I drove a 2001 version and a post 2002 version– didn’t feel any different.
Toyota’s woes have roots in 2002’s redesigned Camry sedan, which featured a new type of gas pedal. Instead of physically connecting to the engine with a mechanical cable, the new pedal used electronic sensors to send signals to a computer controlling the engine. The same technology migrated to cars including Toyota's luxury Lexus ES sedan. The main advantage is fuel efficiency.
– WSJ
Unlike other companies, Microsoft never developed a true system for innovation. Some of my former colleagues argue that it actually developed a system to thwart innovation.
via Op-Ed Contributor – Microsoft’s Creative Destruction – NYTimes.com.
This is a great question– how do you maintain that competitive spirit within firms but make sure it doesn’t become detrimental?
Internal competition is common at great companies. It can be wisely encouraged to force ideas to compete. The problem comes when the competition becomes uncontrolled and destructive. At Microsoft, it has created a dysfunctional corporate culture in which the big established groups are allowed to prey upon emerging teams, belittle their efforts, compete unfairly against them for resources, and over time hector them out of existence. It’s not an accident that almost all the executives in charge of Microsoft’s music, e-books, phone, online, search and tablet efforts over the past decade have left.
via Op-Ed Contributor – Microsoft’s Creative Destruction – NYTimes.com.
Parsa says he spent three months trying to track down someone at American Express who could give him a source for the 90% figure quoted in the ad. As it turns out, they didn't have one. “American Express has not been able to track down a specific data source for the statistic,” reads a written statement a spokesperson sent Parsa in response to his request.
I’ve been worried about this and that’s why I’ve been increasingly using Chrome when I’m on a public wifi– it’s much easier to open a private browser window: Control-Shift-N.
browser-cache poisoning over Wi-Fi can be kept in a persistent state unless the user knows how to effectively empty the cache.
via How Wi-Fi attackers are poisoning Web browsers – Network World.
A prolific angel investor who deserves the attention– here’s a blog post by Connie Loizos on pehub. Here’s a block on what the firm is looking for these days:
The criteria is loose, though a priority for Conway right now is the so-called live Internet — a wider trend in how users more immediately interact and share content these days — and mobile applications. In fact, concepts that combine both in particular “move to the top of the list,†says Lee.
The closer a startup is to an inflection point, the better, too. “We try to get involved when they need help with a key business development deal or a subsequent financing or with key hires,†according to Lee, who adds that occasionally, the group — operating under moniker SV Angel — will also back entrepreneurs at the concept stage. He says that it happens “rarely. It very much depends on the entrepreneur and the idea.â€
The rest of the team’s time is spent cultivating stronger partnerships with Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft on behalf of its startups, or meeting, often at Conway’s lavish San Francisco home, with the new entrepreneurs that are regularly funneled their way.
“We try to spend as much time with prospective opportunities because, at the risk of sounding corny, that’s the most fun part of this business,†says Lee. “Even if they are opportunities we don’t pursue, [meeting with them] feeds the ecosystem, and we do think it’s a pay-it-forward business.â€
Great quote:
Felix Salmon, “The point is that it’s pretty much impossible to have a bubble in something which doesn’t have a liquid asset class supporting it. “ (Reuters)
via Thursday links: performance persistence Abnormal Returns.
The demand will always go where the money is easier.
“A year ago when we started raising our second fund, which is somewhat bigger, we wanted an institutional base,” Patricof said. “We went out for six months and didn't get a single response. Then we went back to our original investors, sent out a letter again, and four weeks later we raised a lot of money with just a letter and no phone calls. The individual investor market is a great market.”
via Mark It Zero: Institutions Calling It Quits on Venture?.
Using wordpress for blackberry. Nice app!
China is the “biggest victim” of growing U.S. protectionism, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on its Web site late yesterday.
Growing protectionism is seriously affecting the stable development of trade ties between the U.S. and China, ministry spokesman Yao Jian was cited as saying in the statement.
via Protectionism Hurting U.S.-China Trade, Beiing Says – BusinessWeek.