I have to say, playing with the iPad was fun at times, it does have some nice features but not early enough to keep me amused with it more than a few hours and sorry, I still think it is more of “Gizmo” than a worthy gadget. The iPad’s cost is not really prohibitive, just not in my mind value for money. Anyone that knows me will know I am a Tech-Head, I love my gadgets, but I don’t suffer fools and Crap-Gizmos gladly either and the iPad falls heavily in that “Crap-Gizmo” category in my view.

I can’t see the point in an E-Reader, I rather a proper book, my mobile is also a camera and a movie player, my laptop does everything else.. And it’s not a weight option, it’s a “What can it do for me” thing. Having “all your eggs” in one lightweight and cut-down gizmo often leaves you without when it inevitably fails. So I am happy to carry all my gadgets IF they do what I want, when I want them to do it.

But saying all that, have any of you seen what the Korean’s are knocking out these days? They have Netbooks, PalmPCs, iPad clones, E-Readers, mobile phones that really makes the stuff we are being sold in the shops today look like cobbled together tat, and we get the added intermittent WiFi, dodgy Bluetooth and iffy Apps to boot! Why is this?

Not once in Korea did I have a problem with signal on my mobile phone, or WiFi on my laptop, but in the UK it is often daily when one or both fail to find a signal. I also found site after site in Korea where I could down load full feature Apps for my Android phone for free!

I feel we are caught up in a “Have to buy it” mentality, in other words we are buying what we are sold, not what we really want or need. Here in the UK to most, having to spend another 50 or 100 quid on something would probably mean not having it, so they buy cheap. In Asia however, they buy what they really, really want. This leads to them having far better gadgets and techo gear than us. The higher spec stuff is being sold at the right price for the people to buy, or it doesn’t sell.

Once we lead the market in this stuff. Now we are sold and have to “Field Test”, rushed-out rubbish, sold with a heavy price tag, just because of our greed for IT and not because it is actually any good. Most of what is advertised and sold in this country is no more than “IT” costume jewellery! That is proven by how they have to bundle mobile phones or WiFi laptops in contracts to force up poor sales.

It seems to me that if you are draft enough to buy these “First Generation Gizmos”, then more fool you. Personally, I would never buy something that has not been out in the market place for over 6months, probably longer, why? Well after 6 or more months of all the warrantee returns, the small common faults are often fixed or patched and then it actually works near enough to be worthwhile having, but that, as always, is just my opinion, but the Iphone V1 & V2 has proved it for one example… There are many, many more….

The only thing I can’t understand is, when the Korean’s had far better than the iPad made in their country, why they used them in this Uni? I did find out, they were given them via a sponsorship deal, which was the only reason they had them, enough said I fear, and probably they will be in the bin before much longer.

The last note on this Stardate is, Retro and Vintage computing. Yep, all that stuff we have given away to the Jumble sale, sent off to Third World Countries or Charity shops, has now become collectable and valuable. Again in Korea, it is BIG business and BIG fun! I found shops dedicated to the Retro and Vintage computers and games consoles, with price tags more akin to a new WII or Xbox! The buzz that was going on when someone found an old or rare game was amazing and this retro gaming was the latest fashion with the Techo-Warriors and Space Cadets. Can you imagine a UK coffee bar with an old MegaDrive, Playstaion or an IBM XT/PC for the patrons to use for free? Well they have them in Korea, they are fun and very, very popular!

How long will it be before we see that here, or are we to proud too go backwards? Perhaps we may learn some of what we forgot if we did go backwards for a year or two, or more. Perhaps if we refused to buy some of the rushed-out rubbish we may start getting worth while Techo-toys too!

Beam me up Scottie!

Quite a few years back I was thrown out of a standup comedy gig for “disorganised heckling”. The thing is, I did not realise there was organised heckling – and, when I commented on that to the manager of the outfit, his response was:

“You don’t think these guys are really that quick, do you?”

Actually, I thought his comment was the funniest thing I had heard all night! Problem is, so did he – and I then found myself booked to do a short slot myself next week. Just to see how I would go. In actual fact, I did alright – thanks to a stock of “sloice o’ loife” stories from my old pal, Seamus O’Reilly, a crazy curly-haired mop of a guy I had met on my first ever night in Dublin while waiting for the head on my first ever Liffey-distilled pint o’ Guinness to draw.

Some of the comments you receive on a blog are like the range of heckles that a bad stand-up comic can (or perhaps ought) to get. Some are just not worth responding to. Others make you think about it, but beg a whole other blog in response. Some are rare pearls of well thought-out wisdom, beckoning the other readers in to share their wisdom.

Then there are just those who are seeking to get on the bandwagon of a popular blog that already has a large number of comments, more often than not selling something that has a relation to something stated in the blog (and probably even written by a spambot). These are what I call “the bloggy”.

