Kimbro Staken

Kimbro Staken: “Mac OS X is the death of Linux on the desktop.” # [Scripting News]

XML Cooktop

XML Cooktop: “While the commercial XML editors race to expand their ever-growing set of features, users suffer under the load of bloated applications that take too long to download, too long to start, and too long to comprehend. The developers of XML Cooktop struggle to keep features out of Cooktop so that it downloads in… Continue reading XML Cooktop

I talked with a friend last night about his young 12 person architectural company. He is doing very well. His secret: lots of technology. He is in competition with firms that don't use much technology (or don't use it well). As a result, his firm can get things to clients faster, with less work, than competitors. His productivity per employee is climbing fast as he continues to automate his business with computers. His view: “there are so many things we still do in this industry by hand that should be done by computers.”

An interesting side note on my friend's innovative company is that much of what he is doing today couldn't have been done on PCs several years ago.  They didn't have either the processing power, connectivity, or the storage necessary for handling the large files and 3D modelling he is doing.  Now, he can do it on machines that even a small company like his can afford.

The upshot is that there are thousands of companies like his, in many different industry sectors that now have the affordable hardware and software they need to innovate.  All of them share the same passion for using computer automation to eliminate the drudge work of their industry, increase their responsiveness to client needs, and improve their workproduct.  The higher the percentage of computer automation, the more they will grow in lock-step with Moore's law.

A Moore's law economy looks very much like the computer industry during the last three years:  productivity grew at 65% a year in the PC industry since 1998 (McKinsey).  At that rate, one person doubles their work product every ~18 months.  At that rate, our national wealth doubles every 18 months.  Although it is unlikely that every industry sector can reach this goal, the combined contributions of those that do will likely push our average productivity growth to a 10%+ sustained rate.  That doubles our national income every ~7 years.  [John Robb's Radio Weblog

I talked with a friend last night about his young 12 person architectural company. He is doing very well. His secret: lots of technology. He is in competition with firms that don't use much technology (or don't use it well). As a result, his firm can get things to clients faster, with less work, than… Continue reading I talked with a friend last night about his young 12 person architectural company. He is doing very well. His secret: lots of technology. He is in competition with firms that don't use much technology (or don't use it well). As a result, his firm can get things to clients faster, with less work, than competitors. His productivity per employee is climbing fast as he continues to automate his business with computers. His view: “there are so many things we still do in this industry by hand that should be done by computers.”

An interesting side note on my friend's innovative company is that much of what he is doing today couldn't have been done on PCs several years ago.  They didn't have either the processing power, connectivity, or the storage necessary for handling the large files and 3D modelling he is doing.  Now, he can do it on machines that even a small company like his can afford.

The upshot is that there are thousands of companies like his, in many different industry sectors that now have the affordable hardware and software they need to innovate.  All of them share the same passion for using computer automation to eliminate the drudge work of their industry, increase their responsiveness to client needs, and improve their workproduct.  The higher the percentage of computer automation, the more they will grow in lock-step with Moore's law.

A Moore's law economy looks very much like the computer industry during the last three years:  productivity grew at 65% a year in the PC industry since 1998 (McKinsey).  At that rate, one person doubles their work product every ~18 months.  At that rate, our national wealth doubles every 18 months.  Although it is unlikely that every industry sector can reach this goal, the combined contributions of those that do will likely push our average productivity growth to a 10%+ sustained rate.  That doubles our national income every ~7 years.  [John Robb's Radio Weblog

Using PHP and MySQL with Flash

Using PHP and MySQL with Flash. This article helps explain how to use Macromedia Flash 5 in conjunction with PHP and a MySQL database. This demonstration will show you how to setup a simple login and registration form, then allow users to save movie clip positions and various properties in the database. When they log… Continue reading Using PHP and MySQL with Flash

Borders

I'm back! Sorry for the delay in updating. I've just been busy working at Borders and Micro Support Group.

10 Best Intranet Designs of 2001 (Alertbox Nov. 2001)

10 Best Intranet Designs of 2001 (Alertbox Nov. 2001). Quote: “After selecting the 10 winners from more than 50 nominations, it is clear why most design annuals focus on the graphical appearance of designs. It's easy to pick designs that look good. It's a lot of work to dig beneath the surface to assess features… Continue reading 10 Best Intranet Designs of 2001 (Alertbox Nov. 2001)

Untitled

Back from a Thanksgiving hiatus. I had a fun time in St. Petersburg and Sarasota, Florida.

Alan Cooper

Alan Cooper: “My advice to Microsoft is to abandon the browser. The browser is a red herring; it's a dead end. The idea of having batched processing inside a very stupid program that's controlled remotely is a software architecture that was invented about 25 years ago by IBM, and was abandoned about 20 years ago… Continue reading Alan Cooper