Jenna Riot helps BrownDownCrown takeover the World

Well, yes we can. Never underestimate the power of hungry brown people with fame and glory being dangled in front of them like a deep fried american cheese taco wrapped in bacon served with a side of sour cream.

BDCTV’s sexy co-host Jenna Riot has decided to use her world takeover talents to infiltrate the fashion industry! What better way to do that but to become Forever 21’s poster girl. Once they accept her as their own she will preach to them the values of BrownDownCrown and our household name recognition will soon become a reality.

Ms. Riot is now one of the finalists in the Faith 21 (F21’s plus size line) ‘Most Stylish Gal Search‘. Not only will she win $500 (which is a lot of Popeyes!) but she will be flown out to LA for a photoshoot and meet the foxxxy Mia Tyler (daughter of lead singer of Aerosmith). BrownDownCrown and rockstar go hand in hand so you see – this plan is almost foolproof.

BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP! VOTE FOR JENNA RIOT EVERY DAY ON THE FOREVER 21 WEBSITE TO ENSURE SHE WINS SO BROWNDOWNCROWN CAN TAKE OVER THE WORLD!

click here to vote — you have to register yr email address — you get one vote every day until December 7th. Tell your friends. Yr frenemies. And the tweens — whatever u do make sure you text a tween to vote for Jenna Riot.

News Corp owned MySpace will purchase independent online music service Imeem, in a deal which is reported to be $1million in cash. Imeem has been in financial trouble for a while, and has run through an estimated $30million in investor dollars.

Among the investors, all four major record labels, although earlier this year Warner Music wrote off its investment in the service. In 2007, Imeem became the first ad supported on-demand online music service to negotiate deals with all four major labels. Those deals included equity which made partners of the four major labels. MySpace also has partnership deals in place with the four major labels.

A few months ago MySpace acquired online music service iLike, with 50 million registered listeners, for a reported $20million. Comscore estimated that Imeem had 16 million unique visitors in September. It’s impossible to compare these two numbers except to say that it doesn’t sound like Imeem is a lot smaller than iLike to me.

MySpace now owns two of the five online music services that announced partnerships with Google’s new music platform. The way that works is that Google drives traffic to partner sites who play the music and pay the royalties.

Recently Spotify delayed their US launch due to problems negotiating a license for ad supported on demand streaming with the record companies. Plug that info into the fact that Imeem was about to get acquired by MySpace for so little, and it’s easy to understand why Spotify is meeting with some opposition. Seems like the record companies want to limit their exposure on the ad supported revenue model…

ODScommerce’s solutions and services are geared towards Small and Medium Businesses by understanding the challenges faced by these businesses and catering to them. By partnering with ODScommerce, clients would experience the following:

Flexible Solutions made to order

ODScommerce offers solutions that are customized and scaled to meet the needs of individual sourcing organizations, no matter where they are in their implementation of e- Sourcing.

ODScommerce combines a SaaS architecture platform with consulting services to provide a complete Knowledge Process solution for Small to Medium size businesses in sourcing and procurement. Customers may choose to utilize ODScommerce’s complete solution or incorporate a selection of services – such as Spend Analysis, Sourcing Management, or Contract Management – into their sourcing processes.

Each solution adapts to existing business models with procurement /sourcing processes, allowing companies to control the way they acquire goods and services. In as little as 24 hours, the configurable ODScommerce solution can be implemented and fully functional.

Flexible Deployment

In addition, ODScommerce’s OnDemandservices can be deployed in different ways that provide customers with the level of support they need and the control they desire such as self-serviced, managed and full-service.

Clients could also choose project services where ODScommerce provides professional consulting services for those customers looking to expand on the event services, move into an unexplored areas, or improve upon functionality that already exist in their organizations.

Furthermore, ODScommerce provides a compelling portfolio of Knowledge /Business Process Outsourcing Services that can be counted on to deliver value by a professional team that understands business drivers and what is necessary to bring clients to world class standards to compete in the global environment. These services are available with the ODScommerce solution as individual services or add-ons to the event services.

Read More Here!

The latest trend for telecom and media companies is to bundle their services together and promote a money saving package deal. This trend started with cable companies like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter and Cox and moved to national phone carriers who now offer TV and broadband in select areas on top of traditional phone service. Does bundling television, internet, and phone save you money, or is it just another advertising contrivance? I’ve been covering digital products and services for years and in this article I’m going to look at these package deals and find out if going to one company for all your TV, broadband, and phone needs is the best or if shopping around is the way to go.

None of us want to turn over all our essential services to one individual company. It makes us uneasy. Will I be locked into a contract and have to deal with rate hikes? Or will I have to buy expensive equipment without the opportunity for a refund if I change companies. When examining competing offers and promotions from digital providers these are all valid concerns. After your special deal comes to an end what do you do next? I’ve found that the level of competition is so great among these companies rate hikes are few and far between. In fact, the drive to keep customers is so great that even when promos or special deals end, very often existing customers can extend their offer or move to a new promotion. It just might take a simple phone call from you to get the latest deal. A few cable businesses, such as Charter Communications, now provide consumers the opportunity for locking in prices for up to 2 years if they purchase cable TV, high speed internet, and digital phone digital package. Whether you get stuck with any special hardware that you’re responsible for comes down to the individual company. The type of equipment you’re going to get from your provider is usually just a digital receiver for your television and a broadband modem if you order high speed Internet. It’s possible you may have a DVR – digital video recorder – as well if you’ve ordered a higher tier package. Usually, companies will not charge you surprise fees for using their equipment unless it’s lost or severely damaged. They may charge you a fee for extra digital receivers, or for the broadband modem if you don’t buy your own. Contact the providers in your area to find out their exact polices. If you move from the area or change service providers you’re usually just responsible for returning the equipment to the local provider’s office. If you haven’t lost the equipment and it still works it’s unlikely you will have to pay anything. I do not see a reason for customers to discount a bundle over any worries they have about the hardware. Every digital company has basically the same rules and regulations about equipment fees and how to return them.