The Good

The great comments in reply – that is “the good”, and especially the ones that share their pearls of wisdom, the blogger gains a good insight into whether they are on the right track as well as perhaps learning something more. In a recent, admittedly not so well thought-out blog of mine as a Guest Blogger on the IT Job Board’s blog-site, I got a good range of the three.

The good ones, you may be interested to know, helped me with realising an error in my marketing – where I had been trying too hard to roll too much into one business, and so needed to separate out what was a value-added partner service that I offered from that which was demanded as a whole by the group support organisation. So I say “Thank You” to those who responded with those great comments, and hope I can help you in some way, some day.

The Bad

For the inane and unsubstantiated comments, there is little I can say to such people. A few of them simply need to learn how to read before they write. Just taking up a sentence from the blog and putting a comment out of context does not demonstrate any intelligence – but, in my mind, is just a waste of electronic space. Fortunately it is not printed on newspaper (but then there would be an editor to edit out, right?)

The bloggy

Finally, there are the bloggy. The bloggy are a whole lot worse than those occasional comments that make the blogger think “Hmmm”, or “Forget it, mate!”. They are the ones that ought to be removed from the mix, as too many of them deter the readers from responding at all – as, if you check that box to say you want to be emailed about replies, you get those as much as the allsorans and the also right comments in your Inbox.

There ought to be a way of sanctioning these people from being allowed access to the Web, let alone the ability to interact on it. Blog Administrators need to be wary of how these people undermine interest and value of the blog to readers and blogger alike – and find a way to limit them.

Yahoo has a way of stopping them from being shown on their blogs by readers being able to vote using the “Like” feature that is popular now on both business and social networking sites, with the most disliked not displayed. However those courting the controversy can still choose to display them if they want.

If it was me, I’d the ban the most bloggy – or at least send them a note to help educate them.

So what are your thoughts on them? I look forward to some good, some bad and I bet some bloggy comments in response to this one! Write on!!

Charity Challenges are becoming increasingly popular and there’s no doubt these sponsored events raise a lot of cash for many different charitable causes, but how does it all work? Eric Knopp, event participant for the IT Industry Charity Computer Aid International explains…

Last September I raised almost £5,000 for Computer Aid with a fundraising cycle ride in Chile. Over 7 days, 18 intrepid fundraisers cycled approximately 270 miles around Lake Llanquihue with the Osorno Volcano as a gorgeous backdrop. The terrain was rocky, hilly and had many steep undulations (just more hills!) The best part of the trip was a visit to a school in Santiago, which had a computer lab filled with computers donated from Computer Aid. The students really loved learning on these machines.

This year I also managed to match this £5,000 by riding with a team of 20 from Kathmadu to Pokhara in Nepal. The route took us through temples and small rural villages; all with the background of the Himalayas.

Once I had signed up to the event, along with my training, I created a fundraising plan around my interests and raised money through a variety of social events. These events included a pub quiz, bbq, charity film screening and even a game of poker! I also offered an ‘IT help for home computers service’ in return for donations. The key is to start early and have fun – the donations soon mounted up. I think every individual should realise the importance that taking part in a sponsored event can make to the lives of others.

For more info or to sign up for the London to Paris Bike (6 – 9 May 2011) or Vietnam to Cambodia Cycle Challenge (29 Oct – 7 Nov 2011) visit www.computeraid.org/events or email events@computeraid.org or call Moira on 020 8361 5540.

Computer Aid International is a UK registered charity that aims to reduce poverty through practical ICT solutions, providing high quality, professionally refurbished computers for reuse in education, health and not for profit organisations in developing countries.

Here’s a souvenir of Eric’s trip to Nepal.

To me, it is a question of knowing what the opportunity or opportunities are – and the person being prepared to be realistic about the challenges and costs involved with the business first, as well as being fully aware of who you/they are taking on to advise or otherwise support them in setting up the business.

As a business consultant in for small- to medium-sized businesses over the past 5 years, I have been surprised to discover quite a few people who have gone into business based on not a lot more than a wing and a prayer. These people have not done any homework into who or what they need to operate the business, apart from perhaps knowing that they have a few customers prepared to buy the product or service.

Some don’t even have a confirmed customer base or even some qualified leads! Just an idea and a few notes on a piece of paper (if that). This is not enough for them to go ahead and spend their hard-earned dosh on purchasing what need to produce the product or deliver and support the service. However, sadly, some have gone and done just that. That is like buying the cart before you know you can find and afford the horse.

The BBC has a great TV series called The Dragon’s Den that shows a lot of people prepared to show publicly that this is what they consider is needed to start up a business – and, to me, these people are really coming to the Den to ask for money to get them out of the jam rather than invest in a viable proposition. I find it amazing how little some people have thought their ideas through, or even done any feasibility of it – yet have started purchasing of equipment, office space or even advertising.

