The really hot wave has broken. Unusual cotton-y clouds are visible over Lower Manhattan and this little corner of the Brooklyn waterfront. No matter how busy the times, it’s important to appreciate the beauty in our surroundings.
July 4, 2010 - Teams representing Queens and Bronx playing in Old Lyme, CT: a quintessentially American scene on Independence Day.
“My grandfather looked at me, and after a bit of silence, he gently and calmly said, “Jeff, one day you’ll understand that it’s harder to be kind than clever.” What I want to talk to you about today is the difference between gifts and choices. Cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy — they’re given after all. Choices can be hard. You can seduce yourself with your gifts if you’re not careful, and if you do, it’ll probably be to the detriment of your choices.” —
Commencement speeches can be amazing; people’s stories are always worthwhile. This one is worth reading in its entirety (it’s very brief).
Jeff Bezos Princeton Commencement
(via soxiam)
I was approached on LinkedIn by Anna Chapman, one of the alleged Russian spies described by the New York Post as a “flame-haired 007-worthy beauty” on LinkedIn last November. Of course, I didn’t know she was “007-worthy” and, as a professional social network, LinkedIn excludes photo-sharing features. Ms. Chapman and I had never met nor had any other contact when she sent me an invitation to connect with the following message:
Jason, I am about to launch a tech start-up in NYC and looking for co-founder responsible for technology in the company. Would it be something interesting to discuss?
How come you know Russian? :)
- Anna Chapman
I responded as follows:
Don’t think that role is for me. I’m American, but spent lots of time studying, living and working in Russia - my profile covers a lot of it. Sounds like an interesting idea. Good luck!
Normally, I am interested in hearing start-up technology ideas (especially those connected with Russia), but something about her profile didn’t add up: youth, the absence of any tech credentials, the almost too-perfect resume struck a false note. And I didn’t really give it another thought until, having seen the name several times in the news stories about the spy ring, I realized the connection.
Gorgeous Pennsylvania Sunset: A Beatiful Summer Day in the WB
…possibly for the last time ever. I spent about 20 minutes in J&R “Music World” this afternoon listening to Santana, browsing CDs (even a few LPs), and checking out what other people were buying. It reminded me what a great hangout well-curated record stores are. In general, I believe that information technology and the internet have added to the experience and enjoyment of music: it has become much easier to learn about new music, find out where to buy/download it, interact with other fans, and attend concerts. So, the short visit to J&R reminded me that we have lost something with the disruption of old-line music industry. I myself was there only because I happened to be picking up something at the J&R computer shop next door. And I purchased the new Sade on a CD only because the disc was cheaper than the download price on either iTunes or Amazon. The store was noticeably emptier than it was a decade ago. J&R is a very well-managed business: it will be surprising if it continues to devote so much of its expensive real estate to what is rapidly becoming a niche product.
Thought I would post a song for Valentine’s Day and before I do, will indulge myself for a moment. Probably three-quarters of rock/pop/country consists of love songs: so there are a lot of great ones out there. When I woke up this morning, one of my favorite DJs was playing a cover of “Ring of Fire.” That song probably captures being “head over heels” better than any other pop song. My first idea was to post the Johnny Cash original. But I decided against it. Then I thought about playing the nostalgia card, as I have been doing a lot lately, and the song that came to mind was “Silly Love Songs” from Paul MacCartney’s Wings’ days. It doesn’t get nearly as much play as McCartney’s Beatles songs, but it is a great one nevertheless. Alas, I don’t own a copy of the song, so I can’t post it. The image of Cupid has been pretty vivid for me this Valentine’s Day and I haven’t listened to much Sam Cooke lately…so what I decided finally, for my listening pleasure and yours is to post his 1961 hit “Cupid.”
Couple of big tech news items last week. Most prominently (absurdly prominent given other major world events) was Apple’s introduction of the iPAD.
I like it. It’s effectively an oversized iPhone/Touch and, in this case, size does matter. As some of my Silicon Valley tech friends observed, developers will be able to do new kinds of things with all that touchscreen space. As an eReader, it will blow Kindle away as long as Apple procures the right content. As a music/video platform, it will be excellent. For standard email/business apps, it will be only ok - but that’s not really a primary use. On the other hand, there’s a good chance that those developers will find different business uses in areas where the desktop/laptop paradigms don’t work. Importantly, I think Apple got the price point about right: consumers will buy the device, developers develop, and a new value will be created.
As someone in the market for a converged device, I’m not sure iPad is better than the $400 Win7 netbooks currently flooding the market. There are tradeoffs in each case. I’m writing this blog on a my new netbook. It’s the perfect companion for business trips, but I can see things that an iPad will be better at. Fortunately,at these prices, it’s possible to get both.
All of these devices are proof that “the network is the computer.” Which is to say, that the devices would not be very interesting if it weren’t so easy to access interesting content, interact with people, buy/sell and learn on the internet. ”The network is the computer” was a slogan of Sun Microsystems, Inc: it was coined back in the 1980s! I worked at Sun for over 10 years starting in 1997. Shortly after I joined the company, there were strong rumors that Sun would acquire Apple, then viewed as being on its last legs. Not long after that Apple brought one of its founders, Steve Jobs, back as CEO. More than a decade later, sadly, on the same week that Apple announced its new iPAD, Sun was swallowed by Oracle and no longer exists.