Andy Marken’s Content Insider #504 - Taking Flight

Consumer Drones Are Nuisances, Not Profits

“Hey, don't look at me. I stopped dreaming a long time ago” – Frank Riley, “Batteries Not Included,” Universal Studios, 1987

At CES, a whole new flock of fly-high, fly-fast, fly-bad drones were introduced and now the category is suddenly destined to be the next monstrous consumer category.

Some were so small they fit in the palm of your hand. In fact, I think I stepped on one in the show’s crowded aisles … but it might have been popcorn. I couldn’t see with all the folks mobbing the show floor, but I distinctly heard a crunch.

Speaking of crunch, just in case you missed the “hot” news, Bezos’ Amazon drone delivered some guy a box of popcorn and suddenly the postal and every delivery services are facing extinction?

Of course, at shows like Drone World, InterDrone and even the annual EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) show in Oshkosh; the BS flies less than the drones or UAV’s (unmanned aerial vehicles).

About 1.2M of the 2.8M sold last year were gifts at Christmas according to the CTA (Consumer Technology Association but only about 500,000 were registered by the FAA so far (most of the others probably crashed by inept folks).

The global market is already big and it’s getting bigger fast as people see what is possible. Firms like The Teal Group estimate it could be a $91B market over the next few years.

That’s probably why everyone and his brother/sister has entered the hardware/software market-- even though China’s DJI and Parrot are the most recognized/respected drone providers.

Everyone In – Some of the drone hardware and software producers have been in the market for a long time, developing large drones for military and governmental use. The idea that they’d make great kids’ gifts draws a new wave of people to CES this year, even though most in that market will crash before the end of 2017. The few who score will deliver devices for filmmakers and a wide range of business applications.

Drones are more than neat toys. Filmmakers are finding they add a whole new dimension to film and video work when used to enhance the storyline rather than just gee whiz effect.

No wonder folks like David Helmly Jr. (son of Adobe’s Dave Helmly, Head of Global Field Operations for Professional Video in Maryland) got his commercial pilot license from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and immediately added a class for his FAA 107 drone license.  For him, flight was a logical addition to his photography/film work, having worked with Camp RED and the current drone pilot for the powerboat legend Nigel Hook who races for Lucas Oil offshore racing.

Then there’s the American Airline Airbus captain, Scott Strimple, who divides his off-duty time between helping new drone pilots learn how to do things right to avoid accidents and legal issues in addition to shooting video sequences for studios, producers

The cushy movie contracts for helicopter pilots are drying up fast because filmmakers (large and small) can screw up 10 times with a drone shoot and hardly notice the impact on their budget.

That’s why last year, DJI introduced a family of drones featuring professional imaging solutions tailored to the needs of film and video creators. The flight platforms stabilize aerial cameras that capture in 4K, HDR to produce dazzling images of breathtaking scenes that were previously out of financial reach for most filmmakers.

Video Impact – The combination of economic, reliable drones and high-performance cameras have enabled filmmakers, to come up with film segments they couldn’t afford to do with helicopter rigs. It still hurts when the aerial shoot goes wrong but it’s not a huge dent in the budget.

In fact, people like Carlos Grijalva and Rob Tharp, of San Diego-based Grijalva Films, regularly utilize DJI technology in a variety of their projects, ranging from feature films to commercials.

Carlos Grijalva noted, “The low-altitude flights enable us to produce a high-level of production value for our client projects. We can capture unprecedented angles that typically would have cost a significant amount. Forgive the bad pun, but the use of drones and reasonably priced cameras really lets your creativity take flight.
“They let clients and filmmakers differentiate themselves,” he added, “UAV technology has really proven that stunning, economic and safe aerial cinematography is within the reach of even independent filmmakers.”

Virtual Tests – Working with Jon Ollweather (r) of Aerobe; Lewis Smithingham, of 30ninjas, has conducted a series of aerial VR film concepts that let the viewer take flight and get an even more immersive experience without unwanted side-effects. Determined to help VR film work go mainstream, he’s continually pushing the envelope while producing strong personalized film enjoyment.

Since VR (virtual reality) film work is founded on a lot of trial and error to find out what works and what doesn’t, 30ninja’s Lewis Smithingham has done a number of trials with drones and 360-degree rigs to see if an aerial view can add to the viewer’s story.

“VR has been breathtaking in special projects like ‘The Martian VR Experience’ and ‘Star Wars VR’ because it works, it feels natural,” he commented. “But using it just because VR and drone shooting are the sexy new kids on the block won’t enrich the storyline and may damage the technology’s long-term potential.

“The industry and the viewer deserve the best we can possibly deliver,” he concluded.

Film work is perhaps the most glamorous use of drones/cameras; but it is also one of the more modest application areas (still ahead of consumer applications though).

More Than Toys – Agriculture and utility executives were early pioneers in using drones to monitor fields and energy delivery systems. Now, businesses have expanded their uses to mapping store interiors, street/road mapping, facility views, real estate previews and more. The business potential continues to expand.

The stuff that always gets VCs’ and media folks’ motor running is whatever is going to be the next instant mass toy market – VR headsets, mobile game, smart home, smart car, robot and yes, drone.

It’s O.K., just not great!

Parents bought them for their kids – all ages -- for Christmas. They’ll fly them over their neighbor’s yard just to tick them off. They’ll fly them over accidents/events, inhibiting first responders and they’ll hurt people when their drones fall out of the sky.

It just isn’t a real market you can count on for tomorrow.

Sure, there’s something kinda’ cool in watching young guys pumped up on Red Bull trying to make drone racing look as good as NASCAR and Formula1racing; but still, they’re nothing but pumped up toys!

Drone Warriors – At this year’s CES show, drone races were held just outside of town to stimulate interest in the new sport. Like airshows and auto racing, teams compete for prizes and honors. The big difference is crashes aren’t as expensive and don’t put drivers in the hospital.

O.K., the accidents are spectacular at the CES races, but a serious sport?

Naw … beyond the military applications and film work, the real sales (profits) aren’t with a bunch of kids – actually dads getting their kicks - flying ‘em in Central Park but stuff that’s talked about every day on the Drone Coalition’s website.

These less obvious markets are too big to ignore.

Global Growth – While consumer purchases are projected to hit $1B plus this year; business, commercial and government sales are projected to be the strongest growth area for hardware, software and services.

Flight governance folks like the U.S.’s FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) historically restricted the use of drones to military and intelligence applications. Now, they’re opening the skies to commercial usage and ingenious folks are letting their imaginations take flight.

It’s amazing how quickly farming is using aerial technology to monitor and manage their far-flung operations.

Farmers’ Friend – Using drones and special cameras, farmers can precisely manage the growth of crops and track farm animal movements on large areas. Drone usage optimizes land usage, conserves water and energy and economically speeds healthy food to consumers.

