CHRISdotTODD

Replaced my Macbook with a PC

2012-05-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

For the last 4 months I've been using a Macbook at work... my first Mac since the late 90s. I did this so I could enjoy all the benefits Mac lovers rave about. Today I replaced the Macbook with a Lenovo Win7 laptop, because there were more hindrances than benefits. The funny thing, I'm not sure if it's caused by Microsoft or Apple.

Here's what I'll miss about my Macbook:

Slightly lighter weight
~~Scrolling using two-fingers on the touchpad~~ My Lenovo does that too (though not as smooth).

Here's why I gave up my Macbook:

Several features of Outlook unavailable
Date difference in Excel
No Visio or Project
Some websites require IE

So the Mac fanatics could say it's because Microsoft has purposefully lagged behind in Mac versions of their software. Microsoft people could claim it's too costly to develop for an additional platform when Windows runs on 80%+ of all desktops and laptops.

Regardless, I have a job to do and it's much easier on Windows.

Start Application on Startup on OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

2012-04-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we want programs to automatically start for us when we start our computer. For Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, it takes just a few steps.

Open System Preferences.
Look in the System section and select Accounts.
Select Login Items. You will see a list of applications already set to start when you start your Mac computer.
Find the + and - boxes below the list and select +.
Navigate to the application you want to start when you start your Mac computer, and select it.
Select the Add button.
Repeat for additional applications, and close the Accounts window when you're done.

Dates differ for Excel between Mac and Windows

2012-03-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

Who knew? The default date system in Excel for a Mac is different than that used on Windows.

I was working across spreadsheets, referencing a column from one to a column from another and my results were driving me crazy. First it appeared my results column was just not formatted for dates as I was just getting numbers. But when I changed the column to be formatted for dates, I got dates but they were off by about 4 years.

After checking my formula, which I've used countless times (Lookup values in Excel), I finally went searching and found this article, Microsoft Excel Date Systems for Windows and Mac. Sure enough, one of the spreadsheets I had created on my Mac while the other came from a Windows user.

Bottom line, Windows uses the 1900 date system while Macs use the 1904 date system. Before you create a spreadsheet you can change the date system, but if changed afterward it will also change your dates, so be careful. Read Microsoft Excel Date Systems for Windows and Mac for all the details.

Command Prompt on Right-Click

2011-12-12T11:59:00.000-08:00

In Windows XP it was fairly easy to add a link to the right-click menu in Explorer, so when clicked it would open the Command Prompt at that location. I posted a how-to in April 2008 on how to accomplish this. With the release of Windows Vista and Windows 7, the Tools >> Folder Options is no longer available, so the task required a new solution.

I've identified 3 possible alternatives:

All 3 options in use

Hold the Shift-key while right-clicking. This is built-in behavior.
Update the Registery.
1. Open the Registry by entering "regedit" at the Run prompt.
2. Navigate to the following key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell.
3. Create a new key called "Command Prompt."
4. For the default value, add the right-click menu name, such as "Open Command Prompt Here."
5. Navigate down to your new "Command Prompt" key (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\CommandPrompt).
6. Create another new key called "Command."
7. For the default value, add this command: cmd.exe /s /k pushd "%V".
Use one of many 3rd party tools, such as FileMenu Tools. FileMenu Tools will add an additional menu item when you right-click, and that subsequent menu item will open a sub-menu with many new options including the Command Prompt.

The FileMenu Tools menu

Insert Clipart causing install loop problem for MS Office apps

2011-11-29T16:07:00.001-08:00

On my work laptop, running Win7 Pro, all of my MS Office apps are all 2007 except for Visio 2003. When Visio was installed, for whatever reason the clipart was not installed. If I tried to use the clipart, it would start the install wizard, ask for a path to the install disk and eventually fail as I didn't have the disk. This is unfortunately is expected behavior.

But, when I go to insert clipart from my other Office apps, they run into a problem due to Visio. It goes through the same Microsoft Office Visio 2003 install wizard, and after failing, it will open the clipart that WAS installed for 2007.

I search for solutions, but never found one. This works for some install loop type problems, but not my specific case.

