From the programmable web – conflict history:
An interesting mashup of conflicts on a map, with links to wikipedia articles.
Twitter It!Conflict history – map of troubles in the world
Written by turnerst on November 8th, 2009Twitter … lists are maybe part of the answer?
Written by turnerst on November 4th, 2009I read my newspaper tonight as if I was digesting it twitter style. What I saw in the paper were short headlines that tried to capture my attention. Detail was immediately available should I want to read more. I don’t know what percent of the paper I read every day, but I reckon its 20%, although I capture a lot of headlines. Additionaly, the newspaper has some reputation “Britain’s best selling quality daily newspaper”… so I kind of trust that they are not wasting my time.
I then read the local village magazine. Again it was headlines, however I probably read 50% as it feels more relavent.
Then I looked at the local politicians rag – “south cambs focus” or something like that and I actually read most of it as it deals with issues very close to home and I like to see if our politicians are making a difference.
This does not mean I am not a global thinker. I am. I guess what needs to start forming in twitter is trusted sources, trusted lists? And then there to be some content behind the “headline” in case I wish to drill in.
I don’t want to know if people are going out for the day unless I really know them. Then they will be on my “friends I know list”.
So in summary, lists are part of the answer. Linking to further context / content is king. I think twitter will either survive or will evolve in to something else. Either way, it’s a catalyst for change. Change doesn’t always bring money.
Twitter It!Twitter lists
Written by turnerst on November 4th, 2009Twitter have recently launched lists. I’m still working out how best to use them. below are some useful links that I’ve found..
Link to some twitter lists …
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-list-of-twitter-lists-you-should-follow-2009-10
and here is a link on how to use twitter lists …
http://mashable.com/2009/11/02/twitter-lists-guide/
Twitter It!Zoho hosted CRM – Mail Merge
Written by turnerst on November 4th, 2009If you want to do a mail merge from Zoho CRM, follow the simple steps outlined on this page: http://blogs.zoho.com/general/mail-merge-with-zoho-crm
It is very straightforward to setup, and once you have a mail merge template, you can use it over and over.
Twitter It!Wallace and Gromit
Written by turnerst on November 4th, 2009I noticed that the Google home page had a nice picture of Wallace and Gromit. I think it might be because they are 20 years old today!
Google home page - Wallace and Gromit
It brought back fond memories of watching Wallace and Gromit with my kids – two of the funniest scenes that I remember were where Gromit was going around the house on a train set and was being chased by Wallace – I think that was “The Wrong Trousers” and the other was when Gromit was having a dog fight with the bulldog and at one point the bulldogs plane started spluttering so he got out his pink sequined purse and put some more money in to the plane to keep it flying!!! (Curse of the were rabbit??)
Very funny!
Not Wallace and Gromit, but good animations: Toy Story I was also very good and Snowman is an old family favourite. Oohh, it’s nearly Christmas!
Twitter It!Cambridge IT Support
Written by turnerst on November 4th, 2009One thing that continues to impress me about Cambridge is the diversity of ideas. There is clearly a bio-tech leaning, however there are also other very good non-bio companies in the mix.
One of the challenges with the current IT support companies in Cambridge is that they offer a certain set of services, however many companies in Cambridge are looking for a wide range of skills in IT. Being in IT is a bit like being a doctor – you are expected to know about every ailment. This is where Nuage can help – we are like the GP for small businesses in Cambridge when it comes to IT – we have a good understanding of what small businesses in Cambridge are looking for in terms of IT and we cover the spectrum which we think that Cambridge Bio-tech, Business park and small companies are looking for:
- IT Support within Cambridge to help setting up their IT or moving them on to the next phase of their product development. Nuage only currently offer this IT support in Cambridge.
- Telephone system – we provide a telephone system which has hundreds of features. One feature it does not have is that it costs lots of money and ties you in to a long term contract. We are happy to talk about long term contracts, however our minimum terms and conditions are one month. Our small business telephone system, specifically aimed at the Cambridge Bio-tech and small business market, enables you to communicate with the rest of the world at a fraction of the cost for a similar system from BT or other small business telephone providers. Talk to us first before you put pen to paper!
- Email, Web-site hosting, Domain hosting – We provide a very competitive email (hosted exchange or on-site exchange) servide, host websites with PHP, MYSQL, Windows, Frontpage facilities. We can also host your domain, safely and securely.
- File server, security and backup – we provide the best facility available to any Bio-Tech or small business in Cambridge for keeping your files and data secure. Our system is very elegant, does not have any maintenance or up-front costs and gives you access to your information wherever you may be in the world.
- Database, Trial, CRF, Website development – we leverage the latest technologies including Filemaker, Microsoft Access, Python, JAVA to bring you the best bespoke development available to Bio-tech and small businesses in Cambridge. We leverage off-shore and on-shore people to bring you the best solution at the right price.
If you want to learn more, then please visit our website: http://nuage-it.com or contact us here.
Twitter It!Cambridge Bio-Tech office move, including business telephone system
Written by turnerst on November 4th, 2009We have just moved one of our clients in to their new offices in Riverside on Granta Park in Cambridge. Breathe did the fit out and we did the IT side.
High level list of “things” we did:
- Ensure email was available during the office move – we actually hosted their exchange server at our facilities as they are not currently using our hosted exchange platform (we’re talking to them about it!).
- Install telephone system. Our solution provides a huge amount of advantages over a traditional small business telephone systems: No long term contract, monthly pay as you go, direct dial numbers to each phone, email when voice mail received, many different ringing options when the mainline is called, ability to port numbers from BT and other providers. The telephone system is a completely hosted solution – if they move offices tomorrow, they can take the system with them without any contract penalties and losing any business through changing telephone numbers.
- Provide IT Support troubleshooting during initial power up
- Supply BenQ 22″ monitors as they wanted to create a “wow” factor when staff entered the office on the Monday morning!!
- Provide broadband – we ended up supplying two broadband connections to increase bandwidth. We combined the broadband connections using a clever use of routers etc. There are also network providers who will combine ADSL circuits at source
All in all a fairly stress free move. The only challenge was waiting for BT to “enable” the broadband connection.
One questions remains: I’m confused why we can build brilliant Bio-Tech research facilities in Cambridge without whopping great Internet connection speeds.
Twitter It!Office phone system – You tube videos …
Written by turnerst on October 19th, 2009We recommend Grandstream GXP2000 handsets for use with our office telephone system.
Below are links to you tube videos we have found that help explain some of the phones features. They were not recorded by us, however we found them useful. Enjoy:
Attended transfer – this is where you transfer a call to someone else by asking them if they want to take the call first.
Blind transfer – this is where you transfer a call without asking the person if they want the call.
Call forwarding – forward all calls to your extension to a different number. Note that this is for temporary call forwarding, you can create routing rules to handle more permanent call sequences. This video explains how to deactivate call forwarding.
Conference call – Note that this is useful for ad-hoc conferences. We can provide a dedicated conference bridge if you have regular conferences.
Do not disturb – Send everyone directly to voice mail …
Redial and Hold – How to redial the last number and put a call on hold.
Twitter It!Installation screencasts …
Written by turnerst on October 19th, 2009We now have a number of screen casts available to assist users with installing some of our products:
Configuring an Exchange account in Outlook 2007
Setting up an IMAP account in Outlook 2007
Installing x-lite as a soft phone for your office telephone (VoIP)
Twitter It!