New. Improved. Upgraded. Special. Custom. Tailored. Smarter. Happier. Faster. Stronger. Higher. Cheaper. Prettier. Smoother. Younger.

We’ve all heard these.
We have all desired these – for ourselves, and in the products we have purchased.
Things change.
This is inevitable and cannot be ignored. However, it appears things are changing FASTER, stronger, QUICKER and at a frequency that only appears to be getting faster, stronger, and quicker. What to do? KEEP UP!

When this blog started I stated that as things progressed through the year, they would probably change and be different than what was posted earlier in the year. Well, I think I said that – if not, I’m saying it now. Things ARE changing and are in flux – not only about what I am blogging about but what we are trying to use. This is what today’s post is about – change and options. The pace is quickening – so read this post fast.

Remember the increasing rate of technological change?

Let me illustrate it this way:
Think about the lifespan of wax and vinyl records. What about magnetic tape? Reel to reels? Cassettes? 8-tracks? CD’s? MP3’s (which are now declared dead)?

How about “IT” as we know it?
Remember software from a big-box store?
Downloaded software?
Streaming software?
Now it’s web-based software. No store, no disk, no install, “no nothing” as they say…
What’s next?

If you recall your experience with any of the above, you will note the introductions of replacements for each came faster and faster. Not just more powerful – MORE – and faster and quicker and more frequently. It’s not going to stop, only change.

When you are through changing, you are through. –Bruce Barton

I encourage you to acquaint yourself with Moore’s Law if you aren’t familiar with it. There are those who don’t believe it – let them.

In addition to the technological rate increasing, we must remember that everything changes. Here is an example of why it appears to be doing so – this illustration is based upon an FTE, or “full time equivalent,” that we consider with some of our projects. These assist in understanding cycles of a project – annual, seasonal, or otherwise.

Example: a church. If you consider FTE’s on an annual basis, a church will have birthdays, deaths, pregnancies, and celebrations in the lives of each member. If the FTE of said church is 1, then the church “ages” (goes through all the above annual life events) in one year. If you up the membership to 10, then the rate increases 10-fold, and appears to occur much more rapidly, appearing to age at a rate of ten years to every year (going through all the annual events 10x more). With the number going to 100, or 1000, the  life events would be overwhelming (hence the need for a church staff – lots of life events going on and we all want our birthdays remembered – right, kids?).

Ok, take that example and think about software and hardware. How many licensed copies of software do you have on your machine? Here’s an example of one of mine:

101 installs of software – AND THIS IS A NEW MACHINE.
How many of these apps do I single out? Maybe 20.
How many ask for monitoring, updating, licensing and otherwise ask for attention sometime in their “life” of a year? You guessed it – 101. All of them. Oftentimes, more than once a year – some quite frequently.
Not one is unnecessary.
Between the OS, networking, apps, and other softwares it added up really quickly.
101 apps asking for attention. If each needed attention only once a year, that’s still almost two requests each week. That results in apps asking for attention in some way every 2.5 working days! Good grief. Luckily, some of this attention is automatic, but you still see it. It slows you down, asks permission, and otherwise gets in your face in some way or another. And this is just software.

Change is inevitable. Except from a vending machine. – Robert C. Gallagher

Hardware has to support all this stuff – and THAT’S where the wheels can start coming off in the setup.

Example we are wrestling with right now:

Sketchup – it now requires an OpenGL of 3.0 to run. Do you know exactly what that is? Me, neither. But I do know it references the structure of the software – and therefore the software is GREATLY dependent upon this structure – and this new incompatibility has created a limitation in how we can use Sketchup.
Does Mac support it? Yep.
Does Windows? Yes.
Do virtual machines? Noooope. At least, not with Parallels – yet. Who knows when? Your guess is as good as mine.
Point is, change happens. Count on it. Are there other options? Oh, yes. We are studying those, hence my new machine – a Razer with a 1080 GPU and processor that is a rocket – it’s fast upon fast, but no Mac stuff, please – Windows 10 only.
So, again, change happens – and it’s changing right now.

We are considering going to Windows only, or Boot Camp for Mac. In the process, I’m discovering apps in Windows that do similar functions as those we have used in Mac  so I’m planning to post about those, too.

You must welcome change as the rule, but not as your ruler. –Denis Waitley

FYI: There may be a replacement for Sketchup, AutoCAD 2D, and Revit – we are looking at Archicad. It does some pretty amazing things, so why not at least be conversant?

The take way?
Apple: you guys needs to step it up. Make some hardware you don’t need to make excuses for. Make a rocket again and set the bar. Come on – get back in the game.

Windows: you guys are bringing it. We are using a Razer for the moment, but honestly, the new stuff you are delivering is really impressive. But you are slacking a little like your fruity counterparts – bring a workhorse to the table. Make a Surface Studio that can run the powerful software architects need and you will have plenty of takers.

Stay tuned for options as to where this goes. No longer is there just one good camp – they both have their merits and limits – as does my patience and funding for office machines and software. Choose wisely.

Remember:
The times, they are a -changin’.