News Of The Day 10/21/2010

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Lots of venture capital flowing, Microsoft may come back and is Sony going Android Crazy? Set course for geek news time!

Career:
Andy Robinson has a short and sweet article on the power of checklists. I use similar techniques and it helps a lot.

Three myths messing up your career.

Economics/Geekonomics/Total Economic Disasternomics:
MUST READ: More Foreclosure Fraud for Dummies! The Big Picture has parts three and four. Read this stuff, people.

Media:
US Today is restructuring. Not sure where this will lead. Some useful insights here on what they're trying.

Mobile:
Nokia restructures. 1,800 laid off – Sounds like this is part of restructuring. Still a bit of a warning to those looking at Nokia for employment. I also wonder just how far this is going to go . . .

Science:
MBA Polymers raises $25 million for plastic recycling. Sounds like they've got good processes, good infrastructure, and a good amount of money. Feeling Green? They might be worth your resume – and they sound very solid in their business.

Social Media:
A $250 VC fund for social startups? Damn right. So now let's see who taps into this sweet amount of money.

Technology:
Microsoft might have the foundation for a comeback. Short on details, but this article gives a nice overview that Microsoft may actually be doing decent for itself.

Apparently Sony is big on Android. Interesting – this could be something they use to distinguish themselves in the market and keep some geek-hip elements as well. It also suggests some potential alliance with Google, making this . . . more of the Everything Wars. More reasons to know Android, of course, if you haven't had enough already.

Video Games:
Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will never make games. They really don't need to, but also may help them build, keep, and reassure their allies.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can Sony use Android to improve and expand its prospects?

– Steven Savage

Back To The Mac: As Expected

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So as Bonnie posted in yesterday's News Of The Day, we've got a few announcements from Apple during their "Back To The Mac" event.  I found none of these surprising – that isn't a bad thing, actually – but I think it bears closer analysis as it gives us ideas of trends we see both in Apple technology, but in other technologies as well.

These, of course, are going to affect us progeeks, so I feel it's worth calling them out.

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Careers and Transitory Works: How to Step Up

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I was watching Sym-Bionic Titan, Genndy Tartakovsky latest work, and it felt as if he was using it to experiment and stretch himself.  Of course this is the man whose done work for such beloved animation work as Dexter's Laboratory, the Powerpuff Girls, and Samurai Jack.  He's a man of considerable talent, but this latest series felt as if he was creating something new, something to go a bit farther – to transition himself to an even more advanced set of skills and work.

"A transitional work" is what I christened it.  It inspired me to talk about the fact that many of us need do have works that let us change who we are and what we do in our careers.  It also gives me an excuse to go from giant robots to discussing your career – something I love to do.

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