Google Handwrite

If you have a touchscreen mobile device, Google is adding a third search feature to the usual typing-voice command combo. If you have an iOS5+ device, Android 2.3+ phone, or Android 4.0+ tablet, starting right about now you have the option to hand write search requests directly onto the screen. Here’s a peek at the new technology in action (WARNING: this video contains upbeat music & whimsical/potentially annoying search scenarios): Print and cursive writing in 27 languages is currently supported but if your cursive is messy you will probably run into a lot of mistranslated words, hopefully to comedic rather than disastrous effect. The immediate advantages seem pretty obvious: It’s faster than typing. More accurate than voice command. Great for people with big/clumsy fingers prone to double-keying. Effective workaround for disabled users who struggle with typing or voice. Writing on the screen is more fun. Activation is simple. From any mobile browser, load the Google home page. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and tap “Settings” (tablet users, tap the gear icon to open the Settings page). Find the “Handwrite” setting and tap the enable option; scroll to the bottom of the page and tap the blue “Save” button. Now that it is activated, reload the Google home page and the Handwrite icon (a little cursive “g”) will be displayed in the bottom right corner, just tap that to turn the handwriting feature on and off. You may now begin writing. Go ahead and write on the whole screen, don’t feel like you have to stay within the tiny search box lines. Brief experimentation reveals that drawing little pictures is not yet supported – I drew a feline shape, but was not offered anything even vaguely LOLcats related. Maybe that’s on deck...

OS X Mountain Lion

Two majestic felines were spotted this week: a wild mountain lion on the UC Berkeley campus, and the OS X Mountain Lion, the new feline addition to the Mac family.  In the case of the first lion, authorities advise not hiking alone, and if the animal is encountered, stand your ground and try to appear large by raising your hands. In the event of an attack, be aggressive and fight back. (To be fair, mountain lion attacks on humans are extremely rare.) In the case of the OS X Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8), we are dealing with a tame and educated feline.  At $19.99, its price point is $10 less than the previous Lion version. OS X Mountain Lion doesn’t want to eat you for lunch, but to make your life easier and your compatible Mac devices more seamless and communicative.   A central octet that’s improved in this version is the Messages/Safari Browsing/Game Center/AirPlay Mirroring/Notification Center/Sharing/Power Nap/Dictation. These features are now able to unify their functionality on all of your devices. Just sign in to iCloud once and it’s all set. You can now reply to messages received on your iPhone from your Mac because iMessage has landed here also; messages will appear on all your devices, allowing you to start your conversation on your Mac and keep chatting from your iPad or iPhone, having the complete history stored on all devices (including photos and HD videos); Safari flaunts its unified Search field; the system will return the most relevant results based on bookmarks, browsing history and other data. Users will have the luxury to switch from Mac to iPad, picking up the browser where they left off. Moreover, it saves entire web pages in your Reading List (not just the URLs)...

iPhone Tricks

Having sold 35.1 million iPhones and 11.8 million iPads during the first three months of 2012, Apple is one of the world’s most ubiquitous technology companies.  Chances are, you own one of these devices. But do you use it to its full potential? Even a longtime iPhone user may learn a few things from these helpful tricks. Photo functionality: if you don’t like taking photos on your iPhone by pressing the virtual shutter button on the screen, you don’t have to. You can use either the increase (+) volume button on the left-hand side of the phone, or the button on the headphone cord. The latter method cuts down shaking of the phone after you’ve framed up your shot. Sending multiple photos: Trying to send more than one pic at a time by email or text message? All you have to do is open the Photos app, tap on the album you want to send your photos from, tap on the right top corner icon and choose those you wish to forward. Tap Share in the bottom left of the screen and choose Email, Message or Print. Define words: A few months ago Apple added a built-in dictionary that you can access with all apps that let you select a word within an email, iBooks, and text messages. Once you select a word, a pop up is displayed with the option to “Define” its meaning. Wet iPhone: You are not the first or the last to drop yours in a sink or – heaven forbid – the hot tub. If it happens, leave the phone turned off (to avoid short-circuiting), and gently towel it dry. Never use a hairdryer as it can push the moisture into areas that aren’t wet. If you have a...

