Reconstructing IT

What will the post-recession IT landscape look like? This tough economic climate has forced businesses to rethink their IT strategies. Businesses are delaying or canceling all but their most critical projects, and adopting a "bare bones" approach for maintaining their IT infrastructure.

While this approach might stifle innovation, it can also inspire ideas for improving IT services. Instead of just doing more with less, organizations need to learn how to improve the value IT provides to business.

Before they can improve IT value, organizations need to understand where to focus their attention. The top areas with the greatest potential are:

• Cloud Computing Services
  
• Open Source Software
  
• IT Service Management

Cloud computing, perhaps one of the most highly debated IT topics today, offers a viable alternative to traditional IT services. Cloud computing services such as Google Apps and others can replace internally hosted services and reduce the infrastructure and resource requirements and costs needed to provide these services.

Open source software offers lower cost alternatives to the proprietary software typically used by businesses. In addition to the open source LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) platform used by many websites today, other open source products like those from OpenOffice.org offer free and inexpensive alternatives to proprietary software.

IT service management (ITSM) pertains to the processes used to manage the delivery and support of IT services. There are several frameworks for improving ITSM. One example is the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). By adopting ITIL good practices, businesses can increase the value of IT by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their ITSM processes.

Putting today's limited resources to good use is more critical than ever before. Rather than working harder to do more with less, businesses need to work smarter and reconstruct IT to improve its value.

By Harry Hiles, HBH Technology LLC — 23 Oct 2009

---

T-Mobile myTouch 3G Reviewed

About two months ago, I upgraded my plain old cell phone to the T-Mobile myTouch 3G Android™ smartphone. This is my first smartphone and it's been a very interesting and exciting experience. I'm extremely pleased with the myTouch overall, but it's not perfect (more on this later).

I chose this phone because of Android's potential as an all-around mobile operating system. Android is also the only open source mobile OS, which makes it easier for handset makers to use it with their handsets. In fact several handset makers and carriers are (or soon will be) introducing new Android smartphones.

Although T-Mobile introduced the first Android smartphone (the G1) late last year, I wasn't too impressed with the handset and decided to wait for their follow-on Android product. I'm glad I waited.

The T-Mobile myTouch 3G is actually comprised of three tightly integrated components—the handset, Android software, and T-Mobile service. In this review, I'll give my impression of each component.

The Handset

The myTouch 3G is a re-branded version of HTC's Magic quad-band handset. The myTouch is sleek and solid, weighing in at around 4.1 ounces. It's 4.45" long x 2.29" wide x 0.58" thick and has a smooth back plate that feels good when held.

Perhaps its best feature is the bright 3.2 inch, 320 x 480 HVGA touch screen. The screen provides tactile feedback, which you can optionally turn off.

The physical buttons on the handset are the home, menu, back, search, send/call, and end/power buttons near the bottom of the screen. There's also a small recessed trackball with an enter button centered at the bottom, and a volume rocker on the left edge. On the bottom edge is a mini-USB connector for the power adapter, data link, and headphones.

One of the phone's major criticisms is the lack of a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. I don't find this much of a problem since the myTouch comes with a miniUSB -to-3.5mm headphone adapter (the included stereo headphones have a 3.5mm jack). This short headphone adapter has an external microphone and call control button, which makes answering calls easy when using the headphones.

Other features include:

• Bluetooth^® 2.0 EDR with A2DP Stereo
  
• Wi-Fi^® IEEE 802.11b/g
  
• Camera: 3.2 mega-pixel color camera/camcorder with auto focus
  
• Battery: Rechargeable 1340 mAh Lithium-ion
  
• Processor: Qualcomm^® MSM7200A™ 528 MHz
  
• Internal Memory: 512 MB ROM, 192 MB RAM
  
• Memory Card: SD 2.0 compatible microSD™ up to 32 GB (4 GB supplied)
  
• GPS with internal antenna
  
• G-sensor (accelerometer) and digital compass
• Speakerphone
  

T-Mobile offers the phone in 3 colors—black (my favorite), white, and merlot (a sort of burgundy/cardinal color). T-Mobile emphasizes the ability to customize the look of the handset with custom graphics for the back plate, screen wallpapers and themes.

