Andrew Lark

XPS One - Beauty!

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One of the coolest products I've seen in a long time is Dell's XPS One.  Ok, I'm a little biased but still a hard scorer... PC Magazine gave it a 4.5 star rating and an Editors' Choice award.

It's Dell's first all-in-one system, which means the computer, the flat panel, the speakers and the integrated 2 megapixel camera and microphone are all integrated in a single piece.  You don't have to rush out to buy a new keyboard or mouse on delivery - that's all included along with a bundle of software.  There is more over at the Direct2Dell blog...

Now, I know those that favor grey boxes over black boxes are going to get into the whole OSX thing vs. Vista.  I actually like Vista.  I've found it faster and easier to get about, less temperamental with other devices, and not noticably faster or slower than a MAC. And yes, I know you could run Vista on a Mac but why would I pay the premium for the hardware and then have the hassle and costs of two OSs and application sets.  Screw that.

And I'm tired of all those little updates that flood my PC and Mac care of Apple. Apple has lost the plot here - as their applications proliferate and the platform increases in complexity they start to experience some of Microsoft's challenges.

It's an XPS One for me.

Where Is Andy...

Over at the dailylark.com... come take a look...

Iintriquing NZ ICT numbers...

From today's NZ Herald:

• Government target for ICT sector's contribution to GDP: 10 per cent by 2012.
• Estimated number of workers needed to reach that goal: 66,000.
• Number of people working in the industry as of late last year: 22,000.
• Number of tertiary IT graduates: 1200 a year.

Houston. We have a problem...

Why read this when you could be reading my other blog...

For you Rugby Nuts...

This is fascinating reading... The IRB report on the Rugby World Cup clearly points to why NZ didn't make it through. They abandoned their winning ways. Blame the ref. Blame the coach. Blame whoever you want. But when the players let the game get dictated by the oposition, or worse still, veer from the winning formula like a runaway truck, you don't have to look far...

There is however a risk in the 15 man distribution approach – or at least there is a perceived risk. Passing from all parts of the pitch requires a solid platform as well as skill and pace. It also requires confidence since it is thought to heighten the risk of losing possession when compared to a tight kicking and rucking game. Successful as the New Zealand approach had been, the one question that was critical therefore was whether an expansive approach would stand up under the pressure of a winner take
all knockout competition.

It did not – and this has never been more dramatically illustrated than in the France v New Zealand quarter final game. In order to understand the immensity of this game, it is necessary to go back to November 2006. In that month, New Zealand defeated France – in France - by 47 points to 3. This suggested that New Zealand seemed to have found the right formula for beating one of their major world cup rivals. They scored 7 tries, creating just 43 rucks and kicked the ball 29 times. They made few passes – just 91 – but were clinical in their execution.

This formula disappeared however in their RWC quarter final match
against France. Instead of creating 43 rucks, New Zealand created 165 or almost 4 times as many. This was around 100 more than a normal New Zealand game; was around 50% higher than the next highest in the tournament and is almost certainly the highest figure ever seen in an international match. It was at a scale that New Zealand had never remotely experienced before with an often seen expansive approach being replaced by forward attrition. The successful formula of recent years had been abandoned for some reason and New Zealand found themselves out of the competition.

This is a good idea...

Email free Fridays...

Today about 150 engineers at chipmaker Intel (INTC) will kick off "Zero E-mail Fridays." E-mail isn't forbidden, but everyone is encouraged to phone or meet face-to-face. The goal is more direct, free-flowing communication and better exchange of ideas, Intel principal engineer Nathan Zeldes says in a company blog post.

Go on... take a look at the Daily Lark...

Dell investor relation blog

Lynn and team have just launched our Investor Relations Blog, adding to some very successful 'listening and conversation posts'. IR represents a pretty untouched area when it comes to blogging - in her conversation with Shel, Lynn gets at why the risk is minimal:

The ability for an investor relations department to execute this and do it well quite frankly is predicated on how well they do their jobs every day. And if there’s confidence in their ability to exercise sound situational judgement over the phone or over emails or in one-on-one meetings with investors or group meetings with investors or drafting press releases, then there should be that same level of confidence by the company in their ability to have a dialogue over the Internet.

See my new blog | The Daily Lark

Getting Your Information out via Google...

Some useful tips on how to get your presence on Google right.