Minnov8 Posts — Page 30

UofMN Digital Tech Center Events

October 4, 2010 By Steve Borsch

For five years I’ve been on the mailing list for the U of MN Digital Technology Center (DTC) and have received notice of their events. Most are too granular for even a geek like me, many require significant background in various computer science areas (I’ve attended some that turned out to be WAY over my head), but a continuing number of these events are general enough that I find myself drawn to them quarter after quarter.

What is the DTC? They say it is, “…a hub of innovation and excellence at the University of Minnesota in the digital technologies serving the industrial, educational, and public needs of the state of Minnesota and the nation. The DTC integrates research, education, and outreach in digital design, computer graphics and visualization, telecommunications, intelligent data storage and retrieval systems, multimedia, datamining, scientific computation, and other digital technologies.“

If you’d like to get on their emailing list you can do so here.


UPCOMING EVENTS:

Tuesday, October 5, 2010 3:30 p.m. reception 4:00 p.m. seminar 401/402 Walter Library	Mark Ahlstrom, CEO, WindLogic, “Integrating Renewable Energy into the North American Power Grid: Realities, Challenges and Opportunities”

Wednesday, October 13, 2010 3:30 p.m. reception 4:00 p.m. seminar 401/402 Walter Library	Frank Schilder, Thomson Reuters, “Automatic Summarization”

Tuesday, October 19, 2010 4:30 p.m. reception 5:00 p.m. seminar 401/402 Walter Library	John Day, “What Went Wrong? How the Internet Stagnated, or The 30 Years War of the Bellheads and the Bitheads”

Wednesday, October 20, 2010 3:00 p.m. 402 Walter Library	John Day, “Things They Never Taught You About Naming and Addressing”

Wednesday, October 27, 2010 3:30 p.m. reception 4:00 p.m. seminar 401/402 Walter Library	Demoz Gebre-Egziabher, Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota, “Using a Kinetic Model of Human Gait in Personal Navigation Systems”

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 4:30 p.m. reception 5:00 p.m. seminar 401/402 Walter Library	Vijay Kumar, UPS Foundation Professor, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, “Autonomous 3-D Flight and Cooperative Control of Multiple Micro Aerial Vehicles”

MIMA Summit Liveblog: “You Are There” Edition

September 30, 2010 By Phil Wilson

Another MIMA Summit is behind us, as well as another day of fleet feet and live blogging by the Minnov8 Gang. Congratulations to Tim Brunelle, Erin Rauk, Christopher Pollard, Greg Swan and so many others for your incredible efforts.

Covering that many great sessions was a challenge and a real treat. Re-live the magic with the liveblog recap.

Stealth Startup Inveni Launches Today at TechCrunch Disrupt in SF, and midVenturesLaunch in Chicago

September 28, 2010 By Graeme Thickins

Today, Minnetonka-based Inveni LLC is telling the world its newly launched discovery engine “will drive social recommendations in the Web’s next wave.” The company’s free consumer service will also enable better targeted advertising. The Inveni discovery engine, says the firm, will change how consumers both make and receive recommendations on the Web. As of today, the service is publicly available, after more than a year in development and several months of private beta testing. The company is making its debut at the TechCrunch Disrupt event in San Francisco, and also demonstrating its technology later today at the midVenturesLAUNCH startup conference in Chicago.

“The next wave of the Web will be about personalization. We’re focusing on using personalization to meaningfully improve discovery and decision making,” said Aaron Weber, CEO and cofounder. “The Inveni discovery engine leaps ahead of other online recommendation services. What we’ve developed is unlike anything previously available. Inveni consolidates ratings you put anywhere online – Netflix, IMDB, and more – provides tools to make and receive recommendations wherever you are, and helps you make better, more informed buying decisions.” The service has received positive feedback from users during the private beta over the past several months, said Weber.

Inveni provides its highly personalized product recommendations based on a consumer’s universal taste profile. To create a personalized taste profile, Inveni empowers users to aggregate product and service ratings they’ve made across the Internet to quickly build deep, rich profiles of their tastes. Beginning with the media categories of movies and TV, users can share their taste profile information with friends and other services online. Inveni also facilitates product recommendations between friends (word of mouth), based on their tastes.

