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“My Starbucks Idea” site and what I’ve read this past week

A special week end, weekend edition of what I’ve read, beginning with Elizabeth M. Gillespie’s story on how Starbucks’ “My Starbucks Idea” site has been flooded with ideas for improving customer experience…

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“Hundreds of coffee-obsessed consumers chimed in moments after Starbucks Corp. launched a Web site asking customers to pitch changes the company should make to revive its struggling U.S. business.”

This site is along the same lines as Dell Computer’s Idea Storm site, where Dell asks customers to post ideas and vote on the suggestions as widely covered in the news. According to the site, the Dell Community has contributed: 8,847 ideas, promoted 610,814 times, and contributed 66,617 comments.  (See more examples of  crowdsource projects in this Computerworld article.)

I’d like to see something like this on Microsoft.com, beyond what Steve noted here re: crowdsourcing Microsoft downloads…

“One of my home pages when I fire up IE each day is the Microsoft Download Centre filtered on the 30 most recent new downloads…” 

Now on to the list – have a good week.

How Much Did Poor Customer Service Cost Your Company Today? (CRM News) — Susan Campbell, 04/12/08 — “One agent with a bad attitude can cost your company plenty in lost customers or even Do-Not-Call List fines. Unless your call center is using a call-monitoring system, that agent is taking calls…

Bad service too often is part of being young (www.kansascity.com) — “Despite the millions of dollars being spent by electronics chains, cell phone companies and other retailers to attract the youth market, I have a pretty strong sense from personal observation that kids often are treated as second-class shoppers.

Call centres lose in love stakes – Research (silicon.com) —  “Global customer satisfaction with call centres has fallen to 68 per cent – down from 82 per cent last year – according to research from customer contact consultants Merchants Europe. The telecommunications and service provider sector – including ISPs…

BetaNews | Carmi Levy: Yahoo’s options, now that it appears to have some — By Scott M. Fulton, III, BetaNews April 11, 2008, 7:04 PM At this time last week, Yahoo was said to have reached the end of its rope. It didn’t appear very viable on its own, and certainly no one would be crazy enough to try to top Microsoft’s cash offer…

Is Vista dead in the water? Gartner analysis (BetaNews) By Ed Oswald, BetaNews April 11, 2008 — “Analysts from Gartner said earlier this week that Windows is collapsing under its own weight. Talk in the blogosphere keeps pointing to a Windows 7 release date earlier than 2010. Is Vista already a lame duck?”

Apple’s OS Edge Is a Threat to Microsoft (BusinessWeek) April 11, 2008 — A recent upgrade to the Mac operating system moves Apple closer to challenging Microsoft for overall computing dominance, even in the corporate market, by Gary Morgenthaler

Amazon Takes On IBM, Oracle, and HP — April 9, 2008 — The Web retailer is offering its vast computing power to corporations—and big names are starting to sign up, by Peter Burrows

Bad Times Are Good for Debt Collectors (BusinessWeek) — The debt collection industry is poised to prosper amid rising levels of bad debt and a souring economy by Arthur Epstein, From Standard & Poor’s Equity Research

Roberdan : The World is Flat – lecture at MIT — “A very good way to spend 1,5 h is that video from a lecture at MIT from Tom Fridman on his book “The world is flat”. I reccomend to the Q&A at last part of video. Available on Itunes”

Perfect Margarita Recipe by Lessley Anderson (CHOW) — very important this past weekend… but we have a better recipe at home.

Research and Markets: Cisco Services 3.0: Making Product Support a Competitive Differentiator — Research and Markets has announced the addition of “Cisco Services 3.0: making product support a competitive differentiator” to their offering.

Service is the secret to surviving a downturn (Dallas Morning News) — April 9, 2008By ANGELA SHAH — “Shopping – buying clothes, homes and vacations – drives more than two-thirds of economic activity. If consumers pull back, businesses feel the pinch, further slowing down the economy.”

