Are we playing too many video games?

We are all now well versed in the games that are available for X-box or Playstation, even if you have never touched a game controller you will have seen the adverts on TV. They offer the player a chance to live a totally different life without any personal danger (apart from RSI). The growth in the games industry has been staggering, and the UK is a major player. But just how massive wasn’t clear to me until this week when sales figures were released that indicated games sales now greatly exceed ‘video’ sales.

Taking over?

I am showing my age here as obviously videos are a thing of the past – but the figures relate to all DVD and Blue Ray sales as well as good old videos – and the figures are staggering!

Sales of computer games in the UK last year were £1.93bn! I know we all accept billions as small change now, but this is massive! By contrast, sales of DVDs and other video formats totalled £1.80bn, while music pulled in a ‘measly’  £1.07bn. Last year games accounted for 40.2% of the entertainment market, video for 37.6% and music for 22.2%.

In reality sales are falling overall (part of the reason for the demise of Game on our High Streets) and video won’t go without a fight. But I do think it is sad that we get our ‘jollies’ in this way – watching films is a social thing, playing games can be very anti social (it certainly is when my son is doing it)

So we have hit another ‘milestone’ in entertainment – I am not sure I like this one!

 

Yet more Windows issues!

I realise that I am in danger of becoming a bit of a bore here – but stay with me – the only way any firm manages to develop and improve is through feedback. This is what I am providing here for Microsoft – it’s just that it is all negative at the moment!

Sadly I can relate to this.....

At work we use an online system for managing our agency instructions and other areas of our CRM. I won’t name them here because it might be considered ‘unfair’, however it is fair to say that like many of the systems that we use it relies on Internet Explorer (IE) and the dreaded Active X. This means that we can’t run it on any non IE machines (so no Macs or iOS machines). Not a great start then.

It also requires Java to run – and here we come to the reason for my rant. It won’t run on the latest version of Java – that would be far too easy – no, it requires version 6 update 21. The current version is 31 (and version 7 is in beta). So we have to stop people updating, and if they do we need to ‘roll back’ to version 21. Quite why the developers haven’t managed to update their package to use the latest Java is another story!

But ‘updating’ the Java should be easy – yes?

In any world other than Microsoft’s it is – but not with Windows – let me explain!

We have a mix of 32 bit and 64 bit machines at work – so obviously when downloading Java one should download the relevant Java for that machine? Well no! Internet Explorer has a 32 bit and a 64 bit version BUT – and this is the ‘good’ bit – IE 32 will run on a 64 bit machine, and if this is the case you need the 32 bit Java NOT the 64 bit version on a 64 bit machine – so that is nice and straightforward then!

And people wonder why I complain about Windows so much!

 

Why Microsoft “don’t get it “

For a while I have been ‘coming over from the dark side’ – that is to say I have been embracing the world of Apple. To some that classes me as a geek, historically Apple products were the preserve of the ‘Guardian reader’ set, not a bad thing in any way, but a stereotype that probably didn’t help their marketing! This puts me in the minority, but if I am honest I don’t care, as I find the Apple way so much less stressful.

With the massive growth of the iPod, iPad and iPhone, Apple are now a major player in the hardware market (for example they have almost 80% of the tablet market). Historically they have been weak in the world of software – and by weak I mean they did not have the business market particularly catered for – that was the province of Microsoft – and still is. But for how long?

Computing in the business and home market is going mobile, we are all getting smartphones, and the tablet is making desktop computing far less of a necessity. Our PC at home is used rarely now, either iPad or Mac has taken over. Consequently we are all keen to have our data available where ever we are – cloud computing by any other name. And who is doing this best and appears to have a game plan going forwards?

In my view it’s Apple and not Microsoft. I have started using Apples iCloud with its Numbers and Pages packages – all my documents are automatically available on all my devices (including my PC). The program’s are nothing like as ‘belt and braces’ as Word or Excel, but who uses anything like the full potential of those packages – they are just too complicated! Also on an iPad the Numbers spreadsheet is way better than anything Microsoft or any third-party converter can offer.

Apples iCloud is in its infancy, MobileMe was not a success, but the mobile OS has developed and I think we will see great things from Apple over the next few years in mobile data sharing and working – they never get things wrong more than once!

And what about Microsoft? Windows 8 is just about to appear and from what I have heard it is just Windows 7 with a weird front end. Their Office package has a web version, but it is not catching on (probably due to being too complex). Microsoft may be about to start to see the end of their dominance – a good thing?

 

How much time does a PC lose you in a week?

I am writing this on my iPad while I wait for my Microsoft based Laptop to be repaired by scan fix – it tells me that I have a very nasty Rootkit type thingy which has rather upset my laptop. Now I am not a ‘dodgy’ user and am usually rather careful about what I open on my PC, but this time I have been caught out and we are now at around two hours and counting since my laptop became unusable.

