard field goal in the final seconds the following week in a 23-20 win over Cleveland. In all, as a 43-year-old, Blanda led the Raiders to four wins and one tie with late touchdown passes or field goals. That's right, he was 43 years old! He was named the AP Athlete of the Year.

The reason all of this resonates with me is because my dad was 42 years old. He was proud as a peach that the old man was showing the kids how it was done. Blanda would waddle out on the field, throw some soft passes to get his team close, then kick a field goal from the 40+ yard line (conventional style, not soccer style) to win the game in the last seconds. The most important thing George Blanda did was make my dad smile the whole day Sunday, and I truly thank him for that.

Pilots and peril

Some mornings I will admit I struggle to come up with a new idea to blog about, not this morning. If you have seen any news in the last 24 hours then you are probably aware of the Delta commuter flight that could not get its right wing landing gear down and was forced to land at New York's Kennedy airport instead of White Plains.

First and foremost, the pilot and crew were magnificant, landing the plane safely and everyone walked away unhurt. Given the right wing fuel tank was full of fuel, this is nothing short of amazing. When you compare the stories of the passengers to the survivors of the US Air flight that landed in the Hudson, you get the same picture; the crew was exceptional at handling the scariest of situations.

I have been in a couple of hairy airplane situations and in all cases the crew remained cool, professional and supporting. In the past, I have been very critical of customer service at airlines. I probably will be in the future as I often see disinterest from the very people that hold my life in their hands. But, when it comes to safety, they do their job and in case you forget, it is the only job they are required to do on an airplane; not serve drinks or salty snacks. So here is an open apology to the flight stewards/stewardesses that I have taken issue with in the past, the bottom line is you kept me alive.

Finally, one burning question; do they get extra frequent flyer miles for travelling the extra distance to Kennedy airport to land?

Tech Spending

Several reports have IBM, HP and Oracle predicting increased technology spending over the next year
http://www.cio-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=113007FDPQ4R&nl=5
It couldn't come at a better time. The US economy hums when tech spending is up, we tend to reclaim our edge as the innovative giant of countries. A lot of spin is being put on business intelligence. With all the data being accumulated by enterprises the ability to analyze and pick trends that will take your business to the next level is now a critical business process. Tech giants have followed suit; HP buys 3Par, IBM buys Netezza, and Oracle announces their latest analysis engine.

The lesson here is that all companies, big and small, should jump on this bandwagon of tech spending, as long as it is where your business needs it. Small businesses often don't do the same level of spending on what they perceive is "big company" technology. Business intelligence often falls in this category. My belief is that business intelligence and analysis is more important to a small business than many large corporations. Finding an important business trend or anomaly is the difference between making it or not in a small business.

Healthy Eating on your phone

I just had to plug my old company for a new release of software. Aisle7 just released a mobility product that provides healthy eating suggestions for retailers who can then provide their clientele with shopping lists for those recipes. The solution also provides healthy living recommendations via vitamins/supplements for different health conditions such as diabetes and obesity.

Read the full article and congratulations to Aisle7
http://www.drugstorenews.com/story.aspx?id=152689&type=web

Blockbuster now lackluster

Well it looks like video rental behemoth Blockbuster is about to file for bankruptcy. There is a lesson here that touches both the retail market and technology in general. Just like when Barnes and Noble couldn't pivot when the Kindle surfaced, Blockbuster missed the boat when Netflix and Red Box appeared on the horizon. Now I am not saying that brick and mortar retailing is dead, but you are in a retail business that is so dependent on rapidly changing technology, you'd better be running with the lead dogs.

Blockbuster's response in earlier in the decade was a hostile takeover of Hollywood Video at a ridiculous price. It lost out to Movie Gallery who was effectively shut down earlier this year. Then came the purchase of Movie Link, a download service that was positioned against the Netflix' of the world, too little too late. Blockbuster also was in the process of deploying a Red Box like kiosk for video rental, again late to market. Brick and mortar has been replaced in this scenario by metal kiosks and internet downloads.

