Adobe Flex and NATO
It seems like we underestimated the capabilities of Flex. I’ve been ranting and raving about how Flex is going to change the way we use the web starting 2008. But I was grossly mistaken. Next time NATO orders a reconnaisance mission in a conflict zone, it will be Adobe’s Flex which will facilitate mission data and provide real time information across squadrons. Adobe issued a press release on the topic two weeks back.
Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq :ADBE) today announced that the E-3A department of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), with its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, plans to adopt Adobe Flex software and Adobe LiveCycle Data Services ES for its new Mission Support System (MSS). The system will help improve NATO’s operational readiness, by reducing the time to prepare for missions, and improve the delivery of information to flight crew members.
Adobe Flex technology is an open source development framework for fast, end-to-end development of rich Internet applications (RIA) that run identically on all major browsers and operating systems. Applications developed with Flex provide a more visual and interactive user experience, helping users to more quickly and easily assimilate information. With Adobe LiveCycle Data Services, applications can be developed that automatically synchronize data between client and server, provide real-time data push and publish/subscribe messaging, and enable collaborative and occasionally disconnected applications.
By delivering the new system as an RIA, NATO crew members will be able to put together mission briefs aggregated from over 80 different data sources, including information such as flight numbers, details about the region and routes to take refuge in case of an emergency. Mission briefs are highly visual electronic maps that show all the information they need to analyze, develop and deliver in preparation for a mission.
“We are always looking for ways to improve our efficiency, but only invest in technology that has proven to be reliable”, said Steve Lusardi and Gerry Van Tol, project officers for NATO. “Adobe Flex is accepted worldwide and provides us with a new opportunity to automate the flight preparation process and save valuable time. It goes without saying that it is crucial for the NATO crew to have access to relevant information. The visual electronic maps present all the information in an intuitive manner which makes the MSS very user-friendly.”
The multi-million dollar agreement consists of software licences, support and consultancy.
About NATONATO is an alliance of 26 countries from North America and Europe. The fundamental role of NATO is to safeguard the freedom and security of its member countries by political and military means. A number of strategic forces and aircraft make up the fleet of AWACS within NATO. The E-3A Component of AWACS is the world’s only integrated, multi-national flying unit, providing rapid deployment, airborne surveillance, command, control and communication for NATO operations.
SugarSync - Great Tool
SugarSync Offers The Best Method Yet For Replicating Files
It’s a real problem keeping all the files you need available and up-to-date on multiple computers in multiple locations, whether they are key business documents or just favorite photos or songs. Adding to the problem is the increasingly common use of smart phones as little laptops, and the growing mixed use of Windows machines and Apple Macintoshes, which use different programs.
Now, there’s a new service called SugarSync that keeps your files replicated and synchronized across all your computers, whether they are Windows PCs or Macs. It even offers limited file synchronization on certain smart phones. The service is from a Silicon Valley company called Sharpcast and is available at sugarsync.com.
Walt Mossberg says with the exception of a few limitations, SugarSync is a terrific product for keeping your files synchronized across multiple computers — PCs and Macs — and even on certain smart phones.
Not only does SugarSync place the latest version of every file you designate for syncing on all your chosen computers, but it also creates an archive of these files on a special, password-protected Web page. That way, you can access the latest version of any file even when you are at a public or borrowed computer that lacks the SugarSync software.
I have been testing SugarSync on five different computers — three Windows PCs and two Macs — as well as on a Treo smart phone. I tried syncing everything from Excel spreadsheets to Word documents, from photos to songs to PDF documents.
A Primary Assessment
It is March, and while Senator John McCain is busy consolidating the republican party base as the presumptive nominee, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continue their battle royale for the top Democratic spot. Despite Camp Hillary’s assertions to the contrary, all signs and confounding mathematical formulations point toward an eventual Obama coronation in Denver later this summer.
Discounting the ongoing recount movements in Michigan and Florida, which could throw those states’ delegates back into the mix and Hillary back in the overall lead, the Senator from Illinois has momentum (two straight wins in Wyoming and Mississippi) and a clear delegate lead as we head into Pennsylvania in less than a week.
The past is often a good predictor of the future, and recent (very) historical indicators point to an eventual Obama-McCain title fight, with early odds giving Obama the slightest of edges. Let’s look at a couple of these indicators, one pertaining to the Democratic narrative, and the other to the general election, that let us make such a bold prediction:
Trend One: Obama continues to rake in the cash – lots of it
Sure, Hillary had a strong February, with a $35million fundraising haul. But Obama took it to another level, raising a record $55million during those same 29 days. $45million of that total originated online, including 90 percent coming by way of incremental, individual donations of $100 or less. We think this Internet thing may catch on, after all.
Building a Brand + Direct Marketing = Synergistic Harmony
It is a simple idea, really: orchestrating brand building and direct marketing (DM) into a synergistic harmony. Marketers use brand ads as instruments in the critical role of consumer awareness building. DM identifies prospective consumers and helps the sales team convert them to paying customers. Brand ads create an emotional connection, while DM uses persuasion and incentives to get the prospect to act, ultimately choosing your firm over a competitor. Achieving synchronization between the two is key in creating a seamless buying process for consumers, the kind which leads invariably toward a successful conversion.
An effective brand/response campaign combines branding ads across television, radio, print and online media channels, and joining them with response vehicles such as direct mail and e-mail. A successful marketer ties it all back to a centralized prospect database. The database connects these individual media channels into a closed-loop marketing system, adding power without increasing the media expenditure. It’s like fitting a Harley cruiser with a turbojet engine.
A well-executed brand/response campaign builds awareness, identifies qualified prospects and then leads them along the purchase path with a series of communications designed to educate and inform. Each message includes a purchase incentive and purchase mechanism. Over time, prospects progress from general interest, to desire, to conviction, and finally to buying your product or service. This approach recognizes the disparate levels of interest and purchase conviction among prospective consumers. It treats each one accordingly, without letting qualified prospects fall through the cracks because of some ill-suited, one-size-fits-all approach. Read more
Social Media Outlook for 2008
Delia: Welcome to the Leadstream Podcast! To listen to the podcast, simply click on the “arrow” button.
Today, we’re talking with Giovanni (Gio) Galluci, Search and Social Media Evangelist. Gio writes strategy for new developments in social media, search and technology, and functions as top level contact to assist clients, staff and partners in determining technology and media requirements and solutions for DexterityMedia. You can follow the link to view the website. Gio created DexterityMedia, social media website directory, socialtrackr.com, and posts almost daily on his blog, TheAgencyBlog.com.
Galluci is on the faculty of xTrain providing training on podcasting and social media, and is a speaker at various industry events including ad:tech, FlashForward, Got Social Media?, Search Engine Watch Live! eMarketing Summit, and macworld.
Good morning, Gio.
Gio: Good morning.
Delia: Do you feel that social media will still be the hot topic of 2008?
Gio: Absolutely! In fact, I think that 2008 is going to be somewhat of a honeymoon for social media the same way that search enjoyed its day in the sunshine a couple of years ago. So, there’s so much stuff that encompasses the phrase or the term, social media. In particular though, I think, we’re looking at a very, very hot year for video. And that just comes from consumer-generated content and how marketers can use it, and technologists can use it as well as social networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Bebo and places like that. Read more