From Greg's Head

Over the weekend Microsoft dropped its bid to take over Yahoo!. This is an interesting development in what initially appeared to be an inevitable take-over.

This brings up a few questions:

• Who can compete with Google?
• What does this mean for Microsoft in terms of the next step to compete in Web 2.0?
• Where does Yahoo! go from here? They’ve been playing second fiddle to Google for quite some time.

CNN/Fortune has an interesting article that speculates about the above questions.

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With tax day behind us, we can now begin think about things other than the IRS, bean counters and filing deadlines. As you know I am a big fan of Inc. Magazine. I want to let you know about their newest comprehensive technology website for entrepreneurs called Inc Technology.

A spin off site from Inc.com, it has the latest technology trends affecting your business, expert IT advice and commentary, as well as strategies for deploying and choosing technology products and services.

There are articles and forums for just about every technology topic you can think of. Let me know what you think of the site. Is it useful for your business? Are there topics you would like to see me talk about or record for a PKF Texas – The Entrepreneur’s Playbook?

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(L to R) AMA Houston Tech SIG coordinator Rob Roberts, Michael Berry, Katie Laird and Greg Price after the blogging for business panel on April 2, 2008.

This morning I was one of three panelists at the AMA Houston Technology SIG’s event, “Blog Forward: The Rapid Evolution of Blogging as a Marketing Tool.” A big thank you to Rob Roberts and the AMA for asking me to present, it was a great crowd.

Katie Laird from Schipul and Michael Berry from Clear Channel Houston joined me on the panel. The links to their blogs are below. Katie contributes to six!

• Katie’s blog – www.happykatie.com
• Michael’s blog on the News Radio 740 site

It was interesting to get their perspectives on blogging, as their blogs have a different focus than fromgregshead.com.

To those who attended, thanks for your questions and thoughts. I enjoyed our interaction. Feel free to comment here on the blog, or email me with any questions you may have about fromgregshead.com or blogging in general.

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Envision08 speaker Guy Kawasaki recently interviewed Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the MIX08 conference. MIX is an annual event that brings together professionals in the consumer Web space - Web developers, designers, business and digital marketing professionals - to explore new ways to build next-generation Web experiences using Microsoft technologies, and create digital customer connections that drive business results.

The video of the interview and Q&A session is about an hour long, but you can read the transcript if you don’t want to watch the whole thing.

They discuss a wide variety of topics including social networking, the changes coming after Bill Gates fully transitions to working full-time at his foundation and Microsoft’s potential takeover of Yahoo!. It’s really interesting stuff, especially considering Kawasaki’s history with Apple. Ballmer definitely has set the course for moving forward. It’s going to be fun to watch what Microsoft does in the coming years.

On a related side note, I am going to be on a panel at Envision08. I’ll be one of three panelists talking about the top ten accounting mistakes that businesses make. I'm looking forward to it. 

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This week Houston was named the #4 Up-And-Coming Tech City by Forbes Magazine. Here’s what Forbes had to say about Houston:

“Houston hasn't exactly earned a reputation as a city teeming with techies. But that's changing. "Fifteen years ago, we had all the assets, but we weren't really developing them," says Walter Ulrich, chief executive of the Houston Technology Center, the state's largest technology incubator. "So all the leaders of Houston got together and recognized that the city needed to diversify its economy. There's been this tremendous transition."

Houston's strategy: Smash different discoveries together. To wit: Houston's itRobotics, founded in 2002, has developed new cost-cutting robots that inspect a variety of boilers and energy pipelines for structural flaws.

Other Houston start-ups are commercializing technologies originally developed at local research institutions. Nanospectra Biosciences, a local drug delivery company, is working on a nano-scale particle (pioneered at Rice University) that destroys cancerous tumors. The particles are injected in the bloodstream and accumulate inside cancerous tumors. When the tumor is exposed to a laser, the particles absorb the near-infrared light and convert it into thermal energy, destroying the tumor.”

An interesting back story on how the article came together: the reporter, William Pentland, contacted Christina Garza, media relations manager at the Greater Houston Partnership about the story. Christina referred him to Walter Ulrich, president and CEO of the Houston Technology Center [link]. Walter provided the background for the story and as you can see was quoted. It’s great to see the collaboration between the GHP and HTC lead to such a prominent feature. 

