At the end of the year, China will become only the third nation ever to boast a $5 trillion economy. The nation is on track to have a 2010 economy worth some $5.36 trillion, behind the U.S. ($14.2 trillion) and slightly ahead of Japan ($5.06 trillion), which it will knock from the number two spot. China’s economic future will affect the whole planet, and every industry from autos to electronics.

Computers and electronics

China’s economy has grown at breakneck speed for the last 15 years, with the growth rate for the first two quarters of 2010 being downright supersonic. Electronics, computer and communications firms are well represented among China’s top 100 firms, about 30 of which have annual revenues over $1 billion. The largest, named Legend Holdings – the firm that bought IBM’s Lenovo laptop lines – had almost $18 billion in sales for 2006, the most recent year for figures.

The Haier Group, Midea Group, Hisense, Panda Electronics and Huawei Technologies are a few of the names you may already know. If you don’t, you soon will, as they make everything from components to consumer goods, and are already making waves. Huawei, for example, makes routers and networking equipment, and is one of Cisco’s main international rivals. Other Chinese firms are at the forefront of both R&D and production of touchscreen panels, the kind used in the new HP all-in-one computer than CRE now carries.

The new Japan?

From the 1950s through the 1980s, Japan was America’s chief economic rival in certain core industries like computers and semiconductors. A slew of books were published with various predictions of just how fast the Land of the Rising Sun would leave the U.S. in the dust. In 1987, Japan was selling American firms 1MB memory chips for about $400. (If you were to max out the RAM on one of CRE’s iMac rentals at that price, it would cost you $6.4 million for 16GB.) In the late 1980s, newspapers reported economic gloom and doom for the U.S. and proof of Japan’s ascendancy. A decade later and Japan’s economy was toast.

Japan squandered all the headway it made in the 1980s and 1990s by strangling its own economy over the last 15 years or so. As the Japanese started their long slide, China was still mainly an outsourcing destination, for getting your widgets mass produced at a good price. Since then, however, China has grown into a nation full of entrepreneurs, researchers and innovators, and everyone knows it: Apple, Oracle, IBM and every other forward-looking U.S. firm has one, three or half a dozen Chinese partners or vendors.

What next?

On the practical level, expect more and more digital gear to be manufactured (and designed) in China. Before long, Chinese firms will likely be supplying CRE with some of its LCD monitor rentals, and providing American consumers with the digital gear and gadgets needed for both work and play. Who says? In July of this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated that total annual growth by the end of 2010 would be 3.3% for the U.S. and 2.4% for Japan. The same report predicts a 2010 growth of 10.5% for China.

CRE recognizes a good performer when it sees one, whether it’s an industry, a product or a process. Whether you need top-performing Mac Pro rentals or the extra digital horsepower of AJA Io HD rentals, contact our experienced Account Executives or fill out the Quick Rental Quote online form. We are top performers, too, and when you need our support and expertise, you’ll get our very best, very fast!

For fans of high technology, from hardworking devices like CRE’s Xserve rentals to hard-playing iPads, there is always a good reason to celebrate. Combine this kind of energetic tech love with social networking (another great love affair for a few hundred million folks) and what do you get?

You get an opportunity to talk geek-speak with other fluent speakers and use your computer, smart phone or other favorite communications device to text, talk, tweet and e-mail in concert with tech-lovers all over this shrinking globe. Stir in the promotional efforts of one of the leading tech-tool-and-gadget sites, and you get Gizmodo Day, celebrated worldwide on Thursday, August 11, 2010.

Tech day for the globe

Gizmodo is a popular and well-respected technology site (they insist on calling it a blog, but that seems a little too humble) that has been covering every electronics-, computer- and future-oriented subject for serious gadget-lovers since 2002. And despite arguments you might get from the entrenched denizens of the rapidly fading print media, Gizmodo is also a journalistic enterprise. Its staff and contributors have nailed some big scoops, making the news most recently by buying and blogging about an iPhone 4 prototype that an Apple employee left behind at a bar. (This led to the editor’s house being raided and searched by the authorities, by the way.) Gizmodo’s content is linked to and republished around the globe in, at last count, eight languages.

