Internet 2009 in numbers

Take a look at these numbers. This is really amazing !

This is clear, the world is changing fast.

•  90 trillion – The number of emails sent on the Internet in 2009.
• 247 billion – Average number of email messages per day.
• 81% – The percentage of emails that were spam.
• 234 million – The number of websites as of December 2009.
• 1.73 billion – Internet users worldwide (September 2009).
•  18% – Increase in Internet users since the previous year.
• 126 million – The number of blogs on the Internet (as tracked by BlogPulse).
• 84% – Percent of social network sites with more women than men.
• 27.3 million – Number of tweets on Twitter per day (November, 2009)
• 350 million – People on Facebook.
• 50% – Percentage of Facebook users that log in every day.
• 1 billion – The total number of videos YouTube serves in one day.
• 2.5 billion – Photos uploaded each month to Facebook.

To know more on this, just click HERE

12 reasons NOT to buy an Apple iPad

 I’ve read a very interesting BLOG from Joe Wilcox after the relase of IPad.

Look also at this video:

Here-below, a short summary of the 12 reasons why he is not going to buy an iPad. To be honest, this list makes sense.

I also agree with  Samuel Axon, who writes at Mashable: “The iPad isn’t going to be a phenomenon with either netbook users or power users. It’s not better than existing devices at anything, and it’s too expensive for most people to use it as a secondary device.”

1. The iPad isn’t good enough to replace smartphone or laptop.

• Apple’s tablet offers too much functionality that overlaps the smartphone below and laptop above.
• A Windows laptop would offer way more functionality for about the same price, or even less, than iPad.
• Sure, iPad costs less than a Macbook or MacBook Pro, but those laptops run a real desktop operating system, while iPad packs iPhone OS.

2. Persistant data connection costs too much.

• Amazon’s Kindle ebook readers come with free 3G service (US).
• Sure, iPad does so much more, but the user not only pays about twice as much for the device but $15 or $30 month (as there is no 3G Free – Cost US), instead of nothing. 
• The bigger question: Why pay for two 3G services — smartphone and iPad?

3. Web experience is inferior to other devices in its size class:

• Apple’s promotional Website claims that iPad is “the best way to experience the Web.” But the device doesn’t support Adobe Flash, for starters, and that means the experience is less than comparably sized PC slates or netbooks running desktop or desktop-class browsers.

4. Screen resolution is inadequate.

• iPad’s native screen resolution is only 1028 x 768. That’s simply too little for the size and price, particularly when many PC slates, netbooks or laptops offer higher screen resolution for about the same price.

5. Aspect ratio is 4:3 in a 16:9 world.

• Widescreen everything is today’s video consumption standard. But iPad’s aspect ratio takes you back to the last decade.

6. It’s nothing more — and some things less — than a big iPhone (without cellular voice) or iPod touch.

• Like its small siblings, iPad runs iPhone OS, accesses iTunes Store and built-in App Store, displays photos, plays movies and music, etc., etc., etc. OK, so there is iWork and bigger screen. I’m not pining for the differences.

7. There’s no camera.

• But there should be two, one pointing outwards for taking photos and supporting applications and another inward facing for video conferencing.
• Camera is one of the greatest utilities on most portable devices, whether cell phones, laptops or even netbooks.

8. Connectivity options are limited without pa

• There’s no HDMI port or any other useful one.

9. Accessories tell the real story — iPad isn’t good enough at any of its price points. 

• The users will need to pay more to Apple for accessories, like the aforementioned camera connectors (there are two) and the keyboard dock.

10. The iPad requires a Mac or PC.

• That USB connector comes with iPad for a reason. The tablet would make more sense as a standalone device connecting to cloud services.
• In #1, I dinged iPad for not being a smartphone or laptop replacement. Sadly, that’s by design.

11. There’s no GPS on three models

• No-3G limits the device’s mapping capabilities and its ability to spatially orientate for using augmented reality applications.
• The accelerometer and compass are OK — as they are on iPod touch — but 3G makes a big difference when also orienting location. GPS is available on three 3G iPad models, but buyers will pay more for the device and for monthly data service fees.