Let’s check out the digital service bundles you can now purchase for your home. Satellite become popular again in the 90s when they installed small dishes that delivered higher quality than cable. Besides generally speaking being less expensive, until the last few years satellite TV offered a greater variety of channels than cable did. But innovation in the satellite industry has been fear and far between over the past decade. Limited by their own technology, Dish and DirecTV are struggling to compete in the world of broadband and digital phone service. Satellite TV prices are competitive, satellite broadband not a good option unless you have no other choice and there is no voice offering. Lately, telco companies including AT&T, Qwest, and Verizon now offer digital TV, broadband, and telephone bundles. This happens through a limited fiber-optic network available mainly in cities and by partnering with satellite and broadband providers in order to offer internet and TV. Even though a telco company offers quality and competitive pricing, I still don’t recommend it for all three services. You are really just getting a repackaged product in most areas where fiber optic networks aren’t accessible. And if one of the companies reselling their product through the telco alters cost terms or gets out of the deal with your telco altogether, where do you end up?

So where am I suggesting consumers spend their home entertainment and communications dollar? Currently I am a huge fan of the bundle options that are offered by many of the large cable companies. Cable companies today carry all the digital and HD programming that’s offered by Dish or DirecTV. Plus, you can get great add-ons like DVR boxes and on demand service that satellite is only beginning to deliver. Cable is currently superior because you’re getting digital cable TV, broadband internet and digital phone from one source that will support you in all three services. However, for those who are just in the market for television service it might pay to consider satellite or teco because the competition is higher. But when you get two or three services together you can’t beat the products and discounts cable providers offer. Investigate this for yourself and consider each feature of the major cable, telco, and satellite companies by comparing them to one another. Use this knowledge to find the very best television, broadband internet, and phone deal for you!

Find Comcast Cable TV, High Speed Internet and Phone Deals available online!

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The current communications and home entertainment fad from the major communications and media businesses is bundling two or more services into one discount package. Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and other cable providers began the trend and now you’ll find it all over the place. Does bundling television, internet, and phone save you money, or is it just another advertising contrivance? I’ve been covering digital products and services for years and in this article I’m going to look at these package deals and find out if going to one company for all your TV, broadband, and phone needs is the best or if shopping around is the way to go.

IFor some of us it’s hard to swallow the idea of turning over all our home entertainment and communications needs to just one provider. It just doesn’t feel right for some reason. Can they instantly increase the price and I’ll be stuck with I contract I am unable to get out of? Do I have to sign a contract to pay for their equipment or pay fees if I switch providers? When examining competing offers and promotions from digital providers these are all valid concerns. Let’s look at each point individually starting with the concern about what happens when a special offer ends. Luckily, rate hikes are rare because these companies are so competitive. In fact, the drive to keep customers is so great that even when promos or special deals end, very often existing customers can extend their offer or move to a new promotion. It just might take a simple phone call from you to get the latest deal. Some cable companies, like Charter Communications, are currently giving users the chance to lock in rates for as long as two years if they agree to take a complete package deal. Whether you get stuck with any special hardware that you’re responsible for comes down to the individual company. The kind of equipment you’ll obtain from the company you go with is typically a digital TV receiver and broadband modem if you purchase Internet. If you ordered an upper level package it may come with a DVR box. Most often, the company will not charge you any surprise fees if you are using the equipment in the normally expected manner. You might have to pay a tiny monthly fee for more digital receivers or a monthly rental fee for a broadband modem if you do not buy one yourself. Call the companies in your service region to learn their precise hardware guidelines. If you move from the area or change service providers you’re usually just responsible for returning the equipment to the local provider’s office. Assuming the equipment is not lost or damaged, you probably will not have to pay anything additional. For this reason I don’t see any cause for customers to discount a bundle offer over any concern about the equipment the provider sends you. Each of the major digital companies have essentially the same policies regarding hardware fees and returns which don’t change whether you’re getting all your services from one company or several.

Let’s check out the digital service bundles you can now purchase for your home. Satellite saw a big resurgence in the 90’s when they introduced small dish’s that could be installed on the side of a house and all-digital channels that at the time were far clearer than the signal being delivered by cable companies. At the time Satellite TV had more channels at a lower price than cable. For the past ten years or so satellite TV hasn’t changed much at all. Limited by their own technology, Dish and DirecTV are struggling to compete in the world of broadband and digital phone service. Even though television prices are still very competitive, satellite has a poor Internet option that’s only useful to homes in very rural areas and no phone service option. National communication businesses like Qwest, Verizon, and AT&T have recently been providing high-speed Internet, digital television, and cell and landline telephone packages. They can now do this through a slowly growing fiber-optic network available in metropolitan areas and by partnering with satellite and broadband providers to cover the TV and Internet portions of the package. Even though the quality and price point is there, I’m currently not recommending consumers go with a telco company for all three services. You are really just getting a repackaged product in most areas where fiber optic networks aren’t accessible. And if one of the companies reselling their product through the telco alters cost terms or gets out of the deal with your telco altogether, where do you end up?

So where am I recommending customers spend their money for entertainment and communications? The bundled service packages that cable companies are offering can save you some money. Today’s cable companies offer a complete digital and HD programming lineup that matches and often beats what Dish and DirecTV offer. Plus, you can get great add-ons like DVR boxes and on demand service that satellite is only beginning to deliver. And unlike the telco’s, you’re getting digital cable tv, broadband internet, and digital phone service all from one company that will support all three products. However, for those who are just in the market for television service it might pay to consider satellite or teco because the competition is higher. But when you get two or three services together you can’t beat the products and discounts cable providers offer. I suggest using my article as a guide and comparing the features each provider offers for yourself. Use this information to locate the best value in cable television, broadband internet, and telephone bargains available to you.

