Old Dogs can learn new tricks...

Microsoft has an area on their official website where they talk about the open source software that they use:
http://www.microsoft.com/opensource/default.mspx

Maybe they are starting to come around...

100,000 Deki Wikis...out of control!!

There have been over 100,000 deployments of MindTouch Deki Wiki to date. It seems like only last year that Deki Wiki was being downloaded for the first time...oh wait it was! Deki Wiki is growing exponentially as seen by the statistics on the project at SourceForge

At the current rate we could potentially double this number by the end of this year. Pretty Impressive!

Microsoft Values Facebook, in more than one way

With the recent inquiry of investment by Microsoft into Facebook, the valuation of the company has exceeded 10 Billion dollars. Facebook has built an impressive platform and business model. Using a business model that allows a SaaS offering and at the same time opening it to the developer community to create applications to integrate with it. Similar to what Salesforce has done with AppExchange.

When it comes down to it, this business model is ideal for Web 2.0 companies as it allows the company to focus on what they do best, in Facebook's instance: social networking, and leaves the integration of other great services to the community. Recently there was a blog post by ThinkFree about focusing on doing what you do best and allowing integration with third party applications through the development of extensions. He was referencing MindTouch Deki Wiki's new integration with Think Free

Lightweight Firefox Browser

Check out this lightweight firefox browser

It is awesome and is a portable App, which is my new passion. I'm running thunderbird as portable and now firefox, this is great.

Learn how to speak a foreign language

Mango is an online Flash based website that allows you to run through tutorials on foreign languages. I signed up and was pleased with the presentation and the layout of the lessons. I've used Rosetta Stone before and think this is more intuitive. Try it out, it is free to sign up and use.

International Talk like a Pirate Day

Check out the page I added to my wiki on today:
http://www.crowdtap.com/Events/International_Talk_Like_a_Pirate_Day

What happened to Wired?

When I started working in the technology industry I was on the Wired website everyday as they had good insight into technology. Recently I've noticed that they have been way off in their editorials and have been instigating smear campaigns against Firefox and other open source companies. Has Wired not kept up with the industry trends in regards to moving away from typical enterprise technology and embracing Open Source and Web 2.0?

Check out the new Music Site...Download for Free

So Spiral Frog recently launched with an interesting business model. It is similar to Napster in the way that it allows you to download a song and put it on a portable device or on your computer, except, Spiral Frog is Free. Like Napster it has a DRM timebomb in it so you have to login to your account every thirty days so that the music can refresh its license. They make their money off of advertising and it looks like they started off with some good songs to capture the main audience they are looking for. The one thing that kills me is when is someone going to come out with a site that allows you to download unlimited songs for your Ipod?

Thin Client Laptops

I was at a conference recently and was checking out a booth for Wyse Thin Computing
and was really interested in the benefits of thin computing as a majority of the resources for the computer, i.e. software and storage are managed at a centralized location. Benefits for business means that when an employee leaves it is easier to access their data for the next person to take over, downside is there may be some privacy infringement from the business to the employee. The Thin clients are beneficial to the environment though because they don't need as much power and do not produce as much heat because there aren't as many components to keep cool. Not only does this reduce the amount of energy it takes to power a laptop but it increases the longevity of its components. Keep an eye on this space over the next couple of years especially with the movement of the ASP model for software.

Open Source business model being adopted by all

Over the past couple of years many companies have adopted the open source business model in regards to how they market their software offering. These companies include MindTouch, Sugar CRM, Alfresco, Wordpress, and MySQL to name a few. The business model is based around releasing the software to the community and adding services/support for the product. Services can range from different functionality to complete customization. Recently businesses that didn't start in the open source community are starting to understand the benefits of releasing their software as it allows greater growth for the development of their product, allows bugs to be found easier and quicker, and also increase market share and awareness. The most recent company to add open source to their business model is VMware

VMware has a great offering as it is, but open sourcing their platform will help increase adoption of their product and make it easier for people to develop on top of the software. Watch out for other business to do exactly the same.

Bears vs. Chargers

I had great seats at the Chargers Season opener. I received tickets for my birthday. I am a huge bears fan but was disappointed by the offense, as I usually am. The defense did a great job but I think the bears need to get rid of Rex Grossman as that will improve there offense significantly. The stadium in San Diego is beautiful, especially since I was used to the Metrodome. I heard that they want a new one which really doesn't make sense to me especially if any of the funds come from taxpayers. Other than that the game was great and the public transportation helped out a lot.

Ubuntu Linux Training Software that runs on Windows and Mac only

This is hilarious...at the same time it is reaching out to the masses and hopefully will have an impact and more people will use Ubuntu.

read more | digg story

Back up again

Well that was a long time that I didnt' have access to any Google connected accounts. It was really interesting to see how often one uses Google in a given day and how many sites are connected to Google. Almost every site I was on saw a delay in loading because of failure to access Google adsense or analytics. It is good to see it back up but it is a wakeup call for everyone to see how if you have important information in a web based solution, it is good to have an updated backup every weeks and possibly everyday.

I have broken the chains of Outlook

I officially have broken the chains that outlook has had around me in regards to using it as an email client. The main reason why I have been using it is because it synced up with my phone. Well I found a better setup using Google Calendar and syncing it to Thunderbird. The best part is that I am running Thunderbird Portable version which enables the user to run it from a thumbdrive. It is pretty sweet and supports extensions including lightning, which is syncing with google calendar.
Just thought I'd share my excitement.

MindTouch Deki Wiki adds about 100 new features

Deki Wiki just released over 100 new features. Included in these features are integration with Microsoft Live mashup with Virtual Earth and Live Contacts, Yahoo Finance stock tracker and charts, Flickr real-time slide shows, Digg News and Digg It badges, and Google mashups for Maps, blogs, news and videos. This is another feather in the hat for Deki Wiki as it proves it is more than just a wiki, it is an application platform. Deki Wiki is Free Open Source software that can be deployed in about 15 minutes through the VMware Certified Software Image. Download it today at http://wiki.mindtouch.com

read more | digg story

Wrigley's 5 gum

I was waiting at the airport today on my way back from MN. I went to the giftshop to get a snack and saw the new 5 gum by wriggley that they have the awesome commercials on. The packaging looked interesting and I wanted to try, it was $1.69/pack. I bought peppermint, opened it up and was first surprised that the shape of the gum was the normal sticks. This through me off because they had the square package that made me think it was going to be a different size. I tried it out and to my disappointment it tasted like doublemint. I am not a fan of doublemint. I am a fan of Wrigley's Extra brand. I guess the thing that got to me was the fact that they did an awesome job advertising but the actual product itself was sub par. I don't recommend that anyone get this gum, unless you want doublemint in a sexy package.

side note: Tried to go to 5 gum website and it was down