12. It’s a closed system.

• Actually it’s a step backwards. 
• Everything is tied to iTunes Store, which is as closed as Apple is secretive about new products.

Create your own @hotmail.be address !

I’m happy to share something new for Belgian people using hotmail / msn

From now, you can create your own @hotmail.be address …

So, you can surf to www.hotmail.be (or to Hotmail from www.msn.be) and select ‘register’ to create your brand new @hotmail.be address.

So go & create your firstname@hotmail.be address.

Quick links (sign out first):

NL: – https://signup.live.com/signup.aspx?mkt=nl-be&rollrs=12&lic=1

FR – https://signup.live.com/signup.aspx?mkt=fr-be&rollrs=12&lic=1

Record Revenue for MICROSOFT !

I’m very glad to show you very good performances of the last Quarter Microsoft (the company I’m working for )

This is a record for the revenue = $19.0 billion for the last Quarter,  and earnings per share of 74 cents

Dec 2009 was a very strong quarter for Microsoft, in which the Windows attach rate started climbing.

Bing’s U.S. market share continues to inch upwards, with the search engine growing slightly stronger than Google Inc.

Although the agreement with Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO – Analyst Report) is still pending regulatory approval, this could help the company acquire additional expertise in the space.

Microsoft also has a number of products in the pipeline, including Azure, its cloud computing platform (first product to be launched next month) and Natal, its natural user interface for entertainment devices (to launch in the holiday season).

If you want to read more on this, read a good article by clicking HERE

A Big-Picture with services from Google, Microsoft, Apple and Yahoo

The world is changing and the digitalisation of everything (musis, picture, video, …) will accelerate adoption of new technologoes and servies by the consumers.

I realize this since I’ve been working for Microsoft.

Stepping back further than a single search engine fight, it’s evident that Google, Microsoft, Apple, and even Yahoo are now competing in numerous different business arenas.

The chart below illustrates many of the services these companies provide.

Some of their products have been cornerstone revenue streams, and others are just at the beginning of development. But putting them up against each other really helps illustrate each company’s focus and their possible future directions of exploration.

To read more on this, just click HERE

What they’ll be talking about in Davos ?

What they’ll be talking about in Davos

The World Economic Forum annual meeting kicks off in Davos, Switzerland, this week with a lofty agenda devoted to some of the world’s most pressing issues, including rebalancing the global economy, shaping the future of climate change, and innovating health care.

In this package of both new and recently published content, McKinsey experts and practitioners provide their insights to help shape the debate on some of these headline topics.

 

Debt & Deleveraging

The looming deleveraging challenge

 

Climate Change

Decoding Copenhagen: What the climate summit means for business

The business opportunity in water conservation

 

Health Care

What does it take to make integrated care work?

Engaging consumers to manage health care demand

A hospital-wide strategy for fixing emergency-department overcrowding

 

Global Consumers

A consumer paradigm for China

How US consumer spending is changing

Japan’s luxury shoppers move on

If you want more on this, just click HERE

Marketeer’s New Playbook

I want to share with you the marketer’s new playbook I’ve discovered in McKinsey Review. 

View on the Web: http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/newsletters/chartfocus/2010_01.htm

In previous recessions, many marketers doubled down on large, historically profitable customers, geographies, and market segments-an approach that may now be ineffective because economic woes are affecting consumers and markets in unexpected and very specific ways.

Marketers should therefore toss out their historical expectations and look for emerging pockets of profitability.

One beverage company, for example, conducted surveys that identified staggering differences in the potential gains from customers in markets and micromarkets.

The respondents’ price sensitivity varied by up to a factor of 13 across regions, of 5 across cities within them, and of 3 across zip codes in cities. This level of detail helps companies to maximize their returns by focusing on specific areas that are less sensitive to prices while also driving sales volumes elsewhere by offering discounts or preferential pricing.

