Luddite Lounge

iPhone - Can you hear past the Buzz?

2007-01-18T15:48:00.000-05:00

Now that all the excitement around the iPhone has begun to subside, I thought I would toss out a few observations that may be counter intuitive to the marketing Buzz.

Being a former crackberry addict, I'm not sure of the value of talking on a device that you need to access to type notes, access phone#'s when someone calls looking for another persons # etc.

While the addition of music is a great combination for phones or Pda's on an individual basis, the value of combining all three on one platform eludes me.

Skype Wifi has finally arrived...

2006-12-08T16:01:00.000-05:00

Well...It has been just over a year since I initially mused about the potential to combine skype and wifi... Finally it has arrived but, the landscape is shifting so that those who were holding out for free phone calls are likely only going to see slightly less expensive calls as the carriers in North America get concerned about the impact of VOIP on their long distance cash cow.

iPod - The downfall of communication...Discuss!

2006-10-24T15:48:00.000-04:00

Ever take a moment to observe the number of people walking in a group, driving in a car and listening to an iPod?

These tend to be activities that used to be done in the company of others. Now with the prevalence of MP3 players there is a shift in communication dynamics - people are not sharing the same experience even if they're in the same physical space.

I'm pretty sure that the introduction of the original walkman was a god send for parents driving their kids around but, the relatively short battery life of a cassette player made it nearly impossible to go too long without joining in the conversation.

Price of Packets...

2006-10-02T09:58:00.000-04:00

With the price of broadband pretty much an unmetered commodity, the introduction of WiMax to the marketplace will present an interesting challenge for Carriers.

North American carriers are poised to make billion dollar bets on WiMax, the problem is, the broad market for "packets" tends to be price sensitive and, once the early adopters are in, growth will likely flat line and the ability to charge a premium will shrink. Which begs the question, will WiMax lead to the bust of many carriers?

Those carriers who are betting on new wireless technology to boost their revenue streams would do well to look at the real value that expanded access brings to the mass market.

One need look no further than RIM to see that wireless is great if you need time sensitive information but, look at ESPN's foray into Mobile Television
to see that just because something is technically possible, does not make it a good business.

The High Cost of New Technology

2006-09-18T20:30:00.000-04:00

A recent article in the news details how the family of an 82 year old widow discovered that she had been leasing her rotary dial phone from the Phone company since the 1960's.

This example may not fly in today's world but, the lesson here is essentially the same.

Over the years, this woman paid approximately $14,000.00 for her black rotary dial phone. Her lease payments essentially kept her up todate with the technology that worked for her.

The take away here is, most people are constantly searching for the newest gear instead of being content with something that does the job at a low cost. So...next time you want to upgrade your Cell Phone, think about the Old lady who got ripped off by the phone company.

Ottawa Venture Captial...Less than stellar returns

2006-08-29T08:23:00.000-04:00

A recent report in The Ottawa Business Journal regarding VC's exiting Quake technologies in an $80 million dollar deal.

The trouble with the reportage is the OBJ failed to indicate that investors poured about $65 million into the company between 2000 and 2001 resulting in a estimated return of about 22% not bad if it were a yearly return but, when divided over the last 5 years it amounts to a less than impressive 4.5% per annum.

While 4.5% would make most people happy if it were in a Guaranteed Investment Certificate, Venture Capital is anything but guaranteed. This deal gives insight into the state of Venture Capital in Canada, in that, it is being touted as a success. The reality is technology investors have taken a severe hit and are feeling lucky to get there money out rather than write off the whole thing.

Presentation Tools For the Masses

2006-07-21T12:30:00.000-04:00

I was looking for a tool that would allow me to do a presentation for a client in another city.

I'm not interested in the old standby RealVNC or it's derivitive, showmypc although it is a viable tool...just not the right one.

Things like Webex are great but, I figured that there must be an AJAX alternative.

Sure enough, a tool called Zohoshow fits the bill.

Not only that, there are a number of other cool tools from Zoho that will make your business run smoother.

Wireless Overhead...No Real Value

2006-06-02T10:41:00.000-04:00

This Blog was started Primarily as a rant against some technology that I worked on in the past. Online video (Just like Google Video) and a variety of wireless applications.

Recently I read an article about some "Great New" mobile software for museums (we did this almost 4 years ago)and it dawned on me, all the hype that surrounds mobile museum technology does not get paying customers in the door.

