New dot-com bubble on its way?

Remember the dot-com bubble from 1995-2001? I do and it seems that some folks believe it will happen again, in the not too distant future. They even made an Youtube clip to share their thoughts.

What do you thing? When’s the bubble going to burst?

SyncToy: free backup software from Microsoft

Microsoft isn’t exactly a freeware lover, but from time to time they release small software packages that make our lives a little better, like LiveWriter, which I use to write this post.

Today I’ve came upon a little piece of software, SyncToy, a backup utility for synchronizing folders between two storage spaces (usually an internal hard drive and an external device).

Contrary to other Microsoft software SyncToy is very intuitive to use. You set up pairs of folders and define the way they sync: any changes between them is replicated, changes are replicated only in one direction, any changes are replicated minus Delete actions (you basically continuously backup one folder, keeping all files).

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A day with Michael Porter

Michael PorterRomania’s biggest business event of the year was “Strategy and Leadership“, with professor Michel Porter, held yesterday in Bucharest. If you don’t know who Michel E. Porter is don’t despair, neither did I till three days ago. Fortunately I’m interested in bringing up my business skills so I got the change to attend the event.

First, before Michael Porter’s presentation, some local speakers started the day, sharing with us they’re experience in the entrepreneurial field. Some were ok, others boring, but that’s not the point. The point is that I was impressed by the variety of people present there, from CEOs to entry level managers, from financial to clothing sector. Everyone paid 600 Euros to learn strategy from a two hours presentation of word’s number one business thinker: Michael Porter.

In the next few posts I’ll tell you all about setting up a strategy for your business and how to position and differentiate yourself from the crowd. I’m pretty eager to see your reaction and your thoughts for your experience, so stay tuned.

"A picture is worth a 1000 words" may change soon

If you like to insert pictures into your blog post you already know how hard it is to find images without copyright. Of course there are websites which offer free downloadable pictures, but the image pool isn’t always satisfactory.

corbis picadd This might change as Corbis, a well known stock photography website, is currently testing a service, PicApp, which will allow bloggers to download for free pictures and embed them in their blog posts. Of course there’s a catch: each picture will display some kind of advertising. It’s not clear yet if it will be an over layer or something which will appear when users move the mouse cursor over the picture.

The only thing that I find a downside is what will happen if I embed a lower resolution image with a link to the bigger version. It isn’t clear yet how Corbis plans to track the pictures and display ads on them. Also I don’t know if they intend to share revenues with fellow bloggers. I sure hope they will.

I’m not alone here

From now on my little brother, Vlad, will join me with some special posts about future stuff (I can’t sum it up better). Till it will write something new I’ll be publishing some stuff from the FuturaLogo blog, where he posted them at first. Let’s see what we have today.

Definition

I believe tomorrow is the inevitable consequence of today. Tomorrow can only happen in one way. A way that cannot be precisely predicted because of the almost infinite variables that make it incomputable.

The human kind needs a system of beliefs to make it go around. My system is based on science. Always young, it’s always been there. Even though, it cannot predict precisely the future, based on its principles and theories, we can draw pictures of the future.

Christmas wish list - a must for holidays

From childhood we are used to wish lists for Christmas. I even remember the times when I used to draw what I wanted and write a little story explaining to Santa why I deserved the gifts.

Time has passed, but the wish list remained, even if now I’m buying the gifts. So without furthermore tattle let’s see what I want this year.

I’ll start with less inexpensive ones and then advance to more “serious” products:

fossil CH2490

A watch - Fossil Men’s Blue watch CH2490

I had a sporty Swatch which I bought a couple of years ago but the battery emptied and the screen broke after a knock out hit from a wall (I know, technically not the wall hit my watch…).

Now I’m thinking of a Fossil, because they’re relatively cheap but precise nonetheless. The CH2490 is a perfect combination of style and spottiness. At least that’s what I believe.

Fossil CH2490’s case is made from stainless steel and is water resistant up to 100 meters. For 146$ it’s a bargain and should suit a wide range of tastes.

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About page is on

Finally the About page in on. It took me some time but now it’s done. Enjoy reading about John Pope

I’ve also added some fake ads, to make the website more money oriented :)

First Google Android Demo looks interesting

Google Android After announcing Android, Google released the SDK and videos that show the capabilities of the platform. I’m not so sad now that GPhone doesn’t exist, as the software capabilities of the next generation mobile OS from Google, Android, look promising enough to start saving money for my next smartphone.

As you expect from Google, their software suite will heavily interact online with the existing applications like Google Maps and their search engine. If that’s not your thing you can always write your own code, and maybe with the 10 millions dollars prize offered by Google for the best app for Android.

Watch the video after the jump to learn more, of go here for more videos about the technology behind Android.

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Finding ideas for an online startup

business bright idea Every business starts with an idea. Then comes the business plan. Usually the latter is easier to do that finding that idea, which in time will bring you money, after all that’s what we’re after.

Don’t expect me to give you ideas about your next business. I’m just trying to guide you a little and even tell you what you shouldn’t do in the first place. So, let’ begin.

1. Don’t try something in an area that’s already overcrowded. Don’t try to make the next Facebook, search engine or video sharing website. Look at Microsoft, they can’t beat Google in search no matter what they’ve tried, and they have power, contrary to you. You have greater chances of success in a niche business, where competition is not fierce. Too small and you’ll end up the sheriff in a two people town.

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What is a Technology Evangelist and how to become one

Technology Evangelist, a term I’ve heard this year, made me investigate it a little, to see what’s really about. The Wikipedia explanation is pretty short but straightforward, but there’s always more to add about it so here’s my view on this.

Let’s start with the origin of the evangelist, which is a religious term that describes a person that preaches the word of God and converts people to Christianity. Similar to a Christian Evangelist, an Technology, or Technical Evangelist spreads the word on new technologies and tries to make people use them.

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