Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Is a phone still a phone?

We were out to dinner with my Mom, My wife and sister were there.  We also had a younger relative with us.  At the end of the meal my Mom pulled a calculator from her purse to figure out the amount for a tip.  The young relative looked at the calculator and was amazed to see such a thing.  Why carry that?  My Mom said she always carried it so she could calculate tips and amounts for her checkbook.  Earlier we had talked about how my Mom had to get some film developed from her camera.  It was a funny moment, and one which my Sister wrapped up by stating that all these devices (calculator, camera, checkbook) the rest of us all had on our phones... and more.  One of the only things I don’t do much on my phone anymore is talk on it. I check my email, look up websites, check movie times, deposit checks or transfer money in my bank accounts, and on and on.  

We now do just about everything on our phone.  Soon it could be the only computing device you ever need.  I mean that, keep reading.

Recently I saw this notice come across.  http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ubuntu-edge

Ubuntu is an operating system if you don’t know.  You know, like Windows or Apple’s OSX.  Ubuntu uses Linux as the core and the OS is free.  And apparently they want to do a phone.  Why not.  Microsoft, Apple and Google all have phone Operating Systems so why not Ubuntu based.  There are other phone OS as well.  The thing that Ubuntu is talking about however is that they want their device to be a phone at some points but also have a Desktop mode if you plug it into a full size monitor.

This could very well mean you will only have one computing device and it will be with you at all times.  It will be what you need it to be.  When you are at work it can even be your work computer.  Now that piece can become complicated.  Those of us who have been Network Administrators for a long time will need to have a little more control over the core corporate applications than what this may seem to allow.

No real worries though.  At my company, Ashmar Inc. we have a new initiative we call Pure Computing Plus.  Plus is about virtualizing the entire corporate network so that all the critical controls are in place, all the security concerns are dealt with and the business continuity is addressed.  Everything is solved.  And the beauty is that the Virtual network can be accessed by any device you desire.  It doesn’t even have to be a company controlled device, in fact many people who use a Virtual Network have implemented a policy called BYOD– Bring Your Own Device.  So if you were a customer of Ashmar’s Pure Computing Plus and you wanted to have a phone that includes a desktop mode then you would have no problems.  

Ubuntu has announced this but I’m sure we will see others do exactly the same thing.  Your next phone may well be all you need to accomplish anything you want to do on a computer.  And that can include your business computing as well.

Absolutely Amazing.

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