Creating an E-Mail Contact Strategy: Follow the Customer’s Lead (E-Commerce News: E-Marketing) — By Stefan Pollard (04/11/08) –“In order to create a successful e-mail contact strategy, marketers must listen to their customers to cater to their needs. Common tactics used in developing an e-mail contact strategy are onboarding and launching a win-back…

Cheney’s bogus oil argument – War Room – Salon.com’s Alex Koppelman writes (April 11, 2008) that “there are probably some grounded, halfway reasonable arguments against withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, but the fact that the White House keeps relying on sheer nonsense…”

Walt Mossberg | Mossberg’s Mailbox | AllThingsD — Walt Mossberg writes two columns, and edits a third, for The Wall Street Journal. He also publishes periodic interviews for the Journal, and occasional blog posts on this site.

Meet the VC: Hummer Winblad’s Mitchell Kertzman | Kara Swisher | BoomTown | AllThingsD — A longtime tech exec, Kertzman, Swisher says that he “is one of the funniest players in the tech sector, and was once the font for all the best jokes about Microsoft, back in the day when no one made jokes about Microsoft for fear of digital defenestration.”  He’s also known for other things.

Microsoft PUM: UAC Designed To ‘Annoy Users’ – Software – IT Channel News by CRN and VARBusiness — By Kevin McLaughlin, Apr. 10, 2008 — The User Account Control in Windows Vista improves security by reducing application privileges from administrative to standard levels, but UAC has been widely criticized for the nagging alerts it generates.

fit-PC – the tiny, low-cost green PC — The FitPC is a green PC — for under $400 you can have a PC that requires no fan, and robust enough to run Windows XP… saved by 191 other people …

Score One for Consumers: Cable Turns Ugly (OpEd by Froma Harrop) — “To anyone who has felt trapped in a circle of bad service: If you haven’t heard the story of Mona Shaw, pull up a chair.” This 75 year old Comcast customer showed up at the local cable company customer service office with a hammer…

Google Public Policy Blog: How Google determines the names for bodies of water in Google Earth

Welsh lecturer searches for lost ark of the covenant – icWales — Mar 2 2008 by James McCarthy — Respected Hebrew lecturer Tudor Parfitt, from Porth, South Wales, tells JAMES McCARTHY he solved a search made famous by Stephen Spielberg’s Indiana Jones’ when he discovered the Lost Ark of the Covenant in a dusty museum…

First Call Resolution (FCR) is a Critical Determinant of Customer Satisfaction – New Report Shows You How to Achieve It – Forbes.com — Research and Markets has announced the addition of Achieving First Call Resolution 2008: Improving Measurement, Usage, and Customer Satisfaction to their offering. The Ascent Group conducted research early in 2008…

Time Management: Randy Pausch’s Time Management Tricks — According to his doctors, computer science professor Randy Pausch has three to six months to live due to cancer, and in this video lecture he shares his tips for making the most of your time, “the most precious commodity you have.” … saved by 242 other people …

Where to Find Open Data on the Web – ReadWriteWeb — By Sarah Perez / April 9, 2008 — Today, a story on Techmeme caught our eye. It was entitled “We Need a Wikipedia for data,” and the article, written by X-Googler Bret Taylor, discussed the difficulty of finding open data sets on the internet… saved by 857 other people …

RSA 2008 San Francisco (Microsoft.com) — Offered annually in the US, Europe, and Japan the RSA Conference keeps the worldwide IT community informed of emerging online security issues and technological advances.

Windows Vista: Top 10 Things You Can Do — Just learning about Windows Vista? Here are ten cool things to try. You’ll see why it’s easier, safer, and more entertaining than earlier versions of the Windows operating systems… saved by 11 other people

Windows Vista Help: Optimize Windows Vista for better performance — there are a lot of ways to help speed up Windows and make your PC work better—even without upgrading your hardware. Here are some tips to help you optimize Windows Vista for faster performance.