“We use this taste profile data, along with our unique crowd-refined recommendation engine, to provide highly targeted advertising, while simultaneously providing consumers with a compelling personalized service for discovery and sharing,” said Robert Bodor, CTO and cofounder, “We aim to become the premier provider of highly targeted consumer data for advertising online. We do that by turning the current consumer data model upside down, putting the user in control of their information. We are entirely opt-in, and are raising the bar on consumer privacy protection.”

The company produced a fun, two-minute video to describe its value proposition to consumers, which you can view here. … [Read More…]

Liveblogging the MIMA Summit

September 26, 2010 By Steve Borsch

The MIMA Summit is a two day event (day one is workshops and day two is the full conference) and the Minnov8 Gang will be liveblogging the event put on by the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA).

On Monday we’ll be liveblogging/covering the MIMA pre-conference workshops. On Tuesday (during the full conference day) we’ll be covering it live and also be selectively bringing in tweets from people we trust since there are only four of us, ten sessions and one of us (Phil Wilson) will be conducting speaker video interviews for most of the day on Tuesday!

Liveblog #1: You can follow the Monday pre-conference workshops liveblog on this page.

Liveblog #2: The Tuesday full conference liveblog is on this page.

Making Rain in Bloomington

September 23, 2010 By Steve Borsch

Today was the first day of the Rainmaker’s Conference, the 7th Annual event that brings together RAIN Fund members (an angel investment fund), entrepreneurs, investors and sponsors. The intent is networking, education, and exposure to RAIN fund entrepreneurs as well as numerous other startups in order to expose their companies to this key group of people.

Ironic that it was raining like mad all day? Yep. My key takeaway? There is A LOT of very interesting and exciting investment and entrepreneurial activity going on in Minnesota! There were well over 200 people in attendance, substantially more than last year and a great turnout.

Opened by Steve Mercil, CEO of RAIN Source® Capital (the largest network of Angel Investment Funds in US), and keynoted by Richard Sudek, an angel investor, former entrepreneur and academic, there was ample opportunity to connect with local and regional startups at tabletops in the lobby. I happened to run in to Lief Larson of Workface (who was showing BusinessCard2 with some new and interesting value added capabilities); Aaron Weber (co-founder of W3i) and his to-be-launched startup Inveni on Tuesday out at Techcrunch Disrupt (and it is HOT so go watch the video); Lisa Foote with MixMobi who has garnered key investments already for their mobile platform; and Jerry Grabowski of Redliner (see Minnov8’s story here) among others.

Two panels rounded out the day: one on Angel Investing in 2010 & Beyond and the second Funding Universe’s Crowd Pitch…a company showcase where six startups pitch their business plans followed by screening sessions and voting on whether they’re worthy of investment. Crowdsourcing at its best (the winner won’t be announced for another hour or so).

Graeme Thickins pulled aside Pete Birkeland, CFO at RAIN Source Capital to chat about the event. Pete is part of a team that manages 23 funds in 6 six states with $40 million under management and is a guy who has worked in this area for 10 years on both the entrepreneurial and investor side.

Podcast (m8-audio): Download (Duration: 3:47 — 4.4MB)

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Social Media Club Focuses On the Family

September 20, 2010 By Phil Wilson

This Wednesday night at the Depot in downtown Minneapolis the Social Media Club of Minnesota (SMC) is presenting a panel discussion entitled Social Media + Family. Though the final list of panel members has yet to be announced, Social Media Club Founder, Chris Heuer will lead a group of “dads and moms who blog/podcast for a panel discussion around their use of Social Media.”

According to the SMC, “For the last several years, the majority of the focus has been on how Social Media has been transforming organizations, but at the same time, social media has also been transforming the relationships between parents and their children; between husbands and wives; and between all members of extended families.” Not only will the ever present privacy and safety concerns be discussed but the organizers hope to explore beyond the this very real family concern and reach into topics like the impact of social media on the family’s communication. Full event details are available here.