With readily available software, they can constantly produce 3D and thermal images of the acreage and crops.

The only way to get better detail is on foot, which is time-consuming, expensive, and usually inconclusive. Flying even basic, cheap hobbyist drones can cut their costs, improve yields, and do a much better job of conserving their land.

An AUVSI (Association for Unmanned Vehicle System International) feels that agriculture is going to be the biggest drone market because farmers can monitor and treat large areas of land, regardless of the terrain, in less than an hour.

Drones are being regularly used to monitor nitrogen levels, watch the growth of specific field sections and determine the health of plants.

They can precisely identify areas that need pesticides, water and fertilizer to produce the food we eat and improve their bottom line.

It’s a lot better than when my grandfather toiled away in the Mid-West. It also enables land management and conservation groups to monitor the health of our environment and land usage locally, regionally and nationally.

Governmental and conservation organizations around the globe are economically using drones daily to monitor and protect the health and numbers of animal and plant species in remote, inaccessible areas. An impossible task to do with helicopters, satellites or on foot.

AUVSI officials note that the maps provide up to 30 times more detail than the ones from satellites, enabling them to chart changes like deforestation and endangered species.

That’s sorta’ important since this is the only planet we can currently live on.

Fraction of the Cost – By using drone-mounted cameras, power and other fuel/water utilities can quickly, economically and safely monitor equipment and systems even in hostile, inaccessible environments to keep the utilities humming.

While drones gained notoriety for their ability to handle hostile activities silently and economically; the hardware isn’t where the real money is.

The profits are in application/data products/services, licensing and the ever-popular legal services.

Government agencies have been quick to approve the use of drones for inspecting wind turbines, powerlines, pipelines and production facilities as well as the transportation infrastructure around the globe.

The other fast-track application has been to use drones of all sizes for surveillance, public safety and search and rescue operations.

The compact units can be airborne and on-scene in minutes to monitor illegal activities at public gatherings and assess local dangers and problems or fires that cover acres of land.

Heck, thousands could be used to patrol borders in place of walls folks can climb over or dig under.

While legislators struggle to develop new flight/safety rules, the biggest issue for drone operators is battery life.

Most use rechargeable lithium ion batteries, which are both expensive and have a very limited battery life (read short flight times).

Musk and others have been producing hydrogen fuel cells for car and home applications and if some innovative person can make some then small, light and cheap newer drones will be able to fly for hours and be recharged in minutes.

Hydrogen cell drone prices will be “a little” steep but longer flights might offset the cost when it means longer video shoots and business savings.

Kids toys will remain cheap and bothersome; and long distance popcorn delivery will probably win over lots of folks.

Still, aerial delivery of packages, pizza, coffee or whatever doesn’t impress me much!

However, Amazon must be serious about what they’re doing. They just got a patent to protect their drones against hacking and arrows.

Still the idea of “innovative Prime Air” dropping stuff on my doorstep isn’t half as exciting as all those drones shooting video and storing TBs of content on stacks of SD (secure digital) cards and SSD (solid state drives.)

Of course, as Pamela noted, “This is the '80s! Nobody likes reality anymore.”

# # #

The HPE Proliant ML10 Review January 2017 Update

The HPE Proliant ML10 is the entry-level* tower server in HPE’s tower server inventory.

As part of the review series announced here, I received the HPE Proliant ML10 designated for an AbsolutelyWindows RealWorld Review

The ML10ReviewCo January 2017 Update
We have replaced all 8 desktop computers at ML10ReviewCo with HP Pro Desk 600 units.

No new HP tablet from CES 2017 moved us. As a result, we purchased the HP Pro Tablet 10 G1 to replace the Android-based units that were formerly in use.

Our laptop selection is still ongoing, with both the EliteBook 1030 and the Dell XPS13 drawing almost equal adoration from their potential users. ML10ReviewCo company owner is sitting this one out, and he has gotten a hold of a Pro Tablet 10, and is pleased with his device.

The Proliant ML10 Server
This baby is just humming along.

All computing at ML10ReviewCo flows through this device, and it sits unobtrusively in an open ‘rack’ in a newly-enclosed, but well ventilated secure room at ML10ReviewCo.

Users that have all their work and archives on ML10 do not report any issues. In fact, the lack of issues with the retrieval, update and storage of their work are the first accolades we get whenever I show up there with my minions.

That, I like.

We have also been formally asked to expand the scope of our involvement with ML10ReviewCo for the first time, though the owner has been hinting at it for a while.

More to come.

The HPE Proliant ML10 Review Series

• (1) The HPE Proliant Entry-Level Server Review Series
• (2) Shiny New Thing: HPE Proliant ML10 Server
• (3) Shiny New Things: HP ProDesk 600 PC & HP Z22n 21 inch Display
• (4) The HPE Proliant ML10 Review Part I
• (5) The HPE Proliant ML10 Review December 2016 Update

© 2002 – 2017, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

Follow @johnobeto

Andy Marken’s Content Insider #503 - Car Work

The Long-Term View of Autonomous Transportation

Safe at Any Speed – There are a lot of great reasons to have connected and ultimately autonomous cars. They can lead to greater road safety and reduce passenger concerns.

It won’t be long – at CES they said 5-20 years – that the next generation of Woz/Steve-types will think that phreaking a phone has to be about the dumbest thing people did back in ancient times. Now hijacking an autonomous car is not only a challenge but real fun.

They won’t be pursued by the police but by AI (artificial intelligence) systems determined to get the vehicle back to the one of four or five organizations that actually own the vehicle.

But just as back in the phreaking days (when they had things called telephone booths), it’s not about stealing as much as it is the challenge to block, divert and/or mess up “the system.”

The effort isn’t carried out because the vehicle is cool or sexy because face it; with the big wart of gear on top, it’s ugly and probably wouldn’t fit in your garage along with all your last year smart home stuff.

Ride Service – Uber, Lyft, Didi and other ride services are working with auto firms to develop and test self-driving cars. It makes financial sense when your car sits unused for hours on end. And if they’re a little bit on the ugly side, you really won’t care because it’s temporary transportation, not something you buy.

Where’s the fun/challenge?

Well, according to Cisco, there will be 50B things communicating with each other to talk to the car in question to convince it to bring the hijackers to a central location.

In addition, there will be more than a billion cameras around the globe capturing more than 100T images an hour to monitor what’s going on in cities around the globe and make them safer, smarter.

Finally, there’s a never-ending stream of real-time software updates back/forth between the office and car that will monitor and adjust the vehicle’s safe movement.

Of course, there’s a little bit of work required between now and then that CES exhibitors tended to gloss over as minor issues.

Manufacturers, Owners
The first powered vehicle (steam) was built in 1769; and since then, thousands of companies and millions of individuals have introduced newer, bigger/smaller, better, faster, cheaper, more efficient, more environment-kindly cars.

