We live in a dashboard world, at least if you are living in the virtual online world like me. Everything from posts on Facebook, Tweets, and even the blogging I’m doing now is done from a dashboard. There are a lot of old trends being called new and the biggest of them is the dashboard. Lets be honest dashboards are nothing new and in the olden days (yea I’m old) we called them portals. I remember being a part of one of the first portals for e-commerce when I worked for Digital River. As portals evolved they gained a lot more functionality, a lot more purpose and now can actually offer real value. Portals from the days of old were found in intranets (company billboard portals) or online in the form of sites like Yahoo that built services around search using a portal or dashboard approach. Well, the portal has certainly evolved and we now live in a dashboard world. Everything is turning into a dashboard on the web!

The purpose of this post is to examine where dashboards are going, why some will work and why some will fail. Who knows you might have your own idea for a new dashboard after reading this. We are certainly in the infancy of dashboards and what they can become. So get creative, we need better experiences.

So where are dashboards going? Well, my best guess is growing in popularity and largely fueled by the massive growth of the social web of people, things, places and devices. Dashboards are the logical aggregation point of data. In fact, you can see the data aggregation trend playing out in today’s most popular dashboards. For instance – YouTube does what? It aggregates video. Facebook does what? Aggregates your friends and social. CNN.com does what? Aggregates your news from around the world. WordPress does what? Aggregates your blogs (thoughts, opinions, etc.). Spotify or Pandora does what? Aggregates music in new ways. Each one of these are dashboards that aggregate large silos of data, for specific markets and grow through social means in a web of things or soon to be a web of BIG DATA! To me the killer app will be dashboards that aggregate other dashboards into a master-dash. A central place that brings everything into one location. Facebook is slowly moving in that direction. It’s obviously treading softly because as they have found “fast change” doesn’t go over well as people are used to a certain way of doing things and disrupt that harmony there will be a mutiny! That’s why Facebook has to adopt a dashboard approach that lets the user “manipulate” the dashboard, customize and create the experience they want. We need to learn from Microsoft who built the ultimate dashboard – WINDOWS? It’s the best selling piece of software in history because for the most part it’s fully customizable dashboard that has fabulous support. The portal makers of today need to merely look to the past to see the future. History repeats itself in different manifestations. The portals of the future will be nothing more that OS’s in the cloud.

Another trend playing out in the dashboard world is artificial intelligence. To me the single greatest opportunity in the portal world revolves around artificial intelligence and the ability to let computers search, find and recommend data based on what you regularly search or view. Computer through AI can learn your patterns, what you like, what kinds of information you need and then get it for you before you need it. The predictive aspects of AI are really exciting. I believe in the not so distant future you will have one customized portal, that is your connection to the web of things, people, devices and physical world. Yes, I said physical world because companies like Smart Things (www.smartthings.com) a great Minnesota company are connecting objects in the physical world into the Internet. A thing they call the physical graph. So as we developed dashboards we need to keep in mind the unlimited possibilities of displaying all kinds of data in all kinds of exciting ways. Even things in the real world.

So what will make a good dashboard and why will some fail? It’s like anything – people are drawn to things that are fun, easy to use, solve problems and have functionality. The most used and best dashboards in the future will have great experiences….period. Freedom of choice is key because most of today’s users want total control, total connection and features that give them a bevy of options to manipulate experience. If you try forcing a user to use what you think they want you will die. Customization is incredibly important to any dashboard. Also, lets be honest just as with anything in the market success will ultimately come down to brand, curb appeal, and how it’s marketed. If you miss the market, you will miss the rewards. The dashboard makers of the future need to divorce the technology and marry the market.

I don’t have all the answers but I know we are in store for some exciting things in the future and it will revolve around the dashboard. Right now the Internet is a very big place and the dashboards of the future will make sense of all the information, intelligently, without user intervention and will get you what you want, when you want it. That’s the key to the new web of everything in a portal driven world.

With so many cloud providers for data backup it’s hard to really know what service to choose. We know the names Dropbox, Box, Carbonite, SkyDrive, Google Drive, Mozy, Code 42 and the list goes on. On the surface they promise “security” and you can trust the cloud to backup your most valuable data. Can you really? Can we really trust a cloud that is every day getting hacked and compromised seemingly at will by cyber criminals, rogue Governments and politically motivated groups? The reality is every backup provider uses the same hardware to keep you secure. It’s Cisco routers, it’s 128 / 256 bit encrypted drives for data at rest, it’s the same firewalls and network monitoring equipment. The reality is nothing separates each backup provider and if a hacker wants your data bad enough they will get it. This is the fundamental problem with the cloud. The sad part is against the industries best efforts the problem simply isn’t getting solved. Today you cannot trust the cloud, no matter what anyone says. It’s not 100% secure.

What my company CRAM has been working on is some technology that will solve this problem. We have looked at the data transport security problem, the data at rest problem and the user control problem. It was very clear to us something new had to be done in order to once and for all secure personal information. The result are several patents, an exciting new piece of software and a totally new way to move around data using the cloud without the worry of hacking or someone viewing your data. We are so excited to share this new technology with the market and solve what we feel is one of the biggest problems facing the digital world. You’ll be able to get the new CRAM BreachBlocker Software soon and use the cloud with the confidence nobody will ever be able to steal your data or get at your valuable information.

 

Alright, we all know there is a problem with Cybersecurity. The cloud is under attack, bad guys want your data, rogue nations want your data and every single day the threats of internet cybercrime is going up. We are reaching a tipping point as I sadly predicted last year where the “hacks” will start impacting people and business where it counts the most. In the pocketbook. To the point where it’s changing laws and consumer / business behaviors.

So how on earth do you possibly enforce laws with an invisible crime and a crime that is happening mainly from distant shores? International law is certainly getting better but someone in the end has to enforce the laws and many countries simply cannot keep up nor have the money to enforce the laws. Good luck with that one.

It wasn’t that long ago laws were passed around digital piracy during the time of Napster. Sure the file sharing giant was shut down but trust me when I say piracy is so common 3 out of 4 people have stolen content (that’s 75% of our population). No Napster needed. So it’s very clear the jails are not big enough to house the entire population and if my mom can steal content the industry has a major problem. Isn’t the real problem the system that allows us to steal the content? I mean if we want to really solve the problem why don’t we solve it instead of passing laws, using tax money to lobby, and waste time. When laws will never solve the piracy problem. What is a law that isn’t enforced? Worthless.

This leads me to the topic – cybersecurity laws. There is growing momentum in congress to radically overhaul the laws around cybercrime (at a significant cost to the taxpayer). Sounds like a great idea (yea right). Pass more laws you can’t enforce so it looks good, find a couple high-profile groups to clamp down on, get a couple headlines on CNN to make it look like the laws are working and then the crime spree continues. What we don’t need right now are new laws that don’t solve the problem. We need real answers, technological answers and just as terrorists changed how we go through airports we need to change what we are doing online. The threats are far too great and the potential for destruction simply staggering.

Think about this – our banks are online, our schools, our busiensses, our personal lives, our thoughts, ideas, hopes, dreams, photos, records, and life is online. We live in an age where information is currency, where that currency can be compromised in a mouse click and sold to the highest bidder in underground online marketplaces. The threats are real, the consequence are coming. We don’t even really know exactly how bad it can get. That is coming – just watch TV. Almost every week now we hear about an even bigger hack. Soon the hacks will turn into mass hacks of destruction. Geez, I’m starting to sound like a doomsayer? Perhaps the world will end on 12/21/12 (not much time left).

So when it comes to enforcing cybercime laws why is it an impossible task? Here are some reasons:

Branch of law. In the U.S., there are three broad branches of law: criminal law, civil law, and regulatory law. The criminal (or penal) system deals with offenses that are prosecuted by the government – local, state or federal – and can be punished by monetary fines, loss of liberty (jail or prison), or in extreme cases, even loss of life (death penalty). The civil system deals with disputes between individuals or organizations (including in some cases government agencies), in which the party found liable is ordered to pay monetary damages and/or ordered to do or not do something (injunction). Regulatory agencies have jurisdiction over specific industries or activities and can impose fines and/or take away an individual’s or organization’s authorization to conduct business or engage in the regulated activity.

Type of case. Within each system, there can be different agencies or courts assigned responsibility for different types of cases. For example, within the criminal system, some courts deal exclusively with traffic offenses and some deal with domestic violence and other family law cases. Some law enforcement agencies have jurisdiction only over crimes that violate the state’s alcoholic beverage code, or only investigate and prosecute offenses that fall under the parks and wildlife code. Within the civil system, some courts handle only divorce cases, others handle only probate matters, and so forth.

Grade of offense. In the criminal justice system, different courts have jurisdiction over different grades of offense, based on severity. Municipal courts may handle only city ordinance violations and/or certain misdemeanor offenses. County courts may handle more serious misdemeanors, while district courts handle felony offenses.

Monetary damages. In the civil system, different courts handle cases based on the monetary damages. For example, small claims courts or justice of the peace courts may have jurisdiction over lawsuits up to a few thousand dollars.

Level of government. In the U.S., there are separate laws, law enforcement agencies and court systems for different levels of government. In the criminal system, you have municipal police, county sheriffs (and in some states, constables and/or marshals), state police or troopers, and numerous federal agencies such as the FBI, DEA, BATF, etc., enforcing the laws that are passed by the governing bodies at the corresponding levels (city and county ordinances passed by city councils and county commissioners, state statutes passed by state legislative bodies and federal laws passed by the U.S. Congress).

Because these systems are separate, a person can be charged, tried and acquitted under state law, for example, and then charged, tried and convicted under federal law for the same act, without incurring double jeopardy. There are also international law-making bodies such as the EU and the UN; their laws are generally adopted by the member nations via treaties.

Geographic area. Any good real estate agent will tell you it’s all about location, location, location – and that’s what geographic jurisdiction pertain to. In the case of the courts, it’s also referred to asvenue. A law enforcement agency or court has jurisdiction only over crimes that take place in the geographic location where that agency or court has authority. That may include the location of the perpetrator, the location of the victim, or the location where the crime actually occurred.

Before a law enforcement agency can investigate a cybercrime case, it has to have jurisdiction. The first thing that must be determine is whether a crime has taken place at all. In some cases, there is no law on the book that covers the particular circumstance. In other cases, the wrongful action that took place is a civil matter, not a criminal one. This might be the case, for instance, if you entrusted your data to a company and that company lost it.

If a criminal offense has occurred, the next step is to determine what law was violated. Was it a city ordinance, a state statute, or a federal law? Local police don’t generally pursue a person for federal crimes, and the FBI doesn’t generally investigate and arrest for state offenses (although in some serious matters, agencies at different levels come together to form task forces and work together to pursue criminals who commit offenses that are violations at both levels).

The next, and in the case of cybercrime the stickiest point, is to determine the geographic jurisdiction. This is more difficult in cybercrime cases than in other types of crime because often the perpetrator is not in the same city, state or even country as the victim.

Why is geographic jurisdiction such a big problem? There are a couple of important reasons:

Laws differ from state to state and nation to nation. An act that’s illegal in one locale may not be against the law in another. This complicates things if the perpetrator is in a location where what he/she is doing isn’t even against the law – even though it’s a clear-cut crime in the location where the victim is.

Law enforcement agencies are only authorized to enforce the law within their jurisdictions. A police officer commissioned in California has no authority to arrest someone in Florida, the FBI doesn’t have the authority to arrest someone in Spain and so forth. Extradition (the process by which a state or nation surrenders a suspect to another) is difficult at best, and often impossible. Under international law, a country has no obligation to turn over a criminal to the requesting entity, although some countries have treaties whereby they agree to do so. Even in those cases, it’s usually an expensive and long, drawn-out process.

Thus jurisdictional issues frequently slow down or completely block the enforcement of cybercrime laws. Extradition treaties often require “double criminality,” meaning the conduct must be a crime in both the jurisdiction seeking to extradite and in the jurisdiction from which the extradition is sought.

WHAT IS THE ANSWER?

To me the answer is very clear. Solve the technology problem, make it impossible to hack and the problem goes away. The only way to eliminate the cybercrime threat is to get ahead of the problem with technology. Laws won’t stop it, foreign Governments won’t stop it, nobody can enforce it, and without better ways to prevent it nothing will change. We are simply putting a Band-Aid on a massive laceration that will never stop bleeding until we cut off the arm that bleeds. Wow, that’s pretty graphic. You get the point.

My company CRAM is doing it’s part to provide solutions. We have worked diligently on solving this problem in a creative new way. We have a new option but we need more. We need the biggest companies in the world to admit the problem, admit their technology isn’t working and come together to secure the future of this country. We are the most digital country in the world and right now we are a sitting duck. WE HAVE TO FIX THIS NOW!!!

 

 

You would be shocked to know how much data the average person both creates, shares and sifts through in a week. Think of the Facebook Posts, Tweets, Documents, Email’s, Video’s, Images, Pinteresting and Business Information that’s created each day. Not to mention the number of viewed images, articles, paid editorials, web clicks, commercials and videos. It’s staggering. With so much data the challenge has been how to mange it, how to use it and how to farm it for value. Certainly Google has used BIG DATA to it’s advantage and has grown a multi-billion dollar company from assembling, presenting and profiting from that data. Companies like Facebook have a treasure trove of data on just about everyone and that treasure trove grows daily. Still, we haven’t even scratched the surface of what we can do with BIG DATA.

So what does BIG DATA really mean? First, BIG DATA much like e-commerce means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For the sake of this blog BIG DATA is really large databases that go beyond the ability of traditional computer / software to capture, curate, manage and process within a tolerable timeframe. BIG DATA has exploded and it just keeps getting bigger. Let me throw out some numbers that might surprise you. Are you aware that BIG DATA is growing into a $70 billion dollar market by 2015 and is growing at around 15-20%? It’s outpacing the entire IT industry by leaps n’ bounds.  If that didn’t surprise you what’s even more surprising is VC’s are scrambling trying to find BIG DATA companies to invest in like the investment firm Accel that recently launched a $100M fund to invest in BIG DATA companies. So if you are a brilliant web or data guy you need to focus your energy in this emerging area. In fact, my prediction is one of the highest paid and most sought after position in the digital world will be a Data Scientist. Guys that know how to model data, secure data and use data to drive just about any business. So why so much urgency? Well, obviously data is power, just as knowledge is power. Whoever can create the best tools to analyze data, and ultimately use data wins. Just look at companies like Cloudera (www.cloudera.com) that is emerging as one of the top BIG DATA companies in the world outside of our friends at IBM that to my knowledge coined the term BIG DATA. The reality is a big boom in data is here and it’s very clear just like a Gold Rush the next big thing in IT will be a Data Rush that mines data into gold.

Here is an infographic that describes EXPLODING DATA and the amazing potential it has for BIG MARKETS!

 

I have been asked by a few people “Daren why has CRAM been so quiet? What’s going on?” Well, we are up to something big and I can’t say too much yet but its game changing. As many people know we started the company with the goal of solving the digital security problem plaguing the entertainment industry. We knew if we could solve the Piracy problem and offer customers more value for their entertainment dollar we would all win. So with that charter we set out and actually solved those problems. We built a fabulous product, landed incredible partners (Intel / Wind River) and built a great business to drive down the price of digital content for consumers while at the same time increasing profits for the studios, artists, producers, musicians. A win / win. Then the challenge came – money! The VC’s loved our technology but didn’t love the idea of spending $20M plus on cutting content deals. The fear of not having current content and having to pay outlandish money to land deals simply turned them off. So the VC’s recommended we take our anti-piracy technology into the business markets and we listened to their advice. Mainly because given the current economic climate it simply makes more sense, requires less capital and proves our security.

In the coming months you’ll see CRAM change dramatically from our original direction. Don’t worry, we still have an entertainment company in our hearts but we believe the same technology that can save the entertainment industry can also save the business markets that are under incredible and real cyber threats. As the US Defense Secretary warns “America is at risk for a cyber Pearl Harbor that will have long lasting effects on this country.” Given the very real threats against the Internet and the cloud we have set out to solve the problem. In fact, we have! We can’t get into the “how” just yet, but the new direction is exciting, led by an incredible team that is laser focused on solving the 1 trillion dollar cybercrime problem globally. To move in this new direction we have added some new members to our team and I want to welcome the amazing technologists that are joining this crusade. It will be an exciting journey.

I also want to thank all my dear friends who support me each day, encourage me and put up with my vanishing act from social circles. To move mountains takes incredible effort, time and sacrifice. Not just my own personal sacrifices but the incredible sacrifices of my CRAM family. I work with some of the best and brightest people I know. I’m blessed to go to work each day and I’m blessed for their lasting friendships. Some for more than half of my life!

GO CRAM and stay tuned!!!

