Monday, December 13, 2010

Cheap Android Tablets

Well, it looks like the iPad has competition - low cost Android powered tablets that cost 1/3 of what an iPad does. We'll see if they are any good over the next few months.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Oracle: From Preditor to Bottom Feeder

When you are irrelevent in technology, you look to litigation to save your company's rapidly dimming future. Instead of seeing new markets and new products, you try to bully your way into getting a cut of someone else's success.

Oracle, who just purchased Sun Microsystems has just declared their irrelevence by trying to use litigation to get dealt in to Google's Andorid ecosystem.

First, it's questionable that Oracle will prevail, and with each day, Oracle's lawsuit and behavior look more like disgracefully litigious and magnificently bankrupt SCO Group. The parallels start with their allegation of copyright infringement and then using a miniscule fragment of code as proof. There's much to be settled, and it will take years to arrive at that settlement. It's entirely possible that the smart phone as a product will not even exist when litigation concludes.

Second, even if Oracle wins, what will it win? Not much, and at the same time enough. Oracle's day in the sun as a major player in software will sunset as it focuses on an easy existance of living off of monthly royalty checks. No innovation required. No real costs, just a monthly check. A check not so big as to be a drag on the Android ecosystem, but probably enough that Larry Ellison will get a raise by selling off the cost producing parts of Oracle and existing as a intellectual property holding company. From software tycoon to patent troll.

From hunter-gatherer to sessile filter feeder. The circle is complete.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Why XP Continues to Soldier On

Martin Owen, a KDE developer has posted a very enlightenting article on why Windows XP just won't go away. While surfing Dell's website he ran across this little gem:

Read the rest on DoctorMO's Blog.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

How to Get Into the Hosting Business For Free

Web hosting is a great business, as long as you can stay away from infinite tech support work, 24/7 expectations and data center costs. What if you could avoid all the hassles and be able to offer hosting without being on the hook for personally providing unlimited 24/7 support?

That's where Reseller's Panel comes in. Reseller's Panel provides hosting, a hosting sales website for you to use to sell hosting, video tutorials and more.

Here's how the Reseller's Panel program works:
  1. Sign Up.
  2. Set up your own hosting store (you can us a template or build one using the Reseller's Panel API). Here's what mine looks like.
  3. Promote your store.
  4. Watch the profits come rolling or trickling in.
What makes Reseller's Panel special is the fact they provide the five keys to success in hosting:
  • Unlimited free technical support.
    Customers have someone to call, chat online with who will take care of their problems.
  • Self-Service Learning
    Incredibly good video tutorials to help your customers.
  • Flexible Options
    Dedicated server, Virtual Private Servers and share hosting.
  • Complete and Professional Billing
    An online billing system with included credit card processing.
  • All the Latest Features
    An up to date point and click control panel for your users that gives your users tools like a website builder, email account management, and on click installation of applications like WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Oscommerce, and even Forum software.
The big question is how much money do you make with? It depends on how you set your pricing and who you sell to. In my case, I simply suggested a few web developer friends use it, and every month, I get between $75-150. I average right at about $110 per month. In the case of a web developer I referred in, he's selling 5-8 new accounts per month and is making much more than I (I still get paid a little for each account he sells). Not a bad return over three years with maybe four hours of effort.