‎10 technologies that are just plain broken:

Let’s face it. There are bits and pieces of the IT world that are simply broken, and we rarely want to come out and admit it. Well, some don’t. I, on the other hand, am not in the slightest bit afraid to step forward and point the finger of shame at the creators of technology and say, “What you produce is broken!” I tend to get a lot of backlash for this (and an equal amount of praise), but I do continue on. And with that said, I want to bring to you 10 pieces of technology that are just plain broken.



1: QuickBooks

If ever I have met a technology that I love and hate equally, it’s QuickBooks. Here’s the thing: When QuickBooks works, it’s great. But when QuickBooks doesn’t work, it’s a nightmare. There are few pieces software out there so finicky about their network connection. The slightest hiccup can cause QuickBooks to give up the ghost; and when QuickBooks gives up the ghost, bad things can happen. When bad things happen in QuickBooks, valuable data can be lost. And we all know how bad clients are about backing up data. It’s a sad, scary circle of suffering that can spiral into a hefty bill for a client. The biggest problem with QuickBooks is that when it breaks, sometimes the only resolution is to reinstall. But even in the reinstalling, things go wrong. Did you do a CLEAN uninstall?

2: Acronis

Similar to QuickBooks, when Acronis works, it’s great. When it doesn’t work… it’s a nightmare. And unlike QuickBooks, Acronis help is not so hot. The error codes rarely offer anything insightful. When it breaks, the logs tend to be too cryptic to help. And to make matters worse, ABR11 was a major step backward. Although Acronis tried to introduce new features, as well as roll in features from Echo into ABR10, the result had me uninstalling and going back to ABR10 on many clients.

3: Ubuntu Unity

This is a hot topic among the Linux crowd. Although the idea behind Unity was good, the execution of the idea fell flat. You can compare the release of GNOME 3 and Unity. Both were drastic changes to the desktop metaphor, but only one of those had any success: GNOME 3. The ideas were similar, but GNOME 3 enjoyed more stability and more flexibility (thanks to extensions). Ultimately, I believe Ubuntu needs to scrap Unity and either migrate fully to GNOME 3, give something else a go (such as Enlightenment),or make Kubuntu or Xubuntu the default.

4: Flash

Flash has always been a problem. It’s been a security issue, a performance issue, a platform issue, and a headache in general. This really hit home when many of my clients began upgrading to Flash X. All of a sudden, crucial elements of their jobs no longer worked. In most instances, I had to roll those clients back to Flash 9. The issues with Flash go well beyond performance and features. For many, Flash is also an ideological nightmare. Be it performance, features, bloat, platform wars, monopolist grasp on Web content, or what have you, Flash has been, and will continue to be, a broken technology.

5: Pulse Audio

Pulse Audio is yet another broken Linux technology. Even on latest distribution releases, Pulse Audio is still problematic. On one machine I use I can either listen to music with Banshee or play Flash (see above) on the Web. Problem is, if I do one, I have to jump through hoops to get the other to work. The complaints regarding Pluse Audio are many and widespread. Do a search for “pulse audio sucks” and see what you come up with.

6: Web browsers

In general, Web browsers are horrible. One does one thing right, one does another thing right, and one is a security nightmare. But many Web developers seem to want to design for just one of these browsers! The Web browser is a critical piece of business software — of that there can be no doubt. With so many Web-based tools, we must use browsers constantly. But when Web browsers are broken by design, it makes the simple act of working a real hassle. The problem with Web browsers today is that the developers are so busy trying to attract users with new features, they forget to fix the features that are broken. It’s the same ol’ song that has been playing since the 90s and it seems it will never change.

7: Outlook

Outlook is the standard by which the majority of corporations and companies judge their email. But truth be told, it’s a standard full of broken. I should actually preface this by saying, “When used with Exchange.” Although there are Exchange Ninjas who can certainly set up that magical box and have it running like a champ, they are few and far between. And when Exchange is set up poorly, Outlook has serious problems. On any given day, I am met with client after client whose Outlook can’t connect to their Exchange server (set up by their internal IT).