Surface Tablet

Earlier this month, Microsoft pulled an Apple move and debuted its new Surface tablet to a hushed crowd of tech media bigwigs. It had all the hallmarks of a classic Steve Jobs production: a rented out art studio space, regal staging, and fanfare designed to shock & ahhh. This aggressive cribbing from the productions that launched the iPad was intentional: Microsoft designed the Surface to compete head-on with Apple and become the market’s first iPad killer. They just might be onto something. And they also may have launched the product that will prompt consumers to decide between a tablet-style device, like a Surface or an iPad, or an ultra lightweight laptop, like an Ultrabook. Price points for Surface are expected to be slightly higher than for the iPad, meaning that it won’t be competing in the same space as Google’s low-cost Nexus Tablet, which is now available for $199, but with the more expensive, high performance Ultrabooks. Surveying the Surface It’s the not-so-little things that stand out so far and make the Surface RT (basic model) and Surface Windows 8 Pro (all-in) look like they might make good on those David vs. Goliath aspirations: It’s got a keyboard. When the Surface keyboard was revealed, you could practically hear a chorus of angels sing and wild cheering from the balconies and the sound of a million hearts shouting forth the virtues of love, peace, and happiness. ‘Cause that’s how stoked people are to have a tablet with a real keyboard. The Touch Cover model gives solid keyboard performance, the Type Cover replicates true keyboard feel. Either way, Surface provides consumers the platform to do a lot more than just send off tweets and emails. It’s bigger. Size matters, and at 10.6 inches the Surface display...

Getting to the Future...

Executives making long-term plans face an interesting juxtaposition: Significant changes lie ahead, but at the same time history is sure to repeat itself. How best to handle this? Move cautiously, but stay open minded and don’t be afraid to try new things. Never has the industry faced as many big changes simultaneously as those coming down the pike. The creation of the real estate investment trust vehicle, the advent of commercial mortgage-backed securities, the introduction of 1031 exchanges—certainly, all these and other big changes have had an impact on the market. But in the Digital Age, change is advancing ever more rapidly and is layered together with sustainability pursuits, new corporate office preferences and changing demographics. Technology by itself represents a big cog in the advancing real estate industry machine. Broadband and wireless communications capabilities and programs to track and analyze operations are only in their beginning stages—and represent only a portion of the possibilities that will impact workplace, housing and consumer venues. A new study published by CoreNet Global predicts that technology will soon be able to adjust the temperature, lighting, sound and other aspects of the workplace to the emotional state of its occupants. Elements as non-technological as the fire extinguisher may be monitored via an embedded microchip. And the U.S. General Services Administration is now mandating that its property managers receive information technology training. On the sustainability front, efforts are now focused on how to analyze all the data being collected on energy use, as well as ways to make small changes in operations that will have a big impact, according to Marc Heisterkamp, director of strategic assets for the U.S. Green Building Council. Municipalities are striving to determine methods of incentivizing greater compliance among property owners within their communities, while...

A Look Into iOS 6

Your favorite Apple devices – the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad 2, third-generation iPad, and the fourth-generation iPod touch – get a makeover with the new iOS 6 upgrade that will be rolled out this fall. The announcement, made during the keynote speech to the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, went into some detail about what we can expect from the newest iteration of the popular operating system: 3D maps. This is a big leap forward for Apple, and a shot across Google’s bow in the increasingly bitter rivalry between the two companies. Designed completely in-house, the new iOS 6 maps function utilizes a vector-based engine to render locations – this means ultra-crisp graphics, fast and smooth panning & zooming, and ample incentive to explore. Functionality includes turn-by-turn navigation, real-time traffic information and alternative routing, fly-over mode with photo-realistic 3D views, full Siri compatibility, and a host of local search options. More Siri. You’ve probably already seen the cute commercial featuring John Malkovich chatting with Siri. iOS 6 expands Siri’s range of functions. Instantly receive sports scores, stats, and schedules. Find movie locations, showtimes, and much more. Browse restaurants with a host of sorting options and make reservations effortlessly. More languages supported than ever before. Full social networking without having to type a word. Updated phone & email. New calling features allow you to respond to declined calls with a text message or a reminder, or turn on a “Do Not Disturb” sign that only lets through your most important callers. Email interface is streamlined for ease of reading & writing. New Passbook app. Keep all of your boarding passes, retail coupons, movie tickets, loyalty cards, and more all in one place. At-a-glance organization of balances, important dates, and updates. Leave your wallet...

