Another non-Google online ad firm dies out

The latest Silicon Valley gossip has Jellycloud, an online ad placement company, shutting its doors this last week.  The firm started as Gator, the pesky psuedo-malware outfit we all knew and loved a couple years back.  

While given that information, few will likely mourn its passing, the more important facet of this is that Jellycloud's failure is yet another in a string of VC-funded online ad companies going out of business.  In this case, they chewed through over $50 million in funding before the collapse.  Can anyone but Google make money in this market?  Even among the big players, Yahoo relies on a partnership with Google for a great deal of ad business, and it's quite well-known how Microsoft's online division's bottom line looks.

Until next time!

Michael O'Brien is a partner at Praece Strategic Technology Consulting, helping small and medium businesses align technology plans with business goals.

Virtualization for the Small Business, Part III

My last two posts in this series presented an introduction to server virtualization and the bottom-line benefits it can provide for small businesses.  This short post will wrap up the series by focusing on a few popular low-cost server virtualization systems for the small business.

VMWare Virtual Server - $Free

While VMWare just made their step-up system, ESXi, available free of charge, Virtual Server is more appropriate for the small business with its ability to run on just about any hardware.  This system is my top pick for creating virtual environments for customers, as the newest release candidate provides a fantastic web interface for managing virtual machines from any location.  It's also quite fast and can be built on a very low-overhead linux system.  All in all, it's a very mature, fairly speedy system with fantastic value and flexibility.

XenExpress - $Free

This is an extremely popular program from the Xen division at Citrix.  Based off the open source Xen system, XenExpress provides a robust bare-metal infrastructure, meaning it does not require a host operating system to work.  This reduces overhead, but means that the hardware compatibility is not quite as strong as VMWare Server, resulting in higher server hardware costs.  Overall, XenExpress is a solid product with fantastic speed and features, but not quite as easy to use or flexible as VMWare Server.  Also, while VMWare server doesn't have a limit on how many virtual machines can reside on a physical machine, the free version of XenExpress limits you to four.  That's been a major roadblock in my deploying this with any customers.

Microsoft HyperV - $Free with Server 2008 or standalone

The jury's out on this one, as it has been very recently released.  Suffice to say it's got a small army of developers behind it, but it remains to be seen if it can avoid the bloat and interoperability problems we've seen with many of Microsoft's IT products.

That's all, folks!  Feel free to shoot me an e-mail at michael.obrien@praece.com!

Michael O'Brien is a partner at Praece Strategic Technology Consulting, helping small and medium businesses align technology plans with business goals.

Tacoma Technology Companies

For my first post I want present a list of Tacoma Tech. companies. I'm always on the lookout for a local tech. job and I stumbled upon a great list of Tacoma Tech. companies. This list comes from http://www.thriceallamerican.com/tacoma_tech_companies, and I want to share it with everyone (yes, I got their ok to do this). Who says all the tech. jobs are in Seattle or the Eastside? With the gas prices so high and such a commuting nightmare, Tacoma is definitely a great place to work! Let me know of other local companies that should be added to this list.

Software Houses: Companies with dedicated programming units
Ambient ID, Inc.: RFID solutions for healthcare and food safety industries.
AppTech, Inc.: IT consulting and design.
Artifex: Custom software for a variety of business applications, as well as web and graphic design.
Ascentry Technologies: Wireless communications for Homeland Security applications. (Purchased by TechAlt Inc. of Seattle in Jan. 06. I have been unable to determine whether or not they still have operations in Tacoma.)
Avue Technologies: Software solutions for human resources department.
Cascadia Software: Training and integration of Sybase database systems, and development of DBA tools.
IDmicro: RFID tracking devices and associated software.
IdentityMine: Prototyping, proof of concept, and marketing demonstration services for emerging technologies.
Insynq: Develops and offers applications for remote management, business applications, and consulting.
Intel (Dupont): The world’s #1 chip maker, where I used to work—not a software company, but enough programmers for “critical mass”.
InVivo Health Partners: Hardware and software for information management in healthcare.
Konnects: Online social networking for the business and professional worlds.
Limelight Healthcare: Develops IT software for the healthcare industry.
LION Mortgage Technology Solutions (Gig Harbor): Software solutions for mortgage lenders.
NewTec (Fort Lewis): Defense contracting firm.
Nu Element: Fuel cell and associated technology.
Prepared Response: Software for emergency first-responders. Headquarters are in Seattle, but Tacoma has a large portion of the employees.
Sagem Morpho: U.S. headquarters of a European-owned biometric software systems vendor.
Topia Technology: Mobile object technology for a variety of applications, including integration of disparate systems, distributed computing, and in situ application evolution. Creator of Skoot large file transfer service.
Vadium Technology: Develops secure encryption solutions for enterprise, government, and military applications.
Web Development: Web dev firms get a category of their own, to distinguish them from software companies
Business Internet Services: Development of custom web sites and associated back-end applications.
Data-Imagery: Content management, CRM and e-commerce web development.
Gridwork Design: Web design for publications and non-profits.
HighPoint Solutions: Integrated strategy, branding, marketing company, including some web development.
SiteCrafting: Web design and web application development.
Information Technology: IT service providers
Internet Identity: Services to combat phishing and other forms of online fraud.
IS Techs (Puyallup): IT and help desk consulting services.
ITC (Midland): Computer and network design, procurement and support, web hosting and design, online databases, Flash/Actionscript, ASP, php development, kiosks, Drupal and Plone, and general problem solving.
Optic Fusion: Colocation and hosting.
Graphic Design: Tech-related design firms
Ainsworth Studio: Graphic and website design.
Rusty George Creative: Branding, graphic design, digital/interactive design and development.