Have you been in a Best Buy lately? They must have read my blog post back in April because they took almost every play out of the playbook that I would have followed if I were CEO. They took the bunker “security guard” off the front door, they have solution centers and even a B2B area to learn about business technology solutions. They revamped the stores, new layout and although they still have the blue shirts they seem for whatever reason more knowledgeable. I had the idea of course to put the Geek’s on the street so to speak to really show people what the technology can do. I have longed for the day someone in a blue shirt would say “do you want to see something cool” showing me something I didn’t already know or a new product versus “what brought you in the store today?” My expeirence has been most blue shirts just read the box with you and have really no understanding how the items work or why one is better than another (some do but very few). I have to admit I’m stunned at how quickly Best Buy has transformed to what I’m calling Best Buy 2.0. Congratulations to the team! In fact, they are even opening some new Best Buy mobile stores that I believe have tremendous upside “IF” they can again show customers mobile solutions that go beyond just selling plans.

What I’m also happy to see is how Best Buy is marketing. I have felt for a very long time they have done a horrible job addresssing the “BEST BROWSE” issue and the perception that online retailers like Amazon are cheaper. When in reality that’s simply not true. In fact, I just saw a fabulous new piece likely part of an aggressive PR campaign that discussed this very issue today. So the moves Best Buy is taking are the right ones but will the market forget the power struggle at the top, the negative press and lingering questions about the retailers future. I believe the answer is yes! What this company really needs right now is stability, consistency, a violent focus on serving customers, a new energy in the brand that attracts good people (workers/customers) and really a reason to come back into the stores. I think Seth Godin said it best “remarkable ideas spread.” How does Best Buy get back remarkable? How do they start doing things that connect with consumers and tell them “we are here to serve you.” To me it really starts with the people. Best Buy has got to start attracting better people because honestly the marketing comes from within. If all the Best Buy employees are negative about their jobs, hate coming to work, are tired, uninterested, unmotivated and don’t have a leader cheering them on this deal is dead. Why? Mainly because the best companies in the world have people that “BELIEVE”! Especially in an age where people are social, viral and can spread a simple idea at the speed of light around the world.

The only advice I can give right now to Best Buy is stay this new course, focus on the customers, get the passion of your employees back and get some stability at the helm. This company can turn around on a dime and I truly believe it can but it starts with market perception. They have got to start talking with customers on a personal level. That’s how you win. Stop being corporate, start being relevant! My two cents for whatever it’s worth.

I met with a VC a few weeks ago and in the meeting the head of the firm said “computer hardware is dead, it’s all about software.” As I sat in my chair trying not to laugh I realized this person clearly doesn’t understand the relationship between hardware & software. It’s a yin – yang relationship that most have totally forgotten about because software gets all the attention. Yet, every VC I talk to see’s hardware the same way. It’s too risky, it’s too much money and eveyrone wants software. Well, it’s because of hardware that software can be seen in HD, have a smooth experience, touch interfaces and an attractive devices that defines your coolness. Just ask Apple how hardware is working? They will be hitting a trillion in revenue this year if the analysts are right. Sure, they sell a lot of $.99 cent apps but it’s the hardware that drives the monster revenue.

If I were to ask you what was the last hardware deal you heard funded do you even know one? However, if I were to ask you “can you tell me a software company that was funded recently” you would rattle off Facebook, Instagram, Groupon, Twitter etc. The reality is “software” is where VC’s are funneling money, it’s the hot commodity right now and hardware is the ugly red headed step-child. Well, here’s a reality check for you. Hardware isn’t dead, it’s more profitable than software and if you don’t believe me look at the bevy of social startups that have imploded. Houston I think we have a problem it’s called a “SOCIAL BUBBLE.” Timber…….I think she’s gonna fall!!!!

The reality is the software start-up world is a huge bubble and it’s not long before it totally bursts. The companies that will emerge from the ashes are companies that tie great software to great hardware. How can you possibly refute what I’m saying? See Apple for details? If I were Facebook I would get into hardware immediately. I would create a Facebook phone, I would build that device as fast as I can, I would make the Facebook app the operating system and I would crush the mobile market. They have fabulous software now all they need is gorgeous hardware that finalizes a complete device ecosystem. They will finally have a sustainable revenue model! Not to mention all kinds of really cool apps that will go directly at Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon.

Also, there are many great hardware start-ups like Exablade here in Minnesota. This company has developed a cutting edge new chipset that offers 20x the performance of intel based platforms wtih 80% less energy. Also, it’s a fraction of the cost. Sound too good to be true? It’s not and once again an example that we have not even come close to maximizing the performance, capability and security of hardware. Even my own company CRAM has brought together industry leading hardware from Intel, with our own hardware security solution that prevents hacking and married it with amazing software. Again, we need hardware, it’s not going away and it’s what propels some of the fastest growing comanies in the world. Just sayin!

It’s also important to remember that hardware is about to fundamentally change. Soon computing will be built into everything around you. Furniture, clothing and even injected into your body. The future computers are going to astound and make possible many exciting new innovations from intelligent robots to teleportation. Again, without pushing the limits of advanced processing and hardware the future of high-tech will never be realized. We need to support the new innovations in hardware or be locked into the commoditized world that we find ourselves in today. We wonder why we are still stuck with x86 chipsets? It’s because nobody is investing in the hardware that will unlock an incredible future and we can’t expect big commodity players like Intel to usher that innovation. They are too busy printing money.

A lot of attention has been placed lately on the shoulders of Facebook, Groupon and the many “social” websites that offer cloud as a service. It’s very clear the past couple years has really been focused on the web / cloud. 2012 has been about connecting people in new ways on the web, offering FREE services to attract eyeballs and trying to scramble to make money after you give away everything for free (a lesson Facebook / Groupon are learning). It was just a matter of time before mobile would trump traditional online. Why? Well, for starters we are mobile creatures. We are constantly moving, constantly on the go and mobile goes with us anywhere. That’s the holy grail – right? Access to anything, anywhere, and ultimately free from Internet expense.

So knowing we are quickly morphing to mobile what will some of the trends be, what can we expect, what are the new frontiers and where will the opportunity be as a technologist?

What are the trends?: There are so many trends happening in mobile it’s very hard to articulate them all. Here are some of my thoughts and some of the biggest trends emerging. Right now we are seeing LTE 4G rolling out that promises blazing speeds, better user experience and the horsepower to drive our ecosystem of mobile devices (tablet, smartphone, etc. etc.). We have also learned bigger is better. The smartphone screen sizes are getting bigger and the ideal seems to be right around 4.7 and 5.3 inches. We are even seen new tablets emerge like the Google Nexus that are trying new form factors that fit between a smartphone and an iPad. Another trend playing out in the mobile space is apps and lots of them. As we all know content is king and one form of content are applications. There is a huge boom in appification of everything and that will continue to progress. A trend playing out in the app space is obviously socialization of everything but there is unlimited opportunity in app consolidation, automation and data-mining. Another big trend is mobile security and it’s very clear with all the benefits of mobile there is still an elephant in the room called security. Our mobile phones are simply not secure enough; it’s a huge problem and one with no fix (my company CRAM has some ideas). Security could be the Achilles heel for the mobile revolution but I put my money on innovators like my team and others who are tackling this major problem. Lastly, I believe the biggest trend in mobile is competition. There is a ton of competition for the consumer and that’s a good thing. Competition stabilizes pricing, creates opportunity and helps the entire ecosystem. A few years ago HTC was an unheard of company and now they have unseated Blackberry / RIM. So it’s very possible to start a mobile company today and reach tremendous success in a short period of time due to huge consumer demand. IF you have a good product, competitive pricing and a revenue model that works. I see big things coming to smartphone design, faster speeds on devices, a ton of free or near free applications and frankly more capable devices. The mobile industry is on fire, it’s only getting bigger and I believe this is the market to watch.

What can we expect?: I don’t have a crystal ball but I think it’s pretty easy to connect some dots on what will happen. I believe by 2013 mobile phones will overtake PC’s as the most common web access point. If you can believe this over 1.82 billion units will ship by 2013. Blowing away the number of PC’s shipped. This is an astounding revelation. A big contributor will be cost (mobile is less expensive) and is gaining in functionality with the power of the cloud. It’s very clear with an appification of everything you will see advancements in mobile medicine, digital wallets, more convenient ways to learn / buy and creative new applications to make life easier, more manageable. I don’t think we have even scratched the surface on what software can do. I believe that Android will remain the #2 mobile operating system behind Apple OS. I believe Apple’s idea of simplicity, interconnectedness between devices and access to anything, anytime, on any Apple screen is hard to beat. Also, the closed system of Apple makes it very hard to leave once you have made the digital investment. They make it nearly impossible to move away but that may change as new software emerges that lets you move data more freely, easily cross platform (so you won’t be a hostage anymore). I do believe if Google or Microsoft get their acts together they post major threats, have the money to out innovate and at the end of the day whoever can make life easier for the consumer, at a better price, wins! It’s anyone’s ballgame, even you Mr. Start Up entrepreneur.

What are future frontiers?: The biggest frontier in the next few years is clearly mobile storage. Near unlimited personal storage is one of the biggest opportunities for mobile as we know it. With the petabyte age quickly upon us it’s very clear when you have unlimited storage it means new business models are possible, new ways of using data, and an experience that goes off the charts. Localization is way better than push / pull from the cloud. Especially, if you have all the content you need with you wherever you go, not connections needed. CRAM has bet on this future because it’s our belief Internet is just one more thing you need to pay for, is one more thing to maintain and has issues (lag, signal fade, rural access issues). The reality is you don’t need a big fat expensive internet for texting, emailing and phone. We pay through the nose for connections because we want to stream content that should just be resident on your device. If you don’t have to stream anymore because the content is just there when you want it, that will change the game and how much money in your wallet.

Another frontier coming and one I’m really excited about is artificial intelligence. Some bright minds are working on new technology that is SIRI from Apple on steroids. Imagine interacting with your device like you interact with your best friend, a secretary or someone you know. With a fast user experience, no lag, no wrong answers and a personality of your choosing (male, female, serious, funny, intense). Advanced computing is reaching a point where it will be possible to have a relationship with your device. Yes, I said “relationship” with your mobile device. It’s coming! Imagine having a conversation with your phone that has personality, answers questions, has natural two way communication and can actually help you make decisions or even organize your life. This reality is almost here and it’s an area of limitless potential. This will even further drive mobile and our reliance on it.

The limitless energy frontier is another one that I’m watching. There are some amazing scientists that are working on next generation battery technology that will take your 10 hours of life on your cell phone and turn it into 100 hours plus or potentially even unlimited power using “wireless power.” It may sound like science fiction but all of this is in the world, it’s real and it’s coming to your phone soon. The power frontier once cracked will allow all of us the user experience we all want and will greatly minimize our need to find an outlet or cut a call short because the battery is dead.

So what is the mobile platform of the future? I ask myself this question a lot and I think platforms are going to change dramatically. It’s clear Apple is taking over the mobile world, Android has a fragmentation problem, Microsoft is trying to throw a Hail Mary pass with Windows Phone, HTML5 kills native applications. So what are we missing? The two fundamental keys will always be access (speed to get what we want) and usability (how it works). These two constants will continually drive consumer behavior along with very good marketing. I believe Apple and all the big boys are fully capable of getting unseated by a new, hip and cool company. Who that is remains to be seen but it’s very clear everyone should be looking over their shoulders in the mobile race. New runners are coming, with better ideas, easier user experiences and innovation. You can rule nothing out!

Where is the opportunity:

• Security and smartphone hacking
• Mobile payments
• Platform development (Apple, Android, HTML5, Windows Mobile)
• Game development
• Social applications
• Artificial intelligence
• Carrier independent (local clouds)
• Mobile storage
• Network I/O – data transfer / app transfer
• Application aggregation
• Data mining
• New battery technology to extend mobile life

The United States of America needs to lead the mobile revolution. We need to be the pioneers of this massive global opportunity. The country that owns this market is the country that will have prosperity in the future. WE MUST – invest in our mobile entrepreneurs, we must invest in the innovation around this critical mobile areas otherwise we will watch China, India or Russia dominate this market and ultimately dominate this country financially. The stakes are high but I know America has the potential to excel, create and take over the mobile world. Our future depends on getting this critical market right! Yes, it’s that big of a deal!!

You hear me talk a lot about digital security in my blog largely because I think it’s one of the biggest problems facing this country and world. The interconnectedness of the Internet has made it very easy for criminals, hackers, and foreign governments to steal our personal / business data. The fact that countries like China spend billions annually towards cyber warfare should be a wakeup call for this country. America is in a total state of denial as we watch our ideas, patents, legal information, financial information and personal information fly out the backdoor. We have “systems” that make it very easy for breach and we have placed our entire infrastructure on these systems with huge future consequences. I often laugh by saying there are two mindsets. Those that admit they have been hacked and those that simply don’t know they are being hacked. Just this past week  someone was trying to hack my home network and it was clear it was malicious in nature. If you want to see who is “sniffing your IP” get this free software to analyze your inbound / outbound traffic: http://www.wireshark.com/

With this blog post I hope to shed some light on how to protect your business from hacking and data leakage. There are some simple things you can do to protect yourself. So here we go:

Step 1 – Put a lock on your door!

This might sound obvious but if you are connected to the Internet and don’t have a firewall you have the front door to your home wide open inviting anyone in to steal. Without a firewall you are susceptible to attacks from just about anyone. In fact, most people don’t know this but there are BOTS that constantly search new IP’s to connect, and compromise. Just by connecting a naked device to the Internet. All a hacker needs to do is connect to your computer and then the exploits can begin. What a firewall does is prevents the attackers probe from coming into your computer or network. Thankfully, Microsoft has put in a software firewall in its new versions of Windows but you can also get great software firewalls from the likes of Norton, McAfee or Avast. For a business I highly recommend more advanced firewalls to protect your network and servers. Depending on the size and scale of your business you can find them from CISCO, Sonicwall or Checkpoint.

Step 2 – Vault your data

I don’t have to tell you the value of your business data. Its customer names, credit card numbers, patent documents, financials, product data, competitive information, presentations, and a whole lot more. One way to protect data is to encrypt the data. What does this mean? Simply put it’s a way to transform data into an unreadable form that can only be made readable when someone decrypts or unlocks the data with a key or password. A computer with any form of encryption will appear to store meaningless data to the casual observer (ie. a hacker). Unfortunately, sophisticated hackers can brute force crack encrypted data with new hack methods but not without a major headache. There is a great free encryption tool called TrueCrypt that I highly recommend. Also, Windows 7 and Windows 8 have built in drive encryption so I highly recommend you use it. When it comes to much larger data infrastructures of today’s enterprise encryption is even more difficult. I highly recommend using data at rest security and working with your SAN or Network Architect to put together an encryption scheme that both fits your budget and your scale. In today’s world – you need to encrypt!!

Step 3 – Back up your data

I cannot stress this enough – back up your data! I cannot believe how many times I hear about friends and businesses that don’t back up data. Then a major event occurs and they lose everything. In the day of “cheap storage” there is no excuse for not having a back-up policy in place. I recommend getting a 3TB external USB storage device (Western Digital or Seagate) to back everything up. Then I would keep the backup in a safe that is fireproof, tamper proof and can secure your data. I just purchased a safe for my home and will have one in my office. It’s the best investment you can ever make. If you are a larger enterprise you need a more robust business class back-up plan and most SAN systems provide data replication. However, I recommend again using back-up solutions like my company CRAM, Iron Mountain or other forms of data archival / backup. The golden rule for back up is geographic diversity (don’t back up to something in your own backyard), back up in a secure method (for your eye’s only) and use services that have security policies and procedures.

Step 4 – Go offline

Yup, I said it – go offline. If you want something secure it should never, ever touch the internet. Did you hear me? If you want something secure do not let it touch the Internet. Why? The golden rule is if you can touch something, you can steal it. Since anyone, from anywhere can touch the Internet it makes the threat real that someone can steal your data through a number of ways like packet sniffing, brute force hacking, SQL injections and on and on. A golden rule that I recommend to most companies is creating an offline network. This network would have your “HIGH VALUE” information and would only allow certain people to access that data. You can move the data around by using what I coined “offline area networking” or by shuttling drives around with the pertinent information that can only be viewed by laptops or computers that are not connected to the Internet. Going offline is the most secure way to share, view and use information you don’t want hackers to get. My company CRAM has pioneered the new era of offline area networking, personal clouds and highly encrypted offline delivery methods of data delivery.

Step 5 – Anti-virus

This is just common sense. If you are travelling on the Internet your ship (your PC) will inevitably get a virus. It’s very important to get a good anti-virus program from one of the leaders and make sure your database is always updated. You need to have a first line of defense again all the things we know that roam the net like worms, Trojans, keyloggers just to name a few.

Step 6 – Policy and Awareness

If you run a business or a security department in your company it’s critical you have a policy in place to secure your data. Also, it’s important you let your employees know the “reality” of the threats and to ask them not to open emails from unknown persons, don’t visit sites you don’t know well, and don’t let your kids use your business laptop. Having a security policy will help greatly in cutting down on the number of disruptions. Still, the reality nobody wants to hear is the Internet can’t be secured, even with firewalls, encryption methods and awareness. The only way to truly 100% secure your business is going offline and eliminating the pipeline to the criminals, hackers and governments. The good news is there are new ways to look at moving around data, using data and in a far more secure way. That’s CRAM!