DualSearch: Live Search and Google on one page

Outsourcing at Home (businessweek) — April 7, 2008 — With Indian wages rising and the rupee strengthening against the dollar, some IT services companies are opening facilities in the U.S. by Rachael King

Seth’s Blog: Write like a blogger — You can improve your writing (your business writing, your ad writing, your thank you notes and your essays) if you start thinking like a blogger… saved by 224 other people …

HP 2133 Mini-Note PC Round-Up | Small Laptops and Notebooks — April 8, 2008 by Steve O. — A quick round-up of HP 2133 Mini-Note PC news, since a lot of information came out today. Some of the HP pages allow you to add one of the models to your cart…

Microsoft-Yahoo: The Privacy Issue (businessweek) — April 8, 2008 — The merged consumer databases of the prospective union should have Web surfers demanding what’s being done with their personal information by David H. Holtzman

So Maybe Apple Was onto Something (businessweek) –  Rivals trying to come up with an iPhone slayer will need more than fancy features to outdo the leader by Cliff Edwards and Bruce Einhorn, April 3, 2008

Should kids be taught Internet safety in schools? — By Jacqueline Emigh, BetaNews April 8, 2008, 11:07 PM Can kids be taught to avoid dangers on the Internet while also taking full advantage of all of the good things available online? The State of Virginia, for one…

BetaNews | H-1B limits met after just one week of petitions — By Scott M. Fulton, III, BetaNews April 8, 2008, 4:56 PM As the debate continues over foreign-born students educated in America taking their skills to other countries, the US continues to limit the number of non-citizen students working here…

BetaNews | EU mandates Web sites delete personal data after six months — By Scott M. Fulton, III, BetaNews, April 8, 2008, 3:51 PM — Can a fair compromise be obtained on the matter of how long search engines should be allowed to retain personally identifiable data? Last week, a key European advisory group moved the goalposts…

10 tips for maintaining a healthy home network (microsoft.com) — Adapted from Windows Vista: Home Networking, Microsoft Press, 2007 — Once your network is up and running, it’s up to you to keep it healthy. This means incorporating all of the security features that come with your operating system, whether it’s Windows XP or Vista.

Microsoft Proposes End to End Trust Vision – Forbes.com — At RSA Conference 2008, Microsoft Corp. initiated a broad dialogue about the future of security and privacy on the Internet.

Algorithms Are Terrific. But to Search Smarter, Find a Person. — Brendan I. Koerner 03.24.08 — Brijit [is a site] launched in late 2007 that produces 100-word abstracts of both online and offline content [with daily] 125 concise summaries of newspaper and magazine articles, as well as audio and video programs… saved by 111 other people

HP Pavilion Elite m9200t series Media Center Computers — Digital Entertainment Centers direct from the HP Home & Home Office Store

Add-In Review: Recorded TV Manager 3.4.3 for Windows Home Server (We Got Served) — If you want to move recorded TV from your Media Center to WHS and manage your program series conveniently, then install the latest WHS Add-In Recorded TV Manager by Rick Drasch.

Microsoft Launches New Mobility Tools — Microsoft introduces Windows Mobile 6.1 and an improved management tool for enterprises. By Michael Hickins, 2008-04-01

HP’s Biggest Obstacle Is Microsoft, Amazon vs. Apple, Voting Smart (Technology News: Mobile Tech) — You get the sense in talking to all of the vendors that their Microsoft contacts have one thing on their mind when it comes to allowing these companies to innovate and create the user experience they want — and that is an overuse of the word “no.” This w

Why don’t we talk anymore? – Research – Breaking Business and Technology News at silicon.com — Analysis: How to improve inter-departmental communication. By Stewart Baines, 6 March 2007 — Sometimes it’s hard enough to get small teams working together. How can you encourage communication across a company’s business units? Stewart Baines offers…

Study: Shoppers want better online support (BizReport) — Customer service doesn’t count only in brick-and-mortar stores. According to a recent study from Inquira and ServiceXRG suggests that online customer service is failing many consumers…

Don’t let your customers sail off into the sunset – Edinburgh Evening News — HISTORICALLY, many of us believed that simply following best practice and delivering great customer service was enough to gain a competitive edge over our competitors.

