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The Woz: Apple “Worries Me”

February 21st, 2013

The headlines are scary: “Apple Disappoints Wall Street” appears one week, “Apple Losing Its Edge” the next. Is it the end of the road for the once-mighty House of Jobs?

Those particular headlines didn’t herald the company’s demise. They’re from 1997. Just 18 months later a reinvigorated Apple—under its “new and improved” dollar-a-year CEO, Steve Jobs—took its first step toward eventual industry domination with the debut of the iMac. Rather than honest assessments of Apple’s viability, we always seem to get the foregoing tabloid-style silliness. For Apple, even record sales aren’t good enough for Wall Street, so here come the naysayers again—only now they include Steve Wozniak. What’s up with that?

What the Woz?

In a TechCrunch interview in November 2012, one still being culled for tendentious quotes, Wozniak built his case against some of Apple’s high-profile failures (and he detests Siri). iPad sales numbers are still strong, so Wozniak knows the Cupertino firm’s upside. Still, in early February as Apple stock continued its slide, Wozniak spoke excitedly about the new home of “wow” products for the future: Microsoft. Yep, the “evil empire” of Apple’s original SuperBowl ad. What convinced him? The Xbox, Windows 8, the Surface Tablet? Nope. It was the rumor of Redmond’s work on simultaneous translation, a hardware/software solution far “more fluid [and more] colloquial” than Google, Siri, or anything else right now.

Wozniak says Microsoft, whose Surface line was one of our “Business Tech Hits of 2012,” is also making “strides in [the] voice recognition area” because smart folks are “sitting in their labs trying to innovate.” On the other hand, Wozniak says that Apple has settled for “cranking out the newest iPhone and falling a little behind, and that worries me greatly.” Apple has had smart, solid niche products like the Xserve RAID that get few headlines, but consumers don’t buy them in the millions as they are not iAppliances for 21st Century Work, Socializing, & Entertainment. (Watch for a blog with that title coming soon.)

Speaking of tweaking…

Tweaking, says Wozniak, is not innovating, and that’s all Apple has been doing to the MacBook and its other Mac models, which “is not Apple-style innovation.” Making bold moves is. He doesn’t think Apple is “turning its back on creativity,” but seems conflicted about CEO Tim Cook. Cook runs Apple in a buttoned-down manner, minus the art school dress code, notoriously bad vibes, and high drama of Steve Jobs. Wozniak and others may not like Cook’s style, but it is an advantage, not a hindrance, as Apple evolves into whatever a “leading edge firm” needs to be in the “post-PC” era.

Repositioning Apple as a mass-market consumer products firm is no small feat when you consider its multiple-personality past. Before iTunes, iPhones and iOS, Apple was known for both easy-to-use Macs and peerless pro-level powerhouses like our Mac Pro rental. Apple’s “towers of power”—loaded with Final Cut Pro, Shake, and other pricey software—dominated professional video, film, music, web, and print production for years. Now that Apple is the source of “iEverything” for the masses, professional users feel seduced and abandoned (again!)—and they’ve been grousing about it for two years now. We’ll tell you what they’re saying, and what it means for Apple’s shrinking share of the pro market, in a coming blog.

Remember, CRE is your one-stop shop for everything—from the first-rate event production rentals you need for next month’s conference, to the post-production gear you need this minute for a rush job. One call or message, or a moment spent filling out our Quick Rental Quote form, is all it takes!

Break Time: Techno Fun & Geek Games

February 19th, 2013

All things in moderation, goes one saying. Live a balanced life, advises another. Okay, then, in the midst of some serious recent blogs about new technologies and trends, let’s take a moment and look at some fun stuff and geeky goods. Think creatively enough and you might find other productive uses for some of these gizmos!

Boombox 2.0 – The company spells its name uncapitalized, with a macron (“long vowel” mark) atop the middle character: bēm. Okay, “beam,” so they make flashlights, right? Nope, we’re not talking photon beams (light) here, but sonic ones—bluetooth wireless, to be precise. The company’s latest brainstorm is the Outlet Speaker, a portable unit that plugs directly into standard electrical outlet. As a premier source of audio visual (AV) equipment rentals, CRE knows sound, and evidently so do the firm’s techies. They’ve managed to put a ton of it, crisp and clean at all volume levels, in a package half the size of a tissue box. With nothing but your smart phone and an Outlet Speaker, you can do everything from amplify streamed music to set up a little mini-PA system. Truly geekworthy.

