I have 3 kids at home and one of the most challenging things I have ever had to do is find a way to control internet usage. Trying to block the bad stuff 100% of the time and the time-wasters part of the time, without having to install a bunch of crap on the desktops (that someone would inevitably find a way around) was quite the quandary.
After digging around some, I found the godsend, and there is a fully functioning free version. Some premium features are available for a price of around 20 bucks a year.
OpenDNS lets you control what gets in and what gets blocked by making a simple change to the static DNS settings on your router. Once the change is in place, you can log into your free account on the OpenDNS site and select what categories you want to block.
As long as you keep good password protection on your home router and don't share your OpenDNS password with your kids, you have rock solid control over what they get access to, or should I say, who gets access to your kids.
There's a section that explains how it all works on the home page, so I'll spare you the technical details here. I'll only say that it works, and it works well.
So well, in fact, that the kids have increased their "cursing dad's name" by a factor of 10 over the past few weeks.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Press 1 for Cool - The Video IVR
I have worked in the contact center technology field for most of my IT career. I've watched as the industry has moved from 30 year old ACD technology to skills-based routing, least-cost routing, business process routing, multimedia, and internet contact technologies.
I've attended trade shows and user group meetings, done consulting and worked as a full-time employee for fortune 50 companies. It has been interesting to watch the unfolding of VoIP and SIP technologies and the decline of TDM technologies. Contact center technology has changed rapidly since the turn of the century and, like all other tech, has had to evolve to accommodate an increasingly tech-wise population that would rather click hyperlinks than talk to a human when they need customer service.
In spite of all that progress, most organizations have struggled to really connect with their customers in a way that truly showcases the capabilities of the available technology. The evolution of VXML and CCXML, as well as API exposure from the contact center technology providers, has opened doors that weren't even thought of 10 years ago. We can do so much more than what we're doing right now in contact centers.
I'd have to say, the worst of the contact center experiences (other than language barriers) are poorly written IVR applications.
IVR applications are those things you talk to when you call an 800 number at your bank, or your electric company, or any other organization with which you do business, to self service your account. Perhaps an example will show you what I mean.
You: beepbeepboopboopbeepboopbeepbeepboop (ok, this is really your phone)
IVR lady: Thank you for calling Big National Bank, where we love you. No, really. Please select from the following options. For account management, press 1. For loans, press 2. For credit cards, press 3. To repeat this menu, press 8 and don't ask us why we picked a non-sequential number for that option.
You: boop (you pressed 1)
IVR lady: You pressed 1, is that right? If so, press 1 to accept. To go back to the main menu, press 2.
You: boop
IVR lady: OK, account management. For checking, press 1. For savings, press 2. For money laundering, press 3.
You: booeep (that's a 3, sounds ominous because it's the money laundering menu)
IVR lady: You pressed 3, is that right? If so, press 1 to accept. To go back to the previous menu, press 2.
You: boop (remember, that's a "1")
IVR lady: I'm sorry, I didn't understand your response. Press 1 to accept, or press 2 to return to the previous menu.
You: beep (wait, was that 1 or 2?)
IVR lady: I'm still having trouble hearing you. Press 1 to accept, or press 2 to return to the previous menu.
You: (wait, what am I accepting? what was the previous menu? Crap, I'm lost! Desperate "boop" and inaudable swearing.)
IVR lady: You seem to be having trouble. Should I give you a moment to familiarize yourself with your telephone keypad? If yes, press 1. If no, and to return to whatever menu we were talking about, press 2.
You: (more swearing, this time much more audible, and BOOP BOOP BOOP BOOP BOOP on the 0 key to talk to a human).
IVR lady: Oh, you want to talk to one of our expensive agents. Fine. Your call is very important. We estimate your wait time to be <dramatic pause> 17 <pause> minutes.
I think you will all agree that I'm only exaggerating a little with this example. You may have chuckled a bit reading the example (come on, humor me) but you probably don't chuckle, in fact, you probably cringe, when you really have to interact with one of these things.
This hasn't really progressed much past old mainframe green screen, menu-driven software. The sad thing is, there really are IVR applications like this being used in customer service organizations everywhere today. Even sadder, the limitations are more around creativity than the technical capabilities of the available technology.