Enter one of the following using Run.... Substitute Excel, Visio, or PowerPoint for Word as necessary:

Office 2007: reg add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Word\Options /v NoReReg /t REG_DWORD /d 1
Office 2003: reg add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Word\Options /v NoReReg /t REG_DWORD /d 1

I eventually got a Visio 2003 disk, but then I ran into a new error message -- it wouldn't let me change the install path -- error 25091. This error is thanks to the tighter security in Windows 7.

To change an install path, you need to be running the application with Administrator privileges. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to right-click on the Shortcut and select "Run as administrator," I needed to find the source file. Right-clicking and opening the Properties dialog to get to the source didn't work either, as it was unavailable. I browsed to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12, right-clicked on POWERPNT.EXE and clicked "Run as administrator." From here, I tried to insert clipart again, and this time I was able to provide a path to my Visio disk and the problem has been resolved.

I'm not sure what to suggest to others that do not have a Visio 2003 disk -- someone had one (or a network install) to get it on your machine originally. Likely your IT department that originally set up your computer will be able to solve this -- assuming they're accessible.

Creating Multiple Email Profiles for Outlook

2011-11-29T08:20:00.001-08:00

Want to use Outlook to access 2 or more email accounts? By adding additional Profiles to Outlook, you can avoid multiple email clients. The upside is that you can share your archive folders across your accounts. The downside is that you can only manage one account at a time.

To add a new Profile, follow these simple steps:

Open Control Panel
Click Mail
Click the Show Profiles button
Click the Add button
Provide a Profile Name
Complete the Account Setup Wizard

Once created, you can select to be prompted for the Profile you want to open when starting Outlook or you can have it always open a specified Profile.

Once you have more than one Profile, you can force Outlook to open to a specific Profile by configuring Shortcuts for each.

Create a copy of your existing Outlook Shortcut
Right-click the new Shortcut and select Properties
On the Shortcut tab, go to the Target text box
At the end of the line (after the ending quote), add the following on the same line:
- space
- /profile
- space
- "Profile name"
  Note: the Profile name only requires quotes if there are spaces within the name.
The completed line will look similar to this: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\OUTLOOK.EXE" /profile "My New Profile"
Go to the General tab and change the Shortcut name if desired

Refer to my post, "Open additional mailboxes within Outlook," if you want to open multiple email accounts within one Outlook Profile.

Adobe Acrobat Reader update error: Error 1602

2011-11-28T10:44:00.001-08:00

I started getting this error, 1602, when attempting to complete the update request from Adobe for Acrobat Reader. I'm not a fan of PDF files, and use FoxIt in most cases as an alternate PDF Reader, but sometimes I still need Adobe Acrobat Reader.

I discovered that the cause can easily be solved by deleting the 'ARM' folder within the Acrobat Reader program files. You can find the 'ARM' folder within \Adobe\Acrobat\x.x\ where x.x is the version number. The location of \Adobe\Acrobat\x.x\ will vary based on your version of Windows. For XP users it's contained within C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ while Vista and Win7 users will find it within C:\ProgramData\.

Once you delete the 'ARM' folder, on the next update attempt everything should work as expected.

Odd Behavior When Moving an Application Window within Windows 7

2011-11-07T13:54:00.000-08:00

Windows 7 has a nice feature where using the Windows key + the right- or left-arrow button you can move an application window to be maximized on half the screen. Recently I noticed that when I tried going right, it wouldn't cover the last 1/6th or so of the screen -- it was as if that portion of the screen didn't exist. I could still drag a window over to the edge, but even while dragging I would get some odd behaviors.

It turned out the problem started when I installed Pidgin (2.6.5) instant messaging client. My particular version came with 1 plug-in already enabled which was causing this weird behavior. The plug-ins can be found at Tools >> Plugins (or CTRL-U). The culprit was "Windows Pidgin Options 2.6.5." Once disabled, the windowing (Windows key + the right- or left-arrow button) movement again operated as expected.

