Don't Get Left Behind Waiting for Mobile WiMax

I've told a few people already that I see WiMax as a lot of 'hot air', and I DON'T mean literally. So it was good to see the following comparison between WiFi Mesh and WiMax from Strix Systemstoday:

Wireless operators worldwide are already taking advantage of WiFi Mesh to deliver true wireless broadband today.

Here are the top reasons you should take advantage of WiFi Mesh today:

* WiFi Mesh represents a major revenue opportunity and architectural shift for carriers, service providers, and cellular operators in terms of high-value, high-bandwidth services.
* WiFi Mesh networks are already deployed with proven and scalable high performance delivering mobile voice, video, and data applications extending hundreds of miles.
* WiFi Mesh is future proof. WiFi rates that exceed 100 Mbps will become available in 2008 with 802.11n, a legitimate alternative to wireline capabilities.
* WiMAX promises only 20 Mbps or less shared throughput over a large number of subscribers
* WiFi Mesh is already in use today for critical public safety, emergency services, and Department of Homeland Security applications.
* WiFi Mesh is capable of supporting high-speed transportation applications exceeding speeds of 180 Mph.
* There have been more than 20 million WiFi handsets and dual-mode smartphones sold worldwide in just the first quarter of 2007 compared to virtually no WiMax devices. Some analysts predict that the number of WiFi handsets and dual-mode phones will reach 100 million by year-end 2007 and the much anticipated iPhone is expected to accelerate the demand in mobile WiFi access.

By the time mobile WiMax even rolls out officially, operators will already have a large installed base of WiFi customers... Can you afford to be left behind?

Yeah!Fi Great Quote #1

"Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense." - Winston Churchill

Are You A Psychopath?

In my last post I talked about my recent experiences with 'Snakes in Suits'.

But how do you identify a psychopath?

"Likeable," "Charming," "Intelligent," "Alert," "Impressive," "Confidence-inspiring," and "A great success with the ladies": These are the sorts of descriptions repeatedly used by Cleckley in his famous case-studies of psychopaths. They are also, of course, "irresponsible," "self-destructive," and the like. These descriptions highlight the great frustrations and puzzles that surround the study of psychopathy.

Psychopaths seem to have in abundance the very traits most desired by normal persons. The untroubled self-confidence of the psychopath seems almost like an impossible dream and is generally what "normal" people seek to acquire when they attend assertiveness training classes. In many instances, the magnetic attraction of the psychopath for members of the opposite sex seems almost supernatural.

Cleckley's seminal hypothesis concerning the psychopath is that he suffers from a very real mental illness indeed: a profound and incurable affective deficit. If he really feels anything at all, they are emotions of only the shallowest kind. He does bizarre and self-destructive things because consequences that would fill the ordinary man with shame, self-loathing, and embarrassment simply do not affect the psychopath at all. What to others would be a disaster is to him merely a fleeting inconvenience.

(Ray, J. J. and J. A. B. Ray, 'Some apparent advantages of Subclinical Psychopathy', The Journal of Social Psychology, 1982, 117, 135-142. Thanks to the commenter for pointing out the correct source)
Also have a look at Kubrick's Psychopaths.

Here's the really scary part: 4% of the adult population suffer from psychopathy...

More in my next post on how these individuals drain our relationships, our bank accounts, our accomplishments, our self-esteem, our very peace on earth. And what to do about it.

Snakes in Suits

I've had the great misfortune the last few months to deal with some unbelievably unethical 'businessmen'.

I really struggled to understand the motivation for why otherwise intelligent beings would lie, steal and cheat when this clearly was not to their own longterm benefit.

Today I started reading Paul Babiak and Robert Hare's 'Snakes in Suits - When Psychopaths Go to Work'. Here's an excerpt that already goes a long way to explain it:

Most workers are honest, loyal, law-abiding citizens, concerned with making a living, contributing to society, and raising a family in a fair and just world. Others, though, are more selfish, concerned only about themselves with little regard for fairness and equity.

...

Some who have faltered may have experienced a weakened moral sense of "right" in the face of excessive temptation and easy access to power. Others may feel justified in reaping the rewards in proportion to the size of the organization they lead, arguing that their extravagances seem excessive only to those who have little hope of being so rewarded. Still others have embraced the self-serving mantras that "greed is good" and that success at any cost to others is justifiable and even desirable.

