drew moynihan

Blurbs, Professional:

Startup Funding - Startup Valuation at the Friends and Family Round

The First-Time CEO’s Recession Survival Guide

The future has arrived...soon to be replacing your morning newspaper, or subway ride magazine.

Plastic Logic Electronic Reading Device (eReader)

On October 19th, 2005  I wrote an short article that caused a surprising stir amongst my contemporaries in the Newspaper industry (5,000 hits in one day), the article titled: Print is Dead, was meant to eschew the coming changes within the print media, delve into the role of blogging and how it challenges the news gathering role, and take a practical look at the coming eReader revolution, leaving traditional newsprint to die slowly as ad revenues fell. 

I reanimate this horse because there is movement on all fronts. Firstly, there is new information regarding negative momentum, as newspapers ad revenues decrease at downhill speed; secondly, the greater role that blogging is playing and often overshadowing the role of print media in traditional news gathering, and lastly, the device quotient that would seal the fall of traditional print media. 

The device I reference above is stunningly cool, and to be truthful, I am giddy at the prospects... and what device released has made me prattle on like a school girl... Plastic Logic's Electronic Reading Device  (I know what you're thinking: not a very retail friendly name!).

So what has Plastic Logic done differently then the Amazon Kindle or the Sony eReader?  Firstly, they have made me a soothsayer by releasing a product that I foretold of in 2006, a device that would woo the average Joe from his newsprint sullied hands!  But kidding aside, they have released an Electronic Reading Device that Joe Q. Public will buy handily, a device with the optimum form factor for mass adoption, battery life in terms of days instead of hours, versatility at reading multiple eBook formats, and wireless connectivity options to boot.  A device such as this is what the market has dreamed of, and should be the tipping point that encourages eReaders to become mainstream.

We are at a crossroads, though minor, it's nice to recognize the point of origin.

*Ed Note: Engadget has a write up and better photos of Plastic Logic's Electronic Reading Device [via Engadget]

Cheryl enjoying a nice quiet night at home (notice the Dora book?)

My Calendar of Events for September:

• TechCrunch Event, Austin, TX - September, 26th.
• ACL Festival, Austin, TX - September, 27th (family).
• OMMA Awards Show and Global Expo, New York, NY - Thursday & Friday, September 18th & 19th.

Daily Interest - Professional:

• Negative Momentum: Newspaper Ad Revenues Gaining Downhill Speed (Even Online Is Declining)[via TechCrunch]
• Online TV Viewing Approaches the Mainstream [via NewsFactor]
• Does a Tech Manager Need to Be Tech-Savvy? [via CIO, a worthwhile read...]
• Google Exec Praises Apple iPhone, Chrome Browser [via CIO]
• Acer expected to ship two million netbooks in 3Q08 [via DigiTimes]

Daily Interest - Personal:

• Great American Beer Festival [via beertown.org]
• Concrete-Jet Robot Prints Out Houses [via BotJunkie]
• Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Has Hidden Built-In 3G [via Gizmodo]
• 10 videos of ejection seat tests [ via OObject]
• Acer Aspire One's 6-cell is a whole lot cheaper bundled [via Engadget]
• 10 Things No One Tells You About Parenthood [from My Wife, via MSN]

Web sites of Interest:

• Stormpulse
• IBISEYE

Companies of Interest:

• NetSuite

iPhone Apps:

• Oracle Business Indicators for the iPhone
• SalesForce.com Mobile for the iPhone

* Editorial Note: You may notice in the last few posts the style and formats have been changing, that is purposeful, as I have been experimenting with different formats to enhance readability.

-Thanks, Drew M.

 
OK, so I do hog the Lego's....

This morning I downloaded Google's latest and greatest, Chrome. Here are my thoughts after using for the day.

What I don't like:

1. Freezes when opening up certain web pages for 15-20 seconds.
2. Two crashes back to back when I first loaded the app (entire app, not just a window).
3. Some pages don’t work, just ran into a problem loading JiWire.com. [check TechCrunch for a list]
4. Absence of Plugins! I use FoxMarks, ScribeFire, TwitterFox, and Evernote all day, I do not want to live without them as they make my life easier (I know the community can add them...).
5. Lack of Google Apps, Gmail, Domain, AdSense, etc. integration... I think this was a blown opportunity.
6. I have read the ELUA, and the ownership issues do concern me significantly, regardless whether they are similar to the Google Apps language. I understand Google will be remedying this soon [via Gizmodo].

What I do like:

1. HTML rendering is reminiscent of Apple’s Safari, and is just short of stunning.
2. Tab are in the right place - finally!
3. I like the minimalist feel of the User Interface.
4. Imported everything beautifully from FireFox... Bookmarks and Passwords.
5. In Firefox, I open 17 tabs simultaneously every morning, though Chrome chewed on it a little longer, it opened these with aplomb.

As I said above the ownership concerns are distressing, and the lack of any plugins at launch, even Google demonstration plugins was remiss, but overall I like Chrome for a first attempt, unfortunately, I think we have come to expect more from Google.

You can get Google's new Chrome here.

---

Two interests = too much trouble....

What am I reading this week?

• Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness After the Digital Explosion
• by Hal Abelson, Ken Ledeen, Harry Lewis

Blurbs of Interest - Professional:

• Customer Disservice: How Much Is It Costing You? [via CRM Daily]
• Reboot Your Workflow This Fall [via LifeHacker]
• Six Degrees of Separation Is Now Three [via TechCrunch]
• Surgient Software Creates 'Self-Service Cloud [via CIO]
• California claims copyright over it's laws? [via pressdemocrat]
• Apple's 'Let's Rock' Invites Stir Announcement Rumors [via NewsFactor.com]

Blurbs of Interest - Personal:

• New iRobot Roombas Aimed at Pets and Very Dirty People [via Gizmodo]
• LED Trojan Horse [via Yanko Design]
• Huge spider is latest arts event [via BBC]
• AT&T Outage hits the East Coast [via Engadget]
• 'ice shelf nearly the size of Manhattan has broken away' [via CNN]
• Media Sync syncs from iTunes onto any phone [via salling.com]
• Trek District ($930; November 2008) [via Uncrate]
• Check out PleaseDressMe the T-shirt search engine [PleaseDressMe]

Blurbs of Interest - Dad Stuff:

• Telling Your Stories [via DIY Father]
• Do hard things [via All Pro Dad]
• The Awesome Dad Cheat Sheet [via The Art of Manliness]