Web/Tech

  • Bezos’ Video About the Zappos Acquisition

    Amazon acquired Zappos this week.  What follows is a terrific video where Jeff Bezos says he shares “Everything I Know” about business, and offers a peek inside the entrepreneurial spirit and culture of Amazon.

    The four main points are:

    Obsess Over Customers. While they pay attention to the competitive marketplace, they don’t let competitors determine what they do. Instead, it is the customer that drives their strategy.

    Invent. A critical part of what Amazon does is to invent solutions for, and on behalf of, their customers.

    Think Long-Term. Amazon strategists take a long-term perspective. They are willing to take actions that quickly offer benefits to customers, even if those actions don’t offer a pay-off for the company or its investors for five to seven years.

    It’s Always Day One. There is always a bigger future and more opportunities to invent for customers. It’s never over, or too late.

    Yes, it is a simple list.  Still, it is worth watching. 

    It gave me a sense that Amazon not only preaches these principles, but practices them as well.

    Also, here is a link to Zappos’ CEO, Tony Hsieh’s letter about the acquisition.

    And here is a link to Four Questions About the Acquisition.

  • Impressions About the New iPhone

    Hello, my name is Howard; and I'm a gadget addict. This week I went out and upgraded to the new Apple iPhone 3GS, even though my 3G worked fine. I had to, though; didn't I?

    090712 iPhone impressions It's the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet. It has video, and my old phone didn't have video. It has a compass; and you know I need a compass. Okay, I don't need a compass; but apparently the new turn-by-turn mapping capability needs a compass to understand which direction you're turning (and that's pretty cool). It has voice control to dial the phone, play music, and otherwise avoid typing. And it has double the storage capacity, which I'm sure still won't be enough.

    Actually, I'm very happy with the new phone and the upgrade process. I connected it to my computer, and all the applications and settings from my prior version migrated all by themselves. Even the high score lists for games I play transferred. More importantly, the phone does everything I expected, and seems faster.

    And, of course, I no longer have iPhone envy. The fact that I waited a week after it came out to order mine took amazing willpower. I thought about it so many times that it was no longer worth it to wait. So Happy Birthday to me, a few weeks early.

    Joking aside, the iPhone has become an important business tool for me. I am more surprised about how much less I use my laptop, than I am about how much I use the iPhone.

    Even when I'm in a meeting, I have access to the internet. I can search Google.  Or even better, I can use Twitter or Facebook to crowd-source an answer. It's almost like being able to "Call a Friend" or "Ask the Audience" on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire".

    One of the features I like best, is being able to use my voice instead of typing. So, I can quickly look-up a contact by saying their name. It's surprising how many places voice control like this comes in handy. For example, Google has an iPhone application that allows you to search by speaking. So I could speak an address, and the Google map comes up. Or, I could say "stock price for Apple", and the current quote and chart comes up. Similarly, I use an application called Jott to verbally capture tasks, ideas, and to-do items. The service transcribes what I say and puts it into my task list. It's important because I'm now capturing things that used to slip through the cracks.

    I'll review some of the more helpful iPhone applications in a later post. In the meantime, if you don't have the new iPhone, I recommend you go check them out. It's a very fine piece of technology.

  • Impressions About the New iPhone

    Hello, my name is Howard; and I'm a gadget addict. This week I went out and upgraded to the new Apple iPhone 3GS, even though my 3G worked fine. I had to, though; didn't I?

    090712 iPhone impressions It's the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet. It has video, and my old phone didn't have video. It has a compass; and you know I need a compass. Okay, I don't need a compass; but apparently the new turn-by-turn mapping capability needs a compass to understand which direction you're turning (and that's pretty cool). It has voice control to dial the phone, play music, and otherwise avoid typing. And it has double the storage capacity, which I'm sure still won't be enough.

    Actually, I'm very happy with the new phone and the upgrade process. I connected it to my computer, and all the applications and settings from my prior version migrated all by themselves. Even the high score lists for games I play transferred. More importantly, the phone does everything I expected, and seems faster.

    And, of course, I no longer have iPhone envy. The fact that I waited a week after it came out to order mine took amazing willpower. I thought about it so many times that it was no longer worth it to wait. So Happy Birthday to me, a few weeks early.