Amazon accelerates its move to digital – CNET News.com — April 7, 2008 Over the last 14 years, Amazon.com has mastered the art of getting physical copies of books, music and movies to customers through the mail. Now it is trying to add to its repertoire in a hurry. By Brad Stone, The New York Times

Tags: misc, articles, what I read, Starbucks.

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Jumping through hoops even for the youngest of customers

Steve Rosen is the MoneyWise Editor at The Kansas City Star in Kansas City, MO.  In his article today, Bad service too often is part of being young, he notes that “when it comes to customer service, young consumers often get no respect.”

“Despite the millions of dollars being spent by electronics chains, cell phone companies and other retailers to attract the youth market, I have a pretty strong sense from personal observation that kids often are treated as second-class shoppers.”

He then goes on to look at two recent, negative customer service experiences that involved his children, experiences that many of us have had at one time or another: problems with a delayed flight and issues with a mobile phone.

“Clearly, this topic hits close to home, so for perspective, I turned to Terry Vavra, a veteran customer service consultant based in Allendale, N.J. Vavra’s blue-chip clients include AT&T, Merrill Lynch, Toys R Us, and Allstate.

“Vavra wasn’t surprised by my examples of customer-service disconnect. Indeed, he said, the “state of customer service is poor for most of us,” regardless of age.”

American Demographics noted that “a lifetime customer may be worth $100,000 to a retailer.” When you consider the incredible spending power of children and teenagers in the States alone, retailers and service industries would be wise to provide customer service to a group that controls or influences nearly $200 billion in annual sales. 

In 2003, Harris Interactive noted that:

  • Pre-teens (ages 8-12) spend at a rate of $19.1 billion annually, or $946 per capita;
  • Teens (ages 13-19) spend at a rate of $94.7 billion annually, or $3,309 per capita;
  • Young adults (ages 20-21) spend at a rate of $61.3 billion annually, or $7,389 per capita.

As noted I noted previously, it’s important to jump through hoops for your customer: Remember that the customer on the line is a future repeat customer and your best advertising. It takes a lot less to keep a good customer than acquire a new one.

As our own children become consumers (even at a small scale), they relate their own negative and positive experiences, ones that sometimes influences their parents. 😉

At Microsoft, through the MSDN Academic Alliance, we offer a way for students and faculty in the technology and design fields to get the latest Microsoft software they need.  We also provide developer and design tools directly to students worldwide at no charge through Microsoft DreamSpark: here, students get access to professional developer and design tools.  Also see the efforts we make through the Imagine Cup, Shared Source Initiative and educational grants. 

Tags: microsoft, customer satisfaction, customer service.

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Randy Pausch tonite on ABC News (April 9)

I’m off sick today and catching up on mail, whilst the kids are home for spring break.  Mayhem ensues.  


The other day I posted at the top of the things-I’ve-read list the article on “Lessons from Randy Pausch” in Parade, a not-so-trivial piece in the often pop and trivial Sunday paper magazine.  As a follow up, ABC News has a special on tonite, Wednesday, at 10:00PM ET…



Professor Randy Pausch’s inspiring last lecture at Carnegie Mellon about living life to the fullest struck a chord with people all over the country. Seven months later, Pausch talks about his battle with cancer, his family and how that last lecture changed his life. Click here to read more.


This from Pausch’s website at CMU…



“I am flattered and embarassed by all the recent attention to my “Last Lecture.” I am told that, including abridged versions, over six million people have viewed the lecture online. The lecture really was for my kids, but if others are finding value in it, that is wonderful. But rest assured; I’m hardly unique. Send your kids to Carnegie Mellon and the other professors here will teach them valuable life lessons long after I’m gone.”


