Someone asked why I bother to post my reading lists on to my blog.
In the course of my regular work, I talk to a lot of people inside the company (and outside, too). I often recall articles that have some relevance to the topic during the discussion. So, tagging articles of interest helps me to quickly find an article for later review and reference. (Windows Desktop Search has made that effortless for the articles and references I have in my archive). Del.icio.us has a feature that automatically posts the articles on to your daily blog, but I haven’t used elected to do daily postings.
Here’s what’s on the hit parade:
Wired’s archived story on Out of Phone Numbers? Add Digits – “Someday soon North American telephone numbers might add up to 12 digits, including area code, instead of the current 10.” By Patrick Di Justo, Feb, 18, 2003.
A tale of two factories: Shanghai and Litchfield, MI – In two plants 7,000 miles apart, two workforces make the same products for the same company. But how they go about the business couldn’t be more different. Fortune’s Alex Taylor III takes a look at who’s winning this China – U.S. competition.
Taking aim at the iPod. Another option in MP3 players – With twice the capacity and more versatility, SanDisk’s Sansa could be the Nano for the rest of us, says Fortune’s Peter Lewis. By Peter Lewis, Fortune senior editor, September 6 2006
CNN Money: Exploding laptop batteries light fire for alternatives – The next big thing in batteries. Exploding batteries light fire for alternatives, but don’t expect to see them in laptops anytime soon. By Grace Wong, CNNMoney.com staff writer, November 3 2006. See also http://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/fortune/scary_tech/index.html.
The challenge ahead for Dell – – “Dell in the penalty box: The computer giant’s current woes have been overhyped. But it still needs to figure out how to build a brand that customers can love.” By David Kirkpatrick, Fortune senior editor, September 5 2006
Introducing the CRM Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) – From the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Team Blog, a quick history/background of CEIP, which internally at Microsoft is called Software Quality Metrics (SQM) which is pronounced something like “skwim” as in swim. It was originally developed by the MSN team to understand customer usage of MSN many years ago.
Blame Vista Delay on Quality? – By Mary Jo Foley, April 5, 2006. “Opinion: Perhaps the tools from Microsoft’s little-known project called Software Quality Metrics will have a positive effect on future releases.”
Amp’d to Tap Japan’s Mobile Market – Amp’d Mobile is the latest gaijin to set its sights on Japan‘s sophisticated cellular market. Is the upstart up to the task? by Olga Kharif.
Facebook’s Changing Fortunes – The social-networking site could have sold for upwards of $1 billion, but declining traffic numbers may have potential buyers waiting for a discount by Steve Rosenbush
Wal-Mart: A ‘Reputation Crisis’ – The giant retailer has been trying hard to improve its image and reignite sales. by Pallavi Gogoi
The Change Function by Pip Coburn, Fast Company, May 2006. “Technologists think, “Build it, and they will come.” But they’re building plenty of cool stuff, and consumers aren’t coming.”
Also see the author’s article Dumb Things That Very Smart People Said in Fast Company – “Luckily, no one told them, “put your money where you mouth is.” This brief includes quotes from John von Neumann, Ken Olsen, Bill Gates’ 1981 prediction of how much computer memory we would ever need, and Robert Metcalfe.
My Book, by Me – How to subvert the publishing industry for under $30, by Stirling Kelso (Fast Company, 2006-05-01). Also see Join the Corporate Literati by Danielle Sacks in the same issue. (“Don’t let your day job prevent you from becoming the next Hemingway.”)
The Counterattack On Google – BusinessWeek on “how Yahoo and MSN are scrambling to slow its search-ad juggernaut.” By Ben Elgin and Jay Greene – May 08, 2006
China’s Online Ad Boom – BusinessWeek on how “the growth of the Net, especially among kids, is powering an overnight shift in spending.” By Dexter Roberts – May 15, 2006
Dark Days At Dell – “The tech industry’s lean, mean direct sales machine is on the fritz, and there don’t seem to be any easy fixes. What gives?” In BusinessWeek by Nanette Byrnes, Peter Burrows, and Louise Lee, with Gregory Hafkin in New York – September 04, 2006
The Accidental Ad Agency – “Flavorpill was just a Web content player. But Bud had a better idea.” In BusinessWeek by Jon Fine – September 04, 2006
Stay Close to Your Customer and Stay Away from Ugly Clutter in BusinessWeek – “While Internet marketing has grown into a thriving industry, it remains a feeding ground for swarms of “consultants” eager to fleece small business owners ignorant of its aims and methods.
A Log Of Your Stuff – “If you lost possessions to a hurricane, flood, fire, or even a burglary, would you be able to back up your insurance claim? If not, consider using one of a dozen or more home inventory software programs to create a list and photos of your belongings, their cost, and other data.” The author recommends Intuit’s Quicken Home Inventory Manager, the Home Manager from kzsoftware.com, My Stuff Deluxe from Contact Plus, and the free Home Inventory software from the Insurance Information Institute (http://www.knowyourstuff.org/). In BusinessWeek by Ellen Hoffman, Sept 4, 2006
Google’s Desktop Offensive – “The Internet giant is fighting Microsoft’s advances into search with a host of tools that move it deeper into Redmond territory.” In BusinessWeek by Burt Helm – May 11, 2006. See also…
Counting on Yahoo! and Google – Investors are looking to the search titans for stellar second-quarter numbers, after disappointing results from some tech bellwethers. In BusinessWeek by Catherine Holahan – July 18, 2006
Out Of The Attic, Into The Hard Drive – “Scanning snapshots and slides can help preserve those memories forever.” In BusinessWeek by Larry Armstrong – April 10, 2006
Fortune on The New Rules – “Once upon a time, there was a route to success that corporate America agreed on. But in today’s fast-changing landscape, that old formula is getting tired. And a search is on for . . . THE NEW RULES” By Betsy Morris, Fortune senior writer, cover story, August 2 2006
Irreplaceable? – “Oracle still revolves around its eccentric founder. Larry Ellison won’t have it any other way.” From Forbes, August 14, 2006, By Victoria Murphy Barret.
New Online Ad Model at Techmeme – Forbes on “the popular tech news aggregator Techmeme just debuted a new advertising/sponsorship model that looks pretty interesting to a lot of folks besides me.” By Rob Hof – September 25, 2006
Tags: misc, articles, what I read.