Archive | March, 2009

MagCloud – Do It Yourself Magazine Publishing …a Cool Idea with Loads of Microbusiness Potential

March 31, 2009 by Brian Hurley 1 Comment

HP is currently running a beta of a new online service called “MagCloud“.  The service allows anyone to produce a magazine and print it – on demand – for $0.20 a page.  The service also offers an online store to allow publishers to sell their magazines.  The service will take care of printing, mailing, subscription management, and more.

HP’s longer-term plan is to sell their specialized printers and inks to businesses who will offer regional on-demand printing services.

This ability to do on-demand printing of magazines can allow smaller operations and professional service organizations to offer new services to businesses which need to quickly and cheaply produce magazines.  One of the benefits offered by the service is the ability to do tweaks to the magazine master document much more quickly and with less cost then traditional methods of producing magazines.

Best practices, Business, Canada, Commercialization, Computing, Creative Class, Economy, Ecosystems, Entreprenuerism, General Interest, HP, Information Technology, Innovation, Jobs, Microbusiness, New Media, Ontario, Opportunities, Regional Economic Development, Trends, Unemployment, United States, US, Web 2.0
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13% Increase in Individuals Using Ottawa Emergency Shelters in 2008

March 31, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

The Ottawa Alliance to End Homelessness released it’s report for 2008.  The report showed a 13% increase in 2008 compared to 2007, of the number of individuals and families using local Ottawa emergency shelters for increasingly longer periods.

2008homeless

Canada, Economy, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Jobs, Ontario, Ottawa, Regional Economic Development, Trends, Unemployment
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Best Buy Reports Sales UP 10%

March 29, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Best Buy reported that revenue for their recent quarter which ended Feb. 28 was $14.72 billion, up 9.7 percent from $13.42 billion from the same the period a year earlier.  The increase came from strong sales of laptop computers and cellphones.

Business, Canada, Economy, General Interest, Sales, Trends, Unemployment, United States, US
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Technology Rates Adoption from 1900 to Present

March 29, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

history-of-productsThis interesting chart is from the New York Times, it highlights the speed of adoption of new technologies over the years.  The general conclusion is that adoption/consumption of new technology occurs much faster today then in the past.

Best practices, Business, Commercialization, Computing, Creative Class, Economy, Ecosystems, Entreprenuerism, General Interest, Information Technology, Innovation, Jobs, Technology, Trends, United States, US
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Mars Rovers Still Going After Five Years

March 26, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

It’s been almost five years and the Mars Rovers, originally intended to operate for 3 months, are still driving around on the surface of Mars.  NASA has produced a short video on the achievement.

060104_mars_rover2

General Interest, Innovation, Trends, United States, US
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Unrest in the Workplace

March 26, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Recent reports in the news are highlighting increasing aggression and unrest in the workplace.

There have also been reports of incidents against executives at firms with layoffs – ranging from physical assault to murder.  In France there have been two cases of hostage taking of managers by employees – at Sony and 3M.

Business, depression 2.0, Economy, Europe, General Interest, Jobs, Trends, Unemployment, United States, US
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Recession Proof Businesses – US Gun Shops

March 26, 2009 by Brian Hurley 2 Comments

According to Reuters, in the first two months of 2009, around 2.5 million Americans bought guns, a 26 percent increase over the same period in 2008. Gun dealers report this rise in sales to be a consequence of fear of social unrest as the ailing economy pushes the newly destitute deeper into misery.

The Orlando Sentinel’s also reports that gun dealers are experiencing shortages of bullets -

Some say it began with the election of President Barack Obama. Others say it’s about the economic downturn or fear of crime. Whatever the reasons, ammunition has been selling like plywood and bottled water in the days before a hurricane.

Eleanor Duckwall’s blog on the nationwide ammunition shortage that has hit the U.S.  provides a comprehensive review of the various possible reasons for the ammunition shortage, which may include:

  • An increase in the size and number of paramilitary police units
  • An increase in the use of “patrol carbines” in law enforcement
  • Fears of draconian gun and ammunitions restrictions
  • Economic instability

Related articles:

Business, depression 2.0, Economy, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Jobs, Opportunities, Trends, Unemployment, United States, US
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Carleton University Poster Session – Innovation, Talent, Commercialization

March 24, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

I attended the Carleton University engineering poster session on Mar 20th.  89 engineering students  displayed the results of 36 4th year projects (http://www.sce.carleton.ca/courses/sysc-4907/webforms/posterLocations.php).

