The Right Click » In the news http://pillarcc.com/blog Just another WordPress weblog Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:14:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.3 en hourly 1 Google Apps – Don’t Switch Just Yet http://pillarcc.com/blog/2009/11/google-apps-dont-switch-just-yet/ http://pillarcc.com/blog/2009/11/google-apps-dont-switch-just-yet/#comments Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:00:24 +0000 admin http://pillarcc.com/blog/?p=281 All the hype and the touted promises of Google Apps is leading to a technical empty promise.

We signed up for the Enterprise version to give us more space, and more everything else, only to find some gross limitations on the product, keeping us (far from the size of an Enterpise) from using the product fully. Our initial findings are:

Upside on email:

- Providing PUSH for iphone
- App sync for Outlook (very similar to Exchange)

Downside on Docs:

- Difficult to upload to
- No single file size larger than 2Mb
- Limited file formats (i.e. won’t accept Quickbooks files)
- Can’t access files via iphone (you can login, can see files, can’t open them)
- Currently there is no easy way of converting file folders into “labels”

The simple idea of using Google Apps as an online storage drive is not there, not even to hold us over while they work out the bugs. Essentially $50 per user, for the Enterprise version, gets you nothing more than 25Gb of email storage.

]]> http://pillarcc.com/blog/2009/11/google-apps-dont-switch-just-yet/feed/ 0 The NY Times reports, “Social Network Use in the Office Could Spur Better Enterprise Technology” http://pillarcc.com/blog/2009/10/the-ny-times-reports-%e2%80%9csocial-network-use-in-the-office-could-spur-better-enterprise-technology%e2%80%9d/ http://pillarcc.com/blog/2009/10/the-ny-times-reports-%e2%80%9csocial-network-use-in-the-office-could-spur-better-enterprise-technology%e2%80%9d/#comments Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:57:06 +0000 admin http://pillarcc.com/blog/?p=247 The article which appears in the New York Time’s technology section, discusses that social networks are typically discouraged in the workplace, but is becoming increasingly pointless when society is becoming dependent upon them. By companies allowing access to these websites, it could cultivate a community within the workplace. Companies are also starting to realize the potential in creating profiles that self promote their brand and build a strong member base in which fans can voice opinions or enthusiasm about upcoming events or product launches. By organizations allowing access for employees to view Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, for company purposes, there is an opportunity for an enhancement in enterprise technology. Corporations could start investing in software technology that examines employee’s activities and deem what is and what is not valuable company time.

]]> http://pillarcc.com/blog/2009/10/the-ny-times-reports-%e2%80%9csocial-network-use-in-the-office-could-spur-better-enterprise-technology%e2%80%9d/feed/ 0 The New York Time’s exclaims, “Windows 7 Keeps the Good and Tries to Fix Flaws” http://pillarcc.com/blog/2009/10/the-new-york-time%e2%80%99s-exclaims-%e2%80%9cwindows-7-keeps-the-good-and-tries-to-fix-flaws%e2%80%9d/ http://pillarcc.com/blog/2009/10/the-new-york-time%e2%80%99s-exclaims-%e2%80%9cwindows-7-keeps-the-good-and-tries-to-fix-flaws%e2%80%9d/#comments Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:56:13 +0000 admin http://pillarcc.com/blog/?p=250 This article can be seen in New York Time’s technology section, and explores the positives and negatives to Window’s new operating system. With many consumers not being a fan of Microsoft Vista, they will be pleasantly surprised with Windows 7. Some advantageous features are less potential security threats, less exorbitant hardware requirements, and a much faster, responsive performance. The negative traits are consumers that currently operate Windows XP will have difficulty upgrading and will have to move all programs from their hard drive, then reinstall after Windows 7 is set up. Also Windows 7 does not come equipped with the minimum software for managing photos, reading pdf files, or even maintaining a calendar. Instead Windows 7 is liberating their customers by allowing them to download these free applications. Some companies already plan on installing these essential programs before the computers are sold. All in all Windows is living up to its brand and restoring consumer’s faith with its compatibility while throwing in extra efficient features!

]]> http://pillarcc.com/blog/2009/10/the-new-york-time%e2%80%99s-exclaims-%e2%80%9cwindows-7-keeps-the-good-and-tries-to-fix-flaws%e2%80%9d/feed/ 0 The New Blackberry AppWorld Store http://pillarcc.com/blog/2009/04/the-new-blackberry-appworld-store/ http://pillarcc.com/blog/2009/04/the-new-blackberry-appworld-store/#comments Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:44:20 +0000 Richard Lee http://therightclickblog.com/?p=155 Click here for the Blackberry AppWorld Store Download, using your Blackberry Smartphone

What made the iPhone very popular, in addition to its sleek design, its big screen, and its ability to download music on the road and go from thought to song almost instantly, is the additional ability to download applications online, while on the go.

Blackberry, following Apple’s success in this, has introduced App World. After downloading the free application to your Blackberry, a new round Blackberry button icon will appear along with your other icons. The interface is simple yet stylish. You can browse by category or do direct searches for applications based on keywords or brands you’re familiar with. Blackberry users can now easily browse hundreds of applications, some free, made for their Blackberry, while on the go and without every plugging into their desktop.

