Gary Allison's Leadership Blog

Its been many years since I have truly been blown away by a new technology, but it happened today. Google’s GWT is a game changing technology. Open sourced by Google, GWT enables UI development in Java then compiling the application to compressed, optimized javascript to generate Web 2.0 native browser applications. The advantages over JavaScript are nothing less than staggering. Use your favorite Java IDE, with full support of the Java productivity advantages (code completion, type checking, class exploration, etc), and then debug it using your powerful Java debugger.

But wait there’s more: GWT includes a browser
Continue Reading »

Tomorrow is the last day of the AJAX World conference here in NYC. Aside from running into my old friend Fuaat, it has been a remarkable few days. It is very exciting to see the rapid progress of the client-side browser toolkits in the form of the AJAX frameworks coming to fruition. Ironic though at the same time that these technologies seem like throw backs to the earliest days of developing on Windows – little documentation, no IDE, and very basic debugging. In short, there’s no doubt where its headed, but the developers will be tearing their hair out to get there.

 Its exciting to see the promise of AJAX on mobile devices and how these applications hold the promise of being able to have common code across platforms and devices. Clearly, applications must be developed for an audience – and mobile audiences often want something different. Still, I can’t help but to think, even my very capable WM5 device with IE lacks an appreciable support for Javascript. There seems to be no real relief in the near term to give us ubiquitous mobile development. J2ME still comes the closest today. I’ve been spending considerable time thinking about the mobile space lately. It seems clear that the number of devices coupled with the evolution of data services and lack of the “killer app” provides a greenfield of opportunity.

Found this entry on Guy’s Blog and wanted to cite this here. You have to love what you do. Without passion, great success is hard to come by. An entrepreneur will have tough times if he or she isn’t passionate about what they’re doing. People who love what they’re doing don’t give up. It’s never even a consideration. It’s a pretty simple formula.

The move to distributed teams is clear and overdue, whether its due to telecommuting, geographically dispersed offices, or just staying in touch on the road. So, perhaps it would be useful for this entry if we focus on tools and techniques needed to really make distributed teams productive. First things first, to make this work you first have to have the right supporting processes and supportive management. The purpose of this blog though is to focus on the technology needed to make this work. 

SKYPE Skype is the best thing since sliced bread – in fact, it slices, it dices, it chops, it hops, it smashes watermelons. The key benefit (and limitation) to Skype is its peer to peer communications architecture. This means, that unlike other services, the quality of the video, conference, etc, doesnt degrade because a server somewhere is busy. Ive used Skype to call all over the world and across town, it just works. Heres the skinny: Calls: Calls directly to other skype users over the PC are free, anywhere in the world. Calls to phone numbers are referred to as “SkypeOut”. These cost a few cents a minute internationally, and are free in the US through the end of the year (2006). I bought my first Skype account in Tokyo 2 years ago for 10 euros and still havent depleted it. Youll want a comfortable headset to use while talking – Logitech Orbit is tops. Lets you pan, has automatic face tracking, great low light sensitivity, and it looks cool. For portability, the Logitech Notebook Pro is hard to beat. It has the important built in mic, clips to your notebook LCD, great resolution and low light sensitivity, and a nice travel case is included. Note that video seems to be Windows only right now.

Video conferencing: With Skype, forget it. Skype only supports video in a point-to-point call presently. Youll need to use something more capable (more expensive) like webex.  Conference calling: Skype supports conference calls of up to 5 people. So, it is fairly low end, but many times 5 is enough. There is a new Skype Polycom speakerphone for Skype that plugs into your USB port. Ive ordered on and cant wait for it to get here. Polycom has an impeccable reputation for speakerphones, so I have high expectations. And, like everything else about Skype, it is cool.  Chat: Skype has built in IM. You can IM while being on a call.  Desktop sharing: Some very bright Japanese fellow has built a plugin for Skype that uses the video capabilities of Skype to let other users see your desktop. This is immensely useful in meetings where you need to review a document, build a plan, share a presentation, etc. The resolution is great – much better than what Ive seen with other approaches, probably because it is peer-to-peer. Once you install Skype, you can click here to get the plugin. (Windows only).  Note: since video is only point-to-point, so is desktop sharing. That is, you cant at this time have a conference call and share your desktop. There are other approaches like Unyte, but I havent yet heard positive things about them. However, the technology is maturing fast and it will no doubt improve.  Skypecasts: this is more of a broadcast service for Skype users. Since anyone can join in and hear, youd need to use this feature of Skype as appropriate.
Hope this is of help!

A bit over a week ago, I had the privilege of attending this congress in Austin.  Security was very tight – APD on horseback, Harley, and on foot. It was an exciting event from Austin – attendees from over 84 countries meeting to discuss topic from economic development to trends in muni wi-fi.

 

It was however Paul Otellinis’ keynote that reached me perhaps the most.  He gave clear evidence that the digital divide is real and that it correlates with income level.  Over 1 billion people on earth make less than $1K per year.  4.7B make between 1K and 25K.  The remaining 800K make > $25K a year.  Accessibility to PC technology is pervasive at the top of this pyramid, and non existent at the bottom.  (Likely the authors of freakonmics could tear this apart).

 

Point is there are a few companies like intel that are investing Billions of dollars in working to bridge this divide.  It is a key mission of the team at Simdesk as well.  These initiatives aim at bringing access to technology, and therefore access to information and education to billions of people around the planet.  Through education comes opportunity and economic development.  This is certainly an exciting effort to be a part of.

 The larger question on my mind: could this really grow over time to bridge the strife between people all over the world?  Could the connectivity that the next generation of the internet will bring serve to bring us to a point of being one global civilization in 100 years?  I think back to Dan Simmons’ Hyperion, an amazing work of fiction in 1989 foretold the internet in a way that few can foresee even today – an existence where anyone can “jack in” wirelessly and access information on any topic.  With the advent now of muni wi-fi and wimax projects, the writings now are almost prophetic.