Find Comcast Cable TV, High Speed Internet and Phone Deals available online!

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In Italia molte notizie passano sotto silenzio. Molte. Quelle politiche a volte trovano qualche paladino che le diffonde. Il problema è il silenzio silenzioso della cultura italiana. Del resto il berlusconismo è la quintessenza dell’ignoranza. La Cultura con la C maiuscola è diventata CULtura con il CUL maiuscolo e in bella mostra e il sistema mediatico sembra adagiarsi salvo rare eccezioni.

Un bel giorno c’era il cinema. Il cinema vero, quello con la grotta buia, e le ombre che danzano sul suo fondo. C’era la verità e la rappresentazione, l’appropriazione del reale tramite l’irreale. C’era il cinema. C’erano i film fatti per il cinema. E’ del 19 novembre 2009 un accordo fra Mediaset Premium e Universal, Warner e Medusa* per mandare in onda on demand i film in contemporanea alla sala al costo di 10 euro, dal 2010. Evviva. Una comodità. Ora masse di cerebrolesi che già entravano nei cinema una volta l’anno, cioè a Natale, potranno gustarsi l’ultima pellicola holliwoodiana a casa per 10 euro. 10 euro. Si vuole ammazzare un luogo sacro come il cinema per 10 euro. E nessuno li ferma, anzi. Ben venga. 10 euro son pochini per destare la coscienza dell‘italiano medio.

*Notare quanto Mediaset Premium e Medusa facciano riferimento allo stesso soggetto. Fare accordi con se stessi si sa, è sempre conveniente e non scandalizza mai nessuno.

Eindelijk is er dan in Nederland een legale manier om films te downloaden. Veamer.nl, gepowered door SBS en Hoek & Sonépouse is een platform waar films ‘on demand’ bekeken en gedownload kunnen worden. Wat betreft de downloadmogelijkheid ben je als gebruiker dus in het bezit van de rechten van de film; net als kopen.

Dergelijke platformen zijn er uiteraard in veelvoud op het internet, alleen niet voor de Nederlandse doelgroep. De platformen in Amerika streamen niet naar Nederland en bieden niet de mogelijkheid voor bijvoorbeeld Nederlandse ondertiteling.

Kwaliteit
Onderstaand een screenshot van ‘The Hangover’, full HD kennen ze dus helaas niet bij Veamer. Van het downloaden van de film krijg je ook nog niet echt een warm gevoel. ‘Je hebt ongeveer 1,5 gigabyte ruimte op je harde schijf nodig voor een filmbestand’, aldus Veamer. Om die reden hebben ze Blue Ray niet uitgevonden. 8 Gb per film is de kwaliteit die je zou willen, haarfijne kwaliteit; daarvoor koop je een film! Oké, je betaald dan ook zeg € 15,- om een film te kopen, maar bandbreedte kost tegenwoordig toch niets meer. Die kwaliteit kan dus wel omhoog. Dan kun je in mijn ogen nog beter bij Bol.com de film op Blue Ray of DVD kopen.

Uiteraard zijn de te huren / te downloaden films onderheving aan de mediawetgeving en staat op het moment van schrijven in de lijst verwacht ‘The Hangover’. Tja, die hadden we dan twee maanden geleden al gezien in de bios. Conclusie: Veamer is helaas toch niet dé manier om van die belachelijke prijzen van € 9,- per kaartje bij de Pathé af te komen. Bij Bol.com is de DVD van The Hangover overigens al te bestellen voor € 16,99, de Blue Ray versie is duurder, te weten € 27,99.

Nog een aantal interessante opmerkingen van Veamer zelf over het platform.

Kan ik de serie of film die ik huur of koop ook al meteen bekijken?
Ja, je kunt direct na betaling kijken. Bij huur heb je wel een pc of laptop met internetverbinding nodig. Bij koop hoeft dit niet, dan kun je bijvoorbeeld ook je laptop meenemen naar een andere plek. Ideaal voor onderweg, in de tuin of in een andere ruimte in je huis.

Wat is het verschil tussen huren en kopen?
Afhankelijk van de rechten die wij krijgen van de filmmaatschappijen kun je films huren of kopen. Series kun je voorlopig alleen huren. Niet alle films zijn zowel te huur als te koop, maar is slechts één optie mogelijk. Huren betekent dat je een titel streamt (bekijkt op veamer.nl zelf). Je krijgt na betaling tot maximaal 30 dagen de tijd (afhankelijk van de licentie die Veamer van de filmmaatschappijen heeft gekregen) om de titel op te starten. Daarna krijg je, afhankelijk van de titel 24 of 48 uur de tijd om de titel te bekijken. Kopen betekent downloaden op je pc of laptop. De titel wordt dan van jou, je kunt vervolgens zo vaak kijken als je wilt. Je krijgt na betaling 48 uur de tijd om te downloaden en je kunt daarvoor 5 pogingen doen. Uiteraard zie je het verschil tussen huren en kopen ook terug in de prijs van de titel.

Kan ik als Apple/Mac gebruiker een film bekijken?
Nee, dit kan niet. Bij het digitaliseren van de afleveringen is gebruik gemaakt van Microsofts Digital Rights Management. Apple computers ondersteunen deze versie van DRM helaas niet. Het is daarom niet mogelijk om vanaf een Apple computer toegang te krijgen tot de films en series.

