Consumers push workplace change

15 September 2011 Last updated at 11:30 GMT Each week we ask high-profile technology decision-makers three questions.

Mark Leonard of Colt

This week it is Mark Leonard, executive vice president of the infrastructure services unit (ISU), at Colt Group.

Colt (formerly Colt Telecom) is a FTSE 250 firm founded in 1992 that provides European enterprises and wholesale customers with a resource that combines network and IT infrastructure with IT managed services, networking and communication services.

The company operates a 13-country, 25,000km network that includes metropolitan area networks in 34 major European cities with direct fibre connections into 16,000 buildings and 19 Colt data centres. One of the company's main customers is the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

What's your biggest technology problem right now?

It's a common problem, and it's faced by a lot of chief information officers, and that is what I call the rise of consumerisation.

Let me just try and define that for you a little bit better. Today employees can get better experience of IT as a consumer than they can in the office.

Perhaps your only experience of IT was in the workplace 15 years ago. Today someone can walk round to PC world, they can buy a laptop, they can buy a broadband wireless router, they can come home, the can configure it all, they can get online.

They can do everything and it's a fantastic experience. They come in for work and the monolithic structure we've built to support the corporate and provide security around it delivers a tired and clunky IT experience.

We are now deluged by users who want to bring that same experience into the workplace. And we're seeing that most typically right now by people saying, "hey, I've got a smartphone, why can't I use that at work?" Let alone an iPad or any other kind of tablet. Or, "why do I have to use a Windows PC, why can't I use a Mac?"

I think it's the response to this that is a defining moment in the industry.

What's the next big tech thing in your industry?

It's how we deal with the issue of consumerisation, and how cloud-based or elastic computing models and virtual desktop technology will enable the enterprise to overcome these issues.

In our context, we took a decision earlier this year to ask our staff what smartphone they would like to use in the office. Either a Blackberry or iPhone. And 88% of our staff said they wanted an iPhone.

We're now in the process of rolling this out to all of our staff across the 13 countries we operate in and India where we have a shared service centre.

We've also embraced consumerisation as a model, so today anyone in Colt can bring their own PC to work, and we deliver all the corporate systems in a virtual desktop. Delivered out of the cloud to our users, and we give them a payment that covers wear and tear and insurance, so we're giving them something back for bringing in their own PC.

We have some 2,000 virtual desktop users, which is two-thirds of our employees to date, and we're in the process of rolling it out to everyone else. We're also moving to a model which is slightly more complicated for people who perhaps don't have a PC yet or whose PC is an old one, we're looking at a model where we actually subsidise the individual's purchase of a computing device.

We've already seen that mature in the time we've been looking at it from laptops to a combination of a thin client terminal for use in the office, a secure solution that allows them to access it at home, and a tablet device that they can use when they're on the move.

It's quite an exciting moment in time because I think it fundamentally starts to change the way people consume their technology at work.

What's the biggest technology mistake you've ever made - either at work or in your own life?

I'll give you three answers which lead to the same route.

One I have made is believing that the technology will be ready on time, it's a common mistake and one you have to be very conscious to avoid.

I think the other common mistake is forgetting that it's only 2% about the technology and it's 98% about people. And whether that's the people who are delivering the change that comes with the technology, or the people accepting the change the technology brings, you have to factor that into the equation.

Those are mistakes that I am continually reminding myself to avoid.

The third part of that is always make sure that the requirements are captured cleanly and that they match the solution.

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Egyptians still await economic change

15 September 2011 Last updated at 23:02 GMT By Rob Young Business reporter, BBC World Service Young men and women protest in Cairo Seven months on from the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, there are protests pretty much every day.

Many of the demonstrations are political, but some are prompted by people's living standards.

Egyptians are demanding higher wages, better working conditions and more jobs.

"Life is tough," says Yasmine El Rashidi, an Egyptian author.

"On an economic level, there's been no change. If anything, it's become harder."

Food prices have been rising at a rapid rate, putting pressure on the poorest.

'Bleak' jobs outlook

The latest official data show the price of rice and sugar rose more than 10% just in one month, from June to July this year.

The price of tomatoes - essential to many Egyptian dishes - has almost doubled in a year.

Two-thirds of Egyptians are under 30 years old. It's thought about a third of them are unemployed, including many university graduates.

Many of these were the driving force behind the protests that led to the ousting of President Mubarak.

But they have not seen the increase in jobs they hoped the revolution would usher in.

Indeed, the overall unemployment rate is now higher than it was last year, standing at 11.9%.

"The short term is looking a little bit bleak," says Nada Al-Nashif from the International Labour Organisation's Lebanon office.

She advises: "There will have to be a large number of public employment schemes to get the transition going."

Tourists down

The Minister for Solidarity and Social Justice in the interim military-appointed government, Dr Gouda Abdel-Khalek, says Egyptians are right to demand more.

"They are justified, definitely. They have been waiting so long now, and they are... expecting to gain the benefits of that effort."

The price of food has risen sharply in Egypt

However, he adds: "Maybe they're a bit hasty."

The continuing unrest has had an impact on Egypt's economy.

The government has said potential foreign investors have cancelled visits because of the protests.

The all-important tourism sector, which dominated the economy before the revolution, has been hit hard.

Official data published this week suggests the number of tourists visiting the country has plunged since the beginning of the revolution.

Some 2.2 million people visited Egypt in April, May and June this year, compared with 3.5 million in the same period in 2010, according to the official Mena news agency.

Corruption campaign

However, the government says it wants to change the make-up of the economy.

Dr Gouda Abdel-Khalek describes tourism and construction as "important, but marginal sectors when it comes to employment generation and income generation and creating a multiplier effect within the economy".

He says the government will focus on agriculture and manufacturing in future.

