The TenXFactor

E-Books-Throw Away Society vs. The Book Enthusiast

2010-01-17T21:10:00.002-06:00

First in an E-Book Survival Guide Series The e-Book market has finally blossomed over the past year. Amazon's Kindle broke sales records this past holiday season, out pacing the iphone as well as smashing print book records for any holiday season on record. Target stores have been stocking the Sony E-Reader for months now. So if you are an avid reader you may consider taking the plunge. But

Reflective Value with your client

2009-12-14T04:55:00.007-06:00

You look in the mirror, that reflects a mirror that reflects a mirror that reflects a mirror.We all have at one time been fascinated by the infinite regression of two mirrors facing each other. The value of the original image in the mirror becomes secondary to perpetuity of the reflections. This is a relationship. A relationship between the two that builds on each other. This should be your

What to do about Microsoft 7

2009-10-22T06:29:00.005-05:00

A few years ago, this question may have been rhetorical. Now days, there is merit to the question. Vista taught us that we can have alternative worlds (Linux) without including Microsoft as our operating system. Now, here we are. Microsoft deserves some 'cred' on the street for finally putting out a stable platform to replace XP. 7 is a solid build. In what seems to be a deep irony, I will

Subliminal Interfaces

2009-09-23T21:22:00.002-05:00

"do you own your business processes or does your business process own you? Good software lets you own the business process.""Good software is subliminal. Subconscious. You don't sense it. You don't worry about it. it is there as you need to be.""the evolution of cloud computing is the persistence of being. I can anywhere, anytime. but again subliminal within reach."There is no doubt in most

What I Believe

2009-08-14T07:09:00.002-05:00

What do I believe?I believe in God and the goodness of mankind.I believe in Ancora Imparo which is Latin for "I am still learning." I believe that the pursuit of knowledge is as important as the knowledge you gain. I believe that one should pursue knowledge to the end of life. The pursuit of learning is life itself. To stop seeking, is to stop living. I have watched people go from living to dying

Ubuntu + Broadband2Go Working!!!!

2009-07-07T21:08:00.010-05:00

It has been a long journey but I got there. (warning: long geek post)This is with Ubuntu 9.05 (Jaunty).First you will need to activate the USB Dongle through a XP workstation.You will also need to add gnome-ppp through Synaptic Package Manager.Then you need to install USB_ModeSwitch (http://www.draisberghof.de/usb_modeswitch/).Following this, you need to edit the USB_ModeSwitch.conf(sudo gedit

VirginMobile BroadBand2Go

2009-06-27T08:52:00.003-05:00

(A Geek moment)VirginMobileUSA has come out with pay on demand Broadband2go. I have been waiting for something like this for years! No contracts, no muss no fuss. Have you ever been checked into a hotel room where the "Free Internet Access" and a 802.11B router with 200 users??? . Rates are pricy but competitive when looking at hotel room rates, or when you are 15 minutes before a presentation

Note Takers and deep thinkers

2009-05-31T11:24:00.004-05:00

It seems to me that you can divide the world in two types of people, note takers and deep thinkers. (Before we get too far, let me provide the following disclaimer, I am NOT the note-taker type). Both types of people bring value to an organization, you can not function with out having documentation to your business processes. But nor can you run an organization without a high level vision and

A Class Act

2009-05-27T23:53:00.002-05:00

I was struck tonight as I recycled the weekly stash of magazines in our house. On the back cover, I noticed a full page ad for Conan O'Brien in the Tonight Show. I had no idea that he was taking over the show. Years ago, I tried several times to watch the show so that I could "get it". I never did. As a matter of fact, I never understood why Letterman never got the nod for the Tonight Show

An open letter template to the sales universe

2009-05-07T20:59:00.005-05:00

(Editorial Note: "The situation depicted in this blog post is fictitious. Any similarity to any person living or dead is merely coincidental.)Please understand that this communication is meant to help you understand, not to start a flame war.We have a significant need to manage our client's expectations to system enhancements.Every client has needs. Software is not perfect. An implementation

Social Media and Full Transparency

2009-04-18T10:03:00.002-05:00

Peter Steiner The New Yorker 5th July 1993(See Wikipedia)With Web 2.0 and the evolution of Social Media, everyone on the Internet knows who you are and more importantly what you are like. What is fascinating about the evolution of the Web is that it can strip away the facade of appearance and context. Social media is the great leveling agent. It matters not where you exist in the hierarchy of

Newspapers and Obligations

2009-04-06T06:27:00.002-05:00

Bill Moyers has the critical point in this conversation. Here is a link to the transcript.http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04032009/transcript3.htmlWhere is Ed Murrow now? What would he think of Social Journalism? The critical thing I learned in my years of broadcasting is don't reduce yourself to the lowest common denominator. Educate, bring your audience up to your perspectives, your