Yes, it may add to their experience (if they are not frustrated by bad UI)but exhibits need to be physical in order to get people in the door. Otherwise, they can access the information online, and forget about visiting in the first place.

Things like cybermuse.gallery.ca are a fantastic outreach program to the broader community but are no substitute for the real thing.

Infact, public institutions that adopt a mobile electronic strategy need to carefully consider the added overhead that comes with increased information technology.

There are cost savings to be had, the challenge is in unlocking those savings rather than falling for the flash sales pitch.

Diminising Marginal Utility of Search Engines

2006-03-07T14:25:00.000-05:00

In these days of "SEO" and Google stock trading at a P/E north of 70, there needs to be some reflection as to what the web was, and what people want it to be.

A recent posting on Slashdot had me thinking about the good old days when a google search would yield meaningful information on the topic in question. As we have moved into an advertising driven search world, the number of Splogs with top search engine rankings has increased, while the relevance of these results has diminished.

If you think of it in terms of traditional media like Television or Magazines, there needs to be a balance between content and ads. The situtation as I see it is like the old TV ad with the old lady yelling "WHERE'S THE BEEF?"

There are far too many crappy sites getting top ranking because they're designed to generate ad revenue rather than inform. What is particularily concerning is you can click through layers of sites loaded with ads before you hit anyone with real content.

I'm sure that Yahoo and Google can come up with a way to weed through top ranking sites who are little more than a front for ads.

In the end, it will serve to increase the value of those paid searches that frame the "natural results" and provide users a valuable resource once again.

Skype and Google Take a Run at Wifi Voip

2006-02-17T14:16:00.000-05:00

Back in November, I made a post about Wifi+Voip+PDA's, the gist of it beeing that there are a number of other components that need to be put in place in order for wifi voip to be taken seriously.

Well, a recent announcement by Skype and Google, may give Wifi Voip the legs it needs to take a serious run at the cell phone companies.

With the two comanies investing in Fon Technology, out of Spain, the two companies are making a small wager that wifi sharing and voip will take off like wild fire.

Essentially, Fon is wireless peer-to-peer network infrastructure that provides consumers the opportunity to share their broadband connection for the benefit of the broader community.

If you want to read more, there are links to several articles here.

How to Save Over $30,000.00 without Tivo

2006-02-17T12:09:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder how much your subscription really costs?

Article points to tools that will calculate your savings and offer alternatives to save money.

read more | digg story

Google Desktop Could Turn Your Files Over To Government

2006-02-10T08:40:00.000-05:00

As technology development at Google progresses with the introduction of Google Desktop, the Electronic Frontier Foundation warns that your personal files could be subject to search by Government or private litigants.

Essentially, Desktop indexes files on your omputer and stores them on Googles servers. Not a bad idea except that it lowers the hurdle for Government or private litigants to get access to your files. This, combined with the risk of a hijacked google account and there is very little incentive to turn your private information over to a third party unless privacy rights are enhanced.

Verizon Bites the Hand that Feeds it

2006-02-08T09:10:00.000-05:00

In a Recent Washington Post article a senior VP at Verizon outlines his companies position that there should be additional charges for the delivery of internet content.

He claims that companies like Google, and Yahoo are profiting from the network that companies like his, and AT have built. According to John Thorne "The network builders are spending a fortune constructing and
maintaining the networks that Google intends to ride on with nothing
but cheap servers. It is enjoying a free lunch that should, by any rational account, be the lunch of the facilities providers."

EXCUSE ME but, as Vincent Cerf from Google points out content suppliers and end users allready pay to access this network. What is disturbing is that Carriers now feel that they are missing out on some of the revenue and are trying to reach out and grab more money after their services have been delivered according to valid contracts.

While Google and Yahoo are obvious targets because they host an ever growing number of Blogs (including this one) and personal web space tools. Millions of small sites like RambleWeb that are independently hosted outside of the US could theoretically be getting a bill from broadband carries who deliver this content to their customers.

If one were to look beyond the corporate extortion, this initiative will prove totally un-workable as servers are located all over the world.

From the Frivilous Patent Department

2006-01-30T13:44:00.000-05:00

Boeing Corporation has been granted Patent number 6,990,338 Mobile Wireless Local Area Network and Related Methods. The heart of the patent revolves around putting a WLAN on a "Mobile Platform" with multiple cell areas spaced apart within the interior of said, platform.

