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Warning: Minor spoilers for "Under Pressure" and prior episodes of "Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series" follow.
While playing the latest installment in "Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series," I constantly found myself comparing it to the latest movie and its predecessor. What the films have done are fantastic, and its a tough act to follow in a game that has a lot of potential, but continuously falls short of the standard set by the movies. It may be wrong to judge two different forms of media, but its hard not to when the film's release is so close in proximity to the first two episodes of the game. The episode picks up right after it left off with Star-Lord being brought back from the dead thanks to the Eternity Forge, and the crew setting off to find out the purpose of the mysterious relic.
Something that I really enjoyed about this episode is the fact that we get a glimpse at Rocket's origin through him trying to resurrect someone who was killed during the experiments conducted at the same facility he came from. This triggers a flashback to him forming an escape plan with that someone who turns out to be an otter named Lylla, who Rocket obviously has feelings for. In their escape, Lylla dies laying in Rocket's arms after she was hit with a lethal injection, leaving Rocket only with a high-tech armband of sorts that she helped him to build for the escape. After the attempt to resurrect her fails in the present, Rocket is hit hard with the memories and has a interesting moment with Star-Lord, which is not often seen in the character who is often only used for comedic purposes. This layer of depth is much appreciated for Rocket, and is something the film has not quite done for us to this extent.
The rest of the episode finds the Guardians trying to evade the Kree villain Hala and track down Gamora's sister Nebula, who is the only one that can translate the ancient Kree language found on the Eternity Forge. When they eventually find her, they manage to get the text translated which leads them back to the temple where they killed Thanos and found the Eternity Forge in the first episode. Once they arrive, the Guardians find that Hala has already been there but was unable to access the information needed without the Eternity Forge. The newly found information sees the Guardians to a far away planet, ending the episode on a cliffhanger.
When "Batman: The Telltale Series" saw the first use of Telltale's new engine, all subsequent episodes and series saw a significant boost in frame rate and lack of glitches, and this episode is no different. This seems to be agreed upon by the rest of the online community, showing the strong strides that Telltale has made in its technical department.
While I enjoyed the Rocket Raccoon flashback and exploring more of his past, the rest of the episode did not feature the same level of quality that even the first episode had. The character interaction is there but not what you'd expect from a Guardians game, which is a large part in what makes the Guardians so enjoyable to watch. It makes it hard to recommend this game at the moment, especially while its at full price with only two episodes to show for it. While the episode ended in a typical cliffhanger, there wasn't much to leave me excited for the next episodes release.


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Autumn Morning Star
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Today, I corrected grammar in
1379 Posts
Rich's design is interesting and deceptive! The four little pegs the casket sits on really add to the deceptiveness of his illusion. http://www.richhillsillusionshop.com/crystalcasket.htm
I have a CC by Bill Smith and it is lovely. Nice thin base with Queen Anne style legs. I altered the illusion and made the 'casket' break down for transportation. This, coupled with a purposeful routine makes this illusion a WORKING prop!
Wonder is very necessary in life. When we're little kids, we're filled with wonder for the world - it's fascinating and miraculous. A lot of people lose that. They become cynical and jaded, especially in modern day society. Magic renews that wonder.
Doug Henning
Loyal user
Las Vegas
210 Posts
Here is the one we built for Darren Romeo.....we call this model "The Romeo"....yes the top is really metal veneered & stained.
Click here to view attached image.
Loyal user
250 Posts
WOW, that's Beautiful!!!!!!!!!!
Empowering Kingdom Growth through Evangelistic Entertainment!
Inner circle
The United States
1221 Posts
WOW!!! Illusiontech, that is one of the best I have ever seen!! Great job
Loyal user
Las Vegas
210 Posts
Thanks so much!! I'll be posting a video of some of the illusions we have built, this weekend, it's the first illusion on there. I'll keep you posted.
Loyal user
Louisville, KY
207 Posts
I believe Abbott's used the Alcorn design for many years. Blackstone Jr. used that design in his show up until his death. Wellington produces a nice version. Chalet came out a very deceptive version shortly before they stopped producing large illusions.
Elite user
467 Posts
I believe it is one of the greatest illusions in the audiences eyes. True magic. You cover an empty box pull the cloth away and a beautiful girl appears. WOW
I believe when you and the 6 pieces of glass and straps it puts more heat on the base and it becomes a differtent illusion. Doing the Illusion boom, boom makes it look better for me.
Why it's not used more in my opinion is that most of the magians can only carry a limited amount of props and this is a big one for thirty seconds. Just my opinion.
Blair Marshall
Inner circle
Montreal, Canada
3640 Posts
Crispy, don't forget the Alcorn casket was more about the method/mechanics than the look/design.
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New user
94 Posts
I am not an illusionist, but I am interested in big illusions, and maybe working with them once I have the money.
Anyhow, I have always wondered why the magician doesn't make clear, by way of gestures/movements that people can see underneath the casket, showing that there is nothing under it and that it is off above the floor. This would also add to distract from the idea of the base, suggesting it is merely being used to keep it above the floor.
Mad Jack
Regular user
195 Posts
When I was young.... A looooooooong time ago, lol... One of the first illusions I ever bought was a crystal casket from Gerry Frenette (magic makers). It looked great, had a nice bevelled base and was only like $1300 or something like that. I loved that prop! Don't you wish you could have back all the cool stuff you have sold over the years?
Inner circle
1328 Posts
Oh yes.
Elton Litzner
New user
58 Posts
I too was considering attempting to build a crystal casket or "the crystal box" as the Wells plans are calling it.
I am new to illusions. I have been performing "stand up" and "Sideshow material" for sometime. I am wanting to introduce some illusions to my show. Is there anything I should know before attempting the Crystal Casket. Not only in terms of the physical building (I am having a skilled family member help me with the physical constuction) but also in terms of performance conditions. My venues can vary quite a bit and rarely do I get to work in a proper theater. So are there lighting/angel considerations I should be aware of? I wouldn't think it would be too problematic, but I'm a novice with illusions. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Mad Jack
Regular user
195 Posts
If you are just getting into illusions, I would really recommend a "function" illusion first instead of a crystal casket. A function illusion is (by my definition)an effect where the girl enters the prop, something happens and she exits at the end. For example: A sword basket, Mini-Kub Zag, Zig-Zag, etc. I would strongly suggest that anyone wanting to add just one illusion to an already existing show not get one where "pre-loading" is required, especially when working in "real world" conditions.
Just my random thoughts,
Mad Jack
Pakar Ilusi
Inner circle
5714 Posts
On 2011-04-01 00:29, Mad Jack wrote:
I agree. Good advice.
"Dreams aren't a matter of Chance but a matter of Choice." -DC-
Elton Litzner
New user
58 Posts
I understand what you mean "real world conditions" I bring a pipe and drape set up, so I can have a modest "backstage area" I work with a partner who performs some of her own acts as well. during the opening it would be nice to do an appearance. I was thinking of a shadow box type effect, but I not so great for outdoor/daytime performances. So I thought a Crystal casket might be a better alternative. We're closing the show with a sub trunk.
Elton Litzner
New user
58 Posts
I was thinking of in the future adding a sword box illusion in the middle of the show.but these things take time and I'm on a shoe string budget. If I cant build it myself I probably cant afford to put it in the show.
Elton Litzner
New user
58 Posts
Yeah I'm basically wanting either some type of appearance for myself or to walk out and then produce my partner. but because of venues considerations I'm looking for something that can be done under most conditions. I like Andrew Mayne's specter cabinet, but the B.A. may be problematic in half of my venues where I can't control lighting.
Any suggestions are welcome. That's why I'm here is to try and learn.
Inner circle
7382 Posts
Greeting to Jessica, Alan and yourself.
The Crystal Casket is a good appearance illusion provided you have a means to get her loaded into it. One problem with the casket is does have a relatively large footprint. So if you are going to spin it onstage, it does take some room and should be a pretty good stage. If it is a hotel riser staging, it can be uneven and could damage the legs. Also you have to be very careful with the plexiglass from getting scratched.
A dollhouse or Temple of Benares has a smaller footprint for turning onstage. Again you need a place to load her into but it has smaller footprint.
I would stay away from Black Art because of the reasons you mentioned.
A simple production can be done with a Bryce's Screen. It is pretty easy to load someone quickly into to produce. You could decorate the framework that it could really look unique.
I will have to dig around a bit and think on this. What are you planning to transport this in..van, panel truck?
Richard E. Hughes, Hughes Magic Inc., 352 N. Prospect St., Ravenna, OH 44266 (330)296-4023
Write direct as I will be turning off my PM's.
Regular user
Myrtle Beach , S.C.
145 Posts
Heres a video clip of Brett Daniels helping me on stage in Myrtle Beach make an up and coming pop singer appear before a concert 2 years ago. My crystal casket is pretty well made and quite deceptive , I love performing it - This is not normal quickness and the girl is not my assistant and only had about 10 mins with her to practice backstage prior to her concert. There was a small clip of this shown on VHI during SPRING BREAK 2009.
- Carl Michael - www.CarlMichaelMagic.com
Frequent performer at top night clubs such as Mansion Miami , PURE Las Vegas , Marquee Vegas , and Veranda NYC . 2012 and 2013 Reader's Choice Magician of the Year. Currently headlining in my own stage show in Myrtle Beach . Follow on twitter , Instagram and ViNe @CMMAGIC
Blair Marshall
Inner circle
Montreal, Canada
3640 Posts
Here is my Gaughan "Crystal Casket" being used by Lucille Ball, it is a nice clean copy so I think you will appreciate the deceptiveness of John's work. It's at 1:40. The clip starts with the Asrah (which was probably built by Lee Edwards), and the assistants are Lee Edwards, and his brother Steve, they supplied all the illusions for this HBO special (which became part of the show I purchased).
(P.S. It's amazing how much magic you can do by just clapping! LOL)
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This shiny silver My Cat photo frame makes a wonderful gift idea for any cat owner or kitten lover and its personalised with a special engraved message to make it the perrrfect gift.
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Welcome back to another exciting edition of gift guides! I know I have done one whole gift guide and now I think I'm an expert. For part two of the book lover's gift guide, I'm handing out a list of some of my favorite books I've loved period. Part 1 was strictly focused on books I've read this year and loved. Part 2, we are expanding.
Reminder, don't be afraid that the book lover in your life has read these books or might already own them. Just grab a gift receipt. Nobody was ever injured exchanging a book and waltzing through a bookstore for a few hours.
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2. The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson– THIS BOOK. Oh my gosh. Okay, this book had me guessing and every time I thought I had figured out what was going on, I'd turn the page and discover that I was wrong. This book is so good. I still need to read the rest of the series. Our main character flees her wedding day for an arranged marriage and starts a new life where two mysterious men show up. One is the prince who she was supposed to marry, the other, an assassin sent to kill her.
3. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas– My favorite thing about this book is that it is set in "olden" times. Which is just my way of saying that it happens in a time period from the past before technology was a thing. Here we have an assassin who is in what is basically a jail. If jail was a place where bad people went and there were no rules on how they were treated. The prince plucks this assassin out of the jail to be his champion in a contest for the king.
4. Control by Brittany K. Blair– Think X-Men with a government that was able to force them to register and a society that hates them and only sees them as a threat and a danger. Control focus on Cole, who has all the trademarks of an Anomaly (what they are called in this world) except a power. This book has a wonderful group of characters and this book has plenty of action.
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Maria De Villota has been found dead in a hotel room in Seville, Spain at the age of 33.
A statement on her Facebook page, signed by her family, read: "Dear friends: Maria has left us.
"She had to go to heaven like all angels. We are thankful to God for the extra year and a half that he left her with us."
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De Villota was in Seville to promote the launch of her autobiography, Life Is A Gift.


