Blog of Tom Caddoo

My Perspective on Facebook's IPO

Tom — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:42:00 +0000

Over the last several weeks, several of my friends and colleagues have asked me what my thoughts were on Facebook’s announcement that they were going to file for an IPO with the SEC.

On the surface, I had the same thought. Why would Facebook need access to additional capital when they seem to be generating enough working capital on their own through ad sales as well as the revenue from games on Facebook, like Zynga, who reportedly brings in close to a $1 billion in revenue a year, which Facebook gets approximately 30% of.

So I did some thinking, and analysis, and I think I have come up with what one of the main drivers is; the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Stick with me here, I will explain this, and not make this a lesson on corporate finance and capital markets.

NFC Gaining Steam in the United States

Tom — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:15:11 +0000

Vendors are beginning to release products and services to support NFC and mobile payments. Moneto is on such service that received coverage during the 2012 CES in Las Vegas.

Apple Quietly Acquires Semiconductor Startup

Tom — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:39:40 +0000

Apple confirms strategic acquisition of startup semiconductor manufacturer Anobit Technologies.

Have you tried Google Music?

Tom — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 15:01:34 +0000

While surfing on Facebook the other day, one of the ads on the sidebar was to get free music from some of my favorite artists. Upon clicking on the ad, I was taken over to Google music. Sure enough, there was a 9 sing set from one of my favorite artists, Dave Matthews Band.

I proceeded to add the album into my cart and sure enough, there was no charge for the download. It is a 9 song set from the band's summer concert that they did in Chicago.

The music quality is really pretty good, so I listened to the entire set while working on a slide deck for work on Friday. I have to say that I am quite impressed with the quality of the music. The interface is complegtely different than iTunes, which is nice. I also brought up Google Music on my iPhone and iPad and was able to play the music easily from the site on those devices too.

I am not sure that I would completely drop iTunes for Google Music, but it is a nice alternative. Now the only issue is how to do I keep up with two music sites that have music on them. Granted I have not looked around the Google Music interface exhaustively, but I do not see a way to export the music, or even burn the music to a CD, so I am not sure how I would do that. Ironicly, I can perform a Google search to figure it out.

If you have not given Google Music a try yet, you should stop by and give it a try. Who knows, you may find some free music on the site from your favorite artist as well.

Have a great Sunday!

It was time for a change of blog hosts

Tom — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 03:05:00 +0000

After several years on a webhost hosting my own Wordpress blog, it was time to move to a more stable and secure platform to host my blog. After having been hit with denial of service attacks and other web security attacks, it was time to move to a more secure and resilient hosting solution. I presume this is as a result of my blog being up for several years now, and perhaps some of the content as well.

I have decided to give Squarespace a try. I am still in the process of getting used to the new format and setting up the pages the way I want them. So, if over the next several weeks and months you notice subtile changes to my blog, now you will know why.

Thanks for reading my blog and leaving comments, they are much appreciated.

Competition Is Coming for Netflix....Soon

Tom — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:48:25 +0000

What's going on at HP?

Tom — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 10:35:11 +0000

A Innovative Twist on Wealth Management Services

Tom — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:21:48 +0000

Oh those Stealthy Taxes!

Tom — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 13:31:47 +0000

eCommerce Giants vs. Brick & Mortar Competitors

Tom — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:10:39 +0000