So I've been playing around with Google Finance for the past week, and I have to admit that it's pretty cool. I'm constantly amazed by Google's ability to take what was working pretty well (nasdaq.com, mapquest, etc.) and significantly improve the user experience with a few seemingly minor interface tweaks. In this case, ready access to all the information you need on a single page (no more hunting around, click throughs, or multiple sites), and a stock chart that drags a la Google Maps. I could quote from Lazy Sunday here, but I'll resist...

If you haven't tried it yet, check it out: http://finance.google.com/finance?q=goog

-posted by Paul

Pharmaceutical Discovery magazine is returning in May after being on hiatus since its sale to CHI last year. New editor Malorye Branca, who we worked with when she was at Bio-IT World, promises that there will be opportunities for contributed articles (technical briefs or essays) and says that she's currently looking for stories on cutting edge tools for drug discovery and development. These can be case studies or oulines of novel approaches in translational research.

-posted by Rachel

The SMB buzz was thick at this year's VON (Voice on the Net) show in San Jose – although the crowds were a bit thin on the 16th. Not only did we overhear companies pushing their SMB VoIP strategies, but after speaking with numerous press and analysts (including Marc Robins, Jay McCall, Matthias Machowinski and Wil Stofega), it truly appeared as if the the show trend was SMB. Apparently everyone wants a piece of this $60 billion market. And why not!! At this point the SMB VoIP market is truly up for grabs - ADVANTAGE HOSTED PROVIDERS. While smaller providers with hosted solutions are making headway, larger providers are feverishly working to cultivate hosted offers or attempting to make on-prem equipment offers compelling. The real question is, what is the end-user adoption rate for VoIP in SMB and will it live up to all the hype. If the show is any indication, vendors and service providers think it will. Last year according to IDC, it was around 6% - lower than expected. However, a new end-user VoIP deployment research report is due out soon from IDC.

-posted by Justin

Wow, it seems this debate about Windows versus Apple OSX will never end. I’m convinced that my boss is drinking Kool-Aid from the Apple fountain. I actually worked for an Apple dealer in high school doing demos of the Mac 512K at stores. At the time, there wasn’t anything that could compare to the Apple. It is what we were using in school and, keep in mind, this was a time when PCs in the home were a rarity. Well, times changed, I grew up and thank goodness… Windows hit the market.

Bill Gates and Microsoft are, in my humble opinion, responsible for driving the cost of the PC down to the point that almost everyone can afford one. Actually, if you remember, it was his vision to have “a desktop in every home.” He is a great visionary and, while he might have “copied” Apple’s original design for the operating system, Microsoft is responsible for enhancing it and marketing it to the extent that they have captured significant market share because they are that much better than the rest. They're even responsible for making Apple wake up and make a better, more competitive product. Apple, frankly dropped the ball by not allowing developers access to their code but I digress…

I contend that the cost of the Apple is not lower in the long run than the PC. Application availability, training costs, costs of exporting to different platforms are all things an enterprise will need to consider before swapping out their PCs for Macs. For me, application compatibility/availability is a real hot button, and since I’m not a gamer, my choice of software is very limited. I don’t get the robust functionality Office has to offer on the PC and, yes, I’m a little bitter about that.

Oh well, I just got my new Dell PC running Windows Server 2003 at home. When I need to get the tough stuff done, I do it at home on my trusty PC.

-posted by Anne

Congratulations to our client Nextrials...the company was selected for Bio-IT World's first-ever top 50 list of companies providing enabling technologies to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. In the cover story of the March 14 edition, Bio-IT World editors called the company "small but powerful." You can read more at http://www.bio-itworld.com/issues/2006/march/cover-story-bioit-50/.

-posted by Rachel

It's that time of year again -- the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Just like it sounds, this award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. Win this award and you're sure to be a corporate powerhouse in the next several years. After attending the launch meeting earlier this month, I walked away with some tidbits of information to share:

-Nominations are judged on Innovation, Personal Integrity, Strategic Direction and Financial Performance.
-To be eligible, you must manage or own a company, the company must be at least two years old, you must have an equity position in the company, and lastly, the company must have at least $5 million in revenue.
-Submissions are due 3/31.
-First time submissions rarely win, but lay the ground work for following years. Since it's free, submit anyway and get on the radar.
-E&Y does not judge the entries...they select impartial industry experts.
-Previous winners include: Amazon, Car Toys, CoinStar, ZymoGenetics, Starbucks and more. Keep in mind, they won the award prior to being the household names they are today.

