Notable Numbers Worth Reading The Last Word Enrique Allen, a partner at Designer Fund, passed away. Enrique became a friend when he and Ben started The Designer Fund. The news hits hard. RIP Enrique. Taken too soon. Ben’s note on Enrique’s passing is moving and heartfelt. Novembe … | Continue reading
There seems to be an open season on books. It is such a shame that even the so-called educated people don’t see the bigger picture. Books, in a way, are a means to build on collective human history. Our new-fangled “AI” is the sum of all books, though even its purveyors are not a … | Continue reading
If you can’t beat them, compromise them. The “them” being AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Claude. Ed Sussman, a former lawyer, and his company Citate.ai are pioneering ways to influence how AI chatbots perceive and present information. Their approach isn’t about hacking AI syste … | Continue reading
Given our ever-increasing digital lives, what I am about to say makes little sense — recently released numbers show that there might be a historic slowdown in internet traffic growth. Three of the largest content delivery networks (CDNs) — Akamai, Fastly, and Edgio — indicated th … | Continue reading
Company Nov 5, 2024 Nov 11, 2024 Change ($B) Change (%) Meta $1,445B $1,471B +$26B +1.80% Amazon $2,174B $2,175B +$1B +0.05% NVIDIA $3,432B $3,563B +$131B +3.82% Microsoft $3,059B $3,108B +$49B +1.60% Tesla $808.9B $1,124B +$315.1B +38.95% Apple $3,378B $3,389B +$11B +0.33% Alpha … | Continue reading
Con·tent (as an adjective) in a state of peaceful happiness. (as a noun) contents of a book, television program, or website, or even a container. Daylight saving time can play havoc on one’s mind. Even though I am up at my usual time, I look out the window and it’s pitch dark. So … | Continue reading
Scott Belsky, Adobe’s chief product officer, said something in a 2020 conversation that has stuck with me since. “Twitter is one of those products where I can see overuse making people have a long term, problem with the product emotionally. And that’s being exacerbated in the day … | Continue reading
Dennis Crowley has built his career at the intersection of emerging technologies and human behavior. Twenty years ago, as a 25-year-old inspired by Harry Potter’s Marauder’s Map, he created Dodgeball—turning text messaging into a way for friends to find each other in the city. Wh … | Continue reading
In the past, I typically followed election news and results on television networks like CNN and websites such as The New York Times. This time, I opted for Apple News’ Election Center coverage instead. It turned out to be good choice. This approach significantly reduced the anxie … | Continue reading
The chatbots-as-search paradigm encourages us to just accept answers as given, especially when they are stated in terms that are both friendly and authoritative. The chatbot interface invites you to just sit back and take the appealing-looking AI slop as if it were “information.” … | Continue reading
A few weeks ago, I went on a road trip to Montana with Rod Clark, a photographer friend. On the way back, we stopped in Wells, NV, to get food at Sher-E-Panjab Dhaba, a converted truck stop diner that serves good old-fashioned Punjabi food. When paying for our lunch, I got into a … | Continue reading
I have been using MacWhisper for recording and transcribing my conference calls and interviews for quite a while now. I have also tried FlowVoice.AI for using voice to respond to emails, text messages and do short dictations. Now that I have upgraded to the latest version of the … | Continue reading
For the sports fan in me, this has been a bit of a tough week. Two teams I normally like lost in a humiliating fashion. The New York Yankees lost to the L.A. Dodgers in the MLB World Series (4-1), and the Indian Cricket Team (ICT) was spanked by New Zealand, 3-0. The Indians have … | Continue reading
“You can write a narrative in your head, and spin yourself down a negative path, and beat yourself up and second guess. But what’s true is you made what you thought was the best decision in the moment. Then, you leave it behind. There’s no going back. Everyone makes mistakes. Eve … | Continue reading
Democracy isn’t just a bunch of abstract principles and dusty laws in some book somewhere. It’s the values we live by. It’s the way we treat each other, including those who don’t look like us or pray like us or see the world exactly like we do. President Barack Obama. | Continue reading
James Ledbetter, one of my contemporaries from the world of business journalism, has died at age 60. Inc. magazine reported he died of a heart attack. Ledbetter had worked for most major media publications and was deeply connected in the media world. I never met Ledbetter, who wa … | Continue reading
