Citrix Nails Its Enterprise Mobility Strategy

I have been very pleased with the strategy, execution and the road map that Citrix has developed around Enterprise Mobility. With the announcement of XenMobile MDM and the Mobile Solutions bundle, I can very easily say that the Citrix solution is the most complete and feature-rich offering on the market today.

XenMobile MDM is simply a name change for Zenprise, which Citrix acquired a few months earlier. I expected Citrix to simply change the “Z” to “X” and keep the name, but I guess Citrix marketing did not find that as amusing. That is not the only change that occurred: A new version of “Zenprise” also accompanies this release, and XenMobile MDM now brings it to version 8.0.1.

Many customers and colleagues have asked me why Citrix acquired an MDM provider — what are the value-adds and isn’t the world moving towards MAM anyway? To answer, we have to make a clear distinction between the use cases. I agree and concur that for BYOD initiatives, MAM is a better, cleaner way of doing this things and that MDM is not the ideal solution.

That being said, there are plenty of use cases where MDM is the only solution that makes sense and I will give you real-world examples. Have you heard of the “Belly” card? It is a customer recognition and rewards program from a company HQ’ed in Chicago that offers merchants a locked down iPad for display in their place of business. Customers can come in and scan their mobile phones on the iPad provided and after a certain number of check-ins they are offered a reward for their loyalty. In this case, belly would have very little use for MAM; they need an MDM solution to manage the thousands of iPads they have deployed.

Another example: United Airlines and American Airlines allow customers to use mobile devices in the cabin to purchase goods in-flight. Obviously, the airlines don’t want the flight attendants to use their own device for this, MDM shines again here.

Finally, what about financial institutions that want to continue to issue corporate-managed devices of different flavors? It’d be for security reasons, obviously. In this case, MDM shines.

When I see bloggers and analysts disqualify MDM, they are not thinking beyond BYOD, where the business world could have a use case built around an application they issue on a mobile device.

Did Citrix strike gold with its acquisition of Zenprise? I will say this much: It was one of the best acquisitions the company has ever made. The natural follow-up question is, what about CloudGateway? And my answer is, it is the glue that holds everything together and is the most important product in the Citrix solution today. Everything will go through CloudGateway moving forward and at version 2.5 has the following features:

• Enterprise app store with identity management capabilities for a single sign-on like experience
• Windows Applications and Desktops through XenApp and XenDesktop
• Mobile applications integration, provisioning, etc.
• SaaS applications integration, provisioning, etc
• Integration with Citrix ShareFile for enterprise DropBox functionality

CloudGateway also has a connector for Citrix Podio, and here I’ll be critical of Citrix the same way I’m critical of VMware for not integrating SocialCast. Why Citrix doesn’t make Podio…

Continue reading here!

//Richard

Instant messaging as such is not a new thing (remember ICQ?), but there are certain reasons why it has had its resurrection now:

1. Phones are increasingly more about data than talking
In developed countries nearly every new phone sold is smartphone. Smartphones are increasingly more about being smart than phone. There is app for that, now also for the basic phone features (talking and texting).

2. That data is getting faster
New 4G LTE (Long term evolution) phones will enable high-speed data for mobile phones. This opens new opportunities for what kind of content we can exchange in MIM platforms.

3. Facebook is so huge that it is already mass broadcasting
If you are average Facebook user sending your status update, the odds are that the message will be seen by your family, friends and colleagues plus countless of people you do not even know about. This is great, but serves more of people´s need for vanity and instant recognition. The most meaningful conversations happen with the people you know. Same phenomenon has been also reason for the success of Path.

4. There is always need for 1-to-1 communication
Some might argue that Facebook message does the trick. However the challenge is that Facebook is already flooded with so many messages, it is not that reliable way to catch people (at least not all of them). Phone has been relevant for so long because you can be quite certain that your message is received. Although Facebook has increased the number of “friends”, it has not really increase the number of “real friends”. The amount of those real friends is limited and many of interactions with those people we want to keep private.