If you love technology then you have to love WOZ! Steve Wozniak is the ‘iconic’ engineer that was the genius behind the early years of Apple and is a technologist that is never afraid to speak his mind. When you have the success Steve has had you earn the right to have a strong opinion at the table and everyone should listen. Mainly because that opinion is backed by years of experience and knowledge many don’t have. So when WOZ says there is trouble in the cloud he means it!!

WOZ was recently quoted as saying “I really worry about everything going to the cloud,” he said. “I think it’s going to be horrendous. I think there are going to be a lot of horrible problems in the next five years.” He added: “With the cloud, you don’t own anything. You already signed it away through the legalistic terms of service with a cloud provider that computer users must agree to.” He went on to say, “I want to feel that I own things. A lot of people feel, oh, everything is really on my computer. But I say the more we transfer everything onto the web, onto the cloud, the less we’re going to have control over it.”

I have been trying to warn my friends and family against using cloud services. Unfortunately, most of the devices coming out these days are nothing but dummy terminals to the cloud. If you use iPhones, Android Phones, Tablets and etc. they are nothing but dummy terminals to the cloud that collect and store your personal information. In many cases without you even knowing its “recording” your every move and storing that data. Remember those “I AGREE” terms on the phones you never read or care anything about? If you read the fine print you’ll see what I’m talking about. I think most consumers are woefully under educated on the reality of their information, what’s stored under their name and how it’s being used. The Government has done a horrible job addressing this issue and is virtually clueless on how to handle “digital rights” – your rights in the cloud era.

I totally agree with WOZ on the fact the next 5 years will open the floodgates on the problems with the cloud because there will be real consequences. Not just the continual sound bites that you read in the news about LinkedIn getting hacked, Google getting hacked, Sony getting hacked. The new hacks will have major consequences because the hacks are getting smarter and the ability to execute on the data being hacked is growing. The underground data world is big business and most people would die to know how much of their information is traded, sold, shared and accessed. Thankfully, with high-profile people like WOZ putting out WARNINGS we are moving in the right direction to have real conversations on privacy and most importantly data security.

Again, I want to commend WOZ for his brutal honesty and telling the consumers about the real risks of the cloud. Even when the company he founded Apple is one of the biggest cloud purveyors in the world. The reality is the cloud has issues, WOZ admits it and now it’s time to do something about it. This is where my company CRAM fits.

Having worked in datacenters most of my career and having an opportunity to build my own datacenter for CRAM it’s very clear things are changing. The largest companies in the world have invested billions, dare I say even trillions of dollars for managing, storing and distributing data. Like all technology there is a logical evolution towards better efficiencies, cost reductions and simplicity. So when I think of the future of datacenter design I have a grand vision. I see energy efficient centers, I see advanced robotics running the datacenter (no people) and I see them far less expensive as they are today. It’s really about connectivity, capacity, compute power, price and scale.

What most people don’t know is there are companies like Facebook that are leading the charge to more efficient datacenter designs through the Open Compute Project. The idea is to create low cost computing nodes, low cost building block storage and a focus on energy efficiency. Here is a great video on what they are doing with this project. http://www.youtube.com/embed/p4D9UNXKGV4

I still think there is even more room for innovation. Here is what I think the datacenter of the future looks like and how all of this will eventually evolve:

Power: It’s very clear power is a huge problem for today’s datacenters. Most people don’t know that datacenters are the largest energy consumers in the world and put more pollution in the air than all the automobiles on the planet. By reducing the amount of energy datacenters consumer we will not only improve the environment but reduce the need for costly power. A way to do this is utilizing new forms of energy, by using new cooling methods like my company LiquidCool Solutions (www.liquidcoolsolutions.com) that does total liquid submersion cooling and by using more energy efficient computing. It’s totally possible to reduce energy consumption in the datacenter by more than 60%. This would not only provide more profits to the companies but would also benefit the environment. That’s just with technology that exists today. Also, I think it’s very possible to get to “0” emissions in the datacenter that is in line with Bill Gates ZERO POINT ENERGY initiative. It’s clear – power is a huge problem for datacenters, and all that power creates pollution from the utilities making the power. We can fix this problem or at least in the near term minimize the impact.

No more people: Today’s datacenters require a lot of hands and feet to carry out the daily tasks. If you have run a datacenter you know what I mean – rebooting servers, replacing bad disk, repairing servers, reconfiguring and etc. The good news is that process will soon be a thing of the past. Especially, with virtualization of data, bundling of storage systems and the bundling of CPU power. With the new modular datacenter design if a drive goes bad or a CPU fails it doesn’t matter because the modules are self healing. The future is commoditization, automation / robotics and modularity. Looking further ahead it’s very clear the datacenter of the future will shrink dramatically and will become highly efficient. Robotics will drive this future because soon capacity can be turned on by the flick of a switch, robots can handle most tasks humans can and humans will only need to monitor versus hands on management. The datacenter of the future will look more like a UPS or Amazon fulfillment center versus what you see today.

Supercomputing: The current trend in supercomputing is moving away from high-end chips (Xeons, for example), and moving towards dumbed down workloads that require cheaper single threaded CPU’s. The drive for less capable chips is because they emit less heat, consume less power and can be stacked. However, it’s my belief with cooling companies like LiquidCool we will be able to have smaller, more densely packed supercomputers that use high-end processing because we can finally deal with the heat issue. Liquid submersion cooling is the future behind this shift. I also think the higher powered, smaller footprint systems can greatly minimize the workload for the datacenter providers. Again, the key to datacenter design is simplicity innovation and reducing footprint / complexity. Have less footprint but get more performance. That’s where I see supercomputing heading.

The future is high-capacity storage: A big component of any datacenter is storage and with the Petabyte age upon us it’s very clear the storage game is dramatically changing. Just imagine a single hard drive with a petabyte of data that fits in the palm of your hand and imagine how that innovation will change datacenters. No longer do you need large banks of SAN’s or high-density storage. For those of you who don’t know what a petabyte drive is that’s (1 million gigs of data) that fits on one drive and it’s very possible with some new technology we will hit multiple petabytes on a single drive. The great news is this technology isn’t science fiction – it’s something that will be available in the very near future. With the advent of “monster capacity” drives I see entirely new data models built around data dispersion versus data centralization (centralized data requires infrastructure, and so many additional costs). The more data we can place in the hands of the consumer or business the better the interaction with the data. The key to this new paradigm will be security and this is a big area where my company CRAM has been focusing it’s efforts.

More intelligent and secure networks: One of the big challenges for any datacenter is redundancy and increasing availability. Today’s operations cannot go down and although the standard uptime has reached 99.9% many of today’s massive organizations expect 100% uptime. So how do we realistically get there? The core will be intelligent networking. With SONET based fiber architecture we have self-healing ring topology today that ensures data payloads reach the intended locations even in the event of a fiber cut. As networks become even more intelligent and cheap high-capacity storage evolves massive data caches can be cost effectively deployed globally and dare I say even more secure than today. With some innovation that my company CRAM is developing data can be securely placed all around the world, and accessed affordably from any node, anywhere. This future will play a key role in how we design networks and most importantly how we secure data.

I’m really excited about where datacenters are heading in the future and there are some incredibly bright minds leading the charge. The most important thing is we are focusing on what really matters – reducing energy consumption, reducing complexity, gaining efficiencies, solving the security dillema and treating the hardware like a commodity for cost savings. That’s the future!!!

Two years ago NASA warned everyone about the increased activity of the sun and the potential of massive solar storms that would disrupt everyone on earth. They predicted widespread power outages, communication networks getting wiped out and the potential for widespread loss of life. It sounds like something out of a scary movie – you are right. Sadly this horror is real!

As we saw in India this week wide spread power outages are possible in this modern age and the consequences can be staggering. Millions of people in India got a taste of what it would be like if we lost our power grids. Everything stops! No email, no computers, no electric trains, no refrigeration for food, no stop lights and everything in this modern age grinds to an abrupt halt. It was a scary event and one that could happen more frequently. Even here in the United States.

One of the greatest threats right now to this country is the threat of electromagnetic storms. With the recent solar storms we have seen active Northern Lights, we have seen some warnings but no major disruptions yet. Was India the first major disruption? Are there more to come and will we be the next victims? Science doesn’t have the answers but it’s clear from NASA’s warnings that something wicked this way comes.

So what is your contingency plan? What happens if there is a power outage that lasts a week or more at your house? You might call me crazy for saying “be prepared” but the reality is if it can happen in India, it can happen here. In fact it has happened here. Remember the big outage a couple years ago on the East Coast? Everything stopped and there was almost pandemonium. Knowing a massive electromagnetic storm is coming you should make sure you have batteries, matches, stored food (enough or a couple weeks) and a way to function without any form of power, heat, cooling or communication. I’m not a doomsayer but when NASA issues a “WARNING” you should listen. I sure am!

Well Apple fan boys and girls the new iPhone 5 is close upon us. The 6th generation iPhone was leaked via iLab this week and now you can see what all the fuss is about. So here is your first look at iPhone 5 – the future of smart phones! Yea right!!

As you can see the iPhone 5 has a very similar design as all the other iPhones. It still has the trademarked center button, side controls (volume / ring tone) and single port connector and headphone jack. I’m assuming by looking at the image it’s still using the non-scratch Gorilla Glass and a sturdy aluminum chassis. Also, you can see the front facing video. The one feature of interest is the side slot that appears to be either HDMI or finally external flash storage. You can’t really tell from the image. The reality is nothing is too out of the ordinary and to be honest I’m very let down. This looks like every other iPhone you have seen and this isn’t the iPhone I was expecting. Apple has some major competition right now with fabulous designs coming from both HTC and Samsung. This is the same tired look – where is something new? Something awe-inspiring? YAWN!

Looking at the back of the phone it’s the same layout with camera, flash and trademarked apple logo. What I really like are the beveled edges of the frame that give the phone a very detailed finished look.

My only gripe looking at the iPhone 5 leak is it still looks small and when you compare this to larger, more attractive models from Samsung I don’t see how this stands a chance? Other than connecting to iTunes where Apple has held it’s customers hostage with music and apps. The good news is some really smart software engineers are working on the “closed system” problem and soon you’ll be able to easily port your music and apps library to any platform you want. You can do it today but most users won’t have the patience.

According to Apple we should find out what’s behind door number 5 when Apple launches the new iPhone sometime in September 2012. Sadly, if the new iPhone is what you see in this picture it’s a longer, uglier and fairly similar version of it’s previous self. At the end of the day you tell me. Would you rather have a bigger screen, faster user experience, an open source environment or a smaller phone, locked down to Apples eco-system and all the Apple hassles. I think it’s an easy choice – Android on a Samsung Galaxy or  Samsung Note. End of story!

Who doesn’t love the story of Facebook? You can say anything you want but Mark Zuckerberg the unlikely CEO created the vision, got it funded, built the team, got it to market and brought in rock-stars like Sheryl Sandberg. He was even the subject of a great movie (does it get any better than that)?  Under full disclosure I’m a huge fan of Mark Z. and everything he stands for as an entrepreneur. There is no question Facebook has connected the world, has gone in directions nobody would predict and continues to redefine the social marketplace.

As a technologist, I have to smile because Facebook wasn’t the first social network (we can thank  AOL, ICQ and MySpace for that one) and if you boil down the technology it’s really a blog on steroids. Sure Facebook has an application development platform, some unique features but it can’t get rid of its blogging roots. The reality is Facebook is really a blog with friends, some apps and advertising. The BIG question still looms – how will Facebook make money?

As I write this there are some very smart people at Facebook HQ scratching their heads trying to figure out a way to monetize Facebook without upsetting the customers who are “friending, liking, sharing, commenting, posting, and gloating” for FREE! Like many social websites Facebook went into the world with a “freemium” business model and has moved to more of an “advertising” based model like Google. I’m sure Facebook is also eyeballing revenue sources like e-commerce, premium subscriptions, self-serve advertising, liking for money and possibly even branching into hardware (Facebook Phone). Whatever direction Facebook heads there is one small problem. The problem is FREE! The majority of the 900M Facebook users worldwide are used to paying ZERO to access Facebook. Also, Facebook has trained its user base to expect no charge for all of its services. The minute Facebook starts charging or as many would say “ruining Facebook with ads” the market will revolt to the next FREE ad-less option like Google+. Oh trust me, Google+ is just waiting in the wings for the precise moment that Facebook makes a misstep. My prediction is the misstep will happen with security or turning Facebook into MySpace 2.0. The good news for Google is it doesn’t have to monetize Google+, it already has cash cows elsewhere like search that makes the bulk of the revenue and Google+ is really just added value. So the minute Facebook is forced to monetize – Google+ will say – you want FREE with no ads – here it is!

As Facebook will find it will be very difficult to monetize the platform and it needs to proceed very carefully by letting third parties do the monetization through opt-in applications. Honestly, Facebook needs to take some plays out of Bill Gates playbook. Isn’t Facebook really becoming Microsoft Windows in the cloud? A dashboard for social, applications, ads, entertainment, commerce, email, calendar and everything you get with any OS? If Facebook continues with its open source mindset it will quickly become the Windows in the sky. Still my question with that is are you going to trust all of your data to a single company? Can we trust Facebook let alone Google with all of our personal and soon business information? Can we trust they will not give in to the Government or other entities wanting our personal information? Can we be guaranteed that hackers won’t eventually find a way to get all of our information? I hope this doesn’t sound harsh but the mainframe died for a reason. BIG BROTHER! I know Facebook and other cloud providers are hip, cool, but in the end isn’t Facebook turning into something that could go seriously in the wrong direction? Should anyone have that much data? One thing I know is if Mark Z. is at the helm you can be sure he won’t sell out. But I’m not worried about Mark Z, I’m worried about the investment bankers and investors that might force Facebook into some very bad moves. The lure of big money makes people do really dumb things. I hope this doesn’t happen to Facebook. We shall see.

I have some very good ideas for Facebook and I’m in the process of making one of those ideas. At the end of the day Facebook is still the best place to do social, it’s a fabulous application and I really hope they do the right things. So far so good but only  time will tell.

If you are like me you love computers, you live on them and you take your hardware seriously. Once you use a HIGH END PC you can never go back to any other platform. Mainly because of speed, capability and seamless user experience. There is nothing better than using good hardware. With this post I’m going to show you how to build your own kick-ass rig that will beat any high-end desktop in the market including the MAC Pro that costs almost double what this costs for less performance. Shall we begin?

CPU: The first thing you need to get is the brains of the PC. There is no better brain that INTEL INSIDE and for the rig we are discussing you need a power house. Get the INTEL XEON E5-2430 6-core CPU. This 2.2GHz chip can be kicked up to 2.7GHz and makes the perfect centerpiece for your new machine. It also uses the LGA1356 socket so make sure when you buy a board it matches.

MOBO: ASUS Sandy Bridge board Z9NA-D6 that is fast, stable and well works. As for motherboard manufacturers I have had great luck with ASUS but MSI, Biostar, Gigabyte and Intel all make great boards. So it really comes down to price / features.

GPU: If you are like me and want to mix work with pleasure (ie. Gaming), I would recommend you pick up any middle of the road NVIDIA graphics card. For this build you can pick up the single card EVGA GeForce GTX 460. It will do the trick unless you want more of a CAD based Nvidia Quadro FX card but it all depends on your use of the machine. Quadro’s are not cheap!

MEMORY: We all want snappy response times when using a POWER rig and nothing makes your PC soar than memory. It’s an often overlooked feature and one we will not skimp on for this rig. For this build we are going to use registered memory and will throw 24GB into the system. That’s 6 x 4GB modules. There are many memory manufacturers and I would recommend any memory from Corsair, Crucial or Samsung. This will give you enough memory to handle any FAT data task. The good news is memory is cheap!

POWER SUPPLY: Power is another area where many people overlook. If you don’t have good power, things go wrong fast in a PC. I recommend getting a PC Power and Cooling power supply that is 750W another good choice is Corsair that is a little cheaper. You can certainly go up in wattage but for cost savings all you really need for this build is 750W. Anything more is extra cost and quite frankly overkill.

DISK: If you are going to build a POWER PC you need to have serious storage why? Because you are working your butt off and you don’t want to put in more drives in the future. Apple places 1TB drives into their MAC Pro and for this build we are going to kick it up a notch. Get two 3TB Western Digital Caviar GREEN drives. 6TB’s of data should do you proud and best of all it doesn’t cost much at all. Considering 6TB several years ago would set you back thousands. Now it’s just a couple hundred bucks.

THERMALS: Heat is always your enemy in a POWER PC. Especially when you are throttling Intel Xeons in a POWER PC set-up. I highly recommend you get a high-powered CPU cooler. The two I would recommend are the Intel FXXRGTHS CPU Heatsink or the NOCTUA NH-U9DX 1366 dual heat-pipe cooler. The Notua is a little more expensive than the Intel heat sink but it’s combination of no noise and incredible thermal cooling capability make it the ideal choice.

