Cool Person of the Day

Bre Pettis’s company MakerBot is a manufacturer of 3D printers.  3D Printers use three-dimensional product designs developed via computer software programs to “print” out an object made from plastic material.  Most 3D printer manufacturers cater to the industrial market and their products often cost tens of thousands of dollars.  However, Pettis wants MakerBot to buck that trend.  Founded in 2009, MakerBot focuses on developing and selling more affordable 3D Printers that hook up to regular desktop computers.  Pettis is working to make 3D printing a reality in an everyday home setting.  If Pettis fully realizes his dream, it is possible that people will someday be able to design physical objects and print them right at home using their computer.  In theory, this could affect heavily affect the larger manufacturing industry. Read more »

Smartphones, tablets, and computers have made the digital distribution of entertainment media a major industry in the last decade.  While the first major changes came in the music and film industries, recently the publishing industry has seen major shifts towards digital markets as well.  However, it’s not only prose that people read on their computers and mobile devices these days.  With his company Comixology, David Steinberger has helped to make comics a part of the digital publishing industry as well.  Comixology sells digital comics for reading on the web, on tablets, and on mobile devices.  Readers can buy comics in both the shorter, more traditional issue format or as larger collections of issues in many cases.  Comixology has allowed comics to storm on to the digital market thanks to the vision of its CEO, David Steinberger. Read more »

Privacy is becoming a more and more frequently discussed topic these days.  This is likely because online services like Facebook and Google continue to collect large amounts of data on their users.  Some users do not seem to mind trading a bit of their privacy for free online services. Others have been less than enthusiastic about the way users seem to be paying these companies with their personal data instead of cash for their services.  Brian Kennish, cofounder of Disconnect, is most certainly in the latter camp.

Brian Kennish formerly worked at Google as a software developer.  However, in 2010, Kennish left Google due to increasing dissatisfaction with their mass data collection and the secrecy around how that data is used.  That is part of the reason Kennish developed Disconnect, a browser extension that blocks third-party sites from tracking you when you use the web.  Disconnect is available to download for four different browsers—Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari.  If you have trouble installing Disconnect, you can always ask computer support for assistance.  Read more »

Flipboard is a tablet application for iPad and Android that aims to improve the user experience for consuming social media and news.  Mike McCue, the CEO of the company, founded Flipboard in 2010 alongside iPhone engineer Evan Doll.  He branded the app as a “social magazine”, which collects information from a person’s many different social media accounts and specific news sources and places it into a magazine aesthetic for the user.  Users can then quickly flip through the digital pages of their personalized magazine to take in all the information from their media and news feeds in a single place.  This is opposed to the traditional web format of news and social media, which usually involves vertical scrolling and does not consolidate and organize your data the way Flipboard attempts to do. Those who have interest in Flipboard but are struggling with the app should find iPad support for help. McCue has lead Flipboard to great success since founding it.  He has helped to make the application one of the most featured and prominent on both Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS operating systems. Read more »

SwiftKey is one of the most successful pieces of Android software in the history of the operating system.  Millions of people have downloaded the keyboard app and used it to replace the less popular stock keyboard of the operating system.  What makes SwiftKey so popular?  The people behind the technology designed SwiftKey to be an effective and convenient program that accurately predicts what you are trying to say as you type it, saving you time as you send your messages by e-mail and text on your phone or tablet.  Dr. Ben Medlock, a computer science expert specializing in Natural Language Processing, is the man behind this technology.  Dr. Ben Medlock is currently the CTO of SwiftKey, which he founded with current CEO Jon Reynolds in 2008.  While Reynolds runs the business side of the company, Medlock is in the man in charge of the SwiftKey program itself.  Medlock’s technology has clearly resonated with Android users, as the app constantly remains one of the most popular in the Android store.  If you need help replacing the Android keyboard with SwiftKey on your mobile device, you should call for mobile support. Read more »

The tech sector finds many people with exceptional skills able to apply those skills in uncommon ways.  While many other industries are run in a way that is heavily dependent upon specific training and certifications, the tech sector abounds with success stories from people who have great ideas and strong business acumen who surround themselves with teams that make their visions possible.  While some executives in the tech sector have an amazing technical sense or idea, other companies spring up and find success out of applying a great business model to someone else’s innovation.  As CEO and Founder of Marin Software, Christopher Lien has found a way to make his business savvy profitable throughout the tech sector. Read more »

Managing a company in the tech sector can be extraordinarily difficult, even for a seasoned businessperson.  Given how many tech sector geniuses peak early with their industry-changing ideas, many CEOs in the tech sector rely upon the expertise of more established leaders in business.  Facebook, for example, was a great idea that did not begin to rise to its financial potential until Mark Zuckerberg hired Sheryl Sandberg.  But Sandberg is not the only financial expert using her talents in the tech sector.  Mark Rubash, for example, is an impressive voice for Heartflow, Inc. Read more »

The tech sector and the business world continue lack gender equality at the highest levels of the corporate ladder.  Many of the biggest tech sector companies – and some of the largest, most profitable, companies in the world – have upper management and/or Boards of Directors that have no women.  While change is coming slowly to the tech sector, some companies are moving at a more progressive pace.  A few companies, like Xerox, are able to proudly tout the fact that their Board of Directors and upper management are more diverse than others.  Ursula M. Burns makes that case easily for Xerox. Read more »

Digital photography has dramatically changed the photography market.  What was once a casual hobby or a top-dollar profession for skilled experts has become a daily routine for many people across all different walks of life and social strati.  With the prevalence of cameras on smartphones and social networks, people all over the world take millions of photographs per day and frequently post or store them on the Internet.  With the rise of so many digital photography options, there have come many new services related to digital photography on the Internet.  One of the most engaging digital photography sites on the Internet is Shutterfly, and it is run by Jeffrey Housenbold. Read more »

The rise of digital music on the Internet has made a mainstream conversation out of the conflict between business and art.  Musical artists have made a very public stand against music distribution methods that deprive them of their rightful royalties and income.  Many of the record labels have resisted endorsing digital music distribution channels that do not give the label a cut and the recording companies have been very litigious in protecting their interest.  Following the fall of Napster, iTunes and Amazon.com rose as primary channels of music distribution on the Internet.  But now, there is Spotify and given its success at generating interest, revenue, and industry support, it looks like Spotify may endure where other similar services have not.  Spotify is the vision of Daniel Ek. Read more »