August 4, 2011
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Looking at the threat to Android with patents, I wonder if one possible defensive move for Google might be for them to scoop-up RIM just to get RIM’s patents (and OS software)? This might give Google the weapons they need to secure a mexican standoff.
July 7, 2011
0 Comments
We were interviewed for some articles on RIM over the last few weeks about our experiences and opinions:
We develop and deploy apps for all platforms and our experiences can be summarized as:
Blackberry is highly problematic to develop and deploy apps for, particularly when compared to Apple or Android. Blackberry developer support is best characterized as “indifferent”. (It is worth noting that this fact is widely recognized, apparently even among some RIM executives!)
Customers always ask for Apple first, (increasingly Apple Tablet second), Android and rarely Blackberry.
End-user consumption of Blackberry apps is generally low – in cases when we have shipped the same apps to all three platforms, we have seen Apple to Blackberry download ratios of 20:1 or higher.
With the introduction of the new Blackberry OS and uncertainty around platforms and the future of RIM, I don’t expect that customer demand for Blackberry app development is going to change anytime soon. A good indicator is demand for developers on sites such as Freelancer which report weak Blackberry job figures.
What is the future for RIM?
In the near-term? Layoffs, increased uncertainty, more bad market news, shareholder revolt, more layoffs, and leadership change. One only has to look at the various mobile handset adoption, device usage, app store stats and market trends to see the writing on the wall… RIM sales are about to go into free-fall.
In the future? RIM seems to be overly focused on handset “super phone” technology… personally I don’t believe that is where the future is for RIM (or any mobile vendor who wants to be the leader). Smartphone technology is rapidly becoming commoditized, much like feature phones. I believe the future will be in the software and the cloud services associated with the software that will allow any phone to be a “super phone”. I really do believe that with the right software and strategy, the Playbook could be their game changer… but the team in place is too close to the past to see the future.
July 6, 2011
0 Comments
Purple Forge has done very well since our launch, we have won international recognition and awards, including:
Pretty cool stuff!
Here are some pics of John Craig at some award ceremonies:
July 4, 2011
1 Comment
Blackberry OS Stats:
http://us.blackberry.com/developers/choosingtargetos.jsp
Android OS Stats:
http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/platform-versions.html
iOS Stats:
http://www.readwriteweb.com/mobile/2011/01/what-percentage-of-iphone-owners-are-on-ios4.php
App Store Metrics:
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/games-most-popular-mobile-app-category/
Apple App Store App Metric Details:
http://148apps.biz/app-store-metrics/
Android Market App Metric Details:
http://www.appbrain.com/stats/
Mobile Browser Stats:
Smartphone Marketshare:
Smartphone Vendor Marketshare:
Tablet Marketshare:
http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1626414
Smartphone Demographics:
http://www.intomobile.com/2011/02/01/amaerican-asians-hispanics-most-likely-to-own-smartphone/
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Smartphones.aspx
Related Trends:
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/browse-all-about-it-the-evolution-of-the-circular/
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/NielsenMobileAppsWhitepaper.pdf
http://mobithinking.com/mobile-marketing-tools/latest-mobile-stats
February 9, 2011
1 Comment
Purple Forge is a proud finalist for the following 2011 OCRI Awards:
Purple Forge is also a proud finalist for the following Exploriem Bootstrap Awards:
July 31, 2010
4 Comments
I am a big fan of mind mapping tools. My favorite tool has traditionally been Freemind, a free tool that works across Windows and Mac. I recently changed over to using XMind and have been exploring mind mapping tools on the iPad.
Mind mapping is one application that seems to be exceptionally well matched to the “touch” environment of the iPad. Adding nodes, moving around relationships, arranging the mind map graph display … are all much easier to do using “touch” then the mouse. Two mind mapping applications currently available on the iPad are:
The most promising of the two is iToughts HD. The features that set it apart from Mindnode include:
Found another “touch” mind mapping tool? Let me know!
July 21, 2010
1 Comment
I had an interesting discussion last week regarding OCRI with a few local entrepreneurs. The general issue being “What good is OCRI?” for entrepreneurs in Ottawa.
