Reflections of a Business-Driven Life

	Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Sense and Simplicity  (techdrivenlife) I am intrigued and excited about Philips coming out with a new slogan, "Sense and Simplicity". In a special advertising feature spanning several pages, Philips make a case that simplicity should be the goal of technology, and promised that they will use all their ingenuity and expertise to deliver their brand promise to make technology as simple as the box it comes in. They created a special board called the Simplicity Advisory Board, which is tasked to help in the journey to simplicity, and I particularly like the quotes that they came out with. 'Simplicity is knowing when less is too little and more is too much. '  -- John Maeda 'Simplicity is the basis of good design. Style is not about complication and excess, but about being designed around the individual.'   -- Sara Berman 'Simplicity involves two major processes: eliminating redundant elements and integrating things to make them flow.'   --- Ken Okuyama 'Simplicity requires focusing on the similarities between entities, not the differences.'  --Gary Chang 'Simplicity means products of the best quality displaying essential elements, but without additional ornamentation or clutter.'   --   Peggy Fritzsche This is a great campaign, and I hope they will succeed.  The more simpler and affordable the technology is, the more all of us will use it.  Indeed, the most complex technologies should go to make things easier for the enduser.   3:24:29 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Monday, June 27, 2005

Doing Search in Gmail  (techdrivenlife)   If you are using Gmail, you might be excited to know that not only does it have over 2 gigabytes of storage space for you, but it also, as expected have lots and lots of features that allows you to search fast.  I got this from the tech site AskDaveTaylor which you should visit if only it has really some great advices and answers on various technologies.   This is part of his answer on how to search Gmail:   " I did some digging around and was rather pleased to find out that the Gmail search system has lots and lots of what we search engine folk call predicates, specific tags you can apply to a word so that it matches a specific type of data. It's like the powerful site: predicate in the regular Google search system (and you know about that, right?) .   The easiest search predicates to learn for Gmail are from:, to: and subject:. For example, want to find a message from me? Look for from:taylor in your Gmail archive. Want to find all messages from me that mention blogging? Try from:taylor subject:blog. You can also <more>....     9:20:39 PM     comment []   trackback []

India's Rise in Technology Services (tidbits) CNET just did a special on the Indian Technology Industry.  Here are some links: - India's Renaissance in the Technology Industry, and where it is going - India's History in the Technology Industry traced back to 1946 - Links to over 20 news reports about India, and also over 20 links on important Indian Associations and Resources. 9:13:35 PM     comment []   trackback []

This is my Turf!  (on business) I stumbled on this site, called Mini-Microsoft, which the author is fervently working to give comments on how to make Microsoft lean  and mean.  Based on his writings, it seems he yearns the days when Microsoft was still growing, and there was still less bureaucracy.  At any rate, one of his excellent posts was ...<more>...   5:05:57 PM     comment []   trackback []

Getting Important People to Notice You   (techdrivenlife) According to the excellent suggestion of Mark Pincus ,   the easiest way for you to be able to talk to influential people, or for most technical people, the venture capitalists, is to write about them in your blog.  If somehow they have heard about you before, it is easier to do certain things.  At least you won't come in as a total stranger.   It is almost like brand recognition ---   if you were in a department store, and you are buying something you don't know, and there are 10 brands staring at your face, you might be apt to choose the one which brand name has a slight name recall , or you read about it once or twice somewhere.   4:50:19 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Sunday, June 26, 2005

The Future of Email  (techdrivenlife) Email has changed our lives.  But there are better ways to do things.  Sometimes, it just doesn't make sense to keep emailing back and forth documents to dozens of people to get it revised or updated. It clogs up the email system and so many people get lost on tracking version control.  There are better ways.  Here is an excellent interview on how Bill Gates see where the industry is going, together with Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's newest tech guru when Microsoft purchased Groove Networks to improve on collaborationware <more>....   1:12:33 PM     comment []   trackback []

MarketingSherpa's 2005 Best Blog winners   (Reviews) Marketing Sherpa announced their top 10 blogs as chosen by 2,065 tough judges who carefully evaluated 52-nominated blogs to pick them... <more>   1:07:33 PM     comment []   trackback []

Giving our School Children Skills  (tidbits) I attend a lot of seminars and events, and am also a frequent speaker.  At a most recent conference on the state of IT education in our country, I heard a gem of a thought that got me thinking. According to the speaker, Fr Jomar Legaspi of  Learn .PH Foundation   ( a foundation funded by Microsoft to bridge the digital divide) about 30% only of the students in our public high schools go to college. <more>...   10:11:54 AM     comment []   trackback []

Outsourcing and Offshoring  (techdrivenlife) According to a study, one tenth of the developed world's service job is capable of being outsourced to low-wage countries like China and India.  In reality, only an estimated 1% of this will probably be outsourced by 2008.  That translates to 4.1 million jobs <more>...   10:09:27 AM     comment []   trackback []