The App Economy

Ever wondered how apps – those fun little programs on your iPhone, iPad or Android that do cool things like provide your bank balance, tell you when your mortgage is due or give you the latest local weather forecast – have influenced our tech economy? Studies show that application development is quantifiable as its own economy. Last year, it was determined by analyst Michael Mandel (published by TechNet), that the app market has added 466,000 jobs to the US economy since 2007. That number has surely increased by tens of thousands in the last 12 months, as Mandel called app development a “job leader” in America’s continuing post-recession recovery. While apps are only a small fraction of the technology industry, they represent one of the fastest growing new fields. For iPhone and iPads alone, there are over 500,000 apps serving over 845 million users, numbers that are growing daily. Tack on the growing number of applications for Android and other devices and the app explosion is exponential. Zynga has been one poster child for app-driven success since the industry’s nascent stages. The company, which currently employs nearly 3,000 workers, has recently purchased the space needed to add thousands to the workforce in coming years. Fellow San Francisco app company Airbnb is doing the same. These two companies, along with Twitter, and other smaller tech/app creators expanding in the Bay Area have triggered a regional real estate boom that has led to rising rents, low apartment vacancy rates and inflated housing prices. It’s just one regional example of the power the app economy can wield. Worldwide, enterprising app developers seeking investor funding are pressing forward with the confidence that the industry will only continue to grow, particularly beyond smartphones and tablets. According to Business Insider, annual tablet sales will pass personal computers in three years or less. They quantify apps at a $10 billion market, growing at 100 percent per year. The transition to using apps for anything and everything – this week I used an app to budget for the coming month, pay my smartphone bill, pick out a movie, and find out when the tide would be out at the beach near my home – is a consumer shift that will continue to evolve. For the real estate industry, apps are being developed to meet immediate needs like marketing and rent remittance, but that reach is likely to expand quickly as tablet use becomes even more pervasive. The youngest technology users – teens – will have a much different experience than you and I are used to, and it will be app driven. Current products focus mainly on finding real estate to purchase, looking at purchase price or appraisal value data, and other services for the home buyer. Fast forward five years (or maybe just two) and imagine that you are looking for an apartment. Rather than heading for your bulky desktop and waiting several minutes for the Internet to load up, you’ll access your smartphone or tablet and have instant fast wireless connectivity. Using a search app, you’ll quickly be able to bring up any available apartments in the geographic area you’ve selected. With the push of a finger you can express an interest in that available apartment unit or request an appointment for a showing. The leasing agent can text you back with an available viewing time, or if you’re searching from out of the area, perhaps you’re ready to start your lease application. One more finger tap and you’ll be on your way. For residents, the convenience of app-based rent pay, lease renewal and work order submission will be a no-brainer. Designed to simplify our lives, apps should indeed save time and maximize our efficiency. Apps touching on some of these renting-related tasks already exist, but are yet to be seamless experiences. The app economy will change that. And for property professionals, apps will have different...