There was a lot of negativity about the lack of relevance and the fact that OCRI has increasingly become something of a joke around town due to its public fights with politicians (“The City does not own OCRI!”), lack of transparency and general lack of results. OCRI has serious issues, there is little debate on that point.
However, it is worth noting that OCRI does/has run some programs that, in the past, I have personally found of value and which are worth highlighting:
July 21, 2010
1 Comment
If you are an entrepreneur in the Ottawa region working on launching or growing your start-up, the following organizations have the most to offer:
July 21, 2010
0 Comments
Yesterday I attended the TiE event on “Leveraging Government Funding – Sources and Strategies”. It was a good session. For any aspiring entrepreneur in Ottawa, I highly recommend joining the TiE organization.
For those entrepreneurs looking for alternative sources of capital for their start-up, a very good site which provides comprehensive information to help you find available programs from Federal and Provincial governments is http://www.canadabusiness.ca/eng/search/sof/.
April 13, 2010
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Waterloo companies are looking for tech workers -
WATERLOO REGION, ON, April 13 /CNW/ – Some of Canada’s hottest tech companies will head to the nation’s capital to look for talent when Communitech, the organization representing 700 tech companies in Waterloo Region, holds a ‘Get a Life in Waterloo Region’ recruitment effort there on April 21. Waterloo Region companies continue to hire at a rapid pace, and the recruitment event will profile some of the outstanding 2,000 current tech job openings available in the Region.
“Waterloo Region continues to be a hot-spot for tech and despite economic challenges in other sectors, there are still many opportunities for skilled tech talent,” said Iain Klugman, CEO of Communitech. “The range of opportunity covers most technology areas from software and hardware to wireless and digital media.”
Klugman said Ottawa is a prime recruiting site because of the established reputation of the Ottawa tech community and the concentration of talented scientists, engineers and computer science professionals. Like Ottawa, Waterloo Region offers the best of both worlds: the opportunity to work for world-class companies in a community that’s a great place to live and raise a family, he added.
Companies participating in the recruiting event include big names like Research In Motion and Christie Digital Systems Canada Inc., as well as exciting up-and-comers such as social media analytics company PostRank. It will also feature some leading medical imaging firms including Agfa HealthCare, which is breaking new ground for its new building and has announced plans to increase its Ontario workforce by 140 new employees.
“PostRank and Agfa HealthCare are representative of the companies in Waterloo Region — innovative, passionate and ahead of the curve, and looking for the best and brightest talent. Availability of knowledge workers continues to be a key factor in the growth and competitiveness of tech firms in Waterloo Region,” Klugman said.
Communitech and a sampling of the Region’s hottest technology companies will be at the Brookstreet Hotel, 525 Legget Drive, Ottawa on Wednesday, April 21 from 5-7:30 p.m. to meet with tech professionals one-on-one. The full roster of companies participating in ‘Get a Life in Waterloo Region’ includes: PostRank; Agfa HealthCare; Christie Digital Systems Canada, Inc.; Research In Motion; Covarity; Sandvine; DALSA; and Nuvation. Visit www.waterlootechjobs.com for further information or to register.
February 18, 2010
0 Comments
Purple Forge and Raise Digital released an iPhone application for the CPAC 2010 conference being held this week. Raise Digital has a good page talking about the app on their website.
So far the application has trended to #78 in Social Networking on the AppStore!
There is a lot of positive buzz in Twitter -
JonnyTorres Trying out the #cpac10 iPhone app… Impressed so far!! http://www.cpac.org
@ssbrumfield: iphone #CPAC10 application is awesome
commodoreboyd @jacobkampen Cpac10 iPhone app. It’s pretty awesome. #cpac10
…
Tons of mentions in blogs around the web…
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/81947-cpac-available-on-your-iphone
http://www.appstorehq.com/cpac2010-iphone-141067/app
http://www.apptizr.com/app/cpac-2010/353790573
http://techrepublican.com/blog/cpac-theres-app
http://www.crowdeye.com/viewer.aspx?query=CPAC
…
and…
CNN even did an article on it for their website!