5. World is getting smaller
Majority of MIM applications work internationally. The bread and butter of Telcos profit margins has been charging for international calls and roaming. MIM applications do not have those international boundaries. You want to communicate with your friends no matter where they geographically are.

6. World is getting more visual
Although SMS-messages have been relatively cheap, telcos are still taking quite big premium with multimedia messages. With MIM applications you can send whatever data possible and the because of the point 2 the alternatives are actually increasing all the time. Basic SMS- type of messaging is just the beginning for MIM applications and there will be probably lots of innovations in what kind of communication there will be.

What are opportunities for marketers?
Many MIM applications are still quite in infancy regarding their business model. Opportunities for marketers also vary greatly between different platforms. For example paid application WhatsApp is totally ad-free and there has not really been marketers using it (expect for personal use). On the other end of the spectrum is the WeChat, which is currently almost like Wild West with Chinese brands flooding there.

MIM applications are interesting part of mobile strategy for marketers. They provide straight access to consumer´s main screen: smartphone. As the smartphone is always within you, that is the straight pathway to consumer connecting digital to retail. That is the connection which every marketer wants to master. It might be that clever way to utilize MIM is the key for cracking that task.

But why anyone would want to have 1-to-1 connection with brand?

Compared to Facebook where your brand page reaches only fraction of your fans, MIM application has almost the hit-rate of 100%. This is creates a big responsibility for brands. You cannot flood your fans with messages such as “Like if you are ready for the spring!” or “Tell us in one word: (Our Brand) make me ______”. You are truly invading personal space with your message so it needs to add some real value for the consumer. In Facebook you are more likely to get away with stupid brand messages, although they are definitely not recommended in there either.

Here potential routes for marketers to utilize MIM:

1. Daily Deals & Promotions
Deals and promotions are always appreciated by the consumers. With MIM you can connect it phones and also create the sense of urgency to redeem those deals. Of course, provided that these deals are good.
2. Daily tips
MIM provides opportunities also for content marketing. It could be daily practice tips for sport brand. It could be song of the day for music service. Of recent campaigns Oreo Daily Twist could work in Whatsapp. The most important thing whether deals or content, is the expectation management. You have to be really candid about what kind of messages you send and how often. You have one change to lose trust and none chances to get it back.
3. Extension of loyalty card
Having own MIM circle for the valued customers could be great idea for rewarding your best customers with VIP treatment.
4. Rapid Market research
Combined with promotions or deals, MIM also provides vehicle for doing rapid market research and gather intelligence for your loyal customers.

It is too early to tell whether MIM will be the secret weapon that connects digital and retail. One thing is certain though: MIM cannot be left out of consideration for your mobile strategy.

The Citrix blog written by Christopher Campbell makes sense and I also agree that a picture is worth a thousand words!

I’m going to make this real easy and simple. As my grandfather would say “A picture is worth a thousand words”.

If you’re a XenDesktop or XenApp customer this is what your environment probably looks like.

Now this is what you need to enable BYOD and add that MAM, MDM, MIM (Data) and overall EMM functionality you’re looking for.

This is what your environment looks like after you enable BYOD.

Didn’t get that? OK, here is what BYOD looks like with multiple vendors.

Now, here is what BYOD looks like with Citrix.

Got it?

Read the whole blog post here!

//Richard

Brussel Deze Week

For Museum Night Fever BDW  (Michaël Bellon) wrote this piece on kids preparing the fancy Brussel Museum Nights.

Photographing printers at work was rather tricky, but with that mirror in the room I found myself a nice angle.

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert. 20 februari 2013 Jongeren bezig met houtsnedes in jongerencentrum Antichambre asbl – Zij zullen na het drukken van de houtsnedes op grote vellen papier, in het mim, muziekinstrumentenmuseum , een performance ondersteunen tijdens de museum nightfever. Jongen kijkt to bij de uitleg.

Hey, what are long lenses for??

