Tag Archives: Casio Inc.

About 1999 days ago Telecom and Wireless

Blogging Behind Closed Doors

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Paul Gillin calls it the hidden blogosphere. “It” is in-house blogs, and while they haven’t garnered the same hype as companies’ public blogs, they could be just as big, says Gillin, a new media consultant, blogger and author of The New Influencers, a book on social media. “Most companies don’t publicize what they’re doing, but by some estimates, the amount of blogging going on behind corporate firewalls is maybe even greater than the amount we see in public,” he says. The reasons are simple. Blogging tools are widely available, cheap, and easy to use. The way a blog disseminates information — from one to many — gives it an edge over e-mail, says Gillin and other business and technology analysts. And unlike e-mail, people can opt to subscribe only to information that interests them, or look at information when it’s convenient, “but they don’t have to have it pushed to them in a way that’s disrupts their work,” Gillin says. For companies contemplating starting an internal blog, the first step is deciding what purpose it will serve. For that, small businesses can take a page from their larger counterparts. Microsoft, for example, started a jobs blog that lists openings and lets employees who hold those positions post comments about what the job is like. Casio uses a blog to have departments quickly change content on the company’s intranet. HP has an internal blog platform employees can use to blog on their choice of topics, although 90 percent are about what they’re working on, says Tac Anderson, Web 2.0 strategic lead at HP’s LaserJet business group in Boise, Idaho. Next steps to blogging in-house With a direction in mind, companies can take these next steps: Choose who’ll write it. Some blogs are one-person affairs. Others are a team effort. Whatever the arrangement, someone needs to be the go-to person for choosing the software, making sure things stay up and running, and handling problems. What’s the topic? Blogs can cover a lot of ground, so limiting what’s discussed might be counter productive. A better approach might be deciding what not to write about. Trade secrets and other proprietary information shouldn’t be discussed in an open forum where content could easily be copied into an e-mail message and circulated for all to see, Gillin says. Get people to use it. HP’s Anderson suggests that an internal blog-meister enlist the aid of a few well-placed company cheerleaders who’ll help promote it by posting comments and talking it up in meetings. Tools of the trade When it comes to blog software, there’s something for everyone, no matter how minor the undertaking. With such a range of choices, it follows that costs are all over the map too. Companies that want to host their own blogs can download open source software like WordPress, b2evolution, orRoller, or proprietary programs like Moveable Type. Or they can sign up for a hosted service like Blogger, TypePad, or LiveJournal. Some vendors of enterprise social networks are starting to build blogging into their platforms, including Blogtronix and Awareness Networks. If companies choose to use a third party to host their internal blog, they should double check vendor agreements to make sure they retain rights to any information stored on someone else’s servers, says Lee Huang, a Web 2.0 consultant and former director of digital strategy and technology at Nielsen Business Media, the print and Web publisher. SIDEBAR: Blogs about In-House Blogs Now that everyone and their brother is blogging, there is plenty of information about tools, tips and protocol available in — where else — blogs. Several that discuss the mechanics and nuances of enterprise blogs are: NewCommBiz.com, Tac Anderson’s blog on Web 2.0 technologies Paul Gillin’s blog, Social Media and the Open Enterprise 56 Resourceful Blogging Tips and Tools For The Young & Old, from self-proclaimed “Wordpress Rock Star” Etienne Teo, which includes links to software platforms and vendors

About 2090 days ago Wireless Networks

What Can Your Business Do with Wibree?