Built Like a Brick Mug – A clever product from ThinkGeek, the Build-On Brick Mug holds 12 ounces of your favorite hot or cold beverage. More importantly, it gives you a surface on which you can use your own bricks (Lego, Mega Bloks, Kre-O, K’Nex) to spark the creative flames and 3D-doodle your way through problems. As we recently reported, some folks use mind-mapping software like Corkulous, but others do their planning and strategizing (say, figuring out how many and what kind of PC rental the new telemarketing team needs) while sketching, fiddling, or playing “fort”. With the Brick Mug, you won’t be thirsty no matter what you do.

Equation Occasions – Math makes the world go ’round. Or maybe it’s physics. Anyway, there are equations involved either way, and plenty of them are about telling time, which has to do with (1) the world going ’round and ’round and (2) the world going around the sun. The Equation Watch, nicely retro and analog with moving parts and everything, gets your brain cells moving, too, by replacing the hour marks with equations. They’re not particularly difficult, and once you solve them, the challenge is gone. But you can time the battery use on your MacBook Pro rental with the Equation Watch just as well as with any other, so what the heck? If you support numeracy as well as literacy, this gadget’s for you!

Is YouPotty Next? – Let’s wrap up our list with a little humor: A company named CTA caused a bit of a stir at the last CES with its iPotty, a children’s training toilet with an iPad stand attached. (Honest. Look.) CTA also sells the iPad Pedestal Stand, a stylish chrome device that holds your iPad (version 2 and up) and, if you so choose, a roll of TP. A 10-inch gooseneck lets you adjust the angle and orient the screen to just the right position on your throne.

Remember, you get royal service from CRE, too, where a single call or message puts an expert Account Executive on the job for you. Need render farms for that big job, or a full breakout session setup for an upcoming conference? If you know what you need, visit our Quick Rental Quote page and get what you need now!

Data Center Complexity: It’s, Well, Complicated

February 15th, 2013

Symantec, 451 Research, and other Internet security leaders are continually polling IT professionals at organizations worldwide about their operations. A major focus lately has been the “increasing complexity” of data centers. Crunching the numbers from a handful of the best reports* reveals that about 80% of global organizations are facing this particular challenge, and suffering the consequences. It’s pretty straightforward: When things are complicated, systems malfunction more often and in more ways, and people make more mistakes.

Data center complexity affects all computing categories—infrastructure, security, storage, compliance, and disaster recovery—and the corporate network, as well. Need desktop computer rentals for a room full of telemarketing temps? There’s more complexity right there. Still, your organization’s situation is unique, so the solution will be, as well. If you haven’t given this subject much thought yet, we’ll share some highlights from those 2012 surveys. If the following sounds familiar, you may need to give a bit more time to the subject!

The numbers speak

All ratings are on a scale from 0 (least) to 10 (most) complex, rounded to the nearest half point. Higher numbers correlate with increases in expenditures as well as opportunity cost, human error, and system malfunction.

All computing tasks are rated 6.5 or higher for complexity, but security is rated highest at 7.0;
The worldwide average rating for data center complexity is 6.5;
Organizations in North America rate complexity the highest at 8.0; and
Organizations in the Asia-Pacific-Japan region rate it the lowest at 6.0.

In other feedback, 70% of respondents say that business-critical apps, on devices from our iPad rental to basic business PCs, are “increasing greatly.” Planning for complexity growth includes staying abreast of such critical IT trends as growth of data (50%), mobile services (40%), and virtual storage/desktop solutions (40%). As you contemplate upgrading your data center, remember that CRE can help during your transition with workstation and storage rentals for the huge amounts of data you will be managing.

Major impacts, possible solutions

The downside of increasing complexity is considerable, with almost half of global respondents citing higher costs. Other major impacts: reduced flexibility, lost data (and lost time spent looking), longer lead times for everything, and data center outages costing an average of $300,000 per episode. Leading causes? System failures, human error, and, in distant third place, natural disasters.

We are in an era of unrelenting technological progress, from the iMac to the Tesla electric sports car. You don’t “stop” the increase in complexity so much as slow it down to get a handle on it, so the first phase of any complexity-reducing plan will be about making the right choices for your firm’s unique situation. For instance, should you buy, lease, or rent render farms, workstations, and mass storage? The second phase is about reducing the impact of those inevitable system and human errors, and that’s where good training comes in.

