July 2004 : A VC

I think this is blowing what Real did way out of proportion. For example there are a bunch of software applications that allow you to print to a PDF file that aren't made by Adobe. There are a bunch of programs that allow you to create .xls and .doc programs that aren't sold my Microsoft. Have these developers "hacked" into Acrobat, Word, and Excel? I don't think so.

In fact, Apple is trying to lock on their iPod customers into the iTunes music store and it won't work. We are in the age of consumer choice with technology. It's a world where open standards win. Apple needs to recognize that and lock their customers in with a great experience, which they already deliver, instead of intellectual property wars, which they won't win.

Comments (3) | | TrackBack (0) Posted July 29, 2004 in Venture Capital and Technology

iPod Crashed

My iPod crashed.

The battery's dead and the damn thing won't take a charge.

So it's going back to Apple for a repair.

It's mixed emotions. I can't live without my iPod, its that good. But I'm pissed at Apple too that they made a bad one and sold it to me.

Comments (12) | | TrackBack (9) Posted July 29, 2004 in Venture Capital and Technology

Has Google Blown Its IPO?

OM Malik pointed to a Jim Cramer column that calls the Google IPO a "fiasco" before the deal even goes out.

I have spent a fair amount of time with Jim and he certainly always calls it as he sees it.

Jim's not always right, but he's rarely totally wrong.

And John Batelle is picking up a similar refrain from the media.

Comments (2) | | TrackBack (3) Posted July 28, 2004 in Venture Capital and Technology

Outdoor Music

Summer in the city. The parks are full of music.

There's Summerstage in Central Park.

There's The Washington Square Music Festival.

And right across Madison Square Park from The Shake Shack is Madison Square Music.

I went to Madison Square tonight to see some bluegrass from the Kenny & Amanda Smith Band.

The music was great as were the sights of the park at sundown.

All of this music in the parks is free and I highly recommend it to anyone who lives in the Big Apple.

Comments (1) | | TrackBack (0) Posted July 28, 2004 in Blogging On The Road

Googling Teresa Heinz Kerry

Web search does some strange things.

I've been getting a ton of traffic (relatively speaking) to my Teresa Heinz Kerry post from a couple weeks ago.

I noticed it because all of a sudden, its become one of the most commented on posts with 2-3 new comments coming every day this week.

That doesn't normally happen.

I first thought it was related to her "shove it" comment, which is generally what I'd want to say to the right wing nuts who hang out on the Fox network too.

But four of the last five comments were messages written to Teresa and posted on my blog. That's strange.

So I went to TypePad and looked at the referring URLs for the Teresa Heinz Kerry posts. It was coming from Google. No surprise there.

But when I clicked on the referring link, it all became clear.

Go to Google and type in teresa heinz kerry email address

My blog is the first link on that search string for some strange reason.

So I guess people just click on the link and send her the email.

Now do I have an obligation to forward them?

Comments (4) | | TrackBack (0) Posted July 28, 2004 in Venture Capital and Technology

IPO Prospectus

It's been five years since I got a freshly minted IPO prospectus with our fund's name in the stockholders section. It feels good.

This is also my Fotolog photo of the day.

Comments (0) | | TrackBack (0) Posted July 28, 2004 in Photo of the Day , Venture Capital and Technology

Media Bias

All media is biased.

That's the message I took away from watching a documentary called The Control Room last night.

This movie was made by Jehane Noujaim, who also made Startup.com. I lived through Startup.com. Our old offices are even a scene in the movie. So I know that Jehane tells the truth, as brutal as it may be at times.

The Control Room is about Al Jazeera's coverage of the Iraq war.

It is amazing to see what went on in that war that the US media never talked about. The images that weren't shown to us. The facts that were not disclosed to us.

But the big "aha moment" for me was a scene where a US reporter is interviewing a producer from Al Jazeera. Both were women. The US reporter asked why Al Jazeera would show pictures of Iraqis being maimed and killed. Wasn't Al Jazeera biased against the US?, the reporter asked. Of course, the woman from Al Jazeera replied. But don't you know that all media is biased, she said. And then she pointed out that the US media wasn't showing the same pictures for the exact same reasons that Al Jazeera was showing them.

Different Channels, Different Truths. That's the tag line of The Control Room. And it is so true.

Comments (5) | | TrackBack (0) Posted July 28, 2004 in Random Posts

A VC

Musings of a VC in NYC

July 2004

Mary's Marvelous

Full Moon

Four Music Services to Check Out

Is This Really Hacking?