Monthly Archives: December 2011


For as long as I can remember the idea that creating great products that people want…

For as long as I can remember the idea that creating great products that people want to buy seemed like an intuitively obvious way for a business to be wildly successful. Along the way, companies also needed to employ people and pay them a wage that would enable them to buy those awesome products.

The short term, bottom line thinking of modern American business just seemed fundamentally flawed but I didn't have the knowledge of business law to provide an explanation of why business played along with it. Apparently the idea of maximizing shareholder value took root with a 1976 paper by Michael Jensen and William Meckling in the Journal of Financial Economics entitled “Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs and Ownership Structure.”

Now a new book by Roger Martin explains how we managed to become the pawns of Wall St hedge fund managers and investment bankers.

If our political leaders really want to make a difference that improves our economy and our country as a whole, they will make the changes necessary to enable business to get back to the roots of what they should be doing and ignoring Wall St.

#business

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The Dumbest Idea In The World: Maximizing Shareholder Value – Forbes
There is only one valid definition of a business purpose: to create a customer. Peter Drucker, The Practice of Management “Imagine an NFL coach,” writes Roger Martin, Dean of the Rotman School of Mana…

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John P is giving away a fresh Kindle Fire

John P is giving away a fresh Kindle Fire

Reshared post from +John Pozadzides

Ok, I've got one extra Amazon Kindle FIRE left, and its too late to return it. So I'm giving it away!

How to win the brand new, unopened Amazon Kindle FIRE in only two steps:
Step 1) Do you have me in one of your circles? Great. Check that one off the list…
Step 2) Publicly SHARE this post.

That's it! You're entered to win, and I'll ship it to you ANYWHERE.

Wait, you want more chances to win? Ok, I'll tell you what:
– One extra entry if you leave a comment telling me WHY you want it.
– One extra entry if you Subscribe to our Livid Lobster newsletter!

You'll find the newsletter subscription form here: http://lividlobster.com/

I'll announce the winner on Geek Beat LIVE on Friday Jan 6 (basically in a week), and then here on Google+. Good luck to all!

PS – Damn, I love to give stuff away. Wait till you see what I'm planning in the new year… 😉

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If the US Patent and Trademark Office grants this patent to Apple (and based on past… 1

If the US Patent and Trademark Office grants this patent to Apple (and based on past experience, they almost certainly will) then we know the system is irretrievably broken and all software related patents should be utterly disregarded and related court cases should be dismissed.

#apple #patent #uspto #android #faceunlock

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Apple Applies For “Face Unlock” Patent – Sounds Awfully Familiar
I don’t want to anyone to dismiss this post as simple Apple bashing troll post but this is getting a bit ridiculous. Apple has recently applied to the USPTO for yet another patent on a technology not only currently in use today — but a main feature in Android 4.0; Face Unlock. Apple’s application describes the patent as a brand new technology that allows a user to unlock a device by using the features of their face. It’s not so much that I hate Apple and there’s no question Android is their s…

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Samsung just doesn't seem to get it do they? Just provide a vanilla build of… 5

Samsung just doesn't seem to get it do they? Just provide a vanilla build of Ice Cream Sandwich for all Galaxy S phones that is available as an optional upgrade for anyone that wants it. Don't waste time and resources trying to fit in pieces of Touchwiz or adapting parts of ICS to Gingerbread. Keep it simple and let the Touchwiz fans stick with GB.

#android #samsung

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Samsung Galaxy S, Galaxy Tab now said to possibly get 'Value Pack' instead of Ice Cream Sandwich
In the continuing story of "Nobody knows what the hell's going on with the Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab," (see Part 1 and Part 2) a new report out of Korea suggests that the manufacturer's 2010 flagship devices may receive a "Value Pack" update instead of a full-fledged refresh to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The "Value Pack" — we'd expect a better name once all the translation and marketing is done — would bring some of the sex of ICS without the hastle of an actual OS update. That's probabl…

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In this column from April 2009, PC Mag's Sacha Sagan clearly demonstrates why…

In this column from April 2009, PC Mag's Sacha Sagan clearly demonstrates why you should be careful what you ask for. At the time a grand total of two Android phones had hit the market, the original G1 and the Magic, both manufactured by HTC.

At the time Sagan ruminated on the slow roll out of phones from all the manufacturers that had committed to supporting Google's new OS.

Fast forward to today when Android is the most popular phone OS and every tech pundit on the planet seems to pleading with manufacturers like Samsung, HTC and Motorola to slow the launch of only mildly differentiated devices so that they can provide better support for existing devices. Hopefully the pendulum will soon settle down somewhere in between the two extremes with a reasonable but not ridiculous selection of devices and faster OS updates from the builders.

#android

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Has Android Already Failed?
Plans for the open-source OS are looking increasingly vague and desperate.

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I've never seen this video before but it's really cool! 1

I've never seen this video before but it's really cool!