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It’s been more than a decade since Bluetooth was developed and deployed, serving as a wireless link between two compatible devices. But has the short-range radio technology lived up to its potential or is it more-or-less limited to hands-free headsets for cell phones? Enter “Wibree.” Wibree was developed by Nokia as an alternative — and later, complimentary — solution to Bluetooth. Wibree is also a low-power, short-range wireless technology, but it promises to fill a gap left by Bluetooth. “Wibree can be built into products such as watches, toys, wireless keyboards, gaming, healthcare and entertainment devices, and sports sensors,” says Nokia spokesman Charles Chopp. “These devices can then connect to host devices such as mobile phones and personal computers — it is essentially the missing link between small devices and mobile phones and personal computers.” For small and mid-size businesses, the advent of Wibree poses great potential, from changing how employees communicate with each other inside the office to enabling more applications for low-cost voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) to potentially allowing a business to communicate to the wrist watches, gaming devices, or pedometers of potential customers. Key advantages Wibree is said to be up to 10 times more energy-efficient than Bluetooth, but can easily be integrated with the existing technology. In fact, in June 2007 the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced that Nokia’s Wibree specification will be merged with the Bluetooth SIG and become part of the Bluetooth specification as an ultra lower power Bluetooth technology. “Because Wibree addresses devices with very low battery capacity and can be easily integrated with Bluetooth technology, it will round out Bluetooth technology’s wireless Personal Area Networking (PAN) offering and strengthen the technology’s ability to provide wireless connectivity for smaller devices,” explains Chopp. “You can think of Wibree as basically low-power Bluetooth,” confirms Gary Chen, senior analyst for Small and Medium Enterprise IT Infrastructure and Applications at the Yankee Group, the Boston-based IT research house. “Because it’s more power efficient, you’ll get longer battery life and it can be put into smaller devices, like a pen or watch.” Chopp says in many cases Wibree makes it possible to operate these devices for more than a year without recharging. “It also looks promising for healthcare,” adds Chen, “as it is able to send body sensor information wirelessly to a monitoring device.” Inherent challenges There are likely going to be adoption challenges for Wibree, as with many new technologies. Chen says it may be “very difficult.” “There are a lot of wireless standards and not-quite-standards already, however, acceptance by the Bluetooth SIG and inclusion in a future Bluetooth spec will help a lot,” says Chen. Others are optimistic that businesses and consumers will embrace Wibree-enabled devices because of their ease of use. “There is always an adoption curve for new industry standards,” Chopp says. He adds that this is why Nokia and the Bluetooth SIG both agreed that the Wibree standard would be best served under the auspices of the Bluetooth SIG, which already has participation and support from more than 8,000 companies that are advancing Bluetooth wireless technology. To date, a handful of companies have contributed to the interoperability specification of Wibree, says Chopp, including Broadcom, Casio, CSR, Epson, ItoM, Logitech, Nordic Semiconductor, ST Microelectronics, Suunto, Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd. and Texas Instruments. “Several new companies — including device, watch and access systems manufacturers — will join the finalization of the specification, and once the specification is finalized, the technology will be made broadly available to the industry via the Bluetooth SIG,” Chopp says. Coming to a business near you Nokia expects the first commercial version of the Wibree/Bluetooth interoperability specification to be available during the first half of 2008. According to internal estimates, Nokia believes they will begin to see the first stand-alone products from a few vendors in the second half of 2008. These are likely to be “small button cell battery powered devices,” says Chopp. Host devices and other dual-mode devices should emerge in first half of 2009. On its initial adoption, Chopp cites an ABI Research report published in March 2007. In it, director Stuart Carlaw predicts Wibree to be a $432 million, 809 million device industry by 2012.

About 2486 days ago PCs, Laptops, and Notebooks

Head to Head: Palm v. Windows

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Beyond budget, it’s usually the biggest decision you’ll need to make when buying a personal digital assistant for your business: should you use the Palm operating system or the Windows-based Pocket PC technology? “While they’re similar devices to a degree these days, it boils down to what you want out of a PDA and how easily it’ll plug into business needs,” says analyst Michael Gartenberg, of New York-based Jupiter Research. “On one hand, Pocket PC is very compatible with [Microsoft] Outlook and Exchange, but the Palm OS tends to be simpler and more user-friendly.” Before deciding which PDA system to deploy at your company, another factor to consider is “what the third-party application support is for each platform and how it relates to your business,” says Bob O’Donnell, IDC’s Program VP for Clients and Displays. This common operating system debate has grown a bit more complicated for a few reasons. Palm now gives its customers the choice of operating system for their signature device — the Treo. Microsoft, which now refers to its software as Windows Mobile, offers two versions: one for Pocket PC-based PDAs with a touch-screen interface and another for button-based smartphones, such as the Motorola Q. It doesn’t need to be confusing, however, if you consider both the Palm and Pocket PC each has its share of pros and cons. The following provides a brief look at what these are for both PDA types: Why buy a Palm OS device? With ten years of experience under its belt, not only has Palm created a time-tested operating system, but along with this comes a dedicated community of developers. In fact, those who use one of the many Palm OS-based PDAs can choose from more than 28,000 downloadable programs for their handheld device. And many prefer the Palm for its clean and simple (and thus intuitive) icon-based interface. “Palm has a legacy of applications available for it, and for many users, the graffiti interface is an easy way for them to enter data,” says O’Donnell. Palm OS-based digital assistants are also ideal for those businesses on a tight budget since you can pick up one, such as the palm Z22, for less than $100. If you want more features, consider the Palm TE2 ($199) with Bluetooth and an expandable SecureDigital (SD) memory slot. The Palm TX ($299) offers both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. For $399, the Palm LifeDrive includes a 4GB hard drive, integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Finally, the Palm Treo 650 or 700, which is also a cell phone, can be found for $199 to $499, depending on the carrier and length of commitment. You can tell which operating system is used by the product name: the Palm Treo 700p uses the Palm OS, while the 700w uses the — you guessed it — Windows Mobile v.5.0 platform. Why buy a Pocket PC device? Pocket PC-based products are ideal for business for several reasons. Windows Mobile 5.0 devices communicate directly with Microsoft Exchange Server and Small Business Server, so businesses can use Outlook Mobile — without requiring the management of an additional e-mail server and related costs (thus saving money and time). Plus, what this means for Pocket PCs with phone functionality, is BlackBerry-like “push e-mail,” so messages are sent to the portable device as soon as they’re received instead of having to log onto the Net to “pull” them down. As with other Windows Mobile-based devices, this push e-mail solution enables compatible devices to connect directly with Microsoft Exchange Server and Small Business Server. Microsoft’s Direct Push Technology also gives customers up-to-the-minute access to all of their Outlook information, such as e-mail, calendar, contacts and tasks. “For the same reason the BlackBerry is so successful, people want access to e-mail at any time, without booting their PC,” says ‘O’Donnell. “It’s a huge benefit for the business.” Pocket PCs sync well with desktop PCs running Windows XP. The look and feel of the Windows-based PDA will be familiar to PC Windows users. For the most part, Pocket PCs are also more powerful than their Palm OS counterparts. This extra computing power is perfect for multimedia, such as digital audio, photos, video and Web surfing via Pocket Internet Explorer. “While the Palm OS tends to be simpler and easier to use, Pocket PCs offer more functionality, and as a result, they’re more capable machines,” says Gartenberg. While generally pricier than Palm OS-based PDAs (Pocket PCs start at about $200 for an entry-level model), Pocket PC machines come from more vendors, namely: Asus, Casio, Dell, Garmin, Gateway, HP, Toshiba, and ViewSonic.

