2011 8
Mia is here :)
Published by MartinVarsavsky.net in Paternity with No Comments
Mia Varsavsky was born this morning. As you can see we are all well. This picture was taken only 2 hours after birth. Nina was amazing, brave, confident, and very happy. Mia struggled through the whole thing. We promised her that life gets better later on. Birth took place at Ruber Internacional in Madrid. Dr Luis Recasens, an amazing obstetrician did the C Section. I had the easy part of course 🙂
In this video you see my son Tom and I conducting a simple, yet important experiment, that allows you to approximate the speed of light only using a microwave oven and cheese. How? Well the speed of light is equal to the frequency times the wavelength. And a microwave oven comes with an indication in the back that shows the frequency. Ours is 2450 MHz. So then all you need to do is to melt cheese in a plate and with a simple ruler measure the distances between the first two areas in the cheese that start melting. In order to do this it is important that you prevent the platter of the microwave from turning. For other details just watch the video.
2011 10
Nina is pregnant :)
Published by MartinVarsavsky.net in Paternity with No Comments
We have known that Nina, my wife is pregnant since December but we waited until the 12 week sonogram to announce it. In this video you see the sonogram. It is crucial because you can discard a number of common diseases from the morphology of the baby. Interestingly a big nose and a well shaped back neck (nucha) are indications of a non Down syndrome child. Other results come in the blood tests.
As you can see we are very happy! Nina is radiant.
Baby 12 weeks from Martin Varsavsky on Vimeo
2011 31
Baeza and Ubeda or why I build global start ups out of Spain
Published by MartinVarsavsky.net in Spain with No Comments
We just spent a long weekend in Baeza and Ubeda in Andalusia.
I moved to Spain in 1995 and I thought that by now I knew this country very well. But then there is always something new to see. In this case these two beautiful towns in Northern Andalusia. Other than my family and friends here, what I love about my life in Spain is that I get to build global start ups, out of Spain. That I get to build Fon in Spain. That when I leave work, I am in Spain. I am not saying that California is not attractive, and it also has great weather. But to me, there’s something missing in California, or New York, or Florida. I love visiting USA but after spending 18 years of my life there I still feel better in Spain. And I feel better in Spain than in UK or Germany. Italy and France could be a contenders as they are beautiful countries as well. But the environment for start ups in those two countries is horrendous.
In any case here are two minor, further proofs as to why Spain is better.
Baeza
Ubeda
2010 17
Flying low to avoid the ash cloud
Published by MartinVarsavsky.net in Micro with No Comments
We were trying to get to London from Madrid in my plane to attend Google Zeitgeist. As I insisted in going there, and as the airports reopened, my pilots alerted me to the fact that the trick airlines are using to avoid the ash cloud is to fly long distances at very low altitudes.
This is something that I haven’t heard in the media. Flying long distances, at say 3000 feet, may be good to avoid the ash cloud, but it’s terrible for the environment. Aircraft consume twice the fuel to fly the same distance, and in general it is less safe. While most people think that low and slow may mean safety, the opposite is true in aviation where high and fast somehow works better.
We did not go in the end. We did not think it was safe to fly long distances at low altitude. And we did not know what effect that would have on the range of our small Citation Jet.
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2010 17
What Google could do to improve Twitter
Published by MartinVarsavsky.net in Internet & Technology with No Comments
First the usual disclosures. Google is an investor in Fon. Twitter has no relationship with Fon, but I know Ev Williams a little and some investors like Chris Sacca well. Personally I think that neither investments nor friendship will taint the objectivity of this post, but disclosing is better than non disclosing.
Now the post.
Google knows that Twitter is both an opportunity and a threat. Twitter is a threat because it is instant search – compared to Google’s crawled (slow) search – but also because, in many cases, Twitter yields better results. For example, what is the point of collecting a 3-year link history for a fashion brand and give search results if the most relevant information about that fashion brand may be that 5 minutes ago a hugely followed celebrity says she’s crazy about it. Twitter is now big enough to move the needle in the real world quickly enough for Google to miss it.
Now here is the opportunity:
Google is great at creating hierarchies of information. The original idea of Google, which comes from science, is that “he/she who is linked to the most must be saying the most relevant things”. Now what is missing is that same analysis but cranked on Twitter data.