More Statistics on China  (tidbits) Added to my previous compilation comparisons of China and the US, here are some more Chinese statistics from Time Magazine that might be of interest.  ( currency in US dollars)...<more>     8:06:24 AM     comment []   trackback []

World's Fastest Man  (On Life ) Jamaican Asafa Powell officially broke the world record for 100 meters when he ran the distance in 9.77 seconds on June 14, 2005.  He eclipsed the world record of Tim Montgomery's previous attempt of 9.78 seconds set on September 14, 2002, and the 9.79 seconds set by Maurice Greene of the US established on June 16, 1999. It took almost 3 years to better the record 0.1%, which took almost another three years previously to break by another 1/100 of a second. The 100 meters was ran in 10 seconds flat by Armin Mary of West Germany in June 21, 1960.  That was before I was born. That means after thousands of attempts worldwide the last 45 years , the world record has for 100 meters has improved by 0.22 seconds, which is probably the time it takes to bat an eyelash. Trying to score excellence is now a matter of being a split hundred seconds faster than the competition.  Ditto for business and in many endeavors.   7:25:33 AM     comment []   trackback []

	Saturday, June 25, 2005

Think Week (On Life ) One of life's luxuries I hope I can be able to afford in the future, currently only knowingly practiced by the world's richest man, is the Think Week. Twice a year, for one week, Bill Gates goes into a secluded site for his bi-annual think week.  This is the time, which he purportedly spends 18 hour days just reading and thinking about the latest technologies...<more>   10:26:35 PM     comment []   trackback []

Some Humor  ( jokes) Great humor not only tickle the funny bone, but also delivers a punch line that makes us think about our lives, our relationships and the way we interact. Here's humor that is a subtle dig on married life. Knowing the parts for the school play were supposed to be posted today, a father asked his son if he got a part. The son enthusiastically announced that he'd gotten one.  " I play a man who's been married for 20 years." " That's great, son.  Keep up the good work, and before you know it, they'll be giving you a speaking part soon." In business, sometimes, we have confilcts.  While conflicts are inevitable, conflicts not properly managed can be among the biggest drain on motivation, and can result in wasted money and time.  Before we spend another time to argue and fight, especially when it involves getting expensive lawyers, let us remember  this joke: Two farmers were fighting over a cow.  while one was pulling the head and the other was pulling the tail, the lawyer was seen milking the cow... 3:37:52 PM     comment []   trackback []

Review of a Game Site  (Reviews) I chanced upon this site Gawken - Video Game News & Stories.  Although I am not much of a gamer, I could see the site as interesting, informative and well designed.  If you are a game aficionado, and loves to play and get the latest updates on PS2, Xbox, Nintendo, PSP, and others, this is a great site that gives succinct summaries of what is happening when and where.   3:36:29 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Friday, June 24, 2005

A Great Guide to Blogging  (techdrivenlife) Shel Israel and Robert Scoble, two notable technology personalities and famous bloggers are planning to come out with a book called Naked Conversations - How Blogs are changing the way Businesses Talk with Customers. Of particular significance, is that they are actually also using a blog to test market their book and solicit comments.  So far, they are now halfway through the book which should see publication and distribution before end of the year. I particularly like Chapter 12: How Not to get Dooced.  ( Dooced is a new word coined by a blogger which means to get fired for blogging). In this chapter, they reiterated the Corporate Weblog Manifesto which is a set of now 35 rules on what you should do if you are blogging in the business world, or in behalf for your company. Check it out.  There is a wealth of information on how blogging is changing the world, and many other information.       6:48:39 PM     comment []   trackback []

Still Mentally Agile?   (tidbits) Here is a small exercise I got from the June 2005 issue of Reader's Digest to test your mental agility. Count backwards from 100 in sevens:  for example, 100, 93, 86, etc.  Try to time how long it will take for you to get to 1.  If you're under 40, you should manage it in less than 20 seconds.  If you're 40 to 60, under 25 seconds...     6:23:56 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Points to Ponder 5  (on quotes) IF.......  It is one of the great words of the English language and one that is full of philsophical meanings.  I looked over my collection, and find out that there are many good quotes I can share: If it doesn't make sense, it doesn't make cents. -- a great quote that says that a business model is important. If it sounds too good to be true it probably is  -- a quote that warns you that sometimes you have to be wary about the 'fine' print. If u have something to complain, then do you have something to suggest.  -- great quote.  Don't just say what is wrong, tell us how to make it right! If u waut happiness --for an hour-take a nap;  for a day-go fishing;  for a month-get married; for a year-inherit a fortune;  for a lifetime-help someone else.    An olld chinese proverb that might be truer than it sounds, and a great guide to life.  It reminds us that only if we find meaning in life by helping somebody will the happiness endure. If you are going through hell keep going.  by Winston churchill If you can distinguish between good and bad advice then you don't need advice. by Bruce van roy. If you try to steal the giants lunch, the giant is likely to eat you for lunch... From Seth Godins' Book The Bootstrapper's Bible, which advises to be careful when competing with companies that are bigger, richer, and have more rich than you. Similar Posts:  Points to Ponder 4  Points to Ponder 3      Points to Ponder 2    Points to Ponder   10:00:14 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Big Outsourcers, Small Outsourcers  (tidbits) Its not only the big companies that are outsourcing.  Mom and Pop shops are also. More and more western companies are turning to places like Sri Lanka, China,  Philippines and Eastern Europe to make clothes, jewelry, trinkets and even software programs. Computers, the Internet and modern telecommunications are making it possible for start-ups to market their goods to customers anywhere in the country and the same infrastructure also enables them to find workers and plants tens of thousands of miles away in countries they will never visit and in factories they will never inspect... <more>     1:09:14 PM     comment []   trackback []

