Archive for August 24, 2017

The Great Canadian Road Trip: Part 6: – Day 2 In Gros Morne

Posted in Commentary with tags , on August 24, 2017 by itnerd

Today’s plan was to go up to Gros Morne National Park and hike up to the top of Gros Morne Mountain which round trip should have covered 16 km and take six to eight hours to complete. Great plan, but we didn’t exactly do our homework beforehand as you will see.

The first 4 km is uphill which means that you need to be in shape to do it. But it is worth it as you get to see this sort of scenery as evidenced by these pictures taken with the Nikon COOLPIX W300 camera:

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Eventually, you’ll clear the trees and see the mountain where you will get to see some stunning views:

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But you also get to see this (click to enlarge): DSCN0274.jpg

And if you don’t the hint that this isn’t a place for the ill prepared, there’s this (click to enlarge):

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In our case, we brought everything that we needed to do this. Except ample supplies of water. We had each brought a 500 ml bottle of water and drank through about 75% of it just getting to this point. Thus if we come back, we’ll make sure to pack enough water to do the 16 KM trail. As it was, we managed to get this close to the mountain before turning back (click to enlarge):

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You can see the people who continued on and what they have to deal with to complete the 16 KM trail. In our case, we managed to do 6 KM before turning back. I recored the entire hike using Runtastic Pro on my Series 2 Apple Watch. Here’s a look at what was captured (click to enlarge):

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For the record, 380 meters is 1247 feet. That’s a lot of climbing.

We then decided to do some less strenuous activities for the rest of the day. Starting with a self guided tour of the lighthouse at Lobster Cove Head:

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We then went to see the remains of the S.S. Ethie which ran aground in 1911.

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It was time for some food for my wife, so on our way back to Corner Brook, we stopped in a town that was inside the park called Sally’s Cove where there was a place called the Snack Shack. Here’s what my wife had to say about that place:

I snacked at Snak Shack at the Gros Morne park where I had the cod cake with onion rings but made a note to try the local Moosemeat gravy the next time I pass by it.

The next time we would pass by it would be in a couple of days as that was going to be the starting point of our second bike ride in the park. We then headed back into Corner Brook to our hotel. After a quick shower we had dinner at the Crown & Moose which is inside the hotel. I took the opportunity to sample a local beer called Black Horse:

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I will let my wife describe the taste:

Hubby tried the local Black Horse Ale that is only available in Newfoundland. For all you beer folks it is light in color and tastes like Samuel Adams.

I’d have it again is it wasn’t bad.

Tomorrow is another day of hiking and more. Stay tuned for that!

 

 

 

 

Parallels Desktop 13 for Mac Released

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 24, 2017 by itnerd

Parallels Desktop 13 for Mac was released earlier this week. Key features include:

  • macOS High Sierra support
  • Windows 10 Fall Creators Update support
  • Support for touch bar MacBook Pro models
  • Dynamic resolution support: Users can change the window size of their Windows session
  • Enhanced support for Retina displays
  • Faster booting and rebooting speeds
  • Picture-in-Picture mode
  • Up to a 47% speed boost over Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac

You can see a video that outlines all the key features here:

Parallels Desktop 13 for Mac costs $79.99 for a new license. Existing users of Parallels Desktop for Home and Student can upgrade to V13 for $49.99, with a time-limited offer enabling users of the Desktop Pro Edition to upgrade for the same price (usually $99.99). For more pricing details, see the Parallels website.

VMware Announces VMware Fusion 10 For Mac

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 24, 2017 by itnerd

VMware has announced new versions of VMware Fusion solutions and the 10th anniversary of delivering enterprise-quality Windows virtualization on Mac. VMware Fusion 10 Pro, designed for technical professionals that want to build, test and demonstrate Mac, Windows and Linux applications on a Mac, will include advanced capabilities that continue to evolve the solution to support technical professionals and developers. VMware Fusion 10 designed for personal use, will offer Touch Bar support, enhanced GPU and 3D graphics performance, and an updated user interface (UI) to leverage the latest innovations in Mac. Together, the solutions will enable Mac users to take full advantage of the innovative features and capabilities available in Mac, Linux and Windows 10.

VMware Fusion 10 Pro – More Enterprise Capable Than Ever Before
VMware Fusion 10 Pro will provide the foundation of modern development and testing, enabling multi-operating system development, multi-operating system testing, and integration into DevOps/agile development workflows. Fusion enables IT professionals and developers to run virtual machines that are compatible with corporate data centres from a Mac to perform tasks such as data centre design and testing, data centre management, network design and testing, and application development and testing.

Support for REST APIs will offer a new interface for managing virtual machines (VMs) remotely and programmatically. This will enable developers and enterprises to integrate Fusion into a modern development and testing pipeline by performing VM operations including VM inventory management, VM power management, cloning, networking, configuration, and IP and MAC address gathering, among others. Developers will also benefit from integration with VMware PhotonOS that will support the most common container formats, runtime engines and scheduling frameworks for seamless migration of containers-based applications from development to production.

Support for Microsoft’s new Virtualization Based Security features, such as Credential Guard for Windows 10 virtual machines, unified extensible firmware interface (UEFI) Secure Boot, and a virtual Trusted Platform Module will add to existing security features in Fusion 10 Pro — delivering a more secure development environment than ever before. Enhanced networking controls will enable management of network address translation (NAT) rules, network packet loss and latency simulation, and renaming of VM networks for better organization. All this will be managed from a completely updated user interface that provides a more modern, informative, and streamlined experience for users.

