deal architect

More New Renaissance

on the innovation blog

The Globalization of R&D

President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology

GMail Labs: Experimental Features

Technology and Florida Orange Juice

The world's first computer?

Do words matter?

Asks Irving Wladawsky-Berger of IBM as he bravely questions why CNN continues to allow Lou Dobbs to tirade about immigration issues when hate crimes keep rising (thanks to Thomas Otter for sending me the link)

I have taken more pot shots on Lou on this blog than I care to remember. But having done what I did yesterday, I am in a more generous mood.

What I did yesterday was stop by and deliver my annual gift of chocolates to folks who help us through the year.

For 18 years since we arrived in Tampa, Blanca from Puerto Rico has been on that gift list. She has trimmed my receding hairline and proudly nurtured my son's growing crop all these years. For just as long, Lee from Korea has polished my dress shoes and done all kinds of other leather work for us. For almost as long, Nurdin from Uganda has dry cleaned my suits.

Nothing gives me more joy than to see these and other hard working immigrants still in business year after year.    

In 1952, Oscar Handlin won a Pulitzer for his book The Uprooted in which he wrote

"“Once I thought to write a history of the immigrants in America. Then I discovered that the immigrants were American history."

You know what - those words matter far more than what Lou or the bigots may say.

Weekend Stuff: What color is your vitamin C?

December in Florida is particularly enjoyable having just escaped from the cold-battered Midwest. But what makes it even more so is that the oranges in the backyard are starting to ripen.

My preferred form of Vitamin C this time of the year is to pick one of our oranges and cut it in 4 - and suck on a piece as if it was a lime. No salt or tequila chaser needed:)

If you are in the neighborhood, stop by and I will squeeze you a fresh glass. 8 of our oranges make a great, pulp-free tall glass.

If not, go buy a carton of Florida's best - and read on New Florence about the technology which allows you to enjoy it around the world.

But it sounded like the perfect hedge

Opposites average out - correct?

Courtesy of Krishna Mony, I see that Maytas is the mirror opposite of Satyam.Perfect for diversification - you would think.

But investors hated plans for the Indian outsourcing firm, Satyam to spend $ 1.6 billion to merge with affiliated construction companies called Maytas.

Update: Brian Sommer provides a broader perspective including a lawsuit in Texas against Satyam

Weekend Stuff: Worst Taxi Rides

Courtesy of Jason Busch I saw this Forbes Traveler listing of the world's worst taxi cities - Jakarta, Bangkok, Athens, New York City among them.

I cannot say I have been blatantly ripped off (not that I know off anyways) but I have had some interesting taxi moments in my travels

• First trip to Rome, it was middle of summer and the city was deserted and I was convinced the driver had taken me for a ride to some obscure suburb.
• Athens, told the driver to take me to the Hilton and he kept saying Chilton. I was convinced we were going to the wrong place till I saw a Chuck Norris movie poster, and his name was spelled Huck...and I breathed easier that Chilton was the same as Hilton.
• In Cairo, the guy stopped the car and asked me to take my seat belt off - "don't trust my driving?"
• In Tokyo, the cabs are immaculate and the drivers wear spotless white gloves. But in the taxi stand outside the Intercontinental, the cab in line would not drive up when my turn came. A local lady stepped out of line and the cab picked her. I turned to the Australian in line behind me and asked if it was the color of my skin. He said he would have been similarly ignored. Some taxis refuse to deal with any "gaijin".

Tough to rip off a foreign visitor if you don't even get them in your cab :)

More New Florence

On the innovation blog

The Mercedes Splitview

Beyond ID cards

Maybe carmakers should "stop making cars"

Motorola's Emergency Strategy

What do you do with your Digital Camera?

Would you outsource your operations to them?

All the major telcos have been growing their IT outsourcing businesses. But when you look at their own internal operations you have to wonder who runs those.

"A year after promising to do so, Sprint has finally started pro-rating its early termination fee (ETF)... Sprint blamed the delay on its old billing system—now updated—which couldn't handle pro-rating." 
Consumer Reports

Then there is Verizon's incredibly slow electronic bill presentment.

Then there is AT&T's convoluted rebate process.

If they cannot handle pro-rating or basic rebates, would you trust them with your payroll or your own billing?

The sad thing is it hurts their outsourcing sales positioning.  The excuse usually is " you know those (the consumer and mobile divisions) are separate legal entities we don't do much with..."

More Innovation

On the New Florence blog

Shai Agassi's Better Place

The exploding iPhone App store

Technology and Terrorists

Frustration-free packaging

Stealth Bomber 2.0

Did Gillette take over AT&T?

Radio Shack is selling the Acer Notebook for $ 100

WalMart may be selling the iPhone for $ 99

Attached to both these "razors" would be the AT&T "blades" - a 2 year contract for its 3G service costing at least $ 60 a month.

Instead of lowering prices for the recession, Gillette has been trying to convince consumers its Fusion blades only cost a "dollar a week".

I can see AT&T similarly using fuzzy math about its own price plans.

Offshore Rate Rollbacks

Economic Times of India

"In what appears to be the first round of renegotiating their outsourcing contracts after a slower economic growth impacted their business, customers such as Best Buy, Visa and Conseco are seeking significant rate cuts from their Indian suppliers."

The article then cites cuts in the range of 3 to 7%.

That's all?

Brace yourself for X times that as companies argue the rupee has depreciated (so the firms make more in dollars), the India labor market has cooled off substantially, and much of the work in a recession is sustaining, not enhancing. Add to that at least some nervousness about India about the recent attacks in Mumbai, and more rollbacks are going to be expected.