August 24, 2008
Anti-Apple rants
Posted by amol at August 24, 2008 1:17 PMAugust 12, 2008
Being crotchety
Researching a post about email on the Peek Speaks blog, one of my colleagues pointed out these great lines at Neal Stephenson's old homepage:
Umberto Eco: "I don't even have an e-mail address. I have reached an age where my main purpose is not to receive messages."
Donald Knuth: "Email is a wonderful thing for people whose role in life is to be on top of things. But not for me; my role is to be on the bottom of things. What I do takes long hours of studying and uninterruptible concentration. "
Then Stephenson himself: All of my time and attention are spoken for--several times over. Please do not ask for them.
Some years ago, I wrote a document that tried to explain why I am not very diligent about answering my mail, and why I only accept speaking engagements on rare and special occasions. The document is entitled Why I am a bad correspondent and you are welcome to read it.
More recently I found an article in the Atlantic Monthly by Jonathan Rauch that describes my personality with uncanny accuracy. It explains why, whenever I find myself in a room full of people, or discover a lot of e-mail from strangers in my inbox, my first thought is: "where did all these people come from and how do I make them go away?" This---i.e. the discovery that I am a classic introvert---does not render "Bad Correspondent" invalid, but it does fill out the picture a little. In particular, extroverts ought to read this article!
The bottom line is as follows: I simply cannot respond to all incoming stimuli unless I retire from writing novels. And I don't wish to retire at this time.
Posted by amol at August 12, 2008 10:08 AMJuly 1, 2008
Check out Pluribo!
PLURIBO: Instant summaries of Amazon user reviews.
Posted by amol at July 1, 2008 7:38 PMJune 28, 2008
How to impact Washington
A guide at Alley Insider (by me) on how to make waves in Washington.
Posted by amol at June 28, 2008 12:17 PMJune 13, 2008
Why companies try to grow
All Together Now?: Financial Page: The New Yorker
It’s the rare C.E.O., of course, who’s comfortable presiding over a shrinking empire, and running a public company creates a bias toward action, if only as a way of convincing investors that you recognize your problems and are dealing with them. But history suggests that, when it comes to mergers, the best response is often to just say no. In effect, deals like the CNET acquisition are a bit like an aging outfielder taking steroids in order to stave off the boobirds. The difference is that steroids usually work.
Posted by amol at June 13, 2008 11:22 PMJune 10, 2008
iPhone price cut that wasn't
The price cut that isn't: "Cheaper" iPhone, pricier data plan - Machinist - Salon.com
Here's how the costs break down: For the old iPhone, AT&T's cheapest unlimited-data plan went for $59.99 a month. Over 24 months, that was $1,439.76. Add in the $399 price of the phone and you were looking at $1,838.76 for two years of iPhone fun.
AT&T's new unlimited-data plan goes for $69.99 ($30 for data and $39.99 for its cheapest voice plan). For two years, that's $1,679.76, and then you've got the $199 phone -- a grand total of $1,878.76 for the iPhone over two years. So much for more affordable.
June 7, 2008
Tax cuts =
Tax cuts = deficits = government borrowing = higher interest rates = stronger dollar.
Tax cuts = deficits = govt credit risk = doubts about the dollar = weaker dollar = expensive oil.
Posted by amol at June 7, 2008 9:43 AMMay 20, 2008
Netflix launches a device
Simple, on demand, unlimited, affordable... a device!
May 17, 2008
Five key ideas about investing from Graham, Buffett and Munger
Buffett summarizes Graham as:
1. The Mr. Market analogy
2. Shares are ownership interest in a business
3. Margin of safety.
That's it.
1 is the idea that the market isn't "efficient" but moody and nuts, and therefore someone you can rationally take advantage of.
2 is the idea that you should judge share price against its value as an interest in the underlying business (how it makes money)
3 is the suggestion that you only buy when you've got a killer killer deal, like 70% below fair value.
Buffett and Munger pretty much just add/revise that:
4. A great business at a fair price is better than a fair business at a great price
5. Load up on winners/"20 punches on your ticket"
4 means you buy Coke in 1965, but not Yahoo in 2007.
5 means you should wait and wait and wait until you are really right and seriously load up. These together mean you should forget 3.
