Advertise your Eastern Plains Business!
Posted on | April 14, 2009 | No Comments
In tough times like these and big chain stores moving ever closer it is nice to know that you can still depend on your community to support you. Please feel free to add your business no matter how big or small to this directory so that we can continue keeping our communities alive.
Come join us on Eastern Colorado Blog
Tags: Blog > Build > Chat > Colorado > Eastern > Friends > Groups > Small Business > Website
eBay Plans IPO for Skype Web-Calling Business in 2010
Posted on | April 14, 2009 | No Comments
By Joseph Galante
April 14 (Bloomberg) — EBay Inc., the most-visited U.S. e-commerce site, is planning an initial public offering for its Skype Internet-calling unit, which the company bought in 2005 for $2.6 billion.
The IPO is slated for the first half of 2010, though the timing will depend on market conditions, the San Jose, California-based company said today in a statement. EBay wrote down the value of the acquisition to $1.2 billion in 2007.
Skype doesn’t fit well with the company’s other businesses, EBay Chief Executive Officer John Donahoe said. The program, which lets people make calls and hold videoconferences over the Internet, accounts for about 6 percent of EBay’s sales. Donahoe has faced pressure from investors to unload the unit and focus on improving EBay’s e-commerce site, where revenue is dropping.
“The numbers on the business have been phenomenal,” said Paul Bard, an analyst with Renaissance Capital LLC in Greenwich, Connecticut. “I think there would be substantial investor interest.”
The IPO could raise $500 million to $1 billion for EBay, depending on how much equity EBay gives up, Bard said. Skype’s market value could be $3 billion to $5 billion, he said.
EBay rose 54 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $14.92 in late trading after closing at $14.38 today on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares have climbed 3 percent this year.
Skype Founders
Skype’s founders, Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, had approached several private-equity firms about buying the company from EBay, the New York Times reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter.
“I don’t think this limits their options in any way of what they could do with Skype,” said Laura Martin, an analyst with Soleil Securities Group Inc. in Los Angeles. She has a hold rating on EBay shares, which she doesn’t own.
Donahoe is looking to the public markets at a time when demand for IPOs has evaporated. Mead Johnson Nutrition Co., a former Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. unit, was the only IPO by a U.S.-based company so far in 2009. The company, the world’s biggest maker of baby formula, raised $828 million in February. Last year, 20 companies went public in the first quarter, raising a total of $24 billion.
Revenue Growth
Skype’s revenue grew 44 percent last year to $551 million. It handles 8 percent of all cross-border voice traffic, making it the world’s largest provider of international calls, according to research firm TeleGeography in Washington.
At the time of the purchase in 2006, then-CEO Meg Whitman wanted buyers and sellers on the auction site to use Skype to communicate about expensive items. EBay wrote down Skype’s value a year later, signaling that it had overestimated the unit’s growth rate.
Zennstrom and Friis, who founded Skype in 2003, also created the Kazaa file-sharing software.
Donahoe said in April 2008 that he would spend a year evaluating whether Skype was a good fit for the company. Since then, he has said Skype is a good business and that the company was in no rush to get rid of it.
“Operating Skype as a stand-alone publicly traded company is the best path for maximizing its potential,” Donahoe said today in the statement.
Bridgepoint Education Inc., which offers postsecondary courses online and in classrooms, and Rosetta Stone Inc., a seller of language-learning products, are both holding IPOs this week. Bridgepoint raised $141.8 million today, while Rosetta expects as much as $106.3 million.
“I think 2010 can shape up to be a very healthy market for IPOs,” Bard said. “There is a lot of pent-up supply.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Joseph Galante in San Francisco at jgalante3@bloomberg.net
What do you think. Is this a good thing for eBay? Leave us you comments
MacHeist 3 Bundle - Get yours before it is too late
Posted on | April 7, 2009 | No Comments
The MacHeist 3 Bundle is well worth the price of $39. WireTap Studio alone makes it worth it for me. Plus you are also getting BoinxTV, Kinemac and so much more. Do the math $980 worth of software for only $39 its hard to pass it up. The wife also enjoys the World of Goo, and SousChef. So if you are interested make sure you get it before time runs out. 6 hours left the last time I checked. The purchase also shows support for software developers for the osx platform.
Ha ha - Texas bans Microsoft Vista from Government Use
Posted on | April 7, 2009 | No Comments
Texas bans Microsoft Vista from Government Use
by Chris Ullrich on Apr 2nd 2009
We’re not Microsoft Windows haters here at TUAW. In fact, Microsoft makes some very fine products for the Mac including some very useful ergonomic keyboards and some terrific mice. They also make a pretty decent suite of Office applications that many Mac owners use each and every day.