Remember this?
IVR development tools have gotten much more robust over the past few years, allowing developers to give the IVR quasi-intelligence, speech recognition, and the ability to interact with a myriad of backend systems. In the hands of a skilled developer, all kinds of possibilities open up. Companies are slowly but surely embracing the tech and spending the money to catch up to it.
Let's talk about a seemingly unrelated topic for a second. I promise to tie this together.
Personal assistant technology is beginning to show up on Apple and Android devices everywhere. The two big players right now are Apple's Siri, and Speaktoit for Android. These are both really in their infancy, and I refuse to make comparisons, as that always seems to stir up fights. They both get the job done, but "the job" is fairly limited right now. Basically, anything you can do on your smartphone the assistant can help with; send messages, respond to messages, open apps, check weather, time of day, etc., etc. Pretty cool tech, but still a bit limited and the bots sometimes struggle to get it right.
Now, what does this have to do with the contact center industry?
The industry is beginning to take notice of these personal technology assistants and recognizes the potential for integration. As the technology advances and the providers of personal assistants begin to open their API's and SDK's, contact center technology developers will begin using these to integrate personal assistants with customer service organizations' backend systems and provide self-service options to their customers via smartphone apps.
Instead of dialing a toll-free number and talking to a voice deeply rooted in tedious and cumbersome menu driven self-service using your keypad, you will talk to a personal assistant avatar on your smartphone screen in much more natural speech patterns in the next generation of intelligent Customer Front Door technology. Some initial studies have shown that visual IVR technology can reduce the amount of time required to get through a self-service conversation. Avatar-based visual IVR's could reduce that even further.
Now, let's try that bank call again, but this time, you're talking to Hal, your personal assistant on your smartphone screen.
You: Hello, Hal. I need to check a balance in my primary checking account and transfer some money to my offshore account.
Hal: I'd be delighted to help you with that Dave. Can you give me your password?
You: Yes, the password is **********.
Hal: Ten asterisks is an odd password, Dave, but whatever. Your primary checking account balance is ninety-seven dollars and thirty-four cents. How much would you like to transfer to your offshore account?
You: Three thousand dollars.
Hal: I'm sorry, Dave, I can't do that for you right now, that exceeds your balance. It can only be attributable to human error.
You: Thanks, Hal. Just seeing if you were paying attention.
Hal: Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.
In spite of Hal's condescending demeanor, you walk away happy because that took much less time than that annoying IVR lady that could probably drive even Hal crazy.
Over the next few years, we will see big changes in the contact center experience. While nobody will ever be able to come up with anything as cool as Kramer's Moviefone, visual platforms will become increasingly popular and, as the technology improves, will remove some of the pain from customer service.
I've attended trade shows and user group meetings, done consulting and worked as a full-time employee for fortune 50 companies. It has been interesting to watch the unfolding of VoIP and SIP technologies and the decline of TDM technologies. Contact center technology has changed rapidly since the turn of the century and, like all other tech, has had to evolve to accommodate an increasingly tech-wise population that would rather click hyperlinks than talk to a human when they need customer service.
In spite of all that progress, most organizations have struggled to really connect with their customers in a way that truly showcases the capabilities of the available technology. The evolution of VXML and CCXML, as well as API exposure from the contact center technology providers, has opened doors that weren't even thought of 10 years ago. We can do so much more than what we're doing right now in contact centers.
I'd have to say, the worst of the contact center experiences (other than language barriers) are poorly written IVR applications.
IVR applications are those things you talk to when you call an 800 number at your bank, or your electric company, or any other organization with which you do business, to self service your account. Perhaps an example will show you what I mean.
You: beepbeepboopboopbeepboopbeepbeepboop (ok, this is really your phone)
IVR lady: Thank you for calling Big National Bank, where we love you. No, really. Please select from the following options. For account management, press 1. For loans, press 2. For credit cards, press 3. To repeat this menu, press 8 and don't ask us why we picked a non-sequential number for that option.
You: boop (you pressed 1)
IVR lady: You pressed 1, is that right? If so, press 1 to accept. To go back to the main menu, press 2.
You: boop
IVR lady: OK, account management. For checking, press 1. For savings, press 2. For money laundering, press 3.