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EUMETSAT has successfully completed the commissioning of its MSG-4 satellite, and renamed it Meteosat-11.
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Meteosat-11, as the last of the successful MSG series of geostationary satellites, will provide continuity of service until MTG-I1, the first of the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) imaging satellites, is commissioned - in 2020 - and will continue to be exploited in tandem with the new MTG-I satellites until 2025.
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The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites is an intergovernmental organisation based in Darmstadt, Germany, currently with 30 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom) and one Cooperating State (Serbia).
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[ED: minor scheduling snafu: this is Saturday's CC] Here we go again. You know what to do!
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I agree with you andre roy, 924 or 944/944S2
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Gorgeous ocean front Lower Matecumbe home. Nothing but views and natural light from this 2002 built concrete fortress. Large, natural, sandy beach with new pool and outdoor kitchen allow for entertaining options that amaze. Inside tastefully updated and well maintained with all the comforts a family could need. Plenty of storage downstairs for all your water toys and enclosed garage area for the fishing enthusiasts tackle. Wade the shallows for Bonefish or just take in the breathtaking beauty of the ocean, whatever you desire this home brings your dream of keys living to life! Freshly painted exterior! interior. New AC's 2017. Popular monthly rental and home is offered furnished!
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Blaine Campbell is an Alberta-based photographer and artist, dividing time between Edmonton and Vancouver.
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Artworks are based in photography, installation, and video. Blaine's thematic interests have included the inherent properties of the photograph and its relation to the viewer, landscape use and modification, processes of mediation and artifice in relation to transcendent experience, and parallels between Jacques Derrida's "textuality" and quantum theory. In 2007, Blaine received the national award in the BMO 1st Art! Invitational juried competition and the Emerging Artist Award from the Contemporary Arts Society. Recently he was shortlisted for the Eldon and Anne Foote Prize, and completed residencies at the Banff Centre and TRIUMF. He has exhibited work at various galleries in Canada and Europe and is represented by Republic Gallery in Vancouver.
A 2007 graduate of Emily Carr University with a BFA in photography, Blaine previously completed B.Math and M.Sc. degrees in mathematics at the University of Waterloo and University of Calgary, respectively.
Please e-mail me at:


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Did you know Dan of the Day features a collection of hundreds of quirky/funny videos and images? Each is hidden and revealed by hovering over and clicking certain text in Dan's daily thoughts.
For example, click here to see today's hidden video.
This week I will be posting some random videos from the past couple of years. Enjoy!


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Home Instead Senior Care improves security for its elderly with the help of electronic locks
Home Instead Senior Care Franchises in West Florida enter into pilot with Phoniro an ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions Company to test Electronic Locks for security, safety, and peace of mind for their clients.
Home Instead Senior Care franchises in Hillsborough, Pasco, and Hernando County Florida have opted to test digital locking technology from the Swedish company, Phoniro, to improve users' experience along with enhancing security and safety. Phoniro Lock is installed in over 110,000 doors in different countries and used by over 200 public and private home care organizations. Phoniro is part of ASSA ABLOY Global Solutions which provides trusted security solutions throughout the US and world for senior care, hotel, and cruise industry. ASSA ABLOY has been featured in Forbes Magazine for several years as the" World's most innovative companies."
With the Phoniro Lock, clients no longer have to risk their security by leaving a key out or hidden under the doormat. With the electronic lock, the caregiver will digitally enter the home via an app installed on their smartphone. The app is protected by the highest level of security, through an IT platform known as Phoniro Care.
The lock is not visible from the outside, and clients and their relatives can still use the physical key. It is aesthetically pleasing and easy to install and remove without any damage on the door or lock. The electronic lock will not interfere with any other security solutions the client may have.
Client Safety is a priority at Home Instead Senior Care, and this new technology will allow us to give reassurance to both our seniors and their family members who may live 1,000 miles away that the door isn't left unlocked and that the "key under the mat" falls into the wrong hands," said John Murphy, Owner at Home Instead Senior Care of Pasco County, Florida.
In addition to greater security, the solution also generates a time stamp when the caregiver enters and exits the home. This feature records when and for how long the caregiver was on the premises.
"We are pleased to bring the Phoniro Integrated Technology Platform to the United States Home Care Market. This platform offers much more than enhanced safety and security to our seniors; it also provides an opportunity for care collaboration within healthcare and better care outcomes," said Stephenie Haldane, xxx at Phoniro.
Home Instead Senior Care is planning to test the solution in three counties during the spring: Hillsborough, Pasco, and Hernando. After the pilot, additional users will soon be able to benefit from the solution.
About Phoniro
Phoniro is an IT company with an important purpose. We enable a richer life for our growing senior population! We currently have around 100 employees and a turnover of MSEK 175. Phoniro is one of the clear market leaders in providing digital solutions to the senior care sector, and we are part of ASSA ABLOY since early 2018. The market is changing and enjoying strong growth as the population is getting older, and digitalization is essential in order to provide high-quality senior care. Phoniro Care is our common cloud platform for all our solutions and includes modules for digital key management, time & attendance, alarms and remote visits. Our solutions are used by over 200 public and private home care organizations in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands. For more information please visit www.phoniro.com
About Home Instead Senior Care
The Home Instead Senior Care network provides personalized care, support and education to help enhance the lives of aging adults and their families. Today, this network is the world's leading provider of in-home care services for seniors, with nearly 1,200 independently owned and operated franchises that provide more than 70 million hours of care throughout the United States and 12 other countries. Local Home Instead Senior Care offices employ approximately 90,000 CAREGiversSM worldwide who provide basic support services that enable seniors to live safely and comfortably in their own homes for as long as possible. The Home Instead Senior Care network works with clients and their family members to meet varied individual needs. Services span the care continuum – from providing personal care to specialized Alzheimer's care and hospice support. Also available are family caregiver education and support resources. Visit www.homeInstead.com