But Dr Abdel-Khalek acknowledges that will not satisfy one of the demands of Egypt's protesting youth.

"Not everyone with a university degree will end up in a productive office job," he says.

Tourist visits have plunged

"Many Egyptians now are convinced increasingly that it's the dignity of the work you do and the income you receive that matters at the end of the day, rather than the type of job or sector where you work."

'Further uprising'

January's protesters also demanded an end to official corruption.

Many Egyptians say the country would be richer were it not for those linked to the former regime lining their pockets.

The Egyptian Initiative for the Prevention of Corruption has been set up to persuade new political parties that corruption must be punished.

Its chairman, Dr Ziad Bahaa Elddin, says all the main players agree with his ideas, but he would like things to move faster.

"The country is extremely busy with daily issues and, in a way, talking about preventing corruption in the future gets postponed a little bit," says the former head of the financial regulator.

The government is asking people to be patient.

Ms Rashidi, the author of The Battle for Egypt, warns people's patience will only last so long.

"There will come a point, just as it came in January. On some level, the Egyptian revolution is yet to happen. I think there will be further uprising," she says.

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Change Aero Color To Random Colors Automatically

10th August 2011 - Customization, Downloads, Windows, Windows 7, Windows Vista

AeroRainbow is a free portable tool that changes the aero color to random colors automatically.

Install the app and it will place three shortcuts on your desktop :

Start AeroRainbow : To start the app.AeroRainbow Settings : To change the settings of the app.
Close AeroRainbow : To close the app.

(101 KB)

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Change Your Logon Screen’s Windows Branding Logo In Windows 7 With One Click

18th March 2011 - Customization, Downloads, Windows, Windows 7

Windows 7 Logon Branding Changer is a free portable tool that allows you to change your logon screen’s Windows branding logo with one click in Windows 7.

Run the tool as administrator.

Click Load Picture.

Select the image that you want to set as your logon screen’s Windows branding logo and click Open.

Click Apply.

Now it will change your logon screen’s Windows branding logo. To view the changes either switch user or log-off.

To restore the default Windows branding logo, click Restore.

(254.81 KB)

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’100 Days to Heaven’ Still Rules Nationwide Despite Change in Primetime Line-Up of Rival Network

ABS-CBN’s primetime programs unmoved despite change in rival network’s line-up.

Patuloy pa ring umaariba sa national TV rating ang Kapamilya teleseryes na “100 Days to Heaven” at “Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin” sa kabila ng mga pagbabagong ginawa ng GMA kamakailan sa primetime line-up nito.

Pinakatinututukan pa rin ang kuwento ni Anna Manalastas sa “100 Days to Heaven” na pumalo sa average TV rating na 32.3% noong Lunes (Aug. 1) kung kailan nagsimula ang bagong lipat nitong kalabang “Amaya” na nag-rate lang ng 18.5%.

Maging ang huling katapat nito na “Captain Barbell” ay hindi rin nakapalag sa huling lipad nito noong Biyernes (July 29) at nagtapos sa rating na 20.7% kumpara sa “100 Days to Heaven” na may 30.9%.

Minahal na nga talaga ng sambayanan ang kuwento ni Anna, na ginagampanan ni Coney Reyes at Xyriel Manabat, lalo pa’t mas napapalapit na siya sa pagkumpleto sa kanyang misyon. Sa muling pagbabalik ni Anna sa lupa, taas-noo nang makakaharap si Sophia (Jodi Sta. Maria) sa kanyang mga kaopisina upang muling bawiin ang kumpanya. At may bago na namang pusong hahaplusin at buhay na babaguhin si Anna.

Tiyak pakaabangan din ng lahat ang nalalapit na pagpasok ng beteranong aktor na si Christopher De Leon at ang kontrobersyal na young actor na si Albie Casino.

Samantala, mas panalo rin sa mga manonood ang aksyon at romansang dala ng “Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin” na magpapaalam na sa loob ng dalawang linggo. Mas pinili nga ng sambayanan ang makipagbakbakan kasama si Alexander at Javier noong Lunes (Aug 1) sa average TV rating na 24.3% kaysa makipagsayawan sa mga bida ng “Time of My Life” ng GMA na nag-rate ng 17.8%.

Wala na talagang bumibitiw sa makapigil hiningang huling dalawang linggo ng MLKI lalo pa’t matapos mamaalam si Jojo (Andi Eigenmann) ay mukhang maililibing ng buhay si Alexander.

Manatiling nakatutok sa “100 Days to Heaven,” weeknights pagkatapos ng “TV Patrol” at “Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin,” weeknights pagkatapos ng “Guns and Roses” sa hindi matinag na ABS-CBN Primetime Bida.

Images courtesy of Jojit Lorenzo

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Oceanis Change Background lets you change Windows 7 Starter wallpaper

While one could change the wallpaper even in Windows 3.1, you cannot do so in Windows 7 Starter Edition. Moreover, by default, Windows 7 Home Basic edition allows you to change the desktop wallpaper only by right- clicking an image and clicking Set as desktop background.

There is this free software called Oceanis Change Background Windows 7  that lets you change the wallpaper.

After downloading and installing it, you will have to restart your computer. On restart you will be greeted with a rather amusing cartoon:

While I did install the program, I did not really try it out, but I understand that it also lets you rotate the wallpapers and create a slideshow too. If any of you do decide to try it out on your Starter Edition, please do share your experience here for the benefit of others.

Do note that Oceanis however does need to run as a process in the background in order to keep the wallpaper modified.

Download: Softonic.

You might also want to check out how you can change wallpaper in Windows 7 Starter Edition easily and Personalization Panel which allows implemention of the premium personalization features to Windows 7 Starter and Home Basic Editions too.

If you liked this article, please share it.

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