Remember, whether or not a data center is running “as it should,” the overarching concern for anyone with valuable data—governments, businesses, organizations, individuals—is security.

A new buzzword

What do managers of complexity-challenged data centers want by way of a solution? Enhanced security such as Cisco’s is mentioned first, by some 80% of global respondents, followed by reduced storage costs, improved compliance and legal status, operational efficiency, and getting the right data quickly.

Is that so much to ask? The drivers of increasing data center complexity are, in the main, well known, but an all-inclusive solution (and buzzword) was lacking until “information governance strategy” caught hold. We’ll tell you in a future blog exactly what that’s all about. Stay tuned!

CRE has everything from trade show convention rentals to office equipment, computers, and high-tech gear for media pros. It’s all just a call or message away, right here at CRE. Know what you need? Then a visit to our Quick Rental Quote page is indicated—and it’s always open, too!

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* Numbers are taken from the following reports (accuracy ±5% after averaging):
- Symantec 2012 State of the Data Center (http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/2012-state-data-center-report)
- Data Center Knowledge 2011/2012 Data Center Report (http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2011/09/28/2012-data-center-market-insights-report/)
- 451 Research Multi-Tenant Data Center Reports (https://451research.com/practice-multi-tenant-datacenter)

The Digital Cornucopia: Four Insights

February 8th, 2013

It took about two decades for Digital to send Analog to the dustbin of history. The explosion of digital content—movies, music, fine art, and fantasy streaming to theaters, cell phones, TVs, and that CRE iPad rental—has reshaped the entire culture, while continuously reinforcing consumers’ increasingly higher expectations. The public has come to expect excellence as the standard, while looking every other day or so for such miracles as the iPhone and Microsoft’s hopefully-game-changing Surface tablet.

Change, the only constant

People want what they want when they want it. In 2013 that means 24/7/365 access—from a Windows 8 PC at home to a potent MacBook Pro rental on the road—to entertainment or work documents, from anywhere, on any device or platform. Those who are no longer confused by the cloud and what it offers, a fraction of the population that should grow exponentially in 2013 and beyond, are being studied and courted by manufacturers and marketing researchers. This first wave of new-technology adopters can make or break a new product or service. Here are four crucial insights that manufacturers and marketing execs will rely on this year:

1. Consumers will pay more for a superior product or service

The iPad is hardly the only high-quality tablet available (CRE has great tablet PC rentals, too) but despite its high price, it’s still the best seller. Fully aware of this consumer willingness to shell out for what’s perceived to be a superior piece of technology, more and more content providers (cable networks, aggregators, phone companies, etc.) are charging for high-quality material now that consumers have clearly indicated that they’re willing to pay more for it. It is a perfect time for content providers to test new pricing models.

2. New devices have revitalized old content

Tablets brought new energy (and revenue models) to publishing and media, but for content distributors it may be a mixed blessing. Potential new revenue may be offset by the cost of repurposing content for delivery to a range of other devices, from a PC desktop computer rental to the navigation screen in your vehicle.

3. New alliances mean “creative mashups”

Clothing companies are producing TV shows. Cable channels are producing movies. Google and Apple both use “special partnerships” to expand into new markets. Online publishing pioneer Jason Binn is partnering with two companies to launch Du Jour (“multi-platform from the get-go”). In San Jose, California, musicians are partnering with gamers and geeks at Rockage 2.0. Some of these collaborations will fizzle, some will spark, but it will certainly be exciting.

4. Sophisticated consumers want a la carte content, relevant ads

ESPN has shown that its interactive Live Sport experience can collect viewer feedback from set-top boxes, other devices, and even social media sites to update its own content in “real close to real time.” Individual consumers, with their unique preferences, are in the driver’s seat: Content providers can thoroughly customize and personalize the delivery of program material and ads, whether to an LCD touchscreen monitor rental or a cell phone screen. Wherever you are, you will get what you want, when you want it.

Whether you want first-rate event production rentals or hard-to-find post-production gear, CRE is the place. One call or message, or a short visit to our Quick Rental Quote form, gets it done! Ready now? So are we!

