That's exactly what you can do online in Norway. Go online and search your neighbors name & bingo, what shows up on the screen is their 2008 tax filings! YES, their tax filings!!!

Norway believes in transparency, but publishing all of their citizens salaries is in my opinion going wayyyyy to far! Criminals are probably having a field day, co-worker boxing matches are probably inevitable & kids that love to show off probably can't wait to go to school & brag about how rich their parents are compared to others!

What are your thoughts?

Full story:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/22/world/AP-EU-Norway-Money-Roll.html?_r=3

Will we finally see some spam relief? I sure hope so because there are still enough people that are falling for the spam emails. I mean really, do you actually think if you send money or an account number to someone that they will give you back double in a few weeks? I'm being sarcastic here because their scams have actually come along way from those days, although people really did fall for those scams! Now these scams look very close to real correspondence from banks etc... they have become way more sophisticated & there are still enough people clicking links that making the spammers realize there is still a market!

A new "fight spam" project that was recently announced is a public-private partnership that combines Nigeria officials and Microsoft. The project is called "Eagle Claw" (what would you have named it?). The plan is to stop spam a much as possible, arrest spammers & ulimately get Nigeria off the Top 10 list!

Jacqui Cheng of Ars Technica does an awesome article with all the details!

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/10/nigeria-actually-arrests-shuts-down-online-scammers.ars

It's been a little over 6 months since Governor O'Malley announced a major leadership change to the direction of the Maryland Dept. of Business and Economic Development (DBED). Recently, I spoke with this major change. His name is Christopher Johansson and he is the Secretary of DBED and reports directly to Governor O'Malley (a former boss of mine when I worked for Baltimore City). I spoke with Secretary Johansson and met some of the DBED team members at TechNite--the GBTC's "very awesome" annual technology event that celebrates the regions tech successes. It got me to thinking about DBED's 1st 6 months under Secretary Johanssons guidance and the impact DBED has had on Maryland businesses! First, a bit of background, the date was April 9th, 2009 when Johansson was sworn in by Governor O'Malley. It was a big day for Maryland and I remember going on air (not just locally but on my national show as well) talking about how this was a smart move and a great choice for the State. At the swearing-in Johansson stated “I look forward to building on our unparalleled assets – our world-class workforce, our top-rated education system and our superior business climate – to ensure that Maryland remains competitive in the global economy.” For those that don't know the mission of Marlyand's Dept of Business and Economic Development is to "create, attract and retain jobs while promoting the state's vibrant culture and history." Bottom line they are charged with helping to grow companies in the State of Maryland.

Now before we get to deep into this post I want to be upfront, it's no secret that I believe in Johansson and am an admirer of his work! He has a solid track record and is a genuine person that wants to see Maryland succeed at the highest levels, not to mention he has experience working on National programs. For example he was a member of President Obama's Executive Committee for Urban and Metropolitan Policy during the Presidential campaign and he served as an advisor to President Obama's transition team. 

I have total confidence in his ability to deliver, he's intelligent, committed and likes to win! My only gripe (yep, only one) is that I want them (DBED) to deliver more, much, much more and much, much faster to quickly capitalize on their momentum. Here's why! We all know these positions have a short shelf-life to make change and impact. We also know that traditionally it takes Government time (in some cases a very long time) to conceive, draft, review, implement and sustain new or expanded programs. And I get it, I know it's a political climate and I have the utmost appreciation and understanding to the political pressures and challenges DBED is facing. I'm probably one of the few in the technology industry who can write on this topic that has worked for DBED as Manager of IT for the Division of Tourism, Film & the Arts and has also worked for O'Malley.

We all know this is a very challenging time and budgets aren't what they used to be! Which is precisely why I think DBED should use recent wins to step up the pace and use what I call "the trampoline effect" to get their ideas & successes more bounce & more bounce nationally! Their website lists recent news and highlights.

3 recent successes I'm excited about are:

1. The opening of the 1st International Incubator in the US (located at College Park, MD) I think great possibilities could come from this type of injection to our biz tech ecosystem, I saw the international appetite for something like this 1st hand while visiting tech companies in Seoul Korea 2 years ago.
2. The openings of BioTechnology Centers in Rockville and Baltimore. Giving us much needed infrastructure.
3. The hiring of their 1st-ever Interactive Marketing Director - while I'm surprised it's their 1st. I'm more excited that Secretary Johansson and DBED saw the need and acted. 