Black Sheep Fashion’s Jessica Holloway

Sid Cratzberg

Sid Cratzberg

Julie Beun

Juilie Nesrallah, Julie Beun and friends

Model Elana Baum and her mum

Gwen Madiba

Dare’s African Drummers sneaking in

American Navy volunteer

Andy Nguyen of Y1D.N.A.

runway cleaning

Sarah Freemark

LeeAnn Lacroix and Bruno Racine

Lois Lee

more runway cleaning

Ottawa Senators Jakob Silfverberg and Kyle Turris

Max Keeping

Carissa McCaig

Ottawa Senator Erik Condra with LeeAnn Lacroix

Ottawa Senator Erik Condra with LeeAnn Lacroix

FAJO Mag ladies

Ottawa Senators Erik Karlsson

Ottawa Senators Erik Karlsson

Measha Brueggergosman

Greg Kolz and friends

Winterlude going on below . . .

A young man plunged through, twig-abused arms lifted to shield his head.  He had large startled eyes set above a thin face ending in a fierce overbite, and enormous ears reached from either side of his head with aims for departure.  He spotted me at once and a wide grin transformed his features into a face you couldn’t help but like.  I stepped from behind the tree.  He consulted writing on a swatch of paper.

“I think I’m here to fetch you,” he said.  Lifting his page, he read, “write what you see and follow the ribbon back.  If you find anyone, bring them.”

He gazed around for a moment before lifting a pencil to the paper.  “Trees and a girl,” he said aloud as he wrote.  After a scrutinizing frown at me, he added to his notes, “teenaged, I think.”  He read through the paper, nodded with satisfaction, and glanced down at a pink ribbon tied around his waist.  Both of our gazes trailed from the loop to the point where the ribbon disappeared into the stand of young trees.  He lifted a gentlemanly arm.  “Ladies first,” he said solemnly.

I crept through the spry branches cautiously, trying unsuccessfully to keep them from springing like whips at my companion the moment they were free.  He bore the sharp slaps with patience, lifting his wide smile every time I peered back in apology.  Finally through the worst of it, I took a moment to stretch while I waited for him to disentangle his ankle from a web of sticker vines.  The pink ribbon attached to his waist continued its journey around a trunk to the left.  Above our heads, another pink ribbon wound the same path, though attached to branches instead of people.

The way marked by the ribbons was surprisingly long, and I started to notice ribbons of other colors drifting along beside us until they terminated in a web of color suspended over a clearing.  A man crouched beside a small fire at the center warming his hands.  He was small in stature, with hair and eyes that blended with the trunks of the nearby trees.  Only his blue shirt helped him stand out from the forest.

“Good!” he exclaimed, leaping to his feet to help my companion remove the lengths of pink ribbon.  “You can call me Ric,” he called to me over his shoulder.  “This is Simeon.”

Once he’d freed Simeon, Ric led his friend to a seat near the fire.  He indicated a stump and I eased onto it, surprised at how weary I was.  The fire felt nice against my legs.  I slid down so that I was leaning against the stump instead of sitting on it and wriggled my toes as close as I dared to the fire as I studied the rainbow colored ribbons webbed above our heads.

“Do you remember anything about where you came from?” asked Ric, coiling the pink ribbon expertly.

I shook my head.

“Not surprised,” he shrugged.  “That’s pink for you.  White’s worse.  We lost three people down white before we figured out they were falling asleep.  The problem was that everyone we sent to find the others fell asleep, too.  Had to throw ropes and drag them back by their feet.  That’s why we tie off before we go in now.”  He held up the pink ribbon.  “It was tricky, but we got them all eventually.”

“What is this place?” I asked.

Ric shrugged again.  “Woods.  The ribbons mark the paths that are safe.”

“They don’t sound safe to me,” I scoffed.

“Those who go off the paths don’t come back at all,” said Ric.

“Maybe they fall asleep,” I suggested.

Ric and Simeon shared a dark glance.  “Based on what noises we’ve heard,” Simeon said cautiously, “I think that’s… not what happened.”

“Mim, Sandwich and Alfred are down yellow,” said Ric after a pause.

