Thursday was wrap-up day for Collaborate 10. John Stouffer gave a great session on managing R12 with OEM and the Application Change Management Packs...pretty informative for a guy who insists that his DBA title stands for "Don't Bother Asking" :0
We wrapped up Collaborate with a podcast session: a bunch of pals sharing highlights and conference impressions with Oracle's Bob Rhubart for The Oracle Technology Network's ArchBeat podcast series - it should be posted soon.
Two more posts coming in a day or so: one on announcements and serious items, a second self-indulgent post on personal high points.
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Monday, April 26, 2010
Highlights From The Bright Lights - Wednesday
So what did I do with my Wednesday?
Oracle's Lisa Parekh gave a great presentation on EBS Technology Essentials...I had trouble keeping pace with my note taking, because the session was packed with great content. I found the material on enterprise search in EBS to be pretty interesting.
I caught up with old friend Steve Sutphin and we compared notes on R12 upgrades...same experiences as those in my previous post, but it was good to hear it from a seasoned vet.
Had the good fortune to attend the EBS RAC Customer Advisory Board meeting. They have some really juicy projects on the table that I probably can't talk about (darn those pesky NDAs)...we're going to see some great innovation coming here, and I'm hoping it shows up quickly.
Also got some time in with the Usability Labs, which is always a real hoot. More on this later, because it rates a post of it's own. If you want to get a feel for Oracle's future direction, get into one of these hands-on labs. It's time well-spent.
So now it's on to Thursday...
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Oracle's Lisa Parekh gave a great presentation on EBS Technology Essentials...I had trouble keeping pace with my note taking, because the session was packed with great content. I found the material on enterprise search in EBS to be pretty interesting.
I caught up with old friend Steve Sutphin and we compared notes on R12 upgrades...same experiences as those in my previous post, but it was good to hear it from a seasoned vet.
Had the good fortune to attend the EBS RAC Customer Advisory Board meeting. They have some really juicy projects on the table that I probably can't talk about (darn those pesky NDAs)...we're going to see some great innovation coming here, and I'm hoping it shows up quickly.
Also got some time in with the Usability Labs, which is always a real hoot. More on this later, because it rates a post of it's own. If you want to get a feel for Oracle's future direction, get into one of these hands-on labs. It's time well-spent.
So now it's on to Thursday...
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Highlights From The Bright Lights - Tuesday
OK, I know what you're thinking...that Floyd is one heck of a slacker! Here it is 4 days after Collaborate 10 closed out and he's still posting show highlights. To be honest, I got sidetracked by a developing situation that required my attention...not going to talk about it just yet, but think "book" (among other things). So let me refocus and wrap up the highlights for the last days of the show...starting with Tuesday.
Tuesday was pretty much spent focusing on EBS. Spent some time hanging out on the exhibition floor with Art Dowd and Mark Clark from O2Works, just chatting about the state of the industry and comparing notes on R12 Upgrade experiences. Then did the same thing at the TruTek booth with Barb Matthews, just chatting with EBS customers who wandered by. Did the same thing throughout the day, just wandering the hallways. The consensus lined up with my own upgrade experiences so far: the technical portion of the upgrade runs fairly smoothly if you successfully research and apply all the pre- and post-upgrade patches relevant to your particular configuration (admittedly a mighty big "if"); but I did not find a single Financials customer who did not struggle with upgrading AP. That same story was consistent with what I heard from customers while sitting on the Upgrade SIG Panel later in the day. Funny thing - I had private chats with several customers from the U.S. Northeast who are struggling with upgrades and roadmaps, but have yet to check in with the great resources available from the Northeast GEO...somebody help me with the logic on that one?
My one non-EBS activity was speaking with the South Central GEO. Spent about 20 minutes contrasting and comparing the upgrade paths for Fusion Apps 1.0 and EBS 12.1.2...OK, I guess I never did stop the EBS focus after all ;)
Next up is Wed. & Thurs.
