Google Nexus 7 Tablet Missing One Killer Feature

I liked the Google Nexus 7, it's a nice product and if I didn't already have an iPad I might have kept it. But I sold it this week after using it for just seven days. Why? No 3G. The 7 inch size makes it FAR more portable than an iPad and the rubberised case makes it feel much more durable---plus, the $250 price leaves me far less concerned about my breaking or loosing it. But that meant 50 per cent of the time when I pulled it out to use it I was somewhere away from a WiFi hotspot. So I'd have to pull out my phone too, switch on WiFi tethering (or at least wake it up) but the time that was ready the moment had passed. I found it was just easier to use my phone. Yes, the screen is smaller but that's a better compromise than missing the always on, always connected benefit of mobile broadband. It's a good lesson to learn and so something I'll be looking for in the next round of tablets launching with Windows 8 later this year.
Disclosure: I work for Intel.

On leaving Dell

Woke up this morning knowing my days at Dell are behind me rather than in front -- it's a curious feeling and one which will take some getting used to. My initial thoughts are that I'll miss it -- no company is perfect but I can say with all honesty that I loved working at Dell.
Looking back I've been incredibly fortunate since coming into IT in late 2000. I've had the opportunity to work at IBM and Dell, two of the most influential companies in the industry.

Things didn't start out that well. When I first entered the industry I had only a few weeks to get my feet under the desk before the March 2000 Tech Wreck -- and all of a sudden the industry was on the nose.
But I joined IBM in September 2000 -- yes, in time to pick up some tickets to the Olympics -- right around the time the company was really embracing Linux and open source.
Over the next four years I got to talk to many very smart people within IBM (particularly Academy Members like Glenn Wightwick) and hopefully even retained a few fragments of what I learned.
What I learned at Dell was very different. Dell changed my views about what a company could be -- and set my expectations permanently higher.

It's all about me

Interesting article about disruptive technologies from Henry Blodget (must confess I'd not read anything of his but followed a link from Scobliezer) -- reminded me of they way Linux was referred to as a disruptive technology five or six years ago.
It also reminded me (albeit tangentially) of a thought that occurred to me recently, which was how the old saying 'one person's trash is another's treasure' applies to gadgets too (and technology generally) -- but often neither of these two seem to recognise it unfortunately.
I make a point of reading as much as I can about what people (including bloggers and on-line forum posters) say about the company I work for, its products and services, as well as those of competitors (it's my job after all).
And one thing that never ceases to amaze me is how many times ordinary people will logically and systematically assess the potential value or market for a product, and declare it good or bad, based on whether it appeals to them personally.
I find that odd because if there's one thing that's obvious to me in reading it all of these opinions it is that, just like fingerprints and snowflakes, no two are exactly alike on any given topic. So what I find appealing about Product A may not be the same as what you do.
The PC market is an example -- what people mean when they say 'I want a PC' is becoming more and more different every day because, while we like to say PCs are a commodity (they have the same basic components after all) how we each use them is different -- and becoming more so I think.
And that effects our decision making criteria. Price is a consideration for almost every PC buyer but for some people it's number one and they'll opt for an entry level system for instance, that's currently somewhere around AUD$1000. But for others performance is number one and, while price is a factor, they'll choose to spend that $1000 on the video card or CPU alone. Neither is 'wrong' obviously, they're just different decisions made by different people for different reasons.
That sounds like common sense, but I've lost count of the number of times I've read a comment that Product A wont succeed because, for example, it has a integrated video card, or no in-built TV tuner, or a Celeron processor and 'I wouldn't buy it for that reason' -- the inference being that no-one else will either.
So, while it sounds like commonsense, I regard these opinions in much the same way people in politics regard calls to talkback radio and letters to the editor -- they're great indicators of public opinion but they're by no means the final word from the marketplace.