Heck, a guy even made a movie using Microsoft products, which we featured right here at TUAW. However, after seeing that the entire State of Texas has decided that Microsoft Windows Vista should not be used in any government agency, we might have to take a minute and reconsider our opinion on the giant from Redmond’s flagship product.
According to Sen. Juan Hinojosa, vice chairman of the Finance Committee who proposed the ban, he did so because “of the many reports of problems with Vista.” He goes on to say that:
“We are not in any way, shape or form trying to pick on Microsoft, but the problems with this particular [operating] system are known nationwide. And the XP operating system is working very well.”
That’s all well and good and for many of you Windows XP may, in fact, be working without problems. However, given the well-known issue with Vista, perhaps the Texas legislature is on to something? Who knows, given their current mindset, maybe they’d be interested in switching everyone in government to the Mac?
You hear that Apple, Texas needs you to give them a call.
The debate of ubuntu vs OSX vs XP vs Vista
Posted on | May 8, 2008 | No Comments
I have read several blogs on this topic and felt that I should put my “two cents” in. I use daily Windows XP MSE, and Windows XP Pro. I have felt that these two operating systems “meet” my needs. I attempted running Ubuntu Linux on my AMD white-box computer, but found that I was having issues with 3D graphics and stability. I like the idea of the open source, but I don’t like that I don’t understand it to the best of my ability. I downloaded Ubuntu 8.04 everything was going well… This was before I tried to enable desktop effects. I have an ATI X1550 PCIe graphic card installed with 256mb of ddr memory, plenty of memory and a little older card so I thought. I tried to install the ATI Catalyst drivers. That didn’t work; I tried the Ubuntu way, that didn’t work. It even caused my lcd to flicker off and on over and over…. I just gave up and went to the tried and true Windows XP Pro. I felt so frustrated that software beat me. I don’t like when something beats me, and I can’t solve it. So until Ubuntu or should I say ATI offers a native .deb installation I will be running Windows XP. For me it works, it works for what I want it to do. I can install several open source applications, and not have to worry about the hardware support issues.
To move on to Microsoft Vista. I can’t honestly say that the cost benefit is there, I am sure that it’s good and I use that term loosely, but I can’t justify spending the money. I know that when Microsoft released SP1 for Vista it made it even more appealing, but I then have find out what version of Vista do I want. I need a basic OS; I don’t need to bells and whistles that Vista offers. I have Yahoo widgets for that. I don’t need that active firewall. I have my SmoothWall for that. I don’t need someone let a lone a computer to confirm that I really do want to delete a file. I just want an OS that works!!! I also use OSX, but mainly for streaming audio and video editing. It’s also a great kid’s box as I can set them up with very very custom user experience. So what does this all mean? Why should we care? I can tell you that hardware is cheap; the OS should be as well.
Tags: Apple > Beta > Microsoft > OSX > SmoothWall > Ubuntu > Vista > Windows > XP
Choices that we make and we can relate this to almost anything…
Posted on | April 26, 2008 | No Comments
When reading this please forgive my mistakes as I choose not to edit my thoughts…..
Do you ever wake up and wonder if this is the life that you choose? Do you ever think when you were in College hell even High School that you would end up in the places that you are now? I don’t I remember when times where simpler, easier and yet harder in a way. Things really didn’t mater; you didn’t have a mortgage, car payment, credit card debt or even children. You didn’t really have a care in the world. You did, but you didn’t. You see. You had dream and goals, but of the short term, not the long term. Did you get there? Did you make them come true? Did you ever think when you change to the age of 31 that you’re now a dad, or should I say a father? Did you ever think that on a Saturday night you would watch your son fall asleep in your arms? Most likely these events never crossed your mind and that was then… High School was about fitting in and finding your way making friends and enjoying growing experiences. College was more of the same, but with more attempt in getting you to “fit” in the adult world. Don’t get me wrong College is continuation of what High School was trying to teach us… The friends you make or made in College I bet some of you are still in contact with them. You Still sending them emails and possibly even a Christmas card on Christmas. Your friends in High School, sure you might keep in touch with one or maybe two, but that would be about it. Most of them fade away as life experiences and choices that you made as you grew up. So of those friends that you are still in contact with are your most true friends. They are the friends that have seen the good and the bad and have stood by you and all of your choices that you made. The good ones and yes even the bad ones. It is this almost understanding… it not spoken, but more understood. Most of the friends I had in High School um should we say never made the choices I did…. Friends in College… I had people that I ate lunch with, shared a drink or two with… Again it came down the choices that I made. I choose to use College for an education, not for a social network..
What I am trying to say is that life is full of choices some good some bad it is up to us on the choices that we make and we can relate this to almost anything.
Finding that IE8 Beta lives up to the name.