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Tuesday was pretty much spent focusing on EBS. Spent some time hanging out on the exhibition floor with Art Dowd and Mark Clark from O2Works, just chatting about the state of the industry and comparing notes on R12 Upgrade experiences. Then did the same thing at the TruTek booth with Barb Matthews, just chatting with EBS customers who wandered by. Did the same thing throughout the day, just wandering the hallways. The consensus lined up with my own upgrade experiences so far: the technical portion of the upgrade runs fairly smoothly if you successfully research and apply all the pre- and post-upgrade patches relevant to your particular configuration (admittedly a mighty big "if"); but I did not find a single Financials customer who did not struggle with upgrading AP. That same story was consistent with what I heard from customers while sitting on the Upgrade SIG Panel later in the day. Funny thing - I had private chats with several customers from the U.S. Northeast who are struggling with upgrades and roadmaps, but have yet to check in with the great resources available from the Northeast GEO...somebody help me with the logic on that one?
My one non-EBS activity was speaking with the South Central GEO. Spent about 20 minutes contrasting and comparing the upgrade paths for Fusion Apps 1.0 and EBS 12.1.2...OK, I guess I never did stop the EBS focus after all ;)
Next up is Wed. & Thurs.
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Friday, April 23, 2010
Highlights From The Bright Lights - Monday
Monday at Collaborate 10 proved to be a pretty interesting day.
I woke up Monday morning certain of one fact: I'd be very excited to be part on an early implementation of Fusion Applications. If you're going that route and want help, we should talk.
In Charles Phillips' portion of the keynote address, we learned that Sun Sparc Solaris will be the flagship OS going forward and the Oracle-Sun stack will be the preferred stack going forward; all the innovation will roll out on this platform first. Linux will continue to be supported, but Sun Sparc Solaris is king once again. To that end, Oracle Enterprise Manager will be integrated (maybe expanded would be the better word here) with the Oracle full Oracle-Sun stack.
Thomas Kurian shared the news that Oracle Corp. has been live on EBS 12.1.2 since last October. He also announced the new Orcale Financial Close Management and Disclosure Management applications - both founded on Hyperion/Essbase. He also announced the strategy of using GoldenGate to integrate OLTP reporting in a separate instance. He also gave us a sneak peek at the new Oracle Enterprise Manager.
Steven Chan's presentation, as always, was interesting. I found it intriguing to hear that Oracle is now running some development instances on Amazon's EC2 cloud.
John Stouffer's EBS upgrade versus reimplement panel was also fun. I took more than my share of good-natured hazing from the technical folks on the panel. But I just let it slide, 'cause sometimes it's good therapy to let those slow-witted techies think they're clever ;). After engaging in that panel, my own impression remains the same: reimplementing is like getting a root cannel...without anesthesia...while in an IRS lobby waiting for your tax audit. The best path for EBS customers is usually the upgrade path. Don't reimplement unless you absolutely, positively, without a doubt must do so.
On to Tuesday!
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I woke up Monday morning certain of one fact: I'd be very excited to be part on an early implementation of Fusion Applications. If you're going that route and want help, we should talk.
In Charles Phillips' portion of the keynote address, we learned that Sun Sparc Solaris will be the flagship OS going forward and the Oracle-Sun stack will be the preferred stack going forward; all the innovation will roll out on this platform first. Linux will continue to be supported, but Sun Sparc Solaris is king once again. To that end, Oracle Enterprise Manager will be integrated (maybe expanded would be the better word here) with the Oracle full Oracle-Sun stack.
Thomas Kurian shared the news that Oracle Corp. has been live on EBS 12.1.2 since last October. He also announced the new Orcale Financial Close Management and Disclosure Management applications - both founded on Hyperion/Essbase. He also announced the strategy of using GoldenGate to integrate OLTP reporting in a separate instance. He also gave us a sneak peek at the new Oracle Enterprise Manager.
Steven Chan's presentation, as always, was interesting. I found it intriguing to hear that Oracle is now running some development instances on Amazon's EC2 cloud.
