Ace Computers Blog

Having just spent 3 hours listening to Microsoft tout SBS 2011 Essentials and Office 365, Intel tout “The Cloud”, and enjoying some nice light fare and drink, I was both impressed and underwhelmed at the same time.  The turnout was among the smallest I have seen at one of these events, so the question that arises is…  Where are the Solution Providers?  The products certainly appear strong, and the market appears poised for a dramatic rebound, especially if you believe what M / I are telling you.  Our own business indicators certainly show strength, especially among K-12 in the Mid-West and the West (if not so strong on the more challenging East Coast).  Are State/Local Government and Small Business really ready to embrace this next challenge?  Intel’s themes still appear to be dominated by the growth in the “End User Consumption Device”, as most of their literature shows nothing larger than an All-In-One and moves quickly to laptops, netbooks, SmartTV, Slates, and SmartPhones.  For all the hype about the embedded opportunities, I can tell you that not a single attendee even noticed what Mike Ray (North America Channel Sales Manager) was saying about Digital Security, Digital Signage, and the other areas that Intel wants the typical Solution Provider to focus on.  To be honest, when Mike commented that competing against Dell/HP/MNC’s on price was challenging, I wanted to raise my hand (but resisted the urge).  True, for most small companies to sell a $500 desktop or a $700 laptop against the MNC’s is a losing proposition, but if you move up the value platform to workstations, server, storage, and similar high value products, the playing field is more than level.  Now this message may not be what you hear from Intel, but it is certainly what you hear from our customers.  Don’t be afraid to ask us about volume desktops (Ace has many significant new customers based on the Intel Sandy Bridge architecture this year), or more importantly about the custom workstation, server, storage, and HPC space.  Look for our latest Case Study on the Chemistry Department at North Carolina State University in June, and enjoy the North American Tour from Microsoft and Intel.  I wonder if I will hear the same message at COMPUTEX 2011 next week?

Scott Martin of USA Today writes about the evolution of the Tablet market (March 21, 2011), and while the direction of the market is certainly clear, a couple of thoughts jumped out.

He doesn’t mention Android (even in passing), although he does focus on the “battle” between Apple and Microsoft, and Scott certainly appears to be “Pro-Apple” in his tone. While I don’t have a problem with that, I am wondering if you agree with his conclusions (which to be fair, do reflect a significant amount of industry research, and trends I would probably agree with…)?

Ace continues to evaluate the potential of this market at the lower end, and whether we should seriously invest in either a Windows based tablet/slate, or an Android based tablet/slate. Most importantly, since our market is not consumers, is there a real need for these devices in the business, government, or education space? I agree with one of Scott’s comments, that tablets certainly do not replace higher end notebooks (which clearly do replace desktops…).

Here is the full article link

Send me your feedback, I would like to know…

We are now just over a month since CES 2011 closed down in Las Vegas, and the excitement and the buzz have been reduced to a dull drone in my ears.  But seriously, the excitement caused by the new Tablets, Slates, Touchscreens, and anything that even remotely looked like an Apple iPad was intense…  Ace is working on several new models that we showed to hundreds of guests, and the interest in these products has been tremendous.  New datasheets have been generated, pricing has been released, and we are looking forward to fulfilling on the first orders very soon.  Our website is updated with the latest Nomad Tablet with Bluetooth Keyboard that was such a huge hit!  Send us your dream of how you plan to use these new devices, and maybe we can match our hopes with your dreams…  Until then, the midnight oil continues to burn down.