8: Predictive typing

I don’t care what mobile platform you are using, predictive typing is horrible and tends to cause mistakes than it prevents. There is even a site dedicated to funny predictive typing errors. Until this smart phone feature is fixed, I’ll keep it disabled. Tanks yule verily mulch.

9: Consumer-grade antivirus

Some business-class antivirus tools actually work (Symantec Endpoint Protection being one). Outside of that, it’s pretty much a crap shoot. AVG? No thanks. McAfee? Are you kidding me? It seems no matter which antivirus solution you have on a machine, something is going to get through. Most consumer-grade antivirus does more harm than good. One of the few exceptions I have found to that rule is Microsoft Security Essentials. Other than that, your best bet is to either use OS X or Linux or unplug that PC from a network.

10: Desktop multi-touch form factor

Multi-touch screen technology is fairly new. It works so-so on tablets, but when you try to move that technology to the desktop, it doesn’t work. Why? Because of the human body. We are accustomed to (and have the technology for) standard monitors, which use a mouse and keyboard. Although this is not ideal for the human wrist, shoulders, and back, it’s far better than reaching out to a monitor to use multi-touch. What we need is a desk with a built-in multi-touch display on a horizontal surface. This position would be far more natural and ergonomic than any other and would really help make multi-touch feasible and desirable. But for now, multi-touch on the desktop is nothing more than a gimmick.

More candidates?

None of the above broken technologies is going to bring the world to a halt (at least we hope). But each one can cause headaches, derail productivity, and stop work altogether. Are there other current technologies you think are broken and in need of serious (or even just moderate) repair? If so, share your thoughts.

Iconomic Moments - 2011

Management - Managing the Processes in an Organization:

The innovation process in terms of phases in time is moving from looking for signals to implementation. It is worth developing a number of possibilities to increasing certainty and commitment of resources.

The routine activities will enable management of activities in phases. For example:

·         Catching up a wide range of signals and moulding them to suit the organization.

·         Selecting projects which have a good fit into the organization.

·         Monitoring and managing projects through the various stages of development.

·         Deciding where and when to stop projects, and where and when to speed up.

·         Preparing the ground for effective launch by taking into confidence all the stake holders concerned.

·         Reviewing and learning from completed projects.

                For many enterprises these activities are often carried out on a random or casual basis, and not in a methodical way. The process is by no means one sided and there is considerable overlap. So dealing with it is unlikely to involve standard operating procedures or procedural rules, but this doesn’t mean that the process is unmanageable. It is possible to create a structured framework within which the process can operate. It can be built around routines and these can be learned and refined over time. Research evidence confirms the view that a degree of discipline is an important component of success.

                There is a need to adapt in such a way to deal with different problematic and non-problematic situations. In particular   organizations face the challenge that much innovative activity is increasingly distributed across organizational boundaries.

It also poses difficulties in terms of managing at arm’s length where the authority may not apply and where transparency, trust, information sharing and conflict resolution become important elements in the innovation process.

                There are challenges which have to be overcome when the organization has to deal with innovative activities outside the normal working conditions. Where external conditions lead to discontinuities in the innovation environment for example, the coming out of new technology or of completely new markets the old rules of the game no longer apply. Under the conditions organizations need to deploy alternative working conditions to help deal with high levels of uncertain situations and to manage a process of new rules of the game.

Organizations manage within the innovation process. Competitive management is about organizing and setting the work within the organization but it is also about improving. In short it is about gearing up capability to implement any positive changes.

The process of positive changes begins with technology, markets, competitor behavior, shifts in the regulatory environment and new social trends etc. and they could come from inside or far outside the organization.

                For large organizations significant resources can be devoted to this activity, but for many others it will raise the issue of developing networks and connections.

