Rails

A recent post in Slashdot's developers section may be of interest to those of you using Rails for development. Makes for an interesting read, especially if you are thinking of taking this direction on your project.

Company Valuation

Any entrepreneur seeking funding needs to place a value on their company. This Valuation Tool from Inc. Magazine should be a really helpful resource in doing so.

Nogression - Catalogs Are Evil

This is very much off the topic of technology...or is it?

On NPR this morning, Lori David was featured - she is supporting a new children's book on preventing global warming. Focusing on making children aware of how they use resources - which makes a lot of sense.

However, there are countless practices that never garner any attention - one that I confronted this morning.

When I receive a catalog in the mail, I tear the back cover off, call the company, and tell them that I never want to receive a catalog in the mail again. I do not shop from catalogs, and they in no way cause me to buy products.

So why do I still receive over 20 of them per month, in spite of the fact that I actively call to have my name removed? The answer is simple, and unfortunate. Companies feel that even a slight return on printed catalogs makes sense, because it is what they have done in the past. So they buy mailing lists from other businesses, and they put you on a mailing list every time you buy from them.

And yet rather than turning millions of marketing dollars to a practice that would truly increase their sales, they choose to waste resources and, if I am at all representative of the population, enrage their customers.

If you want to see our society more consciously and effectively use its resources, I would ask you to make one call a month to be taken off a mailing list, rather than simply recycling the catalogs you get. You might also consider taking your business to organizations who do not engage in this kind of institutionalized wastefulness...

By the way, you do recycle your catalogs, don't you?

"Presently" - At Last!

Although it is certainly possible that I'm not seeing the downsides here, Presently, the missing link in Google's MS Office alternative has arrived. Although Google "Docs" has had Microsoft Word-like and Microsoft Excel-like functionality for some time, if you wanted to move away from MS Office, you had no alternative in the area of presentations.



Now you do - so the real question is, just how much functionality does Google offer you? Will you be left wanting Microsoft features?

Based on initial usage, I think even power PPT users will be pleased with Google's features:
1) You can upload, either via browser or email, powerpoint files, just as you can Excel and Word docs,
2) Presently also acts as a free version of Webex - you can present slides directly through the product (two free products in one package...),
3) There are some features which are definitely more modest - however, these features are items such as slide templates, where most users probably don't use the full product anyway.

The reality is that most PowerPoint users will probably have a more gradual transition into this product (but still get a lot out of it), but those new to PowerPoint-style applications will undoubtedly be wowed by what's here, and find the features support them well.

Google Photos + Google Maps

It's easy to take Google's individual offerings, like Gmail, or Picasa (Google Photos), at face value. But consider the "Map This" feature present in Picasa and Google Videos.

Now look at Google Maps, and the Street Level View feature. Or take a look at Google Earth.

Although I personally cringe at Snowcrash comparisons, this might remind readers of the "gargoyles" who collect intelligence for sale using sophisticated apparatus attached to their bodies, which becomes part of a vast bank of data used by intelligence agencies.

Although Stephenson's vision of the gargoyle may seem far off, Google seems to be making all of us unwitting participants in creating an searchable reproduction of the planet we live in...and what birthday parties in the 11201 zip code looked like...

So what would that world look like? Will we all suddenly become on display 24x7? Will Warhol's 15 minutes become a TV station playing constantly on everyone's virtual reality goggles.

That might, just might, be overestimating how interesting our lives actually are. If you can watch America's Next Top Model or Survivor for more than 15 minutes now, that might give you a clue. My personal guess - more information will simply mean more need for someone to tell us what to be interested in...

Skype - Tarnishing a Great Brand?

In the last day or so, I've gotten a few strange instant messages through Skype's chat functionality. Completely legit messages - but at odd times. After taking a look at the date/time stamp on the messages, I quickly realized that Skype is delivering messages late - in some cases as many as 3 days late (in that case it was an overseas message).

Skype's active user numbers seem to be on the rise, which may explain the recent service bumps and outages. Whereas at one point, Skype's call quality and reliability seemed untouchable, these recent experiences show that they aren't.

However, past experience with Skype and its widespread popularity would suggest that the company will learn from recent problems, and get back on track.

Future of Second Life (are we already in the 2.0 phase?)

Techcrunch published this article/interview today on Second Life's "rebirth" as the initial hype which led companies to pile in dissolved into a hasty search for the Exit sign.

Check out the video. My initial read - come on, this is still far too riddled with nonsensical terminology. I would look for a radical de-fancification (that IS a technical term) of the language and the concept - Second Life is still very fascinated with its own culture, and not enough with the culture and needs of the customers who can truly make this a viable enterprise.

[Google] Does this remind you of anything?

