“Who’s Really Winning the Search Race“
Seek and Ye Shall Find
From Internet News, “Who’s Really Winning the Search Race“:
http://www.internetnews.com/search/article.php/3825856/Whos+Really+Winning+the+Search+Race.htm
Yet, as it turns out, the big players aren’t the ones seeing the most growth in search. Instead, it’s Craigslist that leads in percent growth according to comScore. The online classifieds site posting a 12 percent jump in queries from 583 million to 651 million from April to May.
Here’s the data, with search queries denominated in millions:
| Entities | Apr-09 | May-09 | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Sites | 13,041 | 13,035 | 0% |
| Yahoo Sites | 3,161 | 3,021 | -4% |
| Microsoft Sites | 1,250 | 1,194 | -4% |
| AOL LLC | 795 | 721 | -9% |
| Ask Network | 705 | 691 | -2% |
| craigslist | 583 | 651 | 12% |
| MySpace Sites | 658 | 636 | -3% |
| eBay | 654 | 634 | -3% |
| Amazon Sites | 188 | 185 | -2% |
| 176 | 184 | 5% |
This entry was posted on Thursday, June 18th, 2009 at 2:01 pm and is filed under Media, Metrics, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
QuickBase – Custom Applications
Get Organized – QuickBase
Get Organized
The life of a small business owner is a juggling act. Between managing people, projects and paperwork, you’re bound to be a stress case. Intuit’s QuickBase is one resource that can help you pull it all together.
QuickBase has pre-generated templates and applications that break down complicated and overwhelming projects into doable tasks. Instead of wasting time chasing down status updates and consolidating spreadsheets, QuickBase lets you create a database where you can see the status of all your tasks and projects in one place. QuickBase is loaded with features that help you get work done correctly and on-time. Color code urgent tasks so that your team can prioritize and important steps don’t get overlooked. Get automated reports, e-mail alerts and reminders so that wok gets done on a timely basis. Team members can access the database at anytime to update or edit any of the tasks. QuickBase requires no programming. Intuit claims that anyone who has advanced knowledge of spreadsheet applications can change, add or remove features in a snap. For some small businesses, QuickBase’s price tag may seem a little out of reach. There are other project management database’s out there that are less expensive, but just remember, you pay for what you get. Businesses willing to spend the extra cash on QuickBase will get a truly comprehensive and easy to use system.
While everything has its flaws, QuickBase’s are minimal. The most common complaint is with the charting feature. Reportedly, when trying to chart large data ranges, users receive an obscure error that warns of too many “subdivisions.” Once more precise data filters are added, charts function normally. QuickBase’s help system is not so helpful either. But many users applaud QuickBase user forums, where you’re likely to get a quick and accurate answer from the developers or other users.
- No software to install.
- User management dashboard.
- Ready-made application templates.
- Share applications.
- Access from any Web browser anytime.
- Build templates.
- No programming required.
- Interactive tables, timelines, charts and calendars.
QuickBase Digital Pen Solution
QuickBase Digital Pen Solution
Video Demo (click to play)
Turn Your Paper Form to Electronic Data with Single Click
Are you spending time and money to reenter hand-written data from paper forms to computer? Do you need a convenient way to capture data in the field? Want to find a way for your employees/customers to collect information with virtually no training? Then our QuickBase Digital Pen Solution might be the answer.
The QuickBase Digital Pen Solution is an exciting QuickBase platform feature we are working on. As a software service, it seamlessly integrates digital pen, hand-writing recognition, and smart data management technologies, and enables any QuickBase form to be digital pen ready with a single click. Check out the video demo above, in which we show how easy it is to automate a front-desk check-in for a vet clinic using this new feature.
Highlights:
Feedback
Currently, QuickBase Digital Pen Solution is a lab prototype and has limited availability. We’d love hearing your thoughts! Drop us an email or leave your comments below.
Also, we are looking for earlier adopters to help us improve the system. If you are interested, please contact Gang Wang (Gang_Wang@intuit.com) directly. We would like to know more detailed use case in your mind.
Intuit muscles into the Platform as a Service game
Intuit muscles into the Platform as a Service game |
 http://searchcloudcomputing.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid201_gci1372666,00.html
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| By Carl Brooks, Technology Writer 28 Oct 2009 | SearchCloudComputing.com |
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Intuit this week unveiled its own Platform as a Service (PaaS) model that parallels what Salesforce.com has done with Force.com — but with a twist.
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With the arrival of 2010 versions of Intuit’s popular desktop software, users will be able to purchase third-party custom applications from within the software itself — open Quickbooks, click a button and trade directly with a vendor.