                There are a number of approaches which can be used to explore and extend this and they are,

                Defining the boundaries of the marketplace

                Essentially this involves asking the deceptively simple question about the business the organization is in. This kind of question prompts discussion of current and potential markets and assists in looking for new opportunities. Sometimes innovation can take the form of repositioning offering the same basic product or service but addressed in a new way to different markets. For example, xyz.com is seen as an on-line retailer but is trying to broaden its business by positioning itself also as a software developer and supplier.

Market Dynamics

                Closely linked to the above is understanding where potential markets may arise as a result of various kinds of change. For example, the mobile phone business has moved from a specialist, high price business tool into the general marketplace as a result of both technological and cultural change. Similarly low cholesterol and other healthy foods are increasingly becoming relevant to a large segment of the population as a result of changing social attitudes and education. Building up such understanding of the changing marketplace requires various forms of communication and interaction, from monitoring through to customer groups and surveys.

                The market place changes fast for FMCG and for consumer durables the change is slightly slower than FMCG. For other goods the change may give sufficient time for a dynamic organization.

Management - Technology

Technology is applicable not necessarily to IT but also to various machineries in a factory or industry which will speed up production, reduce manpower and increase profitability.

                The role of technology especially information technology has touched many aspects of our life and the professional arena is not an exception. In fact most of the technological changes have been introduced in the professional sphere. Today engineers and innovators are coming forward with latest software and machines to make the organizational development faster and accurate. Companies and organizations are willingly spending money and accepting latest technology in all sphere of business management for smooth running of an organization. Almost many of the organizations are acquiring and absorbing technology for the effective and flawless day to day activity despite its size and nature of the job. The prolonged use of latest technology help organization’s in simplifying the routine task.

                The role of IT in managing business affairs has expanded a lot in the past few years. It has been crucial in automating processes by managing and using information with the help of computer technology. IT plays an essential role in accumulating, preserving and distribution of organizational information. Automation of information makes it easy to access and modify the data as and when required.

With the information technology tools like web mail, web conferencing and internet it is easy to break the wall of time and distance. Such innovation is transforming organizational environment and the organizational development as well.

                The impact of IT on business and organization development is deep rooted; it is a need of time to go hand in hand with technology. Those who fail to absorb and acquire technology with the passage of time often close their door of success.

There are various factors that support the absorption and acquisition of technology in an organization and globalization, convenience and cost-effectiveness are major factors that support technology in organization management.

                The usage of computer and internet has become an integral part of large number of organizations. Many organizations hire IT professionals to manage the technicality of the IT department and train the people in managing IT technicalities and educate how to use software’s for the proper running of the business.

                Technology acquisition is a process of acquiring latest technology,, products, services by the effort of an individual or an organization. Organization could choose external technology acquisition or it could be an internal technology acquisition initiated and controlled by the organization itself for the betterment of the organization.

                Technology acquisition is done in various ways and most popular methods are:

·         Outsourcing

·         Collaboration

·         Strategic alliance

·         Enterprise acquisition

                The world of technology is moving fast and everyday a new technology is discovered by innovators to make human life easier. Many organizations prefer to go hand in hand with latest update and they choose to integrate the latest technological development in the organization or the benefit of the organization. The process of absorption signifies organization’s willingness to accept the development that is new to the organization but not to the world.

                It is true that most of the technological innovation is designed and developed by information technology. The internet is working as a bridge to connect the world. IT world is playing a crucial role in the growth of the organization and many organizations expanding their business with the help of IT. Hire a good IT consultant or IT service provider and achieve organizational goals and automate processes by following the principles of usability, efficiency, customer related and a clear communication.

                The process of technology acquisition is not an easy task and it is a complicated, time consuming task which requires in-depth strategic planning for the successful acquisition of the technology. An unorganized attempt to embrace the technology may cause loss to the fortune of the company.

                To grow more one has to learn more and the skill to adapt new technology for the betterment of the organization and business is the need of the time. A good manager knows how to get maximum benefit from the latest development and how to utilize available resources for the growth of the organization. It is also the responsibility of a manager to recommend latest technology to the management in his or her functional area and take the approval for implementation. Introducing right technology increases the productivity and consequently profitability of the company.