Packaged with the myTouch is a screen protector, charger, USB cable, 4 GB memory card, wired stereo headphones, headphone adapter, and a phone slipcase. The handset and accessories are all packed in a nice semi-hard zippered travel case.

Android Software

The heart and soul of the myTouch is the Android platform for mobile devices. Developed by Google, Android is a free open source project managed by the Open Handset Alliance. Android delivers a complete mobile platform including an operating system and key mobile applications.

Android is built on Linux and provides core services such as call management, dialer, SMS, phonebook, IM, email, browser, camera/camcorder, calculator, music player, calendar, clock, alarm, and others. To enhance the user experience, Google bundles proprietary apps that tightly integrates and syncs Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Contacts with Android.

Other bundled Google services include support for Google Search, Google Voice, Google Maps, and YouTube. Voice dialing and voice search are also supported, along with speech synthesis.

T-Mobile also provides a few proprietary apps such as its MyAccount app and visual voice mail. MyAccount provides both device info (personalize, quick tools, tips & tricks, and storage & battery) and account info (activity, alerts, billing, and plans & services).

The full-qwerty onscreen keyboard is fairly responsive, but I occasionally noticed a bit of lag. The virtual keyboard can be set to give tactile feedback on key presses and works in both portrait and landscape modes. Although the keys are a bit roomier in landscape mode, I've not had any problems using it in portrait mode.

Screen orientation switches automatically as you rotate the phone, and there is an option to disable this feature. The orientation feature works with most apps like the browser and email, and apps can override or lock the orientation.

A key feature of Android is multitasking. This allows several apps to run concurrently to monitor for events such as a specific date and time or arriving at a specific location. This multitasking ability makes Android a potentially powerful business tool.

For business users, myTouch includes the HTC Work Email app that uses Microsoft ActiveSync to access email on an Exchange server. I didn't test the Work Email app since I use Google Apps instead of Exchange, but it reportedly syncs only email and not the calendar or contacts. However, there are third party apps from companies like NitroDesk that sync email, calendar and contacts with Exchange servers.

As good as it is, Android is not perfect. One of my biggest complaints is that voice dialing does not work with a Bluetooth headset. Being able to press your headset button to initiate voice dialing is a huge convenience (especially when driving) and I hope this functionality is added soon. That said, the three Bluetooth headsets I've tried support basic functions like last number redial and work well with the myTouch.

Android was recently upgraded to version 1.6. This new version includes a few fixes and enhancements including text-to-speech and virtual private network (VPN) support. Version 1.6 also includes support for CDMA networks in addition to the original GSM network support. CDMA support opens up Android to other US carriers such as Verizon and Sprint.

Android Market

Even with all the Android core apps and others from Google and T-Mobile, you might still need additional apps for your specific needs. This is where the Android Market comes in.

The Android Market is owned and operated by Google, and you access it with the Market app included with Android. The Android Market contains thousands of apps and games that you can install on your phone. Many apps are free and others cost from 99 cents on up. Per Google's policy, you can return any purchased app within 24 hours for a refund, but only once.

The Android Market might not (yet) have as many apps as the iPhone store, but there's plenty to choose from. When you launch the Android Market app, it displays a list of featured apps. You can browse apps by category or use the search function to find specific apps. You can also browse the Android Market on your computer, but it's limited to a subset of the top paid, top free, and featured apps.

I've downloaded many apps (perhaps too many) to help manage and organize my daily activities. Some of these are what I consider "missing" apps such as a file manager, document viewer, and a profiles manager.

I also replaced some of the standard apps with third party ones like Handcent SMS, HandyCalc, and TuneWiki (music player). Some other useful apps are Barcode Scanner, Battery Widget, Digital Clock, Flix Movies, I Tweet, Locale, Shazam (identifies playing music), ShopSavvy, SnapTell, and Task Killer.