The App Center comes at a important time for PaaS, with many seeing the model as a safer, easier way to use cloud computing than dealing directly with hosted infrastructure providers such as Amazon or Rackspace.
Intuit said it wants to solve common irritants like data security for users and open a new channel for revenue by giving developers an easy way to reach a tantalizing captive audience: Four million customers, most of them small and medium businesses (SMBs) that need to solve business problems on a budget.
“It’s the world of convenience, right?” said Alan Keller, VP of business development for VerticalResponse, which published an email marketing tool in the App Center. He thinks QuickBooks users are the perfect target for his company, and Intuit made it relatively easy to tie his application, which is not based on Intuit’s software or platform, into their database of user QuickBooks data.
Keller said that his firm has gleaned several hundred subscribers from the program so far, and hopes for more. VerticalResponse users really want to avoid entangling themselves in multiple software applications and tools — they want everything built-in as much as possible. VerticalResponse has also been a part of Salesforce.com’s AppExchange online market, and Keller said it was a great success for similar reasons.
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Intuit may face some heavy competition quickly, since Salesforce.com is backing FinanancialForce.com, an online accounting service that its users can use with AppExchange.
“It’s definitely where we see our customers going,” said Alex Chriss, director of Intuit’s partner program. Chriss said that while Intuit was under the radar in cloud computing, the $3 billion software company had spent the last year and half building out a data center to house customers’ online data, making synchronization a feature in 2009 and opening the “federated Inuit platform” this summer.
Intuit promises interoperability with other platforms
Intuit released application programming interfaces (APIs) in June to allow developers with applications from any platform to interface with the Intuit platform, opening up the field.
That’s a significant difference from customer relationship management (CRM) leader and PaaS provider Salesforce.com, which restricts developers to its proprietary Apex coding language. Intuit’s platform is built on Quickbase and open source Adobe Flex. Intuit also encourages an open source community of developers to swap code and ideas, something Salesforce.com emphatically does not support. Both platforms run on Salesforce.com and Intuit’s respective data centers.
Intuit’s Workplace platform and App Center now present a potent avenue for developers to reach users who wouldn’t ever turn to advanced computing tools or build their own infrastructure in the cloud.
At least that’s the hope, according to Intuit. The vendor has a captive audience and a loyal one, if only because small businesses can’t afford anything better, so by pushing applications in their faces, they can pick up ready money as they move into services. But these applications have to be worthwhile — currently there are around 30. Applications will be sold on a subscription basis and Intuit will take 20% of the revenue at this point, said Chriss.
Carl Brooks is the Technology Writer for SearchCloudComputing.com. Contact him at cbrooks@techtarget.com.
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| Tags: Platform as a Service and cloud computing, Test and development in the cloud, VIEW ALL TAGS |
Awesome QuickBooks Add-ons for 2010
Awesome QuickBooks Add-ons for 2010
http://www.sleeter.com/awesomeaddons
At The Sleeter Group, we continually study the marketplace of QuickBooks add-ons and services that enhance QuickBooks. I’m quite impressed with the depth and breadth of solutions in the market, including solutions for everything from automotive dealership management solutions to construction, to property management, to document management, manufacturing, to wholesale and distribution. It’s truly amazing to see how the “ecosystem” of solutions has grown and thrived over the years.
For several years now, we’ve spotlighted several special products we call “awesome add-ons.”
We survey products in several vertical markets where QuickBooks may not have all the needed features, or where clients want customized solutions. Most of the winners are software, but several are hardware and software combinations.
In order to qualify for our list, the product and/or service must be developed and sold by a solid company with a reputation for outstanding customer support, and the product must have the following attributes:
- Show superior design, implementation and features.
- Integrate with QuickBooks using best practices of the QuickBooks SDK programming guidelines;
- Use appropriate transaction types and field population for recording data into QuickBooks so as to preserve and/or enhance the standard reporting features in QuickBooks; and
- Conform to good accounting principles and operating standards.
Here is the list of “Awesome QuickBooks Add-ons” for 2010.
Elements of a Business Plan
Elements of a Business Plan
Now that you understand why you need a business plan and you’ve spent some time doing your homework gathering the information you need to create one, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get everything down on paper. The following pages will describe in detail the seven essential sections of a business plan: what you should include, what you shouldn’t include, how to work the numbers and additional resources you can turn to for help. With that in mind, jump right in.
Within the overall outline of the business plan, the executive summary will follow the title page. The summary should tell the reader what you want. This is very important. All too often, what the business owner desires is buried on page eight. Clearly state what you’re asking for in the summary.
