The most interesting new product announcement from my perspective, was the Livescribe Smartpen, founded by the principals who brought us LeapPad from Leapfrog for our kids.
The holy grail of pen-driven computing may finally yield something practical for mainstream users.
"In a nutshell, the most critically cool thing it can do is link audio
recordings you make as you jot written notes to the actual text youre
writing.
And it can later all be indexed on a PC, and played back on
the computer. Or by clicking on the notepad.
Completely useful for
students, journalists, lawyers—anyone who takes a lot of notes. And it
works."
Theres a brief video of the demo at D on the D website. But also useful are the animated videos explaining the various possible users of the gizmo on the Livescribe website.
The product is supposed to be available for around $200 later this year, and will require ongoing purchase of special paper coated with microdots that make the Smartpen work.
But this time, the dreamers may have figured out how to make this pen computing thing really work.
Its not just about a $100 laptop that could change the developing world. This New York Times article provides a glimpse into why not:
“A billion customers in the world,” Dr. Paul Polak told a crowd of
inventors recently, “are waiting for a $2 pair of eyeglasses, a $10
solar lantern and a $100 house.”
The article goes on to explain:
"To that end, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum,
which is housed in Andrew Carnegie’s 64-room mansion on Fifth Avenue
and offers a $250 red chrome piggy bank in its gift shop, is honoring
inventors dedicated to “the other 90 percent,” particularly the
billions of people living on less than $2 a day.
Their
creations, on display in the museum garden until Sept. 23, have a sort
of forehead-thumping “Why didn’t someone think of that before?”
quality."
A good example is this picture below.
"For example, one of the simplest and yet most elegant designs tackles a
job that millions of women and girls spend many hours doing each year —
fetching water.
Balancing heavy jerry cans on the head may lead to
elegant posture, but it is backbreaking work and sometimes causes
crippling injuries.
The Q-Drum, a circular jerry can, holds 20 gallons,
and it rolls smoothly enough for a child to tow it on a rope."
Im looking forward to showing this picture to my mom.
As a young girl in a small village in India, she had to carry water daily, from
the village well on her head, much like the young woman pictured here
.
Better late than never, shell likely reply.
I know shell want to go and see the exhibition, on her next trip to New York.
First some background from the article for those not familiar with the Wii:
"The companys Wii console and Nintendo DS handheld game player are
currently the two best-selling game gadgets on the market in the U.S.,
leading a dramatic resurgence at the Kyoto-based company.
With its
relatively low price of $249 and an innovative motion-sensing game
controller, the Wii is sharply outselling the competing PlayStation 3
from Sony Corp. and Xbox 360 from Microsoft
Corp., and is on a trajectory to overtake both in cumulative sales.
About 2.5 million Wii consoles have been sold since it went on sale
last November, according to sales-tracking firm NPD Group, compared
with 1.3 million for the PS3 and 5.4 million for the Xbox 360, which
went on sale a year earlier than its rivals."
For those who are still looking for Wii systems in stores, and are frustrated like yours truly, this Q&A was particularly relevant:
"WSJ: The Wii remains very difficult to find in
stores. Why in May of 2007 -- more than a half-year after Nintendo
introduced the Wii -- are there not a few more Wiis on store shelves?
Mr. Fils-Aime: Its consumer demand. The issue
is not a production issue. Were producing north of a million a month.
Its that demand is so unprecedented at this point in time six months
after launch."
The system is expected to sell more than both the Sony and Microsoft systems soon, as this exchange highlights:
"Mr. Fils-Aime: What I know is Wii is outselling
PS3 right now 3-to-1. Wii is right now outselling Xbox 360 at a pace of
2-to-1. When I do that math, and analysts have, there will be a
crossover point when the Wii is the top-selling system, first,
world-wide and then, secondly, here in the United States [on a
cumulative basis].
If Im a competitive platform holder I have to be
concerned. The data certainly suggest its not some fringe buying the
Wii and it is a much more massive consumer group that represents the
core and the expanded audience.
WSJ: When do you think that crossover point might be -- this year?
Mr. Fils-Aime: On a U.S. basis, we have sold
through roughly 2.5 million Wiis... On a pace of 2-to-1 [compared with
Xbox 360 sales], that inflection point certainly happens this year, if
not next."