Longhorn Update  (techdrivenlife) Here is the latest update on Longhorn as per interview with Microsoft's Chris Jones.   By the way, there is a lot of talk on Longhorn, and many of them served to give the impression that this version of Windows is going to be very complex, yet powerful.  That is not true at all.  As per this post by a senior executive from Microsoft, Longhorn's goal is to be  simpler, sexier, and safer.     12:42:37 PM     comment []   trackback []

The Price of Staying Connected     ( techdrivenlife) One of the great technology wonders I am thankful in the last 10 years is the development of the mobile phone, the PDA and the internet.  Combine this together into the pocket PC  phone, and you can virtually go anywhere and still be connected.  Today's selection, from the BlackBerry , to the Treo, to the Ipaq Windows Mobile phone sports Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GSM phone.  You can check your email either through  HotSpots or through the cellullar network.  You can roam most cities  ( in my case, except those without GSM networks)  and you would instantly be connected seamlessly through a network of partnerships between the cellullar providers. Of course, the price of getting connected goes beyond not only never having a totally interrupt-free trip.  Sometimes, you get sticker shock.  A few years ago, I learned that telecom networks will provide you roaming at a price.  If you don't know ( and it is difficult to get from your cell provider what roaming charges each potential roaming partner charges), you could be in for a shock.  In this day and age, it is still shocking that there are phone networks that charges over a dollar per minute for international calls .  You can pay that or more if you go roaming, and is indiscriminate in using. After a few months, I thought I was an expert-- just minimize calls, and use HotSpots when you can. If you cannot, use GPRS to check email. The other week I was in Australia, and I log into Telstra as roaming partner.   Instantly, I was using my pocket PC phone to check my email.  Imagine  when a few days ago, the telco company called me.  My phone bill was now well over a thousand dollars.  I asked for details.  There was something wrong with the roaming.  I was being charged over 900 US dollars for 2 days of roaming charge for checking my email.  I checked the price. Their prices were not only about 5 to 6 times per KB compared to most Asian cities, but I was billed for downloading over 40 megabytes of email over a 5 hour period.  Ha???  With the rated data rate of GPRS of about 9.6 kbps ( lower in actual) , I could not even download 15 megabytes in 5 hours even if I wanted to.   Moreover, I had my email settings to download only email no more than 20 kilobytes, and I only had a handful of them. There was something wrong with the bill.... and I am waiting what my provider says. There is a price for being connected, and sometimes, it comes with the ocassional shock that indeed, our quest of being constantly connected does not pay -- either in tense hours, or in ocassional price shocks . Do we want to go back to yesteryears when a vacation  or being out of the office really meant being out of reach?   12:05:47 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Sunday, June 19, 2005

What does Entrepreneurship Mean to You?  (EntrepreViews) Prof Jeff Cornwall, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship in Belmont University,  chaired last week the 50th annual meeting of the International Council for Small Business, for which he has shared also the highlights of the convention where over 600 attendees exchanged ideas on entrepreneurship. He shared speech of Dr. Naughton in which the speaker shared about the different approaches we take to regards to how we view our own business.  Is our work a career?  Is our work a calling or a vocation?  Or is it simply a job? How we view this also determines how we gauge whether we have been successful ... <more>...   5:53:26 PM     comment []   trackback []

What Business Travelers Want  (techdrivenlife) In a survey which polled what international business travelers want most from a hotel conducted by American Express, the first choice of Americans  ( 49%), Mexicans ( 48%), Chinese ( 48%), and Japanese ( 46.5%) was internet access.  The first choice of Norwegians ( 47%), British ( 43%), and Germans ( 40%) was complimentary breakfast. In a similar survey about the most important service international business travelers want from an airline, the overwhelming favorite of Norwegians ( 38%), Austrlaians ( 32%), Americans ( 25%), Canadians ( 24%) was flat bed seats.  A second most popular choice was food service as chosen by the French ( 30%), British ( 29%) and Germans ( 24%).  The Chinese ( about 25%) choose on-board email or internet access.   4:52:17 PM     comment []   trackback []

