Backblog—ICT Hardware and Infrastructure

One of the concerns that organizations have about defining their enterprise architecture (EA) is that it takes foundational understanding of the business and its objectives. The Infromation Technology Enterprise Architecture team may take as much investment every year to keep relevant as it did to create it. To make an EA a reality for a business there is a need for those who believe in EA to create a value proposition that holds up. One important question that must be answered is: Is the Enterprise Architecture closer to the CEO or the CIO based on the kind of CIO a company has?

Recently, some of us in HP were discussing the definition of Enterprise Architecture for an upcoming activity by The Open Group. There are a number of different perspectives on what EA is, both within HP and The Open Group.

There is a great deal of work to define EA maturity and techniques for its assessment that are being defined by analysts. These techniques are useful but they may not be appropriate for every type of EA. In a way, this is similar to the differences in perspective on architecture. Merriam - Webster's online dictionary states a general definition of architecture and if I were to associate it with Enterprise Architecture in IT, the result would be:

1. the art or science of the use of IT for the enterprise; specifically : the art or practice of designing and building structures and especially useful ones that generate business value

2. a: formation or construction resulting from or as if from a conscious act <the architecture of the system>

    b: a unifying or coherent form or structure <the workflow lacks architecture>

3. architectural product or work; the delivered work products from enterprise architecture

4. a method or style of IT

5. the manner in which the components of a computer or computer system are organized and integrated

The one thing that is common for EA is that it focuses on the enterprise and it should be used to maximize business value for that oragnization.

Charlie Bess
EDS' Next Big Thing Blog

Microsoft recently announced a new version of its Zune music player, a touch-screen player called the Zune HD. They also announced a Zune extension into the Xbox Live platform, with goal to  “create a game-changing entertainment experience”.

The Zune HD features a built-in HD radio receiver -- the first mainstream integration of HD radio in a portable media player. It will also have a web browser to go with its WiFi capabilities, something the old Zune’s didn’t really use for more than syncing.

I do wonder if the LiveMesh capabilities will be extended to the device as well. Now that there is a developer’s environment available for the Zune, the ability to apply these tools for a business purpose is in reach.

This last week, I was at a large consumer goods company and we were discussing the possibilities of the Consumerization of IT. As these types of low costs devices open up their capabilities in ways that are compatible with an organization’s existing and future investments, a whole new range of possibilities can be accessed.

Charlie Bess
EDS' Next Big Thing Blog 

A number of years ago, former EDS Fellow, Randy wrote a blog entry about touch feedback being a problem for virtual screens. It looks like those haptic feedback are coming a bit closer to production.

It's funny how adding another dimension to the user interaction experience can make it so much more rewarding. Enabling a touch screen to "touch back", and provide a range of textures for your experience and provide new depth to a virtual reality experience could have some very interesting applications. The article in IEEE Spectrum describes how eventually you could use the display to "tell how a garment feels".

It looks like LG, Samsung, and many others are doing this in a small way on their phones, but if all they're doing is using the phones vibration ringer to provide gross vibration feedback, it could be added to all the Smartphone devices before long.

I can just imagine the possibilities for feedback you can provide a user on their interaction with corporate systems if touch screen devices become more common in the workplace.

Charlie Bess
EDS' Next Big Thing Blog

Backbone magazine runs a gadget section in every issue. Those are small overview pieces; over here in blogland I am going to start highlighting notable devices with a more thorough review. First up: the Parrot Minikit Chic Bluetooth car speakerphone.

Why you should buy it: excellent voice recognition and support for your address book. Plus the law says so.

I’ll open with the law: Ontario recently passed Bill 118, which bans the use off hand-held devices while driving. The law will kick in sometime in the fall. Similar legislation exists in other provinces and we may see a national version sometime soon, so if you’re not already hands-free behind the wheel, now is a good time to get on it.

The Minikit Chic (silly name, I know) retails for about $130. For that, you get a speakerphone that clips to your car’s visor, links to your cellphone over Bluetooth and lets you make and receive calls. The unit recharges through USB. All of that is fairly standard; there are a number of these on the market.

The Chic stands out in two areas. First, it imports contacts from your cellphone and then gives you voice access to them. So you’re driving down the road and you realize you forgot to make a call. Push the call button on the unit, say “Aunt Bea” and the Chic will connect you. And if Aunt Bea has more than one number, the Chic asks which one you want (Home or Cell, for example). You can also select a name by turning the device’s large control knob.

For incoming calls, the unit reads out the name of the caller as stored in your contact list. 

The second stand-out feature is large, easy-to-use controls. Too many hands-free kits are hobbled by small buttons and dials that are almost impossible to use with your eyes on the road. The Chic was designed for car use, and the controls are large and simple: one button hangs up or rejects a call; the other button accepts a call, redials or turns on voice recognition; and the big knob adjusts volume and cycles through contacts or menu options.  These are all easy to use, although in my tests I mainly used voice commands.

In the nothing is perfect department, we have sound quality that can sometimes become muffled and the compete lack of an on/off light, which more than once made me think it was off when it wasn’t. But these are minor quibbles.

The Minikit Chic delivers good voice control in an eyes-on-the-road package.

Before buying, check compatibility with your device at the Parrot site.

Peter Wolchak

I mentioned a while back that the next wave of computing will appear to be a product of the financial downturn. One of the reasons for this is not just the continued new technologies developed during the downturn whose deployment is delayed; it is the intersection of those technologies with other advances that will make the new innovations useful.

We've probably all seen how technology advancement in one space can intersect with the technology and need in another area to produce a whole new business; for example, computing capabilities and graphic advances intersected with the entertainment needs to create a computer gaming industry. The systems developed to power those games are available at a relatively low cost so that consumers can purchase them. Those techniques are now being reapplied to create new powerful, low cost computers that can do the parallel processing that used to only be possible on super computers.

Even if the number of innovations grows linearly, the number of intersections grows exponentially. This growth is likely one of the reasons that when funding begins to flow the advances are so rapid.

Charlie Bess
EDS' Next Big Thing Blog

There have been a number of stories lately about new flexible display types coming to market. It does make me wonder about their power consumption and the limits it will place on application. According to this story, flexible color displays are not that far off either.

If you connect a flexible display with edge computing, the implications on everyday devices will be extensive. I could see products that change their labels based on where they are in the store or what other products they are near and other interesting interaction models. We could have one product's display, "talking" for another product that isn't as capable.

These displays will be used in places we currently have traditional displays, but will require less protection (less weight). Places like credit card displays, cell phones, etc. could be utilized. There will not just be small applications, but billboard-sized, as well (using OLEDs). Combining that with other technology could make for a much more interactive billboard experience (similar to Minority Report). We may eventually be able to print OLEDs on just about anything.

Maybe instead of clip-on sun glasses we'll have clip-on displays. I could use that for augmented reality applications, like remembering people's names and background when I see them... of course then I can hear a whole chorus of these devices making us stupid too.

Charlie Bess
EDS' Next Big Thing Blog