Out of all 3 of the above, I'm most excited about the new hire. And here's where I get to finally share my 2-cents on what I think DBED needs to do to step their game up and hit my "trampoline effect". 

From my perspective, DBED needs to become more engaged in assisting the storytelling of Maryland business success through social media. Alot of neighboring state Econ Development agencies have a twitter and Facebook account. I'm glad to see that about a week after Secretary Johansson came on board they posted their 1st tweet. Their twitter account has some great posts and it's not just self-serving DBED news, which is very wise to do to build a real audience. One social media gap I see is the lack of competing State Econ Development agencies embracing the "killer app" to gain national/international attention. I'm referring to web video. In my opinion I think DBED has an opportunity to take a leadership position by launching YouTube/Vimeo/Viddler channels. This doesn't have to be an expensive program at all. This could be done very effective for small change! I've noticed several of our nearby competitors have little to no social media presence and it seems like a wide-open opportunity to have our State stand out and begin to create a national dialogue/buzz about Maryland's business climate. For example, Virginia's Economic Development YouTube presence is laughable, I mean why bother. They have 1 video and it's just their 30 sec ad of why they are the best state to house your business. Yeah, now thats real convincing! I'll be right there VA! I'm not talking about slick, highly-edited, overly-priced marketing videos. I'm talking gritty, organic and user-generated videos of the people, culture and behind the scenes video that showcases what makes MD companies & our State business environment unique and compelling.

For example when CNN Money listed Baltimore in the Top 10 places to launch your business Economic dev agencies not just DBED should have been all over that national press and maybe they could have started a campaign and asked Maryland businesses and County Econ Dev agencies to shoot an organic 2-3 minute video about benefits of their business/organization in Maryland and place it on DBED's (yet to be created) YouTube channel. Another example could be when Baltimore plays host to an international opportunity called TEDx MidAtlantic. DBED knows the value of TEDx and I'm jazzed to see they are supporters of the event BUT I want them to latch onto this international opportunity and leverage it! Another example could be when Gov. O'Malley declared October Cyber Security Awareness Month-for the month of October videos could have come from companies and the people involved in Maryland's Cyber Security industry. Then later this month when the State hosts the Computer Security Institute’s 36th annual conference at the Gaylord Resort in Maryland with computer security experts from across the country. DBED could deliver a live stream or record video of some content that will happen at the event and make that accessable via their online video channels.

The bottom line is, we all want to see Maryland grow successfully and while many competing States are waiting on the sidelines, it's the perfect time for us to institute some bottom-up strategies that can enhance our image and demonstrate some valid reasons why businesses should look at Maryland to expand or call home. 

And look DBED doesn't have to do this themselves. They could or they could support/partner with some other company or organizations to make it happen. As evidenced by all the community biz-tech outpouring of free events like BootStrapMaryland, Ignite Baltimore, Social Dev Camp East, TEDx Mid-Atlantic and more the Maryland vibe is strong with people and business owners ready to volunteer, roll their sleeves up and get involved for a common cause. I'm excited about Secretary Johansson and as an entrepreneur in Maryland I'm really pleased to hear about the new interactive marketing DBED hire and look forward to seeing what opportunities they seize and produce. 

Let's take the time we have now to our advantage and show why business in Maryland is REMARKABLE!

Last week I was a guest speaker at the 2009 National Assoc of Broadcasters radio conference. The conference took place in Philadelphia at the Convention Center and had a variety of radio types in attendance. From executives to sales to programmers and star talent! Some of the recurring themes over the course of the few days at the conference were MOSTLY about new technologies. I heard the words Twitter, Facebook & Digital Strategy more than I heard the word radio. The radio industry really, really, really (ok 1 more time---REALLY) needs to embrace new technologies to help reach more listeners, especially those listeners that are using new devices and platforms to tune in! One advancement on display at the show that was like the light at the end of the tunnel was HD Radio! Many stations have been embracing this technology and at the conference there was a buzz about the new Microsoft Zune HD! This is MAJOR news, because for the 1st time a .mp3 player has an HD receiver built-in. This is HUGE, I tell ya! The radio industry needs this! This basically means you can go mobile with HD Radio; walk, jog, bike or drive around and catch your fav HD radio programming on a portable device. I mean lets face it Apple just finally put in an FM radio tuner. Meanwhile Microsoft went much further and embraced HD Radio (Apple, what are you waiting for?)!