Reshared post from +Brian Brushwood

My daughter Penelope (7) just asked me to explain the concept of "infinity". The closest I could get to the first step was to show her the amazing and classic "powers of 10" video by charles and Ray Eames… what other mind-blowing classics should we check out to explore the universe?

Powers of Ten

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As usual, the mainstream media just doesn't get

As usual, the mainstream media just doesn't get

Reshared post from +Chris DiBona

Stay a while, and read the Boston Globes completely craven position on SOPA:

http://articles.boston.com/2011-12-26/editorials/30555176_1_internet-piracy-anti-piracy-online-piracy

I'm shocked that a paper I once considered amongst the most thoughtful could come out in favor of such a deeply flawed piece of legislation.

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Removing the legal eye patch
FOR TOO long, the solution to Internet piracy has been to “round up the usual suspects.’’ While the US economy loses billions because of copyright infringement every year, it seems the only…

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In the spirit of holiday self-promotion, may I also suggest something for the automotive…

In the spirit of holiday self-promotion, may I also suggest something for the automotive enthusiast in the home, a copy of Recharging the Car

For Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/Recharging-the-Car-ebook/dp/B005GY0SZC/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1313337094&sr=8-8

For Nook
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/charging-into-the-future-sam-abuelsamid/1104806909?ean=2940013095755&itm=1&usri=recharging%2bthe%2bcar

and for iBooks
http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/recharging-the-car/id457122112?mt=11

Reshared post from +Jeff Jarvis

Looking for something to put on that new Kindle, iPad, Nook, iPod…? May I be so greedy as to suggest….

Public Parts on Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W3FZ0Q/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=buzzmachine-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004W3FZ0Q

Public Parts on Nook
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/public-parts-jeff-jarvis/1101384212?ean=9781451636376&itm=1&usri=public+parts

Public Parts on Google ebooks
http://books.google.com/ebooks?id=djTOx4cnfhsC&dq=public%20parts%20jeff%20jarvis&as_brr=5&ei=BSn3TvPaJM_iUNKJ8Bc&source=webstore_bookcard

Public Parts on Audible
http://www.amazon.com/Public-Parts-Sharing-Digital-Improves/dp/B005PTOXFY/ref=tmm_aud_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1324819879&sr=1-1-catcorr

Public Parts is not yet available on Kobo (until I have a hissy fit).

Public Parts on Apple iBook
http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/public-parts/id431617518?mt=11

Public Parts on Sony
http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/jeff-jarvis/public-parts/_/R-400000000000000497104

* * * * *

What Would Google Do? on Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NLKYT2/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=buzzmachine-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001NLKYT2

What Would Google Do? on Nook
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-would-google-do-jeff-jarvis/1100557879?ean=9780061893933&itm=1&usri=what+would+google+do

What Would Google Do? on Google ebooks
http://books.google.com/ebooks?id=v9sspElj_5YC&dq=what+would+google+do&as_brr=5&ei=Lyn3TvXQNcLUUeqZud8G

What Would Google Do? on Audible
http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_2?asin=B004Q7CC0O&qid=1324820393&sr=1-2

What Would Google Do? on Kobo
http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/What-Would-Google-Do-Reverse-Engineering/book-tQw7R7LTeEmC8l_owy_bTg/page1.html

What Would Google Do on iBook
http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/what-would-google-do/id363687057?mt=11&ls=1

What Would Google Do on Sony
http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/jeff-jarvis/what-would-google-do/_/R-400000000000000110254

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Even though I've been using a Droid 3 since July, I still use OG Droid that I… 10

Even though I've been using a Droid 3 since July, I still use OG Droid that I ordered on day one more than two years ago as a streaming media player. Since early this year, the old Droid has been running on various Gingerbread builds from either +Peter Alfonso or Cyanogenmod. After the success I had loading an early Ice Cream Sandwich ROM onto my son's Samsung Fascinate last week, I decided to try it on the OG Droid.

I found an early build based on Android 4.0.3 on the XDA-Developers forum and installed it last night. It's far from complete but it is remarkably functional for what I currently use the device for. The phone apparently works although I wouldn't know for sure since the OG isn't activated at the moment. The WiFi works and apps like stitcher, pandora, google music and reader are all functional. GPS doesn't work right now so no maps. Skype does work for voice calls so the phone could be used over WiFi.

I'll keep playing with it and flashing updated builds, but so far I really like what I see of ICS. Unlike crazed Apple design nerds like John Gruber, I actually really like the way the new Roboto screen font looks on the phone. I also like the new browser, the GMail app and the new UI as a whole. I can't wait until an ICS ROM is available for the Droid 3.

For now though a vanilla ICS build works remarkably smoothly even on this old phone with just 256 MB of ram and rom proving again that Samsung's excuses for not updating the Galaxy S phones is cop out.

Update: You can find the rom files in this forum, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1393632 Go through the thread for updated versions.

#ogdroid #ics #android

In album OG Droid Ice Cream Sandwich (4 photos)

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