I have been waiting for an opportunity to get a iMac for a while.  Having followed MacRumors for a while and being told not to buy one, the day arrived when the new kit was released…

I have succumb to the temptation of  a really sleek, fast and powerful replacement for a laptop that had started to drive me up the wall…

I am looking forward this long overdue change.

• Mobile computing applications
• Extracting a return on EXISTING investment (ROEI)
• Enterprise software migrating to the cloud
• Better performance to rich business applications
• A combination of trends with multi tier architecture

While HR Tech Blog’s  John Sumser points to:

• Small Startups and an entrepreneurial explosion
• Outsourcing of HR & Recruitment Process continuing
• The “Year of the App” not just mobile but as a way of extending a software offering

Enterprise Irregulars, Phil Wainewright identifies 2011 as a fascinating year in software as a service and the mobile arena.

• Mainstream means mobile as it becomes the primary platform for many
• The cloud will provide better visibility and accountability
• Social technologies cross over into enterprise applications

What strikes a chord with all of them is the sense that everyone is becoming overwhelmed with data, yet it offers huge value for those who know how to mine and exploit it.  The continued importance of Business Intelligence where data can be filtered, joined and represented will be exploited and then visually represented for wider interpretation and utilization will continue as an important trend in 2011.

Normally my Saab will get stuck on Long Lane, a steep single track just outside of the village.  But not today!  The Auto Sock is very easy to fit  (as can be seen below) and it is amazing when driving.  It makes the car feel like there was no snow at all.

Still driving at slow speeds but with the advantage of being able to steer and stop without worrying about skidding!

I highly recommend these to anyone who needs to drive in the snow.

You can get them from Auto Sock and select the ones which fit your tires.

The device is called the MiniPAK and is a palm-size universal portable power charger and power extender for ANY electronic device requiring up to 2W of power.

The fuel cartridge used in the MiniPak called HydroSTIK has a battery-like form factor and contains a special metal alloy that allows hydrogen to be stored in a solid-state, as part of the metal alloy matrix inside the cartridge.

There is also a refueling unit called the HydroFILL  which is a small-scale home hydrogen station that allows consumers or retailers/distributors to refill solid state canisters in a simple way, using water and electricity as only input. By adding water, and plugging the HydroFILL into a electrical wall-socket (or a solar panel), consumers can generate hydrogen and store it in a solid form automatically in HydroSTIK cartridges. Once full, the battery-like "solid-state"HydroSTIKs can be unplugged from the HydroFILL and placed into the MiniPak (or other fuel cell devices) to deliver power via a USB port.

So it will not be long until we are using solar panels to create the power to recharge our Hydrogen recharging units….

As you will see on the site it is the simplest thing to find the kit that you need.  Simply enter the car make and model and it will provide you with the products which fit.  For about £60 I can have some new snow chains that will fit my current car.

They also have a really neat product called AutoSock which is used “to give road tyres the grip they need on ice and snow”.

I think that I will be getting some of these, just in case this “global warming” continues…

It gets you to insert your parking ticket in to the slot and then type in your car registration.  normally this is a challenge however I noticed that my registration was printed on my ticket! 

Once over coming the shock that I was already being tracked I figured that they could not know where my car was as I parked it twice in the car park, moving it to be at the end nearer the hotel.  Surely this would have confused the system….

But no.  When you type in the registration on the screen, the display rotates the schema of the car park and then identifies the section in which you have parked and provides guidance on how to find your car!   We tested it with a colleagues car and it works.  This is an interesting use of technology and really quite helpful.

What struck me was that there were no obvious bits of equipment to make you think that this system was in place and tracking your car.  The whole system is very discreet and makes you wonder what else they are spying on!

I will have to go back for a better look.

Until you move your mouse.  This is when the fade-in happens…

The rationale from Google is straightforward:

“Since most users who are interested in clicking over to a different application generally do move the mouse when they arrive, the ‘fade in’ is an elegant solution that provides options to those who want them, but removes distractions for the user intent on searching.”

It is thought that once a vehicle has joined the train and the computing power has taken over the individual cars that the drivers will be able to kick back and do other things…..  I just hope that the software that they use is a little less prone to crash than my PC’s!

Having said that, I can imagine that this would be an interesting way of making long journeys less stressful..

Xobni is a San Francisco, California based startup that is revolutionizing the way people manage email relationships.  The name Xobni, which is the word "inbox" spelled backwards, is an affirmation of our mission: to "take back" the email inbox for our users.

After a quick install, you’ll see the new Xobni toolbar appear in Outlook – and suddenly information will become much easier to find.  When a new email arrives, the sender’s full communication history appears in the Xobni sidebar, including past conversations, attachments and contact details. Xobni also includes a blazing fast email search tool.

Email analytics.

Rankings, graphs, and statistics detailing how you and your contacts use email

Web services integration.

Use information from the web to learn more about your contacts.
I links to LinkedIn an Facebook.

Hello, threaded conversations.

Email how it was meant to be read, with conversations in context. This is a really helpful aspect of the tool as it makes email threads easier to read.

Phone numbers extracted from emails. 

This  automatically extracts a contact’s phone number from their signature. No more searching. It’s just right there in the sidebar:
And if you have Skype, you can just click to call.

I’m sold – oh and it’s free!