    Joking aside, the iPhone has become an important business tool for me. I am more surprised about how much less I use my laptop, than I am about how much I use the iPhone.

    Even when I'm in a meeting, I have access to the internet. I can search Google.  Or even better, I can use Twitter or Facebook to crowd-source an answer. It's almost like being able to "Call a Friend" or "Ask the Audience" on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire".

    One of the features I like best, is being able to use my voice instead of typing. So, I can quickly look-up a contact by saying their name. It's surprising how many places voice control like this comes in handy. For example, Google has an iPhone application that allows you to search by speaking. So I could speak an address, and the Google map comes up. Or, I could say "stock price for Apple", and the current quote and chart comes up. Similarly, I use an application called Jott to verbally capture tasks, ideas, and to-do items. The service transcribes what I say and puts it into my task list. It's important because I'm now capturing things that used to slip through the cracks.

    I'll review some of the more helpful iPhone applications in a later post. In the meantime, if you don't have the new iPhone, I recommend you go check them out. It's a very fine piece of technology.

  • Capitalogix Commentary 07/12/09

    Obama told the G8 that the "World has Staved Off Economic Disaster." So, it's all good now.  You are safe to jump back in the pool.  If there was still risk, he couldn't have said that in front of world leaders, right?

    Is This the New Normal … Or Just the Calm Before the Storm?

    Here is a chart that shows how volatility has reduced recently.  Putting on my curmudgeon hat for a moment, I remember the old trader's adage that lack of volatility begets volatility.

    090711 Volatility is Down

    That chart whispers "beware the calm before the storm" to me.  Others may see a return to normal.  What do you think?

    A Look At the Markets.

    The markets have given back close to 25% of their recent gains in the last four weeks. In many respects that was a healthy move. The news has been bad enough that I expected a bigger and steeper downswing.

    Also, there's been a lot of talk about the potential of a head and shoulders top. But when you look at a composite of the five U.S. Equity Indices (shown in the bottom-half of the chart, below), we haven't broken the neckline, yet.

    In addition, the 200-day moving average (red line) continues to provide support. If we don't have a sustained break beneath this level, the 200-day moving average will act as support.  Click the chart to see a full-size image.

    090711 SP500 and Composite

    With that said, sentiment is getting more bearish, and the move down
    has not created a spike in the VIX. So, again, there are clues that lead me to suspect that we might be witnessing the calm
    before the storm.  Earnings Season is starting; and a move down would trigger the head-and-shoulders topping pattern and the 200-day moving average would become overhead resistance.  And fear would increase … you get the picture.

    Sometimes, the right picture can be worth a thousand words.

    Dow's Dead-Cat Bounce from GuidePostings

    So short-term, a bounce wouldn't surprise me. Nonetheless, a bigger correction still seems likely.

    Business Posts Moving the Markets that I Found Interesting This Week:

    • Businessman Pays $2.1 million for Lunch with Buffet; Banks More (DigitalJournal)
    • 11 Places With a Worse Economy Than Ours. (USNews)
    • Currency Funds Crushed on Dearth of Market Trends. (Bloomberg)
    • The Dollar's role in the global economy is Safe From the Yuan, for Now (WSJ)
    • Ex-Goldman Sachs Employee Arrested Stealing Secret Trading Codes. (StreetInsider)
    • Citadel Sues Firm Linked to Alleged Goldman Software Theft. (FinAlternatives)
    • Mark Cuban on Business Models: Succeed with Free, Die by Free. (BlogMaverick)
    • More Posts Moving the Markets.

    Lighter Ideas and Fun Links that I Found Interesting This Week

  • Capitalogix Commentary 07/12/09

    Obama told the G8 that the "World has Staved Off Economic Disaster." So, it's all good now.  You are safe to jump back in the pool.  If there was still risk, he couldn't have said that in front of world leaders, right?

    Is This the New Normal … Or Just the Calm Before the Storm?

    Here is a chart that shows how volatility has reduced recently.  Putting on my curmudgeon hat for a moment, I remember the old trader's adage that lack of volatility begets volatility.

    090711 Volatility is Down

    That chart whispers "beware the calm before the storm" to me.  Others may see a return to normal.  What do you think?

    A Look At the Markets.

