Wholly Mackerell

What I Use

rmackerell — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 17:34:36 +0000

Just a quick update to what computing systems I use day to day.

Macbook Pro 17
- i7 CPU
- 4 GB RAM
- 1920×1200 matte display
- Seagate Momentus XT 500 GB Hybrid HD
- OSX 10.6.6
- MS Office 2011
- Evernote
- Dropbox
- Tweetdeck
- Parallels
  - Virtual Machine – Win7 64 Enterprise Ed.
iPhone 4 32GB
- iOS 4.3
Apple iPad2 AT&T 3G
- 64 GB
Sprint Overdrive 4G Mobile Hotspot
Logitech Anywhere MX Mouse
External USB Storage
- Hitachi 500 GB HD

Updated What I Use

rmackerell — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 22:47:21 +0000

The Macbook Pro 13 just did not have the real-estate I needed for large spreadsheets nor the CPU power for the virtual machines I run, so I made the jump to the MBP 17. I have been very happy with it so far. I also updated my Evo 4G to Android 2.2. Very impressed with the 2.2 update!

Macbook Pro 17
- i7 CPU
- 4 GB RAM
- 1920×1200 matte display
- Seagate Momentus XT 500 GB Hybrid HD
- OSX 10.6.4
- MS Office 2011 BETA
- Evernote
- Dropbox
- Tweetdeck
- Parallels
  - Virtual Machine – Win7 64 Enterprise Ed.
HTC Evo 4G – Sprint
- Android 2.2
Apple iPad 3G
- 64 GB
Sprint Overdrive 4G Mobile Hotspot
Logitech Anywhere MX Mouse
External USB Storage
- Hitachi 500 GB HD

What I Use

rmackerell — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:30:37 +0000

Macbook Pro 13
- 2.66 Core 2 Duo
- 4 GB RAM
- 128 GB SSD
- OSX 10.6.4
- MS Office 2008
- iMail – Primary E-Mail
- iCal – Primary Calendar
- Evernote
- Dropbox
- Tweetdeck
- MS Messenger for OCS
- MS Live Sync
- Parallels
  - Virtual Machine – Win7 64 Enterprise Ed.
HTC Evo 4G – Sprint
- Android 2.1
Apple iPad 3G
- 64 GB
Sprint Overdrive 4G Mobile Hotspot
Logitech Anywhere MX Mouse
External USB Storage
- Seagate Momentus XT 500 GB Hybrid HD

Testing the Mac Waters

rmackerell — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:20:49 +0000

I first learned to program Basic on an Apple IIc, but Windows has been my primary workstation since version 3.11 and I manage an IT department that is primarily a Microsoft shop. But as of two days ago, I am working off of a Macbook Pro as my primary workstation. I want to explain how I did this and my initial impressions, but the focus of this post is why.

Macs still only occupy and small percentage of the total PC market, but ever since OSX was released and the switch to the Intel architecture, they have chiseled away at market share, not to mention that they have caught Microsoft in stock valuation and revenue. But more important than market share, Apple has captured a lot of mindshare. This is only emphasized by the sucess of of the iPhone and iPad.

As an IT Manager, this affects my job. Employees company-wide and even my CIO have caught Apple’s vision and become fans of OSX & iOS based technology. They come to the Service Desk and request these items or bring their personal items and want to connect them to, or use them within our corporate environment. This is a major switch from the days that IT always dictated the technology, where now we see pressure from the consumer space on IT purchasing decisions.

While I understood what OSX was capable of, and we currently support almost 40 Mac systems in our Marketing department, I had no real experience with the technology. So now the experiment begins. My goal is to assess the viability of, and ROI in, Mac based investments in a mid-size enterprise environment (1000+ employees). My game plan is to use a Mac as my primary machine for several months. I also plan to do as much as possible in the native OSX environment as apposed to WIn7 in Parallels. We’ll see how it goes and I’ll document my findings and thoughts here.

What Smartphone Do You Recommend To People?

rmackerell — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 23:47:30 +0000

There was some lively debate at the lunch table today with some colleagues about what smartphone do you reccomend to friends and family. We at the table are all IT staff members and are the frequent source of reccomendations on technology purchases in our families. The converstation really boiled down to the iPhone vs. the new crop of Android devices. After giving it some thought all afternoon, I have arrived at the following:

Buy iPhone If:

You are heavily invested in iTunes already.
Very much not a technology person who just wants something easy that works.
You are into the whole Apple ecosystem, everything you own has an Apple logo on it, including your car’s rear window.
You have an iPad and do not want to buy apps from two different marketplaces.

