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It Now Starts with the Kindle
November 30th, 2007
Amazon’s introduction of the Kindle electronic book reader feels momentous. It is the first time that the long anticipated, much debated future of the ‘ebook’ feels ready to begin in a meaningful way.
During the past ten years there has been great debate about the ebook. Generally speaking there have been three points of view on the subject. The first one comes from the true believers that the ebook is inevitable and that it would ultimately gain a noticeable and then sizable market share of publishing. The second viewpoint is that while there would be a market for the ebook it …
It’s All About the Teraflops
November 12th, 2007
In the 60 year history of computers, there has been a constant improvement of computational speed. Ever faster has always been one of the driving metrics of the industry. Moore’s Law has been manifested with desktops and laptops to the point where the computers we use are as fast as we need. The machines we use today are incredibly faster that those we used at the turn of the century. The power of these machines however is dwarfed by the super computers now being developed.
The Merchant Banker of Intellectual Capital
October 8th, 2007
Intellectual Property (IP) has always been important. However, as I have written here, in the last 30 years, it has replaced hard assets as the most important part of corporate valuations. In the Shift Age IP will be the most important asset that any individual or company can own. The ability to create value, transactions, liquidity and ultimately an open marketplace of Intellectual Capital (IC) is therefore one of the most important historical developments that lies ahead for the emerging global economy.In a couple of recent columns, I have written about the efforts of one company, Ocean …
The Financial Exchange for the 21st Century
August 1st, 2007
The New York Stock Exchange was founded in 1817. This was some 50 years after the beginning of the Industrial Age. The need for the NYSE was, in part, a result of the transition of the U.S. economy from one that was completely agricultural to one that was rapidly becoming industrial. During the course of the 1800s the NYSE became increasingly important to the economy as a financial market that could provide both financial liquidity to listed companies and as a way to establish valuation and worth of all companies traded.
In the 20th century the NYSE was joined by many …