For example, you can download the free Google Talk application which allows you to instantly chat with your fellow Gmail users, as if you were using your desktop. Paid for applications provide a brief description, screen shots, reviews and at times, the ability to download a trial. You can download applications immediately and have them automatically installed.

TWO WARNINGS:

(1) This is also a convenient way to eat up all of the memory on your Blackberry very quickly. This will prevent you from downloading additional applications, storing pictures, email and also kill the performance of your device. Nothing worse than having a portable version of your already-clogged up desktop computer.

(2) This is a new application for Blackberry and thus you, as a user, are also a guinea pig for Blackberry. Upon this test, I was unable to receive a phone call because the application was very busy downloading content for the applications that were for sale.

- Richard D. Lee
In the News
The Right Click Technology Update
The Official Blog and Newsletter of PILLAR: The ONLY tech support call you need to make.

]]> http://pillarcc.com/blog/2009/04/the-new-blackberry-appworld-store/feed/ 0 Traditional Publishing, the Web is Calling You http://pillarcc.com/blog/2009/03/traditional-publishing-the-web-is-calling-you/ http://pillarcc.com/blog/2009/03/traditional-publishing-the-web-is-calling-you/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:14:31 +0000 Richard Lee http://therightclickblog.com/?p=144 You probably are within six degrees of separation to someone who was laid off from the Publishing industry. That industry is not only suffering thanks to a weak economy, it’s also a dinosaur industry that needed an economic shift like this as a wake-up call.

Recently, Hearst Corp. closed the doors on the print version of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a 146-year-old publication with a circulation of 118,000. The print publication would remain as a web-only business (www.seattlepi.com), and would attempt to keep its brand loyalty. One of the struggles they will face is the paradigm shift of advertising revenue. The print version garnered $50,000 for a full-page ad. Whereas the web version, will get about $10 per thousand impressions.That significant drop in revenue will subsequently require a sea change in how the paper will operate.

They will need to embrace technology far more than having a web-based version of a former print paper.

Here are some suggestions. Since advertising revenue is key, enabling any one of the 118,000 readers to create and pay for online advertising is essential. Participating in Google’s AdWords is open to anyone with $10 or $10,000 per month advertising budget. And, configuring your ad is the same for either budget. LinkedIn, the social networking site for business people, allows any user to easily advertise on their system as well. The number of impressions any ad will have is based on how much of a monthly budget has been assigned to it. It can take the average person about 30 minutes to create an advertisement.

The home page of the Seattle P-I site, as of this writing, is like your typical news site, full of way-too-much-information. It is almost too difficult to navigate. Instead, they should consider customization like Google offers with iGoogle.com. Using iGoogle.com requires users to login and enables them to customize the layout of their home page. This type of customization has been available for many years, with Google and with other websites.

And, there should also be a way of having various types of news on the site sent to your email so that it can also arrive on your iPhone or Blackberry. The WSJ site allows you to do this. Instead of being able to read the entire paper online, it is far more convenient to receive only the news you’re typically interested in.

The bottom line for the Seattle P-I, and for other Publishers and non-Publishers alike, is to improve the web experience to include today’s standard goodies. The big buzzword is “Online Community” and Facebook and LinkedIn are excellent testimonies for this. The idea is simply a place, online, in which a group of people (thousands of them) can collect to share ideas and get information. It’s no different than the original promise of the Internet, only repackaged.

Richard Lee
In the News

]]> http://pillarcc.com/blog/2009/03/traditional-publishing-the-web-is-calling-you/feed/ 0 Today's Job Losses Produce the 'Net Potato http://pillarcc.com/blog/2009/02/todays-job-losses-produce-the-net-potato/ http://pillarcc.com/blog/2009/02/todays-job-losses-produce-the-net-potato/#comments Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:23:15 +0000 Richard Lee http://trcmedia.wordpress.com/?p=27 In today’s Wall Street Journal, Nick Wingfield and Pui-Wing Tam comment on the “social anesthesia that distracts people from the stress of unemployment.”

Before the Internet, traditional forms of entertainment helped pass the time away for the jobless. In the 1930’s it was the movie theater. In the 1990’s it was the television. Today, it’s the Internet. And you can imagine what is being consumed! Everything from free videos at Hulu.com and WatchTVSitcoms.com to online game play at popcap.com to free porn at spankwire.com.

I can’t help but wonder how many of those people at the local Starbucks with their laptops are both jobless and writing their blogs or contributing to one. Or, are they simply doing nothing? The Net Potato, should they wrap their minds around this simple idea, can in fact become a NetPreneur. They can convert all that free time and caffeine-induced energy binges into blogs that have the ability, with the right content, to drive traffic to a website. That traffic can translate, after various creative endeavors, into sales. And those sales can translate into a happy existence. Imagine doing what you love to do, and getting paid for it. It’s also known as The American Dream.

Cheers,
Richard

The Right Click – Technology Update

]]> http://pillarcc.com/blog/2009/02/todays-job-losses-produce-the-net-potato/feed/ 0