Gizmodo’s London, New York and San Francisco staffers organized “meetups” for precisely 7PM (EDT) on the 11th, while loyal readers and fellow conspirators organized them in scores of countries around the world. You can probably guess that there are zillions of tech enthusiasts in such hardwired places as L.A., the Big Apple, Hong Kong and Amsterdam (and #1 Seoul, of course), so there were meetups in all languages and cultural settings. The overriding thing that tied everyone together, of course, was love for things like the latest Android devices. Because of its own avant garde image, Apple and its products were also popular topics of conversation, especially the recent Macintosh upgrades (by the way, CRE rents iMacs and other models) and the camera-equipped iPad 2.0 that is supposedly “on the way.”

Great Gizmodo gallery

People were able to RSVP via the Gizmodo site’s meetup links, and also showed their colors on Facebook, followed faraway events on Twitter and enjoyed what Gizmodo itself termed “equal-opportunity social-media sharing.” The final tallies about participation will be a bit longer in coming, but estimates suggest that there were almost 400 meetups worldwide and some 1500 RSVPs from over 70 countries – and lots of folks sent pictures, too.

At CRE, we know and love technology, too, and make it our goal to keep you both informed about it and supplied with it. Whether it’s one of our great plasma rentals for an exhibit booth, or a breakout session setup including our Audience Response System rentals, we’ve got what you need for conventions, conferences and corporate meetings. We also outfit many of the Southland’s film and TV production and post-production firms with the Mac Pro rentals and other high-power tools they need to do their magic. Contact one of our Account Executives, or fill out the Quick Rental Quote form, and we’ll do some of our own special magic for you, too.

Technology seems to breed acronyms like nothing else, from company names (IBM, AMD, NEC, etc.) to products and processes (MP3, DVD, VoIP and so on). There are a few newer ones floating around that are supposed to describe a new way of providing companies with high-tech tools, something like a subscription or monthly package deal. It’s got two main acronyms – TaaS (or TAAS) for Technology as a Service and SaaS (or SAAS) for Software as a Service. Check the technology service menu The idea is that you should order tech services like you order food a-la-carte – one from Column A, two from Column B and so forth – and thereby keep your IT expenses (and employee count) at a manageable level. There are many ‘technology service ‘ companies that work with their various vendors and partners to deliver affordable, tailor-made TaaS/SaaS programs to their customers -  small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that lack sufficient capital and staff resources to implement and manage their own computer, communications and IT functions. Sharing desktops over the Internet and making “videophone calls” with your webcam and computer monitor are dead simple now, and the real action is with the more involved remote services. Many companies that need leading-edge technology solutions to improve efficiency and maintain competitive market advantage now rely on these technology service firms to craft customized solutions, just as L.A.-area post-production firms and other companies rely on CRE’s AJA Io HD rentals to get the job done. By using open source software and server virtualization, these TaaS firms deliver whatever is needed to the customer locations, charging just a single monthly payment to manage and maintain the agreed-upon services. These can range from server maintenance and backups to telephony, security, loss prevention and conferencing. Staying state-of-the-art The advantages, especially for SMBs and startups, are many – and the parallels to CRE are, too. Like firms that avail themselves of CRE’s Mac Pro rentals to meet a pushed-up deadline or take on a new project, TaaS/SaaS customers are relieved of the usual ongoing ownership costs – depreciation, obsolescence, maintenance, employee resources – and typically get a performance and uptime guarantee, as well. Without adding more staff, or making capital investments in rapidly changing technology, firms save money and stay technologically healthy. As with CRE’s own technology services, customers stay up with the state-of-the-art without having to buy every new version of hardware and software that comes down the pike. Here’s a real-world example: The iMac you bought just six months ago is nowhere near as fast and powerful as the recently upgraded iMacs we blogged about recently. So you could have saved that money, arranged for iMac rentals just when you needed them and been better off, overall. This is certainly not true of every company and every situation, but it is something your number-crunchers really should spend some time considering. Everything from our computer rentals to our convention rentals help you plan ahead on your corporate budget and save a few dollars, too. CRE does for creative and production operations what SaaS firms do for IT departments – takes the load off, so to speak, in ways both technological and financial. At CRE, technology is only part of the service – solutions are the core, frankly. We offer everything from Xserve RAID rentals for those storage-intensive tasks to audio visual rentals for conferences, conventions and corporate meetings. Fill out the online Quick Rental Quote form and you will discover what “SaaS” stands for at CRE – namely, Solutions as a Service.

