I tend to like to write on my keyboard on my lap or on a lap bench... 

October 8, 2009 - via the Wall Street Journal

By Walter Mossberg

In just two weeks, on Oct. 22, Microsoft's long operating-system nightmare will be over. The company will release Windows 7, a faster and much better operating system than the little-loved Windows Vista, which did a lot to harm both the company's reputation, and the productivity and blood pressure of its users. PC makers will rush to flood physical and online stores with new computers pre-loaded with Windows 7, and to offer the software to Vista owners who wish to upgrade.

 

Windows 7, A Successful Successor to Vista

8:19

WSJ's Personal Technology columnist Walt Mossberg reviews Windows 7, the successor to one of the least successful versions of Microsoft's operating system, Windows Vista.

With Windows 7, PC users will at last have a strong, modern successor to the sturdy and familiar, but aged, ...

With locations in  New York, Pittsburg, Chicago, Florida, Virginia and the UK, our hosted services are managed, secure, distributed and redundant to protect your data and provide peace of mind. 

We are proud to announce our latest hosting partnership with HostWay^® Global Web Solutions at their new state-of-the-art Boeing Data Center.

Located at 100 North Riverside Plaza, in Boeing Internationals modern skyscraper, the facility is in the heart of downtown Chicago. With 36 stories and almost 1 million square feet of office space, the building is home to Boeing Internationals world headquarters. The data center will occupy a space originally built out for $200 million. Hostway is investing an additional $10 million to ensure the data center meets the leading industry standards for security, network availability, fire suppression and power capacity.

Take a tour! 

Reliable 

Source: The New York Times

How was I so easily fooled? Looking back, I should have seen that in our last hours together my drive was not at all well. It was only putting on a brave face — preparing to die.

“Do you back up?” Kane asked.

I told the truth: “Never.”

I had photos and songs on my drive, and I also had Word-file diaries...

Not surprisingly, online data storage can generate a bit of queasiness. Lawyers have an ethical responsibility to protect client information from inadvertently falling into the hands of inappropriate others; failing to carry through with that duty can generate unfortunate repercussions.

A lawyer's immediate reaction, then, might be to completely dismiss the idea of online storage, …

On the other hand, the same lawyer may never think twice about attaching a document to an e-mail message and sending it swirling around the open 'net.

MATURING ALTERNATIVE
Cloud computing is maturing into a plausible alternative…Contrary to what many believe, online storage ...]]> Dana Molina topazgroup Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:49:02 -0400 http://massmind.com/topazgroup/12503/WEB_STORAGE_Cloud_Computing http://massmind.com/topazgroup/12384/Sharing_workspaces_with_others Sure, using Office Live Workspace beta to create project workspaces and add documents is convenient. But to share your workspaces with others—now that’s just plain smart.

Weve always said that Managed Services for IT is usually a flawed business model.  Pretty much the better job you do the less you make.  Kinda like lawyers, I guess, except at least we talk about it!

13 hours to reformat and upgrade a client laptop is the perfect example of providing GREAT service at a TERRIBLE value.  I worked over a long day and night replacing the hard drive of this particular laptop.  Theres no question the client got a lot of benefit.   3.5x more storage space, 3x improvement in speed.  And almost no worries he handed me the laptop in the morning and came back for it the next day fully upgraded.  I couldnt save him from a couple headaches, though he had to hunt down passwords that needed to be reached in his browser .... and he had to see my 13 hour bill!  Which points to the value problem the work took 13 hours, but no one wants to pay labor of 13 hours for 3.5x space and  3x speed.  Think of it this way the 320GB drive cost less than $100 and the 3x speed was just getting the computer back to the speed it was the day he bought it.  Who wants to pay almost the cost of the computer to simply set (or in this case reset) it up?

Ill tell you: nobody.  But whats the alternative?  It takes hours and hours to set these things up so we as a Managed Services Provider are stuck either provide poor value by charging for our time or give ...

 SureTech.com Invites You to OurFirst Holiday  Potluck SupperDecember 20 3:00 p.m. 87 Royce Brook Road  Hillsborough, New JerseyThe frivolity starts at 3:00 and potluck supper at 4:00 Please let Bonnie or Dana know what you plan to bring!     We are planning ...

