BTW, these pages edited and uploaded on a Linux machine.

THE END OF THE GARAGE?
                                   Revised 9/4/06
Have you ever read old issues of Popular Science or Popular Mechanics from the 1930's to 1950's? They're a hoot. It's so enlightening to see what occupied people back in the heyday of science and early technology (the newness of radio and airplanes, new cars that cost $450.00, the space-race, really-big computers, transistors, cars with tail fins, etc). Another thing one notices is the number of inventions made by individuals, usually farmers or accountants, just ordinary folk. Rarely does one see an invention credited to a company.

Back in the 1930's, William Hewlett and David Packard, two kids going to Stanford university, sat down in a garage and changed the world. (Two other guys, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, were to do the same thing some 40 years later, and in a garage). But what of today? Could H-P or Apple happen now? Could they withstand the China juggernaut, or a billion-dollar ad campaign, or the cut-throat competition that slices and dices companies so they can make a few pennies? What about the need for product design cycles measured in days?

Aside from some Internet examples (Yahoo and Google for example, which were started by college kids eating pizza), I don't think that it happens anymore. Personally, I know that as I try to develop new products and "killer apps", I find myself confronted with questions that need millions of dollars and lots of people to answer. And its gotta go fast: a month or two late getting out to the market is death.

I don't think that H and P, or Steve and Steve, thought about that too much. I think that they just had a good idea, doing what they loved to do, without the tiger of fierce competition prowling at their door. There were no corporations breathing down their necks and no fears of knockoffs costing one cent on the dollar.

But on second thought, maybe they are the very ones who created this new age. Maybe they are the ones who ushered in the big companies fighting to the death. Maybe this is progress.

They probably had no idea that it would lead to this.

BTW, I firmly believe in the "Star Trek vision", that someday we will live and be comfortable with amazing technology (think PDA's and cellphones, which are right out of Star Trek). In order to get there, garages won't cut it anymore. It will take an enormous amount of talent and money. But one way or another, get there we will.

I'm just depressed that the era of a couple of guys sitting in a dark crowded garage and their mom bringing them PB&J sandwiches and changing the world has ended.

UPDATE (12/26/06): If you are REALLY interested in the history of personal computers, I highly recommend the new book "WOZ" by Steve Wozniak. Although written in a "for 12 year old kids" style, its a fascinating trip through the Woz's childhood and a totally geeky look at the advance of technology. Man, I was in the middle of it and didn't even know it. This book also dispels a bunch of rumors and sets the record straight on a lot of issues.

SCIENCE MUSEUMS
                   Posted 8/15/06
As a little kid, I remember spending a bunch of time in two places: the L.A. County Science Museum and  Griffith Park Observatory. At the time (probably in the sixties), these places were old and dark, and the exhibits were Frankenstinian in nature: big, dusty, loud and cranky. They thrilled me to death. This is probably why I am so geeky today: I had the opportunity to be thrilled. I can remember with great detail each and every exhibit that interested me.

I am sure that these exhibits are long gone. In fact, Griffith Park is undergoing a complete four-year-long remodel. (observatory history)

TECHNOLOGICAL SUPERIORITY
                                              Posted 8/7/06
While recently perusing one of my business publications, I was stunned by the number of articles dealing with the technology hotspots in the world, and how the majority of them were NOT the United States. As a resident of said States, this greatly concerns me, and so it should concern you too, if you are a U.S. resident. If you live elsewhere, in one of these hotspots, you should be elated.

So why has the U.S. apparently lost its tech edge in the world? Well, no surprise here. For how long (decades?) have we heard that if science and math are not emphasized in school, and if our kids are not raised in an environment honoring and cherishing these disciplines, that this would happen. BINGO - its happened!

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
                           Posted 8/3/06
I have been involved in the solar industry for almost 30 years. In that time period, much has changed. In about 1980, there was great celebration as Arco-Solar produced 1MW (mega-watt) of photovoltaic panels in one year (I was there for the party). Today, worldwide production exceeds 1000MW/year with a total installed capacity of over 5,000MW (these numbers vary depending on the source of information). And yet, with a total worldwide energy consumption of  500 quadrillion BTU's/year (sorry, I'm much too lazy to covert this to watts, but whatever the value, its big, REALLY BIG), its not even a dent; its not even a grain of sand on a beach...its nothing.

So I'm listening to an NPR tech piece about cellulose ethanol (CE) (audio), an alternative fuel made from wheat straw, you know, that leftover stuff from wheat production that we DON'T eat, as opposed to corn ethanol, which comes from corn, which we do eat. The process for creating CE is expensive, but the result is a fuel that can be mixed with gasoline (E85), AND IS MADE FROM TRASH, not food. The process is more complicated than that used to make corn ethanol and, of course, more expensive, but ITS MADE FROM TRASH. And the benefits from using this stuff are amazing.

In Canada, a company called IOGEN, has been making CE for decades, but the relatively low price of gasoline made it uneconomical to produce in quantity. My, how things have changed. For a mere $300 million, they can build a full-scale plant. Come on folks, that's $1.00 each for every U.S. citizen. Damn, I'd give them $25.00 if everyone else would chip in something.

Let's get on the ball here. Let's get going. Let's spend a few bucks on this stuff (and other alternatives) and not let politics or money get in the way. If we had REALLY put our collective noses to the grindstone 20 years ago, we'd probably be living the Jetson's life right now. And no dependence on mid-east oil. And no drilling in the Arctic Refuge. And no drilling in our coastal waters. And less contribution to global warming. And lower cost fuel. And. And. And.

Wouldn't it be nice if someday, maybe in a hundred years or so, instead of calling it alternative energy, they'll just call it energy, and oil wars will be a thing read about only in the history books?