Zec Online Journal

Blogging anniversary - 10 years of persistance at Zec Online Journal

2012-02-02T08:23:00.006+01:00

Time to celebrate a bit. It's more than 10 years of my blogging with Blogger.com and Blogspot.com.

The first blog post is dated January 19th 2002. It was very revealing for me, I still remember those days.

It was real epiphany. Writing on the Web without any technihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifcal knowledge for HTML or web design. After setting up my blog, It took me only few moments to publish my first post. At first, I wrote in Croatian, later on from a mid 2005., I started to write posts in english.

I fell in love with blogging and ''everything blog''.

Throught the years, I wrote blogs with TypePad, Moveable Tyhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifpe, Blog.hr and many other blog tools. I become an expert for this. Later on, consultant for blogging.

The crucial moment for me was in the summer of 2003. when I got mail from Dario Markus, a young and talented IT journalist at the time, who had similar dreams to mine.

He wanted to start blogging service in Croatia. At the time, blogging was almost unknown in southeastern Europe ( even in Western Europe ).

So we did it. Blog.hr went public in 2004. and it was extremelly popular blogging service which eventually became one of the most visited websites in Croatia.

I feel proud for my persistance and endurance on this Blogger-based blog which I write to these days.

2011 Review

2012-01-06T19:33:00.003+01:00

It was a great year. I don't count assholes on the road.

+ 10 340 points of experience. + 120 000 karma points. Health just fine. Got my mojo started in every corner of my zen interest. $$$$

Just great year, the best so far. And this year will be even better.

To say few things:

- done 21 live performances of folk music
- played guitar session with Slasgh
- had vodka with Ronnie Wood
- wrote 12 screenplays
- founded NLP cooperative
- worked as a waiter for many nights
- got my own apartment
- 3 days of full time nudism with great people
- brokered business for Qatar hedge fund
- consulted some of the top emerging entreprenurs in internet matters
- got published my short novel
- invested in social media PR agency with monthly growth of 130 %
- grow spiritualy, found my zen
- went to classes for connosieur
- organised 4 Web events
- wrote curriculum NLP for courtisans
- co-founded lounge music radio
- cooperated with UC University on Kansius machine
- meet some realy good people

And helluva more.

Kick the champagne ;)

Banking panic in Croatia is reality

2011-11-26T18:11:00.003+01:00

One bank down, four to follow

My patience is over.

I have completely lost faith in croatian banks. More so, I have lost faith in Croatian Central Bank who failed to act properly on the recent Credo Bank banruptcy.

More so, I have lost faith in some croatian investment funds who never disclosed information that they had parked the money of their clients in no name - zombie banks.

The whole system is not stable anymore, although many state officials tried to calm down public and try to prevent panic.

Now we need to wait and see. Financial disease spreads faster than I thought before and in places where you wouldn't expect normally.

Extraordinary times, indeed.

Bank runs started in Europe ?

2011-09-21T21:49:00.002+02:00

Siemens has no faith in European banks anymore. Siemens Bank roll on.

In a shocking representation of just how bad things are in Europe, the FT reports that major European industrial concern Siemens, pulled €500 million form a large French bank, which is not BNP and leaves just [SocGen|Credit Agricole] and deposited the money straight to the ECB.

What is it if it's not bank run ?

The implications of this are quite stunning, as it means that even European companies now refuse to work directly with their own banks, and somehow the ECB has become a direct lender/cash holder of only resort to private non-financial institutions!

As Bloomberg reports further on the FT story, in total, Siemens has deposited between 4 billion euros and 6 billion euros, mostly through one-week deposits, with the ECB, FT says, cites the person. It isn’t clear from which bank Siemens withdrew its deposits, per the FT... but it is hardly difficult to figure out.

BNP Paribas isn’t the bank involved, FT reports, cites unidentified person familiar with the bank. This story should be having far more impact on the EURUSD than any rumors about Greece lying it will fire all of its public workers only to make sure Eurobanks can survive one more day.

Croatia will see huge * Gamification *

2011-09-07T13:25:00.005+02:00

Researching potential for gamification in Croatia.

Gamification is relatively awkard term for application of game play in various non-game situations.

Power Web User , game freaks and some social scientist are buzzing with this trendy term for some time.

It's usually very little understood. But it can be applied in e-commerce, news publishing, Web design, health, media etc.

I'm in contact with key people in Sillicon Valley who are main players in this buzzy field.

Saatchi S Gamification Study

View more presentations from Saatchi & Saatchi S

Uncharted Waters For Casino Capitalism

2011-08-08T00:02:00.004+02:00

Financial english idiom. The comin of the new dark age

Tommorow, the global stock market will have to ''price in'' following facts and new realities:

- S & P's downgrade of USA top-notch credit rating

- European soverign debt crisis - Italy and Spain bonds

- First signs of global economic slowdown, possible signs of the new recession

- the dollar is, de facto, no longer reserve currency

- China becomes officially the mightiest global superpower

- The reality of the full multi-polar geopolitical order

If you're in uncharted waters, you are in a situation that is unfamiliar to you, that you have no experience of and don't know what might happen. ('Unchartered waters' is an incorrect form that is a common mistake.)

Source: english dictionary

The Fall Of Capitalism

2011-08-04T23:15:00.005+02:00

Print more money ! Fast !

Another global stock market sell-off. The biggest daily drop of major indexes since February 2009.

Socialism failed, and now capitalism is going bankrupt.

What will be ''third way'' ? Next 20-30 years will decide.

Tofu: Almost Like Meat

2011-07-31T19:07:00.005+02:00

Meat Substitute

Tofu or bean curd is a food of chinese origin made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks.

It's what cheese is to milk. Tofu is often seen as meat substitute.

Soft, or silken, tofu can be used to make salad dressing, dips and pâtés, pie fillings, smoothies, and more. Crumbled and fried with herbs and vegetables, soft tofu makes a good vegetarian stand-in for scrambled eggs. Firm cubes of tofu, sautéed, can be a great addition to a stir-fry.

Here's plenty of Tofu recipes.

The market for Tofu products is booming.

In Germany, tofu is selling very well and the niche are dominated by small businesses like Taifun ( aus Freiburg ) or TofuTown. Key people to watch are: Bernd Drosihn and Wolfgang Rainer Heck.

Online Text Editor

2011-07-31T17:27:00.004+02:00

Just Write !

It's about time. Few dispatches from the planet Earth.

Sitting in my situation room, with glasses on, listening Lejla song, eating Milka sponge cakes with orange jelly, drinking refreshing Cedevita and thinking about new text editor. Some 100 meters away, there's a football game of our local club, should be friendly match before the start of season.

I dislike using Word for writing articles. I am in a search for new text editor. It would be online one.
Used to write with Writer by BigHugeLabs. It's good and simple. GDocs text editor is option as well. Third solution ?

I hope I'll find one this afternoon. Tommorow I'll start my vacations 2011.

Euro - Game Over !

2011-06-27T19:42:00.005+02:00

Deutche Mark - Welcome !

Don't tell me it wasn't predictable ?
European Monetary Union is dead as ''dead chicken ''.

It is still not clear will there be another collosal financial collapse aka Lehman-style ( only worse ).

Anyhow, time is running out for all those Bruxelles's fuckers and politicians. Party is over.

How to play markets in the coming months ?

- buy dollar/ sell Euro
- buy German Bunds
- sell Dax Index
- sell Swiss Franc
- sell Belgium share index
- buy European travel companies
- sell US banks

Yes, that's rock n' roll.

The Kings Of The Android SuperPhones For 2011.

2011-05-13T19:53:00.005+02:00

Big Daddy Androids

The arrival of the HTC Sensation, or HTC Pyramid as it used to be known, has firmly formed a trio of superphones in the Android world.

With dual-core processors all round, seriously big screens and plenty of pedigree in the ways of Google mobile, it joins the Samsung Galaxy S II and LG Optimus 2X as the ones to consider if you’ve plenty of cash in your pocket and a phone contract that’s starting to run short.

The tricky part, is which should you choose?

Overall, the winner - IMHO is Samsung Galaxy S II.

Seeing Into The Future

2011-05-10T18:43:00.008+02:00

Playing Alice In Wonderland

I'd like to think of myself as futurist, not merely trendspotter.

I've become aware of some of my basic methods for forecasting / predictions . Let's give a name to those methods and long remembering:

1. DELPHI

2. ANALOGY / MODELS

3. EXTRAPOLATION

4. STATISTICAL

5. CAUSAL

I won't go in details. That's what works for me. Period.
Apply with common sense. It's all situational.

And remember, nothing is as it seems ! Read Alice in Wonderland for more insight.

2011-04-07T21:28:00.000+02:00

'' It's easy ''

2011-03-21T09:30:00.002+01:00

** Tra-la-la-la-la-la. Easy like a sunday morning. **

When something is percieved as easy, one can fool himself into believing the action will be done without much effort.
That's common trap for most people. Even for Zec.

If you think that way, you'll have trouble getting things done.

Zec thinks he's good at writing. It's very easy for him to write blog post. His experience and knowledge gives him confidence he'll do it right, accurate and on time.

But then, he delays a little. Then he delays further, and now it becomes serious procrastination. Everything looked so easy at first.

