Agility Loop

I know there are other tools out there to find out what has been interesting on the web over the last week.  However, the overwhelming flow of information on Google Buzz and Twitter sometimes makes it difficult to keep up.  So, I am going to start a weekly post that will highlight some interesting articles from the web, mostly the blogosphere, in relation to security, cyber, and government contracting.  Don’t be surprised though if I sneak in a couple of goofy links from time to time.

Bill Puts Contractors Out of Work – NextGov
There a ton of articles that document the government’s efforts to trim down the contractor workforce.  This particular article focuses in on how the beltway bandit establishment are fighting against change that may effect their wallets.

Understanding and Selecting a Tokenization Solution: Introduction – Securosis Blog
An in-depth introduction to tokenization in enterprise applications.  I actually stumbled upon this blog a couple of weeks ago and it is well worth following.  They cover a variety of security topics including log management, network data flow, and secure application development.

Paying for Classified Security – NextGov
An article that details the $$$s spent by the federal government on information security.  Ironically enough the costs were actually down between 2008 and 2009, although the number is still at $4.26 billion dollars…not including what the intelligence community spends.

Nightwatch
This less about an article and more about Nightwatch overall.  Great feed to follow to read in-depth goings on in the rest of the world.  Most updates feature editor commentary that give greater insight into situation such as the North Korean/South Korean submarine debacle.

Cryptography Success Story – Schneier on Security
A link to an article showcasing where encryption of a hard drive actually foiled both Brazilian authorities and the FBI.  Certainly a good thing from a protection perspecitve, but maybe not so good from an inteligence collecting angle.  The comments on Schneier’s blogs are always insightful (and entertaining) as well.

I think it is pretty amusing that so many folks think that the electric car is the way we will get off foreign oil (and hopefully avoid more Gulf oil spills).  There is an article over at Earth2Tech entitled Battle of the Batteries: Comparing Electric Car Range, Charge Times that features a list of incoming EV cars, there published miles per charge, and the real world miles per charge.

As one would expect, range of these cars very often does not live up to the hype.  The Chevy Volt is one example where ever former GM Vice Chariman Bob Lutz is referenced:

“Lutz told a reporter from the Dow Jones that he drove the Volt for a weekend recently during the cold Detroit winter, and found he got only 28 miles of electric range.”

Fortunately for the Volt, there is a backup gas engine that will charge the battery.  However, if you look at other cars, many of their real world ranges are 50-75% of the manufacturers claims.  Is it just me, or does this sound a lot like your cell phone?  They promise days of standby, when in reality my Droid is lucky to last 18 hours.  So instead, I have chargers everywhere.  My house, my car, my office, and even at Sleekfest.  And even with all of those chargers, I make sure to modify my phone behavior as the juice decreases.

So basically when we start buying EVs, I will have to make sure that I am never too far from my house, the office, or the Sleekfest grounds (power is a game changer) so that I have enough juice to get anywhere.  Maybe its just me, but it is a helluva a lot different if my cell phone runs out of juice and I can’t check Twitter then if my car dies in SE when trying to get home from the Strasburg debut.

Today at Web 2.0 Microsoft announced a new product called Spindex. From the quick look during the presentation, appears to be Friendfeed with some semantic search.

MS Live account needed, and it appears it is an invite model for now. Gonna try to grab an account tomorrow. Definitely could see some uses for the government and the IC.

There has been an increase in discussion over the past couple of weeks regarding the overuse of PowerPoint in the military and the commercial world, and how it can sometimes be a detriment.  In fact, some articles are actually suggesting that the overuse is costing lives.

While I agree that the “PowerPoint Ranger” mentality of the military CAN be a detriment, PowerPoint does have its uses when used properly.

This became very apparent yesterday during a session here at Web 2.0.  The topic was Security in Code Development, clearly a complex topic.  The presenter chose to eschew PowerPoint altogether and instead handed out ten copies of a 25 page paper so that the audience could follow along while he presented it.  It wasn’t a page by page review, but selected sections were presented to help facilitate understanding to the audience.

What it underscored to me is the power of pictures and diagrams to facilitate understanding.  This is not something that is PowerPoint specific, but tools like PowerPoint provide a good forum to present concepts.  In a complicated discussion about cross site scripting attacks, it would have been very helpful to level set the knowledge of the room to further the discussion.  Instead, I felt that some of the audience (frankly myself included at times) was lost in the discussion.  I also see this in briefings for the Government…the simple “cartoon” picture is a great way to level set discussions, especially with senior level folks who are less technical.

