Web/Tech

  • Evolution of the Cell Phone

    With Apple's 3G next generation of iPhone rumored to launch in the next few weeks, I have to admit wanting one, sight un-seen.

    We've seen a lot of changes since the first cell phones.  As a persistent early-adopter, this brought back a lot of memories.

    Make sure you check-out the piece at the end with a peek into the future.

    Ray Kurzweil wrote an interesting piece in the Washington Post called "Making the World a Billion Times Better."  It talks about the exponential progression of technology.

    It sure makes a lot more sense in hindsight. 

    It
    is exciting to think about what it means, going forward.  But,
    counter-intuitively, you often have to look back to know what to focus
    on.  You often can
    logically segment what happened in the past to see which pain-points,
    new capabilities, or paradigm-shifts triggered the leap to the next
    phase.  Once you understand the gating process, you can project
    forward.  Then the next steps come into focus.  And cycle starts fresh,
    again.

    I've done this with the tools and techniques we use to trade.  The
    progression makes so much sense, now; even though it seemed so random
    as it happened.

    It is fascinating to look back at how far we've come.  I'll bet you could do the same.  More
    importantly, no matter how far you've come to get here … realize that
    sometime in the future, you can look back and smile as you realize how
    small the game was that you used to play.

  • Evolution of the Cell Phone

    With Apple's 3G next generation of iPhone rumored to launch in the next few weeks, I have to admit wanting one, sight un-seen.

    We've seen a lot of changes since the first cell phones.  As a persistent early-adopter, this brought back a lot of memories.

    Make sure you check-out the piece at the end with a peek into the future.

    Ray Kurzweil wrote an interesting piece in the Washington Post called "Making the World a Billion Times Better."  It talks about the exponential progression of technology.

    It sure makes a lot more sense in hindsight. 

    It
    is exciting to think about what it means, going forward.  But,
    counter-intuitively, you often have to look back to know what to focus
    on.  You often can
    logically segment what happened in the past to see which pain-points,
    new capabilities, or paradigm-shifts triggered the leap to the next
    phase.  Once you understand the gating process, you can project
    forward.  Then the next steps come into focus.  And cycle starts fresh,
    again.

    I've done this with the tools and techniques we use to trade.  The
    progression makes so much sense, now; even though it seemed so random
    as it happened.

    It is fascinating to look back at how far we've come.  I'll bet you could do the same.  More
    importantly, no matter how far you've come to get here … realize that
    sometime in the future, you can look back and smile as you realize how
    small the game was that you used to play.

  • Weekly Market Commentary from 5/09/08

    While the market did pull back, as expected, it was orderly and relatively mild.

    The chart below shows daily view of a composite of the 5 markets we currently trade. 

    080509_composite_index_above_suppor
    The Markets are above the red support line and the yellow down-trend;
    both of those are bullish indicators.  Though not on the chart by itself, last week the S&P 500 index could not hold above the 1400 level that we’ve been following.  That is
    worth watching this week.

    Also note that this chart shows that
    the rally from March 10 through last week retraced just over 50% of the
    loss from the October highs. 

    The graphic below is a market heat map from FinViz that shows that last week was good for the Oil & Gas sector (because it shows up as mostly green) and bad for the Financials (shown mostly in bright red).

    080509_finviz_heatmapThis free site has a simple yet powerful stock screener, maps that allow you to see sector and stock rotation, and insider trading info.  It is worth checking-out.

  • Weekly Market Commentary from 5/09/08

    While the market did pull back, as expected, it was orderly and relatively mild.

    The chart below shows daily view of a composite of the 5 markets we currently trade. 

    080509_composite_index_above_suppor
    The Markets are above the red support line and the yellow down-trend;
    both of those are bullish indicators.  Though not on the chart by itself, last week the S&P 500 index could not hold above the 1400 level that we’ve been following.  That is
    worth watching this week.

    Also note that this chart shows that
    the rally from March 10 through last week retraced just over 50% of the
    loss from the October highs. 

    The graphic below is a market heat map from FinViz that shows that last week was good for the Oil & Gas sector (because it shows up as mostly green) and bad for the Financials (shown mostly in bright red).

    080509_finviz_heatmapThis free site has a simple yet powerful stock screener, maps that allow you to see sector and stock rotation, and insider trading info.  It is worth checking-out.

