Nathan Laan

I've worked on a few projects lately in which most or all of the team was situated remotely and I've noticed something interesting about the way things get done. A single day on a typical project in which the team is working locally might involve several short meetings but it typically also involves a significant amount of what I would call "local communication". This is the kind of communicaton where team member turn and talk to each other or yell across the room or stand up and talk over cubicle walls for a quick minute or two, usually just to clarify some small point or figure out...

Here is a video from Google explaining Google Chrome OS. Obviously this OS isn't going to be for everyone, but as a Netbook OS this might be pretty compelling. Here is a demo of Google Chrome OS:...

Here is a video demonstrating the Microsoft Courier Tablet . This device looks very interesting, although, curiously, I don't see any onscreen keyboard being demoed. Also, while I think this device could be very interesting and useful (and it's not even official let alone released) I don't see how this device ties into other Microsoft devices and initiatives. I'm just not sure where they would or even could go with this.

Microsoft Security Essentials , the new Antivirus, Malware, and Spyware protection application from (obviously) Microsoft, just came out of beta. I've been using this for a while on my Windows 7 laptop and Windows Vista desktop, and it works great. It's absolutely a first class product, and, in my opinion, it should come on every Windows PC.

The future of computing as I see it centers around mobility. The computing device that I am waiting for is a phone-sized device with the power of a current desktop computer that I am able to carry with me everywhere I go. When I am mobile this device would function as my phone, web, and email client, utilizing a touch-screen interface, much like the interface provided by the iPhone. When I am at work or in my home office, this device would connect to a dock (or via wireless) and the user interaction would take place via more traditional keyboard, mouse, and monitor input and output. The device...

I picked up an iPhone 3GS last week, and spent a few hours trying to figure out how to access my EDS email on the iPhone using the Exchange support built in to the iPhone Mail client. Here is what I've learned so far. EDS currently allows syncing Microsoft Exchange with iPhones (and any other SmartPhones AFAIK), although I've been told that it's "unsupported", meaning you must resolve any technical issues yourself. Fair enough. Before you can begin configuring the iPhone, you must complete the following steps: Login to the Gemini EDS Services web site on the EDS intranet. Select your...

You can never win an argument by walking away from it. This seems obvious, but it occurred to me while reading Eric Sink's latest arcticle . I often see my own son walk away from situations where he isn't getting what he wants. Of course, he's only two, so he usually immediately finds something else to his liking and forgets what else he wanted in the first place :-)