A web site has just gone up that will attempt to inform you when the tickets for WWDC 2013 goes on sale. The site will send you text message when they go on sale.
Last year the 5000 tickets sold out in a few hours.
Click this link to sign up:
Sign up here.
The Bay Gift Registry
By 2 For Life Media Inc.
Description
Are you getting married or attending a wedding? The Bay Gift Registry iPad app is your source for amazing gifts to give and receive.
The Bay offers Canada’s most comprehensive gift registry—just think of us as your registry concierge. Tap the gift registry tab to create your registry then use our Wedding Guide to create your ultimate Wish List. You’ll find hot designer brands, exclusive products and a whole range of fashionable styles and colours. You can’t build a registry like this anywhere else!
Leading up to your wedding, use our iPad app to manage your registry. You can easily add or delete items, see which items have been purchased or manage your event details.
If you are attending a wedding or in the bridal party, use The Bay Gift Registry iPad app to find a couple’s gift registry, buy the perfect gift or plan a bridal shower.
In The Bay Gift Registry iPad app you’ll find:
The Bay Wedding Guide
In landscape, browse our complete 120-page catalogue filled with registry how-tos and room-by-room tips, plus all the latest products from the hottest brands. In portrait mode, you’ll find 100 Amazing Gift Ideas—swipe through this season’s must-have items and simply rotate the iPad to see more items from that brand. See something you like? Add it to the Wish List tab or share it.
Wish List
As you browse the catalogue, save your fave items to the Wish List tab. Then finalize your choices, adjust quantities and send those items to your selected Bay location to create a gift registry or add to an existing one.
Gift Registry
Create, manage or find a gift registry and buy a gift.
Offers
Check out our latest offers from The Bay Gift Registry.
The Bay
Take some time out for some retail therapy at thebay.com
The Computer History Museum has a new exhibit highlighting Steve Jobs.
Here’s a link to a rare video from around 1980 (Before the Macintosh was introduced).
Steve Talking about Apple's work on computers
Here are some new renderings of Apple’s new Cupertino campus
The Total Cost of Ownership of having your own servers is higher than you think.
By Geoffrey James
Many companies rely upon Return on Investment (ROI) when making technology strategy decisions, but few take the time to actually determine how much that strategy will cost over time. That’s unfortunate, because without estimating the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), ROI is meaningless. There’s no way of knowing how large an investment is actually being made.
That’s particularly true when companies decide whether to use an IT hosting provider or take the do-it-yourself route. Because managed hosting is presenting a complete solution, all costs are on the table from the start. By contrast, in-house hosting often involves hidden costs that aren’t surfaced until the do-it-yourself project is well underway.
To better understand the TCO for in-house hosting, let’s look at a hypothetical new division, XYZ, being launched inside a parent firm, ABC Inc. The XYZ business plan defines $10m in revenue in the first year of operation followed by a ten percent growth per year over the subsequent four years. All sales will come from e-commerce on the Internet and that the average customer, once acquired, will spend an average of $1,000 a year, in ten increments of $100 each, with an expected profit margin of 10 percent.
As it prepares to launch, XYZ’s management must decide whether to host the e-commerce application at ABC’s existing data center or hire an IT hosting provider to host and manage the application. ABC’s hardware vendor has proposed a five-year purchase agreement with yearly numbers comparable to the proposed cost of managed hosting, suggesting that ABC can simply fold the XYZ application into the existing IT infrastructure.
On the surface, the two strategies seem similar in terms of financial impact, but when one looks deeper, the do-it-yourself proposal neglects the TCO impact in four critical areas: staffing, facilities, stability and security.
The TCO of Staffing
There’s no such thing as a free resource, so even if ABC already has an IT infrastructure, assigning IT staff to the XYZ project means that they won’t be available elsewhere. Even with the existing staff, then, the do-it- yourself approach will require hiring at least two and probably three system administrators to ensure that key applications remain up and running.
Nationwide, systems administrators receive an average salary of about $85,000 a year, according to David Foote, president of Foote Partners, a company that publishes IT salary surveys. In addition, since talented systems administrators are in great demand, it’s not unusual for them to receive seven to fifteen percent of their base pay in bonuses or stock options.
In addition, there are numerous hidden expenses associated with employing technical personnel, including office space, personal computers, HR overhead, benefits and so forth. Foote estimates that such expenses account for an additional 80 to 100 percent of the engineer’s base pay. Therefore, the TCO impact of the two new-hires is approximately $340,000 the first year.