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Moonwatcher tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-1292696 2013-11-06T09:39:12-06:00 Charlie Wood tracks the emergence of the New Web Order. TypePad http://feeds.feedburner.com/moonwatcher?format=skinhttp://globelogger.com/images/moonwatcher-logo-sm-whitebg.gifThis is an XML content feed. It is intended to be viewed in a newsreader or syndicated to another site. A Call for Quiet tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e2019b00bba1e9970c 2013-11-06T09:39:12-06:00 2013-11-06T10:03:55-06:00 Too much information Running through my brain Too much information Driving me insane —The Police This is a call for quiet. Our world is increasingly saturated with information. Computers generate it. Sensors record it. The internet in all its various... Charlie Wood

Too much information
 Running through my brain
 Too much information
 Driving me insane
 —The Police

This is a call for quiet.

Our world is increasingly saturated with information. Computers generate it. Sensors record it. The internet in all its various forms transmits it, faster and faster. Devices in our pockets, on our wrists, on our desks and walls, and attached to our faces force it into our consciousness. It's too much.

It all started with the noblest of intentions: to inform. But then, propelled by the profit motive, the inexorable march of technology, and our own innate desire for more, it spun out of control. Now information is crowding out the better parts of our lives.

We must reclaim our sanity, our quiet. We must establish personal space in which to reflect, daydream, and hear things said only softly. We must insulate ourselves from the din. We must regain control.

This is a call for quiet. For less noise, so that we can hear the signal. Or, if we so choose, that we can hear nothing at all.

 https://www.globelogger.com/2013/11/a-call-for-quiet.html The trouble with our increasing clock speed tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e201901bd95b8a970b 2013-05-05T08:44:03-05:00 2013-05-05T08:44:03-05:00 Remember GATO, the submarine game? It assumed you had a 4.77MHz 8088 processor, because that's what every IBM PC in the world had. It ran as fast as it could, and it was the right speed. Then turbo PC's came... Charlie Wood

 Remember GATO, the submarine game? It assumed you had a 4.77MHz 8088 processor, because that's what every IBM PC in the world had. It ran as fast as it could, and it was the right speed. Then turbo PC's came out, and the 286 AT, and then the 386. And GATO sucked on those computers—it was unplayable because it ran too fast. There was a surfeit of processor speed.

Modern games don't assume anything about the speed of the processor. They measure time by clock ticks, not processor cycles. So they run at the same speed no matter what the speed of the chip.

We need to do the same. For so long, we've consumed as much information as we could, paid attention to as many things as possible, because even at their maximum speed they didn't overwhelm us. Now they do. We need to throttle these things. To set a clock tick that's independent of the speed of the information.

I suspect the clock ticks were established a long time ago and we've just learned to ignore them. Daily rituals. Weekly rhythms. Monthly cadence. Seasonal events. Traditions. And we get a lot of these from the clock speed of the world around us: the rising and setting of the sun, the waxing and waning of the moon, the cycle of the seasons.

I think it would be at least useful and maybe imperative that we start to pay attention to these clock ticks again. Map our information intake to them. Read the paper in the morning, even if by "the paper" we mean Flipboard, and then put it away. Spend time with some friends during the day, even if they're on Facebook or Twitter, and then put it away. Take a break for lunch—without staring into a screen. Spend time with your family—without staring into a screen. Read a book at night, even if it must be on a Kindle. Wake up not to an alarm but to your own internal rhythm. Don't work on Sundays, or Saturdays if you choose. Get outside for an least an hour every day. At least! Know what the weather is without having to be told. Sense the lengthening days during Spring. Fly a kite, have a picnic. Feel the heat of Summer. Swim in a lake, take a vacation. Watch the leaves turn in Fall. Take a long hike through the forest. Take in the stark chill of WInter. Build fires in the morning. Spend time with extended family during Christmas.

Through it all, we don't have to become hermits. But we must not allow ourselves to continue being junkies.

 https://www.globelogger.com/2013/05/the-trouble-with-our-increasing-clock-speed.html You would prefer another target? A military target? Then name the system! tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e2019101ca30c0970c 2013-05-04T10:39:26-05:00 2013-05-04T10:41:27-05:00 Today being May the Fourth Be With You, I started wondering how well we really got to know each of the characters in Star Wars. So I did what any nerd would do: I found the script for Episode IV:... Charlie Wood

Today being May the Fourth Be With You, I started wondering how well we really got to know each of the characters in Star Wars. So I did what any nerd would do: I found the script for Episode IV: A New Hope and ran a quick and dirty analysis. Here are the results:

Note that not all the lines in this version of the script made it into the movie: it includes a few from Luke's friend Fixer and lots from Biggs that got cut. Also, I'm only showing counts for characters with more than ten lines. (Aunt Beru missed the cut by three.)

So it really is the story of a farm boy, his friends, and his family. And, you know, storm troopers.

May the Force be with you.

 https://www.globelogger.com/2013/05/you-would-prefer-another-target-a-military-target-then-name-the-system.html My Dog Jake tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e201901bcd406b970b 2013-05-03T10:18:51-05:00 2013-05-03T10:18:51-05:00 JAKE 1999-2013 Charlie Wood

JAKE 1999-2013

 https://www.globelogger.com/2013/05/my-dog-jake.html The Emerging Mobile+Cloud Stack and Its Natural Owners tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e2015435cc3aec970c 2011-09-30T06:14:35-05:00 2012-01-14T15:28:46-06:00 Apple is set to launch iCloud in the next few days, and with it Steve Jobs plans to move the center of your digital life to the cloud. Amazon just announced the Kindle Fire, which Jeff Bezos calls a service,... Charlie Wood

Apple is set to launch iCloud in the next few days, and with it Steve Jobs plans to move the center of your digital life to the cloud. Amazon just announced the Kindle Fire, which Jeff Bezos calls a service, not a tablet. When you buy a new Android phone or tablet, the first thing it asks you to do is connect it to your Google account. Even Microsoft is stumbling in the right direction.

Computing is moving to the cloud in a big way. Mobile is exploding in a big way. And they're two sides of the same coin.

I believe that when the inevitable consolidation happens, the companies left standing will be the ones that own the whole stack—from the dirt on which the data center is built, up through the servers, storage, and networking gear inside the building, to the cloud apps running on that infrastructure, to the mobile apps, operating system, and hardware in the user's hand. Apple, Amazon, and Google all do this now. They allow third parties to augment that stack where it makes sense (which varies with each company's business model) and keep tight control everywhere else.

It's interesting to see companies that don't yet own components at every level of the stack grapple with it. Mobile device makers are rushing to add cloud storage and sync services to their offerings. HTC is bundling Dropbox service with some of its phones. HP planned to bundle Box.Net with its TouchPad before Léo killed that whole thing. Samsung is reportedly building its own cloud services. Similarly, cloud service providers are beginning to move down the stack, eschewing the relative ease and convenience of Amazon Web Services for the economies of scale available to those who build their own data centers. And some companies that might not come to mind when you think of either "cloud" or "mobile" are turning out to be surprisingly well-positioned. Dude, you're getting a data center.

The future is clear, at least in broad strokes. The next 10+ years of computing will be defined by vertically integrated stacks of technology that span mobile and cloud computing. It's going to be fascinating to see how it plays out.