“Again?” frowned Simeon.  “They just did yellow.  That’s the labyrinth,” he added toward me.

“They think they can get through this time,” said Ric.  “They took the rest of the ribbon.”

Simeon snorted.  “They’ll be back soon.”

“That was terrible!” exclaimed a small woman, stomping into the clearing with an armful of ribbons and two breathless men trailing in her footsteps.  She threw the ribbons down and sighed, fists on hips.  “We have a new one?” she added when her hazel gaze landed on me.

“Pink,” nodded Ric.

“I won’t ask your name then,” she chuckled.  “I’m Mim.  These are Alfred and Sandwich,” she added, thumbing toward the men behind her.

“It’s Reuben, actually,” grimaced the larger of the two men.  Everything about him was as pale and oversized as the other man was dark and petite.  “Mim thinks calling me Sandwich is funny,” he said, handing his section of ribbons to Ric and taking a seat.

“It is funny,” grinned Simeon.  He failed to duck from the hail of small pebbles Reuben sent flying at his head.

“Have you eaten?” asked Alfred, handing me a pouch filled with berries.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, and figured I must not have after I popped the first one into my mouth and discovered myself ravenous.

“Help yourself,” he waved, taking a seat.  “The labyrinth keeps you on your toes, but there’s plenty to eat.”

“You need to work on your notes, Simeon,” complained Ric, looking over a piece of paper.

“What’d I do?” asked Simeon.

“You went down pink today, but nothing new,” said Ric.  He scratched at the paper.  “I’m adding a note to add another length to the high ribbon next time so we can go farther.  There has to be something there if we keep finding people.  We just can’t remember what.”

A woman with long braids approached from the forest, unknotting a blue ribbon from her waist.  “Blue’s impossible,” she sighed.  She opened a pouch at her hip and sighed again.  “I was sure I just picked the juiciest berries.”  She turned the pouch over and a dribble of tiny stones trickled to the ground.

“Blue’s illusion,” Simeon explained, sliding closer to me.

“Where’s Dev?” the newcomer frowned.  “I’m Elaine,” she added amiably when her gaze fell upon me.

I waved shyly, handing the berry pouch to Simeon, who’d been eyeing it with interest.  He dove in with enthusiasm.

“Orange,” answered Ric, who rose to collect her blue ribbon and coil it neatly with the others.

Mim produced a limp rabbit from a pack at her back and Sandwich, er, Reuben helped her prepare it for the spit.  Soon, sumptuous aromas flooded the wood.

“That smells delicious!” said a tiny man emerging from the orange path.  His skin was lavender, as were his eyes and hair.  He tossed the length of orange ribbon to the ground and worked at the knot at his waist.  “Good thing I found these,” he grinned once free, tossing a lumpy sack beside the tangle of ribbon.

Alfred opened it and grinned.  “Nice find,” he whistled, producing a handful of tubers.  The others cheered and set to work clearing out a spot in the fire for them.

There was only enough rabbit for each of us to enjoy a small morsel or two, but it was mouthwatering.  Much later, the tubers proved to be filling, if bitter.  We watched the fire glow, and as night darkened the woods around us, stories bloomed from our lips, weaving together like the colorful ribbons above our heads.  Sleep came, and went, and morning brought with it a little girl.

She stood at the edge of the circle, her wide brown eyes studying the smoldering fire and sleeping people with a gaze too calm and knowing to fit in a child’s face.  When her eyes fell on me, she smiled.  I waved, noticing that she stood under the pink ribbon.  They’d said I came from pink, but my memory of it was fuzzy.

Simeon stirred first.  “Hello,” he called to her, waking the others.  “I’m Simeon.”

“Molly,” she replied, picking her way over the shifting figures of our companions to sit between me and Simeon.  To my surprise, she took my hand.

“She didn’t come from pink then,” muttered Reuben, suppressing a yawn.  “Yellow, maybe?”

“No one’s ever come from yellow,” sighed Ric.

“That we know of,” corrected Reuben, “but I swear I heard someone else in there the last few times.  Could’ve been her.”

