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Is Google Cursed?

Posted by tomwiles at 2:37 PM on September 2, 2010

Back in the very early part of the 1990’s, the tech world villain of choice was IBM, and the underdog was Microsoft. As the 1990’s progressed, IBM began to move into the background and Microsoft took over the role as tech villain.

Windows 3.0 was the version that really started making waves in a big way. It was buggy and unreliable, but it offered a glimpse of the potential personal computers presented. Windows 3.0 made it possible to pick from a wide variety of standardized computer hardware parts and put them together and have a working personal computer that could do rudimentary multitasking. Windows succeeded because it worked on an open hardware platform. That same open platform forever cemented The Windows’ Curse.

In 2010 the new tech villain is Google. Smartphones are the new computers of choice. Google Android is the new Windows 3.0 morphing into 3.1, 3.11, and Windows 95.

My fear is that Google Android is doomed to repeat the muddled path of Windows.

Here is why.

My HTC Evo was recently updated to Android 2.2 “Froyo.” All well and good. However, the Android apps I have installed are constantly being updated. Fine – I can see how that would happen. However, I’m noticing that some of them no longer work. Incompatibilities are creeping in. The latest victim of Android upgrade fail is the latest Android version of the Foursquare app, which causes my phone to spontaneously reboot a few seconds after I open the app.

The Windows Curse is in very real danger of becoming The Android Curse.

The open platform is both a blessing and a blight. Open platforms are great so long as they are small. Once they become the majority market leader, their very openness makes them vulnerable to of errors of confusion as well as a giant security target.

It’s probably time for some company to start producing antivirus and antispyware software for Android phones. And it may also be time for some of us to start fleeing for the higher ground of walled garden dictatorships.

Tags: Android, fail, Foursquare, FroYo, google, Google Curse, ibm, Microsoft, Microsoft Curse, Smartphones, Windows, Windows Curse

Posted in Android, Foursquare, Microsoft, Windows, google, smartphone

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Facebook as a Hiring Network

Posted by susabelle at 6:43 AM on September 2, 2010

Several times a year I have need of several extra bodies to complete time-sensitive work in my department. The work is tedious and mind-numbing, but important, and only lasts three to five weeks. Since we are a college campus, we do not have provisions in policy to bring on temporary workers from an agency, so I have to get creative. And the type of people I want are those that need a few hours of part-time work, can buy into what we are trying to do, and have an eye for quality as well as the fingers and brain for speed. It’s specialized work, in many respects, but anyone with decent knowledge of Microsoft Word and no fear of technology can get up to speed pretty quickly.

I have used various methods for hiring these people in the past. I have personally contacted friends or associates that I thought had the right skills, and the open schedule, to do the work. I have sent messages out on listservs that I belong to, and posted fliers at events I have gone to. Over the years I have hired graphic artists/designers, secretaries, Pastor’s wives, geeks, stay-at-home homeschooling moms, paramedics, nurses, and actors. But this semester, I tried something a bit different. Instead of posting on a mailing list or tagging friends or associates individually, I went straight to facebook. I have a lot of friends on my list, and a fair amount of those friends are under employed or unemployed due to the economy, or know people who are. I posted the need for people, and almost immediately hired two people, one who was a friend of a friend (facebook-style) who is a retired secretary, and one who happens to be a neighbor of mine who works in the web design field but was looking for a little part-time income.

It was probably the easiest round of hiring I’ve ever done. Maybe part of it is because there is so much unemployment, but I like to think that facebook has also given me a giant network to tap when needed. It’s not the two hundred or so friends on my friends list; it’s the friends of those friends, that really makes the difference. My ability to find workers in the past has worked, but I have to say this time I had new workers on board within 48 hours of needing them, all from facebook referrals. That’s saying something when what I do is time-sensitive and I don’t have three or four weeks to interview and hire for the open positions.

I had always thought of facebook as a networking tool, but on a much more personal basis, rather than a business basis. It’s nice to discover a dual purpose to something I enjoy so much in the first place!

Tags: Facebook, hiring

Posted in Information

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Why Hotmail Survives

Posted by susabelle at 6:22 AM on September 2, 2010

Todd likes to ask the question, “why is __________ still around?” He asked it last week about Hotmail. It’s not a huge mystery if you work in academics.

Hotmail, in the form of “Windows Live” email, exists on a great number of campuses across the country, providing student email that (in theory) integrates with other campus business systems (like class registration, emergency notification, and content delivery). When clicking on the “student email” link on our college’s home page, students are taken to a page that says Hotmail on one side, and Windows Live on the other. Their activated login for the mail is their passport to other sites within our system, as well as within Microsoft’s Passport experience.