The projects ranged from the abstract to the commercially viable, and from simple to complex.  The one thing that stood out in general was the high quality of the students.   The projects I found  most interesting were the ones which struck me as being commercially viable with further development – examples from the poster session included:

  • An application which linked exercise equipment (in this case a treadmill) into a virtual reality world where the treadmill user could “run” through the virtual reality world and potentially interact with other users around the world
  • An inexpensive and compact wireless sensors technology that automatically create a wireless mesh communication network to allow easy deployment of sensors (e.g., smoke detector) without the cost of dedicated wires (or even electrical outlet)
  • An iPhone-based geo-tagged photo blogging application
  • A Nintendo Wii technology-based interactive projection “whiteboard’

Poster sessions like this can be a great way to help advance commercialization of university work and link local investors/entrepreneurs to ideas and talent.

Best practices, Business, business incubators, Canada, Commercialization, Computing, Convergence, Creative Class, Economy, Ecosystems, Entreprenuerism, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Information Technology, Innovation, Innovation Hub, Jobs, Local Start-ups, Ontario, Open Source, Opportunities, Ottawa, Ottawa Start-ups, Talent First Network, Technology, Trends, Unemployment, Venture Capital, Web 2.0
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McGuinty Government Announces $250M Fund

March 18, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

McGuinty’s government announced a new fund today oriented towards helping keep Ontario start-ups moving forward in the face of a non-existant venture capital market.  The fund will match private investments dollar for dollar.   It is said to be based upon a similar model implemented in Scotland.

This is a great step towards supporting innovation and start-ups.

Best practices, Business, Canada, Canadian Politics, Commercialization, Creative Class, Economy, Entreprenuerism, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Information Technology, Innovation, Jobs, OCRI, Ontario, Opportunities, Ottawa, Ottawa Start-ups, Regional Economic Development, Technology, Trends, Unemployment, Venture Capital
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Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters See Increasing Challenges in 2009

March 16, 2009 by Brian Hurley 3 Comments

The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) Association released a report in late February, that summarized survey results from Canadian manufacturers and exporters on their perceptions of business conditions.  

Key trends from the survey include:

  • A majority of manufacturers and exporters expect the value of new orders to fall over the next three months – 56 per cent say that orders are likely to decrease between February and May. This is a less optimistic outlook than in January when only 43 per cent of companies were expecting new orders to drop in the coming three months.
  • 45 per cent of companies say that employment levels are likely to fall. This is slightly higher than the 42 per cent of companies that expected their employment levels to fall in the January survey.
  • The credit crunch is affecting smaller companies the most, but larger companies are now reporting difficulty accessing financing. 60 per cent of manufacturers and exporters report difficulties accessing adequate levels of financing including obtaining working capital, extending lines of credit, accessing financing for new technologies and product development.
Business, Canada, depression 2.0, Economy, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Jobs, Manufacturing, Ontario, Sales, Technology, Trends, Unemployment
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Where Are The US Tech Jobs?

March 16, 2009 by Brian Hurley 1 Comment

The Dice Report tracks US technology jobs, their March report highlights that the biggest demand is in Washington DC and the east coast of the US.

techjobsusmar

Business, Economy, General Interest, Information Technology, Jobs, Obama, Opportunities, Silicon Valley, Technology, Trends, Unemployment, United States, US
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Cities in Ontario at Over 10% Unemployment

March 16, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

An increasing number of cities in Ontario are significantly above the national average of 7.7% unemployment, including:

  • Windor 12.6%
  • London 8.4%
  • Kitchener 9.1%
  • Hamilton 8.4%
  • St-Catherines-Niagara 9.5%
  • Hamilton 8.4%
  • Toronto 8.3%
  • Oshawa 8.2%

Ottawa is at 4.6%, but this low number may be misleading due to the outflow of laid-off workers from the city.  During past tech layoffs Stats Canada reported that, 2 out of 5 laid off tech workers left Ottawa — with the declining prospects for tech workers in Ottawa, this rate of departures will likely have increased in the current downturn.

Business, Canada, Canadian Politics, Economy, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Jobs, Manufacturing, Nortel, Ontario, Opportunities, Ottawa, Regional Economic Development, Stats Canada, Trends, Unemployment
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Jeffrey Dale Has Left the Building

March 15, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Jeffrey Dale stepped down as OCRI CEO last week.   

Over the years, I used the OCRI services for the launch and ramp of both Liquid Computing and Purple Forge.  Liquid Computing and myself were both honored to receive OCRI Awards and recognition.   Moreover, I have benefited from Jeffrey’s personal help and support.

As a result of my belief in the good work that OCRI was doing for our community and my positive personal experiences with the OCRI team and Jeffrey, I joined the OCRI board of directors two years ago.   