HD Radio is big for stations (over 2000 stations offer HD Radio) because it enables 1 station to deliver multiple channels of content. For example let's say your fav channel is 98.6 (with an HD Radio you could see 98.6 HD1, HD2 or HD3, this means that the 98.6 station is actually broadcasting content on those 3 HD signals. For example, 98.6 HD1 could be the content you've always got in the past BUT HD2 could be something totally different, like nonstop traffic and weather updates meanwhile HD3 could be a talk radio channel - all being broadcast by the same station. This expansion of programming choices could mean more listeners can find content better tailored to them. 

But many of you still may not have yet experienced HD Radio. Once you experience it you really begin to understand the benefits. If you haven't had a chance to discover HD Radio log on to: http://www.hdradio.com/ On the site you can learn more about how it works and even hear the difference. Which will blow you away! Imagine AM radio sounding like FM and FM sounding like CD-quality! Yep, that's what HD Radio sounds like - pretty incredible! Now get to a local store and test it out!

I was speaking at the 2009 National Association of Broadcasters Radio show in Philadelphia so I decided to hit the exhibit hall floor on the hunt for awesome new technology that's impacting the radio biz. As I look towards the back of the hall I see this massive booth in all orange, it caught my attention. Then I saw the HD Radio logo, I jumped on my Segway and beelined over to the booth to shoot some video of the new Zune HD!

YES!, I received my copy of "Trust Agents" (a NY Times Bestseller) by Chris Brogan & Julien Smith a couple of days ago. I've known about Chris Brogan for quite some time, from his blog & following him on Twitter http://Twitter.com/chrisbrogan

Disclaimer: I met & interviewed him this past January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas for my client CEA (Consumer Electronics Assoc.) as well as for my Sirius XM tech show! I gotta tell ya, it's great to meet someone who's work you respect & in person they live up to or exceed your expectations - that doesn't happen often but with Chris he's totally WYSIWYG!

Now that I have a copy of the book I'm anxious to start reading.  I'm already into chapter 2 Make Your Own Game! However for some reason with this book I decided to create a challenge to myself. I want to do more personal development so here's my chance!

So each week (for next 4 weeks) I will post about something I learned from the book that I will try and implement or work harder on! We are all learning as we go along and I know that I love helping people and love seeing people be happy! Maybe someone like you could also benefit from my personal challenge - I sure hope so! We all know that every challenge has a corny name right? Why should my challenge be any different, I'm calling it the "Agent M" challenge (I know, I know. Pretty lame name, BUT I had to think of something that would relate :-) plus I'm a "Men in Black" movie fan & there's a scene where Michael Jackson says he could be "Agent M" so there ya have it --- the "Agent M" challenge! Follow my "Agent M" updates on Twitter http://Twitter.com/marioarmstrong & let's see what we can learn from each other!

Stay tuned

Today! the FCC will host a workshop to discuss the role of Healthcare for the National Broadband Plan.

For those who can't attend in person they will be streaming the seminar online!

Time: 1:30 pm EDT
You’ll need to register to attend the webinar. 

Bottom line the FCC has decided to try and bring more open dialogue between the FCC and key constituents on matters important to the National Broadband Plan. According to the FCC key constituents will include service providers, equipment providers, applications providers, community groups, and other groups that have a stake in the future of broadband - that sounds like pretty much everybody! And I agree, I think we all should be way more involved and concerned about the lack of broadband competition and usage. Think of how much broadband has afforded you and how much you may take it for granted - well there are millions who are without it!

The goal of this specific workshop on Healthcare is to gather information concerning how and where broadband networks are deployed to provide telehealth services throughout the nation. In addition, workshop participants will be encouraged to provide examples of successful telehealth programs and will be asked to identify whether telehealth diagnosis and treatment is covered under medical insurance. Information and data obtained in this workshop will enhance the Commission's understanding of the barriers facing the health care community in accessing broadband telehealth connectivity as the Commission develops the National Broadband Plan.