The Changing Tech Scene  (techdrivenlife) I gathered some stats that shows how technology is changing the way we live.  Apparently, for the last few years, video games is becoming a big bet compared to Hollywood.  Halo 2, Microsoft's Xbox game got sales of over $125 million the first day, in contrast to Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Sith at $115 million, and Madagascar at $61 million.  Over 41 million people have downloaded Skype, and over 150,000 more people are doing every day. Over 10 million people blog, and over 5 million have signed up with Microsoft's MSN Spaces in just a few months it was launched.  Digital cameras now outsell traditional cameras, and cell phone now outnumber computers. China based Lenovo just bought IBM's PC division, and just recently Taiwan-based BenQ bought Siemen's cell phone division. Sale of anti-spyware products expected to grow from $50 million in 2004 to almost $300 million by 2008, according to IDC group.   2:02:21 PM     comment []   trackback []

Happy Father's Day    (on business)   As a businessman, and at the technology arena at that, it has always been a hypercompetitive industry.  You need speed, and moreover, creativity and innovation. I have always prized those who use imagination to stand out of the crowd.... On this day when we celebrate Happy Father's Day, the advertisement of Durex Condoms stands out as one that is particularly innovative.  I have seen other blogs carry it, and numerous emails and text messages that commented on it, and thus, with imagination, they were able to get the best bang out of their marketing and advertising dollars. Simple, direct to the point, delivers the punch, creates buzz.  What an ad in today's information overloaded society should ideally be.   12:12:24 PM     comment []   trackback []

LinkBlog 1  (Reviews) I am starting to include in my reading reviews also reviews of links -- effectively what industry would call a linkblog( first here, but soon only in my readings/linkblog category).  Here I share  some of the great web sites I read and track, which I have not had time to put into my blogroll, or those sites which needs to be initially explained why the site is so compelling. First is you should try to check out the site, Ask Dave Taylor.  This is a great site where an industry guru answers( and he has answered over 500 of them)  common questions on using technology, from windows xp, to ebay, to blogs, to playstations,  to web design, and the like.  To get started, you might want to check out his specific questions to the most popular questions he has been given, which many will also be of interest to you. Another great technology news site, in which the author presents a neat summary of updates is LastRider's blog. Pls. feel free to write me if you want to be included --- no promises....  Please note that my linkblog is very subjective.  It has to be a blog I like, and it has to talk about issues that I am interested on, and consistent to my Bizdrivenlife tagline, ' a technology entrepreneur's take on winning in business ... and in life.'     11:24:51 AM     comment []   trackback []

	Saturday, June 18, 2005

Points to Ponder 4  (on quotes) My main quote this post comes from a great leader, Colin Powell.  'Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.' 'Good leadership involves responsibility to the welfare of the group, which means that some people will get angry at your actions and decisions. It's inevitable, if you're honorable. Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity: you'll avoid the tough decisions, you'll avoid confronting the people who need to be confronted, and you'll avoid offering differential rewards based on differential performance because some people might get upset. Ironically, by procrastinating on the difficult choices, by trying not to get anyone mad, and by treating everyone equally nicely regardless of their contributions, you'll simply ensure that the only people you'll wind up angering are the most creative and productive people in the organization. ' Here is an equally tough leader, Harry Figgie, Jr., who states it in a more colorful words on the necessity of being tough--'You don't build a company like this with lace on your underwear," But of course, it is always good to always second think some of your conclusions, and always be willing to be corrected.  Here is a gem from philosopher, Bertrand Russell, 'I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.' I conclude it with one of my favorite quotes of all time, though I don't quite remember who said it, ' All generalizations are wrong, including this one.' Similar Posts:  Points to Ponder 3      Points to Ponder 2    Points to Ponder   4:48:56 PM     comment []   trackback []

Getting the Boss to Support You  (on business) If you feel your boss is not supportive of your thrusts, maybe it is because you are selling it to him the wrong way.  Here is an excellent article on how you can get your boss to be your best supporter.   4:15:36 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Friday, June 17, 2005

Top 10 Celebrity Email Viruses  (techdrivenlife) According to this report by Panda Software, Britney Spears edged out Bill Gates as the top celebrity asscoiated with malicious software distributed via email.   This is a study as to which celebrities most often had their names involuntarily used in association with malicious spam.  Rounding out the third to 10th places were 3.) Jennifer Lopez ,  4.) Shakira , 5.) Osama BinLaden  , 6.) Michael Jackson , 7.) Bill Clinton ,  8.) Anna Kournikova,  9.) Paris Hilton  and 10.) Pamela Anderson. Next time you received an email from any of them, unless you know them personally, just put it in the recycle bin...     11:02:11 PM     comment []   trackback []

The American Criminal Legal System  (tidbits) Michael Jackson was declared innocent.  According to this news commentary, it was more than beating the odds -- it was a peculiar case.  It is said that a vast majority of criminal cases in California and elsewhere is now resolved by pleas.  As such, acquittals also are becoming rare.  For instance, in 2002, it was reported that in California, out of 236,471 felonies, only 766 or less than 1% were acquittals, and the overall conviction rate is about 83%. In Santa Barbara County, where the Jackson case was heared, the convinction was even at 87% percent.  And out of 2,407 felonies, only 3 were acquitted.   One of the takeouts here is that district attorneys don't prosecute unless they have a more than 50% chance of winning <more>....   10:58:20 PM     comment []   trackback []

Preferences on reading news  (techdrivenlife) Reuters reported that over 20 percent of the web users now prefer to read news online and have forgone reading papernews.  A significant 72 percent though still read print editions, and 7 percent read both.  Of the online news only, the number one choice is New York Times, with over 11.3 million audience in May.  Second was USA Today  with 9.2 million while the third was the Washington Post who posted a significant 10 percent year on year to garner 7.4 million visits.  For internet only companies who gather news from various sources, Yahoo got an online audience of 23.8 million, while Google News garnered 7.1 million. We have slowly change our habits, and this report further reflects the traction that internet is gaining on our lives.   10:41:05 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Thursday, June 16, 2005

Open Source Marketing  (tidbits) A new e-book  ( actually only 15 pages and free), which lauds the success of Open Source Movement, have coined a new term of marketing called 'Open Source Marketing'.  Ironically, one of its primary examples on how to do this was Microsoft's Channel 9, and its team of bloggers.   8:34:13 PM     comment []   trackback []

Windows 2000 doing Too Well  (techdrivenlife) It seems that forty eight percent of PCs are still running Windows 2000, even after 5 years it was launched, and as Microsoft takes steps towards ending full-pledged support and maintenance. This compares to 38 percent for Windows XP, according to PC inventory and asset analysis company AssetMetrix... <more>   8:22:34 PM     comment []   trackback []

Good Enough is not Good Enough  (tidbits) Seth Godin, famous author of numerous books which are among the most thought provoking, has a new post in his blog which he laments that today's generation virtually have a prevailing attitude that does not encourage the pursuit of excellence.  He labels the attitude as the Seduction of Good Enough  ( he has always had a way with words). Many of the products are just 'good enough'.  People are so busy that they just want to get by....  Are they overwhelmed, overworked, or just losing motivation?  Are we still rewarding excellence in many areas, or are people just become jaded?     8:03:16 PM     comment []   trackback []

The Alterpreneur  (EntrepreViews) Here is an interesting post about the alterpreneur.  While it is a given that most people in developing countries where there is a dearth of good paying jobs, and the way to have a relative prosperous life is only through owning your own business, people in developed countries find businesses for other reasons. Increasingly, there is a new breed of entrepreneur whose main objective actually is to make  their business small so that they could enjoy life, and to obtain 'freedom from the corporate treadmill and the chance to build their own lifestyles'. Of course, it does not always happen that way   <more>...     2:43:54 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Techniques to use to Rise up in Google Rankings   (techdrivenlife) One of the things every webmaster needs to know is how to rise up in Google search rankings -- it being the premiere source of over a hundred million people in searching for information in the internet. According to this site which studied Google's recent patent application 20050071741, here are some of the things that Google looks at it when it ranks your site. One is that  if you register your domain name only for one year that is a point against you.  This is because the majority of spam websites only register a domain name for one year.  A domain registered for a longer period of time is more likely to be legitimate and serious about their site. Google has been making changes in the way it ranked sites due to the link spams that they received in 2004 in order to make their search more relevant and powerful.   It also says the speed at which your site gain links might be hold against you because that might be indicative of spam.  The way you are linked, the frequency and amount of updates to your websites, the length people stay at your sites, the number of times you are bookmarked, and many others are considered. Here is the site on other more important factors.    2:04:47 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Monday, June 13, 2005

Coach Carter Review  (Reviews) The movie, starring Samuel Jackson, is based on a real life story of a basketball coach, who believes that life is more than winning basketball, and it is about winning in life.  He advocates being tough, and espouses discipline and education as central to success. It does have some good parallelisms in a workplace.  As a coach, he is also a manager, and a teacher, one who is responsible on training and motivating people how to move up in life.  And nothing is harder a job than to convince people about your principles of success and the means to get there than when they don't agree with you on what success is.  Coach Carter had difficulty when initially, the players already become bull headed after a small success, and also increasingly with parents and teachers who believed that dumbing down standards is the way to go.  They want success but do not understand that success, or at least sustainable success needs to be properly courted and won over. We all want the best for our people and our children, but are we prepared to be tough for them to get there? Great performance from Samuel Jackson, and it is great to see that Hollywood still turns out movies that motivates and inspires.  I see myself as being advantaged because I have read good books, and watch inspirational movies, and this is definitely one to see.  I may also get the book as I was informed it is also well-written and inspiring. Five stars out of five.   8:42:32 PM     comment []   trackback []

Encouraging People NOT to Save  (on business) As you might have known, I have always advocated frugality as an essential virtue, both for the achievement of family bliss by reducing your worries.  As you might have noted, I have always been wary that increased material consumption can really go a long way towards making a person really happier.  On a national scale or in the world of macroeconomics, however, the mechanics are different  < more>....   1:08:07 PM     comment []   trackback []

CEO Blogs   (on business) Last year, Bill Gates in the Microsoft CEO Summit made it a key messages on Why CEOs should blog  ( here is the full speech text).   Here is a rejoinder on a comment on why until now, CEOs still don't blog.   The debate on how blogs matter and don't matter continues.  Meantime, here is a list ( growing fast) on the CEOs that DO blog.  Check out the list, and if you may want to be included in the list.   9:44:22 AM     comment []   trackback []

Network Security  (techdrivenlife) It is really a hot topic nowadays.  Two months ago, I was in a Microsoft conference.  Priority no. 1 - Security.  Last week, I was in a Cisco conference.  Opportunity no. 1 -  Security.  The other week, Businessweek had its cover story the 'hacker hunters'.  It highlighted that things like viruses, spyware, ... <more>   9:05:32 AM     comment []   trackback []

Five Ways Internet Changed Small Businesses  (on business) Small Business Trends, a blog about the global small business market, comments on the article of My Magazine, which talks about the top 5 ways Internet has changed small businesses.  <more...>   9:03:58 AM     comment []   trackback []

Madagascar  (Reviews)   Interesting, original, entertaining.  But most important, we see ourselves in the characters and story that they spun. Five stars out of five. <more ... >   9:02:40 AM     comment []   trackback []

	Saturday, June 11, 2005

The Increase of Millionaires Worldwide  (tidbits) Here is an interesting joint study made by Cap Gemini and Merill Lynch.  According to their World Wealth Report, the number of High Net Worth Individuals ( or rather US dollar millionaires since the criteria is the individual has a net worth of at least 1 million US dollars excluding that of his primary residence) increased by 600,000 in 2004 to post a new high of 8.3 million. For the first time since 2001, North America, with a growth of over  7.3% now has more millionaires than Europe with 2.7 million compared to 2.6 million.  Asia Pacific which posted a growth of 8 percent has now 2.3 million millionaires  (more)...     4:28:12 PM     comment []   trackback []

You have to Spend Time to Save Time  (On Life ) I have made similar observations to myself in many situations, and thought to share this in my blog, but I never got around to doing it.   So  as we observe among us -- we know that if only we would have time to do organize, plan, or learn certain things, we would save time.  If I have only time to organize my books and library, I would save that much time everytime trying to find my books... If I have time only to organize my mailbox, or learn that blogging shortcut, I would have save that much time everyday updating my blog.... etc.  David Pogue of New York Times talks about the same topic  (more)...   3:16:24 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Friday, June 10, 2005

Fire Safety Procedures   (tidbits) I am staying in a hotel in Australia, and noted their 'in-case-of-fire' instructions, and thought it would be great to share this. First, they noted that 42% of all hotel and motel fires (more...)   6:53:18 PM     comment []   trackback []

Solomonic Business Decisions Part 2  (on business) If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, try to read Seth Godins' The Bootstrapper's Bible.   It is an e-book available for free download at this address.  It is one of the most pratical guides on how to succeed in business as an entrepreneur. He shares many tips on building a business.  One of the great tips he shared  (more)...   6:49:25 PM     comment []   trackback []

Marry for Love?  (tidbits) Stephanie Coontz, in her book, "Marriage, a History" contends that the widespread belief that you marry for love only started to be prevalent in the Western world 200 years ago.  Before that, (more...)   6:47:21 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Wednesday, June 08, 2005

The Starting-Up Entrepreneur  Mindset (EntrepreViews) You have had it.  You have been toiling in the corporate world for so long that you feel you have mastered the 'business' and thus will take the plunge.  You want to be an entrepreneur, or at least be part or full owner of the business so that you will be able to finally benefit partly or wholly  from your labors. You put up your own money,  or borrow from friends and family.  Or better still, got some investors who believed in you.... But before that, check out first your mindset -- evidently you want an investment in the future, and therefore is willing to sacrifice something in the present for it .... or are you? How you perceive yourself when you start the business, and the lifestyle that you seek at that time determines whether you are really serious in 'making' it or not ... (cont'd in EntrepreViews)   11:37:28 PM     comment []   trackback []

Cultivating a Culture of Business Achievement   (on business) The main force that is driving General Electric is not that they have the money, or the infrastructure.  It is because they have the people who 'gets' it -- which is focused on cultivating a culture of business achievement.  What it is focused in order to achieve its business goals is to make sure that executives drive the "right behavior" all across the company.   This strong cultural ethos has its price, and its benefits  <more>...   10:06:35 AM     comment []   trackback []