About 3855 days ago PCs, Laptops, and Notebooks

High Concept: Miracle Tablets

High Concept Dr. Ken Beer’s dream may look something like a cross between a Nintendo Game Boy and an Etch A Sketch, but he prefers to refer to it as “the future of medicine.” Beer, an entrepreneurial dermatologist, makes software for doctors to run on tablet computers. The problem is, tablet computers are just now hitting the market, which explains why Beer had to develop his software using a toy-like Casio touch-screen device that he rejiggered to suit his needs. Despite his lack of cutting-edge hardware, Beer believes that the finished software is poised to revolutionize the business of medicine while also improving patient care. First, some background on tablet computing. For years manufacturers have tried to sell the public on slate-style computers that enable users to write rather than type text. Some, like the infamous Apple Newton, made it to market and then flopped for reasons ranging from cost to clunkiness. Beginning this month, many computer makers will begin releasing next-generation tablets that, unlike their predecessors, are as powerful as PCs and boast long-life batteries and high-resolution displays. Bill Gates — whose Microsoft Corp. has created a Windows operating system for the new tablets — predicts that slate-style computers will dominate the PC market by 2006. Analysts at Forrester Research, in Cambridge, Mass., are more cautiously optimistic, saying the tablets will catch on first in paperwork-dependent industries like, say, health care. “I want it to be as simple as a McDonald’s cash register: you just touch it and it’s done,” says Dr. Ken Beer Enter Beer, a computer hobbyist. Two years ago Beer started designing comprehensive dermatology-practice software, paying freelance developers out of his own pocket. The software they produced manages a variety of tasks, from helping doctors write prescriptions and prepare bills to storing digital photographs of patients’ lesions. Using a wireless network, doctors can carry the tablets from hospital room to hospital room, instantly up-dating patients’ records or downloading results from distant labs. Beer is seeking investors and partners to help him finish and market his first program, called Dermsoftware, which is designed for dermatologists; after that, he will expand in-to other medical specialties. At $24,000 to $32,000 per system (which covers the software license, upgrades, and a Hewlett-Packard server), Beer knows that he is asking a dear price. But he is convinced that medical practices will gladly pay it. According to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, health-care providers must meet sweeping new regulations for storing, protecting, and transmitting patients’ health information by April 2003. Complying with the law could be a huge headache for doctors. Beer believes that his software offers just the relief they will need to make the transition. Incubator High Concept: Miracle Tablets Dossier: Life of the Party 60-Second Business Plan: Talking Trash Business for Sale: Plastic Burgeons Please e-mail your comments to editors@inc.com.