Branding: the individual vs media

2009-03-30T20:27:00.008-05:00

With most media properties, one of the core strengths is the brand. In radio and television, the core brand consists of the call letters and a tag line. Call letter placement is critical. For those of us who lived during the research intensive 70s and 80s, programming brand placement became a science. If you were air talent, you worked for two brands, the station brand and your own. If you

The Newspaper Inflection Point

2009-03-05T20:36:00.004-06:00

The basis of the TenXFactor is that a new product will replace the older product when there is ten times the value. When you look at Newspapers in the abstract, there is no justification for the industry collapse right now. If you were to conduct a SWOT analysis, several key strengths are as valid today as they would have been 20 years ago. For the moment though, lets key off one particular

The Price of Knowledge

2009-02-12T13:37:00.001-06:00

A long time ago in a far away land, I had engaged in a series of "Intelligent debates" with my first boss out of college. We had these Friday afternoon conversations about market trends, audience retention and the like. Obviously, we were on opposite sides of the issues. It was all in "good fun". Flash forward 8 months and I was sitting at a Christmas party. My boss attempted to engage me in

TenX and Buying Power

2009-02-08T21:19:00.004-06:00

The economic downturn (let’s skip the label debate) amplifies the 10XFactor. The fluctuating buying power of the consumer forces a prioritization in spending. Consumers obviously want the biggest bang for the buck. Luxury goods and services traditionally have fallen off in downturns. There is also a deeper decision matrix that involves the return on investment for the consumer. This constant

The Lego example

2009-01-24T20:40:00.004-06:00

Having twin seven year olds, I have gone from a Lego addict to a Lego expert. I would have a ton of advice to offer new parents (first and foremost, always strengthen the initial Lego design with a series of strategically placed flat Legos for support). We will save the Lego advice for another day.Today, however, I want to share their incredible customer support engine. I had this great business

New Beginnings

2009-01-18T20:44:00.004-06:00

TenXFactor started as I would imagine all blogs do. -to explore-to test the waters-to have fun-to seek validation-to find 15 minutes of fame.I have explored. I have tested the waters, I had a ton of fun, and surprising I found validation. Moreover, shockingly enough, I did garner 15 minutes of fame.I have not yet decided on the future of TenXFactor, but I have decided on a new path, a new

Planned Obsolescence

2008-11-13T21:16:00.000-06:00

A good friend of mine has advocated for years that technology is based on planned obsolescence,. I of course being the true geek, fight the good fight and defend our industry to the last. But as i survey the forgotten wasteland of yesterdays (AND I MEAN Yesterdays) tech gadgets, I do stop and wonder. WHY.Why, do PDA and cell phone manufacturers continue to make proprietary connectors? (ok its

Have you skipped lately?

2008-10-20T20:39:00.003-05:00

(I wrote the last post so that I could write this one!)Today at work, I slammed the day down working with 10 different client projects and 3 client upgrades. The day was not stressful, but persistent moment-to-moment high intensity activity. I came home and the day slowly began to dissolve. The highlight of the past 18 hours however, did not occur until an hour ago. I watched one of my two

Defining the blog

2008-10-20T20:09:00.001-05:00

As with anyone, defining a blog is like wrestling with a bear. If you lose your focus, you are pushing up daisies. TenXFactor is a professional blog with a focus on understanding new technologies. A blog, however, also provides a professional the room to be a columnist. In previous posts, I have referenced how to define the role of the internet in the media space. Thinking in terms of a

The Woz and Me.

2008-10-18T20:57:00.002-05:00

I've been obviously very buried this past month and so it goes. In working through the backlog of rss feeds and the like I ran across this little blurb from THE WOZ. He is addressing the proprietary nature of the IPOD . On a related note, if you look at the economic conditions as of late, I would predict that we will see a rise in the usage of the 10X Factor analysis. 10X separates the true

The economy and value

2008-10-08T06:15:00.002-05:00

During the bust of Internet 1.0 and during the fallout of the telecoms I never lost faith in the market because I knew that true value; solid business plans and solid products will endure the market adjustments. Today, I feel much differently. This is very unsettling in that the market is an unknown. No one knows the deep the bottom is. No one knows how much true value is buried. The fear is

Twitter and the primal scream

2008-10-06T20:47:00.003-05:00

Recently, a peer from a prior situation (there is something to be said for the bonding of peers in a rough work enviroment) sent me an invite to twitter. I previously had put twitter into the same bucket as facebook (an empty wasteland of web 2.0 nothingness). But with Twitter, I was curious. I have long been a supporter of IM so....I did it. I put my nose into the middle of a true social

Business Data Streams

2008-09-10T21:03:00.003-05:00

Information technology is on the verge of creating a universal 10X environment through the implementation of Business Data Streams. Business Data Streams have many different labels and implementation forms but the net result is powerful in its final form. Business Data Streams essentially provide stakeholders with real time analysis of their key business elements. This data stream could be the