Market Effect on Technology Investments and Start Ups September 30, 2008
Posted by mycto in Business Productivity, fund raising, investment.Tags: economy, investment, survival
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Having lived through the last Dot Com Bomb (barely), it is intriguing to see some similarities in the current state of affairs. As the cash for investment in very risky (read technology) continues to dry up, early phase tech companies need to understand what it means and what to do.
For a great tutorial on this, please check out CNET’s Kara Tsuboi and Webware’s Rafe Needleman in the following video. Best quote for today: Go Where the Cranes Are.
Is there a Gnome under your desk(top)? September 26, 2008
Posted by mycto in Browsers, Business Productivity, Infrastructure, operating systems.Tags: destop, Gnome, Linux, Mac, Windows
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If I ask most people what operating system is on their desktop–give me the standard answer: “Windows”. Fewer people actually know, or care what version it is. Is it XP? 2000? Vista? For the time being, and probably for the next few years, desktop software will still be important. See my post on these phones to understand more on how the way we work with computers is changing.
One operating system that continues to gain strength is Linux. Why? Simply put, because a lot of programmers hyped up on colas and sequestered away in dark corners are working across the planet right now for no pay to do so. Why? Please, dear reader, check out this Wiki on open source programming and how it is changing the world. Furthermore, Linux is making even faster inroads on handhelds and other devices than on desktops, and handheld devices is what the near future will consider “the computer”.
Gnome
If you have heard the “tech people” in your company or your nerd cousin talking about the new version of Gnome that they are using–here’s what it is. Gnome is the desktop that sits on top of two of the most popular versions of Linux (Ubuntu and Fedora). Don’t ask me about these brand names. Anyway, Gnome is what makes it all look pretty and functional. I have been messing around with the new interface, and I have to take my Fedora off to the team. Looks good.
It used to be that these Linux variants and the user interfaces on top of them were awful. They were clunky and did not have the look and feel of a Windows or Mac front end.
Take a look at this screen shot of the latest Gnome:
Gnome GUI
There. Don’t you feel educated?
Reoccuring Revenue Streams from Technology September 25, 2008
Posted by mycto in Business Productivity.Tags: business, revenue streams
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Without exception, the single greatest question that I am asked by clients and interested parties is this: “How can I use technology to create reoccurring revenue streams”. This question shows how technology has been increasingly accepted as a way to make money, but there is still much mystery around how to do this.
This question is also usually posed by companies and owners who know that there is a way to take their service / product / whatever “online”, but they also know that just because something is online does not mean that the product or service will immediately begin to leap off shelves and into customers’ hands.
Some points / observations to consider in creating reoccuring revenue streams using technology:
- If you sell a physical product–how will you facilitate shipping, returns, etc. when your interface with your clients is online?
- If you have a service, what advantages will the online system need to have in order to make the customer feel comfortable dealing with the digitial you.
Which Anti-virus Software do you use? September 23, 2008
Posted by mycto in Antivirus, Business Productivity, Infrastructure, Security.Tags: Antivirus, Avast, McAfee, Norton
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Computer virus
Most business owners assume that the computers that they have paid for come with anti-virus software installed. After all, why wouldn’t they? Some computers do, but most come with a trial version which stops working after 60 or 90 days. Then, strange things start to happen. Sally in accounting begins to have extended outages with her computer. Bob in marketing can’t figure out why his computer won’t start up. The computers now have viruses and the costs of lost productivity begin to climb sky high.
I have worked with all the main brands–Norton, McAffee, etc., but I have found that these programs use a lot of resources on the computer and are overly complicated. Unless you have a dedicated IT team to manage this process for you, I have found that Avast’s product line is leaner and meaner and works without interupting your work. Plus, Avast has a great home version which is free and just as good as the commercial product. Check out the product line at the link:
Quarkbase Rates Your Website September 22, 2008
Posted by mycto in Browsers, Business Productivity, Infrastructure, search.Tags: Quarkbase, research, website
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quarkbase
I just stumbled upon–literally did with my Stumbleupon tool–Quarkbase. This tool gives you a very indepth overview of your website (or a website you are looking at) and includes:
- Traffic Rank
- Which companies it is popular in
- Management details
- The technology it is built with (ie. .NET, PHP, etc)
- Other similar sites
- Lots of other great info
One iPhone to Rule them All? September 19, 2008
Posted by mycto in Business Productivity.Tags: Android, Blackberry, Google, HTC, iPhone
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Even IF you live in a cave in the middle of the desert, you have probably still heard of the iPhone. This device is becoming ubiquitous and is certainly cool. They are sleek and shiny and work well.
There are some serious competitors that are bringing some devices to market that should create more competition in this space. For your viewing pleasure, dear readers, we present some screen shots of the HTC Dream and the Blackberry Thunder.
HTC Dream
The HTC Dream is intriguing because it runs on Google’s Android operating system. Who cares? Developers. Android is open and should encourage lots of innovative development with it. Expect to see many new applications for Android-based phones.
Here is a photo of the HTC Dream in all its glory (thanks, Gizmodo!):
Blackberry–well, RIM to be exact, does not want to be left out of the Great Touch Screen Wars of 2008. They are also experts at creating significant hype around devices. The Blackberry Thunder Storm marks RIM’s first entry into the touch screen space, and looks like it could be a significant challenger.
Here is a photo of the Thunder (thanks, Crackberry!):
Black Berry Thunder
Can You Hear Me? September 18, 2008
Posted by mycto in search, video.Tags: GAudi, Google, search, video
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Google just announced on its official blog that it will be bringing audio indexing to video. So what? This means that the audio content within a video will be searchable without the uploader having to add the transcript of the text. This will bring an immense amount of new searchable data.
For example, imagine that you wanted to search for video that contained the key phrase: I can see Alaska. The Google Audio Index will do this for you.
Hit the link for more info:
Google Docs–Best Free Software Around September 17, 2008
Posted by mycto in Business Productivity.Tags: Excel, Google, google docs, office, Power Point, Word
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I have been using Google Docs for the better part of a year now. Why? I can create documents (word, excel and powerpoint look-alikes) anywhere and google saves these for me for easy retrival from anywhere. Plus, it is free, and there is no need to update my computer with seemingly never ending software changes.
Using the word document interface is very easy. It is just like using Microsoft’s Word program–you just use your browser to do it. You can also easily share it with co-authors who have a Gmail account.
I am waiting for Microsoft to come out with their own model of this, but that would necessitate them cannabalizing their very profitable Office suite.
Try it out yourself at:
www.google.com/docs