When the subject is as important as “cloud computing,” we want to break it down to basics for you. Defining cloud computing as “using the Internet’s storage and computing resources” is a reasonable start. And, yes, you can still call the Internet “the cloud.” We’ve talked about cloud terminology in previous blogs (specifically five technologies to watch),  but since these words are now being used by marketing managers even more than by engineers, we thought it wise to revisit them.

In the 1990s, Scott McNealy, a co-founder of Sun Microsystems, said, “The Web is the computer.” The ultimate dream of the cloud boosters is people accessing files stored “in the cloud” (”on a server somewhere”) with minimalist workstations called “thin clients” – a keyboard, a monitor and a network connection. Is this really how people would work, given the chance? Many of CRE’s creative clients doing high-end work on Mac Pro rentals would probably say, “No way,” at least for now.

Local = control

More and more people are becoming cloud-savvy, because that’s where their Web sites are located, of course. Many businesses also use online storage to archive materials. There is a good business rationale for this, as well as for storing many kinds of work-in-progress in the cloud, like projects that require collaboration for editing, design and/or distribution. However, the notion that all files are “virtual” – which means “unavailable” when the power goes out – scares the heck out of many designers, A/V pros and content producers. Is this really the Big Idea that McNealy and other cloud fans want to implement?

For this all-cloud-all-the-time scheme to work, we need far greater network speed and much more bandwidth. Even when these and other sticking points are unstuck, human nature is still blocking the road ahead, holding up a big sign that says, “I have trust issues.” If you just hired some extra artists and put them to work on  computer rentals to finish an urgent project, would you honestly trust the only copy to be out of your sight – rather, out of anyone’s sight? No local work copy? No way!

Step by step towards computing in the cloud

We haven’t space to cover all the security issues, but the phrase “heightened security threats” pops up a lot in cloud computing discussions. Local storage is safer than cloud storage for the simple reason that cyberspace is still a battlefield full of hackers, viruses and malware. “From the frying pan to the fire” seems an appropriate precautionary statement about moving prematurely to cloud computing – for now. So, consider Xserve RAID rentals – they are solid, tangible proof that you have your work at hand, safe and sound.

You can get acclimated to the cloud by getting a free online storage account (and actually using it). With each passing day, the Internet gets faster, safer and easier to use, but it’s still got a bit of the Wild West in it. Perhaps some people will be comfortable leaving their animation files on the cloud and using Apple’s imaginary Web app, Final Cut Virtual, to work on them (perhaps with their iPhones). Others may take a bit longer to feel safe doing that. Your mileage, as they say, may vary!

At CRE, one thing that never varies is the expertise and professionalism of our staff. Whether you need the fastest iMac rentals anywhere or a broad array of convention rentals, CRE is your one-stop shop. Call us, send an e-mail or fill out a Quick Rental Quote form and we’ll help you get where you need to go with the best hardware, software and services, bar none.

SPIE Optics + Photonics

The SPIE Optics+Photonics conference is set for August 1-5 (Exhibition is August 3-5) at the San Diego Convention Center. Attendees will get the latest news and research on the solar, nano, optical and photonics technologies that promise improvements to our communities and our planet. Along with access to almost 2,800 papers in the various aforementioned fields, and 22 plenary talks by experts, conference goers will enjoy unparalleled opportunities for networking and bridge-building.

Interactive poster sessions, as well as group discussions focused on specific technical topics, enable you to join your peers and colleagues in delving deep into important subjects, and are open to all paid attendees. Wi-FI laptops or tablet PC rentals may be just the ticket for your conference team, whatever your goal at the conference. There will also be general admission and invitation-only admission to various social, networking, professional development, student and SPIE membership events, where digital recorder rentals might come in very handy.

