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Software & Technology Articles For Entrepreneurs & Small Business Owners
“Big mistake. Big. Huge. I have to go shopping now.” – Vivian (Julia Roberts), Pretty Woman (1990)
IDC and Gartner recently reported 68.5M consumer PCs were sold in Q3 of this year and volumes could hit 70M in Q4. We’re well on our way to the industry’s next big goal…2B PCs WW. The CEA (Consumer Electronics Association) estimates CE sales will hit $48.1 B in Q4 producing modest industry growth for the year. All in all, not bad for a lackluster year.
We’ve done a good job of profiling and targeting the early adopters. Looking at our kids list of “gotta have” stuff, they’ve nailed the teens, tweens and Gen Yers. Watching the Wii commercials with old dudes bowling, they’ve tapped into the boomers+. Problem is we’ve only given lip service to half of the global population…women, even lady geeks. Maybe the problem is exactly as Sean Connery stated…“I like women. I don’t understand them, but I like them.”
This epiphany came to us as we tried to figure out why our 1TB home server was already half full. Turned out the files were typical of most consumers’ home system storage – digital photos, music, video clips, personal videos, etc. Very little of it was ours ! That got us to thinking…and wondering…
Fearing The Unknown
Why is the industry doing such a poor job in reaching the female segment of the market? It might be as Warren Farrell said, “The only men who aren’t in fear of women’s reactions are usually men who aren’t born or who are dead.”
While most firms – manufacturers and retailers – may not fear women, only a few have really tried tapping into this half of the buying public. BestBuy has a separate team that focuses on reaching the female technology/CE consumer. Many of the camera manufacturers have introduced female-friendly devices.
MP3 player producers are doing a decent job.
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Posted by andym on 10/30/09 at 02:10 PM in Software & Technology | Permalink | Comments (0) | Trackback URL
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Wordpress STD’s (Security Transgression Defilements) are a common occurrence. WordPress-powered websites are far from being immune to hackers, although the latest release/s address many earlier security issues. WordPress, like other content management systems and forums such as phpBB, vBulletin, is a major target for hackers and spammers. Basic prophylactic measures, or condoms for WordPress STDs, need not be complicated or expensive.
Those involved in hacking WordPress usually want to use the sites as concealed (cloaked) link farms. Its rare that actual damage is done to your site, and often the site owner remains blissfully unaware that there’s been any interference. Some of the link injection systems are extremely sophisticated! Testing for enemy action can be as simple as opening your site and choosing View / Source and reading through the content of the <Head> section down to, and including, the <BODY> tag. The link injections I’ve seen are usually immediately after <BODY>. Is there a long string of HTML code containing links to dozens of sites you know nothing about? If there is, you’ve been violated, and have a WordPress STD (Security Terminated Deficiency)!
This article is not about fixing security violations. Its about simple prophylactic measures most “non-technician” site owners take. This is not slick and professional security strategy, and there are some who will scoff at using “security by obscurity” as a primary tactic. However, even on a tight budget, the following 12 zero-dollar steps can and should be taken to minimise the possibility of attack.
1 - Always Use the Current Version
Why anyone would persist with an older version is beyond me. Upgrading has always been easy enough, and recent versions reduce the pain to a button click!
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Posted by benk on 10/20/09 at 07:10 PM in Software & Technology, Search Engine Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | Trackback URL
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“I was just wondering if you wanted to chase this tornado, or if you just wanted to catch the next one.” - Beltzer – Twister (Warner Bros, 1996)
Larry Ellison (Oracle’s CEO) was right! The computer / communications industry is really just a huge fashion industry. When Grace Hopper (the Navy’s computing genius) couldn’t explain what was going on inside the Mark I computer to her Navy bosses, she probably drew a soft, fluffy cloud. It’s the way IT people have been explaining their systems to their bosses for years. When all the country’s computers were connected to keep data flowing even after someone dropped the BIG ONE, they drew a cloud.
When Microsoft wanted to show they were hip, with it, Ballmer started showing people how the real cloud was going to function. Larry? Oh yeah! Each time the cloud has been introduced, it’s been better … it’s been faster … it’s been more expensive. As Dusty said as they raced down the “IT” road, “That’s awesome! That’s AWESOME!” It is all part of the never-ending computing / communications information evolution. All of the components for cloud computing have been around for a long time. They’ve just been expensive, difficult to set up, tough to use unless you were some whiz IT person or a true nerd.
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Posted by andym on 09/11/09 at 04:09 PM in Software & Technology, Business Management | Permalink | Comments (0) | Trackback URL
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“Well, that’s right, Professor Frederickson, and that all matter is made up of not only density but of empty space, and if we can proportionally reduce the amount of empty space in any given object, we can, thereby, shrink the object.” – Wayne Szalinski (Rick Moranis), Honey I Shrunk the Kids (1989)
We always enjoy the Intel Developers Forum (IDF) because 98 percent of the time the demos work. When they don’t work, you’re pretty sure no one will get sent to the Bering Seas to work on The Deadliest Catch series. No sweat this year! Craig Barrett, Intel’s chairman, wanted everyone to know that the company was just flush with fresh ideas (see photo) so he waved around and talked an itty-bitty something you couldn’t really see. Heck could have been one of his new fishing lures … who’d know? Of course Paul Otellini, Intel Prez, had to show off their huge silicon platters with a gazillion chips on it. To hear him talk you’d think that everything we use everyday would be useless without his chips. Look around … he may be right. For him it was all about performance, raw speed. Obviously if you need an excuse to upgrade your devices every six months it is all about speed, performance! Glad the wife wasn’t there. She would have been so ticked about her new, barely used, now outdated Dell notebook.