Buy Android If:

You are comfortable with technology and enjoy having the latest.
You like to customize your phone environment and experience.
ATT does not provide sufficient service for you.
Sprint 4G is available in your area.
You support open technologies.
You like to have the choice of several form factors and networks.

I am sure I have missed a point or two, I’ll add them if I think of it.

My Switch to the HTC EVO 4G and the Sprint Network

rmackerell — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:03:17 +0000

This last week I switched from an iPhone 3GS to an HTC EVO 4G. Bottom line, I am impressed, and happy with my purchase. I will try to explain why and where the decision to switch came from.

For the longest time I had been a die-hard Blackberry user, and I still think the Blackberry Bold is one of the best phones I’ve ever owned. I switched to the 3GS when it was released for two primary reasons. First, the idea of having my phone and my iPod in one device was appealing. Second, the app store was a huge draw with so many options. Most developers were, and for the most part still are, developing for iPhone first – RIM and Android were afterthoughts. So, if I was happy with my iPhone so why did I switch?

I have kept an eye on the development of Android ever since Google announced it. Android is gaining momentum at a pace that has been much faster than I expected. The geek in me wanted to be part of it and see what the excitement was about.
Apple was starting to tick me off. Many of their tactics are heavy handed and it rubbed me wrong. Apple has every right to run their business any way they want, and they do so to protect their interests. But they are leaving a wake of collateral damage as they tell people how they should consume technology, I prefer a choice.
I am not invested in iTunes, I have purchased a few apps, but no music. In fact, I never really cared for iTunes functionality or its performance. The draw to this platform was the phone and the app store, not the app in the middle.
The HTC EVO 4G spec sheet is impressive to say the least, and I was drawn to it as soon as I heard the first review. The more I read, the more I wanted it. Even after seeing the new iPhone 4 with it’s killer screen, I am not regretting the purchase one bit.
As an IT professional, part of my job is knowing what is going on in the tech industry and making recomendations to my employer. I needed to evaluate the Android platform for this purpose.
The Spring 4G network is launching in Salt Lake City on July 11th.
The iPhone is mature and the iPhone 4 and iOS 4 is an evolutionary step, the rapid innovation momentum is behind Android.
After some recent travel, I ran into coverage and saturation issues with the ATT network. I actually like the ATT network but feel it has become a victim of its own success.
I have a data plan for my laptop, one for my iPad and one for my phone. The idea of using my phone as a hotspot, is very appealing from a cost perspective and much more convenient than tethering via Bluetooth or a cable.

I have had the EVO since the Friday launch, when I picked up the last unit the local Sprint store had in stock. I loved the form factor as soon as I picked it up. I was worried that the 4.3″ phone would be too large for single hand operation or not feel comfortable in the pocket, but it has not been an issue. The screen is huge, and I love watching media on it, especially with the kickstand. The OS seems snappy and I cannot wait for 2.2 to be released (I was told July or August). I love the fact that I can customize the UI with icons, widgets and folders.

One possible complaint, the battery life is not great, but it is not bad either. I am at the TechEd conference in New Orleans this week with several members of my IT department, many of whom are on Blackberries and iPhones. We are all using our phones heavily all day long, and they are returning to the hotel at night with similar battery resserves to my EVO 4G (3G ON – GPS ON – 4G OFF – WiFi as needed). With 3rd party companies coming out with larger batteries and the ability to swap batteries, I am not too worried. I also enjoyed the speed and reliability of the Sprint network while iPhone users all around me were struggling with connectivity issues.

The bottom line is that I am happy and impressed with the phone. I am still playing with apps and getting it setup just the way I want, but I have found the same app or an alternate app for everything I used on the iPhone, so I really feel like I have given nothing up. I do not wish I had a screen with pixels too small to see or a gyroscope, but who knows. I would still recommend an iPhone to people who struggle with technology or are highly invested in iTunes, but I am also now evangelizing the Android platform and the HTC EVO in particular. At the end of the day I love seeing the competition - exciting times ahead for sure.

Switching Browsers

rmackerell — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 02:26:37 +0000

I used to be an avid Firefox user becuase for years it was the innovator in both functionality and performance. When IE8 came out, it closed the gap, so made the switch and have been using IE8 ever since. IE8 also provided me with a very compatible browser with my mostly Microsoft work environment.

Recently I have been using Chrome on the side and made the leap to the BETA 4 version so I could play with extensions. I am very impressed and have even made it my default browser with the IE Tab extension for those sites that need IE. This browser is fast, very fast. The extension options are great considering it is in BETA. The install and upgrade process is very smooth, very easy. So I have made the switch to Chrome and could not be happier.