6 biggest Microsoft stories of 2009

I’ve read a good artcile about the biggest Microsoft stories of 2009

I made a summary of the 6 biggest stories.

2009 was the year of two big product launches, Bing and Windows 7, and finally reached a search deal with Yahoo.

Here, in no particular order, are the 6 biggest stories of 2009 in the Microsoft ecosystem.

1) Windows 7 debuts

Microsoft released Windows 7 in October and got positive feedback and reviews.

• Key article: Microsoft’s reputation riding on Windows 7 (Oct. 22)

 

2) Bing search engine launches

Since its official launch in June, Bing has seen its U.S. market share steadily climb, passing the 10 percent mark in November.

• Key article: Q&A with search expert Danny Sullivan on Microsoft Bing (June 4)

 

3) Microsoft and Yahoo reach deal

With their revenue-sharing deal, Microsoft and Yahoo can join forces to attack market-dominating Google.

• Key article: Specifics of the Microsoft-Yahoo search deal (July 29)

 

4) Windows Mobile loses ground

Ballmer said it best himself when Microsoft released the luke-warm Windows Mobile 6.5 in September: “This will not happen again.” He was referring to the delays in releasing Windows Mobile 7, for which a launch date still has not been announced.

• Key article: Droid: iPhone-killer or Windows Mobile-killer? (Nov. 4)

 

5) Project Natal announced for Xbox 360

There’s no other way to put this: Project Natal looks awesome. Initially seen as Microsoft’s answer to the Nintendo Wii, and since considered so much more, Natal is an add-on for Xbox 360 that lets gamers play without using controllers. Their bodies are the controllers. And when Microsoft unveiled the project in June at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, it stole the show.

The technology, essentially a set of cameras and sensors that pick up a gamer’s movement, will work with existing Xbox 360s and extend the popular video-game console’s lifespan. Since June, Microsoft executives have said the technology also will be applied to computers, potentially revolutionizing the concept of “user interface.”

Key article: Video: Microsoft’s Project Natal takes on Nintendo Wii (June 1)

6) Cloud computing takes center stage

With Windows Azure, companies and individuals can create and manage cloud-based applications that people access via the Web. It lets clients scale up and scale back their server use as needed, and can slash a company’s IT costs.

What has been announced at CES 2010 around Natal ?

Project Natal and other natural user interface products Microsoft is working on are helping usher in a new generation of human–computer interaction.

Robbie Bach demonstrates how body movements control Project Natal, a natural user interface Xbox 360 add-in scheduled for release in the fall.

Take a look at the viedo here-below.

Bill Buxton first used a computer in 1971. It changed his perspective on life. Even four decades ago, Buxton could picture a future enhanced by technology. Eventually he came to dream about humans and computers having close interaction—being able to operate a computer by gesturing at it or by touching it or having a computer recognize your voice and face. “I’m excited more now than I have been since I’ve been in the business because I can taste it now,” said Buxton, a principal researcher at Microsoft since 2005. “Stuff I’ve been working toward and thinking about and dreaming about for 20 or 30 years is now at the threshold of general usage, and I’m still around to touch and play with it.”

The future has arrived, said Buxton, a leading researcher in human–computer interactions. Touch, face- and voice-recognition, movement sensors—all of these are part of an emerging field of computing often called natural user interface (NUI).

Interacting with technology in these ways is no longer limited to high-tech secret agents and “Star Trek.” Buxton said everyone can enjoy using technology in ways that are more adaptive to the person, location, task, social context, and mood.

He sees a bright future in which entire “ecosystems” of devices and appliances coexist with humans in a way that makes life better for people. Microsoft, with researchers like Buxton, is a leader in developing these more natural ways of interacting with computers. The company will showcase some of this technology at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week. Project Natal, which turns players into human controllers, is among the most high-profile examples of the coming shift in technology, Buxton said.

Microsoft announced at CES this week that the Xbox gaming device will be available in stores this holiday season. Project Natal is the code name for an Xbox 360 add-on that incorporates face, voice, gesture, and object recognition technology to give users a variety of ways to interact with the console, all without needing a controller.

