Developer Releases VLC for Android Pre-Alpha Build

You are in an Android Post

Late last year, we heard that the open-source media player VLC was destined for an Android port to arrive sometime in early 2011. Soon, we moved into what was clearly no longer "early" 2011, and VLC had yet to materialize. In March we got a small update on the project, learning it might be coming out in beta in a few months' time. Again, the window passed with no release. As of today, there's still no official release, but one Android developer has taken matters into his own hands, compiling what he's calling a pre-alpha version that you can check out now.

Why have we been patiently waiting for VLC for so long? After all, there are lots of other Android media players out there, right? Part of the appeal of VLC is its near-universal compatibility. Most of the time, it will play whatever file you throw at it without blinking. Add to that some powerful tools for viewing streaming video, and it's enough to keep our interest piqued.

Curious developers have been able to compile their own builds of VLC for Android for some time now, but CVPCS (whom you might remember from his CyanogenMod work) has made his publicly available. There are two different APKs: one for phones with processors supporting NEON floating-point operations, and one without. Download the proper one for your hardware, and you'll be able to check out this very early version of VLC for Android, as we all continue to wait for an official release.

Source: CVPCS
Via: Phandroid

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Unbound’s struggle to build crowdfunding for books

Back in May, Unbound, an innovative new publishing outfit, launched in London. Generally described as a “Kickstarter for books,” it promised a lot: to take ideas by prospective authors, get them crowdfunded and then publish them.

The launch drew some adoring glances: His Dark Materials author Philip Pullman, for example, called it “an idea whose time has come.” I was less sure, however. Was there really space for more niche crowdfunding efforts? Was it better for prospective authors to opt for a bigger audience on a site like Kickstarter or a more focused one like Unbound?

In fact, when I realized that Unbound wasn’t an open platform but instead carefully selected the projects it put forward, I became unsure whether it was really crowdfunding at all:

Perhaps describing Unbound as a Kickstarter for books is misleading: maybe it’s better to think of it as a low-capital publisher. It seems that it does all of the traditional jobs (selecting authors, working with submissions, editing manuscripts, printing books) but mitigates financial risk by raising its authors’ advances from the public, rather than its own coffers.

So where are things two months in?

Not much further, apparently. James Bridle, a London-based publisher and technologist, pointed out recently that things weren’t looking great. Although Unbound had succeeded in getting one idea funded since launch, Evil Machines, its flagship book by Monty Python comedian Terry Jones, the rest were languishing in limbo. The site had been forced to turn the clock back on its projects twice to give them more time to reach their funding goals.

”After two months and two resets,” tweeted Bridle, “it appears nobody wants a new book by Tibor Fischer, Amy Jenkins or Jonathan Meades.”

There are different arguments as to why this is the case. Perhaps the audience simply doesn’t exist for funding books. But Kickstarter’s thriving book projects suggest that’s not true. Perhaps, then, the site is too obscure. Yet it has had plenty of press and fairly big names on board. So what else could it be?

Adrian Hon, who has worked with publishers like Penguin and has raised almost $5,000 on Kickstarter for his own website and book project, has taken a look. In a great piece on his blog, he explains how Unbound took the Kickstarter model and tweaked it without realizing the implications.

“The closer you look,” he writes, “the more differences you spot.” Those differences include transparency (Kickstarter is transparent for donors and creators alike, while Unbound is “bafflingly opaque”); the feeling that it’s not entirely authentic (creators seem to be successful authors who are raising money for projects they have already completed); and limited horizons (most of the authors are famous in Britain but are not internationally recognized):

But the biggest difference is its success rate. Of the six projects Unbound started with, it seems that one has been funded so far: Evil Machines by Terry Jones, and only by a gnat’s whisker at that, even though it’s by a Monty Python member with over 30,000 Twitter followers.

Four other books on the brink of failure have had their deadlines unexpectedly extended, hopefully long enough for the public to come to their senses and cough up more cash. Unbound isn’t some fly-by-night operation; it was heavily promoted at the Hay Festival, it’s received gushing praise across the media – yet it may end up with a one in six success rate.