Create an Outlook Template

2011-11-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

Do you find yourself having to send the same message over and over again? With Outlook Templates you can save yourself from having to recreate the same message. Further, it can help to make sure your messages are consistent. It's actually quite easy to do.

Create the Template

Start with a new blank message.
Write the message.
Add a subject. (optional)
Add recipients if you like. (optional)
Select Office Button >> Save As...
Change the Save as Type to Outlook Template (*.oft).
Name the file and click Save.

Use the Template

Go to Tools >> Forms >> Choose Form...
From the Look In drop-down, select User Templates in File System.
Select your template and click Open.
Make any last minute changes, add/remove recipients and Send.

Digital Signatures in PDF Do Not Print

2011-10-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

Trouble getting the digital signature in a PDF to print? The solution is actually simpler than you might think.

With your document open in Adobe Acrobat Reader, click File >> Print.
When the Print dialog box opens, look for the "Comments and Forms:" drop-down below the Properties button, located in the upper-right.
Click the drop-down and select "Document and Markups."
Now print.

That's all there is to it.

iTunes was unable to load provider data from Sync Services. Reconnect or try again later.

2011-10-13T21:37:00.000-07:00

If you're experiencing this problem, "iTunes was unable to load provider data from Sync Services. Reconnect or try again later," perhaps the fix I found will work for you too.

At the time of the error, I was running iTunes 10.4.1.10 on Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit OS. I had just starting using iTunes again to sync with my iPhone 4. It had been nearly 2 years since I had used it with an iPhone -- the original.

Try these steps to correct the problem:

Eject / disconnect your all iTunes devices (iPhones, iPods, etc)
Close iTunes
Open Task Manager and kill the Sycservices process
Rename the "C:\Users\[your user name]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\SyncServices" folder.
DO NOT delete the folder, because if this doesn't solve it or causes other problems you can always return to this older version of the folder.
Restart iTunes
Re-attach your device

This worked for me. Let me know how it worked for you.

Add shared folders to your VMware VM

2011-08-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

Having a few different VMs, but unable to edit them due to not having VMware Workstation can be a hassle. But if you understand the configuration file, *.vmx, and the available options you can actually change up quite a few things. The latest for me was adding a shared folder, so i could get some files from the Host to the VM.

Even though I'm using Windows, the Ubuntus Sharing blog had an article the helped me. With the following lines, I shared the C and E drives, with E being Read Only.

isolation.tools.hgfs.disable = "FALSE"

sharedFolder.maxNum = "2"

sharedFolder0.present = "TRUE"
sharedFolder0.enabled = "TRUE"
sharedFolder0.readAccess = "TRUE"
sharedFolder0.writeAccess = "TRUE"
sharedFolder0.hostPath = "C:\"
sharedFolder0.guestName = "C"
sharedFolder0.expiration = "never"

sharedFolder1.present = "TRUE"
sharedFolder1.enabled = "TRUE"
sharedFolder1.readAccess = "TRUE"
sharedFolder1.writeAccess = "FALSE"
sharedFolder1.hostPath = "E:\"
sharedFolder1.guestName = "E"
sharedFolder1.expiration = "never"

"isolation.tools" was the command that enabled shared folders, while the other entries defined what was shared. I believe the settings are self explanatory.
If you want to learn more, sanborrow.com has an explanation of many of the VMX file parameters. If you want to create a new VMX file, try sanborrow.com VMX Builder.

Add a network adapter to your VMware VM

2011-08-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

I recently downloaded 5 VMs from a cloud service my company is using, and 4 of them couldn't create a network connection. I discovered that the 4 that failed had named network connections for their network adapters, and that it required VMware Workstation to change (which I didn't have).

Through some research and help from others I discovered that additional network adapters could be added to an existing VM by editing its *.vmx file with a text editor such as Notepad. As noted in Step 2 of Jesin's Blog post, "Adding Custom Network Adapter in VMware Player", you can added a few lines to the end of the file to add the new network adapter.