I know Im still looking for a few Wii consoles at the request of different family members. Looks like Ill have some competition for some time to come.
This Memorial Day feels different from most others in recent years, even the one last year, given the ongoing casualty reports streaming in from Iraq in recent days. An article in the New York Times today seemed particularly apt for the times.
"LEWES, Del. — No one talks, but a lot is said at the intersection of Savannah Road and Kings Highway.
Every Sunday for more than two years, rain or shine, they have shown up
here, nodded politely to each other across Savannah Road, and stood
motionless for 45 minutes like sentinels. They differ in politics but
share a faith in the power of silence..."
"Supporters of both sides in the debate over the war in Iraq
have gathered here every week since September 2004 at the busiest
intersection of this tranquil shore town of about 3,000 residents..."
"They stand just about 35 miles from Dover Air Force Base, the arrival point for the bodies of soldiers shipped back from Iraq."
It made me go back to this video tribute to our men and women abroad from last year:
Heartfelt thanks to them and their families, this Memorial Day.
The New York Times has an article on why Apples store strategy has been more successful than other computer and electronics vendors over the last few years, as these numbers illustrate:
"Last month, Apple released results for the quarter ended March 31. More
than 21.5 million people visited its stores, which now number more than
180.
Store sales were $855 million, up 34 percent from the quarter a
year earlier, and they contributed more than $200 million in profits."
Specifically, the piece compares Apples efforts to Sonys.
The reporter talks to the Sony executive in charge of the Sony store strategy:
"...Dennis Syracuse, senior vice president for Sony Retail, who assured me
that Sony’s stores drew an average of 350,000 visitors annually per
store. Mr. Syracuse rejected the idea that his store concept could be
compared to Apple’s.
His stores were conceived, he said, as a “fashion
boutique for women and children” that incidentally happened to carry
electronics instead of clothing.
When describing how Sony had entered a new retail world as “fashion
merchants,” he pointed with pride to the choice spot he had secured for
the first store, next to Gucci
and across from Versace.
Indeed, if you would like to accessorize an
outfit with a color-coordinated laptop, the Sony Style store offers
models in pink, violet, champagne and many more."
Talk about being not connected to your potential customers.
Ive visited SonyStyle stores across the country, and anecdotally, have mostly seen more men browse the gizmos than women.
In fact whenever my wife and I are at the mall, and I suggest taking a look around in a Sony store, her typical reaction is to have me meet her at a clothing store next door after Im done looking around in the Sony store.
When I pointed this article out to her this morning, and suggested that she think about a Sony laptop as a "fashion accessory", she responded with "Nice try, Honey".
Not sure Sony has figured out its target markets for its stores yet.
"TOKYO -- Seeking to promote Internet
distribution of TV content, a government panel has recommended that regs be
changed to allow webcasts without first getting permissions from all rights
holders.
The panel, the Intellectual Property Rights Policy
Work Group, has included the proposal in recommendations for intellectual
property law revisions that it is currently drafting. The panel will complete
its final report by May 31. The rule changes are expected to go into
effect within two years."
Reminds me of when Congress made the early, emerging commercial Internet in this country a tax-free zone in 1998, to foster the growth of E-Commerce 1.0. That initiative expires this fall, unless new extensions that are being proposed, go through.
Maybe our Congress needs to follow through here with a similar initiative for Media 2.0? One can but dream.
"Facebook may turn out to be a lot more important than any of us
thought. It has just launched a major change in its strategy that will
transform its role in the Internet ecosystem and could create a raft of
new opportunities for companies of all sizes.
No longer will
Facebook consider itself merely another social network. Instead it is
becoming a technology platform on which anyone can build applications
for social computing..."
The short version is that Facebook is taking its two major assets -
its 24-million-members (growing at about 150,000 per day) and its
strong technology underpinnings - and making them available to all
comers.
"We want to make Facebook into something of an
operating system so you can run full applications," Zuckerberg told me,
saying it would be analogous to the platform that Microsoft Windows
provides for developers.
Outsiders can now develop Internet services on
Facebooks infrastructure, he explains, that will have full access to
all its members. Just as it is when someone writes a program for
Windows, programmers wont need any permission from Facebook or any
special business relationship with the company."