John Stouffer's EBS upgrade versus reimplement panel was also fun. I took more than my share of good-natured hazing from the technical folks on the panel. But I just let it slide, 'cause sometimes it's good therapy to let those slow-witted techies think they're clever ;). After engaging in that panel, my own impression remains the same: reimplementing is like getting a root cannel...without anesthesia...while in an IRS lobby waiting for your tax audit. The best path for EBS customers is usually the upgrade path. Don't reimplement unless you absolutely, positively, without a doubt must do so.
On to Tuesday!
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Monday, April 19, 2010
Highlights From The Bright Lights - Sunday
Sunday, the first day of Collaborate 10, was probably the best conference kickoff I've ever experienced. And that's mostly because "Oracle Fusion Architecture: Soup To Nuts" absolutely rocked! Some of the highlights (and these were tough to choose, simply because the whole seminar was a series of one highlight after another):
- an ADF application built from scratch in 10 minutes
- a great give-and-take exchange on AIA
- a BPEL process built from scratch
- a use case on SOA uptake, where we learned that communication and coordination were much bigger challenges than the technology uptake
- a use case on using Fusion Middleware with JDE World
- a great question-and-answer session revolving around development tools, middleware, and Fus...uh, I mean Next Generation...Applications.
Great collaboration at Collaborate between OAUG, HEUG, ODTUG, Quest, IOUG, IOUC and Oracle. Kudos in particular to ODTUG, especially John King from King Training, who really went the extra mile to make this seminar work...just a great bunch of people.
It was also pretty cool to see the Oraclenerd hanging out in the back row.
The day was topped off nicely with the OAUG 20th anniversary bash and a wonderful ACE dinner. Really looking forward to Monday...
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- an ADF application built from scratch in 10 minutes
- a great give-and-take exchange on AIA
- a BPEL process built from scratch
- a use case on SOA uptake, where we learned that communication and coordination were much bigger challenges than the technology uptake
- a use case on using Fusion Middleware with JDE World
- a great question-and-answer session revolving around development tools, middleware, and Fus...uh, I mean Next Generation...Applications.
Great collaboration at Collaborate between OAUG, HEUG, ODTUG, Quest, IOUG, IOUC and Oracle. Kudos in particular to ODTUG, especially John King from King Training, who really went the extra mile to make this seminar work...just a great bunch of people.
It was also pretty cool to see the Oraclenerd hanging out in the back row.
The day was topped off nicely with the OAUG 20th anniversary bash and a wonderful ACE dinner. Really looking forward to Monday...
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Thursday, April 15, 2010
Highlights From The Bright Lights
So here we go...Collaborate 10 is about to kick off. I think it will be a pretty interesting conference for several reasons.
Oracle has already announced an extension of support for 10g AS R2. Will we hear about a similar extension for 10g AS R3?
The importance of AIA in Fusion Architecture continues to grow. What we will learn about it next week?
Lots of E-Business customers either are planning or should start planning their upgrade to R12.1.1. Those who have already worked through the upgrade will have info to share that many of us will want to hear.
With the demise of mod plsql in EBS, are customers really rewriting their customizations in OAF? Or are they building interfaces to APEX and migrating their customizations to that platform? Or are they actually retiring those customizations due to new R12.1.1 functionality? Or are they doing something else altogether?
For those of you who can't get to Vegas, I'll be posting a series of nightly updates here: "Higlights From The Bright Lights" (as in the bright lights of Las Vegas).
And I'll also keep ya'all updated on my big iPad/iPhone experiment. What is the experiment? Well, I'll be in Vegas for 8 days...no laptop. I'm relying strictly on my iPad and iPhone: blog updates, 3 conference presentations, staying connected, the usual stuff - plus an APEX development side project that I'll be working as time permits. I've done short trips (3 nights or less) with just the iPhone, but I've never done anything this long and of this magnitude without a laptop. So I'll be putting the portable iStuff, especially the iPad, to the test. Can I really function for this long sans laptop? I'll keep you posted.
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Oracle has already announced an extension of support for 10g AS R2. Will we hear about a similar extension for 10g AS R3?
The importance of AIA in Fusion Architecture continues to grow. What we will learn about it next week?
Lots of E-Business customers either are planning or should start planning their upgrade to R12.1.1. Those who have already worked through the upgrade will have info to share that many of us will want to hear.