Watch this video about Google by ABC News. For anyone working in the software industry in 1999, this may look familiar. In a weird twist of fate, from the free food to crazy contraptions in developer offices, Google has recreated dot-bomb corporate culture within a single company.

What does it mean? Only time will tell. But I particularly like the idea of free haircuts - is there such a thing as a free haircut?

Another Web 3.0 Candidate - The GeoWeb

When Neale Stephenson's book Snowcrash is quoted at the beginning of an article, you know it has to be about something so visionary that it must be good, right?

The Economist's most recent edition (September 8 - 14th, 2007) contains its Technology Quarterly, and in that technology quarterly, a story called "World at Your Desktop" features the idea of the geoweb being a part of Web 3.0.

It makes sense that what comes after Web 2.0 would increasingly be important, and that Web 3.0 increasingly be defined differently by folks in competition for the imagination of consumers, VCs, etc. While social networking is certainly a fine tool, if it is just about collecting a list of names which may or may not actually be people you want to send text messages and electronic winks to...well, you get the point.

Web 2.0 is certainly something which can and should be built upon, and perhaps virtual worlds, or the geoweb, or mobile technologies will constitute the next wave. A good question would be, though, when are we going to kick our habit for constantly chasing trends, instead of focusing on substance?

Entrepreneur's Bank - Commerce

A good friend of mine always makes a point of mentioning products he thinks are top-notch, and I recently decided that makes a lot of sense.

In the Northeast, Commerce Bank has been rapidly expanding and seeing a lot of success - and in the last few years I have used them several times. I think they provide a great service and great product, particularly for entrepreneurs:
- Everything, basically, is free. (things like safe deposit boxes you'll pay a fee for) So they don't add to your startup costs.
- The service you get in the branch is outstanding - everyone treats you as if you were their most important customer.
- Their hours are flexible, so you don't always have to struggle to get to the bank from 9-5, and they have weekend hours.

In short, they make it easy to work with them.

Jawbone Post Revisited - Believe The Hype

Not too long ago, around the time the iPhone was being released, I wrote a post on a new headset, called the Jawbone. Since then, I've gotten my hands on one, and I've been using it, in many cases in fairly extreme environments (windows of my car open at 55mph, on the street in Manhattan with construction close by).

Many products don't live up to their own hype - the Jawbone unquestionably does. It's noise canceling abilities are so good, that several people have asked me questions like "I thought you said you were on the road?" and "Are you in the office?" in spite of pretty nasty background noise.

On top of that, the Jawbone has excellent battery life, at least so far.

Long story short, I highly recommend this device to anyone who talks a lot on the go. The Jawbone will definitely be a gift to the people you call - and to you. It's been a while since I've been this satisfied with a product.

iPhone Price drop

The big news yesterday on the mobile front was the iPhone Touch (all the iPhone capabilities, without the cell phone at $299), the elimination of the 4G iPhone, and the drop in price of the iPhone to $399.

Based on iPhone users I've talked to, there isn't as much unhappiness with the change in price as the media is indicating. I think folks who bought knew the price was very high (add the contract terms), and they knew they were buying the hipness factor.

I'm also suspicious that analysts indicating the price drop smacks of desperation may be miscalculating. Apple's own goal of selling something like 1 million units is, when set in context, still pretty small in terms of the universe of mobile phone users. Their move could be based on a calculation that installed base is more important than short term revenue - based on their stats on the replacement rate of the iPod.

So they could be positioning the iPhone as the entry level model, and preparing the masses for higher margin units down the road.

Only time will tell...

State of Connecticut's Magically Disappearing Data

This week, the State of Connecticut's Department of Revenue Services announced that a laptop containing taxpayer records, including SSNs, was stolen from an employee's car.

Another example of the appalling way in which customer data is often managed.

Sorry, folks, but when your own government mishandles your sensitive data, there really isn't much you can do to protect yourself proactively. But on a reactive basis you should:
- Contact Experian, Transunion, and Equifax for a 90 day fraud alert - you can do it over the phone in about 5 minutes.
- Place a seven year alert on your credit reports - this requires a bit more work, but you can contact the same folks.
- Contact the FTC and file a complaint.
- Watch your credit report and take action if you see fraudulent activity.

Monster Fraud - Data Loss Incidents

While more and more companies are announcing problems with data loss (media stolen from employees cars, loss of backups, etc.), it is always surprising and scary - and reinforces the care which consumers must take with their data.

Along the lines of the post on Next Generation Fraud, it takes little imagination to see how the information stored by Monster.com can be used for social engineering purposes.

