Costing up to $1billion, a first of its kind city with no residents is being developed in New Mexico in the US. It’s a scientific ghost town humming with the latest technology in the heart of oil and gas country.

The city, called CITE, or Centre for Innovation, Technology and Testing, is being built to help researchers test everything from intelligent traffic systems to next-generation wireless networks, automated washing machines and self-flushing toilets. The town will be modelled after a real city, Rock Hill, and will come complete with highways, houses and commercial buildings, old and new. No one will live there, although they could as houses will include all the necessities, like appliances and plumbing.

New technologies will be tested on existing infrastructure without the usual disruptions and interference in everyday life. For instance, while some researchers will be testing smart technologies on old grids, others might be using the streets to test self-driving cars.

New Mexico was an obvious choice for the site as it not only offers plenty of open space but is also seeking diversification from reliance on the oil and gas industries. The 39 hectare site will break ground by June 30 with the overall investment estimated to top $US1 billion.

Whilst many of the features and specs that had been widely rumoured and leaked turned up on the finished article, such as a quad-core processor, larger display, NFC, S Voice (voice recognition), it seems that many had been expecting more and some users are disappointed with the specs and features. For example, there were concerns about the display quality as a Super AMOLED Plus HD display had been expected and it turned up as a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED HD sans Plus. Also 2GB of RAM had been anticipated (as in the upcoming LG Optimus LTE 2) but the Galaxy S3 has stuck with 1GB. The S Voice software feature seems to be felt by many to be a novelty factor to rival the iPhone’s SIRI and plenty of people were hoping for a step up to a 10 or 12-megapixel rear camera not the 8-megapixel camera that is on offer.  As for the design, this has come under mixed reviews with comments that there is no ‘wow’ factor. Some also feels the plastic design looks cheap.

Samsung have alienated many US customers by delaying the launch there. This seems to have sparked real outrage amongst many in the US!

Turning our attention to the iPhone 5, it now remains to be seen whether Apple can come up with something really special to compete with the Samsung Galaxy S3. Although of course, nothing in the way of specs and features has yet been confirmed for the iPhone 5, some of the widely-reported inclusions are an improved A5X or A6 processor (possibly quad-core), a larger display with higher resolution than even the current Retina Display, improved camera, LTE connectivity and much more. It will be interesting to see just how many people that had planned to purchase the S3 hang on to see what the iPhone 5 has to offer.

Let’s take a look at what 4G gives us:  access to mobile broadband at higher bandwidth with lower latency. This means that you connect faster to the network and can download stuff quicker – especially video streaming.  The question to ask oneself  is when would one use the 4G service over and above a fixed line NBN service? Obviously you would use a 4G connection when a WiFi or fixed connection is unavailable – when mobile for instance, but – and it is a big but – also if 4G is seen as genuine substitute to fixed line.

4G will only be seen as a genuine substitute to the NBN fixed line if it is not materially more expensive and it can give the same, or better, user experience.

“My view is that the price point of 4G will closely match fixed NBN pricing as the carriers compete to win more customers over to their mobile networks, so there will not be a price barrier,” says Anton Gain, MD of telecommunications advisory company Gain IT & T Consulting*. “The congestion issue, however, is more difficult problem to solve.”

Mobile technology is a contention technology, which means the more people who use the available bandwidth in a given area, the slower the access and latency. This will occur when multiple users download large content files simultaneously in small built up areas where a limited number of base stations can be accessed. The user experience in this situation suffers, and it is well known that people are very impatient with bad user experience – especially when it comes to telecommunications.

Mr Gain believes that until the mobile technologies can resolve the congestion issue 4G will still be seen as a complementary product to fixed line for the majority of users.

*Gain IT & T Consulting Pty Ltd specialises in Telecommunication advisory, deal structuring and negotiations.

Let’s start with the bad news. Overall hiring is down since last year. The good news however, is that it is only down by 1%. And it seems that this level of activity will remain more or less constant over the coming quarter. We’re hoping this indicates a degree of stability has finally returned to the global employment market.