But another group exists, one whose behaviors and attitudes are potentially much more destructive to the organization and its employees than those noted above who are motivated by greed or big egos. This group, the subject of this book, displays a personality disorder rooted in lying, manipulation, deceit, egocentricity, callousness, and other potentially destructive traits. This personality disorder, one of the first to be described in the psychiatric literature, is psychopathy.

...

Some people with psychopathic personalities are in prison because of their crimes against people and property. Others are in prison for committing economic or white-collar crimes, such as fraud, embezzlement, or stock manipulation.

...

In addition to the problems their abusive behaviors cause to spouses, friends, and family members, individuals with a heavy dose of psychopathic traits are potentially harmful to professional relationships. For example, their grandiosity, sense of entitlement, and lack of personal insight lead to conflict and rivalry with bosses and coworkers, and their impulsivity and "live in the moment" philosophy lead them to keep repeating these and other dysfunctional, antisocial behaviors, despite performance appraisals and training programs.

The key here is that "most" people are honest and law-abiding. I think it's crucial for good, honest and law-abiding people to team up against the psychopaths.

As Edmund Burke said: "The Only Thing Necessary For Evil To Triumph Is For Good Men To Do Nothing".

Best Web Design for Insurance Company

I did some research today (briefly) on Pet Insurance when I came across Petplan Australia.

Anyone who's applied for insurance online knows that it's a time consuming schlep. Petplan Australia really seems to have put a lot of very clever thought into usability and the result is a true gem of a website!

Let me show you the ways:



This is the homepage. First off, big and bold sections so you can quickly find what you are looking for. Even a nice big Contact section! These guys have clearly read Seth Godin's "Knock Knock". The site is also much more 'cutesie' than its competitors. This is important, as pet lovers will be buying insurance to get a warm and fuzzy feeling to start with. The web designers here show a strong understanding of the wants and desires of the client visiting the site!

Contrast this with Suncorp's pet insurance webpage.

Next I clicked on the 'get quote now' button.



Notice how they clearly tell you at what step of the process you are as well as showing a progress bar. What's also great here is that they don't ask you to fill out a form at the first step. They say: "Hey, we're gonna assume some things for now to help speed up the process."



Step 2 asks you to select your plan. 3 simple choices!



At Step 3, they already tell me how much it's going to cost. Only now do they ask me for my contact details as well as my dog's name and age.



Step 4 and they start getting a little bit more personal. I found the question "List the activities that the Dog is used for" a bit funny.



Step 5 asks you to confirm everything so far before going onto Step 6 to fill out your payment details and Step 7 to give you confirmation.

Notice that at each step the "What's covered for dogs..." section is consistent. This is a question that people will very likely ask multiple times throughout the process!

Petplan Australia's web designers did an absolutely brilliant job and for the first time ever I actually enjoyed visiting an insurance company's website. The combination of understanding customers' desires and a very simple yet informative user interface ensures that they stand out head and shoulders above the competition, and the website makes you feel as if they actually care a little bit more about your animal's health.

National Braai Day and Social Media

One of the more interesting concepts promoted at the last Johannesburg 27dinner was National Braai Day.

National Braai Day will allow us to get together, burn the past and cook up a succulent future. Braaing unites us all in a common purpose and transcends racial, social, cultural and language barriers. There’s really no excuse not to gather your family and friends and whip up feast - it’s the start of summer and a public holiday.

Jan Scannell from braaiday.co.za handed out braai tongs to all attendees!

I think it's really interesting how some traditionally 'offline' companies and NPOs are starting to embrace blogging and social media!

Calendar Revolution Arrived

One of the greatest difficulties I had moving from Windows to Ubuntu last year was replacing Outlook. This was greatly eased by using Google Apps, where I had my email and calendar online. But whenever I was on the move and offline, I wouldn't have access to my calendar.

So I installed Mozilla Sunbird, a calendar application that can also integrate with the Thunderbird mail client. This meant that I could see all my calendar events locally, by syncing to my Google Calendar. The problem was that this sync was one-way only. Any changes made on my local calendar would not get uploaded to my Google Calendar.

Add in a PDA that needs to sync as well, and you have a right mess!

No more! Sunbird 0.5 was released a few days ago and with it comes 2-way sync with Google Calendar. You can run Sunbird on Windows, Linux and OS X. Change your calendar data on any one of your devices and see how it all syncs up!