“10 years was about the right amount of time for any CEO to stay at the helm of a company.”
Meg Whitman
Personally I think 10 might be a little too long to be in any position or any company for that matter. Eight and eject seems more in line to me.
Quote of the Week
“Does Facebook really connect people? Doesn’t it rather disconnect us, since instead of doing something enjoyable such as talking and eating and dancing and drinking with my friends, I am merely sending them little ungrammatical notes and amusing photos in cyberspace, while chained to my desk? A friend of mine recently told me that he had spent a Saturday night at home alone on Facebook, drinking at his desk. What a gloomy image. Far from connecting us, Facebook actually isolates us at our workstations.”
With a tip of the hat to Hugh.
Macworld Keynote in 60 Seconds
While I was staying up late last night contemplating if the MacBook Air was worthy, I was also watching/listening the Steve Job’s keynote address. If you don’t have the 90 minutes to spare this clip by Veronica Belmont hits all the highlights in about a minute.
To Air is Apple
I purchased my PowerBook G4 1.0 12" back in 2004 after it was discontinued in April of that year. It’s about the size of an 8.5 by 11 sheet of paper and easily weighs less then five pounds. It was packed with everything I wanted in a laptop. Two USB ports, a FireWire port, a modem port, Ethernet port, WiFI, and Bluetooth. At the time the 40GB hard drive seemed huge for an ultra-portable. It was a deal at about $1,200. Somewhere along the line I maxed out the DRAM at 1.25GB. Great machine. It is my seventh laptop and the best one I have ever owned. It literally is my notebook. I carry it almost everyhere.
But that 40GB drive and 1.25 RAM are starting to get a little long in the tooth. So I have been waiting. And waiting. Waiting until today, when Apple would introduce its new product lineup. Let me tell you, I have been jonesing for a new laptop since last summer. Have the money set aside to buy it. I was hoping, really really hoping that Steveo would introduce the worthy replacement to my little friendly G4.
And I when I first laid eyes on the Air I thought that he did. It is a stunning, stunning piece of technology. Deserves a spot in MOMA. It is beautiful. Fake Steve would be proud.
But is it functional?
Some folks have claimed that it’s a little expensive, but the price point does not bother me.
Some folks have claimed that it is underpowered, but the specs do not bother me (I have a 2.4GHz 4GB memory iMac for video/photo editing and game on a console).
What bothers me is that to make the Air beautiful they removed all the holes and seams. It needs holes and seams. No Ethernet port? One USB port(which is claimed by the Ethernet adopter they sell for $29)(and a big BTW, I have never understood the whole Apple dongle thing, Steve must only like certain types of holes)? And battery that cannot be replaced by the user.
Yes, the Air comes with a battery that cannot be replaced by the user. Perhaps another Apple first. The cost of the battery is not that important. I am on my third battery on the G4. They routinely last about a year. No big deal. Go online order a new one when it gets a little weak. Have a spare. Take it on a trip. But to have to take the machine into Apple and get it replaced. Don’t know the details yet, but it sounds like I am without a laptop for a few days. Not acceptable.
So here I sit. With money to buy a new machine. A little disappointed. Not knowing what to do. The Air is a lacking in very important features. The Pro is a larger form factor than a prefer.
Most Wired City in America
According to Forbes that honor goes to Atlanta for the second year in a row. See here.
Money quote: "A bustling community of Internet-related start-ups."
Yeah Forbes, the home page for the world’s business leaders, called the Atlanta Internet startup scene "bustling". I think we are starting to change some perceptions.
How did Atlanta end up #1. Forbes looked at broadband penetration, the range of ISPs within a city, and the availability of Wi-Fi hot spots. Atlanta was ranked 1, 1, and 4 in these categories. The city has a whopping 97% broadband penetration rate.
Here’s the list:
1. Atlanta
2. Seattle
3. Raleigh
4. San Francisco
5. Baltimore (tie)
5. Orlando (tie)
7. Charlotte
8. Chicago
9. New York
10. Portland
Quote of the Week
"The scariest thing about Stanley Kubrick’s vision wasn’t that computers started to act like people but that people had started to act like computers. We’re beginning to process information as if we’re nodes; it’s all about the speed of locating and reading data. We’re transferring our intelligence into the machine, and the machine is transferring its way of thinking into us."
GRA/TAG Business Launch Competition
I am sitting with 80 people at the TAG/ATDC Entrepreneurs Society listening to Sandeep Agate of REACH Call talk about his business and how winning the 2006 GRA/TAG Business Launch Competition helped propel his company forward. Gregg Warren CEO of ATDC member company IVOX, the 2007 winner, is up next. This is a kickoff for the 2008 contest.
As the name suggests the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) and the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) joined forces to support the creation and growth of new startups in Georgia via a competition. The contest winner will receive a $100,000 cash award courtesy of the GRA and a diverse array of services valued at an additional $200,000. This comprehensive $300,000+ prize is one of the largest in the country. In 2008, the competition is focused on Internet technologies, which includes companies
that are developing products, online services, or backend technologies that are using or extending the reach, flexibility, and ease of the Internet.
To support entrepreneurs that have an interest in applying to the competition, ATDC is hosting a luncheon and workshop on Thursday January 24th from 11:45 am to 1:00 pm. As the resident ATDC Internet expert I am going to be leading this workshop. At the workshop you will learn the logistics of the competition, get some coaching on how to best fill out the preliminary application materials (which are evaluated by ATDC staff), hear from a judge on why they picked past finalists, and enjoy lunch with other Internet entrepreneurs.
ATDC is providing boxed lunches to all registrants. If you want to register you need to do so by January 21. Please only register if you intend to attend. Food is a precious resource.
Entrepreneurship Quiz
Guy Kawasaki pointed me to this quiz. I did better then him! I scored 45%. All you software entrepreneurial types give special attention to question 11.
Good luck!
Getting A Face Lift
Not me. FoG.
You may have noticed.
Paul Stamatiou converted it from three to two columns. New and improved search work was done by Blake Purdue.
Now I need someone to freshen up the design a bit. Like Paul and Blake I will give you a shout out and the added bonus of attribution within the design template. If interested give me a shout and let’s get this new year going.
Perfect Egg Nog
Andrew Hyde and I recently had a little twitter exchange after he asked what nog is.
To be honest, I don’t know what nog is put here tell it is an old English word that was used to describe strong beer.
What I do know, is that you the kind of egg nog you buy in a store is not drinkable. The only way to get good egg nog is to make it yourself. It tastes great and is sure to get you in the holiday spirit. Here is the Weatherby family recipe, passed down at least three generations.
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 cups bourbon
- 2 1/2 cups white rum
- 2 quarts half & half
- 1 pint heavy cream
Directions
- Separate egg yolks and whites. Place whites in medium mixing bowl and yolks in large mixing bowl.
- Beat yolks together with powdered sugar.
- Very slowly add the rum to #2, while beating constantly (the rum "cooks" he egg yolks but they will curdle if it is added too quickly).
- Add the bourbon and half & half to #3.
- In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until they form peaks. Fold the egg whites the large bowl mixture.
- In a separate bowl whip the heavy cream until it forms peaks. Fold the cream into the large bowl mixture.
- Refrigerate.
- Enjoy!