With Jeffrey’s departure, I spent some time this weekend reflecting on what I will remember the most about OCRI under Jeffrey’s leadership.   There are a long list of things I will remember, but the three things that will stand out the most in my memory about Jeffrey are that  - 

  • Jeffrey was a very active and very visible cheerleader for Ottawa and the tech community.  He was also an articulate spokesman –  he put a face on the local tech community and was a visible advocate of its interests;  
  • Jeffrey worked tirelessly on behalf of the community in general – the job was definitely not a 9 to 5 type of job;
  • Jeffrey established a team at OCRI that was very much focused on the entreprenuer – in my direct experience – the OCRI team is responsive, knowledgeable and sincerely interested in making a difference, and that reflects on its leadership.

Thanks Jeffrey!

Jobs, Venture Capital, Entreprenuerism, Ottawa, Regional Economic Development, Canada, Economy, Opportunities, Commercialization, General Interest, Trends, Business, Microbusiness, Innovation Hub, Unemployment, Innovation, business incubators, Universities, Government, Ottawa Start-ups
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Trigence Becomes AppZero

March 15, 2009 by Brian Hurley 1 Comment

Local start-up Trigence has quietly changed it’s name to AppZero as well as quietly ejecting the last founder from the team.   Trigence had a great product but has not appeared to make any significant sales or progress since CEO Chuck Colford departed.  Unfortunately Trigence/AppZero’s new direction does not appear very compelling in an already crowded virtualization market that is dominated by VMWare, XEN and soon Microsoft.

The main industry news on Trigence appears to be on the ongoing churn in senior leadership.

Trigence’s new logo and name are both very close to NetZero (I did a double-take myself since NetZero is a well-known brand), so it won’t be surprising if they end up having to change their name -

netzeroappzero1

Business, Canada, Computing, Entreprenuerism, Information Technology, Innovation, Local Start-ups, Ottawa Start-ups
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Canada is Potential Leader in Global Technology Revolution

March 15, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

A recent Rand report , “The Global Technology Revolution 2020″, looks at 16 upcoming key technologies and the ability of 29 countries to acquire and to implement.  The following chart identified the key technology applications -

screenshot_63

Only three of the 29 countries examined by Rand were identified as being able to acquire and implement all 16 key technology applications  – the United States and Canada in North America and Germany in Western Europe.

screenshot_62

Business, Canada, Commercialization, Computing, Creative Class, Economy, Ecosystems, Entreprenuerism, Europe, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Information Technology, Innovation, Jobs, Manufacturing, Ontario, Opportunities, Ottawa, Regional Economic Development, Trends, United States, Universities, US, US Politics
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S&P Performance Over Bear Markets

March 14, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

This chart from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/ provides a very interesting trending perspective of the S&P performance over the last two bear markets versus the current bear market.  The Dow performance is also on the chart but is not apples to apples relative to the S&P lines.

four-bears-large1

Business, depression 2.0, Economy, General Interest, Stock Market, Trends, Unemployment, United States, US
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Ontario Commercialization Network to be Reformed?

March 14, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

The Ontario Commercialization Network Steering Committee Report was delivered to the Minister late February.  PWC produced a report on OCN prior to the Steering Committee Report but it was not made public.

ocnmap

The report makes some blunt assessments of serious problems with  Ontario’s current approach to economic development and commercialization.  Some key findings include:

  • Lack of co-ordination and sharing across many fragmented organizations
  • Lack of overall governance
  • Lack of clear entry-point for clients/entrepreneurs
  • Lack of metrics and performance targets
  • Need for better co-ordination between Provincial and Federal governments
  • Economic conditions demand quick action

Key recommendations include specifics related to:

  • Fixing the governance model
  • Fixing the delivery model
  • Reducing overlaps of products and services within the Province and between the Province and Federal programs

The report was one of the best i’ve seen so far – it cuts directly to the issues and provides some very rational recommendations.

Best practices, Business, business incubators, Canada, Canadian Politics, Clusters, Commercialization, Creative Class, depression 2.0, Economy, Ecosystems, Entreprenuerism, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Innovation, Jobs, OCRI, Ontario, Regional Economic Development, Trends, Unemployment, Universities, Venture Capital
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Sharp Decline in US Imports and Exports Reported in January

March 14, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Sharp declines in US trade was reported in January 2009.  The following chart from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com highlights the sharp downward trend (red is imports and blue is exports) -

tradeexportsimportsjan2009

Here is a chart showing inbound and outbound container traffic to the port of Los Angeles – it mirrors the decline -

laporttraffic

depression 2.0, Economy, General Interest, Manufacturing, Obama, Trends, Unemployment, United States, US, US Politics
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What’s Happening with Gas Prices?