January 14, 2010
0 Comments
Some trends on job titles with “SEO”:
Ref: http://jobs.seoconsultants.com/titles/
January 11, 2010
0 Comments
I was doing some research and noted that there is a wide range of titles people and companies are using related to social media marketing:
Some trends on job titles with “Social Media”:
Anyone seen any other titles?
January 10, 2010
0 Comments
November 12, 2009
1 Comment
November 10, 2009
0 Comments
RESEARCH Infosource released a report last week titled “Canada’s Top 100 Corporate R&D Spenders List 2009 Analysis“
Canada’s communications/telecom sector was the number one R&D spend – with 2008 research spending on associated products and services representing 40% of total industrial R&D. Of the top 100 R&D performers, 15 were from the communications/telecom sector.
In 2008, Nortel was the number one R&D spender. Nortel spent more on R&D than number 2 Bell and number 3 Magna combined.
Next year’s report will likely see the pharmaceutical sector replace communications/telecom products as the leading performer of R&D in Canada. According to RESEARCH Infosource -
The full effect of the deteriorating world economy will be reflected in next year’s Fiscal 2009 corporate R&D spending results. It is hard to envisage better overall performance than in 2008. For one thing, it appears that Canada’s perpetual R&D spending leader (Nortel Networks) will be absent from the list in 2009. In consequence, total corporate R&D spending will undoubtedly be affected – in a downward direction.
The full report from RE$EARCH Infosource is available here and is worth reading.
November 9, 2009
0 Comments
Ottawa-Gatineau is #9 in small business growth among Canadian CMA’s (Census Metropolitan Areas):
November 8, 2009
0 Comments
Import declines seem to have hit bottom and are now on the way up.
November 7, 2009
0 Comments
CIBC publishes two documents that provide a good summary of key economic indicators for US and Canada:
The Economist publishes weekly indicators.
BMO publishes three reports:
November 7, 2009
0 Comments
VC Investments Q3 2009 – MoneyTree – National Data
VC Investments Q3 2009 – MoneyTree – Regional Data
VC Investments Q3 2009 – MoneyTree – Top Deals
VC Investments Q3 2009 – MoneyTree – Charts
VC Investments Q3 2009 – MoneyTree – Press Release
Corporate Venture Capital Group Investment Analysis 1995 to Q1 2009
Economic Impact of Venture Capital
Venture funding stalls in third quarter
Q2 2009 VC Industry Overview
Q2 2009 PE Industry Overview
Québec’s Venture Capital Market in Q2 2009
The Impact of Venture Capital in Canada on Economy, Jobs and Innovation
November 7, 2009
0 Comments
The New York Times published an article on November 6th that talked to the point that the “broader measure of unemployment stands at 17.5%“.
The 17.5% rate includes the officially unemployed, who have looked for work in the last four weeks. It also includes discouraged workers, who have looked in the past year, as well as millions of part-time workers who want to be working full time.
The actual rate of underemployment may be even higher since the official government definitions and measures of unemployment miss other underemployment cases.
According to wikipedia, in economics, the term underemployment has three different distinct meanings and applications. All meanings involve a situation in which a person is working, unlike unemployment, where a person who is searching for work cannot find a job. Underemployment can mean:
Former U.S. labour secretary Robert Reich has said that he believes the Unofficial U.S. jobless rate could be as high as 20%.
Related:
November 6, 2009
0 Comments
CFIB’s Business Barometer® Index dropped to 67.0 in October, from 68.7 a month earlier. Measured on a scale between 0 and 100, an index level above 50 means owners expecting their business’ performance to be stronger in the next year outnumber those expecting weaker performance. According to past results, index levels normally range between 65 and 75 when the economy is growing.
