Salesforce AppExchange: Cool Idea

I have been a Salesforce user for many years and love it. Excellent stuff! The AppExchange idea is cool too, but I have my doubts about it taking off. Its hard enough developing bug free software, here you are talking about integrating software from third-parties and ensuring they all work well together. I installed the Skype feature in Salesforce (I have been using Skype standalone for quite a while) but struggled with how to use it from within Salesforce. I tried a few other apps as well but didn't find it easy to use.

Conceptually, AppExchange makes a lot of sense, but in remains to be seen how well it works in practice. Hats off to Salesforce for this innovative approach.

Ebooks are back, yet again!

Check out Sony's foray into the eBook space. The process is modeled on the iPod and music. You buy the device and go to Sony's online store and buy books which get downloaded to the device. The interesting thing is that Sony has some deals with leading publishers - HarperCollins, Random House, and Penguin.

Apple with Intel Inside Ahead of Schedule!

The recent announcement about Apple iMacs with Intel processors was actually achieved ahead of the schedule. This very impressive. I can't recall the last time a company delivered a product early! The WSJ had a positive writeup about the performance of software programs on the new Mac with Intel inside.

Nasdaq, Dow drop!

The Nasdaq dropped 54 points today, while the Dow dropped 213 points. It was just the other day that I was wondering what had caused the Dow to cross 11,000 after almost 4 years. Some joked that the dotcomm days are returning! The drop today indicates the impact that Google is having overall. A significant drop in its share prices is bound to rag the market down overall. A great achievement for a company which has been public for such a short time. Moreover, one must admire their courage to stand up to the Justice Department.