What does this mean for mainstream users in non-geeky terms? Well, Fortune has some good examples:
"Imagine that when you shopped online for a digital camera, you could
see whether anyone you knew already owned it and ask them what they
thought. Imagine that when you searched for a concert ticket you could
learn if friends were headed to the same show.
Or that you knew which
sites - or what news stories - people you trust found useful and which
they disliked. Or maybe you could find out where all your friends and
relatives are, right now (at least those who want to be found)."
If Facebook is able to even partially execute on the promise of this strategy, it could pose a long-term dilemma for the mainstream portals. Tactically, it makes a ton of sense for all of them to make sure their individual portal services are represented as applications within Facebook, thus leveraging Facebooks networked audience.
Thats why, you have companies like Microsoft represented in the dozens of companies large and small, that have lined up applications for Facebooks big announcement yesterday (Mashable has a great post describing these applications).
But strategically, Facebook poses strategic risks for the major portals no less than what Google posed for Yahoo!, AOL and Microsoft back in the nineties, when they all used Googles search engine as an outsourced service.
For smaller Web 2.0 companies, Facebook could be their best friend in the short-term. They potentially get substantial, and relatively inexpensive customer acquisition via Facebook, by making their services "applications" on Facebooks platform.
In that sense, Facebooks strategy is brilliant, since it makes a tail-wind out of the fact that the biggest problem facing hundreds of VC and angel-funded Web 2.0 startups, is to get massive, quick, inexpensive distribution.
"...there is a real problem as the big portal companies go into the Web 2.0 world, and its a possibly intractable one.
Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft MSN/Live, AOL, (along with Amazon, eBay
and Apple for a sub-set of the portal services) need to come to terms
with the reality that most of their users WILL ALWAYS NEED TO have
accounts at their competitors because theyll NEED TO CONNECT WITH
PEOPLE AT ALL of those services.
In a Web 2.0 world, where by definition these services are about
connecting with people across these services, these services are still
competing on the traditional model of winner takes all.
The underlying assumption by each player is that if one service can
offer the latest and best X.0 version of each of the services in
question that theyll have that customers TOTAL online business for
the indefinite feature.
The reality is that as a user, Im forced to have accounts at ALL of
the services because in an oligopolistic world of online services, most
of the people I need to connect with could be using any of the services
on any of the portals."
Facebooks newly announced strategy makes people and their networks, the next generation portal.
Its a powerful idea. But its going to require Herculean execution in the coming months, on the part of Facebook and its partners.
It really is going to be an opportunity to witness one of the most daring Internet strategies in quite some time.
Interesting Wall Street Journal article on Lucasfilms making its StarWars video library available on the web for mashups:
"George Lucas, creator of "Star Wars," has never
hesitated to protect his intellectual property, which is why some call
him "Lucas the Litigator." But this week, his Lucasfilm plans to make
clips of "Star Wars" available to fans on the Internet to mash up --
meaning to remix however they want -- at will.
The clips -- about 250 of them, from all six Star Wars movies -- will land on the Starwars.com
Web site tomorrow, part of this weeks 30th-anniversary celebrations of
the release of his hit movie.
Working with an easy-to-use editing
program from Eyespot Corp. of San Diego, fans can cut, add to and
retool the clips. Then they can post their creations to blogs or
social-networking sites like MySpace. More clips will come out from
time to time over coming months."
And the business model?
"Eventually, the mash-ups will run with brief video advertising before
them, with Lucasfilm and Eyespot splitting the proceeds. The efforts
should bring refocused attention on all the "Star Wars" movies, helping
to boost DVD and merchandise sales."
Admittedly, this is but a mere toe in the water for Lucasfilms, in terms of its full library of content. However, its interesting for two reasons in particular:
1. It points to the next phase of web video, which is to prove out models that microchunk video. And it does it by providing what I call Rules and Tools to mainstream users to make new things happen.
2. Also, Lucasfilms has historically had a great track record of figuring out new, innovative ways to make money from its intellectual property.