This rather annoys me, (actually it really annoys me) as it is totally un-necessary. If I was using a Mac I wouldn’t be suffering from the scumbags that create these ‘bots’ and virus things. It has also set me thinking, Microsoft have the computer market firmly clasped by the privates, most business environments use Windows and other Microsoft packages. But you and I are fully aware of the down time that we all suffer from their software being the target of certain sections of society. Yes, windows 7 is much better, but there is still the issue of viruses etc that are nearly all aimed at the PC user.

If we didn’t suffer crashes and the other viral issues etc how much more work could we get done? A search of the Internet doesn’t come up with any figures for this, but it does bring up pages of details about crashes!

So if I ignore the enforced crashes and just look at boot times (to a fully useable state) for my laptop and mac this suggests the following;

Laptop average boot time – 4 minutes
Laptop turn off – 1 minute
MacBook average boot time – 1 minute
MacBook turn off – 15 seconds

That’s an extra 3 minutes and 45 seconds a day because I use a PC

So over a year that’s almost 20 hours wasted before we suffer any crashes or the delightful “program is not responding” messages. I believe we are probably looking at probably a working week a year lost to the PC – I think on that basis Microsoft should be paying me for using their software – not the other way round!

Reliance on one system is never healthy, it is about time that more people moved away from Microsoft – you never know it might even increase the time you have to work!

 

iPad 2 or 3?

spot the difference?

After all the hype Apple finally launched the new iPad this week – I say ‘the new iPad’ because they don’t appear to be clear as to its official title. Apple are referring to the new iPad, not iPad 3 or iPad HD as the press were suggesting. Going for a generic ‘iPad’ moniker is probably sensible as it would sound silly in a few years time to say iPad 8!

The launch has set me thinking if I would want a ‘new iPad’ – it’s not a simple decision because the new one isn’t as different as it might have been. The retina display is a nice touch (it is amazing on the iPhone 4) but that is a small screen that benefits hugely from the extra definition. The iPad user is only really going to notice the better resolution on HD movies or photo editing, not something that is important to me at this time in the way I use my iPad..

Also the new unit is slightly thicker and heavier than the iPad 2, not a particular step forward in my view. Also are people really going to use a tablet to video or take photos? A better camera is nice, but again I can’t see a benefit for me.

So I am happy to stay with my iPad 2, I can see it giving many years of use like most Apple products. Having said that I am sure Apple will sell as many of the ‘new iPad’ as they can produce – so what do I know?

 

Can cloud computing help reduce global warming?

There is a steady move towards cloud computing, both Apple and Microsoft are nudging their users towards it in different ways;

Apple via iCloud which is in its infancy, but has some potential. This however is currently based around machine based apps for word processing and similar, and only carries data.

Microsoft on the other hand is moving towards cloud based application use – Word, Excel etc accessed directly from their servers so that software is not PC based. This is perhaps more related to them trying to control pirated software than for our benifit though!

Is there a ‘green’ side to cloud computing though?

A study carried out late last year that focussed on large IT companies in France and the UK found that they could achieve large cost savings and carbon reductions by 2020 if they migrated their data storage operations to the cloud. The suggestion was that they could reduce their carbon emissions by up to 50%!

The study follows a recent forecast that use of cloud services could triple in the next two years, a fact that has  been backed up by a number of blue chip companies indicating that they intend to move to cloud solutions far quicker than many had thought. Obviously cost saving is the main aim – but a drop in carbon emissions has to be a positive side effect.

Cloud computing allows companies to reduce costs by buying less hardware and using servers located elsewhere to store, manage and process data. The report suggests that by 2020, large UK companies that use cloud computing could achieve annual energy savings of £1.2 billion and carbon reductions equivalent to the annual emissions of over 4 million passenger vehicles – figures not to be sniffed at.

And if your server farm is in a country that has lower emission electricity such as France, (where nuclear plants generate the bulk of electricity), that figure can be much lower.

So as we place more and more data in the cloud we can actually reduce our carbon footprint!

 

iPad – a laptop replacement?

I have recently joined the iPad owning millions – due to a ‘significant’ birthday and a very generous wife (thanks Wendy!). I have been a fan of the iPhone ever since we got them at work and have been lusting after an iPad since they came out a couple of years ago.

Is the divide becoming blurred?

Well, now I have one and I have been giving it a bit of a ‘shake down’ to see what I can use it for at work to help ease my day. I have a laptop which runs Windows 7 which is my day-to-day machine, but I have always felt that the iPad could take some of the load – and be much quicker and portable! I am still working on this but will report on my thoughts shortly.