Some of the questions that should be addressed include:

1) What benefits can broadband bring to healthcare providers? To patients? 
2) Do facilities in the health care industry have adequate access to broadband?
3) In what ways has the universal service Rural Health Care Program, including the Rural Health Care Pilot Program, increased broadband access to health facilities? 
5) To what extent do health insurance plans currently cover telemedicine diagnoses and treatments? 
6) How can broadband facilitate efficient, effective, and secure access to medical records? To the extent that greater safeguards are required, how can they be developed and implemented? 
7) What benefits can broadband bring to federal, regional, and local emergency responders? Do they have the connectivity and coordination they need, and if not, where and why not?
8) What is the cost of deploying additional broadband infrastructure to these areas, facilities, and responders?

We are going daily baby (couldn't resist)! We will be the ONLY DAILY technology talk show on Sirius XM satellite radio airing in Prime Time 6p-7pm EDT Mon.-Fri. on ch. 169 The Power. This show will cover how technology impacts the way we work, live and play. We will have segments on every possible topic and interviews with some great guests. It's not your average techie program, the show is really geared toward the everyday consumer, entrepreneur and small biz owners who are trying to make sense of all the technology around them. And it's not just about gadgets and gizmos, we'll have much more substance than just that! We will feature technology as it relates to entertainment, politics, culture, business, healthcare, money and relationships.   

We launch the new show this Monday Aug. 24th. 6pm!

We are LOOKING for individuals who have an interest in radio, social media, technology and marketing and who want real-world experience working for a syndicated, national talk show. The positions at this point are currently for non-paid internships! In December/January we will be looking to make permanent hires, but don't worry we will hook you up with gadgets along the way :-)

The positions would require about 8-10 hours per week and would start Tuesday Sept. 1st. Work hours are completely flexible and don't require you to be available at the show times! You can work from home, dorm, bedroom, Starbucks or our studios! We are looking to work with fun, creative and energized people!

Immediate opportunities:

1. Assistant Producer -- this critical position is the hosts right hand person! They would help research show topics and work with the host on the daily news headlines, they would also identify and assist with booking guests and quite possibly be heard on-air. (If you are organized, like to write, curious and read alot, this could be for you)  

2. Web producer -- this person would update the show notes on the website, upload archived shows to the site  and help us manage our iTunes feeds, Facebook, Twitter, mobile and social media tools. (If you have web skills but need national exposure this might be great for you)

3. Marketing Manager -- this person would help to market the show and work with us on promotions, events, live broadcasts & partnerships. (If you are good at marketing and want to travel to tech shows or events this spot is for you :-)

EMAIL us ASAP if you have INTEREST! Tell us why you want to be a part of the show and what you think you can contribute. 

We are looking to make hires by Aug. 25th! Our email address = marioshowideas AT gmail DOT com 

YEP! That's exactly right! Smartronix, a technology company in Maryland was awarded an "initial" $9.25 million-dollars (of the $18 mill) to redo the Recovery.gov 2.0 website within 6 months. The purpose of the site is supposed to be able to track the $787 billion dollars for the economic stimulus. Many people have been raising their eyebrows at this deal. I have not seen the requirements document for this project so it is hard to cast judgement BUT even without that document, on the cover it seems to be a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a website. Now maybe we are oversimplifying the project, I mean it's going to be more about data management, data integration and mashups than it will be about creative design right? So that more than justifies at least $9.25 million-- YEAH RIGHT? This feels like yet another bloated deal to some large defense contractor!

I don't know how you personally feel but I don't feel comfortable with my tax dollars being used this way, are you serious? I have a different idea, how about the Gov't just make the data available and let entrepreneurs and developers create their own mash-ups. If you let the market just have the data you'll spur new businesses and be able to achieve the same goals at a fraction of the price, OR go this el cheapo route and just use Twitter to broadcast in real-time where stimulus funds are going. How much would that cost us taxpayers, ohh maybe just a full time gov't employee at $38k per year, but I digress!

I've been doing some research on possible subcontracts and found 1 sub so far, a Washington DC Ad agency called Synteractive. They will be a subcontractor to Smartronix on this effort and will apprently be tasked with Search Engine Optimization and other web 2.0 aspects. Funny thing is when I look at their site I almost fell out of my chair, you visit it and let me know your thoughts BUT there is nothing on this site that says they get Web 2.0, Social Media, or SEO in fact their site looks like a throw-back to the Netscape days. I thought this couldn't be right, I must be looking at the wrong site. So I decided to look for the company in social media spaces, if they are going to be a part of new web Gov't redesign effort and helping them specifically with web 2.0 technologies then surely they too are using the tools right?