In simple terms this means that they have been granted a Patent on placing a WLAN in an airplane. Now the question one has to ask is, will the term "mobile platform" be translated to mean train or bus too. After all, Greyhound may be on the hook if they offer internet on buses because it too is a Mobile Platform.

The picture that is being painted here is that, anyone who adapts existing technology to their venue could soon be in line for royalty cheques. One would think that the NTP v. RIM suit would make the patent office think twice about granting protection to processes that leverage existing technology.

Ramblings on Digg Spy

2006-01-23T21:15:00.000-05:00

So.../. is out...Digg is in. Well... the newest flavor at Digg; Digg Spy sucks.

Digg Spy gives you a real time look into the rankings that are going on at Dig...and it may also give you a seizure as you try to watch, as the article listings are constantly in motion.

This illustrates admitedly neat little piece of eye candy illustrates the problem I have with Digg...yes it is new..but it is ever moving at a pace that one cannot realistically follow. Digg, and now Digg Spy typify the challenge facing media in the internet age; less can be more and more is too much.

With the advent of Digg, geek media stalwards Slashdot are being sniped with comments that it was posted on Digg first. The reality is, depth of commentary on Digg is lacking in comparison to the discourse at Slashdot.

Do Search Engines Diminish Value of Web Content?

2006-01-19T16:27:00.000-05:00

There is an interesting dynamic between search engines and content owners that may have a huge impact on how content is promoted and consumed in the future.

One of the challenges facing content owners comes from search engines who lure visitors with your companies information and links, and present your potential customers with the paid advertisements of your competitors.

As Jakob Neilson points out, the key is to Liberate your website from the vagaries of search engine optimization and provide potential customers with other ways to find out about your site and provide a compelling reason to come back.

One of the most interesting tools percolating are Social Bookmarking sites that let you publicly share and comment your favorite websites. While del.icio.us is one of the first implementations of social bookmarking, it lacks privacy settings that are available from others like Rambleweb.

Other techniques used to avoid the Search engines are on product URL's hardwired links (iTunes/iPod) RSS News Feeds and old standby's like email news letters, and affiliate programs.

The bottom line is, new sites and established companies alike, need to cut through the search engines in order to gain market share.

Peer2Peer Bandwidth to Improve ResidentialBroadband Speed

2006-01-16T14:14:00.000-05:00

An article in the New York Times talks about new wifi technology that creates a wireless mesh between users so that bandwidth can be shared and download speeds improved by up to 10 times.

This raises some interesting questions when it comes to implementing such a network and indeed how the equipment is sold.

While positioned as a piece of equipment that could reduce the need for network upgrades at the ISP, it is being sold as a consumer product. The fact that these mesh nodes require others to also install the equipment in order to share the load, creates a huge challenge when it comes to marketing. Not only does Mushroom Networks or website have to sell a piece of networking equipment to a consumer, for it to work, they need to find other customers within range of another node.

Unlike wifi routers where users can leech bandwidth, Mushroom and WiBoost need multiple customers within wifi range to deliver the promised benefits.

What happens if your peered neighbor moves...$200-300 spent on hardware is no longer useful.

The Future of Yellow Pages?

2006-01-09T13:38:00.000-05:00

With the wide availability of telephone directory services on the web, and improved functionality provided by Google Local Services, what is the future of your familiar yellow pages book?

Personally, most of my queries that would have been searched in the Yellow Pages 10 years ago, are now better researched on the web.

Besides holding up the corner of the sofa, is there a future for the print form of Yellow Pages?

Automated Remote Backup Services for Business

2006-01-09T13:31:00.000-05:00

A recent press announcement by N-able Technologies, underscores the vulnerabilities that face many small businesses.
After recently installing a new hard drive, that is about 15 times larger than the previous drive it has become clear that there is a significant risk 
of data loss on a grand scale in the event of a catastrophic hardrive failure. Even if religiously backed up, the large size and low cost exposes many 
to an increased risk in the event of data loss. Services that provide automated data backup are a great start but, proper hardware maintenance and data archiving will
save many hours of anguish that would result from hard drive failure.

Will Breadcumbs Lead the way to Ambient Findability?