With the demise of mod plsql in EBS, are customers really rewriting their customizations in OAF? Or are they building interfaces to APEX and migrating their customizations to that platform? Or are they actually retiring those customizations due to new R12.1.1 functionality? Or are they doing something else altogether?
For those of you who can't get to Vegas, I'll be posting a series of nightly updates here: "Higlights From The Bright Lights" (as in the bright lights of Las Vegas).
And I'll also keep ya'all updated on my big iPad/iPhone experiment. What is the experiment? Well, I'll be in Vegas for 8 days...no laptop. I'm relying strictly on my iPad and iPhone: blog updates, 3 conference presentations, staying connected, the usual stuff - plus an APEX development side project that I'll be working as time permits. I've done short trips (3 nights or less) with just the iPhone, but I've never done anything this long and of this magnitude without a laptop. So I'll be putting the portable iStuff, especially the iPad, to the test. Can I really function for this long sans laptop? I'll keep you posted.
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Oracle Fusion Architecture: Soup to Nuts - It'll Rock!
This Sunday, as a kind of kick-off for Collaborate 10, Oracle and several of the Oracle user groups are “collaborating at Collaborate” to put on a free seminar: “Oracle Fusion Architecture: Soup to Nuts”. We’ll be exploring highlights of the entire Fusion Architecture stack, starting with the database and working our way up to Fus…uh, I mean “Next Generation”…Applications. And it’s going to rock!
We’ll start up the seminar at 10 a.m. with a quick welcome. Then we’ll start with the database (because everything starts with the database) as ODTUG’s John.King launches into a presentation of “Oracle 11g for Developers: What You Need to Know”. John will serve double-duty, taking a look at development tools and ADF at 11. At noon we'll break an hour for lunch.
After lunch, OAUG’s Ron Batra will take us through an overview of the Applications Integration Architecture (AIA). Then Oracle’s Margaret Lee and Nishit Rao will provide some insight into Fusion Principles.
Once the customer stories wrap up, we’ll move on with a presentation from Oracle’s Usability Labs. Jeremy Ashley and Katie Candland will walk us through the concepts behind Oracle’s user experience work. This is a story that extends well beyond Fusion Architecture, but at the very core of the yet-to-be-released applications.
Next Debra Lilley, Basheer Kahn and I will present a 30-minute encore of our Unconference Session from Oracle OpenWorld 09: “Why We Can’t Wait For Fusion Applications”.
We’ll wrap up with a 30 minute Q&A session from 5:15 to 5:45, with a panel of experts from the user groups taking questions from the audience.
It’s a long day. But, like I said, it’s going to rock! Mandalay Bay Ballroom D, Level II; Sunday from 10 to 6. Hope to see ya’all there.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Collaborate 10 - What Looks Good To Me
Collaborate 10 kicks off in Las Vegas on April 18th. I'm actually flying out on the 16th to get settled in and attend to some OAUG-related pre-conference things. Overall, it looks to be a pretty good user conference. I'm personally going there to dig into 3 subjects: Fusion Architecture, E-Business upgrades to R12.1.x, and squeezing more value from the buckets full of money delivered for Oracle Support maintenance.
I'll also be engaged in presenting or hosting a few sessions of my own:
- Oracle Fusion Architecture: Soup to Nuts workshop: I think this will be a major highlight of the conference. Oracle, OAUG, Quest, ODTUG, HEUG, IOUC and IOUG have all combined forces to touch on some of the more significant components of Fusion Architecture. We'll be talking about and performing demos on the database tools, development tools, middleware, Fusion Principles, User Experience, and Fusion Applications. We'll dedicate a portion of the workshop to customers standing up and talking about their experiences with Fusion Architecture. Then we'll wrap things up with a panel answering audience questions. Sunday April 18th from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mandalay Bay D, Level 2, South Convention Center. And attendance is free for all conference attendees.
- Release 12.1 - Reimplement versus Upgrade Panel: How I got invited onto a panel with all these smart people is beyond me. Show up for this session and we'll all learn a bunch about upgrading to R12.1.