About 4373 days ago Mobility Tips and Tricks

You Can Take It With You

SOHO Beyond Hard-driving entrepreneurs hit the road in their high-tech mobile offices The view from Russ Abney’s office window changes constantly: bald eagles, pristine lakes, aspens, pines, and mile after mile of asphalt, gravel, and dirt. Abney’s office is the front seat of a white 1999 Chevy van. Though the van lacks a coffee machine and other trappings of corporate life, Abney wouldn’t dream of trading in his aftermarket Recaro driver’s seat with lumbar support for a swiveling leather desk chair. Abney runs a three-year-old, $400,000 forklift-sales-and-service business called Western Industrial Equipment, in Moorestown, Mich. His V8-powered office adds an extra dimension to his working life, he says. “It’s that much more freedom and that much more excitement” over and above the sense of independence most entrepreneurs enjoy, he says. CEOs in the trades and services have always spent a lot of time in their vehicles, dashing from supplier to customer to job site. Abney himself has 30 years of experience at working out of his truck — enough to know how to make a tuna sandwich while barreling down an expressway, and enough to know better. But today technology is changing the way Abney and others like him manage their time. “Cell phones, laptops, wireless — in the last five years these have taken off,” says George Phirippidis, CEO of the Mobile Office Outfitter, a manufacturer and retailer of car- and truck-office organizers in Pleasanton, Calif. “A lot of people don’t have to have an office. They can do everything right out of their vehicles. The efficiency, time savings, and reduced overhead make it the right formula for entrepreneurs.” Entrepreneurs like Abney, who need the flexibility of a home office with the added benefit of near-infinite mobility. Call it SOHO on wheels. It works for Abney. One of his favorite on-the-road gizmos is a global positioning system device called the Garmin StreetPilot. To use it, Abney punches in a customer’s address, and the StreetPilot’s color screen displays a map, directions to the address, and a tiny cartoon car indicating his van’s location. “Previous to owning this, I’d go to obscure, out-of-the way places, and I couldn’t find my way around,” he says. “I’ve been late several times, and I got very tense. This relieves a lot of stress.” Besides navigating boreal Michigan, Abney’s biggest challenge is staying in touch with his customers and his vendors. A few years ago Abney bought a wireless phone that doubled as a portable fax. But in the remote areas where he services forklifts — at farms, warehouses, and forestry and fishing outfits — his connection often conked out. He also tried using an alphanumeric pager but found that only people with the same setup could return his text messages. His inelegant solution: ditch the useless fancy stuff and make do with two Nokia cell phones, a Motorola pager, and a Casio handheld computer that sits in a cradle mounted on the dashboard. Abney is “impatiently waiting” for the all-in-one smart phone his service provider has promised. Until that sleek machine arrives, Abney knows that his communication kludge is key to his ability to make a living in the wilderness that he loves. “Last summer I was salmon fishing on Lake Michigan, and I handled a sale from the boat,” he says, adding that the deal was worth $5,000. “It would be very difficult to do what I’m doing without help from technology,” he concludes. The view from steve fogel’s office is different from Abney’s — Fogel sees dogwoods rather than aspens, and a lot more houses — but it’s just as dynamic. Fogel owns one-year-old Platinum Exteriors Inc., a $1.2-million roofing company in Oakton, Va. He does all his own selling and manages every job himself. His office is the cab of a charcoal gray 2000 Chevy Silverado with heated seats and leather trim. “It’s like sitting in your living room,” he says. “I bought a really nice truck, because driving is such an integral part of what I do.” Fogel spends 70% of his working day calling on prospects and shuttling between jobs. A Hitachi notebook computer, on which Fogel estimates jobs and manages accounts, rests on the front seat. A Palm III handheld computer, in which he stores contacts and a daily to-do list, sits on the nonskid armrest. “Just like in a good office, you have everything at your fingertips,” he says. Of all his tech tools, however, Fogel reckons his Motorola digital phone with Nextel Communications’ two-way radio service is the most important. His $170 monthly phone bill includes membership in Nextel’s Builders’ Network, a nationwide circle of vendors and contractors. Fogel can summon a contractor — a carpenter framing a new building, for example — to find out whether a job site is ready for his roofers. Then he can order supplies and dispatch a crew with the same radio. “It’s a major, major time-saver,” he says. Fogel estimates that his electronic toolbox has boosted his productivity by 40% to 50%. Now he has his eye on a BlackBerry wireless E-mail device that he could use to correspond with the tech-savvy homeowners who make up his customer base in northern Virginia. Like Abney, Fogel isn’t envious of the watercooler crowd. “I thought of merging with a larger company that wanted me to come in,” Fogel says. “But in the end, being in control and flexible with my time, being able to see my kids and do things on my own without answering to anybody, won.” Still, it’s lonely out there. DJs talk, but they don’t listen. So Fogel and three fellow moving targets — a carpenter, a remodeler, and a mason — meet two to three times a week for lunch or happy hour at Fat Tuesday’s, a local watering hole. “We call it ‘the boardroom,” Fogel says. Automakers started catering heavily to the truck-cab CEO in 1994, when Dodge introduced its new Ram pickup. “They had studied customers and found that lots of them were using their vehicles as mobile offices,” says Dale Jewett, industry editor at Automotive News magazine. “One of the significant features was a very large center console that folded down from the bench seat that could hold laptops and cell phones.” The 2002 Ram has no fewer than 17 cargo compartments inside the cab. Other car companies are competing by offering special storage areas for everything from briefcases to blueprints. GMC’s Sierra Professional, a truck that’s targeted specifically at contractors, will roll off the assembly line this fall featuring a “vocational center console” with power and storage stations for cell phones and handheld computers — not to mention a removable lunch cooler. “People were working out of their trucks anyway. Why wouldn’t we want to make it easier for them?” says Rick Asher, assistant director of communications at Pontiac-GMC. The mobile office, it seems, is growing up. The Mobile Office Outfitter’s Phirippidis says that sales of his front-seat gadget organizers are outstripping sales of the traditional trunk-based filing systems he started selling to traveling salespeople 10 years ago. And features like OnStar, an onboard safety and security system, are evolving into mobile Internet services for cars, or “telematics” — a $1.3-billion industry, estimates Rob Hegblom, a senior analyst with market researcher Strategis Group, in Washington, D.C. You can even have a computer installed directly into the dash, like the Q-PC (starting at $2,895). Unfortunately, there’s one thing that no technology company can provide, something that Steve Fogel says he would like to have more than any computerized toy: a driver. Fogel’s SOHO Essentials Office: 2000 Chevy Silverado pickup with interior-upgrade option package, $34,000. Hitachi America notebook, $2,400. Mobile: Palm III handheld computer, $300. Motorola digital phone, $225. Nextel Communications’ two-way- radio service, $170 a month. Background noise: Sports radio. Abney’s SOHO Essentials Office: 1999 Chevy van, $21,000. Recaro lumbar-support driver’s seat, $800. Casio Cassiopeia handheld computer, $500. Mobile: Garmin StreetPilot GPS, $800. Nokia cell phones, $209 apiece, plus $60 a month in service charges. Motorola pager, $59 plus $15 a month in service charges. Background noise: Anything from blues to motivational books on tape. Please e-mail your comments to editors@inc.com.