See also Randy Pausch‘s Home Page 


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ZD eSeminar for SMBs on Migrating to Vista

Maybe this is more appropriate for TechNet and the IT Pro community, but here’s an interesting upcoming eSeminars with Aaron Goldberg.  Aaron was at the research firm IDC for many years 15 years, most recently as SVP of Desktop Computing Group.

The eSeminar is Migrating Your SMB to Vista – The Top Things to Know Before You Start…

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Windows Vista has created a huge amount of emotional commentary, focusing on a lot of topics, but not nearly enough on what it means to your Small or Medium Sized business. This eSeminar will focus on the real issues that you need to be aware of as you plan your migration. First to identify what the real benefits are for your organization, the top concerns that you need to plan for in terms of making sure it goes smoothly, and what tools and resources are there for you.

[Disclosure: The eSeminar is sponsored by Toshiba Corporation]

Apr 17, 2008
4:00 p.m. Eastern / 1:00 p.m. Pacific
Duration: 60 minutes

Ziff Davis Enterprise – eSeminars

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Lessons from Randy Pausch, and what I’ve read this past week or so

As we get ready for a week off for spring break, I thought it would be good to lead off the with the reading section with this article. Randy Pausch has a piece in today’s weekly Parade, The Lessons I’m Leaving Behind.  It’s adapted from his book The Last Lecture, written with Wall Street Journal reporter Jeffrey Zaslow, and scheduled for release this week.

“At many colleges, professors are asked to give a “last lecture.” In this talk, they ruminate on what matters most to them. As they speak, audiences mull the same question: What wisdom would you impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?

“Last year, I agreed to give a last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University, where I’m a professor in the computer science department. A few weeks later, I learned that I had only months to live—I was dying of pancreatic cancer.

“I knew I could cancel. I have three young children, I’m married to Jai, the woman of my dreams, and there were so many things to be done. But by speaking, I knew I could put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children, Dylan, Logan and Chloe. Here’s what I want to share.”

Here are the seven things that matter most to Pausch:

  • Always Have Fun
  • Dream Big — Give yourself permission to dream. Fuel your kids’ dreams too. Once in a while, that might even mean letting them stay up past their bedtimes.
  • Ask for What You Want — More often than you’d suspect, the answer you’ll get is, “Sure.”
  • Dare To Take a Risk — Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you wanted. And it can be the most valuable thing you have to offer.
  • Look for the Best In Everybody
  • Make Time for What Matters — Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.
  • Let Kids Be Themselves

See this link to the article on Parade.

And now, on to the reading list, and then excuse me whilst I go play Guitar Hero II with my boys, after a full weekend of hanging out with them.  CJ, our 7-yr-old, has mastered all songs on Easy and is just finishing Kansas’ Wayward Son.  Have a good week.

Microsoft Finally Makes Things Right — “Three weeks ago I told the tragic tale of Nathaniel, a passionate gamer whose custom Xbox 360 got “cleaned” during an extended stay at the Microsoft repair center… Today brings the final chapter to his story…”

What Makes Customer Satisfaction Research Useful? (IndustryWeek) — Marian Singer, of FiveTwelve Group Ltd. says that “the issue is not whether or not you are getting information about customer satisfaction; it is whether or not you are using information about customer satisfaction to act differently.”

Comcast customer service guru at your service – Inside Bay Area — Rick Germano is SVP of Comcast’s customer operations. In a recent interview with Mercury News Columnist Vindu Goel, Germano discussed Comcast’s efforts to improve every aspect of customer service, from repair and installation visits to billing.

Apple Software Update Includes Safari (John’s Blog – john.jubjubs.net) — Whoops.  “The problem here is that it lists Safari for getting an update — and has the “Install” box checked by default — even if you haven’t ever installed Safari on your PC.”

Help us Neelie! Please, help us! Safari via Apple Software Update (Jesper’s Blog) — Apple has decided to distribute its web browser, Safari, if you installed QuickTime (with no additional options) you will be presented with the dialog noted on Jesper’s Blog.