So, why was Unbound set up in the first place? It’s because they constructed a cargo cult, believing that if they mimicked the superficial elements of successful crowdfunding, they could enjoy the same success as others – but perhaps even more, thanks to their relationships with publishers, agents, authors, and the media.

That suggestion of a cargo cult was actually something I’d also put forward. In particular, I think there is a dangerous tendency to believe that crowdfunding is simply about tapping up members of the public for cash — whereas it is really about communities choosing their own destinies. Just like crowdsourcing before it, there needs to be a real sense of involvement and authenticity if projects are going to be more than just about doing things inexpensively.

Bridle characterized it perfectly as the difference between “being a part of the social web rather than just begging from it.” Successful crowdfunding projects grow out of communities; they aren’t forced upon them. And organic support can certainly work wonders in the book world, whether it’s through self-publishing or some other avenue.

Still, it’s in the early days for Unbound, and there’s plenty of time for these mistakes to be unpicked and turned around. I tried to find out more about the company’s thoughts on this, but Unbound did not respond to my request for an interview. However, it’s clear that the site has already shown it is ready to shift to make things work: So far it has already started making rewards more obvious and has lowered targets so that projects can get funded more easily, for example.

Ultimately, though I hope that Unbound’s struggle provides a lesson that anyone thinking about Kickstarter-like models should consider: Crowdfunding is as much about people as it is about money, and building a working community requires more than just a few big names and a nice idea.

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Build Business Success by Building Strong Business Relationships

Building strong relationships with your clients and with other businesses in your network can mean the difference between success and business failure. Your business cannot prosper without support from other people, customers, and businesses. This is possible only if you build and maintain proper relationships. The seven tips below will help you to create business success by strengthening your relationships.

1. Networking is the key to strong business relationships. Contacts form the lifeline of your business. Interact regularly with your existing and prospective customers, suppliers, partners, colleagues, contractors, and acquaintances. You can network personally or through various networking groups. It is not necessary to always deal and discuss only business matters. Your sincere efforts at pursuing and maintaining a relationship will repay your company more than any impersonal advertising can do.

2. Your business card is your identity. While networking, offer your business card to your clients and acquaintances. Your card should be professional in appearance and contain all of your contact details, including your telephone numbers, fax, e-mail address, and website. Exchanging cards forms the foundation of a business relationship. Always carry your card, even to social functions, and be prepared to give your card out when it is appropriate in the conversation.

Exchange business cards on every appropriate occasion. If possible, add a personal note to yourself on the back of the card about the person, where you met, and any questions the contact has about your business. When you collect a card, follow up with the new contact within a week. A business leader who is working on networking will maintain a collection of cards and contact details on a database.

3. Use email for simple communication. Email is a very simple and inexpensive way of communicating with your contacts. Send regular emails to your clients, even if there is no ongoing project. This helps others to remember your business and your expertise long after you have completed a assignment.

You could email an informative letter about industry trends or launch a new product or service your business is offering. After you first establish a contact, a simple email thanking your new contact for the time spent in talking with you and expanding on the services your business provides is appropriate.

Emailing is an effective viral marketing technique. Your clients and business contacts will forward your message to others who could be interested in your line of business.

4. Maintain a well-designed and professional website. Your business website should offer clear information of your business and provide easy to understand navigational directions. Clients should be able to move around and discover relevant information on your website with ease. Optimize your website with popular search terms to improve and increase web traffic. Always update your website with recent information and remove all outdated or unnecessary information.

You can even create an industry forum linked to your website to encourage business people within the industry to network online. This keeps people coming back to your website and establishes your company as the leader in the field. You will also be able to establish strong networking ties to the people contributing comments to your forum.

5. Socialize with Other Business Owners. You will meet many prospective clients at business gatherings. Attend conferences and industry events to network with other people who can assist your business to grow with mutually beneficial arrangements. Play golf, attend social or charity events, and generally socialize with your network of contacts to build and maintain your relationships.

Send emails to new clients providing answers to any queries, or offer to meet your new prospective client at any convenient place to discuss and elaborate on business matters. This helps to build a lasting business relationship. Follow up your emails with phone calls to cement and establish your relationship.

