Month: September 2011

September 2nd, 2011 - Nothing unreal exists

My son and I have watched Star Trek all summer on Netflix streaming — the original series, the Next Generation, Voyager — plus all the movies. We've still got a long way to go, but as we go along, I notice he's turning into a mini-geek Sci-Fi, enjoying himself and even quoting lines from the shows.

My favourite is this line by Spock from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

Nothing unreal exists.

Pondering that, I realized how much science fiction had affected my life philosophy. While others might quote from the Bible or the Qu'ran or Torah, I can quote lines from the Bene Gesserit Litany against Fear (Frank Herbert's Dune).

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is a little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone, there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

Yeah! I love sci-fi.

Multi-Platform is a Feature

David Sparks writes out loud about something I've thought about since I got both an iPad and an iPhone. Most of the apps I use on my Mac, iPad and iPhone were chosen because I can use or sync information between the devices. I want to be able to pick up any one of my devices and get "work" done. Apple's iCloud strategy is a really a mobility strategy that I think most enterprises could embrace1.

With iCloud, there is no secret incantation, retina scan, or hacking involved. Your data just is. No longer will you have to consider whether the right folder is synced to the right app. Work on one device. Turn it off. Work on another device and pick up where you left off.

  1. Ubiquitous data sync/access scares the crap out of command and controls corporate IT environments. However, an enterprise rights data management strategy could mitigate most of the risks. ↩