As long as Microsoft has this link to colleges and universities, Hotmail will live on.

Back in the day, Hotmail was where it was at. It was one of the first, and most robust, web-based free email systems, and people signed up in droves. There were problems, yes, but it was still better than needing to be at your own personal computer in order to get your mail. It eventually offered pop3 access as well, and then the Passport came along, and it was all good. Not perfect, but good. And many many people used Hotmail. It was easy to set up, it was reasonably good at catching spam after the first few years, and it didn’t have down time. As time went along, other free offerings hit the market.

And Microsoft was smart. When gmail became available, they knew they were going to take a hit. The only way to survive was the change the business model, and make Hotmail relevant. They did that by providing Windows Live to college campuses, creating a model that could integrate with the already-used Exchange systems in place. All support is handled by Microsoft or a third party, the systems are as automated as possible, and the uptime is nearly 100%.

And this is why Hotmail survives. And if you’re a college student, you might be using it every day.

Tags: Hotmail

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Firefox 4 Beta 4

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 8:10 AM on September 1, 2010

Recently Mozilla released the Beta 4 version of Firefox 4.0. Like all Firefox Betas in the past it will break your add-ons, but it also adds some REALLY cool new eye-candy. The biggest additions are Panorama and Sync, but there’s also a slick new interface.

The first thing you’ll notice is the interface – specifically the toolbars. It’s not vastly different and you won’t be lost, but it’s definitely different. It’s cleaner and more modern and the tabs are in a different place. It has a very “Windows 7-ish” type of interface. I found the tabs being moved to a different location to be the toughest part to get used to. At the far right of the tabs bar you will will find options to group your tabs and also to list all of your tabs. If you work with lots of tabs, like I do, this is a great new feature. The other toolbars are all there, just as you know them, but the icons are different and fewer. That part will not slow anyone down and it really does look better.

(click picture to view full size)

The next thing you will notice is what Mozilla is calling “Panorama”. It’s essentially a Window’s 7 type view that shows all of your opens tabs when you hover over the Firefox icon in your Window’s toolbar. It sounds simple, and it is, but it is also very useful. Once you hover over the icon then you will have to choose which tab you want to click on.

(click picture to view full size)

The last big feature in version 4 is called Sync. You can actually download a Sync add-on for Firefox 3.5 and 3.6 here. It allows you to encrypt and save your settings, bookmarks, passwords, and other cuntomizations so that you can not only restore them if you change computers, but also keep them the same across multiple PC’s and mobile devices. You can set it up by clicking Tools and then Set Up Sync.

And that brings me to the add-ons. As I said, Firefox betas frequently break these, but they are normally fixed quickly. Sync is an obvious swipe at my favorite Firefox add-on, Xmarks, which has done all of this (except customizations) for a while now. I set it up, but for now I consider it a backup solution in case Xmarks has a problem. Until it’s been tested and retested I don’t want to trust my settings to it. It’s an interesting feature though, and building it in to the browser puts Mozilla at the forefront, once again, in the browser battle.

As of this writing the Firefox add-on, Xmarks, has been updated to be compatible with 4.0, but most are still not there.

(click picture to view full size)

Despite the lack of support for add-ons, which, as I said, is common in Firefox betas, this latest version is worth checking out. And, add-ons are coming quickly. The interface, with its aero-glass look, plays nicely in Windows 7. Sync is cool and Panorama makes it especially worth the download. You may not want to put it on your production machine quite yet – not because of stability issues because there aren’t any that I can see – but, because of the add-ons that you may need. If you don’t rely on those, though, then go for it.

(click picture to view full size)

Tags: beta, Firefox, Software, web browser

Posted in Firefox

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HP Brings 3D To Laptop Line-Up

Posted by Andrew at 12:01 AM on September 1, 2010

Today, HP announced its autumn line-up of notebooks, with the HP Envy 17 3D taking the flagship role as the first 17″ laptop to support 1080p 3-D and Blu-ray.

The Envy 17 3D comes with active shutter glasses which wirelessly sync with the HD display giving a full 3D experience when viewing films or playing games that are “3D”.

Under the hood, it’s Intel quad core processors coupled with ATI Mobility Radeon graphics giving smooth Blu-ray playback and the cinematic experience is completed by Beats audio and a triple bass reflex sub-woofer.

Available for the holiday season and pricing not yet set.