6. Remember Your Loyal Customers. You should always pay special attention to your regular and loyal clients. Your repeat clients offer greater business than new clients do. Your old clients are well aware of your capabilities and approach you when the need arises.

Offering your loyal customers special discounts and services will make the relationship stronger. It is not necessary to offer only business related benefits. You can offer coupons to any special social event, concerts, any upcoming celebrations, and passes to local attractions. You can also send birthday cards and greetings on other special occasions.

7. Remain Flexible and Overcome Obstacles. Remain flexible to maintain steadfast and successful business relationships. A business prospers through inputs from various people, including business partners, employees, mentors, clients, and your contemporaries. Never underestimate anybody and always remain courteous in your business dealings.

You may encounter many obstacles in your business. Being flexible enough to accommodate any delays, uncertainties, and upsets with good communication can build a congenial and effective business relationship with all people associated with your business as a whole.

Building strong business relationships is the key to building business success. You need to network and focus on building and maintaining your contact list to ensure people are talking about your business. Without building a wider customer base, and creating strong networks with other business people who can assist your business, your business will fail. Use the tools that you have, such as email, your business card, your website, and your business services to cement your relationships with your business contacts.

Ian is MD of edot3 a creative web design agency in the UK.

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How to Build Wealthy Home Business Secrets Revealed

If you are starting from a humble beginnings it is still possible to become wealthy if you are prepare to apply the secrets of the wealthy and rich and it can be done almost overnight. In fact scores of people are included in the millionaires club, while a few dozens move up to the big boys billionaires club every year. Anyone can build a wealthy home business if you have the qualities that are essential for success. So whether you wish to earn six figure incomes, have multiple streams of income or residual income then the list of required attributes in building a wealthy home business can be group into five broad areas namely: desire, choosing the right business for you, attitude, marketing and leadership.

Leadership

The quality of leadership is not genetic or some special rights bestowed on the privileged few, nor is it dependent on the number of zeros on your paycheck, but solely on your commitment to diligently pursue those qualities that will strengthen and develop you as an effective leader.It is only the magnitude of your commitment that will determine the quality of your leadership. Remember the timeless adage; leaders are not born they are made, and whether you have these naturally innate leadership qualities or not is not a hindrance to you becoming a leader. Leadership and I am referring to effective leadership is an essential feature in any business model of your choice and also very important in building a wealthy home business and residual incomes to enjoy the lifestyle you wanted for you and your family.

As a leader in a home business you must be enthusiastic about your work and have a passion for excellence. Good leadership means being a source of inspiration for your team and motivator to taken action. Good leaders developed the ability to always focused on the main goals, analyzing the task at hand as a whole as well as breaking it up into sub-parts that are more manageable and progress towards achieving the desired outcome. Therefore passion, inspiration, motivation and the ability to remain focused on your goals are key elements of leadership in building a wealthy business from home and creating multiple income streams.

REMEMBER:

"Leaders are not born, they are developed"

Desire

Desire is an essential quality of effective leadership but by itself, desire will not ensure that we life a life by our design, to win the money game or become wealthy but it is an important ingredient and an essential step for moving in that direction. If you want something badly enough you will get it because desire can be an unstoppable force. If you want to earn six figure incomes, residual incomes or have multiple streams of income, then an unstoppable desire to succeed is essential. A strong desire to succeed in building a wealthy home business dispels any thought of ever quitting as an option. If you want anything badly enough you will find a way or make one, in order to be successful, no matter what the price or sacrifice required. Once you have the desire to become successful you must persevere and remain steadfast on your task. This is keen to note because some people seem to "born tired" and are naturally lazy possessing no self-reliance or perseverance. Your desire is the fire that heats you up to perform, to excel. P.T. Barnum, in the book The Art of Money Getting, stated that "If you hesitate, some bolder hand will stretch out before you and get the prize". The proverb of Solomon succinctly puts it like this: "He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand; but the hand of the diligent maketh rich." One simple exercise that I've found useful in fuelling my desires constantly to be successful in building a wealthy home business which I'll share with you now is:

1) On a piece if paper or word pad write down all the reasons why do you want to achieve your goal.

