Jason’s Random Thoughts

Sometimes I wonder how some products make it out to the market.

It seems that Palm has once again missed the mark with their latest product, the Foleo.  This device is dubbed a “mobile companion” and will connect to a Palm-based smartphone such as the Treo 680 or 700wx.  It comes with a 10″ screen, a full sized keyboard, and has apparently been in development for the last five years.

I wish Palm would take a hint from the automotive sector and not release all of their concept devices.  This thing makes the Edsel look like a Mustang Shelby.

It’s Palm’s hope to bridge the gap between a notebook and a PDA.  But considering the size of the Foleo, I doubt anyone will seriously drop between six and seven hundred dollars on the unit.  When I first heard that Palm had a new device out that was between a notebook and a smartphone I was kind of excited.  I envisioned something akin to HTC’s Advantage X7501 device with a 5″ screen, WCDMA and GSM capabilities, and a great battery life.  Instead, we get what’s shown in the image above.  A quazi-laptop computer running a stripped down verison of Linux that doesn’t even have the same software capabilities of the smaller Treo.

So what the heck are we supposed to do with this?  Looking at the specs, the only good thing that comes with device is the Opera web browser.

Palm has cautioned users that the unit has not been tested with all smart phones, and can’t guarantee that the Foleo would work with any specific device other than those made by Palm.  You know how tight deadlines can be for those 5 year projects.  Breaking from form, this unit does actually come with a WiFi connection in addition to Bluetooth, so this will allow people to use hotspots.  Of course, if an executive that reads and writes lots of lengthy emails is at a location with a hotspot, they would likely have a real computer to use.

Currently, Palm is trying to work something out with other vendors such as RIM, Symbian and Apple (should they ever open their platform).

Early adopters have also been warned that the Foleo will not be able to immediately view video clips, or work with high-end multimedia like you’d find at HomestarRunner or YouTube.  There is no video viewer planned for this release, or MP3 capabilities, either.  However, the company suggested that users who require these functions can find them on the Treo smartphones.

So to summarize, Palm is releasing a mobile-companion that has fewer capabilities than the $100 notebook to a very narrow market segment that uses the Treo over RIM’s BlackBerry or other vendor solutions and expecting that, over time, us consumers will write the software and functionality into the platform much like we did for the first Palm devices 10 years ago.  The biggest selling feature for this unit is the 5 hours of actual usage, though anyone who would need to read or write emails for more than 4 hours a day probably doesn’t use smartphones or wannabe hardware devices.

Final Result on the Foleo:  No Dice.

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A few weeks ago I got into a bit of a debate with someone at my local coffee shop over effective RAID levels on a Consumer-grade NAS, and it seems that whenever we cross paths at the Starbucks we get into another heated discussion over the pros and cons of various technologies.  At first I had thought this guy was just a “punk kid” who fancied himself a “l33t user”, but after some conversations I can see that he’s not completely full of testosterone and itching for a war of words.  So I guess it comes as no surprise that I’ve almost started looking forward to these debates.

Today’s argument centred around which SQL database is best used in certain environments.  Almost everywhere I’ve done work for, Microsoft’s SQL Server has been the database of choice.  This platform is very mature, has great support, and a huge online community.  Often times, this is the database of choice for many organizations as it’s easy to setup, deploy, and get programmers or administrators for.  There are some things that I wish it had (like a parallel cluster capability), but all in all, SQL Server can give an enterprise everything they need, and then some, for their database needs.

I’ve looked at other solutions such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle and DB2, and I’m not against any of them for certain situations.  DB2 is quite powerful when working with incredibly large databases (4+ Terabytes), and Oracle is pretty potent in its own right (though I’ve never used it in a production environment).  MySQL 5 can now do some essential database functions like stored procedures, triggers and transactions (a database that can’t do this is not suited for any enterprise, in my opinion).  PostgreSQL works incredibly well on embedded machines and other solutions where a tiny footprint is necessary, and it can scale up just like any commercial package should the need arise (though I’ve never had to take a PostgreSQL database past 20 MB in size).