- I also be dropping into a few SIG and Geo meetings, and may even wind up doing some Q&A at one or two of those sessions.
So, other than those sessions where I'm presenting, I looked over the catalog of sessions with my three areas of focus in mind. What follows is a list of the sessions that that look good to me. I didn't include session times or locations, as there is already a pretty nifty tool for looking all that stuff up here. If you do look up my list, you'll see there are time conflicts involved - a sign of a good conference is that you have to make difficult choices about how to spend your time - so you won't be able to catch all of these sessions...these are just the sessions that piqued my interest.
Fusion Architecture
- Oracle Fusion Applications: Functional Overview
- The Fusion Development Experience
- 10 Things You Can Do Today to Prepare for the Next Generation Applications
- Oracle Fusion Applications: Technical Oveview
- OA Framework Versus ADF: The Better Choice for the Best Benefits
- Technology Essentials: Using the Latest Oracle Technologies with E-Business Suite
- Fusion Applications 101
- Where in the World Are We? (This is a case study of a JDE World customer using Fusion Middleware...I'm really looking forward to this session)
- Understanding What Fusion Applications Means to You
- Web 2.0 User Experience and Oracle Fusion Middleware Integration with Oracle E-Business Suite
- A Technical Roadmap for Oracle Fusion Middleware, E-Business Suite R12 & Oracle Fusion Applications
- Fusion Service Oriented Architecture Explained for Business Users
- Fusion Principles: Lessons in Fusion Middleware from Fusion Apps
Upgrading to Release 12.1.x
- Release 12.1 - Reimplement vs. Upgrade Panel - Functional and Technical
- Get Ready for EBS Release 12.1! Tasks to Complete Now to Ease R12.1 Upgrade Process
- Steps and Methodology For Custom Development in R12 E-Business Suite
- Building an R12.1.1 Sandbox Environment Using VMWare
- "KIcking the Tires" - Practical Use Cases for Sub-Ledger Accounting in E-Business Suite R12
- Oracle E-Business Suite Technology Road Map and Vision: Release 12.1 and Beyond
- Understanding SOA Maturity Phases in an Oracle E-Business Suite Implementation Lifecycle
- 11g Upgrade Essentials for Oracle EBS Environments
- Implementing an Advanced Architecture for Oracle E-Business Suite
- E-Business Suite in the Amazon Cloud
- The Latest on The E-Business Technology Roadmap
- Oracle E-Business Suite Applications Strategy and General Manager Update
- You vs The Bad Guys - The Top 10 List for Securing R12
- What's New in Oracle's Business Intelligence Applications
- Integrated SOA Gateway - Expose Oracle E-Business Suite Functionality As Web Services
- E-Business Suite 12 Upgrade--An Easier Ride on 9 Miles of Bad Road
- Technology Essentials: Using the Latest Oracle Technologies with E-Business Suite
- R12 Upgrades: Why, When, and How
- Best Practices for EBS R12 Upgrades
- Release 12 Technical Information - Intermediate
- E-Business Suite OAM Patch Wizard Utility
- Tuning the Beast (E-Business Suite) in a RAC Environment
- How to Manage Customizations Using Application Change Management Pack for Oracle E- Business Suite
- Upgrading to Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1 - Best Practices
- Leveraging Cloud Computing in an ERP Ecosystem (OK, I cheated here - this isn't really about an R12 upgrade; I'm just interested in the subject)
Oracle Support
- OAUG Customer Support Council/Oracle Support Panel
- Creating Customer Value
- My Oracle Support - Working Effectively with Oracle Support
- Gain Efficiencies and Cost Savings with My Oracle Support Best Practices
- Oracle E-Business Suite Diagnostics & Health Checks
Friday, April 09, 2010
Lessons Learned The Hard Way
I began a pretty interesting exercise during my time spent waiting for the morning train this week - it's amazing what your brain comes up with at 5 a.m. I began to make a list of lessons learned from project failures, focusing strictly on those project failures I've personally experienced. Dug up some really painful memories but gathered some really choice nuggets of wisdom. Thought I'd share a few and see what ya'all think.
