Gene Kim - Rock & Roll Kung Fu Low Tech Style

Posted by Matt | | Posted on 8:46 AM

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I have worked with Gene for about 5 years and he never ceases to amaze me. We have had many interesting conversations and Gene's thirst for knowledge is never ending. Gene is a founder of Tripwire and just a really smart and curious person. Gene is well know in our part of the software world and has a great technical knowledge which we refer to as Kung Fu. I was in visiting Gene and Dwayne Melancon the other day and Gene pulls out this ancient looking device. Dwayne and I normally discuss the newest gadget coming out or website we found. So we harassed Gene thoroughly but Gene had a great point. He is easily distracted by email the Internet and every other possibly thing. I realized that I am the same way. So what is this thing? It is the NEC MobilePro 900c and it is actually a new product. It is a device with a full keyboard and some software. It allows Gene to write and not be distracted because he can't go to email or the Internet. Focus is a very difficult thing and going more low tech and slowing down might be the answer to better focus.



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A New iMac Released Tomorrow?

Posted by Matt | | Posted on 9:40 PM

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For some time now there has been rumors of a new iMac to hit the streets. It has been rumored to come out later this summer but the summer is disappearing rapidly. I am not a Mac user but I think our next computer purchase will be an iMac. My wife will love the easy interface for pictures and video and I think it will reduce her frustration she has will our slow Dell.


Apple is hosting a Mac-related media event. The rumor is that they will be available directly after the meeting. According to www.appleinsider.com Apple has issued 3 new price points to suppliers. A 24” will look great in our office! Apple sure knows how to get the media worked up over a product release.


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Made to Stick - Concrete Ideas

Posted by Matt | Posted in | Posted on 10:12 PM

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The current book I am reading is Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath. I am only about half way through the book but I wanted to make a post based on what I have gleamed so far. The book is interesting but the concepts seem simple but not obvious. Most of the concepts to this point are around how stories are constructed that make people remember stories.




The point that I found very interesting and useful for me was the concrete idea. This is one of the most simple and most overlooked concepts I have read about in a long time. I have just completed the first year of an MBA program that ended with a Finance class. You could tell that the teacher was smart but could not get the ideas across in class. I thought that the class was going to revolt after the first couple of weeks. Most people realized it was not going to change and just accepted it. People struggled and I was fairly frustrated myself. Then he instituted a project that the class had to go and figure out the weighted cost of capital for their own company. This was finally something concrete that was close to home for all of us. All the sudden people started learning something! Because of a concrete idea they could latch onto. I learned more from that project than hours of teaching or problems. As I looked back on most of the classes we took the concepts I remember and will take away are concrete examples that I could relate to. I will give another update when I finish the book.



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3G iPhone?

Posted by Matt | | Posted on 9:48 PM

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I was surfing www.appleinsider.com for the latest news on the rumored new iMacs and stumbled upon this article. The rumor is that Apple has a 3G version of the iPhone in the works. They basically have to given that it is a sweet phone but has some limitations. This article states that we may see the 3G version this November before the Christmas season. If they could figure out a way to make the business email a reality I would be in with a 3G version! All those poor people who dove in and spent $600 on the first generation. I shouldn't laugh. I did that with the Treo 600 but it was a revolutionary device at the time. Given that I need the email and speed is a must if the functions are going to be worth anything I am waiting for the new and improved version. The article also talks about the affect on RIM. You would think that this is something apple is looking to address.

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The 4-Hour Work Week - A Must Read

Posted by Matt | Posted in , | Posted on 12:59 AM

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I was recently introduced to the book The 4-Hour Work Week. The warning I recieved was you just need to keep reading through the first 20% of the book. I went and downloaded an audiobook of this to listen to on the way to work. My first impression was this guy was out there and this was not something a normal person would do. How could you? This is not how the world works? But I kept with it and the book is really amazing. You can take the concepts as far as you would like or are comfortable with.

The author Timothy Ferris lives a great lifestyle of living life by creating an income flow that can be managed on a minimal basis yet provides enough to do some of the most amazing things in the world. This book fits well with my current delima of what to do in life. His advice is to find a way to live life and not wait until retirement to do the things you want to. He has foreseen all the excuses and eliminates them. He also does a great job at giving a step by step guide to developing all the pieces necessary. This is truely a book written by someone who has done this.

The ideas I have grasped on to are the outsourcing and automating a business. I currently run an eBay business but I know that it could run 100x smoother if I spent some time makeing it that way. I spend bunches of time to get it back in shape. I am going to experiment with outsourcing at work this quarter. He give details on what outsourcers in India and China will do - basically anything they do not need to be physcially present they can do. I am going to see where I can get some leverage out of this for report design, spreadsheet work and research. Based on the sucess I will expand this to further businesses or my personal life.

I think that anyone should read this book. If you go to a job each day and are saving for tomorrow then this is a must read. The only requirement is to have an open mind and explore the possibilities. Timothy might disagree with this but you can take as many of these items to apply as you feel comfortable with. They have created a great website that has lots of additonal resources. Hint - you have to have the book to get the full use out of the site.

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The iPhone - Not quite for the business user

Posted by Matt | Posted in , | Posted on 12:25 AM

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I have played with the iPhone and was very impressed. A friend of mine waited in line to get one the night they came out. I have since bugged him two or three times to play with it. It is the most beautiful device I have ever had my hands on it. It is truely a new device. Most phones will do some music but this is a better music and video device than any previous phone or iPod. I would encourage anyone to get their hands on it to see it.
The picture at the top is a line to the main page for the iPhone. Watch the demo at the top of the page to see all the functions. The resolution is amazing as well as the interface. It does need some improvement before I am willing to make the leap. First it has to have the ability to get my Outlook email in real time. The second is it needs to be faster to truly take advantage of the great features and web it has. The next version needs to be 3G and a company will find out how to get the Outlook to sync. The keyboard could be challenging for someone who used the phone to do email very much but for the other features I think I could get over it.
The improvements over my current phone are the full sized keyboard on the phone. My current phone the Cingular 8525 has a virtual keyboard that is the most difficult frustrating thing in the world. The iPhone keypad is large with a finger easily fitting on each key. It is really thin which is an improvement over the 8525. I would buy this today if I could make the jump to not being connected to my email at all times. Life might get better if I could make that leap.

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The Beastie Boys are back....kind of

Posted by Matt | Posted in | Posted on 12:17 AM

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The Beastie Boys have come out with a new album. I was excited so I went to iTunes and looked for it in the top 10 albums but it was no where to be found. I searched and found the album. It is called The Mix-Up. For people who claim to be a fan this is a true test. It is in instrumental album. If you really appreciate the beats that the Beastie Boys have produced over the years this is a GREAT album. The Beastie Boys have always been innovative in their music and this time was no different. I did not know what to expect but had no hesitation in the purchase.

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