Self-sufficient autos were demonstrated in the 1920s and in 1984, the first autonomous car was rolled out by Carnegie Mellon University’s Navlab/AVL.

Between then and today, thousands of car companies have come and gone around the globe.

Two years ago, firms turned out nearly 68M cars, according to the OICA (Organization Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles). China led the pack with 20M personal transportation vehicles followed by Japan, Germany and the U.S.

Certain that the driverless car is the future, they all have huge R&D centers in Silicon Valley as well as other tech locations around the globe joining the new kids in town – Google, Uber, Lyft and Didi.

Oh yeah, and every country has a bureaucratic department trying to develop rules and laws on how they will get around.

There are already cities and villages around the globe letting people test and stress the new next hot mobile thing.

Of course, with an estimated 60 percent of the connected and autonomous cars tied up in technology, every hardware/software firm has an out-in-the-open or skunkworks project to be part of the action.

Even my beloved buy-with-two-clicks Amazon snuck into some of Ford’s cars with Alexa.

Vulnerable – With hundreds of sensors/monitors and constant communications with outside sources, the unanswered challenge for connected cars is protecting passengers when the vehicle gets hacked or malware takes control. Security continues to be a major concern.

The opportunities (and benefits) are awesome, but so are the obstacles.

Whether it’s “just” a connected car or driverless, the moving computer system(s) need to analyze everything inside/outside of the vehicle in real-time, get inputs/updates from somewhere in real-time and rapidly store/process that stuff or … BAM!

That sounds reasonable, logical, achievable; but keep in mind that Silicon Valley (and tech firms in other areas) operate on the philosophy of a very short product development cycle to put pretty good/good-enough beta product into the market to let leading-edge folks find the bugs which the company can then work on to fix, patch, update.

Yeah … works for me!

Rethinking Ownership
While China has a huge population, the country only has 10 vehicles for every 1,000 people. Although they have smaller populations, the US boasts 756 and Luxemburg 686 per 1,000 inhabitants.

Not that you care, but the average car in the U.S. is also 10 years old (keep that in mind when you buy your semi-connected car in 2020).

I forgot to mention that some of our tech experts are working with area leaders to carry out a rolling ban of human drivers on a 150-mile stretch of Interstate 5 between Seattle and Vancouver.

And because folks really can’t voluntarily disconnect from their friends, associates, content when driving, California banned even holding your precious smartphone while driving.

Other areas are thinking both ideas are great ways to reduce/eliminate the 1.25M annual road deaths globally.

The logical question arises then--if the thing is going to pick me up and take me from point A to Point B; why even buy a car, since 90 plus percent of the time it’s just sitting and losing value?

It’s easy to understand why Uber, Lyft, Didi, Ford, TaTa, Benz, Nissan and the others see you abandoning the wheel and just paying for the ride so you’re free to use your personal communications device.

Muscle Machine – Almost from the beginning, cars were an extension of the owner, a reflection of his/her personality. With sleek/bold lines, masterful engines and quick response; your car spoke volumes on who the driver was.

As the transition progresses, people will buy vehicles with more and more technology. Some want to jump into the backseat right now…others will have to be coaxed into giving up the steering wheel.

Bob O’Donnell, president and chief analyst at TECHnalysis Research surveyed consumers and found that price and style were already playing a smaller role in their next auto purchase decision.

New Features – While looks and performance continue to be features people consider in their vehicles, with today’s added technology people are beginning to place advanced features as motivators in the cars they choose to purchase.

What he didn’t mention was a study carried out over the past four years by the University of Michigan found people were losing interest in getting a driver’s license and driving.

And, according to the Federal Highway Administration and a recent global report by GfK, it isn’t just the Gen Yers and Zers.

New Priorities – While younger generations find self-driving cars more appealing than manually driving down the road, even more mature people are beginning to see the benefit of having more and more technology features in their cars.

Older Millennials, 25- to 34-year-olds, were most interested in self-driving cars. Three-quarters of those interviewed found the concept appealing.

In addition, over seven in 10 in the 16-to-24 and 35-to-44 age groups viewed self-driving cars as appealing.

They’re the solution for getting around:

• Using your garage to store stuff (as you already do)
• Eliminating your 3^rd biggest expense behind housing, kids education and simply pay as you go
• Forgeting car insurance because “they” cover that
• Saving fuel because the vehicle can avoid congestion getting you there efficiently
• Really enjoying a long-range trip of 400-500 miles; kicking back to listen to music, read, catch up on streaming video, grab a nap

Sure, you give up even more data about who you are, what you do and where you go; but you’re getting used to it, so no problem.

The Big Hurdle
Perhaps you haven’t looked closely at the city/town you live in, but…it ain’t smart!

More than Smarts – Cities around the globe have neglected the basic wants and needs of citizens and services to the point that they need a lot more investment than sprinkling around a few sensors and cameras to become smart for the people who live there.

Federal, state and local officials all admit they’re “a little” behind the curve when it comes to implementing technology for such things as public safety, disaster response and a slew of smart city solutions.

In fact, they don’t even have the gigabit networks and services in place to handle data transfer of 1,000MB/s, which technologists agree will be necessary to support and assist the local citizens and businesses.

Those gigabit-enabled networks would be about 66 times faster than speeds provided by today’s ISPs (internet service providers).

While city officials’’ eyes glaze over as they see each new individual technology that is going to pave the way for them, they have to step back and develop a plan that is going to benefit and improve life for the people who live there. Then they can prioritize the implementation of those technologies that will enhance the lives of the community, not the peer status of officials.

Implementation has to benefit the many … not the few.

While you’re looking around town for improvements that need to be made, you might look down.

Smart Driving – In the vast majority of areas, drivers have to have a firm grip on the wheel and eyes on the road to avoid potholes and hazards--some of which have been known to swallow the entire car.

In case you haven’t noticed/felt it, the transportation infrastructure is a freakin’ disaster.

Roads, streets, sidewalks and bridges are disintegrating before your very eyes but fixing them isn’t sexy, techie.

Perhaps that’s why SpaceX’s/Tesla’s boss, Elon Musk, set his sights on moving to and populating Mars.

At the 67^th International Astronautical Congress, Musk laid out the plan to establish a human settlement on the red planet in 2022.

Just in the U.S., the initial estimate to fix up the federal highway system is $305B; and doesn’t include local streets and non-federal highways, which will take a minimum of five years. Analysts conservatively believe the cost will at least triple.

I’ll bet it would be less expensive to start with bare dirt/soil and a few artificial environment bubbles around Mars and build out totally new population centers.

They might even be dubbed MuskWorld … solar panels, autonomous electric cars and Hyperloop super fast transportation.