About 4555 days ago E-Commerce

Upstarts: Digital Photography

Photo Opportunities Digital-photo start-ups get ready for their close-up By the time Mark Platshon landed a meeting with celebrated Kleiner Perkins venture capitalist John Doerr in mid-1999, Platshon and his online digital-photo business, Zing Network Inc., had already been snubbed by a dozen other VCs. So Platshon couldn’t help bracing for rejection when — midway through his pitch — Doerr walked out and began rummaging around in an adjoining office. But as suddenly as he had exited Doerr rushed back in, hastily pulling a brand-new digital camera out of its box. Finding nothing in the accompanying literature about uploading, accessing, and distributing digital images on the Internet — a major component of Zing’s business — Doerr concluded that Platshon had hit on a missed market opportunity. Kleiner Perkins took the lead in a $14-million round of financing for Zing that closed in August 1999. “Doerr just got it,” remembers Platshon. “He understood the significance of the consumer shift to digital photography and that it would remake the entire industry in just a few years.” Indeed, Boston-based InfoTrends Research Group Inc. projects that online photofinishing will be a $4.4-billion worldwide market by 2005. The start-ups jostling for position in this emerging field have staked their claims in slightly different territories. Some have opted to become digital photo processors, creating hard-copy prints of film and digital media, and uploading digital images to the Web. (See “Someday Your Prints Will Come,” below.) Others, including San Francisco-based Zing, outsource their customers’ printing needs and focus on Web-based storage and sharing of digital images. A collage of services Among storage-and-sharing sites, Zing’s stands out for garnering some 3.5 million users each month. That’s quite a following, considering that three years ago the company was headed in a completely different direction. When Platshon stepped in as CEO, in December 1997 — after a yearlong stint with Zing investor Alloy Ventures Inc., in Palo Alto — the company was developing imaging technology for use in Web-based advertising. But by late 1998, Platshon saw a bigger market for online photography management as part of an Internet business for uploading, storing, and sharing digital images. “And so,” he says, “we changed the business.” Since making that shift, Platshon has made acquisitions a major part of Zing’s growth strategy. He began by purchasing image-uploading technology developed by FotoNation Inc. that provides a camera-to-Web connection, enabling digital photographers to plug their cameras into computers and connect through the Internet directly with Zing. Platshon has also sealed deals with manufacturers that have agreed to install FotoNation’s uploading technology in their cameras, making Zing the default Internet destination for users of digital cameras sold by Sony, Casio, and Nikon. Those deals are driving customers to Zing’s site, where product E-tailing accounts for some two-thirds of revenues, Platshon says. In E-tailing, too, he has bought his way into the business. Last January, Zing acquired Pix.com, which scans digital images onto everything from calendars and cookies to mouse pads and T-shirts. Platshon added another source of E-commerce revenues in August, when he snapped up Eframes.com, a high-margin, high-end framing business that handles its own digital printing. That deal may enable Zing to collect revenues from competitors that outsource printing and framing services to Eframes, which has retained its name within the Zing network. “Eframes can provide its services to anyone, even businesses that might be Zing competitors,” Platshon says. Enjoying its Kodak moment In contrast with Zing, which has focused exclusively on digital converts, San Francisco-based PhotoPoint Corp. has positioned itself as a go-between for film users who are just now beginning to go digital. Launched in August 1998, PhotoPoint seized an early-mover advantage in the online photo-sharing space through a partnership with PictureVision Inc., a subsidiary of Eastman Kodak Co. In that deal, PhotoPoint CEO Ed Bernstein agreed to pay Kodak a flat fee in exchange for access to the film- and digital-camera users who bring their pictures to 40,000 Kodak PhotoNet processing locations throughout the country. Bernstein proposed the deal as a way for Kodak’s digital-development division to provide its customers with long-term Internet-based storage, sharing, and image-enhancement tools. Because PhotoPoint provides free long-term storage for Kodak’s brick-and-mortar retail customers, the Kodak retailers stand to get more reprint orders over a longer time period, Bernstein says. And PhotoPoint enjoys direct access to established Kodak customers. As Bernstein sees it, PhotoPoint’s tie-in with an old-economy film-industry giant is the surest way to build market share in the burgeoning digital field. Close to 90% of camera users have yet to take the digital leap, after all. And although digital-camera sales are predicted to soar, a survey by Jupiter Communications Inc. found that 37% of consumers would rather store digital images at home than post them on the Web. Bernstein is betting that PhotoPoint can leverage Kodak’s trusted brand name to reduce such consumer wariness. When Kodak customers pick up their prints, they receive directions on how to transfer digital versions of their pictures from a Kodak site — where the images are stored at no charge for 30 days — to the PhotoPoint site, where they can get free long-term storage, as well as find tools to create and share online albums, and buy PhotoPoint merchandise. “We’re all about making it brain-dead simple to get your digital images to the Web,” says Bernstein, noting that PhotoPoint now hosts more than 13 million photos. For PhotoPoint, Zing, and their competitors, consumer education remains the biggest and most daunting hurdle. As Bernstein puts it: “Our mission is to transform customers into digital users without fundamentally changing the way they think about and use pictures.” D.M. Osborne is a senior writer at Inc. Someday Your Prints Will Come Serial entrepreneur Kamran Mohsenin eased into the summer of 1999 with time on his hands. Having recently sold his second start-up, Mohsenin was scanning the landscape for a new business venture and playing with one of the toys he bought with the spoils of his company’s sale — a new digital camera. “The camera was taking great pictures,” Mohsenin recalls. “The problem was, I wasn’t able to get