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November 29, 2004
Where's CPT?
Need a mix of business and technical? Not that the Department of Computer Technology is perfect but if they wanted to interview a bunch of Information Technology people at Purdue how did Computer World not land one CPT person? Someone in Purdue media relations (whom I'm guessing is the contact for media people looking for professors to interview) needs an education on what departments on campus do what. Or maybe CPT just needs a name change. To bad the IT acryonm is already taken.
Posted by mikel at 03:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Indiana High Schools Boys Basketball Schedules
If you're in Indiana and want to watch some good basketball but don't want to watch some thugs, find a game near you.
http://indianahsbasketball.homestead.com/files/boysteams.htm
Posted by mikel at 01:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 21, 2004
presentation tips
More presentation tips from Scott Hanselman. Here's his original post, I don't think I blogged that before.
Posted by mikel at 03:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 18, 2004
New product listing on Pocket PC Magazine
New software products for Microsoft Mobile platforms (Pocket PC and Smartphone mostly) can be listed for free in Pocket PC Magazine.
Swoosh! is currently in the list http://www.pocketpcmag.com/_enc/newprod_feed.asp
[Update] - Here's the link for Swoosh in Pocket PC mag that won't change. http://www.pocketpcmag.com/newsl_NPR/npr_11-18-04.htm
Posted by mikel at 10:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Google Scholar
Web search leader Google has unveiled Google Scholar, a new search product aimed at helping users search scholarly literature such as technical reports, theses and abstracts.
via http://uk.news.yahoo.com/041118/80/f6va6.html and http://www.sharewarepromotions.com/blog/200411.html#e451
Posted by mikel at 08:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Swoosh Magazine Ad
I got a copy of Hoosier Basketball Magazine today. The ad for Swoosh! is on page 14. The magazine came out later (and thus closer to the start of the season) than they said, but I think the ad looks good. So we'll see if it generates any leads or sales. Pick up a copy and look for our ad!
Posted by mikel at 12:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 17, 2004
Software business advice from OS X developers
I listened to a panel discussion of OS X software developers. Lots of good advice, most of which I would agree with just 6 months into this experiment of selling software.
A few notes I jotted down while listeneing...
Use PayPal to sell online - don't ever try to sell shrinkwrap in stores
Roll your own license key generation - it's not that hard to "keep the honest people honest" and you're a much smaller target than if you use a commercial license key generator
19.95 is a minimal price for anything to be considered serious. the people who won't pay your current price probably won't pay a lower price. The trick is to find out how much the people who will actually pay any money will pay. The .95/99 pricing "trick" does work.
every feature you add clutters the UI. only add features that stick to your core vision.
design your app as best as possible so it doesn't need technical support
via http://www.niallkennedy.com/blog/archives/2004/10/how_to_run_your.html
Posted by mikel at 05:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Rise of the Creative Class
I listened to an interesting speech on my Axim on my way back and forth to work yesterday by Richard Florida. Talking about the rise in creative jobs and how we're shifting from an industrial age to information/creative age. About 25 minutes in he mentions 2 boys who grew up in central Indiana, went to Purdue, and then moved out to California. The classic "brain drain" they talk so much about around here. Florida claims we need to prepare for brain circulation. Makes sense when you think about it in an economic sense. The economy is doing "better" when we're all giving our money back and forth to each other but its "worse" when I keep all my money, even though I might have the same amount of money.
http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail232.html
Posted by mikel at 06:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 16, 2004
Pictures
Someone asked where all the family pictures were at. I mostly use this blog to store things I find interesting online that I'll want to use later. So it might be interesting to you if you follow the same technology (.NET, software development) and business (higher education, small business, Indiana economy) that I do. But for a lot of my friends and family it doesn't make a lot of sense. For any of those people that stumble across this page, here's where my pictures are at.
Posted by mikel at 09:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Another item for the FAQ
if the same types of questions pop up over and over, many developers see this as a sign to add to the FAQ. I see it as a sign that something needs to be improved in my software.via http://www.microisv.com/archives/2004/11/15/krellprofile/--Steve Troxell of Krell Software
Posted by mikel at 12:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 11, 2004
Role of higher education in Indiana
Some excerpts from the Higher Education Subcommitte of the Indiana Government Efficiency Commission
Indiana is a manufacturing state and, while this sector of the economy is shrinking, it still dominates the economy. This strength is also the state’s weakness. The concentration of jobs in the manufacturing sector has allowed several generations of Hoosiers to achieve and maintain a solid, middle-class standard of living with an education that extended no further than a high school diploma. Now education matters.While the public universities are highly ranked, their research and technology transfer capacity is not effectively linked to strategies to change the state’s economy.
In this endeavor, the greatest assets available to the state are its institutions of higher education. If Indiana is to increase its economic competitiveness, the state’s universities and colleges must:
Convert more ideas into products and services—and thereby into jobs.