WRONG! I went to the Synteractive Twitter account and literally heard crickets and saw that their twitter page had cobwebs all over it. They had a total of (wait for it, wait for it) 21 followers! That's it 21 followers, they only follow 6 people and the most shocking of all --- they only have posted 5 Tweets, that's it 5 tweets. The tweets start on Feb 2nd and end Feb 4th of the SAME year! And this is the subcontractor for web 2.0 efforts for an $18 mill Gov't transparency website? I can't believe I'm actually typing this. It sounds more like something the Onion would produce but unfortunately it's true. Ohhh and for those of you who may not like my tone, I'm not just some blogger with an attitude or a private firm who bid on this project NONE of the Above. I do however, have a Gov't background in my career. For 5 years I worked for the City of Baltimore Mayor's Office as the Technology Advoate and for 2.5 years I worked as the Dir. of Information Technology for the State of Maryland Tourism division, so I have witnessed 1st hand the types of ridiculous proposals sent in by companies to develop databases and websites.

I hope to be proven wrong and I hope to speak with these companies in the near future to uncover more details. Stay tuned to my tweets. OHH and PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGTS ON THIS ISSUE IN THE COMMENTS!

More info: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/More-strangeness-on-18-million-Recoverygov-redesign-contract-50976917.html

http://www.gazette.net/stories/07172009/businew173541_32523.shtml

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This is a radio interview of recent guest Rey Ramsey CEO of One Economy Corporation - a global nonprofit that uses innovative approaches to deliver the power of technology and information to low-income people.

Increased Internet access expands an individuals’ access to resources such as education, health care, employment and financial supports and recently the federal government allocated $7.2 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to expand broadband access among underserved populations. However, an issue as important as access is adoption. A recent Pew survey noted that 50% of individuals without broadband access believe it is not relevant to their lives.

On the show we discuss hwo the broadband stimulus money should be spent, learn about a new coalition called "Broadband Opportunity Coalition" and we hear how One Economy is doing work in the US to help the poor become more tech literate and mainstream and the work they are doing globally.

Do you remember that video back in 1988 when Michael Jackson shocked us all with a humanly impossible 45-degree lean in the Smooth Criminal video? For the video MJ & dancers were supported by wires etc...BUT what about when he performed the same move on tour in concert? It was too much work and too clumsy of an operation to do harnesses etc... So he turned to technology in hopes of creating a unique pair of shoes that would support the gravity-defying move. MJ filed this patent back in 1992, could you imagine the amount of dancers and MJ music fans that would have purchased a pair of shoes that could help you lean way past the center of gravity? I wonder what happens to the patent since he has exclusive rights to it for 20 years, 2012 is around the corner. The title of his patent is: "Method and means for creating anti-gravity illusion." It's a system that consists of a special shoe that has a hitch designed to attach to a projection in a stage. When the shoe engages with the component in the stage, the performer can lean forward beyond his or her center of gravity. See more detail about his patent here: http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT5255452

Take a look at this recent demographic data from the Pew Internet non-
profit research group. This image is from a recent survey they just
released this week. The most startling stastistic to me was that
African-Americans are trending behind the average when it comes to
broadband use. The numbers are going backwards as other ethnicities
are going upwards. Why?, Where is the disconnect? The survey
interviewed over 2,200 ppl from different races & economic status. I
have a meeting scheduled with the author Mr. Horrigan & will have him
on one of my shows to help uncover the reasons for the disparity. What
are your thoughts? Cultural differences? Economic barriers? & should
the Gov't be doing more to increase broadband adoption? Share your
thoughts in the comments I want to hear from you.

Hi all, this year I'm MC'ing the Member Welcome at the NECC '09 in D.C. (Natl. Educational Computing Conference). This conference brings over 18,000 educators and technologists under on e roof with over 5 football fields of exhibits! For more details go here:  http://www.iste.org/content/Navigationmenu/membership/member_welcom...