Long before movie merchandising sales became the established multi-billion dollar business it is today (think lunchboxes and fast-food toy tie-ins), Lucasfilms pioneered win-win relationships on the merchandising front. This 1999 article from the Guardian points out the relative importance of merchandising vs. Box Office revenues:
"In the past 22 years, since the first Star Wars in 1977, merchandise
built around Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, R2-D2, Princess Leia and
Obi-Wan Kenobi has grossed $4.5 billion - a sum four times the box
office take from the first three movies."
Its partnership with Hasbro a few years ago resulted in selling over a billion dollars worth of Star Wars monopoly sets alone.
The idea for allowing mixes of mainstream video is not new. Announcements to do similar things were made as early as a couple of years ago, as I pointed out in this post on the NBAs plans for its video library. Its just that technology and bandwidth costs have continue to improve.
The Lucasfilms/Eyespot announcement is but the next step in making mix and match web video a mainstream reality.
(Update: Apple also announced updated MacBook Pro laptops today, with the 15-inch model also sporting an LED-enhanced screen. The new models still dont offer an integrated WWAN wireless network option for high-speed wireless data access.)
Its almost coming up to six months since the release of Windows Vista, and we still dont have a desktop or a
laptop with the new OS on it. For those of you who know me, thats pretty unusual. At the very least, its an impressive bit of self-restraint, if I do say so myself.
Like so many others, Ive been waiting for the Service Packs thatll fix the early version of Windows Vista, including updated drivers that finally offer some speed and performance advantages over Windows XP based machines.
"Weve got the scoop on some early marketing materials / renders for
Dell XPS m1330, and we have to say, this is as impressed as weve ever
been with a Dell laptop. Check it out:
13.3-inch screen, configurable with LED backlight! (300cd/m2, or 220 with CCFL backlight)
Core 2 Duo processor (up to 2.4GHz), Santa Rosa chipset (965PM/GM)
Up to 4GB DDR2 SDRAM
32GB SSD drive or spinning-platter drive options up to 250GB
Slot-loading dual-layer DVD±RW drive!
Optional NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS / 128MB
WWAN option for Verizon, Sprint, or AT&T
Ethernet, 802.11a, a/g, or n options, Bluetooth option
Integrated 2 megapixel webcam (VGA only on LED-backlit display)
HDMI, VGA, 1394, (2) USB 2.0, integrated media reader (MS, SD, xD), dual mini-PCI slots, fingerprint reader
Dimensions
with LED 12.5 x 9.4 x 0.87 - 1.33-inches (318 x 238 x 22.1 - 33.8mm) /
with CCFL 12.5 x 9.4 x 0.97 - 1.43-inches (318 x 238 x 24.6 - 36.3mm)
Weight starts at 4 pounds"
The key features that Ive been waiting for here, are the LED backlight and the Santa Rosa processor, not to mention the 250 GB drive in a 4 pound machine.
Now I realize that Dell may make this laptop available with either Vista or XP installed, as they do on their current line of XPS desktops and laptops. So its not just a "Vista laptop".
No word on when the thing will actually be available, but it sure does look tempting.
His third post out of the gate, titled "Bubbles on the Brain", gives a thoughtful argument on why the current Bubble-fears in Silicon Valley can be over-blown.
The discussion is a healthy one, reminding us of the cyclical nature of all trends, large and small.
That waves undulate and can cause good and bad things to happen is not new.
That these waves occur in the fast-changing technology industry, especially since the dawn of the "computer age", half a century ago, is not new.
That they can create immense opportunities for wealth destruction and creation is not new.
Whats new, is that these waves, driven by the rapid evolution of internet technologies, are really starting to hit a whole lot of traditional industries.
"...a historian of science named Thomas Kuhn, whose seminal 1962 book,
“The Structure of Scientific Revolution,” neatly mapped the
anti-establishment landscape of innovation.
Kuhn’s central
insight, which fast became a cliché, was to identify “paradigm shifts”
as the key to advances in science and technology.
Scientific
world views were belief systems first and proved empirically only
later. Facts had meaning only in relation to a “world view.” When world
views were overthrown by rebels, new paradigms could be constructed,
opening the way for new theories, new facts, new technologies."
The Mosaic/Netscape browsers made the first internet related paradigm shift in computing clear for many.
Since then, there have been other internet-driven paradigm shifts made more evident in a mainstream way.