But now he's having problem. A writer's block. The things are not done.

He sees his mistake and is ready to make correction. Hard work takes over. He's done. + 180 Karma points for a good job.
Well done !

Words don't come easy when they're not true !

Ultra Cheap Property In Florida

2011-03-20T10:20:00.004+01:00

Property slump

Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
This property sold for $145,000 in 2006 and is now priced at $26,900.

iPad 2 & Competition

2011-03-03T07:41:00.004+01:00

Recession-proof gadget

No other tablet PC comes even close to iPad 2. Forget tech specs.
It's about feel-good, design, getting things done, creativity, easy of use, situational experience and ...APPS ( 65.000 ) .

2011-02-28T21:58:00.000+01:00

Storify Try

2011-02-28T21:39:00.002+01:00

Money Cake

2011-02-25T22:43:00.002+01:00

Happy Birthday !

Short Audio News

2011-02-24T18:33:00.003+01:00

Tech news of the last 24 hours in a short audio format. What's not to like ?

TNWDailyDose 24-02-2011 by TNW Daily Dose

Let The Life Of Steve Jobs Be Inspiration For Solving Mystery Of Cancer

2011-02-18T18:47:00.011+01:00

A global gadget's tax

Steve Jobs could be having his last days with us mortals on Earth. His last battle...

Such an extraordinary man, such visionary, problem-solver, industry leader...

I wish there's somewhere in the World, visionary in the life science industry , working on fighting cancer disease and succeding. A man with pure passion and determanation to find a medicine for cancer.

The cure for cancer is more important then all gadgets and technologies of the World.
Life is every man's right. Health is every man's right.

All of us knew somebody who's having this uncurable disease. Healthy man and then suddenly he disapears...I've seen a lot of people around me who dissapeared just like that. It's astonishing.

Reminding all of us about cancer:

Cancer /ˈkænsər/ ( listen) (medical term: malignant neoplasm) is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth, invasion that intrudes upon and destroys adjacent tissues, and sometimes metastasis, or spreading to other locations in the body via lymph or blood. These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which do not invade or metastasize.

I have a proposal for the mobile and tech industry.
Let us Steve Jobs all remind about the strong determination, passion for technology and his personal battle for health, his personal battle for life.

Let every mobile phone sold in the World brings $ 1 - 3 of the selling price for the benefit of the account specially dedicated to cancer foundation for funding life science projects that are trying to find the cure for cancer.

Once and for all.

You can be billionaire or poor but what gives if your body and mind is attacked by such disease...

Updated on October 6th, 2011.

Steve Jobs ( R.I.P. ) once said:

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure -- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Old-Fashioned Gilts & Treasury Bonds

2011-02-15T13:51:00.003+01:00

The U.S. dollar depends on this market

I am talking here about the collapse of the largest bond market in the world – the market for U.S. Treasurys.
The chart compares the value of long-dated U.S. Treasury bonds (TLT) to the price of gold (GLD).

None of the government's bailout plans will solve any of the problems. Instead of bondholders and shareholders being wiped out, taxpayers are put on the hook.

Satisfied Employee

2011-02-05T10:33:00.009+01:00

It's not only about paycheck.

There is more to employee productivity, efficency and satisfaction than good money alone. Good bosses know this very well, and behave accordingly.
It's employee's right to be assertive on this counts:

- Work / life balance
- Time for family / friends
- Training & specialisation
- Fairness, cooperation and communication among colleagues
- Flexible hours
- Challenging tasks
- Job autonomy ( Power & influence )
- Highly professionalism ( quality performance )
- Days-off
- Feeling of control
- Changing things & making difference
- Seminars & workshops ( job related )
- Coolness ( product & services )
- Recognition & acknowledgement
- Room for creativity
- milestones for promotion
- Non - bureaucracy
- Well defined organisation's structure and worker's roles
- Random Perks ( free coffee, dougnats, fruits, snacks )
- Security ( retirment & health coverage, life insurance )
- Fair compensation - Money & equity & bonuses
- Manager's support

CashBase Tracks Money

2011-01-27T09:57:00.005+01:00

Web & iPhone app for simple cash flow tracking

Build out of frustration with available personal finance software , CashBase was made by Filip Chereches-Tosa and Radu Lucaciu from Romania with attention to detail and a bit of Web design philosophy preached by the folks at 37Signals .

It is indeeed very clean and simple Web 2.0 app for tracking your monthly earnings and expenses.
The principle is money-in / money-out, so it gives you clean picture about the cash flow.

Even the colors are right. Invitation button for sign up is blue ( blue's the color of finances ), earning side is green and spending side is red.

Sign up process is fast. !5 seconds later you're good to go.
Left side is for earnings, right side is for expenses.

The central point of the app is ''transaction'', whether adding or subtracting amounts.
It is possible to create many wallets or accounts and track cash flow for each account.
Each transaction tags with certain date or the range of dates so you can use analytics feature from the right menu and see the stat / graphical presentation of the cash flow.

More so, app is promising to be able to predict your cash flow in the future based on the history.

Mobile component is there as well. iPhone app is in the AppStore and allways in synch with Web version.

One important aspect of every money app is data privacy. CashBase does state full support for secure connection and data verified by GlobeSSl. The credibility could be easy lost with any mishandling of sensitive private data, so this is critical promise .

CashBase is nice little app, but it is still work in progress and it can be improved with more features or add-ons not compromising simplicity.

It left me with desire to have this few wishes: Terms of service ( my law opsession ) still not up, easier way for making new wallet/account ( not geeky syntax like @newAccount, deposit ) , stats menues should be more visible ( they're too grey ) , ability to calibrate your account for losses from the start, summary of all accounts/wallets, ability to add spending category/tag/label, different currencies etc.

I can easily imagine that this app could be one day with enhanced functionality offered on the market- premium accounts.
The base is certainly there.

Meet Windoro - A Window-Cleaning Robot

2011-01-22T18:52:00.003+01:00

Windoro was created by Ilshim Global, a small company from Gyeongsan, South Korean and the Pohang Institute of Intelligent Robotics, or PIRO.
It will retail for $ 400.

iPhone 6

2011-01-19T19:08:00.001+01:00

Vision Well Ahead. Enjoy

Mobile VC Investment

2011-01-13T19:07:00.002+01:00

Mobile now represents 34 percent of all tech venture capital, according to research from CapitalIQ.

A kind of gold-rush fever seems to have hit the finance world, as consumer usage, mobile traffic and the number of advanced mobile devices have boomed. People are begnning to think of mobile as potentially the primary platform for computing and getting connected. As Rajeev Chand, head of research for Rutberg, notes: “What RIM did for e-mail, iPhone and Android are doing for all of computing.”

It has also helped that mobile’s developing a very strong track record for big exits. Witness recent deals:
—Starent (sold to Cisco for $2.9 billion),
—Atheros (sold to Qualcomm for $3.1 billion),
—AdMob (bought by Google for $750 million),
—Quattro (sold to Apple for $275 million), and
—ngmoco (sold to Japanese games company DeNA for nearly $400 million).

Pure Fun

2011-01-11T18:10:00.003+01:00

Do you smell assholes and rats sometimes ? Hehehehe
Never stop laughing

Google's Shopping Spree In 2010

2010-12-23T11:40:00.003+01:00

The following startups were all acquired in the year 2010.

1. Aardvark a Social Search company based in the US was acquired on February 12, 2010 for $50,000,000.

2. reMail is an Email Search startup based in the US. ReMail was acquired for an undisclosed price on February 17, 2010 and integrated with Gmail.

3. On March 1, 2010 Picnik a Photo Editing app was acquired for $5,000,000 and integrated with Picasa .

4. DocVerse , a Microsoft Office files sharing site was acquired on March 5, 2010 for $25,000,000 and integrated with Google Docs.

5. Episodic an Online video platform startups was integrated with Youtube. The company was bought on April 2, 2010 for an undisclosed price.

6. On April 12, 2010 PlinkArt a Visual Search Engine Mobile start-up based in the UK was acquired to be integrated with Google Goggles. Price undisclosed.

7. Agnilux a Server technology start-up was bought for an undisclosed amount

8. LabPixies developer of gadgets was acquired on April 27, 2010 for an undisclosed amount.

9. Bump Technologies a Canadian desktop environment developer was bought for $30,000,000 on April 30, 2010 to be integrated with Google Android

10. On May 20, 2010 Simplify Media a UK music syncing startup was bought for an undisclosed amount to be integrated with Android.

11. Ruba.com is a travel site and was acquired on May 21, 2010 to be integrated with Google. Price undisclosed.

12. On June 3, 2010 Invite Media an advertising company was bought for $81,000,000 for DoubleClick integration.

13. ITA Software a travel technology company was acquired on July 1, 2010 for $700,000,000.

14. Metaweb a semantic search company was bought on July 16, 2010.

15. On August 4, 2010 Instantiations a Java/Eclipse/AJAX Developer Tools company
was bought to be integrated with Google Web Toolkit.

