Month: August 2003

Stuff

No hot blog action for a while, as I’m motoring up to the Portland, Oregon area for a fairly extended stay. I’ve got a client in the consumer products business up there, and we need to put our heads together on the future of some of their key technologies and build the next big thing. … Continue reading “Stuff”

No hot blog action for a while, as I’m motoring up to the Portland, Oregon area for a fairly extended stay. I’ve got a client in the consumer products business up there, and we need to put our heads together on the future of some of their key technologies and build the next big thing. I’ve talked with some 25 companies in Silicon Valley over the past year on product planning and engineering in the areas I know — protocols, wireless, broadband, audio-video, open source, protocol verification — without finding anyone as sharp as these consumer guys. It’s sad to say this, but there’s precious little innovation in Silicon Valley any more. Sure, there are lots of people burning lots of venture cash making minor enhancements to big ideas hatched a decade or so ago, but precious little in the way of big ideas with the potential to fuel a new new economy, one that’s not based solely on hype, creative bookkeeping, and stock fraud.

The Valley’s really, really stale. It’s always been a sorry place to live, but one I could deal with because the work was so much fun, but lately the work has begun to suck as bad as the rest of it. I’m not ready to say “Silicon Valley is over” but without an infusion of creativity, and a big parade of lemmings over some cliffs, it may as well be.

I’ve never been to Portland before, so I’m also looking forward to exploring some new geography and meeting some new people. This isn’t a permanent move yet, but if it goes as well as I anticipate, in a couple of months I’ll be loading stuff in a truck and committing major finances on real estate. But I get ahead of myself.

Got any things I should know about Portland? Leave a comment, e-mail’s not likely to get answered for a few days.

The more the merrier

Unstrung spills the beans on another smart antenna startup: Motia is working on 802.11 chipsets that will incorporate “smart antenna” technology, similar to that being offered by Airgo and Vivato Inc., Unstrung has learned. Systems using a smart antenna approach use multiple antennas to transmit signals in an effort to improve the consistency of the … Continue reading “The more the merrier”

Unstrung spills the beans on another smart antenna startup:

Motia is working on 802.11 chipsets that will incorporate “smart antenna” technology, similar to that being offered by Airgo and Vivato Inc., Unstrung has learned. Systems using a smart antenna approach use multiple antennas to transmit signals in an effort to improve the consistency of the link.

This is a true story. The CEO of Motia called me one Saturday a few months ago trying to squeeze proprietary info out of me about Airgo, but being the stand-up guy that I am, I didn’t talk. My instinct when I get these calls is to give them some subtly misleading info, following my consultant daddy’s dictum that free advice is worth what you pay for it. My amendment is that advice should cost the recipient as much as it did the giver. I’m happy to give good advice if you’re willing to pay me well for it, and that’s the way the world works.

Ouch

Susan Estrich reports that Arianna Huffington’s kids have moved in with their father, out of disgust at her insincere run for the governor’s office. When parents are divorced, kids move all the time, but for the Waffle Queen, this is a serious thing, threatening to interrupt her sole source of income, the massive child support … Continue reading “Ouch”

Susan Estrich reports that Arianna Huffington’s kids have moved in with their father, out of disgust at her insincere run for the governor’s office. When parents are divorced, kids move all the time, but for the Waffle Queen, this is a serious thing, threatening to interrupt her sole source of income, the massive child support order, estimated between $250,000 and $1,000,000, that covers her massive expenses:

In Huffington’s case, of course, it may be a bit more complicated than that, financially speaking, since it’s slightly more difficult to live off your children’s child support when your children aren’t living with you. But don’t bet against her. This is, after all, the woman who runs against oil interests and lives in a mansion financed by oil money, rails against pigs at the trough and pays no taxes, runs as an independent and supports a guru. She’s even got a documentary crew following her for the campaign. I wonder if they filmed the children moving out.

If the kids stay with dad, he can take her to court for child support himself, although under California’s wacky system a custodial parent has to pay the non-custodial parent if he has income and she doesn’t. But still, he should be able to get a reduction, which might help her become an honest woman who works for a living and pays her taxes instead of living off the kids.

Link via Matt Welch, Arianna’s worst nightmare.

Late to the party

Unstrung reports that yet another company — Airgo Networks — has a WiFi chipset for sale, after a mere three-and-a-half years of development and venture capital. Analysts are skeptical of Airgo’s chances, based on its timing relative to forthcoming high-rate wireless standards, such as 802.11n: Ken Furer, analyst at IDC wonders whether enterprise customers are … Continue reading “Late to the party”

Unstrung reports that yet another company — Airgo Networks — has a WiFi chipset for sale, after a mere three-and-a-half years of development and venture capital. Analysts are skeptical of Airgo’s chances, based on its timing relative to forthcoming high-rate wireless standards, such as 802.11n:

Ken Furer, analyst at IDC wonders whether enterprise customers are really ready for the wholesale access-point and client upgrades that would be required to take advantage of the maximum transfer speeds offered by the Airgo technology. (Products featuring the chip would be able to talk to 802.11 devices using regular ol’ chips from other vendors, but not at hyper speed).