CES 2013 in Review: Trends

February 5th, 2013

As opposed to our recent blog about innovative new products introduced at CES—helpfully titled “CES 2013 in Review: Products”—today’s blog will discuss what we discern as major new trends for the coming year. Progress doesn’t happen in a vacuum; cultural and social forces push technological development, and technology pushes back. Three trends of note at CES 2013 were transportation technology, “eldertech” (digital life enhancement for seniors), and celebrity endorsements. Here’s what you need to know:

Personal Transportation

As usual, CES had plenty of “Jetsonian” stuff from such automotive behemoths as Ford, Toyota, and Audi—from self-driving experimental vehicles to the latest generation of in-car displays. These displays have the same technology as our LCD touchscreen monitor rentals, letting you manage your music, navigate the highways and byways, and (this is not a joke) keep up with your social networks. If, however, you’d rather escape the constant deluge of media and head in a more “enviro-positive” direction, consider the growing realm of “personal transportation.”

The motorized ZBoard skateboard has weight sensors and gyros, so you “lean” the direction you want to go, shifting your weight to the front foot pad for acceleration (up to 15mph), or the rear one for braking. There was a wide range of electric bikes, from simple and affordable to leading-edge and handmade (like the $4,000 eFlow E3 Nitro). Two-wheeled boots, battery-powered skates, and electric unicycles were also on display. Keep your eyes on pedestrian-heavy cities (New York, San Francisco, but not Los Angeles, for example) to gauge the strength of this new personal transportation trend.

Eldertech

The assistive technologies that senior citizens take advantage of are not always as high-tech as our iPad rentals (canes, for instance). At CES 2013 there were many different products for seniors. A vitally important trend is the proliferation of “remote health management technology,” where special sensors and apps monitor patients and transmit the readings to the cloud for physician review.

Ideal Life makes pocket-size devices for remote health management—measuring blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen uptake, and blood glucose. The company’s Ideal Life Pod connects to a standard phone jack to act as a wireless gateway for one or more of the devices, but they can connect to the Internet via an iMac, a PC, or a smartphone, too. Another benefit is financial: caregivers can prevent unnecessary trips to the ER and catch new problems early, while the massive amounts of data collected on thousands (millions?) of patients can be “sliced and diced” for insights on treatment efficiencies, recovery rates, and other critical health matters.

If and when developments like these surpass the trend phase and become standard, they could change the face of medicine for patients of all ages.

Celebrity Endorsements

With a huge exhibition just shy of 2 million square feet, there were thousands of commodity-level laptop covers, cases, Bluetooth keyboards, charging docks, and $25 portable power packs. Earbuds and portable speakers were everywhere, and the year-long trend toward more celebrity-branded headphones (mostly big, over-ear, closed-back styles) is still going strong. Just as the MacBook line benefits from the golden aura of Apple’s name, and its history of building high-quality products, headphone makers want to draw customers with the golden aura of fame, too.

It all started with Dr. Dre’s Beats model, but now the Soul SL300 series is personalized by Olympian runner Usain Bolt, the NFL’s Tim Tebow, rapper Ludacris, and others. (CRE has a wide range of pro audio visual (AV) equipment rentals, but not consumer “bling” like these, which cost $399 to $1,000 or more.) Taking the concept one step further are devices that appear to be more fashion-oriented than function-focused, such as iHip’s “audio device fashion accessories” endorsed by Snooki from the reality show Jersey Shore. With any luck, this trend is already on its way out!

One thing you won’t need luck for is dealing with CRE. One call or message puts an expert Account Executive on the job for you, crafting your unique solution with trade show convention rentals or high-tech gear for post-production—whatever it takes. If you know what you need, get in and out of our Quick Rental Quote page in a minute. We’re always ready to help!

