Day 2 @ #31c3 at 31C3 (31st Chaos Communication Congress)
Month: December 2014
Case Study – Google Apps for Business
While working at the international agency network Scholz & Friends, I implemented Google Apps as a SaaS business solution within the entire network across various locations all over Europe for 1200 users in 2010.
Google created a case study with Scholz & Friends and published it on their success stories page dedicated to the German market in 2011. Among other clients such as GE, Genentech, Qype, Radio.de, Salesforce and myTaxi, Scholz & Friends is one of the most prominent customers.
The case study can be found in a PDF named “Erfolgreiche Kreation dank zukunftsfähiger Technologie: Scholz & Friends nutzt Google Apps for Business”
Google has not yet shown they are truly serious.
Google has not yet shown they are truly serious. From the outside, they are an advertising company.
Julia White, a general manager in Microsoft’s business division speaking to The New York Times on the threat of Google Apps.
This quote will probably come back to bite her and Microsoft (as usual). While all eyes are on Microsoft’s fumblings within the Windows Division, far more important is the Office Division, since it’s the company’s largest money-maker. Conventional wisdom holds that this is and will remain a stronghold for Microsoft. But as Quentin Hardy suggests, the walls are showing some very real signs of weakness.
I haven’t used Office in years. I use Google Apps on a daily basis. I can’t see kids asking their parents to buy them Office for their new MacBooks. Maybe some get it bundled with PCs, but will any of them use it on a regular basis? Whoever wins the colleges will win the war. And I wouldn’t bet against Google in the long term.
(via parislemon)
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Over the past few years I haven’t used Microsoft Office even if my company provided me with a licence. There is nothing I need, that couldn’t be done with Google Apps. In regards to presentations, I admit Apple’s Keynote is still far superior but it comes free with every new Mac.
As stated above, I am also convinced that whoever dominates the educational market, will be on the upside in the end. From my perspective it seems to be Google, by far.
I ditched Facebook comments on Tumblr…
Why? Because they don’t really work. Especially on mobile devices, they don’t really provide an easy to use interface. So, I am back to Disqus, although I am not quite sure if this is the way to go.
Anyway, let’s see where it leads.
My unique and limited edition “Rock of Ages” pillow
My unique and limited edition “Rock of Ages” pillow (1/1), handmade of course…
Partners – Google for Work
Google just introduced the updated partner program for “Google for Work” which will be rolled out in early 2015:
In order to meet the needs of customers moving to the cloud, and a new generation of partners, we’re updating our partner program. Our existing programs across Apps, Chrome, Cloud Platform, Maps and Search will fuse into one Google for Work and Education Partner Program. The new program allows partners to better sell, service and innovate across the Google for Work and Education suite of products and platforms.
Source: Introducing the Google for Work & Education Partner Program, December 4 2014
I am really looking forward to the new partner model. It seems to simplify the today’s rather complex partner structure for Google Apps, Google Maps, Google Cloud and Google Education. The future program will differentiate between three tracks: sales, services and technology and just 2 program tiers.
Being a passionate Google Apps for Work evangelist, I hope this will innervate the Google cloud business internationally and especially in Germany.
So, I am excited for the future and look forward to the details of the program.
Why my iPhone 6 Plus won’t replace my iPad Mini after all
Personally, I was absolutely certain I would buy the iPhone 6 when I went to the Apple Store a few months back. For sure, I didn’t want a bulky mini tablet for a phone… so iPhone 6 Plus was out of the question.
When I first tried the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, they both seemed huge in comparison to my outdated iPhone 5S. None of the two I could operate with one hand, reachability feature or not.
For comparison, I tried different apps on both sizes, played with the horizontal mode on the iPhone 6 Plus (a nice gimmick, I might add) and thought about things like battery life and so forth. I couldn’t try Apple Pay, since it wasn’t available yet and probably won’t be for some time in Germany. Although I was pretty impressed by the fact that the iPhone 6 Plus has a full HD resolution display with 1920 by 1080 pixels at 401 dpi, the deciding factor for me was: reading.
I never enjoyed reading any long text whatsoever on any iPhone before. I know many people do, I don’t. No longer – with the iPhone 6 Plus, I could actually read books, I like that. So now, here I am, with my iPhone 6 Plus.
My iPad Mini has been pretty lonely ever since. I used it for reading books and playing games, that’s basically it. I did use it for work and really liked the whole management by iPad stuff, but somehow that changed over the past 2 years. I am not quite sure, whether it is that the Google Apps for Work applications suck or that a 13″ Macbook Pro with retina display can do everything a Macbook Air never could.
Anyway, I decided I won’t be needing any iPad Mini anymore. This definitely justified the investment in the iPhone 6 Plus.
For the reading part, this has been great. The iPad Mini is heavy, the iPhone 6 Plus is not. I like to read in bed, so this is awesome. I have read quite some books on my new best friend, rest assured.
But, there is one more thing that always sucked on an iPhone and didn’t suck that much on an iPad and now I miss it: using a browser.
This goes for any website our there: I really can’t stand shitty mobile UI any more! I want to use the desktop site (with often shitty UI as well) with all its limitation unless there really is a superior mobile interface available. For absolutely most sites, there isn’t. Yes I know, on some sites you can switch to the desktop site, but you can’t enforce this as a default behaviour on Safari or Chrome. This is a real pain and I can hardly stand it when I am on the go and there is no real alternative because of the limited number of devices on me… but wait, there could be: the iPad Mini.
So in the end, I might end up using the iPad Mini again after all, sitting on the couch, enjoying a superior browsing experience.
The reason why I didn’t think of this, standing in the Apple Store, trying the iPhone 6 Plus? I was on the go and mentally accustomed to a shitty internet experience, that’s why.