Shakattack

Definitely a huge focus on mobile, but I feel like PayPal would have to become a universal standard (outside of online payment gateways) for this to really take off.

The long-term vs short-term argument makes sense, I agree on that. If you have nothing to offer in the long-term, then it's probably not going to last. If you just want to ask the hot girl out of your league on a date to say that you did, then yeah, it's probably not going to go very far.

I think the people who actually succeed in going out of their league, or the ones who do have that long term relationship with the CEO, are the ones who have the confidence that they do have some value to offer. And by definition, these people are more likely to take the risk - because there's something legitimate backing it up. Not saying that every confident person who approaches the GS CFO will develop a long term relationship. But the ones who actually attempt are probably going to be the same people who have the confidence in themselves to build a long term relationship - and believe they can offer some real value.

The problem with this article that it's not consistent with the people it references. Can you imagine Warren Buffet buying a house in the Hamptons? Plus these aren't even all of the "wealthiest" people - they're just wealthy people who happen to fit the point the article is trying to make.

For me it just shows the local weather...

1) Technology - Quality speakers, nice monitors, computers, etc

2) Good pair of running shoes and a tennis racket

3) Food - Not often, but nice restaurants when I can

Other then that, I don't care as much about what I drive, what I live in, etc. I do care - but as long as I'm living in an interesting city I'll be fine.

The last line is what's most important.

So many people keep buying Office because it's all they've ever known, and it works. And you see that much more on the older side of 40. But for the future generations, that do know about OpenOffice and GoogleDocs, well why would they pay for Office?

Look at actual computer sales too. Windows obviously has an overwhelming market share, but look at colleges. When incoming freshmen are looking at what to buy, not many are saying "I really want that new Windows 7 Dell laptop!". Instead everyone wants the sleek, sexy MacBooks - I'd say anywhere from 60-70%. College students today are the consumers of the future, and if they buy Mac for college they're probably going to stick to Macs for a long time.

Microsoft isn't retarded though (okay maybe Balmer is), they know the situation. Zune, Xbox, Microsoft retail stores? You think Microsoft needed that 10 years ago?

Are the extroverts just not speaking up (ironic)?

Otherwise it's really interesting how there's not a single extroverted type higher than the introverts? But it just goes to show being introverted doesn't mean you're socially incompetent and can't talk to others.

I want to see a poll like this for CEOs or other executives. Most leaders I know (at least the good ones) are introverts, but they still go a great job leading. Wonder if it's the same for bigger companies.

Agreed, even some smooth movement would make a difference - the jump is very sudden

This is what I actually want...think many people don't actually visit Google.com anymore. Unless there's a fun/creative doodle.

Exactly what I thought. It's a great feature, but just going to google.com takes up time. Maybe future integration into Chrome?

I'm guessing this is for an individual, and not a family (since family size isn't even defined)

So with that, I think 75k is definitely enough to live a happy life - at least when you're young and only supporting yourself. Say you live in Chicago or New York, here's how I see it breaking down:

   10k in taxes

   20-25k for monthly rent, bills, and expenses (sure that's not a Lakeshore drive 40th floor apartment, but still nothing shabby). 

   10k for food (I'm being really generous here)

That's pretty much everything you need to survive, and survive comfortably. So that's still, what, 35k in free spending money? Of course it's not too difficult to spend 35k, but the point is that it's a lot of money for free spending. Some save, some buy nice cars and things, most are usually somewhere in between. I still have a couple years till graduation, but if I'm making 70-75k after graduation, there's no way I'm complaining.

Beyond 75k, the happiness it brings definitely varies by person. If I had significantly more than 75k a year, the first thing I would think is "Now I have some money to do something I really want". I'm talking about startups, which I think becomes a lot more doable when you have some money to spend on an idea.

Also lets not forget the happiness more money can bring. I think the householder pulling 300k a year is going to feel a lot more relieved going home then someone else making 75k. Person 1 could be unemployed tomorrow, and still be okay. But Person 2, if they lose the job, could be in a lot of trouble trying to support kids and pay the mortgage. The stress Person 1 has is significant, and I don't think this study really considers that.

It does make sense for TVs to eventually shift to this, even if Apple isn't the one to do it (though there are few better innovating companies - if any). 9 months of the year I don't have cable, and I barely miss it. Agree with what others said about content, and if major players refuse to commit then it'll be a slow transition, but that's where iAd comes in.

If Apple really is serious about AppleTV (more than just a hobby), then iAd is brilliant. Ads suck these days, the best ads are probably the ones by Apple (okay and I love the dos equis ones too). iAd brings interaction to the already visual experience, basically it makes an ad that I'm much more interested in watching. If Apple can get major networks on board by providing them comparable revenue through iAds, then it really could change everything.

Doesn't this kill any hope for BlackBerry to have software revenue? Can't see that being a good thing given how fast the app market is growing. They should have bought Palm back then could.

Wonder if we'll start seeing a black market for eye-swapping surgeries because of this...

What caught my eye was how high Landline phones are. Cellphones don't have perfect reception, but I barely use landlines anymore. It's also interesting how low cable and satellite TV are, don't think that would be as low if it weren't for Hulu and online streaming.

After reading this, I was a little creeped out: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jul/23/foursquare

But my general policy with posting online content is if you put it online, don't be surprised when people find out. I think the ad agencies tracking 4sq check-ins is key to monetizing location based services, and I'm all for it because it just makes sense. When/if this happens, 4sq and others will hopefully be transparent about it, so users know what they're getting into.

But if you don't want people/companies to know where you shop, don't check in. Simple as that.

That's a good point. But I also wouldn't call Facebook my all encompassing social identity. I don't update my status with everything I tweet; I don't even sync up Foursquare and Facebook because I don't want everyone on Facebook knowing where I've checked in (and I don't think I'm alone because 20% of Foursquare users sync up with Facebook). Many people just find it annoying, but the bigger reason is that I'm not really that 'close' with all my Facebook Friends. If I post a check-in to facebook, I'd only want a fraction of the people to know.

I haven't gotten the rollout yet but hopefully Facebook realizes this and makes Places something you can use with some of your friends, and not all of them.

Maybe, but I'm not sold yet. Yeah Facebook has 500 million plus users, so even if there's a 1% conversion rate they'll have the same or more users than Foursquare. That's huge, especially because Facebook has a much more diverse audience than Foursquare.

But...I can't help but think about Buzz. Gmail had those 170 million users. Sure Twitter was around, but how could Buzz fail when there was this huge existing audience to use it? But today I don't use Buzz at all, and Twitter around a dozen times a day.

Facebook Places has potential, but it's way too early to think Foursquare will be "crushed"