Kan ik ook gratis films of series bekijken?
Nee. Alleen de trailers kunnen gratis bekeken worden, er zijn geen gratis films of series te bekijken.

Kan ik de films ook opslaan of branden?
Ja, het is mogelijk om de gekochte films op te slaan. Klik op de knop ‘Kopen’ en volg de instructies. Branden wordt door de filmmaatschappijen niet toegestaan.

In my last post, I created a timeline of a day in my life with social media. I think an interesting topic that I have not covered yet is online dating. Even dating, finding an interpersonal connection and attraction to someone, has made its way to the web.

Online Dating is nothing new, but I think it’s an interesting topic because it seems like more college students are starting to try it. Rowan is a campus with 10,000 students, and it is very likely that there is a perfect match for everyone with that many people in the pool, however, meeting that person is an overwhelming task.

Facebook has a personals application that allows you to use Facebook to connect with other singles ready to mingle on the site.

YouTube users can even search the site for user personal ads.

Here is a list of some of the most popular online dating sites.

Ok Cupid

It is a free dating site that is popular among the college age group. It has the option to connect with Facebook, and then it will take information from your profile and match you with someone with similar interests.

EHarmony
Eharmony matches couples based on a compatibility test developed from information the user enters. You can also choose different demographics based on your dating preferences. These preferences include, but are not limited to Christian Dating, Black Dating, Jewish Dating, Hispanic Dating, Senior Dating, and Local Dating.

Dating OnDemand
Comcast will send a camera crew out to bars and other local hang outs, and ask singles to answer a few questions to create a video profile. The profile is available on their site as well as on demand. Users can aslo create their own profile with a webcam or personal camcorder, and upload it to the site.

Match.com
Match.com allows users to upload 26 photos, and has free writing spaces. When perusing a profile you can see pictures as well as responses to various questions that allow you to get to know someone online. All communication occurs with an anonymous e-mail address — name and contact information are withheld until the users decide they want to share. Match.com also allows for demographic preferences.

The latest trend in home entertainment and communications from the big media and telcom companies is to bundle two or more services into a single discounted package. This trend started with cable companies like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter and Cox and moved to national phone carriers who now offer TV and broadband in select areas on top of traditional phone service. Does purchasing bundled TV, internet and phone services truly help you spend less money? For years, I have been covering digital services and products and in this piece I’ll give you a look at these package deals and let you know whether going to one company for all of your broadband, television, and telephone requirements is ideal or whether shopping around is the best method.

IFor some of us it’s hard to swallow the idea of turning over all our home entertainment and communications needs to just one provider. It just doesn’t feel right for some reason. We wonder if the cable or telco provider will increase the amount I have to pay without warning and I’ill be obligated to pay it no matter what because I signed a contract? Will I be tied to special equipment or hardware that I’ll be charged for or stuck with if I change companies? These are all normal concerns when you are shopping around for digital home services. Why don’t we review each of the points separately beginning with the issue about what actually takes place once the discount offer is no longer available. I’ve found that the level of competition is so great among these companies rate hikes are few and far between. In fact, the drive to keep customers is so great that even when promos or special deals end, very often existing customers can extend their offer or move to a new promotion. It just might take a simple phone call from you to get the latest deal. Some cable companies, like Charter Communications, are currently giving users the chance to lock in rates for as long as two years if they agree to take a complete package deal. The hardware issue comes down to the terms and conditions of each provider. Usually all you get from a provider is a digital receiver for each television in your house and a broadband modem if you order high speed Internet. If you ordered an upper level package it may come with a DVR box. Most often, the company will not charge you any surprise fees if you are using the equipment in the normally expected manner. You may be charged a small monthly fee for additional digital receivers or a monthly broadband modem rental fee if you don’t purchase one of your own. Call the companies in your service region to learn their precise hardware guidelines. If you change address or switch providers you’re generally only responsible for giving the equipment back to the office of the local company. Assuming the equipment is not lost or damaged, you probably will not have to pay anything additional. This is why I don’t see any reason for consumers to not take advantage of a bundle offer over any apprehension about the equipment provided by the company. Every digital company has basically the same rules and regulations about equipment fees and how to return them.

Now lets look at the bundles you can currently get from the major players in the digital services space. Satellite become popular again in the 90s when they installed small dishes that delivered higher quality than cable. Satellite TV also had more overall programming than cable at a price that was usually lower than cable. But innovation in the satellite industry has been fear and far between over the past decade. Limited by their own technology, Dish and DirecTV are struggling to compete in the world of broadband and digital phone service. Even though television prices are still very competitive, satellite has a poor Internet option that’s only useful to homes in very rural areas and no phone service option. National communication businesses like Qwest, Verizon, and AT&T have recently been providing high-speed Internet, digital television, and cell and landline telephone packages. This happens through a limited fiber-optic network available mainly in cities and by partnering with satellite and broadband providers in order to offer internet and TV. The technology, where the fiber-optic infrastructure exists, is exciting, but I just can’t recommend subscribers jump on the telco ship yet. You are really just getting a repackaged product in most areas where fiber optic networks aren’t accessible. Plus, if one of these partners wants to change pricing terms or pull out of the deal with your telco where does that leave you?

So where am I recommending customers spend their money for entertainment and communications? Currently I’m an advocate of bundle deals available from major cable companies. Today’s cable companies offer a complete digital and HD programming lineup that matches and often beats what Dish and DirecTV offer. In addition, cable customers get add-ons such as digital video recorder boxes and on demand service which satellite is just starting to provide. With a cable bundle package you will only have to deal with one company if there are problems and you need support. However, for those who are just in the market for television service it might pay to consider satellite or teco because the competition is higher. However, when you order 2 or even 3 services at the same time it is difficult to beat the products and deals the cable companies can give you. You should evaluate for yourself every aspect of the main cable and satellite offers. Use this information to locate the best value in TV, broadband internet, and telephone bargains available to you.