    The markets have given back close to 25% of their recent gains in the last four weeks. In many respects that was a healthy move. The news has been bad enough that I expected a bigger and steeper downswing.

    Also, there's been a lot of talk about the potential of a head and shoulders top. But when you look at a composite of the five U.S. Equity Indices (shown in the bottom-half of the chart, below), we haven't broken the neckline, yet.

    In addition, the 200-day moving average (red line) continues to provide support. If we don't have a sustained break beneath this level, the 200-day moving average will act as support.  Click the chart to see a full-size image.

    090711 SP500 and Composite

    With that said, sentiment is getting more bearish, and the move down
    has not created a spike in the VIX. So, again, there are clues that lead me to suspect that we might be witnessing the calm
    before the storm.  Earnings Season is starting; and a move down would trigger the head-and-shoulders topping pattern and the 200-day moving average would become overhead resistance.  And fear would increase … you get the picture.

    Sometimes, the right picture can be worth a thousand words.

    Dow's Dead-Cat Bounce from GuidePostings

    So short-term, a bounce wouldn't surprise me. Nonetheless, a bigger correction still seems likely.

    Business Posts Moving the Markets that I Found Interesting This Week:

    • Businessman Pays $2.1 million for Lunch with Buffet; Banks More (DigitalJournal)
    • 11 Places With a Worse Economy Than Ours. (USNews)
    • Currency Funds Crushed on Dearth of Market Trends. (Bloomberg)
    • The Dollar's role in the global economy is Safe From the Yuan, for Now (WSJ)
    • Ex-Goldman Sachs Employee Arrested Stealing Secret Trading Codes. (StreetInsider)
    • Citadel Sues Firm Linked to Alleged Goldman Software Theft. (FinAlternatives)
    • Mark Cuban on Business Models: Succeed with Free, Die by Free. (BlogMaverick)
    • More Posts Moving the Markets.

    Lighter Ideas and Fun Links that I Found Interesting This Week

  • Screen Capture Software Worth Snagging

    090705 Snagit I'm so glad I found Snagit.  It is one of the un-sung heroes that I use all the time but don't think about because it is so reliable and stable that I forget how good it is.

    What Can You Do With Snagit? 

    Capture anything you see on the screen. Edit and combine those captures. Add text, arrows, or highlights to make the image better.  Then share them through your favorite applications. Organize and find them again later.

    I end-up using it several times a day.  It is my default image editor.  I use it to create or edit the graphics for the blog, presentations and e-mails.  I use it to capture and annotate certain financial transactions … and to get or give tech support. Bottom-Line: the more you use Snagit, the more ways you'll find to use it. 

    Here is a two-minute video that will give you a quick overview of some of the things Snagit can do for you.

    090705 Snagit Overview Video

    Techsmith makes several other cool tools too.  I'm not affiliated with them, other than as a satisfied client.  Just thought it was worth sharing.  Hope it helps you too. 

    Click here to go to the product page for Snagit.

    Click here to download a trial.

  • Screen Capture Software Worth Snagging

    090705 Snagit I'm so glad I found Snagit.  It is one of the un-sung heroes that I use all the time but don't think about because it is so reliable and stable that I forget how good it is.

    What Can You Do With Snagit? 

    Capture anything you see on the screen. Edit and combine those captures. Add text, arrows, or highlights to make the image better.  Then share them through your favorite applications. Organize and find them again later.

    I end-up using it several times a day.  It is my default image editor.  I use it to create or edit the graphics for the blog, presentations and e-mails.  I use it to capture and annotate certain financial transactions … and to get or give tech support. Bottom-Line: the more you use Snagit, the more ways you'll find to use it. 

    Here is a two-minute video that will give you a quick overview of some of the things Snagit can do for you.

    090705 Snagit Overview Video

    Techsmith makes several other cool tools too.  I'm not affiliated with them, other than as a satisfied client.  Just thought it was worth sharing.  Hope it helps you too. 

    Click here to go to the product page for Snagit.

    Click here to download a trial.

  • Capitalogix Commentary 06/21/09

    Time flies when you are having fun.  We're almost halfway through the year, and the markets have rallied now for three-plus months. That sounds positive … So why are so many people focused on the  Federal Reserve's two-day meeting that ends Wednesday?  My guess is that many investors will be watching for any changes in the long-term economic outlook.

