The buzz around the iPhone 3G launch caused a lot of excitement, plenty of crashed servers, and some very unusual queuing. Despite that, iPhones were still fairly easy to buy within the first week of the phone’s launch. As a small business owner and avid technologist, I couldn’t resist. Perhaps I should have.
Here are my five killer reasons why the iPhone 3G sucks. Read the rest of this entry »
Anyone struggling to come up with “an idea” for a new techie startup could do a lot worse than checking out this latest article by Paul Graham entitled “Y Combinator: Startup Ideas We’d Like to Fund“.
Paul lists thirty different ways of thinking about start-up opportunities. I was relieved (and spurred on by the fact) that my own in-development project fits into at least one of the categories!
I was also pleased to see that most of the focus isn’t on blue-sky wacky concepts. It’s a much better idea to build and sell things that attack existing well-known problems or solutions by doing something subtley different or simply better.
[Note:- this article was originally scheduled for appearance in April but unfortunately time constraints delayed it until after the 2008 end-of-year filing deadline. I've published it now in the hope that it will show potential company-founders how easy it is to stay on top of such things].
At the end of the tax year, (ie. 5th April), you must file a return that tells HMRC the breakdown of the income tax and NIC payments you have made throughout the previous year. HMRC need this information because tax and NI deductions are paid to them monthly throughout the year without any additional details about the breakdown. (See part 1 of this article for more information). Read the rest of this entry »
Apart from my initial earlier thoughts on one of the difficulties I encountered at the conference, BStartup 2008 (at the London ExCeL centre) was a good experience. For brevity, I’ve summarized a few of the most relevant and interesting people and services, below. Read the rest of this entry »
On Friday I launched a brand new service for anyone running Unix or Linux web servers that could use some operating system support. Here’s the full press release - feel free to spread the word and post it around.
Crossbone Systems announced on Friday the immediate availability of a complete operating system incident support package designed to assist with emergencies and skills gaps in companies with Unix or Linux servers.
At Business Startup 2008, founder Lee Mallabone elaborated: “Our support packages are available from our website right now. Customers can browse our service descriptions and get a clear picture of the support that is on offer. We’re pleased to announce a service that they can activate themselves immediately, giving instant protection to any ailing servers that may have been previously neglected.”
The support service, which is available in Standard, Silver and Gold packages, starts at just £499/month for email and telephone support during office hours. Companies who have found Unix specialist staff to be too expensive or hard to retain will find this solution particularly cost-effective. For companies that need a 24/7 protection, Silver and Gold packages are available and expand to include remote login protection for when your technical resources are already working to their limit.
Commenting on the announcement, founder Lee Mallabone said, “We’re incredibly pleased to be able to draw on our expertise and offer local businesses the protection and peace of mind they need to run Web 2.0 businesses. Today’s announcement is just the beginning, and Crossbone Systems will be releasing more products and services targeted at web and start-up businesses later in the year”.
For more information, visit www.crossbonesystems.com
When I read Ryan Carson’s post about the UK having everything it needs to foster new businesses, especially those that are web or technology-based, I was in full agreement. However, having made the trek from Cambridge to the docklands area of London today, I can state that there is one thing that is sorely missing (and has been for several years): easily accessible wi-fi that doesn’t cost the earth.
A quick overview of my day:
To summarize, I had no way to access the Internet on my laptop without handing over a hefty monthly subscription to one (or more!) providers. All I needed was enough access to check my email and post some content to my website, and I only need it 2 or 3 times a year (for conferences). But it wasn’t to be. The ExCeL centre own provided wi-fi actually requires that you call a sales hotline - not very useful when you’re trying to post notes during a talk!
Exactly how are we meant to be taken seriously as a country that wants great technology companies to thrive when a startup founder can’t even check his email at a startup conference? Of all places, you’d think that a huge conference centre in the capital city might be a place that you’d find free Internet access, especially when the entire conference is designed to help foster early-stage businesses whose ability to trade can often be dependent upon their online activities.
While it’s easy to level criticism squarely at the BStartup organizers, it’s my experience that over-charging for wireless network access is a scourge that is completely endemic in this country and something needs to be done about it.
NB:- I should add that at FOWA last year, superb wi-fi access was provided for the full duration of the conference. Maybe the BStartup organizers need to have a word with Ryan and his team.
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