Khürt L. Williams

Enterprise mobile vendor Good Technology published a new study on Thursday revealing iOS’s massive market share in the corporate world. The iPad accounted for 96% of all tablets in the fourth quarter according to the firm, while the iPhone accounted for 53% of all smartphones activated by more than 2,000 companies using Good’s services in the fourth quarter.

Source BGR via iPad owns 96% of enterprise market and iPhone share climbs to 53%, study finds.

Really? Really!

Source: Cnet 27,000 Google Chromebooks headed to U.S. schools

“The Chromebooks are closely linked to Google Apps, Google’s online suite for word processing, e-mail, presentations, and more. It also can run any number of applications downloaded through the Chrome Web Store or simply loaded as Web pages.”

Google+: View post on Google+

Tuesday Technology Talk: Social Media Panel from Princeton Public Library on Vimeo.

At a March 1, 2011 Tuesday Technology Talk at Princeton Public Library in New Jersey, enthusiasts shared tips for utilizing social media to market a business or organization. I am honored that I was asked to be on the panel answering questions about privacy and security.

Yes, It’s Not Wrong for Google to Focus on Its Own Users

Google+: View post on Google+

Most people in the area probably think of Mrs G’s at the building off Route 1 where you can get a good deal on quality refrigerators, high-end ovens and stoves, and large screen TVs. But inside that nondescript building something else is going on. Mrs G’s is actually a sort of community — a “hub” — for local and women owned businesses to gather and collaborate.

Earlier this week, I had an opportunity to attend a small gathering of business owners at the Mrs G’s in Lawrenceville hosted by Debbie Shafer in collaboration with Hillary Morris. Hillary had invited me to attend the Mercer Area Small Biz Coffee Talk; an opportunity for small business owners to talk about how business was going and perhaps find ways to help each other.

I’m not a business owner. For a few years (2000 — 2003), I was the principal for web development and systems integration consulting firm but for the last eight years I have worked in the information security department of one of the areas biopharma companies. It was interesting to learn about how small business was leveraging the Web especially social media.

Maybe this is how Debbie Shafer meant it to be. Perhaps this is her way of maintaining tradition — her grandmother’s founding principles — by bring people physically to her showroom but also using social media to form relationships as well.

I met, Krystal Knapp the writer behind the excellent local blog Planet Princeton.

[Planet Princeton] was created out of an awareness that the Princeton community needs a central place on the Internet where we can share news, events and community concerns.

I also met Travis, writer for the Genius Country blog. Genius Country wants to highlight the incredible talent of the Princeton area’s residents — past and present. The site features large beautiful images with short descriptive text.

Georgianne Vinicombe, owner of Monday Morning Flowers, talked about how she used social media marketing tools to promote her business and get intelligence to improve sales. She also gave me a great tip for Valentines Day. Guys, women prefer orange roses.

We had social media expert and wedding photographer, Jay Bryant, in the room offering some tips on the use of Facebook Edgerank. Jay is the Vice President of Sales at LiveWorld.

We heard from Joanne White, a writer for the Princeton Patch. The Princeton Patch offers hyper-local news about the area and encourages user content submission.

I met an etiquette consultant and event planner, Mary Harris, who reminded us to be on p’s and q’ when hanging out online.

Nirit Yadin manages the online present of the Terra Momo Restaurant Group but is also a writer for Princeton Eats, and it was because of her that I had the opportunity last November to attend a charity bread making event at Eno Terra in Kingston. My kids got to experience the joy of making bread while listening to Nadezhda Savova tell us stories of how this simple act has united communities around the world.

My friend and fellow foodie Deboleena Dutta told us the story of why she started her business, HerbNZest, LLC, to sell high quality gourmet condiments.

Cristina Fowler, a marketing manager for non-profits and writer for the Jersey Moms blog. The blog is a great resource for professional moms.

We heard from Sally Jones, an Empowerment & Life Coach, and owner of See…Believe…Achieve. What a wonderful name for a business!

Also in attendance was Robin Broomer, Advertising Director for Princeton Magazine/Town Topics. Robin talked with the group about the changing world of print and how online news has affected that industry.

Despite the constant stream of depressing news I read about the economy, surprisingly no one in the room talked about that. Instead there was an air of enthusiasm in the room. Perhaps that is why these businesses are successful.

So gathered around this table were local small business entrepreneurs who have a love of the region and a hope that they can work together for mutual benefit and prosperity. The general theme appeared to be how to use online tools like Facebook, Google+, Twitter — even Pinterest — to engage with their customers. How is Facebook different from Google+? Can Pinterest be used to reach a broader audience for products and services? How? How can I get more people to like my Facebook fan page?

If you have answers to those questions or if you have one of your own, please let me know in the comments section below.

If you try to create a Google account from Google’s homepage, you’ll notice that Google redesigned the page, but that’s not all. You’ll now have to create a Gmail account, a Google Profile and you’ll automatically join Google+.

New Google Accounts Require Gmail and Google+ (via Google Operating System)

I don’t have an issue with these changes at Google. I already use so many Google services — Gmail, Docs, Calendar, Analytics, Photos (formerly Picasa) Google+ etc — that it only makes sense that my Google+ and my other Google account are integrated. I’m more engaged on that platform than anywhere else.  I love that Gmail now includes circles; a natural extension of Gmail filters.  I want to give priority to responding to email from my family. One click on the Family circle and I can focus on doing just that.

