UPDATE - Microsoft to launch portable media software in 2004: "Portable Media Center, Microsoft's answer to Apple Computer Inc.'s (NasdaqNM:AAPL - News) iPod digital music player, will be able to play MP3 files as well as audio and video content recorded in Microsoft's own digital format.
The devices, which will run Microsoft software but be designed and built by various manufacturers, including Tatung Co. (Taiwan:2371.TW - News), AboCom Systems Inc., Creative Technology Ltd. (SES:CREA.SI - News), Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:6764.T - News), and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (KSE:005930.KS - News), are set to hit store shelves during the second half 2004, Microsoft said."
---
1. Microsoft introducing FUD (as usual) into the consumer marketplace, in a fairly obvious attempt to delay purchases of the iPod and new Dell DJ

2. Microsoft, as with their cell phone approach, taking a platform approach to the portable HD/media player marketplace. This is, actually, fantastic news for consumers, and possibly bad news for Apple. Having a standardized, customizable platform *should* allow time to market/leverage advantages, while still allowing consumer electronics companies to do what they do best -- ergo design & innovation. With Apple opening their platform up only to hand selected vendors, it'll be interesting to see how the open platform vs. turnkey solution plays out in a smaller format.

Well, it's official. My new role at Knight Ridder Digital will be Director, Product Marketing - Internet Sales. I'll be driving business and product strategy for Internet advertising and channel development for all of their online properties (30 or so).

And so, that lands me back in Silicon Valley and back in the South Bay (too far to commute from SF on a daily basis).

Now... just to find a place near downtown SJ so that I can get a little play time in between work and school!

The march of the mini music drives | CNET News.com: "Later this month, Dell is expected to come out with its Dell Digital Jukebox portable MP3 player that use a 1.8-inch hard drive, which is about the size of the one in the iPod. Meanwhile, Samsung and others are promoting players with a still-smaller drive from a start-up company, Cornice. "
---
Needing to move my personal files off of my work PC, as I leave Yahoo!/Overture for my new playground at Knight Ridder Digital, I went to Best Buy this past weekend to buy a 40 GB iPod.

None of the sales people could tell me definitively if it included a Firewaire->USB 2.0 adapter. So, I bought it ($540.00 w/ tax), opened it in front of them, found that it did NOT have the part (remember, this is being sold as a Windows product in a store that is primarily Windows oriented). Worse yet, Best Buy didn't have a standalone part and recommended a trip to Fry's.

Instead, I went to Fry's and bought a 200GB external Fireware/US, 7200 RPM, 2MB buffer, in a relatively portable size/weight, for $300. It isn't an iPod replacement, but it'll certainly serve me well... and allow me to wait a while longer for my true personal portable HD solution.

The disappoint here, is of course, that Apple 'gets it' -- it's about the portable HD, and the apps that you can build off that, vs. extending an MP3 into new areas. Deeje and I have been talking about portable HDs, bluetooth, etc for a couple years now -- it will indeed revolutionize everything.

Just a shame that Apple missed out on a sale over a $3 part!

deeje.com: In short, I've lost momentum for this coursework. My heart isn't in it anymore. I'm so close to being done, and all I want to do is throw my fists up and scream at the top of my lungs. The business of weblogs is calling me, and I feel so distracted.
---

Stay the course, my friend. You are so very close to attaining your goal; a goal you've been pursuing (on and off) for the better part of your adult life. The satisfaction that you'll feel when you walk, when your next business succeeds because of what you've learned... will dwarf the pain and sacrifice you've made over the past few years, and certainly over the next few weeks!

Yahoo! News - Monkeys Can Move Robot Arms With Thoughts: "Monkeys with brain implants were trained to move a robot arm with their thoughts, a key advance by researchers who hope one day to allow paralyzed people to perform similar tasks. "
---
Humans have previously had implants to allow them to move cursors on a computer, etc, but this is a significant leap forward in complexity from that work (per the article). While there are decades of work to be done, it is becoming more and more realistic to believe that man may one day escape the fleshy storage units our brains ship in today...

