The end of the software suite?
March 27, 2008
There have been rumblings here and there about whether the on-demand software suite might replace the behemoth systems usually found today. Yesterday, I came across this piece on Sandhill by Michael A Braun, CEO of Intacct which purports to support the thesis.
Apart from the fact it is appallingly written, the case it makes is so overblown, muddled, full of hyperbole and short on fact, you’d have to be a complete novice software buyer not to see straight through it.
Fortunately, the media we have access to today allows anyone with an opinion to express how they see a particular story. Needless to say, most commenters (rightly) dismissed it as a piece of puffery, even though whomever really wrote it (it’s usually the PR department), attempted to make the odd good point.
As an exercise in futility, the piece reminded me that regardless of how much you or I might believe in a particular approach to software, there is always the risk of believing your own bullshit to the point of looking faintly ridiculous. This is a good example. As a reality check, it’s not wasted.
Learning with Gillmor
March 27, 2008
One of the great things about the Internet is it provides me with access to some genuinely interesting people. One of those is Steve Gillmor, someone who has been around technology for more years than most people care to remember, has a memory like an elephant, has a wicked sense of humour and is sharper than your average Wusthof cooking knife. It should be no surprise then that Steve is a magnet for some extraordinarily bright folks along with some of the media stars of Silicon Valley.
Steve runs a show called NewsGang Live. It’s a call in podcast show, anyone can join, where the discussion is led by Steve but usually ends up being about what anyone who turns up wants it to be. Sound like chaos? It isn’t although there’s always that risk. Think Newsnight but without knowing who the participants are likely to be. People drift in and out of the call and if you’re on the call then you don’t have to say anything.
I call in maybe once or twice a week because for the cost of the hour-ish long show (2.5-3.0 euros even though I’m calling the US over Skype) it’s worth every minute of my attention.
Last night’s show was particularly interesting with contributions from people I both know and don’t know. The discussion around the iPhone and its serving as a proxy for the future of communications was especially fascinating. One of the speakers explained why the margins on some services are so high - it’s a lot to do with the economics of providing those services. So for me it was a learning experience and one I enjoyed.
I mostly listened largely because I had nothing to say but towards the end I asked Steve about a bet I’ve offered Robert Scoble, who is one of the well known tech bloggers. I also asked Steve something about a technical aspect of using Twitter, not knowing he’d already aired that point because I joined part way through. It makes for an entertaining few minutes right at the end of the show.
For an additional perspective on the show, it’s worth reading Aron Michalski’s experience. Aron was on the same show.
I’m not a fan of long podcasts - they usually bore me to tears and to be honest I don’t have the time to grind through an hour or 90 minutes of podcast. However, Steve’s style combined with the personalities who turn up make the show what it is.
Why should you care?
There are many issues besetting professionals and many points of view. How good might it be to have a call in show where topics of importance are discussed in a free for all setting? Back in the early days of this blog, I tried something similar though much shorter but the time wasn’t right and people could not commit. Has the time come around to give this another try? I wonder.
EXCLUSIVE: Ernst & Young sort out their act in Canada
March 27, 2008
Sources close to events (as they say) tell me that Ernst & Young Canada has taken fright at the attitude being displayed by the judges in the KPMG case. In response, they have decided to pay their non-CA employees/trainees for overtime, including back pay.
My sources also tell me that in true modern fashion, EY didn’t send round a memo or a personalised letter but left a voicemail for those employees about to benefit from EY’s largesse. It is also understood that EY plans to send out a press release later in the week, proclaiming to the world how great they are in taking this pre-emptive step. My guess is it is an attempt to head off any potential legal action that employees might take in the wake of what’s happened over at KPMG.
This now leaves open the question as to whether PWC and DT will follow suit in giving to their employees what the Canadian courts have strongly indicated they consider is rightfully their due.
This is not going to please the partners who are manfully trying to shore up their profits while at the same time sending out redundancy notices to employees.
For details of how the law works in Ontario but which is indicative of the law generally across Canada, it’s worth checking on this article.
My del.icio.us bookmarks for March 22nd through March 24th
March 24, 2008
These are my del.icio.us bookmarks for March 22nd through March 24th:
- Money As Debt - An interesting and timely take on the debt issue
- RSS blog - From Understanding to Using RSS - Pretty much everything you could possibly want to know about RSS and then some
- Rick Falkvinge: Why the US is collapsing - And the British economy isn't much better. Which might explain why the GBP/Euro rate is down close on 15% in less than a year.
- The Secret to Twitter, Part II - This is an interesting piece but it misses one essential ingredient - using FriendFeed as the way to disseminate the mountain of stuff that comes flying past in Twitter. FF allows you to follow what others are doing so make the overall context more useful
- WebScout: The many uses for Qik - More thinking about how Qik can be used in the real world.
- Fighting e-mail - Progress Report - Week 6 on Flickr - Photo Sharing! - What a great experiment by Luis
- Twitter Analytics | Venture Chronicles - Awesome Twitter stuff via Jeff