2) List all the benefits you can gain if your goal were achieved, starting with the word "I". For example; "I am a successful business man". "I am building strong family ties at home". "I am a successful internet marketer". "I provide for all my families need". The more clearly stated reasons you have, the stronger will be your desire to be successful.

3) Practice to reading your list of benefits every morning.This affirmative action triggers your sub-conscious to act as though you have already achieved your goals, since your sub-conscious mind doesn't distinguish between realities. It places your goals or wish list into the present and not something to be achieved at some later time. This daily affirmation keep you connected with your goal during the day, making you more motivated and inspired.

REMEMBER:

"Desire overcomes obstacles to success.

Desire makes molehills out of mountains.

No matter what stands in the way, it is moveable."

Attitude

Maintaining a positive mental attitude is very important in the pursuance of achieving your objective to build a business from home and gain the wealth you need to live the life that you always wanted. After all the old adage is true, "so a man thinketh so is he". In other words, we perform the way we think. Positive attitude and optimism work like a magnet for success. If you maintain positive attitude no matter what the situation is success will come to you automatically.

REMEMBER:

"We may not be able to control the obstacles of life,

But we can control our attitude."

Every goal will require some kind of sacrifice. There is always something to give up in order to achieved a certain desired outcome, and if you wish to build a successful business from home so you can have the wealth to enjoy the lifestyle you want, then don't forget this fact. In business this sacrifice is called the opportunity cost. The right attitude for success means having the right priorities. It is only the right attitude toward success can allow an aspiring entrepreneur to live the kind of lifestyle that you for yourself and your family, having a steady stream of residual income to do so.

So what kind of sacrifices have you had to make for your goals in the past? What kind of sacrifices have you been making (or struggling to make) with your current goals?

When it comes to sacrifices, only two things matter:

Is it worth it? With every goal, you need to know that what you stand to gain is worth the cost of what you'll have to give up.

Are you willing to do it? If you find that you are willing, all you need to do is simply keep reinforcing that decision mentally every time you feel tempted to act in ways that are counterproductive to your goals

Finding An Appropriate Business For You

So far we've covered issues dealing with desire, attitude, and leadership. Now lets see if we can't find an appropriate business for you. So you have a plan to retire at age 35 or maybe 40 years and you are certain in your decision to start your own business, be your own boss so you can be become financial independent, maybe even to become a multi-millionaire earning six figure incomes but do you know what business to get into, which is right for you and do you have the requisite Business Management Skill Sets to be successful and build a business from home?

Building a business from scratch usually involve many steps and some critical decision making, namely: 1) should you or not go into business and take the plunge so to speak. 2)The business structure or model to adopt- sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability Company etc., 3) The kind of business niche, or what kind of company should I start. I am of the view that the most critical decision is the kind of business to start- Brick and Mortar, Franchising and Licensing, Home-based, E-commerce, Niche market websites or Multi-Level Marketing (mlm). What makes it so critical is are the myriad amount of business opportunities available. It is almost incredibly easy for aspiring entrepreneurs, without proper research and guidance, to fall victims in making the mistake of investing in the wrong type of business. It is therefore critical to choose a business model that's appropriate to your interests and even your personality.

REMEMBER:

"Unless a man enters upon the vocation intended for him by nature,

And best suited to his peculiar genius,

He cannot succeed."

Since there are thousands of business opportunities vying for our attention; a Google search will prove my case(over 4 million business opportunities advertised), so how can you tell which is right for you? Each business model might has its own distinct structure and way of being conducted, however, some of the most commonly chosen models are:

1) Brick and Mortar:

This refer to the regular usual type of business where there is a physical structure where all business activities, with clients are done.This physical space is usually a separate space from your primary residence.

2) Home-based:

This is the business model of choice for those entrepreneurs who are seeking residual incomes and multiple stream incomes because of the tremendous amount of flexibility it give them shuttling back and forth between business and personal life. It is usually run from a small office space in your own home.