16. Slide.com a social gaming startup was acquired on August 5, 2010 for $182,000,000.

17. Jambool a social gold payment platform was bought on August 10, 2010 for $70,000,000.

18. Like.com a visual search engine was bought for $100,000,000 on August 15, 2010 to be integrated with boutiques.com.

19. Angstro a social networking service was bought on August 30, 2010

20. SocialDeck, Inc. a Canadian social gaming company was acquired on August 30, 2010

21. Quiksee an online video site was bought for $10,000,000 on September 13, 2010 to be integrated with Google Maps

22. Plannr a schedule management company was acquired on September 28, 2010

23. On October 1, 2010 , BlindType a Touch Typing startup from Greece was bought to be integrated with Android.

24. Phonetic Arts a Speech synthesis company from UK was bought on December 3, 2010 for integration with Google Voice.

25. Widevine Tecnologies a DRM company was acquired on December 3, 2010 for Google TV integration

26. Google also acquired Zetawire a Canadian startup focusing on mobile payments transactions in December 2010.

Built-In Bullshit Detector

2010-12-15T20:07:00.004+01:00

Progress, progress

The most clichéd and overused phrases for the past year using over 85 million LinkedIn profiles. Here are 2010 top 10 buzzwords used in the USA.

1. Extensive experience
2. Innovative
3. Motivated
4. Results-oriented
5. Dynamic
6. Proven track record
7. Team player
8. Fast-paced
9. Problem solver
10. Entrepreneurial

As Hemingway once said “Develop a built-in bullshit detector''.
Eh, human resources fans ;)

Via linkedIn blog

The Day Dollar Died

2010-12-11T14:57:00.004+01:00

It's not anymore question of ''if'', but ''when''.

Nobody knows exact timing. Nobody knows exact consequences. Everyone who says he's smart enough to know about this, is a liar.

Why I care about all of this ? Well, the effect of this unfortunate event in USA will be felt all around the World. Immediatly. Remember October 2008 ?

This time will be worse. Here's a movie about one of those scenarios :

Most Americans are naive enough to believe that because the U.S. has survived for so long with such a huge national debt and continuous budget deficits, the country will be able to continue down this path forever without any consequences because after all, this is America we are talking about.

The truth is, US national debt has grown by 70.7% over the past five years, compared to 41.8% during the previous five years, and 14.3% during the five years before that.

Meanwhile, US GDP has grown by 17.9% over the past five years, compared to 27.5% during the previous five years, and 32.9% during the five years before that.

Americans gone from their GDP growing more than twice as fast as their debt, to debt growing at nearly quadruple the speed of US GDP.

A train wreck is getting ready to happen and this train wreck is literally unstoppable.

Nexus S

2010-12-07T18:52:00.003+01:00

GooglePhone

It's gorgeous.

Second Leg Of A Global Bankruptcy

2010-11-16T20:24:00.004+01:00

As much as Euro project is dead, there are another cracks in the global financial meltdown that started in 3rd quarter of 2008.

Bloomberg, the leading financial news provider, gets it right and in a plain language:

There will be a lot of grand rhetoric about the importance of the European project. Stern condemnations of the speculators will ring out across the continent.

Don’t listen to a word of it. The euro has turned into a bankruptcy machine. Once the markets have finished with Ireland, they will simply move on to Portugal and Spain, and after that to Italy and France.

There is a domino effect at work, and, with each rescue, the fault lines within the euro grow wider and wider. This process isn’t going to stop until the euro is taken apart.

Dear readers, I'll have to say this - Frankfurt now leads the main role in the finances and Germany got deserved satisfaction that Frankfurt was right from the start. In that name, I'll eat Frankfurt wurst , cheers !

Experience is your responsibility

2010-11-16T07:46:00.004+01:00

Important laws of creativity

1. Ignore everybody
2. Don't use pillars
3. Freedom, liberation
4. Small ideas, bigger ideas
5. Put the hours in
6. Slowly & in pain
7. Experience is your responsibility
8. Day job / Sex & Cash balance
9. Individual vs. team player
10. Climb private Mount Everest
11. Tool - no correlation
12. Avoid crowds
13. Accept pain
14. Don't compare inside with outside
15. Not dying young
16. Echo chambers
17. Red line border
18. Watercooler gang
19. World's changing
20. Passion

Consulting Information Model

2010-11-08T14:08:00.003+01:00

Making sense from information & providing meaning
/ specific / expensive/ niche -> information

- what works
- what's important / only important
- real usage / use
- identify alternatives
- assess risks
- give solutions
- identify trends / patterns
- key performance indicators
- ratios
- available raw statistics
- market making
- market research
- costs & prices
- information sources
- bibliography

Growth Mantra

2010-10-29T20:12:00.005+02:00

What if...economic growth as a concept is overrated ?

The Western world economies are in impatient waiting for the new economic cycle to start. Growth will save them, conventional wisdom goes. Economic growth.

Plus 2 %. Plus 4 %. And every other year more and more. Again and again. Growth and profit.

Is this expectation realistic ? Is this expectation really needed ?

That's what I started asking my self after hearing BBC Business news. What if economies without growth ( or minimal growth ) is ''the new normal'' ?

How this relates to something some economists call sustainable economies ?
I don't have an answer yet, but try to look for that trend.

It is very interesting to see how Britain forms and supports so called Local Enterprise Partnerships

“The knowledge and expertise of the private sector, local authorities and their local communities will be crucial as we work to create a better environment for business and ensure that everyone has access to the opportunities that growth brings.”

Sharing: Creativity Manifesto

2010-10-26T19:28:00.003+02:00

This was written and compiled by Hugh MacLeod. He's sharing it with the World. Grace and love be upon him.

6.HowToBeCreative

Nielsen & Budiu : iPad Usability

2010-10-25T13:30:00.000+02:00

iPad Usability

How important will be Google Web Store ?

2010-10-19T21:26:00.003+02:00

Google Chrome OS now makes sense more and more

I am excited about Google Web Store and the evolution of the Web.

First time I felt so much excitment about Web / Internet when I was able to write an URL address in the browser. It was a web page with simple navigation. Whole new world of information.

Second time I felt so much excitment when I visited Blogger.com and created account to be able to post my first blogging post. I created my Web.

( in the meantime , there was a story with ajax functionality, Gmail etc. We all felt hope that software will be delivered over the cloud and behave just like our deskopt apps )

Third time I felt so much excitment when Apple introduced iPhone App Store and when I was able to pull apps I was eager to use. On my mobile phone, and wherever I am.

Fourth time I was excited when I saw iPad and the iPad Apps.

Fifth time I am excited because of Google Chrome Web Store.

This is evolution of the Web. Your web page as an app. Yes, there were many those web apps in the Web 2.0 ecosystem. But this is bigger. HTML5 and standard web technologies are building momentum for revamp.

It's all about Web App.

Alberto Aquilani

2010-10-18T18:28:00.003+02:00

One of the finest younger players in Europe.

Alberto Aquilani is on loan in Juventus Torin from Liverpool.

Juve won against Lecce 4:0 this weekend. Alberto Aquilani opened the scoring with a ferocious long-range strike.

Bruno Mars : Doo Wops Hooligan

2010-10-11T18:54:00.006+02:00

Current Music US Billboard Top

Just the way you are
Michael Jackson singing from Space.
Bruno sings about the girl who looks natural and wants her to stay so. But, he's fool. Women do change like everything in this universe. The girl is a bit unsecure, probably younger.

Liquor Store Blues
reggea dance blues
One shot of whiskey and you're thinking that you run the whole block.

Grenade
Oh yoy, he'll put his hand on fire for her, but she will not do the same. No reciprocity. But he's dancing in the gym anyway, cause it's RnB !

Nothin' on you ft. Lupe Fiasco
Driving and dreaming. Just drive

Our first time
Intimate with Prince and M. Jackson

Runaway baby
This should sing Steven Tyler or Mick Jagger ;))

Infographics : Social Media Strategy

2010-10-04T20:28:00.004+02:00

Author: Advanced Human Technologies Group

Again : European Union Is Dead !

2010-09-29T17:08:00.004+02:00

Just like many other unnatural unions and fucked federations

Sometimes people just think I am kinky. Might be ;)

But when I wrote recently about European Union and the claim that it's finished business or shall we say ''the dream'', I had a good intuition reading.

Now I can point my readers to the recent article in the US magazine Newsweek about the new world order.
Backup argument for my intuition :))

Where once diplomacy defined borders, now history, race, ethnicity, religion, and culture are dividing humanity into dynamic new groupings.

Internet Illnesses

2010-09-17T12:53:00.002+02:00

European Union Is Dead

2010-09-09T19:05:00.002+02:00

Recently I was in London, UK.
It came somehow unrelated in my talks with some people discussion about European Union.
Afterwords I became aware that it is not only Brits thinking badly about European Union.
If you ask people in Tokio or New York, same view.

The project of European Union started to disintegrate and they belive it is only the start of the process.

In the financial circles of these 3 important cities, the huge bet is building and it's all against the success of European Union and Euro.

Hidden Value Bank

2010-09-03T19:01:00.002+02:00

Chance is you never heard of them. But these are some of the safest banks in the World ( source: Global Finance magazine ).

For some can't be said they are big, but they are ruled by very strong banking credo with huge tradition and tailored services for those in the know.