May 9, 2008
Email is #1
Of all the things people do on computers, hands down #1 is email. Even for early adopters, who theoretically use more things on computers than mere mortals would:
This data comes from RescueTime which chronicled 500K hours of usage by 30K early users of their product. Including me
Posted by amol at May 9, 2008 11:40 AMMay 5, 2008
Motofone review
I used the Motofone for a week. It's the $40 retail price phone that Motorola made last year for developing markets. Super simple, super easy, bought unlocked for only $40 -- what more do you need?
Some great things
- it's cheap
- it's thin! looks really nice
- it's very easy to get going with calls
- not so easy to figure out phonebook but not terrible
- great choices about what to pare back in general
Some bad things
- the contact list doesn't work for me. That's one area where my super-userness is just too super and I can't trim down. I need contacts and sync or I start getting really hosed
- also I need recent calls etc. I get tons of calls. I can't manage them like this.
- the screen!!! I'm not the only one to say this, but this was a cool but wrong decision. Maybe it saved $5, but it was not a wise move. The visual interface is key to the operation of all technology products and this is a massive compromise. Even texting is a total chore with this crappy screen. It's high res, which is nifty, but not justification enough for the horrible screen.
- battery life and call reception are not exceptional. I would have thought they'd be better...
Overall, the Nokia entry level phones like the 1100 are better. Bigger, slightly more costly maybe (?), but rock solid battery and call quality and good UIs.
Posted by amol at May 5, 2008 4:32 PMMay 3, 2008
The size of a book
I have been trying to read this book:
It's totally impractical to read -- way to big and heavy. Can't carry it anywhere. And can't even carry it in the house. Can't read it in bed. Basically, you can read it sitting at a table like a university library. Who does that anymore anyway?
Someone should invent something that lets you read anything...easily...wherever you are...
April 13, 2008
An aphorism
"There is no sainthood in modern life, there is only better than before" from drinks on Wednesday night
Posted by amol at April 13, 2008 2:23 PMApril 5, 2008
Sidebar: Personal data
One of the nifty trends that keeps building is personal data. That is what Facebook's Feed is about, and the latest hot startup FriendFeed or the other one Mugshot, and Last.fm, and well even blogs or Amazon's wish list or iTunes or my friend's new company Skydeck or whatever. Or even Zenbe, another friend's company.
Well.... I downloaded this other nifty thingo that goes beyond the Mugshot behavior of tracking my content and instead tracks my activity. RescueTime. Here is what I have been doing (in April).
Here are all the personal data sidebars I have been accumulating:
All in one
March 21, 2008
Two laptops per child
I saw another guy with two laptops at the airport yesterday. I think it's a real mini-trend.
Kind of like the two phones trend -- my friend Jason from Skydeck tells me 15% of the US market has 2 phones.
Posted by amol at March 21, 2008 11:05 AMMarch 11, 2008
Foleo, and new ideas in general
The new two-laptop minimum | Computerworld Blogs
About a year ago, Hawkins and Palm launched the Foleo to a skeptical public. Meanwhile, Jobs and Apple announced their iPhone to swoons. Now, the Foleo is gone and the iPhone is a big hit.
Obvious?
Maybe. Raving from the public usually means you are introducing something they understand and want...and that everyone else knows they want. The smartphone wars are only just begun. It's great that Apple sold a few million already. The world will be keen to see what is sustainable about their advantage. Touchscreens that everyone now has? Music? Keypadless keys? The open source S60 browser under Safari? The $500 price point? The contracts and carrier exclusives? It's a great product, a mix of all these things. But I see it's advantage fading fast.
Meanwhile, the Foleo didn't make any sense to anyone. Who would carry a little portable...AND a laptop??? But in today's market I see several entries moving well in that direction. The ultra-thin Macbook Airs are squarely in that range. They are super duper portables. And the Asus Eee laptop is basically a Foleo. In fact, I can see the need very clearly myself. As my laptop is starting to age, I have considered replacing it. Not really for performance reasons but not really for any reason. Why spend $2000 for replacing this device when I can just lock it to my desk and keep a $500, instant-on, ultra-light device in my bag? I see the Foleo's appeal more now than when it first appeared.
March 9, 2008
Phones
People talk on the phone less these days, according to an office-culture article in the NYT today -- at their desk anyway, this is true. More conference calls though, I think, as collaborative tools of various kinds and demands from dispersion have both grown.
But there is an impact on real estate -- you don't need as much square footage for people to sit in. People don't need private offices, really at all. So little phone talking.
What they do need is lots of little cabinets to go sit in for conference calls or phone calls when they do occur.
Posted by amol at March 9, 2008 5:23 PMFebruary 6, 2008
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