Agave Mountain

Interesting developments on the mobile front... According to the CNet wireless blog, Microsoft is responding to the resounding success of Apple's App Store; Microsoft is expected to introduce similar service called SkyMarket this fall for mobile devices that run their operating systems.  The blog posting is HERE. 

Some other interesting quotes in the article are:

• Smart phone sales increased to 19 percent of all mobile-phone sales in the second quarter, a 9 percent increase from the same period a year ago, the NPD Group reported.
• Apple raked in about $30 million in sales of iPhone applications in the first month the store was open.
• Google on Thursday announced Android Market, an online center that will let people find, buy, download, and rate applications.

What remains to be seen is if Microsoft starts to put and emphasis on developers who develop for Microsoft pocket PCs and smart phones.

Labels: Programming, Windows Mobile

Posted by Joe Turner at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy and safe Labor Day weekend -- the last long weekend that harbingers the end of summer. It is the weekend when most people go to the beach one last time, have a picnic or cook out one last time.

Labels: Announcements

Posted by Joe Turner at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments

Today I received a letter from Dun and Bradstreet, alerting me that activity has been noted on my business credit profile.  The "activity" was that my business had an incomplete credit profile.  I rolled my eyes as I tossed the letter into the trash can. 

I don't think it was an accident I got an email pitching the "free" 30-day trial of their self-monitoring service ($449 per year), followed by a letter than inferred that I have negative information on my profile that needed to be corrected.  I think it is a carefully engineered sales process designed to hook gullible business owners into forking over cash for a useless service. 

Confused about the perceived negative, you pick up the phone and a commissioned sales reps crows, "that's why you NEED self monitoring for your business.. it's free for 30 days..." 

Apparently, these tactics are wildly successful in extracting cash out of confused business owners.  In most cases, when I see blog or forum postings about D&B it will go something like: "I'm not sure what it does, but I forked over $600 for their service."  I am surprised that otherwise sane and rational business people pay for a service they are supposed to get for free.  Amazing.

I guess it isn't surprising because most of the Google-indexed articles on business credit are either generated by nefarious credit repair agencies, or link bait for advertising.

D&B Practices

You should know that D&B support is comprised of commissioned sales representatives.  Not surprisingly, the sales representatives can spin a yarn or two in pursuit of a rent check.  So far they have outright lied to me on several occasions.  One went so far as to tell me that I wouldn't be able to purchase a computer at DELL without a PAYDEX score.  Another told me that the government wouldn't do business with me unless I paid for verification.  Absurd.

Last year, I got a cold call from a D&B representative telling me that there was some negative activity on my credit profile.  He launched into a credit builder sells pitch.  I cut him off and asked which trade line had reported negative information, because I pay my bills on time as a receive them.  He continue to try to sell me a variety of products.  After some pointed questions he finally admitted that the negative information was that I didn't have a PAYDEX score.

Amazingly, in spite of never purchasing a D&B product (and not having a PAYDEX score) I have had no problem getting 3 business credit cards, an OfficeMax corporate card, and approval for a bank loan.  Go figure. 

So lets dispel some myths about D&B:

• FREE D-U-N-S™ Number. You CAN get a DUNS number for free.  The process will take 30 days, or you can pay for expedited processing -- $49 for 5 days.  If you are applying for government grants, you can get a free DUNS number within 24 or 48 hours.  This will open up a profile which will be "inactive."  Once a creditor reports it will be activated.
• When you choose to have your DUNS number created for free, you will be contacted by D&B in order to convince you to pay for  your profile.  Don't.  Most likely, you will be outright lied to-- something like you won't have an active profile unless you pay for the $399 credit builder package.  This is simply not true.
• If the rep states (as the did to me) that the government will not do business with you unless you have an active credit profile and tells you that you must purchase the credit builder service... this is not true.  You do not need to purchase any services from D&B to do business with the government. The government only requires a DUNS number.
• If you talk to D&B, you will be told that the DUNS number is a non-rated identification, that cannot be used to build corporate credit.  You will be told that if you want a rated number, you must go through the validation process (Credit Builder or Credit Builder Plus) at a cost anywhere between $300 and $800.  This is simply not true.  Simply give the DUNS number to your trade references and reporting organizations, and your credit profile will automatically get "activated" for free.  Further, you will become rated and get a free PAYDEX score when you have enough reporting trade references.
• You might be told that a free DUNS number is not a complete registration and isn't eligible for predictive credit scores or credit ratings.  Not true, it will just take a little longer. 
• The credit builder service -- they simply take your information and ask you for trade references.  That is all.  If you are a new business and don't have trade credit yet, you will be paying $399 for your own credit report.  On the flip side, you get to write whatever you want into your credit profile.

Do you need Dun and Bradstreet?  No.  Register for the free DUNS number and submit that information to the creditors as you apply for trade credit.

Labels: Business, Small Business Scams, Startup

Posted by Joe Turner at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments

Right now I am compiling KDE under Gentoo (Linux), listening to iTunes (on Mac OS X), while writing this on Microsoft Live Writer (under Windows Vista SP1)... simultaneously on my MacBook Pro.

