Do less, accomplish more
We are in the tail end of January and many have already given up on their new year’s resolutions. In life just like in business, too many people “fail” at accomplishing the goals they set up for themselves.
This is a great time to remember one of my favorite questions “What’s most important to you about […]”
Doing less accomplishing more
This is a simple sentence that has been used to turn around dying companies and turn around marriages. Forget about trying to accomplish 500 things simultaneously and distill your commitments to the real value-add goals. By doing what’s really important, you do less but achieve more. That is the essence of efficient time and goal management.
By making the number of goals more achievable, you set yourself up for success. Your subconscious will be more calm and relaxed because you will be tackling something it believes is achievable (10 goals instead of 100). Not only will this seem more achievable but it also means hundreds of less important distracting activities or decisions points are eliminated, which leads to clearer decision making.
You will do less but complete a lot more value add tasks. By concentrating on the elements that deliver the biggest bang for the buck, you’ll waste less time and receive many more rewards for the tasks you do accomplish.
By doing less, you free up time (which everyone needs more of anyway). You can then decide how to effectively spend this newfound time. It can be used for relaxation, education, spending time with loved ones or accomplishing other meaningful work.
How can I be lazy today?
When planning your schedule, take a minute and ask yourself “how can I be lazier today?” What activities can you get rid of without too much impact? Most people assume everything on their calendar is critical and must get done. Is that really true? Do you have to be in every one of those meetings ? Can they be delegated or refused?
I recommend building in YOU TIME into your calendar. This is time for you to just sit down and relax. Having meditated for over 15 years, with a couple simple breaths, I can put myself in a very calm and relaxed state.
Even if you don’t meditate, take a couple of minutes to sit still on your chair, close your eyes, take a deep invigorated breath, hold it for 10 seconds then slowly exhale. As you are doing this, concentrate on the inflating and deflating of your chest. With every breath, feel the muscles in your body relaxing and releasing all of their tension. Start at the bottom of your feet and work all the way up to the top of your head. This should take no more than 10 minutes (even for a newbies) but will yield hours of benefits in increased productivity.
If thoughts crawl in while you are relaxing, just acknowledge them and tell yourself there will be plenty of time to think about it later and get back to your breathing.
Employees leaking information to competitors
As an infosec leader working for a large multinational, a lot of risks keep me up at night. Most execs still believe (mistakenly) that the biggest risks come from the outside. Imagine my interest when I learned that AMD is suing 6 former employees because it believes they leaked over 100,000 documents ("trade secret materials relating to developing technology") to NVIDIA.
The complaint says these employees took the info with them when they switched employers. AMD claims to have uncovered evidence of their claim using “forensically revealed data”. As expected, the company intends to aggressively protect its Intellectual Property using litigation and the court system.
iPhone 5s production begins March 2013
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) created a lively debate within the Apple community when it published an article claiming that Apple was reducing its component orders because of weaker than expected sales. The Apple proponents came out swinging while opponents cheered hoping it was the truth.
Now Peter Misek, a Jeffries analyst is making a claim that seems to be much more believable. He is reporting that Apple will begin production of the iPhone 5s in March for a June 2013 launch. This means Apple will start reducing parts orders for the existing iPhones in preparation of the production switch.
Mr. Misek believes the new device will maintain the same physical characteristics but will come in multiple colors, have improved battery life and may contain the much anticipated IGZO screen. There were some rumors that the next gen iPhone would bump screen size to 4.8” but this seems to have been put by the wayside. Many now believe a larger screen model may be made available with the iPhone 6.
The rumors of a cheaper iPhone just don’t want to die. The current iteration says the low cost device may sport a polycarbonate shell, come without LTE and have an iPhone 4s size screen. Apple has never been one to compete on low prices so I am not sure this rumor has legs to stand on but anything is possible.
VISA approved Blackberry (RIM) for mobile payment
Blackberry 10 may have some traction yet.
The press release
WATERLOO, ON – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced that its Secure Element Manager (SEM) solution for NFC (Near Field Communication) mobile payments has been approved by Visa. RIM’s SEM is the backend solution for carriers that can securely manage credentials on SIM (subscriber identity module) cards installed in all types of NFC-capable mobile devices.
“The approval from Visa of RIM’s SEM solution is an important step in that it will enable carriers to support Visa issuing banks and financial institutions,” said Frank Maduri, Senior Director, NFC Services and TSM Product Management at RIM. “We now offer carriers a robust solution with around-the-clock global support that works on any NFC-capable device, and meets the stringent technology and usability guidelines for Visa.”