I didn't follow Step 1, which is defining another network card on the Host, I just modified the file to use the existing network card. The key is to reference the next available network card in the VM and the network card reference in your Host. I did use the VMware Network Editor (vmnetcfg.exe), which came with the VMware Workstation trial, to identify the VMnetwork name (VMnet0) on my PC (the Host). I suspect if you're running this on a PC, yours will also have the same name (VMnet0).
Here's my entry:

ethernet1.present = "TRUE" ethernet1.virtualDev = "vmxnet" ethernet1.startConnected = "TRUE" ethernet1.connectionType = "custom" ethernet1.vnet = "VMnet0"

Be sure you add it to the end of the file, and replace ethernet1 with the appropriate value if there's already 2 or more network adapters defined (starts at 0).
Once the file has been updated, run the VM with VMware Player. If it doesn't immediately recognize the new adapter and connect the network, then restart the VM OS and it should recognize the new adapter.

Remove Outlook 2007 Add-Ins

2011-08-09T08:20:00.000-07:00

In Outlook 2003 you needed to go to Tools | Options >> Other >> Advanced Options >> Add-In Manager... and COM Add-ins...; Close and Re-open Outlook to remove various Add-ins. Unfortunately if you try that in Outlook 2007 you wont find the same choices.

In Outlook 2007 go to Tools | Trust Center... >> Add-ins and you can see what Add-ins are installed, and of those which are active and which are inactive. Select COM Add-ins in the Manage drop-down and click Go.... The COM Add-Ins screen will pop-up. Uncheck the Add-Ins you want to disable (check those you want to enable). When you are completed, click OK. Close and Re-open Outlook for the changes to take affect.

Once you're satisfied that by disabling your Add-in, there was no negative effect, you can return to delete the Add-ins. Go back to Tools | Trust Center... >> Add-ins >> COM Add-ins (Go...). From the Comm Add-Ins screen, select the Add-in you want to delete and click the Remove button.

Free Photoshop file viewer

2011-08-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

With the high cost of Photoshop, I don't have it on every computer I use. This can be an inconvenience when I simply want to view some (Photoshop) PSD files. With the Free File Viewer utility, I can now preview PSDs without having Photoshop installed. Free File Viewer will also allow you to view many other file formats including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, DivX, and FLV.

One note of caution, during the install you will be offered several other software "deals." It's likely you will want to decline each of those.

Buying a new computer? My computer recommendation

2011-07-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

A friend recently asked for a recommendation on buying a new computer. Admittedly I'm not near up on hardware as I once was. With that in mind, I knew my recommendation would be better than what he could do on his own.

Here's what he asked:

I need to get something sound & reasonable to replace it. Our needs have changed since last purchase and we are looking for something with lot's of room for photos & music along with some games my wife likes, (mostly puzzles & sim games, not huge graphics with blood & guts) , just basics.

And my reply:

I usually buy low-end PCs, and they've worked fine for 3 to 5 years.
First some guidelines:
Always understand what you want to accomplish first (which you've explained).
Buy something that you can get help when needed, which typically means avoid Apple despite the buzz.
Buy feature and function over brand. For example, I've bought many eMachines over the years, and they've done fine.
If you have extra budget then spend it on a bigger monitor/screen first, followed by more memory (RAM).
If you end up buying a laptop, be sure you're comfortable with the keyboard.
Warranties are not really worth it for low-end ($500 or less), while seriously consider it if you're buying a laptop.
Here's what I'd shop for:
19" to 24" inch computer screen (they should all be wide-screen these days). It should be digital input (square connector pins or HDMI). Digital input is likely your only choice, but just to be sure.
I've been happy with my ViewSonic and Samsung, but that doesn't mean others don't work as well.
Intel i5 (or i7) processor.
4GB of RAM memory (ideally expandable to 16GB, but even 8GB would be ok)

Video output has become difficult to recommend. Likely and Intel 2000, 3000, or Sandy-bridge (part of the processor) are sufficient.
Most important is the output works with the input of your computer screen.

750GM (or greater) hard drive
DVD±RW/CD-RW drive
Built-in 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Built-in high-speed wireless LAN (802.11b/g/n) -- required for a laptop; optional for desktop,depending on where it will be located compared to modem
Ideally 4 or more USB ports, with 2 on front, but not a deal breaker.