If you'd like to submit for the award, you need to contact Tania Villalonga at tania.villalonga@ey.com. She'll then send you a link to the submission or overnight a paper submission. Keep in mind, the form is extensive and requires financial information (this information is kept under NDA).

Good Luck!!

-posted by Justin

I'll admit it... I'm a mac head. I've been using Macs since the mid-80s, and have been fortunate enough to work on them for most of my career. So naturally I'm quick to jump to Apple's defense in any Mac vs PC debate (and considering that one of my coworkers helped direct the worldwide PR effort for Microsoft Windows Server, you can guess the discussions we get into). Of course, jumping to Apple's defense nowadays, when it's among the hottest tech companies out there, isn't much of a challenge. Now the Amelio days, those were tough.

Anyway, I ran across this article in one of the premier tech journals, NETWORK WORLD, that runs through a current TCO (total cost of ownership) analysis for the new Intel Macs vs a typical PC. Not surprisingly, when you factor in the support and other ownership costs of PCs, the cost is twice as much as a Mac over a three year period. Right about now you can clearly separate the Mac fans, who are nodding their heads, from the PC believers, who just made a slightly rude thhhppppptttttt sound. But don't look at me: NWW says it, so it must be true. Tech publications are never wrong.

So why do I bring this up? Well, for one, we're just ramping up our operation, so things like this are on my mind. But more importantly, most agencies out there run a lean and mean shop, and when you don't have a big support staff, the easy usability, configuration and rock solid reliability of Macs make a real difference to the bottom line.

Macs: not just for design departments anymore.

-posted by Paul (via macintouch)

Earlier this week, Cambridge Healthtech Institute (CHI) announced that it had acquired Bio-IT World's media and event properties, formerly a part of the IDG family. It's an interesting shift given the fact that Bio-IT World's premier event, Life Sciences Expo, is just four weeks away.

Although CHI has said that 13 of the staff members at Bio-IT World will be remaining with the publication, there have already been some departures. Our best wishes to Sal Salamone, who left Bio-IT World this week to pursue freelance opportunities. We've worked with Sal for many years at this publication and others such as BYTE, Internet Week and Network World. We'll look forward to hearing more about his new adventures.

-posted by Rachel

There are new levels of complexity for communicating a company’s messages, given the emerging prominence of new media such as blogging, podcasts and RSS feeds. And while companies can choose to not participate in these enablers of real-time conversations, the dialogues will continue to take place with or without them. According to Stephen King, CEO of Marqui and industry expert Paul Kedrosky, traditional public relations is no longer an effective gatekeeper when new technologies enable everyone – employees, customers, competitors, consumers, stockholders, etc. – to be company spokespeople. And although the blogosphere is very sensitive to the attempted control of its informational flow, it is possible for messages to be gently shaped through external influence.

Additionally, the good news is that this technology is also opening doors for more public relations programs metrics. Blogs, podcasts and such are all inherently measurable…and within the context of a company’s marketing program.

The two experts shared this information with an astounding 1,700 enrollees in a recent webinar through the American Marketing Association. A recorded version of the program is available at www.marketingpower.com, with additional information available on the Marqui website.

-posted by Rachel

Well, I'm officially kicking off the voxus blog today. It's something we've been wrestling with for a long time - this idea of blog or not to blog - both here and at our parent company. The reason is fairly simple: most PR blogs suck. I've seen agencies that blog about the food and attendees at their holiday party, for god's sake. And these are fairly prominent national tech agencies, who you think would know better. Talk about your limited audience.

So we've developed a reasonably straightforward mission statement for this endeavor. First, we will do our best to not suck. We were going to not be evil, but Google got that one already. So we will not suck. Second, we are going to provide interesting, informative and occassionally thought-provoking entries about technology, PR and media... in other words, the type of blog we'd like to read as part of work. As opposed to those blogs we are not supposed to read as part of work. You know the ones. And as a side note, we promise to try to keep the thought provoking to a minimum. Third, we will indulge our latent ADD and write about any new sparkly thing that catches our attention. Feel free to point new ones out. This is a technology blog, after all. Which brings us to our final point: our overall objective is to engage. Believe me, we aren't doing this just to hear ourselves talk. In fact, we're largely doing this to hear you talk. So drop us a note, put in a comment or otherwise let us hear from you. Unless you suck, in which case I refer you to point one.

-posted by Paul