I achieved a software development trifecta -- I now have a laptop where I can simultaneously develop applications (without rebooting) for Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X, and Linux, which can also compile code for Palm, BlackBerry, iPod/iPhone, Microsoft Mobile, and Linux (PC, PPC, arm, and MIPS) targets.

I have finally retired my monstrous, heavy 17" desktop replacement laptop; it was far too big for most laptop bags (even the 17" bags), and impossible to use when seated in a coach airline seat.  The notebook also weighed in at nearly ten (10) pounds, not counting the weight of the power brick.

After several years, I had enough and started slowly looking for a replacement that would be my primary development system that I would take with me from home, to work, and on the road.  That being said, when I figured out how much I anticipated using the system, budget became less of a factor than features and capabilities. 

Which led to the question: what should I get and how should I use it? 

• Which host operating system?  First of all, the laptop had to be capable of supporting a host operating system and multiple guest operating systems.  While I prefer Linux, I've been forced to give spontaneous presentations, and found that getting the LCD panel and external monitor working at the same time on various laptops/projectors can be problematic.  I never gave this much thought until I stood in front of a room full of people fiddling with my laptop and X Windows configuration files.  Guest operating system has to be Windows or Mac OS X. 
• Distributed Builds.  Most of the time I'm chained to my dual Xeon, which is situated in a room that lacks an air conditioner.  It would be fantastic to use laptop and wireless to program from the comfort of another room, and by using X Windows and distcc-- I could push most of the work of compilation onto the faster machines.  I would be more comfortable and my work would be completed faster.  Likewise, any new Core 2 Duo laptop I would purchase now would put the decrepit Dell Pentium D desktops to shame (that seem to be so common in the corporate environment).  I could install distcc, on the Linux box at work, and could push some of the work of compilation onto the networked machines, and probably cut compilation time in half, if not slightly more.
• Automatic Backups @ Home. When I connect to the wireless network at home, I want the laptop to automatically backup to the server on a daily, if not hourly basis.  The server is RAID-1 and already backed up on an hourly basis to a 1TB drive.
• Travel size.  It had to be small enough to use on an airplane, and relatively lightweight.  17 " is simply to large for travel.  15" is the maximum usable size on an airline, and even that is cutting it close.
• Large Disk.  Since I planned to be developing with virtual machines (VMs), it had to have a minimum 200GB drive.
• Built in Wireless and Bluetooth.  I don't like carrying around USB gadgets and don't want to be tethered to a specific place.

After looking at the specs for various laptop models, I ended purchasing a MacBook Pro (MBP) at the local Apple store.  The 14 day return policy closed the deal, and so far I've had the laptop for one week.

The first night was taken up by installing VMWare Fusion, Office, QuickBooks, Firefox, Skype, Eclipse, XCode, and otherwise tweaking the setup.  Next, I installed Vista SP1, expecting to be disgusted.  Surprisingly, I found that even operating in a virtual machine that Vista SP1 has been much improved and it is actually usable.  Next was Office, Visio, Live Writer, Visual Studio 2008, and VMWare tools. 

I now hit CTRL-<RIGHT ARROW> and open up VMWare and run Vista in full screen mode on that "space."  I can now hit CTRL combined with the right or left arrow keys to jump between Vista and Mac OS X. 

I then started working on setting up and installing Gentoo Linux.  I started with a minimal install, then emerged fluxbox.  After getting that to work, I started to emerge KDE and some of my favorite development packages.

Hammering the drive, installing three different operating systems under VMWare Fusion, Office, the system was responsive.  The only flaw I have found is that the MBP gets hot-- when hammering the drive (compiling qt and KDE takes a while), and flipping between VMs, the laptop gets hot enough to make me uncomfortable.  The can be solved with installing a utility like SMC Fan Control to turn the minimum fan speed up.

Labels: business travel, Nerdy, Tech

Posted by Joe Turner at 1:19 AM | Permalink | Comments

Lately, there have been some significant regulatory items of interest to small businesses, including micro-ISVs/consultancies:

• Buried in H.R. 3221 (which was signed by President Bush today), the "American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act" contains a small item of note:  it requires "payment settlement entities" (eBay, Amazon, Google, PayPal and all Credit Card Companies) to report all transactions to the IRS. The provision, which was added by the bill's managers without debate, requires the nation's payment systems to track, aggregate, and report information on nearly every electronic transaction to the federal government.
• The IRS Increased the Standard Mileage Rate.  For miles driven between July 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008, the business mileage rate increases from $0.50 to $0.585 per mile.
• The SEC unanimously approves use of corporate blogs to meet Reg FD requirements - Jennifer Leggio from ZDNet reports that the SEC has unanimously approved the use of corporate blogs to disseminate information to meet Reg FD requirements. This means that companies no longer have to issue their news via news wire services to meet Regulation FD reporting requirements; a blog is good enough.
• In June, 2008, the IRS shortened the Extension deadline for Partnerships by one month.

Labels: Business

Posted by Joe Turner at 8:39 PM | Permalink | Comments