As a technologist at heart it never ceases to amaze how technology is used and applied. Think about Apple. They recognize early on that the PC is no longer just a business tool. As a company they were looking for ways to take advantage of that shift. Even though they had gotten burned by previous attempts into consumer products (Pippin, Newton) they decided to take another pass at the consumer. They decide to build the first iPod.

At the heart of the IPod was a 5 GB Toshiba hard drives that were the size of a quarter. Toshiba had created these drives but up till this point had no practical application for these tiny drives. These small drives are another great example of how technology is used and applied in ways we never thought.

On October 23, 2001 apple made the announcement of the IPod, an immediate overnight success. In July 2004, apple released a 20 GB IPod that was also compatible with a Windows based machine. Today the IPod is so much more that a device that plays music.

Well who would have ever thought Twitter would take off the way it has. That 140-character message would change how we think about communication. Every day people are finding new ways to use Twitter. Here is an article that recently appeared on  Boston.com.

Police to alert public with Twitter dispatches

By Andrew Ryan Globe Staff / March 12, 2009

A crime-blotter blog. E-mail alerts. Anonymous tips via text message.

Now comes the next high-tech weapon for the Boston Police Department: A sergeant in the emergency dispatch center has been experimenting with Twitter, the micro-blogging tool that facilitates group conversations in 140-character bulletins to subscribers via computers and cellphones.

The updates can be found on twitter at @Boston_Police.

One goal is to interact in real time with the public during festivals and large-scale events about bottlenecks, closed roads, and crowd-related problems. For example, officers could warn their Twitter followers about an intersection to avoid because of an accident. A member of the public could respond, in a few keystrokes, that the suggested detour is also bumper to bumper, warning other users to try another route.

The first significant trial will come Sunday when thousands of revelers inundate South Boston for the St. Patrick's Day parade.

"Primarily we are going to send out information, with no expectations" that the public will respond with feedback, said Deputy Superintendent John Daley. "The idea is to just get a sense of whether or not it has value."

To read the entire article...

Police to alert public with Twitter dispatches

As I did a little more research here are some other police departments that are finding value with Twitter:

milwaukeepolice

ModestoPolice

WMPolice

westyorkspolice

SanAntonioPD

torontopolice

For those of you who dont get Twitter. Give it a try. Its very easy and very addicting. Its also a very useful tool. If you enjoyed this article, you should read this one...

Should CEO's use Facebook & Twitter 

Founder & CEO, Ntirety

www.ntirety.com

My Personal Twitter Account: Michael_Corey

Ntirety Corporate Twitter Account: Ntirety

Its Amazing what is out on the Internet if you know where to look. I am an avid Ipod user. I use it every day. I have been thinking about getting an iphone. When I saw this latest article from the BBC News it immediately caught my attention.

Wireless turns iPod into a phone

A freeware application for the iPod Touch can turn the music player into a virtual mobile phone.

Truphone uses wi-fi technology in an iPod Touch to allow users to make calls to other iPod Touch owners and Google Talk's messaging service users.

The software is a spin-off from technology Truphone developed for smartphones and iPhones.

The developers plan to have the ability to make calls to and from landlines in place very soon.

Truphone is the latest firm to offer voice over internet protocol (VoIP), alongside Unlicensed Mobile Access and proprietary protocols such as Skype.

Geraldine Wilson - Truphone's CEO - said the firm had ambitions to become a global internet player.

"There are a slew of new features we're rolling out for the iPod Touch that will let users call landlines, Skype users or send instant messages. We're talking weeks, not months, before these go live."

Although Truphone technology can, in theory, work on any mobile device, the firm is concentrating on devices that have an application store.

To read the entire article....

Posted Michael Corey,

Founder & CEO, Ntirety

www.ntirety.com

You are probably asking what The Music Industry and an Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server databases have in common and why I am writing an article about a possible Music Tax in the works. It’s because this industry just aggravates me so much, I can’t help but comment on the recent article I read by Michael Arrington and the newest Extortion scheme of the music industry.

To quote the article I saw in TECHCRUCH by Michael Arrington titled “The Music Industry’s new Extortion Scheme” it states:

“But Warner Music is doing more than just talking about a music tax. They’ve hired industry veteran Jim Griffin to create a new entity that would create a pool of money from user fees to be distributed to artists and copyright holders.”

The reason they are moving towards creating a music tax because lawsuits against customers is not working as a strategy. To quote the article again “Lawsuits against their customers aren’t working (The RIAA sent out 5,400 letters in the last year, says Portfolio, settling with 2,300 of those individuals and suing 2,465 who didn’t respond).”

What a strategy sue your customers. I know quite a few technology companies that think like this. That is a whole another topic for a new blog entry.

The point I am commenting, This industry just aggregates me. It’s my understanding the music industry has made more money in the history of the Industry since products like Napster and Limewire have been around than ever before. Yet they insist on crying poor mouth as they reap in huge profits. Did I say oil industry or music industry? I better not touch the Oil Industry or I might never be able to get off my soap box.

The music industry is changing, they need to evolve with the changes that are happening or go the way of the slide ruler. Just as the database industry is changing. Companies are struggling with managing there databases (Oracle, SQL Server, MYSQL….). The traditional way of dealing with database administration is not keeping up.

When I visit most companies the internal DBA staff is getting beat up. They cant keep up with the enoumous workload in front of them. To make matters worse, database (Oracle, MYSQL, SQL Server....) are getting bigger and bigger at an alarming rate. The technology is getting more and more complex. The skill needed to manage it all, database administrators, good ones takes years to develop. Something is going to give. Companies have to deal with this problem of database administration (Oracle, SQL Server, MYSQL....) of face very serious consequences. Companies need to evolved how they do business of face the consequences. Just as they have already had to evolved to compete in today's global economy.

So music industry wake up. I for one think the idea behind a music tax is ridiculous. A Music tax will kill Music Innovation. It will destroy the very life blood of your industry. Never mind the fact that you will kill the very incentives in place to encourage innovation in your industry.

The music industry is in a wonderful point in time. Devices like the Apple IPOD, have created an apportunity for your industry unlike any other. The Music industry needs to embrace change, not hold onto old ways of doing business that are sure to make the music industry go the way of the slide ruler.

To read the article article by Michael Arrington titled “The Music Industry’s new Extortion Scheme” Click Here

Posted Michael Corey, Ntirety