DRW DRIVE: I don’t want to say the CD or DVD is dead but it’s fair to say it’s on the way out. Still, if you are like me and you still have software on CD’s you need to get one installed. I recommend going with just about any DRW that is cheap. For purposes of this build we are using an LG black drive that supports CD, DVD and even BluRay. We all have to watch Bluray right?

OS: Of course, no rig can be complete without an OS. For this build we are going with the tried and true Windows 7. We would do the Windows 8 BETA but nothing works better than something you know and love.

CASE: A computer case is a lot like art – it’s in the eye of the beholder. There are many different manufacturers, many different prices and for this build we are choosing an ATX case that looks attractive. My three favorite case makers are Lian Li, Thermaltake and Corsair. They fit my style of clean, utility, form follows function and nice features. For this build we are using the Corsair Obsidian 650D. This is a nice tower, with view window and enough space to expand.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139006 Here is a video tour of this case and how your new POWER PC will look.

There you go a PC that will blow away any MAC Pro, a PC that can fit your wallet and a POWER PC you can have for the next few years. Please keep in mind this is a POWER PC and not made specifically for gaming. If your sights are set on building the most bad ass gaming rig ever made then you should head to Newegg and configure a new Sandy Bridge monster. Here are some ideas below for that rig. It all comes down to what you want and what you like.

CPU – Either an i7 or a high end i5. A top end AMD quad core might be fine, but my personal recommendation is for an Intel.

RAM – DDR3 is the fastest RAM currently available.  I’d go for at least 6-8GB for future-proofing.

GPU – You’ll need DX11 for games in the next few years, so your current choice is only ATI.  Go for 5870 if your screen is under 1920×1200, 5970 if it’s bigger.

HDD – Forget SCSI.  Seriously.  Get a 160GB SSD (Intel or one with an Indilinx controller) for your C drive and get a 2TB HDD for your D drive to hold all your files. videos, etc.

PSU – Go for a quality brand of at least 850W.  That should keep you running sweet for years.  If you’re going for the 5970 or are likely to go Crossfire or SLI on future GPUs later, I’d probably stretch to 1000W.  Make sure it’s a quality brand – do not go for a lesser make no matter what numbers it quotes!

Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy and sadly in the wake of the Bernie Madoff’s, Tom Petter’s, Denny Hecker’s of the world the word “entrepreneur” has been associated with swindler. Early in my career I followed in the footsteps of tremendous leaders like Michael Dell, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs. Men of incredible tenacity, integrity and work ethic. Early in my journey so much was written about these executives I was able to learn so much from their successes and failures. Emulation does work and there is no question that this world needs more dynamic men of integrity willing to risk everything for the big idea(s). I was lucky – I had some great leaders that paved the way for guys like me.

Recently, I saw a video of Elon Musk introducing the new Tesla S. I have always heard his name from his fame at PayPal, the starting of Tesla, SolarCity and his trials at SpaceX. However, this was the first time I saw him speak and I was shocked. I was expecting a dynamic speaker, an ego in a suit and a smooth operator with all the answers. However, what I saw was a humble, modest and downright “real” person. Elon was not what I expected but in a very good way. So I did a little more searching for other videos and came across an interview he did on 60 minutes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJnW7vtqaf4 After you watch this interview you understand why Elon is successful. He’s passionate, he believes like me that anything is possible if you “dream it” and you understand the tremendous sacrifices he’s made. Most importantly in each one of his endeavors he has tackled huge problems for all of humanity. He’s doing good for all of us with each of his innovations and companies. I’m so impressed with him I can only say I hope to be half the entrepreneur that he is.

Can’t you tell – I’m so impressed with Elon in fact I admire him. He embodies everything I want to be as an entrepreneur. Someone who takes huge gambles, takes on big ideas, builds great teams, put his money where his mouth is and drives towards the impossible. Isn’t that how we should all spend our lives? Trying to make a huge impact for all of mankind. Elon’s visions have made online payments easy, have made car’s emission free, makes energy affordable (solar) and has made cost-effective space exploration possible. He’s done all of this by putting his entire fortune at risk and lets be honest – he almost lost everything pursuing these grand visions. But he hasn’t, he came through, never quit when he could have and is on the path to incredible success. GO ELON!!!

Elon is what every entrepreneur should aspire to be and we should all support any of his endeavors. Especially, buying the new Tesla S – arguably one of the most amazing cars ever created. Everyone said it couldn’t be done but he did it. Do you see a pattern emerging here? The car that couldn’t be built was built, the rocket that couldn’t be launched was launched and online payments couldn’t be made easy, it is now easy. The lessons learned are never quit, do big things, don’t be afraid to go against giants and expect the impossible.

You have to admit some of the best technology and innovation in the world is in nature. Just open your door, look into your yard and see the vast systems of natural technology at work. Everything seems to flow like a current of energy constantly moving, shaping and changing. All these incredible natural innovations from nature give us clues on how to development new technology. Why? The natural process can be emulated, edited, tweaked and dare I say modified. With the new horizon of particle physics, combined with advanced mathematics and high-end computing some incredible realities are coming for this world. As a technologist the challenge is and will always be finding better and new ways to do things. Pushing the envelope isn’t easy when you are bound by the limitations of simpleton thinking. We need to start thinking bigger, asking better questions and looking for new answers in our imaginations. There is so much innovation to define, so much we don’t understand and I believe we are on the cusp of breaking through so many barriers. In fact, I believe we are reaching a point where anything created in imagination can manifest itself in reality. From transporter beams, to force fields, humanized robots, teleportation and even light sabers. It may be science fiction now but there is no question science fiction can easily turn into science fact. It just takes imagination and a willingness to manifest that imagination into reality through innovative thinking and building the technology to make it happen. I mean we thought invisibility was impossible, guess what, some researches made the impossible, possible. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/invisibility-cloak-reality-10155544

I’m truly excited about the next 20 years. I believe there is a renaissance happening across all industries and it’s just a matter of time before our technology integrates better with nature. What happens when we build advance technology that can control weather patterns, can change molecular structures of anything from a plant to a human (we are there now)? What happens when the technology we use today can be integrated into your body, perhaps even your brain? Imaging learning a new language in minutes, imagine adding capacity to your own memory or even enhancing your physical ability through molecular or particle injections. Imagine not needing cell phones or computers to communicate. Imagine using your own brain to communicate with anyone in a neural wireless network just by thinking, not by texting or calling. It’s coming!

To all my friends in high-tech look to nature for clues, ask the right questions, search out solutions and don’t stop. Anything is possible – the future of this world depends on you and your innovations.

Microsoft recently announced the new Microsoft Surface Tablet. Thank you Microsoft and do you mind my saying about time? Seriously, why did this take so long to get out? You let Apple not only steal your original idea for the Tablet but capitalize on it to the point where the market believes Apple started the tablet  revolution. Perhaps they were the first to monetize it and make people want it. Still, let’s give credit where credit is due – Microsoft introduced the first tablet. Remember Windows XP Tablet Edition? I do and if the hardware wasn’t so slow it would have been amazing. Thank you Bill Gates for this vision – it was all you and once again you were far ahead of your time.

So I watched the Microsoft launch event on the tablet with Ballmer and his execs. What I couldn’t understand is why they didn’t go back to their tablet roots? I was dying to hear Ballmer say “we invented this category and now we are launching the future of this category.” Instead what was launched was a very clear “me too” product to the iPad. There wasn’t anything in this demo that made me want to buy Surface over the iPad when I could think of about a million reasons why I would. The launch talked more about the design of the product (who cares) versus the benefits to the customer. I just wish I could have been involved with that launch so I could have really talked about why you would want this product over an iPad or Android tablet.

Do you mind if I give you my version of what the launch should have been?

1. Ultrabook on steroids with touch: if any of you have done yourself a favor and purchased an Ultrabook you will know what I’m saying when I make this comment ‘it’s the best computer ever created.” It’s small, light, incredibly powerful, productive (full Windows) and incredibly feature rich. Now, just imagine this same product in a multi-touch tablet? Introducing Surface!
2. Detachable Keyboard: You have just got to love the genius of the detachable keyboard. It’s simple, easy to use and just works. Isn’t this how all devices should be? I just love how Surface is a tablet, a laptop and a PC all in one. It’s the perfect device.
3. Apps that matter: Let’s be honest – a lot of the gazillions of Apple apps are what I call “useless.”  What most people forget is there are millions of PC apps and the new Surface can load those. I’m not talking watered down, baby apps like you get on iPad but real apps, with large scale programs for business, for entertainment and etc. This is a big difference between iPad – this is a real, full functioning PC in a very, very small form factor.
4. iTunes: Also, it’s important to remember a couple things. As a PC you can still run iTunes if you got locked into that closed ecosystem (so you don’t lose your iTunes music collection). Also, it’s a multi-media powerhouse. You can play, edit, view and do just about everything. Sorry iPad – you can’t do that.
5. I/O: One of my biggest gripes on todays tablet devices is connectivity options. There are not enough ports, there are very little connectivity options and you end up locked as in the case of the iPad with one port. Whose stupid idea was that? Thankfully, the Surface gives you I/O ports so you can actually use the device with everything you own – printers, plug in peripherals and etc. This is a real PC remember!!!!

In spite of the horrible launch event Surface is an incredible product, it’s well thought out, it’s a productivity powerhouse and might very well be the future of the tablet. The challenge is – Microsoft needs to do a better job telling us why this is better than iPad, why this device matters and how this product can change the world. If Microsoft Surface doesn’t want to be labeled a “me too” iPad product it needs to clearly define why it’s different for the consumer. So far it’s done a dismal job. So that’s why I’m here to help – BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!

 

I have always believed technology can change the world and in many ways it has. That’s one of the reasons why I chose this field. I knew I could make an impact through creative ideas and by making those ideas come to life through a lot of hard work. Unfortunately, most great technology has been made with only one thing in mind. Profits!!! To me this is where great technology fails. Yes, there are exceptions to the rule like Linux that embrace open source ideals but even Linux has morphed into something its founding fathers never wanted. The vision I want to pass along to all of my friends in technology is thinking in terms of technology impact not only profits. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying don’t make lots of money. To the contrary, we need to make lots of money so we can reinvest, so we can make technology even better and so we can do what people like Bill Gates are doing. Giving on a scale that impacts all of humanity. He’s tackling the huge problems facing this world and has the means to make a major impact. This is what “impactful technology” can do. It can change the world.

With all the bright minds in this world we can find solutions to the big problems facing this world like hunger, extreme poverty, food shortages, clean water, free education, limitless free energy and free communication for everyone. We should all be ashamed at ourselves for letting starvation or extreme poverty exist; we should not let latitude or longitude determine life or death. Every single problem we face in this world is a problem that technology can have a hand in fixing but in the end technology takes people willing to give time, resources, energy to create.

Here is an example of how technology can make a difference. When I first developed CRAM the problem was solving the piracy and data-theft problem for Hollywood / Business. We solved the problems, developed some great technology and were fast on our way to making big profits. Along the way we started asking much bigger questions. How can we use this technology to make an impact? How can we use this for the betterment of mankind / womankind? Then the BIG idea came. We can place education anywhere in the world on our secure devices and run entire classrooms right from our device. So we took a great idea and morphed into something that can make a big difference. Right now CRAM has the ability to deliver education anywhere in the world, regardless of Internet. We can literally change entire countries by giving them education, in a way that is engaging, relevant and affordable. This is how you can take great tech and make it even better. I cannot wait to see what amazing seeds we can sew by delivering education to those thirsty for knowledge all around the world. So now we have great technology but also technology that can impact many on a global scale.

I challenge all my technology and scientific friends to find ways to make an impact with their ideas, inventions and technology. Together we can and will make this world a better place. Imagine solving the problems of starvation, war, financial inequality and health. Every single problem facing this world can be solved – we just need people willing to invest in the technology, ideas and solutions to make a difference. Big things can happen “if” we come together!!!

Well, we all know the “cloud has issues” and it took another major hit this week when LinkedIn announced that all of it’s member passwords were hacked (including mine). Dangit – that was such a great password. It’s also my belief the hackers took even more than just passwords but LinkedIn wont admit how bad it really is just yet. It’s that whole “can you really trust the cloud problem” they hope to avoid. My guess is this was a catastrophic breach, and soon we will discover the full extent. Although, LinkedIn may want to bury this quickly so people don’t jump ship!

Nobody, should be mad at LinkedIn for this breach. They use the best security money can buy, in fact, the same stuff every other large corporation uses. They have the best consultants, the best hardware (firewalls, CISCO routers), they have the best policies / procedures and the best security software around. None of it works because the cloud cannot be secured. Period, end of story! This should be a wake up call for companies that have precious data like patents, schematics, engineering specifications, scientific data, sensitive legal information, large volumes of customer or business data. The reality is – none of it is safe if it touches the Internet. We simply cannot trust the Internet or the cloud anymore. Yes, this is even you Mr. CTO who thinks because you spend millions on security you are secure. YOU ARE NOT! It’s time to wake up and admit there is a problem. In fact, I believe the unsecure Internet / Cloud is one of the biggest problems facing this country, our companies, our government / military and our people. This is not about hacking, this is about national security and protecting our national interests. Not admitting there is a problem is the biggest part of the problem. If you don’t believe me just see the latest breaches from the Military, Government, Symantec, Lockheed Martin, JPL, NASA, Google, Microsoft, Sony, Facebook, and now LinkedIn. They all share the same problem – nothing they can do will prevent data leakage, brute force hacks, SQL injections, packet sniffing, and all the other forms of hacking. The sad reality is good hackers can do anything, get anything and there is nothing you can do to stop it other than using new forms of digital delivery like my company CRAM. We have solved the “if you can touch it, you can steal it” problem the Internet faces.

Back to the hacking of LinkedIn. Here is what they had to say and trust me it was vague for a reason. They simply have no idea how it happened. Troubling.

Dear Daren Klum,

We recently became aware that some LinkedIn passwords were compromised and posted on a hacker website. We immediately launched an investigation and we have reason to believe that your password was included in the post.

To the best of our knowledge, no email logins associated with the passwords have been published, nor have we received any verified reports of unauthorized access to any member’s account as a result of this event. While a small subset of the passwords was decoded and published, we do not believe yours was among them.

The security of your account is very important to us at LinkedIn. As a precaution, we disabled your password, and advise you to take the following steps to reset it. If you reset your password in the last two days, there is no need for further action.

1. Type http://www.linkedin.com/settings directly into your browser

2. Type in your email address and press Sign In, no password necessary

3. Follow the on-screen directions to reset your password

Note: Do not reuse your old password when creating your new password.

If you have been using your old LinkedIn password on other sites, we recommend that you change those passwords too. We appreciate your immediate attention to resetting your password and apologize for the inconvenience.

Thank you,

The LinkedIn Team

Minnesota, a place known for 10,000 lakes, the birthplace of the Mississippi, home of Mary Tyler Moore, Prince and my Minnesota Twins. We have a reputation as well educated, hard working and conservative. Minnesota has been ranked as one of the top places to live in the country and if you are raising a family you can’t get much better. What you may not know is Minnesota has always been a sleepy, quiet, tech-town that does big things globally. Just look at what sits here – a huge military technology complex (ATK, 3M, Honeywell, Cypress Semiconductor, General Defense/ BEA Systems, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics AIS) and the list goes on. This state is also home to huge tech players  (Cray, Unisys, IBM, Micron, Seagate, Compellent (Dell), Cyprus Semiconductor) and I’m not just talking satellite offices. Also, the biotech world lives in Minnesota – we all know the companies Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Mayo, EnteroMedics, Minnetronix, United Healthcare and on an on. We also can’t forget really cool tech companies like Destineer Studios / Mac Soft, Magnet 360, Best Buy, and the growing community of high-tech start ups. With all these great companies come some of the brightest minds in the world. This town is chalked full of brilliant tech talent and I’m constantly reminded each day just how many smart people call this place home.

What has surprised me the most is the spirit of innovation growing in this town. I’m just blown away by the great entrepreneurs I’m meeting here that have amazing ideas, incredible creative talent and a willingness to make BIG things happen. It’s really exciting to see. We also have great contributors to the technology ecosystem like the MHTA, COCO, Tech{Dot}MN, Angel Pollenation and the Minnesota Cup. A legal system from places like Messerli Kramer, Gray Plant Mooty, Dorsey and a patent engine from places like Fogg & Powers, HSML, Schwegman Lundberg. All these great people walk the walk, talk the talk!! I cannot say enough about the ecosystem that are helping the entrepreneurs get their companies going. There are a lot of great support systems and some of the best people you will ever meet.

