Big Champ vs Underdog?

Google acquires online word processing package Writely in what is predicted to be the first in a series of moves designed to take on Microsoft Office Live, which is still in production.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,39020369,39256660,00.htm

For those well-versed in the IT business world, Google has successfully established itself with its killer application, (kudos to Page and Brin) and now is aiming to grow off that.

Now that Google has grabbed the world's attention, we can't wait to see what the "next big thing" is. Let us watch and learn as they try to become the next big tech monster.

I wonder, can Google get away with stealing a chunk of Microsoft's billions? Will Bill Gates still be worth $50 billion in five years?

Are you rooting for the underdog this time around?

On tech news...just a few words

Tech news of the day: Steve Jobs of Apple fails to impress at a launch that is compared to "the Queen announcing a new toaster at the Buckingham palace."
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/desktops/0,39029426,49254827,00.htm?r=1

In other current news, RIM has settled with NTP over the Blackberry case on $612.5 million. This is after an ill-fated deal on $450 million last year (March '05) that fell through.
http://news.com.com/BlackBerry+saved/2100-1047_3-6045880.html?tag=nl


The author has only one question:
- What ever happened to RIM's previous boast of developing a software workaround for the NTP patent?. http://netscape.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20060209-000543-0726

Bathroom and Business?

Strange news of the day: Man charged in killing over toilet paper (http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-02-22T142041Z_01_N21161543_RTRUKOC_0_US-KILLING.xml&archived=False)

Quote of the day: "What? oh sure, you can go first, I'll wait."
- Author

Hmm. While homicide is never a funny matter, the author cannot help but wonder what will go on the deceased's tombstone.

In further musings of the author, Harry Beckwith (bestselling business author, see below) has a few suggested tips for new business owners:

-"If I ran a competing firm, how would I beat ours?" : spot your weakness before too many other people do and work on it. You are losing some business.

- "If we were starting this business from scratch, what would we do differently?" : Ask this question whenever planning the next steps of your business. and finally, while not a question in itself;

- "Plans teach": Everything from assumptions to plans change constantly in the business world, and yet everybody still plans. Why? Because, he says, "the value of planning is not in the plan but in the planning." You learn a lot from the process of gathering data for your plan; also clients and prospects will react to your plan, and you can learn a lot from these reactions.

ref: "What clients love: A field guide to growing your business" by Harry Beckwith(http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=What+clients+love%3A+A+field+guide+to+growing+your+business&meta=)

Solution to laptop trip-offs

Okay, today, I'm going to drop a little something for the laptop-owners. Now, apparently, just about everybody who has had a laptop for over 2 years notices that his/her laptop just starts shutting down by itself (usually in the midst of processor-heavy programs). The usual solution would be to send it in for repairs as by the time this problem manifests, the warranty is long expired.

Okay, this is the simple (and cheap) solution:

- Go to FutureShop (or anyother tech/computer store) and ask for a can of "air duster" (just a can of compressed air, retailing at Canadian Futureshop for your everyday low price of $7.99).

-DISCONNECT your laptop from everything (power, mouse, etc etc), and TURN IT OFF.

-Blow your purchased air duster into the cooling vents (usually one below and one to the side of your laptop) and you will see dust get blown off. When you have done this sufficiently, use a clean, dry cloth/tissue to wipe off the dust, then

-Restart your computer.

That it's it. Your laptop should work well after that, sans the oh-so-annoying trip offs.



The reason this works? Accumulated dust gets in and interferes with the cooling system of your laptop. Simple. (okay, so you guessed that from having to blow all the dust away).


CAVEATS: please look at the directions on the air duster can, as there will most likely be guidelines to follow, such as:
-keeping the can upright while spraying, and
-spraying in short bursts, as the can cools incredibly fast (and trust me, "cools" doesnt begin to do it justice)

DISCLAIMER: The editor is not liable for any damages done to computer equipment or person due to inability to follow instructions and/or bad luck. So on that note, he wishes you good luck.

Get into podcasting...

Talk In A Nutshell
Download itunes (http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/), run it, on the menu to the left, select "Podcasts" and explore. You can get podcasts on virtually any topic, from music to business to IT, and mostly it is just like your basic radio (but so much more, I'll talk about its other features later).

Most importantly, do not be afraid to explore. The most exciting way to learn is by teaching yourself.



Today I'm going to introduce the readers who have been a bit on the slow side of the technology curve to podcasts. Now, of course, there are those who still wont cruise the not-so-new-anymore millennium on the IT bandwagon; I can only wish them a nice walk. (I myself used to be among the reluctant few, figuring that I really didnt need to bother with all this new stuff, but the simple fact is that, as the end of the day, it is those who *bother* to go that extra mile and keep themselves ahead of the other 6 billion that run the show (ie, drive the bandwagon).


Quote of the day: "The best way to predict the future is to invent it"
- Alan Kay


Podcasting is simply distributing audio/video files over the internet. Now, for those of us more technically inclined, this is done using syndication (1) . So the podcast is simply the web feed that is made availabe on the web for anybody to subscribe to (usually free, now some are charging for this subscription). The major difference between this and normal downloads(2) and streaming(3) is that the viewer can choose to access this file at the time and place most convenient to him/her.





Downloads: you click on a file on the web, and it gets transferred to your computer.

Streaming: instead of playing your audio/video from your computer, it plays *on* your computer, but behind the scenes, the computer is actually collecting the "parts" of the file as it needs them to play; this is usually slower due to time wasted in "collecting" these "parts".

Just a few words...

Welcome to my blog, and please bare with me as I try to get things started up and running.

Just like the blog title says, I will mostly talk about:

-technology, how to keep up with it, how to solve everyday problems, etc etc,
-money, mostly comment on how people use technology to make money (look at the world's richest man, he must be doing *something* right).

and any other topics that get approved by the editor.

While you are here, please take a moment to visit kendall-online.com/blog for today's ration of tech-wisdom.

Please feel free to make suggestions and additions to my posts by posting comments.