It should not come as a surprise that we are in the juncture between industry revolution and information revolution. But what this really mean?

For centuries, production of goods are done by artisan usually aided by immediate family members. Yet, within 50 years of industry revolution, this was replaced by factories with unskilled workers. Factories which increased output at incredible low cost. The most significant invention during the industry revolution was no doubt the railway, as it brings people closer and allows trading to be done across great distance. Railway changes the economy and society forever.
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This is just plain cool! I am blogging this down so I don’t forget the link!

Finally watch the Turn Left, Turn Right tonight…A beautiful story by Jimmy Liao. I am glad I didnt wait in vain for the show.

Heard that IBM is doing a new commerical in US where they compare Linux to a little boy, “growing fast, taught by the best, gaining wisdom beyond his years, and sharing”.

You can download the commerical from IBM (or from here) which, no surprising, support only quicktime, realplayer and mpg on Linux (Sorry folks..no .avi for Windows folks :-)

When you are there downloading, read the speech by Irving Wladasky-Berger on Linux too. (Dr. Irving, who happens to be one of the independent director of my previous company, is responsible for pushing Open Source in IBM back in the 90s)

Yes, the future is Open :-)

During a golf session with a friend over the weekend, we have a brief but interesting discussion about bureaucracy in the government.

Peter Drucker, in his book Managing the Next Society noted that Japanese have encountered 3 economic crisis: 1940s unemployment, 1960 retail inefficiency and 1980s recession. What is interesting is that the government overcome the first two by doing preciesly nothing. Yet, ignoring past wisdom, they poured huge sum of public funds to stimulate economy in 80s which only results in gross failure.
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Build to Last by James C. Collins & Jerry I. Porras

First, Break all the Rules by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman

Bought these two books on the way to lunch and they are on sales at Suntec Convention Center (at one of its seminar).

Teyu have been recommending to me “Build to Last” for quite sometime so it is an excuse for me to buy more books.

I actually bought and read the book “First, Break all the Rules” earlier this year. I love it very much and have been lending it around and have no idea where it is now.

In times of great need, outstanding man stood up and take up the challenge. It is during these times that leaders appear among us. It differential those who have courage and those who dont. It differential those who can do from those who can talk.

Crisis, in short, is the polish for great leaders.

I have heard so much about the legendary letter “The Last Days” by John Walker, founder of Autodesk that I decided to check it out today.

Bill Gate once described the article as “brilliantly written and incredible insightful” which inspired him to write his own “Crisis Letter” for Microsoft: “By talking about how a large company slows down, fails to invest enough and loses sight of what is important, and by using Microsoft as an example of how to do some things correctly he manages to touch on a lot of what’s right and wrong with Microsoft today”.

According to Taipei Times, China has launch a systematic information warfare campaign against Taiwan with the goal to break into government database.

Well, I usually take news from Taiwan with a pint of salt but if this is true, then this may be the first international cyberwar I know…From clubs to swords to guns to smartbombs, are wars moving to Internet?

The article ends with a conclusion that “If there’s any lesson from this experience, it is not to use software developed in China or hire Chinese computer programmers, because you’re running the risk of having the software you use implanted with the Trojan-horse program”…It could jolly well be FUD to stop the trend of software development been outsource to China.

Found a really thought provocating paper on broadband today by Andrew Odlyzko.

It is one of the most comprehensive studies made on broadband (albeit US-centric).

“The many paradoxes of broadband” (50 pages) by Andrew Odlyzho.
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