Amzn, Aapl, and Goog now all have intgratd hw divs bldng their tblets. Will Msft the outlier buy Dell or HP's PC Div? http://t.co/i95FSMIMFri Sep 30 05:33:30  via Twitter for BlackBerry®Marc Benioff
Benioff

 https://www.globelogger.com/2011/09/the-emerging-mobilecloud-stack-and-its-natural-owners.html On Apple's Big Move to the Cloud tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e2015432d65bc8970c 2011-06-07T06:47:38-05:00 2011-09-19T17:14:56-05:00 Yesterday Steve Jobs introduced iCloud, saying, "We're going to move the digital hub—the center of your digital life—to the cloud," and concluding his presentation with an admonition: "If you don't think we're serious about this, you're wrong." Apple is the... Charlie Wood

 Yesterday Steve Jobs introduced iCloud, saying, "We're going to move the digital hub—the center of your digital life—to the cloud," and concluding his presentation with an admonition: "If you don't think we're serious about this, you're wrong."

Apple is the last of what Eric Schmidt recently called the "Gang of Four", which also includes Google, Amazon, and Facebook, to bet big on the cloud. And even though Schmidt left them out of his list, Microsoft is joining the club too. But Apple's cloud strategy is unique in that it essentially embeds the cloud in their desktop and mobile platforms.

Google, Facebook, and Amazon are cloud natives—users access their services primarily with a web browser. They offer web API's that enable other companies to write applications of any kind (desktop, mobile, or cloud) to interact with them and share data. But Apple's iCloud APIs, at least those offered so far, are limited to developers of applications for iOS and OS X.

Some will certainly argue this is a closed approach, and unnecessarily restrictive. But to Apple, it's about ensuring quality. Jobs said, "A competitor that doesn't own the apps or doesn't have great developers to integrate with their apps, they can never do this—they can never make it so 'it just works'—and that's what we've done here."

And iCloud does indeed deliver a seamlessly integrated experience. I can create a document on my iPad (or presumably my Mac) and it shows up on my iPhone. I don't have to think about how that happened, or configure anything to make it work. And that happens with apps not only from from Apple but also from third-party developers. Apple is subsuming over-the-air sync into their platform and exposing it to developers at the platform level. And for Apple, iOS and OS X, not the cloud, are the platform. To Apple, the cloud is just plumbing.

It's a radically different approach than we've seen from the cloud-native companies. Microsoft's approach may resemble Apple's most closely, but their cloud integration is being done within Office, not within Windows. It will be interesting to see which model wins.

With 200 million potential iCloud users on day one, Apple is set to go from being an also-ran in the cloud world to one its biggest players. And as always, they're playing by their own rules. Game on.

 https://www.globelogger.com/2011/06/on-apples-big-move-to-the-cloud.html So, Mr. Bootstrap took venture funding, huh? tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e20147e3e7004a970b 2011-04-11T10:19:26-05:00 2011-04-15T08:50:52-05:00 Longtime readers of this blog will know that I'm a big fan of bootstrapping. Instead of putting together a pretty pitch deck and hitting Sand Hill Road (or 300 W. Sixth Street, as the case may be) I've long preferred... Charlie Wood

Longtime readers of this blog will know that I'm a big fan of bootstrapping. Instead of putting together a pretty pitch deck and hitting Sand Hill Road (or 300 W. Sixth Street, as the case may be) I've long preferred the model where you open up the IDE, build something valuable, find a few people who'll pay you money for it, and iterate. Growth may be slower, but it's real and you're beholden unto no one.

When we built Spanning Sync, we invested months of nights and weekends writing the code. Before we launched, we worked out a great deal with a key supplier that allowed us to scale up while paying for only what we needed, which allowed us to spend only $2,500 before we started selling our product. I put that amount on my credit card, and before the bill was due we had brought in more than that in revenue. We were cash-flow positive literally from day one, and went on to make millions. Bootstrapping was perfect for that business, and made me a champion of the model.

So why did Spanning Cloud Apps take $2M in venture funding last week? The answer is simple: opportunity cost.

Before we even started building Spanning Backup, we knew it would be valuable to a lot of people. We had been operating Spanning Sync for several years, and despite endless admonitions to users to make backups, had seen one user after another lose data, usually due to a botched sync with some badly-behaved application or device. When OS X 10.5 Leopard was released, the first thing it did after installation was instruct all Sync Services clients to delete everything. Doh!

We also heard from lots of people who had accidentally deleted their calendars, corrupted their contacts, or otherwise goofed up their Google data and were in desperate need of help.

Based on this experience, several years' worth of real-world data, and some educated guesses as to how the backup market would be different than sync, we made some projections. Then we plotted the growth we'd be able to manage by bootstrapping against the projected opportunity and saw a mismatch. In the time it would take us to grow organically to scale, we'd leave a ton of opportunity on the table. In order to capitalize on the opportunity, we'd need to grow faster than that. Which meant outside investment.

I've been down the VC-funded road a few times before. I've seen it work spectacularly well, middlingly, and terribly. I've dealt with bad VC's, mediocre VC's, and awesome VC's. I knew that if I were going to sell a significant part of my young company, I'd want to work only with investors whom I respect, with whom I'd worked before, and who have significant experience and presence in our industry. So I called the guys at Foundry. Happily, they liked what they saw and now we're partners in this business.

I'm still a huge fan of bootstrapping, and I believe that every entrepreneur should build a profitable business from scratch at least once before trying to do it with outside investors. There are lessons there you can only learn by doing. But it's not the best model for every situation, and knowing which funding model is appropriate at what time is, I believe, necessary to maximize success.

 https://www.globelogger.com/2011/04/so-mr-bootstrap-took-venture-funding-huh.html Spanning Cloud Apps Raises $2 Million Series A Round of Venture Funding From Foundry Group tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e2014e606f42ab970c 2011-04-06T20:16:34-05:00 2011-04-07T05:53:37-05:00 Cross-posted from the Spanning Backup Blog: Austin, TX – April 6, 2011 — Spanning Cloud Apps, the makers of Spanning Backup for Google Apps, today announced that the company has secured $2 million of funding from Foundry Group, a Boulder-based... Charlie Wood

Cross-posted from the Spanning Backup Blog:

Austin, TX – April 6, 2011 — Spanning Cloud Apps, the makers of Spanning Backup for Google Apps, today announced that the company has secured $2 million of funding from Foundry Group, a Boulder-based venture capital firm. Launched in September 2010 and spun out of Spanning Sync, Inc., Spanning Cloud Apps will apply the resources to continue to build on the company's growing portfolio of cloud applications for Google Apps as well accelerate development of complementary solutions for other major cloud service providers.

Spanning Backup is the highest-rated Security & Compliance app in the Google Apps Marketplace, is among the highest-rated paid apps overall, and has already backed up more than 1 billion documents, calendar events, and contacts for Google Apps users.

"When Google Apps customers learn about Spanning Backup, their first question isn't, 'How much does it cost?' but rather, 'How soon can we turn it on?'" said Charlie Wood, Spanning Cloud Apps founder and CEO. "We help a lot of Google Apps admins sleep a lot better at night."

The Austin-based company has also added Seth Levine, Managing Director at the Foundry Group, to its board of directors.

"We couldn't be happier to work with Seth and the rest of the Foundry team," said Wood. "With Foundry's support and deep experience in the market we plan to extend our lead in Google Apps backup and use that leadership position to build out a broad portfolio of cloud apps."

"It's very exciting to work with fresh and ambitious companies such as Spanning Cloud Apps," said Seth Levine, Managing Director at Foundry Group. "The caliber of the team and their proven ability to execute made them a very strong fit at Foundry Group. We're very excited to help this team achieve its very ambitious goals."

Spanning Cloud Apps' flasghip product, Spanning Backup, continually backs up Google Apps data to the cloud. While Google's infrastructure includes extremely sophisticated internal disaster recovery capabilities, Spanning Backup provides backup and restore functionality for Google Apps users and administrators. The product provides simple, always-on protection against accidental and malicious data loss and corruption.

For more information, please visit spanningbackup.com.

About Spanning Cloud Apps

Founded in 2010 and spun out of Spanning Sync, Inc., Spanning Cloud Apps is a cloud-based application developer focused on backup solutions for today's most widely adopted cloud-computing suites including Google Apps. Spanning Backup, the company's flagship product, is the top-rated backup solution for Google Apps users and administrators. The company is backed by Foundry Group, and is based in Austin, Texas.

