A month ago I was walking home after a particularly productive poi spinning class and as I reached George IV Bridge I received a text informing me that a family member had been ‘killed brutally’. The news was shocking enough without THE ENTIRE MESSAGE ALSO BEING WRITTEN IN CAPITALS. I of course (more…)
Archive for the ‘Opinions’ Category
Notification of death – received via text
Posted in Opinions on 22 July, 2009| 22 Comments »
Haha, tit for tat – Microsoft swipes its paw at Google
Posted in Local News, Opinions on 16 July, 2009| 5 Comments »
At the end of May, Microsoft unveiled its search engine, Bing. Then last week Google announced that it would launch an operating system for laptops in the second half of 2010 with the first version to be targeted at netbooks. Microsoft have since retaliated with their recent announcement – the launch of a free, web-based version of MS Office 2010 which will include lighter versions of Word, Powerpoint and Excel. While this could (more…)
Digital Participation Gap
Posted in Guest Blogger, Opinions on 15 July, 2009| 6 Comments »
Our first guest blogger is StartupCafe regular commenter – Mark Sutherland! Mark is a member of Technical Staff at Cadence Design Systems (this apparently means he writes software for electrical engineers) and previously played Bass Guitar in a band called “Hard Spank”…
A ritual part of Edinburgh’s monthly Tech Meetup is the introductions, where everyone takes a turn to say who they are and what they do. This often feels more like an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, so this month I introduced myself as follows: (more…)
Entrepreneurs: Born, Made, or Destroyed?
Posted in Local News, Opinions on 6 July, 2009| 7 Comments »
I often roll my eyes when the standard ‘Are entrepreneurs born or made?’ debate arises, and I’ve never found myself satisfied with the ensuing discussion. However, the topic was raised in recent event small talk, and after intense contemplation I want to put forward a different view. I propose that we are all entrepreneurs by default, but that this instinct is gradually destroyed in most people through (1) criticism, (2) development of fears, and (3) overuse of the word can’t.
Mobile applications & development hype in Scotland – the new gold rush?
Posted in Opinions, tagged application development, blackberry, iphone, mobile platforms on 20 June, 2009| 2 Comments »
The development of applications for mobile devices has been on the rise over the past few months in Edinburgh universities and Scotland in general. The main reason for that is the increase in the population of mobile devices: iPhone, Palm Pre, Nokia Exx & Nxx, BlackBerries, etc. At the moment, the two main platforms are Apple’s iPhone App Store and the Google’s Android Market. Other manufacturers are working on their own platforms too: BlackBerry’s App World, Nokia’s Ovi Store, or Palm’s App platform; these are either not ready or not as appealing as the first two (lack of demand for applications, smaller number of users, no interoperability etc). (more…)
Facebook Nazis: Do We Need Social Media Censorship?
Posted in Local News, Opinions on 19 June, 2009| 11 Comments »
Holocaust denial groups on Facebook have spurred some vicious debate lately, especially in light of the US Holocaust Museum shooting last week, and I can’t help but jump in. After reading Michael Arrington’s TechCrunch article and the heated comments readers left below, I was both infuriated and conflicted. Should Facebook, an open forum for discussion and connectivity, intervene and selectively sensor the content its members create? (more…)
Launch.ed new website – Suggestions required!
Posted in Local News, Opinions, tagged Entrepreneurship, launch.ed, University of Edinburgh on 16 June, 2009| 2 Comments »
Launch.ed
Launch.ed, the University of Edinburgh’s support service for entrepreneurs, is currently redeveloping its website. You can help. What did you like about the old site? What didn’t you like? If you haven’t visited the site before, you can still help. What sites do you currently use to get information about entrepreneurship and related events? (more…)
My inbox is popping…
Posted in Opinions on 16 June, 2009| 2 Comments »
An old line manager of mine was one of the most efficient and effective fellows I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. He was a well-dressed, immaculately groomed, much older, gay Frenchman with endearing mannerisms (when flustered, he would repeatedly mutter ‘ooh la la’ while chewing on his glasses and pacing up and down the office with one hand on his hip). I kinda adopted him as a workplace father figure. (more…)
Google Wave: The Next Generation of Email
Posted in Opinions, tagged communications, email, google wave on 11 June, 2009| 3 Comments »
This week, the team behind the Google Maps announced Google Wave, a hybrid between email, instant messaging, online forums and wikis. Each Wave is a conversation – you can start a wave with any number of participants. A wave is started with an initial message (most likely an email) and participants communicate using instant messaging if they were online. In addition, they can attach documents, embed rich data including maps, documents and other files as well.
Politicians and Twitter: Good Bedfellows?
Posted in Opinions on 9 June, 2009| 1 Comment »
An article in The Scotsman today warns that the EU is ‘losing touch with its citizens,’ which is rather inexcusable in light of social media tools available today. In other news, MP Sadiq Khan tweeted his promotion to Minister of State for Transport last Thursday, and has since received press coverage for his novel announcement. Glancing at Tweetminster, a fantastic site dedicated to British politicians’ use of Twitter, it appears 57 MPs in the UK are current tweeters. So, what does this mean for politics? I’ll outline the impacts as I see them.
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