Your kids or kids’ kids can feel sorry for the folks down here in vehicles that can find every pothole, road patch.

Smart World – Technologists have a great vision of what tomorrow’s cities and transportation systems will be like with more than 50B connected things. The challenge is we have to do a lot of very heavy lifting to get there.

G. Andy Marken is President of Marken Communications

© 2002 – 2017, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

Follow @johnobeto

I am off to Palo Alto to talk HP Printer Security

I was invited to participate in the 2017 HP Print Security Blogger Day in Palo Alto, California.

I accepted.

A blog series I have been wanting to create over the past several months is one on the so-called “Internet of Things”, or #IoT, which is rapidly devolving into a security nightmare. Especially for consumers.

However, businesses, and the enterprise are not immune to this already here malaise.

The massive October 2016 DDOS attack on the DNS company Dyn was an eye-opener. The vector used in that attack were a horde of unsecured security cameras.

“…unsecured security cameras...” Oh, the irony!

It almost seems like nary a week goes by when there isn’t disconcerting news of a breach somewhere from seemingly innocent, but inherently dangerous devices attached to the internet.

Not convinced?

Hello?

Your networked printer?

Your Printer is an Endpoint
In the November 2016 IDC whitepaper titled “The Printer Is an Endpoint: Proactively Addressing the Security Vulnerability”, the authors of the paper reveal some somber details about networked papers

Their research and analyses dovetails with the sense of foreboding I always feel when I see us plunging willy-nilly into this #IoT future without any thoughts of security being baked in, either by design, or subsequently.

What I want to see, and know
I am not asking a lot, just the following:

• I want to see what HP is doing to provide a secure printer OOBE.
• I want to see how HP will enable users to secure their printers.
• I want to see what HP is doing to allay my fears.
• Finally, I would like to know if HP printers are being hardened, by design.

This should be fun.

Stay tuned.

The document The Printer Is an Endpoint: Proactively Addressing the Security Vulnerability, IDC Doc #US41939416, can be found following the link above. Subscription required.

© 2002 – 2017, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

Follow @johnobeto

Artificial Intelligence

While 2016 has had its many (many) downs, it was not without its ups.

Artificial Intelligence, for example, has made some serious progress this year.

Last March, DeepMind’s program AlphaGo went up against Lee Sodol in a $1M 5-game challenge match of Go in Seoul. Lee Sodol has been the top player of Go for the past decade. However, he, the audience, and the millions of viewers of the livestreamed match, were shocked when AlphaGo not only seemed to comprehend the complexities of the game, but also surpassed Sodol’s intelligence across the game. AlphaGo’s ability to think and respond creatively was revealed through its unpredictable moves.

I don’t know about everyone else, but after watching movies like Iron Man back in 2008 and hoping that I could one day have my own personal AI to assist me in similar ways, I was excited to hear about this.

Now, there are people such as Professor Stephen Hawking that are wary of AI.

When I think about it, they have a good reason to worry.

Skynet could go from a fictional superintelligence to a non-fictional superintelligence. Next thing you know, we’ll be fleeing extermination by something that not only has the ability to improve itself, but has removed humans from the equation entirely.

That’s scary and all, but it’s also possible that such things won’t happen.

The primitive AI we have now has proven itself useful as of now, but I’d like to see it taken further. I’m not saying development has to forgo caution, just that development shouldn’t be held back by it. I want to be able to come home one day, say the words “order my favorite pizza” in any general direction, and within 30 (hopefully) minutes I’ll be chowing down. Payment would have already been processed and all I have to do is tip the driver.

That’s all I’m asking for.

This is a guest blog by Chris Obeto the Younger, a CompSci student. I am hoping it becomes a regular feature on AbsolutelyWindows.

© 2002 – 2017, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

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The HPE Proliant ML10 Review: December 2016 Update

The HPE Proliant ML10 is the entry-level* tower server in HPE’s tower server inventory.

As part of the review series announced here, I received a Proliant ML10 designated to an AbsolutelyWindows RealWorld Review

Installation
Easy. Peasy.

It is a Proliant, after all.

So Far
We have installed Proliant ML10 at ML10ReviewCo, and we have trained users on the basics of authenticated AD logins.

Since we are using Server 2016 Essentials, OneDrive for Business, and messaging is off-premises.

An external HPE RDX backup device is also installed.

We are in the process of replacing all 8 PCs here with the HP Pro Desk 600s. Replacement units are on site, and the company owner is working with staff to determine what data currently stored on their PCs will be saved.

We are currently holding a bakeoff between the HP EliteBook 1030 G1 and the Dell XPS13 to determine the replacement units for the four laptops. (Actually 3 laptops, and the infernal Chromebook!)

We are holding off on making a tablet replacement choice until after the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2017.

Client budgetary constraints compel us to move the replacement of the deskside printers to calendar Q1 of 2017.

Client Sentiments So far
The owner of ML10ReviewCo has been impressed with the login authentication afforded his staff by AD. He is also very pleased that he now has the opportunity to funnel all information consumed by both his staff and his customer through pipes that are laid out according to his specifications, and his desired message.

The clerical staff at ML10ReviewCo were somewhat reticent to follow their leader. However, being devoid of choices, and needing the directly-deposited paychecks, provided them the needed impetus to comply.

We shall see…

The HPE Proliant ML10 Review Series

• (1) The HPE Proliant Entry-Level Server Review Series
• (2) Shiny New Thing: HPE Proliant ML10 Server
• (3) Shiny New Things: HP ProDesk 600 PC & HP Z22n 21 inch Display
• (4) The HPE Proliant Review Part I

© 2002 – 2016, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

Follow @johnobeto

Dell EMC World 2016 Roundtable II

At Dell EMC World 2016, I was asked to be part of a small roundtable discussion.

Broadcast live on Periscope, this is Episode II

The video is © Sarah Vela, or Dell, or respective owners.

© 2002 – 2016, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

Follow @johnobeto

Dell EMC World 2016 Roundtable 1

At Dell EMC World 2016, I was asked to be part of a small roundtable discussion.

Broadcast live on Periscope, this is Episode 1

The video is © Sarah Vela, or Dell, or respective owners.

© 2002 – 2016, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

Follow @johnobeto

Requiem for the old Windows Cmd Shell

Another vestigial part of Windows gets deprecated

Damen y Messieurs: can we say a rather nice eulogy for Ye Olde Windows CMD Shell?

While sad, for CMD has been an integral part of Windows since Windows 1.0, IIRC.

It has served us well.

Form the days of the old autoexec.bat batch, config.sys, files, TSRs, and all other quick-and-dirty uses for it, the windows command shell has served us well.

Since the move to GUI Windows, it has worked very well in the background, and always ready when needed.

