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Archive for February, 2008

Feb 25

Americans Change Faiths at Rising Rate

A new Pew research report entitled, “U.S. Religious Landscape Survey,” showing that more than 44% of Americans have left the faith of their childhood.

From the NYT article:

More than a quarter of adult Americans have left the faith of their childhood to join another religion or no religion, a new survey of religious affiliation says. The report, titled “U.S. Religious Landscape Survey,” depicts a highly fluid and diverse national religious life. If shifts among Protestant denominations are included, then it appears that 44 percent of Americans have switched religious affiliations.

For at least a generation, scholars have noted that more Americans are moving among faiths, as denominational loyalty erodes. But the survey, based on interviews with more than 35,000 Americans, offers one of the clearest views yet of that trend, scholars said. The United States Census does not track religious affiliation.

In the Pew survey 7.3 percent of the adult population said they were unaffiliated with a faith as children. That segment increases to 16.1 percent of the population in adulthood, the survey found. The unaffiliated are largely under 50 and male. “Nearly one-in-five men say they have no formal religious affiliation, compared with roughly 13 percent of women,” the survey said.

The rise of the unaffiliated does not mean that Americans are becoming less religious, however. Contrary to assumptions that most of the unaffiliated are atheists or agnostics, most described their religion “as nothing in particular.” Pew researchers said that later projects would delve more deeply into the beliefs and practices of the unaffiliated and would try to determine if they remain so as they age.

Interesting read, but it will take some time for me to think about the implications of the data. What about you? What are your thoughts?

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Feb 24

End of the line for Netscape

It is hard to say goodbye. I don’t remember the date, but I still remember the first time I saw or used a web browser exactly. I know it was NCSA Mosaic running on a UNIX box in a computer lab at BYU. Having been an avid Compuserve users (and trying AOL) I do remember thinking, this thing is going to change the world. I wish I had known how. For those of you as nostalgic for cyberculture, here is some more history about Mosaic (from Wikipedia).

Scholars consider Mosaic to be the web browser which led to the Internet boom of the 1990s. Robert Reid underscores this importance stating, “while still an undergraduate, Marc wrote the Mosaic software … that made the web popularly relevant and touched off the revolution” (p.xlii). Reid notes that Andreessen’s team hoped:

to rectify many of the shortcomings of the very primitive prototypes then floating around the Internet. Most significantly, their work transformed the appeal of the Web from niche uses in the technical area to mass-market appeal. In particular, these University of Illinois students made two key changes to the Web browser, which hyper-boosted its appeal: they added graphics to what was otherwise boring text-based software, and, most importantly [sic], they ported the software from so-called Unix computers that are popular only in technical and academic circles, to the Microsoft Windows operating system, which is used on more than 80 percent of the computers in the world, especially personal and commercial computers.(p.xxv).

There is more history of the Netscape browser and the company.

Also, evolt.org has a browser archive with almost every known version of every browser ever released. You must check it out. I think I am going to download Mosaic and try to run it on XP under Parallels on my MacBook Pro (is that legal?).

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Feb 22

Don’t put a stake in the ground

My friend Kelly Smith over at Curious Office has blogged about a Financial Times article about the need for flexibility in any endeavor, but certainly any Internet related business.  It really is a great article and the FT has some great content, so head on over (free subscription required).

From the FT article:

The quest to develop the internet’s next big thing can be full of unexpected twists and turns. PayPal, the online payments service, started as a way of transmitting payments securely between Palm Pilots. Its founders realised that there was an even bigger opportunity in online payments – and went on to sell the company to Ebay for $1.5bn (£767m).

Flickr, the photo website, grew out of a multiplayer online game being developed by its founders. Game Neverending never saw the light of day, but Flickr went on to be acquired by Yahoo, sparking a wave of interest in “Web 2.0″ sites.

“None of the big internet successes were like that,” he says. “If you want to build a great consumer internet company you have to be willing to try as much as you can, as fast as you can.”

We learned this at Myrio where our business plan changed several times during our early days.  The core idea was video delivery using IP and we knew we had to be disruptive.

We originally wanted to deliver video to enterprise customers, but that appeared to be a crowded market and getting more so each day.  Companies such as Cisco, RealNetworks, Microsoft, Apple and others were all vying to deliver CEO speeches and enterprise training videos over corporate networks.  Dead end for us.  So our model changed.