KfW (Germany )
Caisse des Depots et Consignations (CDC)(France)
Nordea(Sweden)
Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten (Netherlands)
Caja de Ahorros y Pensiones de Barcelona (Spain)
Zuercher Kantonalbank (Switzerland)
Svenska Handelsbanken (Sweden)
Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank (Germany)
BNY Mellon (United States)
Rabobank Group (Netherlands)
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (Singapore)
Landeskreditbank Baden-Wuerttemberg - Foerderbank (Germany)
United Overseas Bank (Singapore)
Nederlandse Waterschapsbank (Netherlands)
Pohjola Bank (Finland)
NRW.Bank (Germany)
Barclays Bank (United Kingdom)
Royal Bank of Canada (Canada)
Intesa Sanpaolo (Italy)
National Australia Bank(Australia)
Bank of Montreal (Canada)

CEO's business

2010-09-02T13:43:00.001+02:00

Reminder for the initiated.

: search for solutions
: make decisions
: resolve conflicts
: financial planning
: company representation
: leading
: reporting to stakeholders
: coordinates
: appoints
: controls
: negotiate
: Buys
: Sells
: Travel
: maintain relationships
: gives green light
: assemble teams
: creates rules/procedures
: define organization 's chart
: generate initiatives
: complies with the law
: networking / socializing
: investment planning
: define strategy and vision
: delegation
: gives presentations
: mentoring
: conducts daily operations
: goal settting
: gives advices

They say about travel...

2010-08-27T19:27:00.002+02:00

Travel Quotations: THE JOURNEY BEGINS...

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu

"For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." -- Robert Louis Stevenson

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain

"There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it." -- Charles Dudley Warner

Without travel "I would have wound up a little ignorant white Southern female, which was not my idea of a good life." -- Lauren Hutton

Travel Quotes: WHAT IS TRAVEL?

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -- Helen Keller

"Traveling is almost like talking with men of other centuries." -- René Descartes

"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living." -- Miriam Beard

"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." -- Henry Miller

Travel Quotations: LAUGHING ALL THE WAY

"A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it." -- John Steinbeck

"In America, there are two classes of travel: First class, and with children." -- Robert Benchley

"To put it rather bluntly, I am not the type who wants to go back to the land; I am the type who wants to go back to the hotel." -- Fran Lebowitz

'But why, oh why, do the wrong people travel, when the right people stay at home?" -- Noel Coward

"Travel is the frivolous part of serious lives, and the serious part of frivolous ones." -- Anne Sophie Swetchine

"Most of my treasured memories of travel are recollections of sitting." -- Robert Thomas Allen

"Too often travel, instead of broadening the mind, merely lengthens the conversations." -- Elizabeth Drew

"If you look like your passport photo, you're too ill to travel." -- Will Kommen

"Being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned." -- Samuel Johnson

"Long voyages, great lies." - Italian proverb

Travel Quotes: TRAVEL ADVICE

"When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money." -- Susan Heller

"A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving." -- Lao Tzu

"Two of the greatest gifts we can give our children are roots and wings." -- Hodding Carter

"He who would travel happily must travel light." -- Antoine de St. Exupery

"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home." -- James Michener

"Let your memory be your travel bag." -- Alexander Solzhenitsyn

"Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey." -- Fitzhugh Mullan

Travel Quotations: TRAVEL TRUISMS

"No matter where you go, there you are." - unknown

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will lead you there." -- unknown

"Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken." -- Frank Herbert

"He travels fastest who travels alone." -- proverb

"Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter." -- Izaak Walton

"The journey not the arrival matters." -- T. S. Eliot

"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow." -- Lin Yutang

Travel Quotes: EFFECTS OF TRAVEL

"They change their climate, not their soul, who rush across the sea." -- Horace

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." -- St. Augustine

"I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them." -- Mark Twain

"A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles." - Tim Cahill

"Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen." - Benjamin Disraeli

"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." -- Jawaharal Nehru

Inventing New News Business

2010-08-01T14:02:00.004+02:00

Today I've seen a glimpse of the future for newspapers, magazines and news organizations.

The truth is that they won't be in news business anymore. News will be sidebusiness for them. They will reinvent themselves just like Nokia once did ( I am not saying they will start producing mobile phones, not at all ).

This industry in 10 years time will be totally different. NewsMall.

Hedge Fund Holdings

2010-07-30T10:53:00.003+02:00

Network map of some stocks which are held by at least two hedge funds.

The red nodes are the fund managers for each hedge fund. The bigger the size of the node of a stock (blue nodes) means that the stock are held by more hedge funds.

* Appaloosa Management (David Tepper)
* Baupost Group (Seth Klarman)
* Berkshire Hatheway (Warren Buffett)
* Blue Ridge Capital (John Griffin)
* Bridger Management (Roberto Mignone)
* Conatus Capital (David Stemerman)
* Fairholme Capital Management (Bruce Berkowitz)
* Greenlight Capital (David Einhorn)
* Harbinger Capital Partners (Phil Falcone)
* Lone Pine Capital (Stephen Mandel)
* Maverick Capital (Lee Ainslie)
* Pabrai Investment Fund (Mohnish Pabrai)
* Paulson & Co (John Paulson)
* Pershing Square Capital Management (Bill Ackman)
* RBS Partners (Eddie Lampert)
* Shumway Capital Partners (Chris Shumway)
* Soros Fund Management (George Soros)
* Third Point LLC (Dan Loeb)
* Tiger Global (Chase Coleman)
* Tiger Management (Julian Robertson)
* Viking Global (Andreas Halvorsen)

3 Young Web Companies

2010-07-19T19:05:00.005+02:00

Need to bookmark some names.
US entrepreneurs under 30. Young innovators and businesspeople.

It remains to be seen how they'll manage their businesses in the future. From now on, they are under my radar.

Posterous - dead simple blogging
Key people: Garry Tan and Sachin Agarwal
- heard about them more than 1 year ago,
- use it for my text columns, writing
- 5,1 million funding
- Y Combinator company
- 7 employees
- location: San Francisco

LivingSocial - online coupons
Key people: Tim O'Shaughnessy, Eddie Frederick
- heard on Facebook via app for them
- Employees: 220
- 2010 revenue: 100 million
- Washington D.C.
- Groupon and LS own 98 % of the market

iContact - e-mail marketing
Key people - Ryan Allis and Aaron Houghton
- heard about them thanks to Google AdWords ads,
- Employees: 205
- 2010 Projected Revenue: $39 million
- Location: Durham, North Carolina

Waiting For Virgin Web Business

2010-07-13T18:25:00.006+02:00

Brand that never stops

Random Web surfing got me into research of the british Virgin Group. I admire Richard Branson, founder of the Group, very much. He's an inspiring entrepreneur.

Long-time plan is to read one of his books.

One particular moment struck me reading about his business ventures. Virgin brand never acctually made any meaningful success in the Web/ Internet business arena.

At the beggining of the millenium, Virgin was making inroads into direct Web selling of cars and bikes. Later, there wasn't any major investment into e-commerce ( if we don't count Virgin America's flight reservation ). Before that, Virgin got into ISP business and later sold the stake .

On the other hand, mobile telecom business was a success. Virgin Mobile was agressive and easy to use MVNO.

Which brings me to conclusion, Mr. Branson's having a lot of open space to try in the future with e-business ( Web / Internet ) in general.

My suggestion to him would be: Virgin Cloud - sort of utility for future cloud- computing, Virgin Wallet - mobile payment for everybody ( could be part of Virgin Money franchise ), Virgin Water - bottled water, water distribution made different, Virgin Apps - software distribution over the Web Etc.

Time to start following Sir Branson on Twitter.

Facebook Data For Website Owners

2010-07-12T18:27:00.005+02:00

Ask Facebook about your audience

Websites with Facebook widget where visitors can join the fan page ( example: Blackberry ) , could have a gold mine full with valuable information they could present to their advertisers.

I don't know whether Facebook shares this data with websites owners .

Just imagine the fan base of few thousands people who clicked '' like '' button. All these users share their personal information with Facebook and if shared, website owner could knew exactly their audiences.

No need for website owner to post polls, user surveys etc. The information is stored with Facebook.

The problem is that Facebook won't share it with websites, I presume. They will use it to drive advertising through Facebook platform.

Remember, Facebook’s advertising platform gives advertisers the ability to target their advertisements to Facebook users based on their demographic and psychographic information – including their likes and preferences.

Thought provoking article by Ed Dale.

Wikinvest - Finance Resource 2010

2010-06-22T13:30:00.004+02:00

Portfolio tracker and wiki for finances

They claim the site is much more helpful for tracking your investments and portfolio then standard sites on the market like Yahoo Finance, CNBC etc.
Apparently, almost $ 100 million of people's portfolio's is already in.

iPhone Costs

2010-06-19T19:05:00.000+02:00

Total costs of ownership

Reminder to myself sometime in the future. Got iPhone 3GS in March ( 22.03)with 24 month contract at T-Mobile Croatia ( tariff i150 ).

Upfront cost is 3.000,00 kuna, 6 months paying 75,00 kunas, 18 months paying 150,00 kuna ( 1GB data, 150 minutes to all networks, 50 sms ).

In all, it's 1.080,00 dollars or 848,00 euro.

