Favorite item from Wednesday's PowerPoint show: "Database - the heart of an information system." Although failed social networking site Myspace is considered a junksite, it's database of users has value. Specific Media purchased Myspace for $35 million on Wednesday (Myspace sold).
A review of Transaction Processing Systems led to a discussion about Square. This innovative device allows merchants to swipe credit cards using their smartphone. Vendors who typically engage in cash-only transactions now have the option of accepting credit cards without set-up fees. For many businesses, the low 2.75% merchant fees will be readily off-set by increased sales. Watch the video below to see just how simple it is to get the device and start using it:
A more recent development is the release of Google+, a social networking site with some features that have the potential to outperform Facebook (CNN article). Google+ has a video feature called Hangouts which lets several users join a room. Then live feeds from each user's webcam appear at the bottom of the window, with the person currently speaking (or speaking loudest) displayed in the main window. Another Google+ feature which appeals to me is the ability to organize friends into categories and easily control communication sent to specific groups of friends, or "circles." I'll post a review after I get invited to join Google+.
I joined Google+, but the majority of users in my circles are people I have not met in real life. The feature I'm most curious about is Hangouts, and I'll have to wait until close friends join to try that out. So it's still too early to form an opinion about Google+.
ReplyDelete