iPad vs. MacBook Air - Hands on with the MacBook Air 13

The new Macbook Air arrived yesterday and I've had several hours of "hands on" time. Here are my observations and comparison to the iPad. ...

Ipad vs Air

Feel, fit, finish: It is a very solid machine. the aluminum unibody is like a rock. It's brushed aluminum finish looks and feels great. It's 2.9 pounds vs 1.9 of the iPad is very reasonable, particularly compared to a 5.5 pound full size laptop. Keyboard feels great, but I really miss the back lighting on the keyboard. Buy a little USB light to use in the dark. Typing on the MBA vs the Ipad is much more sure and solid. Touchpad is very large and has more gesture capabilities than I have time to figure out. 


Screen: Nice clear and bright, actually it can be too bright if turned up all the way. The new 1440x900 resolution is great. Gives you the same real estate of a 15" macbook pro and the fonts are not too small for senior viewers. 

Side view 

Speed and storage: Amazing! My MBA has 128 GB of Flash storage and I upgraded the Ram to 4GB ($100). This is a very fast machine. I haven't noticed any lag time at all no spinning beach balls. From a complete shut down it takes 15 seconds to fully boot. From hibernation it's instant on. lift the lid and you are working. Vs. the iPad, it's equal ground. 


Ports: 2 USB ports is better than the old 1 port on the prior MB Air. I'd still recommend a little pocket port hub. I have a Belkin 4 port so now USB ports aren't a problem. I bought a USB ethernet adapter and that works great to get on the office network. The Wifi is easy and fast also. The display port is the same as my unibody Macbook Pro so I can use the same adapter at home or the office without an additional purchase. 


Battery: Steve Jobs promised 7 hours of surfing time. I'm going to guess about 5 in normal use. Still pretty good. 


Air vs. iPad? : For business or general use the MBA is the clear winner. Still little and light but with no cons. iPad wins for reading books, web surfing, and apps that are touch screen oriented. THE MBA runs all Mac programs including office and will run Windows with Parallels or VMWare. And don't forget printing. At this point it is quite challenging to print anything from an iPad. When Apple ads "apps" to the Mac (within 90 days) the skinny MBA could really dent the iPad decision. 

Not much difference 

For Windows users: One note I'll add. If you are a Mac user and use Parallels or VMWare Fusion to run Windows, you may have to wrestle with wasting 30 or 40 GB of your Flash "hard drive" with your Windows. I loaded my Windows 7 image on the internal drive as well as a 4500 RPM pocket drive and a 7200 RPM external drive. Amazingly the best boot up time was 2:15 on the internal drive, the 4500 external was about 3:30 and the 7200 was 3:00. So bottom line, Windows is a dog! Put it on an external drive and don't waste the space on your air. Probably the best bet if you travel is a notebook USB portable 7200 rpm drive. 


As an additional note, I've been running Windows 7 and the fan has been on all day... Hmmm. 

New MacBook Air -where does it fit?

Yesterday Apple announced their update to the MacBook Air. It was the first major remake of the Air in 2 years. Apple says they took everything they learned from the iPhone and iPad and put it in a Mac. They said it's the future of the laptop. It's available in both 13.3' and a new 11.6" versions. Of course I ordered one. (not available at the Apple store yet.)

Here's what's new and exciting:

• Thin and light- .68" at thickest spot .11" at thinnest. 2.9 Lbs. for the 13.3 and 2.3 for the 11.6" version. I ordered the 13.3" - the iPad weighs 1.5 lbs.
• No hard drive- completely solid state flash memory= instant on. I ordered the 128 gb model a 256 gb is also available.
• More ports 2 USB versus 1 on previous model. THey added a SD Card reader on the 13.3.
• Lower price- the low end is $999.00. mine was about $1500 with 4 gb of ram.
• 7 hours of battery life

I've owned a MacBook Air for about a year. I also have an iPad. There is an ongoing comparison at our house about which is better. I go with the Air over the iPad for these reasons.

1. The keyboard - the iPads on screen keyboard is not for any kind of serious typing, especially is your a lousy typist like me. 
2. The ability to run real applications versus scaled downed lite versions.
3. The ability to multi-task, though this is coming to the iPad in Nov. 
4. The ability to print!
5. Flash - I don't care if Steve Jobs hates Adobe, but it's a pain to keep missing content because the iPad doesn't run flash.
6. I think the ipad is a little hard to hold and work with.

My MB air is scheduled to arrive by October 28. We'll see if it can rival my MacBook pro for "my only mac" rights.

Would you spend $300 more for a 11.6" screen Macbook Air full computer with a keyboard and the above benefits vs. an iPad with 9.7" screen and the above shortcomings? Get all the details here

Think Before You Upgrade...

It's very tempting to upgrade your PCs or server to the latest greatest operating system or upgrade your MS Office Suite to 2010.  However make sure your existing software is compatible before taking the leap.