You: booeep (that's a 3, sounds ominous because it's the money laundering menu)
IVR lady: You pressed 3, is that right? If so, press 1 to accept. To go back to the previous menu, press 2.
You: boop (remember, that's a "1")
IVR lady: I'm sorry, I didn't understand your response. Press 1 to accept, or press 2 to return to the previous menu.
You: beep (wait, was that 1 or 2?)
IVR lady: I'm still having trouble hearing you. Press 1 to accept, or press 2 to return to the previous menu.
You: (wait, what am I accepting? what was the previous menu? Crap, I'm lost! Desperate "boop" and inaudable swearing.)
IVR lady: You seem to be having trouble. Should I give you a moment to familiarize yourself with your telephone keypad? If yes, press 1. If no, and to return to whatever menu we were talking about, press 2.
You: (more swearing, this time much more audible, and BOOP BOOP BOOP BOOP BOOP on the 0 key to talk to a human).
IVR lady: Oh, you want to talk to one of our expensive agents. Fine. Your call is very important. We estimate your wait time to be <dramatic pause> 17 <pause> minutes.
I think you will all agree that I'm only exaggerating a little with this example. You may have chuckled a bit reading the example (come on, humor me) but you probably don't chuckle, in fact, you probably cringe, when you really have to interact with one of these things.
This hasn't really progressed much past old mainframe green screen, menu-driven software. The sad thing is, there really are IVR applications like this being used in customer service organizations everywhere today. Even sadder, the limitations are more around creativity than the technical capabilities of the available technology.
Remember this?
And you thought Kramer was just a funny guy. He invented the first speech driven IVR, more out of necessity than anything. Figured we all needed a laugh after that annoying IVR lady.IVR development tools have gotten much more robust over the past few years, allowing developers to give the IVR quasi-intelligence, speech recognition, and the ability to interact with a myriad of backend systems. In the hands of a skilled developer, all kinds of possibilities open up. Companies are slowly but surely embracing the tech and spending the money to catch up to it.
Let's talk about a seemingly unrelated topic for a second. I promise to tie this together.
Personal assistant technology is beginning to show up on Apple and Android devices everywhere. The two big players right now are Apple's Siri, and Speaktoit for Android. These are both really in their infancy, and I refuse to make comparisons, as that always seems to stir up fights. They both get the job done, but "the job" is fairly limited right now. Basically, anything you can do on your smartphone the assistant can help with; send messages, respond to messages, open apps, check weather, time of day, etc., etc. Pretty cool tech, but still a bit limited and the bots sometimes struggle to get it right.
Now, what does this have to do with the contact center industry?
The industry is beginning to take notice of these personal technology assistants and recognizes the potential for integration. As the technology advances and the providers of personal assistants begin to open their API's and SDK's, contact center technology developers will begin using these to integrate personal assistants with customer service organizations' backend systems and provide self-service options to their customers via smartphone apps.
Instead of dialing a toll-free number and talking to a voice deeply rooted in tedious and cumbersome menu driven self-service using your keypad, you will talk to a personal assistant avatar on your smartphone screen in much more natural speech patterns in the next generation of intelligent Customer Front Door technology. Some initial studies have shown that visual IVR technology can reduce the amount of time required to get through a self-service conversation. Avatar-based visual IVR's could reduce that even further.
Now, let's try that bank call again, but this time, you're talking to Hal, your personal assistant on your smartphone screen.
You: Hello, Hal. I need to check a balance in my primary checking account and transfer some money to my offshore account.
Hal: I'd be delighted to help you with that Dave. Can you give me your password?
You: Yes, the password is **********.
Hal: Ten asterisks is an odd password, Dave, but whatever. Your primary checking account balance is ninety-seven dollars and thirty-four cents. How much would you like to transfer to your offshore account?
You: Three thousand dollars.
Hal: I'm sorry, Dave, I can't do that for you right now, that exceeds your balance. It can only be attributable to human error.
You: Thanks, Hal. Just seeing if you were paying attention.
Hal: Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.
In spite of Hal's condescending demeanor, you walk away happy because that took much less time than that annoying IVR lady that could probably drive even Hal crazy.
