The Future As Seen By Me In 2010

Well looky here, things one has scanned in eh. (ignore the photo, that's some guy that made some accounting software, not sure what became of him ;) MIKE RIVERSDALE is fuming. The expensive headphones he bought in Sydney three weeks ago have just died. His first reaction is not to randomly spill expletives into his coffee, but to use his iPhone to vent his frustration to his Twitter con- tacts, under the moniker Miramar Mike. "I will also put, 'What should I do?' It's a conversation. I'm reaching out to the people following me." The council predicts hand-held digital devices such as smartphones will rule the world in 2040. They already rule the life of Mr Riversdale, whose company WaveAdept helps businesses adapt - their computing sys- tems to allow staff to work from anywhere - and with anyone. In order of fre- equency, he uses his iPhone to tweet (1136 followers; 8363 tweets since joining), e-mail, make phone calls and use online services, such as checki

Google Apps ("docs" + calendar + talk) is getting easier for teams

Google is cleverly removing barriers, one-by-one, from the path of people wanting to try Google Apps. This time the "Team Edition" removes the need to sign-up to a Google Account and will automatically "aggregate" users from the same domain. This means anyone from (say) , XXX@miramarmike.co.nz, can now start collaborating and communicating without having to install a darned thing.

Having said that I think they have a few more barriers ("security", "offline" and "compatibility") to cross before it's Microsoft Office out the window. They don't seem to be pushing the inherent advantages of being on the Web (connectedness leading to instant communication and collaboration) which I suspect is deliberate. From a conversation I had with a senior member of a firm I do work for I realised that the jump from MS Word to on-line collaboration isn't about technology but a mind shift from "publishing pretty words" to "using information to share, explain and grow relationships (commercial or otherwise)" - very different.

Also, I see this as yet another (small) nail in the coffin of IT Departments. Why would a team within a sizeable organisation even bother telling the IT guys that they are now collaborating on-line - they'd just do it.

Anyway, watch the Google video that explains the Google Apps Team Edition and see if it'll work for you and your team


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