Steven Savage – Page 1031

News of the Day 11/9/2010

November 9, 2010 by Steven Savage

Several companies are doing well – but the American education system may not be keeping up. Investments a-plenty. Geek news time!

Career:
Signs you need a headhunter. Something to make you think. *I* personally think headhunters in the broadest sense (and that includes recruiters and temp agencies) should be part of most any job search.

Economics/Geekonomics:
How bad is the American Education system? A state-to-country comparison is depressing and informative. Certainly a factor affecting the US's development in the future.

The run on gold continues. Me, I sense a big, glittery bubble.

High frequency traders don't like the idea of regulation. They may be part of our economic instabillity, so attempts to reign them in are understandable.

Mobile:
Nokia to add swipe capacity to it's Symbian systems. Obviously they're competing with Android, but they are making an effort.

Publishing:
With Dorchester in trouble, one author self-publishes. Let's see the impact this has.

Technology:
Zuora provides a subscription management and billing service. Not interested? Well consider just how useful that service is, and the fact they just got $20 million in investment. They have what sounds like a solid business model and allies, and I'd consider them resume-worthy. I'd also say they provide an interesting model of an "enabling" system in the modern media, a good place to be.

Some more details on the Kno tablets. I'm seeing mixed-to-slightly-negative assessments of the Kno plans on the internet (mostly around the cost), which I'm not sure are justified. Well we now know what they're doing and what it'll cost, so let's see if it works . . .

Video Games:
Bethesda (and others) are a target of a rant on how people support broken games. Admittedly some of the New Vegas problems were . . . well pretty severe. Considering people's love of fallout, does this issue have legs?

Gazillion, the folks who own Net Devil, raise $60 million. Lego Universe by NetDevil is looking good, and this is a LOT of money. Send a resume.

Bonus Geekery: H.G. Wells predicted one day we'd get news via the phone. MP> QUESTION OF THE DAY: So what is Gazillion going to DO with that much money?

– Steven Savage

A Geek Walks Into a Verizon Store . . .

November 9, 2010 by Steven Savage

So I walk into the Verizon store recently to get a new phone (Android, what else?). This does sound like the beginning of a joke, but as opposed to doing "a geek walks into a store" joke, let me instead hold forth on what I learned from going there. The Verizon stores, if you've been paying attention, have been changing, and I think we're seeing some trends in consumer electronics that they illustrate.

Anyway, so there I am in the Verizon store and there's some changes, a slicker look, and a helpful gentleman with a tablet he uses for data, credit cards, and sales. I'm sure that you're thinking what I thought.

Resume Worthy Roundup for October 2010

November 8, 2010 by Steven Savage

And what companies got our attention this October?

Andys Pharmeceuticals – Great investment, great product, good location.
Apture – They're involved in a technical partership with Scribd that shows promise.
Asus – Not just a crush object, their tablets look promising.
AOL – Because, look, seriously. They're up to something.
BNI – Raised $16 Million.
Brightcove – A new CEO and a bunch of investment makes them resume-worthy.
Buddy Media – $23 million in funding is worth making this social media company your buddy.
Care.com – $20 million in funding, a family service rating system, and a prime domain.
CyberSports – Raised $6.8 million and has an interesting business model.
Eventbrite – They raised $20 million, but I'm also positive on their business model.
Exelixis – They got a nice amount of VC and are in the bay area.
Kabam – They're on a roll.
InfraReDx – Got $21 million and works in the area of coronary imaging.
Intel – Spending on factory upgrades – and of course whatever they're doing with MacAfee may be resume-worthy.
MBA Polymers – $32 million in investment and helping the environment!
Nimbuzz – Quietly growing, in Silicon Valley, and competing with Skype.
PlayFirst – They have hit games and got $9.2 million in investment.
Samsung – Look, just follow the news.
SeatGeek – They've got a good niche (ticket deals for events) and a deal with the Wall Street Journal.
Study Blue – They raised $3.65 and are in the area of online study tools. Have an interesting pricing plan as well. Intriguing enough you may want to check them out.
Research In Motion – They appear to be up to something tablet wise, and they're stock is up.
TubeMogul – $10 Million in investment.
Twitter – They're on a hiring spree. They're also not going anywhere.
VeeBeam – Award winning and got $6 million in investment.

Location Notes:

It appears a lot of money is flowing in Seattle and Massachucetts (y'know, beyond IBM buying everything).
A list of the 100 most innovative cities for your consideration.

Now go forth!

– Steven Savage