quality prints.” In a flash, Mohsenin hit on the idea for his third and most recent start-up, Ofoto Inc. Soon, Mohsenin was caught up in a heated race among online digital photofinishers, including Shutterfly.com. “It’s a huge market, and the competition is fierce,” observes David Hornick, who is on Ofoto’s advisory board. Founded in July 1999, Ofoto, based in Berkeley, Calif., has adopted a clicks-and-bricks business model. Like Shutterfly, Ofoto has invested millions in terra firma photo-development labs. At the same time, online photofinishers have seized upon technological advances to carve out an Internet-based niche in the photo-processing market, which has traditionally been dominated by industry giants like Eastman Kodak Co. To the extent that these nimble start-ups can secure a foothold — and create new, Web-based efficiencies — before bigger competitors lumber into the market, their payout could be huge. Margins in the traditional photo-development business typically run as high as 50%. Thus the game right now is all about grabbing market share. Toward that end, Ofoto and Shutterfly are competing to become the photo processor of choice for a bundle of other start-ups that outsource printing for their online photo storage and sharing. At the same time Ofoto and Shutterfly are reaching out to picture takers of all stripes by offering steep discounts on old-fashioned film processing (returning prints by snail mail), as well as digitizing the images for online viewing and distribution. It’s an updated twist on a low-cost, mail-order film-processing service popularized a few years ago by Seattle Film Works, recently renamed PhotoWorks Inc., in its own bid to straddle the digital divide. For its part, Ofoto has concentrated on high-level business-to-business partnerships. It’s teamed up with InfoSpace Inc., for example, to become the preferred print shop for that company’s affiliate network of 2,500 Web-based businesses, which provide communications and commerce infrastructure services for wireless devices. Ofoto has also sealed a deal to print the digital images sold through the Internet division of Corbis Corp., which boasts an online archive of 2.1 million images — from fine art to quirky photography. Meanwhile, Shutterfly, based in Redwood City, Calif., has gone directly after consumers. Since cofounding Shutterfly, in December 1999, CEO Jayne Spiegelman has cut cross-promotional deals with such portals as Yahoo and Homestead.com. Spiegelman, who hails from senior-level retailing posts at the Good Guys and Macy’s West, has also persuaded electronics retail outlets to display Shutterfly’s sample prints at camera counters. “We wanted to connect with customers at the point of purchase,” she says. Market Snapshots A sampling of other digital-photography players Snapfish.com, San Francisco Business concept: Offers basic printing and digitizing of film images free of charge. Depends primarily on advertising revenues but also sells photo equipment and merchandise and charges for reprints. Competitive advantage: A superlow price point and a catchy marketing campaign engineered by a branding expert with experience at Kraft and Nabisco. Major challenge: Proving its advertising-revenue model, which has fallen out of favor among investors. Also, to access image files stored on the site, customers must provide demographic information used for advertising purposes. eMemories Inc., Los Angeles Business concept: Enables amateur photographers to create online photo albums. Makes money selling hard-copy prints and albums. Competitive advantage: Being the exclusive photo-sharing community for the Women.com network and the teen site Alloy.com, and securing a slot on the Earthlink personal start page. Major challenge: Beefing up its E-commerce offerings. At press time, eMemories’ merchandise was limited to mouse pads, mugs, hats, and T-shirts. DotPhoto Inc., West Trenton, N.J. Business concept: Allows digital-camera users to upload images, create their own voice-over “captions,” and share pictures through E-mail links. An ad-free site, DotPhoto offers a sliding-scale subscription-fee plan that may appeal to people who don’t want to be bombarded with marketing come-ons. Competitive advantage: Its proprietary “talking pictures” technology. DotPhoto is the first site of its kind to accept both image and sound files from digital devices. Major challenge: Gaining traction and getting noticed. A relative latecomer to the market, DotPhoto is funded by founder Glenn Paul and carries less clout with prospective partners than its venture-backed competitors do. Q&A The Big Picture Can these digital-photo start-ups successfully take on the Kodaks and Fujis of the world? The outlook might best be described as blurry. To help us bring this expanding and highly competitive space into focus, Inc. spoke to Lia Schubert, an analyst at Boston-based InfoTrends Research Group who follows developments in the online digital-image arena very closely. Q: Some entrepreneurs describe what’s happening in the online digital-image domain as a renaissance in the photography business. What’s your reaction? A: Yes, we’re seeing all the signs of a renaissance. Digital photography combined with the Internet is creating a paradigm shift in the way personal pictures are captured, shared, stored, and printed. New players are coming out of the woodwork with innovative business models. We’re seeing renewed interest in photography as a result. Q: Traditional photo processors are expected to offer digital photofinishing services in their retail centers. How can these start-ups compete with them? A: The key advantage that online photofinishers have is that they’ve already developed their services before retail solutions have been actively promoted. Online photofinishers are reaching out to digital-camera users through strategic partnerships and free-print promotions, teaching those users that it is possible to order photo-quality prints online. If the online start-ups can gain significant mind share before retail services become more competitive, then they may be able to lock in a certain portion of the market. Q: How big a slice of that market do you expect the start-ups to capture? A: It would be too speculative to predict a precise number right now. Start-ups will succeed according to their ability to secure the capital necessary to scale up their operations and to draw in and retain members. But it’s safe to say that traditional photofinishers, like Fuji and Kodak, will garner a significant portion of market share. Please e-mail your comments to editors@inc.com.