Other Companies with Software Jobs: A few larger local companies that occasionally hire software engineers
City of Tacoma: Not a company, but didn’t want to make a new category…
Columbia Bank: No comment necessary.
DaVita: Kidney dialysis equipment.
Russell Investment Company: Tacoma’s most prominent local company (and Fortune’s 63rd top place to work for 2006).
Weyerhaeuser (Federal Way): Raper of the ecosystem, er, I mean responsible forest
management company…

Customer Service and other Support: Technology companies with support (non-techie) operations in Tacoma
Expedia.com: Customer service call center near the UWT.
Netflix: Distribution center near the mall.

Learn the Game

So all you need is money?

Here's another opportunity for entrepreneurs to get that cash that will allow them to realize their dream.

An Angel Financing Conference is aimed helping early stage companies understand the angel financing marketplace. And, they are also interested in individuals contemplating investing in these companies.

Expert panels are online to give entrepreneurs tips on how to successfully raise angel investment and others are committed for panels on guiding angel investors through the process of vetting start-up companies seeking capital are offered (see enclosed agenda).

If you are interested in registering, go here.

Tacoma: Best Performer in WA

Tacoma has received an exceptional ranking, along with similar high scores by Olympia and Seattle, in the recent Best-Performing Cities 2008.

Conducted by the Milken Institute and Greenstreet Real Estate Partners, Tacoma ranked 8th nationally (Olympia 9th, Seattle 17th). So why?

The Puget Sound Business Journal cited Tacoma's highest score in the category of growth in its high-tech sector. The report specifically states:

Data processing, hosting, and related services enjoyed average annual job growth of 17.2 percent over the past five years.

Olympia's growth has placed it up into the larger metros whereas in previous years it had been a stellar performer among smaller cities. The report cites Olympia for its Information Services as the fastest growing job sector, at 38% over five years (probably related to growth in state government) and Seattle was noted for adding 6,200 jobs in R&D services. For those who want to know, Spokane came in at a most respectable 35.

The study brags that its rankings are based on outcomes (i.e., jobs) rather than cost-based criteria (i.e., cost-of-living).

Best of the Best Coming to Tacoma

Larry Kopp, co-founder of the TacomaAngel Network reports on his recent sighting about Bill Payne, one of the principal presenters in TAN's upcoming Deal Doing Seminar.

Larry says, "Bill Payne, the moderator for TAN’s Business Development and Deal Doing Seminar was quoted this week in an article in the New York Times…Giving Businesses their Wings.

'….Many states offer tax incentives for investing in small businesses in their own state ..[of up to 100% over 5 years] For a list, go to angelcapitalassociation.org, click on Resources and look for state policy issues. [Washington State is NOT one of those states].

Indeed, supporting local economic development is one reason that angels often cite for their interest in this type of investing. “When you are a venture capitalist, and you are investing other people’s money, return on investment had better be your only motivation,” said Bill Payne, a founding member of angel investor groups in Montana and Nevada. “But angel investors are often motivated by other considerations, such as mentoring young entrepreneurs and giving back to the community.'

