Blog Archives
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CNET writer resigns. I'm glad I write for real professionals
By Dave McClure, Contributing Writer/Columnist - Monday January 14, 2013
From Dave's blog, The Bleeding Edge . Greg Sandoval, a senior writer for CNET, resigned today saying CNET owner CBS Television forced a biased selection of its editors/writers for Best of Show Technology at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. I am so delighted to write for a professional magazine like CPA Practice Advisor . I’ve been doing this for 20 years now, since the day that Tawn Allen Rose asked me to do a technical column for what was then known as the CPA Software News . He asked me to produce a column at “the bleeding edge of technology” – something honest, edgy and a little on the side of being crazy. He did that even though I am not and have never been an accountant, though I have worked... -
Six Reasons the Windows “Frankensystem” Will Fail
By Dave McClure, Contributing Writer/Columnist - Wednesday January 2, 2013From Dave's Bleeding Edge blog . I’ve now had some six weeks of hand-on experience with Windows 8, the new operating system that is supposed to save the Microsoft Empire and put the likes of Apple and Google in their place. Let me say from the outset that I mostly like Windows 8, and will continue to use it at both work and home. Let me also note that I believe that this will be one of the biggest fiascos for Microsoft since “Bob.” Or Win98/SE. Or “Channels” on your desktop. This is, as my maiden aunt used to say, one butt-ugly operating system that should never have gone beyond the discussion stage. A system kludged together from parts of other operating systems that can only kill productivity and perhaps its own masters... -
The Grandfather Gifts
By Dave McClure, Contributing Writer/Columnist - Monday December 17, 2012From Dave's Bleeding Edge blog . When there are children in your life who do not live with you, gift-giving at the holidays can be daunting. I know, because I’m a grandfather. That means many things, especially during the holiday season, but mostly what it means is that I need to find gifts for grandchildren. And grand-nieces and nephews, as well as children of friends. And for many people, the challenge of buying for people outside of the direct family – especially when they are aged eight through fifteen – is precarious at best. You can’t buy them clothes (too personal) or jewelry (the same). If you buy them a video game, you risk the ire of parents who don’t believe in video games. As for buying music…well, how much... -
Top 10 Tech Toys for 2012
By Dave McClure, Contributing Writer/Columnist - Monday November 26, 2012What to buy for the holidays. Sadly, us geeks tend to buy what we want for ourselves with little or no room for receiving gifts at the holidays. But there are exceptions. Let’s start with the things you don’t want to give. Sound bars made by Vizio, which have more problems than you can shake a stick at. Tablet PCs, which tend to be a very personal choice and hence easy to get wrong. GPS units, which are so…last year. Digital cameras, which are even worse. And while a portable hard drive is always a handy thing to have, it’s a pretty impersonal present. So here is my list of relatively cool gifts for the tech or semi-tech in your life. My list of gifts tends to lean toward the practical, and so what I look for are things that... -
Is Marijuana taxation a new market for accountants who handle sales taxes?
By Dave McClure, Contributing Writer/Columnist - Thursday November 8, 2012
From the Bleeding Edge Blog . As a member of the Boomer generation, you might think that I am all in favor of those states that recently approved the recreational use of Marijuana – Washington and Colorado. But in fact I have no strong feelings in the issue, except this: When 18 states have legalized the use of this herb for recreational and medicinal purposes, and when people begin to talk about the impact of it on revenues and business generation, it behooves accounting firms to start to pay attention . I grew up a Navy brat, and after college volunteered to become a pilot in Air Force during that long ago, far away war. Truth is, using recreational drugs was never a part of our culture, in spite of what you may read in the... -
Rethinking Social Networks
By Dave McClure, Contributing Writer/Columnist - Friday October 5, 2012
From CPA Practice Advisor's Bleeding Edge Blog . You would think, with Facebook now surpassing the 1 billion subscriber mark, that accounting firms would be happy using social networks as part of their marketing strategy. Instead, my survey indicates just the opposite. Admittedly, my survey is informal and lacking in most of the things I learned to look for in the three times I have taken statistical analysis at the post-graduate level. But when a company as prestigious as Ford Motor Company announces that Facebook ads don’t work, I tend to pay attention. Add to that the fact that Facebook is diddling with its ad formulas in ways that don’t benefit its advertisers. And the bizarre announcement this week that the social network... -
Stopping the Mail-In Rebate Scam
By Dave McClure, Contributing Writer/Columnist - Monday October 1, 2012From the Bleeding Edge Blog . Mail-In Rebates (MIRs) are a noxious scam that have infested the tech and software markets, and it is time we put an end to them by refusing to buy products based on a MIR. Forget about boycotting businesses because you disagree with their politics, or because you think their corporate logo shows they are in league with Satan. Let’s boycott the truly evil companies that use rebates to entice you to buy their product when their plan is to cheat you out of some of your money. Mail-In Rebates are a scam, and not just for the obvious reasons. You already know that the manufacturers do everything they can to reduce how much they have to pay out, a practice known in the industry as “breakage.” It’s... -
Afraid of Losing Your Mobile Phone? You May Have Nomophobia!
By Dave McClure, Contributing Writer/Columnist - Thursday September 20, 2012
The “Bleeding Edge” Blog. There are not a lot of perks associated with being a magazine writer. Sure, we get to interview an occasional celebrity, but those esteemed persons remember us mostly as a nuisance – if they remember us at all. We get to go to conferences at exotic places like Las Vegas, but frankly after a few years, hotel rooms and conferences start to look the same. As for the pay, I could make more money making French fries at McDonalds. Mostly what we get as magazine writers are news releases. Tons and tons of news releases. From eager PR staffers who buy distribution lists with little or no regard for what we write about, pitching stories that would bore our readers to death, often so badly written that it is... -
Death and Taxes: Make Sure Your Firm Survives Tax Season
By Dave McClure, Contributing Writer/Columnist - Friday September 14, 2012Benjamin Franklin said it first: the only certain things in life are death and taxes. In the case of accountants, though, he might have mentioned that the greatest risk is death during tax season. Forget about last minute changes to the tax code. Forget software updates, and clients without proper receipts, and identity theft, and problems with the IRS electronic filing system. The biggest threat you may face during any tax season is when the owner and majority partner of the firm stops speaking in the middle of a sentence, looks slightly confused, and them drops dead in front of a client. And while no one seems to be keeping statistics on how often this happens, I’ll bet a paycheck that it is much more common than we like to talk... -
Writing White Papers
By Dave McClure, Contributing Writer/Columnist - Wednesday August 29, 2012There are three kinds of “white” papers that an accounting firm should create. Papers that should be posted to the web site, sent to clients and included in new business proposals. The three kinds are: Client Case Histories The “Ten Steps To…” Papers The “Thoughtful Analysis” Papers I did not create these categories, nor did I cause them to be important. Back in the early Eighties, a wise old Greek-American named Mike Vasilakes did that. He had already been a trade magazine editor, industrial publicist and corporate communications expert for a century or more when he took me under his wing and taught me the trade, but I have used what he taught me every day for more than three decades since. Think of him as Yoda to...