One caveat: these points may seem a little on the dark or cynical side, but keep in mind that these lesson were learned through failure. That makes them lessons learned the hard way. Rest assured that I genuinely love what I do.
Now let's hit the list:
- A project delivering phenomenally-coded apps is still a failure if the users are not happy with the delivery.
- If your project sponsor won't back your project team when the pressure is on, prepare to observe the dirtiest side of a bus.
- Saying "no" to a sponsor, customer, or stakeholder is always a bad thing. Present the trade-offs and let the big dogs make the choices.
- Users always want to see a mock-up the minute you announce you'll be building a mockup.
- Multiply your development estimates by 3 and add 20% before you tell anyone how long you think it will take. It's never as simple as it looks at first.
- Users can never list and clearly describe all their requirements; do your best to gather requirements, do it quickly, build UI prototypes based on what you know, then show those prototypes to your users and be ready to take lots of notes.
- It's tougher to obtain true success with packaged apps than it is with custom development but, in either case, it's darn hard.
- Usability really, really matters - design with that in mind.
- If you work in the software business for any significant length of time, you'll experience your share of failures; learn from the experience and move on.
- It's all personal, regardless of what gets said.
- Being correct on technical issues does not mean you're right.
- Always have another set of eyes review your work.
- We're all selling all the time...it's just that some of us don't know it.
- Tighter teams deliver better products.
- Work can be stressful and fun at the same time.
- Be quick, but don't hurry - John Wooden; the idea is that hurried work tends to be sloppy work - follow the processes you know will work, but don't let process control stymie results.
- Tech is a means, not an end...the technically simple solutions are often the best solutions.
- Acceptance happens incrementally and is best started with the lowest layer of management.
- Flexibility and resilience are traits worth their weight in gold.
- The only thing worse than unemployment is to work and not get paid in some way for it.
- Schedule may matter most, but you can learn a lot by following the money.
- Love the work or find another gig - life is too short is labor away in self-imposed misery.
Long list, but I think it's a good one. Got anything to add to the list? Comments welcome!
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One caveat: these points may seem a little on the dark or cynical side, but keep in mind that these lesson were learned through failure. That makes them lessons learned the hard way. Rest assured that I genuinely love what I do.
Now let's hit the list:
- A project delivering phenomenally-coded apps is still a failure if the users are not happy with the delivery.
- If your project sponsor won't back your project team when the pressure is on, prepare to observe the dirtiest side of a bus.
- Saying "no" to a sponsor, customer, or stakeholder is always a bad thing. Present the trade-offs and let the big dogs make the choices.
- Users always want to see a mock-up the minute you announce you'll be building a mockup.
- Multiply your development estimates by 3 and add 20% before you tell anyone how long you think it will take. It's never as simple as it looks at first.
- Users can never list and clearly describe all their requirements; do your best to gather requirements, do it quickly, build UI prototypes based on what you know, then show those prototypes to your users and be ready to take lots of notes.
- It's tougher to obtain true success with packaged apps than it is with custom development but, in either case, it's darn hard.
- Usability really, really matters - design with that in mind.
- If you work in the software business for any significant length of time, you'll experience your share of failures; learn from the experience and move on.
- It's all personal, regardless of what gets said.
- Being correct on technical issues does not mean you're right.
- Always have another set of eyes review your work.
- We're all selling all the time...it's just that some of us don't know it.
- Tighter teams deliver better products.
- Work can be stressful and fun at the same time.
- Be quick, but don't hurry - John Wooden; the idea is that hurried work tends to be sloppy work - follow the processes you know will work, but don't let process control stymie results.
- Tech is a means, not an end...the technically simple solutions are often the best solutions.
- Acceptance happens incrementally and is best started with the lowest layer of management.
- Flexibility and resilience are traits worth their weight in gold.
- The only thing worse than unemployment is to work and not get paid in some way for it.
- Schedule may matter most, but you can learn a lot by following the money.
- Love the work or find another gig - life is too short is labor away in self-imposed misery.