Furer calls the Airgo silicon a “pre-n” technology, referring to the high-speed upgrade to the 802.11 standard that the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) is working on (see IEEE Plots Speedier WLAN). “The market is just not ready to deal with pre-n technology,” he says. “Not with the move to dualmode [chipsets] and 802.11g that’s happening.”

Some of the engineers at Airgo are bright and capable, but the company’s managed to hit the market at the worst possible time. This is very sad.

Dean spam

The Dean spam story is finally making the rounds, and even Instapundit has finally commented on it: Blogs were on this story before MSNBC — or I — knew about it. Here’s a post with the actual Dean spam. Actually, I e-mailed Instant about the Dean scam on the 11th, but he must not be … Continue reading “Dean spam”

The Dean spam story is finally making the rounds, and even Instapundit has finally commented on it:

Blogs were on this story before MSNBC — or I — knew about it. Here’s a post with the actual Dean spam.

Actually, I e-mailed Instant about the Dean scam on the 11th, but he must not be reading my e-mail these days. Too bad, because he could’ve “broken” the story otherwise. At least it won’t affect his tenure.

The lying liar of Brentwood busted again

Matt Welch is on Arianna watch this week, and he’s busted her twice on 187 and immigration. If evidence of her hypocrisy keeps piling up, people might take her seriously as one of the lying liars who tells political lies.

Matt Welch is on Arianna watch this week, and he’s busted her twice on 187 and immigration. If evidence of her hypocrisy keeps piling up, people might take her seriously as one of the lying liars who tells political lies.

I’m voting for Arnie

OK, this Salon interview that’s supposed to make Arnie look like a fascist nutjob has won me over: Salon person: What do you see as the most pressing problem in the inner city today? Arnie: The parenting problem. A lot of minorities have such a problem with the single-parent situation. The parents are the single … Continue reading “I’m voting for Arnie”

OK, this Salon interview that’s supposed to make Arnie look like a fascist nutjob has won me over:

Salon person: What do you see as the most pressing problem in the inner city today?

Arnie: The parenting problem. A lot of minorities have such a problem with the single-parent situation. The parents are the single most important influence on a child, followed by education and the peer group. The number of single parents in the U.S. has quadrupled since the ’60s, and there has also been an increase in violence and school shootings. All that stuff has increased largely because of a lack of parenting, and many households only have one biological parent — so many of them are fatherless. It really creates a big problem.

Read more about Arnie on women, families, and stuff that’s supposed to appeal to the left in Robert Salladay’s summary in the Frisco paper:

In the movie “Total Recall,” Schwarzenegger puts a bullet through the head of his on-screen wife, who is trying to kill him as well, and says without remorse: “Consider that a divorce.”

The line was outrageous enough to be included in a 1996 documentary about domestic violence, “No Safe Place.” It was one of many controversial comments the macho, cigar-chomping actor has made, both on screen and off, about women.

The fact that the woman in Total Recall was trying to kill Arnie’s character isn’t important, of course, because it’s always wrong to hit a girl. I like this guy better the more I learn about him.

Corporate tax cheat Arianna has an appropriate lobbyist

Huffington’s Manager Also Works as a Lobbyist The campaign manager hired by gubernatorial candidate Arianna Huffington, who frequently blames “high-priced lobbyists” and “special-interest money” for California’s ills, is himself a lobbyist for major tobacco, gambling and waste hauling firms in his home state of Minnesota. Arianna’s hypocrisy sets new records every day.

Huffington’s Manager Also Works as a Lobbyist

The campaign manager hired by gubernatorial candidate Arianna Huffington, who frequently blames “high-priced lobbyists” and “special-interest money” for California’s ills, is himself a lobbyist for major tobacco, gambling and waste hauling firms in his home state of Minnesota.

Arianna’s hypocrisy sets new records every day.

Bustamante surge

The latest Field Poll has Bustamante marginally ahead of Arnie, thanks to the True Believer support enjoyed by McClintock and Simon. Cruz Bustamante (D) 25% Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) 22 Tom McClintock (R) 9 Bill Simon (D) 8 Peter Ueberroth (R) 5 Arianna Huffington (I) 4 Peter Miguel Camejo (G) 2 Larry Flynt (D) 1 Others … Continue reading “Bustamante surge”

The latest Field Poll has Bustamante marginally ahead of Arnie, thanks to the True Believer support enjoyed by McClintock and Simon.

Cruz Bustamante (D) 25%
Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) 22
Tom McClintock (R) 9
Bill Simon (D) 8
Peter Ueberroth (R) 5
Arianna Huffington (I) 4
Peter Miguel Camejo (G) 2
Larry Flynt (D) 1
Others 5*
None 5
Undecided 14

Unless Simon and McClintock drop out and endorse Arnie, Bustamante will be our next governor.