Early this week, Windows Shepherdess Dana Sakar revealed that going forward, the default CLI shell in Windows will be PowerShell

To simply describe PowerShell as “the Windows command line on steroids” is to gravely misunderstand both the product, and the immense capabilities it delivers to both users and system administrators.

A brief explanation of PowerShell is on this Wikipedia page, and the official Microsoft PowerShell page is here.

Rather understandably, several of the yum-yums masquerading as tech media these days have completely misread Dana’s words, and completely misconstrued her statement to mean that CMD will vanish from Windows in the next – Redstone 2 – release.

That is simply not true.

The bottom line is this:

Windows ‘Redstone 2’ will come with PowerShell as the default shell. But CMD will also ship with the OS.

However, though the old CMD will be invisible, so to speak, it remains a part of Windows, and is available to anyone who wants it. Additionally, it can be set as the default shell, if that’s a user’s choice.

But, why would you?

Please learn, and use PowerShell.

It will serve you better.

Fortuitously, Windows expert and technology journalist Jonathan Hassell has a fantastic tutorial, <PowerShell> for Total Beginners. He is also offering a free 4-day crash course for beginners, available here. I highly recommend it.

Here lies Windows CMD
It served us well.

© 2002 – 2016, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

Follow @johnobeto

Final Thoughts on Dell EMC World 2016

For years, the old HP basked in the glow of a very dominant position: it was the undisputed Big Kahuna of enterprise computing.

HP was the only company that could deliver end-to-end solutions, from mobiles to big iron, and with supercomputers thrown in.

It was even involved in the design of chips with partners, for which Intel Itanium comes to mind.

No longer.

HP broke off into two major parts, and HP Enterprise, the former enterprise division of the larger firm, has continued to shed subsidiaries and departments that do not, or no longer, fit into the vision developed for the company by HPE CEO Meg Whitman and her board of directors.

Into this breach, you will find Dell Inc.

And I must tell you, Dell has stepped up!

A few years ago, Dell was taken private by a group led by its founder Michael Dell, and just ahead of last week’s Dell EMC World, it closed a deal to by EMC Corporation.

Now, Dell rules the enterprise hardware space.

Not only that, Dell has assembled a group of firms with a rather delectable ownership of envied computing hardware under the Dell Technologies banner. These range from EMC, SonicWall, Virtustream, Pivotal, VMWare, RSA Security, Secureworks.

I attended the inaugural Dell EMC World, as part of a renewed interest, and focus on Dell products, and I have to admit that I came away impressed with what Michael Dell and his group have put together.

The new Dell is bigger
Without a doubt, the new Dell has doubled in size, both from a revenue, and from a headcount perspective.

Dell should be able to leverage this scale to wring out better deals and saving from everyone involved in their supply chain, enabling it (Dell) to compete better.

The new Dell is broader
The new Dell has a breadth of offerings* that can’t be matched by anyone else in computing. This is the position HP enjoyed before it basically, de-conglomerated.

From desktops to outfitting datacenters, Dell is now able to be the vendor of choice for any other firm.

*Strike mobiles from the list. Michael Dell himself emphatically said Dell – the company will not be doing mobiles again.

The new Dell seems more nimble
Starting with going private, Dell seems to make choices, and pivot faster.

This is evident in the pace of new laptop and server offerings which harness the latest and greatest componentry seemingly coincident with those innovations. Their current pace is impressive. Moreover, they have discovered the power of smart, functional aspirational design as a vector in improving their brand.

The new Dell is energized
Very evident, and very palatable was the energy around Dell employees – Dellians? Dellites? Dellicians? – at Dell EMC World, and indeed, at all the Dell events I have attended.

They publicly, and privately applaud the new scale they have, the lack of the need to appease and do the quarterly dog-and-pony shows for Wall Street, and the ability to define success over a larger time horizon that allows them to be marathoners who win it all, not sprinters.

The new Dell wants to win bigly
This, they do.

And it is starting to show.

For instance, according to both Gartner and IDC, Dell is not the market leader in x86 servers, dethroning HPE.

Though this new ranking comes with the caveat that HPE’s numbers are diminished by HPE’s relinquishment of a controlling interest in a Chinese joint venture or subsidiary, the fact remains that by the crucial metric, Dell is now The Server King.

I really hope Dell is now trying to use that sales crown as both a carrot and a cudgel to cajole component manufacturers and partners alike into

However, caveats remain. Namely…

M&A digestion or indigestion
This could go either way.

So far, Dell seems to have sidestepped the issues some tech companies face when it comes to acquisitions, especially acquisitions of any largish kind.

Only Cisco systems seems to be rather adroit at closing, and absorbing, acquisitions. This makes Dell’s EMC buy a huge quod erat demonstrandum.

The cloud
For an enterprise hardware company, especially one with very tangible assets in servers, storage, and virtualization, Dell could be in a world of hurt if the clouds, especially the currently hapless consortia forming for open standardization of standards around the cloud expand from their foothold with the major cloud providers to the larger enterprises.

Debt Hangover
The 800-kilo Huttese-speaking lump in the room.

Managed adroitly, this could be as easy as pie, or as deadly as Jabba.

However, as we were told, Dell’s cash flow easily covers all debt obligations.

As I see it
Dell has bulked up. It can now offer most enterprises a one-stop experience from clients all the way to HPCs, with storage and services thrown in.

It has a fully engaged CEO, and an attendant army of employees marching lockstep with him to [hardware] computing Olympus.

Importantly, Dell – the man and his eponymous company – can now envision projects with long gestation period without having to dance to the waltz of Wall Street.

This makes Dell not just a formidable company, but a very dangerous one to all other hardware OEMs.

© 2002 – 2016, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

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Another day, another debunked Microsoft privacy- violation myth

Another day, another debunked Microsoft privacy violation myth

This time, it is the completely unsubstantiated, and rather thoroughly debunked lie that Microsoft would be giving security firm FireEye telemetry data from ALL Windows 10 devices.

I caught a whiff of the initial news during one of the few moments I was able to sneak online as I was OTG, and it pissed me the eff off!

Why would Microsoft do this I wondered?

Especially since it wasn’t a condition explicitly opted into by Windows 10 users.

And it pissed me off more.

Then, I got a few emails on the subject from acquaintances. I became most concerned, however, when I received an email from my most bleeding-edge client. This is a man who consumes the latest-and-greatest. Nevertheless, and even after migrating his company to it, he still has some reticence around Windows 10, for business IP reasons.

These untruths do not help.

Not at all!

After a few times thinking about it, especially on the jettrain back home, I started composing a blog post lambasting Microsoft for pulling a Google/Facebook/Uber.

Crisis averted.

However, upon getting home, I got an alert from a saved search for that keyword that it was all a mistake.

However, this isn’t the first. Or fifth. Or one-hundredth time Windows 10 has gotten a bad rap because of false assumptions, outright lies, or just plain FUD?