March 14, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Gasoline prices have been slowly trending upwards since January 2009.

gasprices1

gasprice2yr1

Canada, Economy, General Interest, Ontario, Ottawa, Trends, United States, US
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High Tech Worker Study Shows Optimistic Disposition Helps Reduce Stress Levels

March 13, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

In 2002, Carleton University ran a survey to look at stress among tech workers – “Coping with Job Uncertainty : A Survey of Employed and Unemployed High Technology Workers”.   The report identified numerous interesting results, however the one that I found particularly noteworthy was the fact they found that people who have an optimistic predisposition have a natural buffer against stress.    In fact, the more optimistic one’s nature, the less stress they reported.

The full report is available here.

Best practices, Business, Canada, Creative Class, depression 2.0, Economy, Entreprenuerism, General Interest, Jobs, Ontario, Opportunities, Ottawa, Trends, Unemployment, Universities
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Canadian Unemployment in February Hits 7.7%

March 13, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Stats Canada has reported that Canada’s unemployment rate hit 7.7% in February. 

In February, Ontario unemployment hit 8.7%.  Stats Canada also noted that just over half of all employment losses in Canada since October have happened in Ontario

More details on Canada’s forecast unemployment rates and trends for 2009 is in this blog.

Comparison of Canada’s unemployment rates with the great depression is in this blog.

Business, Canada, Canadian Politics, depression 2.0, Economy, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Jobs, Ontario, Ottawa, Stats Canada, Travel
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Foreign VC Investment in Canada Down More Than 50% in 2008

March 12, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Industry Canada reports that foreign VC investment in Canada is down 53% in 3Q08 compared to 3Q07.

vcforeign1

The bulk of investment is going towards ICT and Life Sciences deals.

sectoractivity

Ontario, Quebec and BC account for the majority of deals, with only Quebec showing growth in number of deals. where

The good news is that BDC investments of tax payer money continue to get good leverage -

bdc

Jobs, OCRI, Venture Capital, Entreprenuerism, Ottawa, Regional Economic Development, Ontario, Canada, Canadian Politics, Economy, Opportunities, Commercialization, Silicon Valley, General Interest, Trends, Business, Information Technology, Microbusiness, Creative Class, Government Policy, Unemployment, Innovation, US, business incubators, Government
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Chrysler to Canada – Hand Over the Cash or I Shoot 9,000 Kittens!

March 12, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

According to the Globe and Mail, Chrysler has resorted to extortion in order to extract tax payer money to prop up their failing company.  According to the article:

At a parliamentary committee hearing last night, Chrysler president Thomas LaSorda said the company would commit to maintaining roughly a quarter of its North American production in Canada if its “needs” are met.

Chrysler then went on to list three demands/conditions of Chrysler continuing operations in Canada: union concessions, tax payer money, and an agreement that Canada will back off on its tax collection efforts to recover $1B in taxes it currently owes the Canadian people.

Canada’s Industry Minister Tony Clement has responded today saying that -

(Chrysler officials) “can say whatever they want. … Taxpayers expect us to apply the same rules to everybody in Canada and we’re not going to change the rules for Chrysler”

Business, Canada, Canadian Politics, depression 2.0, Economy, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Jobs, Manufacturing, Ontario, Ottawa, Regional Economic Development, Unemployment
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US, Canada and European Governments Actively Preparing for Widescale Civil Unrest?

March 10, 2009 by Brian Hurley 2 Comments

This blog entry noted european think tank forecasts of civil unrest in the US as a consequence of the economic crisis.

It was reported back in September 2008 that -

U.S. troops returning from duty in Iraq will be carrying out homeland patrols in America from October 1st in complete violation of Posse Comitatus for the purposes of helping with “civil unrest and crowd control” – which could include dealing with unruly Americans after a complete economic collapse.

In February 2009, news reports have highlighted that the US Army is purchasing a significant ($6M) amount of riot gear.

Another article published in February highlighted increased urban warfare training drills by the US Army in cities around the US.

Other news reports have highlighted past “behind the scenes” preparation by the US government relative to even a modest level of anticipated civil unrest, such as the advance preparation of massive prisoner holding pens which were put in place for expected mass arrests during the Denver Democratic National Convention in 2008.