Solid State Drives

Is the era of magnetic storage is coming to an end? Those of a certain age will remember a time when cassette tapes were used to store data – please do not raise your hands, we see the gray hair and we know who you are. Those of a slightly less certain age will remember 5.25-inch floppies. 3.5-inch floppies live on in noble spirit as the “save” icon for a host of applications. Hard drives have ruled the consumer memory roost for over a decade… but it will soon be time to bid them a fond farewell also. Thanks to falling prices, rising capacity, and numerous other advantages, the solid-state drive (SSD) is here to stay. Solid-state drives are not new, but price has previously kept them beyond the reach of consumer electronics technology. The format originated in the ’50s and matured through use in the supercomputers of the ’70s and ’80s. SSDs use integrated circuit assemblies to store data. There are no moving parts, and they retain their data even without electrical power. Memory capacity is steadily increasing, which has made possible the format’s debut into the consumer market. Today, affordability is driving the switch for mainstream users. By the end of the year prices for SSDs in the most popular PCs could fall to around $1 per gigabyte, a level which is seen as the tipping point that pushes consumers through the door en masse – at that price, they are no longer faced with the unpalatable choice of supplementing their $800 computer with a SSD that costs almost half as much. With the price barrier removed, the advantages of SSD memory over rival formats are almost irresistible: faster transfer rates instant boot lesser power requirement much improved resistance to shock &...

Tabletop Computing

Has it really already been two years since Microsoft debuted their innovative Surface tabletop computer? That’s a trick question – it’s actually been five years, a veritable eternity in the lifetime of any consumer computing product. Surface was supposed to be the first shot of a revolution in business and game computing, the vanguard of a bold new enterprise technology. How did that work out? Microsoft introduced Surface in May 2007 and the first units shipped a year later. Opportunities to view this curious creature in the wild have been vanishingly rare. Harrah’s picked one up for the bar at their Rio Casino in Las Vegas; Disneyland added one to their Tomorrowland exhibit; Sheraton put units in the lobby of five of their hotels worldwide; MSNBC used a Surface on-air during their 2008 election coverage. But they haven’t reached the mainstream business market anticipated by Bill Gates when he forecast a five year time frame for product roll out. After Surface, there were several attempts by various manufacturers to turn tabletop computing into a viable technology, including the Linux MPX, Ideum MT-50, spinTOUCH iBar, and the most recent iTable from PQ Labs. None has been able to meet even the minimal success achieved by the Surface. You’re more likely to see Bigfoot on a Segway or Nessie talking on an iPhone than a human using a tabletop computer… where did they go? Tablets bear most of blame for taking the thunder out of the tabletop computing storm. Tablets and tabletops feature quite a bit of overlap, including their basic design and the touch interface. However, tablets add the ultimate conveniences of portability and a scale that is comfortable – it’s just not easy to relate to a tabletop computer, or consider it as something...

3D Printing

3D printing (also known as additive manufacturing and stereo lithography) utilizes an extruder to construct objects a single layer at a time, in varying micron thicknesses, according to the specifications of a CAD program. These printers can use a wide range of materials, from various plastics and PVC, to aluminum and titanium. Watch as a rack of fold-up multi-tools is ‘grown’ in just a few hours: The advantages of 3D printing, over traditional manufacturing, are that it is better, faster and cheaper than its predecessor. The technology is in its fourth decade and applications already run the gamut. 3D printing is used for military, medical, engineering tasks of every stripe, and has also been employed to make jewelry and footwear. It has great potential as a future method for creating artificial limbs for amputees. Within the real estate world, architects and developers are familiar with the technology as it is used for 3D rendering of scale building project models that can be presented to investors, owners, approval bodies and financiers. CAD and  concept modeling applications are one of the best established consumer uses of 3D printers. So why does this technology still seem to be flying under the radar? Blame popular media coverage, which overwhelmingly focuses on the novelty aspects of the technology (“You can use it to build Legos!”), while simultaneously posturing that widespread access to such devices exists only in the far future. There seems to be an unwritten law that if you write about 3D printing you must, in the title, reference the fact that it will either shape the future or change the world. Heavy hitters like Forbes, CNET, and Technology Review have bought in. There’s even unrealistic concern that consumers with access to 3D printers could “pirate” popular toys...