Over the next few years, we will see big changes in the contact center experience. While nobody will ever be able to come up with anything as cool as Kramer's Moviefone, visual platforms will become increasingly popular and, as the technology improves, will remove some of the pain from customer service.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Why Apple Will Fail
Before we get started here, let's get a few things straight.
I am not an Apple Hater.
I started using Macs back in the 90's when I worked for a newspaper doing advertising layout. We used the Macs for layout and electronic pre-press instead of sending the huge printing plates to the printer. Nothing could do the job like the Macs.
A few years later, I wrote a FileMaker Pro application for a small finance company and converted all their offices to Macs. This was back in the PowerPC and G3/G4 days.
Efficiency in the offices increased due to the simplicity and intuitive interface of the MacOS, and, of course, my brilliant code. Well, mostly because of the intuitive interface of the MacOS.
I have since that time owned Mac devices from the original iPod to the latest iPad model. I don’t care what theory you subscribe to, they make some awesome tech.
I will also admit, I am primarily a user of other devices and other mobile operating systems. I try to avoid comparisons and realize that all of them fill a need in the market and appeal to different people.
I think the "this is better than that" mindset is juvenile and narrow minded. Why can't we just all get along?
Anyway, now that we're on the same page, let me tell you why I think Apple will fail.
I should point out, of course, that this is a theory. I realized my crystal ball was flawed many years ago when Truman defeated Dewey. OK, I’m not quite that old. My theory is based on the “past behavior is the best predictor of future performance” idea. Apple’s history is fraught with evidence that the company’s success is very closely tied, maybe even inextricably tied, to the actions, ideas, and presence of Steve Jobs.
When Steve Jobs left Apple in 1985, you know, when John Sculley didn’t fire him, Apple launched into a singularly unimpressive 12 year period of net flat stock prices and uninspired leadership. John Sculley, former CEO of Pepsi and Gil Amelio, previously the CEO of National Semiconductor proved to the world that CEOs with proven track records of leadership could do nothing but steer the Apple ship into the seas of mediocrity.
It was during this period that Apple proved it could be just like all the other boring, dull tech companies. They did the “licensing thing” with Motorola and released several laptops, desktops, and servers. It was a very unexciting time in Apple history, and the stock price was slowly dwindling away along with market share. By 1997, it seemed the end was inevitable.
Then, Jobs returned.
Apple went on the offensive and, just over a year later, released the iMac. The excitement was back. The stock soared out of the twenty-dollars-a-share bargain basement to an unprecedented $141.31 a share on March 22, 2000. Jobs had almost single-handedly resurrected the rotting Apple with his first directive from the captain’s chair since his return.
The Dot Com Bomb of 2000, housing market collapse, and The Great Recession weren’t enough to keep Apple down. If you look at the graph below, Apple’s stock prices began a steady climb after the Dot Com Bomb and soared to an insane $400 a share with the iPhone and iPad releases.
Did you notice the drop in the stock when Jobs’ health issues became apparent and he took medical leave from the company in 2009? Is it just me, or is it significant that, while Apple was riding the wave from the iPhone success, it took such a downturn on the bad news surrounding Jobs health? Sure, Apple recovered, but why? Because of the iPad, another brilliant idea from Steve Jobs.
Apple’s success has always been tied to the truly brilliant ideas of Steve Jobs. As a matter of fact, the other companies started by Jobs, NeXT and Pixar, reveal some other interesting precedents that speak volumes about what happens to companies that were started by Jobs when he leaves.
The technology developed at NeXT was brought back to Apple with Jobs and became the basis for OS X. NeXT has been reduced to nothing more than a user group consisting of the remnants of a small, zealous user base and former employees.
Pixar, well, that’s a little different. When Disney bought Pixar and made Steve Jobs a board member (and its largest shareholder), their intent was to get their hands on the Pixar platform which was their implementation of the industry standard RenderMan.
Disney has writers, but they needed something to take their in-house, mediocre animation to the next level. Who had the answer? Steve Jobs. The technology is now part of Disney, and Pixar, while not forgotten, is nothing more than a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney. Pixar, another of Jobs creations, will always be remembered for revolutionizing animation.