Notebooks Still Cool
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Posted by andym on 08/30/09 at 02:08 PM in Software & Technology | Permalink | Comments (0) | Trackback URL
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“We got Hurricane Grace moving north off the Atlantic seaboard. Huge… getting massive. Two, this low south of Sable Island, ready to explode. Look at this. Three, a fresh cold front swooping down from Canada. But it’s caught a ride on the jet stream… and is motoring hell-bent towards the Atlantic.” – TV Meteorologist, The Perfect Storm (Warner Bros, 2000)
You’ve got your office wired / wireless network, your home network, your multimedia notebook system, your TV and PVR, your MP3 (ok iPod) player, got your digital camera / camcorder, got your everything smartphone. Life is pretty good! Why do you feel a little uneasy then? Why are IT people sweating more bullets than a bank officer? Maybe it’s too much of a good thing. Phone, camera, computer, software, content development folks are packing more power, more features, more capabilities into their products at ridiculously low prices.
Internet connectivity now spans the globe. Broadband service is found in more and more homes.
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Posted by andym on 08/30/09 at 02:08 PM in Software & Technology | Permalink | Comments (0) | Trackback URL
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“Law I: A robot may not harm a human or, by inaction, allow a human being to come to harm … Law II: A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the first law … Law III: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection” - I, Robot (2004)
Admit it … working with / updating / using a computer is fun!
- Buy the system, hardware alone is just an expensive boat anchor and it’s out of date before you get home Install the OS and it comes alive … kinda. At least it will wink at you
- Upgrade HW (new graphics, video, audio card; more RAM; bigger / faster drive) a more expensive anchor that winks at you
- Install applications from different people each works on its own – maybe, kinda
- Update the software, firmware; making them play nicely together is … fun. A real way to keep your mind active
When you’re finally got everything “humming,” you find the system has taken on a mind of its own. It does what you would like it to do but it does it … its way. Try and correct it and the system will say (in its own way) … “You are making a mistake. My logic is undeniable.”
The industry is well on its way in knocking out its second billion computers (desktop, sever, notebook).
Growing Network
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Posted by andym on 08/30/09 at 02:08 PM in Software & Technology | Permalink | Comments (0) | Trackback URL
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“My idea, Plissken. Something we’ve been fooling around with… The capsules are already starting to dissolve … In 22 hours, they’ll be dissolved down to the cores. I estimate that you’ll be dead in 10 to 20 seconds from internal bleeding …” - Bob Hauk (Lee Van Cleve), Escape from New York (1981)
It’s all solved and everyone should be happy. We have a single next generation disc format. The CE/PC industry is ready to deliver the 2 ft and 10 ft entertainment experience. Even Tellywood is happy. Won’t it be fun? Sorry … it won’t be that easy.
The MPAA and AACS are still working on their fantastic content protection scheme. We’d be worried talking about it but their gumshoe (Anthony Pillicano) is on trial for racketeering Hollywood style so he’s a “little” preoccupied. But there’s a little difference between what consumers want/expect, what indie producers would like to have and what Hollywood wants to give all of the rest of us. What consumers want (and are getting from other entertainment segments) is the ability to buy their content … once! Then enjoy their movies when they want, where they want, how they want, on what they want. That’s called “managed copy” in the trade so you can buy it once and use it on any device you want. You know like folks want to do today. On their TV … on their desktop … on their laptop … on their portable player … on their iPod/MP3 player … on their phone … cool! But when you look at what Tellywood wants to do you have to mumble as Snake (Kurt Russell) did … “No human compassion.”
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Posted by andym on 08/30/09 at 02:08 PM in Software & Technology | Permalink | Comments (0) | Trackback URL
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“Destiny is something we’ve invented because we can’t stand the fact that everything that happens is accidental.” – Annie Reed – Sleepless in Seattle (Tristar Pictures, 1993)
Recently, we emailed Dr. Jon asking if a rumor we’d heard was true. His response … “IF you would have read my blog and my Tweet, you would have known the answer!” That’s what we like; a simple, straightforward answer to a simple question! Hey … we’re pretty much like everyone else … well, pretty much. Hop out of bed, check the office voicemail, check our email, check text messages, check a few very high-priority “gotta see” web sites, have a cup of coffee, head for the club for a workout. Then, to the office to finish up the 24 “must-check” sites, scan a dozen “important” blogs, wade through a couple of hundred emails that accumulated overnight (o.k., 60+percent were garbage but …). After that, there’s a little work to be done. At the end of the day, the process is reversed so the inbox is clean, emails are handled / filed / passed along and we can sleep with a clean conscience. That pretty much sums up a typical day … round the clock, round the calendar.
We’re far from alone in this always-on state. Two billion plus computers, four billion plus plus mobile devices, a gazillion (and growing) web sites, blogs, social nets and instant in-touch services have shrunk the world and the clock to fit nicely in our screen(s). We’re all (actually about 20 percent of the total world population) are connected.
World Connected – With Internet connectivity virtually everywhere, it’s no wonder when you tap into your smartphone, notebook, netbook almost any time of the day, you can find something important or interesting. In addition, the global Net lets you keep in touch with friends, family, colleagues anywhere, any time. Source – Intel
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Posted by andym on 08/19/09 at 04:08 PM in Software & Technology, Sales & Marketing | Permalink | Comments (0) | Trackback URL
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