CES 2013 in Review: Products

February 1st, 2013

CES 2014 is already scheduled, but everyone’s still talking about CES 2013. It was, like all of its predecessors, awesome—and confusing, too. There is s0 much to contend with, so much new tech flailing about, that you can’t see the forest for the plasma display rentals announcing, “No, look HERE, not THERE!” Fortunately, you can choose from hundreds of pundits and know-it-alls to explain it all to you, but as long as you’re here, take a minute and see what we’ve culled from the countless new thingamajigs to see where products are headed this coming year:

Oculus Rift – Star Trek‘s Holodeck is the unfulfilled fantasy of Information Age tech-lovers, and though we’ve dreamed for decades about it, an immersive, 3D, virtual reality environment is still a dream. The Oculus Rift Headset , however, is about as close to a Holodeck as we have. With the kind of pixel-packing that makes images on our iPad rental so lifelike, the Oculus Rift has a 7-inch iMAX-style wide-angle display and sensors that respond to head movements for an immersive experience. Don’t book passage to a parallel universe yet, as few titles are ready for the device, but future titles will include lifelike driving and flying simulations. The Oculus Rift should be reasonably priced, too, as accelerometers and hi-def screens are now commodity items used in a zillion mobile phones.

Razer Edge – Razer collected a whole year’s worth of feedback from its huge gaming community to come up the Edge, a PC tablet “made for, and by, gamers.” This totable PC gaming device has been customized to handle most PC games smoothly, as well as access online services like Steam—in fact, mix in Steam’s “Big Picture” option and a docking station and you can extend play to your TV. The Edge is also a stable, powerful tablet running Windows 8. When you see the price, remember to compare it to high-end laptops, not tablets. It is a bargain in that context, and among the best products from this year’s CES.

Lenovo ThinkPad Helix – This Windows 8 laptop/tablet mashup gets it right. A top-level ultrabook sporting a Core i7 CPU and as much as 256GB of solid state storage—more powerful than some desktop computer rentals—the Helix does double duty (and does it well) as a detachable tablet. On the heels of the 2011 IdeaPad Yoga, the Helix fulfills Windows 8’s promise to make powerful tablets into full-blown computer replacements. A 1080p display 11-inches in size is “business-ready” and the Helix morphs from ultra-potent ultrabook to task-toppling tablet in seconds. Hey, Microsoft: looks like you need to keep tweaking that Surface line.

Makerbot Replicator 2X – Makerbot won the “Best Emerging Tech” award at CES 2012. Despite the dramatic growth its prestigious 3D printing technology, the company is staying true to its roots as “an innovation company [whose] mission is to jumpstart the next industrial revolution,” says CEO Bre Pettis. Now all you need to be a “manufacturer” is an LCD touchscreen monitor rental, a decent computer and one of the Makerbot models. The company’s last release, the user-friendly Replicator 2, was suitable for most anyone with product design dreams, but the Replicator 2X “is for the mad scientist types out there.” The 2X starts shipping in mid-March.

The exact solution to your problem—everything from trade show convention rentals to leading-edge post-production technology—is just a call or message away, right here at CRE. Of course, if you know what you need, visit our Quick Rental Quote page and be done in a jiffy! We’re ready now if you are!

Consumer Tech Misses of 2012

January 24th, 2013

It’s time to finger the consumer tech losers of 2012, which won’t be hard. Consumers are fickle creatures, and not because of character defects—humans are driven to decisions by complex psychological forces only partly under conscious control. They’ll tell marketing researchers how much they want something - for example, 3D television - so manufacturers will ramp up production and… and maybe the new sets will sell, and maybe they won’t. For whatever reason, from consumer misconceptions to shoddy products, there were a lot of “big fails” last year, but here are the ones you should know about first:

Consumer tech’s train wrecks of 2012

Google TV (GTV) — There’s no Hulu Plus in the channel lineup, a startling omission since you can watch it on our MacBook Pro rental and every other (unlocked) net-connected device. “Internet TV” models from competitor Roku start at less than half of GTV’s price, and bring you 500+ channels of entertainment, sports, news, and most everything else—including Hulu Plus, of course, along with Netflix and Amazon Instant Video. Google ‘missed’ in business tech with Google Wallet, and is similarly off-target with GTV on the consumer side. Let’s hope Google takes the time to get its phone right.

Smart Appliances — The expanding definition of the word “appliance” now includes our iPad rental as well as your toaster. Everything that could potentially be interfaced with electricity and a network, from coffeemakers to computers, is now a candidate for the upgraded term “smart appliance”—and don’t forget that the smartest thing smart appliances do is cut energy use, and dramatically. Just one thing: The Smart Energy Protocol (SEP 2.0) is still unfinished (this year for sure!) and it’s the foundation of the smart grid that everything needs to plug into to be, um, smart!

