CES 2011: The biggest winners and losers

The Consumer Electronics Show is the biggest and most anticipated events in terms of electronics and tech industry that take place every year. It is also the stage which hosts industry tech giants to showcase their masterpieces. As it happens annually, it brings out some clear winners and losers alike. Here is this year’s scoreboard.


WINNERS

Motorola Mobility

Motorola Mobility the new Motorola spinoff that went live as a separate entity on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday of CES week. This new company focuses entirely on consumer devices and their first CES couldn’t have been scripted any better. In partnership with Google and Verizon they officially announced the new flagship Android tablet, the Motorola Xoom. They announced one of the first high-powered smartphones running on Verizon’s LTE 4G network, the Droid Bionic. And, to top it all off, they unveiled the breakthrough product of CES 2011, the Motorola Atrix, a smartphone that doubles as a legitimate PC replacement with both desktop and laptop docks.

Verizon Wireless

In the past, Verizon Wireless has saved most of its big product announcements for some of the telcom-specific trade shows or its own private announcements. This year, the company came to CES with both guns blazing. On the heels of the successful US launch last month of its 4G LTE network — which is, arguably, now the world’s most advanced 4G Internet experience — Verizon had LTE live in Las Vegas and ready to show off the world’s largest annual crowd of technology enthusiasts. The network performed like a champ. And, on the official opening day of CES, Verizon held press conference announcing 10 LTE devices — smartphones, tablets, and hotspots — that will launch during the first half of the year. It was an impressive roster of devices from leading vendors such as Samsung, Motorola, HTC, and LG. The Motorola Xoom tablet and the HTC Thunderbolt were especially impressive. I spent 25 minutes using the Thunderbolt and was blown away by the speeds generated by the combination of its high-end hardware paired with Verizon LTE.

NVIDIA

The company that was seemingly everywhere at CES 2011 was NVIDIA. Specifically, the dual core NVIDIA Tegra2 was the processor du jour, showing up in many of the new smartphones, tablets, and even car-tech announcements. At CES, NVIDIA announced that it is partnering with ARM to launch its own high-performance CPU cores the size of a dime. This is the long-rumored “Project Denver” that NVIDIA has been working on and it will likely position the company as a leading powerhouse in the next generation computing, since ARM processors power nearly all of the smartphones and tablets coming to market and are now scaling up to run PCs and servers as well. NVIDIA looks like it could become the Intel of the next great wave of computing.
HONORABLE MENTION: Samsung

LOSERS

Microsoft

This is beginning to sound like a broken record, but I’m still waiting to hear any hint of Microsoft’s vision of where it sees the computing world headed in the decade ahead and how Microsoft plans to take us there. We didn’t get it at CES 2011 even though Microsoft once again had the biggest stage — the opening keynote the night before the official opening of CES. Microsoft squandered its opportunity to set the agenda of the tech industry. Instead, it simply trotted out its standard stump speech on “Windows everywhere” and replayed many of the same demos from its 2010 product launches. Then, once the show opened, many of Microsoft’s traditional PC partners spent CES spotlighting their tablets instead of new netbooks or laptops running Windows 7. Microsoft’s newly-launched Windows Phone 7 devices got completely overshadowed as partners HTC, Samsung, and LG put their new Android smartphones front-and-center. And, at a show dominated by the launch of new tablets, we heard nothing from Microsoft about its tablet plans. Even Microsoft’s long-time partner Intel criticized Microsoft’s missing tablet strategy.

Sony

Sony’s CES story is not unlike Microsoft’s. Where’s the leadership? Where’s the vision? Sony has traditionally been the biggest name in the consumer electronics industry. It should dominate CES. But, when’s the last time you heard about a breakthrough product from Sony? When’s the last time you heard about a market-leading product from Sony? Its competitors have been running circles around it, and it was no different at CES 2011. Sony put on some glitzy presentations, but lacked the product leadership. Much of that was due to the fact that Sony focused most of its energy on the wrong thing — 3D TV. While Sony had perhaps the most impressive 3D television at CES, that’s a dubious distinction akin to having the nicest house in a neighborhood scheduled for demolition. Contrast that to what Samsung did at CES. It delivered thin, high-quality, reasonably priced (non-3D) TVs — the ones people actually want to buy. But, TVs weren’t Samsung’s only story. They unveiled exciting new smartphones, tablets, and PCs, including one of the most innovative new products at CES, the Sliding PC 7, a hybrid laptop/tablet.