How would I refine search in Twitter? To me there are two measures of Twitter relevance. One is how many followers a persons has, and the other one how frequently this person is retweeted. In my opinion, the opportunity for Google is to use its computing power to come up with very relevant, instant answers to problems using Google results, Twitter results and when using Twitter ranking according to followers and retweets. To that, it should add PINGED results, namely results whose location on the web has been volunteered as in blogs or news. To see a ping search engine check out Technorati in which I am an investor.
Google created a meritocracy on the internet. If you have a high Google ranking, what you say, for example in your blog, matters more in search. Well, I think Google is the company most equipped to blend crawled search with real time search by combining Google results, Twitter results and PINGED results (results that were not crawled but picked up from recent blog and news pings).
Here’s a small experiment I did called “unfolding news” that shows the beginning of a twitter+news+blog results. This is what you get when you search for “ash cloud” in unfolding news. This is what you get when you search for “ash cloud” in Google. Unfolding news is an experiment that does not use Google results, but I find it more useful than Google for learning about things that are happening or “unfolding”. Google could do a much better job blending “old web” and “new web” sources.
Conclusion: instead of wasting time with Buzz emulating or copying Twitter, Google could complement Twitter with what Twitter needs most, making sense out of searching something in Twitter.
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2010 15
Jolicloud: Better than Windows
Published by MartinVarsavsky.net in General with No Comments
- Image by Rsepulveda / flickr via CrunchBase
This morning we had breakfast with my good friend Tariq Krim. Tariq is the founder of Netvibes, an app I use every day to get the internet I care about in one glimpse, and of Jolicloud, the best operating system for the 100 million netbooks out there in the world. In the past, during our meetings, we would speak about Fon and Jolicloud. But lately, Fon has been growing very well and profitably (TG). So this time the conversation focused exclusively on the challenges faced by Jolicloud. Especially now that the Jolicloud product is ready to reach the masses, the conversation was about how will the masses know that Jolicloud exists.
Now this post is mainly about one curious fact. Until our conversation today, I don’t think that Tariq was focusing on his real target: Microsoft. This is as if we had built Jazztel for example without focusing on Telefonica. Or, if Apple built Mac without focusing on the PC. A non starter. When you are taking market share from a monopolist you have to attack that monopolist. I hope our amicable debate on this matter changed Tariq´s mind and soon we will see Jolicloud’s web site making clear claims on exactly why Jolicloud is better than Windows. Otherwise Jolicloud will not go anywhere. Any prospective Jolicloud user now has Windows, and if Jolicloud does not explain point by point how Jolicloud is better, they will not make the switch. Switching operating systems is not like downloading Skype, it is a life changing decision for computer users. And if you go to the Jolicloud web site now, you don’t really understand that Jolicloud is a better alternative to Windows for your netbook.
But getting to the point was not a straight line in our two hour conversation. Instead we drifted towards all Operating Systems as we are both fans of the subject. Learning from their pros and cons may be important, even from a product design perspective. But for the mission of communicating Jolicloud to the planet, OS other than Windows are irrelevant. Android is irrelevant because it is not for netbooks. Mac OSX is irrelevant because it does not have a netbook. All the other Linux based operating systems have managed to convince very few people to adopt them in the laptop market so they are irrelevant from Jolicloud’s point of view. Chrome OS may become relevant but so far it is not ready and is not a player. The iPad in itself is a competitor to netbooks in general and will have an effect on netbook markets, but when you look from Jolicloud’s perspective the key is not if the iPad causes a dent in the netbook market, but how to dent the netbook OS market with Jolicloud. So the iPad is irrelevant. What is relevant for Jolicloud is to convince the millions of netbook buyers every month to download Jolicloud and either dual boot or just use Jolicloud.
So concretely I advise Tariq to make it the mission of Jolicloud to show that it is better than Windows. That he should offer a prize within his 50K community of early adopters for the best video that shows that Jolicloud is better than Windows. That his website should clearly explain, in great detail how your use of your netbook will be greatly expanded when you switch to Jolicloud.
