The Juggling Entrepreneurs

Apple’s iPhone Learning Curve

Business Week, August 23, 2007.  The iPhone has about a 1% chance of having a defect.  The two most common complaints are a strip of the screen not responding to touch input and problems charging the iPhone.  Apple is fixing these manufacturing glitches as they appear.

Online Language Finds a Voice

Wall Street Journal, August 23, 2007 (paid subscription).  An article about the new language appearing in IMs near you.

Trouble in Toyland:  New Challenges for Mattel — and Made in China

Knowledge@Wharton, August 22, 2007.   As a parent of a 2- and 4- year old, I have gotten increasingly paranoid about anything my child about any object they put in their mouth thanks to the recent recalls.   As a business owner, I wonder how a toy company could have ever ethically let this happen.

This business article talks about Mattel’s troubles and how parents and grandparents are avoiding anything “made in china”.

Google Looks to the Stars

Wired Science, August 22, 2007.  Google Earth (a free desktop application that allows you to see aerial photos of earth) now has added a new component, Star.

PC Magazine recently released a series of slides on how to build a secure Wi-Fi network.

The article is about how to create a secure home network that attaches to free wi-fi service, but it can be used for any connection.  Just attch your Cable or DSL connection to your Wi-Fi router.

Source: Karp, David A., “Free Wi-Fi, the Safe Way“, PC Magazine, August 15, 2007.

Other reads:

• Practically Networked, “Securing Your Wireless Network“
• Microsoft, “Windows XP: Improve the security of your wireless home network“

Many people use wikipedia as a first stop when they want to learn about a word, event or concept.  I use it for word definitions, plant and bird identification, and description of historical events.

But how unbiased is this free, online encyclopedia?   Recently, a new website has appeared called WikiScanner.  This website takes the editor information on wikipedia and makes it easier for readers to view the origin of the edits or a wikipedia entry. (more…)

Not only does it save you money since you don’t need to use a stamp or envelope, online banking is more environmentallly friendly.

Online Banking Saves Trees

Approximately 53 million people use online banking.  If all households were to make the switch, 16.5 billion trees and 2.3 million tons of wood could be spared.

• No postage stamps
• No envelopes
• No cardboard boxes or packaging material to send paper and envelopes to stores.

Less Pollutants and Energy Consumption

Less paper consumed means less paper is manufactured and less waste needs to be landfilled.

If all households used online banking,

• 3.9 billion pounds of carbon dioxide equivalents would be spared (equivalent to  355,015 cars being taking off the road)
• 13 billion gallons of water would be conserved (equivalent to 19,846 pools being filled)
• 1.6 billion pounds of solid waste would be produced (equivalent to 56,000 fully loaded garbage trucks)
• 8.5 million fewer particulates and 12.6 million less nitrogen oxide in the air (equivalent to getting 763,000 buses and 48,000 18-wheelers off the streets)

Source: Scientific American, “Money is Green, but Online Banking is Greener” (August 16, 2007)

Many Skype users had problems making and receiving calls yesterday (NYTimes) due to a Skype software error.  The company has pinpointed the problem but is unsure why it brought down the network.

The company could not ensure that the phone service would be 100% reliable today.  The problem has been in existence for 4 years and is in every user’s software.  It took a unique set of events to trigger it.

Expect a software update soon.  =-)

There is a new bill introduced in the House that would allow consumers to pay long-term care insurance premiums with pre-tax dollars by including them with employer’s flexible spending accounts.

The bill also stated that if 75% of individuals between the age of 40 and 65 were to purchase this insurance and maintain it, the annual savings in Medicare nursing home expense would total $19 billion, and annual savings in out-of-pocket expenses would total $41 billion by 2030.

Source: NASE Washington Watch Update, 8/15/07.

Summary of SBA, Office of Advocacy, Second Quarter, 2007: The Economy and Small Business (PDF)

Although the economy grew, small business owners and consumers have a more pessimistic outlook.

• The economy grew an annualized value of 3.4% in the second quarter - most of the growth is in net exports and private investments of non-residential construction.
• The NFIB optimism index fell to 96.0 in June and hiring plans for small businesses faded.  (The historical average for this index is 100.2. )
• The economic and business mood seems to reflect higher energy costs and the housing slow down.
• Unemployment rate is 4.5% which means businesses are still finding it hard to fill open positions.  Every industry except construction, manufacturing and retail trade gained jobs during this quarter.
• Short term interest rates stayed relatively the same.
• The current Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey shows that the demand for small loans has weakened and banks are tightening their standards for small commercial and industrial loans.
• The core annualized inflation rate (does not include food and energy) grew 2.3%.
• The overall consumer price index grew by a annualized 5.2%.  A significant portion is due to higher energy and food costs.  The cost of West Texas crude oil was up nearly $7/barrel since March.

Have you taken a look at the recently reauthorization bill of the State’s Children Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)?

Funding of SCHIP is to come from increased cigarette taxes.  I am not a smoker - but why do most health initiatives require putting a bigger tax on tobacco?

Shouldn’t funding of healthcare be paid for by everyone?

Highlights 

•  The Senate’s bill would increase federal cigarette taxes by 61 cents.
• The House’s bill would increase the taxes to 45 cents but makes changes to the Medicare Advantage program.
• Coverage of  adults without children will be phased out after two years.  States can create a  requirement criteria for parents.
• Coverage of pregnant women will be reduced starting 2011.
• States need to create other aid programs in addition to SCHIP.

From WOMMA Blog,

• 19% of teens’ word of mouth happens online, versus only 7% for adults.
• 75% of teens talk about media and entertainment.
• 68% talk about recreation and hobbies.
• 67% talk about technology.
• 65% talk about telecom.
• 62% talk about food and dining.

Posted by WOMMA Editor on August 8, 2007 6:22 PM

from CNet’s “House panel approves legal shield for bloggers“, August 1, 2007. 

Professional bloggers (one who makes his/her living writing blogs) may soon have the same protections as journalists - protecting them from revealing their sources.

On August 1st, a house panel verbally voted to expand the Free Flow of Information Act to include professional bloggers and independent writers.

It is unclear as to when this bill will head for the House floor for a vote or when the Senate will focus on a similar bill.  So for today, bloggers are most independent writers have no right to protect their sources.

The Free Flow of Information Act

• The practice of journalism is the “gathering, preparing, collecting, photographing, recording, writing, editing, reporting or publishing of news or information that concerns local, national or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public.”
• In the approved version, people eligible for the privilege could be forced to reveal their sources when it’s necessary to prevent an “act of terrorism” against the United States or its allies, when it’s clear that crimes have been committed, when “significant specified harm” to national security could occur, or when trade secrets, nonpublic personal information or health records are compromised in violation of existing laws.
• The revised bill attempts to exclude the “casual blogger” from reaping those benefits by stipulating the protections apply only to those who derive “financial gain or livelihood” from the journalistic activity