iTunes U

In 2007, Apple introduced a service on the iTunes store that gives users access to a wide selection of free educational programs. These programs included lectures, lessons, and courseware provided by universities and other educational institutions from around the world.

Essentially, the service offers everything someone would need to get a degree in multiple subjects without receiving an actual diploma.

This week, Apple supplemented the service by releasing a dedicated iTunes U iPhone app. The app allows users the ability to select and sync educational material directly from their phones. Therefore making the service available to people who rarely use iTunes on their Mac or PC.

iTunes U’s greatest strength is that it creates a hub for the massive amount of educational material that the internet has to offer. Like its music library, iTunes makes navigating and selecting courses easy because it consolidates multiple providers into one service.

All the iTunes U courses can be downloaded to a mobile device or directly streamed to your computer. Ultimately, it is no different than the way you access your music or movie purchases on iTunes.

Like any open ecosystem where anyone can post material, there are draw backs. At times the audio and video quality of the files is subpar.

Apple does a good job featuring the best programs, yet like the schools offering the material, the quality of the courses varies wildly.

Click to read more ...

New Partnerships: Finding the right person to lead your company

Businesses benefit from the potential diversity of knowledge, experience and resources that multiple owners bring to an enterprise.

However, in accessing these resources, companies need to develop an organizational structure that assigns areas of responsibility according to each partners or employees strengths, expertise and commitment to the company’s goals.

Each partner needs to know what their associates bring to the venture and collectively the team needs to decide how to best use those resources. This type of predefined structure makes a company flexible, focused and stable.

Leadership

Most ventures start with a limited amount of capital and manpower, which means owners need to take responsibility for aspects of the business they are not competent or interested in overseeing.

For some people, it becomes an all or nothing proposal. Consequently, they refuse to entrust somebody else with any responsibilities, because of their compulsion to retain control or because of pride.

The business becomes an extension of their personality and self-image. They refuse to accept advice in their personal life and by extension are unlikely to accept it on behalf of the business.

Partners need to be aware of these traits, and act accordingly. They need to accept this management scenario, find a tolerable compromise or walk away.

Click to read more ...

Pirates of Silicon Valley

In 1999, TNT released "Pirates of Silicon Valley", a television biopic starring Noah Wiley as Apple Computers founder Steve Jobs and Anthony Michael Hall as Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The film recounts the birth of the Personal Computer revolution, and the story is told through the rise of Apple and Microsoft in the 1970's, 80's, and 90's.

The film is straight forward in its story telling. Moreover, it successfully weaves in accurate historical facts while still managing to make Jobs and Gates into two exceptionally compelling protagonists.

When Steve Jobs biography is adapted for film, I hope it is inspired by "Pirates of Silicon Valley," and avoids the big budget cinematic polish that tends to eliminate historic truths from movies.

The real Steve Jobs was neither an angel or the devil, he is like every man, a mixture of both and should have the right to be portrayed as such on film.

I highly recommend "Pirates of Silicon Valley" to anybody looking for a Steve Jobs fix or anyone interested in business history. It is a well told story of how the four great men of the personal computer era, Steve Wozniak, Bill Gates, Steve Allen and Steve Jobs revolutionized an industry and began a revolution.