November 12, 2009

There were 4 posts published on November 12, 2009 (this is page 1 of 1).

Google acquires Gizmo5

Gizmo5-Google-mm

Word came out today that Google acquired the VoIP company Gizmo5. Gizmo5 offers VoIP calling similar to Skype only Gizmo5 uses open standards.

Gizmo5’s service was tightly integrated with GrandCentral, the web-based phone organizer, so that Gizmo5 was the only way to turn an incoming call to a GrandCentral number into an incoming VoIP call to Asterisk or another SIP device. Once Google bought GrandCentral and rebranded it Google Voice it was really no surprise that Google might soon snatch up Gizmo5.

This is the second big payout for Gizmo5 CEO Michael Robertson. Robertson made a fortune early on when he parlayed his MP3.COM domain name into a business he later sold to Vivendi Universal for $372 million. Congrats, Michael!

Update 13 Nov 2009: Oh, and one other important point. Continue reading →

Ida takes her time

IDA

IDA

This is day three of torrential rain from Tropical Storm Ida. Ida never actually made it out of Florida but its presence was still felt. The storm’s low pressure spawned a Nor’easter. The rain almost literally hasn’t stopped in 72 hours.

When I feel like complaining about the rain I think back to the winter of 2007 when we faced a severe drought. Rain becomes monotonous and unpleasant. It causes all kinds of accidents for idiot drivers who can only passably drive when it’s not raining. It can also be depressing not seeing the sun … but, it still isn’t as scary as potentially running out of drinking water.

The really good news is the rain will all be gone in time for the weekend, which should be gorgeous.

One year later

It was one year ago today that I lost my job at AddressDoctor. While at times I wished that job might have lived up to its potential, I certainly don’t miss the headaches involved with the way I was managed. It’s in the past now and as always I landed on my feet. Should I ever again interview for a position I will insist on having only one boss to whom I’m responsible. Anything else is a recipe for disaster.

I don’t even need clearly defined responsibilities, though that certainly does help. I am flexible to change along with my job. In fact, I excel at entering new situations and figuring out my way around. When it comes to setting my priorities I need to hear from one person only.

Tuesday was also the one year anniversary of my totaling the minivan and barely avoiding causing serious injury to Travis. I’m so lucky things weren’t worse.

Yes, in one week alone I crashed our car and lost my job. Things have gotten considerably better since then!

Cheap thoughts: The Good Samaritan policy

Whenever I start my next company (with actual employees this time) I’m going to create a policy for the employees: the Good Samaritan policy. This will excuse any employee from being late if that employee stopped to help someone who was stranded on the side of the road, helped anyone involved in an accident, or helped anyone else who needed assistance.

Too many times I’ve driven by a disabled vehicle and not stopped simply because it would make me late for work. Some things should be more important than punching a clock.