Here in Australia we know we’re one of the lucky countries. It certainly comes as no surprise to read that the overall global figures show substantial variance in the fortunes of individual countries. Several of the Eurozone countries are still languishing in the doldrums. In Spain, for example, less than a third of businesses are recruiting. The most significant activity is still taking place in the fast growing economies of the developing world. In China, for example, more than 70% of businesses are currently seeking new staff, while in the Philippines the figure is in excess of 90%.

Surveys like these are valuable indicators of the levels of optimism or pessimism within businesses in key markets around the world. What they tell us is that, whether a counties employment market is active or not, competition for the best talent at the professional and managerial level is consistently fierce. The skills that companies need, in conjunction with specific technical capabilities, such as effective people management and development, concise and clear oral and written communication, commercial awareness, entrepreneurship and innovation – are always hard to find. It seems that it’s not just a question of being short of talent – it’s being short of the right talent.

Winning Sectors: Across the globe the sectors with the highest current levels of recruitment at professional and managerial level were: Shared Services, Luxury Goods, Fashion, Leisure and Accountancy

Losing Sector:  The lowest anticipated hiring levels were in the agricultural products sector with only 24% of organisations currently hiring.

Global Snapshot – The Worldwide Picture

• Are you currently hiring at managerial / professional level? – 55%
• Are you currently letting people go at managerial / professional level? – 20%

So, what’s the outlook for the rest of 2012? It seems that the most hiring activity over the coming quarter will take place in emerging markets and particularly in those of the Asia Pacific region with China, Vietnam and the Philippines all scoring highly.

* The Antal Global Snapshot

Video conferencing from our iPhones, iPads, Macs and PCs is now possible thanks to the intuitive user interface combined with ‘open standards’ architecture. Raising the bar in the video collaboration arena – FaceMe’s version 2 will be launched in Australia this month.

We spoke to Michael Squires of FaceMe and asked some tough questions about this new technology.

What’s the difference between FaceMe and Skype?

• Skype is “free” for one to one video meetings. If you want to have more than the two of you in a video meeting then  you have to sign up for Skype Premium which is about $10 per user per month.  When you go to Skype Premium you can then have group meetings. It says you can have up to 10 video attendees in the meeting maximum but anyone who reviews it says that performance seriously degrades when you get to 5 in a video meeting. The reason for the degradation is because Skype is a consumer based tool which was originally built for internet calling. The protocols used to build Skype are focussed around trying to hold a voice call.  They are a heavy TCP stack (Peer to Peer) which is very demanding on bandwidth.  They need that stack to hold a voice call. Video is an afterthought hence the limitation on video conferencing.
• So the ironic thing is that Skype, whilst capable of a 1:1 meeting fails miserably when you have a business group. It also will impact any business that has a low bandwidth connection. FaceMe code and the codecs used are built from the ground up for Video and Voice collaboration. That’s a major differentiator.
• There is no content library in Skype which makes it hard to share any business content or mark it up in a business meeting.
• There is limited to no support for Skype.
• You can only connect Skype to Skype so that’s not great if you want to invite a customer to a meeting. Download and configuration are required to join.
• You can’t schedule a business meeting in Skype. It’s an adhoc “hey I’m here and so are you so let’s connect” arrangement.
• The video and voice quality of Skype is highly influenced and degraded due to the congestion of the bridges used and coupled with the protocol application build the result is a very average and problematic product.
• You can’t record in Skype.
• There is a lot of doubt about when you need to purchase Skype Credit for Voice conferencing on a business grade scale, resulting in potential for ‘bill shock’.

Compare all the above to FaceMe and there are some significant differences. So on a 36 Month term a customer can buy a block of 10 FaceMe accounts for $240 per month (that’s 24$ AUD each) for more business features, stability, ease of access, unlimited meetings and no voice bill shock for local dial in.

Look out for the FaceMe launch at ceBIT on 22nd May. 

We’ve collected salary information from around the globe on six key IT jobs – Development Managers, Project Managers, Software Developers, Business Analysts, Network Engineers and Testers – averaged them out and converted the figures into Australian Dollars. See below….

As suspected, Sydney tops the list with average IT salaries of over $100k per annum with Perth coming in second at $99 125. On our index of hot IT spots New York is third with IT salaries there averaging $91 677 and Singapore forth at $86 666. London comes in just behind at $85 770 and then our Kiwi mates at $74 624.

