As the weather was again awful – the fog is blocking the nice sunny weather since days, we decided to proceed further and to make a tour in the mountains, over this annoying clouds. That was definitely a good idea :-)
-4°C at home when we left (altitude: 230m) and +8°C when we arrived at “Le Grand Ballon” (altitude: about 1’300m!). Have a look!
[via vowe]
Have a look at the Norio Matsumoto Gallery about Nature:
Really *marvelous*!! I would like to publish three of them (it was difficult to choose…), just to convince you (if I’m damaging any copyright, let me know, I will put them back)
PS: for a time, an interesting use of the Flash technology on the Norio’s website.
This evening, we visited the Christmas Market of Mulhouse with our little son. Really nice!
And, no, I don’t agree with the Christmas Resistance Movement ;-)
One of the renowned shop downtown is organizing very nice windows for Christmas.
An interesting article about industrialization of Software development in 01net (in French).
My friend and colleague Laurent (Microsoft MVP), who is working in my Business Unit, participated to this article. Let’s have a look at his interview (also in French).
The whole article is also available in PDF form (still in French).
Bravo Laurent :-)
Great, the first information concerning the Montreux Jazz Festival 2005 is coming out . I’ve seen the Pat Metheny Trio in July this year.It will take place from July 1st to July 16th, 2005. This time, the poster is from Zep.
[via BetaNews]
Rumors are confirmed…
IBM has officially confirmed it will sell its PC business to Chinese computer maker Lenovo for a total of $1.75 billion. […]
Lenovo will pay IBM $650 million in cash, another $600 million in common stock, and assume $500 million in debt from Big Blue. IBM will become Lenovo’s second largest shareholder with a stake of 18.9 percent in the company, and over 10,000 IBM employees will migrate to Lenovo.
The deal creates the third-largest PC company in the world behind Dell and Hewlett-Packard. Lenovo will receive a 5-year license to use the internationally recognized IBM brand name and “Think” trademarks on its desktop and notebook PCs.
Lenovo’s new PC business will be located in the United States, with headquarters in New York and principal operations in Raleigh, North Carolina, where IBM currently handles PC development. Stephen Ward, current IBM senior vice president and general manager of IBM’s Personal Systems Group, will become CEO of Lenovo. Current Lenovo CEO Yuanqing Yang will become Chairman of the company.
[via entrepreneur.com]
Mistake 1: Failing to spend enough time researching the business idea to see if it’s viable.
Mistake 2: Miscalculating market size, timing, ease of entry and potential market share.
Mistake 3: Underestimating financial requirements and timing.
Mistake 4: Overprojecting sales volume and timing.
Mistake 5: Making cost projections that are too low
Mistake 6: Hiring too many people and spending too much on offices and facilities.
Mistake 7: Lacking a contingency plan for a shortfall in expectations.
Mistake 8: Bringing in unnecessary partners.
Mistake 9: Hiring for convenience rather than skill requirements.
Mistake 10: Neglecting to manage the entire company as a whole.
Mistake 11: Accepting that it’s “not possible” too easily rather than finding a way.
Mistake 12: Focusing too much on sales volume and company size rather than profit.
Mistake 13: Seeking confirmation of your actions rather than seeking the truth.
Mistake 14: Lacking simplicity in your vision.
Mistake 15: Lacking clarity of your long-term aim and business purpose.
Mistake 16: Lacking focus and identity.
Mistake 17: Lacking an exit strategy.
Is there any difference between doing nothing wrong and doing everything right? Peter Russo, director of Boston University’s Entrepreneurial Management Institute, says that while you’re avoiding John Osher’s 17 mistakes, you should also try to do five key things right. “If you do those five things, you’re probably not going to make those other mistakes,” he says. Here are Russo’s five things start-ups should do:
1. Know your goals for the venture. “A lot of people see an opportunity without ever asking themselves what they’re doing it for,” says Russo. “Are they trying to make a quick buck? Create a legacy? Have a lifestyle? There are a lot of reasons. It’s critical that you know from the beginning what your goals are, because everything else is going to revolve around that.”
2. Recruit and hire the best people. “It sounds almost cliché now to say I’d rather have an A team with a B idea than a B team with an A idea. The right team can fix a lot of problems. If you don’t have the right team, you don’t have much of a chance,” Russo says. “Get the best people available at the time.”
3. Develop a forgiving strategy. “Things are going to go wrong,” he says. “They’re going to be harder, take longer and cost more money than you think. You have to have a strategy to survive. A lot of people put together a plan that will work only if everything goes right. It’s not going to.”
4. Be honest with yourself. “Recognize shortcomings, weaknesses and problems immediately. Do not ignore them or try to talk yourself out of them,” Russo says. “Address them head-on.”
5. Commit to the business. “You can’t really do anything significant without fully committing yourself to it. A lot of people try to dabble,” he explains. “They think they’ll do it part time [and] see how it works out. If you plan to be successful, you have to commit.”
[via BetaNews]
New era?
IBM has put its consumer PC unit up on the auction block, refocusing its efforts on the more profitable corporate server and computer service markets, according to a report in the The New York Times. The sale would likely include all of Big Blue’s desktop workstations and ThinkPad portables, for an estimated price range of $1 billion to $2 billion. Sources tell the Times that Chinese computer maker Lenovo — formerly Legend — is the current top bidder for the business unit that represents 12 percent of IBM’s $92 billion annual revenue.
Oups, we were wake up this night by an earthquake at 2:53 AM (1:53 GMT). The epicenter was in Germany, at about 30 km from where we are living. The magnitude quake was 4.9 (Richter). No reports of damage or injuries, also by us, but quite impressive.
Novell financial results for 2004 / 4Q.
2004:
– revenues: $1.16 billion
– net income: $31 million
4Q 2004:
– revenues: $301 million
– SuSe $12 million thereof $7 million from sales of SuSe Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)