Find the best Comcast Cable TV and Broadband Internet Deals available online here!

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The latest trend in home entertainment and communications from the big media and telcom companies is to bundle two or more services into a single discounted package. The bundling craze began with cable providers like Time Warner, Cox, Comcast, and Charter, but now telco and satellite providers are bundling services as well. Does bundling television, internet, and phone save you money, or is it just another advertising contrivance? This article will compare and contrast the digital products that the leading companies provide their customers with and find out who offers the best deal.

It’s hard to turn all your home digital needs over to a single company. It makes us uneasy. Will I be locked into a contract and have to deal with rate hikes? These are all normal concerns when you are shopping around for digital home services. So what does happen when your original promotion expires? Luckily, rate hikes are rare because these companies are so competitive. In fact, the drive to keep customers is so great that even when promos or special deals end, very often existing customers can extend their offer or move to a new promotion. It just might take a simple phone call from you to get the latest deal. Some cable companies, like Charter Communications, are currently giving users the chance to lock in rates for as long as two years if they agree to take a complete package deal. The question of what happens to the hardware a service provider gives you comes down to the individual business an their policies. The kind of equipment you’ll obtain from the company you go with is typically a digital TV receiver and broadband modem if you purchase Internet. If you ordered an upper level package it may come with a DVR box. Generally, though, most companies are not going to charge you any unexpected fees for the normal use of their equipment. A small monthly fee may be charged for a monthly broadband modem rental fee if you do not purchase one of your own. You may also be charged a small fee for additional digital receivers for multiple TV’s. Contact the providers in your area to find out their exact polices. If you change address or switch providers you’re generally only responsible for giving the equipment back to the office of the local company. If you haven’t lost the equipment and it still works it’s unlikely you will have to pay anything. I do not see a reason for customers to discount a bundle over any worries they have about the hardware. Each of the major digital companies have essentially the same policies regarding hardware fees and returns which don’t change whether you’re getting all your services from one company or several.

Now we can take a closer look at exactly what kind of bundle packages you can currently purchase. Satellite become popular again in the 90s when they installed small dishes that delivered higher quality than cable. Additionally, Satellite television had more complete programming than cable for a generally lower price. But in recent years the satellite industry has remained stagnant. Dish and DirecTV are having trouble competing because they’ve pushed satellite technology as far as they can. Even though television prices are still very competitive, satellite has a poor Internet option that’s only useful to homes in very rural areas and no phone service option. Lately, telco companies including AT&T, Qwest, and Verizon now offer digital TV, broadband, and telephone bundles. They use super-fast fiber-optic networks – currently limited to large cities and not available in many areas – or more likely resell service through satellite and local internet providers. Even though the quality and price point is there, I’m currently not recommending consumers go with a telco company for all three services. Since they are partnering with other companies for the TV or broadband service, you’re merely getting a repackaged product that puts more hands in the pot and can create service headaches. And if one of the companies reselling their product through the telco alters cost terms or gets out of the deal with your telco altogether, where do you end up?

So what company do I think customers should get their cable and broadband from? Currently I am a huge fan of the bundle options that are offered by many of the large cable companies. Today’s cable companies offer a complete digital and HD programming lineup that matches and often beats what Dish and DirecTV offer. You can get awesome add-ons including DVR boxes that the satellite industry is just starting to bring to it’s customers. Cable is currently superior because you’re getting digital cable TV, broadband internet and digital phone from one source that will support you in all three services. However, for those who are just in the market for television service it might pay to consider satellite or teco because the competition is higher. With bundled services though, you can’t beat the savings you get from the cable industry. I suggest using my article as a guide and comparing the features each provider offers for yourself. Research each package and use the knowledge you’ve learned to find the best deal!

Check out these Comcast Cable TV, High Speed Internet and Phone Deals available online!

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The concept of collaborative procurement, or the ability for buyers to work together across organizations to purchase from many suppliers all in one place, is not new. However the ability to effectively execute on this ideology certainly is.

Cloud architecture is a dependency for effective collaboration where buyers and suppliers can proactively initiate multi-layered, mutually beneficial events to dynamically generate supply chain cost savings. The general acceptance of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) has now made Collaborative eProcurement possible and the related benefits a reality.

Who needs Collaborative eProcurement?

Buyers within or across organizations who can work together on spend management verses those who procure alone are best suited to Collaborative eProcurement. Sectors with organizations that don’t compete against each other with procurement, such as government, health and education, can achieve considerable benefits.

Sectors that are traditionally decentralized and somewhat fragmented in the way they spend often have significant challenges with effective procurement. Collaborative eProcurement is certainly one of the solutions – it supports shared services and the streamlining of operations in order to do more with less. Of course it also reduces costs.

SaaS, Collaborative eProcurement just requires an internet connection so no matter where buyers are, they can access their organization’s buying agreements and purchase related products & services.

If you search the internet for collaborative procurement, you will see discussions dating back to 2001 and earlier on the theory of multi-to-multi transactions and more of a network approach to B2B procurement. Unfortunately Collaborative eProcurement is one of those things that is easier to talk about than do, but now with the emergence of better technology it is now absolutely achievable.

It’s still not easy though, as often business processes including policies and procedures need to be more flexible to go across organizations from suppliers’ supply chain’s to customers’ customers. Technology needs to be multi-tenant, meaning multiple organizations, whether groups of buyers or groups of suppliers, need to be playing in or at least accessing the same environment. However the most important component of effective Collaborative eProcurement is people. People make changes to status-quo happen, and in the case of Collaborative eProcurement, it takes a CFO/CIO and/or a strategic procurement leader to maximize the benefits.

