I just got word from Tim Courtney the next Silicon Prairie Social will be held on Thursday, July 10, 2008 at Mullen’s Bar and Grill in Lisle, IL.

This is the next in what has turned out to be a successful series of quality tech networking event for the western suburbs of Chicago. The event is free, though you must register, and registration is now open. Check out the Web site for full details.

For those in the tech community in the burbs, it is a must attend, and as well for those of us in the city - as we are all part of the greater Chicagoland tech community.

Business • Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink

After I reviewed Joffrey’s Coffee a few weeks back, I was contacted by the folks at Jelk’s Coffee who offered me a sample of their coffee. As my demand for coffee has not changed, and I am always up for trying new things, I took them up on their offer.

As I mentioned I like stronger coffees, they sent me a whole pound of their Louisiana Blend. It is described on their Web site as their “house blend with a twist-darker roasted so this spicy tasting beverage is a true connoisseurs’ coffee.” As I would never say I have a delicate palate (ask my wife) a coffee has to be over the top with flavor for me to consider it spicy. So I put it to the test, and I had enough of the pre-ground coffee to load up my Cuisinart Grind and Brew for a week.

Verdict – I liked it. It had a bold taste but overly strong or bitter. It has a smooth finish and no aftertaste, a bad byproduct of some of the stronger coffees I have had. It also has sufficient caffeine and kept me running through the week!

Jelk’s has a whole line of traditional roasts and flavored coffees, as well as Southern-style sauces and all kinds of food products and accessories. Thanks to the folks at Jelk’s for a week of tasty fuel!

Business • (2) Comments • Permalink

MyWay.com, or MyWay for short, is a Web-based personal portal. It was launched several years ago and later became part of Barry Diller’s Internet empire. When it was launched, it competed head-to-head with MyYahoo! The idea was MyWay would not serve pop-up advertising as MyYahoo! was starting to do. This attracted me to the service and I have used it as my home page since, even though its feature set has remained stagnant.

That set of features took a hit this week with the shutdown of its stock portfolio feature. I found out about this the hard way – I simply noticed it was gone. In its place was a Flash widget-like box, as shown below:

I looked around my MyWay page and clicked the “my portfolio” link at the top of the page. There was my list of stock tickers, with this message:

(its text - We are sorry. As of June 1st, My Way will no longer be supporting the Portfolio feature. We apologize for the inconvenience. Click here for more information about the new My Way Money page. - The My Way Team)

After clicking on the message (there was not a visible link) I got this message:

(its text - My Way is pleased to announce that we will be collaborating with Scottrade, one of the leading online brokerage firms and market research providers, on our new Money channel. Many of the features on the My Way Money page will now redirect to charts, graphs and information provided by Scottrade. As of June 1st, however, we will no longer be able to support the Portfolio feature. We are confident that our new and exciting partnership with Scottrade will provide you with convenient access to some of the most accurate, detailed and useful financial tools available on the Web. - The My Way Team)

Not knowing what to do, I tried to enter stock ticker but nothing showed up. Instead, ironically, pop-up windows with pages from Scottrade’s Web site appeared after a few minutes. One was of its home page, the other a page to look up tickers, which did not work. I was using Firefox 2 and did not try it in another browser.

That was yesterday, and today, the Flash widget is gone, and in its place is this message:

(its text - Sorry – We're experiencing technical difficulties with Scottrade Stock Watchlist. We are currently looking into it. Please check back soon.)

It’s one thing if MyWay decided to partner with Scottrade, but do it right! Inform people of the change, don’t just remove it and hope people will find a link to it (I never use any other portfolio features of MyWay). As Scottrade is guided by all kinds of SEC regulations, do I have to open a Scottrade account now? And what about a migration of my tickers, or do I have to re-enter them? I only have a few so it would not take too long, but I need to know either way.

Perhaps its time to move on and find a replacement service – maybe iGoogle or even look at MyYahoo! again. MyWay surely isn’t doing it the way I would. And how about the irony of my fortune, displayed below the widget?

Business • Technology • (11) Comments • Permalink

It does seem all good things come to an end, and this can include businesses. MyMugs.com, a maker of custom printed coffee mugs owned by a friend of mine, is closing. He has decided to leave the business, and has posted the assets of the business for sale on eBay. If you’re in the market for a dye sublimation convection oven, this is the auction for you!

Among the assets listed are the domain names for the business. The list includes the main name, mymugs.com, and a few dozen others related to the sale of custom coffee mugs to different audiences and different purposes. If you are in the mug business, these names could be for you. If you are a domainer or domain name investor, these names could be for you as well.

After he posted the list of names, we talked about how the auction will close and how much he will get for them. Like me, he started the auction at US$1.00 and will see how far it goes. As these names are being sold as a lot, someone may be interested in one or a few names and is bidding based on that. There is competition in the space of the custom mug business, ranging from small businesses to Walgreen’s stores selling custom photo mugs.

The auction closes on June 11, 2008 at about 9 pm PT. I’ll be watching this one, and perhaps even placing a few bids.

Business • Domain Names • (5) Comments • Permalink

The next likemind coffee will be next Friday, June 20, 2008 in dozens of cities around the world. In Chicago, it will be at Gallery 37 Cafe, 66 E. Randolph, at the corner of Wabash in the Loop in the Gallery 37 building. Note the cafe opens right at 8.

I call likemind a gathering of creative-minded people, from various disciplines including Internet, advertising, art, et. al.

No RSVP is required but is always welcome, and you can by commenting to this post or at the likemind Chicago Facebook group.

Will there be books again this month? Stay tuned...

Business • Diversions • (2) Comments • Permalink