Taking data to go

Network security gets the lion’s share of the press, but an often overlooked part of data security architecture revolves around the use of USB drives. As the capacity of these devices continues to soar, more and more data is going mobile. But that convenience is a double-edged sword that also carries with it the danger of loss or theft, and the resulting potential for a disaster. Kingston, a brand already well-known for its multitude of award-winning flash storage solutions, recently introduced its latest ultra-secure USB drive, the Data Traveler 6000 (DT6000). This device offers an incredible array of safeguards: FIPS 140-2 Level 3 validated No passwords stored on device or host Utilizes elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) Drive locks down, encryption key self-destructs after 10 intrusion attempts Secure channel communication Enforced complex password Tamper-proof physical security barrier If you don’t know what some of that means, take my word for it – this device provides amazingly robust protection for data. The DT6000 is also built to survive rough handling – the casing is titanium-coated stainless steel and the drive is waterproof up to a depth of four feet. But is there a need for such rigorous flash drive security standards in the business world at large? Kingston gears its sales pitch toward government organizations and financial institutions that routinely move sensitive data and customer files. As sales director Nidhi Sethi noted at a recent DT6000 launch event: “Establishing security policies and deploying USB products that prevent data loss is as important and immediate as an organization’s network security. Using non-secure USB drives makes organizations vulnerable to data loss and breaches that can affect the company’s credibility with its employees, customers, and partners. The DT6000 is the most secure USB flash drive available and will meet...

Google’s Nexus tablet...

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt revealed in an interview last December that the company was hard at work on bringing a low-cost tablet to market, with a “six month window” until the debut. Since then, trying to piece together the specs for the “Nexus tablet” has been one of the industry’s favorite guessing games. Now with that six month window approaching its close, some of the details are more than mere guesswork. The biggest teaser so far is the price point: Google apparently plans to sell the tablets for just $149. That’s far below what consumers have been shelling out for the iPad, Thinkpad, Galaxy Tab, and other high-end models. It’s also less than what a Kindle Fire costs, which is currently the belle of the ball among the affordable tablet set. At that low of a price, does the Nexus tablet offer enough performance to appeal to consumers? Here’s what we think we know about the Nexus tablet: 7” size runs Ice Cream Sandwich, aka Android 4.0 Snapdragon processor (instead of the previously rumored Tegra 3) Aaaaand… that’s it. Not a lot to work with there, and definitely too early to tell whether the Nexus tablet is going to have enough horses under the hood – along with bells & whistles – to appeal to upscale buyers. A lot of what we think we know is based upon a recent piece of vaporware, the ASUS MeMo 370T. This device, which was shown off in limited fashion at the 2012 CES, featured a 7” display, 1GB RAM, and an 8 megapixel camera, all running on the Ice Cream Sandwich platform, for somewhere in the neighborhood of $250. Now the MeMo 370T has apparently been scrapped, because ASUS is Google’s hardware partner on the Nexus tablet....

Next Generation Firewalls...

The primal contest between computer user security and the external threat environment will shift with next generation firewalls. Significantly upgraded over the previous state-of-the-art, next-gen firewalls offer improved visibility into the contemporary Web-based network landscape and a much-enhanced capacity to detect advanced threats. But is this truly a generational performance enhancement, or just the same ol’ technology with an added dash of marketing magic? Let’s take a closer look. Traditional firewall performance includes stateful port/protocol inspection, network address translation (NAT), and virtual private network (VPN) integration. Typical services also include directory support (via Active Directory or similar) that  authenticates and authorizes applications based on users and user groups. Also common is reputation-based filtering blocks applications that have earned a rep for naughty behavior. This helps discourage phishing attempts, virus infiltration, and additional malware sites and applications. Regardless of the vendor, next-gen firewalls include the following features: Application ID & filtering: This area is where next-gen firewalls really make a difference. Instead of the traditional all-or-nothing port opening approach, next-gen firewalls scan and filter traffic based upon the specific applications. Malicious applications that use non-standard ports to spoof countermeasures can be stopped dead in their tracks. SSL and SSH inspection: Enhanced inspection technology means next-gen firewalls can put SSL and SSH encrypted traffic under the microscope. Decrypted traffic is inspected, filtered, and then re-encrypted. Advanced malicious apps that utilize encryption as a detection countermeasure are no longer a threat. Intrusion prevention: Enhanced versatility and robust traffic inspection abilities provide all the functionality of a stand-alone intrusion prevention system. Most next-gen firewalls include full intrusion detection and prevention capability. In short, next-gen firewalls blend a full-service suite of performances – firewall, intrusion prevention, and additional security capabilities – into a single, efficient, high-performance appliance. The move...