Fact:

• By pooling demand within and across organizations lower unit prices are achieved, economies of scale result, unit costs reduce.
• By utilizing world-class eProcurement for P2P, procure-to-pay processes are streamlined, time is reduced, errors are reduced, and costs are reduced.
• By utilizing a supplier network, master data maintenance can be managed by suppliers and buying organizations can buy through their one eProcurement window across all suppliers. Compliance is increased, consistency increased and internal customer service improved.
• By accessing an organizations segment of the cloud, buyers can only see the suppliers and contracts they are eligible to see.
• Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) contracts can be accessed through the cloud to ensure buyers are buying from the right contracts at the right time.
• Social networking techniques are applied to procurement during Collaborative eProcurement events. Buyers and suppliers can discuss various aspects of a bid and information shared where appropriate across participants and organizations.
• Collaborative eProcurement is available today but only through a true 100% multi-tenant, Software-as-a-Service cloud consisting of one segmented marketplace (not many duplicated marketsites), allowing one connection in for suppliers irrespective of how many customers they have and one connection in for customers irrespective of how many suppliers and buyers they have in their community.
• Collaborative eProcurement compliments existing investments in ERP/finance and even other eProcurement providers.

Unimarket (‘one’market) is a leader in Collaborative eProcurement and is currently serving customers in the United States and Australasia. For more information please visit www.unimarket.com or click Unimarket news

Unimarket FAQ’s:

What sorts of specific collaborative procurement functionality should I expect in the cloud that I can’t do outside the cloud?

Once in a multi-to-multi environment you should expect that:

• Suppliers’ base contracts can be accessed for individual organizations and/or by many when bridged across organizations.
• Suppliers can offer volumetric price breaks across organizations so buyers can bid on prices they wouldn’t otherwise be able to achieve on their own.
• Buyers can initiate an RFQ that can then be circulated to pool demand from other buyers of their choosing whether inside or outside their respective organization. Once this collaboration has occurred the initiator sends the request to suppliers for bids.
• Approved orders can be automatically integrated into buyers’ financial systems and suppliers’ supply chain systems. Smaller suppliers can receive approved orders simply via email to complete the paperless system.
• Suppliers self-maintain master data including products and services, pricing, availability and static information about themselves.
• All suppliers can electronically invoice whether a small local or large multi-national supplier.
• Reporting across all spend to analyze by category-supplier-department and the ability to see requisitions not approved, orders not received, orders not invoiced etc.

What is currently being purchased in the Unimarket cloud?

Millions of products and services are available in the cloud. As most of Unimarket’s customers are large institutions or government organizations the scopes of their respective spend is incredibly wide & diverse. Items such as lab supplies, equipment, IT assets and consumables, catering, furniture, domestic & international travel, flowers, electrical components, office supplies and so on are regularily procured through the system. Even body parts and drug testing equipment… you name it its probably out there in the cloud waiting for purchase.

If I already use a purchasing module from my Finance/ERP provider can I still get access to collaborative procurement?

Yes .In fact your Finance/ERP system should still be your system of record for purchase orders, receipts and invoices. To utilize collaborative eProcurement, leading practices are to log into your Intranet then single sign-on to Unimarket for example simply by clicking a link of your choosing. Once in the Unimarket buyers can search across supplier maintained products and services to compare and add to their shopping cart. Those customers who want buyers to get requisitions approved can do so through rule-based workflow and once received (optional) in the system orders are eligible for electronic invoices. Requisitions, Orders and Invoices call flow into your Finance/ERP system electronically.

If I already use eProcurement from my Finance/ERP provider or another eProcurement company can I still get access to collaborative procurement?

Yes .You would need to punchout to Unimarket’s marketplace in the same way you would punchout to one supplier’s eCommerce solution. Once in Unimarket buyers can still search across all supplier contracts but instead of checking out in Unimarket and adding shipping/billing/accounting info there, they would click to send their Unimarket shopping basket back to their eProcurement provider for checkout.

If you’ve looked your Amazon.com listing, or any title if you’re just now preparing for publishing or self-publishing your book, you may have noticed “new and used” editions of books available for sale through the what is called the Amazon “Marketplace.”

Think of the Amazon Marketplace like e-Bay; it allows vendors and bookstores the opportunity to list books for sale in a new or used condition. 99% of the on-demand books sold through Amazon Marketplace are brand new and actually, in most cases, have yet to even been purchased by a wholesaler. In fact, most haven’t even been printed yet.

Marketplace is an apt name for this portion of Amazon because these book sellers are using it to “market” their businesses. So if you see “54 New and Used” copies of a book available through Marketplace, that does mean 54 copies have sold and are now available as read-and-used. It simply means that savvy bookstores are trying to draw the buyers’ attention away from the main Amazon listing and to their listing.

In un periodo in cui si stanno affacciando al mercato sempre più servizi di musica digitale, anche i grandi brand dell’informatica (Microsoft e Google) stanno facendo il loro.

Microsoft ha pensato a Zune, che è un progetto che andrà ad inglobare più fronti dell’intrattenimento digitale. Quello più interessante è forse quello legato allo streaming.

Zune infatti offrirà streaming “on demand” sulla console XBOX 360, portando così anche nel mondo delle console la musica (e video) 2.0.

Recent announcements about new company PLM+ stroke me to think again about these two interesting trends – On Demand (or SaaS if you will) and Open Source Software (OSS). In one of my previous posts, I talked about promising future trends for PLM. In my view, both (On Demand and OSS) are there.