IU-Bloomington and Purdue-West Lafayette must become more focused on graduate education, research, and technology transfer and less on undergraduate education.
http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?id=12261
Posted by mikel at 01:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 10, 2004
4-H USA Web Crew site is live
The 4-H USA web crew, which includes Tippecanoe County's very own Emily Cox, has turned their site live recently.
Lots of stuff there, still checking it out. Nice job everyone!
Posted by mikel at 07:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 09, 2004
The benefit of sharing application state
In a Web application, those hooks are simply URLs. Consider what happens when you include a MapQuest URL in an email to someone. A piece of state information -- namely, the state of the MapQuest viewer when displaying a given location -- has been reduced to a token that one person can hand to another. The same thing can usefully apply to the state of a shopping cart, or an airline reservation.The idea that an application wears its state information on its sleeve, readily available for users to bookmark, modify, and trade, is an underappreciated strength of Web-based software
http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/2004/11/09.html#a1110
That's a benefit of web applications I've never really realized before. Though not entirely true if the the state isn't totally on the server (e.g. it's dependant on a local cookie so I can't email you the link + the cookie)
Posted by mikel at 06:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
AdWords for Market Research
We've just started using AdWords to advertise Swoosh! so maybe this would be something to look into doing for a new product.
Set up a page on your website where you write up the product concept, and put in as much information as possible. You might also offer an option whereby visitors to the page can request to be kept informed when the beta or final release becomes available.http://www.sharewarepromotions.com/blog/200411.html#e414Then setup a few well-written AdWords, and sit back for a couple of weeks or so.
Assuming that the number of impressions is reasonable, you should then be in a good position to get a feel for how much interest there may for the product.
Posted by mikel at 11:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Firefox 1.0
Firefox 1.0 is now available for download. Update or install for the first time and dump IE for most web browsing.
Posted by mikel at 09:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Mobility Road Show Examples
A couple examples that look interesting from the Mobility Road Show.
http://blogs.msdn.com/trobbins/archive/2004/11/05/253023.aspx
Posted by mikel at 06:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 08, 2004
MicroVision Development
When asked what advice Jim would you give to developers starting out? He said "New developers should try to find a good niche, develop a great app, and stick to it. This is not a get rich quick scheme and it takes some work. I can't overemphasize developing a great app, either. It is the primary advertisement vehicle, and you need to make a good impression. Then it is marketing, marketing, marketing! I would encourage them to seek the help and advice of others as much as their budget might allow. Developers are not typically great marketers, and the lack of experience often means the loss of opportunity. Where possible they should monitor and learn from those more experienced, and spend more of their time perfecting their products."
via http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html#v56
Posted by mikel at 02:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Virtual PC OSes
A good listing of what OSes work and what needs to be done to get them to work with Virtual PC
Posted by mikel at 10:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 05, 2004
OCC
Occasionally connected computing is a new term but the concepts are what we'd call in CPT 355, sometimes connected applications. A lot of the points point to the need to get developers to realize that though the tools for development and the devices themselves are getting closer and closer in functionality to their desktop counterparts, it all comes down to how people actually and expect to use your mobile application.
http://samgentile.com/blog/archive/2004/11/03/12288.aspx
http://componentry.com/blogs/phil/archives/000154.html
Posted by mikel at 09:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 03, 2004
MSDN student site
Not a lot there yet, but might be a good resource for CPT 355 students
http://weblogs.asp.net/msdnstudentflash/
Posted by mikel at 07:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 02, 2004
Smartphone priviliaged software
Good news from the Windows Mobile team.
The security infrastructure on Smartphone requires that an application be "trusted" in order to write to certain files, write to certain registry keys, or use certain APIs.Until recently, this meant going to each mobile operator and convincing them to sign your app (not exactly an easy task).
Well, now we have something better: the Mobile2Market Privileged Certificate program. The goal of this is to enable ISVs to get their app signed with a single privileged certificate that all devices trust.
If this is something you need, read the requirements. Once your app meets the requirements, send a mail to M2M@microsoft.com to get the rest of the details (process, costs, etc).
http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsmobile/archive/2004/11/02/251298.aspx
Posted by mikel at 07:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 01, 2004
Pocket PC and Java
A very short overview of the Java options on the Pocket PC
http://www.informit.com/articles/printerfriendly.asp?p=344816
Posted by mikel at 09:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Solitaire Season
I never would have guessed there was a Solitaire season
Tonight marks the beginning of the solitaire selling season. From the end of Daylight Savings time in October until the beginning on the first weekend of April is the time of the year when sales are highest. The sky is dark most of the time and people stay indoors and play solitaire, especially in the Northern areas.
via http://www.asharewarelife.com/2004/10/its-solitaire-season.html
Posted by mikel at 07:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack