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Month: January 2019
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January 20, 2019Devon Zuegel, “a developer with a passion for governance and economics,” recently became GitHub’s open source product manager to “support maintainers in cultivating vital, productive communities” — specifically open source software (OSS). Thursday they put out a call for feedback from open source developers about their contribution hours, their projects, and especially their issues:As the OSS community has grown in scale and importance, the way we think about working together has to evolve, too. What works in a village or a town needs to evolve to serve a metropolis. Open source has grown from a small, academic sharing network to a giant, global web of dependencies. It now forms the backbone of the internet and technology in general. Just like any growing city, we have to coordinate the knowledge, infrastructure, and tools for the good of the whole community. OSS is an essential and special part of software development. OSS has also been the heart of GitHub since the beginning. However, there is so much more we could do to support the people behind it. I have many ideas, but first I want to hear from you. The essay argues OSS maintainers and contributors “don’t have all the tools, support, and environment they need to succeed,” including analytics, communication resources, recognition and “proportionate incentive to contribute time and money to creating and maintaining projects.” (As well as deficiencies in both governance and mentorship.) And at the bottom of the blog post, there’s a contact form. “I want you to be part of the conversation and our roadmap. These challenges are nuanced, and they are unique to each project and community, so it’s crucial that we have an open dialogue as we focus on helping you address them.” Via Slashdot
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January 20, 2019Recently my wife has been traveling and busy with our 10-month-old baby so I have been trying to help out around the house and I have again found a new use for the Apple Watch. To start with Siri on my wrist has become very handy when it comes to setting reminders like go swap the laundry or to make sure I leave early enough to get to my older daughters bus stop has been very handy to have at the touch of a button. The next thing is the task list is great if my wife has a few things she needs me to remember to do I just hold in the crown button on my Apple watch and ask Siri to add them to my task list. The next thing I find handy is the timer on my Apple Watch. When I am cooking dinner or helping my daughter there are many times I need a timer. Having a timer on my wrist has come in very handy. The next thing is being able to answer my phone. I know it sounds nuts but if you have ever changed a child many times your hands are full between a diaper, whips and your kid’s feet. Your phone always rings with an important phone call you have been waiting for all day when your hands are full. Being able to just quickly tap your Apple Watch on your wrist is a major lifesaver when you’re in a situation where your hands are full and need to answer a call quickly. Having your weather on your wrist is great as well many times I am trying to figure out how to dress the kids and having the weather and temperature at a glace can be another big time saver for a...
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January 19, 2019Pandora radio has been around since 2000 and is considered by most to be the big brother of the streaming media business. While Pandora was revolutionary for the time as services like iTunes, Spotify, iHeartradio, TuneIn and Rhapsody went live Pandora stayed there course. While Pandora is still a great service they are not a popular full-fledged music service and have less then a six million paid subscribers but Pandora has one advantage they have tens of millions of free listeners. While Pandora has never given out an exact number the estimate is somewhere around 75 million people listen to free Pandora a month. Pandora has figured out the formula on how to make money by targeting the right music with the right ads at the right people. While Pandora at times has struggled to make money they understand the streaming radio business better than anyone. SiriusXM came out around the same time Pandora did and while they did great becoming a new format of radio they struggled to get a foothold on the app market. SiriusXM satellite technology for delivering radio was revolutionary for its time when no one had smartphones or data plans. At this time Pandora was still just a website and had several years to wait before smartphones are released. This a time when Yahoo and MSN still had web-based music services. When the iPhone released SiriusXM did not have a smartphone app however Pandora became one of the top downloaded music Apps on the iPhone App Store. Remember this is a time where the only subscription music services are Microsoft Groove and Rapsity. Apple iTunes is still paying as you go per song and Spotify is only in Europe. While SiriusXM had tremendous growth using the in the car radio model from the car manufacturers. Pandora...
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January 18, 2019Grab your popcorn and settle in because Xbox Game Pass is partnering with Sling TV, to give you one month of all of the games and live and on-demand TV you can handle for $1. New subscribers to both services are eligible for this deal through January 30: buy one month of Xbox Game Pass for $1 and get one month of Sling TV for free. You’ll have over 100 great games to discover and play with your new Xbox Game Pass subscription, and in between all that game play, you’ll have access to over 150 channels and programming content with Sling TV, the number one live over-the-top service. With Sling TV, you can get the channels you love and the shows you don’t want to miss on your Xbox One or any other Sling TV compatible device. Interested? Now is a great time to try Xbox Game Pass and discover your next favorite game. For just $1 for your first month, you’ll have instant access to over 100 Xbox One and Xbox 360 games. Xbox Game Pass members can play new games, like Crackdown 3, the day they’re released. Plus, discover and download titles you’ve always wanted to play or revisit favorites that you’ve been missing. With new games added all the time, Xbox Game Pass is your ticket to endless play for one low monthly price. Thanks to Sling TV, the value of Xbox Game Pass doesn’t stop at access and discounts to great games. For one month, new Sling TV customers will have access to Sling Orange and Sling Blue, which collectively include more than 150 channels and a wide selection of the newest content from your favorite channels like HGTV, AMC, ESPN and more, plus an on-demand library of your favorite shows like “South Park,” “Rick...
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Once you have bought or set up you business venture, you don’t just open up a store and relax, waiting for people to come streaming inside. The purpose of marketing is to let people know of the existence of your business. As a small business, marketing expenses should be the first to cut off from other expenditures. This is because there are several ways of marketing your small business without spending a lot of money. With the availability of the digital tools, you can meander around it and come out successful. Here are some marketing strategies to implement in your business. 1. Leverage your community As a beginner, learn to think locally. Never run after the whole country thinking that you will get more customers. Make your community a priority. This is because they are your biggest fans who can relate to your struggles and achievements. To capture their attention, be the one who sponsors local teams in their games, or other charity drives.in addition to this, print bookmarks about your business and let them know of your existence and the products you offer. Find the ideal customers and approach them for the same. 2. Network The best way to build a business is through networking. By networking, an entrepreneur creates a brand for themselves, and they also get to know more people who could in one way or another chip in to their businesses. This is a gradual process that requires patience and dedication. Once you have strong connections, you will have grasped the biggest asset for any business and nothing will stop you from achieving your dreams. 3. Ask for referrals. The moment you get a customer, never shy away from asking them for referrals. Simply put, just request them to bring along a friend the next time...
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If nothing else, the addition of ECG/EKG reinforced Apple’s commitment to evolving the Watch into a serious medical device. The company has long looked to bring its best-selling wearable to various health insurance platforms, and, according to a new report, it’s reaching out to multiple private Medicare plans in hopes of subsidizing the product. If Medicare companies bite, the move would make the $279+ tracker much more successful for older users. Along with electrocardiograph functionality, last year’s Series 4 also features fall detection, an addition that could make it even more appealing to the elderly and healthcare providers. The new report cites at least three providers that have been in discussions with the company. We’ve reached out to Apple for comment, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on hearing back until the ink is dry on those deals. For Apple, however, such a partnership would help increase the target audience for a product that’s been a rare bright spot in the wearable category. Apple’s not alone in the serious health push, of course. Fitbit has also been aggressively pursuing the space. Today the company announced its inclusion in the National Institutes of Health’s new All of Us health initiative. Techcrunch Another route that Apple is looking at to make up for iPhone sales
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The Seattle area, home to both Microsoft and Amazon, is a potent symbol of the affordable housing crisis that has followed the explosive growth of tech hubs. Now Microsoft, arguing that the industry has an interest and responsibility to help people left behind in communities transformed by the boom, is putting up $500 million to help address the problem. Microsoft’s money represents the most ambitious effort by a tech company to directly address the inequality that has spread in areas where the industry is concentrated, particularly on the West Coast. It will fund construction for homes affordable not only to the company’s own non-tech workers, but also for teachers, firefighters and other middle– and low-income residents. Microsoft’s move comes less than a year after Amazon successfully pushed to block a new tax in Seattle that would have made large businesses pay a per-employee tax to fund homeless services and the construction of affordable housing. The company said the tax created a disincentive to create jobs. Microsoft, which is based in nearby Redmond, Wash., and has few employees who work in the city, did not take a position on the tax. The debate about the rapid growth of the tech industry and the inequality that often follows has spilled across the country, particularly as Amazon, with billions of taxpayer subsidies, announced plans to build major campuses in Long Island City, Queens, and Arlington, Va., that would employ a total of at least 50,000 people. In New York, elected officials and residents have raised concerns that Amazon has not made commitments to support affordable housing. Microsoft has been at the vanguard of warning about the potential negative effects of technology, like privacy or the unintended consequences of artificial intelligence. Executives hope the housing efforts will spur other companies to follow its lead....
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Apple is double down on its services business now by teaming up with Verizon Wireless to offer Apple Music as part of Verizon Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited Data Plans. If you are like me and have Verizon New Unlimited or Go Unlimited which is unlimited at a cheaper because you are grandfathered in you can still get 6 months of Apple Music Free then pay $9.99 a month after that on your Verizon Bill. In their blog post, Verizon Angie Klein said this “Verizon Unlimited customers have been streaming their favorite songs on America’s largest and most reliable network with six months of Apple Music included with their plans. Now, we’re bringing the best in unlimited data and the best in unlimited music together in an even bigger way. Starting January 17, Apple Music will be included in Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited plans.* And for customers choosing Go Unlimited, they can still get six months of Apple Music free**.” “When we introduced six months free of Apple Music to Verizon Unlimited subscribers, we said it was just the beginning of a great collaboration between Verizon and Apple to bring music streaming to our loyal customers,” said Angie Klein, vice president of marketing at Verizon. “Our customers loved the offer, so we’re expanding the value of our Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited plans by including Apple Music at the same plan price. You can stream more of the music you love on the network you deserve.” While this partnership is a win for both companies. For Verizon, they can lure in more customers and push them over to unlimited and Apple gets more Apple Music Subscribers as Apple realizes the future of the company is subscription services. Since Apple Music is available on Android as well, it won’t be limited...
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January 16, 2019Data integration means combining data from different places so that it’s easily accessible and usable by anyone in your business. Integrating data means that you know that the data you rely on to run your business successfully is accurate and up-to-date. That’s important, because your business deals in data constantly. Every time you interact with a customer or supplier, you gather data about people and products. You can use this data to improve your service, analyze progress and drive growth. The need to integrate data Even small businesses tend to gather and record data in more than one way, using more than one software package to record it. Typically, a business might use a CRM (or customer relationship management system) to record data related to sales and marketing, and an ERP (or enterprise resource planning system) to record data related to business processes such as inventory, accounting and ordering. Using more than one system means it can be difficult for staff to access data. Staff from one team will often need to look at data held by another team. For example, a member of the sales team, who usually deals only with the CRM, might want to have access to a customer’s financial details, held on the ERP. As a quick fix, businesses often resort to manually copying data between systems so that it’s available to all. The risk of this is obvious: people make mistakes. When data is manually copied, it’s inevitable that mistakes will be made and that data will be incomplete. It’s also impossible for data to be available in real time when it’s copied manually. Alternatively, team members might go through a time-consuming process of asking those on another team for help. This is similarly risky — information might be incomplete and unreliable. How data integration...