“RIM’s success in gaining Visa’s formal approval as secure element manager is a crucial step in expanding RIM’s role as a key security partner for mobile payment solutions around the globe,” said Andy Castonguay, Principal Analyst, at Informa Telecoms & Media. “RIM’s secure network operations center provides a unique combination of global geographic reach, and has established trusted relationships with hundreds of carriers around the world with an unparalleled reputation for security, which sets RIM apart as an SEM partner in the growing mobile payments space.”
Today’s announcement from RIM builds on the recent deployment of mobile payments in Canada by EnStream, a joint venture of Bell, Rogers and TELUS, which uses RIM’s SEM solution.
About Research In Motion
Research In Motion (RIM), a global leader in wireless innovation, revolutionized the mobile industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry® solution in 1999. Today, BlackBerry® products and services are used by millions of customers around the world to stay connected to the people and content that matter most throughout their day. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. RIM is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit: www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.
Media Contact:
Gene Nakonechny
RIM Public Relations
+ 1-519-597-5018
gnakonechny@rim.com
RIM Investor Contact:
RIM Investor Relations
+ 1-519-888-7465
She drove 900 extra miles because the GPS told her to
The internet is littered with horror stories about people doing wacky things because of a GPS. Why not add another story to the mix?
A 90 mile journey turned into a multi-day 900 mile excursion. How can this happen you ask? Because the GPS told her to do it. A 67 year old woman wanted to pick up a friend from a train station 90 miles away (both starting and ending point are in Belgium).
Instead of taking her to Brussels, the GPS directed her to Zagreb (Croatia). She admits seeing the language on roads signs change from French, German and Croatian but she was “distracted”.
To cap off her happy journey, her son was worried and sent the cops on a wild goose chase for a “missing person”. I don’t think the GPS is to blame here, maybe she needs to talk to “someone” and figure out why she never realized something may be wrong after the first full day of driving.
Source Article: here
Backberry 10 specs and features revealed
I have received emails from readers mentioning that carriers (US and Canada) have started training employees in preparation for the Blackberry 10 launch later this month.
A training presentation has surfaced showing the browser, powerful multi tasking, etc. One slide claims there will be 70,000 apps at launch, which blows my mind.
Spec wise, expect a 336ppi screen, a Qualcomm S4 processor, an 1800 mAh battery and BBM video.
Silent Circle enables secure VOIP calling from Android
I wrote about Silent Circle in October and was excited to learn that they recently released an Android app and enabled Out of Circle calling. Silent Circle will enable secure voice, text, email and video chatting from any Silent Circle client to another (Android -> Android or Android -> iPhone).
The app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. Using their service is simple and straightforward. You download the app, create an account and then pay the $20 monthly service fee. As soon as this is done, you will be able to call Silent Circle to Silent Circle securely regardless of where in the world you are (over WIFI, 3G or 4G).
They also added an "Out-Circle Access" which will enable Silent Circle users to call regular phone lines. You link is encrypted from the device until the Silent Circle boundary (which is a nice feature for people working in some questionable countries). This feature costs an additional $29 a month but includes unlimited calling to Canada, US and Puerto Rico.
Here is the full Press Release
Silent Circle Releases Silent Phone For Android And Out-Circle Access (via PR Newswire)
Private encryption service developed by PGP inventor Phil Zimmermann protects voice and video calls on both Android and iOS devices across cellular and Wi-Fi networks Download image WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Silent Circle, a global private encrypted communications firm revolutionizing…
Nexus 4 production alive and well says LG
Anytime a gadget is popular, tech sites buzz about rumors from unnamed sources claiming the most incredible things. Last week, many sites reported that LG was having production issues with Google’s Nexus 4 and that this model would be phased out for a newer one to be released during February’s Mobile world Conference.
Android Central is reporting that there is no plan to phase out the device and that everything is humming along splendidly at the factory. It looks like Google and LG will now start offering the Nexus 4 through select global carriers (in the UK, US and Europe). This new channel is increasing the production pressure and is causing a reduction in the number of phones available in the Google Play Store. We know that the Nexus 4 is being sold at cost by Google and this new channel may finally make the device more profitable for Google.
Don’t expect the market to immediately flood with Nexus 4 devices waiting for you to pick them up from your local carrier store but know that it will likely become easier to buy soon. As for Canadians, no official word if any of them will carry it but I do expect a couple of them to offer it.
China adds 51 million internet users in 2012
Basis watch killer health monitoring features
The wearable technology market is exploding and we have seen a handful of very interesting health monitoring gadgets over the last year (Nike Fuelband, Lark Life, Fitbit, Withings Smart Activity Monitor, Shine).
