Archive for the ‘Trends and Technology’ Category

Are We Ready for a Cloud Based OS?

Thursday, December 23rd, 2010

Google Chrome OSI have the feeling that people have said a lot about it already – maybe because over the past few weeks, Google has been taking up a lot of space in my (customized) news feed. The Google Chrome OS is now being used by real users and it delivers, as promised, a free, cloud based OS that is simple to use and that boots very quickly. It is a very interesting OS, and at the same time, I’m wondering how I would use it.

I must admit that my web browser has become the software that I use the most, especially in my personal life. This has happened mostly because in the past few years I have actively used more and more online services to fill the needs that were previously completed by software installed on my computer. All of this is also possible due to the advancements in rich internet applications (RIAs). There are obviously a lot of advantages in moving things online: setting things up is faster, things are available everywhere and are always in sync, things are often sharable with others, and it limits the need for backups (or at least, the part under my control) – and this is only to name a few. (more…)

Preparing for the ASAE Technology Conference

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

ASAE Technology Conference 2010

As we prepare to pack-up for Washington and set-up our booth for this year’s American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Technology Conference next week, my mind is focused on the challenges this market is facing. Just like for-profit companies, Associations are struggling with staying relevant to their members in this tough market and are looking for new ways to increase non-dues revenue. One such channel is though their publications. Association publishing is big business and will continue to grow in the years to come. According to the recent Folio Magazine Survey, 29 percent of associations publish five or more magazines, and 12 percent publish 20 or more titles. But today, revenue from these publications is still low, with 24 percent of associations saying that magazines account for between one and nine percent of their entire revenue stream. (more…)

The Economist Tackles the Internet of Things

Friday, November 19th, 2010

Internet of Things

Earlier this month, the Economist ran a special report on Smart Systems, otherwise known as the Internet of Things. The piece, entitled “It’s a Small World”, looked at the convergence of the real and digital worlds and the potential impact this has on us as a society.

If we think back, two decades ago the world was revolutionized by a similar type of network that provided people with a way to interact with each other – the Internet.  In the last decade the evolution of the Internet, defined as Web 2.0 by Tim O’Reilly in 2005, added user-generated content and created the concept of software applications engaging with each other directly. (more…)

State of the Tablet Market – 11 Months Later

Friday, October 29th, 2010

Back in January we posted about the coming slew of tablets that were slated to hit the market. Now, heading into the holiday season, nearly 11 months later, it’s interesting to see where things stand. Just looking at my favorite source of tablet news, Goodreader.com, there are pages of announcements and reviews of new devices in the last week alone.

When I wrote the original article back in January, the iPad was still just a rumor, lumped in with a bunch of other “in development” products. Now, in just the first two quarters of the year, the iPad has generated nearly $5 billion in new revenue for Apple.  This number is continuing to grow as Apple rolls out the device to a broader global market this week and US-based AT&T and Verizon start selling it in the US. (more…)

Testing Out the Adobe Packager for iPhone

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

Packager for iPhone

With the changes to the iPhone developer agreement a few weeks back, the Adobe Packager for iPhone gained new life. The packager, which is a feature of Adobe Flash Professional CS5 software and the Adobe AIR SDK, offers a way to use existing Flash code to create native applications for the iPhone and iPad. We’ve been working on native iPhone and iPad development for some time now, so we were curious as to how this application could be used to port over some of our existing Flex-developed client applications. We took a sampling of applications we’ve built over the past few months, some simple and some more complex, and used the Adobe Packager for iPhone to convert them. What we discovered is that there are some significant limitations with this tool. (more…)

The Challenges Facing Associations Today

Friday, October 8th, 2010

CSAE National ConferenceA  few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the Canadian Society of Association Executives National Conference and Tradeshow in Quebec City. At INM, we’ve worked with associations now for a number of years, providing a variety of services, including online and CD-based membership directories, Interactive publishing solutions, abstract management solutions for large meetings, and recently, design and development for website revamps. However, we haven’t really spent time with this audience disucssing broadly the challenges that this market is facing. Associations are unique organizations, funded primarily through membership revenue and sponsorships. In this recession economy, both of these sources are frequently cut from budgets. (more…)

Innovation Stories at BIF-6

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

BIF6-logoEarlier this month I attended an interesting conference called BIF-6, hosted by the Business Innovation Factory.  This was the sixth installment of this event, held in beautiful Providence, Rhode Island. The organizer, Saul Kaplan, and his team did an excellent job pulling this event together in a very appropriate matter – comfortable enough, but not overly extravagant.

Each speaker had 15 minutes to tell a story related to innovation. Some speakers used support images, but PowerPoint slides were strictly forbidden. In general, the speakers were excellent. Some of them took certain liberties in extending personal experiences into doubtful generalizations, but most stayed within the limits of recounting their stories or connecting them with established knowledge. (more…)

A Step Closer to Universal RIAs

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

Apple logoA move by Apple this week to ease up on its restrictions for the creation of mobile applications for the Apple App Store is a step forward toward universal rich internet applications (RIAs). Back in April 2010, Apple tried to restrict how companies could code and build their applications. The company’s justification was that the restrictions were in place to protect quality and ensure security. However, it really just closed the door for many companies who were unable or unwilling to build technology using native development.

With Apple loosening up their restrictions, businesses can now create applications with a variety of technologies and tools and port them over to an Apple-friendly format. Abode is a step ahead in this race, as they had already rolled out the Packager for iPhone with CS5 to applications to an Apple format. As of today, Flash content in a browser is still restricted.   (more…)

The Web is Not Dead, but it is Changing

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

changing-face-webTwo weeks ago I posted about the battle of the web browsers and what this meant for businesses. Even with the evolution of the browsers and the added functionalities they deliver, they are becoming irrelevant in the grand scope of the web. Years ago your experience on the web was dictated by the browser you choose. They all had different features and supported different options. Now, the web browser is virtually invisible. Users want access to the information they are seeking and they want the tool they are using to do so to just make this happen, without getting in the way.

The cover of the September issue of Wired boldly states “The Web is Dead”. This is a strong statement and one I don’t necessarily agree with. Yes, the face of the web is different and the ways that people are seeking information are different, but the fundamental concept of the web is still alive and kicking. People are still using the web to access information, but what’s changed is how the information is delivered. The days of funneling users through a web browser to your homepage are numbered, but users are still accessing information online. They’re just coming in through different doors, like web applications (iPad applications, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, RSS feeds and more). (more…)

Battle of the Web Browsers Heats Up

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

battle-web-browsersIt’s been an active couple of weeks in terms of web browser news with a plethora of sneak peeks and leaked screenshots. Everyone’s trying to one-up each other in the battle of the browsers.

It started with the beta release of Mozilla’s Firefox 4 browser, which adds support touch events within the browser on Windows 7 machines. They’ve also added a few other changes like moving the tabs option to the top of the browser and enhancing the JavaScript support to beef up performance of all those slick HTML5 web app demos that are making the rounds.

Next was the Chrome 6 Beta. Many of the changes on this version can be considered cosmetic – mainly streamlined tabs and buttons. The major feature is the addition of a new auto-fill feature with integrated synch. This allows all instances of Chrome to share form data and use it to auto-fill forms. (more…)