So back on the debate, we argued two of the solutions discussed here:  MySQL 5 vs. SQL Server (I guess from Versions 6.5 and up, since SQL Server has been able to do everything MySQL 5 can do and more since 1998).  My opponent, let’s call him Ted, is working at a company here in Vancouver that had considered a move from SQL Server to MySQL.  They use eight databases across nine applications and three websites totalling 87 GB.  They also have a data warehouse of 60 GB.

Ted has developed several websites against MySQL since version 2 and feels that the platform is ready for a mission-critical environment.  He outlined how some of the initial tests had gone for the administrators during some stress-testing sessions and everything worked without a hitch (after a few datatype conversions, of course).  Using FreeBSD and the current MySQL 5 release, the old server that had been retired two years ago from running Windows2000 and SQL2000 was now keeping up with the newer boxes that have much more processing power.  I’m sure the DBA’s were ecstatic with the results.

Unfortunately for Ted, his managers decided to keep SQL Server 2005 because they relied on stability, performance and the technical support.  Because of the amount of resources that would go in to converting their systems to MySQL, and the costs involved with keeping skilled staff on hand, the company decided that the risks during migration were just too high.

I had to laugh when Ted mentioned the “costs involved with keeping skilled staff on hand”.  Not because it was funny in itself, but because it’s something I’ve heard quite a bit everywhere I go.  A business has to be able to find people to run things and, for the moment, it’s much easier to find Microsoft people.  There are relatively few DBAs that are highly skilled in Open Source, and that’s a valid concern for any organization.  Of course that said, there are more and more people coming up all the time with the skills required to operate and maintain these systems … but there just isn’t enough of them.

Like with most of our arguments, we didn’t really come to any final answer.  Both SQL Server and MySQL are solid platforms to develop against, and both have their strengths and weaknesses.  While Ted is vehement that MySQL would cost the company less and be a more enjoyable platform to work on, he actually does understand the business concerns.  For my part, I can see why he would want to move the organization to the open source product as their future needs could take advantage of some of the new features in version 5 (such as the parellel clustering that SQL Server lacks).

On a technological basis, I’ve been very impressed with the recent versions of MySQL and even with PostgreSQL v8.2 (despite the lack of business-level development I’ve done against the platform).  When you look at many sites with high technical demands, you’ll see that most of them run some iteration of MySQL and the costs are much lower than you’d get with SQL Server (no cost-per-processor or client licencing structures).

The open source databases have become very solid.  When given the opportunity to choose between platforms, the decisions are often based on culture rather than the technology.  There is alot of Microsoft culture in the business world and many corporate types feel safer since they know they can’t get fired (theoretically) for buying a Microsoft product.

As a personal disclaimer, I’ve been developing against various Microsoft platforms for the better part of 10 years.  I really enjoy working on SQL Server and have even earned a MCDBA to show it.  When I’m asked which platform is better, I usually default to the “it depends” answer … because it does depend.  Each database has advantages in certain situations, and I’m not pompous enough to say one is better than the others in all instances.  The real strength of a database comes from the people that maintain and develop the solution.

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How long would you be willing to wait for a plot of ocean-front property near Hawaii if you could buy the land starting at $40 US?  Ten years?  Twenty?  Ten Thousand?

Lo’ihi Development Co. will soon start offering oceanview lots that may not be realistically viable for above-surface residential complexes for a few millenia.  This is because the land that’s being sold is currently a kilometer (about 3,000 feet) below the surface of the ocean.

Ya know … I wish I would think of things this crazy once in a while.  Norm Nichols, co-developer of the online venture, assures people this isn’t a scam saying “If you really think there’s something here that you can’t live with, nobody’s forcing you to buy it.  It’s meant to be fun.”  This reminds me of a few other sites where we are enticed to buy entire star systems, or plots of land on various celestial bodies for relatively small amounts of cash.

What I find positively amazing is that some people actually make enough with these ventures that they only need to work part-time, if at all.  Though unlike some of the other sites, Lo’ihi Development lets you know that this is a parody up-front.

