Google’s FeedBurner Social Isn’t Quite Ready. Back to TwitterFeed – for Now.
Software December 14th, 2009
Why bother with an intermediary when we can now have FeedBurner send our blog post to Twitter directly?
- I wrote in Startup Bloodbath in Social Media and I meant it. But for now, we’re switching back to TwitterFeed.
The new Feedburner service that pushes blog posts to Twitter directly isn’t quite ready. Let’s just say it’s a bit too trigger-happy: it pushes an update after every “save”, even minor updates to already published posts.
This is so crappy, we’re switching CloudAve back to TwitterFeed – for now. Because it is crappy enough for Google to fix it soon – and then we’re back to the original formula: no need for intermediaries.
(Cross-posted @ CloudAve )
Tags: CloudAve, feedburner, Google, social media, Twitter, twitterfeed
SAP Video: Real-time Computing
Misc December 9th, 2009
Brand vs. Quality. Which Would You Pay For?
Technology December 7th, 2009
Time to re-evaluate just what we consider “good brands” vs. junk.
I could not resist the summer back-to-school discounts and upgraded two laptops – one of them is already making funny noises. Tired already? It’s an HP. Perhaps just a co-incidence - but my desktop monster, just two years old has long been pretending it was a turbine – at least in terms of the unhealthy hard disk whining it makes. Oh, it’s an HP, too. Noticed it while under warranty, but did not have any desire to deal with HP Support again. So be it.
Of course I had not seen this report before those purchases. Yes, shocking as it is, every fourth HP laptop fails within three years.
That’s awful. My personal experience prior to the recent purchases has been a lot better. I can’t possibly recall how many computers I’ve had since the mid-80’s, but not one of them died on me. They slowly became obsolete – like the trusted old Sony after 7 years or so.
But there’s another name worth paying attention to: Asus. They had been manufacturing component for PC makers, but were not exactly a household name until they emerged out of nowhere riding the netbook-wave. And wow – look at the stats: the formerly no-name “cheap Chinese” (actually Taiwanese) laptops have become #1 in reliability. So just who has a better brand now? Or: would you rather pay for brand or quality?
Oh, before I forget.. as they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here’s one of the three Windows 7 Upgrade packages waiting to be installed.
Amazon mailed the retail version in proper packaging on October 22nd, Win& Launch Day.
Sony took their time, they were 3 weeks late, but it still came in a decent plastic box.
HP? Over a month late, 2 DVD’s stuck in one paper sleeve. Reminds me of the tech-savvy admin assistant from the mid-80s who happily reported she overcame the technical difficulties, and finally managed to stick the 5.25” floppy disk in the drive. Too bad it already had one inside.
(Cross-posted @ CloudAve )
Tags: amazon, asus, brands, CloudAve, hp hardware, windows 7 sony laptop malfunctions computer failures
If it Swims Like a Duck and Quacks Like a Duck, then it Probably is a Duck. The Anti-SAP Duck.
Enterprise Software December 6th, 2009
Two SAP-related conferences will run literally next door to each other in Boston next week. One, which I am attending is the SAP Influencer Summit where analysts and the media get to meet SAP execs – the other is what some of us quickly dubbed the Anti-SAP Conference.
The Sapience conference is focused on “Alternatives for leveraging your investment in SAP”. Fellow Enterprise Irregulars Vinnie Mirchandani and Ray Wang will both be presenting – no surprise there. Vinnie has long earned the nickname Vinnie Maintenance (well, when he’s not Vinnie Merchant
) for his crusade against bloated integration and maintenance costs, which “can make up 70 to 90% of TCO in an SAP shop” and Ray also has a track record of taking the customer side. No wonder the two are now working together as Enterprise Advocates.
Are enterprise software fees outrageously high? Probably… see my old post on how SaaS subscription can be half of only the maintenance component of traditional software’s TCO. Do System Integrators, Consultants overcharge? Probably … although let’s be real, they charge whatever they can get away with, i.e. whatever the market allows. Hence alternatives are good – SaaS, nimble, less expensive third party providers and even strategic client-side consultants like Vinnie and Ray who can make a decent living on advising customers on how to reduce their ERP TCO. The market is all about competition and and market players have to take sides, no shame in that.