Organizations are increasingly looking to next-generation social networking tools to conduct sophisticated business intelligence and analytics. In many cases, they are mining data and looking for trends and patterns, such as which salesperson has the relationships to pull off a deal or which customers seem to have the biggest influence with others online.

Cloud computing environments will contribute to the expansion of SaaS into areas beyond ERP, CRM and HR management systems. Rob DeSisto, analyst for Gartner, says organizations increasingly see the benefits of moving large-scale software expenses from the capital budget to the operating budget.

Saavy IT managers are now looking for ways to automate and embed security and compliance processes across the value chain, including on mobile devices. Surprisingly, a key challenge is one of perception, not technology. Companies must get over the idea that security and compliance systems are simply insurance against problems, and that they dont improve the business in ...

It's powered by Postini, so the back end looks good. But, I like to try these things out before rolling them out to customers. So, I decided I'd sign up my business domain for the service. I get a little bit of spam, generally it's caught by the filters in Outlook or on my server. I was using StartLogic, which I'd been signed up with for about five years. To make a long story short, after much gnashing of teeth and trying different things, it turns out that StartLogic's mail servers can't handle the Google Message Filtering service. I believe it has to do with the way the MX records are described and how StartLogic figures out which domain the mail belongs to, but I'm not sure.

So, I decided ...

Join me June 23, 2008 for a very interesting discussion on society, business and technology:

Topic:       Thriving in the New Social Internet

Speakers:  Dr. Charles Kreitzberg. Alberto Molina, Anne Kreitzberg
Location:  Sante Fe Grille Upstairs private dining room
Date:       Monday June 23, 2008
Time:       6:00 8:00 PM
Suggested Contribution:  $15 per person for room, appetizers, beer, soft drinks, tax + tip* 

Overview:

The new social world of the internet represents far more than finding a friend on Facebook or keeping a diary online for anyone to see. New Web technology, also referred to as social media or Web 2.0, is unstoppably shifting the way we communicate and interact with each other for business. The question is not if this affects you, but how will you fit in?  Will you be a wallflower or the center of the party? The panel will discuss new opportunities and challenges for companies in this dynamic environment.   Our focus will be presenting ways your business can understand, approach and thrive in this new social and communications landscape.  Don't miss out on this opportunity to leverage your understanding of web social architecture and how you can make this changing landscape work for you and your organization!

One Click Clubs offers state of the art online community relationship management capabilities to membership  based organizations.  Requiring only a web browser with access to the internet, an organization will be able to provide the modern features expected by online users to interact with each other and the organization.

It will be possible for organizations to install a single website, and also for umbrella organizations to install networks with sub-sites for member organizations with syndication to the larger umbrella.

The beta period will include two networks:

1. YaleNet, including the initial sites Yale Alumni Association of Metroplitan New York, the Yale Latino Alumni and The Yale Club of New Haven
2. Dwight Hall, the center for public service and social justice, which includes over 100 member groups

All of the beta sites are for groups that encourage interactive websites and support member-driven contributions.

OneClickClubs comes out of 3 years of volunteer work managing a true virtual community with Yale Alumni Association of Metroplitan New York which now boasts over 10,000 visits permonth and over 30 distinct user-driven posts.
 

Topaz Group Ventures Inc. is a boutique creative studio dedicated to building interactive tools and entertainment online.  Topaz has three areas of business expertise built around our interest in games and online publishing of both editorial and user generated content.

Selected Work Samples

Our expertise is in understanding the social dynamics of communication and incorporating artistic expesion into online experiences that generate repeat users and participation.  We have a breadth of experience in delivering and managing complex technology development projects.

Online Games:

• ESPNArcade - Game Design and leaderboard based competition platform
• Disney DXD - Technical Development In Flash and Action Script and Game Design
• gocrosscampus - Community Technical Architecture and Flash game design and development

We provide safe and effective ways to promote and manage user generated content in building successful virtual communities.

• YAAMNY

Selected List of Clients