The challenge for Minnesota is we are very humble people. We don’t like tooting our own horn and we let places like Silicon Valley get all the attention. It’s sad because we have so much here that the country doesn’t know. Maybe it’s better that way – we can just be silent and let our work do our talking. Still, I think Minnesota doesn’t get the credit it’s due and I think once we start advertising our successes we can start attracting more money to help fund some of the amazing new innovation and companies coming from this town. A lot of the blame for the lack of awareness in my mind comes from our State Government. They do a horrible job marketing Minnesota as a tech hotbed and they certainly do a horrible job helping new companies grow. That however is another blog post.

Technosota will continue to lead the world in innovation, will continue to grow as a community and will continue to astound. In spite of the funding shortfalls. We just need some big wins from some new companies to help attract more investment to this town. Minnesota has a real problem funding it’s start ups and it’s systemic. Don’t get me wrong there are some strong funding sources in this town but there just isn’t enough. In fact, the investment community is so bad here that it’s common knowledge if you want money go to Silicon Valley or head to the East Coast. This to me is very sad. Lets go Minnesota – support your future. Without continued investments in new ventures we lose our edge, we don’t have a strong job base and you’ll see the unemployment numbers in this town grow. Especially, as the big companies start shedding jobs like they are doing today at Medtronic, General Mills. We cannot lean on the big enterprises to carry all the weight in this town. We need start ups that are thriving and growing. We need a system that values start ups, supports them and incubates these great companies. Yes, there will be some failures along the way, yes not every deal will become blockbuster but I know more will succeed than will fail. One thing I do know is if we don’t start circulating money into these start ups we are all doomed. Jobs create revenue, revenue gets circulated and in the end we all win when start ups win. Yes, even our State wins because it gets more tax revenues. Our entire system relies on start ups and I’m hoping this State remembers just how important supporting small business is for our overall success. Silicon Valley understands this and just look at what’s happening. A LOT! We need that same kind of ecosystem here – who is with me? Lets get it done!!

There are so many amazing technology companies in this world and we all know the names. Google, Apple, Oracle, Microsoft, Dell, HP, Cisco, Toshiba, Seagate, and big blue IBM. However, a sneaky, quiet, company called Micron has been developing important technology at a rate that puts it’s patent portfolio on an even higher plane than IBM. I know – it’s pretty hard to believe. See the recent article from IEEE Spectrum for details: http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/hardware/patent-power

What most people don’t know is Micron has a large presence here in Minnesota and it’s growing. I had the good fortune to see one of their development labs in North Minneapolis that was chalked full of incredible innovation. People have no idea this is even here. What I was most impressed with were the wonderful people, the bright minds and the companies dedication to innovation. If I were a betting man I would start placing some bets on this incredible company. Soon they will get the credit they so richly deserve for the years of technology thought leadership and innovation. If people even knew what they were doing Micron would be one of the most talked about technology think-tanks in the country. Certainly with a growing patent portfolio, tremendous products and a model that works I really like this company. I just wish they would do a better job of marketing themselves. This is a classic example of “who are you again? Oh, you are that company – wow!”

Who doesn’t remember this quote, “Dude, you’re getting a Dell.” There is no question at one time Dell was the darling of Wallstreet. It was the “it” company, that had the hot handed young CEO that was incapable of making mistakes. It took on the establishment and won. In fact, it took on IBM, HP and kicked their butts in every category. Very few companies can ever say they beat the industry titans and Michael Dell’s tenacity was a big reason why it happend. Then like all great success stories Michael Dell left the company to semi-retire, a new CEO took the helm and the company just wasn’t the same. Perhaps it’s because Michaels DNA was attached to the company and honestly if you have ever met Michael you know what I’m saying. He’s a very dynamic person. Dynamic guys always make things happen, especially when they are focused on the customers. Michael is violently focused on customers – that’s why I really like him as a CEO. So as the story goes Michael comes back, does a house cleaning and has been quietly acquiring new companies ever since. What is going on in Austin? Sure there are murmurs, occasional acquisitions and infomercials on HSN. Where is the loud n’ proud, somewhat cocky Dell? Where is the Dell with an attitude, the well-oiled marketing machine and the dude? Well, I will tell you – they have been gearing up for the next few years where they will literally dominate today’s business and consumer. When I say dominate – just watch revenues over the next couple years (can you say hockey stick??). It will be a clinic on how to run a company. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at why?

1. Business: It’s very clear Dell wants to own the business markets. Not just the hardware that drive business but the total solutions. Just look at the acquisitions:

• Storage – Compellent and EqualLogic
• Cloud Integration – Boomi
• SaaS Security – SecureWorks
• Managed Services – KACE
• Networking – Sonicwall

Sure, Dell isn’t going to give up on hardware (you need it) but you can tell Michael is seeing total solutions and services. The fuel for his future growth in the enterprise. Michael is a smart enough guy to see the needs of business and how all the pieces fit together (hardware, software, cloud, security and storage). He’s really picked up some winning companies that complete a very comprehensive solution for business. How this all gets sewn together is going to be interesting. However, if Michael plays his cards right he can kill EMC, own the cloud, and deliver services unlike anyone in the industry. I see a sharp increase in revenue coming in Dell’s future if they can pull this new business strategy off.

2. Consumer growth: With the release of Windows 8 many companies will benefit but none more than Dell. The combination of low-cost PC’s, laptops, tablets will drive revenue and also new business opportunities open up for upgrades. This all means a banner year for Dell. Anytime there is a major turn for the OS, so does PC shipments. For whatever reason people feel they need new computers with new OS’s. This is a good thing that will certainly drive Dell’s hockey stick growth in the coming year. The key for Dell on the consumer side is leveraging its relationship with retailers / e-tailers, continuing product design excellence and maintaining price superiority. If they can do that – they win big in bank deposits. The biggest obstacle on the consumer side of Dell is Apple and the (App+content) model. We know content and applications sell hardware. If Dell doesn’t get a “UNIQUE” content solution with incredible value I fear for their consumer business. There are companies like Apple and now Google that will have far more valuable offerings for the consumer. Also, rumor has it Facebook is also getting into the Hardware space with Facebook phone. Dell has got to compete unless it can reinvent itself with PC’s somehow.

3. Mobile Strategy: I’m a betting man so I’ll place a bet. 2012 will be the year Dell steps into the mobile arena with both feet by offering business class devices that tie back into cloud services from Dell. With most of today’s cloud being driven by Dell servers it’s only logical that Dell gets into the mobile phone, mobile tablet game that is directly linked to the cloud infrastructure they offer business. As we all know Blackberry is failing, and now is the time for Dell to step into the ring with a “secure” mobile platform for business that crushes any offering in the market. They also need to fuel this growth area and I see them targeting on emerging markets like China that will fuel growth. Also, lets not forget the American economy is coming back and if Dell can produce some devices consumers / business want in the mobile space it stands to gain big time.

** Keys for Dell:  On the business side Dell needs to continue creating “turnkey” business solutions that combine hardware / software bundles and are built in highly secure platforms. Dell also needs to expand it’s consulting base to help companies integreate these solutions and solve business problems. The key to  business success for Dell is 1 on 1 relationships, building trust with the customers and solving their technical problems. If Dell makes “technology” easy and connects with customers it’s sales will skyrocket. On the consumer side Dell needs to continue investing in product design and making products customers want. They need to be tight followers on product trends (I would also like to see Dell become an innovator but I know I’m asking a lot) and then win by lowering the price of entry or by offering more software. Price and product design are the two hot buttons for consumers. As we all know performance is subjective and for many a PC is a PC is a PC.  Dell needs to take some calculated risks like they seem to be doing with Mobile and leverage their ties to business class devices / service. Also, I would like to see Dell get involved in the content game. As Apple has proved – entertainment drives device sales. I think Dell needs digital content in it’s ecosystem because as much as Hardware is great content is king. Content drives the need for devices and if Dell doesn’t move quickly they may find the consumer only wants Apple because that’s where they can get the content they want. Overall Dell’s success comes down to execution and I know with Michael Dell leading the charge they have a plan and will execute flawlessly.

I know Dell has taken some major hits in the past on quality, not innovating, being the low cost provider and losing its wow-factor. Well, I have news for you – Dell hasn’t gone anywhere and you will see major growth in the coming year especially as the markets stabilize, new OS’s launch like Windows 8 and they offer new services to business. This is a company that knows how to make money, it’s led by one of the best CEO’s around and this company cares about customers. I see good things on the horizon for Dell and don’t be surprised if Dell is named company of the year in 2012. It’s totally possible with everything they are doing. Also, with some better marketing I think Dell can get back it’s “dude” coolness it once had.

It’s another bad day for the cloud and the Internet. It’s been confirmed that 1.5 million credit cards were stolen when Global Payments was hacked recently. That’s just the number that Global Payments is willing to admit. The number could go much higher as agencies are looking into the details. Just another example of how unsecure the Internet is and how little we can do to stop hacking.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/over-15-million-visa-mastercard-credit-card-numbers-stolen/11755?tag=nl.e550

 

The cloud is the current trend and as it’s use spreads so does the risk. Contrary to what anyone in the security industry say’s the cloud simply cannot be secured and poses major risks for the global marketplace. Here are two warnings that every consumer and business must heed!

1. A major hacking of the cloud is coming that will have tremendous economic, business and consumer impact.

As the cloud grows in popularity the organized crime syndicates and hacktivists will set it’s targets on big data. 2012 will see exponential growth in hacking as online crime explodes and starts impacting business / consumers. Hacking is quickly turning into a lucrative business by very well organized governments, crime syndicates and hacking groups. As well, hacking is now being used as a weapon.

Throughout the past few years digital security has been a problem and most consumers / businesses are aware of the issues. However, that big event hasn’t occurred yet that changes online behavior. 2012 will mark the year behaviors change as the hacking starts coming with big headlines that have major consequences and impact.

What if that “egomaniac” ends up being a Chinese spy, an Iranian agent or even some al Qaeda sympathizer? Any of them could try to launch an attack on our electrical grid, air traffic control systems or even on major Internet exchanges.

A cyber-war type of breach is going to send government and business officials alike scrambling to deploy new technology but as we all know the Internet simply cannot be secured. If you can touch it, you can steal it!

2. Collateral hacking becomes a serious security threat

What is collateral hacking? Essentially, cyber-crooks (or even agents of espionage) have a specific target in their sites, but they need to hack their way through third parties to get at that target. The term “collateral hacking” also points to one of the main effects of this sort of attack: widespread collateral damage.

For instance, Chinese attacks on Google, WikiLeaks classified information dumps and Anonymous attacks have all caused plenty of collateral damage. That’s not really terribly new. After all, DDOS attacks have caused collateral damage for years.

What is new, according to Hugh Thompson, RSA Conference program committee chair, is that in 2012 we will see more sophisticated collateral hacking, where cyber-attackers attempt to compromise cloud service provider to go after one company’s data, but, in the process, attackers get access to another company’s data.

“There is a growing sophistication of cybercriminals. Cybercrime groups now work like companies–they think about return on investment. Spending some effort to go after a big pool of data can yield a high ROI,” Thompson said.

One of the things I love about technology are the trends and all the big revolutions. We know them well – mainframe, distributed computing, centralized data, decentralized data, e-commerce, social, this or that as a service, and the new trend the almighty cloud. So honestly what is the cloud? Almost everyone I know has a different definition of the cloud and it’s almost like saying the word e-commerce. It means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Here is the true definition of the cloud as described by NIST the United States, scientific standards (and definitions) group – the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

In order to be considered cloud, a service must be (at a minimum):

1. On-demand self-service – A consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with each services provider.” Quite often, these actions are also done without any human interaction on the client’s side as well (the Cloud-aware application allocates resources for itself and releases them back when they are no longer needed).
2. Resource pooling – The provider’s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand.” This pooling of unused resources allows the provider to rapidly shift resources between different consumers’ workloads, providing consumers with rapid access to additional resources by demand.
3. Rapid elasticity – Capabilities can be rapidly and elastically provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out and rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be purchased in any quantity at any time.” Just to dispel some false claims: by rapid we mean within seconds to minuets (not in days as some not-so-cloud providers offer), and an interesting interpretation of unlimited I ran across is “Allowing the consumer to provision 1000 times the minimum amount of resources”.

So why is there so much confusion over the cloud? Well, it comes from having too many different varities. You have private clouds, community clouds, public clouds, hybrid clouds, personal clouds and offline clouds. With so many different types of clouds it’s easy to see where people get confused. Here is what they all mean:

• Private cloud – The cloud infrastructure is operated solely for an organization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party and may exist on premise or off premise.
• Community cloud – The cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third party and may exist on premise or off premise.
• Public cloud – The cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services.
• Hybrid cloud – The cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting for load-balancing between clouds).
• Personal Cloud – The cloud infrastructure is generally housed in a singular device under the control of the user. This device generally attaches to the Internet and allows the user to distribute their content, applications and data accross a network.
• Offline Cloud – The cloud infrastructure is containerized withing the confines of the company and doesn’t utilize any connectivity to outside networks or shared networks. This type of cloud is the only way to secure digital content and ultimately when other forms of the cloud become too exposed for security

I thought this might clear up some misconceptions about the cloud and give you a better understanding of what the cloud really is. Still, the challenge with the cloud remains security. As much as it’s great to share, move data online, have convenience and give consumers / business data ubiquity it does come at a price. The cloud cannot be secured and heed this warning “it’s just a matter of time before you get hacked!” Mainly because if you can touch it, you can steal it. With the Internet you can touch it, meaning you can hack whatever goes on it or connects to it. The fall of the cloud as we know will be three things – big brother, privacy and the rise of hackers. CRAM will be the solution and the first company to offer offline data delivery, cloud capability without the need for the cloud.

 

A few weeks ago I went to a friend’s house to watch the College Basketball Championships on his newly installed 100 inch projection television system. Yes, you heard that right – one hundred inches of sheer HD perfection. What blew me away was the quality of the image (as good as my Samsung 40 inch HDTV), the black, blacks, white, whites and the fact it was done from an affordable projector from Epson. After picking my jaw off the floor I found out that this affordable system also did HD 3D as well. I don’t have to tell you what watching TV is like on a 100 inch screen – totally stunning. As I sat in awe I found out how much he paid and I just about keeled over in my chair. The whole system including the screen was sub $1,500. As you can imagine that got my wheels turning and I started thinking about what I might do at my house.

As I started my creative brainstorm I decided I wanted to do something very unique and if pulled off properly would make me the envy of my kids. Probably not my wife but she always comes around when she sees my technology in action. My idea is to bring the IMAX experience to my home. Imagine watching TV, doing email in a totally immersive environment that totally surrounds you. Imagine being able to place things in any direction and see them. Just imagine the size of a desktop that wraps around you. Do I have your attention? I’m nerding out just thinking about it. So I did a little research and found the pieces I needed to make this dream come true.

1. HARDWARE – like any platform you need a base computer. For the sake of my system I’m going to build up an el’ cheapo Intel box with a couple high-end video cards. The key to a 3 projector system is high-end graphic cards in SLI. SLI means for non-techies “scalable link interface.” In laymen’s terms the ability to link tighter two, three or four graphics cards to share the work load when rendering a video frame. As you can imagine projecting a massive wrap around screen requires a lot of video horse power so you need very good graphic cards. I personally like Nvidia versus Crossfire from AMD and have had great luck with the manufacturer EVGA. For my DIY system I’m looking at the EVGA GTX 560 PCI Express cards at roughly $209 per card. It’s by no means the highest end cards but they will do the job without breaking my bank.
2. VIDEO SOFTWARE – you cannot do 180 degree screens or monster wide screens without software to help stitch together the video image on the screen. As you can imagine you need to stretch the video images to make them look right on the screen (depending on your screen set-up). A few software options are NTHUSIM (http://www.nthusim.com) that is a free software application you can use with Windows 7. Also, at the NTHUSIM website you can see how someone made a dome home theater setup for a true 360 degree viewing implementation. The other company is UniVisual Technologies that created the software called Warpalizer (http://www.univisual.se/windowwall/). Another more expensive option is a company called Pixelwix (http://pixelwix.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Pixelwarp).
3. PROJECTION: The next thing you need are three projectors or one if you just want a single 100 inch screen. For the sake of this project I’m going to use 3 Epson 8350’s on arm mounted brackets above the screen to get 180 degrees of video.
4. SCREEN: The last thing is the screen. Everyone has different screen preferences and for my IMAX at home experience I want a full-wrap around screen. To do this I’m using the Pixelwix curved screen. I can do a full globe screen but they will set you back $3,000. Whereas this monster screen plus 3 projector arms system comes in at around $429. http://pixelwix.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Pixelwarp%5FDT

*** It’s important to note setting up the calibration is going to be the toughest part of this set-up. If you are not good with software and don’t have the patience to set-up the image right you might lose your mind with this project. There are companies that can do this for you unfortunately it comes at a cost. A big one.

There you have it – one of the most fun DIY virtual reality set-ups for home that you will ever find. Imagine a monster screen, in HD, for work, for play or for watching a movie or TV. The sky is the limit and I assure you this will be in my basement by year end. Even if my wife kills me!