Payne has been an angel investor since the early 1980s, when he sold his company, Solid State Dielectrics, to DuPont. His interest in fostering local economic development led him to start the Frontier Angel Fund three years ago in Kalispell, Mont. The fund’s 33 members each put in $50,000, and they vote on each proposed investment.

Many of the 300 or so angel investor groups in the United States function almost like social clubs. If enough members decide to invest in a particular company, they often form a limited liability corporation and appoint one member to become the principal contact with the entrepreneur. If only a few members are interested in a deal, they are free to invest on their own."

Thanks Larry, for catching this info.

Google Chrome, second impressions

I've now had my hot little hands on the Google Chrome browser for almost a week and have further data to report back on the browser. 

The EULA Boondoggle

As reported in various places, and re-reported here, when the browser was released, Section 11 of Google Chrome's EULA had some very strange language which seemed to give Google

a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.

After talking to some of my more knowledgeable Copyright colleagues about the topic, they assured me that there was no way Google could enforce this clause. "Copyright just doesn't change hands this way" was the way one friend put it. 

Still, this strange EULA (and the fact that it's a Beta) also gave many corporations pause leading to more than a few corporate bans of downloading and installing the product. After all, who wants their employees downloading a Beta browser that already has proof-of-concept security flaws, AND that has an odious EULA?  Uhh, none?

At this point Google started to feel the heat and they responded by, well, by changing the EULA. It now simply states

11. Content license from you
11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.

Google responded, end of story. Now, if we wait long enough they might solve the security problems and take it out of Beta, of course, considering that Gmail is still in beta, I am doubtful.

Accessibility Problems

A new, serious, flaw has been discovered: the beta release of Chrome is not an accessible browser and from a UW Tacoma Library point of view this is a deal breaker. Our technologies must, at the very least, be able to function with screen reading software like JAWS and preliminary reports show that it isn't. This is yet another thing that Google will need to work on if they are going to garner wide-spread adoption of this software.

What's even more worrying is that they knew about the problems and their response was to simply release a statement about how the APIs were designed to be compatible with WAI-ARIA and that we should expect more compatibility in future releases.

This is not to say that I was going to rush out and install the browser here, it is still in beta test. More just that it's another thing for Gooogle to impress me with their response time, much like they did with the EULA.

Cool Features

It seems like I'm discovering a new cool feature every day. Yesterday, I discovered that when you do a "Find" (Ctrl + F) there are several improvements over Firefox and IE. First, there's no popup window and the find function doesn't take up a strip at the bottom of the browser. It's appears as a small drop-down in the upper right corner of the screen -- yet another way that Chrome user interface is inobtrusive. Second, the search feature automatically highlights search terms in the browser window. And finally, in a function with limited application, it marks the scroll bar with a strip of yellow to show where on the page the hits are showing up.  i use this last feature to scroll through large pages that are ordered chronologically and gather data on when a term was popular. I'm sure someone can come up with a better use of this!

There's also the incognito mode, which I know is being ridiculed as "porn mode" but honestly, I think it's a great idea. First, my partner and I share a computer at home. Whenever she logs on to read her gmail, I'll inevitably come along later and use the computer and her gmail will still be logged on. Or her Yahoo account, or any of a thousand things she's done on the computer that day will leave traces behind. Normally, this isn't a problem but there have been times when she was looking at a gift for me on Ebay and I ruined it simply by opening the browser. Incognito mode solves that problem.

Also, as an adult with small kids, I might look at content that isn't appropriate for my daughters (Fark.com, for example, far from a pr0n site, but not exactly something I want a 10 year old looking at) and incognito mode is great to keep those tracks clean.

And from a public workstation standpoint, as a user and as an administrator, I'm always in favor of browsers that automatically clean their tracks (Firefox, etc), but I'd be even more in favor of one that doesn't leave any in the first place (Chrome Incognito). Here in the library, students sometimes have to use a credit card to put money on their Husky account (for printing and food and stuff) which they have to do through a browser window. Regardless of how secure the site is, I'm just more comfortable doing something like that in a browser that doesn't leave any tracks and I would want to make incognito mode the default mode for all student browsers in the library, just as a precaution.

I'd just like to see a couple of features added to this mode: parental locks to keep kids from browsing Incognito if desired, and the ability to make Incognito the default mode.

Conclusions?

It's way to early to jump to any conclusions about Chrome. At the very least, there's a lot of work that Google need to do if they want to bring it up to the industry standard and see widespread adoption. If that's not their goal, and instead they just wanted to show the world something neat -- mission accomplished. Let's follow it up with something more business friendly, please?