Monday, March 21, 2011

Blog 8 - Summary and Comments on Peers

This entire entrepreneurial idea and blog reflection each week has made me aware of how much goes into creating, marketing and keeping up with a new product.  My verbcal idea evolved each week as I learned new things in class, such as what google did to obtain voice recognition samples.  Since my product is geared on voice recognition it will be key for me to make sure that my users can utilize my product with ease and comfort thus I will need excellent voice recognition software.

Before doing this project I did not know that apple only allows certain apps to go forth and that they screen them.  This can pose as a huge problem because if there are other apps similar to mine apple might not want to go forth and allow mine to be on their market.  Although blackberry and andriod allow any type of app this means there is more competition, yet I can be assured that my app will be launched with them.

Another aspect I had to consider in the last week of the project that I didn't envision when I first began was protection - I will have to make sure that I protect my app and all the contents related to it.  Furthermore, it didn't occur to me that the way for me to make revenue thru this app would be thru advertisements.  Although advertising is great the issue of money and transactions comes into play.  I will thus need to establish familiarity with paypal and online bank accounts to ensure that I am not getting money stolen/my funds are properly allocated.

Overall this project gave me great insight on many facets of entrepreneurial ideas related to information and technology!  I really enjoyed furthering my ideas each week based on what I learned in the classroom.


Blogs that I commented: "rbhailu195" "bjkillen" "hasimon" and "rachsampsist195"

Blog due date: Monday, March 28th

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Week 7 – Computer Forensics


There will be many ways in which verbcal is affected by computer forensics.  The first is through theft, although the app will be free on all smart phones it will be extremely important to protect all of my software that powers the app.  The way in which I will earn revenue from the app will be through advertisements on the top of the app screen (they will be in banner format across the top of the app and vendors will pay me money and thus gain advertisement when people use my app). 

When getting payment thru paypal, credit cards and checks it will be key to shred all documents that I print and make sure all account numbers are stored in a safe place.  Additionally it will be extremely important to have effective booking keeping in an excel document in which I can see my revenue and monitor all transactions to make sure I am not getting stiffed by my money.  Also I will have to pay my employees that work with me to create the app so I will have to make sure I have enough money through ads to pay them.  Since my computer hard drive holds all the data I will have to make sure that once I get new computers I ensure the old information is properly deleted (via the DOD law S220.22-M (Department of Defense) and that it gets disintegrate, incinerate, pulverize, shred or melt.

The last thing I can do that relates to my verbcal and computer forensics will be to defrag my computer drive to ensure that I don’t lose key documents and other important things (this will help me to ensure that my computer operates as fast as possible).  Computer security is key in every aspect of  most businesses and I will need to make sure I also protect the software that I use and hackers don’t access it because that could cause me serious problems in the future.


Blog Due Date: Monday, March 21, 2011

Friday, March 4, 2011

Blog 6 - Operating Systems

This week we talked about Windows versus Mac, operating systems and the way that software and applications function.  The key factor that will apply to verbcal is the ability for the phones which the app is on to have a multi tasking feature.  As we learned, the original iphone had no multitasking features and was not easily able to switch between tasks.  Despite the new updates and iphones making multi tasking a bit easier the Android might be a better place to execute the usage of this app.

Unlike iphone, the android allows for open source applications to be used, this means it is easier to get apps approved for trail, editing etc.  Apple will be much more vigorous acquiring a license and getting the app approved might be a lot of unnecessary work until it is perfected. This lecture made me realize how important it will be to review, edit and check all aspects of my proposed app.  From spelling to technology related tasks it will be key to make sure I perfect everything before applying to launch with Apple.

One venue I didn't really consider until lecture this week would be expanding this app onto tablets - as this is the way of the future and the verbcal can work with the same mobility features as any smartphone verbcal app.  It will be much easier to launch this on the zoom as it allows for more flexibility, widgets on the screen and movement between tasks.  The verbcal app on the ipad might be more difficult as it is not as easy to switch between tasks and input verbal dates, times and assignments.  The pros about launching with Apple is that I will know how well my app is built and the success will probably be widespread as Apple will be more critical than opponents such as Android.

Blog due date: March 7th

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Week 5- Blog Review Post

The technology blog that I have found is called TechCrunch and the main blogger is MG Siegler, he blogs about all different topics such as: facebook, groupon, twitter, apple and google.  There are various subtopics covered in his blog such as green technology, technology, gadgets, enterprise and mobile access. The specific blog entry that I read was quite compelling.  It was about one of the most recent and rudest behaviors our society stereotypes: using your cell phone at dinner.  I know my mom yells at me for it all the time and tells me to never do it.


In his blog Siegler talks about how he typically checks his phone under the table when in the presence of his mother, as most of us do, to keep parents content.  He hits on the exact issue of society: if you are not on your phone and the person you are with is, you feel awkward and in a way you feel compelled to pull out your phone and check emails, texts, facebook etc.  Siegler tackles this common belief of it being "rude" to pull out your cell phone and says how the usage of such allows you to be in contact with more than just the people you are with.  Although our generation is growing up "afraid" to whip our phones out in front of our parents we are a generation of innovation and connection and someday it won't be a question of using phones at dinner it will be a question of how they are used.


I found the last line of this particular entry really interesting: "In ten years, everyone goes to a restaurant and talks to one another without pulling out their phones at the table — or in ten years, the table is designed in a way to enable you to more easily use your phones? That’s an easy one."  It is inevitable that technology is taking over our future - we just have to be willing to adapt to the way we choose to let it.


Overall a really interesting post - and his entire blog looks really interesting too!