If you were to read the news lately about consumer electronics retailers like Best Buy you would think the apocalypse was coming. You would think that people don’t shop at retail anymore and big box retailers like Best Buy are dying to the hands of Amazon. We have all heard the nicknames for Best Buy (Best Browse or Bash Buy). I have news for you – retail isn’t dead nor is Best Buy! I love Best Buy – come on who doesn’t? Seriously, you don’t love getting your geek on at Best Buy? I know I do and I have been a loyal customer for many years. Has the company seen better days – absolutely – but the company isn’t dead. It’s just transitioning.  

Here is what I know. The demand for consumer electronics retailers isn’t going away, it will increase dramatically and mainly because technology consumers need a place to learn / touch / feel the newest technology. Customers will continue to need “high-tech solutions for home, business, personal or family.” Personally, I think Best Buy needs to do a better job of connecting with customers and investing in the workforce so there are better customer interactions. That’s the key. Not browse, get haggled and leave. I laugh at the pundits who say consumer electronics retailers are going to die. Has anyone looked at Apple lately? Every analyst in the world is hailing Apples new stores as the engine that drives the company. Apple stores have seen an 80% increase in sales volume from just a year ago and has racked up sales over $4.6 billion. Technology retail is dead? Really? It’s a huge lie!!

So what is Apple doing differently that Best Buy is not? To me it starts with the foundation of the store. At Apple you are happily greeted at the door by someone that asks “how can I help you.” If you say “nothing” you simply go into the store to touch, feel, use and learn. If you have questions or need deeper answers a Genius is close by to help. If you want to buy something – you buy right on the spot – the mobile cash registers are amazing. The reason why people go to Apple is the purchase experience has been perfected, the products look amazing and the Geniuses for the most part do a good job selling (not necessarily answering highly technical questions). Apple simply does a better job connecting with customers – that’s the key for Apple. Also, I think the people at Apple feel they are special – there is a certain “Apple attitude” that gets pushed down to the people in the company. That swagger comes off in the consumer interactions and helps sell products. Attitude is everything in sales. Even with some of Apples advantages I still do my shopping at Best Buy. Why? It’s very simple – selection, convenience and price.

I certainly don’t want to compare Best Buy to Apple and I also don’t want to slam Best Buy. Frankly, I love Best Buy and have many friends that work for the company. So it’s very hard to see the unwarranted slamming of the company by the media and how quickly everyone is turning on the company. It’s kind of sad especially when I know how hard people are working at the company to do a good job. The good news is I think Best Buy can make some adjustments that will turn things around quickly and get the company moving in the right direction. My thoughts are:

1)       Leadership: When Best Buy was founded it was led by a great man and an excellent team. Dick Shultz took this company from an idea, built a customer focused team, built a great company and then gave back to the community / beyond. Including donating over $50M to the University of St. Thomas. Dick had integrity and that unflappable integrity passed down the ranks of the company. The Best Buy I loved was focused on customers, was about making a good deal and not shoving extended warranty plans down my throat. There was a care for the customer that was conveyed at every store interaction (this came from the top – down and was drilled into everyone’s brain). To me “leadership” will play a big role in the future of Best Buy and most importantly earning back the trust of the customer. Without customer trust you have nothing and without a leader that can push that agenda I fear for Best Buy’s future. I also think great leaders share a vision for the company that everyone can rally around. Dick Shultz did this like no other leader – everyone believed! Best Buy needs a leader that can get people to believe again and get them to follow a new crusade. Best Buy needs the fighting spirit that says “customer I want you back and will do whatever it takes to earn your trust.” Do you feel that today? I don’t but I know it will change once new leadership is in place. I’m excited to see who they get.

2)      Customer connection: People buy products and at the end of the day Best Buy has to focus all its energy on the customer and the guys / gals in blue shirts. Sales are won / lost on the show floor and Best Buy has to start putting more qualified people on the floor. In fact, I would eliminate the blue shirts and trade them for the guys wearing black, white and orange. You need the GEEK SQUAD on the show floors because they know the technology, they know how it works and that is what sells. Not a teenager that reads the box with you and then tries to upsell you all kind of warranties / promotions to win sales points. This isn’t how you grow sales. You grow sales by connecting with customers, building relationships, educating customers on the technology (providing  value, insight, truth) and showing them value. If Best Buy invested in the sales reps and rewarded them for servicing not upselling they would see a 180 degree turn around in sales, customer satisfaction and overall attitude in the stores. Lastly, is it just me or are you guys turned off by the security guard bunker at the front door? I recognize retail theft is a big problem but putting a security center at the front door sends such a bad message to the customer. I would get rid of the booth, and have a greeter at the door that welcomes you to the store. Not a security guard that sizes you up, has a camera tracking system that watches your every move and makes you feel like a criminal for shopping at the store. It’s little things like this that can change the shopping experience in the stores.

3)      Better Marketing: for a multi-billion dollar company Best Buy has to start investing in the “cool factor.” To me Best Buy feels stale, corporate and out of touch with the market. Yes, the blue flyers in the newspapers are nice but the company has got to start branding itself “cool.” They have to get into the hearts and minds of the customer. They have to start doing powerful integrated sales / marketing plans that hit the hot buttons for consumers. The only way Best Buy can do this is by having conversations with the market, speaking their language and understanding what they really want in the shopping experience. Listening to the market is the key for Best Buy right now. I believe Best Buy has a huge advantage over Amazon and needs to market from a position of strength not weakness. Physical locations around the world is a big deal and they need to leverage every single square foot of that store. Including the creation of home office centers, live technology demos (how to use tech) and techonlogy solutions for (home, personal, business).

4)      Service, service, service: You win customers by selling solutions and you keep them coming back by servicing the heck out of them. Best Buy has a customer service problem and this is really why I think Best Buy has troubles. The cost of upset customers will kill you and push them to other places like Amazon, Costco, WalMart that all have better return policies. Best Buy needs to accept returns without making the customer feel bad and without the dreaded restocking fees. It turns off the customers and makes them not come back the next time.

5)      Address negative market perceptions: There is a perception that retailers like Amazon have lower pricing because they don’t have to pay for physical storefronts like Best Buy. This is why so many say “I’ll browse the item at Best Buy and then go to Amazon.com to buy it cheaper.” Best Buy has got to address this issue in marketing and let customers know it’s simply not true. The mass market buys on price and perception. Right now the perception is Best Buy is a higher priced retailer when it’s simply not true. Best Buy has got to dispel this untruth in order to win back customers and offer “a little extra” to win the deal. To me the little extra is “local” service something Amazon cannot offer or even come close to offering. Also, Best Buy should be talking up the fact each store is really nothing more than a warehouse. So they blend the best of web, with the best of retail. They have got to remind customers they have a great online store too and Amazon / New Egg are not the only places to get tech.

6)      Owning the digital market: It’s very fair to say Best Buy missed out on digital distribution age because of the investments they made in physical disk (movies / music). They let iTunes grow when it should have been Best Buy leading the digital charge and very quietly Apple has taken over the entertainment industry. A very scary thought! Best Buy was late to the game, made some bad moves like buying Napster for way too much and lost out on that market. The good news is Best Buy through “innovation” can win back the digital market but it has to do something “innovative” to draw in customers. Like what CRAM offers – an all you can eat buffet of digital content for one small monthly fee. The only way you can beat Apple is to offer a lease /access content model versus making someone buy a whole new digital catalog song by song on another platform. Another streaming service isn’t going to do it and the “me too” products will die against well entrenched systems like iTunes. If Best Buy doesn’t quickly embrace new digital content delivery models like my company CRAM it may wake up in a totally Apple or Microsoft dominated world. Content drives what devices people use. Best Buy has to make acquiring digital content easy for the customer and it needs a highly differentiated content model. Steaming isn’t the place – they need their own ecosystem – CRAM could provide that solution. Cinema Now isn’t that solution and it has to comit to a new content model or risk huge losses in the future. If Best Buy doesn’t win the content disribution war it risks so much and will allow other companies to beat them long-term. Best Buy has got to reclaim the digital content delivery market quickly and they can only do it with new innovations like CRAM.

The great news is Best Buy still has amazing revenue, great people working at the company and will get past this tough time. The changes needed to get the company back on track are slight and I truly believe Best Buy can win back it’s swagger. It just has to get a charismatic leader, start thinking in terms of customer connections, new products and showing thought leadership in technology  by taking some risks on new products. Doing the same things and expecting different results will be the downfall of the company. Also, relying solely on outside manufacturers is a huge risk. Somewhere along the way Best Buy has to get into solutions and spending money on integrating technology in exciting new ways. It’s a shift in mindset that I hope the company can make. BEST BUY needs some mojo but certianly don’t count them out. They are afterall still the largest electronics retailer in the world and they need to start acting like it in all they do. Start executing like a leader and stop being a victim of the medias attacks. GO ON THE OFFENSIVE – GO BEST BUY!!!

What will 2012 see in the world of technology? If you believe in Clarke’s three laws you would believe the following:

1) When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he/she is almost certainly right. When he/she states that something is impossible, he/she is very probably wrong.

2) The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.

3) Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

So that all being said it’s very clear that 2012 will be an exciting year for technology and not just because of Clarke’s law. Why? Well, for starters there is a massive convergence with all the devices you own and we are reaching a point where devices are getting really good at talking to each other, cross platform and on any screen. We are also seeing the “CAD printer” revolution that is dramatically changing how things are made and the precision at which things are made. We are seeing our technology get faster, more capable, smarter and of course smaller. We are also seeing the rise of social media, software as a service and everything turning to the cloud. Advances in material sciences combined with compute power are slowly making anything we can imagine possible. With so many changes, advances and innovations how on earth can anyone make a prediction? Things are moving at the speed of light – perhaps even faster!

Well, here are at least some of my predictions for 2012:

Cloudburst: the cloud is advancing faster than our ability to secure the cloud and without security the cloud will be a major failure. From social networking to corporate data the temptation to reach out to cheap, easy and cloud based storage is compelling. Until you really understand the lack of security and how your data is a sitting duck. Just as the market discovered the risks of the early mainframe (remember big brother??) so too will the market realize the implications of the cloud. The cloud as fluffy and cute as it may seem comes with major risks, the kind of risks that can kill the cloud. I believe the cloud in it’s current form is dead unless some new security technology can be created.  I believe there will be a massive shift to personal clouds that users control and can access from anywhere.

Social media cools off: You can see it happening right now. The use of social media is slowing for new upstarts like FourSquare and companies like Facebook. Social networking isn’t going away but I believe investors won’t fuel this market anymore especially because revenues haven’t lived up to the hype and many thousands of these startups are dying in the vine. The big growth for this market is long gone and most of the people I know are getting sick of tweeting, posting and updating. At some point people will do what they did in the old days – use the phone and actually communicate!

People start buying 3D TV’s: A couple years ago was hailed as the year of 3D TV. All the major manufacturers placed huge bets on 3D and guess what happened. Nobody came! For the most part 3D has been a big flop and for a couple reasons. First cost, the TV’s are a premium to their 2D counterparts and the market has been more fickle than ever on price. Second, nobody wants to wear 3D glasses and for the most part 3D has been until now an always on features. The market wants to turn on or off 3D depending on the situation. Well, great news!  The major TV manufactures have perfected glassless 3D, and you will have the capability on the next generation of TV’s to adjust the TV from 2D to 3D just like you tune color balance or audio fade. Trust me when I say – this will throttle the sales needle. Again, it takes listening to customers and the market has said “I don’t want 3D all the time, and I don’t want to wear glasses.” So you will see in 2012 the first TV’s that are the product of listening to the market.

The year of Microsoft: I told a couple friends two years ago to pick up Microsoft stock. They all laughed at me and said “why would I buy stock in that technology dinosaur?” Well, as I predicted Microsoft has reimaged itself, and has very quietly turned into one of the coolest high-flyers in the market. From the browser BING, to Kinects, to the new Microsoft Business Centers. This company is hitting on all cylinders and is getting its swagger back as the most admired company in the world. You may think Apple but my money is on Microsoft! Also, I believe Windows 8 is a major step in the right direction but has some issues they need to work through. If they listen to the market Windows 8 has the potential to blow off the shelves. The PC isn’t dead contrary to what Apple says.

Ultrabooks dominate: As a proud owner of a new Toshiba Ultrabook I can tell you they are amazing devices. They have the high-end speed of incredibly expensive computers from years back but have the light weight of tablets. The brilliant designs, capability, high features and low prices will make these sell like hot-cakes. Today you can pick up a well featured Ultrabook for around $800 and you can expect that price to drop by mid-summer. I predict the super slim Ultrabooks will be everywhere as we move into the 2012 school year. Apple will have an incredibly hard time moving it’s highly overpriced gear that in many cases has less features, less software and less capability.

Hacking to explode: 2012 will be an unprecedented year of hacking. Largely because Governments are getting into the hacking business and using the Internet as a weapon. With the code from viruses like Stuxnet readily available for hackers to download it’s a scary time to be on the Internet.  http://thehackernews.com/2011/07/stuxnet-source-code-released-online.html The power of worms like Stuxnet change the game in terms of what the bad guys can do against our very weak defenses. I predict both corporate espionage, consumer data theft will reach all-time highs and very soon everyone you know will have to deal with fraud in both banking, credit cards and social information. Unfortunately, as much as the data security experts feel they have a handle on the problem they don’t and it’s only getting worse. I believe the tipping point will come in 2013 when hacking becomes such a big problem it threatens our countries prosperity and financial systems.

UI becomes UE: A lot of money has been spent on developing user interfaces (UI) that give the consumer a great experience when using technology. I predict we will still create engaging applications but will focus most of our time on user experience (UE). Knowing how our customers engage with our solutions will be the key to deploying new technologies in the future. What it does will supplant how it looks.

God particle found: Most nerds like me are enthralled with the largest science experiment ever created CERN! The Hadron Particle Collider has reach full power and is making discoveries that are mind blowing. It was announced they found particles that move faster than the speed of light (blowing away Einstein’s theory of relativity) and have discovered new particle dynamics that answer the questions of “what holds you together.” The most elusive particle is what we call the “God particle or the Higgs Boson.” It is believe if we can find and isolate this particle we will be able to understand specifically how matter works and what gives everything mass. I don’t have to tell you about the incredible innovations that can come alive if we can control the mass of all objects. Just imagine manipulating everything around you, possibly even your own body. If we can learn to harness and control matter it literally will turn science fiction into science fact!

Data storage innovation: One of the biggest stories for 2012 will be in the area of data storage. We are quickly moving into the Petabyte world as high-capacity small drives take center stage. The race to low cost, high-capacity storage is here and I predict we will see crazy capacities in the near future. As the amount of content for 2012 is expected to exceed 2 zettabytes (2 trillion gigabytes) the need for high-capacity storage and new delivery systems will come to the forefront. A well, we know drives will be getting thinner, lighter and smaller. A big driver will be solid state adoption and pricing that lowers. Data on a chip will be a huge advancement in the coming years. However, the spindle drives are not going away anytime soon and much of the cloud data will still remain on cheap 3.5 inch drives. Along with the advent of new drive technology we will see more types of storage devices and new players coming into the market with new storage solutions. A key driver will be security and distribution.

Digital education explodes: Major Universities have resisted digital education mainly because they want student’s on campus so they make more money and many educators believe in the “classroom” model because of student to student interaction. Those days are quickly changing because of lower incomes, the rising cost of education and because so much of what you learn in schools can be done over the Internet (far more cost effective). My prediction is education turns into something you do online and while you are working. The future student will have to work, will take classes during the work day and while being at a company. The traditional leave home, go to college system will transform into leave home, get a job and go to school while you are working. The whole idea of trapping kids in classes, placing incredible financial burden on their backs and not giving them real-world knowledge application is a broken system. I believe 2012 marks the beginning of the digital school era as many Universities recognize if they don’t change their business models new schools will come online and take away marketshare. I also believe that one of the hottest forms of digital content in the future will be education. Learning how to do things hands-on and through video tutorials is where everything is going. Knowledge or education on-demand will be big  business. In many ways it already is – just look at YouTube!

Anyway, there are a lot more things I see coming for 2012 but these to me are the big highlights. It will be fun seeing if my predictions come true!

If I say the word “HACKER” it immediately brings to mind a visual image of an 18 year old kid, surrounded by empty Coke cans in the basement of his or her parents house trying to hack into a business, government or online game. In fact, as a kid my favorite movie War Games the story of a young kid that hacked into NORAD probably did a lot to label hackers in this way. The stigma of the hacker is an anti-social deviant that is a criminal and someone that is trying to do wrong in this world. Sadly, this is what most people think when they say the word “HACKER!” If you look at the literal definition of the word HACKER there are different meanings:

1. somebody accessing another’s computer without authorization: a computer user who gains unauthorized access to a computer system or data belonging to somebody else

2. computer enthusiast: somebody who is interested or skilled in computer technology and programming

3. amateur player: somebody who enjoys a sport but lacks skill in it

4. somebody who chops: somebody who cuts or chops something

Most hackers I know fall into the second category of computer / software enthisiasts that are highly skilled in their respective technologies. I don’t want to offend any other industries but some of the brightest minds I know in this world are hackers. They all share a curiosity to learn, to do amazing things and share a common ideal that the Internet should be free. It shouldn’t be owned by Governments or large corporations that try to exploit it for their benefit. As with anything in life there are good people and bad people. Hackers are no different – some are good, some are bad. Sadly we hear about the .00001% of hackers in the world that hack with criminal intentions. To me it’s such a waste to see the talents of such incredibly smart people wasting their talents trying to do criminal things when they could be spending that time making a piece of software that could change the world. Yes, I do believe software can change the world and I also believe ultimately all Hackers end up for the most part doing the right things.