Posted on | March 30, 2008 | No Comments
Ok - I have tried living with IE8 - Yes I know that it was only a beta version, however, why would Microsoft release a public version of this (expletive). I’ve had nothing but issues. Checking around it seems that I wasn’t the only one. I understand what is meant by the term beta. I just feel and felt that Microsoft if trying too hard. They are trying too hard to compete with Apple’s Safari and Mozilla Firefox.
At this point I wouldn’t recommend this as a web browser of choice.
I still currently use IE 7 and Firefox. The only reason that I use IE7 is that I like the interface to my companies exchange server better then within Firefox and that’s about it.
Technology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia -
A beta version is the first version released outside the organization or community that develops the software, for the purpose of evaluation or real-world black/grey-box testing. The process of delivering a beta version to the users is called beta release. Beta level software generally includes all features, but may also include known issues and bugs of a less serious variety…
Ah the smell of technologies in the morning….
Posted on | March 30, 2008 | No Comments
I can tell you that every morning seems to be the same routine.
You wake up stumble out of bed or roll of the sofa. Start up your computer or wake it from its sleep. Start your coffee pot or grab a mountain dew out of the fridge. Sit down in front of your computer. Then most likely check your e-mail that you missed from last night. Check your favorite websites, for some that’s it, nothing more. For those that are truly addicted they carry it a bit further. They check their MySpace, then it’s off to Facebook, then Digg, and even YouTube for the newest videos. Update their personal blog about their little doggie named fluffy. Read the current blog to see if you missed anything. Then finally it’s off to Google to search for stuff, things that aren’t really needed, but nevertheless still fun to look at and research.
Technology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia -
Technology is a broad concept that deals with a species’ usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species’ ability to control and adapt to its environment. In human society, it is a consequence of science and engineering, although several technological advances predate the two concepts. Technology is a term with origins in the Greek “technologia”, “τεχνολογία” — “techne”, “τέχνη” (”craft”) and “logia”, “λογία” (”saying”).[1] However, a strict definition is elusive; “technology” can refer to material objects of use to humanity, such as machines, hardware or utensils, but can also encompass broader themes, including systems, methods of organization, and techniques. The term can either be applied generally or to specific areas: examples include “construction technology”, “medical technology”, or “state-of-the-art technology”
Upgrading WordPress to version 2.5
Posted on | March 29, 2008 | No Comments
Today was a day of changes -
Changing web hosting servers from Windows 2003 server to Linux Server running Apache. What a difference. I was able to add simple blogging software WordPress and then added a simple forum called Simple Machines Forum. All is working well. Then at last upgraded WordPress -
This process was very simple and was only a few simple steps.
Step 1 - Download the newest version of WordPress
Step 2 - Access your current location that you have WordPress installed example http://www.mysite.com/wordpress
Step 3 - Backup your current WordPress directory (Just in case)
Step 4 - Login in to your current WordPress site and disable all current plug-ins
Step 5 - Delete the Following Directories: wp-includes and wp-admin
Step 6 - Copy the new files to your server, overwriting old files in the root. You may use FTP or shell commands to do so as you normally would.
Step 7 - Visit the upgrade page: http://www.mysite.com/wordpress/wp-admin/upgrade.php
That’s it - It worked yeah….
You could also check out http://codex.wordpress.org/Upgrading_WordPress
WordPress
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WordPress is a blog publishing system written in PHP and backed by a MySQL database. WordPress is the official successor of b2\cafelog, developed by Michel Valdrighi. The name WordPress was suggested by Christine Selleck, a friend of lead developer Matt Mullenweg.
Are internet adds bad for the web?
Posted on | March 29, 2008 | No Comments
It seems that the more webpage’s that you visit the more banner ads you see. I understand that this is a way to make an income, but come on. I see the point of a few banner ads, but its coming to the point where we are seeing more adds then actual content on the webpage.
I can’t stand the pop-up ads stating that I am the 999999 visitor and I have won or those pop-up’s that tell you your computer has a virus or spy ware installed and click here to remove it. Ugh… remember when the internet was almost all text and the only graphics that we saw were text graphics? Ah yeah the good old days where a website was full of information. Noticed I didn’t say useful or practical information, but information nevertheless.
Pop-up ads
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
…are a form of online advertising on the World Wide Web intended to attract web traffic or capture email addresses. It works when certain web sites open a new web browser window to display advertisements. The pop-up window containing an advertisement is usually generated by JavaScript, but can be generated by other means as well.
A variation on the pop-up window is the pop-under advertisement, which opens a new browser window hidden under the active window. Pop-unders do not interrupt the user immediately and are not seen until the covering window is closed, making it more difficult to determine which web site opened them.
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