Just three examples would be Google making the paradigm shift in advertising more clear, Craiglist doing the same for Classifieds, and YouTube doing ditto for television.
That phrase, however, was likely over-used in the first Internet "Bubble", as these things often are.
But its more important to keep in mind now than ever.
Were going to have a whole lot more paradigm shifts, large and small, across a whole array of industries over the coming decades.
Thisll largely be driven by the technology waves that continue to amass growing power from the on-going, commercial, internet innovations started a decade ago.
The same New York Times article above also observed:
As the London-based writer Ziauddin Sardar has noted, in the popular
mind, Kuhn reduced science to “nothing more than long periods of boring
conformist activity punctuated by outbreaks of irrational deviance.”
Were likely to see a whole lot more "irrational deviance" going forward, as entire mainstream industries try and re-configure themselves given the operational and financial disruption caused by the internet.
Globally.
"Irrational Exuberance", popularized by our last Fed chairman, Alan Greenspan, is really about rational opportunism around "paradigm shifts", again large or small.
This rational opportunism is generally incremental, but can cascade pretty quickly into a game of musical chairs, where participants rush not to miss an opportunity.
So its good to see on-going debates on Bubbles, whether they exist or not.
Were just going to have a lot more of them going forward.
And well have a chance to see a whole lot more bubbles, large and small.
Housed in building 43, the secretive group headed by ex-Yahoo! and Amazon search guru Udi Manber, the group constantly tweaks, tests, and tortures the knotty, growing glob that make up the "Ranking Algorithm".
Heres how the article introduces us to this group:
"...Amit Singhal and hundreds of other Google engineers are
constantly tweaking the company’s search engine in an elusive quest to
close the gap between often and always.
Mr. Singhal is the
master of what Google calls its “ranking algorithm” — the formulas that
decide which Web pages best answer each user’s question.
It is a
crucial part of Google’s inner sanctum, a department called “search
quality” that the company treats like a state secret.
Google rarely
allows outsiders to visit the unit, and it has been cautious about
allowing Mr. Singhal to speak with the news media about the magical,
mathematical brew inside the millions of black boxes that power its
search engine."
But unlike that secret formula, which maybe gets tweaked and tortured once in a while to give us concoctions like Diet Black Cherry Vanilla Coke, Googles formula is "improved", constantly, in near real-time (image source).
(As an aside, this similarity is one reason alone why Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway should consider adding Google to his Coke position, despite the notion that he doesnt "get technology"...I know, I know, his friend Bill might not like that very much, but this is BUSINESS, not personal)*.
The piece is a great glimpse into how Google is inventing its future around one of its core competencies. (As an aside again, the other of course is its algorithmic genius around MONETIZING the "ranking algorithm", which could use a whole separate article by the New York Times).
Especially at a time, when there are so many startups trying to out-do Google in its core competency.
The latest VC-backed, Search effort is an interesting case in point.
"Mahalo is the worlds first human-powered search engine powered by an
enthusiastic and energetic group of Guides. Our Guides spend their days
searching, filtering out spam, and hand-crafting the best search
results possible.
If they havent yet built a search result, you can
request that search result. You can also suggest links for any of our
search results."
"...human editors can be approximated with algorithms."
As the New York Times article illustrates, the companys approach to improving its search algorithms centers around hundreds of Search Quality specialists testing endless number of variables that drive the "best" search results.
Its an effort that contrasts sharply with those of startups like Mahalo, that tries to define the "perfect search" BEFORE the search.
Googles approach focuses on endlessly improving on the "perfect search" AFTER countless searches on millions of items that hopefully give results that are "good enough" initially, and get better over time.
These are entirely different approaches.
And thats what gives us such an interesting horse race.
(*DISCLOSURE: I own shares in both Microsoft and Google).
(Update: Problem solved thanks to comments and emails by several folks, including several folks from Feedburner. Thanks very much all.)
Ive been a subscriber to Feedburners services since its early days, and like many others, am pleased to see the company being acquired by Google this week. Ive long used Feedburner as the primary way for readers to subscribe to my blog via email and RSS feeds.
Like other well wishers, I congratulate Google, the Feedburner team, and its investors in this outcome.
