deal architect

Tommy, can you hear me?

On other days think of The Who.

Today, think of this.

Weekend Stuff: Free food!

With the economy the way it is, check out this restaurant.

You will be hungry by the time you get there. And you will not want to leave :)

How difficult would this post-merger integration have been?

In calling off its planned merger with wireless carrier, MTN of S. Africa, India's Bharti Airtel says:

"Bharti's vision of transforming itself from a home grown Indian company to a true Indian multinational telecom giant, symbolising the pride of India, would have been severely compromised and this was completely unacceptable to Bharti,"

Oh yes, national pride and egos... as if mergers are already easy to operationalize.

More New Florence

More innovation

Popular Science: Inventions of the Year

RFID and luggage tags

Data Center Makeover

Churchill: 10th Annual Top Ten Trends

A peek inside Xerox Parc

A smarter electric grid

Weekend Stuff: Calling Bud Benjamin

No matter where you stand on immigration, it is amazing that CNN let Lou Dobbs interview and berate a guest whose report happens to criticize his positions.(see also second part here)

CNN, in my opinion, should have had someone independent like Larry King bring the two together and moderate the conversation. And CNN should do an internal investigation whether the report has any merits, and if it does, counsel Lou accordingly.

2 decades ago when General Westmoreland sued CBS for a Mike Wallace 60 minutes segment, CBS did an internal review led by Bud Benjamin and then apologized to the General. And that was for one particular show. Lou Dobbs does it almost every night.

The country needs strong voices like Mike Wallace and Lou Dobbs. But they also need checks and balances.

Somehow, I suspect no one will stand up for illegal immigrants like they did for the General.

Weekend Stuff: Indiana Jones

Go see the movie

a) Read up on the real crystal skulls and the factoid in how HP tested one in 1970

b) Don't be afraid to take your lady (and ladies go on your own if the guys want to watch Indy 500).

to see this sequence in the movie which involves his reunification with Marion Ravenwood from the first movie. After the mandatory spat, comes the part where Marion asks Indy if he's had a lot of women over the years.

Indy:, "Yeah, but they all had the same problem."
Suspiciously, Marion asks, "What was that?"
Indy: "They weren't you"

Man, the guy is smooth with everything - other than snakes, of course:)

Next: Rollover SaaS usage

3 years ago I wrote about a market for trading unused software licenses. This week, a court in Washington ruled in a case against Autodesk "(an owner) is entitled to sell used copies of Autodesk's software regardless of any licensing agreement that might have bound the software's previous owners."

Now can we apply the concept of AT&T's rollover minutes for unused cellular time to SaaS contracts?

I sure hope he is wrong

Congratulations to James Governor and Tom Raftery on Greenmonk. I look forward to technology products and applications of technology they catalog - to showcase on my innovation New Florence blog.

But I am agitated by his suggestion that oil will be $ 200 a barrel by year end. Our economy is in deep trouble with prices today. We can barely absorb a $ 30 increase in 60 days. Can you imagine another $ 70?

My day job is to help clients beat down unreasonable technology pricing. I am besides myself that this administration has done little to help manage the oil price increase --  through our strategic reserve, through managing the dollar and commodity market speculation, through our "friends" in the Middle East. We have been rudderless. If there had been a terrorist incident we would have been all over it. And even that would not have caused a $ 30 increase so fast.

I am all for innovation. But there is enough incentive even at $ 100 a barrel. And at $ 200 - may be in 7-10 years. At $ 200 by end of year the economy will not sustain much. Not even innovation..

Weekend Stuff: Should a tech vendor sponsor Indy 500?

It is 40 mph faster on average than NASCAR. It has more technology as I have written before here and here. It is "greener" using ethanol. It has a rising female star.  It has more international competitors and international following. But IndyCar racing does not have a lead sponsor.

In recent years, AT&T, Qualcomm, Oracle, Accenture have all signed significant stadium or player sponsorships.  IndyCar sounds ideal in many ways for a tech vendor.

Only $ 50 m over 5 years.  Would be a blip on most large vendor's SG&A.

Burning Question: Which government funded technologies have most helped businesses?

So, in a recent conversation about waste in government, the talk turned to technology gems that have come from government spend and the two examples that everyone agreed on was DARPA and Internet and the innovations that have come from NASA's various programs.

I threw out 3 more:

- The military funded GPS satellites have helped in countless logistical applications for business
- SEC and its EDGAR database have made financial analysis so much more sophisticated over the last decade
- Living in Florida, I appreciate what the NOAA and the National Weather Service do in tracking hurricanes and other severe weather. Every year their early warnings save lives and billions in damage

Which additional ones would readers vote for?