Fantastic futures? Technology and business in 2012 27 December 2011Last updated at 00:08 By Fiona Graham Technology of business reporter, BBC News Look into the ball: What does 2012 hold for business technology? Although those of us following the Mayan long calendar may be heading into 2012 with some trepidation, for those taking a longer-term view here is our annual peek into what next year holds. Just as there are 12 days of Christmas, 12 people from across the technology spectrum give their insights to what the next year will hold. We have the first six here, with part two following on Friday. It's been a turbulent year for technology, and enterprise is no exception. The consumerisation of IT continues apace with more and more of us bringing our own devices to work. These topics and more all made it into last year's predictions. Number one would be social networking in business. I think this is going to be very significant, because there are a number of reasons why companies might want to do this. And in fact the opposite is true.
Apple's First iPhone Was Made in 1983 [PICS] The first iPhone was actually dreamed up in 1983. Forget that silly old touchscreen, this iPhone was a landline with full, all-white handset and a built-in screen controlled with a stylus. The phone was designed for Apple by Hartmut Esslinger, an influential designer who helped make the Apple IIc computer (Apple's first "portable" computer) and later founded Frogdesign. Images of the 1983 iPhone have been circling the web for a while but there has been renewed interest in Apple's early designs and history thanks to a peek inside Stanford University's massive trove of Apple documents. SEE ALSO: Apple’s Museum That Never Was: Why Does Stanford Keep it Secret? The 1983 iPhone is just one of many prototypes buried in Apple's past. Mashable has reached out to Stanford to get a private look into the material.
Discogs Turns Record Collectors' Obsessions Into Big Business Photo BEAVERTON, Ore. — In the beginning, Kevin Lewandowski just wanted a way to keep track of his techno records. Now, 15 years later, the free website he set up for that purpose, Discogs.com, has become a vital resource for record collectors and the music industry, with a sprawling database of more than 6.5 million releases. And with an online marketplace through which nearly $100 million in records will be sold this year, Discogs has carved out a valuable niche in a market dominated by companies like Amazon and eBay. Borrowing from Wikipedia’s model of user-generated content, Discogs has built one of the most exhaustive collections of discographical information in the world, with historical data cataloged by thousands of volunteer editors in extreme detail. “Discogs is vital, essential, irreplaceable — a resource I use every day,” said Rob Sevier, a founder of the Numero Group, a Chicago label that specializes in reissuing particularly obscure material. Out of principle, Mr. Mr.
In 2011: How the Internet Revolutionized Education As connection speeds increase and the ubiquity of the Web pervades, free education has never been so accessible. An Internet connection gives lifelong learners the tools to become autodidacts, eschewing exorbitant tuition and joining the ranks of other self-taught great thinkers in history such as Albert Einstein, Alexander Graham Bell, Paul Allen and Ernest Hemingway. We can be learning all the time now, whenever we want, and wherever we want. Insider How the Internet is Revolutionizing Education This was our seminal piece on online education, which includes interviews with UC Berkeley professors and CEOs and Founders of today’s most disruptive education startups. Stay in or drop out? There’s a lot of debate right now about whether or not paying for a degree is worth it, a particular problem facing entrepreneurs. How Technology Has Changed Education Skillshare lets you learn anything from anyone In NYC, Coursehorse is changing the way you search for classes News Apps Coding
Internet en France en 2011 : 11 infographies qui comptent Peut-on résumer l’année 2011 pour l’Internet en France en infographies ? Certainement pas. Dans la valse des chiffres et statistiques publiées en 2011, NetPublic a retenu 11 infographies qui comptent et offrent un panorama des pratiques connectées d’aujourd’hui… De quoi illustrer des présentations ou mieux saisir quels sont les enjeux du Web qui se dessine jour après jour et surtout des internautes et mobinautes de notre pays. Facebook en France vs. Facebook est devenu au 3e trimestre le réseau social grand public le plus utilisé en France. Le jeu vidéo en France Le jeu vidéo est un phénomène en pleine expansion. La journée type du Français… et sur l’ordinateur Les Français passent 1h20 sur ordinateur et ce sont les jeunes qui y consacrent le plus de temps. L’utilisation de l’email en France La firme ContactLab a mis en forme les résultats de son enquête sur l’email et l’emailing en 2011. Twitter et les Français Les Français et la photo numérique Les Français et le nouveau monde numérique
