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Microsoft will open its first US Innovation Center in Miami later this spring

May02
by on May 2, 2014 at 2:49 pm
Posted In: Around the Web

A Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC) is to be opened in Miami, the first of its kind in the US, later this spring. The building will be kitted out with the latest technology, and support students and startups in the local area. Miami was chosen because of its close proximity to Latin America; Microsoft hopes to connect the city with key communities in the region. The new MIC will support students with trained specialists and an open-plan area where they can ask questions about software and other technologies used on their course. It’ll also provide startups with access to Microsoft tools…

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PandaDoc brings analytics to digital contracts and e-signatures to help close deals faster

May02
by on May 2, 2014 at 2:44 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Insider

We first covered PandaDoc last October as the company pitched at The Next Web Mobile Startup Rally in New York. PandaDoc is a Web and mobile platform designed to help businesses create, send and sign digital documents from any device. January’s full launch brought in a refreshed platform, featuring a larger template library and integrations with Nimble CRM, Harvest project manager, Google Drive, Google Docs, Gmail, Dropbox, and its own QuoteRoller proposal software. With its latest update, however, PandaDoc has added analytics with a view towards closing deals faster. Want to know when contracts, case-studies and proposals are opened and what…

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3 habits of highly successful successors

May02
by on May 2, 2014 at 1:26 pm
Posted In: Analysis and Opinion, Around the Web, Entrepreneur

passing baton
Will Housh is the founder and CEO of Housh, Inc., a diversified online distribution and retail business. Connect with Will on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Family businesses are the cornerstone of the American dream. In fact, more than 80 percent of all businesses – many of which are small companies – are owned by families. In part due to integrity, family values, and innovation, many family-owned businesses have stood the test of time. So, why do so many plummet once successors take the reigns? Studies indicate that only 30 percent of family-owned businesses are successfully passed to a second generation – and it gets…

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Visualizing Podcasts

May02
by on May 2, 2014 at 11:30 am
Posted In: Around the Web

I like podcasts. I listen to them almost every minute I’m behind the wheel. They’re mostly technology related, so if my wife’s in the car sometimes I have to turn on music or switch to Unprofessional or Roderick on the Line (a couple of great podcasts that are a little less techy). As I was listening to the most recent Stackexchange podcast, I thought it would be interesting to visualize the conversations in three of my favorite podcasts.

Accidental Tech Podcast: Casey opens and closes the show. He gets some words in in the middle, but they’re two small to register at this scale (unless the topic is vinyl records). Marco does the ad reads and discusses coffee and headphones and John does the rest.

Roderick on the Line: Merlin primes the pump, but once John gets rolling there’s no stopping him.

Stackexchange: Sometimes they have a guest and it’s slightly less chaotic.

Of course these charts are made in jest and do not reflect actual data or any ill will toward the podcasters. They are three of my favorite podcasts and I never fail to listen to miss them. If you like podcasts, I recommend them (and even if you don’t).

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22tracks redesigns its curated playlist and music discovery app for iOS

May02
by on May 2, 2014 at 11:25 am
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Product Updates

One hundred and twenty influential DJs and bloggers. Four cities. Twenty two genre-based playlists per city. That’s 22tracks in a nutshell, which recently launched a complete redesign of its iOS app. The revamped user interface is clean and stripped back, with large tabs and clear text to assist navigation while you’re on the move. The top-level lists the four cities (Amsterdam, Brussels, London and Paris), as well as a personal playlist for bookmarked tracks. The next level down reveals the individual playlists in multicolored rows, complete with the image and name of the curator(s). It’s all rather self-explanatory. The simplicity…

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