But before we all start patting ourselves on the back a word of caution; this data is not all good news. As we can see salaries in places like India and Manilla are 10% of what we are being paid here. Does the word ‘off-shore’ come to mind? With cloud computing on the rise the need for local centres is diminishing as companies look to reduce their costs by taking their IT spend overseas. There’s a huge pool of well qualified people out there prepared to do the same job for a fraction of the price. It’s a sobering thought Sydney-siders.

Development Managers, Project Managers, Software Developers, Business Analysts and Network Engineers, find your closest job title below and see what you’d earn if you lived elsewhere in the world:

Sources used:

Sydney, Australia: MyCareer Salary Centre

New York City, USA: 2012 Robert Half Technology Salary Guide

Perth, Australia: MyCareer Salary Centre

London, UK: CW Jobs

Auckland, New Zealand: 2010-2011 Robert Half Technology Asia Pacific Salary Guide

Singapore: 2010-2011 Robert Half Technology Asia Pacific Salary Guide

Bangalore, India: PayScale

Manilla, Philippines: ZDNET

It’s important for business managers and owners to be strategic when altering their local staff structure. Yes, there is market uncertainty but this calls for a considered approach rather than a knee-jerk cutting of staff. I have seen job cuts can often do more harm than good for business in the long term. It is about making sure the right people are in the right role at the right time to drive productivity improvement.  Drop me a line, we are happy to chat about where we can help. Peter Hooper Tel: 02 9994 8048

A few of my friends have been retrenched lately and I’m getting nervous. I can’t afford to be unemployed. Is there anything I can do to avoid a possible retrenchment?

Hans J, Team Leader

Dear Hans

Retrenchments are sadly part and parcel of any fast-paced international industry. Lay-offs are usually not personal and not a reflection of the quality of your work. Most of the time there is little you, as an employee, can do to avoid retrenchment.

As well as keeping your profile active at your favourite employment agency and hedging your bets by putting out a few new job applications I would suggest giving the following 5 tips a go to try dodge the job cut bullet….

 Add Value

 As I said, retrenchments are usually not personal. It’s not you, it’s the role. So if you fear your role is shrinking in importance work out ways that you can add value within the organisation. Consider your current role and come up with a few ideas of things you could start doing that could increase productivity or help the company as a whole to gain more market share, cut costs or increase profits.  Present these ideas to the boss and make sure that if these strategies are successful that they are noticed.

Stay visible

If a retrenchment has to be made then make sure your dedication to the company is noticed. Arriving at work a minute or two before your boss is a worthwhile strategy for staying visible. Even if you just to arrive 5 minutes early, it leaves a great impression. The assumption will be made that you’ve been working hard, enjoying the work and are loyal to the company. (Of course we know that the actual amount of time you put into work isn’t always directly related to your output, but sometimes the time you put into a job becomes the de facto standard to measure how much you are doing.)

Head down, bum up.

Don’t get involved in office politics. Gossip can only harm you in the long run. Most gossip is just going to waste everyone’s time. There may be some benefit in keeping track of people’s moods and events that will impact jobs. For example, if one of your co-workers is fed up and getting ready to quit, it might not be bad to know that ahead of time. You could start subtly positioning yourself for that role. But you definitely don’t want to be the person sharing this sort of information. Gossiping will make people less likely to trust you in the future and is not an indication of leadership potential.

Share information freely

People often try to increase their own importance by keeping information to themselves. Don’t think you’ll get away with it. This short-sighted strategy will make people dislike and distrust you. Rather aim to be the person in the office that everyone can come to for information on everything from how a program works to where the stapler is. Don’t overplay your own importance by appearing ‘too busy’ to help others.

Make other people look good

Helping other people look good won’t hurt you in return; instead it will produce a ‘halo’ effect around you. People who you’ve gone out of your way to help promote are more likely to give you credit for your work and help you when you need it. Remember that what you give out you generally get back. So give credit when it’s due. If your boss compliments you on a report you did and one of your co-workers helped, go ahead and tell your boss that your co-worker was a great help. Then tell your co-worker. “I told the boss that the report wouldn’t have been nearly as good without your input.”