Social Networking Tops

2010-06-17T21:51:00.000+02:00

25 Largest Hedge Fund Managers (2010)

2010-06-15T11:14:00.001+02:00

Below is a list of the largest hedge funds managers in the world as of Q1 2010 including website and AUM:

Hedge Fund Location AUM Website
1. JP Morgan Asset Management New York, NY $53.5B www.jpmorgan.com
2. Bridgewater Associates Westport, CT $43.6B www.bwater.com
3. Paulson & Co. New York, NY $32B
4. Brevan Howard Asset Management London, UK $27.0B www.brevanhoward.com
5. Soros Fund Management New York, NY $27.0B
6. Man Group London, UK $25.3B www.mangroupplc.com
7. Och-Ziff Capital Management New York, NY $23.1B www.ozcap.com
8. D.E. Shaw Group New York, NY $23.0B www.deshaw.com
9. BlackRock New York, NY $21.0B www.blackrock.com
10. Farallon Capital Management San Francisco, CA $20.7B www.faralloncapital.com
11. Baupost Group Boston, MA $20.0B www.baupost.com
12. King Street Capital New York, NY $19.0B
13. Goldman Sachs Asset Management New York, NY $17.8B www.goldmansachs.com
14. Canyon Partners Los Angeles, CA $17.6B www.canyonpartners.com
15. BlueCrest Capital Management London, UK $17.3B www.bluecrestcapital.com
16. Elliot Management New York, NY $16.2B www.elliottmgmt.com
17. Landsowne Partners London, UK $15.0B www.lansdownepartners.com
18. Renaissance Technologies East Setauket, NY $15.2B www.rentec.com
19. Fortress Investment New York, NY $13.8B www.fortressinv.com
20. Eton Park Capital Management New York, NY $13.0B
21. Viking Global Investors Greenwich, CT $12.4B
22. Moore Capital Management New York, NY $12.4B
23. SAC Capital Partners Stamford, Ct $12.0B www.sac.com
24. GLG Partners London, UK $11.5B www.glgpartners.com
25. York Capital Management New York, NY $11.1B www.yorkcapital.com

Source: HedgeLists.com, Pensions and Investments

Internet Usage 2010

2010-06-06T21:28:00.001+02:00

Via: Online Schools

Slash Hudson - A Hero Of Mine

2010-06-06T00:14:00.003+02:00

Slash ( former Guns n' Roses )
Listen to his first solo album : Slash ( 2010 )

Slash send me personal message on Twitter after I told him he's the reason I started playing guitar in 1992. Thanks buddy !

Smartphone Market Share - 1Q 2010

2010-06-05T20:35:00.002+02:00

Smartphone market is in 1Q 2010 at 23 %, compared to 1Q 2009 at 16%
Simple pie chart shows current standing ( USA ):
Source: Nielsen

BusinessBalls.com

2010-06-03T01:25:00.002+02:00

It's a blessing when one finds quality business resources on the today's web.
Well I just find a gold mine.

Businessballs.com is for years around. Provides so much content for learning.
Very basic and advanced material.
Just ''print'' !

2010-06-02T12:26:00.001+02:00

Obsolete rambling about generation Y

Jun 2, 2010 by Zec

CoolSearch

Rating: 3/10

The authors try to catch the spirit of the youngsters born between 1980-2000. These people are lazy crybabies, the kids of the Bulls era, not willing to work hard and do not respect any authority. The recession should make them rethink. Generation Y must gets yourself in order. Think different and be ready for more compromises.
Authors are lazy citing various reports from magazines, books and other research papers. Very weak style and poor judgment ( everything new will crash the old ). How untrue.

This hReview brought to you by the hReview Creator.

Charles Justiz: Specific Impulse

2010-06-01T19:08:00.004+02:00

Longtime NASA pilot Charles Justiz writes what should be interesting plot. I got immediatly hooked up. The book's name Specific Impulse.

Space scientist, Carin Gonzales, and former submarine commander, Jake Sabio, are two strangers drifting separately through life when a mysterious explosion rocks them and brings them together.

Take a look book's trailer.

Punkt - Croatian Geolocation Mobile App

2010-05-29T23:06:00.003+02:00

Punkt.com.hr - Zagreb, - As a result of partnership between croatian microblogging specialist Five Minutes Ltd. and digital publisher Europe Digital ( EPH )
My account: @zec

Here's how it looks on iPhone:

Social Media Growth - April 2010

2010-05-29T16:18:00.002+02:00

Facebook - YoY growth = 30 % ( 6,4 times more than twitter )
Twitter - YoY growth = 10 %

Global Talent: TechXav.Com

2010-05-29T15:48:00.001+02:00

From Singapore

A blog that I read, young and smart people talking.
That's TechXav.com

Founded in February 2009, TechXav is a technology blog written by a group of young and zealous teenagers and we focused on publishing high-quality articles about the social web, cloud computing, semantic web, etc. Unlike any other technology blogs, we do not cover the latest news as we are not professional journalists and our timezone limits us from writing breaking news. We are currently headquartered in Singapore and our blog is managed by Xavier Lur (Founder & President) and Zhou Tong (Chief Executive Officer).

TechXav.com is part of The TechXav Network. Find out more here.

Social Media 2010.

2010-05-27T08:24:00.002+02:00

Visually.

Project Management - Tools - Tier 1

2010-04-22T21:44:00.010+02:00

Common sense tools ready at hand

Word - white paper, memorandum, letter, contract, checklist, to-do list, meeting minutes
Excel - PM resources planning, calculation
Outlook - Schedual
PowerPoint - presentation
Gmail - email / IM
Skype - calls, videoconferencing
OmniPlan ( Mac ) or Merlin2 ( Mac ) - PM software
iPhone - with Notes, voice recording, calculator
Web-based collaboration: activeCollab, Basecamp
Invoicing: Freshbooks
Publicity generation - blog, Twitter, Facebook, newsletter, free e-book, Scribe document sharing, podcast, SlideShare slide sharing
Projector
Printer
Moleskine notebook
Pen - Schneider
Briefcase
Laptop
Dilbert comics for chill-out
Internet limitator ( limiting your internet surfing )
Weekend without phone, PC etc.

New:
Evernote - collage
Google Reader - RSS feeds
Instapaper app - news
Flipboard - social news

Update on December 31st, 2010.
Vision board
VIP Vodafone USB stick
Dropbox - storing large files
Google Chrome - superb browser
Simplenote - note taking
uTorrent - bittorrent files
Audacity - audio recording
iTunes - managing audio files

101 Web Apps to help.

To be continued...

One drop of ink may make a million think

2010-04-09T21:00:00.003+02:00

Quote: Mark Twain

News Phrases For iPad Launch

2010-04-02T21:17:00.002+02:00

Apparently I forgot to pre-order the ipad...what to do tomorrow!?!

It come up this afternoon after reading initial iPad reviews.

I'll bookmark in this post some interesting phrases and observations about iPad as a product and tech gadget.
It's fun to see how people spontanously are playing with device and words.

So, let me just mark it for future generations :))

Notes:

- ecstatic
- magical
- portable computing
- iPad speed
- visual appeal
- quibbles
- how will iPad fit into your digital life
- laptop replacement
- the tactile satisfaction of physical keys
- keyboard controversy
- typing on the iPad was a "horrible experience"
- but he wouldn't want to use it for writing articles.
- the device doesn't function very well as a content creation device
- challenge the primacy of the laptop
- mini-laptops must "adapt or disappear
- the iPad is mostly about content consumption and light e-mail
- iPhone's library of thousands of apps to supplement its usability
- users have a lot to look forward to in terms of attractive, easy-to-use applications coming to the iPad
- you can't read text well in direct sunlight, and doesn't believe the iPad has the ability to save newspapers and books
- app for the iPad is the best digital version of the paper he's ever seen
- didn't like the weight of the iPad over extended reading periods
- you can't read iBooks, Apple's own e-reading application for the iPad, on other devices like your iPhone or MacBook
- said the iPad was a fantastic way to read a comic book
- It's hard to trust manufacturer claims about battery life
- a device that can last for 10-12 hours for basic Web surfing, watching videos and music is still pretty impressive
- took a hit from most reviewers for its lack of third-party application multitasking
- the iPad is an advance in making more-sophisticated computing possible via a simple touch interface on a slender, light device
- Only time will tell if it’s a real challenger
- It gives portable game machines from Nintendo and Sony a run for their money
- It’s not every computer and every function. It’s a computer that’s designed for speed, mobility, and tactile interaction above all other considerations
- the excitement slips away after about ten seconds and you’re completely focused on the task at hand
- the iPad is not a laptop. It’s not nearly as good for creating stuff
- it’s infinitely more convenient for consuming it — books, music, video, photos, Web, e-mail and so on
- The only question is: Do you like the concept?
- The iPad displays books in a way that is much flashier than your black and white e-ink screen. It shows illustrations in color
- Where’s the camera? What about Flash? Um, how about multitasking?
- There may be things it doesn’t do, but what it does do, it does remarkably well
- Rich, nimble, and dense with image and sound and navigability, right there inside the flow of the story
- the techie obsession with specs and obscure features completely misses how most consumers will actually use the iPad
- Easy
- cake
- effortless
- Will big shiny images and touch-screen magic convince consumers to spend more time on eBay ?
- oversized thumbnails and bleeding image close-ups to the edges of the device
- It seems to be a vast improvement from the website and the iPhone app, in terms of feel and design but it's not quite revolutionary
- the company really researched and thought about the iPad user experience and psychology before designing the app
- the 2011 Equus will come with an Apple iPad-style tablet instead of a traditional owner’s manual
- Is iPad touch of genius or out of touch?
- or be that rare Apple flop
- The question is whether people really need another device to do all that?
- Acer, a netbook company, said this week it was introducing a tablet model similar to the iPad,
- most consumers appear to be interested in it for fairly mundane reasons
- The Kindle also has unlimited wireless access, which makes downloading books easier and, of course, cheaper
- “I’ll just open a book when I want to read ( niche market )
- The Wall Street Journal is planning to charge $17.99 for a monthly iPad subscription
- like holding a newspaper and is more intimate than reading on a desktop or laptop ( intimacy factor )
- “It’s almost like downsizing
- “Who wants to lug that big thing around?”
- It’s a less frothy time, and fewer people are willing to plunk down cash on a device that is more of a want than a need ( recession factor )
- A reincarnated Newton. Fail.
- The iPad is a nice toy that people are getting hyped up about. Yawn.
- To be iPad-ready, a Web site must be built with W3C standard Web technologies
- iPad users will not be able to block ads or save streaming video content to disk the way Internet users can
- CBS shows through HTML5 in the browser and ABC shows through a native iPad app
- Just dont be that guy at the airport staring at my tablet like a teenager at tits
- Apple requires special websites for IPAD. For a device described as the "best browsing experience ever" this is down right bizarre,
- The iPad will let you watch streaming movies from Netflix, play games from Electronic Arts, and read the latest adventures of Spider-Man, thanks to new apps announced Friday,
- Each comic has been optimized for the iPad by redigitizing and recoloring each print issue for the tablet's larger, brighter format, said Marvel
- Marvel's iPad app is free, but each individual comic will cost $1.99.
- we're thrilled to bring consumers an action-packed app with which to explore and experience MythBusters
- publishers large and small — not to mention wholesalers, retailers, and Amazon (AMZN) — are still scrambling around like a teenage girl before a date. When the doorbell rings though, they’re all in danger of being caught with their pants down
- Few have come to agreements over pricing and availability of e-books, much less author advances and royalties
- because it accepted Apple’s agency terms (Apple gets a 30 percent cut, publishers get to set the retail prices)
- And RH’s blockbusters – Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol sold 100,000 e-books its first week out, or about 5 percent of total sales for the book — represent a small, but rapidly growing, segment of the market
- starting with what they’ve historically done well ( publishers) : acquiring intelligently, editing and designing properly and marketing appropriately
- Publishing blogger Mike Cane notes that this very important detail was largely overlooked by Apple in the rush to get iPad to market and cautions publishers to sit up and take notice
- We won’t browse: we’ll search. We’ll want to find what we want, buy it, and start reading it. But without the metadata to help us along, buying is not going to be a smooth process. Apple will lose money — and more importantly, writers will lose money
- To maximize revenue, publishers need to be able to use it in every possible market and every available format ( experiment is not costly here )
- entry into the e-book market has shaken up its pricing structure. Apple has offered book publishers what has been termed an "agency model" for pricing, in which they get to control the price of books offered for sale via the iPad's software
- But even with the touchscreen and accelerometer inputs, some games just need more traditional D-pad or joystick controls. The question is, why aren't third-party accessories available to give us this control?
- Apple has filed a patent application, published today, for an "Accessory for Playing Games with a Portable Electronic Device
- The accessory could include any of the following: buttons, D-pad, joystick, a keypad, microphone, camera, speakers, and even a secondary display
- iElectribe We are not joking around when we say this: This could be the killer app for music makers
- Digging around in the iTunes story I stumped across a listing for Sam & Max Episode 1: The Penal Zone for the iPad this morning. This appears to be an iPad version of the first episode of The Devil's Playhouse, the third series of episodic games for the popular and humorous adventure games from Telltale
- No page-turning business...you swipe left/right to page through stories and then scroll to read through single stories
- the first magazine on the Mag+ platform, and you can get it on the iPad tomorrow. It’s the April 2010 issue, it’s $4.99, and you buy more issues from inside the magazine itself
- We found little games to play with the reader, having them assemble infographics in the act of scrolling, and making pages that span multiple panes, only revealing themselves when the reader does a double-finger swipe to zoom across them
- And InDesign integration so art directors are in control, not technologists. And an e-commerce back-end capable of handling business models suitable for magazines. And a new file format, “MIB,” that strikes the balance between simple enough for anyone to implement, and expressive enough to let the typography, pictures, and layout shine. And it’s set up to do it all again in 30 days. And more
- Gizmodo makes me want. But do I NEED?!
- Kind of begs the question...why weren't these great little apps being developed for any platform before? I recognize the difference in how one interacts with the content, but I would enjoy these on my Macbook with trackpad input as well. They make a typical browser window look so clunky
- A lot of them are iPhone carryovers, and a lot of them cost more than you might be used to in the App Store economy. Both are valid observations! But for a first batch, these apps do look rather spectacular
- Quite simply, more developers are building more apps for the device. Indeed, the rush to develop for the iPad has even affected the iPhone, which, though it continues to rule the market, saw it’s share of app starts slip to 67 percent from 78 percent
- Apple has published a list of “iPad Ready” websites
- The sites are all big league sluggers like CNN, The New York Times, People Magazine and MLB.com. Surprisingly, there are also a few video-heavy sites in the mix (Vimeo, Flickr, and TED) which would traditionally rely on Flash Player for video playback
- There’s no agreed-upon video format for HTML5, and the support varies greatly from browser to browser
- But that path — coding multiple versions of a website for multiple browsers — is precisely what developers have been trying to avoid for the last decade. It also opens up a can of patent license worms ( complexity is not good )
- Here at Google we’re really excited about the promise of tablet computers, which will be great for browsing the web and using apps,
- If you go to gmail.com in your browser, you’ll see something different than what you’re used to on the desktop. We’re releasing an experimental user interface for the iPad built on the Gmail for mobile HTML5 web app
- As with Mac computers and the iPhone, you’ll find Google Search in the top right corner of Safari
- particularly excited by how tablet computers create the opportunity for new kinds of user interaction. Here on the mobile team, we often talk about how mobile devices are sensor-rich: they can sense touch through their screens, see with a camera, hear through a microphone, and they know where they are with GPS
the hotly awaited apps for the iPad are some media-related ones, including a few from Conde Nast — Wired magazine and Vanity Fair — as well as the New York Times, Associated Press and Bloomberg
- NYT, USA Today, Financial Times are free, at least initially
- The iPad opened up a host of new and better ways to shop for homes, and we’ve designed a photo-driven home shopping experience built specifically for the Apple’s interactive multi-touch device
- we’ve re-imagined home shopping as a photo-led shopping experience. View large images of multiple homes side-by-side; quickly flick thru preview photos of one home versus another, or pick a home and browse large, nearly full-screen images
- I cannot wait for this device to come out. It’s so going to change my business. We are getting closer and closer to virtual reality it’s amazing. Looking forward to the future in real esate
- They should just make a standards based web version so you can run it in the background
- Apparently I forgot to pre-order the ipad...what to do tomorrow!?!
- Thinking freehand drawing in OmniGraffle for iPad might make an excellent carry-able away replacement for a whiteboard
- Perhaps more importantly, the devices access books from different online bookstores
- If you buy a Wi-Fi-only version of the iPad and have a Wi-Fi connection at home, or you want to use the iPad primarily at coffee shops or public places that have wireless Internet connections, then you probably won't have to deal with AT&T at all
- The iPad has a Wi-Fi connection, which, in theory, could be used for printing documents wirelessly through your printer. There is some debate online about what apps will perform this function
- No USB port is a deal killer for me. I understand Apple's need to control the experience and USB being an open standard opens a big can of compatibility worms
- everything is moving to wireless... having to physically attach to a device is not the future, it's rapidly becoming the past
- A work in Progress if you want.It is a proof of "having balls" and flying away from what is safe and proven.USA should be proud of Apple for being the BRAVEST tech co
- I'm not going to be able to get one because iBroke
- it's a new class of product that will appeal to different people for different reasons
- Hold the iPad opinions 'til you've used one, please
- I WANT AN IPAD. My heart beats faster just thinking about it. Or maybe that's my double-latte talking
- According to the blog over at Flurry, iPad developers are in the race for a piece of the…Pad. Within the past 60 days, iPad projects comprised 22% of total new project starts on the site
- Wow, so there are about 20,000 different emails in my inbox today announcing iPad games/softwarehttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3288809
- Microsoft's iPad Strategy: Ignore It
- iPad signals the future of software. There are two old software models. The first is where the software runs on your laptop -- this is the Microsoft model embodied by Office. The second is the software as a service/cloud model with the software running on a server somewhere out on the Internet -- this is the Google and Salesforce.com model. I'm simplifying, but in the former, the software runs on a local device. In the latter, the software sits out on the network
- Software on a powerful device seamlessly (that's the key word) cooperates with services available out on the network
- But as CEO, you should be aware of the possibilities that the iPad is presenting you -- to change how software works within your company and to change the way your customers will connect to your company (Hyundai is already pursuing the latter). The first could lower cost and promote efficiency; the second could increase revenue
- Use them for four or five months. When September comes around, sit down with your executives and ask a simple question: "Can we use this device to improve our business?"
- It's really interesting how people with no experience on the iPhone are hating on the iPad
- David Letterman Before Licking an iPad: "It's Like an Electronic Slinky"
- Trying to talk the hubs into developing iPad apps. Then iPad = write off. :)
- Apple’s Ipad Bet Requires ‘leap of Faith’ From Buyers
- As if in anticipation of tomorrow's crush of traffic, AT&T's 3G network in NYC has been already erratic all week
- First in Line for iPad Also Camped for Original iPhone
- I want to know if the iPad can also be used as a weapon for self defense.. Is there an App that sprays pepper spray?
- iPad For your Entertainment,

Highlight: Young iApple Developer

2010-04-02T17:06:00.004+02:00

He's on stage like a young rock star.