Lastly, support for MacBook Touch Bar will enable users to easily access commonly used controls using the latest MacBook hardware features.

VMware Fusion 10 – Delivering Power and Performance to Individuals
VMware Fusion 10, a streamlined version of VMware Fusion 10 Pro, will offer seamless integration with Windows and Linux applications for a native Mac application experience. Advancements will include improved graphics performance and accuracy with Apple Metal technology, Touch Bar support, and support for the latest versions of Windows 10.

Availability and Pricing
VMware Fusion 10 Pro and VMware Fusion 10 are expected to be available in October for US$159 and US$79 respectively. VMware Fusion 10 Pro will also be available through VMware partners and distributors.

Customers who purchase Fusion 8.5 or Fusion 8.5 Pro between August 22 and November 1 will be eligible for an electronic upgrade to Fusion 10 or Fusion 10 Pro, respectively, at no additional cost. Learn more about the VMware Fusion Technology Guarantee Program here.

Fusion 8.5 customers will be able to upgrade to Fusion 10 Pro for only US$119 and to Fusion 10 for US$49 at the VMware online store or download a free trial.

 

VMware & Google Expand Partnership To Enable Enterprise-Wide Management of Chrome Devices

Posted in Commentary with tags , on August 24, 2017 by itnerd

VMware has announced it will become the first unified endpoint management (UEM) provider with full Chrome device management capabilities. VMware Workspace ONE, a digital workspace platform powered by VMware AirWatch UEM technology, will enable customers to unify management of Chrome devices alongside all other endpoints from a single console.

Customers will be able to manage Chrome devices alongside all other endpoints in Workspace ONE due to the functionality of VMware’s UEM technology, AirWatch. Starting from out-of-the box on-boarding, configuration and policies, provisioning apps, auditing and tracking; all the way to end device wipe, IT can secure and enable Chrome devices using a simplified approach. With new enterprise-ready capabilities from Chrome Enterprise License, organizations will be able to deliver device policies using customizable assignment of groups based on geography, device platform, department, role, and more, simplifying policy enforcement across an enterprise.

Building on previously released integrations of Workspace ONE with Chrome OS, IT also will be able to provide employees with access to all enterprise applications – cloud, web, native Android, virtual Windows – from a single app catalogue to deliver a consistent experience to employees anywhere, anytime, on any device. Chrome device users will even be able to access full Windows desktops and applications and use these devices as next-generation thin clients, helping to accelerate the adoption of Chrome devices in the enterprise. Workspace ONE will be able to deliver a unified platform to both manage and deliver any app to Chrome devices.

Management of Chrome devices with Workspace ONE will be available in September 2017.

Guest Post: SurveyMonkey Discusses How Small Businesses Can Get Insights From Running Their Own Surveys

Posted in Commentary with tags on August 24, 2017 by itnerd

In business, people are often rewarded for the answers they offer rather than the questions they ask. But curiosity is what leads to new insights that can give small businesses the information they need to set priorities, make necessary changes in direction and ultimately help their business

Whether it’s to improve customer service, get opinions on services or products, or even to better understand employees’ needs, running a survey with a tool like SurveyMonkey can make sense for any small business looking for a cost-effective way to gain actionable insights.

Not everyone is a survey expert, but there are some guidelines that can help create a well-designed survey that will produce valuable information.

Design the survey. Briefing an outside partner can take time. With a tool like SurveyMonkey, designing a survey is simple and fast.  There are even pre-designed survey templates for specific types of survey.

Avoid jargon. Don’t assume everyone you want to hear from is familiar with your industry jargon. Use relatable terms that can be broadly understood.

Draw on best practices. Even if you aren’t a survey expert, you can design a useful and targeted survey by checking SurveyMonkey’s Question Bank. It’s a searchable database of proven questions prepared by the SurveyMonkey research team.

Learn from machines. SurveyMonkey Genius is a brand-new tool available with all SurveyMonkey plans. It uses machine learning to suggest changes to your survey that will improve completion rates and the time it takes respondents to fill out your survey.

Keep it short. SurveyMonkey looked at two years’ worth of surveys (more than 26,000 surveys) and found the median number of questions was 12. Shorter surveys also tend to have higher completion rates, which means they have overall better data quality. Sixty per cent of people don’t want to take a survey that takes longer than 10 minutes.

Make your survey mobile friendly.  Nearly half of respondents outside the U.S. take SurveyMonkey surveys on mobile devices, so it’s safe to say many of your respondents will as well. Images and videos will make completing your survey difficult on mobile, so minimize those elements and use the Preview/Test function to see how it looks on mobile.

Adjust the survey once you see results coming. Receiving results yourself means you can identify red flags or gaps in the information you’re collecting, and adjust the survey accordingly. This speed and flexibility isn’t possible when working with an outside agency, which may not provide results for weeks.

Benchmark your scores and responses against competitors. The Benchmarks tool will compare your survey results to those of other companies in your industry using the same metrics, such as an NPS score.

Act on your results. If your survey reveals an unhappy customer or client, you can reach out personally to address the issue. SurveyMonkey’s email collector also means you can do regular follow up surveys to go deeper into particular subjects and gain more insights.