IOLO System Mechanic – Show Stoppers 2009

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IOLOEveryone is trying to stretch there dollars farther these days. Most of us are not buying new computers and trying to make the ones we have last a lot longer. The folks at IOLO have a product called System Mechanic that is designed to speed up that older machine.

IOLO System MechanicI had a machine that was acting up the other day and decided to give this product a try and was very happy with the results. The machine booted quicker the applications seem to spring alive and more surprising the fan was not running as much as the machine was obviously optimized.

Sold me but you be the judge of there product and learn more about it from the IOLO rep at Show Stoppers 2009.

Tikitag – TouchTag – Show Stoppers 2009

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2009-ces-touchtagThe folks from Tikitag pulled a fast one they have changed there name to TouchTag. The name change was a wise one considering what this product does. The best way to describe this is for you to watch the video.

The concept is a good one but it has to scale massively for it to make senses for consumers to pick up one of the TouchTag devices that will read a tag.

SPOT Satellite GPS Safety System – Shows Stoppers 2009

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2009-ces-spot2Last your everyone here at Geek News Central went nuts about the Spot Satellite rescue device. Well the folks at SPOT have had a year to refine the product and with over 100 worldwide rescues with the device they found out something very interesting. Customers were using the device in a similar manner as  Onstar.

SpotAssistSo what they are doing is launching what is called SPOTASSIST. This new service will work from virtually anywhere and provide 24/7 roadside and emergency service. The best part is you do not need to be near a cell tower all you need is a open view of the sky.

The device will continue to provide protection if you are hiking and get lost or get into a situation where you need a rescue. All for a very low, very low annual subscription fee.

HP Pavilion DV2 Notebooks – Show Stoppers 2009

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HP Pavilion DV2We visited with HP and Show Stoppers and they talked to us about their new HP Pavilion DV2 Notebooks. The have some very cool ultra-light portables which is super thin and has great battery life. Some of the new HP DV3 notebooks have HDMI outputs in addition to the standard VGA output.

Most of the notebooks have a wide variety of connectivity options and what was cool was that you are not locked into a specific provider for 3G Connectivity.

One More Thing for my List

Windows

Yesterday I spent the better part of the afternoon taking my daughter’s computer back to ground zero. I reinstalled a fresh copy of XP, which took two hours, and then updated everything I thought she needed: Windows update, flash, shockwave, adobe reader, the latest Firefox. She is six years old, and it doesn’t take her long to botch up a computer, even though I lock things down pretty well.

After I was finished, she was happy to have her computer back and running well, and I had her test a few of her favorite websites so I could put them on her desktop. She immediately noticed there was no sound on any of her favorites, including Noggin, Barbie.com, playhousedisney, etc. But when I went to YouTube, videos played just fine, sound and all. And her educational CD’s, like Putt Putt goes to the Circus, and I Spy Puppet Playhouse, worked fine as well. I toyed with the sound controls, looked for weirdness in the device manager, and could not figure it out. After about a half-hour, it occurred to me; this was a Java issue. I installed Java Console, requested an update, and voila, all of her websites were working.

What bugs me is all the “pick up” stuff I have to do every time I install a new machine, or reinstall an old one. I keep a list of things to “check” but Java wasn’t on that list before. In fact, I’ve never had to forcefully load Java in any previous instance of an install/reinstall, so I’m a bit perturbed. Why is that when we install a new browser on a new machine, all of the requisite plug-ins and updates to browser-associated software doesn’t occur too? Is it really that much to ask that the web browser, upon install, goes out and prompts for any updates so you can get them all done in one fell swoop? There is no purpose to running any browser unless you have flash, shockwave, Adobe Reader, and Java all at their latest levels. Surfing is virtually impossible without them in this day and age.

After about three hours of working on that machine, wasting another half hour trying to figure out why something wasn’t working correctly was really pushing my buttons. No wonder we geeks are getting a bit cranky these days, when what should take an hour and be easy can’t be accomplished without a playbook close at hand.

My New and Improved playbook now includes the note to update Java. But I contend that my playbook shouldn’t need such detailed instructions.

Cybersecurity and the New Administration

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President Obama has tasked a member of former President Bush’s administration to continue her efforts to tighten military and governmental security. Melissa Hathaway has already spent two years in the trenches tightening up government cyber security after multiple breaches. Problems exist, and will likewise continue, in an environment where older equipment and software are being used. There are some wonderful tools for security out there, but only so much can be done on older equipment running older software.

I wish I could feel secure that the government is on the leading edge of technology when it comes to not only equipment but to software. I’ve heard some horror stories about what is available to people working in government offices today. While the rest of us are on the latest and greatest, for the most part, our government lumbers along on outdated dinosauresque equipment and protocols.

I am always surprised at what government doesn’t know, or doesn’t have a handle on. Maybe it is because government is so large, that they can’t find a good way to keep up with technology. Bigger isn’t always better. But at some point, they do need to catch up, and I think we need more than a Czar of Cybersecurity to make it happen.

Would you be happy with $500K a year?

Opinion

I have been hearing some commentary on the $500K maximum paycheck condition placed on banks that accept TARP funds. One strain of the argumnet is that this is not sufficient motivation for the top candidates to take on senior management roles at these institutions. I have two major problems with this.

The first is somewhat obvious, having your pay restricted should be a great motivating force for executives, considering that it will only be placed on executives of companies that have been managed poorly. If you need to take TARP funds its because you were not doing your job properly, maybe a paycut to such a “low level” might encourage you to do better in the future. Realistically, consdering the extreme amount these executives share in the ups of a company, they should also be required to return bonuses from the previous year and take a cut in pay of the same dollar value their bonus would have been if they had succeeded. That’s probably a bit extreme, however 500K is still a heap of money for failing.

The other problem I have is the idea that the only thing that motivates people is money, when that is just not true. While a lack or loss of money can motivate, extra money can have a surprisingly little increase in motivation and in happiness. Realistically are the people that become executives there solely for the money? Ego and pride are much greater drivers than money will ever be. In fact, it is more likely that ego is what is driving the money so high. Once you have excelled above your peer group and gotten into the position of power, what is the next thing to measure yourself against? Other people of power of course. If a CEO want to “measure up” against another, the size of the company and the size of the paycheck are two factors that show who is Alpha.

I am exagerating a little here for effect of course, but pride is a large motivator for moving into executive ranks. Whiel it may seem a little condescending to suggest that some tribal behaviour is at the heart of executive motivation, there is a modern purpose to wanting to climb the unstated heirarchy of the CEO ranks. The real ego pieces that come to executives have tangible fame and respect privelages. Memberships on boards, government appointments, speaking engagements, book deals, media attention, cults of personality and business school case studies about them. All of these things go to the executives that are high on the totem. While some of them have a monetary reward associated with them, they all have significant noteriety and fame aspects that are more attractive to this group of people.

This is in no way to impugn the character of all executives. Pride and ego is only a prime motivator for a subset of this group. There are a large number of executives that are there either because they feel that is where they can contribute the most, they believe they are in a position of service, or they seek/enjoy the particular challenges on offer. In general though, the pride and ego set are the ones with the huge paychecks, bonuses and golden parachutes.