The reason I’m writing this is I want people in the technology community to realize that hackers are very important, they deserve praise and without them some of the greatest companies in the world would go out of business. HACKER’S ROCK!!!

If you are like me you have visited one of the very nice Apple stores and were confronted with a “GENUIS.” Apple speak for one of their technical professionals that can answer questions or fix problems. Every time I get a genius I start asking questions that a genius should know. Things like – is the memory ECC or Non Parity (they can’t answer that)? What is the refresh rate on the screen (they can’t answer that either)? Then I ask the big question “is the MAC / OS X more secure than Windows PC?” This question always gets an answer and the answer is always wrong. The geniuses say, “The MAC operating system doesn’t get viruses like the PC.” As if the number one selling OS in the world Windows is some kind of sub-par technology. If you want to hear this same canned response go to an Apple store, find a Genius and ask the same question. I will guarantee you’ll get the same response. I do have to say that all geniuses are not created equal and there are certainly some very bright people working at Apple. I’m not questioning that – in fact Jonathan Ives is one of my favorite designers / engineers in the world other than a friend of mine in Rochester, MN. The reality is many of the geniuses are very sharp guys just tyring to make a living like me. However, they are forced to all drink the Apple cool-aid and get caught up in the Apple hype machine. Even when the information is completely false! The reality is MAC OS X is a major security risk for it’s customers and Apple’s sweeping the problem under the rug is absolutely irresponsible.

So why is the MAC OS X so unsecure when compared to the PC? First of all – Apple doesn’t believe it has a security problem, therefore they are not addressing the problem like they should. Sure they occassionally send out patch updates or new OS upgrades. But they say nothing about security and it’s truly an afterthought. Such as the case with Apple OS X. They are in complete denial their OS has a security problem. As the attached link discusses Apple has a real problem on their hands securing their very unsecure operating system and it’s magnified by not admitting it’s a problem. So when you really compare Windows PC vs. MAC OS X there is one major difference. Security. Windows is far more secure because they are honest about digital security, have done their best to prevent it and offer it’s customers a myriad of applications / updates to ensure it’s the most secure it can be. So if someone ever say’s that MAC is more safe than PC you’ll know it’s an untrue statement. As many in the high-tech world know Apple really looks pretty on the outside but unfortunately a worm ate everything worth value on the inside. Until Apple fixes the security problem do not buy a rotten Apple. 🙂

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/new-mac-malware-epidemic-exploits-weaknesses-in-apple-ecosystem/4726?tag=nl.e539

Let’s face it – if you are reading my blog you are doing it on the backs of a lot of code, incredible technology, the work of thousands of brilliant minds and most importantly some kind of OS that makes it work. In the world of the OS there are a lot of choices but one choice has been the gold standard and has made Bill Gates arguably the richest man in the world (many years in the running). WINDOWS! Love it or hate it Windows is the foundation of the digital world. I know, I said it, and all you Apple fan-boys / fan-girls can argue differently but it’s true. Windows is the dominant OS. Numbers don’t lie end of story!!

As I review the newest installation of Windows – Windows 8 – keep in mind I’m very jaded. I love Windows, have grown up on Windows and can’t think of ever replacing it for anything. But there are other options (strong options). The reality is several OS’s exist. For instance if you are someone that doesn’t understand computers there is Apple’s OS named OS-x that is aimed at user experience and making software for dummies. Contrast that with Linux that is the OS of choice for hardcore developers because of full customization, full access to the core OS and allowing the user total code control of every aspect of the OS. So long as you know how to program and use Linux commands you are good-to-go. There are many iterations of Linux like BSD, Ubuntu, Suse and Red Hat. Then there is Windows – in my opinion the best of all worlds. It’s easy to use if you want it to be, yet customizable enough to keep the techiest of techies happy. I know this is very high-level but at least you can see where Windows fits within the clutter of competition in the marketplace. To sum this up from a friend, “Apple is for idiots, Windows is for real computer users and Linux is for uber insane software engineers that hack both Windows / Mac.”

Over the past month I have been fortunate to test the new Windows 8 operating system prior to its release to the public later this year. A lot has been written about this new OS and quite frankly there is a lot of unnecessary bashing. Largely because I don’t think the reviewers understand what’s really going on behind the curtain. So let’s start from the beginning and give the good, the bad, and the ugly. Here it goes.

The new OS has a “shell” concept that allows the new “metro” interface to work on tablets, desktops, phones and etc. I don’t have to tell you the monumental task of making an interface that can make three different kinds of user’s happy (desktop, tablet, mobile). The idea of “tiles” is interesting and certainly makes it easy to use your fingers, even if you have fat fingers like me. Also, you can still use a mouse with this interface too and it works just as easily (point, click). So from that sense I really like this direction. It’s hard to be all things to all people and this interface does a nice job. I believe this will be a hit!

The bad of this new shell idea called Metro is the fact it’s kind of like the top layer of a cake. It looks pretty, works great, but you have another layer beneath that is the old Windows you used to know (kind of). I found myself constantly toggling between the two layers and found myself getting disoriented because it was hard figuring out where things were (no continuity). Especially, since the underneath layer (the old Windows desktop) had one key missing feature a start button. Yes, they took out the start menu – are you crazy? It’s the one button we have all grown to know and love! So I found myself constantly trying to find all the old things I used to know at the start-button and then have to redirect to the new Metro interface to find this information. To me it was confusing and will clearly challenge most non-power users. I think it was a mistake taking out the start button. But I have to remember, this is Beta and there will likely be some tweaking so I need to hold my breath on this topic and hope they get it right. Users will tell them it sucks and they will listen. I have to keep remembering the Metro interface is radically different and cuts ties with all the old ways of doing things. So perhaps more use will get rid of my icky feelings.

The other challenge with Metro is shutting down programs. Remember the old “X” in the corner of a Window pane? Well, it’s not there anymore and I found it confusing on how to shut down a program. Thankfully, I was demoing on a PC so I could “ctrl+alt+del” a lot to get out of running programs. Needless to say with Metro style apps there is no “X” to close the program. Instead, you have to move your pointer to the right edge of your screen, click and hold until the app screen becomes a thumbnail and then drag that thumbnail to the bottom of the screen to shut it down. Here’s the issue – there are no visual cues to help you do this. BAD IDEA GUYS!!! 99.9% of the users will never figure this out and will end up doing what I’m doing or worse having to reboot the PC to get out of a running application. You need to fix this!

Please tell me some good here Daren. Well, his OS is fast. I tested it on a new Ultrabook with SSD’s and even loaded it on my dog slow old school laptop. Both boot fast, work smoothly and have had no glitches. Bravo – after a couple months no crashes, driver conflicts or artifacting. I’m impressed! I also ran a lot of games on the platform and they run incredibly well. I don’t know if they changed the underlying code of the OS but everything seems to pop faster, work better and more smoothly. Perhaps it’s my imagination because again I have no idea what surgery they have done under the hood in places we can’t see. Things just seem to work better. Not to mention driver integration. No driver issues at all with any of my peripherals. Another monumental task.

The other thing Microsoft has done is tie the OS to the cloud. One of the things you notice quickly is the OS was clearly built on the cloud and will be tied heavily to the Microsoft server infrastructure. They want your data, they want you tied to their services and ecosystem. Very similar to Apple and Google who also chomp at the bit to get your data, profile you and use your personal data in ways you can’t even imagine. So to me the downside is knowing that anything touching this OS will likely be backed up, synched or somehow tied to the Microsoft cloud. As I have said repeatedly I don’t trust the cloud and building an OS on the backs of the cloud seems like a very dangerous proposition to me. At least with Windows 8 I feel like they haven’t thrown everything on the cloud yet and at this point it’s somewhat opt-in. However, how long can Microsoft resist the temptation of not clouditizing everything?

So what is my thought on the Windows 8 beta? It has some neat features, Metro is cool, but I found myself feeling this is not a completed product yet. I think they really need to figure out the layers of the cake, how they work together and making it a visually seamless experience throughout. I found myself lost a lot of the time, I found myself having to toggle and I found some of the features not very intuitive. To be honest as good as some of the features are in Windows 8 I like Windows 7 far better and wouldn’t make the change. However, with some minor modifications I could like Windows 8 and I believe they are at least going in the right direction with design. I really like the clean, simple interface and using the experience you would find on one of the Zune players or Windows phone. It is cool. To me 7 out of 10.

What is the bottom line for Windows 8? It’s not a finished product, it has promise but I totally expected more from the largest company in the world. This wasn’t the radical and amazing change I was hoping to see. I want Microsoft to wow me and I honestly didn’t get wowed here. More than anything it felt like a bandaid on the tablet problem (Apple is killing Microsoft with iPad) and is an attempt at being all things to everyone. As I have said in previous posts, Microsoft needs to get it’s swagger back, it needs to innovate instead of react and most importantly they need to rethink the desktop. The PC isn’t going away and they need to make the desktop a fun place to be again. It’s become stale because they haven’t continually improved on the foundation they layed with the desktop, window panes and access to your stuff. I can think of a 100 ideas for Windows that would make this way better for the user and an incredible place to live. Perhaps you should start Microsoft by looking at the bumptop to spark your imagination. http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=bumptop+demo&view=detail&mid=818A2AD2A1BF6B9A2DBE818A2AD2A1BF6B9A2DBE&first=41 Oh crap, they were acquired by Google. 🙂

The challenge for any entrepreneur young, old, experienced or inexperienced is gaining knowledge in all the necessary areas to build a great company. You cannot know everything and sadly most entrepreneurs only focus on what they know. What most high-tech entrepreneurs know is how to make remarkable technology but what most don’t understand is how to monetize the technology. As a dear friend tells me daily “nothing happens until something sells.” In fact, that quote is taped to my computer monitor so I am reminded every day of this business truth.

So how on earth do you learn how to market a high-tech product when you have never done it? If you are like me in my early days as an entrepreneur I went to Barnes & Noble to buy my MBA in the form of books like:

• Art of the Start
• Mavericks at Work
• Groundswell
• Purple Cow, Free Prize Inside and Meatball Sundae
• Crossing the Chasm
• Buzzmarketing
• Starting from Scratch
• The Age of Engage
• Rich Dad, Poor Dad
• The Inventors Bible
• What would Google do?
• Innovation
• Inside Steve’s Brain
• From Idea to Success

If you were to ask me what is the most important book you have read lately? One clearly stands out for me. It’s a book called “Evangelist Marketing” by Alex Goldfayn.  So why this book? First, this book walks you through a process, not just a bunch of ideas on how to market. It’s a step-by-step process of what it takes to build a brand that connects, how to build market momentum through evangelist marketing and how to truly attach yourself to a market that propels you to success. This is a perfect book for executives that can’t find the “sales recipe.” This is the perfect book for a new CEO that is just learning the ropes and needs to know how to market. This is the perfect book for a seasoned executive that needs to go from good to great. I generally never endorse any books because there are honestly so many good ones. However, this book is exceptional and I know if you take the time to read, highlight and submit to memory it will achieve great results for your company.

What I have learned in business is – times change, products change, markets change and people change. However, the right way to market never changes and it will always be about connecting with people on a personal level. The book Evangelist Marketing proves this point. Afterall, people buy products and products never buy people. So get into the people business and have incredible success. Don’t let marketing and sales be an afterthought in your business.

I’ll bet if you are reading this you still haven’t purchased a 3D TV yet. The question is why? For me, I’m not sure about you, the biggest reason are 3D glasses. I just can’t see lounging around with my family wearing those ridiculous glasses. Not to mention its one more thing to lose in your living room.

Well, finally some great news for 3D. The big boys like Sony / Samsung have “perfected’ screens that have 3D built in – no glasses needed! Now, I say “perfected” because this technology has been around for a long time and I even saw consumer applications at the Nvidia Nvision conference about 6 years ago. So it’s no surprised that it finally surfaced from a major player. The challenge with screen based 3D is you had to sit dead-on with the television in order to experience 3D. Also, the 3D wasn’t all that great like it is with today’s shutter glasses or newly enhanced 3D glasses. Well, it looks like our fortunes are changing and several have perfected screen based 3D, no glasses needed and best of all big fat screens for the family to enjoy from any viewing angle. Woo hoo!!

I’ll let you know when the “glassless” 3D TV’s hit stores. You have to check them out. However, you might want to a wait a year for the prices to go down. Once these hit stores they will be marked-up about 30% more than you will see them a year from launch.

The hard drive has had an amazing transformation over the years. In fact, it’s taken 51 years to get to the very first terabyte of storage on one disk and the capacities are about to get even higher with some exciting new technology. In fact, in the next couple years the first 1.2 Petabyte hard-drive will be available. That’s an astonishing 1000 Terabytes of storage that will fit in the palm of your hand. To get your head around that kind of capacity it’s the entire Netflix and iTunes library combined that fits in your pocket, no downloads needed.

When CRAM found out about this technology we wisely patented how to secure content on these high-capacity drives, how to deliver these drives independent of the Internet (secure delivery), how to authenticate them in Kiosks and how to bunker a device so you can’t hack the digital storage. The result is the future of digital content delivery and security. CRAM! We cannot wait to show you what it’s like to have your own personal cloud that you control, not Google, not Apple. Your own “trusted” cloud that houses everything in your personal, digital universe and best of all the most incredible entertainment experience you have ever seen.

In the keynote address today Apple CEO, Tim Cook, announced it’s a “post PC world.” As I heard this I thought to myself what does this really mean and what on earth is he saying? It’s now a MAC world? Please. As I sit here I’m typing on a PC and as I look around the San Francisco airport 99% of the people I see pecking away are on laptops, Ultrabooks or netbooks (effectively PC’s). Sure, I see a couple iPads and there is no doubt they have sold a ton of iPads – an idea they stole from the PC company Microsoft that brought to market the first tablet. Still, is it really the post PC era? Can Apple really substantiate that claim with real numbers? When in fact Windows is still the dominant OS in all categories and still has the largest market share globally. The reality is it’s not a “post PC world” and the PC is still alive / well. In fact, I’m excited for the new fleet of Intel processors coming down the line. So I can run “real applications” and “real software” that you simply can’t run in iPads or iPhones. Sorry – that takes a PC! Just sayin.

I had a friend today that said “Daren, I’m so excited I cut the cords to the cable company. No more Comcast. I’m doing all my entertainment on the Internet.” Now let me ask a logical question didn’t he really cut one cord for another? Also, didn’t he just dump cable only to get Internet served accross the same Comcast owned cable? Lets be really honest here everyone. Cable is a connection and so is the Internet. Both connections are owned by the same providers who have figured out a way to milk your wallet without you even caring.

Think about this for a minute. How much do you really pay a month for connections (Internet, Cable)? What’s amazing is the average consumer is spending a car payment just on connections to cable and Internet. For an always-on connection that you are not always-on. Just think of the wasted money!

Now, if you truly want to cut the cords without sacrificing content then you need to check out my new compmany CRAM. We are offering the first content service that allows you to have all the content you want, anywere you want, completely free of Internet connections. Cord cutting and using CRAM is going to save you so much money.

What companies won’t do to get at your personal data. Seriously, Google actually spent development money to bypass the privacy settings in IE and Safari to see what you are searching. At what point is it criminal to access your personal information without your permission? I’m glad this kind of thing is getting exposed!!!!  http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/20/microsoft-finds-google-bypassed-internet-explorers-privacy-sett/

http://news.yahoo.com/data-collection-arms-race-feeds-privacy-fears-140608839.html

Why does the Internet suck? It’s a question I have been pondering for the past few months. It’s honestly hard even saying the Internet sucks because over the past many years I have enjoyed every second of my online life. I have gamed online, I have communicated across the world online, I can find anything out about everything online and with a click of a mouse I can be on vacation. The free flow of information, applications and ability to express is truly mind blowing. Heck, I can even write this blog and have people see it all around the globe. Year after year the online experience has improved and moved in directions I could never imagine. Who would have ever guessed a website connecting friends would become a multi-billion dollar company called Facebook. Who would have ever guessed one of the largest companies of my generation would be a company peddling searches and clicks. Who would have ever guessed billion dollar companies would be born streaming movies on our computer screen. All these amazing realities were born on the backs of TCP/IP or what we call the Internet.

