Hmm.... I guess there are no excuses left for not being able to do a conference call.
China Tests Mt. Everest Cell Station
Where mobile tech really matters
In a world where we are throwing mobile phones out every 6 months, there has to be away that these phones (or new free phones) can get into the hands of people who need them more. Maybe there is a chance to stop a digital divide before it starts. This BusinessWeek article is a great example of how a mobile phone just might help.
Lazy Tech
It is amazing how lazy we can be when it comes to technology. And when I start feeling guilty about this – I check myself... and think about the big promise of... “technology is suppose to make our lives easier.”
In this instance its about video conferencing. There are some really good (and free) applications out there that make it easy to do video conferencing (Skype, Apple’s iChat – quality is probably the best – and some really cool upstarts that are making it easy to quickly video chat when you are in applications like Facebook or on someone’s blog.)
But when you get “older” and you find yourself trying to squeeze every last drop out of every last second of the day and come Sunday night at 6pm when you are spent... the thought of calling the other person to see if they want to video chat, walking over to the computer, logging on, opening up the app, etc.... is not that appealing (Yes – I know life is tough). Which got me thinking that the winner in the consumer video conferencing game just might be our friends at the cable/satellite companies (and the companies that provide the enabling technologies).
On that Sunday night - chances are the TV is on (even if you are not watching it). And when the phone rings – the TV flashes the Caller ID with the option of “Do you want to do a video call?” appears - The cable/sat companies are already providing the caller ID flash on the TV – so I will be eager to see when this comes to fruition. The size will be better than a postage stamp, I can easily ‘flick’ the remote, and I might not even have to get up from the couch.
iPhone, Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich, iPhone, iPhone…iPhone!!!
I gasped this morning as I woke up from a nightmare that had me stuck in this world where iPhone was the only word used to communicate. Unfortunately, upon waking up, I realized the nightmare was a reality and not just inspired by one of my all-time favorite cinematic scenes:
Muni Wi-Fi comes to the home town.
I don’t know whether this is a good thing or bad thing... but I can now “surf” the net before I surf in Pacifica
Driver Safety
I believe that I am a pretty safe driver... at least I try to be. (except for the occasions when I am trying to steal glances of the surf on my way into work... to see what I might be missing). I try to be smart while driving and refrain from doing stupid things with mobile devices, i.e. texting, reading email. I almost always use a Hands-free headset if I am on the phone. And the voice activated dialing on my Samsung is pretty darn good (especially compared to a few years ago). But it seems that as soon as I arrive in the city and start hitting the traffic lights, I have this uncontrollable urge to reach for my BlackBerry to skim through email... especially on the days that things are really busy.
If I can save just a couple of minutes by checking email while stuck behind traffic waiting for the light to turn - it is worth it... isn’t it??
This morning I had to laugh because while skimming through email I looked up to see if the light had turned green, it did. But yet no one behind me nor the cars on either side of me had moved or honked... at further inspection – it seemed each one of us in our cars waiting at that light were trying to save a few minutes.
If I can save just a couple of minutes by checking email while stuck behind traffic waiting for the light to turn - it is worth it... isn’t it??
This morning I had to laugh because while skimming through email I looked up to see if the light had turned green, it did. But yet no one behind me nor the cars on either side of me had moved or honked... at further inspection – it seemed each one of us in our cars waiting at that light were trying to save a few minutes.
This is a good thing...
The FCC says "no mobile phone calls on flights." From a story today: "The Federal Communications Commission has ended a proceeding that would have allowed mobile phone calls on airplanes, for now ending the possibility of phone conversations during flights."
Transparency
I think there was a collectively “ouch” heard throughout the PR world this morning when they learned about the WagEd/MSFT/Wired incident. Since I am posting this late and there’s been enough speculation on how this impacts stories, etc. I will spare you my opinion. What’s more interesting to me is the different platforms that all parties involved have to respond to the situation. Had this occurred before the world of blogs, WagEd would not have the forum to provide their thoughts. And it’s likely that Wired wouldn’t have used valuable magazine space to write about it. I guess that it’s all about transparency…
Interesting Data
Some interesting data out today… A study done by Global Insight estimated that over the past 35 years, US companies that received venture capital had accounted for:
-10 million jobs
-$2.1 trillion in revenue in 2005 -- representing 9% of the total private sector workforce , which also represents 16.6% of the total U.S. gross domestic product
According to SF Gate – the bottom line is that venture backed companies that survive grow into market leaders.
We concur.
-10 million jobs
-$2.1 trillion in revenue in 2005 -- representing 9% of the total private sector workforce , which also represents 16.6% of the total U.S. gross domestic product
According to SF Gate – the bottom line is that venture backed companies that survive grow into market leaders.
We concur.
Business 2.0's 25 Start-ups to Watch
Congrats to clients meebo and Turn for being chosen by Business 2.0 editors as 2 of the 25 start-ups to watch.
Check meebo out here: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/biz2/0702/gallery.nextnet.biz2/4.html
Check out Turn here: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/biz2/0702/gallery.nextnet.biz2/16.html
Check meebo out here: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/biz2/0702/gallery.nextnet.biz2/4.html
Check out Turn here: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/biz2/0702/gallery.nextnet.biz2/16.html
Treo No More
I finally made the switch from my Treo to the Blackberry. For the past 2.5 years I've been using the Treo and I feel like I just got out of an abusive relationship. The Treo Personal Business Connect Service was consistently UNRELIABLE. I was never 100% certain that the service worked. The VersaMail service, in theory, seemed great, but it was always terrible for me. As a phone it was fine, but that's not the reason I was using it.
So I switched to the Blackberry. I feel like a new person. It's reliable, was incredibly easy to set-up and did I mention it works???
Next change...making the switch from a PC to a Mac.
So I switched to the Blackberry. I feel like a new person. It's reliable, was incredibly easy to set-up and did I mention it works???
Next change...making the switch from a PC to a Mac.
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