	Tuesday, June 07, 2005

EntrepreViews 1   (EntrepreViews)  I would like to thank those who write to EntrepreViews, and hope that you are OK to share my answers to your issues with the general public.   Hi Wilson, I am married to an entrepreneur and it is affecting our personal life as there is no work life balance and my partner feels that i should participate and support him without fail or else i should not reap any of the rewards of his hard work. i feel that he is a difficult person to work with and hence the problems. any advice? lisa     Bizdrivenlife answers ....   3:29:00 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Monday, June 06, 2005

Bluetooth Starting to Fly   (techdrivenlife) Computerworld, reporting from Computex, the world's second largest computer show which is held annually in Taiwan,  reports the increased popularity of Bluetooth devices.  According to their projections, bluetooth chips should exceed 264 million, more than 3 times the 69 million sold in 2003, according to the Industrial Economics & Knowledge Center (IEK), a Taiwan research group. After a slow start back in 1994, it seems that Bluetooth will be one of the defining technologies in the next few years, especially for wireless headsets.     8:17:34 PM     comment []   trackback []

Email Addiciton is Good    (techdrivenlife) A few days ago, I wrote about a study that talks that we may be addicted to email.   Here is a rejoinder from Forbes magazine, The Digital Life, that says access to e-mail allows executives and other people to respond more quickly to problems, as well as allow them to be more productive amidst more flexibility on where to work.  Addiction has negative connotations while the net effect of these technology is supposed to be positive for our lives. I concur.  Sometimes I complain that a vacation is not a vacation at all!  What with having to worry everyday on where to log on just to stay in touch and 'connected'.  But then again, come to think of it, if not for mobile phones, wifi connections and internet, would I be able to take a vacation in the first place with the increased demands now on the business?   8:12:04 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Sunday, June 05, 2005

Interesting Comparisons of China and US   ( tidbits) Before I start, I just gathered from Time Magazine that Time Warner still makes over a million dollars a year from royalty payments on the song, "Happy Birthday to You !" which was composed in the 1930s. At any rate, Time Magazine ( May 16, 2005) reports on some interesting statistics also in comparing the American and the Chinese economy. In terms of personal finances:      China       United States - Disposable income per capita     $1,138      $29,372 - Savings Rate                             23%    1.2% - Debt as percentage of disposable income   30%    110% - Home Ownership                  81.2%      67.8% That means that while the Chinese earns less, they save more, has less debt, and more of them own their homes. Annual Expenditures:       China       United States - Clothing      $232     $1,749 - Dining Out     $159     $2,276 - Beer Consumption   21 liters     84 liters Overall, the Chinese still consume much less than the American consumer.  Only 8 out of every 1,000 driving age Chinese owns a car, compared to 940 per 1,000 in the US.  In contrast, there is an estimated 2.27 millionaires in the United States, and still about 236,000 in China. In terms of mobile phone ownership, only 54.6% in United States owns cell phones, but 90% of the Chinese do.  More Americans ( 61.8%) though, owns computers compared to the Chinese ( 27.8%)...  Over 94 millions Chinese now surf the Internet, and last year 2004, over 29 million trips were made by the Chinese overseas.   11:49:22 AM     comment []   trackback []

	Saturday, June 04, 2005

China's Three Most Influential Entrepreneurs   ( EntrepreViews)   China's 25 most influential entrepreneurs for 2004 was featured in the business magazine, Chinese Entrepreneur.  The top 3 are:   1.) Ren ZhengFei  , president of Huawei Technologies, by virtue of his company's brilliant technologies.   Huawei produces telecom and networking equipment and is seen as a formidable challenger to Cisco Systems.  It is now starting to spread its wings in international operations.   2.) Liu ChuanZhi , founder of Lenovo, which recently achieved publicity when it agreed to purchase IBM's global PC operations, and achieve international prominence as now one of the leading names in personal computers worldwide, as well as maintain its no. 1 position in the China market which is seen as the fastest growing and most promising segment.   3.) Zhang RuiMin, head of the Haier group, an increasingly prominent player in the international arena for  appliances.  Zhang was no. 1 in the same study in 2003.  It has been variously referred to as China's General Electric.   These 3 companies are also the among the most visible Chinese companies trying to tackle the international market, and building their brands.     6:21:05 PM     comment []   trackback []

Current IT Trends  ( techdrivenlife) According to Current Analysis, a San Diego based research firm, more notebooks were sold last year in the United States than desktops.  Notebooks now account for 53% of the total units sold last year, and moreover, 95% of them are already equipped with wireless. In another survey by Opinion Research, a majority of us are so hooked to email that 41% of people checked their email after they get up in the morning.  It was gathered that the average person has three e-mail accounts and spends about an hour every day reading, sending and replying to messages.  The average person checks their inbox at least 5 times a day, and even more for those with Blackberry and PDA mails.   Upto 60% of respondents admitted checking their inboxes even on vacations. This one news is even more extreme... a Wi-Fi wireless network access point, known as a hotspot, was installed by British Telecom in Reverend Keith Kimber's St John's Rectory church in the city of Cardiff.  If you want a break on the sermon, you can check your email ... or surf !  According to the reverend, the objective is to make the church the proper sanctuary for people -- even business people with notebooks and mobiles...  Talk about a techdrivenlife! A CIO Magazine poll noted that 15% of their respondents complain that it is harder to find key IT labor.  Even harder for big companies --- for those with over 5,000 employees, a higher 34.9% said IT labor was indeed hard to find.  The largest segment, about 54% plan to increase spending on security, 46.5% to increase spending on storage, while about 45% plan to increase spending on computer hardware.   5:01:29 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Thursday, June 02, 2005