But then I don’t understand why Vinnie and Dennis Howlett are vehemently denying the anti-SAP nature of Sapience. I prefer to call it what it is – just take a look at the sponsor list:
It’s a who is who of SAP’s competitors – now let’s look at some of the Conference Speakers:
- Craig Conway, PeopleSoft’s last CEO before getting swallowed by Oracle
- Jan Baan, Founder of Baan, a “hot” SAP competitor in the 90’s
- Paul Wahl who left SAP for Siebel, and took the creme of SAP’s leadership at the time with him
They share one thing in common: all former SAP competitors but also representative of the very same “fat” business model they will no doubt speak out against. They are joined by several former SAP Execs and current service providers.
Zach Nelson, CEO of NetSuite is a great competitor and one who does not miss a chance SAP’s fumbling with their own SMB SaaS offering, BYD offers him.
It’s hard to not see what the conference organizer, Helmuth Gumbel assembled here: the Anti-SAP All Star Band. Oh, and let’s not forget how Dennis Howlett had introduced Helmuth: SAP’s feet put to the fire.
How about the timing? If you believe it’s pure coincidence that Sapience coincides with the SAP Influencer Summit both in time and location, I have a bridge to sell you. It’s just as “accidental” as Netsuite’s SAP for the Rest of Us Party was during SAPPHIRE 2006, right across the Convention Center. Nothing wrong about guerilla marketing, but why be shy about it?
A conference designed to steal some thunder from SAP’s Summit, at the same time and place, sponsored and keynoted by SAP’s competitors, and it’s not “anti-SAP”? C’mon… you know the quacks and all. But don’t get me wrong: Sapience may very well be a healthy contribution to the SAP ecosystem – it just does not need any whitewashing.
You may also want to read the healthy debate that developed in the comments to Vinnie’s post.
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(Cross-posted @ CloudAve )
Tags: anti-sap, Anti-SAP Conference, baan, CloudAve, conferences, ecosystem, enterprise advocates, influencers, netsuite, peoplesoft, SaaS, sap, sap summit, sapience, siebel, software tco, sofwtare maintenance
Comcast Data Usage Meter: What’s to Celebrate About Being a Year Late?
Customer Service, Technology December 1st, 2009
I admit I’m baffled. If a major service provider imposes consumption caps without providing a way to measure consumption, then promises a metering tool and fails to deliver for a year, than what exactly is the reason to celebrate when finally they start limited testing a year late?
But that’s exactly what’s happening: Comcast keeps promise, launches data usage meter says ZDNet and some others - GigaOM calls it a step in the right direction.
Yeah… a right step. Long overdue. I said over a year ago it was ridiculous to introduce the cap without a way of measuring it, and that the few tools available were largely inaccurate.
It’s not that Comcast had no way of measuring consumption – otherwise how would they shut down the “guilty” accounts? No, it took them over a year to develop a tool to present the data – and even now it’s at limited pilot stage in Portland.
Not that such delays are unusual for Comcast. Does anyone recall the first promise of Tivo-driven Comcast DVR’s? Was it two or three years ago? I’m still waiting.
(Cross-posted @ CloudAve )
Tags: broadband cap, broadband meter, CloudAve, comcast, Digital video recorder, Set-Top Boxes, tivo
Coding Error Buries Trader Under Heaps of Coal
Humor December 1st, 2009
I’ve had The Daily WTF ever since discovering the SAP Laundry story there… it’s a hit or miss. But today’s story is a real gem.
“Okay, I’m here!” he angrily announced once he stepped foot in the lobby. “So let’s do this! What do I need to—”
Brad stopped mid-sentence. His eyes were immediately drawn through the floor-to-ceiling windows and onto the river bay that Æxecor’s building overlooked. There was an absolutely gigantic barge – nay, an armada of tightly-connected barges – overfilled with enormous piles of coal that was attempting to dock in front of the building. “What… the… fuuu—”
Click through to read the story at The Daily WTF
(there’s a geek part in it about sloppy coding..etc.)
Tags: CloudAve, coding error, commodities, Humor, trading, virtual trading
Zoli Erdos