Give Your Employees Unlimited Vacation Days The 9 a.m.-to-5 p.m. workplace is almost dead. Throw your preconceived notions about vacation out the window and give your employees the no-strings-attached, unlimited vacation days they deserve or you'll soon be a dinosaur. With an unparalleled culture in which our people actually enjoy coming to work (see Your Employees Need a Treehouse and Let Your Employees Choose Their Titles) as the foundation, every last Red Frog employee is unflinchingly focused and devoted to our mission. Producing vast amounts of quality work is the norm, so we reward them with unlimited vacation and they, in return, reward Red Frog with outstanding work that blows me away every single day. Taking vacation at Red Frog is encouraged (and even celebrated). The pessimists and naysayers have said this policy would either be abused or that it's not entirely real—that our employees feel pressured to never take off. It treats employees like the adults they are. I lead by example.
Smokey Robinson Studying Spanish For New Record Smokey Robinson started his music career with a song called "Got a Job," and rest assured the Motown legend even at 72, is working as hard as many of his younger proteges. Robinson tells Billboard.com that he has two albums in the works -- a Christmas collection and a sets of songs he plans to record in Spanish. He'll also be inducting his group, the Miracles, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 12 in Cleveland, and he's thumping the drum for Human Nature, the Australian vocal quartet that performs a show of Motown songs in Las Vegas and has just released "The Motown Record" as well as a PBS special and DVD. The troupe kicks off a U.S. tour March 24 in Detroit. "They're the bomb group, they really are," Robinson says of Human Nature, which he met when he was approached to be a guest on one of their previous albums. "They came into the studio one night and sang for me a capella and just blew me away. Meanwhile, Robinson is also writing new material for the Spanish album.
Advertising Isn’t Dead – The Creative Process Is Every single year we hear advertising as a whole or the various mediums (ie radio, print, outdoor, etc) are dead. And, every year we see new advances in technology and advertising thrive. There are new mediums emerging and we are expanding advertising, so to say that advertising is dead is ridiculous. Advertising is more alive now than it ever has been. I admit, I am a bit old school when it comes to advertising and, like many, think radio, tv, print, outdoor. But, there is a whole other medium that we tend to not necessarily consider advertising: the social platforms; which are very much alive. Definition of Advertising Advertising by definition is “the action of calling something to the attention of the public especially by paid announcements.” Purpose of Advertising The Creative Process Persuasion through communication is powerful. The Creative Process is Dead Advertising is not dead but the creative process is. Technology is Killing the Creative Process Thoughts? photo credit: Annie Mole
2012, l’année de la … | Digital-In 2011 est mort, vive 2012 ! Cette année riche et souvent passionnante, dés à présent loin dans les rétroviseurs, l’on se met déjà à penser au cru 2012, que l’on voit prometteur, qu’on espère fructueux et qu’on attend aussi grisant que l’année écoulée. Si l’on se réfère à Brian Solis, expert des nouveaux médias, 2012 sera une année charnière pour le Social Marketing qui devrait être expérimenté par un maximum d’entreprises avant d’être définitivement développé en 2013, si toutefois financièrement ça allait mieux (raison avancée par 47% des sondés). Pas certain, selon Georges Colony, CEO de Forrester de passage à Paris pour LeWeb (Voir Vidéo), qui voit plutôt une fatigue des réseaux menacer du côté des consommateurs alors même que les possibilités sociales pour les entreprises devraient exploser, et qui va jusqu’à prédire la fin du web tel que nous le connaissons au profit d’applications poussées comme des champignons. Une seule prédiction est donc certaine, 2012 sera … imprévisible.