The Rule of 72  ( EntrepreViews) One of the things that you should keep in mind that will be powerful to you when you make financial and business decisions with regards to investments, and returns, is the power of compound interest.  This is one of the main considerations why your passive income will grow and become significant over a long time, and is the source of much of the entrepreneur's wealth. If you make a decision, for instance,  to invest in something that will return to you 10% per year, and you choose not to touch it for five years, you know you will be getting more than 50%  return ( it is about 61% percent). Some of these returns are not easy to compute, and I find the rule of 72 a very good rule of thumb.  Simply put, if you consider a compounded investment giving you for instance x returns per year, 72/x is a fast way to know how long it will take for you to double your money.  So, by this, it is easy to know that if the investment returns 10 percent compounded, it will take (72/10) 7.2 years for you to double, and at 7.2 percent return, it will take (72/7.2) in 10 years. You can also use this to know, for instance, how long it will take you to double your sales. If your sales is growing at a compounded rate of 20 percent, then you know you can double your sales in 72/20 or 3.6 years.  If you are growing at 15 percent, then you double in (72/15) 4.8 years. This is also a good way to compute possible return comparison.  A popular vehicle for investment a few years back was when some investment houses promised an investment that would double your money in 6 years.  Using the rule of 72, it is easy enough to know that this investment therefore is giving you (72/6) 12% return per year compounded, and thus, gives you a better tool to gauge whether other investments are more preferable or not.     6:33:09 PM     comment []   trackback []

	Wednesday, June 01, 2005

HP's Solution for the Pain in the Neck   ( techdrivenlife) More and more people are working on notebooks.  There are also now more news about workplace injuries due to hunching over notebooks for extended periods of time. According to CNET, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported over 9,200 workers missed at least a day of work in 2003 due to these injuries associated with worker motion or improper position of computers in the workplace. The main problem with laptops is that the screen and keyboard are so close together. Without the aid of peripherals, laptop users have two choices, neither of which are any good long term. First choice is to cramp their neck down to view the monitor or they can elevate the machine to eye level, which in turn , can wreak havoc on shoulders and arms. It was not a big problem before - notebooks were for ocassional use.  But now, more and more people are using the notebook fulltime to replace the desktop, and they are using it 8 hours a day,  almost 365 days a year. HP's solution is a designed docking station that works as follows.  Of course, you will have also to procure a special ergonomic keyboard to go with it. It will need some doing, but then again, life's success depends on how fast, and well you solve the pain in the neck, right?                           8:01:26 PM     comment []   trackback []

When Not Paying Enough Does not Pay   ( EntrepreViews) I have espoused that Entrepreneurship is about conserving money, and not spending lavishly.  On the other hand, you have to balance that whilst not known to be extravagant, you also don't gain the reputation of not giving great value -- to your customers, and to your employees.  Nothing kills motivation faster than your employees realization that you are an unappreciative boss. Here is a nice anecdote on the topic... A man takes his place in the theater, but his seat is too far from the stage. He whispers to the usher, "This is a mystery, and I have to watch a mystery close up. Get me a better seat, and I'll give you a handsome tip." The usher moves him into the second row, and the man hands the usher a quarter. Yep. 25 cents! The usher looks at the quarter in his hand, leans over and whispers, "The wife did it."   1:10:48 PM     comment []   trackback []

Entrepreneurship is more than Winning  ( EntrepreViews) I have been following the Entrepeneurial Mind blog by Dr. Jeffrey Cornwall.  In his most recent post, he noted that Donald Trump has launched an online university. He says that Entrepreneurship is more than winning the next deal, or accumulating lots of money, and I wholly agree.  For an entrepreneur, business can be a way of life we choose to live.  For me, it is about also my fulfillment, my family, and my legacy.  And certainly, things like ethics, morals and values matter. Trump epitomizes the entrepreneur who would recommend driving in the freeway touting the speed limit, and going 100 miles per hour if you can get away with it.   He can get away from recklessness because most of us choose to drive carefully.  If everybody of us choose to drive 100 mph, we will all soon be in trouble. For me, I am content to cruise the highway at a reasonable speed, and enjoying the scenery that I passed by, enjoying the chitchats with fellow passengers, and listening to nice music instead of putting all my senses to arriving the destination at record speed, and which a slight distraction can wreak havoc.   12:43:01 PM     comment []   trackback []