The companys services have long had a Feed and Forget" characteristic which has been laudable. Both their primary feed service, and email subscription services were relatively easy to set up for my blog, and have worked well for my subscribers and me.
Today, for the first time though, I got a direct email from an email subscriber to my blog, asking me to remove them from the email subscription list.
I immediately tried to oblige, but realized quickly that I had no idea how to do that.
So I went to the Feedburner site, and logged into my account for the first time in months. I then spent close to 45 minutes trying to figure out where in the service I could manually unsubscribe a particular email subscriber at their request.
And I failed miserably at trying to find a way.
My account page on Feedburner seems to offer no obvious way for me to access my email list and/or perform any maintenance on the list. There likely is a way, and Im just too dense to notice it and/or figure it out.
In the meantime, I replied back to the person who requested that they be unsubscribed, with a lame reply.
Basically, I asked them to see if there was an "Unsubscribe" link at the bottom of the email they get daily in their email feed for me. Or try replying directly to that email with the word"Unsubscribe".
Hopefully that works. But it is not a good feeling being unable to help someone directly with this reasonable and straightforward request.
Ill spend some more time on my Feedburner account to figure out what I may have missed.
If any reader has an idea or a suggestion, please leave me a comment, or email me directly.
Heres a timely gizmo for summer pictures. The New York Times has a piece on a new hand-held camera from Panasonic that packs 12 mega-pixels, and the ability to shoot in really low-light situations:
"The 12-megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX100...
...uses a 28-millimeter Leica lens and built-in image stabilization
to prevent blurring while on the move and, thanks to improved control
over sensitivity, even in low light.
It can shoot at up to ISO 6400, an
impressive range for a small camera."
That is a cool feature, as is this, almost bonus feature:
"It can also record video at near-high-definition quality."
Another $400 temptation...should be available next month.
This interview with the author of a new book titled "RenGen: The rise of the cultural consumer and what it means to your business", caught my eye. Heres how the author, Patricia Martin describes "RenGen", aka the "Renaissance Generation":
"The RenGen is a psychographic more than a demographic, but when you
look at census figures alone you have this large group of boomers who
in their youth idealistically wanted to change the world, got
frustrated and cashed out. You also have this even larger, rising
segment of young people every bit as idealistic as boomers once were.
If you look at a census table, it looks like a book-ended generation
with these two groups on either end. As for their
characteristics — they are eco-conscious; they take their cues from
nature so they are willing to accept products that are flawed but
authentic rather than slickly produced and inauthentic. Dove figured
this out with the real-women campaign.
They want to make a difference.
They want to live many lives. They don’t want to be told, “You can’t be
an architect and a poet.” They are sensualists. Because they are both
idealistic and cynical at the same time, they have learned to trust
what they experience rather than what experts tell them. That is why
design and aesthetics are so elevated right now."
Despite that horoscope like opening, the author really caught my eye with this enticing prediction:
"I predict that what we will see out of the younger RenGen is the
largest class of entrepreneurs the United States has seen in a long
time. Not only are they driven to do original work, but they are going
to want to live that out in originally designed careers."
Its a cool, idealistic vision, especially appealing in these turbulent times. Adding the book to the reading list.
This interview with the author of a new book titled "RenGen: The rise of the cultural consumer and what it means to your business", caught my eye. Heres how the author, Patricia Martin describes "RenGen", aka the "Renaissance Generation":
"The RenGen is a psychographic more than a demographic, but when you
look at census figures alone you have this large group of boomers who
in their youth idealistically wanted to change the world, got
frustrated and cashed out. You also have this even larger, rising
segment of young people every bit as idealistic as boomers once were.
If you look at a census table, it looks like a book-ended generation
with these two groups on either end. As for their
characteristics — they are eco-conscious; they take their cues from
nature so they are willing to accept products that are flawed but
authentic rather than slickly produced and inauthentic. Dove figured
this out with the real-women campaign.
They want to make a difference.
They want to live many lives. They don’t want to be told, “You can’t be
an architect and a poet.” They are sensualists. Because they are both
idealistic and cynical at the same time, they have learned to trust
what they experience rather than what experts tell them. That is why
design and aesthetics are so elevated right now."