If your goal is to spread the word on your own product or service, presentation aids like plasma rentals are easily arranged. If you want to capture contact information and develop prospects, you might avail yourself of CRE’s interactive kiosks, now with 17-inch touchscreen interfaces. Whether bringing a message, gathering information or both, CRE can equip you to succeed.

ASR Access

From August 13-15 at the San Diego Convention Center, ASR Access will be where over 400 surf and skate lifestyle brands preview their 2010/2011 collections to international buyers. With over 18,000 people from over 60 countries, 7,000+ buyers/distributors of lifestyle products and some 450 exhibiting manufacturers representing over 700 brands, ASR Access is a product-focused event with plenty of variety.

ASR Access features range from a fashion show and centralized lounges to business seminars and places where you can meet, network, make buying decisions and gain valuable insights. Whether you need a full-size exhibit space with plasma rentals, or some audio visual rentals to lead a breakout session, CRE is prepared right now to prepare you right.

CLASS@ASR runs concurrently with ASR at the Convention Center with over 100 designers that cross over from surf/skate lifestyle lines into the prestigious fashion market. Also staging across from ASR in the Petco Park parking lot is Crossroads, committed to the independent nature of skateboarding culture and a uniquely relaxed format. It’s almost like three conferences in one, but if you get the right  convention rentals from CRE Rentals it can be one big success.

NACDS Pharmacy & Technology Conference

The NACDS Pharmacy & Technology Conference, also at the San Diego Convention Center from August 27-31, is where leading retailers meet with suppliers of healthcare products, pharmacy technology, software and a wide range of other innovative goods and services. With strategic reports, educational sessions and insider insight into pharmacy operations, clinical issues, marketing and distribution, this is one conference that delivers unique, usable information.

To reach the decision-makers of over 130 retail companies – chain drug stores, supermarkets and other mass merchandisers with some 80,000 retail outlets and $200+ billion in annual sales of prescription medicines, OTC preparations and home healthcare goods – the dramatic, colorful plasma rentals still cannot be beat. If you will be having key meetings with others in the exhibit area or the “Meet the Rx Market” sessions, consider outfitting your team with laptop rentals.

No matter what you need to accomplish at one of August’s San Diego conferences, CRE is here to help. Whether you’re attending, exhibiting or both, we have the hardware, software and know-how to make your presence a success. Call, send an e-mail or fill out our Quick Rental Quote form and let our experienced Account Executives help prepare you for a successful conference (or two, or three).

Introducing an HD Media Player

Seagate has introduced its new GoFlex TV 1080p HD Media Player (GTV for short), which can handle just about the entire alphabet soup of video formats from MPEG-1, -2 and -4 to Xvid, DivX, h.264, MOV and AVI files. It can also display most photo files – including JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG and GIF – and play all the latest audio formats, too, like WMA, WMA Pro, AAC, WAV, MP3 and others.  Why not combine the GoFlex TV media player with CRE plasma rentals to create a unique and cost-effective presentation system at your next event? CRE Rentals can help.

In addition to accessing media from a hard drive (not included) or a USB device, the GTV connects to the Internet with an optional Wi-Fi adapter or included Ethernet port. You can stream RSS feeds (video and text) – as well as other content from Flickr, YouTube, vTuner, Netflix, etc. – to both PAL and NTSC TVs. To insert a GoFlex drive, the only kind that will work with the GTV, just open the door on the front, slide it in and play media from the drive, over your network, off USB-connectable devices or via online services.

3D Cameras from Sony

With 3D breaking out of the movie theater and into homes with 3D TVs and Blu-ray titles, could cameras be far behind? Of course not. Sony is out of the gate with two new 3D Cyber-shot cameras. Two 12.2 megapixel models, the DSC-WX5 and DSC-TX9, use Sony’s 3D Sweep Panorama technology to create 3D images. You move the camera from side to side and capture up to 100 images that are then combined to create two “stereoscopic” frames. These are then viewed on a 3D-capable TV via HDMI, the sort of high-end connection found on CRE’s LCD monitor rentals.