EarthClean Takes the MN Cup!

September 15, 2010 By Steve Borsch

Last night, EarthClean, a Minneapolis-based start-up that makes an environmentally friendly fire retardant, was named “Minnesota’s Top Breakthrough Business Idea” and honored for its innovative business concept. Area business leaders and investors selected EarthClean as the 6th Annual Minnesota Cup winner, awarding it $20,000 as Clean Tech & Renewable Energy Division winner and an additional $20,000 as grand prize recipient.

Founded in March 2009, EarthClean develops innovative, game-changing technologies and high performing products that are safe for plants, animals, fish and people. The start-up’s first product, TetraKO®, is a biodegradable and non-toxic water additive that helps firefighters knock down and suppress fires far more effectively than currently available suppressants. The product is pumped through standard fire equipment and adheres to any surface, in any attitude, of its targeted structure. Exposed to heat, TetraKO immediately attacks the fire tetrahedron (the chemical chain reaction of fuel, oxygen and heat) resulting in a dense, white steam that is cooler than the fire itself, thus further suffocating the blaze. The result is exceedingly fast and thorough extinguishment with far less fire destruction and water damage, and reduced risk for fire fighter professionals.

Congratulations to the EarthClean team! If you have a moment, check out this video on the fire retardant at WCCO.com and head on over to the MN Cup website and view the press release which is here.

Robert Stephens Talks About New Role as CTO of Best Buy

September 9, 2010 By Graeme Thickins

Earlier this week, I sat down for coffee with Robert Stephens, founder of Geek Squad, to chat about a number of things, and we decided to do an impromptu audio interview. I realized later it was almost three years to the day when I’d first met Robert, at an event where he was honored as Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2007 Minnesota Cup reception at the University of Minnesota — and I blogged about that, quoting from his great talk. I’d also heard him speak before at other local events, where he’s always a favorite. I have much admiration for the man, not just because he’s the spiritual leader of 25,000 geeks and has a real passion for technology, but because he’s a marketing genius.What’s more, he’s really funny and entertaining. I also find it fascinating that he began college as an art student, then switched to computer science (coming to the U of M for that, from his native Chicago). I’ve since seen Robert at many of our local tech “barcamp” events, MInneBar and MinneDemo, for which he and his employer of the last eight years, Best Buy, have provided much support. Hats off to them for that. (As Robert likes to tell it, “Geek Squad acquired Best Buy in 2002.”)

But, this day, I thought it would be a great opportunity to let Robert tell us about the new role I knew he’d recently been promoted to — that of Chief Technology Officer, reporting the CEO of Best Buy. I knew something was coming, because he hinted so in a meeting with me and my colleague Steve Borsch during the summer. There was no Best Buy press release announcing his appointment, which I guess is common for them, but I actually confirmed it a few weeks ago when I hit Robert’s LinkedIn page. (He told me he didn’t want any hoopla around being named to his new role, that he’ll be happy to get recognition when he has some results to talk about.)

We recorded a 21-minute interview, where Robert touched on an array of topics. He talked about technology trends, and how his job is translating those into actionable intelligence for Best Buy. He spoke about his developing relationships and partnerships with companies like Google and Facebook, and how he really finds Best Buy a dynamic place to work, giving him a “palette, and a canvas.” He also tells the inside story about how was first asked to be CTO, involving a trip to New York with CEO Brian Dunn on the company jet to meet with Eric Schmidt of Google. Robert also talks about what motivates him, how he thinks more like a startup guy, but has the unique advantage of such big resources at Best Buy — and the abilily to open doors anywhere. “I have the best job,” he says. “I get to travel the world and visit all these companies.” He said over the next five to ten years, “we’ll be exploiting the four screens.” In that regard, he talks in particular about how one of those, TV, is coming into an new exciting phase. “I like sitting on the main chess board,” he said.

