Archive for the Tools Category


Let the record show: I do *not* endorse this product

Published April 28th, 2009

Just in from the Wall Street Journal . . .
Microsoft, Verizon in Talks to Launch iPhone RivalBy AMOL SHARMA and NICK WINGFIELDMicrosoft Corp. is in discussions with Verizon Wireless to launch a touch-screen multimedia cellphone on the carrier’s network early next year, in a bid to compete with Apple Inc.’s iPhone, people familiar with the […]

People of the screen

Published November 24th, 2008

Today’s must-read, ironically, is an essay by the ever brilliant Kevin Kelly on the decline of word-centered, book-based literacy and the rise of something new.  We are becoming, Kelly says, “people of the screen.”An excerpt:“The fluid and fleeting symbols on a screen pull us away from the classical notions of monumental authors and authority. On the screen, the subjective […]

Phrase of the day: Practical obscurity

Published August 3rd, 2008

According to Brad Stone’s essay in today’s NY Times, this is the term academics use to describe the inaccessibility of paper-based public records.”Once upon a time,” Stone writes, “people in search of [criminal records] had to hire private investigators to navigate byzantine courthouses and rudimentary filing or computer systems, and to deal with often grim-faced legal clerks. […]

Remarkable renewal

Published July 15th, 2008

If statisticians could fashion an on-base percentage for business gurus, Seth Godin would be Ted Williams. Nobody has a better rate of success in getting smart ideas in play.One of my favorite bits of Godin guidance is to “remarkablize” even the most mundane aspects of your business — a great example of which arrived in the mail yesterday.I subscribe […]

Idea of the day

Published July 1st, 2008

Recharge Pod’s wind-powered mobile phone charging station for outdoor events, which premiered this weekend’s Glastonbury Festival. (HT: Springwise)  

Knock, knock. Who’s (not) there?

Published June 6th, 2008

Mark Frauenfelder at BoingBoing points us to a perversely interesting advertising innovation posted on The Fire Wire (which is very good blog, btw.)Realizing that littering porches with coupons isn’t all that effective, Papa John’s Pizza “has taken an innovative approach to direct marketing with its deceiving faux delivery boy & pizza appearing at your doorstep. The optical illusion […]

A dramatic leap into 2006

Published May 27th, 2008

For the many of you who’ve been asking, yes, at long last I am now on both Facebook and Twitter.  Friend me.  Follow me.  Of if you dare, frollow me.

The (holographic) singularity is near

Published May 24th, 2008

Here’s a short snippet of video I shot of Ray Kurzweil ”appearing” at the Thinking Digital conference in Newcastle, UK yesterday.   Instead of flying to northern England, Kurzweil beamed in via Teleportec, a souped-up video feed that delivers a quasi-hologram of the speaker to the audience and allows the speaker to see the audience.  

If it’s Thursday, it must be Vero Beach

Published February 21st, 2008

Just signed up for Dopplr, which several people had recommended. Search my name on the site, share your sked with me, and I’ll share back.