Alternatively, using what’s called the Sweep Multi Angle feature creates 3D-style images from a burst of 15 frames. The multi-angle views can be seen simultaneously on any TV connected to the camera. The new 3D cameras rely on the same new Exmor R CMOS Sensor in the new Cyber-shot models. The 3D DSC-WX5 and DSC-TX9 models should hit the stores by the end of September.

Pad Madness Grows

Korean manufacturer Cydle has decided to distribute its new M7 Mini Pad tablet worldwide. The pad uses a version of Google’s Android operating system (OS), meaning there is yet another Android pad/tablet getting ready to hit the market with the other few thousand (so it seems). With 8 or 16GB of flash memory, 256MB of RAM, a 7-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi, MicroSD slot, USB 2.0 port, HDMI, headphone jack, microphone and built-in speaker, the M7 will output 1080p high-def video and handle all media tasks you can throw at it.

Included software ranges from an e-book reader, Internet redio, e-mail and Web browser to a calendar, alarm clock, movie player, music player and image viewer. Cydle has not announced a release date or pricing so stay tuned.

CRE stays abreast of all the technology that can affect your work and your life. Whether you need Audience Response System rentals or a room full of iMac rentals for a seminar, our expert Account Executives are ready to advise you and provide just the right solutions. Give a call, send an e-mail or fill out the Quick Rental Quote form and see how fast we’re on the job for you!

About the slowest thing your computer has to contend with is the hard drive. While CPUs are in the nanosecond range, hard drive access is measured in thousandths of a second, quite slow in the world of light-speed processors. On top of that, most computers crash because of hard drive problems, as they are extremely complicated eletromechanical beasts. Want to work faster? Want to say goodbye to hard drive crashes? You will, with Solid State Drives (SSDs), which represent the next step in storage evolution.

The future has already started, and CRE is on the leading edge once again with MacBook Pro rentals equipped with this superfast memory. It will take some time for the prices to come down to “old-fashioned” hard drive levels, but now that SSDs are being mass-manufactured it is happening just like it did before. More and more computer makers are offering them as options. But the really astonishing thing is this: SSDs address just about every weakness of standard hard drives, and will completely replace them in the future. SSDs really are amazing, which is why they are taking over, and soon!

How Solid State Drives work

As opposed to those older hard drives, SSDs are simply gargantuan versions of NAND flash memory like the SecureDigital card that goes in your camera, the USB thumb drive you use for your sneakernet, and the memory in cell phones and iPod nanos. When enough chips are packed together you get enough storage volume for today’s use, from 8 to 64GB for iPhones and iPads, 32-64GB and up for netbooks, laptops and desktops. For computers, the SSDs are even built to existing form factors (2.5-inch laptop and 3.5-inch desktop sizes) so they are easily installed into existing devices. They use the same SATA connectors as most current hard drives, too.

Their advantages are many and dramatic – no moving parts, no noise, less heat and zero vibration. Because there are no spinning platters and moving read/write heads, there are no crashes due to hardware malfunctions. They draw less power, as well. All of this means tremendous reliability, over a million hours MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) and incredible speed. A fast 7200rpm hard drive has an access time of between 5 and 10ms, while the SSD clocks in at a staggering 0.1ms. Yes, one-tenth of a millisecond. Clearly, this is the future of data storage, at least for work in progress. It may or may not be the best long-term archiving solution, which is why other media (hard drives, optical media, tape) will remain in use.

Benefits of  SSDs

As previously noted, CRE now has MacBook Pro rentals with superfast SSDs. You may not notice that the laptop is a bit lighter, but you will definitely notice that it is quieter, cooler and faster. SSDs can also withstand drops and impacts that would send read/write heads scraping across your regular hard drive’s disc platters, obliterating data on their way. You would have to physically crush or smash an SSD with a crowbar to experience that kind of data loss.