To me, the “Jolicloud is better than Windows” campaign bullet points are:
-Jolicloud is faster to turn on and faster to turn off than Windows. So is Mac btw but Mac is the rich kid choice, netbooks cost 70% less than a Mac.
-Jolicloud offers you a safe virus free world, no virus, no anti-virus installs, no internet paranoia.
-Jolicloud is social, friends discover apps, friends share apps, friends help you. Jolicloud is a community of users. So are all the Linux communities, by the way, and they have done an incredible job but most of humanity does not know this.
-Jolicloud leaves your data in the cloud which means that your data is safe and if you lose your computer for any reason you can clone your computer in less than an hour, try that with Windows. A new PC is a day of work.
-Jolicloud is free, most apps are free and install faster than downloads in a windows based PC.
Yes, I know, if you are a Linux person you will argue that Jolicloud is just another Linux version focused on the non technical user. But, Linux person, the truth is that 99% of the planet either does not know Linux, is afraid of Linux or uses Linux on servers and does not even know it. Saying that Jolicloud is a Linux that is more social and idiot proof will not get Jolicloud anywhere. Their job is to prove they are better than Windows. And the truth is they are. Now they have to get the message out there.
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2010 14
This is (really) it: Michael Jackson
Published by MartinVarsavsky.net in General with No Comments
I never liked Michael Jackson. I acknowledged him, occasionally enjoyed him, but if you were at university in the 80´s he was shoved down your throat. Way too overplayed. MTV was already big and those of us who were not fans thought Michael Jackson was produced. A follower, not a leader.
Fast forward 2010. I am on a flight Madrid – Paris. Turn my MacBook on, put on the noise canceling headphones and start watching “This is It“. Everything changes. I see the genius. It took a documentary for me to realize that Michael Jackson may have been overplayed, may have had his dark side, but as a musician/dancer there was nobody like him.
In “This is It” you realize that Michael Jackson is the REAL song writer, actor, choreographer, dancer, singer: he is all those things and more. Plus, in 2009, before his death, he still had it. Watch the documentary. It’s worth it.
I greatly enjoyed it and I also want to thank my daughter Alexa, who, as a dancer, took part in the Union Square launch of “This is It”, the DVD. It’s great that the production invited her and her Columbia University dance group to participate of the live performance.
Today, for the first time, I am truly sorry that Michael Jackson is dead.
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2010 13
The Global Fund, the largest NGO you haven’t heard about
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Since its start in 2002, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has spent $19bn and saved 4.9 million lives. And you have not heard about them. Or at least I had not heard about them. And that was fine. Until now. That is because The Global Fund is in the process of organizing its next commitment round for another estimated $20bn. But what is interesting about this new campaign is that The Global Fund is not asking for your money. Or, at least, it is not asking for your money directly. And that is because, knowingly or unknowingly, you are already a contributor to this campaign, as a taxpayer wherever you live.
In these times of huge government deficits, however, it is important that your voice be heard. That you let your government know that you believe that saving lives around the world, that preventing the spread of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria is a worthwhile use of your tax money, that you are in favor of what The Global Fund is doing.
The Global Fund is starting a campaign on May 19th that will attract personalities from around the world to alert citizens of donor nations to how important it is that these efforts go on. And you will be asked to sign a digital petition saying that you endorse these efforts. Your signature counts in the sense that governments need to know that their citizens care.
On May 19th I will sign. I hope you do as well.
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I came across the Mein Kampf article in the Wikipedia. The horror and weirdness of his antisemitism aside, what is remarkable is how well he described his war strategy, how his plan was laid out so ahead of its execution a decade later. How nobody seemed to believe him until he actually implemented it.
Hitler predicts the stages of Germany’s political emergence on the world scene: in the first stage, Germany would, through a program of massive re-armament, overthrow the shackles of the Treaty of Versailles and form alliances with the British Empire and Fascist Italy. The second stage would feature wars against France and her allies in Eastern Europe by the combined forces of Germany, Britain and Italy. The third and final stage would be a war to destroy what Hitler saw as the “Judeo-Bolshevik” regime in the Soviet Union that would give Germany the necessary Lebensraum (literally “living space”).
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