Shaa Wasmund has been quoted as being the driving force behind Smarta, the UK’s largest support platform for businesses and entrepreneurs, both large and small.
Smarta provides thousands of ways for you to find advice in running your business: PDFs, videos, diaries, wikis, case studies and more. Smarta provides assistance in setting up your business’ bank accounts and taking out loans, and if there are any problems you can’t find an answer to on the website, you can be sure that they will do everything they can to help you find a solution for it.
Smarta is “not about big business…[but] about getting big”. If you want a successful start to your business, look into Smarta!
The iCommunity–those who follow the doings of the Apple company and use their products to the best of their abilities–has long suffered from having a lack of face-to-face community meetings on a large scale. Craig Fox is among one of several people who have seen this issue and decided to meet it: the creation of the world’s first iCommunity and jailbreaking convention, MyGreatFest.
MyGreatFest will take place on September 17, 2011 in the Old Truman Brewery in London. The event will be a meeting for iCommunity members to learn how to maximize their iOS devices and their abilities; this will include how to jailbreak your devices (iPods, iPhones, iPads), coding and theme development, and more. Anyone who is an Apple enthusiast is welcome to attend.
I had the pleasure of doing an interview with Craig about MyGreatFest, and he gave a bit more insight on what to expect from MyGreatFest.
TF: So, this event will help users get more mileage out of their handheld Apple devices; besides Jailbreaking, one of the main components, can you give us a bit of a sneak peak at what else will be discussed?
CF: Between the various speakers we will have, they will all talk on a wide range of specific iOS hacking to basic coding itself. What we want is for everyone to leave the event with their device being at its full capablitiy.
TF: Are you going to be sticking just with Apple devices, or will you branch into other smartphone and tablet computer markets–perhaps not this year but in years to come?
CF: Our aim is to stick with iOS for MyGreatFest, although we have a couple of ideas to branch into other areas of the mobile market.
TF: What inspired you to make the world’s first convention surrounding the iCommunity? What kind of turnout and response are you expecting, or already see in preregistration, from this convention?
CF: I have been in the iCommunity for about 2-3 years and have always thought there is no meet-up for the iCommunity (users) there is of course the WWDC [Apple Worldwide Developers Conference] for developers, but nothing for users at all. And after a few Google searches I realised we were the first, and since its inception we have been featured on some of the biggest blogs worldwide.
TF: Your mission statement specifically points out that one of your aims is not piracy. Has there been any response concerning the aims of this convention about some of the more negative implications of hacking and jailbreaking? Will there be a seminar about these ideas to perhaps correct some of these misconceptions?
CF: Jailbreaking as a whole has always been frowned upon, and thats exactly what we are aiming to stop. We want to break Jailbreaking into the mainstream I think this recent interview with me explains it all.
So if you’re a tech enthusiast and you’re going to be in London on September 17th, this is definitely an event you should put in your diary!
Have you ever wished your laptop could look different? Less drab? Or maybe you regret buying that all-pink version, even if it was a limited-time-offer. Well, Dell has answered that call with the SWITCH, laptop covers that are as interchangeable as your wardrobe and accessories! A showcase party was held in central London, specifically aimed at women to advertise that technology can be just as fun and fashionable as your shoes or jewelry collections.
Lady-bloggers and journalists descended upon the party to enjoy cocktails, manicures to match their new laptop covers, and to discuss the fashion of technology.
You can find out more about customizing your Dell laptop at their website here.
The National Achievers Congress met earlier this month to promote and discuss the steps to success in entrepreneurship. Attendees created personal ‘Ultimate Success’ portfolios; these portfolios were custom-made by each attendee, to prove that success is not a one-size-fits-all generic life plan, but something that everyone can achieve just by tweaking their current plans and building up their own strengths to successfully navigate around any weaknesses and challenges.
Attendees networked with event coordinators and successful entrepreneurs, and heard internationally recognized achievers speak on their experiences and how they overcame challenges to become successful.
The three top speakers in attendance this year were Sir Richard Branson, Tony Robbins, and Lord Alan Sugar.
