There is a common thread in the torrent of words that have followed the announcement of Apple’s Vision Pro headset — it portends a dystopian future and social isolationism. Most, if not all, picked up on the idea that we might retreat into a social cocoon and become more detached … | Continue reading
Apple kicked off the 2023 edition of WWDC, its developer conference, with a 2-hour long keynote that saw the company announce the next versions of its five operating systems( iOS, watchOS, iPad OS, tvOS, macOS), three new Macs, including the highest-end Mac Pro, and most importan … | Continue reading
“Some of the smartest people in technology say they are worried that AI is worse than pandemics and nuclear weapons. What I worry about is not AI extinguishing humans, but our humanity. And that’s the real risk of this new wave of “AI” — we become more reliant on machines than ou … | Continue reading
“So benumbed are we nowadays by electric lights that we have become utterly insensitive to the evils of excessive illumination.” Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, In Praise of Shadows My most recent trip to Japan was most enjoyable personally, but it was quite challenging from a photography … | Continue reading
Janko Rottegers, a former colleague, writes a newsletter focused on the cord-cutting phenomenon. In the latest edition of the newsletter, Lowpass Janko argues that Apple’s new mixed reality glasses, rumored to be announced next week, will disappoint. And that’s okay because it’s … | Continue reading
If you go to Amazon.com and type “Traffic,” you will find three top listings. There is a book, Traffic, by Tom Vanderbilt, about how we drive the way we do. Read it. Then there is a listing for a movie starring Michael Douglas and Benicio Del Toro. If you have not watched it, the … | Continue reading
It has been a long time since I went back to New York. A very long time indeed. It was a work trip with some pockets of free time, so I took my camera with me — hoping to see New York differently. While those photos still sit on the camera’s memory card, waiting to … | Continue reading
WordPress, the open-source blogging software, is twenty years old. The software’s first official release (WordPress 1.0) was made available on May 27, 2003. I had been using the software for a little longer when it was still in alpha. In 2004, I switched my old website to WordPre … | Continue reading
Did you know that 10.08 million new tracks were uploaded to online music streaming services in the first three months of 2023? That’s 120,000 new tracks every day, according to estimates from Nashville-based Luminate, a company that tracks music industry data. At this rate, we ar … | Continue reading
It was a major news day for Leica — the Wetzlar, Germany-based company known for its iconic cameras released Q3, the latest version of the Q, the best-selling fixed lens camera. And new as it might be, Q3 is a big step backward for a product that won a Red Dot award for design wh … | Continue reading
Shall we put this one in the “I told you so category?” If you have been reading my blog and my twice-a-month newsletter, you know this was coming. For the past year, I have argued that Twitter is Elon Musk’s Bully Pulpit and the new Fox. Yesterday, that reality manifested itself. … | Continue reading
We, humans, like to think we are important. We think we can create the planet’s future. Or that we destroy that future. We think we are rich and powerful. We think we are beautiful. And yet, we are nothing when plotted on a long arc of time. Not even a blip. We come, and we … | Continue reading
We live in a society where everything is tradable. There is a marketplace for everything, from sneakers to cameras, pens to watches to clothes. A house is not a home but a cashable asset to be listed on Zillow. It is no surprise why everyone focuses on resale or whatever they own … | Continue reading
In my latest piece in The Spectator. As a financial investment, I make a case that Twitter will be a bust. However, the power it gives Elon Musk is unprecedented. Musk has bought the Fox News of the post-TV reality for $44 billion, a pittance considering how much power it gives … | Continue reading
Wendy’s, the fast-food chain, is teaming up with Google to automate its drive-through ordering system with AI-driven chatbots. “The goal is to streamline the ordering process and prevent long lines in the drive-through lanes from turning customers away,” Wendy’s CEO Todd Penegor … | Continue reading
I have been a big champion for Substack and what they were trying to enable — an opportunity for independent writers to make a living from their work. I even considered setting up an email newsletter on their platform. It has a nice interface, a nice editor, and the price — it is … | Continue reading
A good teacher is less of a teacher and more of a mentor. She always teaches you by asking the right questions that help you learn about yourself. And then improve from that point forward. You need to trust your teacher and believe you share a common interest to get there. It beg … | Continue reading
My Spring Break was longer than I had expected. I didn’t realize how much of a break I needed from the constant stream of information that made up my day. And that is after I had already eliminated Facebook and Instagram from my life. Since then, I have slashed my daily Twitter u … | Continue reading
After many go-go years, fixed broadband growth seems to slow, especially in more mature markets. Sure, parts of Asia and Africa still show strong growth, but the overall trend doesn’t look good, according to PointTopic Research. The global broadband demand for 2022 saw the total … | Continue reading
Even though I was mostly offline, I did up tweeting occasionally this past week. In a typical week, these would have become a proper blog post. Nevertheless, here they are! When I read the ludicrous profile of known criminal and master manipulator Elizabeth Holmes in the New York … | Continue reading
Even though I am not in school and neither do I have kids, I am taking a bit of a spring break. I badly need a change of scenery, so why not. I am traveling a little, reading a little, and thinking a lot for the next fourteen days. Don’t expect much in terms of … | Continue reading
In today’s written-word landscape, there is room for a couple of giant, sprawling news organizations, which most people are willing to pay for; room for practical, service-based journalism, like trades, which can be expensed or written off; and room for really excellent reporting … | Continue reading
San Francisco is changing. What was once a derelict, forgotten part of town has become a shining new neighborhood. Mission Bay has become a beautiful collection of office buildings, apartment blocks, a modern hospital complex, and new hotels. However, the building that has a spec … | Continue reading
Music streaming saw a 22.6% growth in 2022, making it clear for once and all that we live in a streaming world. A new stat only reinforces that reality. For the first time, on-demand audio streams crossed the one trillion mark on March 23rd, 2023. According to a report from resea … | Continue reading
