Office Space for Rent in Tracy, CA
Living in the Cloud
OK, this was eye-opening.
At last night’s GeekMeet meeting at AltamontCowork, member Phil showed us how he could boot up his new Netbook with several different Operating Systems (Chrome OS, Android OS, Windows 7, and three flavors of Linux) each loaded on their own SD memory card (4 Gig).
Very impressive.
Since I use Google Chrome as my main browser now (super fast!) I was really interested in seeing Chrome OS, but, was not sure how I felt about NOT having my files on my computer hard drive. There is something comfortable about having my files on my hard drive…
What I found out is that there is no appreciable difference between having my files parked on Google Docs versus being on my hard drive.
Phil let me fire up my Google account on his Netbook. With a click of the mouse, I was in MY Google Docs and could work on any document I wanted. Wow…
I was expecting something different…harder? uncomfortable? weird?
What I found was extraordinary, and I realized that I had just taken a peek at the future of working in the cloud. Cool.
Old Way
I am soooo used to opening a folder, looking for my documents, opening the one I need (or make a new one), making changes, saving it. Then I go home and back it up once a week. Now the information is on two drives, just in case something goes wrong with one.
By the way, before all that…paying a couple of hundred bucks for the software (both application and operating system). Ouch.
The Cloud Way
Using Chrome OS, I landed instantly on MY (yes, that is amazing to me…I was using Phil’s computer) Google Docs where, for FREE, I had access to pretty much all the applications I need on a daily basis and all my files. I opened a document, made changes (or made a new one), and saved it (I could also share it with a friend or colleague, easy as 3.14). No need to back it up…Google will do that for me.
Sweeet.
Complication?
What happens if my Internet connection goes down and I am at home in my PJ’s?
But then again, how often has that happened since the emergence of DSL and Cable? Hmmmm, maybe twice in umpteen number of years….and I now have a wealth of Internet access alternatives if I want to get dressed (or I can grab Bob’s wireless connection in my backyard, shhhhh, don’t tell him).
Conclusion
I am almost ready to take the leap into the cloud. Google needs and easy way to synchronize / backup all the stuff on my hard drives up to Google Docs and then I am ready to go.
The new way of computing…Phil says “its’ the death of the local file”. I tend to agree. Move on, move up, keep changing! This is great fun, folks.
Wait a second…what ever happened to Wyse terminals? Is this back to the future?
Story: Back in 1995, I left a good job (what an idiot) to join a start-up (Zydacom) that was developing a way to access applications via the Internet. To rent them. Sound familiar? That company only lasted 9 months….but the concept, although early, was sound.
Telecommuting = Coworking = Telework
Is this fun??? Or necessary?
OK, this is ridiculous.
Folks….it is 2010. The Internet is at nearly everyone’s feet, computers have evolved into lean mean mobile machines, phones have done the same.
Social networks abound, email, IM, Twitter, Facebook, videoconferencing, voice, video, and data….all at your fingertips.
Airports, train stations, McDonalds, Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, just about every where there is wireless access to the Internet.
Why are you still commuting to a central location to work? DUH…
I know why:
Old Fashioned Bosses (OFB’s) who cannot understand that work gets done even if people are not under their thumb. Guess what OFB…yeah you….under your thumb, a lot of socializing happens along with some work.
Try this: Stick your head out your door, go ahead, take a look around. See all those people hunched over their computers working like crazy? I’ll bet their Farms are doing really well….
Here is my advice to you: Time to retire…let the new kids become the bosses, let them change the world.
Here is how the young kids will do it:
- They set a deadline for a project.
- They let their employee work on that project.
- If the project gets done…great.
- If not, they grab a new employee.
Where the work got done, how it got done, what time it got done….it does not matter. It got done per the agreed to schedule. That is all that matters, period, period, period…
In the process, all sorts of good things happen: happier more engaged employees, lower costs, reduced traffic, reduced emissions, reduced reliance on oil, increased productivity….DUH.
Telecommuting = Coworking = Telework.
Happy retirement OFB….welcome new kid on the block!