Apple enthusiasts, it’s time to face facts. Apple, the company, was the fortunate recipient of the genius of Steve Jobs. Put simply, Apple was Steve Jobs. It doesn’t matter that he hand-picked his replacement because his replacement isn’t Steve Jobs. No amount of teaching and indoctrination can duplicate what Steve brought to the table. I challenge anyone to show me one thing with any staying power that came out of Apple that isn’t tied to Steve Jobs.
Guys like Steve Jobs don’t come along every day. Sure, there are smart people out there, but Steve Jobs was more than just smart. Steve Jobs possessed something unique and special. He was an inventor, artist, gearhead, and businessman all rolled into a single package and he excelled at all of those things. He was just wired differently than most people and it is truly a gift. I can’t go to school to learn that.
Steve Jobs has been compared to Thomas Edison and I believe the analogy is appropriate. Just like we all have light bulbs in our homes 130 years after the first successful test that vaguely resemble the original invention, people 130 years from now will most likely have something similar to an iPod with all their favorite tunes on it connected to the sound system in their flying car.
We may have had those sooner if Steve had gotten into the car business.
23HQ7V9HG5MA
I am not an Apple Hater.
I started using Macs back in the 90's when I worked for a newspaper doing advertising layout. We used the Macs for layout and electronic pre-press instead of sending the huge printing plates to the printer. Nothing could do the job like the Macs.
A few years later, I wrote a FileMaker Pro application for a small finance company and converted all their offices to Macs. This was back in the PowerPC and G3/G4 days.
Efficiency in the offices increased due to the simplicity and intuitive interface of the MacOS, and, of course, my brilliant code. Well, mostly because of the intuitive interface of the MacOS.
I have since that time owned Mac devices from the original iPod to the latest iPad model. I don’t care what theory you subscribe to, they make some awesome tech.
I will also admit, I am primarily a user of other devices and other mobile operating systems. I try to avoid comparisons and realize that all of them fill a need in the market and appeal to different people.
I think the "this is better than that" mindset is juvenile and narrow minded. Why can't we just all get along?
Anyway, now that we're on the same page, let me tell you why I think Apple will fail.
I should point out, of course, that this is a theory. I realized my crystal ball was flawed many years ago when Truman defeated Dewey. OK, I’m not quite that old. My theory is based on the “past behavior is the best predictor of future performance” idea. Apple’s history is fraught with evidence that the company’s success is very closely tied, maybe even inextricably tied, to the actions, ideas, and presence of Steve Jobs.
When Steve Jobs left Apple in 1985, you know, when John Sculley didn’t fire him, Apple launched into a singularly unimpressive 12 year period of net flat stock prices and uninspired leadership. John Sculley, former CEO of Pepsi and Gil Amelio, previously the CEO of National Semiconductor proved to the world that CEOs with proven track records of leadership could do nothing but steer the Apple ship into the seas of mediocrity.
It was during this period that Apple proved it could be just like all the other boring, dull tech companies. They did the “licensing thing” with Motorola and released several laptops, desktops, and servers. It was a very unexciting time in Apple history, and the stock price was slowly dwindling away along with market share. By 1997, it seemed the end was inevitable.
Then, Jobs returned.
Apple went on the offensive and, just over a year later, released the iMac. The excitement was back. The stock soared out of the twenty-dollars-a-share bargain basement to an unprecedented $141.31 a share on March 22, 2000. Jobs had almost single-handedly resurrected the rotting Apple with his first directive from the captain’s chair since his return.
The Dot Com Bomb of 2000, housing market collapse, and The Great Recession weren’t enough to keep Apple down. If you look at the graph below, Apple’s stock prices began a steady climb after the Dot Com Bomb and soared to an insane $400 a share with the iPhone and iPad releases.
Did you notice the drop in the stock when Jobs’ health issues became apparent and he took medical leave from the company in 2009? Is it just me, or is it significant that, while Apple was riding the wave from the iPhone success, it took such a downturn on the bad news surrounding Jobs health? Sure, Apple recovered, but why? Because of the iPad, another brilliant idea from Steve Jobs.
Apple’s success has always been tied to the truly brilliant ideas of Steve Jobs. As a matter of fact, the other companies started by Jobs, NeXT and Pixar, reveal some other interesting precedents that speak volumes about what happens to companies that were started by Jobs when he leaves.