2006-01-08T22:07:00.000-05:00

After reading the First Blog posting by Tim Berners Lee, a couple of things hit me like a ton of bricks. At first I thought it rather odd that the man who essentially invented the World Wide Web may have under estimated the impact of his invention.

His comments indicate that his original view of the web was that of a two way communications platform rather than a "Content Distribution" network pushing information to consumers. This has obvious significance for those pushing the concept of "Web 2.0" however, the reality is Web 2.0 has always existed for those with the technical skills and inclination to actively administer content on their websites.

leads to the obvious observation that Blogs, Wikis and CMS will greatly lower the value of the traditional web master and empower users like never before.

Free Cellphone Wallpaper Images

2006-01-04T09:11:00.000-05:00

Interested in jazzing up your cellphone but not interested in paying the $$ to download or more importantly, you want to carry your own pics? Check out CellWallpaper.Blogspot.com It is a simple service that allows you to choose a picture from the site and convert it to cellwallpater and send it to your phone by sms or download it via WAP. It is a mashup of great applications like Flickr, Blogger and Pix2fone which allows you to convert pics to a size that will fit on the phone. From there...simply alt-left click on an image and it guides you to send yourself an sms and voila, you recieve a message that you can link to and download to your phone (depending on the carrier).

If you own a website with great pictures, Pix2fone has a great tool for you. With the addition of some simple javascript, your visitors will be able to simply press "Alt" and click on an image and initiate the process to send your image to their phone.

Try it out with my favorite frosty pic on the left.

Free WiFi Banned By Officials at Boston's Logan Airport

2006-01-02T18:57:00.000-05:00

If the FCC rules in favor of airport officials, it will set a precedent to allow any building owner to ban Free WiFi offered by tenants. Spread the word. We can't let building owners create WiFi monopolies for their own financial benefit.
Boston Airport Officials
http://www.massport.com/sitemap/contact.asp
FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/contacts.html

read more | digg story

Dell Recalls 22,000 note book Computer Batteries

2005-12-16T13:03:00.000-05:00

Product Recall Central Reports that Dell is recalling laptop batteries due to a problem with over heating. The batteries have the potential to cause damage during normal use so, Dell will Replace them free of charge.

read more | digg story

What is Trusted Computing?

2005-12-15T03:15:00.000-05:00

The Trusted Computer Plaform Alliance appears to be gaining strength in the US under the false premise of homeland security and anti terroism protection.

What the Trusted Computer Platform Alliance is attempting to do is ensure that all software conforms to their standard, effectively shutting out small players and Open Source development initiatives. While it may address piracy issues, the reality is it strips away consumers rights to run free and open software on their computer and limits the ability of applications to share information accross applications.

Generally, it is a bad idea to restrict your customers rights in the way they use the product they have purchased, and the ability of each computer to track and match applications and data, in the name of security is over stepping the bounds of the relationship I want to have with my hardware or software vendor.

This article reminds me of the book 1984. The scariest part of this is that it's completely possible. Please read this if you're at all interested in your rights.

read more | digg story

Domesticated Tornados to Solve Looming Energy Crisis

2005-12-15T02:56:00.000-05:00

Chalk this one up to quack science...I only hope there is no Government money going after this brilliant Idea.

From a country where Tornados are rare, a Canadian inventor has a plan to solve the energy supply crisis by harnessing the energy of tornados.

read more | digg story

Does Skype Add Cost to Ebay Transactions?

2005-12-11T15:55:00.000-05:00

EBay hopes the merchants who peddle their wares on its Web site will embrace Skype, the online calling service it bought recently, but some of the auction site's top merchants say they have no plans to use it as a sales tool.The Internet auction site bought Skype, a Luxembourg company that allows users to make phone calls over the Internet, for $2.6 billion earlier in the quarter.

eBay merchants mixed on using online calling service Skype - Dec. 8, 2005

The purchase price of Skype by eBay is one that puzzled me when it was announced but, this article highlights some of the faulty logic to support the price.

First off, understand why eBay's top customers are not interested. For eBay power sellers, the auction site is a means to streamline the sales process. Customer contact is minimized an can occur in a convenient time frame, not necessarily real time.

For ebay Power retailers, Skype introduces an added layer of complexity to a transaction and potentially additional costs to respond to realtime inquiries.