I wanted to take a quick second to share some of my recommended tech you should bring to NECC:

#1. Laptop with wifi - wifi will be everywhere throughout the convention center so come ready to tweet & take notes

#2. An extra laptop battery - well, cause you just never know or maybe bring an extension cord so you can always connect to an outlet :-)

#3. Ill have my XANTREX backup power solution it costs like $99 but it's worth it when your battery runs dead and you have no immediate access to a wall outlet, this little backup power solution holds a charge for months and gives my laptop an extra 3 hours of battery life

#4. Flip or some other type of video camera - there will be so much to see from innovative exhibits to incredible people - capture it all to take back to your classroom or administration and make a short video presentation of what you witnessed and what solutions may be perfect for your environment. In other words use this opportunity to capture the positive impact you see and bring that back to your school to educate others.

#5. A Twitter account - yes, I'm telling you to get on the bandwagon. Hey, if Oprah can tweet so can you ! But seriously twitter is a great way to connect and make new relationships with those that have similar interests. For example if you want to follow all of what's being tweeted about NECC just head to: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23NECC Here you'll get to see a snapshot of twitter users who are actively talking about the NECC conference. Get you FREE username and start posting your 140 characters - head to twitter.com for registration AND MAKE SURE whenever you post something you use the #NECC hastag somewhere in your message so others can read it.

#6. For my note takers who prefer to use pen and paper and not a laptop the tech you should have is called "The Pulse Pen" made by Livescribe. It is a ball point pen that is also a mini computer. The pen records audio it hears and links it to what you write on paper. For example, lets say you are in a NECC session, the pen is capturing all the audio and you are writing notes - 5 days later when you return to your school you simply touch the notes with your Livescribe pen and sit back and listen to the audio that was captured at the time. This is a true advancement in note-taking technology.

#7. If you do step #5 and join Twitter then you should get yourself a really cool Tweetup badge - goto http://tweetupbadges.com/ Tweetup Badges are a really unique way to differentiate yourself from everyone and a way for everyone to easily identify your twitter name. I've ordered my Tweetupbadge.com for the NECC, its about the same size and thickness as credit cards and they come with lanyards, ohh and you get to choose any color combination (maybe your school colors might be neat) These ID badges are made to last so you can use them over and over again and they cost under $10 but hurry shipping can be a bit slow.

BONUS PRIZE: The first person that finds me at NECC '09 (read top of post for a clue of where to find me) and shows me their TweetupBadge will win a cool tech prize. I'm known to carry a stash of awesome tech giveaways so be prepared!

Mark today's date, actually yesterdays date as a moment in Baltimore tech history! Why? Because we finally have a REAL "tech news" presence on The Baltimore Sun website, something I've been wanting to see happen for a while & so excited it's here! Well, the wait is over & the man in charge is Gus Sentementes, @gussent or @balttech to you Twitter heads. Gus has been with the Sun since 2000 covering everything from biz to real estate to crime & grime - he was one of the 1st at the Sun to use multimedia tools for reporting - certainly the 1st Baltimore reporter I know to use 12seconds for breaking news.

On his 2nd day on the job I had a chance to sit down with Gus and discuss the new blog appropriately titled "BaltTech".

Tune into his NPR interview tonite 5:30pm on The Digital Cafe' 88.1fm or WYPR.org & come back here for the archive!

The whole team here at The Digital Spin HQ's is excited for Gus, we got have your back! Let us know if there is anything we can do to help, just yell or email or call or tweet! Tell us what would you like to see come of this new tech blog for Baltimore, huh?

We can't wait to shoot a video interview with Gus for the coming Baltimore-Washington Tech video show www.BWTechShow.com  We will ask him to reveal the secrets of how to get your business covered in the paper or the blog!

Gus Sentementes Balt Tech blog interview

Awesome! I just received several copies (yes, several as Ill be giving away a few on Techtechboom.com, BWTechShow.com and radio listeners) of the new book from O'Reilly titled "The Geek Atlas" 128 places where science and technology come alive, the author is John Graham-Cumming. At first glance the book seems pretty comprehensive. It has over 500 pages and covers places
across the globe not just the US. The context for the places I have read so far is great offering a bit of historical context so you can further appreciate the technology or innovation that was being used at the time. The book is an easy read and has an awesome index with solid explanations. I also love how for each of the 128 places, identifies whether it's free or a cost and they even give you the GPS coordinates, really cool for you geocachers :-)

I loved reading about Bletchley Park in Bletchley, England where I
learned about how the braniacs there, skilled in mathematics were able
to break the code being used for almost all Nazi German communications: (the Enigma) to reading about my state of MD where the Gaithersburg International Latitude Observatory exists. It's a little innocous white building that is 1 of only 6 observatories in the world that were setup in 1899 to (get this) determine how the Earth "wobbles" not spins!

