Its the number of disintermediaries that is the problem here - too few and hence too powerful.
While I am not a supporter of any particular person, I think a CTO doesnt need to be a specialist but should have the breadth of understanding across a range of issues around technologies, have the strong analytical sense so that he or she can organize problems and solutions in a structure that makes decision making possible. I think it is structured thinking and a demonstrated love for technology that are important not advanced knowledge of a particular focussed discipline.
It seems unlikely to me that a Megacorp will out of the blue come up with a valuation and a decision to buy out a start up at the stage described here. Not in these times, at least. I am an entrepreneur and we had a Megacorp, that we were working with closely, discuss ways in which we can collaborate. One of the person in the Megacorp suggested the possibility of an acquisition and even threw in a number(18 months back) but I didnot consider it credible and it wasnt. These buyouts are a crap shoot and can fail for more reasons than one can count and often for no apparent reason. Only suggestion I have is to get outside opinion from someone who has a few years (10) of experience, someone you can trust and has played this game in the past(an entrepreneur or VC). Get his view and decide quickly. If you determine that you have a good shot at converting this (after advice from someone more experienced), go ahead and put a date say 60 days for closure. Always push for the MegaCorp to get committed as remember these are big Companies which have no souls and emotions you can appeal to
Gunpoint china... you must be smoking heavy duty. The biggest threat to Chinese Party is from the inside than outside. China is not a pushover like Iraq and while may not military might of the US the key is that it doesn't need to. It has more than a credible level of deterrence.
Insightful... really. The analogy sucks at best. First of all it is not murder that is being carried out. If it is developed world continues to carry bulk of the murder even today. If that is the analogy then we should all stop dead on our tracks.
The consumption analogy is more apt here and there is no way the developed world will be able to get the developing world to adopt to new standards unless they take the lead and solve the problem they created in the first place. Tough shit huh!!
There is just no political structure to make that happen in India or China.
You are definitely not married.
if newspaper organizations do not have viable model. In essence good quality news requires presence of high quality tools and personnel that can be deployed rapidly across the globe to cover a wide range of events. If they cannot generate sufficient money from their effort and go down who will do this job ?
News aggregators need news for aggregation. I havent heard anyone in slashdot help address this fundamental challenge.
this is not a tirade against google or argument in favor of newspapers but just wondering what is the new model of news media that we are conceiving if all or most of the traditional news media go down. User generated news is has too much noise to have any validity and lacks quality and predictability.
Since time immemorial, research has been achieved by strong patronage from the rich. Basic research thrives in extreme affluence as there is no great motivation to make the dollar work. MSFT and GOOG have been so wildly successful and that is great for the current generation as they continue to employ smart people with little pressure to come out with products that sell but are only judged by the quality of their research.
It wont last long with either of these Companies, especially with MSFT losing ground to Google the pressure for survival is growing. I think the next set of Companies/entities doing basic research will come from China. They have a huge war chest of resources and are beginning to establish their monopoly.
job even in this economy. Damn you Steve for making me feel worse. But then I dont have to compete with you for other jobs out there. How lucky for me.
just wondering if there is a case for suing Bill Gates for terrorizing people and causing psychological trauma.
hmm..
One of the chief duties of the mathematician in acting as an advisor... is to discourage... from expecting too much from mathematics. -- N. Wiener