“I climbed up from the waterfall,” said Molly.

“None of the paths lead to a waterfall,” said Ric.

“We don’t know that,” said Dev, rubbing his eyes and rising to stretch.  Molly stared openly at his lavender skin.

“I’ve read all of the notes, and none of them mention a waterfall,” insisted Ric.  He reached behind a log to retrieve a thick stack of paper.  “Not even a stream,” he muttered, leafing through with expert practice.

“Did you write all of those?” I asked.

Ric shook his head.  “No one knows who started these, but we’ve been adding to them ever since.  I only started reading them after Mica left.”

“Where did Mica go?” I asked.  Ric hesitated, and based on the nervous shuffling coming from Simeon, I guessed that Mica was one of the ones who went off the paths.  “Sorry,” I muttered.

“There’s no waterfall,” concluded Ric, finishing his perusal.

“Just because it isn’t written down doesn’t mean it isn’t there,” yawned Dev.  “I believe you, little Molly,” he smiled.

“Where did you come from?” Molly asked him.

“My home,” he said.  “My doorstep, in fact.”

“And then you were here?” Molly asked.

“Exactly.”

“And you?” she asked, turning to Simeon.

“I’m told I came from pink,” he shrugged, nodding toward the pink ribbon.

Molly gazed at each of the others, and their answers were the same.  Pink.  Through breakfast preparations Molly remained quiet and watchful.  She kept her too-knowing gaze on all of us, and I had the funny sense of being someone’s experiment.

“Mim, you going back to yellow?” asked Ric, consulting his stack of notes.

“I saw more rabbits,” nodded Mim.

“Sandwich, I was hoping you’d be up for purple today,” said Ric.  “You have longer strides.  Maybe you can get to the other side of the fog.  I’ll give you three lengths of rope.”

“It’s Reuben,” growled the tall fair man, but he took the coils of ribbon and tied the end of the red one around his waist.

“Dev, do you want to tackle pink today?”

Dev reached toward the pink ribbon but Molly grabbed his hand.  “Please don’t go!” she begged, pearly tears rolling suddenly from her wide eyes.  A glance of bewilderment sped between the rest of us.

“It’s okay, Molly,” said Ric, “I go into pink all the time.”  Molly leveled an obstinate glare on Ric that seemed ill-suited for such a sweet face.  “Should I go instead?” tried Ric.  Reluctantly, Molly nodded.  “Okay, settled,” said Ric.  “I’ll take pink.  Alfred?”

“Blue.”

“Brave,” chuckled Ric.  “Elaine?”

“Green.”

“That’s all of our rope,” sighed Ric.  “Dev, Simeon…” he smiled wryly.  “You get to watch the kids.”

Neither Simeon nor Dev seemed particularly upset by this, and in fact began scratching out some kind of playing board in the dirt near the fire pit.  Molly waited until the others were out of sight before interrupting their efforts.

“We’re not safe here,” she announced.

“Oh, sure we are, honey,” assured Simeon, but Molly shook her head adamantly.

“Mim isn’t one of us,” she said.  “She’s bad, like the old woman at the waterfall.”

“There isn’t a water…” began Simeon but Dev interrupted.

“Let her speak.”

“Dev, we have to go,” said Molly.

“I’ve tried every path,” Dev said gently.  “There’s no way out.”

“There is,” she insisted.  “It’s you.”

“No one escapes,” said Mim.  She was leaning against the tree under the yellow ribbon.  For a moment it looked like she had another shape, with a significantly larger jaw.

Molly clutched my wrist with one hand and Dev’s with another.  At a sharp look, Simeon quickly grabbed Dev’s other hand.

“Wish it,” commanded Molly.

Mim pushed away from the tree, stalking toward us with a predatory gleam in her eye.

“Dev is the key,” said Molly.  “Give your wish to Dev!”

“How do you know this’ll work?” asked Simeon.

Mim was nearly upon us.  Her jaws seemed to be growing.

“That’s how he got here in the first place.”  Molly sighed in exasperation as if she were stating the obvious.

She turned her gaze up and I had a strange sensation when our eyes met, as if I ought to remember something important.  Mim’s gaping jaws were large enough to swallow us whole.  Her breath, hot and rank, blew our hair against our cheeks.

“It’s alright,” she said quietly.

Written by W. C. McClure www.wcmcclure.com.  This short story may be shared (and please do); just please be sure to share it in its entirety, unaltered (and including this fine print), with credit given to W. C. McClure.  Comments are welcome at www.farsideofdreams.com. Oh, and if you want to show your support, tell your friends – and pick up a copy of “The Statues of Azminan” by W. C. McClure.  Thanks!

by Anjy Roemelt

Gimli, by John Howe

When Tolkien’s mythology first became movie-material the dwarves were sadly underrepresented. At the Council of Elrond some were present who were never named (just like several elves, to be fair), one with a gorgeous white beard who entered Rivendell with Gimli could only be Gloín, and then there was Gimli. In the book the enmity, or rather antagonism, between dwarves and elves is mentioned more or less casually. Much more emphasis is put upon the friendship between Gimli and Legolas and how exceptional it is. Apart from that, Gimli appears to be strangely distant from the other members of the Fellowship. He represents his race the same way it is described throughout the novel: strange, aloof, different. We catch glimpses of a different culture, kept secret from the other “free races” of Middle-Earth when he reveals some ancient dwarvish names to his companions, and especially when Galadriel does this. The meeting with Galadriel, and Gimli’s adoration for her, seems even stranger than the representation of dwarves so far. Gimli is struck by the beauty and loveliness of the Elf as if these were things totally unbeknownst to the dwarves. The parting scene at Parth- Galen has a touch of healing, resurrection, and redemption about it. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light (Isaiah 9:2). We will see later why this connection is utterly plausible.

Film-Gimli adds an element of humour to the story, something book-Gimli never intended to do, and neither did Tolkien, I’m sure. When Gimli is pulled up on the ledge in Moria by his beard – much to his chagrin – or refuses to be “tossed”, or when he plays a drinking game with Legolas after the victory at Helm’s Deep, we deal with Peter Jackson’s dwarves much more than with Tolkien’s. So, I will dwell only briefly on this aspect for it really doesn’t concern the Naugrim/Nauglath, the dwarves Tolkien had in mind. These elements in the film serve the dwarvish representation in so far as they underline their strangeness. “Little hairy women”, dwarves aren’t tossed – ah, we are learning something about a different culture here. So we are, in fact, but we remain on the outside laughing at what we don’t understand or what seems funny from our point of view. Not much different from “civilized” folks gaping at the exotic customs of some “crude natives” on a tourist attraction.

When Tolkien created the dwarves they were by no means what we see now in The Hobbit: An Unexpected journey. At first, they weren’t even necessarily counted among the “good guys”, so Tolkien saw the need to specify in the appendices to The Lord of the Rings that the dwarves “were never evil by nature”.

The dwarves were not made by Iluvatar but by the Vala Aule who was impatient to see the latter themes of Iluvatar’s music unfold, and thought of adding something of his own talent. Unlike Melkor (the disobedient Vala who started Evil in the world), who tried to change the theme itself, Aule only took what was already created – stone, for example – and gave it a living form. And very unlike Melkor he repented when Iluvatar – inevitably – found out, and prepared to destroy his creatures. When the newly created dwarves, mostly called the “seven fathers” afterwards, shied away from his hammer and wept for fear, Aule realized that they had life of their own. Until then they had only moved when he willed them to, like puppets, for only Iluvatar can give independent life and free will – to move, for instance. So, Iluvatar’s acceptance was already given even before Aule repented and the dwarves’ existence condoned. Still, they are strange not only in appearance but in origin. Something which is not made by Iluvatar can be understood as not made by God in our-world’s terms. A strange conception. Thus the scene with Galadriel mentioned above is called to mind. The people whose origin lies outside the source of beauty and bliss, which the elves represent, are called home, enabled to receive the same blessing the “real” children of Iluvatar possess.  They are adopted into every right and maybe always had been but never knew before.