Laptop, tablet or ultrabook?...

The campaign towards the perfect device is well underway. Businesses are beginning to accept that they are, perhaps, well beyond the age of the PC. The question now is whether dusk has set on the age of laptops as well. Is the reign of tablets upon us? When it comes to business travel, tablets are the lighter, more space savvy alternative to hauling around a heavy laptop. Beyond lightweight and sleek design, tablets are favored by businesses for their numerous easy-to-use features and shortcuts that access to large quantities of data. Highly customizable apps are growing in popularity with businesses as well. Tablets, however, are currently too limited to serve most businesses adequately. There are two major components that are holding them back: memory and battery life. A Hole in the Armor For a while now, the argument has been that tablets cannot replace laptops for businesses and on-the-go business travelers simply because they do not hold enough memory. For those who need to run programs with ample data, the storage available on tablets remains woefully insufficient.  Cloud computing decreases the need for tactile storage space but many consumers have yet to fully embrace the cloud’s potential, both for personal and business applications. The issue of short battery life may soon become moot. Tablet manufacturers are toying with different battery types, overcoming common hurdles such as weight and heat transfer to keep the units compact, powerful, and efficient. At the current moment, there is no tablet that can match a laptop’s performance in a compact package, but that will soon change. The Formidable Foe Though tablet sales are soaring among business and personal consumers, it is unlikely that laptops will be replaced within the next five years. NPD DisplaySearch predicts that by 2017, tablet...

Personal Clouds

Personal clouds seem to be on everybody’s lips these days. Frequently referred to as the new era of personal computing, the clouds are indeed revolutionary, but what exactly are they and what can they do for us? Essentially, personal clouds are online services that allow consumers to store, share, synch, protect and stream data using multiple connected devices such as smartphones, media tablets and PCs over the internet. Gartner, Inc, a technology research and advisory firm known for delivering specialized insight on various IT areas, acknowledges the huge impact of personal clouds on individual users and expects it to replace the personal computer at the center of our digital lives by 2014. “Major trends in client computing have shifted the market away from a focus on personal computers to a broader device perspective that includes smartphones, tablets and other consumer devices,” Steve Kleynhans, research vice president at Gartner, said in a statement. “Emerging cloud services will become the glue that connects the web of devices that users choose to access during the different aspects of their daily life.” As a result, the future looks even brighter for technology developers. According to Gartner, consumers will spend approximately $2.2 trillion on digital technology products and services in 2012, or about 10 percent of the average disposable household income. By 2015, consumers are expected to spend around $2.8 trillion worldwide on connected devices, affiliate services and transferred contents. Regarded as a real breakthrough in the field of information technology, personal clouds promise to deliver smart solutions to experimented digital users. While consumer needs are extremely varied and expectations differ greatly, the general requirements involve availability, security and access to personal contents without complications or restrictions. This is exactly what personal clouds aim to be, a reflection of...