Scientists don’t know how long it will be until Lo’ihi will break the surface of the Pacific Ocean.  Some say ten thousand years, while others say never.  So if you’ve ever wanted to leave something worth absolutely nil to family after your passing, perhaps a few acres of land on this submerged volcano would be a nice parting gift.

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In a move that’s viewed as a major departure from their direct sales strategy, Dell will start selling their Dimension-line desktops at Walmart stores in June as part of a “global retail strategy to provide customers with more options.”  Keeping with these options, Dell is also giving American buyers the option to have the Linux variant Ubuntu 7.04 pre-installed on some of their systems.

I guess Michael Dell wasn’t too happy when he returned to the company earlier this year after a seemingly abysmal fourth-quarter profit.

What I find interesting is this Ubuntu offer.  By having a system configured with this OS, a customer could easily shave a hundred or two off the cost of their PC.  Of course, that said, the OS will only be offered on three Dell products, and only in the US for the time being.  But this could be a pretty big boost for the incredibly user-friendly Linux variant.

I’ve tried a few Ubuntu flavours over the years.  Not for a primary computer, but mainly as a “where are they now?” kind of test.  Aside from understandably limited hardware support, this is an operating system that I would feel comfortable giving my parents.  But this does make me wonder if Dell is going to make a real effort at the retail market again.

Last year, the company had opened two retail stores in New York as a test to see whether they could compete against other mixed-market (direct and retail) providers such as Hewlett-Packard and Acer.  There was even a time when Dell PCs were sold at Best Buy, Costco and Sam’s Club … though that ended in 1994 with Dell citing low profit margins on the business.  So I wonder how different things will be at Walmart, where commercials show that happy face happily knocking a few bucks off the price of products ….

The only positive factor that I can see with this move is that now potential customers can try before they buy.  One of the biggest issues I’ve had with Dell products (aside from their shoddy construction and horrible habit of self-destructing 14 days out of warranty) is that we can’t really see what we’re buying until we get it.  We can’t see if the notebook will fit our hands properly.  We can’t see just how big and obtrusive that XPS case is.  We can’t see that their definition of “Wide Screen XGA” is actually just Wide XGA (give me numbers on your site, Dell.  Your descriptions suck.).

Well … now we can.

June 10th is the day Walmart officially starts selling these things there.  I wonder if any of the M-series notebooks will be available or on display.  I’ve always wondered what the M1210 actually looked like.

Not that I’ll ever own another Dell.

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Just the other week I was thinking to myself how great it would be if I could write a blog entry on my phone and upload it either through a GPRS connection or an open WiFi connection that I might find.  What a great app this could be for anyone running a Symbian powered mobile phone such as a Nokia N80!

The primary language for Symbian OS is Carbide.c++.  This is a great little language for people that can work in it alot, but unfortunately for me, it’s not something I’ve had the opportunity to really work with.  So it came as a bit of a surprise when I learned that RedFive Labs has made available a .NET mobile framework for the S60 Symbian devices.

For the last few years I’ve been working extensively in .NET, with most of my work being done in VB and only a few projects requiring C#.  I have worked a bit in Java and some other languages, but my fundamental skillset is with the Microsoft platforms (for now … I’ll likely be using more and more Ruby on Rails as time passes).  This will now provide a great bridge to empower programmers like me to build apps in an ever-growing market.

A large portion of Japan’s cell phones use Symbian and I’m always seeing positions for mobile programmers on job sites like GaijinPot.com, so hopefully this can be another avenue of opportunity as I make my way into the Japanese market.

I’ve yet to test this framework on any S60 devices (since I just downloaded the Community Technology Prefiew of the framework today), but I’m looking forward to what this framework can provide.  According to the RedFive press release, Symbian devices should operate with the same performance under this framework as they would under any other program written in Carbide or J2ME language.

Depending on how my testing goes, I might just have a few applications that can enable people to update their blog from anywhere their mobile phone has signal.

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