Here is the link to the blog: http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/21/phones-at-dinner/


Blog due date: February 28, 2011

Friday, February 18, 2011

Week 4 - Hardware Essentials

The technology discussed in this weeks lecture will really help with the voice recognition needed for the verbcal to be successful.  First off, the tests that google completed with voice recognition has really lead to the advancement of the way mobil devices recognize what the user is saying.  With so many different types of voices and accents out there it frequently becomes difficult to know what people are saying.  The three voice services google created: voice search, voice input and voice actions are all crucial to the way verbcal will operate.  Perhaps by reaching out to google and pitching my idea they will be willing to partner and launch it through their new developed software.

The biggest problem consumers will have will be inputting their events into the calendar because they will need to speak clear enough for the system to process what is being asked.  By implementing the latest voice recognition technology I can ensure user satisfaction and keep my customers satisfied.  Also, I could perhaps launch a disclaimer that allows the events that people input for the first two months of downloading into a database which analyzes voice tones and pitches in order to refine the technology.

By really pushing the idea of voice recognition and collecting samples within voice recognition verbcal will be more successful.  People frequently get easily frustrated when voice recognition technology does not work properly.  If the application becomes flawed or doesn't match up to what the consumer wants it is possible that consumers will no longer use it and my whole plan could fail.  It is key that I ensure a wide sample of voice recognition technology within my application before actually launching it.


Blog due date: February 21

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Week 3 - Making of Your Laptop & Hardware Essentials/Digital Media

There are many ways in which digital media can aid my platform toward the launch and implementation of verbcal.  First, I can create tutorial videos on the various ways verbcal can be used (i.e. voice, calendar access, data entry etc.) and load these videos on my website.  To do this I will most likely use a progressive download as it is easier and less expensive then video streaming.  Additionally, this method will likely be supported by most computer users.  The draw back with Progressive Downloading is that users won't be able to fast forward until the entire video is downloaded.  Ideally once the videos are on my website I can link them to a YouTube account and create more chatter about how to use the app and the "user friendliness" it will offer.

In regard to hardware essentials for the creation of the company I will probably need a quad core in which I can have more speed and at least 8MB.  I most likely will not have a great deal of video aside from the tutorials so that won't use up too much space on my computer.  I will have a lot of spreadsheets and data for my website so it will be essential to have slots for my USB to go in (Ideally 2.0mbit/s).  The other parts to my computer will likely be a 3.20GHz chip, to allow for just enough speed to run the daily applications necessary and keep my website/social media updated.

Video will be essential in the launch/continuation of verbcal as it will directly show the consumer how user friendly verbcal is.  The link to the videos can be embedded on Facebook walls, within emails, in tweets and more!  Having a computer that I can create store all of my data and create updates/videos to will be an essential part of the success verbcal encounters.

Blog due date: February 14th

Friday, February 4, 2011

Week 2 - Spreadsheet Essentials & Application Software

Verbcal and Software:

There are many ways that I will be able to use this weeks lecture, specifically when launching my app.  When the app initially launches I will want to promote it with an interactive website that describes all of the  features, tutorials and details on the basics of how the users should use the app.  The website will need html coding as we learned in class this week.  Therefore I will need to know how to code specific colors for the text on the website as well as the background.  For example if I want one page to have a red background I will need to code it FF 00 00 and for a magenta page I would need to code it FF 00 FF.  By having an in depth understanding of how the 0-F color coding scale works and other html features I will save money because I will not have to hire someone to create my website since I will be able to do it myself.

Excel will be an integral part of the application launch and usage because it will enable me to track data of my users and the specifics of each part of the app.  When people download the app I can record their usage, their favorite parts of the app, the type of information they are storing on the verbcal and the frequency of visits the app gets.  I can then create graphs and charts to report out on the success of the verbcal and learn from my customers on what needs attention and what needs to be improved.

I can also record revenues (income and payments out) in excel and further use if then statements to see whether my accounts have sufficient funds to pay all fees that I will incur.  Overall excel my implementation of excel will be essential because it will save me time from doing math by hand and it will aid me in being able to track success measures of verbcal.



Blog due date: February 7th

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Week 1 - Internet and the WWW

The product idea I have created is an application for Blackberries, iPhones and Androids in which the user can click on the virtual scheduler and be exposed to a wide variety of things from assignments to scheduling to locations of meetings.  The difference between this app and every other scheduling app out there is that this app will be audible.  This means that the user can simply click on the app then they will be presented with an option: "to do list" or "my daily planner" by verbally saying "my daily planner" the app will then ask the date the person wants to schedule.  The user then can say "Thursday, January 26, 2011" after this the user will be prompted to put the time in which they want to schedule their event and the name of the event without having to type anything or even look at the screen.

There would further be an extended options feature in which after entering date, time, name of event the user could verbally say "extended options" and enter the address, phone number of contact or email of contact simple by just using your voice.  Once complete the app will sync with the phones calendar and input all of the information as if it were typed in.  Another option within the app will be a feature that right as it opens you can click "hear my daily events" or "hear my daily to do list" so if the user is driving to work they can listen to what their day has in store for them or what they need to do. In the age of texting/email while driving we don't have any time to be out of touch, life moves fast and we have to keep up.  With an app like this people can quickly state the tasks they need to get done, the date they are due etc. while doing other things.

Efficiency is everything today and we really have to keep on the go.  This app, which I will call verbcal from now on would make so many peoples lives easier.  Many cold days when iPhone and Android users want to just have their gloves on they will have a much easier time accessing their calendar and inputting all of their upcoming events and things they need to get accomplished.  Through usage of the internet and twitter it will be my plan to advertise this new app.  Daily tweets to my friends about its launch and facebook statuses will surely get the word out.  Further technology will innovate this product to the extent that if I create a website to advertise it I can simply post the link to twitter, linkden,  facebook and all of my email contacts to really spread the word about this new app that will increase daily efficiency on the behalf of the user.

Blog due date: January 31, 2011