Assuming a seven percent raise each year for each administrator over the five years of the project, XYZ will end up
paying nearly $2 million in additional personnel costs.
The True Cost of Do-It-Yourself Hosting:
Personnel Cost…….$1,955,251
Facilities Cost………… $140,000
Stability Cost………….$387,674
Security Cost………….$100,000
TOTAL $2,582,925
Hire a Consultant
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are members of the Apple Consultants Network?
Members of the Apple Consultants Network are independent consultants with technical expertise in the set up, use, and maintenance of Apple and related third-party products and solutions. There are approximately 1,000 members throughout the U.S., Canada and Latin America. They offer a wide variety of services, from setting up an office or network to developing digital video and publishing solutions.
What are the advantages of hiring a member of the Apple Consultants Network?
Membership in the Apple Consultants Network demonstrates a dedication to professional development. To ensure the highest quality of customer service, all members are required to hold at least one certification in Mac OS X from Apple.
Many members are also certified in other Apple technologies and third-party applications. Consultants not only receive valuable training and the latest technical information about Apple and related third-party products and services, but they also have access to other resources that help them stay on the cutting edge of technology. As part of a large network of consultants, they benefit from the knowledge and experience of other members as well as exchange referrals to help clients find a proper fit.
What is the required certification of an Apple Consultants Network member?
To help ensure that customers receive the highest quality of consulting services, all members are required to hold at least one certification in Mac OS X. These certifications include:
How do I know if I need a consultant?
If you’re like most people, you don’t have the time or ability to properly set up and maintain even a small network of computers, or you may not have someone on your payroll to whom you would entrust that mission-critical responsibility. Consultants can bring a high level of technical knowledge and expertise in the latest Apple products and services to you and your company. The solutions they deliver often more than pay for themselves in reduced costs, increased productivity, and other tangible benefits, and there are other benefits to hiring a consultant, such as reduced payroll taxes, no pension or profit-sharing expenses, and the flexibility to use their skills on an as-needed basis. In addition, consultants have a depth of experience in strategic planning and are able to quickly identify opportunities for improving your business with technology that you may not have considered.
How much will a consultant’s services cost?
Consultants set their own prices and they vary considerably, largely depending on the going hourly rate in their geographic area. Investigate different pricing options with the consultant you’ve chosen and keep in mind that the services and solutions they provide will typically deliver a long-term return on investment. The best approach is to ask the consultant for references of customers who had the same or similar types of services performed, then ask the references if the consultant delivered a valuable service at a reasonable price.
Where can I find and learn more about individual consultants?
Consultants can be found across the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. The best way to find a consultant in your area with the skills you need is to search the directory of members at http://consultants.apple.com/consultant/.
Visit the Services & Solutions page for more detail on specific services.
What types of businesses use consultants?
Companies of all sizes and in all industries use consultants. To avoid the high costs of a full-time IT staff, many small businesses use consultants as a “virtual” IT staff. Consultants can assess business needs, recommend solutions then implement and support them at a fraction of the cost of a full-time employee. Consultants also work with large companies to integrate Apple technology into their overall network or provide other custom solutions. Many consultants implement solutions such as workflow automation and digital asset management, while other members are UNIX experts who can help scientific companies identify and implement open source research tools or spearhead custom software development.
Do consultants typically offer training?
Many consultants provide seminars and training in addition to delivering technical solutions. Some offer regularly scheduled seminars at training centers. Others are available to provide on-site training at your facility, either one-on-one or in groups. Consultants can teach your employees to make optimal use of custom solutions, or they can deliver training in Mac
OS X or other specific applications such as Final Cut Pro, AppleScript, and Aperture.
How do I find out what types of seminars and training are available?
Consultants offer a wide variety of training, from introductory classes in Mac OS X to digital media and design to business productivity. In addition, Apple offers seminars that you may find helpful for your business. You can visit Apple Seminars, Training & Events for more details.
If you are looking to maximize your use of technology, members of the Apple Consultants Network can help. Whether you need a customized solution or a simple network set-up, consultants can add value to your business that can result in a substantial return on your investment.
Help us Name this App. It’s a memory game that shows you the solution and then you tap to match the colour in the squares. As you play the grid gets more squares and more colors are introduced. This is your chance for fame on the App Store – we’ll give credit to the winner. Pass this around…
We’ve discovered a graphic bug in the app when run on the early iPhone 3G. We will be issuing version 1.01 which will correct the bug. The functionality is not affected – it is simply that the Play button is distorted.
This site has been visited times since March 2000.
