the next mainstream phone sensor
One of the next sensors to become mainsteam on the phone will be a photoplethysmographic sensor.
Read This Before Our Next Meeting
Al Pittampalli’s Read This Before Our Next Meeting is a great, quick read on rethinking the productivity around meetings. I found myself highlighting a significant amount of the book in Kindle. Here are just a few of my highlights: Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli You have 60 highlighted passages but we can […]
Universal (content) Search
Universal search – the ability to search for content across sources – is one of the holy grails of consumer content management. Over the last 5-6 years search has improved significantly and become more ubiquitous. Google Desktop is a great search tool across locally stored files. I’ve written in the past about Xobni and the ability to search and organize across […]
Are CAPTCHAs Getting More Difficult?
CAPTCHAs are a challenge-response test used to help decipher human responses from that of a computer in order to prevent automated software from performing actions which degrade the quality of service. Recently I’ve noticed that CAPTCHAs are getting increasingly difficult. Is this a sign of tech evolving faster than the human mind?
Apple’s Next Launch
By now you’ve all seen the rumors of Apple’s October 4th media event. Historically Apple’s newest gizmos would be available 3-4 weeks after the media launch. However, the iPad2 began shipping about two weeks after the media launch and it was my belief that Apple is shortening the window between announcement and availability. Today, AppleInsider is reporting Apple is denying […]
Kindle’s move into Public Libraries
Last week Kindle announced their move into the libraries. You can read more here: (press release, NYTimes article, Kindle site on how it works). There has been much talk in the past how Kindle, and eReaders generally, will play an influence role in education. This move into libraries will serve as an important catalyst. It will be years before eReaders […]
Is (non-iOS) Tablet Inventory Building?
A recent article in the Guardian suggests recently announced labor cuts at factories producing the PlayBook tablet for RIM coupled with building inventory levels and falling sales may signal building inventory of the RIM tablet. Update: A report on 9/26 that PlayBook prices are being marked down in certain retail channels to reduce inventory.
An Apple Effect Worth Watching
Most technology companies are cognizant of how network effects influence adoption, but fail to adequately stimulate these network effects. However, a few recent service launches by Apple recognize the influence network effects can have on the uptake of Apple devices. AirPlay and AirPrint both illustrate Apple’s understanding that the greater the sphere of influence iOS devices can have, the stronger the network effects and therefore the […]
the futurist’s dilemma
Kevin Kelly has a great note on the futurist’s dilemma: Any believable prediction will be wrong. Any correct prediction will be unbelievable. Either way, a futurist can’t win. He is either dismissed or wrong. Except if he hits that razor’s edge between the two realms, right on the cusp between plausibility and fantasy, where it […]
Made in America (Again)
BCG recently published a short paper outlining why manufacturing will return to the US. Here a few additional thoughts and some they’ve missed: 1) As the paper points out, labor cost differentials will decline subsequently eroding a key benefit to manufacturing outside of the US. Moreover, because labor costs are declining as a share of total manufacturing costs, labor differentials […]