I must confess that I, myself, have learned the hard way too, before shows like Dragon’s Den came along. This is just with knowing how to leverage the skillsets and experience that I have built up over the years to get the best offer for my services I can provide based on a mix of business and IT technical knowledge – and without necessarily even having had any innovative or ground-breaking idea to offer, apart from my own good self. This has involved understanding what I know that businesses need/want to know as well as the common elements that I need to survive. I have now put all this into a structured way, which has led to improved (and even new) business opportunities for me, and now offer to others for helping them out.

The result is a business coaching service – for contractors and small IT consulting and services businesses alike – where I use a set of seven concepts (which all begin with the letter “C”) to help align what my coachees need to understand for not only doing IT work on contract in the UK but also for running a small IT consulting or services business if they want. I also use these concepts for aligning them with others in the network who have complementary or even supplementary skillsets and experience that they can use to advise and/or support one another. This has helped several hundred contractors, and several small businesses, to come together to survive now – and several to go on to succeed in being either the best in IT contracting or have their own niche area providing IT and/or Telecoms consulting and services.

I am also now prepared to assist with new ideas or innovations for a business – BEFORE anyone considers entering The Dragon’s Den. For this I have a mutual non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that I get the innovator or inventor to sign for protecting confidentiality as well as expecting to see something written or documented and witnessed as a form of copyright for their idea or proposition. This is essential before meeting and discussing things.

The main thing with me and my services as a business consultant to ideas for a SMB is that I am not looking to have a share or otherwise take over the business (i.e. I am not a venture capitalist like the Dragons), nor am I seeking to on-sell contacts or knowledge that I gain from my coachees (as I like to call them). Therefore the advice from myself and my colleagues can be trusted – however there is an honest and open fee for providing this support, and for assuring ideas and propositions are kept fully confidential. Indeed, partnerships are brokered by me on this mutual sharing of confidentiality and trust between myself and my coachees as a community.

N.B. This way of operating – unless you are dealing with a venture capitalist – is not necessarily the case for all business consultants out there and so I warn you to be aware before making approaches to that overly friendly business consultant out there! Make sure you have a NDA as well as something in writing that outlines the idea and has some form of validation of when and where you came up with the idea – even if it is something you have emailed or posted back to yourself.

As you know, my last blog covered the benefits of a large consultancy based solution, however, I do feel the contractor solution is often overlooked and can provide a level of service that equals it, sometimes with added benefits:

Cost savings, expertise, solutions and flexibility:

It is no secret that the independent contract solution holds cost saving benefits in terms of the price and work completed. The savings that this method provides is significant and can at times be 70%/ 80% cheaper. Large consultancies are also criticised for winning the project and brining in independent contractors to do the work, thus creating an additional layer of cost for the same level of service.

It can also be argued that independent contractors will bring a high level of expertise to a project, and significant experience that is not always available within a large consultancy.

This expertise is often instrumental in delivering a project or solving unseen problems that arise during the life of a project, a common outcome is that the independent contractor has drawn from a solution gained from a previous project.

In addition to the above, I also feel the independent contractor offers a flexible resource, they are not tied to religious working practices which often slow the delivery, and can work additional hours or flexible hours outside of normal time constraints. Whatever your view, there are pro’s and con’s to both arguments and in my experience I have found that a project which has a balance between both approaches and both parties find a common ground the outcome is normally successful.

Why do companies opt for large consultancy solutions to provide their software needs when an agency or contractor relationship can provide a significant cost saving, and many other benefits?

A tough question that will always rouse a comment or two. In my many years of recruiting within the software industry, I’ve always been surprised when companies opt for a large and expensive delivery vehicle, especially when the consultancy will often use an agency to source the relevant skills, charging them on to the client at a greatly inflated rate.

There are many reasons why this method is employed and the size and complexity of the project can often dictate and affect these reasons. A large project incorporating a number of partners or stakeholders will encounter hidden costs and problems that perhaps a direct contractor solution may not have the tools to deal with. A large project will also throw up certain challenges requiring a myriad of skills in order to provide a solution. It is perceived (by the industry) that these skills will only be available within a large consultancy and that they will also have the support function to drive this through.

I also feel companies opt for a consultancy solution because they feel they have the experience to deliver the solution, so they can agree a price and hand over all the responsibility. Large corporate companies make decisions based on balances sheets, a figure with just states ‘consultancy development’ is easier for the accountants to justify than a list of costs associated with an internal project.

Another factor is that of liability. With a contractor solution, the company will have one party to blame in the event of a problem and a large project built on contract resource could prove tricky in the event of a legal problem. There are many arguments to counter this and in my next blog I will discuss this counter argument. Suffice to say I’m frustrated by the blind enthusiasm modern business give to these consultancies when recent software history has shown dire consequences in terms of expense and time.