So we endeavored to stream real-time broadcast TV and VOD over IP (IPTV), and we made it work.  Much to the surprise of some very big companies (we even used their gear which they believed wouldn’t work).

Once we had it working, we knew we couldn’t waltz into a cable company and say, “Hey, we have a better way to do what you are already doing.”  A cable company wouldn’t simply switch to IPTV.   We needed to disrupt what cable companies were doing and we needed allies with networks and subscribers.  So we took our idea to PacBell.   Nada.  Sure they had networks and subscribers, but they lacked a key element.

So our business model changed again, and we found allies with subscribers, capital, and an entrepreneurial spirit in the independent telecommunications companies in rural America.

During all of this, our core remained, but our business plan was flexible and we hired excellent people (see earlier post: When Good Isn’t Good Enough) that could execute against a new idea.  We also utilized small teams of developers which allowed us to pivot quickly to meet the requirements of each market segment.  Again from the article:

[sic] Ooga Labs, a self-funded start-up whose 15 designers and engineers work in two-man teams to develop ideas in parallel. The goal is to churn out as many promising ideas in as short a time as possible.

[sic] “You can shrink the teams down to two people – a designer and an engineer. The smaller you go, the faster it goes.”

Please share your thoughts and ideas.

Feb 22

When Good Isn’t Good Enough

Great Business Week article (written by CEO of Rapleaf) on hiring the right employees as a startup or small company.

A company with fewer than 50 employees needs great programmers, not just good ones. And once you find them, you have to hold on to them. A startup needs people who not only can think creatively and process complex concepts quickly, but who are also fun to be around and enjoy working with others. We also look for people who value good ideas even when they come from someone else and who are unafraid to seize opportunities to grow. In a nutshell, we want the person everyone else asks for advice. In college, this is the person every other computer science student wanted on his team. No wonder so many people hire friends and former colleagues. One of the best predictors of future success is past performance.

Once you find great people, you need to work at keeping them. This, too, is an art.

The thing about great people is that they only want to work with other great people. This leaves you in something of a bind once you recruit a few. From then on, you can only recruit other great people or risk losing the ones you have.

Some great tips:

  • Don’t rely on academic background
  • Ask the candidate to solve a hard problem or show their creative skills, An example might be to explain a database to an 8 year old.
  • Avoid false positives (multiple rounds of interviews)
  • Work at keeping your great people
  • Big innovation often comes from massive collaboration and rapid iteration, get your people in one location

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Feb 21

Video Comparison
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Blu-Ray vs. Apple TV HD vs. HD Cable vs. DVD

Video ComparisonOver at iLounge they recently tested the picture quality of Blu-Ray, Apple TV 2.0 against DVD and HD Cable.  Although not a scientific test, they paused the pictures and used a Nikon camera to capture the images, it does show the vast differences between the formats and the effects of compression.

Apple recently upgraded my Apple TV to version 2.0 and I rented an HD movie.  The startup time was very quick, less than 2 minutes, although you have to navigate a couple of menus while it buffers–very un-Apple like.  Once the download buffered sufficiently, playback was smooth.  Overall the video quality was excellent, not Blu-ray quality but sufficient to warrant the difference in price for the HD rental–an extra dollar.  The movie appeared a bit dark.  I immediately thought Apple might be covering some compression artifacts.

Overall, AppleTV is great for the impulse rental satisfying a need that Netflix (via mail) cannot satisfy (Netflix download service doesn’t work with Mac and I don’t want to watch on my computer anyway).

Feb 21

New $5

The new US $5 (FIVE) Dollar Bill.

New $5The new $5 bill goes into circulation this month. Pretty cool.

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Feb 13

Man learns to read after 17 years of teaching high school

John Corcoran graduated from college and taught high school for 17 years without being able to read, write or spell. Pretty amazing story.

For 17 years Corcoran taught high school for the Oceanside School District. Relying on teacher’s assistants for help and oral lesson plans, he said he did a great job at teaching his students.

Corcoran’s life of secrecy started at a young age. He said his teachers moved him up from grade to grade. Often placed in what he calls the “dumb row,” the images of his tribulations in the classroom are still vividly clear.