About 4738 days ago PCs, Laptops, and Notebooks

A Soloist’s Blueprint

CEO’s Start-Up Toolkit: CEO Profile An architect relies on good old-fashioned word of mouth to outfit his high-tech office in the woods Tony Fallon resisted the computer revolution for as long as he possibly could. Sole proprietor of Tony Fallon Architecture, the firm he founded in 1992, Fallon prepared his drawings and did other work entirely by hand until 1996. That’s when he had to face the fact that — as much as he hated the idea — a computer could significantly increase his productivity. Plus he was in danger of losing business without one. So he held his nose and bought an Apple Macintosh outfitted with MiniCAD drafting software. Even then, the system sat untouched for a year until Fallon — who had rarely used a computer – decided that it was finally time to get on with it. You could call Fallon a classic antigeek (he still thinks sledgehammers should come standard with every computer), but he has ramped up rapidly. Today he couldn’t run his Strafford, N.H., office without computers. Inc. Technology asked Fallon to imagine his office as a tabula rasa waiting to be filled with computer equipment. We invited him to draw up a list of the machinery he would need if he were starting from scratch, set a realistic budget, and then hit the stores — both online and off. Fallon’s needs assessment and shopping experience were very real — and instructive to any soloist just starting out or contemplating a technology refresh. What wasn’t real was the budget — Fallon hasn’t yet purchased any equipment on his wish list. Little office in the woods Fallon designs summer houses, home additions, and affordable housing, in addition to planning public buildings such as libraries, theaters, and churches. He had worked in architectural firms for many years but struck out on his own nearly eight years ago. For a time, Fallon’s company was known as Aeropera (pronounced air opera), which is loosely translated as spatial compositions. His professional tag line was “composure for your space.” “I compose my designs like music or writing,” says Fallon. “I try to put it all together so the total assembly has value in itself. It’s not just that you’ve got the $10,000 Jacuzzi and the $3,000 fancy windows. It’s that the space is proportional.” Fallon, 43, physically embodies the composure he strives for in his designs. With a shock of white hair and light blue eyes, he has an imperturbable air. Used to soothing high-strung clients all day long, he can — and does — talk to anyone. Not that there are all that many people to talk to where Fallon lives and works. One robust system can be more cost-effective than two or more cheaper ones used for different tasks. Indeed, tiny Strafford is so rural that there’s no cable of any kind; broadband is a distant dream. Fallon accesses the Internet at the pedestrian rate of 28.8Mbps, courtesy of the local phone company. Still, his profession requires a robust set of gear. Fallon needs the fastest chip, the most RAM, and the roomiest hard disk he can afford for storing his massive drawings (each comprising several megabytes) and running VectorWorks, his architectural software package. In keeping with his original platform choice, Fallon will stick with the Mac, because he doesn’t want the hassle of porting his files to a PC format. He needs a laptop so he can access his files when he’s visiting client sites. He also thinks he needs two cheaper desktop machines: one to function as a server and one for accounting tasks. One unessential but seductive option he’d like to add: the ability to send digital pictures — even video clips — by E-mail to show clients the progress on their homes. He also needs a costly plotter to print his blueprints (using a plotter service would be less money up front but not timely enough). Other items on his wish list: a multifunction scanner-printer-copier machine, an uninterruptible power supply, a surge protector, a personal digital assistant, an external backup drive, and a cell phone. But, as for any soloist, money is tight. Fallon figures a bare-minimum office setup based on the Mac platform will cost about $11,000, which he plans to finance through a combination of cash and an equipment lease. Exploring the options When it comes to researching computer equipment, Fallon defines the word methodical (just what you’d expect from someone who reads the dictionary for fun). His information sources include the Dogpile.com search engine, Consumer Reports, MacMall.com, CNet, the MacWarehouse catalog, and the advice of a Mac-savvy land surveyor with whom Fallon works. He spends a week or two mulling information from those sources and then hits the stores. For Fallon, human interaction — not price or convenience — is paramount. “I can rattle off the right buzzwords,” he says. “I know just enough to be dangerous. But it is great to have someone geeky help you.” When Fallon needed equipment in the past, he paid Scott Drummey, an Apple consultant based in Dover, N.H., $60 per hour to devise a list, which Fallon took to his favorite store, Computer Town in Salem, N.H. Skip all-in-one machines that fax, copy, print, and scan. Buy separate systems that do one thing well. Fallon haunts the smaller, Mac-oriented computer stores at off-peak hours, when he can get to know the salespeople by name. He has an Irishman’s love of dialogue. (Once he even sent a salesperson a $100 check because he’d bent the guy’s ear for so long and left without buying anything.) On this shopping trip, salespeople offer up a number of pointers, which Fallon either uses or ignores. For instance, salespeople at three stores all advise