For more information, please visit spanning.com.

About Foundry Group

Foundry Group is a venture capital firm focused on investing in early-stage information technology, Internet, and software startups. In addition to providing the necessary venture capital to get a company up and running, Foundry Group is committed to leveraging their experience in starting and growing companies, expertise in the technology industry, and network of relationships to help great entrepreneurs turn great ideas into great companies. Foundry Group is based in Boulder, Colorado, and invests in companies located across the United States.

For more information, please visit foundrygroup.com.

Press Contact:
Josh Jones-Dilworth
Jones-Dilworth Inc.
firstname.lastname@example.com
917-209-2956

 https://www.globelogger.com/2011/04/spanning-cloud-apps-raises-2-million-series-a-round-of-venture-funding-from-foundry-group.html My NZ Photo on CNN Travel tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e20147e1e84bc2970b 2011-01-24T05:27:09-06:00 2011-01-24T05:27:09-06:00 CNN published one of my New Zealand photos on their travel site: Cool! Charlie Wood

CNN published one of my New Zealand photos on their travel site:

Cool!

 https://www.globelogger.com/2011/01/my-nz-photo-on-cnn-travel.html The Ten-Year "Overnight Success" of Cloud Computing in the Enterprise tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e20148c7828149970c 2011-01-11T09:42:21-06:00 2011-01-11T09:49:40-06:00 Often what looks like overnight success is actually the result of years of hard, grinding work. Look around today and you might think that cloud computing in the enterprise is some new thing that's happened overnight. Giants like SAP have... Charlie Wood

Often what looks like overnight success is actually the result of years of hard, grinding work.

Look around today and you might think that cloud computing in the enterprise is some new thing that's happened overnight. Giants like SAP have been caught flat-footed and are playing catch-up. Microsoft is struggling to turn the ship. But those guys remind me of the castle guards in the Lancelot skit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail:

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They've seen their attacker coming for a while, they've just misjudged its speed and distance.

"Ha-HA!!"

Cloud computing in the enterprise isn't an overnight success. It's been coming for a long time. And it's moving really fast.

 https://www.globelogger.com/2011/01/the-ten-year-overnight-success-of-cloud-computing-in-the-enterprise.html ChromeOS is a Very Big Deal tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e20148c744032e970c 2011-01-03T05:41:04-06:00 2011-01-03T05:41:04-06:00 Cross-posted from the Spanning Backup Blog by Charlie Wood, founder, Spanning Cloud Apps Google's ChromeOS is a very big deal. Well, not yet, but it will be. However, some very clever people disagree so I thought it might be useful... Charlie Wood

Cross-posted from the Spanning Backup Blog

 by Charlie Wood, founder, Spanning Cloud Apps

Google's ChromeOS is a very big deal. Well, not yet, but it will be. However, some very clever people disagree so I thought it might be useful to go through my rationale for believing what I do.

Let me first make a disclaimer: I'm a big fan of Google. For the last four years I've made a living selling apps like Spanning Sync and Spanning Backup that complement Google's own applications. In fact, Spanning Sync was one of the first apps listed in the Google Apps Marketplace and Spanning Backup was one of the first applications available on the Chrome Web Store. I run my business using an array of Google tools. And I've made a tidy profit off of Google stock, although I don't own any now. So I have a pro-Google bias.

With that out of the way, let's zoom way out and look at the macro picture of what's happening in personal computing these days. I almost wrote, "what's happening on the web these days," but decided that showed a prejudice, so I'll instead talk about "personal computing", a phrase we haven't really used in the past fifteen years or so. And why is that? We all still use personal computers, right? Be they Macs or PCs, they're still the machines we use to do our, uh, computing. Sure, we have our iPhones, iPads, Android devices, and whatnot, but I don't know anyone who uses one of those devices exclusively. Everyone still uses personal computers. So why don't we talk about "personal computing" any more? Because everything interesting happens on the web. So we talk about what's happening on the web, or maybe more generally on the Internet.

Of course not everything we do with our personal computers involves the web. I'm typing this document on a word processor (Pages) running locally on my notebook computer (MacBook Pro). When I recently returned from a vacation to New Zealand, I transferred my digital photos from my camera to an application (iPhoto) running on my Mac. Yesterday I bought a bunch of music for my wife from Amazon and will burn it all to a CD using an application (iTunes) running on the same machine. So no, the web isn't the end-all be-all of computing. But it is where the most interesting stuff is happening.

Let's ignore for a moment the old standards of computing—word processing, spreadsheets, databases, and presentations from the 80's, photos and music from the 90's—and instead look at the applications of the current decade (whatever we're calling it—have we decided yet?).

Google is a web application. Facebook is a web application. Twitter is a web application. So are YouTube, LinkedIn, and, well, I was going to say Gmail but that's three Google properties in a list of six, which doesn't seem quite fair. HotMail? (Is that still around?) Anyway, you get the idea. The things people use—real people who don't work in technology, who don't read TechCrunch, and who don't have an opinion as to whether or not OpenID sucks (it does)—the interesting things normal people use are web applications. And the less-interesting things they've used since the 80's and 90's have web-app substitutes. So the web is where it's at. But you probably knew that before I started rambling, so let's move on.

The copy of Microsoft Windows running on your PC has little to do with the web other than the fact that it runs Internet Explorer or some other browser. Your PC, in fact, has little to do with the web other than the fact that it runs an operating system that runs a web browser. Which is quite shocking, considering the cost and complexity of that PC, particularly given how little of that cost and complexity goes toward running that web browser. How much time, money, and aggravation do you spend applying endless system updates, catching and removing viruses, backing up hard drives, installing and uninstalling software, and trying to figure out why things are running so slowly? It's crazy. Every single PC user I know does all of these things all the time, and every single one of them hates it. I know I do, and I'm a "computer person". I can't imagine how frustrating the entire experience would be if I didn't have a natural affinity for the things in the first place.

So imagine a group of very clever people sitting down with a blank sheet of paper and designing a new kind of machine that didn't require any of those things, and instead was custom-built to do one thing: let you use the web. It might look like a personal computer, with a screen, a keyboard, and a mouse. It might look like a notebook, with a built-in trackpad. Or it might look like something else. But it would be built to get out of the way and let you use email, Facebook, YouTube, Google, and every other web site out there without having to deal with all that other "computer stuff". That's the idea behind ChromeOS. And it's a no-brainer.

"But wait!" you cry, "What about the high-def video editing I do at work?" Well, that's a great example of an application that's suited to a more powerful kind of machine, one we used to call a workstation. Same goes for lots of other specialized applications. My wife, who is an architect, would still need a CAD workstation—likely a PC running AutoCAD. A video post-production professional would still need a specialized machine—likely a PC running AfterEffects. But just as PC's were able to replace many dedicated machines in the last twenty years, web machines will be able to replace many PC's in the near future. Not all, to be sure, but many.

Things fall apart; it's scientific. If you don't believe there's disruptive power in simplicity just ask yesterday's corporate giants. But do it in 140 characters or less.

So the web is a big deal and simple machines that let you use the web without unnecessary complexity will be a big deal. But does that make ChromeOS a big deal? Yep. Because ChromeOS is the thing that makes these simple web machines possible. It's the thing that removes the layers and layers of sedimentary complexity that have built up in personal computing over the last 30 years. It eliminates a vast world of hurt made up of BIOS settings, device drivers, DLL's, startup items, registry settings, and other things too painful to remember clearly. It's the thin layer between the amazingly powerful yet inexpensive hardware available today and the amazingly powerful yet simple applications on the web.

ChromeOS is only a big deal to the degree that the web is a big deal and that today's PC's aren't ideal web machines. Which is to say, it's a very big deal.

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 https://www.globelogger.com/2011/01/chromeos-is-a-very-big-deal.html New Zealand Photos tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e20148c73dd124970c 2011-01-02T06:34:46-06:00 2011-01-02T06:34:46-06:00 Here are a few HDR photos from my recent trip to New Zealand. I'm still learning the technique, but I mostly like how these turned out. Charlie Wood

Here are a few HDR photos from my recent trip to New Zealand. I'm still learning the technique, but I mostly like how these turned out.