Denver

Denver

Recently, a bill entitled the National Emergency Centers Establishment Act (HR 645) was introduced in the US Congress in January. It calls for the establishment of six national emergency centers in major regions in the US to be located on existing military installations.  The stated purpose of  the “national emergency centers” is to provide “temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance to individuals and families dislocated due to an emergency or major disaster.”   Some pundits say that this bill is in reality establishing domestic internment camps since HR 645 explicitly states that the camps can be used to “meet other appropriate needs, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security.”

In Canada, the RCMP is actively recruiting for 2,000 new officers.

Also interesting is that in 2008, the Canadian and US Government signed an agreement to use each other’s troops in civil emergencies.

UK newspapers have reported that European leaders fear civil unrest over the worsening economy, and that:

Europe’s top politicians are so rattled by the prospect of growing protests that they have arranged an emergency leaders’ summit in March to deal with growing tensions.

Canada, depression 2.0, Economy, Europe, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Jobs, Tent Cities, Trends, Unemployment, United States, US, US Politics
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Depression 2.0 – Hoovervilles/Shantytowns/Tent Cities Have Arrived in the US

March 10, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

There are numerous tent cities starting to appear in the United States as the financial crisis continues to hit hard.

Growing Tent City Outside of Sacramento California

The Daily Mail in the UK reports on the growing number of unemployed in the US moving into tent cities.  The article talks to the growing tent city outside of Sacramento California.  Surprisingly,  Sacramento’s mayor, Kevin Johnson views this as a viable solution to handling the increasing number of unemployed.  The Mayor is quoted as saying:

‘I can’t say tent cities are the answer to the homeless population in Sacramento, but I think it’s one of the many things that should be considered and looked at.’

There are an increasing number of videos that document this disturbing trend -

NBC News March 2009

There are many other videos on You Tube and elsewhere.  Wikipedia also has a list of cities.

Related Articles -

Jobs, Economy, US Politics, United States, General Interest, Trends, Social Programs, Government Policy, Unemployment, US, Government, Tent Cities, Shanty Towns
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Climate Change Real – Temperature Trends in Canada

March 9, 2009 by Brian Hurley 1 Comment

Environment Canada has published data which shows the temperature trends in Canada. The red dashed line in the graph above represents a warming trend of 1.3°C over the last 61 years.

Canada, Climate Change, General Interest
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What Jobs Are Recession Proof in Canada?

March 9, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

An article in the Toronto Star today highlights where there is still hiring happening in Canada:

… 31,000 jobs added to the health care and social services sectors in February alone.

Recession-proof jobs are identified as including: education, health care,  the public service.   Civil engineering and construction jobs are also considered safe due to government stimulus spending on physical infrastructure such as roads and bridges.

Business, Canada, Creative Class, Economy, General Interest, Government, Government Policy, Jobs, Ontario, Opportunities, Ottawa, Regional Economic Development, Stats Canada, Trends, Unemployment
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Canada’s Petrochemical Industry in Trouble?

March 7, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

According to a new Stats Canada report, petrochemical feedstock production in Canada in January 2009 was down 54% compared to January 2008.

Petrochemical feedstocks, are used by the petrochemical industry to produce chemicals, synthetic rubber and a variety of plastics.

According to a speech 2005 speech by a key Dow Chemical executive. Dr. Ramesh Ramachandran, President of Dow Chemical Canada Inc. (North American Petrochemicals: Walking a Tight Rope) -

..the petrochemicals industry is Canada’s third largest within the manufacturing sector and Alberta’s second-largest industry. Petrochemicals are a nexus in Canadian industry that bridges the resource sector with manufacturing, retail, transportation and others.

Stats Canada reports that in 2008 the petrochemical industry (which uses petrochemical feedstock) was responsible for shipping product valued at $6.6B, and employing approximately 1,280 people.

A 54% reduction in petrochemical feedstock production is likely to reflect heavily on the health of this industry – anyone seen any news on this?

Business, Canada, Economy, General Interest, Stats Canada, Unemployment
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The Crisis of Credit Visualized

March 6, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Here is a pretty good explanation of the current credit crisis -

screenshot_521

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Ottawa

U.S. Unemployment Hits 8.1% in February

March 6, 2009 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

The newest monthly unemployment rate announced today – rose from 7.6% in January to 8.1% in February.

California announced 10.1% unemployment last week.

Unemployment rates are very high — certain industries are seeing unemployment rates of up to 20% -

unemployment-rates

Information on Great Depression unemployment is in this blog. It looks like the US is edging into the range of depression-level unemployment in some industry sectors.

Wikipedia has a good section that talks about unemployment and unemployment rates in general.

Business, Economy, General Interest, Government, Trends, Unemployment, United States, US
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