Vidyo’s 1440p Videoconferencing Capability
Say good-bye to 1080p videoconferencing (gee, we hardly knew you).
Welcome the new resolution champ: 1440p. Yup, 1440p which gives you up to 2560 x 1440 pixels instead of the measly 1080p which is only (how funny….I said only) 1920 x 1080 pixels.
And you can play a soccer game while having this meeting since it works at 60 frames per second.
To make this even more impressive (to me), the Vidyo announcement covers multipoint where three or more endpoints can have a meeting.
All you need is 4 Mbps of ordinary Internet bandwidth (imagine saying that 10 years ago, hmmmm, up and down?). I assume you will need a pretty powerful computer and an HD web cam…is there a good one out there now? (I’m so far behind…)
Here is the text of the Press Release.
INFOCOMM 2010- Las Vegas- JUNE 7, 2010 – Vidyo® Inc., the first company to deliver personal telepresence, announced today that it has set a new benchmark in videoconferencing with the first system to attain 1440p (decode) in an HD multiparty video conference via general purpose IP networks. VidyoConferencing™ is able to deliver unprecedented video fidelity at 2560 x 1440p resolution (77% more pixels than 1080p) via a standard Internet connection due to its unique patented architecture and VidyoRouter ™ technology. Because VidyoTechnology™ uses Intel architecture-based platforms, it is able to take advantage of Intel’s fastest, intelligent multi-core technology, achieving milestones in videoconferencing price and performance.
VidyoConferencing supporting 1440p requires at least 4Mbps and will be available in July of this year. For a limited time, it will be offered at no extra cost to all Vidyo customers using Vidyo’s Version 2 software. A demonstration of 1440p VidyoConferencing in an executive desktop setting running on the Intel i7 processor, will take place at InfoComm 2010 in Las Vegas, June 9-11th, 2010, Vidyo Booth #N2325.
The Vidyo architecture offers the only multipoint videoconferencing that does not transcode, yet delivers rate matching without adding latency. This capability is key to mixing devices and networks that can support 1440p with ones that do not. With VidyoTechnology, 1440p can be enjoyed on some devices, while other smaller devices connected to networks such as the public Internet, as well as 3G, 4G, WiMAX and LTE, can participate in the call, still maintaining a low latency personal telepresence experience.
“We are excited to demonstrate Vidyo at 1440p, an industry first,” said Ofer Shapiro, co-founder and CEO of Vidyo. “Delivering 1440p is yet another example of the unique advantage of Vidyo’s platform; because we are software-based, we are able to leverage the latest hardware platforms with the very best price-to-performance ratio that exists in the realm of videoconferencing and telepresence options.”
About Vidyo, Inc.
Vidyo, Inc. pioneered personal telepresence, enabling natural, multi-point videoconferences on desktop computers, room systems and soon smart phones and tablets. Vidyo’s patented VidyoRouter architecture delivers the only available H.264/SVC solution that eliminates an MCU while providing the industry’s best error resilience (click here to see a video) and lowest latency videoconferencing solution over the Internet, 3G, 4G, WiMAX and LTE networks. Learn more at www.vidyo.com
Lifesize LIVE Streaming from InfoComm
Once again I am sitting at my AltamontCowork desk dreaming of the old days….
This video is being streamed at 1 Mbps (I am viewing it on my trusty old Toshiba Laptop vintage 2006 with Windows XP), wireless, using Chrome browser. I have Comcast Business Internet with download of about 25 Mbps and up stream of about 2.5 Mbps. Good enuf for all sorts of HD…
One word: AWESOME !
I think it will be running today (June 10, 2010) and tomorrow….check it out..
TracyReaderDad Book Reviews
- September 2010 Thrillers
- “The Quiet One” by Mike Pihlman
- Frozen Nook
- Ebooks vs Books for the Environment
- “The Associate” by John Grisham
- Top Earning Authors
- “Cool New Flavor” by Mike Pihlman
- NPR’s Fiction Bestsellers August 12 2010
- “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” Second Read
- So many books, so little time
