The Filipino Entrepreneur

I found an article about Microsoft BizSpark. Below are quotes from the article:

Microsoft’s new BizSpark project is an effort to spur startups and entrepreneurs to use Microsoft technology when launching new companies. Microsoft is giving away software, services and support to startups earning less than $1 million to help them get off the ground and to the next level. The technology Microsoft is making available includes Visual Studio, Windows Server, SQL Server and Windows Azure.

Is the program available in the U.S. only? Again I quote: Read the rest of this entry »

I know that this is not new and have been around a few years back. If you can use your cellphone to surf the internet, you can also use it to surf using your computer by plugging the USB data cable of your cellphone to your PC or use bluetooth if your cellphone is capable but some PC don’t a bluetooth device and you have to buy it and attach/configure it to your PC. Whichever you prefer, what is important is for your computer to have access on your cellphone. Even though I know that this can be done years back I didn’t bother to do it myself because I have no need for it, that’s because I’m using a landline from dial-up (before) to dsl (now) and I always think that those people who are always on-the-go are the only ones who really need it. But there are times that you need a back up if ever you loose a phone line connection, going out of town or if you are relocating. Relocating your land line will take some time so at least you need this kind of a internet connection using cellphone GPRS or 3G capability. It works either on a prepaid sim or a post paid sim.

You can also purchase a USB dongle from Smart or Globe telecom. The USB dongle from Smart is Smartbro ( prepaid or postpaid ) and from Globe is Visibility ( prepaid or postpaid ). But it requires you to buy the dongle for Php4,500. If you have a cellphone with a GPRS/3G, then why bother to buy the dongle? All you need to do is to configure and activate your handset then there you go! So how to activate it? it depends on the network provider. There are different configuration depending on the network provider. You can configure it manually or you can just text them or call their customer support to send you the configuration setting then save it on your cellphone. In my experience, the second one is better because it eliminates the frustrations and headaches.

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Amazon have a newest device in the market for those who wants to put a whole library of books in their hand. It’s called the KINDLE. Right, you can literally have a whole library in your hand because the device is an electronic book, very similar to a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) but larger and the main purpose is just for reading.

If you want to more details about the new product just follow the link here: Kindle: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device. Although I would say that the device is pricey, but imagine the convenience of just having a portable device like this instead of carrying ten pocket books while you are traveling. Since this is wireless, you can take it anywhere you want like a cell phone. No monthly wireless bills, service plans, or commitments—Amazon takes care of the wireless delivery. It also has a rechargeable battery and a charger too. The only disadvantage now on this device is wireless is capability (Whispernet™ ) only available in the US for now. But maybe soon it will be available worldwide by merging with other local network providers. There also a business opportunity on the launching of this device. It’s the selling of ebooks in kindle format.

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Thinking of making your website or blog WAP compliant? It looks like it is easier said than done. Imagine, how will you fit the PC monitor screen to a cell phone screen? Those tiny LCD cellphone screen can’t possibly fit in it, that is, if you will put everything in it. If you are using your cell phone to browse non WAP blogs and websites, you can still view the whole page but you have to zoom-in and zoom-out in order for you to read the contents. It’s not possible to load the whole page in a cell phone’s browser because the letters are too tiny and will not show properly. A WAP compliant or mobile website have slim lined(eliminated the non necessary contents) the webpage and just put the important contents in a small mobile website.

If you own a website (a non blog site) with thousands of pages, for example: static html pages, it will take a long time for you to convert all those pages. But if you own a hosted blog, then lucky for you because it will only take you a few minutes just installing a plug-in. This will only work in a hosted Wordpress blog. I don’t know if the free wordpress blog can use plugins because I haven’t tried it. If you like to make your blog WAP compliant, you can download the plugin here. The plugin is created by Alex King and if you are willing to donate, it’s better so we can help our fellow entrepreneur create more wonderful plugins.

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Do you remember the song of Neil Sedaka “My World is Getting Smaller Everyday”?. Maybe the new generation haven’t heard of that song. I can still remember that song in my childhood years. Technology really makes our world smaller everyday. Since the revolution of the internet there are many smart gadgets in the market being invented year after year. Computers are getting smaller and smaller, smarter and faster. Today, you can see powerful laptops in the fraction of it’s size from it’s predecessors. Remember that 386 computers? today when you see someone still using it, I guess you will laugh and say that it only fits in a museum. Websites too are changing and becoming more and more dynamic. But one area that sparks my interest are the mobile phones that can surf the internet. Before I’m skeptic to the marketing potential of the WAP market since the small screen of those cell phones are inconvenient when surfing. Also, surfing using your computer is cheaper and you can do things better than just pushing your cellphone keypad which will take longer just to type a single word.

But come to think of it. Technology will get better and better and having a website compliant to WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) will give website owners an edge compared to those who does not plan to take advantage of this new technology. Anyway, GPRS/MMS is not really the latest technology because it has been around for years. But before, not many have WAP access and your phone should be postpaid to use it. Now, telcos are providing this service to all packages, be it a prepaid or a postpaid. You can even access some WAP websites for free like the Yahoo! search and Yahoo! mail provided by Globe telecom. And maybe sooner or later many telcos might bring down the cost of using GPRS since they compete with each other and might provide more features and services.

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