Whether you need the swift SSD-equipped MacBook Pros, the potent Mac Pro rentals, other computer rentals, or A/V and convention-related technology, CRE is your one-stop shop for all of it. We have the expertise, the equipment and the experienced Account Executives to help you find the right solution for your particular challenge. Give us a call, send an e-mail or fill out the Quick Rental Quote form. We will put together a quote right away so that you get the laptop rental with SSD or other rental equipment when you need it – guaranteed!

Today there are some pitched battles going in such niches as netbooks, tablet PCs, iPads and various kinds of “e-readers.” The most exciting part about any and all of these devices is the display technology, and there are envelope-pushing developments bringing us screens that feature color, touch sensitivity and video capability while using less power and lasting longer! Here’s an update for you about the latest in display screen technology.

Competition in display technology heats up

Qualcomm has a new screen technology called Mirasol (isn’t that dishwasher soap?) with a fast enough refresh rate to display video. The screens are low-power and light, perfect for the low end of the pad/tablet (”padlet”) market, which right now is Augen’s e-book reader. It has a (non-touch) LCD color screen, supports all major e-book formats, plays MP3 files and videos, and is equipped with 64MB of RAM, word processor, QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi, built-in speaker, headphones, SecureDigital card slot and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery.

While Prime View continues its move to color, scores of other firms around the world are working to get more performance with less energy and cost. One particular firm, Pixel Qi, has begun manufacturing 10-inch tablet-style screens featuring color and video that use less than half the power of a standard 10-inch LCD. The field is wide open now, and companies that are not even in the display industry – like Japanese tire maker Bridgestone, among others – are contributing to both R&D and production of new screen types. (Progress continues at the high end of screen tech, too, like the LED technology in 30″ Apple Cinema HD rentals.)

Some downsides to the upgrades

Special effects firms that meet emergency deadlines with the help of CRE Mac Pro rentals will not be trading those powerhouses in for an iPad rental or other mobile device any time soon. However, the movie trailers or animations their artists create will populate the Web, so Wi-Fi padlets will need to display them, either in browsers or with standalone media apps. The problem is that, at the low end of the netbook line now (and rumored for some upcoming padlets) you will find the Windows CE operating system. Originally released in 1996, the OS shows its age in almost every function.

Apple powers its first generation iPad with the iPhone OS, but there is talk (isn’t there always?) about the iPad running a stripped-down OS X or hybridized iPhone/OS X system. However, even with a better, multitasking OS, the CPU in the iPad can’t keep up with CRE’s iMac rentals, much less the mighty Mac towers. You will not finish your 3D shading on an iPad while lunching in the park, nor is it certain that you could even view a big JPEG file on one of the CE-powered “padlets” hitting the U.S. now.

At CRE, we stay stay current on everything — especially the technologies you need for post-production, digital workflows, conferences, conventions, presentations and the like. A phone call, e-mail or request for Quick Rental Quote will put an experienced Account Executive on the job for you right away. Whatever you need to accomplish, we can show you how to turn your problem into a successful solution. It’s what we do.

The Apple Macintosh mini, the computer so small it doesn’t even get a capital letter for its name, is the latest Mac to get a facelift and refreshing. (”Facelift” refers to cosmetic changes, while “refreshing” means operating hardware has been upgraded.)  Base unit drive sizes are 320 and 500GB.

Of course, some real goodies are still standard in all models – Airport Extreme, Bluetooth, gigabit Ethernet, upgraded NVIDIA GeForce 3200M graphics, a FireWire 800 port, four USB 2.0 ports, SD card slot, Mini DisplayPort for external monitors, an HDMI port and both optical digital and analog audio ins and outs. This is not your father’s (well, older brother’s) Mac mini by any means. Not only are the Core 2 Duo CPUs ugraded to 2.4 and 2.66GHz, the base models come with 2 and 4GB of DDR3 RAM, respectively, and both now accommodate a max of 8GB.

