Books I read recently
I just finished “Where Have All the Leaders Gone?” – Lee Iacocca, “The Last Lecture” – Randy Pausch, and “The Course of Human Events” – David McCullough.
“The Course of Human Events”:
I really liked this lecture from Mr. McCullough, because it seems to me that his main point is the Founding Fathers were men with vices and problems of their own. He also points out that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States need to be looked at and understood from that context. I agree that if we as nation looked at they documents in the context of when they were written and could understand these brilliant men, we as a nation would do a much better job of choosing those that are to govern and lead our nation.
“The Last Lecture”:
This book written by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow does a really good job of expressing why it is important to not only follow your dreams; but living a good life … a life of principles and values. I related to Mr. Pausch and his story quite well. It was also heartening to learn that there are so many more people that try to live the best they can. I just wish that it was more evident in and to our society. American’s are primarily viewed as Ugly Americans; rude, vulgar, brash, spiteful, and uncaring. We are a better people than what others realize of know.
“Where Have All the Leaders Gone?”:
I was not really sure what I was getting into when I picked up this book. I had heard of Mr. Iacocca, but knew very little about him. I learned enough about his life and career to understand where Mr. Iacocca is coming from. I admit that I agree with much of what he has written, I also really like his 9 C’s of leadership:
- Curiosity
- Creative
- Communicate
- Character
- Courage
- Conviction
- Charisma
- Competent
- Common Sense
I agree that we have become a nation of ‘what’s in it for me’ and ‘special interest’ and ‘entitlement minded’. We need to be a better people, we need to have great mentors and follow great leaders. We need to become a nation of leaders.
iron wil
The Apple TV Rev
I am currently listening to MacBreak Weekly 210: Apple’s Fall Announcement and considering the pronostication for the Apple TV from the September 1st Apple Event.
I love this device. I really like the 802.11n and I really like the Price Point! I can afford the 99$ and that makes this an easy buy. Having access to NetFlix and my iTunes Library in the same place really makes me love this. I see 3 things that will happen to the device over the next year or two:
- The Orchard will hold and deliver personal content to any iPhone, iTouch, iPad, and Apple TV.
- Apple will develop a home iTunes server that will allow for several accounts and multiple account access. Think HP’s Windows Home Server with the iTunes plug-in.
- Apple will allow for App development which will bring in more content and some games. This may require a new Apple TV to handle multiple iPhones, iTouchs, and iPads … to act as game controllers.
Once, Apple puts these pieces into place, it defines the paradigm and concept of what that device in the living room is that handles TV Shows, Movies, Music, and Gaming!
I need to pre-order mine.
iron wil
P.S.
Others Thoughts
- Wired’s Epicenter, How Apple Just Disrupted the Cable Guys.
- Ars Technica, No longer a hobby? $99 Apple TV drops storage, integrates Netflix.
- Fortune Tech, Apple TV swings hard but misses.
I have to disagree with Fortune, I think that they are wanting a solution to a problem that everyone is searching for. Wired & Ars, I think are on the same train of thought as I am and Apple. It isn’t the answer yet … another step or iteration on the path to getting it right. I look forward to seeing what comes next. I hope they see and realize that this can’t be a stand alone box; it has to have a robust back-end of content.
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
I recently finished reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. I found this book to be quite fascinating and a bit puzzling. Mr. Gladwell did not seem to take into account the person’s choice in the events that happened. For example, he discusses Bill Gates and how he had several unique opportunity to learn programming because of unlimited access to several terminals and powerful computers. The thing that he seems to gloss over is that Mr. Gates chose to pursue and delve into the computing world of his youth.
I agree that we are in part a product of our environment and that of our parents and grandparents. I recognize that my parents paradigm and that of my grandparents has had an influence and impact upon my own personality and perception of the world around me. I also recognize that my view of the world will impact my children and how they view their world.
I am also acutely aware of the course my life has taken and how that has shaped my life and my career. I once considered a much quieter life on a ranch or farm. I could have pursued that life and I would probably have been a very different person than I am now. I would not have the love and drive to understand technology that I have; nor the desire to understand how technology influences our lives. I am very interested in how we use technology and its impact on each societal group.
How does Mr. Gladwell view choice in the consequence of their history and paradigm of the world.
iron wil
Wired, How to Fix Your App
I was listening to a favorite netcast this morning and realized that to fix your iPhone [& mobile App] the company will need to take a few steps.
