Fun posts at ITworld.com

Yes, I’ve been doing quite a few short “curation” stories at ITworld.com, like this one on Louis CK and his new video. If you go there and search for my name and sort by recent entries, most will show up. I hope you enjoy reading  them, because I like writing them.

Time Warner Cable Turns Back the VoIP Clock

I use Time Warner Cable for my cable Internet access because I have no better high speed option. For testing purposes, I also have basic DSL broadband from AT&T, which is all I can get because I’m too far from their powered connection points. Thus I get pitches from both companies to add new services at least once a week.

Cable companies love to sell Voice Over Internet Protocol phone service, but they have always priced it far too high. While Vonage advertises $25 per month, cable companies jack it up to $40 per month even though they own the connections to each home. Why? Greed, I guess, but I haven’t been able to get a straight answer from a cable executive.

Recently, a flyer came from Time Warner Cable offering residential VoIP service for $20 per month, for 12 months. At first I was thrilled about the price reduction, figuring it would be tough on Vonage but good for consumers. But the fine print said the price was only good on a service plan that offered unlimited calling only in Texas.

This is a disgusting trend, and Time Warner Cable executives should be ashamed of themselves. The Internet eliminates distance for domestic calls, and to charge long distance rates outside an artificial barrier like a state line makes no technical sense whatsoever. This is the type of stupid phone pricing I expect from AT&T as they struggle to keep their landline business profitable. To see a cable company use this type of pricing only shows their contempt for customers and a perversion of the values of using the Internet for telephone calls.

Time Warner Cable officially sucks.

Laptop Safety Seminar – 2

We had a full house at our first Laptop Safety Seminar on Wednesday in Indianapolis. Thanks to the law firm of Baker & Daniels for hosting the event, and thanks to the vendors who sent information and door prizes, including Absolute.com and their LoJack for Laptops, Carbonite online backup service, and the Staples Business Advantage program.

Kim Brand, CEO of FileEngine, teamed up with me

MailFoundry CEO David Troup Speaks

Their spam guarantee doesn\’t mince words: no false positives. David Troup explains how and why they developed their spam appliance and how long it takes customers to believe that guarantee. Troup also tells why he provides spam filtering for companies with 10 mailboxes or less for free.

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Culture vs. Process Update

My friend Michael Dortch, now an analyst with the Aberdeen Group, corrected my memory of his quote about culture versus process in his blog post here. I certainly could have mis-remembered, but we can all go to the videotape here if we want to check what he said exactly. And if you haven’t heard Michael speak, watching this presentation from the Altiris ManageFusion user conference in the spring of 2007 will introduce you to one of the smartest and funniest guys I know.

PodTech:Denise Wakeman, BlogSquad Cofounder

Denise Wakeman, half of The BlogSquad, explains how she helps companies make better blogs, and what makes a good blog. She received more viewer questions during the Wells Fargo Small Business Webcast than anyone, another indication, if needed, of continued interest in all things blog. Her advice site, Build A Better Blog, offers a wealth of blogging resource material.

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Small Biz Podcasts Galore

Kudos to Anita Campbell and her Great Big List of 100 Small Business Podcasts. Most are marketing and sales related, but those groups like to talk and therefore adopted podcasts early on. Take a look, and a listen, and subscribe to the ones you like.

PodTech:NTRGlobal 101

Andre Angel, president and CEO of NTRGlobal, gives an overview of their product line during the Dallas ITEC show. Back in their Dallas office, VP of Sales Julie Weiner demonstrates a remote control session and remote file transfer.

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My New Friend Denise Wakeman

I’m one of the experts on small business to be asked by Wells Fargo to participate in their Webcast coming up on August 15th (register here). As always, I try to learn from everyone I meet, and one of the other panelists is Denise Wakeman, cofounder of The Blog Squad.

She’s been blogging (of course) about the Webcast in some detail, and here she mentions another blog I like: FlushTV, run by a Brooklyn plumbing company. Denise says it best, but this just proves any company can benefit when making themselves more open to their customers.

Feedback from Detroit Bloggers

I’ve been slightly disappointed that no reports of my ITEC speeches this year have appeared in blogs, but that changed in Detroit. Not one but two bloggers came to my keynote speech and reported on same. Luckily they both seemed to like what I had to say.

Check out reports from YaZug and Bill Gratsch. If you’re near Seattle or Indianapolis come see for yourself (June 20th and 27th respectively).