him not to buy a multifunction machine. (He had been eyeing the Epson Stylus Scan 2000, which included fax, copier, scanner, and printer functions for an attractive $250.) Jon Claflin, a salesman at Computer Town, calls multifunction machines “the bottom of the barrel for all the different elements.” Due to the overwhelming consensus, Fallon agrees that he’ll have to spend some extra money and split up the printing, scanning, and copying functions into separate machines. Fallon also heeds consultant Drummey’s advice that there’s no need to buy three separate computers (a laptop, a desktop for accounting functions, and a desktop to function as a server). Fallon needs a server to provide extra horsepower so he can print blueprints on the plotter without hanging up his main workstation for hours. Drummey points out that Fallon could use one desktop computer — he recommends an iMac DV series machine (400MHz with 64MB of RAM) for about $1,300 — for both functions. Fallon is quickly persuaded. (That decision will help bring him in more than $2,000 under budget, for a final sum of $8,881.) On the other hand, Fallon is unmoved by Claflin’s argument that an Iomega Zip 250 USB drive (about $180) would not be adequate for backup. Claflin recommends VST Technologies’ FireWire external hard drive (which will connect through the PowerBook’s FireWire drive) with 14GB of memory for $429. After consulting with Drummey, Fallon decides to save nearly $250 by going with the Zip drive. And if he loses files, well, he can always go back to the drawing board. Lauren Gibbons Paul is a freelance writer based in Waban, Mass. The Gear He Picked MAIN WORKSTATION: Fallon likes to beat computer makers at their own game by buying models that have just become obsolete. So he was in the market for a 333MHz PowerBook notebook (about $1,900). But Fallon’s advisers urged him to spend about $600 extra on a PowerBook G3 with a 400MHz chip, a 6GB hard drive, and 64MB of RAM (about $2,500). The extra money translated into a faster chip, more RAM, and two FireWire ports (which allow high-speed data transfer between the machine and peripherals such as digital cameras). Final Choice: PowerBook G3, $2,494, from Computer Town COLLATERAL WORKSTATION: Since he needs a desktop machine only to perform some accounting tasks and to function as a print server, Fallon economized as much as possible on this choice. Luckily for him, now is a good time to buy an iMac. With a 400MHz G3 processor, 64MB of RAM, a 10GB hard disk, and dual 400Mbps FireWire ports, the iMac DV is a bargain at just over $1,300. Final Choice: iMac DV series, $1,323, from Computer Town PLOTTER: The Achilles’ heel of Fallon’s budget — and the bane of his crowded office — the plotter was the most expensive and heftiest piece of equipment on his shopping list. Because this is mission-critical equipment, it made sense for Fallon to drop some dough on this machine. Fallon bypassed several cheaper models and opted for a 36-inch (E-size) Hewlett-Packard DesignJet with 300-dpi color capability (600 dpi for black). Final Choice: HP DesignJet 488CA, $3,534, from Hewlett-Packard PRINTER: Fallon needed a printer that could handle 17-by-22-inch color output. He decided to purchase a stand-alone model rather than an all-in-one printer-scanner-copier-fax machine. Final Choice: Epson Stylus 1520, $590 (with PostScript add-on), from Computer Town SCANNER: Once he made the decision to split up the scanning, printing, faxing, and copying functions, Fallon wasn’t much interested in researching each choice to death. He took the advice of a Mac adviser and picked a relatively inexpensive scanner model from Umax. Final Choice: Umax Astra 2200, $199, from MacMall.com CELL PHONE: Fallon chose this model for Nokia’s reputed reliability. Service: SunCom. Final Choice: Nokia 5160, $99 (plus activation fee and a $35 service charge per month that includes 300 minutes) DIGITAL CAMERA: Fallon was sorely tempted by Epson PhotoPC 850Z (about $800), which can handle panoramic views and has a microphone capability for documenting each photo. Though that would be useful when sending site photos to clients, Fallon couldn’t justify the expense. He went for a cheaper model. Final Choice: Epson PhotoPC 650, $300, from Computer Town The Gear He Skipped COMBINATION MOUSE-TRACKBALL: The Kensington Orbit mouse-trackball is easier to position and more precise than a conventional mouse — a real temptation for an architect — but Fallon stuck with the mouse that came with his PowerBook G3. Saved: $50 FLAT-PANEL MONITOR: Fallon wanted the 15-inch flat-panel Apple Studio Display, but he knew he could get by without it. Saved: $1,299 COPIER Fallon regretfully knocked the Sharp AL-1220 off his list; it put too much of a strain on the budget. Fallon will visit the local Kinko’s for copies, though that will mean driving and gas expenses. Saved: about $850 HANDHELD DEVICE: Fallon’s wife bought him a Casio electronic organizer for Christmas many years ago, and it’s been collecting dust ever since. Although he realizes both the functionality and the size of handhelds have improved greatly, Fallon prefers to carry a tiny calendar and a notebook in his pocket, a trick he learned at the knee of his businessman father. Saved: about $200 STAND-ALONE FAX: Fallon felt that he maxed out his budget on the stand-alone printer and scanner, so he didn’t want to cough up extra for the fax machine. He decided to use the software fax capabilities that come standard on the Mac. Saved: about $250 For more on the gear you really need to start and grow your small business, see our CEO’s Start-Up Toolkit. Please e-mail your comments to editors@inc.com.