Sir Richard Branson is the founder of Virgin Group, which began as a mail order record retailer and just 31 years has become a multi-billion-dollar group of companies that expands through music, clean energy, aviation, hotels, health and wellness, and much more, all while employing over 50,000 people in 29 countries around the world. In the past decade Richard has turned to humanitarianism efforts and launched a branch of Virgin to dedicate its work to tackling some of the major global issues we are currently facing. Richard regularly funds efforts to improve health and wellness problems facing third world countries in Africa, and all profits from Virgin transportation sales are funneled to investing in green technology initiatives. Sir Branson has also written three books on his experiences and self-proclaimed adventures in business and entrepreneurship, and works to inspire others to follow in his path of success, humanitarianism, and using your power for the betterment of humanity.
Tony Robbins is a performance coach–known as the ‘ultimate life coach’, he has helped over three million people, from prisoners to CEOs, around the world answer one question he has pursued for 30 years: “What makes an extraordinary life?” Tony has sold millions of copies in over 100 countries of his best-selling books and audio books, all giving advice and guidance on how to succeed in life. Tony teaches self-empowerment and how to succeed while not losing what makes you YOU.
Lord Alan Sugar left high school at the age of 16 to sell car aerials and electronics out of a van. 40 years later he’s several hundred of millions of pounds richer after founding Amstrad, and has served on the Business Council of Britain, named an Enterprise Champion, knighted for his service to business, and appointed to the House of Lords in Parliament. Lord Sugar sold Amstrad to Sky in 2007, but his other companies still include AMSPROP, AMSCREEN, AMSAIR, and VIGILEN. Lord Sugar is a generous philanthropist of many charities in the United Kingdom, and has been awarded two honorary Doctorates of Science.
Playbook Expert Anastasia Emmanuel can list off all of the features and benefits of owning a new Blackberry Playbook over any other tablet, but we all know that sales pitches can gloss over the fact that some computer geeks just prefer other brands. With the tablet computer quickly becoming the latest trend in technology, we’re going to give you a rundown of some of the newest tablets on the market today, the benefits and pitfalls of each, and you can make the informed decision on which tablet you prefer overall.
Dell Streak 7
Release Date: April 2011
Price: $299-$449
Options to choose from: WiFi Only, WiFi + 4G (2yr contract), WiFi + 4G (prepaid data plan)
Screen Size: 7″
Operating System: Android OS
Toppings:: Multi-touch screen display, built-in GPS, WiFi Bluetooth, 5MP rear camera, 1.3MP front camera, Adobe compatible, NVIDIA processor, 16GB internal storage
Customer Review Pros: Most customers are pleased with the lightweight, compact tablet and the speed it works at. Customers state it is very easy to use, and are pleased with the update from the previous Dell Streak.
Customer Review Cons: Many are displeased that the tablet is locked to the T-Mobile phone network, and some find the home buttons on the side a bit in the way (but many cite that it isn’t that big of a deal). Other complaints include the battery life, and the 800×480 screen resolution compared to previous Streak models.
Apple iPad 2
Release Date: March 2011
Price: $499-$829
Options to Choose From: WiFi Only at 16GB/32GB/64GB, or WiFi + 3G on AT&T or Verizon for 16GB/32GB/64GB. Prices for AT&T and Verizon are the same.
Screen Size: 9.7″
Operating System: iOS 4 (iOS 5 coming Fall 2011 for those who wish to wait)
Toppings: Bluetooth, 1024×768 resolution, front and back camera recording capabilities of up to 30 fps, back camera features a 5x digital zoom for still photos, 10 hour battery life (9 hours 3G webbrowsing), microphone, 1GHz dual-core Apple A5 processor
Customer Review Pros: Many who were happy with the original iPad were pleased with the updated design of the iPad 2, adding features like a front and back camera for Facetime chatting and a slimmer build. Likely, if you were happy with your iPad, you will be happy with your iPad 2. You can also purchase short 3G plans instead of signing on for the long term to a data plan you may not need every day.
