This is a guest post by Zac Kenni.
On Monday August 15, 2011, Google acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. It is a rich and impressive deal, and it has far-reaching implications for the greater technology industry. There is no secret here that Google made this purchase for the sole purpose of access to Motorola’s patent portfolio, a diverse collection with more than 17,000 prized items.
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The El Camino Hospital in Silicon Valley has opened a new facility making it possibly the most wired hospital you can find.
The $480 million, state-of-the-art facility takes full advantage of new technologies, ranging from a wall-to-wall wireless network, to patient beds with built-in translators for 22 languages, to robots that move around the hospital carrying medical supplies and patient meals. Robotic devices help doctors perform surgeries and electronic lifts help get patients into beds safely.
There is also a Genomics Center as part of the facility. The state-of-the-art, seismically sound acute care center has health care business intelligence capabilities based on the Amalga technology from Microsoft. By aggregating ambulatory and inpatient data in a common data store, the Amalga Unified Intelligence System (UIS) delivers a cross-care continuum view of the patient without requiring clinicians to learn multiple systems or requiring IT to maintain multiple systems.
Now that is one smart hospital.
In February of this year, you could see the following video of Microsoft’s vision of how the world might appear in 2019.
Now as reported by Gregory T. Huang, Craig Mundie gave some more insights on the Future Vision in helping to kick off Microsoft Research’s 10th annual faculty summit. These were the top five takeaways from his talk:
This Microsoft vision is certainly an impressive display of what may well be available.
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Installing Internet Explorer 8 provided a great reminder of how complicated it is to produce great web site designs. Just read the explanation of how Microsoft Is Expanding Support for Web Standards
Internet Explorer 8 has been designed to include three rendering modes: one that reflects Microsoft’s implementation of current Web standards, a second reflecting Microsoft’s implementation of Web standards at the time of the release of Internet Explorer 7 in 2006, and a third based on rendering methods dating back to the early Web. The newest rendering mode is forward-looking and preferred by Web designers, while the others are present to enable compatibility with the myriad sites across the Web that are currently optimized for previous versions of Internet Explorer.
That is the reality of the online world that Microsoft has created through its continued support of the legacy websites that were designed with prior versions of Internet Explorer. On top of that you have the problem that different browsers interpret the web standards in different ways in such matters as the width concept (padding in or out, etc.). No wonder web designers need all the help they can get in coping with this complex world.
Some people have tried to produce checklists that will help the web designer develop with best practices in mind. For example, Terry Morris has a Web Design Best Practices Checklist. He covers in detail such topics as Page Layout, Browser Compatibility, Navigation, Color and Graphics, Multimedia, Content Presentation, Functionality and Accessibility. It is good as far as it goes, but it does not cover the big picture.
Robin Good casts the net wider with his 20 Rules Of Smart And Successful Web-development. However again it relates much more to the visitor experience on the website, than how the website should achieve whatever goals may have been set.
Ensuring you know what you are trying to achieve and measuring your progress towards those goals is an essential part of effective website management. This covers more than just what is important in web design. It must also deal with how the website is marketed for maximum relevant traffic and how visitors to the website ‘convert’ to become clients or at least warm prospects.
This is what Andreas Huttenrauch, Internet Strategy Consultant and Web Architect, covers in his guide to Web Development Best Practices. That of course includes what might be designated as Best Practices in Web Design, which are covered in great detail. In addition based on almost two decades of experience, he covers all other necessary topics including legal requirements and obligations and security matters. Only a well-rounded guide like this can ensure all critical issues are handled successfully.
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A legacy is normally seen as a good thing to be enjoying. You might assume that a customer legacy was equally a valuable asset but that is not the way some companies see it. Customer loyalty is great but a customer legacy is a burden.
You can get a sense of that in an Interesting article on device driver compatibility in Vista and Windows 7. See how the Microsoft author feels they should be creating a sense of unease in that long-standing customer:
But essentially what you’ve done here is to make sure the customer understands that there is “potential” (latent) pain that can be avoided with Vista and that that pain may well be a lot more costly than the pain of implementing the solution. To amplify, what you’d be helping the customer understand here is that right now on XP, even though it seems secure (since they’ve likely not had any breaches or successful malware attacks or loss of data), they ARE at higher risk of malware issues (stats show us XP is 60% more susceptible).