Despite that horoscope like opening, the author really caught my eye with this enticing prediction:
"I predict that what we will see out of the younger RenGen is the
largest class of entrepreneurs the United States has seen in a long
time. Not only are they driven to do original work, but they are going
to want to live that out in originally designed careers."
Its a cool, idealistic vision, especially appealing in these turbulent times. Adding the book to the reading list.
The technology industry, especially the enterprise-focused hardware companies, have been doing their utmost of late to re-tool their products and services for the perceived holy grail of new, "green" markets. An example of this is IBMs Green project initiative launched in the middle of last year:
"In May this year the firm launched its $1bn Big Green Project campaign focusing on ways it could reduce energy consumption.
Technologies which IBM touted last month included liquid cooling
solutions, virtualization systems and power management, all of which it
hopes to integrate into the new facility.
Data centres have been notorious for consuming vast quantities of
power, as well as pushing out large chunks of carbon emissions to keep
the beasts ticking over."
You may have seen several commercials IBM has been running to convince its target market, the enterprise CIOs (Chief Information Officers), of the merits in investing in "green hardware, software and services. This one is a good example:
Its an uphill climb, as other companies in the industry with similar recent initiatives, like Dell, have found. This piece in the Register yesterday is a case in point:
"Dell has admitted it wont earn much return on the energetic
greening of its operations and products, until CIOs get paid to have
greener data centres.
Michael Dell, Dells founder, chairman and CEO, said in a briefing
with journalists in London today, that the underlying interest in green
matters is growing at a fast pace.
But he added: "CIOs say the energy cost is not in my budget."
That means that Dell, after a breakneck rush to green its product
range, is offering products to CIOs who do not yet have an incentive to
buy them.
Dell thinks "this is changing. CIOs are being held accountable."
Asked if, when CIOs do get an energy budget responsibility, Dell would
be there waiting, he said simply: "Yes."
These markets take a long time to turn around to new trends and opportunities. Heres hoping in this instance that the market catches up with the vendors some point soon.
Its great that Tina Fey won yet another Emmy for the her performance on the show she created, "30 Rock". But I think the award for the best line at any Emmy acceptance speech also goes to Tina Fey, who said:
""30 Rock is available to be viewed on NBC.com, Hulu.com, iTunes,
Verizon phones, United Airlines and occasionally on actual television,"
Fey quipped."
The technology industry, especially the enterprise-focused hardware companies, have been doing their utmost of late to re-tool their products and services for the perceived holy grail of new, "green" markets. An example of this is IBMs Green project initiative launched in the middle of last year:
"In May this year the firm launched its $1bn Big Green Project campaign focusing on ways it could reduce energy consumption.
Technologies which IBM touted last month included liquid cooling
solutions, virtualization systems and power management, all of which it
hopes to integrate into the new facility.
Data centres have been notorious for consuming vast quantities of
power, as well as pushing out large chunks of carbon emissions to keep
the beasts ticking over."
You may have seen several commercials IBM has been running to convince its target market, the enterprise CIOs (Chief Information Officers), of the merits in investing in "green hardware, software and services. This one is a good example:
Its an uphill climb, as other companies in the industry with similar recent initiatives, like Dell, have found. This piece in the Register yesterday is a case in point:
"Dell has admitted it wont earn much return on the energetic
greening of its operations and products, until CIOs get paid to have
greener data centres.
Michael Dell, Dells founder, chairman and CEO, said in a briefing
with journalists in London today, that the underlying interest in green
matters is growing at a fast pace.
But he added: "CIOs say the energy cost is not in my budget."
That means that Dell, after a breakneck rush to green its product
range, is offering products to CIOs who do not yet have an incentive to
buy them.
Dell thinks "this is changing. CIOs are being held accountable."
Asked if, when CIOs do get an energy budget responsibility, Dell would
be there waiting, he said simply: "Yes."
These markets take a long time to turn around to new trends and opportunities. Heres hoping in this instance that the market catches up with the vendors some point soon.
One of the dramatic financial news item over the weekend of course was the conversion of the last two investment banks, Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) into bank holding company structures, with the blessing of the Government. As BusinessWeek notes:
"The standalone investment bank died quietly Sunday, Sept. 22, 2008, after a brief but dramatic illness. It was 75 years old.