It’s a “delightful” new way to spend time with friends and family playing games, watching TV shows and movies, and listening to music, said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division. Bach said Project Natal and other NUI-related products will offer more natural ways to interact with video games, computers, and other technology. “For me, when people talk about touch and voice technologies, or anything related to natural user interface, it all comes back to what’s most natural for the users,” Bach said in an interview before CES. “That’s why you’ll see a variety of user interfaces that are considered natural because each one is tuned to the environment in which it operates.”

The holiday 2010 release of Project Natal will come exactly one decade after the first Xbox console hit the shelves in the holiday season of 2000. “Natal is a next-generation experience that we’re actually delivering this generation,” said Aaron Greenberg, director of product management for Xbox 360. “And they don’t even need to buy a new console.” Project Natal and other Microsoft-focused NUI projects represent a fundamental shift in the way people can interact with technology.

Natural user interfaces describe a wide-ranging category of technology that is perhaps most easily identified by what it lacks—the traditional methods of input including mice, keyboards, and controllers. “The days are over where a one-size-fits-all interface is appropriate, or even acceptable,” said Bill Buxton, principal researcher at Microsoft.

The goal of natural interfaces is not to make the keyboard and mouse obsolete, said August de los Reyes, principal director of user experience for Microsoft Surface. Instead, NUI is meant to remove the mental and physical barriers to technology, to make computing feel more intuitive, and to expand the palette of ways users can experience technology. Whether it’s a receptionist and patient at a doctor’s office separated by a large computer monitor, a family sitting in a living room together in silence, or parents immersed in laptops and kids texting away on cell phones, technology is increasingly creating situations de los Reyes calls “connected but alone.” “Technology today isolates people,” de los Reyes said.

NUI and Microsoft Surface are “almost antitechnology solutions.” A member of the Advanced Studies Program at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and a former visiting associate at Oxford, de los Reyes has become a leader in the field of finding new and intuitive ways to interact with computers. He said natural interfaces are just the latest in a long line of evolving human–computer interaction.

In the past few decades, as computers became widely used, there was the command line interface (CLI) and its flashing cursor calling on users to type commands. Then, there was the graphical user interface (GUI) and its point-and-click mouse and desktop with icons and windows. Both interfaces were revolutionary in their time, and natural interfaces are the next step, de los Reyes said. Microsoft is “absolutely leading” in the category of natural interfaces, de los Reyes said. Microsoft has released, and is continually developing, a number of products that incorporate touch, gestures, speech, and more to make user–computer interaction more natural—more like the way humans interact with one another.

It’s a video game that a grandmother can play with her grandson, using intuitive body movements to compete rather than having to learn to use a controller, as with Project Natal for Xbox 360. Or it’s an in-car communications and entertainment system such as Microsoft Auto’s Ford SYNC that responds to a driver’s voice commands, playing favorite songs or answering text messages so that drivers can keep their eyes on the road, hands on the wheel, and mind on their driving. It’s also a table that acts as a collaborative massive multitouch-screen computer, such as Microsoft Surface, a voice-enabled Windows phone, or a Windows 7-based laptop that lets users navigate files or the Web by using their fingers or a pen tool. Though the human–computer relationship is becoming more personalized, it’s also becoming more personally contained. The Pixar movie “Wall•E” darkly portrayed one possible version of the future in which technology usurped even the most basic human interactions, with humans moving around in high-tech chairs (to save on walking) that meet their every need, including communication—even if the person they are communicating with is sitting right next to them. Though the movie’s message was a warning about technology surpassing humanism, it’s a future that’s not necessarily out of the question yet, said Buxton. “Without informed design, [technology] is far more likely to go bad than good,” Buxton said. “It’s too important and plays too large a part of our lives to leave these things to chance. The only way it’s going to come out right is if we really work hard on understanding that . . . it’s about people; it’s not about technology.” Technology for the sake of technology doesn’t interest Buxton. What interests him is when technology takes a more subordinate position—the Oscar-winning supporting actor to humankind’s starring role. “Technology today isolates people,” said August de los Reyes, principal director of user experience for Microsoft Surface. Natural user interfaces are “almost an antitechnology solution.” Buxton has won a number of awards and honors for his work, which advocates innovation, design, and “the appropriate consideration of human values and culture in the conception, implementation, and use of new technology.” He also frequently teaches, speaks, and writes on the subject, including a book and a regular column for BusinessWeek. “It’s not about interface design; it’s about ‘out of your face’ design,” Buxton said. “How do I get the technology out of my face so I can focus on the stuff that’s of interest to me—the material I’m reading, the film I’m viewing, the person I’m talking to, the problem I’m trying to solve—and doing so in a way that brings unexpected delight.” But creating a more natural relationship between user and technology is not merely a matter of simply removing mice, keyboards, buttons, and knobs or of adding new input methods such as speech, touch, and in-air gestures.