Pinning Properties

Launched in 2010 by Ben Silbermann, Pinterest has established a world record – the fastest website to break the 10 million unique visitor mark. But this viral social site is not only about pinning pretty pictures from your interests on a virtual board. It is also a powerful and intriguing marketing tool for some businesses, including property management companies. We now have the luxury of social media platforms that can cater to specific corporate needs. When it comes to property management, there is nothing more important than branding your property. Houzz.com offers a valuable lesson in this respect – the emphasis on the aesthetic quality of a residence is king on the Internet.  Pinterest throws in great social interaction which can help mobilize products through its “look and share” approach. An important factor here is comprehension of your demographics. If your community has a target market of seniors, you probably don’t need to waste your time with Pinterest. If you’re targeting the 20-40 crowd, pin away. You’ll also need a strategic marketing strategy incorporating SEO keywords. Your content should reflect your company. Create boards for interior design and for furnishing – anything that complements your properties. As long as you produce and repin interesting content, you are bound to generate traffic and attract potential customers. In addition, a property management company should make use of the platform’s video functions. The other value of Pinterest is as a tool for tracking customer trends and preferences. One glance at the site’s main board can offer ideas for redesign and refurbishing your property. Out of touch with what staging providers should be incorporating into your look? Pinterest can bring you up to speed fast. Scouring Pinterest for property management companies that actually understand social media marketing has...

Do-It-Yourself Computing...

Do-it-yourself computing has gained momentum in recent years as individuals and businesses seek out ways to eliminate avoidable expenses. Such new technologies may minimize personnel requirements and middle man costs while optimize workplace efficiency. Meet Z1, the future of DIY computing The new HP Z1 workstation aims to reduce user dependency on third party technicians. At first glance, the Z1 is reminiscent of an iMac. The compact, tower-free model is based on an all-in-one design that looks like an effortlessly stunning 27’’ monitor. Upon a closer look, users discover that the monitor can be folded down, flush with the surface upon which it stands. The workstation can then be opened as one would open a laptop. Inside rests the hard drive, memory, and other vital components that can are easily disengaged; no tools are required. Users can easily change out components of the system without much risk. When it is time to upgrade the graphics card or increase the amount of available memory, there will be no need to call a technician. Users may simply order the part online and pop it in themselves. The Energy Star approved Z1 is scheduled for release to the public in April 2012, starting at $1,900. Z1 is the only workstation of its class in the world. Workstation limitations Z1 (and models like it that will undoubtedly follow) do not allow businesses to completely eliminate the IT department altogether. The time and resources needed for basic maintenance may be significantly reduced, yet access to professional services is still a requirement long into the foreseeable future. For example, a layman may easily switch out the hard drive on a Z1 but it will take a specialist to troubleshoot performance problems within the hard drive. Businesses will need the input...

Google’s New Privacy Policy...

If you have any Google services (and who among us does not?) then you probably received multiple notices that on March 1 Google implemented a new privacy policy designed to replace a hodgepodge of 60+ old privacy policies, spread across an array of their services. Google gives their take on it here. The bottom line is, Google keeps and uses a lot of your personal online data: search queries, browsing habits, contacts, emails, and more. If you are interested in minimizing (or completely eliminating) the data that Google keeps, you have options available. Managing your accounts Want to get a handle on your account(s) and maximize your privacy options? Here are some suggestions to help keep sharing to a minimum: Log in to your Google dashboard to get an overview of your Google accounts & services. Explore a little and clear services & data you do not want under your account. Clear your web history – this will erase all items from your web history and stop your web history from being recorded in the future. From your web history page, just click “Remove all Web History.” Opt out of personalized ads. These are generated based upon your search queries or content in Gmail messages. To disable, simply go to your ads preferences page and click “Opt out.” Download your data. Google Takeout allows you to download a copy of all your data stored in Google products. This gives you a bird’s eye view that can help you pick and choose what to keep and what to eliminate. Note: not all products are currently supported. All of these options include varying levels of customization for partial elimination of data sharing: clear only parts of your web history, block only certain advertisers, etc. Taking your...

New iPad arrives – What can it do for you?...