The cold response by key eBay sellers to skype make it clear that they understand their businesses and the benefits of eBay and they are not likely to introduce something into their mix that delivers no real benefit to their bottom line.

Browser Battles Building or Splintering?

2005-12-09T07:55:00.000-05:00

The eternal battle for browser supremacy may not concern the majority of computer users but, there are some great alternatives to IE brewing that should be of concern to the folks in Redmond and there might not be much they can do about it.

Enter Flock. Built on top of Mozilla Fire Fox, Flock offers some great tool to enhance the browser experience by integrating; Blog authoring (this entry is written in the Flock Browser), Social Book Marking tied to your del.icio.us account, and Photo management through Flickr.

Now for the majority of people, all of this is outside of their normal tool set and likely of little interest to the masses. But, for technophile's and technophobe's alike, Flock improves the online experience beyond anything that I've seen in recent years.

From the strategic point of view, the fact that Flock is built on top of Open Source code, illustrates just how disruptive OpenSource applications can be, in their ability to splinter off in a variety of directions in order to address the needs of specific online tribes through Web Services like Flickr and Del.icio.us.

In essence, Flock has demonstrated that the battle for the browser will be opened on many fronts by a variety of players, raising the potential for a much different (and enhanced) browser experience in years to come.
/ Flock for everyone? It maybe overkill for the average web user but, it is definately a fantastic tool for anyone with a Blog or Del.icio.us account

Hail the Return of grayscale Computer Screens

2005-12-06T09:59:00.000-05:00

In what promises to be a breakthrough in the way we think of monochrome computer displays, Plastic Logic has announced that they have produced the worlds largest flexible computer screen.
The displays are 10" diagonal SVGA (600 by 800) with 100ppi resolution and 4 levels of grayscale. The thickness of the display when laminated with E Ink Imaging FilmÂ is less than 0.4mm.

According toPlasticc Logic "The flexibility of the display even allows a pressure sensor to be placed under the screen to implement a touchscreenn without compromising the optical performance of the display. Plastic LogicÂs new capability will trigger a wave of product innovation enabled by thin and flexible plastic displays."

Of added significance is the use of e Ink which has been used in the design of the $100 laptop project proposed by the MIT Media Lab incorporates the e Ink.

Driving towards the End of Privacy

2005-12-06T07:43:00.000-05:00

The concept of GPS vehicle tracking has already been mentioned on this site in the context of theft recovery and logistics management; Now in a recent article on ZDNet, Governments are proposing a mileage based taxation system that will be powered by GPS.
The prospect of a government agency tracking every move your vehicle makes should send chills down your spine. It appears that Governments around the world are spending millions of dollars to research the feasibility of mileage based taxation.

What is troubling is that mileage based taxation can be achieved through fuel taxes. If it is route based premiums that they are trying to achieve, transponders can effectively account for tolls without disclosing your location 24 hrs a day.

RIM faces Patent Battle On Another Front 375,000 UK Subscribers At Risk

2005-12-01T10:35:00.000-05:00

As if Research in Motion does not have it's hands full with the ongoing Patent Battle with NTP in the United States, The Globe and Mail reports another Patent suit has been filed in the UK by Luxembourg based, Inpro Licensing SARL.

read more | digg story

Is your site ready for the New FireFox?

2005-11-29T15:15:00.000-05:00

The release of New FireFox could spur greater adoption or will the fine tuning needed to make their sites perform, turn people off?

The folks over at Marketing Sherpa point out that there are some real problems with sites that are unable to handle Firefox.

From a consumer point of view, IE has real security problems that should make the adoption rate of Firefox take off.

SUMMARY:
100 million consumers have downloaded the Firefox Web browser in the past year. If you market to a cutting-edge demographic, up to 35% of your traffic could be from Firefox users. (Note: 20% of MarketingSherpa’s is.)

http://www.marketingsherpa.com/sample.cfm?contentID=3130

Pong is 34 years old today! Happy Birthday Pong!

2005-11-29T13:30:00.000-05:00

It wasn't first videogame (that was arguably SpaceWar) but it was the first commercially successful videogame and started the videogame revolution. How far we've come!

read more | digg story

WiFi + PDA + Voip=?