“If you give a good idea to a mediocre team, they will screw it up. If you give a mediocre idea to a brilliant team, they will either fix it or throw it away and come up with something better.” Creativity Inc. Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace | Continue reading
We live in a time of such confusion and rancor, with a culture that puts a premium on things that don’t last: money, fame, status, likes. We chase the approval of strangers on our phones. We build all manner of walls and fences around ourselves, and then we wonder why we feel so … | Continue reading
Humane, the San Francisco startup that made headlines (and not the right kind) with its AI Pin, is making a significant move by opening up its AI-first operating system, CosmOS, for licensing. CosmOS represents a fundamental rethinking of operating systems for the AI era. While t … | Continue reading
The Wall Street Journal’s technology columnist Joanna Stern interviewed Apple software chief Craig Federighi (watch the interview) ahead of the Apple Intelligence launch. It is a good chat, but one bit caught my attention: Joanna: Siri was introduced 13 years ago, which is kind o … | Continue reading
Why does every podcast have a six-minute lead of proverbial throat-clearing, self-promotion, and advertising? I can understand that mega podcasts like Joe Rogan’s have to deal with this — advertisers are throwing money at people like him and Tim Ferriss. The problem is more acute … | Continue reading
If you have been a regular reader, then you know very well how I feel about Vision Pro, which is the best entertainment device I have ever owned (outside of my iPad.) And you also know that I think it is a two-horse race between Meta and Apple. (You can see my comments in this CN … | Continue reading
At present, these are my most used web/desktop/mobile apps. Honorable Mentions: Topaz Labs AI & Google Labs’ (AI Search.) Legacy Apps & Services that I still use a lot: Apple Mail, Apple Music (Classical), Plex, VLC, Twitter, Safari, and Apple Notes. Frankly, they all need some … | Continue reading
Let’s file this one under the #TimeFlies category! It is hard to imagine that it was a year ago that Silicon Valley faced an existential crisis. Its premier financial institution, Silicon Valley Bank, was taken over by the federal regulators. It was one of the most difficult week … | Continue reading
The veritable German heritage brand, known for its cameras and optics, Leica, has announced a brand new flagship mirrorless camera — the Leica SL3. I have had a chance to use a pre-release version of the camera for a day (or so) and have quick early impressions, especially from t … | Continue reading
What is dystopia? What is technology? What is progress? What is society? What is civilization? It’s all a moving target. What seems like dystopia, seems normal eventually. I was reminded of this when I read a piece by Mahatma Gandhi, originally published in 1909. He was writing a … | Continue reading
Photo by Jan Huber on Unsplash It is not uncommon to hear the question: what is 5G really good for? After all, it doesn’t change the current applications, it doesn’t change our mobile experience to… | Continue reading
It is not uncommon to hear the question: what is 5G really good for? After all, it doesn’t change the current applications, it doesn’t change our mobile experience too much from the more advanced version of LTE mobile broadband that is widely available around the world. So, again … | Continue reading
Your body has a weird way of reminding you of your “age.” For me, that reminder came in the form of jetlag. There was a time when my jet lag would be gone in a day when I would fly back from Delhi, but this time it has taken three days to bounce back and adjust to California time … | Continue reading
I have been away visiting my parents in Delhi, India. I went not only to check in on their health, but also to get a chance to celebrate their sixty years together, along with my siblings. It was a short, packed trip. I got to spend time not only with my parents and my siblings, … | Continue reading
I gave up on Google’s Chrome a long time ago and switched to Brave before it started getting flak for doing questionable things. Then Josh Miller, the co-founder of The Browser Company (whom I met during his Branch.com days), offered me a chance to try out Arc, their new, clean, … | Continue reading
Hello from somewhere over the Philippine Sea! My watch just nudged me to get up and walk around. My phone tells me that I am connected at roughly 10 Mbps. I am having a WhatsApp conversation with family members while receiving some email updates. The book I was reading on my iPho … | Continue reading