On Demand
On the positive side of this model, I can figure out the following: no releases and upgrade milestones (at least an option to do so), no need for IT/Servers, completely web oriented, available everywhere, potentially much more mobile friendly. On the negative side of this model bold are security concerns, integration with organizational enterprise systems zoo and potential performance. The long future of on demand looks to me much brighter in comparison to today’s reality. Ability to deliver focused application using this model will be a key to success. Full blown PLM deployment with tight enterprise system integrations seems like not an option for 2010. PLM On Demand option was discovered by Arena and Agile (in the past). Both didn’t make it big enough yet to become mainstream option.

Open Source Software
OSS is a very interesting option for PLM. Huge customization and flexibility potential, services and partners involvement, business model benefits – all these factors are bold advantages for PLM. However, it is not clear if PLM community is big and mature enough to generate enough service business for PLM vendors today.

So, what is my conclusion today? On Demand option looks like favorable to those customers who are interested to get predefined functionality out-of-the-box. Do you think such set of functionality can be defined today similar to what happened to CRM? This is not clear. I want to quote Jos Voskuil blog saying “ERP systems came on the market 15 years before PLM, how many ERP on demand solutions do exist“. OSS is a very interesting opportunity to generate service money for PLM community. However, customer volume is the requirement to make this option viable.

I’m looking with great interest for both Arena and Aras experiments with On Demand and OSS. In my view, the potential change in this space can come either by newcomers with a new and interesting solution as well as by existing big vendors stepping into this space.

Just my thoughts. YMMV.

Best, Oleg.

Last month, the news that Larry Ellison invited Marc Benioff to speak at Oracle’s OpenWorld Conference was enough to drive me out of the closet with my months-long speculation that Oracle may be edging toward buying Salesforce.com. At the time, I wrote an entry in this blog called “Salesforce.Oracle.com: A Look into One Man’s Crystal Ball” setting forth my beliefs that because the world is moving away from on-premise applications, and because SFDC is besting CRMOD regularly in application selections, it would make sense for Oracle to make a play for Salesforce if it wants to retain a leadership position in the CRM space.

Lately, I have been hearing rumors that Oracle is de-emphasizing development on the CRMOD platform, which tells me they are either preparing for a shift to a new platform, or are quietly giving up on the SaaS CRM space. And I don’t think the latter is Oracle’s style. . .

As I have been thinking further about this, it occurs to me that I have been looking at the world through my CRM-colored glasses (which is not unusual for me, having been in this business for much of my career!). But in noodling this around today, as I gaze out my hotel window overlooking San Francisco on this opening day of the SFDC Dreamforce conference, it struck me that there is a lot more at stake here than simple dominance of the CRM space. With SFDC’s strong emphasis on The Cloud, by buying Salesforce, in one fell swoop Oracle could not only irrefutably own the CRM space, but also take on a hugely dominant role in the SaaS applications space in general. The SFDC cloud and Force.com applications paradigm could easily become the platform upon which Oracle can deliver many or all of its applications — CRM, ERP, BI, integration, you name it — with the scalability and performance levels for which SFDC has become known.

Think I’m right? Think I’m wrong? I’m certainly willing to bet that I am one or the other of those! But I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Please leave a comment here or on our Facebook page.

Also, in my original blog about this, I had posted a poll asking readers’ opinions on the fate of Siebel, CRMOD, and Salesforce.com. At the time I first posted the poll, about 50% of readers felt Oracle would buy Salesforce.com. Since then the opinions have drifted a bit — if you care to weigh in, the poll is still available on that blog entry.

Thanks!

Eric Heine
Vice President
Integra Technology Consulting

781-890-0070
eheine at integratc dot com

www.integratc.com

Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/IntegraTC

In Svezia fa così freddo e c’è così poco sole che la gente preferisce starsene al calduccio a programmare. È evidente, altrimenti non si spiegherebbe come mai buona parte dei software e servizi più rivoluzionari arriva dal paese scandinavo. Niklas Zennstrom, uno degli inventori di Kazaa, Skype e Joost viene da lì. Gottfrid Svartholm e Fredrik Neij, due dei fondatori di The Pirate Bay vengono da lì. Spotify, il più innovativo software per lo streaming musicale viene da lì. Non stupisce sapere, quindi, che anche la rivoluzione del “video on-demand” passerà per queste fredde lande.

Il nome da tenere a mente, in questo caso, è Voddler. Lanciato appena un paio di settimane fa, questo servizio che consente di vedere film via Internet ha già conquistato più di 250000 utenti svedesi. Il suo segreto? Sono tre: facilissimo da usare, veloce e… gratuito. In realtà il progetto Voddler è frutto di ben quattro anni di lavoro, ma la sua versione beta, di collaudo, ha fatto capolino solo lo scorso Luglio, raggranellando la bellezza di 16000 utenti nel suo primo giorno di vita.

Continua a leggere “Vobbler: la rivoluzione del video on-demand parla svedese”

I registered myself a own livestream last week. But my internet connection does not allow me to have liveshows running. I got disconnects, failures and my wifes computer system is not running well and makes the games that I want to stream crash. But this does not mean that I want to close this livestream now. I will use this stream to have my abandoned guides available on-demand.
Right now you can watch 3 of this abandoned guides there. I am going to add more games in the next few days to increas the fillers.

Available On-Demand Guides:

Wolfenstein 3D 100% Secrets found Playthrough
Ultimate Doom Episode 1 100% Secrets found Playthrough
and new:
Lets Play: AD&D – Eye of the Beholder

Tune in to my Livestream now on GameAnyone.com now!

