Philippe Matthews Show Guru Advice, Author Reviews, Tech Reviews, Entertainment News

1. Amazon has just pulled the veil from its music locker-in-the-cloud system only to run into organizational and potential legal trouble. It's Sony Music this time , angry that Amazon's use of cloud streaming to clients is denying it potential royalty income.

Does your company "aim to be a leader of quality products, customer service, and innovation for tomorrow?" So do thousands of others. Sure, this statement sounds nice, but it means very little to your customers—and employees. An intelligible mission statement is essential to clarify the intentions of your business.

Every entrepreneur faces the common challenge of writing a business plan at some point as they develop their fledgling venture. But while there are vast resources available to help tackle the task, most books, websites, and templates take a generic approach in helping entrepreneurs transcribe their visions onto paper. The truth is, however, that writing a generic business plan won't do you much good.

It's great to dream big , but your start-up needs a laser focus in the beginning to get market and investor attention. Google did it with search engines, Apple did it with a personal computer, and even Walmart did it through low prices

A team of scientists has perfected the first practical nanoscale power generator, capable of generating useable electrical current from a mere squeeze of your fingers. In the future it'll be able to draw power from your pulse

Forest certification is a program that ensures that the trees responsible for your paper are treated responsibly. Buy some certified paper and you can rest assured that the trees it came from weren't clear cut and that there are responsible plans for continuing the growth of the forest. But could it be that the world's largest forest certification program-- Sustainable Forestry Initiative- -is a scam

The 17 national laboratories in the U.S.--including notables like the Argonne National Lab, Lawrence Livermore National Lab, and Los Alamos National Lab--are innovation machines, holding a total of 15,000 patents. Problem is, it costs tens of thousands of dollars for private companies to license the technologies, not to mention countless hours spent on paperwork.

The President works on his Libya speech with National Security Advisor Tom Donilon during a conference call on Air Force One, via The White House on Flickr The President's speech last night was primarily billed as his chance to plead his case to the nation for the ongoing military intervention in Libya. But slipped into his remarks was a primer on 21st century leadership in a time of change, a topic Life in Beta is particularly interested in. Here were Mr

Near-field communications tech for shopping? Check. QR codes for smartphone interactivity

At the risk of sounding like a Grumpy Old Man, and with near certainty that this post will be roasted by many who read it, I am about to make the case that there is such a thing as too much entrepreneurship--or at least too much excitement about becoming an entrepreneur too early in life. I know, I know. This blog, and all of my work over the last 15 years, has celebrated the spirit of innovation, disruption, and changing the game.

Funding for projects like Data.gov and mobile apps for agencies is in danger of being almost fully slashed. The Obama administration swept into Washington in 2008 with promises of both increased transparency and increased use of modern technologies, two things our political system desperatley needed. And while both promises somewhat fell victim to standard Washington infighting and inertia, some of the results were impressive, especially the high-profile Data.gov , which aggregates all government data sets, and USASpending.gov , where you can see how much money government contracts are worth.

What's cooler than Danny Trejo as a knife-wielding outlaw in Machete?

An Israeli biotechnology firm is betting that stem cells harvested from human placentas can help treat a host of diseases--and strengthen muscles in the process. An Israeli biotechnology firm is harvesting stem cells from human placentas that appear to successfully treat multiple sclerosis, diabetes, alcoholism, and even sports-related injuries. Pluristem Therapeutics processes stem cells obtained from donors' placentas into a variety of ready-to-use medications, which is more than just cool science--it's also an indication of where biotech will be headed over the next decade.Pluristem CEO Zami Aberman told Fast Company that the stem cells obtained from "one placenta can help treat 10,000 people." The company's latest project is a preclinical trial at New York University to test whether placenta-derived stem cells can be used to treat diabetic foot ulcers

Add renewable energy to the list of industries in which China is now coming out on top of the U.S. While China is still home to thousands of pollution-spewing factories, it's also now churning out wind turbines and solar panels at a world-record pace

Google 's just improved its Google Commerce Search powers, giving online retailers a richer interface to offer online consumers trying find the right goods. Google says it's "building on the capabilities that have proved useful to" its retail partners, with a new system that will "help create an even more interactive and engaging experience for shoppers and retailers." Google even toots its own horn a little, noting that when sites like BabyAge incorporated Commerce Search it resulted in a 64% increase in site searches--an indicator that customers are spending more time digging through the site, and have a better chance of actually buying products rather than bailing