<object align="middle" height="450" width="450">
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 wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="always" allowNetworking="all" height="450" width="450"></embed></object>

 https://www.globelogger.com/2011/01/new-zealand-photos.html Total Lunar Eclipse Tonight tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e20148c6e71979970c 2010-12-20T06:11:36-06:00 2010-12-20T06:12:42-06:00 There will be a total lunar eclipse tonight, with totality between 1:41a and 2:43a Austin time. This is the first such event to fall on the Winter Solstice since 1683. The forecast for Austin calls for mostly cloudy skies tonight... Charlie Wood

 There will be a total lunar eclipse tonight, with totality between 1:41a and 2:43a Austin time. This is the first such event to fall on the Winter Solstice since 1683.

The forecast for Austin calls for mostly cloudy skies tonight after midnight with patchy fog. Not the best viewing conditions, but still worth staying (or, like me, getting) up for.

My dad would have called me to tell me about this. I'll make it a point to wake up and witness this celestial event. I know that in his younger days he would have.

 https://www.globelogger.com/2010/12/total-lunar-eclipse-tonight.html My Dad Died tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e20148c6e08692970c 2010-12-19T05:42:42-06:00 2010-12-19T05:42:42-06:00 My dad died a few days ago after a years-long battle with multiple sclerosis. He had been getting steadily worse for a long time (as is usually the case with MS), had been in bad shape the last eight months... Charlie Wood

 My dad died a few days ago after a years-long battle with multiple sclerosis. He had been getting steadily worse for a long time (as is usually the case with MS), had been in bad shape the last eight months or so, and took a turn for the worse last week. It wasn't unexpected, but it still seemed sudden. He and I had a chance to talk a couple of days before his death, and I think we both knew it might be our last chance. I'm really glad we got to say goodbye. Lots of people never get to.

Here's the obituary that ran in the Statesman:

Charles Burnett Wood of Austin, Texas, retired lawyer and municipal judge, passed away on December 14, 2010 at the age of 71 after a lengthy battle with multiple sclerosis. He was born on January 5, 1939 in Austin, attended Austin High School, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Texas School of Law. He served in the U.S. Air Force, and was president of the Bachelors Club of Austin and a member of the Admirals Club. He is survived by his two children Martha and Charlie, and his two grandsons Sam and Hudson.
A memorial service will be held at 11am on Monday, December 20 at Covenant Presbyterian Church.

He had been in pain and discomfort for a long, long time. I'm very glad that he no longer is. When we last spoke, he said, "It's a tough thing facing your own demise. But it's been quite an adventure."

 https://www.globelogger.com/2010/12/my-dad-died.html If everything the Tea Party says were actually true tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e20134888d90a1970c 2010-10-29T05:28:31-05:00 2010-10-29T05:48:12-05:00 From an email from my friend Dylan Tynan: To add extra zest, just pretend everything the Tea Party says is actually true... We have a religious government run by an unholy covenant between government socialists, the janitor's union, wall-street capitalists,... Charlie Wood

From an email from my friend Dylan Tynan:

To add extra zest, just pretend everything the Tea Party says is actually true...
We have a religious government run by an unholy covenant between government socialists, the janitor's union, wall-street capitalists, auto companies, abortionists, atheists, and illegal immigrants. This cabal is led by a secret socialist Kenyan muslim svengali. The cabal's agenda is to bankrupt the country by giving away reparations to slaves, health-care to illegal aliens, bailouts to auto companies and wallstreet, and entitlements to minorities. While bankrupting the country they'll also destroy its reputation by apologizing to every country and bowing to their leaders. They'll destroy the military by allowing gays to declare themselves as gay while serving in the military and they'll destroy marriage by allowing gays to marry. They will destroy the Constitution by ignoring the 2nd amendment and taking away everyone's guns and ammunition. They will destroy our souls and our system of law by implementing Sharia law, which is allowed by the Constitution. And, finally, they'll destroy our core Americanism by not always wearing flag pins on their lapels.

This cabal will be battled by a holy covenant of witches, libertarians, game-hunters, anachronists, secessionists, wrestling executives, racists, and talk radio hosts. This alliance will keep the evil cabal from destroying our government by quickly eliminating at-risk government programs like social security, food stamps, and workplace laws, and disbanding at-risk government agencies like the FDA, the IRS, the CIA, and the State Department. They'll prevent a Muslim takeover of the remaining government by bonding the government with an amalgam of fundamentalist Christianity and Mormonism and just a dash of Wiccan. They'll raise revenue by taxing the poor and reducing taxes on the rich in order to spur growth. Poor people will be taxed the most, making them work harder in order to attain wealth, while the rich will be taxed the least in order to maximize the trickle-down effect. The minimum wage and food stamps will be eliminated in order to increase productivity and reduce costs. They'll create jobs by employing people to find and remove the 12 million illegal immigrants hiding within our borders. They'll save the Constitution by interpreting it as if it was 1776 and they'll save the Union by running the country as if it were 1776. They will always wear their flag pins on their lapels ... they would wear two, but that seems a little too Marxist.

Reproduced with permission.

 https://www.globelogger.com/2010/10/if-everything-the-tea-party-says-were-actually-true.html Spanning Backup Supports Google's New Two-Factor Authentication tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e2013487901433970c 2010-09-21T20:22:16-05:00 2010-09-21T20:24:55-05:00 Cross-posted from the Spanning Backup Blog: Google recently announced the availability of two-factor authentication for Google Apps Premier, Education, and Government Editions, and we're proud to announce that Spanning Backup fully supports this important new technology. Here's how it works:... Charlie Wood

Cross-posted from the Spanning Backup Blog:

Google recently announced the availability of two-factor authentication for Google Apps Premier, Education, and Government Editions, and we're proud to announce that Spanning Backup fully supports this important new technology. Here's how it works:

 Two-step verification is easy to set up, manage and use. When enabled by an administrator, it requires two means of identification to sign in to a Google Apps account, something you know: a password, and something you have: a mobile phone. It doesn't require any special tokens or devices. After entering your password, a verification code is sent to your mobile phone via SMS, voice calls, or generated on an application you can install on your Android, BlackBerry or iPhone device. This makes it much more likely that you're the only one accessing your data: even if someone has stolen your password, they'll need more than that to access your account
 Unlike our competitors, Spanning Backup is integrated with OpenID-based single sign-on for Google Apps users. Now with its support for Google's new two-factor authentication, our users can feel even more confident that their data is secure.

 https://www.globelogger.com/2010/09/spanning-backup-supports-googles-new-two-factor-authentication.html Startups: Two Ways to Fly tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e20133f45352ce970b 2010-09-17T12:36:09-05:00 2010-09-17T12:36:09-05:00 It seems to me there are two ways to fly: Design and build an airplane, fuel it, and take off. Stand in a field, flap your arms, and wait for a tornado. Humorously, it's the arm-flappers who seem to get... Charlie Wood

It seems to me there are two ways to fly:

Design and build an airplane, fuel it, and take off.

Stand in a field, flap your arms, and wait for a tornado.

 Humorously, it's the arm-flappers who seem to get the most attention in the tech startup world.

 https://www.globelogger.com/2010/09/startups-two-ways-to-fly.html A Lesson I'll Never Forget tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e2013486f72038970c 2010-09-05T17:32:13-05:00 2010-09-05T19:22:06-05:00 During my pilot training I reached the point where it was time to learn to land. Since landing is more challenging than the other phases of flight, I felt some trepidation. Sensing this, my instructor said matter-of-factly, "You're going to... Charlie Wood

During my pilot training I reached the point where it was time to learn to land. Since landing is more challenging than the other phases of flight, I felt some trepidation. Sensing this, my instructor said matter-of-factly, "You're going to make a hundred bad landings before you make a good one. Let's get started." And we did.

I only made a handful of marginal landings—and none I would call bad—before I solidified my technique.

 https://www.globelogger.com/2010/09/a-lesson-ill-never-forget.html New AppleTV in Perspective tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e20133f37a8291970b 2010-09-01T13:39:16-05:00 2010-09-01T13:39:16-05:00 Yes, this is to scale. Crazy. Charlie Wood

Yes, this is to scale.