Customer Review Cons: Customers report apps tend to fail, (though claim it may be a programming error, not necessarily the iPad), the Safari app tends to refresh itself if you leave it too long, losing data you may have wanted to save, the Smart Cover will likely increase your volume due to the placement of the cover pins and the control, noncustomizable alert tones, and no alert of an automatic 3G data plan renewal.
HP TouchPad
Release Date: July 2011
Price: $499-$599
Options to Choose From: 16GB or 32 GB
Screen Size: 9.7″
Operating System: HP webOS
Toppings: 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-core APQ8060 processor, front-facing 1.3MP camera, digital microphone, Bluetooth, 1GB RAM
Customer Review Pros: Customers are happy with the model’s build, the size and weight; the audio quality is highly reviewed, the app catalog is well-organized, and the device search feature is fast and effective.
Customer Review Cons: The operating system is not quite up to speed for the size of this tablet, and many are looking forward to an update from HP. The display colors are not always clear or correct, web browsing can be slow at times, and there is no rear-facing camera.
Motorola Xoom
Release Date: February 2011
Price: $499-$599
Options to Choose From: N/A
Screen Size: 10.1″
Operating System: Android 3.0
Toppings: Battery: (9hr battery life with 3G browsing, 10hr battery life with WiFi browsing, 3.3 day battery life for mp3 playback, 14 day battery standby, 10hr battery life video playback); 5MP Camera, 2MP webcam, dual-LED flash, digital zoom, Adobe Flash compatible, 32GB
Customer Review Pros: Larger screen than most of the competition, several options to lock access, functional e-mail and calendar access and usability, web browsing is easy (although watch for the default mobile web access), notification system is unobtrisive, music and keyboard quality are good.
Customer Review Cons: Overall larger than most other competitors, difficult to find the power button, user-unfriendly interface design, Flash gameplay drains battery life at a 1% per three minutes of gametime, video playback quality is bad.
Samsung Galaxy Tab
Release Date: June/July 2011
Price: $499-$599
Options to Choose From: 16Gb and 32GB
Operating System: Android 3.1
Screen Size: 10.1″
Toppings: 800 x 1280 resolution, WiFi, 2G and 3G networks, battery life 9hrs on standby, Bluetooth, 720p video capturing, 3.15 MP 2048×1536 pixels autofocus camera, LED flash, Java compatible.
Customer Review Pros: Overall a good tablet for the casual user, and the Android 3.1 operating system is an improvement over the 3.0 system on the Xoom.
Customer Review Cons: Battery life seems to flux in problems for different people. There are no options to enter memory cards for extra memory, so keep that in mind when purchasing.
Sophie Cornish and Holly Tucker are co-founders of NotOnTheHighStreet.com, a six-year old online boutique where you can find hundreds of small businesses selling unique and personalised gifts.
We talked with Sophie about the business end of Not On The High Street, and also about her new column in Stylist magazine. You can watch the video for full details on the column, and on some behind the scenes details about Not On The High Street and Sophie herself!
Viadeo released over 1,000 balloons in Spain’s capital with €100,000 worth of scholarships for students, and one balloon even contained enough money for a full ride for an MBA. Participants excitedly popped the balloons, set all over Madrid’s main squares, to try and win the coveted scholarships.
You’re self-employed, with a booming new web-based business, but you find yourself having a hard time focusing on your work at home, or you just can’t seem to find the right space to hold a meeting with new business clients.
Elizabeth Varley saw that need and started TechHub. It’s open office spaces and meeting rooms available for web-entrepreneurs and their clients. She is currently working to expand her business and open new office spaces across England and potentially across several continents.
Check out her website at http://www.techhub.com and watch the video above for the full interview!
Zabetta Camilleri is a visionary for shopaholics and thrifty shoppers alike. Her new company, SalesGossip, is an online newsletter and search engine for the latest sales in the greater London area. Mobile access allows you to search for sales on the go, and you can request to be informed of new sales at your favorite shops several days in advance. Zabetta is currently planning to expand SalesGossip’s services to other major metropolitan areas around the world like Paris, and New York City.