The technology developed at NeXT was brought back to Apple with Jobs and became the basis for OS X. NeXT has been reduced to nothing more than a user group consisting of the remnants of a small, zealous user base and former employees.
Pixar, well, that’s a little different. When Disney bought Pixar and made Steve Jobs a board member (and its largest shareholder), their intent was to get their hands on the Pixar platform which was their implementation of the industry standard RenderMan.
Disney has writers, but they needed something to take their in-house, mediocre animation to the next level. Who had the answer? Steve Jobs. The technology is now part of Disney, and Pixar, while not forgotten, is nothing more than a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney. Pixar, another of Jobs creations, will always be remembered for revolutionizing animation.
Apple enthusiasts, it’s time to face facts. Apple, the company, was the fortunate recipient of the genius of Steve Jobs. Put simply, Apple was Steve Jobs. It doesn’t matter that he hand-picked his replacement because his replacement isn’t Steve Jobs. No amount of teaching and indoctrination can duplicate what Steve brought to the table. I challenge anyone to show me one thing with any staying power that came out of Apple that isn’t tied to Steve Jobs.
Guys like Steve Jobs don’t come along every day. Sure, there are smart people out there, but Steve Jobs was more than just smart. Steve Jobs possessed something unique and special. He was an inventor, artist, gearhead, and businessman all rolled into a single package and he excelled at all of those things. He was just wired differently than most people and it is truly a gift. I can’t go to school to learn that.
Steve Jobs has been compared to Thomas Edison and I believe the analogy is appropriate. Just like we all have light bulbs in our homes 130 years after the first successful test that vaguely resemble the original invention, people 130 years from now will most likely have something similar to an iPod with all their favorite tunes on it connected to the sound system in their flying car.
We may have had those sooner if Steve had gotten into the car business.
23HQ7V9HG5MA
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Cloudo, A Cloud-based Computer
As I was poking around this week, looking for the coolest cloud apps, I came across one that has the potential to really change things. That app is Cloudo.
This is truly where cloud-based computing is going. Take a look at this screenshot;
Looks like a computer desktop, right? Believe it or not, it's running in my browser window.
Now, before you go gettin' all excited, Cloudo has some pretty limited functionality right now. There are only a couple of beta apps for word processing, calendar, and a couple of widgets for weather and slideshows. It has been opened to developers and I'm sure there are nerds everywhere banging away at code right now.
I write about this, not because services like Cloudo are ready for mainstream, but because it truly represents the power of cloud-based computing. This has huge applications in remote/virtual workforce and would save companies millions of dollars in expensive hardware once apps like Cloudo (and there will be others) are ready for prime-time.
This is similar to what Google is doing with its Chromebooks, the main difference being, of course, you could run Cloudo from any computer.
Heck, you could probably run it from your Chromebook. :-)
This is truly where cloud-based computing is going. Take a look at this screenshot;
Looks like a computer desktop, right? Believe it or not, it's running in my browser window.
Now, before you go gettin' all excited, Cloudo has some pretty limited functionality right now. There are only a couple of beta apps for word processing, calendar, and a couple of widgets for weather and slideshows. It has been opened to developers and I'm sure there are nerds everywhere banging away at code right now.
I write about this, not because services like Cloudo are ready for mainstream, but because it truly represents the power of cloud-based computing. This has huge applications in remote/virtual workforce and would save companies millions of dollars in expensive hardware once apps like Cloudo (and there will be others) are ready for prime-time.
This is similar to what Google is doing with its Chromebooks, the main difference being, of course, you could run Cloudo from any computer.
Heck, you could probably run it from your Chromebook. :-)
Road Warrior App
I don't have to travel that often, but it just so happens that I had to this week so I get to include this in my experiment.
In my road warrior days, I became addicted to a cloud based itinerary management tool called TripIt. Here's how it works.
Once you set up your free account, send an email containing your itinerary (typically contains confirmation numbers or record locators and is generated by the travel provider) from your registered email address to "plans@tripit.com". An itinerary is generated and syncs to your smartphone. There are Android and iOS versions available.
If you give TripIt's automated service access to your email account, you don't have to send anything to TripIt as long as the travel provider notifications come to that email address. TripIt will automagically recognize the travel information and generate the itinerary and sync to your smartphone. There's no need to carry all that paper through the airport.
