Orbital Thoughts
Taking you to the New Frontier
May 19, 2008 at 2:52 pm · Filed under General
The Computer Industry Comes With Built-In Term Limits - New York Times reveals Microsoft’s problems in getting around the Single-Era Dilemma. SED was derived by Clayton M. Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor, who published “The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail” (1997)
The NYTimes article I believe lets Ballmer off the hook. Look at Apple, which is defying the SED, a company led by someone who is not, at least in comparison to Ballmer, one-dimensional.
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May 19, 2008 at 12:51 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
I wanted to fly on Delta first class out of Los Angeles (LAX) to Austin (AUS) in late June, since I have a lot of Delta SkyMiles. So, I went to Delta’s website, entered the origin, destination, and date of travel. And you’ll never guess what Delta was nice enough to do? Give me a trip around the country just to go half-way across the country. Wow!
Here’s the damage:
If you ever needed a node around which to begin to see what is wrong with the airlines today, this is an excellent example. Flying via New York’s Kennedy or Atlanta’s Hartsfield airport to get to Austin, Texas turns a 1,238 mile trip into a 3,985 mile trip if going through JFK or a 2,753 mile trip if going through Atlanta. Whoever is running Delta or its routing should be ashamed. And if this is the free market at work, then as Smith wrote so long ago, the market is distorted. FUBAR, actually.
May 14, 2008 at 3:01 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Technorati Profile
April 27, 2008 at 11:18 am · Filed under Technical
MacDailyNews - Apple to make PowerPC laptops again?
The hardware security issue in this article is BS, plain and simple. Murphy could do a quick check with any military clients and find that the Panasonic ToughBook is ubiquitous in the field. It may be heavy, but the thing can take a beating and work in hostile conditions.
The PA Semi purchase isn’t about PPC laptops–that train has left the station. It’s about talent and IP. By getting these great innovators and engineers, Apple can make its own chipsets more energy efficient so that a MB or MBP goes from 5 to 7 hours on a charge. That sort of market differentiator is important in a business where becoming an also-ran would certainly hurt Apple.
For the best take on Apple’s purchase of PA Semi and what it means for Apple, check out this Roughly Drafted article.”
April 21, 2008 at 11:10 pm · Filed under Political
Stephen Hawking calls for Moon and Mars colonies - space - 21 April 2008 - New Scientist Space: “”
(Via .)
Great speech by Dr. Steven Hawking in which he makes the case for expanding the human presence in Space by first settling the Moon, Mars, and then beyond not just for science, but to inspire generations and preserve human civilization from annihilation. He proposes that the U.S. spend up to 0.25%, or an almost 3-fold increase in funding, for NASA so that the Moon can be explored by 2020 and Mars by 2030.
Now if only Congress and the President can listen.
April 18, 2008 at 12:08 am · Filed under Technical
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Plants ‘thrive’ on Moon rock diet: “”
(Via .)
Excellent! One more thing that the Moon can offer us as we try to set up a permanent manned presence there in 2020 is the ability to grow our own food–there had been some debate about whether a crew would need to take mulch or other soil helpers, which unfortunately weigh a bit. Bacteria, on the other hand, weigh little.
April 17, 2008 at 11:59 pm · Filed under Technical
Senator: Let’s monitor P2P for illegal files | Tech news blog - CNET News.com: “”
Sometimes you have to wonder how out of touch, how clueless, someone can be and then this lands on your screen indicating, shouting really, that you cannot even imagine the answer to your question.
April 17, 2008 at 3:33 pm · Filed under General
YouTube - Stupid Internal Microsoft Vista SP1 Video: “”
Wow…I think this is the worse video I’ve ever seen. If corporate Microsoft thinks this is “Rockin’”, they are more out of touch than anyone has realized.
April 3, 2008 at 6:49 pm · Filed under General
AppleInsider | RBC on shortage: “”
(Via AppleInsider.)
Great quote by Royal Bank analyst Mike Abramsky on the problem Apple has had in estimating iPhone demand, which doesn’t seem to be falling off as many, including Apple apparently, had thought.
Said Abramsky, “…the problem [of underestimating iPhone demand] is one Apple is glad to have. The company “probably feels like the dog that caught the car,”
April 3, 2008 at 5:36 pm · Filed under General
Good article from WSJ, Why IT Hates the iPhone - WSJ.com,
about why the iPhone will proliferate throughout companies, despite resistance or opposition by IT departments or limitations of iPhone. Typical of Apple, it seems that the positives of the iPhone outweigh the negatives, and this is before OS 2.0.
Another point touched on is that some companies do not like the idea of having to turn their code over to Apple for distribution to the company’s iPhone-holding employees. As I recall, that was not necessarily the case; what I saw on March 6th was that such distribution of IT apps could be done internally. The one kink to that could be the technology that Apple requires for that distribution. OS X Server? OS X system? Apache? Or anything goes? Since the Enterprise developer program is NDA’d, there’s only speculation.
I think the most interesting point made in this article is that the iPhone may change the way companies sell to IT dept’s. Dominating today, companies sell to IT who then deploys downward to the huddled masses, sort of how the old Soviet Union’s economy was run. But the WSJ article speculates that the iPhone could alter that balance, invert the flow of technology upward as workers buy the technology they want, e.g. iPhone, and demand that IT support their decision. This model would force companies to sell to workers. I personally think this is the way it should be since it is sort of silly to think that IT can divine what technology will make workers more productive any more than Soviet economists could divine how to run the Soviet economy. As support staff, IT should suggest while workers determine as workers know what works best for them. Free the workers!
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