Moving on to the HP Envy 14 Beats Edition, this is the one for the audiophiles. Featuring Beats Audio, a high-tech audio system developed by HP and Beats by Dr. Dre to deliver the best possible audio sound experience when listening through headphones or external speakers.

Inside, Intel i5 quad core CPUs do the heavy-lifting, complemented with 4GB RAM and Radeon HD5650 graphics.

The notebook itself comes in aluminium soft-touch finish, with the distinctive Beats black and red logo on the lid. In a refreshing change from the usual blue back-lit keyboards, the Envy 14 comes with red back-light. Nice.

To top-off the package, each Beats Edition notebook comes with a set of Beats Solo headphones from Monster. Very nice.

If I was in the market for a new notebook, I’d definitely be giving the Envy 14 consideration for its audio capabilities. Who am I kidding? I just want one because it looks cool.

The full spec is available on HP’s website and the Envy 14 Beats Edition is available now starting at $1250 (less a penny).

To round-off the multimedia extravaganza, the HP Wireless TV Connect will wirelessly stream full HD content from any HDMI-equipped laptop to an HDTV. The sender unit is powered via USB from the laptop, so there’s no need for additional power but obviously, it will drain the battery laptop faster.

Although apparently aimed at the consumer market, I can see this being a hit in the business presentation market where big screen HDTVs are replacing the traditional data projector. Available from October starting at $199.

Tags: 3D, beats, HD, hp, Laptop, notebook

Posted in HP, Information, Music, Streaming, video

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Jim Louderback and I are on Same Page!

Posted by geeknews at 1:57 AM on August 31, 2010

Jim Louderback the CEO of Revision3 who I respect a great deal, has made some frank comments in an article on Adage about the Viral Video Advertising space. In his opening statement he makes this assertion.

“Online video creators, advertisers and producers have an unhealthy fascination with viral videos, and that obsession is dragging down the entire industry. Why? Because viral videos are, at their core, no better than a fluffernutter white-bread sandwich, delivering little or no value to anyone.”

I am sure his frustration, follow the same frustration I have when I talk with media buyers. Most are hung up on a shortsighted strategy of going after viral videos because it has coolness factor. While at the same time 99.9% of the media buyer advertising market is ignoring serial content which as this sites readers, listeners and viewers know are followed by very loyal audiences! When I meet with media buyers their age tells part of the story, most are under 25 and have had 1-2 years of media sales experience. Sadly most of the media buyers refuse to acknowledge the value of predictable episodic content. Instead they pay $4.00-$6.00 cpm for YouTube Videos. They do not understand that the dedicated audiences, with money to spend on products and services, listen and watch the media shows like we represent that reach 10′s of millions of loyal fans each month. Jim’s shows at Revision3, and those I represent at RawVoice are ROI Goldmines that most media buyers ignore. Jim hits it home in this comment.

“Ten predictable episodic shows that deliver a consistent 100,000 views an episode is far easier to plan for and monetize than a channel that has a one-in-100 chance of catching fire — and a 99-in-100 chance of bombing.”

The last comment I am quoting is something I have been hammering home for the past 6 years, yet most of these media buyers refuse to consider new media in their buying plans. They ignore what new media content can deliver for them. We get lucky once in a while and convert buyers to our side of the fence. I had a media buyer recently say “wow new media (podcast) advertising is hitting a home run for us” she could hardly believe the ROI numbers. Why do you think our Advertisers have been with us for 6 years? You would think some of these media buyers would clue into what new media is delivering. Jim’s comment ring home here.

“Viral videos may be bad for creators and publishers, but they are actually worse for advertisers. Your typical viral video gets passed around, yes, and drives a lot of views. And yes, those can translate into impressions for an advertiser. But as we’ve seen at Revision3, advertising associated with viral videos has only a small fraction of the impact of an ad that runs inside, or alongside, an episodic video program. We’ve seen tremendous results from putting brands next to our long-running episodic programs — those with real communities, high comment-to-view ratios and predictable views.”

In my opinion Media Buyers need to wake the hell up and start spending their clients money in a way that deliver real returns versus throwing spit balls against the wall hoping that they stick. We have millions of listeners / viewers ready to support sponsors of their favorite shows. Is it not about time that companies wake up and start spending money responsibly. Go over to the article and read his full commentary, it is worthy more discussion in the near future. I am hoping it will wake some of the major brand media buyers up.

If you are a media buyer and want to see what new media can deliver for you, I would be happy to put together a media plan for one, or all of our 6000 shows that will make you a hero at the office!