One more local connection to note is Rice University. The two companies mentioned, itRobotics and Nanospectra Biosciences were both founded based on innovations at Rice and are licensed through the Rice Office of Technology Transfer.

Kudos to Houston for providing the environment where technology start-ups can flourish. The main reason we created the Fast Tech 50 program was to change the mindset of those outside of Houston about our advancement in tech savvy.

The 2007 Fast Tech 50 companies are responsible for creating almost 3,250 jobs and over $387 million in revenues to the local economy. Houston is about more than just oil and the space program (which are pretty good in their own right!). No one industry dominates the Houston business climate anymore. The city's businesses are as diverse as its people and cultures.

Congratulations to the GHP, HTC and Rice, it’s great to see your efforts in the tech community being recognized on a national level.

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Crackberries strike again! Monday’s three hour BlackBerry blackout serves as a reminder to keep our addiction in check. Like last April’s outage Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry, was slow to diagnose and address the issue. As of yesterday afternoon, they were still trying to determine the cause.

This outage continues to solidify my choice to use my Cingular smart phone instead of the Crackberry. I’ve already read about several customers who plan to ditch their Crackberries for smart phones that don’t rely on RIM’s network. Once again, who knows how much this outage cost its customers in business. Two major outages within ten months of each other indicates to me there are problems that need to be addressed. 

Was this second blackout in less than a year enough for you to decide to make the switch? Do you think RIM has addressed their issues properly? Did the outage push you into Crackberry rehab?

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Stephen Nunes, the Controller from Merrick Systems (www.merricksystems.com) and I were recently talking about various technology trends and new items and the capabilities of the Nintendo Wii came up. It really isn’t just a gaming system. Stephen wrote a helpful document describing how to connect a Wii to use it as a multimedia center. With the success of the Wii during the recent holiday season, I thought this might be helpful to those of you who received one. Merrick Systems is a software and technology solutions provider for the upstream market located here in Houston.

If you have a Wii connected to your main television, it can be more than a gaming unit. You can also use it as a multimedia box to browse the internet on your television (go to Youtube to watch videos)  and to stream pictures, videos and music from your PC to  your TV.

Here’s how:

1. if you have a wireless network in your home, start by connecting the Wii to the network
   1. At the main Wii Menu, go into the settings menu and follow the network settings from there. Connecting a Wii is very similar to connecting any other wireless device to your home network.

2. Download the Opera browser for Wii to the unit. Do this by going from the main Wii menu to the Wii Store. You will need to spend $10.00 to buy “Wii Credit” on the site, but again, the menus will guide you through how to do that. Once you have the required credit, you can choose to buy the browser from the Wii store and it will download to your unit and update it’s operating system.

3. At this point, the internet browser will appear as a menu choice in the main Wii menu. You can now use it to browse almost all web sites by typing in the web addresses on the on-screen keyboard using the Wii Controller. You can save frequently visited sites as favorites for one-click retrieval.

4. To stream media from your PC, you now need to go to Orb.com, set up a free account, and download and install their client software to your PC. During that installation process, you point the program to the folders where your media files are. I have all my music, pictures and video stored on an external hard drive so it is separate from my other data. You can then go back to the Wii, an browse to your account on Orb. After signing in, you will see the folder with your music**, pictures etc and you will be able to double click on them to start them up. The flash media player within the Wii Opera browser should then allow you to view pictures and play music** and video.

5. Note that you can even play music from your Itunes libraries, but all media has to be unprotected (non-DRM in the case of music) format to play. Thus music you added to your library from CD’s should play, but music purchased from the Itunes store will not.

6. **Security note - Since I’m paranoid about hackers, viruses etc, I only start the Orb client on my PC when I want to stream multimedia through the Wii. Otherwise, I make sure that the orb client has been exited and is not running on my PC. As part of setup, I choose not to have it automatically start up when windows does.

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This week's guest spotlight is from Walter Ulrich, President and CEO of the Houston Technology Center. 

Houston, Texas, January 7, 2008 – Mark my words, “2008 will be remembered as the inflection point for transforming the Greater Houston Region from the 20^th century leader in oil and gas to a 21^st century globally recognized high technology hub.”

How about “Happy New Year” first???  If you are in this region like me, you had better have gotten over celebrating the New Year by January 2^nd and on your way to making a difference today and every day in 2008.

What is going on here?  Houston faces a great opportunity and a great challenge!