In 24/7 Web world, some writers blog till they drop (Seattle Times / New York Times) — They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece — not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home. MATT RICHTEL The New York Times

Microsoft gives Yahoo a deadline, threatens hostile takeover | Seattle Times Newspaper — Benjamin J. Romano, technology reporter at the Seattle Times, writes today that “Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer issued an ultimatum to Yahoo’s board of directors on Saturday morning: Agree to our “generous” acquisition proposal within three weeks

U.S. Health Agency Forbids Sensitive Data On Apple MacBooks — Security — InformationWeek — Employees who store medical records on laptops must use systems that run either on Microsoft’s Windows operating system or Linux. By Paul McDougall InformationWeek, April 4, 2008 11:38 AM

Apple patches 11 QuickTime flaws | Zero Day | ZDNet.com — Apple pushed out the latest version of QuickTime and patched 11 vulnerabilities in its third security update of 2008.

Alltop, all the top stories — You can think of an Alltop site as Guy Kawasaki’s new “dashboard,” “table of contents,” or even a “digital magazine rack” of the Internet. To be clear, Alltop sites are starting points — they are not destinations per se… saved by 1457 other people

Public face of Windows Vista leaves Microsoft (Betanews) — By Nate Mook, BetaNews, April 3, 2008 — Nick White left MS… sad. BetaNews calls Nick “the man who became the public face for Windows Vista — and often bore the brunt of criticism directed at the OS — through blog posts and community events has resigned.

Comcast swaps HD quality for quantity (BetaNews) — By Jacqueline Emigh, BetaNews, April 2, 2008 — To carve out room for more HD channels, Comcast has now made the decision to sacrifice on the side of quality. But will customers, already hesitant to pay extra for HD content packages, accept this compromise?

Aztec math code is cracked (Los Angeles Times / Seattle Times) — By Alan Zarembo, Los Angeles Times — “It has long been a mystery of Aztec arithmetic: What is three arms plus five bones? Now researchers know: Five hearts.”

Microsoft Announces Extended Availability of Windows XP Home for ULCPCs — Here’s a Q&A with Michael Dix, General Manager of Windows Client Product Management — April 3, 2008 – Today Microsoft announced the worldwide extension of the availability of Windows XP Home for an emerging, new class of mobile personal computers commonly known as ultra-low-cost PCs, or ULCPCs.  Also see Windows XP to get reprieve for low-cost laptops on Yahoo! News

Ars Book Review: “Here Comes Everybody” by Clay Shirky: Shirky contends that the really big impacts are still to come, as these technologies spread to our less geeky relatives, friends, and neighbors.

Windows Mobile 6.1 Phones – Reviews by PC Magazine — Looking to upgrade your Windows Mobile smartphone? These six handsets are the first ones to sport Microsoft’s new and improved mobile OS. by Sascha Segan, April 2, 2008

Mobile Media Mavens – Reviews by PC Magazine — Tired of carrying a dedicated digital music player? Want to watch TV and movies on your phone? These are the handsets to get. by Jamie Lendino

The Strategy of the Fighter Pilot | Fast Company — By: Keith H. Hammonds, Business is a dogfight. Your job as a leader: Outmaneuver the competition, respond decisively to fast-changing conditions, and defeat your rivals. That’s why the OODA loop, the brainchild of “40 Second” Boyd… saved by 25 other people

Microsoft vs. Apple: Who patches zero-days faster? (computerworld) — Apple’s teasing commercials that imply its software is safer than Microsoft’s may not quite match the facts, according to new research revealed at the Black Hat conference on Thursday by researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology…

Experiencing the goodness that is Windows Mobile 6.1 (The Windows Experience Blog) — Brandon covers the upgrades to Windows Mobile 6.1 – he has “had the pleasure of running around with Windows Mobile 6.1 on my Samsung BlackJack II for the last few weeks and would like to share some notable improvements and new features…”

Panoramic Stitches from Around the Pacific Northwest (The Windows Experience Blog) — Brandon loves panoramic stitching. He did a little roadtrip and created several super panoramic stitches (Grand Coulee Dam, Dry Falls, Seattle, etc). Check it out.