Intel

One of the major trends at CES 2011 was the acceleration of the world to mobile computing. With the unveiling of dual core smartphones, over 80 new tablets, smartphones that also serve as PCs (the Motorola Atrix), and an emerging new category of hybrid tablet/laptops, it’s clear that technology companies are rising to meet the demands of users, who are spending more and more of their computing time using mobile devices instead of traditional PCs. If you look closely at this army of new devices — which were the headliners of CES — almost none of them are running Intel processors. Practically the whole fleet of these devices are running ARM processors in general and the dual core NVIDIA Tegra2 specifically. Intel has known that this trend was coming. I remember Intel presenting a slide at the 2008 Intel Developer Conference showing how sales of mobile devices were going to rapidly overtake traditional PCs in the years ahead. Intel attempted to meet this trend with its Menlow and Moorestown processors for “Mobile Internet Devices” (MIDs), a category that it tried to create with its hardware and software partners. However, Intel’s chips couldn’t match the low-power efficiency of ARM chips and rise of smartphones crowded MIDs out of the market. Instead of going back to the drawing board and making a more power-efficient class of mobile chips, Intel continues to fall behind. While NVIDIA chips were powering nearly all of the tablets and high-end smartphones at CES, Intel played up its “Sandy Bridge” chips for multimedia PCs. This focus on high-end chips feels like a tacit admission that Intel has no answer in mobile.

Five tips for managing employee Internet access

There’s a fine line between being Big Brother and keeping employees from wasting too much time on the Internet. And as we all know, there are plenty of ways to waste time on the ‘net: Facebook, Twitter, chatting, shopping, scores… you name it. But how do you manage control of your employees — and what type of control do you extend over them?

1: Try Packetfence

Packetfence is one of the most powerful network access control tools available. It’s an open source tool that can easily be installed and administered on either Red Hat Enterprise Linux or CentOS. You can also install on Ubuntu or Debian, but it’s not nearly as easy. With this tool, you can manage who has access to what, what time they have access, and how much they have access to. Packetfence helps keep unwanted users/devices from accessing your network, too. If you are serious about controlling your network, this tool should be at the top of the list of those you want to test.

2: Try OpenDNS

OpenDNS is an industry-leading Web content/security/DNS tool that is completely Web based. With OpenDNS, you can filter content, prevent phishing, block page bypass (Enterprise only), protect against malware (Enterprise only), delegate administration (Enterprise only), and much more. You will have detailed daily reports as well as archived logs and statistics. With content filtering, you can select from more than 50 categories and prevent the use of proxies for bypassing filters. There are different plans, ranging from Free to Enterprise. Pricing can be found on the OpenDNS Web site.

3: Monitor network usage

If you are less inclined to do a catch-all prevention of certain Web traffic, you might want to look into tools that will monitor network usage. With tools of this nature, you can keep tabs on what your users are viewing online and then act accordingly. This is a much less Big Brother approach to managing what your employees are viewing. By handling this task this way, you are more inclined to have a lower attrition rate from employees not wanting to work in a controlling environment. A tool like Net Spy Pro allows you to monitor employee Web usage from a single desktop. This particular tool even allows the administrator to view employee bookmarks and favorites. Although some think this a better approach than implementing policies and preventing access to certain (or all) Web sites, many people view this quite the opposite. As I said earlier, it’s a very fine line.

4: Make sure you have a clear access policy

Instead of employing controlling software, it might better suit your environment and employees to have clear policies in place that prevent the usage of certain Web sites during work hours. This method does call upon the honor system (unless you are using a monitoring tool), which gives your work environment a more relaxed feel. The problem with this method arises when you discover an employee abusing the policies and you do not react. If you lay out a clear policy and do not punish those ignoring it, you may as well throw that policy out the door and forget about having any control whatsoever.

5: Give a little now and then

Along with having clear policies, you have to be willing to offer some flexibility. During the holiday season, employees are going to shop online. During March Madness, employees are going to check basketball scores. You must be willing to give or you will find yourself with some upset employees. If you are never willing to bend on your policies, the attrition rate may rise during certain times of the year or with certain cross sections of employees. (Older employees may be less apt to take issue with such policies than younger employees.)

Finding the balance

The saying “Everything is relative” applies here — as does “Everything in moderation.” The real problem with employees surfing the Web happens when it interferes with actual work. This could be too much browsing or browsing to unsafe or inappropriate sites. You, as an employer (or manager) must tread that fine line between too much and too little control over what employees can do with their Web browsing.