    So we are at a Tipping Point, once again.  There is cash on the sidelines waiting for a sign that it's safe to get back in the game; and there are investors who are looking to protect their rally profits, or are afraid of the next leg down.

    This daily chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index highlights what bulls and bears see.  We'll soon know which is more committed.

    090621 Dow Analysis 600p

    From my perspective, I understand why discretionary traders might want to try to buy this pull-back.  There is a clear Risk-Reward; and it's easy to set your stop.  However, experience warns me to be wary of set-ups like this where market breadth is weakening.  My wife doesn't like charts that have too many marks on them … she says they are confusing.  So I tried to find a different image that conveys what this chart may be whispering to the little bird.

    I Feel Good

    Finally, I was reading Paul Kedrosky's blog when I ran across this chart showing the price of crude oil from 1861 through 2208.  It comes from BP.  It provides an interesting perspective.

    090621 Crude Oil Prices Since 1861

    Business Posts Moving the Markets that I Found Interesting This Week:

    Lighter Ideas and Fun Links that I Found Interesting This Week

  • Capitalogix Commentary 06/21/09

    Time flies when you are having fun.  We're almost halfway through the year, and the markets have rallied now for three-plus months. That sounds positive … So why are so many people focused on the  Federal Reserve's two-day meeting that ends Wednesday?  My guess is that many investors will be watching for any changes in the long-term economic outlook.

    So we are at a Tipping Point, once again.  There is cash on the sidelines waiting for a sign that it's safe to get back in the game; and there are investors who are looking to protect their rally profits, or are afraid of the next leg down.

    This daily chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index highlights what bulls and bears see.  We'll soon know which is more committed.

    090621 Dow Analysis 600p

    From my perspective, I understand why discretionary traders might want to try to buy this pull-back.  There is a clear Risk-Reward; and it's easy to set your stop.  However, experience warns me to be wary of set-ups like this where market breadth is weakening.  My wife doesn't like charts that have too many marks on them … she says they are confusing.  So I tried to find a different image that conveys what this chart may be whispering to the little bird.

    I Feel Good

    Finally, I was reading Paul Kedrosky's blog when I ran across this chart showing the price of crude oil from 1861 through 2208.  It comes from BP.  It provides an interesting perspective.

    090621 Crude Oil Prices Since 1861

    Business Posts Moving the Markets that I Found Interesting This Week:

    Lighter Ideas and Fun Links that I Found Interesting This Week

  • Capitalogix Commentary 05/14/09

    Swine Flu Symptoms

    The Swine Flu made headlines again.  Apparently, no one cares that the the U.N.'s World Health Organization officially declared the outbreak to be a "pandemic" this week.  If you don't know what to look for,  this picture illustrates some symptoms.

    If the Markets' continued rally is taken as evidence, then it also appears that people don't care about the threats weighing down the economy.  The Major U.S. Index Averages are holding above their 200-Day declining moving averages and overhead resistance.  Also, Bespoke notes that eighty-four percent of the stocks in the S&P 500 are trading above their 50-day moving averages.  With that said, momentum is waning … three months into the rally. 

    Of course, the length and staying power of the rally says something about how crowds work, and why the majority of traders are often wrong at turning points in the market.  The following video makes the same point, a different way.  On the surface, it starts with a lone male, dancing at a music festival.  It is fascinating to watch what happens when other people feel the urge to get in on the fun. It takes about one-minute for people to start joining in.  By two-minutes, there's a crowd.  And by three, it's a mob.

    Here is the direct link to the video on YouTube.  This says something about human nature, doesn't it?

    Business Posts Moving the Markets that I Found Interesting This Week:

    Lighter Ideas and Fun Links that I Found Interesting This Week

    • The Top Twelve Funny Indicators That The Economy Is Bad. (Big Picture)
    • Why Microsoft Windows 7 XP Mode is a Major Advancement. (eWeek)
    • Making Fat Disappear with a Genetic Strategy from Bacteria. (Tech Review)
    • When Sleep Leaves You Tired: It's the Quality, Not Quantity. (WSJ)
    • When a 'Chosen' Tibetan Lama Says "No Thanks". (Time)
    • How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live. (Time)
    • More Posts with Lighter Ideas and Fun Links.