Windows OEM Version

rmackerell — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:11:42 +0000

I was listening to a podcast recently and the topic OEM versions of Windows came up. The podcast pundits mentioned that the OEM version of Windows is a cheap way to get a legal copy so long as you are OK with no support from Microsoft and a lack of retail packaging. However, they failed to mention the lack of portability.

In converstations with an enterprise account manager at Microsoft and a licencing specialist, the primary limitation of an OEM copy of Windows is that it lives and dies with the machine it is installed on. So in other words a retail copy can be moved from computer to computer, the OEM cannot.

Becoming a Technology Savvy Company

rmackerell — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:15:20 +0000

The corporate culture at work has been on my mind a lot. I look at the average employee and see someone who for all of their good qualities, is not what I would consider a technically savvy individual. I do not not mean this in any derogatory way, I only mean to point out most people are on the tailing end of the technology curve. This has bothered me, not because I feel that I am any better for being an IT professional who is immersed in technology all day, but rather as a member of management, I worry about the lost opportunity to the company.

I talk to sales people from various vendors all day long. I often ask them how they leverage technologies like Blackberries, Unified Communications, sales force apps, etc… I wonder to myself why these people say they cannot live without them, but then I hear nothing from my sales force asking for them. I recently visited a large HMO’s office for a vendor sponsored technical briefing. While sitting in the cafeteria during a break, I was blown away by the number of employees sitting in working groups with laptops collaborating. I rarely see that in my office outside of IT.

One of the core values where I work is being Savvy. While many employees are savvy in a variety of ways, technolgy seems to be an afterthought. Much of our core values and general culture is derived from priciples out of the book, Good to Great. In that book there is a section devoted to technology as follows;

Good-to-great (g2g) companies think differently about technology than do mediocre companies.

G2g companies avoid technology fads and bandwagons, but are pioneers in carefully selected technologies.

The key question is whether or not a specific technology fits into your Hedgehog Concept. If yes, then you need to be a pioneer in it; if not, then you can settle for parity or avoid it altogether.

G2g companies use technology as an accelerator of momentum, not a creator of it.

G2g companies react to technology change with thoughtfulness and creativity, driven to turn unrealized potential into results. Mediocre companies react, motivated by fear of being left behind.

The last point is one that really hit home. I need to give credit where credit is due, most companies our size do not have a full ERP system in place. Many infrastructure technologies are on the front of the curve like virtualization. But when I look at how the average user interacts with technology, I see the gap. Our CIO is trying to push a business intelligence system through, but few lines of business catch the vision. I show up to management meetings, and everyone left thier laptops at their desk and brought a paper and pencil. I see a fear of social networking technologies and even see them labeled as a frivolous waste of time. I talk to managers who do not want IM, video conferencing or presence technology installed for fear or abuse, distractions or big brother monitoring by IT.

So now what? I cannot envision our company using technology to it’s fullest potential when IT is doing all of the pushing. How do you get the lines of business to embrace and even demand technology solutions? How do you get average employees to catch the vision and see the potential? Part of me wonders what would happen if desktops were replaced by laptops? If smart phones became the norm, not the exception? If cubicle banks were replaced with open work areas? What is the missing catalyst?

Obviously I do not expect a mid-size manufacturing company to become a google-like culture. But can’t a company like this pick some of the best attributes of a high tech culture and make it thier own?

Windows 7 Release Schedule

rmackerell — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:25:04 +0000

Microsoft provided the following Windows 7 availability information.

2 days after RTM. PC makers and other Microsoft OEM partners will receive Windows 7 RTM software images.
“Shortly after RTM.” People wishing to test the final version of Windows 7 Professional will be able to download an evaluation version of that version of the OS via the Springboard web site.
August 6. MSDN and Technet subscribers can download Windows 7 RTM in English.
August 7. Volume License (VL) customer with an existing Software Assurance (SA) license can download Windows 7 RTM in English via the Volume License Service Center (VLSC).
August 16. Microsoft Partner Program Gold/Certified members will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English.
August 23. Microsoft Action Pack subscribers will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English. Volume License (VL) customers with an existing Software Assurance (SA) license can download Windows 7 RTM in the remaining languages via the Volume License Service Center (VLSC).
September 1. Volume License customers without a SA license will be able to purchase Windows 7 through Volume Licensing (as previously announced).
October 1. Microsoft Partner Program Gold/Certified members will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in the remaining languages. Microsoft Action Pack subscribers will be about to download Windows 7 RTM in the remaining languages. MSDN and Technet subscribers can download Windows 7 RTM in the remaining languages.
October 22. Windows 7 will be made available via retail stores, online purchasing, and with new PC purchases. This is the so-called “general availability,” or GA, date. (Previously announced.)

NOTE: Source is the Supersite for Windows