Photography Tips

Perk Up Pets Pictures:

BigC- my Pomeranian

Everybody loves to photograph their pets -- but few know how to get the most out of their furry friends. Following any or all of these tips can improve your pet photography

1) Get down and dirty. You usually see Rover and Fluffy from above, but that's not the best angle for a portrait. Instead, flop down on the floor and meet them at eye-level; this presents them as equals in the photo and reveals their personalities.

2) Light it right. Direct on-camera flash will give your pet a killer case of green-, yellow-, or blue-eye. Try to avoid direct flash: If you can, bounce the flash off the ceiling or a wall, or move the flash off-camera. Or just ditch the flash and try available light, both indoors and out.

3) Fill the frame. You've heard this one before. Fill the frame with your subject to make it prominent and to crop out any distractions.

4) The eyes have it. You might find yourself shooting with a shallow depth of field, so whatever else you do, make sure the eyes are in focus. The windows to the soul must be kept clear! 

MyFord Mobile smartphone app

Ford's new MyFord Mobile app will let owners of the Focus electric car get a variety of telematics functions, from the basic, such as remote door unlock, to trip planning software that takes the car's remaining range into account.

MyFord Mobile includes smart charging settings. Ford worked with Microsoft to develop a system that takes advantage of low electricity rates. The system asks owners when they expect to need the car, then picks a period of time when electricity is cheap to charge up the batteries.

MyFord Mobile uses MapQuest to find charging stations. It shows the car's current location and nearby charging stations. It also indicates which charging stations are in range.

The trip planning feature lets drivers enter multiple destinations, indicating if the car has enough range to reach all of them. Drivers can decide on different routes based on how much range the car has left.

The app gives tips to help drivers maximize their range. For example, it checks the outside temperature and suggests pre-heating or running the air conditioning while the car is plugged in, so the climate control system does not impact range as much. 

The symbol of the rivalry: Steve Jobs and Bill Gates

Microsoft versus Apple has long been the marquee rivalry of the technology industry, 
but the two companies also have a long history as frenemies. Here are their 10 greatest collaborations.

10. Microsoft launches Outlook for Mac in Office 2011

9. Apple and Microsoft spurn Blu-ray for digital downloads

8. Apple makes Safari available for Windows

7. Snow Leopard connects to Exchange

6. Boot Camp installs Windows on Mac hardware

5. Microsoft licenses Exchange Activesync for iPhone

4. Microsoft invests $150 million in Apple

3. Internet Explorer becomes the default browser on Mac

2. Apple makes iPod compatible with Windows

1. Microsoft develops Word for the original Macintosh

10 ways to become an IT superstar

You have long years of experience in the IT field and you really know your stuff. But when you go to conferences or offer to speak to local user groups, nobody knows your name and you can’t command the high salary scale that others are offering. Go through some of the below points and you'll be a different person after doing so.

1: Gain experience

Even though IT experience isn’t enough to get you recognized as an expert in an industry that’s filled with experienced IT pros, it is the first prerequisite. No matter how brilliant you are, regardless of the fact that you were building your own circuit boards as a kid and made straight A’s in comp sci, real-world experience still counts. You probably won’t begin to be taken seriously until you’ve been working in the real world in some capacity for at least five years (10 is better).

2: Concentrate on a specialty
The IT field has grown to the point where, as with the medical field, it’s impossible for one person to master all of it. If you try to be a jack of all trades, you’ll probably never become enough of an expert in anything to stand out from the crowd. Sure, it’s possible to be an IT generalist, but the quickest route to “fame” (and some measure of fortune) is to find yourself a niche.


3: Take ownership
Once you’ve decided on an area of expertise, your goal should be to take ownership of that particular product or topic area. You want to become the person whom everyone thinks of when they think about that topic. For example if you want to develop windows applications, you got to give in that etra bit of spice to your application to stand out from rest of the crowd.


4: Start small
No matter how ambitious your ultimate goal is, you’re more likely to attain it if you’re willing to start small and get there in increments. Begin by becoming well known and respected in one particular venue — such as on a particular Web forum or within a local IT user group. Hone your leadership skills and become a big fish in these small ponds, and that will lead to opportunities to swim in much bigger waters.


5: Take on writing assignments
Not everyone has the time, interest, and stamina to write a book. It’s a lot of hard work. Sometimes it pays off handsomely but other times the earnings, given the hours you put in, don’t even add up to minimum wage. An easier way to make money writing about IT is to produce 500- to 2,500-word articles for IT webzines. There are thousands of forums, blogs and online tech wrting sites you can register and master your skill.


