Thanks Apple!

On a previous blog posting about TiVo Everywhere I was wondering why the market had yet to produce a good TiVo-like device for radio. Well, finally Apple stepped up and did so. The new Nano packs in quite an impressive bunch of features, including a radio with pause and replay features.

Probably the most impressive is the packing of a 640x480 pixel, 30 frame-per-second video camera into that tiny case giving up to 16+ hours of video on your nano. I would be nervous if I had recently invested in these guys.

The incredible advancement of these recording devices has truly started the democratization of information around the world. Recent events in Iran, Israel and Palestine have been a great examples of that. Every individual now has the ability to transmit exactly what is happening in their world almost instantly. It's impossible to hide, and there are no more information barriers.

So far, this has had a relatively positive impact on the world, in my view. It seems the most powerful change agent is the free flow of information and devices like these are providing the tools.

Technology is great, ain't it?

Ramblings on Starting a Company and Getting Funded...

I recently gave a short interview with TalkTech where I was asked about my thoughts on getting a start-up off the ground, and the attitude needed to persevere through the challenges of growing a business. I make no claims to be an authority on the subject, and if you choose to listen to anything I have to say you do so at your own risk, but here are a few things I will recommend you do before trying anything crazy like starting a company:

1. Make sure your wife/husband/partner is incredibly supportive and ready for the fun that lies ahead...
2. Choose your business partner(s) carefully, you'll need them to be on your side 100% of the time.
3. Choose your employees extremely carefully, and your investors even more so.
   
4. Fix your mistakes as fast as you can and move on... including your hiring mistakes!
5. And probably most importantly: Don't ever accept that something can't be done just because noone else has figured it out yet.

Oh, and don't get too attached to sleep, you may not see much of it for a while.

In any case, if you're interested in a few minutes of my rambling, here's the interview.