The challenge is that Houston must generate 600,000 new jobs over the next ten years.  If we do nothing, only 450,000 jobs will be created in Houston: The Oil & Gas equivalent of Detroit!

But a lot is being done.  The Greater Houston Partnership is raising $30 million to $40 million to bring in those incremental 150,000 jobs.

So problem solved?  Not so fast!  We attack the symptoms – job counts and wage rates – but that does not solve the underlying problems.

The Opportunity è the right kinds of jobs.  While we need more oil workers, logistics businesses, retailers, manufacturers and call centers, those kinds of jobs alone will not provide long-term, sustainable economic growth.  High technology employment is the flywheel that builds robust, growing economies.  The entrepreneurial spirit, which Houston has in its very DNA, will favor those who seize the opportunity and meet the challenges head on.

This cannot be accomplished using traditional economic development methods.  And competition, nationally and globally, is fierce, so we must create high technology jobs now.  THIS YEAR!

The stakes are HIGH!  Failure is not an option.  Did I say opportunity???  Under these circumstances, this is NOT an opportunity!  It is an outright OBLIGATION to transform this community and we must do it now.  THIS YEAR!

Houston: one of the richest troves of innovation in the world – thousands of entrepreneurs, tens of thousands of researchers and scientists, great institutions, lots of intellectual property and a regional economic base that rivals some of the largest countries in the world… oil and gas capitol… mega medical centers… $4 billion IT economy…  pioneers in Nanotechnology at Rice University… and NASA’s largest R&D facility.

And yet, “we don’t get no respect.”  If you believe the pundits, Houston is seen as one or two dimensional only with the real innovation elsewhere.

So why is that?  We have not demonstrated long-term sustainable high tech results.   We have the economic capacity; we have built the infrastructure in the last ten years.  We have to deliver the goods.  Now.  THIS YEAR!

The Houston Technology Center is ready to lead.  It is the largest non-profit community-based organization in the region focused exclusively on fostering innovation and driving emerging technology success:  Emerging energy and clean energy technologies, bio/life sciences, IT and web 2.0, 3.0 and beyond, nanotechnology and NASA-related aerospace.

Our full time technology development managers work side-by-side with over 70 emerging technology companies helping them to identify gaps, find customers, raise money, grow and prosper and thrive.  We partner with over a dozen other organizations and work closely with major Universities, economic development organizations, municipalities and the State of Texas.

Our objective is simple: Houston will be a globally recognized technology hub on a par with the most highly lauded technology centers of the last decade.

AND WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Go to our website, www.houstontech.org.  Attend the free orientation if you don’t know us.  If you do know us, then join us.  The HTC could not accomplish its mission without the support of the community and we need your help.

If you are a technologist or an entrepreneur, you share with us the challenge, the opportunity and the obligation.  Get engaged, give us your support and actively participate (and financial contributions are always welcome).  Greg, his shiny head and PKF Texas get it è they are actively involved and set a great example.  Make a difference!  Get involved!  RIGHT NOW!

www.HoustonTech.org

_____

About our guest contributor – Walter Ulrich is President and CEO of the Houston Technology Center, Chairman of the Gulf Coast Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization and active in many community organizations.  Appointed by Governor Perry, he recently completed a two year term as one of the founding members of the Texas Emerging Technology Fund Committee.  He has been CEO of several technology companies, a management consultant to major corporations, an expert witness on technology issues, and was responsible for the first commercially successful email service in the 1970’s.  A former Marine and graduate with a bachelors and master degree from Stevens Institute of Technology, he lives with his wife in Pearland.

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As I announced back in August  the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) is coming to Houston. Microsoft has finally announced the dates, July 7-10, 2008.

This is what Microsoft has to say about Houston:

“The fourth-largest city in the United States, Houston has emerged as the Gulf Coast’s cultural capital. A major U.S. hub for international business and trade, Houston boasts industry leadership in energy, information technology, medicine, and even space exploration. The city is hip. Diverse. And offers a world-class art scene and the kind of cuisine foodies crave.”

I whole-heartedly agree with the above. By choosing Houston for such an important conference, Microsoft is demonstrating exactly what Joel Kotkin was talking about in his Opportunity Urbanism report. 

Houston is an opportunity city and it’s great that large corporations are recognizing they can find business success here.