3D TV — This is among recent history’s biggest miscalculations in product development. (On the opposite end of the spectrum, you find Steve Jobs’ iMac, iPhone, and the rest of the “i” clan.) “Of course people will buy these wowie-zowie TV sets,” everyone assured everyone else. Sales of (real or imagined) paradigm-shifting technologies always start slowly, but after a few years—and a 2012 filled with even more 3D TV hype and histrionics—it’s still a colossal miss, even at bargain prices.

Ultrabooks — Intel made a bigger deal out of this “new” hardware category than PC manufacturers did, although the latter also revved the hype engine in 2012 right along with the 3D TV boosters. It wasn’t a new category, of course, as ultrabooks were based on the first lightweight, optical-drive-free laptop that wasn’t an anemic netbook—the notable Air model from Apple’s MacBook line. Ultrabook makers could help themselves with lower prices, certainly; but whatever they do, they should put as much effort into product quality in 2013 as they did into promotion in 2012.

Call one of our experienced Account Executives at (877) 266-7725, or send us a message, and either way we will put together the best solution for your unique situation. If you know what you need, our handy Quick Rental Quote page will do the job, too. We’re ready whenever you are!

Consumer Tech Hits of 2012

January 22nd, 2013

Our first 2012-in-review blog was “Business Tech Hits of 2012″, and it covered advances in enterprise computing, integrated systems, and IT. This blog is the consumer tech version of that same blog, covering personal computing and electronics. As always, some will say we should have made other, different, fewer, more, and/or better selections. Be that as it may, here’s what we think you should know about:

Free Office Software — LibreOffice is the best free, open source office software suite. Created by some members of Apache OpenOffice’s original development team, it has outdistanced OpenOffice (more features, fewer bugs) and every other open source Microsoft Office-compatible application for producing presentations, documents, slide shows, spreadsheets, and more. It has you covered on the iMac and has Windows and Linux versions, as well.

Soundbars — The picture quality of today’s plasma display rentals and flat-panel TVs has increased dramatically, but audio quality has actually decreased because it’s difficult, and thus expensive, to build good sound into thin panels. Soundbars emerged as a one-piece, plug-and-play solution, but the first models were unimpressive. In 2012, however, high-quality soundbars arrived from Bowers & Wilkins, Atlantic Technology, and many others. Some are made to replace multiple surround-sound speakers, but the niche is coalescing around the single soundbar. With their own amplifiers and standard line-in jacks, you can use most any digital device from an mp3 player to a CRE MacBook Pro rental to play audio.

Streaming — Audio/video docks for smart phones and tablets are a dying breed, another technology rendered passé by wireless technology. Whether it’s Apple’s Airplay, Bluetooth, DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance), or something else, wireless streaming technology solidified its grip on consumer connectivity in 2012. A docked iPad rental isn’t available to you for multitasking while the music or video plays. The only real use for the docks now is charging, so when wireless charging hits its stride, they’re complete goners.

Tablets for Kids— Of all the niches, “tablets for kids” is the one that differentiated itself enough to succeed last year. A fall article at Examiner.com found that “the market for children’s computer tablets [in 2012] was very successful” for the LeapPad from LeapFrog Enterprises, as well as VTech’s InnoTab, Oregon Scientific’s Meep, and the Kurio Kids tablet from TechnoSource. Just as CRE’s tablet PC rentals are configured with the proper applications for professional use, the Tabeo 7-inch kids’ tablet from Toys-R-Us runs Android 4.0, has 50 preinstalled tutorials and games, and includes a reading app called iStoryBooks. Amazon is taking a different route to engage kids: Rather than make special kiddie models, the Fire HD includes a potent and eminently tweakable app, Kindle FreeTime, for parental control of games, activities, and chat rooms, of course.

A single call or e-mail puts you in touch with an experienced Account Executive who will develop unique solutions for your unique challenges. As always, if you know what you need right now, you can visit the Quick Rental Quote page and take care of business right now—24/7/365!

Business Tech Misses of 2012

January 17th, 2013

We are in the process of reviewing the products, services, and technologies introduced to the consumer and business sectors last year—the hits and the misses. Now it’s time for the business sector duds. Breakthrough products like Apple’s iMac and iPhone, and technologies like ever-faster wireless may get the headlines, but we’ve identified four important “Business Tech Misses of 2012″ that you should know about.