His name's Pierce and is 14 years old and comes from Bay Area ( US West coast ).
Proud developer of CardShare app, recently approved by Apple in the AppStore.

An Interview explains a lot:

What does your CardShare application do?

Pierce Freeman: It allows you to exchange a virtual business card without any paper. You can include both personal and social networking details such as your name, phone number, e-mail address, and Twitter or Facebook details.

Twitter and Facebook. That's probably more important to a 14-year-old like yourself than, say, the business card aspects of it.

Maybe. But since I run an animal photography business and do Web design, I will be using my app quite a bit, as well as the regular details.

How many lines of code actually went into this application?

On both the server end and the client end, CardShare took over 11,000 lines of code.

What kind of software are we talking about? Is this Adobe software or Apple software? What did you use to create this?

Despite the Flash anxiety that's surrounding the iPad and the iPhone, I used both Adobe and Apple's software to create this. More specifically, the graphics in the application were done in Adobe Photoshop. In order to scale down and scale up the icon, I did it in Adobe Illustrator. Then all of the programming was done in Apple's Xcode or Espresso, which is a Web design utility.

When did you find time to develop this app?

I did this whole thing primarily out of school. I talked to some of my friends and teachers briefly about how they would use an app like this. But most of the sketching and everything was done at home, after school or on the weekends.

Presumably they don't have an iPhone application development class at your school? Or at least not yet?

Not yet. I may start that one.

Have you taken any formal programming classes?

No, I haven't. I'm completely self-taught.

So when I was your age, we used to program on Texas Instruments TI-83 calculators. Does anyone do that anymore?

I don't. I think that in some high schools they do program on graphing calculators. But that is out of my level of expertise.

So where do you find other people at your level of expertise? Are there communities out there where you can find people like yourself?

I have never met another 14-, 15- or 16-year-old, even a 17- or 18-year-old who programs for the iPhone and for the Mac and then integrates this with Web services. I assume there are maybe a very select few out there, and I'm very proud to be one of them. But there's definitely not some online forum or other discussion site where I could interact with kids. So I had most of my questions answered by the really nice people in the Mac independent software community. They guided me through the steps to create this, and I'm really appreciative for all their help

Hint: Forbes.com

Jewish Breakfast Bread: Bagel

2010-03-28T12:59:00.003+02:00

A Bagel

A bagel is a bread product, traditionally shaped by hand into the form of a ring from yeasted wheat dough, roughly hand-sized, which is first boiled for a short time in water and then baked.[1] The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior. Bagels are often topped with seeds baked on the outer crust, with the traditional ones being poppy or sesame seeds. Some also may have salt sprinkled on their surface, and there are also a number of different dough types such as whole-grain or rye.[1]

Bagels have become a popular bread product in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, especially in cities with large Jewish populations, many with different ways of making bagels.[2] Like other bakery products, bagels are available (either fresh or frozen, and often in many flavour varieties) in many major supermarkets in those countries.

Source: Wikipedia
Buy: Bagel shop in Munich

Coaching

2010-03-24T19:14:00.001+01:00

When speaking about values...

Certificate in Professional Coaching Practice

Respect
We treat everyone as equals, we value difference and promote diversity. We are fair, respectful and appropriate.

Honesty
We are open and honest with ourselves and others. We communicate clearly and ensure we are understood and we do not make excuses to ourselves or to others.

Trust
We share information openly and are able to speak freely. We build long-term relationships with others.

Integrity
We maintain high professional and ethical standards and are accountable for what we say and do.

Fun
We promote laughter, happiness and humour in our love and encourage others to achieve a feeling of contentment.

Realising Potential
We inspire others to achieve. We encourage others to look within and find their true-selves allowing their full potential to be discovered.

Choice
We promote freedom of views. We engage others to find their own path through self-directed learning and facilitation.

Kindle Ready For iPad

2010-03-23T22:05:00.004+01:00

So fast ?

Jeff is anticipating Kindle killer. Period. Better be prepared on time. That's what he's doing. Smart Amazon.com !
iBook competition will be fierce.

Do , Undo, Do, Undo...

2010-03-22T08:13:00.003+01:00

That's Business

Experiment.
Try out, see what works, what doesn't work.
Implement.
Change.
Watch.
Adopt.
Dream big.
Don't overdue.
Build something that doesn't exist.
Challenge your assumptions.
Nothing is as it seems at the beginning.
Forget $ but expect.
Listen feedback but do not fully listen your customers.
Do it your way.
Listen to your gut.
Never regret decision - move on.

iPhone Sales

2010-03-21T18:50:00.000+01:00

As of today.

42,482, 000

Source: Wikipedia

Price For GB / 1980. - 2010.

2010-03-21T17:45:00.000+01:00

Submit: iPad Apps

2010-03-21T16:49:00.002+01:00

Apps submission process started.

Developers can send their apps till March 27, and after that no app will be accepted.

Guidelines to Submit iPad Apps

* Build and test your iPad application using iPhone SDK 3.2 beta 5 available on the iPhone Dev Center. Only iPad apps built with SDK 3.2 beta 5 will be accepted for this initial review.
* Upload your distribution signed app through iTunes Connect by Saturday March 27, 5pm PDT.
* The App Review Team will review your app on iPad and email you details about the readiness of your app.
* You will also receive additional information about submitting your app for final review before iPad ships.
* Only apps submitted for the initial review will be considered for the grand opening of the iPad App Store.

Ladies @ SXSW Austin 2010

2010-03-15T14:01:00.002+01:00

Above: Sarah Evans, Shauna Causey and Sloane Berrent

Above: Randi Zuckerberg, Cathy Brooks, Jolie O'Dell, Jennifer Martin, Shauna Causey, Stephanie Agresta, Jackie Yeaney, Charlene Li

Food Badge- SXSW

2010-03-13T21:43:00.000+01:00

Texas Steak

2010-03-13T20:44:00.002+01:00

Steak break

When you are in Austin, there's no way to skip good steak. Taste of Texas is a place to go.

That reminds me of some rules when preparing great steak.
Here they are:

1. Choose your meat wisely:
2. Let the flavor of the beef come through:
3. Get the fire hot:
4. Check the temp:
5. Let the meat rest:
6. Dig in.

SXSW Interactive - Day 1

2010-03-12T22:17:00.002+01:00

My notes

Fact:
AOL pays website contributors, Spinner.com bookmarked, Seed program launched, citizen journalism revival

=: @aolseed - twitter
=: looks music oriented, yes , AOL Music
=: StreamPad powered
=: they want SXSW contributors to interview all 2000 music performers
=: ''you need to follow our standards of responsible reporting and accept our publishing program agreement''
=: couldn't they just contact journalism students and make them assignments ?
=: you must have AIM :((
=: AOL Seed - content creator network , paid
=: Seed available only to writers from USA
=: Seed publishing agreement- good

Chevrolet, electric car - 2011 Volt

=: do they know electricity is expensive
=: what ? Charging every 30 - 40 Miles, are they nuts ?
=: gasoline is there, just in case :))
=: 8 hours for charging
=: battery car, cool
=: energy federal incentive for buyers, about $ 7500
=: this is cool product for electric enthusiast
=: American pay 12 cents for kilowatt
=: the OnStar mobile app

Pepsi Refresh Project

=: another marketing incentive , new media style
=: appeals to individual that wants to change world with ideas, oh my, another illusion
=: crowdsourcing marketing
=: money incentive , different amounts, financing positive change
=: I could run this program when I become philantropist
=: how to attract people who care to vote on ideas ? Gaming system ? Intuition work the best,
=: too much people care for our Planet :)

SoBe Tea

=: northern of the convention center, walk the Trinity street to Brush Square Park
=: it's about PepsiCo energy drinks after all :((
=: South Beach Beverage Co.
=: weird - 3G add-on on every product name
=: they call it ''elixirs'', even life waters :)

Microsoft promoting Silverlight and Digital Living Room

=: Is Bill Gates having DLR ?
=: set-top-box nirvana and digital content, even for free, just buy those movies,
=: a lot of experimentation
=: Apple should build on that dream
=: Media Center and Xbox
=: more interactive advertising opportunities
=: Xbox is crying for app store
=: it's about web video distribution
=: flash competitor

iPad Begins Online Retailing Process

2010-03-12T19:07:00.005+01:00

Consumer interest insane, almost irrational

Insane online retail starts today for the most hyped gizmo in the World, namely iPad , preorders are possible through Apple Store USA.