- Sell the App for $20
- Change the Subscription Model
- $10 for the paper magazine ONLY
- $20 for Digital delivery to the mobile app and website access
What this means is that each month a subscriber can get the digital version of the magazine BEFORE the delivery of the paper version; yes, that means mobile app and website.
I don’t know about other subscribers; but I would pay for this. Of course, I read Wired.com everyday for news & information that is going on in the Technology space.
iron wil
The Next iPhone, will it be 700MHz?
There is a lot of rumor about when the next iPhone, the Verizon iPhone, will be out in January. I have to admit that this does 2 things, it puts the iPhone out of the standard development cycle and releases a phone onto a brand new network, an UNTESTED network. Well, the network trials are going on now and limited user trials are rumored to be going on now.
LTE or 4G is being rolled out this January by Verizon. LTE is built on the 700MHz band that was purchased a few years ago by Verizon and AT&T. The promised speeds can be up to 5 – 12 Mbps. This is different from Sprint’s 4G service which is WiMax and it is not based on the 700MHz radio band.
There are several articles on Verizon’s 4G network and the Verizon iPhone. What I think we will see is an iPhone 4[X], or 4G, that is the same device with the 700MHz chip set. That way there will be a phone that covers the new services being rolled out by Verizon and AT&T in 2011. It makes sense that even if Verizon is rolling out the new service in January that Apple would wait until the summer before delivering the new device; that way Apple will cover 2 networks at once. I believe there will be an announcement in January and the phone in late June. Apple likes to plan things out and deliver their products with panache.
iron wil
Update, 2010.08.16
Adam from MacCast also supports my beliefs on the full 700MHz spectrum iPhone 4. It was also discussed on TWIT.tv on TWiT #260 and TNT #49. Some of the panelists feel the same way, others share their points of view.
I just finished reading the book Christ and the New Covenant by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. While this is a very well written book and it allows the user to gain a plain language approach to the doctrines and principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as contained in The Book of Mormon.
If a person is having trouble understanding the doctrines of The Book of Mormon, then this would be a very good book to ACCENT their personal study of The Book of Mormon. If a person is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I think they would find this book a good read and assist them in getting a better understanding in modern English of The Book of Mormon.
Elder Holland does a great job at using plenty of scriptural references to all the standard works [of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]. Elder Holland relies heavily upon the verses in The Book of Mormon to bring out his thoughts and show the doctrines of the Gospel.
iron wil
Online Authentication
This is a huge subject that covers many aspects. We have Facebook pushing Facebook Connect, we have Open Authentication, a small group looking at delivering a distributed ID system, and browsers taking a crack at possible ways to deliver our online identities. There are opinions all over the map from guys like Jason Calacanis, Leo Laporte, and Steve Gibson.
I am not sure what the answer is; but I have to admit that I like Diaspora and am interested in what they end up doing. They received massive amounts of cash to deliver a product they came up with. Each person will hold their own ID and control how it is used. Mozilla has presented Thirdparty and Fingerprinting. Jason Calacanis has also ranted his displeasure on Facebook‘s Privacy while Leo Laporte has walked away from Facebook because the Privacy Policy has changed several times.
Facebook has now reached 500 Million daily users and is showing very little slowdown. Twitter is great for short messages and sharing right now news. Google is now working on a not so secret project titled ‘Google Me‘ a potential competitor to Facebook. Then we have Open Authentication or Open ID which is designed to deliver single sign on across the web; something that Microsoft tried to deliver years ago with Passport. There is such confusion over what the best solution will be.
Diaspora seems to bring the best ideas together by allowing the users to own the server, software, and information. It provides a single sign on that is controlled by the user.
What should the solution be?
That is a really good question. One, I have been considering for weeks, which is obvious since I am just getting this article finished & posted. I think that the best solution will allow for cross platform compatibility and easy user deployment. Software that can be installed similar to WordPress or Joomla. Plug-ins to enable additional features and content or games and video. It should be easy to update and take care of so that the average web user can manage their account and software. I imagine that several hosting companies, like DreamHost and SquareSpace, will provide managed installs. I hope that it will interface with Facebook and Twitter and several other services. It would make sense to me, that is always the hitch, that in order to compete and over take the competition; it will have to be very open and powerful. It would also need to provide Open Authentication [Open ID] like access to websites and deliver single sign-on services to a multitude of sites and services.
When it happens … the next social network evolution will change the way we communicate and interact. It will also change who owns the data and where that data resides. My personal hope is that projects like Diaspora will finally overcome the larger social juggernauts.
iron wil