2005-11-29T12:49:00.000-05:00

After a recent sitting of an interesting combination of technology at My Pocketphone.com I began to wonder about the viability of various soft phones and Voip.
While there is real potential for Voip to lower the cost of long distance telephone calls, the simple fact is there needs to be compatibility amongst handsets for everything to really challenge existing cellphone and landline technology.

Take a close look at mypocketphone.com and you will see that, there is a relatively low barrier to entry for anyone to create a soft phone for a given handset.

The real heavy lifting is what goes on behind the scenes to make the call happen.
Someone needs to run the server that matches the caller and the receiver and this is where the phone companies dominate.

In an enterprise setting, it is easy enough to allocate network resources to wired devices. Toss wifi into the mix and things are likely to get dicey as coverage areas can be a challenge let alone the variability of bandwidth created by multiple users.

While there are many benefits to voip, there will be many bumps in the road ahead, as people sort out compatibility issues.

Smart RSS updates to save time

2005-11-28T21:15:00.000-05:00

With no shortage of sites offering update agents and notifications, I'm always surprised at the number of relatively useless emails that are generated, with the aim of pulling you back to a favorite web site for more information.

Enter RSS

For those who take the time to set up an RSS reader, you experience the updated information in your favorite reader as it happens.

The Trouble is, there are some tools out there like Bot a Blog who generate email notifications of updates to your subscribed feeds.

The trouble with this approach is that one of the main benefits of RSS is that you can aggregate multiple streams through a dashboard tool like Klip Folio which will show the newest items from your subscribed feeds.

By eliminating email notifications and displaying multiple feeds in one simple location, Klip Folio is a convenient time saving tool.

Signs of Intelligent Design at Microsoft.

2005-11-21T20:00:00.000-05:00

After Reading a blog posting by Microsoft CTO Ray Ozzie, based on his announcement of Simple Sharing Extensions (SSE), it seems that the folks at Microsoft have a firm understanding of the benefits of their new XML infrastructure.

Ozzie, who landed at Microsoft through their acquisition of Groove Networks, is the founder of Lotus Notes, and is deeply immersed in the needs of collaboration amongst diverse groups.

SSE extends the syndication concept of RSS and turns it into a bidirectional process, that enables user groups to update information within their trusted group, thereby keeping everyone in touch.

What makes this truely interesting is the potential to exchange data across platforms, assign permission levels for access and editing to your friends, family and colleagues.

I really wonder if the implementation of this proposed standard will preserve the integrity of XML, or revert to a proprietary format that limits the ability to deliver on the potential.

How many times over should you pay for software?

2005-11-20T21:22:00.000-05:00

"Wouldn't it be nice for software developers if they got paid every time someone used their software? Believe it or not, that's how some old-school software developers interpret the notion of software-as-a-service..."

read more | digg story

Can Open Source Defeat Microsoft?

2005-11-20T18:18:00.000-05:00

While there are of course proponents and detractors on both side of the line, many analysts have identified open-source software and nonproprietary formats as building up strong momentum against Redmond. But the open-source movement does have legitimate detractors.

read more | digg story

Vehicle Tracking You'll wish you had it when you need it.

2005-11-18T14:48:00.000-05:00

Now that GPS has made the leap from Military to Mainstream, many people investing in a Vehicle Tracking system for that shiny new car but, what are the real benefits of a vehicle tracking system?

Commercial users have been using GPS systems to track shipments for some time now, and inevitably the consumer market has been targeted as the next cash cow.

Before you run out and by a vehicle tracking system, understand what a vehicle tracking system like lowjack or boomerang will cost you then talk to your insurance company to find out how much you will save through lower insurance premiums.

Even though we all find our cars precious, if they are properly insured, the return on investment may not warrant a gps tracking system.

Christmas Wish List Ideas

2005-11-18T13:48:00.000-05:00

If you're looking cruising through the sites of your favorite retailers and are uninspired at the prospect of choosing or shopping for Christmas gifts, relax you're not alone .

There is help though, RambleWeb.com eases the pain of coming up with gift ideas by automatically generating the idea for you.

Think of it as food for thought so that you can see what you're missing rather than a shopping site.

Sure you can build it ....But will they come?

2004-07-27T07:57:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Luddite Lounge!

Perhaps this is more of a place to vent rather than inform but, hopefully it will stimulate discussion about the creative process necessary to introduce truly meaningful technology that is not relegated to the pile of good ideas that were poorly executed.