Crazy.

 https://www.globelogger.com/2010/09/new-appletv-in-perspective.html Solitude and Leadership tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e20134862e9960970c 2010-08-13T08:09:55-05:00 2010-08-13T08:09:55-05:00 From Solitude and Leadership by William Deresiewicz: We have a crisis of leadership in America because our overwhelming power and wealth, earned under earlier generations of leaders, made us complacent, and for too long we have been training leaders who... Charlie Wood

From Solitude and Leadership by William Deresiewicz:

We have a crisis of leadership in America because our overwhelming power and wealth, earned under earlier generations of leaders, made us complacent, and for too long we have been training leaders who only know how to keep the routine going. Who can answer questions, but don't know how to ask them. Who can fulfill goals, but don't know how to set them. Who think about how to get things done, but not whether they're worth doing in the first place. What we have now are the greatest technocrats the world has ever seen, people who have been trained to be incredibly good at one specific thing, but who have no interest in anything beyond their area of expertise. What we don't have are leaders.

Read the whole thing. It's worth it.

HT @scottmcmullan

 https://www.globelogger.com/2010/08/solitude-and-leadership.html Spanning Backup Launches, $10 Off for Spanning Sync Customers tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e20133f29759d3970b 2010-07-27T07:07:42-05:00 2010-07-27T07:07:42-05:00 Cross-posted from the Spanning Backup Blog After months of beta testing, Spanning Backup for Google Apps has launched. Since the beta began, we've backed up over 100 million calendar events, contacts, and docs for our users. That's 100 million fewer... Charlie Wood

Cross-posted from the Spanning Backup Blog

 After months of beta testing, Spanning Backup for Google Apps has launched. Since the beta began, we've backed up over 100 million calendar events, contacts, and docs for our users. That's 100 million fewer things they have to worry about.

Now the ability to back up Google Calendar, Contacts, and Docs is commercially available at spanningbackup.com.

Data loss and corruption is a serious problem for Google Apps users. Browse through the Google Apps help forums and you'll find hundreds of posts from users who have lost their data and need help. The usual reply, when one is given, is, "Sorry, your data is gone for good." If those users had been using Spanning Backup, they'd be able to restore their data with just a couple of clicks.

Clay Spinuzzi is an associate professor at the University of Texas and an early user of Spanning Backup. Here's what he has so say:

I've been using Google Docs almost daily since 2006, and I'm totally sold on cloud-based word processing. But how about cloud-based backups? For years, I had to safeguard my thousands of documents, spreadsheets, and presentations by manually downloading them once a week - and I always worried that I would miss something. But with Spanning Backup, I never have to worry about backups. Backup is dependable, browsing files is easy, and restoring a file is transparent. It just works.

Spanning Backup is a pure cloud-based application built on Amazon Web Services (EC2, S3, SQS, EBS, CloudFront, and CloudWatch) and is designed to scale to millions of users. It uses a number of Google API's (Calendar, Contacts, DocList, Docs, Spreadsheets, Provisioning, AuthSub, and OpenID Federated Login) and is natively integrated with the Google Apps Marketplace to support domain-wide provisioning and Google Universal Navigation.

The service is available for individuals at spanningbackup.com or for entire Google Apps domains on the Google Apps Marketplace at spanningbackup.com/marketplace.

After a 30-day free trial period, a subscription costs $3.95/month or $39.95/year per user. Educational, non-profit, and volume discounts are available. Spanning Sync customers get an automatic $10 discount off their first year's subscription.

Spanning Sync, Inc., based in Austin, Texas, was founded in 2006 by Charlie Wood and Larry Hendricks. The company's eponymous product <http://spanningsync.com> syncs calendars and contacts between Apple and Google applications. The company is profitable and has tens of thousands of customers in 58 countries.

For more information please contact email@example.com.

 https://www.globelogger.com/2010/07/spanning-backup-launches-10-off-for-spanning-sync-customers.html 'The New Polymath' is a Firehose of Innovation Stories tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e201348537576a970c 2010-07-05T09:59:23-05:00 2010-07-05T09:59:23-05:00 For years Vinnie Mirchandani has chronicled all kinds of innovation on his his must-read blog New Florence. New Renaissance. Now he's taken his examination of technology and how it affects business to a whole new level with his new book... Charlie Wood

 For years Vinnie Mirchandani has chronicled all kinds of innovation on his his must-read blog New Florence. New Renaissance. Now he's taken his examination of technology and how it affects business to a whole new level with his new book The New Polymath: Profiles in Compound-Technology Innovations.

New Polymath is a breathless run-through of the technological forces that are defining the new rules of business and the companies that are successfully harnessing those forces to succeed. (If that sentence hurt your brain, you might want to get a good night's sleep before diving into New Polymath.) While many business authors stretch what should have been an article into a book, Vinnie compresses what could have been a collection of business books into a single volume.

Vinnie's passion for innovation and sweeping knowledge of what's happening right now make New Polymath a fascinating read.

Disclosure: Vinnie is a friend of mine, and mentions my company in his book.

 https://www.globelogger.com/2010/07/the-new-polymath-is-a-firehose-of-innovation-stories.html Use Pixelpipe to upload full-quality HD videos from iPhone 4 to YouTube tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e20133f1f97ba8970b 2010-06-30T16:32:29-05:00 2010-06-30T16:33:22-05:00 In my last post on this topic I said, "What I want is a way to shoot 720p video on my iPhone and upload it directly to the cloud without any loss of quality." Well, I found it. Pixelpipe is... Charlie Wood

 In my last post on this topic I said, "What I want is a way to shoot 720p video on my iPhone and upload it directly to the cloud without any loss of quality." Well, I found it.

Pixelpipe is a free iPhone app and online service whose latest version lets you upload full 720p videos (up to 200MB) from your iPhone 4 to a variety of online services including YouTube. It even features queued uploads that work in the background, so your phone isn't tied up while you're pushing all those bits.

In my testing so far it's worked flawlessly and is exactly what I was looking for. It also performs a bunch of other functions, like uploading photos and routing your videos and photos to various social media channels, but I haven't looked into those yet.

 https://www.globelogger.com/2010/06/use-pixelpipe-to-upload-full-quality-hd-videos-from-iphone-4-to-youtube.html Quality suffers even more on iPhone 4 videos uploaded to MobileMe tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e20133f1e72c41970b 2010-06-28T08:39:31-05:00 2010-06-28T11:34:16-05:00 Following up on yesterday's post I just tried uploading a 720p video from my iPhone 4 to Apple's own MobileMe service. Disappointingly, the uploaded video was downsized from its original 1280x720 resolution to 568x320 and compressed from 12.9MB to 983KB.... Charlie Wood

Following up on yesterday's post I just tried uploading a 720p video from my iPhone 4 to Apple's own MobileMe service. Disappointingly, the uploaded video was downsized from its original 1280x720 resolution to 568x320 and compressed from 12.9MB to 983KB. The resulting loss of quality was, needless to say, significant.

What I want is a way to shoot 720p video on my iPhone and upload it directly to the cloud without any loss of quality.

It looks like SmugMug supports HD video with their $149/year Pro plan, but it's not clear whether their iPhone app allows uploading HD video, and given the number of reviews claiming it crashes when trying to upload video I'm not inclined to test it myself, at least not yet.

If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them. Thanks!

 https://www.globelogger.com/2010/06/quality-suffers-even-more-on-iphone-4-videos-uploaded-to-mobileme.html Quality suffers on YouTube videos uploaded directly from iPhone 4 tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e2013485045557970c 2010-06-26T15:01:58-05:00 2010-06-26T17:39:24-05:00 Since iPhone 4 can now capture 720p videos, I wondered if uploading them directly from the Camera app to YouTube would result in any loss of quality compared to syncing the iPhone with a Mac and then uploading from there.... Charlie Wood

Since iPhone 4 can now capture 720p videos, I wondered if uploading them directly from the Camera app to YouTube would result in any loss of quality compared to syncing the iPhone with a Mac and then uploading from there. The short answer is that yes, they do.

I shot a quick test video and uploaded it from my iPhone. Even though the original source was shot at 720p, the resulting YouTube video maxes out at 360p:

<object width="450" height="278" style="margin: 0px 10px 15px 10px; -webkit-box-shadow: 0px 8px 16px #666; -moz-box-shadow: 0px 8px 24px #666; padding:0px; background-color: #ffffff;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hfHV-jbCVXY&hl=en_US&fs=1&hd=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hfHV-jbCVXY&hl=en_US&fs=1&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="450" height="278"></embed></object>

I then transferred the same movie from my iPhone to my Mac with iTunes and uploaded it to YouTube via their web interface. The resulting video can be shown at the full 720p resolution:

<object width="450" height="278" style="margin: 0px 10px 15px 10px; -webkit-box-shadow: 0px 8px 16px #666; -moz-box-shadow: 0px 8px 24px #666; padding:0px; background-color: #ffffff;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MdcwzOanpp4&hl=en_US&fs=1&hd=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MdcwzOanpp4&hl=en_US&fs=1&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="450" height="278"></embed></object>

So if you want your iPhone videos to look best on YouTube, don't upload them directly from the device. Instead, sync them to your Mac or PC and upload them from there.