Right?

So, who is to blame?

Who is to blame?
Microsoft.

You got it.

Instead of a top Microsoft honcho to come out and unequivocally state why Microsoft needs that information, silence.

In the stead of this, Microsoft cowardly employs a legion of surrogates that try to do the job for them.

Bitte, wachsen eine Wirbelsäule, ja?

I believe Microsoft needs to simply, and plainly detail what the telemetry data is being used for.

Plainly, I say. Not in the obfuscating legalistic verbiage their current ToS and EULAs detail.

Oh, and Microsoft NEEDS to find a way of making this gathered telemetry opt in. By clearly enumerating the benefits it delivers.

Right now, it doesn’t, or isn’t hurting Microsoft, the brand.

One day, these myths just might.

How does that saying go again?

A lie repeated often enough will be treated as the truth.

Never fails.

Symphony Innovate 2016: Lunch with David Gurle Part V

Symphony Communications held their yearly Symphony Innovate confab last week in New York City.

I was there, and had the opportunity to sit at a private luncheon with David Gurle, founder and CEO of Symphony, and some other event attendees as guests.

The lunch rapidly turned into an impromptu Q&A session.

However, David was kind enough to graciously answer our questions.

My camera was at the ready, and I am bringing you a 5-part video series on the event.

This is Part II of the series, which is embedded below, Clicking on the link will take to you an ad hoc OneDrive folder from which the video will be streamed.

Video © & ℗, 2016, Blackground Media Unlimited

• Part I
• Part II
• Part III
• Part IV

© 2002 – 2016, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

Follow @johnobeto

Dell EMC World 2016: The Keynotes

At the closing of every tech merger, and a practice I believe extends to every successful M&A, comes the inevitable victory round.

Fortuitously for Dell, the closing of their purchase of EMC occurred just seven days before the commencement of the inaugural Dell EMC World, which took place in Austin, the nearest city to Dell’s Round Rock, Texas, HQ, and away from the usual Las Vegas location for EMC World, where CXIparty is always a highlight.

Resultantly, I expected to see Michael Dell prance and preen across the stage because of his newfound position atop the hill.

Note: this was my first ever Dell World attendance. I had not engaged with Dell this closely ever before, even when they were our only recommended hardware partner.

The Pre-Event Meet & Greet

There was an informal meet-and-greet session the day before.

And Michael Dell attended.

Dell staffers, bloggers, analysts, yours truly, and yes, the lamestream tech and general press attended.

It was very good to see Dell – the man – work the crowd, affably calling out to acquaintances, easily mingling.

Why is it that some company founders have this gift? It reminded me of Jerry Sanders III and Bill Gates; gazillionaires who didn’t let their billions stand before them in their engagement with you. Steve Ballmer was also like that…

The Keynotes
Sadly, there wasn’t a lot of preening and prancing from Michael Dell during the general keynote.

Turns out, that isn’t his style.

What he displayed however, was a deep knowledge of his newly-enlarged firm which he displayed during the extended Q&A session immediately following his private analysts and media keynote.

I found it to be refreshing, enlightening to me, based on my knowledge of his company, and direct.

No questions were deemed out of order, and he answered them in a very forthright manner. None of that “I can’t tell you” or “my handler won’t let me tell you” because of the materiality of the answer bullschthako.

I like that.

His primary satyrs, one heading up Dell EMC, their enterprise unit, and the other running Dell Inc, the client devices arm, all came across as Michael Dell did. Which is nice.

They all strove to let us understand the company, their mission, and most importantly, their desire to serve their customers.

I came rather impressed at the promise of the merged company.

© 2002 – 2016, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

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The Logitech K780 Multi_device Keyboard Review

This, is the tablet keyboard I have been waiting for!

I use several tablet devices on a daily basis: ElitePad 1000 G2, HP Pro Tablet, Dell Venue 8 Pro, Apple iPad, Apple iPad Air. Also, my iPhone and Windows Phone.

Not counting the Surface and Surface Pro devices which have their own keyboards.

One thing I find myself reaching for a keyboard to augment my input, and user experiences

Even with the iPads, and their myopically-vaunted touch-first user interfaces, the user experience is certainly enhanced with the use of a keyboard.

Please, stop bullschtakoing about how iOS is built from the ground up for touch. For evidence, iPad Pro, and official Apple iPad keyboards. ‘Nuff said?

So, I need a keyboard.

Preferably one that I can move across all my devices.

Unboxing and OOBE
The K780 came in a form-fitting box with adequate padding. The bottom of the box also doubled as a setup guide.

K780 also came with built-in batteries. Pulling a tab activated the batteries, and it was time to go.

Setup was dead easy: set the tablet device to search for K780 via Bluetooth, then push the required device selector button on the K780 keyboard.

Easy.

I like easy.

The same process worked for all the devices I used in this review.

Note: you can also use the Logitech Unifying receiver if your system does not come with Bluetooth.

Using the Logitech K780 Multi-Device Keyboard
The first thing that sets the K780 apart is the integrated device stand.

This is immediately useful.

K780 users no longer need to be concerned with carrying a stand for their devices when using the keyboard.

Secondly, the K780 is a full-size keyboard, with and integral numeric keyboard.

People, this is mungo cool!

For me, a typical use is having both a tablet an my iPhone resting on K780 while using either one of the devices.

No, while up to three devices can be connected to the K780 at once, only one device can be in use. However, switching between devices is as easy as selecting the device from the three device-selector keys on the keyboard.

Logitech K780 is a soft-touch keyboard, with large round and roundish keys. They are easy to use, and the travel is just fine. The numeric keypad is a boon, and the price is just right.

Conclusions
Category winners are always in the same arena as the losers.

What always sets them apart though, are the little things, the little attention to detail.

The Logitech K780 is one of those winners.

It checks off several things I need, and added a few I did not know I needed.

The integrated, full-length device stand is one of them. The numeric keypad is another. The former lets me use any of my tablets and for the most times, two devices side-by-side, and the latter obviates the need for me to use a full laptop.

The only missing want for me, is backlighting.

Still, this is a superb device.

Accordingly, we bestow the SmallBizWindows Business Ready Award of Excellence upon the Logitech K780 Multi-Device Keyboard.

Devices Used

• HP ElitePad 1000
• HP Pro Tablet
• Dell Venue 8 Pro
• Apple iPad
• Apple iPhone

© 2002 – 2016, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

Follow @johnobeto

The HPE Proliant ML10 Review: Part 1

The HPE Proliant ML10 is the entry-level* tower server in HPE’s tower server inventory.

As part of the review series announced here, I received the latest HPE Proliant ML10 designated to an AbsolutelyWindows RealWorld Review

The AbsolutelyWindows RealWorld Review
Here at AbsolutelyWindows, we always perform real world SMB tests as part of our reviews.
Products sent in for review are placed with an appropriate business, and used there in their daily workflow in order to determine the suitability to task of the product(s).
For the Proliant ML10 review, we selected a company which has never used a server before.