Substance Abuse: Debunking a bogus claim about Clinton’s legislative record (Newsweek.com) — Jess Henig of Newsweek (Apr 1, 2008) looks at “a misleading e-mail has been making the rounds, alleging that Clinton has fewer legislative accomplishments than Obama, and that they are less substantive.

Lawmaker seeks end to daylight savings (Herald Tribune Florida) — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4:30 a.m. — TALLAHASSEE — One Florida lawmaker wants to end the annual rites of springing forward and falling back. State Sen. Bill Posey wants the state to stop using daylight-saving time.

Home Server Hacks: Add a 500 or 750 GB Hard Drive to your Windows Home Server — Microsoft MVP Donavon West asks: “Want more backup and shared storage capacity for your WHS? It’s quick, easy and relatively inexpensive to add a 500 or 750 GB hard drive to your HP EX470/475 Home Server.”

BetaNews | How big is your ‘environmental footprint?’ asks Xerox — by Michael Hatamoto, BetaNews March 26, 2008, 3:57 PM Xerox has created new “Sustainability Calculator” software that allows customer businesses to evaluate the impact of their printers, copiers, and other devices from any manufacturer…

Wowio : Download Copyrighted eBooks for Free. Legally. | MakeUseOf.com — If you’re comfortable with reading books on a monitor or mobile phone, this site might be for you. Wowio lets you legally download copyrighted ebooks from leading publishers for free. These include works of classic literature, varirty of college textbooks and more.

BetaNews | How does the US really rank in broadband access? — By Jacqueline Emigh, BetaNews, March 24, 2008 — In numbers that differ markedly from those cited by the US government and other sources, the European Commission is reporting that eight European countries all have higher household broadband deployment…

Hidden Value In Customer Calls — Customer Call Centers — InformationWeek — Companies are using call-center apps to learn more about customers By Rick Whiting InformationWeek August 12, 2002 12:00 AM (From the August 12, 2002 issue)

Unintended Consequences of Overlooking the Obvious with Technology

Comcast accuses FCC of impotence | The Register — Comcast has told the chairman of US Federal Communications Commission that he has no legal right to prevent the company from busting BitTorrents.

A Conversation with Michael Gerber (businessweek) — March 24, 2008 — The small business guru and best-selling author argues that anyone can become an entrepreneur.

Microsoft’s Ultimate Extras overhyped, users underwhelmed — By TODD BISHOP, P-I REPORTER — A Microsoft plan to reward some of its most enthusiastic Windows users has instead frustrated them by falling short of its promise. The company acknowledges the problem, says it ran into unexpected complications and vows to

Smoothing the Way for Web Video — Live streaming video still has its fair share of hiccups, but the industry is working to ensure the supply of bandwidth keeps up with demand by Peter Burrows

Miro – Reviews and free Miro downloads at Download.com — You can subscribe to channels of Internet video, download videos, and watch them full screen, one after the other, all in one application. Internet video becomes Internet TV.

How Apple Got Everything Right By Doing Everything Wrong — Wired, By Leander Kahney 03.18.08 — “Jobs’ fabled attitude toward parking reflects his approach to business: For him, the regular rules do not apply. Everybody is familiar with Google’s famous catchphrase, “Don’t be evil.” It has become a shorthand mission statement for Silicon Valley, encompassing a variety of ideals that — proponents say — are good for business and good for the world: Embrace open platforms. Trust decisions to the wisdom of crowds. Treat your employees like gods. It’s ironic, then, that one of the Valley’s most successful companies ignored all of these tenets.”

Corporate employee blogs: Lawsuits waiting to happen? | Tech news blog – CNET News.com

Customer Experience Management Conference – Mar 27-28, 2008 — At The Conference Board’s 2008 Customer Experience Management Conference, industry leaders will reveal how they have created customer centric organizations that deliver results.

(Current to end of March.)

Tags: misc, articles, what I read, Randy Pausch.