It almost brings a tear to my eye thinking about the Internet and what’s it meant for my life. I have even made a career out of the Internet and connecting companies, devices and consumers to the Internet. Seriously, who doesn’t love the Internet and how on earth could I make such a bold statement by saying the Internet sucks? It’s like calling your baby ugly – it’s hard to do. Well, here I go – THE INTERNET SUCKS!!! So why does it suck? It’s very simple – the Internet sucks because it’s not safe. So what does safe really mean and in what context? To me safe means a platform that doesn’t pose a threat to you personally or your country. Right now both are at risk and it’s a very sad realization. The problem is the Internet exploded around the globe enticing everyone with ubiquity of data, ease of use, connectivity and FREE entertainment. Unfortunately, nobody really connected the dots on security and the challenges with ubiquity. The issue is we put financial systems online, stock markets online, we transact business online and we even share intimate details about our lives online. We placed these things online thinking its safe, and thinking nobody can access or compromise that data. This false sense of security has been sold to consumers by the companies making billions off selling firewalls, anti-virus, and the things offering the illusion of security. The reality is most people are not technical enough to understand how the security works let alone the true threats to their privacy or information. The harsh cold truth is data security has been an illusion – there is no such thing. No matter what anyone ever tells you. So why? Think about the Internet for a minute – it’s a big fat pipe that pushes bits of data from one point to another point in something called a packet. This packet runs along a network with other packets from other people, businesses and etc. It’s fair to say if you can touch the Internet (where all the packets live) you can intercept the packet or attack where that packet lands? As the story goes someone had this great idea called a transport protocol and with it a host of cryptographic methods to try preventing people from touching the packets or landed data. We know the names – SSL, TLS, PGP and IPsec. All means of securing data from point-a, to point-b. The challenge as we have learned through time is with software if you can touch it, you can steal it. Right? Isn’t that the real reason why the Internet sucks? The fact you can touch something, means you can steal something and if you can steal it you can ultimately hack it (if you know what you are doing and too many do). Anything you see on a screen can be screen captured, any file you can touch can be copied (even if it has DRM or encryption), and if you have a packet of data on a network the packet can be sniffed. Bottom line is the Internet has issues and its biggest is security.

So back to why the Internet sucks. If you go by the premise “if you can touch it you can steal it” the Internet sucks because there is no true way to secure bits of information. To me without security the Internet really sucks and the value greatly diminishes. Let me ask, how can we risk our countries financial future on systems that can be ultimately hacked? How can we continue to pour all of our personal information and thoughts into a platform that is a sitting duck for theft? How can artists, musicians, writers and those making a living from creating wonderful content survive in a world where the art and knowledge can be ripped in a nanosecond and transferred all around the world? This is the problem facing the Internet – the delivery system; in this case the Internet is broken!! This is why I can say, “THE INTERNET SUCKS!”

The good news is there are solutions like CRAM that are trying to provide an alternative to the Internet. Using “hardware” security (a bank vault) combined with new security countermeasures we can greatly minimize content theft in all forms. Check it out – www.cramworld.com.

Since Bill Gates has officially retired to pursue philanthropic pursuits Steve Ballmer has run the S.S. Microsoft. A big ship that has enjoyed many years of calm water and a lock on the massive computer software market. However in the past couple years players like Google, Apple, Facebook have been on meteoric rides that against Microsoft’s best efforts have increased pressure on them to perform. One could argue Microsoft has missed the boat on a lot of things like Wireless, Tablets, Search and Digital Entertainment. Maybe missed isn’t the right word…..they just haven’t dominated those areas like they should. But that story is still being told and we know Microsoft has a lot of money to use in winning anything they want.

The real truth here is Microsoft is about to have a renaissance under Steve Ballmers leadership. Why? They are finally figuring out mobile, they have Windows 8 in the pipe, and they continue to lead in software services for business. Also, Microsoft has made massive investments in the cloud and understand their success comes from solutions not technology. I have a prediction that 2012 is a record year for Microsoft. I hope so as Steve Ballmer is due some credit for leading Microsoft through some dicey times. Go Steve, go Microsoft!!!

I have been following the SOPA drama. You know, the struggle between the content publishers (movies, music, TV, books) and the online titans like Google, Wikipedia, Reditt, Yahoo, others that want FREE flowing data. I certainly see both sides of the coin but this time I’m siding with the studios. Mainly because it’s their art that is getting ripped, burned, hacked and pirated. Trust me – if everyone in the world was stealing Google’s software they would throw a tissy fit if it was ruining their revenue streams. The reality is we need controls on piracy, it’s a huge problem that is spiraling out of control and it’s only getting worse. Last time I checked stealing was a crime? Why shouldn’t the same laws for other forms of theft apply to content theft? All you see today are sound bytes every now and then from someone who downloaded a terabyte or two in a college dorm. The sad reality is if digital piracy was really a crime you would have entire cities arrested and in jail. The real question is – who isn’t stealing content? Almost everyone you know has some file(s) ripped from somewhere. It’s that common.

By the way, my comments are coming from someone as a kid that used Napster before it was illegal and did my fair share of ripping, burning and hacking. Let’s face it – if grandma can rip a CD, download something from a Torrent or use screen capture tools like SNAG IT the industry has a huge problem. Then throw in SoundTaxi that allows you to strip the DRM off all your iTunes files – you have a major problem. We need an entirely new system that secures, delivers and offers the studios a way to monetize their content free from theft. To me – we need to change how we do things. Most importantly replace the world wide web and eliminate CD based content delivery. The problem is really more about the delivery system than it is the market stealing. The delivery method is broken!

So how on earth can I possibly make a bold statement like replacing the web and CDs? I know a little secret – very soon you’ll have hard drives with Petabytes of data. For those of you who don’t know what a Petabyte is it’s 1000 Terabytes. It’s essentially the Netflix / iTunes libraries with you at all time, no connections or downloads needed. Oh – we can secure hard drives with some exciting technology. Honestly, who doesn’t want everything digital without connections and with instant on-demand access. Don’t we all want this nirvana? This is the future – no more connectivity, no more piracy and etc. I believe we are moving into a time when people are smart enough to know the cloud watches your every move, the cloud is unsecure and in the case of SOPA easy to steal content. The world of FREE cannot continue because ultimately someone has to pay. My new company CRAM is at the forefront of this new delivery system and will be one of the first companies to usher in high-capacity storage as a content delivery system for anything digital. We have set our sights on solving the Entertainment indsutries problems first. We want to put this whole piracy issue to rest by fixing the delivery system.

Here is an interesting read on how the bad guys are scraping your data on Facebook. The next time you friend a stranger – think again. http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/researchers-invade-facebook-with-socialbots-grab-250gb-of-data/5060?tag=content;siu-container

 

CRAM went into CES with very little expectations. We were in a new area of CES not even attached to the main exhibit halls so it was a crap shoot if anyone would visit our booth. I actually thought Eureka Park would be a bust – boy was I wrong! CES Eureka Park was amazing, had constant traffic all show long and was the perfect place to launch CRAM Venu. As one event attendee said, “I could care less about the big guys in the main show halls, I like seeing the true innovation coming from the start-ups. This is where the heart of technology is coming from.” So that really set the tone for the entire event and was echoed by everyone we met. This included many technology heads of some of today’s largest companies. We were blown away with who we met.

So how did CRAM do at the show? Well, we successfully launched CRAM Venu at the show to rave reviews. The media, the event attendees and even our neighboring booths all commented on CRAM’s unending traffic. People loved Venu! In fact, the entire cable industry came by our booth twice. (See the attached image). My favorite quote came from the head of technology for China’s largest wireless carrier. He said “your data security and delivery platform is the best innovation at this show.” So we were very flattered by the warm reception.

I left CES 2012 with the feeling high-tech is back, deals are getting done, money is flowing again and the quality of companies are really on the rise. I saw some great things and I wish all my start-up comrades luck in the coming years. The key to getting our economy back on track will come from places like CES that foster, grow and incubate the companies of the future.

Well, it’s finally here CES 2012 Las Vegas. A time to bask in silicon, touch screens, 3D, and all the promise of the next big thing. Who doesn’t like getting their geek on? I know I sure do. What I realized today after many years of coming to this show is I’m concerned about the high-tech industry becoming too concerned about following the herd versus forging new ground. Technology should advance, yet we see time and again the same old stuff repackaged. Do these companies think we are dumb? Do we really need another flat panel monitor or touch tablet? Technology advances because of risk taking. We need technology companies to take more risks and realize success is found by doing something remarkable versus me too.  

The verdict is still out for CES 2012. I haven’t walked the hallowed halls yet so I can only guess what’s in store. Last year was the year of 3D, the year before was the Tablet, the year before that was flat panel TVs and the year before that was the year of PC Gaming. What will this year hold? I can make some predictions – can you?

I woke up today in my nice suburban home, to my wonderful family, my dog barking at 7am and a warm cup of coffee in my hands. I sit here in my office sipping my only hope for energy (caffeine laced cappuccino) and firing up my web browser for a day of work. I started thinking about the past couple years and how the Internet has changed. The Internet was once a friendly place to connect, share, communicate, search and buy. We had cute browsers called Gopher and little fledgling companies like Google or AOL were just starting up. Unfortunately all good things come to an end and the Internet has rapidly become a very unsafe place to interact. We see corrupt governments use the Internet to attack other countries (using the cloud as a weapon), we have seen propaganda wars rage on places like Wiki Leaks, financial systems undermined like our stock market crash, the cloud watching / tracking our every move and corporations losing billions from data theft or data fraud. The sad reality is the cloud has serious issues and no security consultant or anti-virus program is going to fix it. The bad guys are too sophisticated and are fully funded by various third-world governments.

So what is the real issue? Well, it starts with the Internet and how it all works. Logically if you connect a big fat pipe (the Internet) to a bunch of data sitting behind a secure door sooner or later someone will learn how to break the door down, go under the door or unlock the door or in some cases pretend to be the door? Some bright minds tried to create some security countermeasures like IPSec that provides authentication using cryptography, virtual private networks (VPN) or secure tunnels, secure socket layer – SSL (a key / token system) or today’s firewalls that controls access between networks. Unfortunately, against the best efforts of the industry the countermeasures are no defense against the new technology cyber criminals are using such as intelligent worms, Trojans, denial of service attacks, brute force algorithm hacking and SQL injections. The Internet is the weapon of choice for some very creative criminals, rogue Governments, crime syndicates and socially motivated hackers. How on earth did we get here? Well, it all started with something called convenience. The American businessman and consumer wanted “CONVENIENCE”, “SPEED”, “INSTANT ACCESS” and “UBIQUITY.” The mass market of America drove everything online without thinking about the long term consequences. Why on earth did we put banks, stock markets, medical information and your very personal information online? It’s a sitting duck for anyone with ill intentions to crack, hack or compromise. We went online because it was always assumed the Internet could be secured. We know the truth now! No matter what CISCO, Symantec or many industry consultants say there is no way to truly secure the Internet. Security simply isn’t possible with today’s new technologies. How can anyone provide a “secure always on connection” from one point to another point without some kind of risk? Data packets can be sniffed, firewalls can be hacked, browsers can be compromised and no security policy can keep the bad guys out. Why? If you can touch it, you can steal it. That’s the problem with the Internet. Anyone that connects, can dial up an IP and get to the front door for hacking. Or, the new threat – someone on the inside connecting to the outside. The scariest thing is new software being developed can blow through encryptions on firewalls in minutes, others software can mimic traffic, collecting data / information so it can unlock get through the network. So as I sit here writing this article someone somewhere is getting hacked, sensitive data is being compromised and the costs are staggering. Just ask Sony how it feels! 70 million user accounts went out the back door and there wasn’t a thing they could do about it. They couldn’t even find who did it. Why not ask the U.S. Department of Commerce how it feels to get hacked by another government (just happened yesterday). The bottom line is information theft is at an all-time high and it has to be stopped. New methods need to be created to secure our information – before we are all impacted! AMERICA NEEDS TO GET OFFLINE!!! The good news is my new company CRAM has one solution to this problem. I’m waiting for the one big event that will drive the market in my direction. Trust me, it’s coming.

As a consumer of digital content I have made significant investments in my music, have paid through the nose to have the digital content I want, when I want it. I have spent countless hours tethered to my PC synching my iPods, my Zunes and those of my family. I have always felt the whole process of “tethering” was ridiculous especially in the wireless era. Yes, things are getting better with “cloud services” but those have only come online over the past year. Needless to say I can’t get back the many hours spent configuring, backing up, storing, moving, organizing and synching. It’s almost hilarious to think how much of my life has been wasted on those activities but I digress.

The real question is what music or digital content service is best? There are a lot of opinions on this topic, a lot of competition and if you judge by revenue you would say iTunes is the clear winner. However, the winner hands down is not what you think – it’s Microsoft Zune. So how did I come to this epiphany and what grounds could I possibly have to trash Apple?  Well, first do yourself a favor and download the Zune app – it’s free: http://www.zune.net/en-US/ The first thing you notice when you download this app is how quick it loads, and once it launches the app actually asks you questions like what kind of music you like, who are your favorite artists? Now there’s a novel idea – ask a customer what they want! Then a few minutes later you’ll notice the music from your iTunes application gets magically put into the Zune application (no synching, tethering, or monkeying around needed). So you don’t have to buy all your favorite music all over again – something Apple would make you do. Another novel idea! So let me see – 5 minutes into the Zune download, install and (a) they know what I like (b) they have already put all my music in the application. SCORE! Oh, but it gets better. So then after you load the application you’ll notice something very interesting. You can actually find what you want and in a very visual, easy to follow way. Whoever designed this UI understands Bauhaus design – form follows function. It’s easy to navigate, buy, find, use and the best part – play. So what other tricks does Microsoft add to this? Well, just when you thought it couldn’t get betters – it does. My other feature I just love is the dashboard home page that has quicklinks to your pictures, videos, podcasts, channels and even apps. There really isn’t anything this application can’t do. It slices, dices and blah blah.

So what is the down side with Zune? Well, the one downside with Zune is you can’t use iPods. Who doesn’t love Apples iconic devices, touch interfaces and apps? Those fluffy, cute little cloud based devices that track, compile and know everything about you. They are afterall dummy terminals attached to Apple servers. Beware the cloud and Apple for that matter. Unfortunately for Microsoft it’s hard beating Apples iCloud but hopefully in time themarket will put common sense before convenience.

Do yourself a favor, download Zune, put on your favorite song and kick it back watching the super cool animated wallpaper of your favorite artist. Yes, it does that too! I do have to mention – CRAM is coming and will make major leaps forward in ease of use and most importantly “access” to the content you want. Something Microsoft, Apple and other companies need work on.

Where is technology heading? This thought came to my mind today as I was thinking what’s beyond the Internet cloud, what’s beyond the screen and all the devices I own to access / view data? Now, I don’t have a crystal ball but I think it’s pretty easy to see where everything will eventually go and it’s not what you think. The future is the brain!

So why the brain? The brain is a powerful computer of unimaginable capacity, the brain can be attached to (peripherals) and the brain has capabilities we are just learning to understand. In fact, there are companies on the forefront of human / computer interaction such as Brain Gate that has developed technologies that restore communication, mobility and independence for people with neurological disorders. This technology has proved that brain signals can be decoded by a computer in real-time to operate external devices (robotic arms, drive computer user interfaces and communicate digitally from thoughts). As well, other scientific experiments have proved that not only can signals be decoded, signals can also be implanted. Meaning you can play a movie in your mind without needing a screen. You can create vivid experiences in sight, sound and smell. Essentially, tricking your mind that something is real when it’s not. If you have seen the Matrix you know what I’m talking about. It’s not as far fetched as you think.

To me the next frontier is developing the next wave of technology that utilizes our own human computers in new ways. I see a day when we communicate without words but with thought in an interconnected world of brain waves (who needs the World Wide Web when you can connect your brain to others all around the world). Yes, you might call me crazy but it’s very clear what can be manifested in imagination can be created in real life. Remember when aliens had laser guns and everyone said lasers couldn’t be made. We now have lasers. Remember when Captain Kirk had a communication device that allowed him to talk free of wires? We now have cell phones. Remember when you first heard the term WARP DRIVE – and everyone said that the speed of light couldn’t be broken (including Einstein?). We just broke the speed of light barrier at CERN and WARP DRIVES are now possible. The reality is “science fiction is turning into science fact.” So to answer the qeustion where is technology heading? Anywhere the imagination goes.

Netflix to me was the promise of the Internet and a great company that defied any sense of reason. It went up against the biggest media companies in the world and for the most part it won. Then a series of misteps cost the company it’s credibility, it’s customers and now you are seeing the backlash responsible for the downward spiral. I honestly feel bad for Reed Hastings and his team. I know how hard they have worked and I also know how hard what they have accomplished has been. They have truly defied all odds.

The lesson to be found here is never underestimate the market. You will never be smarter than the market and once you lose the trust of the market your company loses. I hope they can recover but I’m afraid they will never be the same.