Paul Wallbank – Brilliant Communications

Author: Paul Wallbank

  • Cannes Lions: Day One

    Day one of what’s going to be an extremely busy week at Cannes showed how digital technologies and the Internet are changing not just the advertising industry but all sectors of industry.

    Schematic’s Dale Herigstad showed, among other things, where Microsoft’s Project Natal is pointing the direction of where computer controls are going.

    Being able to remotely control equipment with body movements and facial expressions is going to be a massive change for entertainment, communications and many other sectors.

    This theme was expanded upon by Andy Pimental of Razorfish who demonstrated his vision of where television is going.

    In Andy’s future, the game controller and console are doomed. Movement recognition like Project Natal coupled with games being on the cloud means the game industry is going to be very different in a few years time.

    An interesting aspect with Andy’s presentation is that most of the technology is already available to achieve his vision, as he put it “it’s the business constraints, not technology, that limits us”.

    From a presenter’s point of view, the use of mock Tweets to illustrate points was a nice touch, too.

    Kevin Eyres of LinkedIn probably had the most impact. While much of the presentation focused on how LinkedIn can be used as a marketing tool, Kevin’s comments at the beginning about every individual is now  entreprenuer thanks to reduced job tenure and security really illustrated the challenges businesses and governments are going to face in the connected world.

    There’s some interesting challenges for all businesses ahead, not just the advertising industry. There’s a lot more to come.

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  • ABC Nightlife June 2009

    abcbanner_localThe July Nightlife will look at whether you should worry about the upcoming Windows 7 on Wednesday July 15.

    We’ll be live across Australia on ABC Local Radio. Show starts at 10pm and we’ll be taking questions from around 10.30. Call in early.

    Tune in through your local ABC station or stream online through the Nightlife website

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  • ABC Weekend computers

    The next weekend computers will be on July 19, 2009 when Simon and myself look at the differences between netbooks and notebooks to see which one is right for you.

    Tune in at 702 on your AM radio or stream us online from the ABC Website.

    Your comments and questions are welcome so call in on 1300 222 702 or SMS on 19922702.

    More information on our LinkedIn page.

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  • Would you like Wi-Fi with that?

    Thanks to a series of unfortunate events, I had to rely on wi-fi hotspots for internet access last weekend.

    One of the things I quickly discovered was McDonald’s restaurants are a good bet for a reliable connection. As somebody who rarely goes into fast food chains, it was interesting to notice how offering free wi-fi has changed McDonald’s customer base.

    When I was a uni student, it wasn’t the done thing to be seen in a Maccas. Sydney Uni students used to hide upstairs in the Broadway outlet so passers by wouldn’t see them enjoying a guilty burger.

    Things have changed.

    Sitting in the Melbourne McDonald’s last Sunday night I was surrounded by young people using their laptops; in turn this had attracted their friends, and the place has become a gathering spot.

    While they probably aren’t spending that much in the way of fries and burgers, they were giving the store a buzz at the time when it probably wouldn’t have been that busy.

    The thing that intrigues me is how McDonald’s is now viewed by a group who – having grown out of Happy Meals and the kids play area – were probably not that likely to think of a fast food chain as a destination.

    So rather than losing this age group and demographic, Maccas is re-engaging with them on another level. It’s also making it almost respectable for middle aged businessmen to be found sitting in them with a guilty container of French fries.

    I see two lessons for other businesses from what McDonald’s is doing – the first is not to fixate on the short term bottom line. The people coming into their restaurants may not be buying much right now, but this move is positioning the chain for the long run.

    The second is McDonald’s executives are thinking about how technology can help them.

    Many executives seem to be proud of their almost wilful ignorance of all things technology and what it can do for their businesses. Maccas has shown how to take tech and use it to its own advantage.

    It’s thinking outside the box that separates the business that will thrive from those who will struggle in this period of great economic and technological change.

    How are you thinking outside the box? Have you given any thought to how you can adapt new technologies to meet your customers’ needs, and position your business with tomorrow’s markets?

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  • Buying a new computer

    This article originally appeared in Smart Company.

    After discussing tech purchases my Smart Company column two weeks ago, a few readers have asked what they should be looking for in a new computer.

    The answer, like everything in IT, is “it depends”.

    While computers are a tool, they are unique in their flexibility, and every user has different needs. So these suggestions are based on pretty generic use – if you have a specific application, or you’re a high-end user, then you really need to make sure your system meets your requirements.

    CPU

    Some people obsess about chip speeds and processor specs. The ugly truth is it barely matters for most users. Don’t sweat all the CPU mumbo-jumbo and leave the “front side bus” penis envy to others who don’t have work to do.

    Hard drive

    If you are connecting to a network, hard drive space isn’t critical. For a desktop computer, 320Gb drives are the standard entry point, and 160Gb for laptops. If you are running a home office or you handle lots of media files, then 750Gb or a terabyte (1000Gb) may be the way to go.
    If you are considering netbooks then you will find hard drive space is far smaller, with as little as 9Gb; this is OK if you intend to store files on network servers or out on the internet cloud.

    Memory

    This is the easy bit – the more memory the better. All good value systems come with 2Gb and an upgrade to 4Gb is money well spent.

    Graphics card

    Video capacity is where cheap systems fall down. Many entry level systems use “shared memory” where the video system shares the work with the CPU. These systems perform dreadfully on Windows Vista and struggle to support higher resolutions.
    Spend the extra and go for a video card with at least 256Mb of RAM. Many units have the option of going up to 512 and 764Mb, although I’d prefer to spend the money on system memory before video cards. Your view might be different to mine though.

    Monitor

    On desktops, the bigger the better. Go for a 20″, 22″ or 24″ monitor. Get two monitors and you’ll see office productivity soar.

    Portables are a different kettle of fish. Personally I love the compact 7″ netbooks for their weight and size, but many people prefer 15″ screens. When choosing a laptop, you need to make a compromise between price, screen size and weight that meets your needs and budget.

    Optical drives

    DVD-R/W is still the way to go. You don’t save much by leaving the writing function out, and being able to burn disks from your system is handy. Ignore BluRay as it remains expensive with little take up in the market.

    Networking

    Some real cheap and nasty machines may still have 100Mbit ethernet. Avoid these like the plague. If it doesn’t have a gigabit ethernet don’t buy it.

    Similarly, all laptops have wireless capabilities and the 801.11g standard (54Mbit) is the norm. Most laptops now have some version of the newer 801.11n standard, but keep in mind the final 801.11n standard won’t be released until the end of this year.

    Warranties

    Three years is the only way to go; don’t consider otherwise. If the computer is mission critical, a same day warranty makes sense, but most businesses go for next business day service to balance cost against reliability.

    Mac or Windows

    Whenever a SmartCompany blogger wades into the Mac versus Windows argument, Amanda Gome is delighted with the increased site traffic until the server melts down and the death threats start arriving.

    Suffice to say, you should use whatever works best for you. It’s your equipment and your business, and no-one else has the right to tell you whether Microsoft, Linux or Apple are better.

    Price

    Overall, a good business computer to these specs will come in around $1500 for the desktop and $1800 for a portable. Add another 25% for Apple equipment, although the lifetime cost of ownership is around the same for Apple and Windows-based PCs.

    That’s a rough idea what to look for when specifying computer systems for your office. Have a good look at your needs and budget and you should be able to find some good bargains to help your business work better.

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