The HPE Proliant ML10 Review Company
Since the ML10 is intrinsically a first server, in addition to being the entry-level tower server for HPE, we decided to place it at a fitting business for it: a purveyor of pre-owned transportation conveyances.

Okay, OK! The review company is a used car lot!

Why this company?
The firm belongs to the acquaintance of a client, and fits for the following reasons:

1. It currently doesn’t have and they have never used a server,
2. They would like client-server computing
3. They have over 14 total client devices
4. Security is now a must
5. Privacy is necessary.

For the purposes of this review, we will refer to this firm as ML10ReviewCo.

Current ML10ReviewCo Computing Environment
In addition to the aforementioned lack of controls, and never having had a server, ML10ReviewCo has a dismal collection of PCs, mainly white boxes slapped together by their ‘computer guy’ local vendor, and from z-tier PC OEMs. A series of Android-powered tablets from hodgepodge of unknown-to-me manufacturers complete the picture.

• 8 PCs
• 3 Acer laptops, running Windows 8
• 1 Asus Chromebook
• 5 Android tablets
• 1 leased MFC printer, and several deskside printers from a myriad number of vendors.

¡sad!

Company Goals
What ML10ReviewCo wants are four simple goals:

1. Create a secure computing environment.
2. Capture and secure customer data
3. Provide audit trails for each salesdroid.
4. Deliver rudimentary CRM data for analysis.

Fairly easy to accomplish.

We selected the following:

• a) HPE Proliant ML10
• b) HPE RDX for local backups
• c) HP Desktops and monitors
• d) HP tablets
• e) HP deskside printers
• f) Microsoft OneDrive for Business
• g) Microsoft Intune/AD
• h) Windows Server 2016 Essentials
• i) Microsoft Office 365
• j) Microsoft Licensing

We will obsolete all the current computing devices at ML10ReviewCo. Especially the Chromebook and the Android tablets!

Later on once the ROI on this investment is evident, we plan on introducing HPE Aruba Networks gear to the business in place of their current consumer-grade network.

Let’s do this!

The HPE Proliant ML10 Review Series

• (1) The HPE Proliant Entry-Level Server Review Series
• (2) Shiny New Thing: HPE Proliant ML10 Server
• (3) Shiny New Things: HP ProDesk 600 PC & HP Z22n 21 inch Display

*The Proliant ML10 should not be confused with the Proliant Microserver, which, while a Proliant, and entry-level, isn’t considered a tower server.

© 2002 – 2016, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

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The new HP Z2 Workstation is very Droolworthy, and Ready For SMBs

I have been a user of HP Workstations since I first reviewed the then entry-level HP xw4600 in July of 2008, an exclusively using them as my desktop PCs since.

HP’s Z-Series workstations have been both performance, features, and, in a departure from the general view of HP, stylistic, leaders. ZWorkstations have also been very forward looking and future proof, and outright outliers in their spaces, whether for design, eco-friendliness, and embedded functionality such as Thunderbolt and the ZDrive. They were also the first to deliver an all-in-one workstation, and an all-in-one touchscreen workstation.

Why the epistle, you may ask?

The new HP Z2.

Gaze.

Actually, drool. (It’s okay. I’m doing the same.)

Just in case the diminutive size isn’t apparent, this is the Z2 placed next to a cup of expresso.

In entry guise, it can drive 3 monitors while the performance model can drive 6 monitors – SIX! – right out of the box!

The specs have me rather interested:

Intel Xeon E3-1200 V5, 32GB max of ECC or non-ECC RAM, 4 USB 3.0, 2 USB 3.0 Type-C, HP Z Turbo Drive G2, 2GB NVIDIA Quadro M620, integrated Wi-Fi.

Moreover, it comes ready for a VESA mount.

Right away, I can envision several usage scenarios for this product where its combo of power, size, and expandability would be a boon.

*All specs mentioned are either for the ‘Performance SKU – the top model – or for a max spec unit.

Excellent work again, HP Fort Collins.

More info on the Z2 can be found here.

© 2002 – 2016, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

Follow @johnobeto

Symphony Innovate 2016: Lunch with David Gurle Part IV

Symphony Communications held their yearly Symphony Innovate confab last week in New York City.

I was there, and had the opportunity to sit at a private luncheon with David Gurle, founder and CEO of Symphony, and some other event attendees as guests.

The lunch rapidly turned into an impromptu Q&A session.

However, David was kind enough to graciously answer our questions.

My camera was at the ready, and I am bringing you a 5-part video series on the event.

This is Part IV of the series, which is embedded below, Clicking on the link will take to you an ad hoc OneDrive folder from which the video will be streamed.

Video © & ℗, 2016, Blackground Media Unlimited

• Part I
• Part II
• Part III
• Part V

© 2002 – 2016, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

Follow @johnobeto

Shiny New Logitech Things to Review

I have a trio of Logitech human input devices, or HIDs here at the Orbiting Dacha for review.

They are the Logitech K780 Multi-Device Keyboard, the Logitech M330 Silent Plus Mouse, and the Logitech M720 Triathlon Multi Device Mouse.

I have wanted to try the K780 Multi-device for a while. I have been a use of the Logitech K380 keyboard, and I like their multi-device keyboards as it allows me to just just one keyboard across multiple mobile/portable devices.

Likewise, the M720 is basically an MX Plus sans some functionality, and the silent Plus is just intriguing.

Let’s do this!

© 2002 – 2016, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

Follow @johnobeto

The HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 Review

The HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 is the best, most capable inkjet printer we have tested.

By far. So far.

It is capable, speedy, easy to use, affordable in both capex and opex, and displays a gracious élan generally not seen in this space for a while.

It is a SmallBizWindows Superstar Product.

Let’s start from the beginning.

The HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 Wide-Format Printer
A wide-format all-in-one, the OfficeJet Pro 7740 is one of the business inkjet devices created by HP’s vaunted Boise operation, formerly helmed by the renowned Vyomesh Joshi.

As one of the “Pro” line of HP OfficeJet printers, it is targeted squarely at businesses.

You can print, copy, scan, and fax.

Sadly, faxing documents is still a thing for several businesses, and is accepted over emailed documents!

According to published specs, it is supposed to be rather speedy, both for black-and-white, and color prints.

Let’s delve in.

Unboxing and OOBE
The OfficeJet Pro 7740 came in a box that didn’t rattle when shaken at my location.

Seems trite or trivial, but I always do this, not only for review devices, but also for everything I order. For I believe that a snug fit generally means care had been given to packaging, with a resulting reduction in returned equipment.