It appears however that I am not alone in this belief as we have been bringing a few iPads into the firm to try out in a variety of our departments. The general consensus appears to be that they are useful and being used more and more. This also appears to be a general trend across the world – recent research has found quite a high percentage of iPad use in the business environment already.

The role of the iPad in the enterprise was explored by IDG Connect in their “iPad for Business Survey 2012″. The survey found that 12 percent of workers indicated that the iPad has “completely replaced” their traditional laptop. Another 54 percent said the iPad has “partly” replaced their laptop, and instead complements it on the go.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents said that they ‘carry their laptop around less’ now that they own an iPad.

So it appears that the tablet that ‘no one would want’ according to much of the IT world is starting to take over! Yet another example of the genius that was the late Steve Jobs.

 

About time Microsoft!

One of the Microsoft ‘fanboys’ main complaints about the world of Apple products and software is that it is a very ‘closed’ system. Apple maintain very close control over what people can run on their Macs, this is arguably why there are no significant virus issues on Macs (and why the average Mac user is so smug!)

Microsoft have therefore in many people’s view been part of the problem with current virus and trojan issues – IE6 has been ‘full of holes’ for years but is still one of the main browsers used around the world. Also the people who use it are mostly going to be the ones who don’t have sufficient security on their PC’s thereby allowing remote control or access by ‘bad people’.

Microsoft have acknowledged that IE6 is a nail for a while but have done nothing more than ‘suggest’ people upgrade!

Well finally they are going to act and actually update people’s machines without their consent! Not quite true as you will be able to opt out (not sure why you would) but if you have auto update activated (and everyone should) it will push either IE8 to XP users or IE7 to Vista and Windows7 users.

Perhaps this will finally start to make the job of the spammers more difficult – and perhaps Microsoft are finally discovering that Steve Jobs was correct all those years ago when he fell out with Bill Gates – control is good!

 

Has email had its day?

Interesting times we live in – the web has become an integral part of our existence. We all have email addresses and even the least “IT savvy” among us have mastered this form of interaction – ask the Post Office!

So when the founder of Facebook announces that “email is dead” should we be worried? Or is he right?

Obviously Facebook have a vested interest in how we all relate to each other via the web, there are a staggeringly large number of Facebook users worldwide. And they can interact without using email!

Google also want us to use their conduit – Google+, but so far this doesn’t appear to be happening. We also have LinkedIn, twitter and other social networks we can use. So does Mr Zuckerburg have a point?

I think he does, only to a point and more because email has become abused so badly. The level of spam in the ether has devalued emails to the point that they have become a daily deluge that has to be filtered by the user. Our office spam filter removes around 97% of our incoming email – a frightening statistic!

But if we ditch email and move to another form of contact there are some issues that need to be dealt with;

How are we to limit its abuse so that it doesn’t go the same way as email?

In business some form of paper trail would still be necessary.

And surely the cycle will turn full circle again and we will find whatever we adopt next becoming ‘flooded’ after a period?

Perhaps what we need are far stronger controls on our current system to prevent spam and put the value back into email?

 

Apple vunerability – a sign of success?

One of the ‘big selling points’ for Apple products over the years has been its lack of vulnerability to attack from virus’s, trojan’s and the like. The argument went that because the OS was so closely managed and the hardware it runs on so similar that it was very difficult to ‘break into’. However as a system becomes more adopted it becomes a target for attacks – and it appears that the iPhone OS has now reached that size.

Now, the Apple App store is supposed to protect users from ‘rogue’ apps due to the tests and control that Apple maintain, but an iPhone app that secretly gathered user data was approved and published in Apple’s iTunes App Store recently!

The app, called InstaStock, was created by a security expert to expose a security flaw in Apple’s new iOS5.

Charlie Miller designed the app to look like an application for checking stock market prices but it was also able to steal user data, including photographs and contacts. The app, which was accepted into the iTunes App Store in September, has since been removed by Apple and Mr Miller’s account has been suspended.

Mr Miller intends to present details of the security flaw at a conference next week but it is thought to exploit the Nitro JavaScript engine that Apple introduced with iOS 4.3 early last year. Writing on Twitter, Mr Miller expressed his anger at being barred by Apple:

 ”First they give researchers access to developer programs, (although I paid for mine) then they kick them out.. for doing research. Me angry.”

Apple’s iOS devices have typically had fewer security vulnerabilities than competing platforms because of the company’s tight control of the operating system and the approval process for apps that run on it. But this is bound to happen eventually – it just seems rather ‘harsh’ to ban the developer when he is actually not using the information for illegal purposes and is trying to ‘help’ Apple – admittedly by going public – but we would prefer to know wouldn’t we?