Music lovers, meet MOG
July 29, 2010 by Scott Kerr · Leave a Comment
At first glance MOG appears to be just another streaming music provider not unlike Pandora. There’s a lot more to like about MOG, however. While it doesn’t offer a free service beyond the initial trial, its monthly cost is nominal for what you get. Less than $10/mo gets you access to 8 million songs, ad-free listening, and a feature-rich interface. Android and iphone users (sorry, no Blackberry version yet) can download the mobile version, which lets you stream audio and even download songs for offline listening. No need to sync with your pc anymore.
The user interface is superior to Pandora in a number of ways. Like Pandora, you can create a radio station based on an artist you like, but you can fine tune how much MOG plays the artist you selected vs similar artists. So far my experience has been that MOG has been more accurate at finding bands I’m interested in as well (I’ll never forgive Pandora for recommending Nickelback to me). You can also create and share playlists, quickly access artist photos, discography, and bios.
Enough gushing, go here to find out more.
Can Windows Phone 7 Save Microsoft’s Mobile Platform?
July 27, 2010 by Matthew Lindahl · Leave a Comment
Given Microsoft’s past history with Windows Operating Systems, and the eventual success of Windows 7 recently, this could be a game-changer. In the past, Microsoft was notorious for advertising a product then falling short of expectations by consumers. Just recently, Microsoft released the “Kin” mobile phone, running a “close cousin” of the yet-unreleased Windows Mobile 7. Now, I can’t speculate the exact reason for its demise, but Microsoft has discontinued the Kin as of June 30th, 2010. Some say because of limited functionality, others say too much data leaves the phone and goes who-knows-where.
With the Windows Mobile family, it has always filled the corporate gap of control by IT administrators, email delivery, while still maintaining a consumer-like functionality. RIM’s Blackberry showed it could handle email delivery, but with the lack of applications to install, it fell short of an all-around success as a mobile phone. Apple’s iPhone, with its support for corporate email, has given Apple a definite jump to being on par with Microsoft. There are still features (such as control by IT administrators) needed before it becomes a huge player in the game, though. With the overall success as a consumer-directed mobile phone, myself included, Apple may want to keep an eye on Windows Mobile 7. As long the success-train can bring the Windows Mobile OS family on board, Microsoft will continue to be the leader in corporate email environments. If it cannot, there are definitely some great contenders. Only time will tell.
Advertising tactics now taking cues from futuristic film Minority Report
July 22, 2010 by Matt Larson · Leave a Comment
Apparently I wasn’t the only person to be intrigued by the futuristic toys presented in the 2002 movie Minority Report, featuring Tom Cruise as John Anderton, the future-seeing special unit officer. Check out this clip from CNN that shows a new invention that will use facial recognition software to determine gender and age group in order to match a person with ads they may find interesting. To determine the ad’s effectiveness the software takes note of how long an individual stays on the site and views it. With all the “Big Brother” theories floating around, this is something I’m sure we’ll hear of in the future. What do you think?
We're hiring in Denver and Ft. Collins!
July 21, 2010 by Byron Williams · 2 Comments
I wanted to mention that we are hiring for Technical Support Team Members in Denver and Ft. Collins. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and associates.
What Facebook and the IRS have in common
July 20, 2010 by Byron Williams · Leave a Comment
I came across an arti
cle today that said a new survey recently determined that Facebook is as popular as filing taxes. Really? Filing taxes? The site with some 500M users scores poorly in customer satisfaction, the survey unveiled, within the same range as airlines, cable providers and the IRS. While we love to use the site to keep in constant contact with our friends and companies we like, it seems we hate ourselves afterward. Do you hate Facebook?
The Android Apps Easy Bake Oven
July 15, 2010 by Dominik Toepfer · Leave a Comment
Google recently released the App Inventor, an easy way to make applications for the Android based phones which includes the Droid, Incredible, and others.
While this will undoubtedly mean a flood of simple games and ridiculous ideas, it will also allow more people the resource to create some really brilliant developments. Because you don’t need programming knowledge, you can build just about any app you can imagine with App Inventor.
Below is a short video showing the Inventor in action.
Join us for the Greystone 4th Annual BBQ!
July 13, 2010 by Jamie Stanislav · Leave a Comment
We hope you and your family can join us for our 4rd Annual Greystone Summer BBQ from noon to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 7, 2010 at Wash Park in Denver. Come enjoy great food, refreshing beverages, fun and games. We’ll be in the picnic area directly west of the fire station. For a map, click here.
Please RSVP by July 26 via email with your name and the number of guests able to attend. RSVP’s and questions may be directed to Jamie Stanislav at jstanislav at greystonetech.com or call our office. Also, feel free to pass this email along to your co-workers and associates!
From all of us at Greystone, we hope to see you there!
LeBron to announce via Twitter?
July 6, 2010 by Jamie Stanislav · Leave a Comment
As the spouse of an avid NBA fan who is spending copious amounts of time reading and talking about the impending Lebron James decision, I was intrigued at the business and PR aspect of the issue. For those of you not “in the know,” Lebron James, the high-profile forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers, is a free agent preparing to announce in the next few weeks which NBA team he will be signing with; the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks or Miami Heat are all top contenders.
Talk has been heated since before the playoffs this spring, garnering suspicions as to where the tight-lipped James might end up. Now, within weeks of announcing his decision, it has been discovered that James has just created a Twitter account (KingJames). In a mere few hours, over 50,000 people have begun “following” the account in hopes that the decision will first be announced over the popular social media site. While Twitter is still verifying the authenticity of the account, fellow NBA star, Chris Paul, just tweeted that he convinced his buddy (James) to sign up on Twitter. Whether it’s an elaborate ploy to get media attention, or it’s part of a plan to announce his NBA future, the land of Twitter is abuzz with talk. In a sense, this buzz is a success in itself. Social media is an attempt to draw attention to events and news like this, getting people to talk about it and spread the word.
Whether it’s part of a grander scheme or not, it’s getting attention and giving Lebron James even more consideration to the issue. Tell us soon, Lebron, the wait is killing (some of) us!
