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Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category

Commuting on the Train- A month’s worth of observations

Posted in Commuting, Lifestyle, Silicon Valley, Technology, tagged , , , , on March 6, 2010| 2 Comments »

I recently took a new job working directly in the city of San Francisco, within the Financial District to be exact.   Living in the peninsula 20+ miles away, I’m now taking public transportation to work for about 45 minutes (one way).  Compared to the last 10 years of driving, commuting on the train offers a completely different dimension to the day.  Furthermore, for a guy like me who loves to observe what’s around me, public transportation is a very fruitful environment for observation.    Without further adieu, here are my observations, tips, and lesson’s from a month’s worth of public transportation on the Caltrain, the Muni Light Rail, and occasionally the BART.  The observations will be listed in the following categories: Observations,  Lessons, Tips and Suggestions, Phones & Technology, and Differences between the BART, Muni, and Caltrain. (more…)

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Social Media—it’s really making an impact

Posted in Internet, Technology, tagged , , , , on October 24, 2009| 2 Comments »

Earlier, I wrote about my Internet ADD; the evolution of my Internet usage patterns and the recent movement to spending more time on social media and networking sites.  There has been a lot of commentary and discussion on Web 2.0, Social Networks, etc. and whether the transformation of web into these types of properties has really been a good thing or a not so meaningful shift that allows people to have more means to simply waste time.  Perhaps, the communication and sharing attributes of Web 2.0 has simply allowed others to participate in one’s wasting of time some have argued.

However, this past month, and even during past 8 months, has really been a banner period in terms of the value of social media in my life.   I’ve had tangible, meaningful improvements in my professional life at my current job, in my ability to help friends in their professional lives, in my ability to potentially help a family member’s career, staying in touch with former colleagues and enriching my personal hobbies.

It really is making a difference.  Here are some of the events that I’m referring to: (more…)

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Reflections on 5 years at Intel

Posted in Technology, tagged , , , on September 26, 2009| Leave a Comment »

As I wrote about here, I attended an Intel Alumni event last week where Andy Grove spoke about clean technologies.   This was actually the first time I’d attended a formal Intel alumni event since I left the company in 2005 after 5 years of employment there.   Meeting former Intel colleagues and listening to Grove has led me to reflect on my years at Intel.   What really stands out about Intel is discipline and process excellence, training, its role in the technology ecosystem, investing in R&D during recessionary periods, and the overall Intel way. (more…)

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BART’s Transbay Tube- Underwater Train and Engineering Marvel

Posted in Technology, Travel, tagged , , , on September 20, 2009| 2 Comments »

Recently when I was in Hong Kong, I found out about a train that goes underwater from Hong Kong island to Kowloon peninsula. Likewise, living in the San Francisco Bay Area, the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) has a popular commuting train option that goes from San Francisco to Oakland through a tunnel placed under the bay—a distance of 6 miles when including the approaches from each station. Having lived in the Bay Area the last 9 years, surprisingly, I have never taken that train ride and for that matter, never taken a train trip through an underwater tunnel any where in the world. I’ve been wondering 2 things about these trains—1) what does it feel like to be on a train underwater and 2) how do they build such tunnels underwater in the first place.

This weekend I took my first BART ride from Oakland to San Francisco. I also discovered the way the BART tunnel was built and in general, the different methods of building underwater tunnels. (more…)

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Andy Grove on Clean Technologies

Posted in Energy, Environment, Public Policy, Technology, tagged , , , , on September 17, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Tonight, I went to an Intel Alumni (I spent 5 years at Intel) seminar featuring Intel alumni who are now focused on clean technologies.  Legendary Andy Grove was the keynote speaker.  It was great to see Andy Grove— it’s always a treat to hear his perspectives on business, technology, and the issues of the day.     While he remains a senior advisor to Intel’s board and management, he is also actively interested in energy policy and often gives speeches on the topic.  Along, with Grove’s perspectives, Intel alumni in the entrepreneur, product, or investor spaces of clean technologies provided additional perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing these technologies.    Below are some of the key points made by Grove and others and my observations of the night. (more…)

