Here are five things in technology that happened this past week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?
1 — Windows 95 is now an app!
It’s baaaack! Consumers can now download and install Windows 95 as an app on Windows, Linux, and macOS. Felix Rieseberg, a developer at Slack, is the creator of the app. He based it on a web project that allows users to play around with all sorts of older operating systems, including Windows 95 and Windows 98. The app has everything from Paint to Wordpad and Minesweeper—all presented in their original pixelated beauty. (Source: Softonic)
Why this is important for your business:
If you’re an older business owner the Windows 95 app will remind you of simpler, more innocent times. If you’re a younger business owner, you’ll wonder how anything got done in the ‘90’s. Other than that, the app pretty much has no usefulness at all.
2 — Yahoo and AOL are reportedly scanning emails for data to sell to advertisers.
As part of its executives’ pitch of interest-based advertising to marketers, Yahoo has scanned more than 200 million Yahoo Mail inboxes for information about what people have bought, such as receipts from department stores or automotive loan companies. In addition, AOL, which is owned by the same parent company as Yahoo, scans emails this way too. Data is aggregated and anonymized, so advertisers won’t have access to an individual’s information. (Source: CNBC)
Why this is important for your business:
I guess when your business gets to a point where you’ve fallen behind your competitors and have run out of innovative ideas you just…sell your data. If your business is still using Yahoo or AOL for email or other web services this may be reason enough to move somewhere else.
3 — UPS launches Ware2Go, a platform aimed at helping small- and medium-sized businesses expand.
This week, UPS launched a new technology company called Ware2Go, which is designed to connect small- and medium-sized businesses with warehouses to help streamline online orders. Ware2Go recruits and certifies warehouses for merchants, allowing them to expand to new locations and keep up with new e-commerce growth. (Source: CNBC)
Why this is important for your business:
“Ware2Go uses innovative online technology to match excess warehouse and fulfillment capacity with merchant demand to provide transparent inventory, order fulfillment and final delivery,” Scott Price, chief transformation and strategy officer for UPS told CNBC. What I’ve learned is that companies that do a poor job managing their effort suffer the consequences. If Ware2Go can help your company better utilize your inventory – which is probably a significant part of your balance sheet – then it should be worth a look.
4 — Small-town ingenuity is making gigabyte broadband a reality.
Today, some of the fastest, most affordable internet in the country can be found in small towns in rural areas. According to a 2016 FCC data release, more than 1,100 rural fiber broadband providers operate networks of various sizes in some of the most remote parts of America, and more than 230 of those providers offer symmetrical (both download and upload) gigabit speeds.. (Source: WIRED)
Why this is important for your business:
If you’re looking to start a business or even thinking about a move, then you may want to reconsider the bigger markets. Sure, San Francisco, New York and Chicago are great cities. But many smaller towns, particularly ones located near universities, may offer a more educated workforce, a better (and more affordable) way of life…and faster and more reliable internet than larger metropolitan areas.
5 — Amazon deepens its partnership with VMWare to go after companies that don’t use the cloud.
This week, Amazon and VMware introduced a version of Amazon’s cloud-based database management software designed for businesses that still use on-premises data centers. Even though Amazon Web Services has become a dominant force in cloud computing by hosting other companies’ technology infrastructure in its massive data centers, it’s also offering services for companies that aren’t yet using the cloud. (Source: CNBC)
Why this is important for your business:
Not everyone’s in the cloud. Some businesses still fear the security issues. Others have faster, more integrated systems in-house. A few are just old school. Amazon, which is leading the world with its public cloud Amazon Web Services cloud hosting service wants to appeal to everyone and is betting that a partnership with VMware may be a great way for more of these companies to have the best of both worlds – and a path for one day migrating their systems to fully online.
Gene Marks owns The Marks Group, a 10-person technology consulting firm and is also a small business expert, speaker and columnist at other major outlets.