“The days are over where a one-size-fits-all interface is appropriate, or even acceptable,” Buxton said. Some technology, although advanced, is not appropriate or natural in certain situations. For example, text messaging is widely used, but driving or walking and texting is difficult, even dangerous. Speech-recognition technology works well for driving or walking but works poorly on an airplane where privacy is important or in a noisy, crowded restaurant. “The trick of elegant design is making sure you do the right thing the right way for the right person at the right time. What’s right here may be wrong there,” Buxton said. Microsoft leaders say no other company is as well situated to create new user interfaces across a range of devices and contexts. “These are all pieces of a larger puzzle that we are methodically trying to solve in this emerging field,” Buxton said.

Look at this video which shows NATAL project explained by David Hufford (PR Xbox)

What is KODU ? A language for KIDS to design and build new GAMES.

Kodu is a visual programming language made specifically for creating games.

Look at the video here-below to know more on this. 

It is designed to be accessible for children and enjoyable for anyone.

Go on Kodu Internet Site to discover it :

http://fuse.microsoft.com/kodu/

KEY FEATURES

Kodu provides an end-to-end creative environment for designing, building, and playing your own new games.

• High-level language incorporates real-world primitives: collision, color, vision

• Runs on Xbox 360 and PC

• Interactive terrain editor

• Bridge and path builder

• Terrain editor – create worlds of arbitrary shape and size

• 20 different characters with different abilities

PROGRAMMING AS A CREATIVE MEDIUM

 

The core of the Kodu project is the programming user interface. The language is simple and entirely icon-based. Programs are composed of pages, which are broken down into rules, which are further divided into conditions and actions.

Conditions are evaluated simultaneously.

The Kodu language is designed specifically for game development and provides specialized primitives derived from gaming scenarios.

Programs are expressed in physical terms, using concepts like vision, hearing, and time to control character behavior. While not as general-purpose as classical programming languages, Kodu can express advanced game design concepts in a simple, direct, and intuitive manner. The Game Load / Community Screen. Yes, we have a turtle. “Physical” sensors are used as rule input. Stick can’t walk but he packs a wallop.

 ANNOUNCING: TECHNICAL PREVIEW OF KODU FOR THE PC

 

Kodu for the PC incorporates several features that have been requested by schools in our early access program:

• Mouse and Keyboard user interface – game controller no longer a requirement

• Key improvements to the programming language

• A game export feature which allows users save games as documents that can be emailed or placed on servers for sharing

• Support for a broad range of hardware (an objective of the technical preview is to find hardware configurations that need additional work)

• Easy installation process for lab environments

The programming environment also runs on the Xbox, allowing rapid design iteration using only a game controller for input.

Kodu Game Lab can be found in the Xbox Marketplace in the Indie Games channel.

Create a Powerful Leadership Brand

I want to share with you, an interesting artcle regarding how to “create a powerful leadership brand”

I just had a very good discussion on this with Simon Vetter (coach and expert in behavioral change and personal brand management) who has done the article here-below with Patricia Wheeler.