The full October 2009 report is available for download.
ref: Business Barometer: National small business optimism dips slightly in October
November 6, 2009
0 Comments
| Region | Unemployment Rate |
|---|---|
| Ottawa | 5.2% |
| Gatineau | 5.9% |
| Ontario | 9.3% |
| Canada | 8.6% |
| U.S. | 10.2% (26 year high) / 17.5% (including underemployed) |
The Globe and Mail has this interactive webpage that gives numbers by city and province:
BMO publishes employment reports for the US and Canada.
Stats Canada Labour Force Survey Nov 6, 2009 provides some insights in the job types and associated impacts:
| September 2009 | October 2009 | September to October 2009 | October 2008 to October 2009 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | ||||||
| thousands | % change | |||||
| Class of worker | ||||||
| Employees | 14,110.5 | 14,039.8 | -0.5 | -3.5 | ||
| Self-employed | 2,727.5 | 2,755.0 | 1.0 | 3.9 | ||
| Public/private sector employees | ||||||
| Public | 3,433.0 | 3,407.4 | -0.7 | -1.6 | ||
| Private | 10,677.5 | 10,632.3 | -0.4 | -4.1 | ||
| All industries | 16,838.0 | 16,794.8 | -0.3 | -2.3 | ||
| Goods-producing sector | 3,714.6 | 3,708.3 | -0.2 | -8.2 | ||
| Agriculture | 319.5 | 321.9 | 0.8 | -1.3 | ||
| Natural resources | 313.0 | 301.7 | -3.6 | -11.0 | ||
| Utilities | 150.3 | 149.9 | -0.3 | 0.9 | ||
| Construction | 1,166.8 | 1,178.0 | 1.0 | -5.8 | ||
| Manufacturing | 1,765.0 | 1,756.8 | -0.5 | -11.0 | ||
| Services-producing sector | 13,123.4 | 13,086.4 | -0.3 | -0.5 | ||
| Trade | 2,662.9 | 2,632.1 | -1.2 | -1.7 | ||
| Transportation and warehousing | 797.7 | 819.9 | 2.8 | -5.8 | ||
| Finance, insurance, real estate and leasing | 1,121.1 | 1,118.0 | -0.3 | 4.4 | ||
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 1,199.8 | 1,196.9 | -0.2 | -0.6 | ||
| Business, building and other support services | 645.8 | 639.0 | -1.1 | -4.6 | ||
| Educational services | 1,188.4 | 1,196.5 | 0.7 | -1.0 | ||
| Health care and social assistance | 1,946.8 | 1,955.1 | 0.4 | 1.7 | ||
| Information, culture and recreation | 791.5 | 785.1 | -0.8 | 4.8 | ||
| Accommodation and food services | 1,032.0 | 1,034.5 | 0.2 | -2.9 | ||
| Other services | 805.4 | 785.5 | -2.5 | 2.5 | ||
| Public administration | 932.0 | 923.8 | -0.9 | -3.1 | ||
October 26, 2009
0 Comments
Morgan Stanley recently published data on key economy and internet trends. The presentation is available online at various locations, including SlideShare below:
October 8, 2009
0 Comments
The Lead to Win program is accepting applications for the November session.
If you are interested in creating your own company – check out the program at http://www.leadtowin.ca.
Spaces are limited and the program has been over subscribed for every session held so if you are interested do not delay getting your application submitted.
Check out some of the companies that have successfully made it to Phase III of Lead to Win.
October 7, 2009
0 Comments
I am involved in a new book that is now out. Members of the local Ottawa tech community have gotten together to produce a new book called “the Entrepreneurial Effect” with the foreword by Terry Matthews. It is a collection of practical lessons learned.
The book is meant to be a knowledge source for those decisions we face as we start and grow our companies, for example, the real story behind risk and investment, how to pick resellers, selling in China, and the only reasons to consider M&As.
It is also worth noting that all the authors have donated their knowledge.
All proceeds of the book will go to support student technology entrepreneurship!
Get implementable advice and support a great cause.
Check it out at: www.entrepreneurialeffect.com
Stay tuned for information on the book launch date which will be on an upcoming evening. It will be an evening worth going to.
