I pondered my relationship with Apple and realized that it is just like my relationship with the Republican Party - there are some things that theoretically appeal to me, but endless deal breakers that push me away and head fakes that leave me cynical.
Feld on Apple
4 September 2008
3 September 2008
At one time we worked hard so that someday we (or our children) wouldn’t have to. Today, the more we earn, the more we work, since the opportunity cost of not working is all the greater (and since the higher we go, the more relatively deprived we feel). In other words, when we get a raise, instead of using that hard-won money to buy “the good life,” we feel even more pressure to work since the shadow costs of not working are all the greater.
NY Times on the Economy
2 September 2008
Microsoft: Is it too much to ask that one of the most powerful tech companies on the planet, with tens of billions of dollars at its disposal at any one time, with enough innate aggressiveness to scare a hungry bear away, and with a legion of techies the size of the a small army, to settle on a truly successful Internet strategy after–oh, let’s count–more than a decade?
All Things Digital on Microsoft
I think in time, Google’s Android will be to the iPhone what Windows was to the Mac. The iPhone laid out many of the killer mobile device innovations, but its a closed device, a closed carrier relationship, and even a closed application store. Android will take all of those good ideas and put them on every device, with every carrier, and in partnership with every app developer.
A VC on Android
1 September 2008
Being flamed, being told that your ideas are not just wrong, but outright dumb, is a humbling experience and forces you to seriously consider the validity of your position. People who can’t take the stress of (harsh) criticism will never improve themselves as programmers, and I have no sympathy whatsoever for anyone who plugs their ears and covers their eyes when confronted with something that could shatter their worldview that they’re always right.
Blogging Considered Harmful on Flaming
For as long as I’ve been paying attention, our politicians have asked little of us as citizens. After 9-11 we were told to go out and shop. During the 90s we were given welfare reform but there was no call for Americans to get out there and fight poverty. There has been no attempt to get people involved in solving real problems.
GigaOM on Government
30 August 2008
Nintendo’s recrudescence is yet further proof that the market (ie the population) wants machines that don’t frighten, but befriend. The snarling roars of the feral Xbox and the brutal PlayStation are impressive, but Nintendo understands that while play does involve competition, territoriality and rehearsal for war, it also involves silliness, laughter and fun.
Stephen Fry on Nintendo
29 August 2008
The decision certainly was creative, but it won’t age well. It will look like a desperate dumb move a couple of weeks from now. As stupid as trying to take and control Iraq without enough troops, without a plan for the occupation. It’s the Republican approach to problems, shoot from the hip without thinking things through. The invasion of Iraq was certainly a Wow event — like the choice of Palin — but it didn’t age well. This is another of those.
Scripting News on Palin
One might wonder whether McCain undermines his message of the importance of experience by picking a 44-year old governor with no national experience at all. But one might wonder whether Obama undermined his message of bringing change to Washington by choosing a white male Washington lifer from the Northeast; so clearly the McCain camp thought this was worth the risk.
Cosmic Variance on Vice Presidents
28 August 2008
Confidence is sexy. Confidence oozes through and greatness is often catapulted to new levels because of confidence. Of course, confidence is also a double edged sword. Although it will ensure that you will eventually be noticed (at a minimum), it is also the thing that will get you into trouble.
Technosailor on Confidence