My take-out of this article and discussion are following :

• In business, companies put tremendous efforts into building their brand because strong branding results in premium price, higher credibility, better reputation, and ultimately, higher revenue.
• So how do we combine leadership and branding?
• Ask yourself the following questions: What aspects of leadership do you want to be known for? In other words, what feelings do you evoke in people so they positively talk about you, refer you, promote you, and want to do business with you?
• Solicit feedback from the people around us; proactively ask for others’ point of view. ( thru a 360° online survey), or go to our co-workers and ask for their candid input on how they see us and how we impact others.
• We must ensure that our intentions are congruent with our actions. We all have good intentions, but too often our behaviors leave a different impression. Then we wonder why people respond incongruously to us, don’t do the things we ask them to do. Having good intentions is not enough; we must display the behaviors that best convey our intentions to others.
• Remember, we judge ourselves by our intentions and we judge others by their behaviors.

————————————-

Here-below, the full article.

Create a Powerful Leadership Brand

By Patricia Wheeler and Simon Vetter

What’s your leadership brand?

Think you don’t have one? Guess again! The term leadership brand is based on two important disciplines: branding and leadership.

First, let’s define branding. Simply put, branding is the perception that people have of a product, service, company or person. A brand stands for something; it is associated with an idea, an emotion, a standard of quality or a unique concept. We think of brands as mostly related to products and organizations….for example, Heinz 57; Exxon; Lexus. Think of brands that have powerful positive connotations for you. What characteristics do you perceive? What emotions does the brand evoke?

In business, companies put tremendous efforts into building their brand because strong branding results in premium price, higher credibility, better reputation, and ultimately, higher revenue.

The same concept applies to people. At this point, those most focused on building their brand tend to be service professionals and entrepreneurs who must differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace.

The crucial question in personal branding is: What are you known for? Leaders inside organizations increasingly recognize the importance of consciously developing their own personal brand, apart from the brand of their company.

Why should corporate executives be aware of and develop their personal brand? The reasons are similar to those involved in corporate or product branding. When individuals have a credible reputation, this equals a strong personal brand, which in turn leads to higher earning power, better chances for promotion, and more interesting opportunities.

In summary, they are more in demand and get more of what they want. Now, let’s consider leadership and its relationship to branding. The essence of leadership is contained in the following question: Do people want to follow you? We’ve all known executives who had “position power” but failed to connect with and inspire those they led. So how do we combine leadership and branding? Ask yourself the following questions: What aspects of leadership do you want to be known for? In other words, what feelings do you evoke in people so they positively talk about you, refer you, promote you, and want to do business with you?

Let’s take the case of Peter, a highly talented executive director of a Fortune 500 company. Although he was an intelligent, ambitious, no-nonsense manager, Peter was twice turned down for promotion to vice president. He was incredulous when others moved up and he didn’t. His boss, sensing Peter’s frustration, recommended he consult with a coach. Peter was originally skeptical when we encouraged him to reflect on his leadership brand and how he is perceived. He really pushed back, asserting that personal branding is insubstantial, that it pertained more to the sizzle than the steak. “Why should I spend my time on soft stuff like politics? What I’m known for is results, and that’s what really matters.” He strongly believed that his performance and numbers should speak for themselves, and that leaders shouldn’t have to “blow their own horn.” When we conducted a 360° feedback survey with Peter’s co-workers, we uncovered some crucial information about how he was perceived by others. He was, indeed, acknowledged for his drive, creative problem solving, critical thinking, financial acumen and industry knowledge. In addition, he was also perceived by bosses and peers as abrupt, disrespectful and dismissive of others people’s ideas. For example, when one of his peers expressed an idea in a meeting, Peter cut her off, quickly telling her why that idea wouldn’t work. By doing so, Peter discredited his colleague – not just her idea – and conveyed the message “I am smarter than you; your ideas don’t matter, mine do.”