I wasn't able to find any alternatives to TripIt. If you're a road warrior, give TripIt a shot. You really can't appreciate how useful this is until you try it.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Cloud Music
This one was painful.
I'm an audiophile and spent many years as a sound engineer. I'm very picky about how my music sounds. If I could use a spectrum analyzer for every room I set up shop in, I would.
Not very practical.
Neither are the cloud storage/player combinations I tried. The players are lacking in features (especially equalizer options) and playback quality is poor at best. There are equalizers you can run that control all of the sound coming from your device (one called "Equalizer" and another called "Equalizer" on the Android market and, no, that's not a typo) but they're lukewarm at best and it's clumsy trying to run a second app just to get close to the EQ you're looking for.
Some of the players had constant jitter and skipping even when I wasn't streaming from the cloud. I'm trying not to name names here (cough, cough, amazon, cough, google, cough) but it was pretty sad. I was all but sitting on top of my router when streaming and I have plenty of bandwidth so that wasn't the issue. The issue persisted even when I wasn't streaming on the Amazon player.
I'm a PowerAmp user and have been since I started using Android devices. The features are robust and it comes with a 10 band EQ built in. I have to download from my Amazon cloud drive and set PowerAmp up to scan those folders, so while it's not the most elegant solution, it works. That's the best I could come up with, a hybrid cloud and locally run app.
I think music in the cloud for serious audiophiles is not quite there yet, but as soon as Amazon (or others) expose their API to allow third party development, I think we will see big leaps forward in this area. I really wanted this to be successful, but I'm sorry to say, it was less than savory.
If anyone has heard of a serious solution for this (no, it's not iCloud) please let me know.
I'm an audiophile and spent many years as a sound engineer. I'm very picky about how my music sounds. If I could use a spectrum analyzer for every room I set up shop in, I would.
Not very practical.
Neither are the cloud storage/player combinations I tried. The players are lacking in features (especially equalizer options) and playback quality is poor at best. There are equalizers you can run that control all of the sound coming from your device (one called "Equalizer" and another called "Equalizer" on the Android market and, no, that's not a typo) but they're lukewarm at best and it's clumsy trying to run a second app just to get close to the EQ you're looking for.
Some of the players had constant jitter and skipping even when I wasn't streaming from the cloud. I'm trying not to name names here (cough, cough, amazon, cough, google, cough) but it was pretty sad. I was all but sitting on top of my router when streaming and I have plenty of bandwidth so that wasn't the issue. The issue persisted even when I wasn't streaming on the Amazon player.
I'm a PowerAmp user and have been since I started using Android devices. The features are robust and it comes with a 10 band EQ built in. I have to download from my Amazon cloud drive and set PowerAmp up to scan those folders, so while it's not the most elegant solution, it works. That's the best I could come up with, a hybrid cloud and locally run app.
I think music in the cloud for serious audiophiles is not quite there yet, but as soon as Amazon (or others) expose their API to allow third party development, I think we will see big leaps forward in this area. I really wanted this to be successful, but I'm sorry to say, it was less than savory.
If anyone has heard of a serious solution for this (no, it's not iCloud) please let me know.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Word Processing
This one is pretty easy.
You don't need (insert bloated word processor name here), period. I know, seems too good to be true, but save yourself the $$. I can do anything in cloud based word processors that I can do with the bloatware. I have been a user of Google Docs for a while and occasionally have tried a few other things (Think Free Office and a couple others) and I think this is one place where you won't miss your locally running application and storage.
I will say using a tablet with these apps still feels a bit clumsy, but only marginally so. That may be due to the fact that I'm trying to use a tablet with these apps for the first time. More on that topic as the week progresses.
You don't need (insert bloated word processor name here), period. I know, seems too good to be true, but save yourself the $$. I can do anything in cloud based word processors that I can do with the bloatware. I have been a user of Google Docs for a while and occasionally have tried a few other things (Think Free Office and a couple others) and I think this is one place where you won't miss your locally running application and storage.
I will say using a tablet with these apps still feels a bit clumsy, but only marginally so. That may be due to the fact that I'm trying to use a tablet with these apps for the first time. More on that topic as the week progresses.
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