The reason why I got onto this line of thinking was that I tried to use the new Microsoft browser, Internet Explorer v.8. It functioned so slowly that I had to uninstall it and go back to Internet Explorer v.7, which I reinstalled. Lo and behold suddenly I was having the same slow speed problems with version 7. Checking on the Internet showed others were having similar problems, but there were no apparent solutions. Then in discussing this problem at Cre8asite Forums, someone mentioned a post by Ed Bott entitled Is IE8 really fat and slow? It seemed that the problem may be associated with still being on Windows XP. He offered the following solution:
So I checked with a few colleagues on some back channels and discovered a tweak that had worked for other people. From a Command Prompt window, I had her run the following command:
regsvr32 actxprxy.dll
That re-registers the ActiveX Interface Marshaling Library, an obscure DLL that most people (even Microsoft experts) had never heard about.
This did work for me, although I have had to re-apply it a few times now since it seems that my version of Internet Explorer v.7 running on Windows XP is in some way no longer as speedy as it used to be.
Microsoft may well regard me as that regrettable customer legacy they have. If only I would upgrade to Vista, all my problems would be solved. It’s a typical product-driven approach to running a business for which Microsoft has been criticised before. However real customer loyalty only develops if companies think very carefully of their customer legacy. If as is suggested above, Microsoft is thinking more on how to incite “potential” (latent) pain among that customer legacy, it does not suggest a very healthy relationship between Microsoft and its customers.
The other aspect of this situation is that any company should Beware of Dissatisfied Consumers: They Like to Blab.
According to new Wharton research, such word-of-mouth communication should be a big cause of concern. Only 6% of shoppers who experienced a problem with a retailer contacted the company, but 31% went on to tell friends, family or colleagues what happened. Of those, 8% told one person, another 8% told two people, but 6% told six or more people. “Even though these shoppers don’t share their pain with the store, they do share their pain with other people, apparently quite a few other people,” according to Wharton marketing professor Stephen J. Hoch.
The complaints have an even greater impact on shoppers who were not directly involved as the story spreads and is embellished, researchers found. Almost half those surveyed, 48%, reported they have avoided a store in the past because of someone else’s negative experience.
Given the explosive growth of Twitter and other social media, these word-of-mouth processes are even more powerful and potentially devastating. Best think very carefully about that customer legacy and try to ensure it is nurtured as the asset of customer loyalty it could become with the right handling.
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As The Economist points out for Mobile telecoms in the recession, it is Boom in the bust.
Despite the recession, the mobile industry is enjoying a promising transformation. At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, although many bemoaned the downturn, on the show floor it was hard to keep track of all the new “smart” phones and services.
Makers of handsets will be hard hit: unit sales are expected to fall by at least 10% this year, having increased by 6% in 2008 to 1.2 billion. But at the same time the industry is going through a transformation that promises to fuel rapid growth in the years to come. To draw a parallel from computing, it is as if the personal computer (PC), its graphical user-interface, high-speed internet access and open-source software had all taken off at the same time.
The momentum has been created by a newcomer to the mobile industry: Apple. By the end of 2008 it had sold more than 17m of its elegant iPhones, and there have been over 500m downloads from its “App Store” since its launch last July. Others are now following in Apple’s footsteps. In Barcelona, for instance, Microsoft and Nokia, the world’s largest software firm and handset-maker respectively, announced their own application stores. Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of the BlackBerry, and Google, the world’s biggest internet firm, have done the same.
It is likely that the current operators will not be the ones who control the mobile internet. Others such as Apple, Google or Nokia, are more likely to become the gatekeepers.
Informa, a market-research firm, projects revenues from content and data services of $240 billion by 2012. Despite the economic turmoil elsewhere, the industry seems justified in its confidence that the smart-phone is finally emerging as a powerful, innovative and lucrative new computing platform.
One interesting question to ponder in all this is who will come through the recession with the best resources to capitalize on this inevitable growth in the Mobile Web.
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Tagging is one of the most overused words there is. As an indication, Google finds 1.29 billion web pages with the word tag thereon. Not too many other words have that kind of usage. Most of those tags relate to cyberspace but increasingly visual tags are to be seen.
That process will be ramping up significantly with the introduction of the Microsoft tag. The Microsoft tag is visual and consists of a box featuring fifty multicolored triangles. It has similarities to a barcode but with much more sophistication. You start by downloading the free Tag application to your phone by visiting Gettag.mobi on your phone. Besides Windows Mobile phones, the software is available for the iPhone, Blackberry, Symbian phones, and any handset OS based on J2ME.
By snapping a picture of a Tag – or in some cases merely hovering over the image until it fills the target area displayed on your viewfinder — your phone will do whatever the Tag tells it to do. That can include launching a URL, dialing a phone number, downloading a V-card to your address book, or displaying a text message. If a You can also password-protect tags, so only folks in the know can unlock the data they hold.