Tags: advertising, New Media, podcasting, rawvoice, revision3

Posted in advertising

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GNC-2010-08-31 #606 Unique Content it Is!

Posted by geeknews at 12:55 AM on August 31, 2010

The number 1 request by all of you that filled out the survey was more unique content. I am going to do my best to deliver it along with the standard fare. New contest to win a Roku is on now winner next week listen to win. Big Thank You to all three sponsors of the show this month. If your a business owner check out the offering from Infusionsoft they have some very unique business offerings.

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Tags: advertising, blogging, business, chrome, Crime, digg, Green, ie6, Information, iPhone, isp, nasa, Podcast, Roku, Software, space

Posted in Podcast

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Tech Podcast Broadcast Booth @ CES 2011

Posted by geeknews at 7:48 PM on August 29, 2010

While we are still four months away from CES 2011, the team members from TechPodcasts.com and TechPodcasts.tv have been very busy in planning for the 2011 event. For the first time we will have a broadcast booth on the show floor of the South Hall. Team Member Andy McCaskey worked with the CEA to get the broadcast space. I signed the contract on Friday, and while we have some more details to work out, we will be streaming live for the entire show.

Our 2010 appearance at NBC Universal, and the overwhelming success of those two live events, made us realize that we had to be live for the show in 2011, on top of having teams of folks on the floor as we always do. This is going to allow us to bring you a 24/7 non stop stream of news and information from the show.

There remains a lot of work to do, and we have to work like crazy to get all the sponsors lined up, but it should be a great event. If your company is interested in being a coverage sponsor drop me a line today. The best part is that as we cover the show, the Tricaster TCXD850 will be capturing every segment and we will be publishing that into a special TPN CES channels that will be on both the Roku and Boxee.

Tags: broadcast, CES2011, Live

Posted in ces

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Dragon Dictation for the Iphone

Posted by KL Tech Muse at 2:06 PM on August 29, 2010

I have had Dragon Dictation on my Iphone for about a week now and have started to use it more and more. Dragon Dictation is made by Nuance Communication which also created Dragon Naturally Speaking, Jott Assistant, Jott for Salesforce and MacSpeech among other products. Nuance Communication is actually fairly new to the Apple market, they started as a PC product with Dragon Naturally Speaking. They launched Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search shortly after the Iphone came out. In February 2010 they purchased MacSpeech. I downloaded Dragon Dictation for the Iphone, because I was looking for a way to put text into the Iphone without having to use the keyboard.

Dragon Dictation fits my need very well. The first time you open the application up, it will ask you for permission to scan your address book for names. If you give it permission it will remember the names only, no addresses or phone number. If you change your mind later, you can go in settings and revoke the permission. While in the settings menu, you can also decide if you want to have Dragon Dictate automatically recognize the end of sentences which is how it is by default. If you do it manually you have to say period at the end of each sentence, which does take some getting use too. Dragon Dictation also recognizes other common punctuation, such as commas, question marks, and the at sign just to name a few. It also recognizes commands such as new paragraph and new line. It works best in a quiet room or by using headphones with a microphone. You can do it by using the Iphone internal microphone, but the results are not as good. You want to speak clearly and in your normal voice, it will learn from you overtime. I found it works best when you speak in short bites. Then stop let it translate and then dictate some more. It does not like non dictionary words, such as Boxee, which became Boxy. I did notice that the first time I used the word Mac, it interpreted it as Max, but after I corrected it the next time I said the word it interpreted it correctly. If you get an error, there are a couple of ways to correct it. The first is too highlight the word that is wrong and in a drop down menu it will give some possible substitutions. The second is to use the keyboard that comes with the program and correct it that way. Finally you can highlight the word or phrase and record right over it with the correction.

Once you have done the dictation, you have the option of sending it directly to Twitter or Facebook from with in the application. It does have the option of emailing or texting the information, however you have to enter the email or text address in manually. Finally you can copy what your results and paste them into any other Iphone application you want. It would be nice if this application was integrated right within the Iphone , so that you could use the capability within any application. Until that becomes available, this maybe the next best thing. Dragon Dictation is free and is available for both the Iphone and the Ipad.

Tags: dictation, Nuance, review, voice recognition

Posted in Information

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GNC-2010-08-26 #605 Hotel Broadband SUCKS!

Posted by geeknews at 7:27 PM on August 26, 2010

Hotels in Large part do not care about their guest and over the past couple of years bandwidth has continued to decline at every place I stay it is quite discouraging. Start complaining loudly where ever you stay and hopefully we can reverse the trend. Headed for Honolulu on Saturday ready for a few days at home.

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