Google+: View post on Google+

Look at the Author EULA in the light of a publisher’s agreement.   It’s pretty generous. This is a tool that Apple gives you for producing books to sell through Apple. Perhaps they’ll change that in the future but that’s the agreement for now.   In addition, if you want to give your book away you can use Apple’s tools to produce a book that you distribute any way you want. I don’t have those rights when I write for any other publisher.   Author is not a standalone piece of software. It’s part of a publishing strategy.

(via Dim Sum Thinking)

It’s great to read the opinion of a published author.

Google+: View post on Google+

With all the fuss over the iBooks Author license agreement, what has been missed is that Apple is focusing the entire initiative on the education market, which is rather different from the publishing world in general.

TidBITS Opinion: Examining iBooks Author from the Publisher Perspective

Google+: View post on Google+

The New York Times has a clever and long feature article explaining why Apple (and other firms) manufacture in China for a host of reasons of which low wages may be a relatively small portion.

Via www.nytimes.com

As recently as 2002, most of Apple’s products were manufactured in the USA. What happened? Why is nearly everything, from Macs to iPhones, made in China now?

Via osxdaily.com

People who know me, also know that I’m fan of neither cold nor snow. I grew up in the warm climes of the English speaking Caribbean (the West Indies) and had my first experience with snow when I was almost nineteen. I it was my first semester at college and I had made a few new aquaintances. One of them came banging on my door yelling “Snow”! I stepped outside with him to experience this wonder of white stuff falling from the sky. I remember enjoying the cold wet fluff in my hands and was told to try and catch a snow flake with my tongue. It seemed wonderful and magical. It was only later that I came to understand the true meaning of a snow fall.

It meant truding out in the cold and wet to a class. It meant that my shoes were full of sand and salt. It meant that I had to spend months uner a blanket. Yeah, I’m not too positve about snow. Today’s snow fall means my back will get a real work out. It means the roads will be full of incompent idiots in SUV who think they are invincible (thank goodness Montgomery Martial Arts is closed today). My wife, Bhavna, wonders how I managed to survive the winters in Michigan while attending the University of Michigan. I did it because I wanted an advanced degree. She’s right; I survived it.

But now … I’ve got kids. The first words I heard from my eleven year old daugher this morning were, “It snowing! It snowing!”. My almost thirteen year old son says he won’t let us move to California or Florida — I keep threatening to do it — because it doesn’t snow. Perhaps I need to see this through their eyes. Perhaps, it’s time to put away adult thinking and just enjoy what is. “It snowed!”

Tomorrow, along with many other websites, my blogs – Island in the Net, Khürt/photos, Khürt/blog – will go dark in protest of the Stop Online Privacy Act. There is a lot written about SOPA online – search Google – but from my understanding it will pretty much censor the Web.

If you want to learn more come back to blog after 8AM tomorrow (EST).

Location:Grant Way,Skillman,NJ

I don’t like the cold, so I did not take my camera out all week. Last night around 10 PM I suddenly remembered and looked around desperately for something to shoot. I saw this toy car that my nephew left here last time he was over. I tossed it on the couch and .… here we are.

This is my first submission for my 52 week photography project. Her name is Sasha. I took the photo late last night at a dinner party hosted by my wife’s employer. Not much of a story here. Sasha had the run of the house and decided to spend her time trying to eat the ribbons sitting under the Christmas tree.

Last January I kicked of my first 365 project. I decided that I could learn more about my camera and about photography by forcing myself to take a photo every day for the year. I succeeded — I’m choosing to focus on the positive — on taking about 277 photos during the year; just 88 photos short of 365. I’m not a fan of cold and wet so the Winter and early Spring months were my least productive months. I say the project was a success because I learn how to use my camera better and I did learn a bit about composition and lighting. But I don’t think I have the discipline or time to pick the camera up each and every day. So starting this week I’ll be kicking off my new project — Project 52. I’ll have a whole week to plan my shoot and I hopefully will have an interesting photograph to share each week.

What ever your tradition for this time of the year — Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, Pancha Ganapati, Festivus — may you have the company of friends and family.

My nephew was born five years ago today. Wow! Time passes so quickly.

The air was warm for December and with all that is going on at the office (I’m on vacation but there were some organizational changes) I decided to take a walk along Route 27 in Kingston. I had hoped to get some photos of the Mill House but the river water was quite high and rapid and the path through the forest was under water.

I continued walking along through Kingston until I got to the little mall housing some local shops one of which is Osteria Procaccini. My wife and I had attempted to eat here a few times before but we always seemed to come by when they are closed. I walked in an looked at the menu. I decided to sit and order lunch — it was about noon — but then changed my mind and decided to take my order to go. I had a chance to talk to the wait staff about the restaurant. It’s not a pizzeria. So what is it?

The restaurant’s menu describes an osteria thusly:

>osteria: a humble village eatery where a warm welcome awaits you

Well that’s true. The inside is non-pretentious — a welcome break from the stuffiness of Princeton — and the wait staff were quite friendly and tolerant of the many questions I had. The restaurant is family run and from the looks of the menu, they take great care to choose local organic and fresh ingredients for the food.

So what did I order and how was it? I ordered Tino’s Margherita Pizze and ate half the pie. I saved the other half for my kids. I enjoyed my pizza and I’ll be back to try the Ruchetta e Prosciutto. I expect I’ll be FourSquare mayor soon.