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) — This isn’t a product or service, it’s a movement: corporate employees think their IT departments should make whatever they bring into the building (a smart phone, CRE iPad rental, etc.) work with the company system. Where this mindset is taking hold, we see security headaches, inefficiency and confusion. As the BYOD push runs into well defined corporate mobile management, keep your eyes on the battlefield—there will continue to be lots of conflict over this.

Windows Phone 8 — This is technically advanced and powerful stuff, from a company that does know how to deliver cutting-edge, innovative products like the Surface RT. The Live Tiles are no longer too big for the display, and can be tweaked and personalized now, but with only a little over 3% market share—for Windows Phone 7 and 8 combined—this product is already a miss, and could end up a complete flop.

Enterprise App Stores — The concept isn’t new: Take the consumer app store model (Apple, Google) and serve the enterprise market the same way. One industry observer called enterprise app stores “one of those emerging technologies that is always emerging,” as none of the trials have led to full-blown deployment. The fact is, it’s one thing to download Angry Birds for your MacBook Pro rental, and an entirely different thing to install applications on mainframes. Western corporate culture may have let “casual Friday” evolve into “casual week,” but IT managers don’t want to use the self-serve aisle. They want to be treated well for the huge sums they pay to Oracle, HP, SAP and other enterprise vendors.

Google Wallet — On many smart phones, near-field communication technology (NFC) handles the “close stuff” while 4G and Wi-Fi take care of phone calls and Internet access, respectively. We’ve been hearing about mobile phone payments for years. The first breakthrough was the NFC standard itself, which is related to Bluetooth (which Apple installs in the iPhone, MacBook and every other OS X and iOS device). We’re still waiting for the second breakthrough, which is the idea breaking through consumer resistance. People are just not excited about this. This is the confusing, up-and-down story of Google Wallet, and the tale probably won’t end well. As ever, we’ll keep you posted!

A single call or e-mail puts an experienced Account Executive on the job for you, helping you meet you production schedule or finding just the right trade show convention rentals for an upcoming conference. If you know what you need, head to our Quick Rental Quote and get it handled now. Whatever you need, whatever the problem, the solution is CRE!

Business Tech Hits of 2012

January 15th, 2013

The New Year brings new resolutions, another birthday — and the obligatory “year in review” articles. (We’ll get to the “what’s ahead next year” pieces, too, but first things first.) Over the next few weeks, we will take a look back at 2012 and run down the hits and misses, first in business tech (enterprise computing, strategy, IT) and then consumer tech (personal computing and consumer electronics). To keep it orderly, we’ll have separate blogs on business tech hits, business tech misses, consumer tech hits, and consumer tech misses, for a complete picture of the year gone by. Let’s go!

Responsive Web Design (RWB) — HTML5 was going to save the Internet from Flash overhead and other disasters but has only succeeded in muddying the waters. How are businesses responding? They are hitting back with responsive web design (RWD), which is a strategy and workflow for creating web pages that “query” the user’s device and, via “fluid grids” and scalable design elements, tailor pages to the device’s resolution and screen size. Build one web page, not four or five, that will look fine on a CRE iPad rental or your 70-inch home theater screen. Watch for more on RWD in a future blog.

Microsoft’s New Hardware Move — Apple’s original nemesis is using the Cupertino firm’s formula now and selling integrated systems, such as the Surface RT and Surface Pro. This is a departure from Microsoft’s historical focus on the OS. At the November 2012 shareholders’ meeting, Microsoft (MS) chief Steve Ballmer announced that “there is no boundary between hardware and software” that the company will allow to become an “innovation barrier.” Now, in a time when software profits are down and “computing devices” are a commodity item, MS can assure itself of profitability by bundling — a smart, long-term move.

In-Memory Computing — Everyone who has used a desktop computer rental knows the benefit of having the maximum amount of RAM installed: The more data you get into the nanosecond RAM realm the less time you waste moving it in and out of the hard drive. At the enterprise level with mainframe computers, in-memory computing dispenses with electromechanical hard drives, tape or any other media for storage. The amount of change involved in moving to the in-memory model is considerable, but the technology is approaching a transitional point. It’s been building momentum, in case you didn’t know, and is proving to be a serious productivity booster. The technology’s first adopters are in countries like India that have been working hard to establish themselves among the high-tech leaders of the world.

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