NUREMBERG, Germany Nuremberg enjoyed its first snow of winter this evening, but across town at its gleaming CongressCenter, entrepreneurs celebrated a different triumph. "Open source has crossed the chasm," proclaimed Alexander Bruhl, of VC firm Atlas Venture. Referring to the 1991 tech marketing book by Geoffrey A. Moore, Bruhl argued that Open Source is more […]
Sports, Destruction, and Community
The Saints didn’t make it to the SuperBowl again this year. New Orleanians are used to disappointment, and sadly, we’ve also gotten used to living among the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina and the flood. While we look forward to Mardi Gras, we can’t help but wonder if Chicago fans will again engage in riotous […]
Review: Microsoft Word 2007
Microsoft will release a revamped version of Word on January 30th. According to Microsoft, Word 2007 is the end-product of a gigantic market research effort. “It used to be the loudest programmer won the Word design wars,” says Paul Coleman, senior marketing manager for Microsoft Word. “No more. We built this iteration from years of […]
Accidental Motorist
Buenos Aires — Before arriving in Argentina over two years ago, I had been warned about driving here. Be careful, my wife had said, they’re crazy. Well, I replied, Baltimore drivers are crazy too. She shook her head and smiled. The first thing you notice about the roads of Buenos Aires is the size. […]
A New Toy, But at What Cost?
The announcement that South Africa’s government would spend in excess of R20 billion on its latest fancy – a designer train that will connect Johannesburg and Tshwane (formerly Pretoria) – has been received much like a bad joke at a stand-up show. The reason for such extravagance is clear. South Africa had secured the questionable […]
Mortadella? Molto Bella!
The nun with the baking tray covered in aluminium foil came over to the stop where we waiting to catch the bus from Catania to Taormina in Sicily. A teenage girl instantly stood up and offered the nun a seat, which was gratefully accepted. In return, the nun offered the girl the tray, […]