CES is going on. Enough said – fan and geek news time!
Career:
3 basic tips for good networking – All of which I agree with. A nice summary to remind you of what's important.
Is it time to appreciate introverted leaders? A question we may here more and more of after watching a lot of flashy business leadership run things into the ground. You may be an introvert, but it doesn't mean you can't lead.
A look at how long people are out of work. Hard to read, but when you do read it, you'll get depressed anyway.
Economics/Geekonomics:
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner looks to have some shady issues specifically around Lehman and AIG. More and more sounds like he's got to go. (To get an idea of his duties go here.
More cars scrapped than registered as of late? An interesting economic tidbit. Considering how expensive cars can be, if you have good public transport, one may really not be needed.
Robert Nelson calls out 5 tech trends for the next decade. A few thought-provokers here, especially his belief in biotech. These give you any career ideas?
Geek Law:
Philip K. Dick estate feels Google's Nexus One is copyright infringement – This is because of the models of androids in "Blade Runner", the Nexus-6. Considering the generic nature of the name – and the claim – I consider this to be a very shaky case to say the least.
Media:
Interview on hyperlocal advertising with Satbir Khanuja. Mr. Khanuja's company, DataSphere, got some sweet VC recently, and helps set up hyperlocal sites, and he has a real vision for what he's doing. Be sure to check out DataSphere, they sound resume-worthy.
In an information-driven job? Your average job search is 30.1 weeks. This came from the unemployment data above.
Publishing:
Days of our lives to have book line with a bit of the media synergy that we're becoming used to seeing as people look for profits and sustainability. That's a pretty powerful brand name right there – makes me wonder what other brands could do this . . . (hint, hint).
A hands on with the prototype Skiff reader.
Technology (Or, a Lot of CES news):
Ford introduces MyFord Touch, a sort of media/tech/info center for your car. I'm not making this up. It includes a variety of features (including HD radio, so more ways to kill off radio stations). I can see the interest, but some of this seems a bit excessive, and I can see it making the cars even harder to maintain. On the other hand you programmers and devs could be writing car software soon . . .
A view of the HP Slate that Microsoft is promoting. Meanwhile HP is going to have it's Android slate. More and more Microsoft's Slate looks like repurposed, Windows-running regular HP techology, so I'm not impressed.
Microsofts Natal to launch late 2010 with 14 games. More tech details here. The tech sounds interesting, but if it doesn't work well, I see interest declining quickly (though I don't think it'd kill it, just force evolution). Maybe I'm too disillusioned with goofy peripherals by now. I wouldn't bet your future on Natal if you're a coder.
A video of Sony's announcements for PS3 – Which sounds like a lot of content deals.
IT Job dissatisfaction at an all time high. As many are predicting, this means sudden turnover when the economy improves.
Video:
Yahoo releases its Widget TV Kit – I note this as I kind of keep forgetting they had any interest in video.
Video Games:
Gamestop performance stagnant, stock drops – What makes it stagnant seems to be an issue of debate, one analyst suggests it's competition. I myself can't say, but I'm sure Gamestop's move to leverage more DLC and so forth will continue if not accelerate. My biggest worry for people at Gamestop are those in the stores, who will feel the pinch no matter what happens.
QUESTION OF THE DAY: Are slates becoming so associated with Android and Apple that people aren't going to think of them as potential Windows machines?
– Steven Savage