Just in time for the holidays Samsung, the Korean electronics giant, will be releasing it’s newest line of television sets. As reported by John R. Quain in the November 4th New York Times, all 23 models come standard with internet ready capabilities, one more step in the amalgamation of internet and TV. This technological convergence is not a new concept by any stretch of the imagination, however with all new TVs becoming internet friendly, many companies are now jumping onto the potentially huge bandwagon of content sales for the format. Streaming of movies through television has the power to be the money maker to movies as iTunes was to music, changing the industry and perhaps signaling the end for the DVD. Notable among the companies who will rent and sell content are Amazon, Netflix, and Blockbuster.

With all the talk of blockbuster going under it was very interesting to see their name in with the other companies mentioned above. If the industry continues to drop with at the current rate and as DVDs (perhaps) fade out, the video rental store may have seen it’s heyday. It’s good to see Blockbuster adapting to the changing industry. As we learned about branding, people may be inclined to rent their material from blockbuster online over the competition due to the brands credibility and history in the industry. A smart move from a company seemingly on the decline.

As with iTunes and the music industry I can undoubtedly see how this new form of movie watching could change traditional viewing habits. To be honest, I actually see it happening here in greater force. The thing with music is when a CD or record or cassette is purchased, whether you are a dedicated fan or just into one or two tracks you feel like you have a direct connection or a small piece of the band. Something tangible that you can touch, through it feeling as though you are a part of that artists success. iTunes is great as it allows the listener to purchase content more conveniently as well as be selective if they choose. However, that feeling of connection is gone. For some that is a non issue, but for many it is one of great concern. With movies the feeling is different. By owning a movie perhaps one would still feel a sort of connection with an actor, perhaps with the story or visuals, but it is most definitely not one as strong a feeling as with music. Purchasing movies online and having them stored on a hard drive could then be an easier and perhaps more excepted transition. Will people continue to buy the DVD, Blu Ray, HD DVD or what have you, or are the days of those formats numbered? It will be interesting to see…

-A. Murata

Has the credibility of self-publishing been in question previously? I have to admit I’ve dealt with my fair share of doubters. At times in fact I’ve felt, as has Tracy Jordan, stuck in Horseville – because I sat surrounded by Neighsayers.
The writing/publishing program chairs at New York University have recently announced the department’s intention to introduce a a course in self-publishing for the Spring semester of 2010. The 6 week course will be taught by self-publishing and book marketing expert, Penny C. Sansevieri.

Notes Sansevieri, “I’m delighted to teach self-publishing for NYU and am thrilled that they’ve asked me to bring this model to their students for the first time. Today’s publishing landscape is changing by the minute. Print-on-Demand or POD is taking hold in a big way. With self-publishing and computer technology, big publishers’ stranglehold on the market is gone. Everyone can publish their story.”

Writers rejoice. Doubters take notice.

- Karl Schroeder

Pittsburgh, PA, Nov. 5, 2009 – ODScommerce, Inc. now offers a compelling and significant value proposition for its SMB worldwide customers by providing standard and customized outsourcing and professional service options backed by a highly skilled and professional global team. Knowledge Process Outsourcing(KPO) solutions combine the conventional practice of e-sourcing with the power of the Internet and SaaS that forms robust new service offerings that reduce costs, improve customer service, and creates immediate customer value. “In fact, more and more companies are now realizing that the near-term impact of Knowledge Process Outsourcing is one of the most effective strategies for maximizing profitability,” stated Ramesh Mehta, CEO and President of ODScommerce, Inc. “ODScommerce separates itself from other industry service providers with a proven portfolio of services designed for SMB clients and proven by Fortune 500 customers.”

ODScommerce is delivering its KPO services for global commerce to Infrastructure (Construction), Energy/Utility, Manufacturing and Transportations industries. The dynamic On Demand Business Model offers a complete on-line e-sourcing package that will drive efficiencies, streamline systems and integrate business processes across all functions.

The On Demand Service Model offers flexible solutions that are customized and scaled to meet the needs of individual sourcing organizations, no matter where they are in their e-Sourcing organizational function. ODScommerce will provide and support a complete package of e-sourcing business transactions that allows for continuous and strategic management of the total process by enabling clients to connect sourcing and procurement to spend analysis and contract management functions within the organization. At the same time, the model leverages the scalability of SaaS that is dynamic in design, compliments organizational growth and facilitates professionally managed relationships between suppliers and customers.

More at  http://www.odscommerce.com/news-events/20091105.php

I haven’t watched Grey’s Anatomy in 2 seasons.  Maybe a season and a half.  I own the first 4 seasons on dvd.  And I love the first 3.  But I haven’t watched it in a really long time.

I’ll admit that I haven’t even DVR’d it this season.  Mostly because it seemed like the show that you have to watch beginning to end, and can’t really pick up periodically along the way.

Only you can.  Apparently.

So, late at night, when I can’t sleep, and I’ve watched everything on my DVR – twice – I’ve been putting on Grey’s Anatomy from the On Demand menu.  And I must say, I’m getting hooked again.  And it wasn’t all that difficult to just jump right in and pick up where I left off.

And it’s great.

Except…

Izzie has cancer.  And is married to Alex.  George is dead.  Derek and Meredith got married via a post-it note, allegedly.  Dr. Hunt and Christina are dating.  But Christina misses Burke.  Bailey is an Attending, and getting a divorce.  Callie is dating another woman, who is overly emotional and would probably cry at a pin drop.  Mark is dating Lexie, who Derek often refers to as “Little Grey.”  And Derek and the Chief are butting heads.  Hard.  Oh, and Mercy West and Seattle Grace merged hospitals, leaving half the doctors in the area out of jobs.

Breathe.

So much for a recap.

But to be perfectly honest, even though all those things annoy me, I still like the show.  I don’t actually like the show, but it’s addicting.  And I think I’ll be watching it more and more.  Late at night, when I can’t sleep and have watched everything on the DVR.  Twice.