I opened the box to a boxy, yet stylish printer, with little protrusions or protuberances spoiling the line. The design language here is sleek, smart, reminiscent of old HP LaserJet III and, – dare I say it? – the Apple LaserWriter printers from days gone by.

It came with a set of inks cartridges, a quick start guide, a power cable, and some safety info as required by the authorities.

Me being me, I opted to use the quick start guide. I plugged the device in, and we were on.

I inserted the ink cartridges when asked, entered the SSID of the network it would be connected to and voilà, I was good to go!

Internal Testing
The OfficeJet Pro 7740 was used as the primary printer here at the Orbiting Dacha for a week in place of a black-and-white laser printer.

I wanted to see if the users experienced delays, or felt a drop-off in the outputted b&W or grayscale documents.

I also used it to print out a very good number of color documents, from presentations, to slide decks, to full-color photographs. I also made a fair number of tabloid-sized prints.

The OfficeJet Pro 7740 performed impressively well.

Sadly, it was soon time to take it to a real-world environment for further testing.

AbsolutelyRealWorld Testing
The environment chosen for our real-world review was for a partner at a structural engineering firm.

This firm uses several high-end printers that output in large format. They also have a couple of individual large-format printers for their draughtspersons.

Fortuitously, the OfficeJet Pro 7740 was offered for review, and so it came in.

I unboxed the device, and plugged it in. I added some letter-sized paper into the printer, then demonstrated the HP Direct Print feature by asking my tester to print to it from her HP z620 workstation.

I tell ya: that brought smiles.

I then had it connected to their wired network, and properly configured for her.

The easy discoverability of the OfficeJet 7740, and indeed of all HP devices by Microsoft Windows is impressive.

It really is.

For the past three weeks, the printer was the deskside adjunct to the big printers and plan printers in use at that firm.

It was a success.

For one, the deskside production of tabloid-sized output meant that my tester could make changes on-the-fly for either her staff, or for consultation with her partners.

As with our use of the OfficeJet Pro 7740 at The Orbiting Dacha, they ran the printer through stress tests designed to max out the performance of the printer in order to determine the suitability of the OfficeJet Pro 7740 for their deskside output requirements. They also almost ran it in tabloid mode, as that was their preferred output format.

According to her, it eliminated the need for the distraction of walking across the office to the printer room for printed output.

Furthermore, being able to generate such clear output was definitely worth it.

The speed of the printer was another factor in their satisfaction with the printer.

Also, it fitted the ROI they are looking for in a deskside large-format printer.

Finally, it comfortably beat their current printers by a considerable margin.

The Review
OOBE
One of the very first things I look for in a device is the OOBE, or Out-Of-the-Box-Experience.

So many firms fall down on their faces right here.

HP is an outlier here. I am often able to use HP devices without worrying about device drivers because they just work right out of the box. This kind of experience breeds confidence that a device won’t let you down even in tough situations where internet access is problematic.

Secondly, and this was also the case with the OfficeJet Pro 250 Mobile Printer we tested a couple of months ago, the devices were automagically discovered by Windows and provisioned with a single click. For busy ROBOs or SOHOs, this is rather ideal. You also do not have to worry about the insecurity of having to load drivers from media which may have been compromised with slipstreamed malware, a definite nightmare in this day and age.

Installation
While HP’s instantaneous and simple instructions are nice, they hide the amount of backend work that makes for easy discoverability and provisioning.

Connecting to networks are dead easy, and the touchscreen user interface is intuitive, showing that careful thought had gone into that UI design.

I like that a lot.

Like I always say, this stuff is NOT rocket science. Make it simple, make it useful, and stay out of the way of your users.

They did.

In Use
The OfficeJet Pro 7740 is fast. In fact, the initial hiccup when it is receiving data to output is forgotten when multiple pages start briskly loading up in the output tray.

OfficeJet Pro 7740 is versatile. Having multiple document trays standard is very smart. Not even do my tester’s architect clients generate tabloid output at all times. However, the ability to generate such output ad hoc is an added boon for them. Adding to this versatility if the ability to print directly from non-Windows devices, such as iOS devices, such as the ubiquitous iPhones, and from iPads as well. I understand this can be done with Android devices. However, I am yet to meet up with an Android device at businesses we are affiliated with…..

It can also be secured with the use of HP JetAdvantage Private Print, which keeps prying eyes away from your stuff until you are physically at the printer, and direct it to print.

Scanning was a breeze. Both out testers locally and at the structural engineering firm were able to scan and copy a variety of odd-sized documents

Conclusions
Our tester’s firm was also selected for a reason: they already had both large enterprise devices there, and a couple of deskside devices we had tried and recommended.

However, one quote from our tester sums it up best: “This is the best printer we have had here. By far. It just works very well for my needs.”

There you have it.

Pitted against enterprise-class large-format color laser printers, and against other deskside large-format printer, the HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 not only prevailed, even as a newcomer, but kicked the other similar devices to the kerb.

It is well priced, and consumables are, both for an HP printer, and an inkjet, priced rather reasonably.

Plus, it looks good!

For this and the robust specs on this device, as seen here, it is the recipient of the SmallBizWindows

Superstar Award.

It is also an automatic entrant in both the SmallBizWindows Printer of the Year and Scanner of the Year categories.

Some HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 Technical Specs (From HP.com)

• 11 x 17 inch printing
• Automatic two-sided printing, fast print speeds, and an auto document feeder help ease your day.
• Print speed ISO: 21 ppm (black); 17 ppm (color)
• Increase paper capacity to 500 sheets with the included second 250-sheet paper tray.
• Tap & swipe the smartphone-style color touchscreen for timesaving shortcuts.
• The 35-page ADF handles documents up to legal size (21.6 x 35.6 cm), so you finish duplex jobs quickly.
• Print, scan, and copy in standout color on sizes up to 11 x 17 inches (A3), for bold documents and presentations at up to 50% less cost per page than color laser.
• Fax up to 8.5 x 14 inches (21.6 x 35.6 cm).

© 2002 – 2016, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

Follow @johnobeto

Symphony Innovate 2016: Lunch with David Gurle Part III

Symphony Communications held their yearly Symphony Innovate confab last week in New York City.

I was there, and had the opportunity to sit at a private luncheon with David Gurle, founder and CEO of Symphony, and some other event attendees as guests.

The lunch rapidly turned into an impromptu Q&A session.

However, David was kind enough to graciously answer our questions.

My camera was at the ready, and I am bringing you a 5-part video series on the event.

This is Part III of the series, embedded below. Clicking on the link will take to you an ad hoc OneDrive folder from which the video will be streamed.

Video © & ℗, 2016, Blackground Media Unlimited

• Part I
• Part II
• Part IV
• Part V

© 2002 – 2016, John Obeto for Blackground Media Unlimited

Follow @johnobeto