Alfred's musings

I'm flying around a lot these days (and hoping to reduce it soon). So much so, that I've averaged about a flight a day for the last two weeks, and its not yet the end either! The good news is that I've spent time with a lot of our business partners and customers, which is always inspirational and rewarding. The big frustration I recently gained, was that the BA acquisition of BMI means that my air mile "status" benefits shrinks from OneWorld+Start Alliance "status" to just BA "status"... which has a much greater impact on my flying that I envisaged. If only Lufthansa or SAS would be willing to offer me a match... But enough of that. A recent in-flight brochure had stats about different aircraft in it, and one data point was that the Boeing 737-800 used only 0.028 litres of fuel per seat per km. A quick calculation suggests that this could be as good as 84mpg. Granted, there are a few other issues to consider (most notably not all flight...

Working for Google is an incredible privilege on multiple levels. Smart people, incredible deep pockets, blod goals, big challenges and on top of this a salary and a fantastic work environment. And the smart people don't stop with people with the multi-coloured badge... I'm also privileged to work with a large group of very talented Google partners too. On a recent trip to San Francisco with some of our award-winning partners like Folia and Tydac to name just two, I had the opportunity to swing by and attend my first, live TGIF at Google, and what an incredible experience it was! As always, TGIF content is confidential, so I can't say much about it, but the particular TGIF inspired me with just how special the Google culture really is. And... just top top it off, here is a photo of Craig (employee 003), Larry, me & Sergey!

Google Earth is used in a vast array of very interesting applications as it is an excellent tool to visualise your geospatial data with. We've got municipalities mapping all their street furniture and assets on Google Earth, Dell use it to visualise their web site analytics and traffic, Statoil Hydro use it to track their exploration for oil and much, much more... And then you get some crazy creative uses... like this one. Enjoy!

Google's Enterprise business had the annual sales conference over the last few days in San Francisco, and I was lucky enough to attend. We got freshly inspired by the new products on offering, got re-aligned to adjust to the changes in the market and got to network with our colleagues from around the planet. It was good. As I started packing, I was wondering if I would take my MacBook or Chromebook. The key factors were this: The Mac would allow me to have full access to anything I might need... including iPhoto, Google Earth, contracts that I might need to deal with in proprietary formats etc... but it is relatively big and heavy. I know from past experience, that it becomes a big thing to wedge under the wing while trying to fill up your plate at the buffet, or it ends up being the thing I forget under my chair. The Chromebook would give me more portability, less weight, longer battery life and good internet access without depending on tethering to my Android phone. So ...

Belatedly sharing this blog entry that I wrote a few weeks ago, offline: 10668m above Paris, and a can just see a cloud opening around the Arc de triomphe - beautiful! When we took off from Heathrow, it was exceptionally foggy, and our early morning flight departed fairly late. (I can only imagine the challenge a pilot faces to take off, if it's too foggy to even drive properly!) Mere seconds after lift off, we gained enough hight to be above the fog and cloud bank, and it was a beautiful blue sunny day... just meters above the foggy ground. (It was really stunning to see peaks and high structures of London protruding above into the sun!) Perspective makes such a huge difference. It's not a foggy day. It's not even a foggy morning. It's merely temporarily foggy at Heathrow ground level.  Last night, while dining with my wife, I saw a friend at the restaurant who lost his young wife to cancer a few years ago, and he's now juggling his own business and...

I've just landed in Madrid, and thankful for that, as some in the UK are on strike today, and I was never quite certain if the journey would be as smooth as it should be. And on the flight, I watched a video replay of our Geo VP hour from yesterday, where our business leaders spelled out their strategy and direction with energizing clarity! It's a great team to work in! And, we launched quite a few new maps bits... including indoor navigation in a few places, notably in the US in a few airports... and in Japan too. I can't wait for it to land here in Europe in more places. But this video had me smiling... an Ikea in Sweden and the UK and the US all look identical inside, don't you think?

I've been privileged to walk around with a pre-production Nexus Galaxy in my pocket for a few months now... to the envy of those in the know. I am on the trusted tester program for ICS and I love ice cream sandwich! It's fantastic, and the device is super, super sweet. I was sworn to secrecy, even to the point where I could not show my colleagues,  but as I had to use it as my only phone. What a pleasure! Inevitably some who know the look of the Nexus S or Nexus One or follow the industry, would sometimes pause and ask... at which point I just had to put it back in my pocket. But the cat is out of the bag... the Nexus Galaxy is available to buy in shops in the UK... so I am allowed to speak (at least a bit) about it. I still need to be careful, as my phone and software build probably don't reflect 100% what you'll find in a shop, so don't base your purchasing decision on anything I say, as I might be wrong (as my wife frequently reminds me too!). And thi...