A review unit of Apple’s Vision Pro showed up yesterday. I’ve spent the majority of the past 24 hours setting it up. The setup was much simpler than I thought it would be. Given my previous experiences with the device at Apple Park, I have a slight advantage. So, your mileage mig … | Continue reading
No, not again! Not another Vision Pro Review! I feel you — after all the reviews yesterday, I am pretty sure you don’t want to read another review. Here’s the good news — it’s not a review. Instead, I will share my quick impressions from a deep dive at Apple Park, and my two magi … | Continue reading
Apple Vision Pro reviews have started to roll in — and depending on who you read, the consensus vacillates between amazing and work in progress. In most cases, they reflect some version of reality. If one is looking for faults with Apple’s face computer, then one will find them. … | Continue reading
As a way to play music, it was better in nearly every way. Spotify then became my favorite way to listen to music. Recently though, I’ve found myself hating Spotify. The app loads slowly. Music no longer plays instantly. The interface is riddled with recommendations, podcasts, au … | Continue reading
“Friends don’t let friends go to Forbes.com.” — me! Twenty-five years ago, while working for Forbes Digital Tool, the digital offshoot of Forbes magazine, I collaborated with Adam Penenberg and many other colleagues to bring to light the story of Stephen Glass, a young journalist … | Continue reading
The shuttering of the popular music website Pitchfork has led to a eulogy for the critic. Given how we consume media, I would argue that this was inevitable. However, I see things differently — the role of critics is adapting to our new algorithmic reality. | Continue reading
When I finished reading this (must-read) wonderful profile of Bell Labs, the singular most iconic research institution of the modern era, I was left wondering — just because you invent the future, it doesn’t mean you get to enjoy the benefits from it, nor does it guarantee that f … | Continue reading
I had promised myself that I would go out with my camera and look for images that resonated with me. I wanted to capture the abstraction of San Francisco, especially in areas that are so familiar to me. I used a vintage lens (with an adapter) on a Leica TL camera. It may be consi … | Continue reading
Editor’s Note: I want to take a moment to welcome new readers who have stumbled upon my internet homestead, thanks to Ben Thompson’s interview with me on the Stratechery Podcast (Subscription Required). We delved into the history of technology and my renewed enthusiasm for its fu … | Continue reading
I want to take a moment and say a silent prayer for David Mills, the creator of Network Time Protocol (NTP), which is fundamental to the functioning of networks. Mills, nicknamed the Internet’s Time Lord by his peers, passed away on January 17 at the age of 85. His contributions … | Continue reading
CES 2024, unlike its predecessors, lacked the usual impact because tech companies now prefer their own events for product releases. This was an in-between year, and no one knew what to build, or whom to copy. As is usually the case, the looming shadow of Apple, along with the lau … | Continue reading
A Man may make a Remark –In itself – a quiet thingThat may furnish the Fuse unto a SparkIn dormant nature – lain –Let us divide – with skill –Let us discourse – with care –Powder exists in Charcoal –Before it exists in Fire –A Quiet Thing, Emily Dickinson When reading this poem, … | Continue reading
I could use the rain as an excuse, but that would be a cop-out. I did go out often, and there were opportunities to capture images. The rain itself gave me so many opportunities. Even when I did find images that spoke to me, I couldn’t get things to work out. Usually, my everyday … | Continue reading
Every so often, when I ask myself — why do I make such an effort to maintain my homestead on the internet and manage my newsletter? The answer bubbles up every so often when a social media platform manages to jerk its users around. The latest brouhaha around Substack is like yet … | Continue reading
In San Fran's bay, where dreams take flight,Ma.tt's the name, shining oh so bright.Crafting internet fame, in the WordPress game.Jazz in his soul, coding's his art,Like a sax, soaring high and low,Crafting WordPress, with a soft, mellow flow.Ma.tt’s the maestro!Remote is his styl … | Continue reading
The rumor machine can finally turn itself off — Apple has announced that its spatial computer, Vision Pro, is going on sale on January 19. It will start taking pre-orders for the $3,500 device, which ships on February 2nd. And I am excited. Let me rephrase that — I am super excit … | Continue reading