The statement should be kept short and businesslike, probably no more than half a page. It could be longer, depending on how complicated the use of funds may be, but the summary of a business plan, like the summary of a loan application, is generally no longer than one page. Within that space, you’ll need to provide a synopsis of your entire business plan. Key elements that should be included are:
- Business concept. Describes the business, its product and the market it will serve. It should point out just exactly what will be sold, to whom and why the business will hold a competitive advantage.
- Financial features. Highlights the important financial points of the business including sales, profits, cash flows and return on investment.
- Financial requirements. Clearly states the capital needed to start the business and to expand. It should detail how the capital will be used, and the equity, if any, that will be provided for funding. If the loan for initial capital will be based on security instead of equity, you should also specify the source of collateral.
- Current business position. Furnishes relevant information about the company, its legal form of operation, when it was formed, the principal owners and key personnel.
- Major achievements. Details any developments within the company that are essential to the success of the business. Major achievements include items like patents, prototypes, location of a facility, any crucial contracts that need to be in place for product development, or results from any test marketing that has been conducted.
When writing your statement of purpose, don’t waste words. If the statement of purpose is eight pages, nobody’s going to read it because it’ll be very clear that the business, no matter what its merits, won’t be a good investment because the principals are indecisive and don’t really know what they want. Make it easy for the reader to realize at first glance both your needs and capabilities.
Los Angeles adopts Google e-mail system for 30,000 city employees
Los Angeles adopts Google e-mail system for 30,000 city employees
The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously today to outsource its e-mail system to Google Inc., making it the largest city in the nation to make the move and handing the Web search giant a major victory in its quest to become a software provider to the world’s cities and businesses.
After more than two hours of debate, council members voted 12-0 to approve the $7.25-million contract that would move all 30,000 city employees to Google’s so-called cloud over the coming year.
“The City of Los Angeles, the second largest city in the nation, made a world-class decision today to support a state-of-the art e-mail system,” said Councilman Tony Cardenas, who made the motion to approve the Google system.
Before the vote, several council members had voiced objections to the contract, including whether the city would see any real cost savings, as Google had contended, and when the new system would be ready to store data from law enforcement, where security standards are more rigorous.
Because Los Angeles will be among the earliest adopters of the Google system, council members expressed concern that the city might be signing on before Google’s cloud system was fully proven.
“It’s unclear if this is cutting edge, or the edge of a cliff and we’re about to step off,” said Councilman Paul Koretz.
The contract was approved pending an amendment that would require Google to compensate the city in the event that the Google system was breached and city data exposed or stolen. No such clause existed in the contract.
The vote today ended a nearly year-long process during which Google competed furiously with other software vendors, including rival Microsoft Corp., to secure the city’s valuable stamp of approval. Parties on all sides believe that if smaller cities see Los Angeles successfully transition to Google’s cloud system, they may be more likely to follow suit.
It is that type of cascade effect that Microsoft lobbied hard to prevent, sending executives and paid advocates to Los Angeles to make the case against Google.
The city plans to complete implementation of the Google system by June and will begin with a pilot period during which a limited number of employees will test the system. City law enforcement agencies including the Los Angeles Police Department will migrate to the new system once they are satisfied with the security and functioning of the system.
– David Sarno
Microsoft killing off Office Accounting product
Microsoft killing off Office Accounting product
The software maker said on Friday that it plans next month to stop distributing the accounting product line, ending the latest in a series of efforts to take on market leader Intuit.
The accounting product line was launched in 2005 amid some fanfare, but failed to grab much market share and was later pulled from retail shelves in favor of online-only sales.
“We continually evaluate our business strategies to make sure we’re working to meet the needs of customers, partners and shareholders,” Microsoft said on its Web site. “With that in mind, we have determined that existing free templates within Office used with Excel was a better option for small businesses, and the Microsoft Dynamics ERP products were appropriate for mid-range organizations.”
The software maker said it will stop distributing its free Office Accounting Express as well as all of the paid Office Accounting product in the United States and United Kingdom.
Microsoft has been paring back a number of the efforts at the periphery of its product line, including mainstays such as Microsoft Money, which had long been second fiddle to Intuit’s Quicken. The company has also discontinued its Windows Live OneCare security software.
Microsoft plans to continue supporting the Office Accounting product, although a number of related services are ending.
“Online sales from eBay and credit profile from Equifax will no longer be available after December 15, 2009,” Microsoft said. “However, your customers will still be able to pay e-mailed invoices directly through PayPal. In addition, credit card processing services and the ability to order compatible checks and forms will still be available.”
Those who have bought the product in the last 30 days can return it for a refund.
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. These days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina.
