Jun 11, 2010 0
Only In China
For your daily dose of cultural diversity, here’s 16 things Walmart only sells in China.
May 22, 2010 0
A Good Airline Check-In?
Checking in at the airport today for my Delta flight, I was pleasantly surprised at how efficient and courteous the service was. I know. “Efficient” and “courteous” aren’t the first words that come to mind when you think “airport check-in”. Even if you’re flying Southwest. Read the rest of this entry »
May 3, 2010 0
Someone Has to Run a Trade Deficit
It turns out that exporting our way out of this recession may not be as easy as we’d like to believe. The Obama administration announced three months ago their goal to double US exports to the rest of the world in the next five years.
No doubt one of the reasons they chose that goal and that timeframe was due to the trend in that direction supported by a weakening dollar and economies in Asia that are growing consumption faster than we are. There’s historical precedent too for this goal being achievable.
Read the rest of this entry »Apr 28, 2010 0
Why You Should Watch What You Say
Staffers in the British Foreign Office learned the hard way one of the commandments of the digital age: “Write not what you would not like on the front page of this morning’s newspaper.”
In preparation for the Pope’s September visit, staffers wrote a memo proposing activities his Holiness might like to do while in Country. The top ideas?
Read the rest of this entry »Apr 27, 2010 0
The Importance of Editing
I’ve seen several links to this video clip from Fast Company’s “Innovation Uncensored” conference. In case you didn’t see it, Nike’s Mark Parker describes the advice he received from Steve Jobs upon becoming CEO:
Read the rest of this entry »Apr 10, 2010 0
Yet Another Reason Never to Invest in Big Banks
As reported by the Wall Street Journal today, the countries largest banks appear to have been systematically masking the levels of debt they maintain in their quarterly filings to the SEC.
When are the trials for fraud, you ask? It turns out what they’re doing is completely legal, and may have been standard operating procedure for many years.
Read the rest of this entry »Apr 9, 2010 0
Startling Fact of the Day: Skype Edition
Steve Jobs announced yesterday that iPhone OS 4.0 would support multi-tasking. Yeah, I know. It’s long overdue.
He gave some examples. Pandora — the killer app for multi-tasking. And Skype. And in talking about Skype on the iPhone, Jobs said: Read the rest of this entry »
Apr 9, 2010 0
Apple iPhone OS 4.0 Announcement
Multi-Tasking
Multi-tasking isn’t revolutionary, but it’s long overdue for the iPhone and will be a nice enhancement. Background location will make third party mapping apps and location-aware social media more effective. Expect the cost of turn-by-turn directions to converge toward zero over the next two years.
Folders will help me keep my pages of apps better organized.
Read the rest of this entry »Apr 4, 2010 0
Some People Just Need Permission
With the announcement of the Apple iPad in February and its launch yesterday, the industry’s copying machines have been busy. Apple competitors are preparing to launch an army of iPad imitators, clones, and ugly step children.
Mar 31, 2010 0
Too Strange
“This is a national park and a Unesco World Heritage Site and you’re not allowed to touch it. The local people rely on the fishing and the income from tourism, and here they were taking Krakatoa away.” And Krakatoa is just one case among thousands.
With more than 17,000 islands — from the jungly immensities of Borneo and Sumatra to unnamed rocks jutting out of the sea — you might think that Indonesia would not mind if a few of them went missing. But the South-East Asian nation is fighting a losing battle against black marketeers who are, literally, making off with its territory by the boat-load…
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