I read a summary of a research report that was somewhat shocking in its conclusions. Millennials, aka 25-34-year-olds who grew up amid the transition from physical music to streaming, surprisingly, spend the least time streaming music of any segment under 45, this report by MIDIA … | Continue reading
Last week, when reading Ben Smith’s newsletter, I came across a graphic based on a poll conducted by MuckRack. It showed that media folks weren’t pulling back from Twitter despite much handwriting and mock outrage, just as they didn’t move away from Facebook. The switch to Mastad … | Continue reading
That was a term I couldn’t utter for 20 years after the article was published, but I finally got comfortable with it. My original message was to get the idea across that integrated circuits were going to be cheap someday. They were not cheap at the time. I never expected it to be … | Continue reading
Sitting in the sunny South Park, watching dogs and their humans walk by, I suddenly remembered — it is two decades since I packed my bags and moved to San Francisco. Again, I almost didn’t remember. It took a random text message from an old friend in New York that reminded me of … | Continue reading
The dumbing down of American is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, … | Continue reading
After nearly 25 years of operation, DPReview will be closing in the near future. This difficult decision is part of the annual operating plan review that our parent company shared earlier this year. The site will remain active until April 10. DPReview.com DPRreview, a camera revi … | Continue reading
A general rule of thumb that has helped me maintain perspective is that, given enough time, you are either proven to be an idiot or a genius. A corollary to that law is that you will eventually reveal your true self on social media. This brutal reality applies to aging bloggers, … | Continue reading
I don’t know if the human body can change as fast as the changes being brought on by meta-sizing of everything. As someone who loves the possibilities of technology, it is inevitable we will need computers to augment our internal capabilities to deal with these changes. For now, … | Continue reading
It is hard to imagine that it has already been a week since the start of the tumultuous events that led to the FDIC taking over Silicon Valley Bank, and coming to the rescue of the depositors. The rancor that has followed the takeover has been sobering and should be a wake-up cal … | Continue reading
Flatiron Building in New York is coming up for auction soon. I learned about that when I posted a photo of the Flatiron Building being constructed on a social network. It triggered a chain of thoughts about permanence in what we build as a society. The building was started in 19 … | Continue reading
Kottke, the blog that curates the best of the whimsical and creative web and reflects the eclectic personality of its founder, Jason Kottke, is turning 25. I have been reading and enjoying his blog for an eternity. He has kept the site the same, though he has paid some attention … | Continue reading
Kottke, the blog that curates the best of the whimsical and creative web and reflects the eclectic personality of its founder, Jason Kottke, is turning 25. I have been reading and enjoying his blog for an eternity. He has kept the site the same, though he has paid some attention … | Continue reading
Just around Thanksgiving in 2019, I visited Utah to experience some early winter landscapes. I wasn’t looking for anything specific – my desire then was to enjoy being out there. I went galavanting around the state with a friend from Salt Lake City. We are both shoot-from-the-hip … | Continue reading
There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel, even though it isn't clear as to when founders and wider Silicon Valley community can exhale, even for a minute. The US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke to the Face the Nation this morning.(om.co) | Continue reading
There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel, even though it isn’t clear as to when founders and wider Silicon Valley community can exhale, even for a minute. The US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke to the Face the Nation this morning. Her comments reveal that the govern … | Continue reading
After three decades of being part of the Silicon Valley ecosystem - as a reporter, writer, entrepreneur, and investor - I thought I had seen it all. The boom-bust cycles, stock market manias, startup insanity, attack on America itself, and the most significant financial calamity … | Continue reading
After three decades of being part of the Silicon Valley ecosystem — as a reporter, writer, entrepreneur, and investor — I thought I had seen it all. The boom-bust cycles, stock market manias, startup insanity, attack on America itself, and the most significant financial calamity … | Continue reading
I view ChatGPT as one of those profound aha moments in the history of technology: I wasn’t around to see the birth of the first Apple machine, but I have read about it. I saw the world change when I started using the Netscape browser, even though I had used the Internet before. I … | Continue reading
On a cloudy morning, the San Francisco skyline contrasts sharply with the brooding skies. I caught this moment a few weeks ago when returning from East Bay on a rainy morning. I love light on such mornings. March 4, 2023. San Francisco | Continue reading
Grand places help me get proper context — when juxtaposed against the vastness and timeliness of the planet we call home, the human construct is merely just that – an edifice, a reflection of our selfish need to scream: I am! And nothing prays louder to this narcissism is the cu … | Continue reading
Hi! In case you are new around here, I am Om. If you are new around here, here is something About Me and why you should read my newsletter. In this letter, I share what’s on my mind, my latest writings, articles worth reading from around the web, my recommendations & sometimes my … | Continue reading
Brad Stone, editor of technology for Bloomberg Businessweek, in his column about AI-based writing tools that make it easy to write, ends his column with this paragraph. I should agree with him as a writer, but I don't. Personally, I take objection to the idea that writing should … | Continue reading
Brad Stone, editor of technology for Bloomberg Businessweek, in his column about AI-based writing tools that make it easy to write, ends his column with this paragraph. I should agree with him as a writer, but I don’t. Personally, I take objection to the idea that writing should … | Continue reading
Build it, and they will come! And no, I don’t mean the fabulous baseball movie but high-speed broadband networks. And not only will they come, but they will also know how to use the speeds. This is just the start for a generation of consumers who are growing up on gigabit connect … | Continue reading