If you are not ready for that kind of tag, then perhaps a simpler name tag can do as much for you as it seems to be doing for Scott Ginsberg, the self-named Name Tag Guy. What is the value of being approachable? What would happen if you wore a nametag all the time?
Scott Ginsberg knows this works. He has now won a name tag every day for over eight years two months and counting — more than 3,000 days in a row. He’s the world’s record holder. He’s even had his nametag tattooed on his chest. This high energy marketing student turned entrepreneur and author of numerous books is now walking talking life changing expert on approachability and the good fortune it brings.
For more information visit http://www.hellomynameisscott.com
It is hardly a sign of a successful product when they have to rely on gimmicks to get it into the prospect’s hands .. or rather under their mouse. That is one reaction you might have to the Live Search invitation to Sign in to the SearchPerks! Program.
Apparently Microsoft is going to pay you to use its search engine. Until the end of the year, youll get points every time you use Microsofts Live.com service. With enough points, you can buy free music downloads, gadgets, even frequent-flier miles. (The offer is limited to the first 1 million people who sign up. .. and it only works with Internet Explorer for Windows.) (Tip of the hat to Pay Per Click Offer)
In some ways it is a further extension of their Live Search Club where you can win points by playing games. It may be that they are leveraging out what has already proved to be a successful strategy. However I am from St. Louis on this one.
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2008 will undoubtedly see explosive growth in the mobile Web and in the functionality of mobile devices. If you wish to envision what may be possible with your cell phone, then it’s intriguing to watch what is happening with your automobile. Miniaturization is rarely a major challenge so the transfer from automobile to cell phone is entirely doable. Look at these examples to see the possibilities.
Sam Abuelsamid tells us that Ford’s new navigation system helps you find low gas prices
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week, Ford will be showing off their latest in-car communications systems including an updated navigation system. The system set to debut this summer on the new Lincoln MKS and includes a new Sirius Travel Link system. Among other things, the Travel Link system has the ability to get fuel price data from stations in the area. It can even be set up to automatically give you directions to the station with lowest gas price.
…
Ford is answering the call with the best technology solutions from companies like Microsoft and SIRIUS, connecting customers with mobile devices, important information they need on the road and bringing the experience to life with the latest in navigation technology and branded audio.
Seyth Miersma reports that the Australians Are Developing High Tech Holden Cop Car. It’s almost like a James Bond car, 2008 model.
The Holden police car contains voice recognition software that let officers keep their hands in place on the wheel, as well as cameras that can beam the action in real-time to communications centers. There’s also an automatic license plate recognition camera proficient enough to scan 5000 to 8000 cars in a 10-hour period.
Which of these functionalities comes to your cell phone first will be influenced by market demand and supportive technology. However full voice control of your mobile device seems a strong contender.
Related: The Keyless Cell phone
Both Google and Microsoft have now introduced their voice-based local search facility for your phone. This service is only currently available in the United States. Even though I live less than 20 miles from the US border neither service works here. Last week it was a little clearer. Calling GOOG-411 ( 1-800-466-4411 ), I was told that the service was not available. Calling CALL-411 ( 1-800-225-5411 ), I got a busy signal. This week it is less satisfactory. The Google service gives me information on Langley, Washington when I ask for Langley, British Columbia. The Microsoft service tells me repeatedly, “I didn’t get that”. Presumably it’s only a matter of time until both services are available here.
Tom Spring of PC World was able to do a matched comparison. In his opinion, the result currently is a draw. Both services delivered the correct result, with Google taking a little longer since it repeats the request for confirmation. He has an interesting comment that the Google service is much simpler while the Microsoft service is slightly confusing in offering more choices. It’s perhaps no coincidence that this mirrors how both approach the regular keyword search. Google has that beautifully simple search page. Microsoft usually offers search within a portal page that flags the other services they have available.
It would be interesting to know whether either or both do user tests in deciding which format they will follow. Usability or the science of creating satisfactory user experiences regrettably does not receive the attention it should. Watching how typical users complete tasks as they use a particular service or website is an easy way to confirm that the best choices are being made. Given the expense of creating such services, it would seem foolhardy not to spend the limited extra dollars involved in checking whether the users think you have it right.
Related:
GOOG-411, A Harbinger Of The Mobile Web
GOOG-411 or CALL-411 – Voice-actuated Mobile Web
BTW, Live Search 411 Is Taking On GOOG 411
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