T-Mobile Service

The final piece of the myTouch puzzle is the carrier service. The myTouch supports both 2G (EDGE/GPRS) and 3G (HSDPA) data network services. T-Mobile rolled out its 3G network last year with the introduction of the original G1 Android phone and continues to expand its coverage.

The myTouch requires an unlimited web/email data plan from T-Mobile, which is around $25 per month, or $35 if you want to include unlimited SMS/MMS messaging. The data plan also includes unlimited access to T-Mobile's Hotspots from your phone.

The 3G coverage in my area is quite good. I usually have a good 3G connection that only occasionally falls back to 2G. Web pages load fairly quickly with 3G. However, myWi-Fi network is somewhat faster than the 3G service. If you have Wi-Fi at home or in the office, use it instead of 3G.

T-Mobile is known for it's great customer service, which is why I stay with them. Although T-Mobile is the 4th largest US carrier, the advent of their Android phones and 3G shows great potential for growth. There are also rumors that T-Mobile might acquire Sprint, but that's a whole other story.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a solid versatile smartphone, the T-Mobile myTouch 3G is a good choice. And the Android OS is a solid performer with great potential for both personal and business use.

For more information on the myTouch, visit the official T-Mobile myTouch 3G site. To learn more about Android, visit the Android Official Website and Open Handset Alliance. For more technical information on Android, visit the Android Open Source Project site.

By Harry Hiles, HBH Technology LLC — 8 Oct 2009

---

"Cease and Desist" Says Google

Google, the online search and software giant, recently shocked the open-source community by sending a cease and desist letter to Cyanogen, an open source developer. Cyanogen distributes a modified version of Google's Android mobile operating system, which Cyanogen aptly named CyanogenMod.

The many blog posts that sprang up in the wake of the now infamous C&D notice decried Google's stance against Cyanogen as outrageous and claimed Google contradicted its own "don't be evil" motto. Perhaps it did, or maybe not.

It's odd that Google would take such action, especially since it released Android as an open source product and encourages developers to freely modify and distribute it. If you're thinking that a C&D letter and open-source don't go together, you're right.

So what really happened and why is Google targeting Cyanogen?

CyanogenMod

If you are as unfamiliar with Cyanogen as I was before the C&D incident, here's what I found out. Cyanogen is actually the alter ego of principal developer Steve Kondik.

Per the developer, "CyanogenMod is a custom ROM based on Android...focusing on performance, reliability, and safe usage of apps on SD, with some additional features." CyanogenMod users claim this modded version of Android is faster and has many valuable features missing from the standard Android version.

CyanogenMod currently runs on only two Android phone models made by HTC — the original HTC Dream (T-Mobile G1) and the new HTC Magic (T-Mobile MyTouch 3G). Installing CyanogenMod involves a somewhat risky procedure called rooting. Of course, rooting your phone voids its warranty, and if not done right, might render your phone useless — a condition known as "bricking" your phone. To learn more, see the CyanogenMod site.

The C&D

So what really caused Google to send a C&D notice to Cyanogen? It appears Google wasn't concerned so much with distributing a modded Android as it was with the proprietary Google products that Cyanogen was bundling with the mod. And rightly so. Even Cyanogen agreed with Google's position.

The Google Experience apps (Search, Gmail, Calendar, Maps, YouTube, et al.) that Cyanogen distributed with the modded Android were never released as part of the Android open source product. These proprietary apps were developed by Google to promote their mobile services through business deals with the carriers (see this post).

I'm a big supporter of open source, and I believe Google's actions were justified in this case. I also think the naysayers rushed to judgment and are way off base. Open source doesn't mean Google should freely give everything away.

We should be grateful that Google released the Android core as open source to other developers. This was a smart move on Google's part because the open source model greatly promotes innovation and improves quality. And this is why Android will become one of the best mobile operating systems available.

Whether you agree or think otherwise, share your comments below. Regardless of your position, it's only a matter of time before Android shows how it will impact our mobile computing experience!

By Harry Hiles, HBH Technology LLC — 1 Oct 2009

---