Long list, but I think it's a good one. Got anything to add to the list? Comments welcome!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Let's Talk iPad
Yeah, talking about the iPad is a little off-topic for this blog. But I really want to write about the iPad...got two on Release Day (if I had to share with my wife, I'd never see it)...and it is my blog, after all. And, as you'll see, it's not really all that far off topic.
So, yeah, I own a iPad now. Got the lowest-priced model: 16mb, no 3G. But my use case seems a little different from most - my primary intent is to create rather than just consume. I bought the iPad as an alternative to a laptop or a notebook; it's my new mobile computing platform. Fits perfectly into my workflow between my iMac desktop and my iPhone.
So, after a whole day, what do I think? Well, there's some good and some bad.
For the most part, I really like the form factor. It's small, light and mobile. But it's heavier than a Kindle - your fingers will feel the strain after holding the iPad in your hands for 10 minutes or so. And while it does feel great in your hands, the metal back makes it a little slippery - get the case.
The iPad is blazing fast - I've never seen anything quite so quick and responsive. The virtual keyboard, while better than the iPhone's, is not made for serious typing - looking forward to the full-sized keyboard/dock that should arrive next week (although I've also found that my Bluetooth keyboard works well).
Not really missing the MIA front-facing camera that so many have lamented. Nor do I notice the lack of 3G - this is my uber-netbook; I have my iPhone for connectivity when I'm out and about.
Overall, I'm pretty happy over my decision to roll the dice on an iPad. You can read lots of reviews on the workings of the iPad, so I won't rehash it again here...Google is your friend.
Still, what I'm really excited about is the game-changing nature of the iPad. No, not because it will drive down Kindle prices or cause netbook producers to adapt. It's not even the potential in higher education (all your textbooks on a single iPad) that really hits me. It's the potential for the iPad as a field service appliance and a mobile enterprise computing platform.
Let's talk the obvious first: how long do you think it will be before your doctor carries an iPad into the examination room to see patients? How about outside sales people? I wonder how my auto dealer will feel about having the service department storing all their manuals and technical service bulletins on an iPad? Hmmm...a full hardware catalog on an iPad? Get the idea?
Now let's talk enterprise mobile computing. Creating spreadsheets, presentations (including video projector interface), word processing, IMing, email...iPad does all that today...and for general and administrative white collar types, what else is there? Executives checking BI metrics between meetings without the need to open a laptop or netbook? Light mobile computing on the road (this thing is much lighter than a netbook or laptop, yet performs basic computing tasks just as well)?
Remember the scenes from Star Trek when an officer hands a report or duty roster to the captain on a nice, thin, rectangular little gizmo - that's an iPad possibility.
Heck, I even took a shot this evening at running Oracle APEX on my iPad (the web-hosted flavor)...so far, so good. Shades of SaaS - the iPad could be a pretty nifty client in that model. How about accessing your ERP system in a SaaS model via an iPad? Gosh, guess this post isn't all that far off topic after all, is it? I wonder how long it will be before some cutting-edge enterprise architect includes the iPad in the technology layer of his or her future-state EA?
Now, don't misunderstand - we're mostly talking potential here. And potential is a nice way of saying it ain't done yet. The iPad, out of the box, has definitely jumped to the top of the heap if you're looking to watch Netflix or read the NY Times. It will be some time before we see the iPad used in some of the ways I've mentioned here. Lots to be worked out - what's the TCO model as units owned by a single entity scales up? How is reliability (my display is showing signs of going south - headed to the Genius Bar very soon)? What unknown version 1.0 issues will iPad owners work through over the next few months?
Overall, I think I've held a slice of the future in my hands over the past 24 hours...my head is swimming with the possibilities...and they're all very cool!
BTW, I'll have my iPad with me at Collaborate 10 in Las Vegas later this month. Track me down if you want to take a quick turn at the wheel. In the meantime, hit the comments.
So, yeah, I own a iPad now. Got the lowest-priced model: 16mb, no 3G. But my use case seems a little different from most - my primary intent is to create rather than just consume. I bought the iPad as an alternative to a laptop or a notebook; it's my new mobile computing platform. Fits perfectly into my workflow between my iMac desktop and my iPhone.