Basis says the battery will last up to 4 days between charges which seems low. A longer life battery would be very desirable (ideally close to a week).
Basis was originally supposed to hit store shelved “early 2012” but obviously missed that target. In November 2012, Basis shared a blog post announcing that they were moving the device from the lab into field test mode, which is promising.
What is the Basis watch/band?
The Basis watch/band is a small watch like device that measures your level of physical activity. So far nothing too earth shattering. Bin order to differentiate itself in a very crowded market, it is adding additional capabilities to the Basis watch/band that are unique: will monitor perspiration, body temperature, blood flow and heart rate. It will then send all of this data to its website where it can be viewed and analyzed anyway you want. In addition to absolute numbers (total steps taken, total calories burned, etc) the web interface will attempt to discover patterns and share those with you. Things like when do you typically become more inactive?
From the information provided, the company has said they will release smartphone apps for the Basis watch/band however we haven't seen any product demoes yet so we have to wait and see.
Obviously the device is very clean and all of the monitoring functions are automatic. Although the company hasn’t provided the details of how it will track your sleep patterns, with all these sensors, it should (hopefully) be able to detect it automatically without the user having to press a button (like on the fitbit or Withings).
The Cons
Based on the information made available, here are the negative aspects of the product I see. Some of these may be addressed before the product is shipped.
Data will sync back to the cloud (and likely your smartphone) via bluetooth 2.1. Yes… you read it right, Bluetooth 2.1. What a disappointment here. I can’t understand why a device being released in 2013 doesn’t support the newer (backward compatible) Bluetooth 4 which is twice as energy efficient as its older brother.
Most of the competitors offer some kind of calorie counter to balance calorie inflows with expenditure however this isn’t something Basis has talked about at all. A Basis spokesman said their research shows users typically don’t use these food logging mechanisms so that is likely why it isn’t in the current iteration of the product.
Although they aren’t even taking pre-orders now, the original suggested price for the Basis was around $199 (real price may change when it is finally available). If they keep the $199 price range, it may be a tough sell in a market where most competitors are priced at $99. Are all of the added features worth an extra $100?
Wish List
- When the product is finally released, I hope they bring the product’s price closer to it’s main competitors ($99-$130 range).
- It would be great if they replaced Bluetooth 2.1 with the newer version 4.0 but I won’t be holding my breath.
- We haven’t seen the smartphone apps yet and I really hope these are properly designed to be clean, easy to use, useful and cross-platform (android and ios).
- Even if half of their customers don’t use food logging, I think it is an important feature and hope they add it.
- My last wish is that they adopt an open approach with the collected data and allow a customer to download it, share it or integrate it into their preferred health management platform (Runkeeper is one example).
- No news on availability yet but here is hoping it doesn’t take the basis team another year to bring this little device to market.
Pictures
The back sensor
Is Samsung cooler than Apple?
There is no one characteristic that is responsible for Apple’s phenomenal rise over the last 5 year. It is a combination of good design, great marketing and an excellent ability to predict market trends. Buzz Marketing Group told Forbes that their research shows that Apple has lost it’s coolness badge with teens. It may be a case of Apple being too cool to be cool.
Because Apple products are so popular with the general population at large, they are no seen as mainstream and therefore less desirable by today’s youth. Buzz says teens would rather have a Microsoft Surface or Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
Only time will tell whether Buzz is right and if this is a strong enough trend to stop the Apple train but it is something to keep in mind. Add this to the fact that most people believe Apple hasn’t really innovated in the last couple of years and it could become problematic for the beloved Apple.
One Pound Fish - The newest internet music sensation
We all know Gangdman Style but have you heard about the newest sensation, the One Pound Fish song? The singer is a 31 year old Pakistani fishmonger from London's Upton Park area.
Before this became a famous music video and itunes downloadable song, it was a catch song Nazir use to sing to attract customers for his fish. The 1 pound refers to British money not the weight.
Nazir left Pakistan about a year ago (for the UK) and became an unusual music sensation. Interestingly Nazir's boss wanted him to yell (At the fish market) to attract customers but Nazir wasn't comfortable with that. So instead he invented "Come on Ladies, Come on Ladies, one pound fish." Someone video tapped his chant and posted it to youtube. Another person saw it, recognized the hit, and the rest is history.
As irony would have it, the video is a Youtube exclusive but Youtube is blocked in his native Pakistan.
It shows the incredible power of social media.