Sometimes there will be nothing you could have done to avoid a retrenchment. If it does happen to you don’t let it get you down: back yourself, stay confident and open to new opportunities. Approach your ‘time-off’ with a strong strategy of networking and job-searching knowing there was nothing you could have done to avoid your current situation.

Just when you thought you had a presence on every social media platform, along comes yet another. Of course you have accounts on the ‘big three’ social media sites by now: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn but to take your online exposure a step further take a look at Pinterest.

What is Pinterest?

Originally beginning as a platform for people to save and organise ideas for weddings, home décor, and recipes it is evolving into a place to post images of just about anything that interests you. The site’s mission is to ‘connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting.’ We’ve all heard something similar to this before with Facebook’s mission ‘to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.’ But there’s a twist. Pinterest is not your typical social media site; you will not be posting status updates here, but instead using a virtual pin board to post and pin images onto a ‘board’ and share them with your followers. The images are categorised. Each pinned image you post includes a link back to your site, you click once to see the pin page, and again to see the source site.

The main appeal of Pinterest is that it is exceptionally easy to use. You will only be posting and viewing pictures and making a quick one-line comment below. It’s far simpler than Facebook – you won’t be bombarded with lengthy postings in the status update field about nothing.  But don’t get it wrong, Pinterest still maintains some qualities of other social media networks. It is similar to other social networks, in that members are encouraged to interact with the content by reposting, ‘liking’ and sharing pins onto their Facebook and Twitter or via email, and even embedding individual pins on their website or blog. Each user can also upload a profile photo, and there’s a stream of continually updating pin boards, similar to the newsfeed feature on Facebook.

Is Pinterest right for your business?

Pinterest is not likely to replace LinkedIn as the best site for business and employment networking online site. What it does offer is an intriguing, easy place for people in creative professions to post their portfolios and images of their work. Remember, this site is different from Facebook and Twitter, working with images, rather than words. This can be real easy if you are an Architecture firm, Clothing Manufacturer, or a team of Interior Designers.  Here you can use Pinterest to put images that relate to your business and through this visual cue clients can become interested in your product or service and come back looking for more. The goal here is promote your brand, drive traffic to your website, and successfully convert new visitors into repeat customers. It’s a visual representation of your business, ultimately leading to greater exposure and, hopefully, some new clients. However, limited features like not being able to link your Pinterest account with your LinkedIn profile, make it unclear as to just how powerful a job search tool this can be for the savvy job seeker.

Pinterest appears to be an easy way to post aesthetically appealing images and is proving to be a valuable marketing tool for select businesses to showcase their works. However, for now, it’s too soon to tell if Pinterest will join the likes of the ‘big three’ social media sites. Right now, the number of users on Pinterest is well behind the likes of the top social media platforms with over 20 million users and in the next few months we will be able to see if Pinterest becomes the next big thing in social media.

Over the past few years I have watched with bewilderment as I walked past the Apple store on George street while new products are being released. The version 1 Ipad release was just crazy; the queue must have been 400 metres long. The Ipad2 release was even crazier, and there was genuine hype inside the store when people purchased their Ipad.

Today, was of a similar ilk – maybe not as crazy as Ipad2, but still pretty crazy. I reckon the queue was about 200 metres – not bad for a product release that really isn’t that different from its predecessor.

Why the hype? Excess of consumerism or passion for new technologies? A bit of both I suppose. You have to admire Apple, and the way they build customer loyalty. And lets face it, their products are exceptionally good.

So what was it like in queue? I have to say it was pretty subdued; there were nerds-a-plenty, a few free apples (from the perpetually smiling Apple staff), and heaps of coffee. There was a real buzz of excitement, and while I didn’t see any apple tattoos, I’m pretty sure someone in the queue would have one.

Finally, is the Ipad (new) any good, and does it warrant the hype? It’s definitely impressive – the screen resolution is outstanding – I thought the graphics on the ipad2 were pretty good, but this is in a different league. The combination with AppleTV is sensational. And if you don’t already own an Ipad, this is definitely worth a purchase. However, If you are still happy with your Ipad2, then the sensible course of action might be to wait for ipad4 – or 3s, ipadá, or whatever funky term apple will come up with for the number 4…