August 14, 2009
0 Comments
| Rankings Second Quarter 2009
50 most populous metro areas ranked by job postings per capita. |
||||
| Rank (Last Qtr Rank) | Metropolitian Area | Job Postings Per 1000 People | ||
| 1 (1) | Washington, DC | 133 | ||
| 2 (2) | Baltimore, MD | 90 | ||
| 3 (3) | San Jose, CA | 80 | ||
| 4 (7) | Austin, TX | 56 | ||
| 5 (6) | Hartford, CT | 54 | ||
| 6 (9) | Seattle, WA | 53 | ||
| 7 (8) | Salt Lake City, UT | 52 | ||
| 8 (11) | Denver, CO | 50 | ||
| 9 (5) | Boston, MA | 49 | ||
| 10 (4) | Las Vegas, NV | 49 | ||
| 11 (15) | Charlotte, NC | 49 | ||
| 12 (10) | San Francisco, CA | 47 | ||
| 13 (12) | Milwaukee, WI | 41 | ||
| 14 (30) | Atlanta, GA | 40 | ||
| 15 (13) | Cincinnati, OH | 39 | ||
| 16 (14) | Oklahoma City, OK | 39 | ||
| 17 (22) | Orlando, FL | 37 | ||
| 18 (23) | Richmond, VA | 37 | ||
| 19 (24) | Jacksonville, FL | 36 | ||
| 20 (16) | Dallas, TX | 36 | ||
| 21 (18) | Phoenix, AZ | 36 | ||
| 22 (19) | Columbus, OH | 36 | ||
| 23 (21) | San Antonio, TX | 36 | ||
| 24 (20) | Tampa, FL | 35 | ||
| 25 (31) | Kansas City, MO | 34 | ||
| 26 (34) | Indianapolis, IN | 34 | ||
| 27 (33) | Sacramento, CA | 34 | ||
| 28 (17) | San Diego, CA | 33 | ||
| 29 (27) | Philadelphia, PA | 33 | ||
| 30 (35) | Nashville, TN | 33 | ||
| 31 (29) | St. Paul, MN | 33 | ||
| 32 (26) | Louisville, KY | 33 | ||
| 33 (40) | New Orleans, LA | 32 | ||
| 34 (25) | Houston, TX | 32 | ||
| 35 (28) | Cleveland, OH | 32 | ||
| 36 (37) | Providence, RI | 31 | ||
| 37 (36) | Pittsburgh, PA | 31 | ||
| 38 (38) | Memphis, TN | 30 | ||
| 39 (32) | Virginia Beach, VA | 30 | ||
| 40 (44) | St. Louis, MO | 30 | ||
| 41 (39) | Portland, OR | 30 | ||
| 42 (42) | New York, NY | 28 | ||
| 43 (41) | Birmingham, AL | 28 | ||
| 44 (46) | Chicago, IL | 27 | ||
| 45 (43) | Riverside, CA | 26 | ||
| 46 (45) | Los Angeles, CA | 24 | ||
| 47 (47) | Buffalo, NY | 24 | ||
| 48 (48) | Rochester, NY | 19 | ||
| 49 (49) | Miami, FL | 17 | ||
| 50 (50) | Detroit, MI | 15 | ||
August 12, 2009
0 Comments
Purple Forge has two immediate openings:
Visit http://www.leadtowin.ca/jobs/app/ for more information.
August 11, 2009
0 Comments
I took a COBOL course while in University (not sure why I did at the time, other then I found programming languages interesting (and still do)) and also subsequently took a part-time job as teaching assistant for COBOL courses back in the ’80′s. Unfortunately I never had occasion to use my COBOL programming skills in any meaningful way — although I found the database/records orientation of the language to be useful in other contexts.
I was recently surprised to read that COBOL – one of the industry’s oldest programming languages – still “equates to 80 percent of the world’s actively used code,” according to Stephen Kelley of Micro Focus.
August 11, 2009
0 Comments
This is another cool technology – a lab on a chip that does over 1,024 different chemical reactions in parallel.
The technical paper describing the technology is available online.