3) E-commerce:

The internet is by far the most dynamic vehicle for growth for those entrepreneurs who wish to become successful by building a wealthy home business earning six figure incomes or may be it's just to diversify your earning potential with residual incomes and multiple income streams. Some online business opportunities provide home based entrepreneurs excellent scope, if they are willing to put in the work, to create the income streams they need to win the money game and live the life of their dreams.

4) Multi-Level Marketing (MLM):

MLM is a good residual income earner for those entrepreneurs involves selling and building up a network. The earning potential is good, if you are high up in the network triangle. The more people you have under your own network, the more money you earn and the larger is your stream of residual income over time.

Marketing

A guerilla marketing strategy for all aspiring entrepreneurs who wish to successfully build a wealthy home business, earning six figure income or a constant flow of residual income, is called attraction marketing. Attraction Marketing is a very powerful way to optimize the leverage of your home based business. It can be used to build any kind of home based or small business by leveraging social media, internet marketing and direct response marketing principles.

Attraction marketing primarily involves the branding and promoting of you the entrepreneur, not your business opportunity or network marketing company or program. You can personally brand and promote yourself to your potential clients using any of the social media available to you. These include web sites, blogs, videos and social networking such as Facebook, Twitter and email marketing. By doing so a home based entrepreneur can attract like minded people who resonate or relate with their story, their background, their hometown, their college or high school and this helps to build a list of contacts, which is the lifeblood of any online business.

The essential tools of attraction marketing are simple and consist of:

Lead Capture page.

Basically a single page on your website offering products of value free of charge to potential customers in exchange for their email address. this is the fastest way you can build your list.

Auto responder

Auto responder services allows you to deliver a prescribed email to your prospects inviting their patronage in your product for sale.The benefit of this program is that it's done on autopilot for you.

REMEMBER:

"Attraction Marketing is a simple philosophy that is very effective for home based entrepreneurs"

Many dream of starting their own businesses, but remain frozen in status quo mainly because they do not know what business to engage in. While starting a business with your individual interests and expertise in mind is crucial, so is the necessity of making sure that this enterprise represents a concrete entrepreneurial opportunity.

Richard McGregor is an online marketing entrepreneur and business success coach facilitating aspiring entrepreneurs to realized their dream of owning a wealthy home business. He can expertly guide his clients and students to manipulate Social Networking Web 2.0 Marketing and dominate Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn among others.

Richard McGregor is currently looking for Serious Entrepreneurs who want to Build Wealthy Home Business and be personally Mentored by a team of Top Earners. For an excellent home-based activity visit, http://www.ferretcarekeeping.com. Please enjoy our free minicourse on ferret care. Here is a complimentary free ebook on wealthy home business ideas from us at http://www.homebizentrepreneurs.blogspot.com.

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Planning For Results - A Process Tool To Build A Successful Business

Business Plan:

Proper Planning is an important and effective tool in financing your project or a business, and shaping its future. It is important to understand how planning process and Business Plan can be applied to your business.

"Conversation would be vastly improved by constant use of four simple words: 'I do not know' " - Andre Maurois

Planning is an attribute or character of Management that assists and motivates a leader to make things happen, rather than not doing anything or allowing things to happen. Management may be an individual, family, business owner, principal, or project manager that organizes the finances for a project or business.

"At a presentation I gave recently, the audience's questions were all along the same lines: 'How do I get in touch with venture capitalists? What percentage of the equity do I have to give them?' No one asked me how to build a business!"--Arthur Rock, Founder and Chairman of Intel Corporation.

Surprisingly, many business owners do not consider a Business Plan as an important factor in building the business and raising money. They consider that they might be better of just sketching out basic financial projections. For a start-up project, it is necessary to prepare a full Business Plan. This includes organizing financial with three years of projections and describing detailed goals and strategy and why the business will be successful. It also helps in creating a good impression with stakeholders and lenders/investors. Once a full Business Plan is prepared (which may initially take three to four weeks), it may be appropriate to spend one or two days every few months updating it. This will also assist in evaluating earlier decisions and improving or fine tuning the business model.