Demand is incredible, and I am not sure, how this early adopters become so fanatical. Apple factor is never to be underestimated. This is bigger pent-up demand compared to iPod and iPhone launch ( OK, maybe not for that one ).

Good thing about the data plans will be that it won't require long contract binding.

First generation of iPad will be interesting to explore and see the usage in the first two months , how will people put it in a real use and what kind of creative content it will bring. What will work and what not.

iPhone apps will use much bigger screen estate. Not sure how many of those 150.000 apps will look nice in a full screen landscape mode.

There are things I am especially eager to see; iBooks - e-book renessaince ( special book experience ), newspaper and magazines monetisation opportunities, HD video delivery, and last thing; is there a market for desktop grade applications on the iPad.

iWorks sold by Apple for about $ 10,00 is interesting start. I think in a matter of few monthts, we will be able to use some amazing productivity and entertainment apps with a whole new paradigm in design.

Cloud computing element is interesting to see as well.

I think, we as consumers shouldn't judge iPad before we have a chance to put it in action and spend some time with the gadget.

So, only time will tell. We'll find out that very soon. However, We should lower our expectation, at least for know.
The quirks and shortcomings of the first generation will be almost certanly corrected in later editions.

Note to Apple; you should make iPhone nano device with more phone centric design, smaller form factor.

The iPad starts at $499 for the 16-gigabyte model with only Wi-Fi. The 32GB model is priced at $599 and the 64GB version sells for $699. The models with both 3G and Wi-Fi cost an additional $130.

Free delivery from April 3rd.

Let the games begin. This time, it is expected by some influental commentators like ARM Holdings people that iPad , in its first year, will face compatition from about 50 vendors .

But Apple's having ready and proven ecosystem - platform ( iPhone, iPad, iPod development ) which is unifying force and developers are able to port code, have fun and make money .

If you are not Apple fanatic and uber-geek, you should check some potential competion in the months ahead and wait for consumer decision.
I mean at the first place on these future products: HP Slate, The Notion Ink Adam, JooJoo, Archos Home Tablet, Dell Streak, Dell Mini, Entourage Edge, Asus Eee tablet, Compal tablet, MSI tablet, Quanta, Que tablet etc. Qualcomm and Nvidia with its chips will play almost equally important role.

It is significant news that Google is somehow left behind in this game. Google Android tablet will come to life sooner or later, but this time Google is latecomer.

Just like other big players, Nokia and Intel.

Making Your Game

2010-03-12T13:58:00.002+01:00

Not to get screwed up

How to create story and gameplay ? I found an article by Dustin who is CEO of IMI Labs LLC. Game veteran who will be just talking on the panel in Austin '' Anyone can create video game ''.

Have a good read on this topic.

PixelMags Apps For iPad

2010-03-11T21:38:00.002+01:00

100 + ? Almost done ?

PixelMags has 100+ apps ready for Apple's iPad. PixelMags publications are releasing to top paid book app spots all over the world.

30% of readers are making subscriptions their top In App purchase. The release of the iPad is sure to increase this digital publishing phenomenon. People are ready to pay.

Ryan Marquis describes the PixelMags platform as "a realistic digital magazine reproduction, with user-friendly bookmarking and search options, virtual libraries, headline alerts, In App purchasing, social network sharing, and endless interactive contents."

This is the product for which millions of mobile device users were waiting for. Bringing this platform to the iPad is the next step.

The iPad will unlock special capabilities within the App to optimize the reader's experience.

Cell Phone Obsession

2010-03-10T18:38:00.002+01:00

Infographics Of The Day

Cocoa Office Gmbh

2010-03-10T14:41:00.004+01:00

New Venture

Where: Office: Tokio - Berlin - Chicago
Headquarter: Bern, Switzerland

- global from the start
- holding company
- ultra-connected workers
- outsourced
- web-based

What We do: '' We redefine publishing experience with Apple touch design ''

Our clients: Newspapers, magazines, book publishers, electronic media, marketing departments, comic publishers, game publishers ...

Products: Content for iPhone, iPad, iPod, Android, Blackberry

Other possible names:
TouchPad Experience
TouchPad Studio
TouchPad Global

Web Sharing Economy

2010-03-10T10:05:00.002+01:00

Chart Of The Day

Watch The 1st Apple iPad Ad

2010-03-09T12:41:00.001+01:00

iPad large video.

[ Click To Watch ]

Publishing Changed: Interactive E-Books

2010-03-09T12:15:00.002+01:00

iPad stories for children

Penguin Group (NZ), in partnership with Kiwa Media, is bringing a number of popular children's picture books into the digital arena with QBook: the world's first touch-enabled and interactive read-along storybook.

Planning > RoundTrip > Zagreb, CROATIA - Austin, TX, USA

2010-03-09T08:09:00.005+01:00

Flight: Zagreb - Austin ( roundtrip )
Price: $ 1159

Traveling to Austin

Zagreb- Paris

Wed 10-Mar-10
flight
Zagreb (ZAG)
Depart 12:40 pm
to Paris (CDG)
Arrive 2:45 pm
Terminal AEROGARE 2 TERMINAL E
666 mi
(1,072 km)
Duration: 2hr 5mn
AF Air France
Flight: 1255
Operated by: BRIT AIR
3Economy/Coach Class, Snack, Canadian Regional Jet 700

Paris - Atlanta

Paris (CDG)
Depart 4:10 pm
Terminal AEROGARE 2 TERMINAL E
to Atlanta (ATL)
Arrive 8:30 pm
Terminal SOUTH TERMINAL
4,390 mi
(7,065 km)
Duration: 10hr 20mn
DL Delta
Flight: 51
3Economy/Coach Class, Lunch, Boeing 767

Atlanta - Austin

Atlanta (ATL)
Depart 8:24 am
Terminal SOUTH TERMINAL
to Austin (AUS)
Arrive 10:09 am
811 mi
(1,305 km)
Duration: 2hr 45mn
DL Delta
Flight: 1679
3Economy/Coach Class, Breakfast, Boeing 737-800
Total distance: 5,867 mi (9,442 km)
Total duration: 15hr 10mn (28hr 29mn with connections)

Traveling to Zagreb

Austin - Atlanta

Fri 19-Mar-10
flight
Austin (AUS)
Depart 1:20 pm
to Atlanta (ATL)
Arrive 4:27 pm
Terminal SOUTH TERMINAL
811 mi
(1,305 km)
Duration: 2hr 7mn
DL Delta
Flight: 870
Operated by: PINNACLE DBA DELTA CONNECTION
3Economy/Coach Class, CR9

Atlanta - Frankfurt

flight
Atlanta (ATL)
Depart 5:25 pm
Terminal SOUTH TERMINAL
to Frankfurt am Main (FRA)
Arrive 7:20 am +1 day
Terminal 2
4,606 mi
(7,413 km)
Duration: 8hr 55mn
DL Delta
Flight: 268
3Economy/Coach Class, Dinner, AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A330-200

Frankfurt- Zagreb

flight train bus Sat 20-Mar-10
flight
Frankfurt am Main (FRA)
Depart 9:30 am
Terminal 1
to Zagreb (ZAG)
Arrive 10:50 am
457 mi
(735 km)
Duration: 1hr 20mn
OU Croatia Airlines
Flight: 417
3Economy/Coach Class, Meal, Airbus A319
Total distance: 5,874 mi (9,453 km)
Total duration: 12hr 22mn (15hr 30mn with connections)

History of the Internet

2010-03-08T08:30:00.001+01:00

History of the Internet from Melih Bilgil on Vimeo.

How Will You Carry Your iPad ?

2010-03-07T00:58:00.001+01:00

Anatomy Of Apple Design - Hardware

2010-03-07T00:17:00.000+01:00

Anatomy of Apple Design from Transparent House on Vimeo.

Anticipating Greater Demand For iPad

2010-03-06T23:21:00.002+01:00

Changewave Research Infographics

Crisis Of Credit - Visualised

2010-03-05T20:40:00.000+01:00

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Friday Wonder

2010-03-05T18:28:00.002+01:00

Miracle ;) The zen of used cash

Content Like Never Before - iPad catalyst

2010-03-02T20:34:00.006+01:00

Design To Blow Your Mind. Touched

I've seen future of digital books . The possibilities are endless. It's right here in this video:

Zeppelin Called The Eureka

2010-02-23T14:12:00.001+01:00

Doesn't need a runway and low noise

Airship Ventures, a company that's resurrected the Zeppelin for air tours of San Francisco and other locations.
Love Zeppelins but can't afford a ticket? Fly vicariously by tracking the ship on Airship Ventures' site.

Differences: Management Practice

2010-02-23T12:24:00.003+01:00

Make or break. 1-10 scale. What does growth rate really means if your management practice is poor ?