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Speaking of more Microsoft news, have you heard about the new Microsoft Surface? It’s pretty cool. From the Microsoft site:

“Surface features a 30-inch tabletop display whose unique abilities allow for several people to work independently or simultaneously, all without a mouse or a keyboard. Surface can simultaneously recognize dozens and dozens of movements such as touch, gestures and will be able to recognize actual unique objects that have identification tags similar to bar codes.”

Apparently, it won’t be available until “Winter” 2007, but they’ll be doing previews around the country up until the launch date.

I highly recommend checking out the website, as it has a ton of information and some cool demonstrations about the different capabilities. 

Of course there’s no cost information as of right now! Take a look at the website and let me know if you’d spend the money for one. 

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Exciting news! Houston has been selected at the host city for Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in 2008!

The Houston Chronicle alluded to it in an article on August 3^rd and I received confirmation yesterday from our Microsoft Partner Account Manager, that WPC will be here in early July 2008.

This is a huge event, the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau is expecting 50,000 rooms to be booked during the conference. This is a great opportunity for Houston to show off what a great city it is. Looks like we’re moving up in the world!

Stay tuned for updates as they become available!

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In response to Monday’s blog, several people asked me about Skype.

“Skype is a free program that uses cutting edge p2p technology to bring affordable, high-quality voice communications to people all over the world.” – Skype.com

Basically it’s a program on your computer that you use to place “phone” calls to anywhere in the world over the internet. One of our directors at PKF Texas uses Skype to speak to her husband when he is in China on business. 

It seems like a pretty cool concept. I haven’t tried it out yet, but it seems like it would be a viable alternative to long distance phone bills or using a ton of minutes on my cell phone. 

Do any of you use Skype? How do you think the application will affect the way we communicate in the business world? Will business land lines become a thing of the past?

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As many of you know PKF Texas was a founding sponsor of the FastTech 50. The nomination period for the 2007 FastTech 50 is now open. 

To qualify for the FastTech 50, your company's headquarters must be located in the Houston SMSA ten county area which includes Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto or Waller counties. A minimum of 51% of your consolidated revenue must be involved in the original manufacture, design or development of technical products or services. Your company must also have net revenue of more than $200,000 for both 2005 and 2006. All nominations are subject to review by the FastTech 50 board.

To nominate your company visit http://consult.pkftexas.com/fasttech50/. The deadline for submissions is July 27, 2007.

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The latest Accounting Technology asked readers, “What is your biggest technology need for 2007?”

Here are a few selected responses from the magazine.

• “Better backup solutions for our customers.” – Bryan L. Wilton, InterDyn Progressive Group
• “An integrated practice management application.” – Gary C. Crouch, CPA, CITP, MCP, Crouch, Slavin & Co.
• “To get our website developed.” – Linda Fletcher, A-Soft Professionals
• “Faster, more reliable wireless.” – Mike Palmatier, Sikich LLP

These are all great ideas. Even though it’s already February, it’s still a good time to assess your technology needs for the year. What do you need to upgrade? Is there new software or hardware that you can use to make your business more efficient? What do you have right now that’s working well enough for you to provide a best practice to others in your industry? 

We’ve heard from some Accounting Technology readers, let’s hear from some FromGregsHead readers! What are your technology needs for 2007?

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Tomorrow, January 30th, marks a significant event in information technology.  Microsoft will roll out its latest operating system release, Windows Vista, to consumers.

There is so much information surrounding the launch floating around, I wanted to give my readers the basics and where to find more info.  

What: Windows Vista, the next generation of Microsoft's flagship PC operating system.

When: Available starting 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.

Editions: Seven in total, but only three aimed at consumers - Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate.

Home Basic: Is roughly equivalent to Windows XP Home Edition, and lacks the much-touted Aero Glass look.

Home Premium: Includes Aero, and is similar in features to Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005.

Ultimate: Has all the features of all the Vista editions, including those aimed at businesses.

Here are some helpful links on the Microsoft website.

Bill Gates’ Webcast introducing Windows Vista

Windows Vista Homepage 

It will be interesting to see what reaction the public has for Vista. Will you be upgrading? 

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I want to give you all an update on some Dynamics NAV happenings. Back in August, PKF Texas hosted the Houston Dynamics NAV User Group Steering Committee.

The steering committee consists of me, Roger Oliver, a Navision developer at VeriCenter, Inc., Ray Boone, a project manager at Texas Medical Center, and Robert Wolfram, the CFO of Pileco, Inc. 

The user group was formed last year to provide a network for Houston Dynamics NAV users to discuss issues such as training, product add-ons, new features, and best practices.