Although Peter was efficient, smart and engaging, he sometimes came across as boastful, impolite, dismissive and disrespectful. This, in essence, was his leadership brand. There was a strong discrepancy between Pete’rs intentions and the message his actions carried. Even though he had the best interests of his company in mind, Peter wasn’t aware of the impact he had on others. This is called a blind spot, when others see something in us that we don’t. There are two lessons we can learn from Peter. First, solicit feedback from the people around us; proactively ask for others’ point of view. To gather this information, we can conduct a 360° online survey, or go to our co-workers and ask for their candid input on how they see us and how we impact others. The goal in this exercise is to see through our own blind spots. The second insight from Peter’s story is that we must ensure that our intentions are congruent with our actions. We all have good intentions, but too often our behaviors leave a different impression. Then we wonder why people respond incongruously to us, don’t do the things we ask them to do or, as in Pete’s case, don’t promote us. Having good intentions is not enough; we must display the behaviors that best convey our intentions to others. Remember, we judge ourselves by our intentions and we judge others by their behaviors.

10 things Microsoft did right in 2009

Very interesting post done by Joe Wilcox. Click here-below to know more. 

http://www.betanews.com/joewilcox/article/10-things-Microsoft-did-right-in-2009/1261377163To summarize, here-below, the 10 things Microsoft did right in 2009: 

Opened retail stores.

 

• Flawlessly launched Windows 7.
• Offered crapware-free PCs.
• Launched Bing.
• Released Security Essentials.
• Promoted Steven Sinofsky.
• Released Zune 4.0 software and Zune HD.
• Settled antitrust case with the European Union.
• Improved advertising.
• Debuted Silverlight 4.0.

Take a look at my interview in 9lives.

Take a look at my interview in 9lives by clicking HERE

This is in Dutch.

http://www.9lives.be/gamepublishers/microsoft/specials/eindejaarsinterview-2009-microsoft

Take a look at this new Site for BD Lovers !

 

Have a look at this site www.sandawe.com

This site targets the BD-lovers (it stands for bande dessinée or comic strip in French). 

They can invest in 10€-shares on their favorite projects. 

As return, they get up to 60% of the profit, the book signed by the author(s) and their name is printed in every copy as a thank you… 

This is called “crowdfunding”, which they are the first to implement in this field.

6 Tech Trends for 2010

James Rogers, Professor at Earlham,Richmond, postet his list of six top tech trends for 2010.

This has been published in TheStreet.com. If you want to look at the details, just click HERE

Here-below, a summary of this list :

• Cloud Computing

  • Cloud services offer computer power or data storage via the Internet.
  • Cloud computing has been one of the tech sector’s biggest catchphrases of the last couple of years.

• China

  • IDC estimates that the Chinese IT services market grew from $7.7 billion in 2007 to $9.5 billion last year, and is expected to experience a compound annual growth rate of almost 14% between 2008 and 2013.
  • Economic Observer News estimates that around $53 billion of China’s $585 billion economic stimulus package will be spent on technology projects, something that has certainly grabbed attention on the other side of the Pacific.

• Green IT

  • This will be a hyper growth area.
  • Green technology will be big business in 2010, hitting everything from smartphones to servers to storage devices.

• Tablets

  • Tablets will be the new communication entry point.

• Healthcare IT

  • The debate about U.S. healthcare reform has been one of the biggest political issues of 2009
  • Technology will  be part of the ambitious Obama’s healthcare plans

• Virtualization

  • Virtualization, which allows users to divide physical hardware into multiple ‘virtual’ chunks, is seen as an effective way for companies to juggle myriad of operating systems and applications
  • Virtualization will be even more delpoyed in 2010 and continously penetrate IT infrastructure.

All the best for 2010 !

We wish you Health…So you may enjoy each day in comfort.

We wish you the Love of friends and family…And Peace within your heart.

We wish you Wisdom to choose priorities…For those things that really matter in life.

We wish you Generosity so you may share…All good things that come to you.

We wish you the best of everything…That you so well deserve.

We wish you plenty energy in 2010 … Go to my BLOG for some tips on this (CLICK HERE)

Merzel Family.