There is a line in History of Middle-Earth (the Book of Lost Tales Part II) that tells about the dwarves’ origin. “The Nauglath are a strange race and none know surely whence they be, and they serve not Melko nor Manwe and reck not for Elf or Man, and some say that they have not heard of Iluvatar, or hearing disbelieve.” The dwarves, take it or leave it, are a heathen people.

It takes time for them to be “baptized”. The story of the Nauglamir (or Nauglafring in earlier writings) displays their doubtful character. The elvenking Thingol/Tinwelint orders a beautiful necklace of dwarvish making, sometimes with a Silmaril, sometimes without.  The dwarves make it and afterwards are either betrayed by Thingol or don’t want to surrender it – anyway they make away with it and much bloodshed takes place. The enmity between dwarves and elves dates back to these events which are linked with the story of the Silmarils in The Silmarillion and also with the tale of Turin thereat, and in The Children of Hurin. The dwarves are described as craftsmen of surpassing excellency, but also reluctant to part with their treasures, and certainly less noble than the elves (although at least some blame stays with Thingol even in The Silmarillion).

The only dwarf who is mentioned by name and features in a tale is Mîm, the petty dwarf, and he is rather a doubtful character. The origin of the petty-dwarves isn’t explained, only that they are the last of their race. Thus they seem to be different from “real” dwarves, but if there is an explanation for this difference I haven’t found it yet in Tolkien’s writings. Mîm and two of his kin meet with Turin and his band, are taken for enemies, and shot at. Mîm is captured and talks his captors out of killing him by promising them food and lodging and, maybe, bounty in his home. He leads them there and discovers that an arrow sent at the three of them has hit his mark and killed his son Kîm. Turin is deeply sorry for that. Mîm and his surviving son Ibun play host to Turin and his men, but here is no talk about a developing friendship.  When Mîm is captured again by orcs (in The Children of Hurin he seeks them on purpose, out of hatred for Beleg the elf, who was Turin’s companion and friend) he betrays Turin and his men, and leads the orcs to his house. Despite whatever flaws Turin has in that story, he’s the hero in the Mîm-episode, and Mîm, for all his grief over his son, is perceived as a miserable traitor.

The Petty-dwarves, by Alan Lee

Amid all these fragments of stories, writings, tales and slips of paper, The Hobbit appears, like something fallen from a different planet. The dwarves who appear on Bilbo’s threshold one fine evening in April are very different from the creators of the Nauglamir, or Mîm and his sons. They are garden-gnomes, or very close relatives. Their beards are coloured, as are their hoods.  They are easily discouraged, bear grudges, and are mostly interested in trades, business and, of course, gold. All in all – as Tolkien almost apologetically states when the hidden door to the Mountain is finally found – they are no heroes.

They seem strange enough with all the colourful appearance mentioned above, but there is nothing of the ancient race we glimpse in Gimli. They are mainly connected with the gold of Erebor, a real treasure hunt, and they are the treasure-hunters, while Gandalf, Bilbo, the lake-men, and the elves of Mirkwood seem much more noble and, in some way, stranger than they are. Actually, the dwarves in The Hobbit are a lot more human than ever before or after dwarves of Tolkien’s making were allowed to be. In this aspect, Peter Jackson is very close to the book. His dwarves are more human than the elves. The scene in Rivendell, the comparison between lunch-with-Elrond and lunch-with-Bombur is almost hilarious – for everyone but the elven harpist who will miss his instrument the following day.

In this case the book The Hobbit is far less connected with the whole bulk of Tolkien’s writing than is the movie. In creating his dwarves, Peter Jackson drew not only upon The Hobbit but also upon The Silmarillion, The Unfinished Tales (“The Quest of Erebor”), and The Lord of the Rings. Elements of all these books are present in the thirteen dwarves displayed in the film as the Company of Thorin Oakenshield.

How these connect with the Nauglath of old shall be the subject of a second part of this essay soon to come.