Property management firms are increasingly likely to turn to mobile devices like iPads to aid in the on-site residential lease-up process. IT managers for major multi-family and commercial management firms say that they’re using the devices to keep their employees better connected, impress potential residents, and steam line business processes. This week, Apple gave the public a sneak peek at its latest release, the new iPad (commonly known as the iPad 3). While there are still quite a few user requests that have gone unfulfilled, the new iPad boasts multiple noteworthy advancements. Memory & Processing The new iPad unveils the A5X, a more efficient way to do business. This ARM chip is touted to operate twice as fast as NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 quad core processor. Users are now able to access and run multiple applications with speed and agility. Connectivity Connect via HSPA+ (21Mbps), DC-HSDPA (42Mbps), and LTE (73Mbps) on Apple’s premiere tablet, which works excellently for travelers that may be in and out of 4G LTE range.  Enjoy quicker access to multiple Virtual Private Networks via Wi-Fi or cellular data network connections. The range of connection options allows users to work seamlessly with the fastest connections available on the market. The hourglass and loading bar are relics of the past. In place of the Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR technology, new iPad users receive the solid Bluetooth 4.0. Additionally, users can operate the device as a personal hotspot and connect to other devices via USB. Display Apple’s newest tablet flaunts a crisp, stunning Retina display with 2048 by 1536-pixel resolution—at  only 264 pixels per inch; it seems as though Apple was holding back, not pushing the envelope in terms of sharpness. Even with that detail in mind the screen resolution is better than comparable...

Moving to the Private Cloud

What’s the next big move for companies wanting to keep their business’ IT infrastructure, applications, and support management in step with the latest trends? If your business is struggling with servers that are out of date or need to be replaced, or you just want to be more nimble and future-focused while maximizing cost-effectiveness, perhaps you’ve thought about moving your applications and data to a private cloud. The much-discussed clouds are the latest wave of advancement for information technology and best practice business management. One predictive analysis forecast that the private cloud computing market will grow from $40.7 billion in 2011 to $241 billion in 2020, over several dozen distinct market segments. Other forecasts put that number significantly higher. Cloud services growth is expected to contribute to 14 million new jobs, worldwide, by 2015. Recently initiatives by Microsoft, GoDaddy, expansion by industry pioneers like Amazon, and an influx of venture capitalist funding have fast-tracked the private cloud market for major growth. “Making the move to the private cloud will be the next big step for forward-thinking businesses who want to maximize their information technology efficiency,” said Scott Wiener, Senior Vice President of Information Technology for Yardi Systems. The options for cloud users are nearly endless, with service providers offering a wide range of options for network configuration, security, replication and access protocols. As your company prepares to move into the future, consider the following factors: Is a cloud right for your company: -Will you be able to achieve your goals of budgeting and cost-savings by going the cloud route? -Will there be any aspects of how you do your work or conduct your business that would be affected or improved? -How will current onsite IT personnel be involved in the changeover to the cloud? -What is the time frame for implementation, transition, and network setup? Selecting the right cloud provider: -What are the resources of the cloud provider you’ve selected, including the experience and qualifications of their personnel, types of equipment, and years of involvement in the technology industry? -What type of initial audit and assessment of your current onsite network will the cloud provider conduct, and what factors will be included in their review? -How many companies is your cloud provider working with, and can they provide corporate references? How will the transition to the cloud take place: -Who will be responsible for system updates, versioning, licensing agreements and patches? -What will be the level of security controls provided for your cloud and how will they align with your corporate standards? -Is the provider at the highest level of SLA and offering a proven mature support system? -How will on-site desktops be maintained? This long awaited innovation in computing has arrived as a cost and efficiency saver for companies of all sizes, and some major technology companies, including Yardi Systems, are extending their years of best practices and cloud computing experience to meet any client needs, regardless of complexity. For those unfamiliar with the concept of private clouds, they are an extension of your onsite corporate network. Companies can choose how much of their network they wish to retain on on-site servers, and some are making full transitions to all-cloud networks. Imagine an office where the only technology you needed to run your company was Internet access. Could you run your company from a tablet computer, or have all your employees on Wyse thin client terminals with minimal infrastructure? It’s possible with the private cloud. Management protocols Companies moving to clouds should have the option to manage their private cloud as much or as little as desired. The beauty of the private cloud is that all aspects are customizable. Network management, including hardware, software, and support can be self-managed by the client or completely managed by external experts. Provisions can be made for speed requirements – for example, a company with a need for near-instant access to certain...