Anyone know if any video hosting services allow full-fidelity 720p uploads directly from the iPhone?

 https://www.globelogger.com/2010/06/quality-suffers-on-youtube-videos-uploaded-directly-from-iphone.html Backup is even more important in the cloud tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e20133ef606768970b 2010-06-01T10:20:45-05:00 2010-06-01T10:20:45-05:00 Cross-posted from the Spanning Backup Blog The cloud is great. Your stuff is stored in only one place. No copies in email attachments, no copies on your laptop, your desktop, and your server. Make a change and there's no need... Charlie Wood

Cross-posted from the Spanning Backup Blog

The cloud is great. Your stuff is stored in only one place. No copies in email attachments, no copies on your laptop, your desktop, and your server. Make a change and there's no need to send out updates, because it's always in one place. Right?

Right. But delete it in one place and it's gone. Gone. You can't just find a copy in email. Or on your laptop. It was stored in only one place, and now it's no longer there.

Loosely connected systems are messy, but they have redundancy built in. Highly connected systems are more fragile. They need explicit redundancy, explicit backup systems.

However important backup is in traditional desktop environments, its much more important in cloud-based environments.

 https://www.globelogger.com/2010/06/backup-is-even-more-important-in-the-cloud.html What Google I/O 2010 Means to Me tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e2013481141c90970c 2010-05-18T16:01:10-05:00 2010-05-18T16:11:35-05:00 This morning I hopped on a jetBlue flight from Austin to San Francisco to attend Google I/O. I usually avoid industry conferences, but I make it a point to attend this one. I find it has a supernormal signal-to-noise ratio.... Charlie Wood

 This morning I hopped on a jetBlue flight from Austin to San Francisco to attend Google I/O. I usually avoid industry conferences, but I make it a point to attend this one. I find it has a supernormal signal-to-noise ratio. Here's what I expect to get out of this year's event.

Exposure

We're getting close to the commercial release of Spanning Backup, so it's time to start directing people's attention toward it. (We recently performed our two-millionth backup. Time to light this candle!) Toward that end, here's a quick video showing what it's all about:

<object width="450" height="274"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/47MRuxqBOlc&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/47MRuxqBOlc&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="450" height="274"></embed></object>

 Information

We work at the leading edge of Google's API's, so there's often information we need that's not documented anywhere. What's the maximum payload size for an HTTP POST to the Google Docs API? How do you enable compression when talking to the Google Calendar API? Is Google planning on implementing contact sharing, or would it be a good thing for us to do? The answers to these questions are at I/O, not online.

Relationships

It's important to remember that there are real people creating all of these ecosystems, companies, products, and features. And even though better online communications tools exist now than ever before, face-to-face conversation (often in a conference hallway or a hotel bar) is the most powerful way to establish and strengthen relationships with those people.

Zeitgeist

Finally, I want to get a sense of where Google and its ecosystem are going. From where I sit it looks like Google is emphasizing Android over the web, a strategy I would consider dangerous and ill-advised. I want to see if I get the same sense at the show.

Oh Yeah, and a Party!

Be sure to join us and our friends at RedMonk for beers at House of Shields Wednesday night. The first $500 of the bar tab is on Spanning!

But even if you can't make it Wednesday night, please come by the Spanning booth in the Developer Sandbox area and say hello. We have some very exclusive laptop stockers for you. :-)

 https://www.globelogger.com/2010/05/what-google-io-2010-means-to-me.html Unexpectedly Awesome Customer Service from Brenthaven tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e20133ecfe028f970b 2010-04-27T09:49:16-05:00 2010-04-27T10:11:09-05:00 A couple of years ago I bought a Brenthaven Trek laptop backpack from Amazon. I loved it. But after 18 months of heavy use, one of the zipper tracks broke. Since a similar problem with a $400 Tumi bag wasn't... Charlie Wood

 A couple of years ago I bought a Brenthaven Trek laptop backpack from Amazon. I loved it. But after 18 months of heavy use, one of the zipper tracks broke. Since a similar problem with a $400 Tumi bag wasn't covered by the warranty I assumed this wouldn't be either.

I started shopping for other laptop cases, and mentioned my broken Brenthaven bag on Twitter. Minutes later, someone from Brenthaven contacted me and suggested I send the bag back to get a replacement. As it turns out, they have a lifetime guarantee on their products and this kind of problem is covered. (Take that, Tumi!) I hadn't registered for it when I bought the bag, but that didn't make a difference. I contacted their service department, got a return authorization number, and sent it in.

That was two weeks ago today. This morning FedEx delivered a brand new Trek backpack to my door. It's even a newer model, with better zipper pulls and tracks.

I have to say I'm delighted with both Brenthaven's product and their customer service. The backpack itself is very high-quality, fits my 15" MacBook Pro like a glove, and has just the right number and type of compartments. Also, after carrying an older Targus laptop bag for the last two weeks—and feeling every minute of it in my lower back—I'll never go back to carrying a traditional over-the-shoulder case again.

Aside from that, the fact that they're actively listening for customers who need help is more than just icing on the cake; it's turned me into a customer for life. The next time I need anything Brenthaven makes, like maybe an iPad sleeve, I'll look no further.

 https://www.globelogger.com/2010/04/unexpectedly-awesome-customer-service-from-brenthaven.html John Cleese Explains Why Extremism is Good tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e20133ecb020c9970b 2010-04-14T14:00:42-05:00 2010-04-14T14:00:42-05:00 Exactly. via Political Irony Charlie Wood

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HLNhPMQnWu4&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HLNhPMQnWu4&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Exactly.

via Political Irony

 https://www.globelogger.com/2010/04/john-cleese-explains-why-extremism-is-good.html Talking iPad tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8345252df69e20133ec9302b6970b 2010-04-09T12:58:28-05:00 2010-04-09T13:08:44-05:00 My buddy BJ and I had a great time talking with Omar Gallaga at the Statesman earlier this week about our new iPads. Here's Omar's article, plus some video they shot: Charlie Wood

My buddy BJ and I had a great time talking with Omar Gallaga at the Statesman earlier this week about our new iPads. Here's Omar's article, plus some video they shot:

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 https://www.globelogger.com/2010/04/talking-ipad.html


text:
We are once again busy preparing for this year's Economic Outlook Conference. In past blog posts, I've written about all the work it takes to put together the outlook presentation and the extremely important part that students play in helping us put the event together. This year marks the ninth conference that I have been a part of. However, this year's conference has the special distinction of being my very favorite one yet. I feel as though I have to preface that statement by saying that it has nothing to do with the conference-sponsored happy hour we hosted two weeks ago. In fact, this year's theme, "The Economic Impact of Craft Brewing in Maryland," is proving to be even more interesting than I expected.
In preparation for the event, we have been learning a little more about the craft brewing industry. For example, there's a big decision to make when deciding whether or not to can or bottle the brew. There's also a difficult trademark process, and cease and desist letters are commonplace. These are just a few of the topics that the panel will be covering. I've also learned that there are jobs such as Chief Economist at the National Beer Wholesalers Association (Where did I go wrong in my career?).
This year's speakers are a diverse group of individuals with varied knowledge in the industry. We have a historian who specializes in the brewing industry in Maryland (She even has a book!) and the marketing director of local brewery Heavy Seas, just to name a few. In case that wasn't enough, we'll kick off the day with our own Chief Economist Dr. Daraius Irani providing us with the economic outlook for the year. Every year, attendees look forward to the insightful findings (and lighthearted jokes) that his presentation has become known for. During an election year, the economy plays a significant part in the outcome of elections. Dr. Irani will help to frame the current climate and outline what his expectations are for the economy in the coming year. Fortunately, the theme will play into whatever outcome is expected—here's hoping we will be cheering for a positive outlook. Registration is still open, and we can't wait to see you all there!