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PC Profit Pools in the era of Netbooks

Posted in Internet, Technology, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 13, 2009| 4 Comments »

Recently, there has been lots of coverage and discussion about netbooks.  Netbooks have been flying off the shelves, along with iPhones- perhaps the only consumer computing or communications device that is actually selling well.   It seems that everyone in the carrier, software, computer, and internet space is excited about netbooks.  But at a price point of less than $300, can everyone really be happy and make money?   Here are some recent news stories from a few of the major players.

Google- Google announced this week plans for a Google Chrome based Operating System to be targeted to Netbooks.   This is on top of previous plans to have Google Android based Netbooks available, a few of which are already available (Skytone (China based company) Alpha-680 Google Android Netbook).   Clearly, Google is targeting netbooks from multiple angles and ultimately wants to get more users on the Internet using non-Microsoft based devices and software to eventually view and click on Google based advertisements. (more…)

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Is the Facebook news feed a motivator or a demotivator?

Posted in Internet, Technology, tagged , , on July 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »

The Facebook news feed has become an essential component of many people’s daily online activities—a key element to the social media experience.   Through the news feed, people now know more about their friends and co-workers lives than ever before.  For example, many people may have only really known about a colleague before Facebook through their professional persona and superficially about some of their hobbies.  Now, through Facebook, they may see that they travel often to exotic places, or have children with numerous after-school activities, or participate in impressive feats like marathons or triathlons.  Or on the flip side, they may find out that these colleagues’ lives outside of work look and feel remarkably like their own.   In either case, Facebook has created more awareness of the details of the lives of many of the people in one’s professional and personal network. (more…)

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Electronic and Erasable Paper- evolving technologies

Posted in Environment, Technology, tagged , , , , , , on July 3, 2009| 1 Comment »

When thinking about ways to reduce the usage of traditional paper beyond simply changing usage patterns, some of the technologies that can contribute to that goal include electronic paper, erasable paper, erasable ink, and alternative resource (besides tree) paper.  There have been exciting developments in each of these technologies, but want to focus on two technologies: electronic paper and erasable paper.

Electronic Paper

Electronic paper (e-paper) is a display technology that is designed to have an appearance of ordinary ink on paper.  Electronic paper reflects light like ordinary paper and is capable of holding text and images indefinitely without drawing electricity, while allowing the image to be changed later.   (more…)

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Social Media, Globalization, and Michael Jackson

Posted in Entertainment, Internet, Technology, tagged , , , on June 27, 2009| 5 Comments »

The sudden passing of Michael Jackson this week has stirred up emotions and retrospectives around the world.   There is no question that the impact of his music has been profound on young and old, of all races, globally.   Arguably, that impact can’t be matched by any other entertainer during the last 40 years.  A truly global icon has left us—Princess Diana, John Lennon, Elvis Presley would be the other individuals with similar impact in my life-time.   A clear demonstration on the type of legacy great music can leave and how music gets permanently embedded in our minds.  While life seems to move by so quickly these days, the remembrance of Thriller, Beat It and Bad makes it feel like yesterday.   While the coverage has been widespread in the media and focuses on both the good and the bad associated with Michael Jackson, I’m struck by some specific aspects of Michael’s passing—the involvement of social media in the remembrance of Michael Jackson and his global appeal. (more…)

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Product Design trends of the future (and today)

Posted in Internet, Technology, tagged , , , , , , , on June 6, 2009| 1 Comment »

I recently came across a list of 17 product design trends of the future (and today) from the design firm IDEO that I found interesting.  These concepts are already here today in some form or other, but not necessarily mainstream nor emphasized by the majority of product designers of the world today.    Here is the list:

  1. Ever-increasing Simplexity
  2. Diagnostic Everything
  3. Mobile and Wireless Everything (more…)

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