Windows RT is not selling that well
In October, I wrote an article entitled "Don’t Buy Microsoft’s Surface RT Yet!"and I still think that is good advice.
Now Samsung has told CNET that it will not bring the ATIV TAb (Windows RT tablet) to the US based on the feedback it received from its retail partners.
Samsung is also worried that most customers still don't understand the difference between a "real" Windows 8 device and a Windows RT tablet. Samsung doesn't want to fork over the money to educate the market about the differences.
Nothing here is surprising. Windows RT has an almost non existing hardware ecosystem, a very small number of apps, very few partner products and the Microsoft Surface RT tablet is too expensive. This may end up being another "Windows Vista experience" for Microsoft.
Merge, Split or Encrypt your PDFs online for free using Sejda
There may be times when you need to perform merges, splits, or encryption on a PDF file but don't have access to software on your PC that can perform those tasks. This is where the free Sejda web service comes in.
the process is simple:
- Select the task you want to perform
- Upload the file
- Define the tasks parameters
- Voila
The web interface is clean and the service is super easy to use.
I tested it out with PDFs up to the service maximum and the service worked quickly and flawlessly.
As a security guy, my one caveat would be :
Don't use any web service for hyper confidential information
As of November 2012, the service supports up to 10 file uploads per task totalling up to 50mb in size.
The service also has a rotate feature. It can rotate pages 90, 180 or 270 degress. The rotate function can be performed on all pages, odd pages or even pages. Of course you can also rotate a single page.
Overall this is a nice service to keep in mind. It may just get you out of a bind one of these days.
Find GMAIL messages by size
There are lots of reasons why you may want to search GMAIL by file size. I do this very often to find emails containing large attachments, so I can delete them and free up storage space.
Open the GMAIL web interface and type size: followed by the size of the attachment. In this case I am searching for emails 5MB or larger.
or you can use
This will show all emails containing an attachment larger than 10MB.
Both of the above queries can be used interchangeably.
You can even chain multiple filters to really hone in on what you are looking for
If you are interested in all of the GMAIL search operators, check out this massive Google page.
Microsoft Messenger is dead... long live Skype
I received my Microsoft notification email yesterday evening.
How many of your Twitter followers are fake?
With all the talk about fake Facebook/Twitter/Youtube followers, you may be wondering how many of your Twitter followers are real people and how many are bots.
Enter Twitter Audit. The company describes itself as
Each audit takes a random sample of 5000 Twitter followers for a user and calculates a score for each follower. This score is based on number of tweets, date of the last tweet, and ratio of followers to friends. We use these scores to determine whether any given user is real or fake. Of course, this scoring method is not perfect but it is a good way to tell if someone with lots of followers is likely to have increased their follower count by inorganic, fraudulent, or dishonest means.
You go to the frontpage
And log in with your twitter credentials.
It then analyzes your followers for a couple of minutes and generated a nice graphical representation
It provides a couple of graphs but the most important info is at the top. The service believes 120 out of my 3757 followers are fake(which is pretty good).
Why not take a second and check your follower count?
I recommend you then go to the Twitter permission page and revoke the apps rights (just in case).
Otterbox iON is a protective case and large battery in one
IOS 6 is a disappointment and Android Jelly Bean shines
I have been an IOS user since 2007 and have loved every new device and every new IOS release. Each new version (hardware or software) brought incredible innovation and was a pleasure to explore. Then we saw IOS 6 and it was boring. IOS 6 was very boring and was the first time I felt Apple was falling behind its main competitor, Google’s Android.
Integration with Google Services
Although I knew Android was gaining ground, I hadn’t realized how much it had advanced until I bought my Google Nexus 7. As an avid user of Google services (Maps, GMAIL, Calendar, Youtube, etc.) a Google device integrates very cleanly and easily with my beloved Google Services.
Application Integration with the OS
Apple’s walled garden means it decides what you should use and how you should use it. On an iPhone, the default maps app is the Apple Maps app and there is no way (without jailbreaking) to make Google Maps the default app. On Android, I can choose any app as the default as defined by file type.
In IOS, sharing from within an app is depending on the developer of each app. Some developers take the time to create links to the most popular services while others only link to the top 3-4 services. In Android, every app can register itself as a sharing provider and therefore any Android app can share with any service for which you have an app installed.
Customizing the look and feel
In Apple’s world, it is the best person to determine how your device should look and you have no visual or functional customization options. Android takes a completely different approach. Everything can be customized, changed or optimized. Check out the MyColorScreen gallery showing the homescreens of thousands of Android devices. These are actual homescreens and not designer renderings.