Of course I am not suggesting that this cartoon picture replace real diagrams.  Instead I believe it is a great tool to have in your quiver to enhance buy-in, stimulate discussion, and further your project.

It is always entertaining to keep track of the old media vs. new media war. Old media still can’t figure out how to handle the new way of business and continues to be left behind.

Today’s news of Blockbuster’s new deal with Warner Bros is a prime example. A few weeks ago, Warner signed an agreement with Redbox and Netflix limiting the availability of new releases on those services for 28 days post release to DVD.  Today’s agreement gives BB the ability to rent these titles immediately via brick and mortar and online.

Double standard anyone? In all reality, business is business and the movies are Warner’s to do with as they please. However, seems like a reactive business move and some old media blowing old media. Can’t wait to see what happens when BB goes bankrupt.

So maybe this should be a Tweet, but I felt like trying out the WordPress app on my Droid. I’m not on the metro much so why not be productive?

Anyhow, since I am on the metro I am craving a Kindle app on my Droid. Come on Amazon…don’t u want to piss Jobs off like Google is?

Since I posted a one word status update that just said “Droid” I have had many folks ask what I think about the Droid and whether or not they should get it.  Back in the day I would have posted earlier, but lately work has been a little too busy to try to throw together a post about it (read – I’m busy, but really I’m just lazy).   So here is a quick take on my thoughts on the Droid so far.  Also keep in mind that I was coming from a 3+ year old Blackberry Curve running on AT&T so my iPhone comparisons are mostly from all of my friends who took the plunge and got the free Birkenstocks when they bought it.

Screen, Video, and Audio

The screen on the Droid is really pretty fantastic.  The screen is a little wider than the iPhone and video and movies look great (in particular, Shakira looks great).  I have watched Family Guy episodes, movie trailers, and played games and all look great.  I remember when I almost bought a ZuneHD instead of a iPod Nano a couple of months ago.  Glad I didn’t…really no need for another portable media device (you iPhone users already know this joy).

As for actually managing audio and video, the solutions aren’t as slick as what is available with iTunes and the iPhone.  As you would expect, the Droid can’t play DRMed content from iTunes (which is why I buy all my mp3s from Napster or Amazon).  Morotola has an application that can sync non-DRMed content directly from iTunes, but it is a bit of a pig.  The media player on the device is OK, but it could use an update…it just isn’t that user friendly.  BUT, it works…mostly.  I have noticed some weird crackling for some songs when I plug the Droid into my car via the aux jack.  These same songs are on my Nano and I have no problems.  This is seldom however, and I have solved the problem by turning the content down on the Droid and up on the stereo.

You can buy music directly on the device from the Amazon store.  That being said I haven’t used it yet.  I just buy them on the computer and then sync to the Droid.

Keyboard

So the Droid has a slide out keyboard and the requiste touchscreen keyboards.  As a long time Blackberry user the physical keyboard was pretty appealing to me…until I used it.  It has been described as mushy by others, and I see what they mean.  It is difficult to tell the difference between keys without looking.  I have gotten used to it, but it still isn’t great.

Like the iPhone, the Droid supports on screen keyboard in both portrait and landscape modes.  It took some getting used to, but luckily the predictive engine on the Droid is pretty slick so very often it is smart enough to choose a word for you.

Android Applications

The Droid comes pre-installed with what you would expect.  Email clients, browser, Google Maps, Alarm Clock, etc.  Facebook is pre-installed and it is a big leap from the Blackberry version, but is still not quite as impressive as the iPhone version.  The browser is quite good and fast (the 3g network helps).    Email clients can access web clients like Yahoo, but it is a “pull” from Yahoo so your Droid has to go out and pull your new emails.  Gmail integration is far superior and supports push email so email almost immediately is delivered to your phone as it hits Gmail.  Google Calendar and Contacts will also sync to the phone.  It basically just finally forced my hand to make the switch to Gmail.

The Droid can talk to Microsoft Exchange, and even other solutions like Zimbra.  Email is then pushed, and contact and calendars are synced JUST like the Blackberry.

The Droid can run over 10,000 applications that are available via direct download to your Droid from the Android Market.  Although Apple likes to brag about having over 100,000 apps, I have found all the apps that I really need.  Pandora, Bump, Lightsaber, Google Sky (a really cool app), Weather, etc.  Perhaps in another post I’ll put up a list of useful apps as I did with Blackberry.

The Droid also allows supports voice recognition.  You can use it to call someone, navigate to a restaurant, search your music, and search the web.  So far, I have been very impressed with accuracy.  However, it does require that you have a connection to the network for voice recognition to work (although so far Verizon’s network is fine everywhere except my office…awesome).