We discussed various programs Microsoft offers specifically for Dynamics NAV partners. There will be a conference in Atlanta at the end of October where Dynamics NAV 5.0 will be previewed. I’ll give you updates on what I learn at the conference in early November.

Because the Jet Reports training in July was so successful, we discussed how we can implement and offer new training sessions and programs to the users in Houston.

Based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the participants of the Jet Reports training, we scheduled another training session to be held at the PKF Texas office, October 17-19. 

There are only 4 spots left and they’re filling fast. Contact Jim Batson for pricing, registration and more details. 

I will be posting future announcements about training and programs right here in my blog.   

I am very encouraged by the direction our group is taking. We have a committed steering committee and a great network of Dynamics NAV users here in Houston. Please do not hesitate to contact me and let me know what you would like to see the user group offer.

The next users group meeting is tentatively scheduled for mid-November. Keep an eye out for more announcements closer to November.

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What is your opinion on the use of widgets?

From Weatherbug to the new Sports Illustrated widget, mySI, which downloads sports scores and photos directly to your desktop, they seem to be cropping up all over cyberspace.

There are literally hundreds of these add-ons we can install and use on our computers to make our lives “easier.” Most are free and can be used by anyone. With so many to choose from can you have too many? Most likely yes. When do they stop being useful and merely become an annoyance?

My kids have widgets on their Myspace pages. Music, photos, countdowns, the list goes on. These widgets help them to “personalize” their small slice of cyberspace. 

Do the widgets you have make your life easier? Is it worth it to have content “conveniently” delivered directly to your desktop, or are we making ourselves too accessible to potential hackers?

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I want to say congratulations to VeriCenter, DataCert, The Merrick Group, Gimmal Group, and RigNet for their inclusion on Inc. Magazine’s 2006 Inc. 500 list. 

Similarly to the FastTech 50 and the Aggie 100, the Inc. 500 list recognizes the top 500 privately held, independent companies with the greatest revenue growth from 2001 to 2005.

Overall, Texas had 32 firms listed with 10 of those firms right here in the Houston area. Looks like the Fast Tech 50 is doing a great job in recognizing some of the Houston area’s most successful companies!

The article accompanying the list states:

            “It is the story of how entrepreneurship has energized the economy and captured the public’s imagination in the late 20^th and early 21^st centuries”

I wholeheartedly agree with the author of the article. These lists are important because they show the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well both here in Houston and across the country. You don’t have to be part of a huge mega-corporation to for your business to be a player in the global marketplace. 

Does your company pay attention to these lists? Do they help you to set goals for your company’s growth? If you have appeared on any of these lists, has it had a positive impact on your company?

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I read an interesting article last week in the Houston Chronicle about what happens to information stored on your phone after you “delete” it. 

Apparently, despite following the instructions in your phone’s manual, if you delete content from your phone it may not really be gone. 

The next person to use your phone (if you sell it or return it to your carrier to be refurbished) would be able to, if they had the desire and know how, to retrieve any information you thought was deleted.

The alarming thing is, this also applies to computers. Think of all the personal information stored on just your home computers. Bank account information, passwords, social security information, the list is endless. 

My wife and daughter recently sent their old phones back to Cingular to be refurbished and resold. After reading this article, I’m not so sure that was a good idea. 

There are several firms who can, for a fee of course, truly erase and reset your phone or computer so it is empty for the next user. While that seems to be worth the time and money, I kind of like the author’s suggestion of running over my old phone with a truck.

What do you do with your old phones and computers? Is it worth the price to have your phone completely erased, or would you just run over it with a truck?

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As many of you know, I was featured on the BusinessMaker’s Radio Show several times, and now they have asked me to present a series of best practice business tips to air during their Saturday morning show on FM Newschannel 97.5.

I am going to be the voice of PKF Texas’ Entrepreneur’s Playbook.

The first tip from the Entrepreneur’s Playbook will air this Saturday – July 1. Each Friday, I will post both the written and broadcast versions of the current tip here in the blog.

Here is a list of some of the topics The Entrepreneur’s Playbook will cover:

• Blogs
• Inventory Control
• Profit Enhancement
• Human Capital
• Cash Management

As someone who writes a blog with a technology focus, it is always interesting to see how technology plays a role in different industries. The amount of time that went into recording and mixing these spots, as well as the BusinessMaker’s Radio Show, is commendable. Thanks to John Whiteside and Russ Capper who helped make me “One Take Jake.”