So, after a whole day, what do I think? Well, there's some good and some bad.
For the most part, I really like the form factor. It's small, light and mobile. But it's heavier than a Kindle - your fingers will feel the strain after holding the iPad in your hands for 10 minutes or so. And while it does feel great in your hands, the metal back makes it a little slippery - get the case.
The iPad is blazing fast - I've never seen anything quite so quick and responsive. The virtual keyboard, while better than the iPhone's, is not made for serious typing - looking forward to the full-sized keyboard/dock that should arrive next week (although I've also found that my Bluetooth keyboard works well).
Not really missing the MIA front-facing camera that so many have lamented. Nor do I notice the lack of 3G - this is my uber-netbook; I have my iPhone for connectivity when I'm out and about.
Overall, I'm pretty happy over my decision to roll the dice on an iPad. You can read lots of reviews on the workings of the iPad, so I won't rehash it again here...Google is your friend.
Still, what I'm really excited about is the game-changing nature of the iPad. No, not because it will drive down Kindle prices or cause netbook producers to adapt. It's not even the potential in higher education (all your textbooks on a single iPad) that really hits me. It's the potential for the iPad as a field service appliance and a mobile enterprise computing platform.
Let's talk the obvious first: how long do you think it will be before your doctor carries an iPad into the examination room to see patients? How about outside sales people? I wonder how my auto dealer will feel about having the service department storing all their manuals and technical service bulletins on an iPad? Hmmm...a full hardware catalog on an iPad? Get the idea?
Now let's talk enterprise mobile computing. Creating spreadsheets, presentations (including video projector interface), word processing, IMing, email...iPad does all that today...and for general and administrative white collar types, what else is there? Executives checking BI metrics between meetings without the need to open a laptop or netbook? Light mobile computing on the road (this thing is much lighter than a netbook or laptop, yet performs basic computing tasks just as well)?
Remember the scenes from Star Trek when an officer hands a report or duty roster to the captain on a nice, thin, rectangular little gizmo - that's an iPad possibility.
Heck, I even took a shot this evening at running Oracle APEX on my iPad (the web-hosted flavor)...so far, so good. Shades of SaaS - the iPad could be a pretty nifty client in that model. How about accessing your ERP system in a SaaS model via an iPad? Gosh, guess this post isn't all that far off topic after all, is it? I wonder how long it will be before some cutting-edge enterprise architect includes the iPad in the technology layer of his or her future-state EA?
Now, don't misunderstand - we're mostly talking potential here. And potential is a nice way of saying it ain't done yet. The iPad, out of the box, has definitely jumped to the top of the heap if you're looking to watch Netflix or read the NY Times. It will be some time before we see the iPad used in some of the ways I've mentioned here. Lots to be worked out - what's the TCO model as units owned by a single entity scales up? How is reliability (my display is showing signs of going south - headed to the Genius Bar very soon)? What unknown version 1.0 issues will iPad owners work through over the next few months?
Overall, I think I've held a slice of the future in my hands over the past 24 hours...my head is swimming with the possibilities...and they're all very cool!
BTW, I'll have my iPad with me at Collaborate 10 in Las Vegas later this month. Track me down if you want to take a quick turn at the wheel. In the meantime, hit the comments.
UPDATE: Daring Fireball's John Gruber posted a great iPad review. I really like his comment about how the iPad becomes the app. Check it out here.
UPDATE 2: Still loving my iPad a week later, but really irritated with AT&T. My options for 3G service here in the U.S. are to buy a more expensive iPad and pay extra for 3G service (above and beyond what I already pay for my iPhone) or do without on the iPad; AT&T does not support iPhone tethering in the U.S and my iPhone 3GS on 3.1.3 lacks a jailbreak solution. Working this week on tethering iPhone to iPad via Bluetooth and VNC (can transfer files via Bluetooth, but the actual tethering is still not happening). I think if I can't get it done, I may terminate my iPhone data plan with AT&T and pick up a Verizon MiFi. I'll keep ya'all posted.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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