Windows Home Premium would be fine, so don't pay extra for Pro or Ultimate
Other recommendations:
Be sure to add anti-virus, immediately -- do not go anywhere on the Internet without it.
Many folks will try to sell you something, but free solutions such as Avast, AVG, or Kaspersky work just as well (I've used Avast http://www.avast.com/ for years). It would be safe to go directly to Avast's website, but don't go to others without your anti-virus.

Invest in a backup solution for your picture and music.
Either an extra external hard drive or an Internet service such as Carbonite (http://www.carbonite.com). Your ISP (Comcast, Qwest, etc.) may offer a service too. Be sure to invest the time to have it auto-backup daily or weekly -- you can leave your computer on overnight and have it run when you're not using it.
Make sure Windows is set to auto-update.
Highly recommend using Firefox (http://www.mozilla.com) or Chrome (http://www.google.com/chrome) as your main browser -- not Internet Explorer -- as they typically have much better security.

Your feedback and input is welcome.

Using the Windows key in Windows 7

2011-06-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

With the release of Windows 7, there are new keyboard shortcuts to learn (as I'm sure some actually came in Vista). One day I'll duplicate the shortcuts cheatsheet I had created for Windows XP, but in the mean time, here are a couple that I've started using.

Toggle through open windows
Most of us are familiar with Alt-Tab to toggle through your open windows, and Alt-Shift-Tab to toggle in reverse order. Some of us used an add-on to XP to display a thumbnail of the window as you toggle. With the familiar Alt-Tab in Windows 7 you now see thumbnails without the add-on. But if you want to see a bit more detail of what's contained within each window, try Windows key-Tab and Windows key-Shift-Tab to get a better view of the windows as you toggle through them.Set window position
Using the Windows key with the arrow buttons allows you to position the active window on the screen. This works great when you want to view two windows simultaneously. Click on the window you want on the left, then press Window key-Left arrow. Repeat if necessary until the window takes up the left side of the screen. Repeat with the window you want on the right and using the Right arrow button.

Reset Chumby One

2011-05-23T09:10:00.001-07:00

I had a recent issue with my Chumby, and I couldn't get it back on the network. It took me two steps to get it working again: resetting the Chumby and then manually reconfiguring the network information. Here's how to do a Chumby One Reset:

Power off (disconnect power).
Press and hold the touch-screen with your finger.
A message appears, telling you to continue to hold if you want to get to the Special Options. Continue to hold -- it takes a while.
When you finally reach Special Options, release your finger.
Select Restore Factory Settings.
Confirm OK.

Is LastPass and othe software secure?

2011-05-08T09:42:00.000-07:00

With the recent security scare with LastPass, some may fear that it's less secure than RoboForm or other password managers. In fact though we have no evidence that indicates it's less secure. Even if data is compromised, it still doesn't mean it was less secure -- it just indicates that it was the target of an attack.
Every time we install software on our computers, we're making an assumption that the software is secure. Unfortunately we can never know if software is truly secure; we only know of reports that indicate software has been tested and no security issues have been detected.
So the real decision on security should not be one based security tests. Rather you need to ask these questions. Is it in the companies best interest to take security seriously and devote resources to it (and have they)? What's the likeliness that they would be a target of attacks? If attacked, are they prepared to respond?
Take for example Microsoft Windows vs. Apple OSX. With the many attacks against Windows, it has become a much more secure OS and likely much more secure OS than OSX, as Microsoft has continually worked to close the security issues as they're identified. On the other hand, many folks have opted for Macs with OSX because it has not been near the target Windows has.
Bottom line, we can assume companies do their best to make secure software, but even with the most respected and trusted companies you should never take that as an indication that your data is secure in their software forever.

Recent Items in Windows 7 Greyed Out

2011-04-05T08:15:00.001-07:00

I recently got a new Windows 7 machine, and when I tried to use Recent Items, there was nothing listed. Worse, when I went to configure it... it was set at 0, it was greyed out and I could make any changes.

As it turns out, there's any easy fix for this.