A Business Pan is only as good as the quality of efforts that go into the planning process and preparing or documenting the same. In general, a Business Plan is the end result of planning process. Successful planning process involves management in a manner where they take responsibility of the organization's own actions (or in actions) and final results--with a goal to succeed and willingness to take necessary actions that address risks and avoid failure. Business planning requires one to develop goals and strategy that address all probable eventualities or risks that one's business could face in the future. It helps to determine the best number of action-steps necessary for the management to reach its business goals, and avoid, minimize or overcome foreseeable hurdles.

Proper planning is an important and effective tool in building and financing one's project or business and shaping its future.

Business planning consists of two key elements: The Business Planning Process and The Business Plan.

The Business Planning Process:

The Planning Process is a step-by-step approach that helps to build by "thinking-out" management's plan on how to achieve goals or desired outcomes. The professional skills of gathering and analyzing information, setting realistic and challenging goals, how to meet competition in market place, and sound decision-making at every step are utilized in this process. Today's business environment is very competitive and full of uncertainties, so management should pay adequate attention to the Planning Process. This process improves the chances of success for the project as it also minimizes chances of failure.

Management should address a series of relevant questions that help clarify business' past, present situation, the future a business desires, the means of achieving the future, and the systems of organization, delegation and controls or accountability necessary to track and sustain the progress. The Planning Process may require periodic revisions. Management should decide how often it should be revised or updated depending on the value it derives from effort and expenses incurred. As management proceeds through the planning process, it scans through the possible end results of different courses of actions. During this scanning process, management is forced to confront issues relating to the goals, purpose, vision, mission, core values, strategy, customer perception, and priorities of the business.

For example, when developing a Business Plan, management may decide not to invest more than certain amount of capital in the business in order to provide owner(s) adequate resources to pursue family, personal or other investment goals. One must acknowledge that, given the management's decision, it cannot expect to receive the same business development considerations as someone willing to invest triple the amount of capital. Every business may have different goals that will involve investment of resources and sacrifices (opportunity costs). For example, an opportunity or benefit may be lost or "foregone" for the sake of pursuing an alternate use for the same resources. Organizations may sacrifice business success or developmental opportunity, while someone else may sacrifice alternative investment. The business planning process brings these factors in to the deliberations, and realistically assesses the trade-offs necessary for the management team to finalize the business goals.

The Business Plan: The end result of the Planning Process.

The Business Plan is the final document that defines management's perception of the game-plan as of a specific date, and is a final output communicating management's planning process for the project or business. It is a document that states the core assumptions, goals, and strategies that management has decided to pursue by investing the necessary resources in terms of time, financial resources, and action steps that will be necessary to achieve the goals. The business plan is derived from the management's deliberations and the series of final decisions of the planning process. The written Business Plan also serves as an important controlling tool for regularly monitoring actual vs. plan on different parameters and the corrective action to be taken so that the overall success is achieved for the business or project. The parameters that are monitored could be time, cost, resources, quality, Return On Investment, employee morale, etc. Facilitating the planning process that generates the Business Plan requires expertise in both the financial and general aspects of management and the business planning process itself. The value of a Business Plan is in the decisions it influences during the Planning Process as well as the monitoring of progress--ultimately, how cash flows in and out of the business' bank account and achieves the stake holder's objectives over a period.

How I utilized Business Planning:

A company in California manufactured a range of engineering products with a good technology base. However, for various reasons, the business had become stagnant over last few years in terms of revenue and profitability. I evaluated the business model and management infrastructure, and facilitated restructuring of the business with a focus on achieving growth. This planning process involved producing additional revenue streams, improvement of production processes, replacement of machinery, and relocating the plant. The new Business Plan and Presentation Package made it possible to raise additional business loan of $4 million dollars. This was utilized to triple the revenue over a three-year period and also resulted in increasing the number of employees. The business is now on a progressive track, doing well and is expected to achieve its goals.

Mr. Shah is the President of Capital Management Group (CMG) and a Financial Consultant. CMG is a California licensed lender/broker for financing small businesses, business financial advisor, and Business Management Consultant. CMG assists projects and businesses in US as well as international projects. For more details, visit http://www.cm-group.com Mr. Shah can be reached at 714-281-0245 or via email at cm-group@sbcglobal.net

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