Of special note is Google Navigation.  Google Navigation is basically a full blown navigation system on your phone.  It uses GPS to determine your location and has the ability to dynamically route you to your destination.  I have navigation in my car, but it is such a PITA to enter a new destination.  Instead, I have found myself using my voice to simply state “Navigate to Rhino Bar & Pumphouse” and the phone takes over.  The one downside is that to you need a network connection for this to work.  However, I have read that if you lose a connection, the app will “catch up” once you have signal.

Usability

Overall I find the phone to very usable.  There are some functions that are not intuitive, but once I have gotten used to it I find that it just as quick as any other phone.  The phone allows you to do more customization of your experience, which in turn can make things more complex.  BUT, additions like gadgets (mini applets that run on your home screen and can tell you information, what music is playing, etc) make it worth thte learning curve.  What’s more, since the Droid can multitask, you can play tunes over Pandora while browsing the web, checking your calendar, and sending email.  However, the more you multitask, the more you kill the battery (more on that below).

If you are thinking about the Droid though, goto the store and play.  You will find out pretty quick if it can work for you.

Camera

Like ALL camera phones, the camera in the Droid is subpar.  Sure, if the conditions are right, you don’t move AT ALL, the picture is fine.  There is also a focus problem that is supposed to be covered in an update this week.  BUT, you do get a flash (so less people screwing with you when taking pics with the iPhone…who knows when they actually take the pic?), and  it is a 5.0 megapixel camera.  If the fix can take care of some of these problems, the camera will be much improved.  I still wanna know WHY cell phone vendors can’t get a damn camera right?  I’d love to not have to carry my Canon Elph if I already have my camera.

Battery Life

So so far, this has been the Achilles heal of the Droid.  Although the Droid can do so many things, first and foremost I need it as a phone AND for email/txting.  My first couple of days I would unplug when I wake and by the time I was heading home the battery was close to 20-30%.  That is CRAP.  Part of the problem is the custom nature of the Android OS.  Since you do so much, you can almost do too much and kill the battery.  The iPhone has been optimized over time to have better battery performance.  I have learned that I need to make sure that services like GPS and WiFi are off when they are not needed, the screen is set for low brightness, and to turn it off when I leave it at home or the car.

Still, I have contemplated over the last month that I may return it.  Like I said, I want to be able to count on my phone.  However, I now have gotten my phone to last almost 20-24 hours (I let it run all the way down yesterday…good to let this happen every 30-40 charges).  ALSO, there is a software update for the phone that is supposed to improve battery life.  My hope is that Verizon will continue to support the phone and keep on optimizing battery life (there is another rumored update coming in January.

Definitely recommend that you buy a car charger and maybe even a charger for work to cover your bases.  BUT, buy it off of ebay and not from Verizon.  It is WAY cheaper.

Overall

SO, should you get the Droid?  If you want something that is less customizable but more intuitive, then you may want to still consider the iPhone (here is some patchouli for you as well).  If you’re a heavy email user, the keyboard weakness may be a tough and the Blackberry still may be what you want.  However, when I first saw this was coming out I wanted to try something different, and overall I am happy with the phone.  Google is ALL IN when it comes to the Android OS and you should be seeing dozens of Android phones in the next months.  I am counting on Google  and Motorola maintaining an interest in this market and continuing to enhance the Android OS and the Droid phone.

Stumbled upon a posting entitled “10 Steps for a Military Sharepoint Contract” on Adam Buenz’s Sharepoint Shelter.  Ten very good points (and the blog is an overall good resource for Sharepoint folks).  One in particular I enjoyed, and I TOTALLY agree with.

Hiring A Generic Project Manager Will Go Over Like A Fart In Church

If you are responsible for staffing, do not under any circumstances hire a generic project manager for a military SharePoint contract. A project manager in a military environment is a specialized position since they have to understand the inner working of the military, this type of knowledge is disseminated through experience and not through book smarts or nonspecific PM knowledge. While a generic PM might understand the fundamental ranking and command hierarchy concepts, they will have no clue about how the military cogs make the overall federal machine work. Unless you want to send a lamb to the slaughter, just avoid it and shell out the money for a PM either with direct military background or previous federal work history (state governments generally do not count). Going back to the above point about acclimation of product, the PM will heavily be responsible for facilitating the rely of operational information that will affect the whole project. When they get the aggregate picture along with the intricate unit workings, their contributions are unmistakably noticeable and will cause the project to run much smoother.

I have seen good PMs with no tech or military experience get chewed up b/c of this very point.  Generic PMs do NOT work in the Federal space.  You have to find someone who can walk the walk and talk the talk.