Let me know what you think about the Entrepreneur’s Playbook and especially using the blog for broadcast clips. Were the tips useful for your business? Are there any topics you would like me to touch on? What are your own best practice tips? I look forward to your interaction on my blog.

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I was elated to learn that my blog won the top award from the Association of Accounting Marketing (AAM) during its annual conference in Denver.

The award, “Best in Show,” was ranked highest among 200 entries in 16 categories. AAM also honored the blog in the Public Relations and Multi-Media categories – competing with firms with more than $15 million in annual revenue.

In case you didn’t know, AAM is an organization of marketing directors and gurus from accounting firms across the country. Its annual conference draws hundreds of members who participate in educational sessions and networking to learn more about the marketing function within their firms. PKF Texas – my firm – has always been a big part of this group.

The awards are given in honor of accounting marketing and communications. Congrats to my fellow winners!

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Friday Update
Well, I visited with Doug Burgum and got the lowdown on the future of Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
He said its all the rage …
Just kidding, fellow Dynamics consultants.

I attended Doug's keynote session and was pleased with what I saw and heard regarding the future for Microsoft Dynamics. A $500 million advertising and air cover campaign is about to be unleashed. They also showed us some of the early work on the product, which is directed at creating branding and awareness of the Dynamics brand. I thought it was pretty good work.

During a lighthearted part of his talk, Doug was in charge of rumor control and pointed out some falsehoods and corrections to various "rumors" floating out there. It's nice to see a senior executive who doesn't get too full of himself.

Doug opened and closed his presentation with a warm "Thank You" to all the folks who have been working hard to make MBS a success.

South Central Region Reception
I made it over to the Hyatt to attend the reception for the South Central Region, and found out when I got there that it was a little bigger than the South Central Region ... it turned out to be the whole Central Region. I met several Microsoft Partners and Microsoft Team members, and we all had a good time visiting and learning more.

I looked across the room and who do I see? Doug Burgum and Todd Cione from the Central Region visiting with partners.

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Well, I am here at Convergence and it seems that every year Microsoft sets a new attendance record. Sitting in the community lounge area, I noted that this year we are expecting in excess of 7,000 attendees at Convergence. That's up from a little less than 4,000 attendees in 2003.

Some things are better organized, and as you might expect some are not. Check-in was a breeze thanks to some smart thinking, but when a young lady directed me to open portal, things went amiss. Poor marks to the signage and coordination folks, who had some people going in two directions to hear the kickoff session this morning.

Listening to the speakers this morning - Jeff Young, Tami Reller and Satya Nadella - I was impressed with what I saw and heard concerning the Microsoft Dynamics product line and the future investments that are coming down the line. As a Navision reseller, (oops, Dynamics NAV reseller), I was pretty jazzed, but what is coming in version 5.0 of NAV product? Pretty cool stuff and something that I know our clients will like to see and use.

The kickoff Dynamics NAV session this morning with Mogens Elsberg (product manager) and Kim Ibfelt, was great. I saw some additional features of 5.0 up close and I was impressed. Lots of features and role-based activity coming to the user community. And, the interaction with Office is going to be fantastic! I know our clients will love it.

I also heard some great news today that some time in the past 30 days, NAV sold its 1 millionth concurrent session for end users. That's a great milestone for the NAV product … and NAV continues to be the number one seller in the Dynamics product group.

Well I have to leave now to go hear the Dynamics guru himself, Doug Burgum, pontificate about the future. This is usually pretty entertaining stuff. Later, the South Central Microsoft Business Partner group is holding a reception and I must stop by to see what tidbits they offer.

Stay tuned, and yes, Gates will be demonstrating Dynamics NAV 5.0 on Monday!

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Microsoft Business Solutions is "re-branding" its four ERP systems (Navision, Axapta, Solomon and Great Plains) all to Dynamics (Dynamics NAV, Dynamics AX, Dynamics SL and Dynamics GP). Microsoft has a number of reasons for these name changes, including communicating the message that, in the long-term, there is one product line with a variety of feature choices. Our Navision clients will be pleased to know that Dynamics NAV is the best-selling Dynamics option. That, in turn, is leading to more attention from Microsoft and investment in Dynamics NAV.