If you do not have the most current version of GoldMine, you could be asking for some challenging issues.  For example, GoldMine v8.5 is not technically compatible with Windows 7.  We have seen it work, but if you have problems, FrontRange won't support you, even if you are current with your maintenance contract.  Officially Windows 7 has not been tested with GoldMine v8.5 and therefore not compatible. Also be careful with 64 bit. Only the latest version 9.0 officially works with 64 bit. IGoldMine does not run or load on a 64 bit server.

GoldMine's integration with Microsoft Word will not work with Office 2010.  We are beta testing the latest update for v9 that will be compatible with Office 2010.  However, a release date for that new build is not known.

So, don't just take the leap - call us first.  We can tell you what will or won't work with your current GoldMine.

DialPad The long awaited GoldMine Voice/Phone Connection

W-Systems has created an awesome and cost effective solution that addresses the need to connect many Voip or Tapi compliant phone systems to GoldMine. It's called DialPad!

Since the early days of GoldMine, when integration to the modem on your desktop the ability to call contacts right from GoldMine has been a great feature. Unfortunately computers today are modem-less and the current SIP integration in recent versions of Goldmine has been somewhat of an enigma.

We've been trying DialPad with Skype, and I am very impressed. The following screen shots give you an idea of the simple yet powerful interface that makes it easy to increase caller productivity while filling in the important blanks in GM.

Enjoy the walk through below....



Start with your call list, pulled directly from GoldMine.
Dial from here or double click to open up the Call Out screen.




The Call Out screen lets you enter notes, complete the call, schedule a follow up, 
go to the GoldMine record, play a pre recorded file, and even record the call. 
Check out the Survey Fields on the right. You can include any fields from GoldMine 
for your caller to update right from DialPad.




Instant targeted call lists! The groups tab connects with contact groups from GoldMine. 
There's the list, click to call, enter your notes on this targeted list!



Need a little refresher on the customer before you call?  Click the history button and there is a
complete history of all the call notes from GoldMine!

At the end of the day, click the Call Log tab for a complete listing of all the calls any user made. Includes time of call and a direct link back to GoldMine to check notes and updates.

This is one very cool program! It's new and depending on your phone system it may take some tweaking, but once in place, WOW!. 

DialPad costs $295 per user for a one time license fee, plus 20% annual maintenance. Set up is additional. 

If your interested give us a call at 847-382-4500.  Download literature here.

Five Hidden Costs in Switching CRM Programs

Some changes are painless and enjoyable, like a new car, new furniture or a new puppy. Some are not, like changing spouses or CRM programs.
Sure that good lookin' young thing might seem enticing, but before you make your move it's important to consider the consequences. OK, I'll get off my cougaresque analogies here and just stick with CRM changes.
If you use your CRM program as an address book and calendar then you can probably switch with little damage. That's kind of a good news bad news thing. GOOD NEWS that you can switch painlessly, BAD NEWS because your CRM program should be a core of your business, and instead it's just a different colored address book and calendar. If that's the case, you should check our list of what you should be getting from a CRM program. Switching will not solve your problem. You'll spend a lot of money and have the same problems. If your CRM program does play important roles in your company, then you should think carefully before you hop in bed with a new program.
Here are some of the biggest and most costly factors. Not just for immediate expense but for long term damage to your business.

1. Data migration - Look closely at what data will be migrated to the new program. Contacts are easy, calendars probably with a sync through Outlook, but what about history, linked documents, additional contacts, EMAILS attached to contact history records, knowledge base entries, etc. The cost to even partially convert data from one platform to another can easily be tens of thousands of dollars. And if, and when it's all moved, what will you have gained? BTW make sure to find out what is involved in getting all of that data back out in a year or two!
2. Hidden costs - In the beginning, the costs you look at are cost per license, maintenance costs, training and installation. But the biggies are customization, report writing, data migration. One extremely well known on line CRM provider has a stable of consultants who charge $200 per hour just to show up. 
3. Reports and measurements - If you are using your CRM program, you are putting a lot of info in. Hopefully you are getting business critical reports out; Pipeline, neglected contacts, completed and scheduled activities by rep, reports on types of customer groups, to name a few. Will your new program provide the info you run your business on? Exactly? Make sure. 
4. Learning curve - If you finally have the majority of users using the program, don't assume that they will all migrate smiling into the new CRM. Most people resist change. Make sure there is something in it for them. Make sure that you have all the customized pieces together before you change or you will be dragging your users through a quagmire of "bug fixes". We've seen successful programs crash and burn
5. Training - If you make the change, invest in training. Logically, you switch CRM programs because the change will offset the cost and add to your bottom line for years to come. Sin #1 is save money by not training everyone to use the system. ...Doesn't that sound silly?  But it is the most common reason for failure. 

Stop! & Think before you switch!

There are a lot of other considerations, including switching for the wrong reasons, like i need it sync with my blackberry. Or, gee it's only $50 per month, (for the rest of your business life, also see items 1 & 2 above.)

Got a good or bad switch story? Add a comment below? Need a little advise, give me a call.