The letter from Monster.com is below:

Dear Valued Monster Customer, Protecting the job seekers who use our website is a top priority, and we value the trust you place in Monster. Regrettably, opportunistic criminals are increasingly using the Internet for illegitimate purposes. As is the case with many companies that maintain large databases of information, Monster is from time to time subject to attempts to illegally extract information from its database. As you may be aware, the Monster resume database was recently the target of malicious activity that involved the illegal downloading of information such as names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses for some of our job seekers with resumes posted on Monster sites. Monster responded to this specific incident by conducting a comprehensive review of internal processes and procedures, notified those job seekers that their contact records had been downloaded illegally, and shut down a rogue server that was hosting these records. The Company has determined that this incident is not the first time Monster's database has been the target of criminal activity. Due to the significant amount of uncertainty in determining which individual job seekers may have been impacted, Monster felt that it was in your best interest to take the precautionary steps of reaching out to you and all Monster job seekers regarding this issue. Monster believes illegally downloaded contact information may be used to lure job seekers into opening a "phishing" email that attempts to acquire financial information or lure job seekers into fraudulent financial transactions. This has been the case in similar attacks on other websites. We want to inform you about preventive measures you can take to protect yourself from online fraud. While no company can completely prevent unauthorized access to data, we believe that by reaching out to job seekers like you, the Company can help users better defend themselves against those who have attacked Monster as well as other databases. We are committed to maintaining an ongoing dialogue with all of our job seekers about Internet security and the steps Monster is taking to protect its job seekers. The Company has placed a security alert on Monster sites offering information to educate you about online fraud. This information can be found at http://help.monster.com/besafe/. We have also included information on Internet safety and examples of fraudulent "phishing" emails at the bottom of this letter. Monster has launched a series of initiatives to enhance and to protect the information you have entrusted to us. Some of these steps are being immediately implemented, while others will be put into place as appropriate. We believe these actions are the responsible steps to protect the trust you place in Monster. We are also working with Monster's hundreds of thousands of employer customers to ensure a safe and effective online job search. We will continue to share information with you about the enhancements we are making as we serve as your online career resource partner. We invite you to keep reading to learn more about how to use the Internet safely. Sincerely, Sal Iannuzzi Chairman and CEO Monster Worldwide HOW TO BE A SAFE INTERNET USER Every Internet site in the world is facing the growing issue of fraudulent usage of information, and we want to work with users around the world to stop this practice - please keep reading to learn more about the warning signs and what you can do. Spam email is such a common occurrence today; you may think you know what to look for. But there are two types of email scams - what's known as "phishing" and "spoofing" - that can be more difficult to identify. Both practices concern fraudulent email where the 'from address' has been forged to make it appear as if it came from somewhere, or someone, other than the actual source. Below are the warning signs to look for: What's "phishing" all about – and how do I spot it? Phishing emails are used to fraudulently obtain personal identification and account information. They can also be used to lure the recipient into downloading malicious software. The message will often suggest there are issues with the recipient's account that requires immediate attention. A link will also be provided to a spoof website where the recipient will be asked to provide personal/account information or download malicious software. Monster will never ask you to download software in order to access your account or use our services. How is it different than "spoofing"? Spoof emails often include a fraudulent offer of employment and/or the invitation to serve as a go-between for payment processing or money transfers. This scam is primarily directed at a general audience, but it can also reach Monster members who have included contact information on their resumes. Like with phishing emails, the sender's address is often disguised. Examples of fraudulent email: These examples of fraudulent email show you what to watch out for (click to see details): Consumer Advice: How to Avoid Phishing Scams The number and sophistication of phishing scams sent out to consumers is continuing to increase dramatically. While online banking and e-commerce is very safe, as a general rule you should be careful about giving out your personal financial information over the Internet. The Anti-Phishing Working Group has compiled a list of recommendations that you can use to avoid becoming a victim of these scams. Be suspicious of any email with requests for personal financial information. Phishers typically include upsetting or exciting (but false) statements in their emails to get people to react immediately. They typically ask for information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, social security numbers, date of birth, etc. Don't use the links in an email, instant message, or chat to get to any web page if you suspect the message might not be authentic. Instead, call the company on the telephone, or log onto the website directly by typing in the Web address in your browser. You should only communicate information such as credit card numbers or account information via a secure website or the telephone. Always ensure that you're using a secure website when submitting credit card or other sensitive information via your Web browser. Additional consumer advice is available at http://www.antiphishing.org/consumer_recs.html. If you have more questions, please visit http://help.monster.com/besafe. Contact us at http://www.monster.com/contact.

Monster respects your online time and privacy. This is a service-related email to notify you of important account information. Questions? Email us directly by visiting http://www.monster.com/contact/. Please do not reply to this email. To read the Monster Privacy Commitment, visit http://about.monster.com/privacy/ Monster, 5 Clock Tower Place, Suite 500, Maynard, MA 01754 Add monster@e0.monster.com to your address book to ensure delivery of Monster emails.