Widgets
I love the Android Widgets. Widgets are small live apps you add to your homescreen which is a great way to get important information quickly without having to open an app. I have widgets for weather, my top stocks and Any.DO (my main to do app).
What IOS Still does better
As much as I like Android, there are still some characteristics I prefer on IOS.
- IOS has more and better tablet apps. Android is coming along nicely but too many apps are still not tablet optimized.
- iMessage is a great instant messaging service. Many of my friends and family have IOS devices which make iMessage the ideal way to communicate via quick short text messages. Sure Whatsapp is great but it doesn’t have an Android tablet version and not everyone has Whatsapp.
- PhotoStream is fantastic for sharing photos. Many of my friends and family have IOS devices which make phtostream a great way to share photos with family and friends. Photostream isn’t perfect and there are lots of issues but it is easy and built into IOS devices.
- I miss some apps. As much as I love the apps on Android, there are some IOS apps that I really love for which I haven’t found perfect Android replacements. This isn’t an OS problem but it is an important considering when evaluating Android. The Android market is growing but…
IOS 7 is an opportunity and Android 5 is coming
Apple is now under new leadership and I am hoping IOS 7 takes into account customer feedback. If Apple wants to continue dominating the mobile device market, IOS 7 will need to be clearly superior to Android. It will need to bring original thought and innovative concepts.
Google’s isn’t sitting still waiting for Apple to innovate. Tech pundits expect Google to release Android 5 (Key lime Pie) to be release during Google I/O May 15-17 2013.
Google is keeping the details of Key Lime Pie secret but here is my wish list:
- Performance profile – Google has to find a way to create and switch between performance profiles. A profile is a series of configurations related to a particular task. As an example, they can have a gaming profile mode that would ensure all of the devices capabilities are maxed to provide the most detailed and smoothest gaming experience possible. You can have a battery saver profile that minimizes device speed, increases push intervals, darkens the screen, etc.
- Sharing device and app state – I want Google to use its giant internet connected infrastructure to ensure my device’s all share their state with each other. As an example, if I am watching a podcast on my phone and stop halfway, I should be able to continue watching the podcast from the same location on my tablet. I want Google to create a mechanism to auto share this type of valuable info between devices (and apps on the devices).
- Video chatting - I know Google is pushing people towards Google + and wants customers using Hangouts but I think it would be fantastic if the hangout app was spun off into its own stand-alone product. I would love to see this hangout app on other platforms so I could video conference with iPhones or iPads.
- Internet Accessible Device Functions – I want Google to leverage its Internet infrastructure and make all device content and functions available via the internet. There should be a web interface I can use to check and send my device SMS’ . Same thing for installed apps and other device functions.
- Find my phone and antivirus – Google should build a device find feature into the OS and make the interface web accessible (like Find my iPhone). I should be able to locate my device on a map, make the ringer sound, remote lock my device and remote wipe my device. This should be a standard feature set and not a third party app service. At the same time, they should take a page from Microsoft’s playbook and build the security app into the OS (why should I have to pay AVG or Norton for this)?
- Google should ensure every device from any manufacturer can immediately install new OS releases and not have to wait until the manufacturer releases a custom version (even if some manufacturer apps get excluded). It doesn’t make sense that a manufacturer decides arbitrarily to stop updating a device or that a customer has to wait 6-12 month to get a manufacturer update. This is the one reason I stick to Google’s Nexus brand devices only. I hope the next version fixes this annoyance.
Amazon Prime finally coming to Canada
Canadians have been waiting a long time but Amazon will finally give us Amazon Prime membership for $79 a year. In exchange for our Canadian money, Amazon will give members free 2 day shipping on most Amazon item. If you were hoping to get Amazon Instant Video, you’ll be disappointed. The US Amazon Prime membership includes a Netflix like streaming video service (included in the price). Unfortunately there is no indication this service will ever be offered north of the border.
Amazon Prime Benefits:
- FREE Two-Day Shipping on millions of eligible items to most cities in Canada
- Discounted One-Day Shipping for as low as CDN$ 3.99/item
- FREE Standard Shipping where One-Day and Two-Day Shipping are unavailable. No Minimum Purchase - don't worry about meeting a threshold to get free shipping
- FREE Two-Day Shipping on millions of eligible items to most cities in CanadaDiscounted One-Day Shipping for as low as CDN$ 3.99/itemFREE Standard Shipping where One-Day and Two-Day Shipping are unavailable. No Minimum Purchase - don't worry about meeting a threshold to get free shipping