6: Put your name on the Web
Even if you haven’t yet reached the point where people are willing to pay you to write about IT, you can get your name out there: Put it on the Web. Create an IT-oriented Web site with your name prominently featured. It can be a help forum, where you answer questions and solve IT problems. It can be a gathering place for other IT pros to post on a Web board and do much of the problem solving. It can be just an ad for your consulting business or a showplace for you to brag about your awards (if you do it in the right way). The important thing is to get your name “up in lights.”


7: Get social
Don’t get so busy building your business that you forget the importance of socializing. That includes both real-world and online social networking. Join LinkedIn and Facebook and set up a Twitter account, and use them to further your career ambitions. The beautiful thing about the Internet is that “nobody knows you’re a dog.” Looks, race, gender, disabilities, etc., don’t matter. It is entirely possible to build a strong reputation and make a good living doing everything online.
Seek out other IT pros as friends and followers and post with your business reputation in mind. Post tidbits of IT news, links to helpful IT articles, and of course, links to any of your articles, blog posts, etc. As with blogging, if you want to use social networking sites for more personal purposes, set up two separate accounts — one for business friends and one for personal friends.


9: Seek out other superstars
When you’re socializing, whether online or at real-world events, hang out with the other superstars if you can. I don’t mean you should push your way into the inner circle, but you shouldn’t be shy about approaching the IT gurus you admire and letting them know how they’ve inspired you. Especially as you begin to be known for your own expertise, most of them will be happy to be contacted by you.


10: Talk the talk
Writing will get you name recognition, but to get face recognition, you need to do more. Real-life meetings and conferences will do that, to a degree. But it you really want to be a superstar, you shouldn’t be just attending those conferences; you should be presenting at them. They say public speaking is the number one fear, even above death — but it’s a fear that anyone can get over with a lot of practice. 

Arrival of my new phone in 2011...an Android Phone

The sexy new MOTOROLA XT5 is more than just a business tool. With its powerful Android platform, WiFi capability, full HTML browser, and a 5.0 MP camera with LED flash, you can have lots of excitement, anytime.

Key Features

-Full HTML Browser

-Android Eclair

-Google Webkit

-Large 3.2 HVGA Tochscreen display

-5.0 Megapixel camera with Android Flash

3G

WCDMA 850/1900/2100, GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps (Category 7/8), EDGE Class 12

ANDROID OPERATING SYSTEM

Éclair 2.1

TOUCH TABLET

Touch Tablet

CAMERA

MEGA-PIXELS

5 MP

DIGITAL ZOOM

FLASH

LED

FOCUS

Fixed

MUSIC ENABLED MUSIC PLAYER

android media player VIDEO CAPABLE

VIDEO CAPTURE PLAYABLE FORMATS

H.263, H.264, MP3, MPEG-4, WAV, AAC, AAC+, MIDI, AMR NB

DivX

STREAMING MEDIA

Video

VIDEO PLAYER

Video Capture, Playback and Streaming

USAGE TIME (CONTINUOUS)1

GSM: up to 6.5 hours WCDMA: up to 5.7 hours

BATTERY TYPE

1270 mAh Li-Ion

STANDBY TIME

GSM: up to 230 hours WCDMA: up to 319 hours

EMAIL

POP3/IMAP embedded, Google Mail

MULTIMEDIA MESSAGING (MMS)4

MMS

TEXT MESSAGING (SMS)3

SMS

WEB BROWSER

BLUETOOTH® Version 2.0 + EDR

WIFI

802.11g

CONNECTOR TYPE

Micro USB

DATA TRANSMISSION RATE

HSDPA 7.2 Mbps (Category 7/8), EDGE Class 12

GPS AND LOCATION SERVICES

aGPS

HEADSET JACK

3.5mm

PHONE BOOK

Back to top

NAVIGATION TOOL

roller nav disc

OPERATING SYSTEM

Éclair 2.1

TOUCH SCREEN

ANDROID MARKET™

DISPLAY TYPE

262k TFT

DISPLAY SIZE

3.2 inches, 480x320 HVGA

WEIGHT

142.5 g

SIZE

56.8 x 114.9 x 12.5

ANTENNA TYPE

Internal

FORM FACTOR

Touch Tablet

TOOLS

CALCULATOR

CLOCK

NETWORKS

WCDMA 850/1900/2100, GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps (Category 7/8), EDGE Class 12, aGPS

SENSORS

magnometer, proximity sensor,accelerometer