Go to the Properties dialog: Click Start | Right-click and select Properties
Go to the Start Menu tab
Click the two check boxes within the Privacy section (items and programs)
Click Apply
Click the Customize button
At the bottom of the dialog you can now adjust the number of items to display as well as the recent programs.

IE 9 Menu and Status Bars

2011-03-03T14:50:00.000-08:00

In IE 9, the Menu and Status Bars are missing. In most cases, you can hit Alt and the Menu Bar displays. From here under the View Menu you can enable the Status Bar. In some cases, you may have an Add-On that intercepts the Alt key, so you have no access to the Menu Bar.

If you can identify and disable the Add-On, then you can once again access the Menu Bar when necessary.

For some of us, we either do not want to disable our Add-On and/or we want the Menu Bar to always to display. With a few Registry entries, you can do just that.

Launch Regedit (Run: regedit)
Find the following key:" HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft"
Right-click Microsoft and create a new Key
Name the new Key "Internet Explorer"
Right-click your new Key (Internet Explorer) and create a new Key
Name this new Key "Main"
Right-click the "Main" key and create a new DWORD
Name the new DWORD "AlwaysShowMenus"
Set the value of the new DWORD (AlwaysShowMenus) to 1
Restart Internet Explorer

Now the Menu Bar should always display.

Capture section of the screen with Office 2007

2011-02-06T11:31:00.001-08:00

When I installed Office 2007, I was a bit disappointed to see a new Microsoft app installed without me realizing -- OneNote. It put OneNote in the system tray, with it running all the time. Further, it seemed very difficult to not have it auto-start and/or uninstall. I eventually explored OneNote a bit, and found one feature in particular I really like.

Simply hit Win+S and you get a cursor to capture a region of the screen. The screen capture is saved to the clipboard, making it easy to paste into whatever application you may have open.

You also have the option to have the screen capture save to a new unfiled OneNote, and either display the image or keep the focus on the current application.

Other OneNote features include an audio recorder. You can also change the default settings for when you click the OneNote icon, including clicking to open the screen capture function.

So I'm still not happy with how it installed itself, but I am happy to have discovered the screen capture application portion of OneNote.

Greasemonkey and Salesforce.com

2011-01-31T15:04:00.000-08:00

Updated March 7, 2011: I discovered you can also install the same scripts into Chrome. Chrome supports user scripting without the need for Greasemonkey.

I've been somewhat familiar with Greasemonkey, but I never thought I had a real need. Greasemonkey is a Firefox Add-in allows you to customize the way a web page displays or behaves with JavaScript. A common use is to add download options to YouTube videos, such as with YouTube Video Download.

Today I discovered 2 scripts for Salesforce.com that make administering Salesforce.com just a little easier. The first removes the click needed to display the menu that is displayed under your name. Most commonly used when you want to go to the Setup screen. With Salesforce.com Setup and Apps Hover Links, by just hovering over your name, the menu expands. It's simple, but quite nice.

The second script is quite powerful. Setup Enhancer for Salesforce will add a search box above the setup menu, making it considerably easier to find what you're looking for. It was this script that won me over, realizing there were benefits to be had using Greasemonkey.

There are many, many more scripts available at userscripts.org.

2011 Tech Predictions

2011-01-10T13:44:00.001-08:00

If you've been following me, you know I've made predictions in 2009 and 2010. While my first years predictions were rather light, I made 5 predictions as well as included further discussion of issues with my 2010 prediction. My record for 2010 wasn't so good, but that's only in a pure hit or miss view. In fact the subject matters I addressed, I believe were quite good, but change just didn't happen as quick as I had thought. See my recap post for further details and analysis on my 2010 predictions.

Now that 2011 has started, I'll make another stab at what I believe will happen in the tech industry this year.

