Category: Mobile

Communication through voice, sms/text, mobile internet, basic features to mobile touchscreen interfaces, GPS capabilities, and the emerging “augmented reality” features, and mobile projection.

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Journal: Microsoft & Nokia in the Mobile Space

InfoOps (IO), IO Multinational, IO Sense-Making, IO Technologies, Methods & Process, Mobile, Strategy, Technologies, Tools
November 09, 2010

Microsoft and Nokia: A tale of two elephants

Nokia reabsorbs Symbian, and Microsoft ships Windows Phone 7 — to big yawns. How they became mobile's elephants in the room

By Galen Gruman | InfoWorld

When Microsoft released Windows Phone 7 in the United States yesterday, very few people lined up at the AT&T and T-Mobile stores to get the HTC and Samsung debut models — despite all the extensive Windows Phone 7 advertising by Microsoft to goose up demand. (Maybe they read the unenthusiasic reviews from publications that got early versions.)

When Nokia announced yesterday that it was reabsorbing the Symbian operating system it had spun out as an open source effort 18 months ago, I thought, “Why bother? I thought MeeGo was your mobile OS future anyhow?” — especially given the lack of attention to the last major release of Symbian (Symbian 3) in September.

Read rest of review…

Phi Beta Iota: Both Microsoft and Nokia are at a fork in the road.  The above review, vastly more critical than the fluff found elsewhere, is bleeding edge truth.  Absent new management and a compelling vision–ideally one that united both companies to favor a very simple low cost cellular “key” combined with a vast global grid meshing humans with call centers and back office cloud processing, both companies appear destined for further decline.

See Also:

Graphic: One Vision for the Future of Microsoft

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Reference: MountainRunner on Information Operations

Blog Wisdom, Civil Society, InfoOps (IO), IO Multinational, Journalism/Free-Press/Censorship, Media, Mobile, Real Time
DefDog Recommends...

www.MountainRunner.us

National Security will require Smarter Networks (Ali Fisher on June 1, 2010)

An Introduction to Using Network Maps in Public Diplomacy and Strategic Communication (Ali Fisher on October 8, 2009)

Ali Fisher is Director of Mappa Mundi Consulting and a former Director of Counterpoint, the cultural relations think-tank of the British Council. Ali blogs on network mapping and Public Diplomacy at WandrenPD.com

Wikileaks as an exemplar of Now Media, Part 1 (Matt Armstrong on November 1, 2010)

This [above link] is the first in a series of posts that will explore our world of disappearing boundaries – from geographic to linguistic to time to organizational – that create new opportunities and challenges to agenda setting and influence. Wikileaks, as an exemplar non-state actor in this world of “now media,” requires analysis beyond the superficial and polarized debate common in today’s coverage of both the organization and the material it disseminates. The MountainRunner Institute is working to convene a series of discussions with experts across the spectrum, including (ideally) someone from Wikileaks, to discuss the role and impact of actors like Wikileaks and the evolving informational and human landscape. If you are interested in more information or in participating, email me at blog@mountainrunner.us.

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Journal: Microsoft’s Ozzie Memo Urges ‘Post-PC’ Devices, Services

Methods & Process, Mobile, Real Time

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Microsoft's Ozzie Memo Urges ‘Post-PC' Devices, Services

By: Mark Hachman

PCMAG.COM 10.25.2010

In a memo, Microsoft executive Ray Ozzie warned that the industry is moving to a post-PC world, and warned Microsoft employees that they must either lead or be pushed aside.

The memo, entitled “Dawn of a New Day,” was dated Oct 28 and posted to Ozzie's personal blog. The memo marked five years after Ozzie arrived at the company, where he penned a similar memocharting the need to launch Internet services.

Ozzie said that memo had helped Microsoft on to success in the cloud, with products like Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Windows Live, and a socially-connected Xbox.

“Our products are now more relevant than ever,” Ozzie wrote. “Bing has blossomed and its advertising, social, metadata & real-time analytics capabilities are growing to power every one of our myriad services offerings. Over the years the Windows client expanded its relevance even with the rise of low-cost netbooks. Office expanded its relevance even with a shift toward open data formats & web-based productivity. Our server assets have had greater relevance even with a marked shift toward virtualization & cloud computing.”

Ozzie's latest memo, however, may have much less impact than his previous missive, however. That's because Ozzie said he would step down from his post as chief software architect after an undisclosed amount of of time. Ozzie apparently has no plans after that.

Ozzie's memo acknowledged the reality of “always-on” services like Facebook or Twitter, or Web mail services like Gmail or Hotmail, combined with connected devices like the Boxee Box or Apple TV.

Read other half of this excellent article with links….

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TED Video on “Connectivity=Productivity” Growth of Bangladesh Telecom to Allieviate Poverty

01 Poverty, Commerce, Mobile, Technologies, TED Videos, Videos/Movies/Documentaries

Iqbal Quadir Creates a Culture of Entrepreneurship in Bangladesh

Why does poverty exist? That's no small question for an individual to ask, but in Iqbal Quadir's homeland, Bangladesh, there may be no other question that matters more.

His answer is twofold: First, European prosperity resulted from the devolution of authorities and the empowerment of citizens, while Western aid to developing countries simply empowered authorities to marginalize the citizenry. Even looking at oil-rich countries, the autocratic regimes grew spectacularly wealthy, while poverty remained entrenched. “Economic development,” Quadir concludes, “is of, by and for the people.” Second, his life experience had demonstrated that connectivity is a powerful weapon against poverty. The ability to communicate eliminates massive and avoidable waste in productivity, which in turn  creates greater commerce and economies.

In Bangladesh 12 years ago, only one in 500 people had access to a telephone. “In whole areas where 100 million people lived, there were no telephones,” he says. “Vast amounts of wasted time results. The only way people can depend on each other is to connect to each other, which leads to productivity.” He decided to bring cell phones to them all–although not to each of them individually.

The New York-banker-turned-Bangladeshi-entrepreneur faced the hurdles you would imagine, the most prominent being that poor people could not afford cell phones. But in fine entrepreneurial fashion, Quadir contended, “If a cell phone creates productivity, why would you worry about [people's ability to pay]?” With backing from microbank GrameenBank, Quadir started GrameenPhone, a locally based shared cell phone service. He approached a single woman entrepreneur in each village and provided her with a cell phone. The local woman would lease its access on a per-call basis, making cell phone communication available to more than 52,000 Bangladeshi villages and 80 million people. As for the women entrepreneurs, there are now 115,000 of them within GrameenPhone, each making a profit of $700 a year, far more than the average per capita income of the country.

Thanks to Entrepreneur.com for listing various TED videos