Management - Is there a place for creativity in IT?

The answer to the question posed in the title is yes, and the more creative you are, the better your career will be. Actually, that holds true in just about any field, except perhaps finance. (In that case, you may richer due to creativity but, if there’s a God, you may also be handcuffed one day and taken to the big house.)

                But back to IT. Most people outside of IT probably have a certain image of a computer engineer — a very analytical, A equals A type of person. More than likely Bill Gates comes to mind. And Mr. Gates is inarguably successful.

                But then you have success as defined by someone like Steve Jobs, whose death struck such a chord among the general public. He combined technical genius with creativity — he dreamed what could be and made it happen. Gates changed all our lives by making extraordinary tools and showing us how to use them. Jobs changed our lives by turning our dreams into tools.

                But those are the big guys. Does creativity play a part in other aspects of IT? I wondered to myself if a developer, for example, would consider himself or herself creative.

                I asked Jeremy Lwanga, a Senior Web Developer at CBSi, if he thought creativity played a role in his job. He said that was an interesting point of view. But then when he thought about it, he said that yes, “a good coder has to think of new ways to use old code” and that he strongly agrees that it plays a big part in one’s IT career success.

                So there is the analytical side of having a set of tools (the .NET framework, for example), but then there is the figuring out how to put the pieces together in new and interesting ways. It’s like they all have the same “palette,” but each coder has the opportunity to use the “colors” in a different way. If you have the talent to recognize and implement this, then you are going to be more successful.

Management - Managing the Processes in an Organization:

The innovation process in terms of phases in time is moving from looking for signals to implementation. It is worth developing a number of possibilities to increasing certainty and commitment of resources.

The routine activities will enable management of activities in phases. For example:

·         Catching up a wide range of signals and moulding them to suit the organization.

·         Selecting projects which have a good fit into the organization.

·         Monitoring and managing projects through the various stages of development.

·         Deciding where and when to stop projects, and where and when to speed up.

·         Preparing the ground for effective launch by taking into confidence all the stake holders concerned.

·         Reviewing and learning from completed projects.

                For many enterprises these activities are often carried out on a random or casual basis, and not in a methodical way. The process is by no means one sided and there is considerable overlap. So dealing with it is unlikely to involve standard operating procedures or procedural rules, but this doesn’t mean that the process is unmanageable. It is possible to create a structured framework within which the process can operate. It can be built around routines and these can be learned and refined over time. Research evidence confirms the view that a degree of discipline is an important component of success.

                There is a need to adapt in such a way to deal with different problematic and non-problematic situations. In particular   organizations face the challenge that much innovative activity is increasingly distributed across organizational boundaries.

It also poses difficulties in terms of managing at arm’s length where the authority may not apply and where transparency, trust, information sharing and conflict resolution become important elements in the innovation process.

                There are challenges which have to be overcome when the organization has to deal with innovative activities outside the normal working conditions. Where external conditions lead to discontinuities in the innovation environment for example, the coming out of new technology or of completely new markets the old rules of the game no longer apply. Under the conditions organizations need to deploy alternative working conditions to help deal with high levels of uncertain situations and to manage a process of new rules of the game.

Organizations manage within the innovation process. Competitive management is about organizing and setting the work within the organization but it is also about improving. In short it is about gearing up capability to implement any positive changes.

                The process of positive changes begins with technology, markets, competitor behaviour, shifts in the regulatory environment and new social trends etc. and they could come from inside or far outside the organization.

For large organizations significant resources can be devoted to this activity, but for many others it will raise the issue of developing networks and connections.

                There are a number of approaches which can be used to explore and extend this and they are,

                Defining the boundaries of the marketplace

                Essentially this involves asking the deceptively simple question about the business the organization is in. This kind of question prompts discussion of current and potential markets and assists in looking for new opportunities. Sometimes innovation can take the form of repositioning offering the same basic product or service but addressed in a new way to different markets. For example, xyz.com is seen as an on-line retailer but is trying to broaden its business by positioning itself also as a software developer and supplier.