This first one is rather easy... Facebook will release an email client, putting them in direct competition with Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo! mail. The current email within Facebook is limited in functionality, but in 2011 this will change as Facebook continues to look for ways to grow and grab more "eyeballs."
Last year I predicted Internet Explorer market share as reported by MarketShare would drop below 50%. While they are still at 57%, I still believe this is going to happen, just a year later. Further though, I believe Chrome is going to pass Firefox as the #2 web browser. Why? Firefox's early adoption was done by tech enthusiasts, and we now see more and more of them adopting Chrome. Further the adoption of Android OS in the mobile and new tablet space puts Chrome in the hands of more users. This, combined with the popularity of Apple's Safari should be enough to drop Internet Explorer finally below 50%, while Chrome will move to the number 2 spot. Unfortunately for the Opera faithful, they'll stay in the number 5 position.
I believe this is finally the year that Verizon gets the iPhone. With that in mind, it will have even further impact on Sprint and T-Mobile's businesses. To combat Verizon and AT&T, I believe Sprint and T-Mobile will come up with some type of partnership. While their 3G technologies are different, they're going to have to come up with a joint (true) 4G type solution. This may be a joint technology investment (more long-term) or selling handsets that work with both carriers (more immediate). One way or another, Sprint and T-Mobile need to find some creative solutions to compete with Verizon and AT &T.
The net neutrality and network management issues will continue to be a problem in 2011. At a minimum, we're going to see the FCC rules established in Dec 2010 are not going to be enough to settle the ongoing issues. With this being a hot political issue and a lot of money being pumped into lobbyists coming from Comcast, AT&T, and the like, I think even the new FCC rules will be challenged, further risking net neutrality for the consumer.

Here are a few other nuggets to consider as we go into 2011. With the optimism for an improved economic situation in 2011 and the growth in mobile and tablet technology, I would expect to continue to see exciting growth in the technology field. In particular, green and 3D technologies will continue to improve as R&D budgets for these two fields will grow.

Unfortunately, it's not all optimistic for the consumer. Despite the lowering costs for wholesale bandwidth, I believe we (the U.S. consumer) will continue to have to pay more for our data access (home/broadband and mobile) than other places in the world. NetIndex.com has some great data that compares costs vs. service. For example, the U.S. ranks #15 in the world for relative cost per Megabit downloaded and actual cost puts us at #20.

That concludes my tech predictions for 2011. Share you own predictions and/or let me know where you think I'm right and wrong.

2010 Tech Predictions - Recap

2011-01-10T13:14:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of 2010, I made some tech predictions as well as discussed some other technology issues. Here I will summarize how well I did with my predictions. In a nutshell, most did not come to pass, but the issues remain, so you could say I was just early.

Amazon will adopt the ePub format for the Kindle. While Amazon has gotten a lot of pressure on the hardware side, their software version of the Kindle for other devices has kept them in the drivers seat for eReaders. With that position, they had no reason to add the ePub format.
The iPhone will be on Verizon. This same prediction was made by many, and we still haven't seen it. Of course the rumors is alive that Verizon will get the iPhone this year. Look for my 2011 predictions to hear my position on this.
Significant data loss/corruption on a Cloud platform. I couldn't find any evidence that this occurred. While in some cases there may have been a loss of service, it appears there were no data issues reported.
Internet Explorer's market share will drop below 50%. MarketShare reports IE at 57.08% from 62.69%. Perhaps the many new Windows 7 PC sold in 2010 helped Microsoft stay above 50%.
Microsoft will buy Palm. I was right that Palm would be purchased, but the buyer was not Microsoft, rather it was HP.

Some of the other issues I had discussed, included net neutrality and network management. In 2010 we saw this issue heat up further, with some rules passed in December by the FCC, though I still don't believe the general public knows about this or the implications. Interestinly enough, the sale of NBC/Universal to Comcast has also not gone through either, which is directly related to the conflict of interest and net neutrality created by data delivery owners being content owners too.

Also of ongoing debate and issue is the generic top-level-domain names (gTLD). While we have seen the adoption of a new gTLDs policy by ICANN, CAMDA (Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse) has sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Cliff Stearns (R-FL), to review ICANNs gTLD policy. Among other arguments, CMADA's letter estimates, "...that defensive registrations in new generic TLDs alone will cost businesses upwards of $746 million. "

To conclude, other than HP buying Palm instead of Microsoft, I think the issues I predicted and discussed a year ago are still real and very likely to occur in some form.