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Through my association with Texas A&M's Mays Business School and Microsoft, I heard the other day about an upcoming meeting that piqued my interest. Presented by WITI (Women in Technology International) and co-sponsored by Texas A&M and Microsoft, Hilda Camargo of Profiles International will present, "Does one develop a career strategy or a life strategy?" on April 5.

Based on the meeting's promotions, Ms. Camargo presents two scenarios:
1. Be clear on where you want to be - "You have to know where you want to get to have any real hope of getting there."
2. Do an outstanding job in your current position - in today's evolving business environment, how do you do in the following areas:
* Communication
* Adaptability
* Relationships
* Personal Development
* Leadership
* Production

Sounds like a not-to-miss event to me for women and men.

P.S. WITI's Web site (not a Houston-based site) is a treasure trove of really useful information, articles, upcoming events and much more.

WITI Houston
Regional Network Event
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
6 - 8:30 p.m.
Location: Microsoft, 2000 W. Sam Houston Parkway, South

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Here are two upcoming and noteworthy tech events:

Friday February 17, 2006
MBA Tech Transfer Challenge at Texas A&M University.
Sponsored by Ford Motor Company

75+ MBAs and 125 judges from a variety of business, professional firms, investors and those with connections to emerging markets will review ideas and submissions to the Texas Center for Commercialization. For some MBAs, this is the first attempt at working as a entrepreneur in planning and building a business. Participants have real-life experiences with feedback from investors and potential investors on their presentations.


Friday March 3, 2006
Rice Alliance
5th Annual Life Science Technology Venture Forum
Showcasing Promising Life Science Start Ups

Each year, the Life Science Forum showcases the most promising early stage life science, biotechnology, medical device and information technology-related companies. Leading life science venture capitalists and investors discuss their investment strategies. In 2005, more than 340 entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders, researchers and members of the life science community attended the program.

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As a person who rarely considers himself "old" and likes to stay connected with the future, I had a chance to participate in a recent recruiting event that left me with a wonderful range of emotions.

One emotion that left me feeling very old is the satisfaction that our future, the young people of our profession, and this country, are indeed headed in the right direction.

On Thursday Feb. 2, the PPA (Professional) program for the Mays School at Texas A&M hosted an event in which 15 middle-market firms met future graduates to provide them information about our people and the firm. As a member of the Executive Committee for the Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship with the Mays School at Texas A&M, I was on campus that day and joined several colleagues from my firm to meet and greet the students.

From time to time, I work with students from a variety of universities; the folks we made contact with at Texas A&M are outstanding. In fact, I would rank the students in the top five of the schools I visit or work with in the country. Applause to Dean Strawser and Professor Daily for putting together a great program. To the students … it's hard work to finish in the PPA program, but when you come out on the back end, the rewards will be great and your future will be very bright, indeed.

You know your getting old when you meet students who went to kindergarten and elementary school with your oldest child (mine is almost 21!). I was also very impressed with the students' questions and what they wanted to learn about the profession and our firm. They not only have a very good grasp of the profession, they have a real sense of what they need to focus on for their professional and personal futures.

If you are student (Texas A&M or otherwise), please feel free to post questions on the blog regarding career choices, accounting matters or practically anything else related to your future. I will try and get them answered for you.

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I consider it an "event" when Bill Gates visits Texas, especially when he's part of a venue that will be practical and informative for Navision customers - Microsoft Convergence 2006, March 25-28 in Dallas.

This is the 10th year for Convergence. In addition to Gates, keynotes include two heads of the Microsoft Business Solutions Group: President Jeff Raikes and Senior Vice President Doug Burgum.

Before and during the event, I'll follow the progress of Convergence in future blogs. Let me know, too, if you're attending this event - I'd like to see you there.

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What is nanotechnology and why is it so important?

As technology continues to evolve, processes become more efficient. Nanotechnology comprises technological developments on the nanometer scale, usually 0.1 to 100 nm. (One nanometer equals one thousandth of a micrometer or one millionth of a millimeter.) The term has sometimes been applied to microscopic technology.

To learn more about nanotechnology and emerging nanotechnology companies, you should attend the 5th Annual Nanotechnology Venture Forum on Jan. 20 in Houston. At the Forum, six early-stage companies will present their technologies to investors, industry leaders mentors and service providers.

Supported by the Houston Technology Center, the Forum is co-hosted by the Rice Alliance for Technology & Entrepreneurship, the Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology and the Rice Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology.

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