  • A Brief Look at Ideas Worth Spreading

    I enjoy the TED website, whose tag-line is "ideas worth spreading." They host one of the "cool" conferences for thinkers and doers. Recently, they opened their content vault and offer a wide range of free videos on technology, business, science, culture, and global issues.

    This video is of a presentation by Jill Bolte Taylor. She shares a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.

    Jill is a neuro-scientist who had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened — as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding — she studied and remembered every moment.

    I found it interesting and inspiring, and hope you do too.

  • A Sense of Security

    Microsoft came out with a bunch of security updates this week. I thought I’d share a few of the tools I use to help keep our computers running smoothly and safely.

    The first is a free tool that doesn’t require any download or installation. It is called the Secunia Software Inspector, and it:

    • Detects insecure versions of applications installed;
    • Verifies that all Microsoft patches are applied; and
    • Assists you in updating your system and applications.

    It only takes a few seconds to run and works reliably and well. So, click this link to check your system.

    Another tool I’ve really liked is called SuperAdBlocker. Yes it is a silly name; but it is a really nice product that stops ads and blocks spyware.  This is a great addition because it protects against things your antivirus and firewall don’t.  It works with Internet Explorer and Firerfox.  And I’ve been impressed with the support and responsiveness of the company.  More importantly, I’ve been happy with what it is like to browse without a lot of junk this prevents from slowing you down or cluttering your screen. 

    Two other tools worth checking are WindowsWasher and PCTools Spyware Doctor. 

  • A Sense of Security

    Microsoft came out with a bunch of security updates this week. I thought I’d share a few of the tools I use to help keep our computers running smoothly and safely.

    The first is a free tool that doesn’t require any download or installation. It is called the Secunia Software Inspector, and it:

    • Detects insecure versions of applications installed;
    • Verifies that all Microsoft patches are applied; and
    • Assists you in updating your system and applications.

    It only takes a few seconds to run and works reliably and well. So, click this link to check your system.

    Another tool I’ve really liked is called SuperAdBlocker. Yes it is a silly name; but it is a really nice product that stops ads and blocks spyware.  This is a great addition because it protects against things your antivirus and firewall don’t.  It works with Internet Explorer and Firerfox.  And I’ve been impressed with the support and responsiveness of the company.  More importantly, I’ve been happy with what it is like to browse without a lot of junk this prevents from slowing you down or cluttering your screen. 

    Two other tools worth checking are WindowsWasher and PCTools Spyware Doctor. 

  • Interesting Stats-Counting Clock

    I found this clock on the Poodwaddle web site.  They have a number of interesting widgets.  The page for this clock has links to the sites where the statistics come from.  Try clicking different time frames to get a sense of how the numbers (and presumably the world) change.

    Poodwaddle.com

  • Interesting Stats-Counting Clock

    I found this clock on the Poodwaddle web site.  They have a number of interesting widgets.  The page for this clock has links to the sites where the statistics come from.  Try clicking different time frames to get a sense of how the numbers (and presumably the world) change.

    Poodwaddle.com

  • FeedDemon – The Best Way to Find and Read Stuff

    I read information from dozens of websites every day.  Some of it is necessary for my work (financial sites, news sources, etc.).  Other sites give me ideas or inspiration.  Still others are a diversion.  Bottom-line, I was wasting a lot of time going to these sites (sometimes many times a day).  That all changed when I found a tool that brings them all to me.  The best News Reader that I’ve found is a free product called Feed Demon.  It allows you to subscribe to the content from many websites and view it in an organized and convenient manner in one location.

    Instead of going from website to website looking for interesting content, I subscribe to a website’s RSS feed and the software does the rest for me.  All new posts show up ready to read.

    080314_feeddemon_screenshot
    I’ve organized the feeds into categories of folders based on the way I think. So I have a folder for management ideas, marketing ideas, trading ideas, as well as new gadgets or finance.

    Here are some of the sites I read most:

    And there are a bunch more that I love. The point is, you can subscribe to any number of topics that interest you – and read related content when you want .

    It makes doing research for my weekly commentary much easier and I find that it reduces the amount of time I spend randomly surfing the web because when I have time to look at information I can focus on the information that I want to see quickly, easily, and without distraction.

    It is worth checking-out.  Here is the link for FeedDemon’s download.