There was a time when you could see a Blockbuster on more corners than Starbucks. Video stores in general were like weeds popping up after a spring storm. The ride was great, but instead of changing the game and looking to new deployment strategies and new customer interaction models; Blockbuster did what most companies do that owe their life to the quarterly profit machine, they milked the current model. I guess that is not too surprising given Blockbuster was originally started and owned by two Waste Management executives, you see garbage isn't as dynamic as the video industry.

Apple Customer Service

Just read a good CNET article on the wide margin Apple enjoys over its PC Hardware rivals in customer service. The full article:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20017064-260.html?tag=topStories2

There are a couple of interesting observations in this article. First, Apple uses the interaction/feedback it gets from its Apple stores for input into the whole customer experience. This is a great idea. Many retailers who don't have a brick and mortar presence are limited to the information they receive from an angry phone caller. They often don't know what they are doing right and instead of building on strength, focus on weaknesses.

Secondly, Apple openly got its eyes opened about the iPhone "Attennagate" scandal. It was obvious that the cult following Apple enjoyed was miffed by the issue and was not going to follow the piper Jobs blindly into the sea. They responded eventually with what has been perceived as a moderately successful solution, the free case. My guess is that the often volatile Jobs rolled some heads and set a standard for future releases.

The real story here is that Apple appears to actually listen to its customers; genious!

Back in the saddle

Well folks we took a few days off to recharge our batteries and look for new topics to work on. The next few weeks you will see a new focus on Green Energy and fresher focus on topics that effect the technology executives of today. We might throw in a sports story........

Board of Directors

Great article regarding boards of directors -
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/columnist/krantz/2010-09-07-boards-of-directors_N.htm
The article points out that boards are in general clueless, but not criminal when it comes to corporate fraud. My experience would indicate that this is pretty spot on. Now, I am not saying that a board shouldn't be more involved given the trust the public puts in them, but it's not a full time job and in most cases, a corporation is looking for leadership advice, not fraud detection. What do you think?

Technology Competition

Note: this blog will date me, but what the heck.

Remember when there were just a couple of technology giants? The dual was between the hardware guys; mostly IBM and Digital Equipment commonly known as DEC. There were others, DG, NCR, and Prime to name a few. There were a couple of software players, MSA, M&D and D&B; part of the all acronym team. The reality was that you knew who to call when you wanted a solution, the problem was that innovation was slow and not consumer driven.

Let's take today's world. In the world of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) there are hundreds of players. This software didn't really exist until the mid 90's. Names go from SAP to Oracle (ex Siebel) to Microsoft to Google and then a myriad of other credible players like the new giant Salesforce. Well, the good news is that innovation and collaboration is at its peak. You are either moving ahead in this space or you're gone. The bad news is trying to figure out which solution is best for you. You can do an RFP, educate yourself, and possibly get the right fit. Or, I recommend you find a professional to evaluate your needs and help pick the best solution for your firm. You see, life was a lot easier in the old days.

Ban on Boobies Bracelets

Folks, I didn't make this up. Several schools have banned the bracelets that say "I love boobies". Now before you go off on some wild soft porn theme, the bracelets are a support mechanism for breast cancer awareness. The school officials that banned them feel they are offensive. I may be wrong on this, but both superintedents quoted were male. Read the article and tell me what you think.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-09-01-bracelets01_ST_N.htm

Smartphones for travelers

About 1/3 of all phones used by travelers are smartphones, so says this article:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2010-08-30-smartphone-travel_N.htm
It is no wonder. The airline industry alone should take a tremendous amount of credit for this technology transformation. Where else can you get more accurate information on a phone than talking to an agent? Where else can you get cheaper fares on a phone than going to the airport and purchasing a ticket? The list goes on and on.

Many years ago, air travel was some kind of treat. When I travelled around the world, people used to ask me about all the glamorous places I had flown to; Buenos Aires, Santiago, London and Singapore to name a few. They pictured white tableclothes under an exquisite meal with champagne or a fine red wine framed by real silver. The service was great and the airline people actually enjoyed their jobs. After flying in todays airline environment, the expectations are: paid for water, paid for snacks, snippy stewardesses (all of whom are 1 year from retirement), and the latest paid for - carry on luggage.

Maybe we can get a smartphone to run the airline.