But let’s get to it…

Podcast (m8-audio): Download (Duration: 22:30 — 20.6MB)

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MN Company Lets You Run Windows Apps on a Mac – the Easy Way

September 7, 2010 By Graeme Thickins

They say the best blogging is about story-telling. So, let me tell you one of mine — how I came to write this post. First, some background: I run a Windows-free environment, and have for a long time. I put in my time with “Windoz” many years ago, and quickly left it behind. I can’t even remember what version of the Mac OS I was using when that happened, but it was several iterations ago, and I upgraded through all those OS upgrades, loving the enhancements every step of the way. There are many reasons I became an Apple fanboy, and have happily stayed that way — but the biggest of them all was simply ease of use, across the whole Mac experience, and the much lower hassle factor all around. I value my time. I don’t want to be a computer geek. I just want to get stuff done. Mac fits the bill.

Today, thanks to the amazing advances of the Apple OS over the years and other Apple software offerings, I don’t have a single need to run a Windows app on my Mac. However, I realize many people do — they have a work reason, perhaps, to run Outlook, one of the Windows versions of Microsoft Office, or Internet Explorer, or other apps that just don’t (for some crazy reason) yet have a Mac version. I’ve been running the same Mac version of MS Office now for more than a decade; it works fine. (So, I can’t say I run a completely Microsoft-free environment; just a Windows-free one.) I also realize there’s another big universe of Mac users out there who want to run Windows on their machines: gamers. We’re not talking a work reason here (I don’t think!), but this is a big market. There are many more games available for the Windows platform than for Mac — though that is changing somewhat, since so many game apps are continually being introduced for the Mac iOS — that is, for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. (And the new “GameCenter” in Mac iOS 4.1, due next week, moves Apple even further into the games market.)

But why I am writing about running Windows on a Mac when I don’t have a need myself, and I’m certainly not a gamer? Well, before I tell you about “CrossOver Mac,” here’s why: I had a personal experience recently helping my daughter. She’s also a longtime Mac user, but she needed to run a single Windows app for her business, which was required by a government agency she had to deal with. So, I told her, sure, I’d help her figure out how she could do that. I of course knew about two programs designed to do that, called “Parallels” and “VMware Fusion,” either of which we could buy (for about $80, I think). And I told her I could help her get one of those installed on her Macbook. But we really didn’t like the idea of spending even that much money to run one little Windows app, maybe once a month — plus a friend, Steve Borsch, told me Windows doesn’t really run all that snappy with those programs, anyway.

But I was starting to think about buying one of those programs when another local friend, Gary Doan, said, “Wait, what about Boot Camp? That won’t cost you anything.” Apple started bundling that program with OS 10.5 and now 10.6, and you just need the original install disk to fire that up. Yes, plus a bonafide version of Windows, with an install disk — and we would have had to buy that. Cheapest I could find: an OEM version of 32-bit Windows 7 for $110 at our local Micro Center (closest thing we have to Fry’s here in MN). You can’t even buy Windows XP anymore, I learned, so that was not a cheaper option. That, combined with an onerous 14-page manual that Apple said you must print out and have by your side as you go through the detailed Boot Camp installation and configuration process, was making me start to think, screw this. Then I learned my daughter’s Macbook only has a half a gig of RAM, and would need at least 1G to run OS 10.6, which I wanted to upgrade her to, and preferably 2G. That would have cost me at least another $60, even if I installed the memory myself, which I really didn’t want to do. I thought, wait a minute, we’re getting close to $200 here — for something we really don’t want to do! Plus untold hours of my time screwing around to get it running.

Long story short: I found a brand-new HP Mini netbook on sale for $269 at OfficeMax (thanks to a friend’s tip), and I had a $30 off coupon! I told her I’d gladly pay for half of that. I figured I was coming out way ahead, considering I wouldn’t have to invest any time at all if we went with this option. Plus, she wanted a second computer anyway, just for email and web use on another floor of her house, and the HP Mini came with built-in wifi capability, so it was a pretty cheap option for that. Now, we’re both happy.

Which brings me to the subject of my post: there’s a much simpler way to run Windows on an Intel Mac — and it might just work for you. I wish I’d have known about it a week or two earlier, and I could have saved even more time (and money). It’s a product called CrossOver Mac, from the playfully named CodeWeavers, based in St. Paul, MN.

… [Read More…]

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