Market Dynamics

                Closely linked to the above is understanding where potential markets may arise as a result of various kinds of change. For example, the mobile phone business has moved from a specialist, high price business tool into the general marketplace as a result of both technological and cultural change. Similarly low cholesterol and other healthy foods are increasingly becoming relevant to a large segment of the population as a result of changing social attitudes and education. Building up such understanding of the changing marketplace requires various forms of communication and interaction, from monitoring through to customer groups and surveys.

The market place changes fast for FMCG and for consumer durables the change is slightly slower than FMCG. For other goods the change may give sufficient time for a dynamic organization.

Management - Manpower Planning:

Getting the proper man for the right job and developing him into an effective team member is an important function of every manager. Man power now appropriately called ‘Human resources’ is capable of producing an output that is greater than the sum of inputs. In order to rightly utilize the human resources in the service of organizational goals, every manager is expected to pay proper attention to recruitment, selection, and training activities in an organization. Proper promotional avenues must be also created so as to motivate people to peak performance. All these things, however, do not come by easily. It requires thorough planning and a certain amount of zeal and commitment involving right actions.

                Human resource planning is essentially the process of getting the right number of qualified people into the right job at the right time. It is a system of matching the supply of people, existing employees and those to be hired for with openings the organization expects over a time period.

                Human resource planning is a forward looking function. It tries to assess manpower requirements in advance keeping the production plans, market fluctuations, demand forecasts, etc. The manpower plan is subject to revision, of course and is tuned to the requirements of an organization from time to time. It is a part of the corporate plan and reflects the thinking of management about manpower needs within the organization. The focus of the plan is always on getting right number of qualified people into the organization at the right time. Manpower plans are prepared for varying time periods, i.e. short term plans covering a time frame of 2 years and long term plans covering a period of 5 or more years.

                The basic purpose of having a manpower plan is to have an accurate estimate of the number of employees required, with matching skills requirements to meet organizational objectives. It provides information about the manner in which existing personnel are employed, the kind of skills required for different categories of jobs and manpower needs over a period of time. It would also give an indication of the lead time that is available to select and train the required number of additional manpower.

                All organizations should identify their short run and long run employee needs by examining their corporate goals. Short range plans point out job openings that must be filled over a one year time frame and long range plans estimate HR needs over a three to five year time period.

The human resources are the most important assets of an organization. The success or failure of an organization largely rests on the potential of the people working therein. Without positive and creative contributions from people, organizations cannot progress and prosper. In order to achieve the goals of an organization, there is a need to recruit people with requisite skills, qualifications and experience. While doing so, we have to keep the present as well as the future requirements of the organization in mind.

                Recruitment is a process which tries to bring together job seekers and the employer with a view to encourage the former to apply for a job with the latter. The basic purpose of recruiting is to develop a group of potentially qualified people. The organization must indicate the positions in such a way that job seekers respond. To be cost effective, the recruitment process should attract qualified applicants and provide enough information for unqualified persons so that they need not apply.

                Corporations now-a-days are paying increasing attention to recruitment so that they can have the right kind of people having requisite skills, knowledge and experience. Every attempt is made to tailor the manpower recruitment plan to corporate objectives.

                *Attract people with experience and varied skills

                *Recruit fresh talent at every level in the organization.

                *Take outsiders if required with new ideas to lead the company. .

                *Locate people whose personalities match the company’s values. Anticipate and find the people for positions that do not exist yet.

*Search for talent globally, and not just within the country.

                Policies should be stated in definite, positive, clear and understandable language. Policies should also be elaborately described and prescribe limits for future action.

                Personnel policies should be stable enough to assure people that there will not be drastic overnight changes. They should be flexible enough to keep the organization in tune with the times.

                There should be as many personnel policies as necessary to cover conditions that can be anticipated.

                Personnel policies should be just, fair and do justice to internal as well as external groups. For example, a policy of recruitment from within, may limit opportunities to bright candidates from outside and a policy of recruitment from outside only would limit promotional avenues to promising internal candidates.