The mini bundle is brawny

A tad wider than the original, the mini has a new, unibody aluminum case like CRE’s MacBook Pro rentals, and it’s only 1.4 inches tall. The external power supply has been miniaturized and installed in the case. All of the first hands-on reviewers (from Computerworld to MacWorld) have raved about the small size, great design and energy-stinginess (it draws just 10 watts at idle, a 25% reduction over previous models). The mini is the most energy-efficient desktop computer you can get.

Along with Mac OS X Snow Leopard (now at 10.6.x), the mini can be outfitted with an easy-to-configure copy of OS X Server, while every model in the line gets the usual laundry list of solid Mac programs – iTunes for your media, Time Machine for backups and other essentials like Spaces, Quick Look, Spotlight, Dashboard, Address Book, QuickTime, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row and Xcode Developer Tools. For productivity, you have Mail, iChat, the Safari browser, iCal and the fabulous iLife bundle (iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb and GarageBand).

CRE carries wide array of Macintosh models, from the potent Mac Pro rentals to the best laptop for creatives on the go, the MacBook Pro. In addition, the phenomenal new 21.5- and 27-inch iMac rentals are in stock (as are the 20- and 24-inch models) and ready to help you push on through another deadline or another last-minute job. We are your Mac-at-work specialists so when you are ready to rent the new Mac mini, just give us a call or use our Quick Rental Quote form, and we will get you fully equipped in no time.

After equipping Smokey Bear (”the” is not his middle name) to lead the fight against forest fires for half a century or so, the government finally learned that occasional fires are good for the environment. They clear out deadwood and stir the environmental ingredients into action again. Leave it to Southern California’s own Scott Harris – marketing agency owner, business columnist, college and seminar instructor and jovial contrarian – to bring this metaphor to life for business professionals struggling to push their way out of a lingering recession.

Success breeds mediocrity

Like new growth after a forest fire, companies that have survived the recession “should now be stronger and better managed,” Harris writes in a recent San Fernando Valley Business Journal column. They should also “be smarter for the experience.” One of Harris’ famous warnings is, “Success breeds mediocrity,” by which he means that “it’s easy to be a lazy manager, business owner or employee when things are going well.” In good times, marginal employees are kept on, wasteful practices are winked at and, most dangerously, “difficult decisions” are put off. The economic turmoil that began in 2008, and is lingering still even as some hopeful signs emerge, brought much of this nonsense to a quick, often inglorious end.

Managers of companies that survived the last two years need to critique everything, preferably in a group setting – every policy, practice, procedure and process  – and be willing to jettison anything that does not work. “[If we] drift back to our previous ways,” warns Harris, “then we will have wasted a tremendous opportunity.” Harris closes his comments by assuring his readers that he does not advocate any controlled burning of businesses, but does “strongly recommend that we take a moment and learn as much as possible” from the recent recession. Only then, he insists, will American businesses, of all sizes and kinds, “be equipped to make the next few [years] as successful and as profitable as possible.”

Like Apple says, “Think different”

Bottom line? Think different, as Apple used to say in one of its longer-running ad campaigns. In an example from the special effects and post-production facilities that CRE rents to, management often divides into two camps with respect to the high-tech equipment they rely on – renters and buyers, with the latter historically more numerous. Many businesses learned to think differently during the recession, finding that it was actually more cost-effective to rent than own. Consider: Companies with Mac Pro rentals do not have to pay to repair a crashed hard drive. One call and a new computer shows up. Firms using interactive kiosk rentals to capture contact information at conventions turn the kiosks back in, rather than watch them collect dust until the next time they’re needed.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Every purchase, every expense, every procedure, every rule – all of it needs to be evaluated in light of new operating parameters. For want of a better word, let’s borrow one from the environmental movement and call it “Business Sustainability,”  as others are already doing. Combining the strongest core elements of green thinking, flexible management, recycling, goal setting, group dynamics, creativity and strategic planning, it can help chart new routes to the future. With a commitment to enlightened management, excellence and success, there’s no telling what the next few years might hold!

CRE supports your business with the best technological tools as well as the expertise to deploy them. Whatever you need to accomplish, our Account Executives are here to help. Send an e-mail, make a call or use the Quick Rental Quote form to let us know what you need. We will make your priority our priority. That’s what we do!