WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.-Sometimes IT managers just want to have fun, too.
With holiday gifts opened and the wrapping discarded, Credit Union Journal asked IT execs at credit unions which tech-toys they are playing with right now.
More than any other plaything, it seems that the Blackberry Storm has grabbed their attention.
"I haven't gotten my hands on it yet, but I am looking forward to the Blackberry Storm," said Dwayne Sneade, IT systems administrator at Fort Lee FCU in Prince George, Va. "I am really pushing to get one so I can bring it into the office and get a sense of whether it is a tool we would be able to use. I am excited for the touch screen and I hope they will be able to pull it off."
Butch Leonardson is "attached" to the Amazon Kindle, a wireless reading device. "I get the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times daily, plus I download books at will," said Leonardson, SVP and CIO at BECU in Seattle.
"I just got a new 52-inch LCD TV, and a Blu-ray disk player to go with it," said Alan McHugh, manager, information technology at USPS FCU in Clinton, Md. "The Blu-ray player is mind-blowing. I was also amazed that my new TV hooks up to the Internet for news and stock alerts and can download the newest firmware required for the TV. Hook this up with my Xbox 360 and my Bose 3-2-1, and I have a serious gaming rig."
The MacBook Air notebook computer turns up many surprises for Ray Ward, CEO at Kent County CU in Grand Rapids, Mich. "It's interesting to learn how different it is from a PC," said Ward.
Apple does "amazing things" for Alex Barker, too. The SVP and CIO at Mountain America FCU in Salt Lake City likes the interface on the 32-gigabyte iPod Touch, he said.
Anne Shivers, president at Carolina Collegiate FCU in Columbia, SC., is also playing with an iPod, as well as Facebook, a Motorola MOTO Q 9c smartphone and a portable GPS navigation system, she said.
Tootie Holmes is "toying with purchasing" a GPS, which could offer spoken directions and hands-free maps for road trips, said Holmes, manager of IEC FCU in Springfield, Ill.
James Anderson, VP-electronic services at Lathrup Village, Mich.-based Michigan First CU, is "really enjoying iGoogle. The framework Google has created for a customized user interface complete with portable tools and hundreds of "widgets" for both fun and productivity has me hooked. I love Google Notebook!"
Vonda Burkhart is playing with her new wireless 64-bit Hewlett Packard 9715 laptop. "Gotta love it," said the VP and CFO at Employees Credit Union in Dallas.
Charlie Lai is a self-professed digital photography "enthusiast." The EVP and CIO of Orlando, Fla.-based Fairwinds CU uses a Nikon D3, along with a series of prime Nikon lenses.
"This is precision equipment built to take abuse and operate under any weather condition-kind of like my data center," Lai said. "Getting outside to shoot is a nice break from long IT hours."
One executive said she is easy to please. "As long as I have my Palm Treo, laptop and Wii Fit, I'm a happy person," said Michelle Thorne, VP, American United Family of Credit Unions in Salt Lake City.