“I can remember when I was eight years old saying my prayers at night saying, ‘please, God, tomorrow when it’s my turn to read please let me read.’ You just pretend that you are invisible and when the teacher says, ‘Johnnie read,’ you just wait the teacher out because you know the teacher has to go away at some point,” said Corcoran.

For 17 years Corcoran taught high school for the Oceanside School District. Relying on teacher’s assistants for help and oral lesson plans, he said he did a great job at teaching his students. ”What I did was I created an oral and visual environment. There wasn’t the written word in there. I always had two or three teacher’s assistants in each class to do board work or read the bulletin,” said Corcoran. In retrospect, Corcoran said, his deceit took him a long time to accept. ”As a teacher it really made me sick to think that I was a teacher who couldn’t read. It is embarrassing for me, and it’s embarrassing for this nation and it’s embarrassing for schools that we’re failing to teach our children how to read, write and spell!”

While still teaching, Corcoran dabbled in real estate. He was granted a leave of absence, eventually becoming a successful real estate developer. It wasn’t until he was 48 years old that he gave reading and writing another chance. He drove to an inconspicuous office with a sign he couldn’t read. He studied and worked with a tutor at the Literacy Center of Carlsbad. Assigned to a 65-year-old volunteer tutor, Eleanor Condit, he was able to read at a sixth-grade level within a year.

Corcoran is now an education advocate.  ”I believe that illiteracy in America is a form of child neglect and child abuse and the child is blamed and they carry the shame, if we just teach our people how to read we’d give them a fair chance,” Corcoran said.

He has written two books, “The Teacher Who Couldn’t Read” and “Bridge to Literacy.” He is also the founder of the John Corcoran Foundation. The foundation is state-approved as a supplemental service provider for literacy in Colorado and California – providing tutoring programs for over 600 students in small group settings, and individually in homes through an online program.

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Feb 11

Is Obama a Mac and Clinton a PC?

Obama ClintonOn one thing, the experts seem to agree. The differences between hillaryclinton.com and barackobama.com can be summed up this way: Barack Obama is a Mac, and Hillary Clinton is a PC.

That is, Mr. Obama’s site is more harmonious, with plenty of white space and a soft blue palette. Its task bar is reminiscent of the one used at Apple’s iTunes site. It signals in myriad ways that it was designed with a younger, more tech-savvy audience in mind — using branding techniques similar to the ones that have made the iPod so popular.

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Feb 11

Microsoft succumbs to Apple envy, buys Danger

SidekickMicrosoft was too busy to read its rejection letter from Yahoo this morning, as it announced its intention to buy Danger, the maker of the popular Sidekick smart phone. The move suggests that the Redmond Giant plans to compete with its partners in the handset business.

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Feb 8

Seattle Taps Its Inner Silicon Valley

Many communities dream of becoming the next Silicon Valley. But Seattle is actually doing it. The influx of entrepreneurs and of venture capitalists to bankroll them is slowly reshaping this city and a regional economy long buffeted by the booms and busts of the aerospace and timber industries. A start-up ecosystem needs social networks, support businesses and a business culture that views failure as a badge of honor, not shame. All of that is in place in Seattle.

Many communities dream of becoming the next Silicon Valley. This one is actually doing it.

Stroll through the hip Fremont District and you will sense the Valley vibe.Google recently opened a research lab here, its second in Microsoft’s backyard. Technology start-ups are sprouting up amid quirky neighborhood landmarks like a bronze statue of Lenin and the Fremont Troll, the giant concrete creature lurking beneath the George Washington Memorial Bridge.

More young companies are moving in downtown, near the art galleries and bookstores around Pioneer Square. Still others are spreading into the surrounding suburbs.

The influx of entrepreneurs and of venture capitalists to bankroll them is slowly reshaping this city and a regional economy long buffeted by the booms and busts of the aerospace and timber industries. A start-up ecosystem needs social networks, support businesses and a business culture that views failure as a badge of honor, not shame. All of that is in place in Seattle.

Money is pouring in. During the last 12 years, venture capital investment here has more than tripled, to about $1 billion annually. Last year Washington tied with Texas as the third-largest destination for venture capital money nationwide, behind California and Massachusetts.

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