Category Archives: Software

The CPU Free Lunch is Over

Posted on November 14, 2011 by payne

Back in the late 70s, my dad ordered a Heathkit H-89 computer.  It had a 2 Mhz 8-bit Z-80 processor, took months to arrive, cost $1600 (in 1980 dollars!) and we had to put it together.  Now, you can go … Continue reading →

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The Subtle Power of Git

Posted on October 30, 2011 by payne

Unless you’re a software developer, you’ve probably never heard of Git. If I told you it’s a source code version control system, you’re might then think, “who cares?” Occasionally, a tool comes along that quietly but powerfully changes the way … Continue reading →

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It’s All Fun Until You Become an OS Feature

Posted on August 14, 2011 by payne

Catching up on my reading, I liked what Fred Wilson recently wrote about the cloud storage space: It’s not a space I like very much because I don’t think we’ll be using files in the cloud. Now Dropbox is a brilliant company … Continue reading →

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Lottery Avoidance: Have a Real Asset

Posted on August 3, 2011 by payne

If you’re one of the five people that read this blog, you know I’ve become negative on many pure-software/Internet/mobile entrepreneurial projects.  Low barriers to entry create a competitive, weedy ecosystem that becomes a lottery for many entrepreneurs.  (Investors have a … Continue reading →

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Video Chat is Now a Feature, Not a Product

Posted on July 6, 2011 by payne

I tried out the new Facebook Video chat.  It worked great — there was a small download/install, but after that, it was click-and-go. I’m really wondering what Skype gets out of this.  Facebook’s chat is not integrated with Skype at … Continue reading →

Posted in Ramblings, Software | 1 Comment

Turntable.fm and the iTunes Era

Posted on June 22, 2011 by payne

I love turntable.fm. It’s a well-executed simple app offering virtual music “rooms”.  You can just listen, or be one of 5 DJs selecting songs for that room.  It’s a fun way to share music with friends and co-workers.  It’s taking … Continue reading →

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Software | 3 Comments

Facebook Is The New Internet

Posted on May 9, 2011 by payne

Well, not quite, but it certainly feels that way!  When did marketers stop using their own URLs in ads and start using Facebook URLs? It’s amusing how this seems to have come full circle.  Many users started out on AOL, … Continue reading →

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Software | 1 Comment

How Are You Acquiring Customers?

Posted on March 17, 2011 by payne

I know that “how are you acquiring customers?” is now part of a VC joke, but the question is no joke. Across the companies I work with, there’s a very strong correlation between those that found a new twist on acquiring customers … Continue reading →

Posted in Entrepreneurship, Ramblings, Software | 7 Comments

Twitter’s Ecosystem Woes

Posted on March 14, 2011 by payne

In case you missed it, Twitter recently updated their Terms of Service, asking developers (effectively) not to build any more Twitter clients.  Now that they have their own apps, they don’t want developers to compete with them.  This announcement was … Continue reading →

Posted in Ramblings, Software | 3 Comments

MacOS App Store, Finally!

Posted on January 6, 2011 by payne

So the Mac app store is finally here!  (After I wrote about this two years ago).  This is a huge step, that will fundamentally change the way desktop software is sold. I’ve been buying small indie/utility apps on-line for years … Continue reading →

Posted in Software | 2 Comments