I only wish the photos were in color, but hey that would have made the book more expensive than it's $29 US price tag.

If I go missing or am not tweeting the next few days look for me with a blanket & a cup of decaf tea/coffee snuggled up somewhere reading and plotting about my next techie vacation now that I have 128 places
to go visist! This book is total awesomeness!

Tech Titans from Washingtonian.com on Vimeo.

Today on NPR's Morning Edition Renee' Montagne asked me about the new pricing changes Apple iTunes made earlier this month for downloading music and what impact that might have on artists, labels, distributors and consumers.

Listen to the segment

The NPR music group also did an awesome blog post on this segment. I addition to their blog they have extensive coverage, rock solid analysis and reporting on this issue as well. Read up more from their blog!

What do you make of all these pricing changes? Will you shop around for music? And how do you feel this may impact independent artists?

Photo courtesy of HypebotMany of you may have heard iTunes new music download pricing changes to something called "variable pricing". Variable pricing as defined on wikipedia: characterized by individual bargaining and negotiation, and typically used for highly product differentiation high value items (like real estate). Simply put, variable pricing means NOT having a fixed cost. iTunes started offering music downloads like 7 years ago and has been the market leader in the selling of digital music. They originated the $.99 cents per song pricing standard that many (not all) other online music distributors followed. With this current change iTunes songs will vary from $.69, $.99 or $1.29 (a 30% increase). Most songs are still expected to be at the $.99 level, whereas the cheaper prices will be for older music and the higher price for most popular music. Personally, I think this is a bad idea for consumers especially in this economy. Many college students I have spoken to are contemplating going back to stealing music and not paying or looking to other sources like Amazon and Walmart for competitive pricing. One thing about this story that many people are overlooking is the fact that Apple iTunes has decided to go "DRM-Free". DRM (Digital Rights Management) in a nutshell made it difficult for the average person to buy music on iTunes and play that music on non-apple devices. This too me is more the story than the pricing changes. To go DRM-free now means iTunes music can be heard on so many other devices, players and platforms. It is certainly a blow to competitor Amazon.com. Amazon had DRM-free music a long time ago, well now they are going to lose that competitive advantage.

Many of you that know me personally, you know I look at the glass half-full, so I'm hoping that maybe having higher prices for the pop-Top-100-type music might just have music lovers and buyers experiment more with independent artists and those artists who don't always get the deserved attention they should have.

There is alot of speculation about why the price change was made. Was it Apples idea & market dominance? Was it the labels pressure due to lack luster cd sales? Was it an exchange for going DRM-free?

What are your thoughts?

I don’t know about you but I have way to many photos sitting on my iPhone. I just don’t seem to find the time to print them that often. Well now that’s really changed. Yesterday, we had a family & friends party at my house and I was taking photos with my iPhone of various family members having a great time. Typically, I would have these photos on my phone and just email them on the spot but that always felt a little empty. Well, everything changed because for the first time I was able to print photos on the spot wirelessly from my iPhone. So as I was taking photos, I would instantly open the free HP iPhone/iTouch application and send my phones photos right to the printer. No computer, no syncing, no leaving the action I stayed right there in the thick of the fun and printed. The app works as advertised and I’m hopeful we will see more printing apps become available for our mobile devices so we can print out emails, word docs, .pdfs etc… The application was created by HP and is called HP iPrint. It’s a free download from the iTune App store. The catch? You have to use a wireless HP printer and connect to it over your wifi network. It automatically prints from your photo tray and prints 4×6 sized photos. HP iPrint Photo application leverages Apple’s Bonjour technology to automatically identify HP wireless printers or other supported HP printers available on your network. Luckily, I just happened to have a HP 3000 series all-in-one printer and had the chance to test the application during the party. You’ll get major cool points for doing this but it is also pretty effective. At least now I don’t have as much as an excuse to print photos. I was pretty psyched by the results.

See it in action — watch the HP iPrint wireless printing process without edits in this video.

J. Howard "Jim" Kucher, M.B.A. '01, former managing partner of a city-based marketing and strategic advisory company for start-up service firms, was named the executive director of the Entrepreneurial Opportunity Center in late 2005.