On Sunday night, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley
said they would become bank holding companies, submitting to the
authority and oversight of federal banking regulators. After the
collapse of Bear Stearns, the bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers and
the agreement by Merrill Lynch to be acquired by Bank of America,
Goldman and Morgan were the last remaining investment banks.
Goldman
noted that the move would make it the fourth biggest bank holding
company in the U.S. Morgan said it was seeking “maximum flexibility and
stability to pursue new business opportunities as the financial
marketplace undergoes rapid and profound changes.”
The Fed said
it had approved the switch, with allowances for a five-day waiting
period to clear any anti-trust hurdles; the banks’ broker-dealer units,
along with Merrill’s, will also be able to borrow from the New York
Fed.
The move is likely to subject the companies to stricter regulation,
requiring them to retain more capital and take fewer risks than they
could as investment banks.
The announcement was made without much fanfare (as the New York Times
said), and may also make regulatory reform somewhat easier for the next
president and Congress. Instead of two kinds of regulated entities,
they could well face the need to consider just one."
Much of the media coverage today seems to be focused on how Goldman Sachs is humbled by becoming
"just" an ordinary commercial bank, knocked off its lofty perch as the most eminent of global investment banks.
And the consensus seems to be on how Goldman is going to have to "settle" financially and culturally for being a commercial bank.
Theres no question that these moves were in response to some historically major financial market factors, and that all financial industry participants to have to struggle mightily just to survive the difficult times ahead.
This thought though, comes to mind.
Maybe its just the emotions of a former lifer at Goldman Sachs, but I cant help but think that Goldman may be a commercial bank in structure and name, but that its unique DNA and culture will not only adapt, but thrive in the long-term under its new structure.
The thought that comes to mind in fact is that Goldman with this move may have just become the wolf in sheeps clothing (image source). And of course therell likely be some sheep that try to be a wolf.
DISCLOSURE: Im a long-time shareholder and former employee of GS.
One of the dramatic financial news item over the weekend of course was the conversion of the last two investment banks, Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) into bank holding company structures, with the blessing of the Government. As BusinessWeek notes:
"The standalone investment bank died quietly Sunday, Sept. 22, 2008, after a brief but dramatic illness. It was 75 years old.
On Sunday night, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley
said they would become bank holding companies, submitting to the
authority and oversight of federal banking regulators. After the
collapse of Bear Stearns, the bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers and
the agreement by Merrill Lynch to be acquired by Bank of America,
Goldman and Morgan were the last remaining investment banks.
Goldman
noted that the move would make it the fourth biggest bank holding
company in the U.S. Morgan said it was seeking “maximum flexibility and
stability to pursue new business opportunities as the financial
marketplace undergoes rapid and profound changes.”
The Fed said
it had approved the switch, with allowances for a five-day waiting
period to clear any anti-trust hurdles; the banks’ broker-dealer units,
along with Merrill’s, will also be able to borrow from the New York
Fed.
The move is likely to subject the companies to stricter regulation,
requiring them to retain more capital and take fewer risks than they
could as investment banks.
The announcement was made without much fanfare (as the New York Times
said), and may also make regulatory reform somewhat easier for the next
president and Congress. Instead of two kinds of regulated entities,
they could well face the need to consider just one."
Much of the media coverage today seems to be focused on how Goldman Sachs is humbled by becoming
"just" an ordinary commercial bank, knocked off its lofty perch as the most eminent of global investment banks.
And the consensus seems to be on how Goldman is going to have to "settle" financially and culturally for being a commercial bank.
Theres no question that these moves were in response to some historically major financial market factors, and that all financial industry participants to have to struggle mightily just to survive the difficult times ahead.
This thought though, comes to mind.
Maybe its just the emotions of a former lifer at Goldman Sachs, but I cant help but think that Goldman may be a commercial bank in structure and name, but that its unique DNA and culture will not only adapt, but thrive in the long-term under its new structure.
The thought that comes to mind in fact is that Goldman with this move may have just become the wolf in sheeps clothing (image source). And of course therell likely be some sheep that try to be a wolf.
DISCLOSURE: Im a long-time shareholder and former employee of GS.