Professional update time...

So as most of you know, I'm currently consulting with Yahoo! (Overture Services), helping them build a Web Services platform (API) named "AWS" (Advertiser Web Services) or "DTC-XML" (DTC, Direct Traffic Center, is the name of the GUI their advertisers use to manage their accounts, listings and bids). I've been there a little over 8.5 months now, and in that time, I've driven ~ a 5x increase in usage and a 3x decrease in costs, co-sold major licensees, managed integrations, defined a product strategy and roadmap, etc. I've had a blast. And, I've learned a ton about the online marketing/ad space, which while already enormous, is only going to grow more profoundly for several years to come.

And yet, while I'm thrilled with what I've been able to accomplish as a consultant, I haven't found the work fully rewarding. I believe much of that has to do with the rather caustic culture that is Overture. It also has to do with my realization that matrixed software development in decision and risk averse companies is just PAINFUL (especially for us product management/marketing types).

I've recently been interviewing with a number of companies (for a wide variety of positions), including Amazon, eBay, Experian (Consumer Direct division) and Commision Junction (ValueClick, as of Friday evening). All of them represent outstanding opportunities, and I'm excited about where they may lead.

My point however...

Of all these companies, only Amazon is currently exploring a small, empowered, cross-functional (but not matrix managed) teams. (In this case, the team breadth is limited to s/w eng, web dev, and product/program/project mgmt.) This is hardly surprising, and is in fact completely aligned with Jeff Bezos' ongoing comments around innovation, experimentation and speed.

The downside, of course, is that it takes a very different manager to lead such a team. In fact, the vast majority of people (and managers) in the org are CS undergrads (or grads). This is a little unfortunate, as they value their own skill sets (math, dev, algo) with less appreciation for the "business" side of software product dev. And yet, they are largely very successful.

For me, this simply reaffirms my desire to pursue a MS Computer Science after I finish my MBA... though I suspect it'll make the latter look like a cakewalk, given my starting point. Live and learn!

Roland Tanglao's Weblog: Thursday, September 25, 2003: "QUOTE
The Big Blog Company's product is the establishment of weblogs for businesses, imparting knowledge and on-going mindset needed for a blog to be effective. The weblogs themselves can come in many forms - business blog, charity blog, think-tank blog, product blog, context/lifestyle blog, etc. - depending on the nature of the company. Weblogs are characterised by five distinguishing features - format, style, content, software and contributors.

The services consist of processes necessary to equip a company with a blog and make it a successful communication tool.

UNQUOTE"

---------
Several comments to make here.

1. Thanks to Roland Tanglao for a reference in his blog to mine (resulting in my promotion to PR3). Roland seems to spend a lot of time thinking deeply and insightfully about the blog space (given my quick read of her last dozen blog entries) and attended BloggerCon. I'm disappointed that he doesn't seem to have met my friend Deeje Cooley, who is passionately focused on the Blog space, as evidenced by his latest start-up, BloggerJack.com.

2. Roland's name is awfully familiar, but I simply can't place it. It's possible I've seen him on Ryze. Nonetheless, his web site holds a PR6 Google rank, which means that there are quite a few people who find his comments compelling... I'll have to dig deeper.

3. I congratulate Dave Winer for the many transitions he's made in areas of product/service/technical focus he's made throughout the years. I hope I'm able to say the same 10 or 20 years from now.

4. I really wish I knew more about what Deeje was doing with BloggerJack and how he was promoting his vision and services. It certainly seems like his timing is spot on. Fingers crossed...

"Scientists have been accumulating evidence in lab animals for years that a pill might be able to reduce the damage loud noise does to your hearing. Now they're sending in the Marines.

Starting in a few months, a group of 600 Marines at Camp Pendleton in California will face rifle training with not only foam plugs in their ears, but also a drink that tastes very much like Wild Berry Zinger herbal tea. "

Interesting... if true, this would be a huge breakthrough. I imagine them selling it as a 'mix-in' @ concerts/festivals, road & track events (indy 500), etc.