Political Views

Not sure who the next president of the USA will be but the next VP will be hispanic most likely

The republicans are rightfully in trouble with the hispanic voters for their ridiculous behavior with respect to immigration.  The only way a republican nominee would have a chance to become president is if they could split the hispanic vote.  Unless they make a major change in their objection to comprehensive immigration reform, the only way … Continue reading

Israel / Palestine

Israel/Palestine, my prediction for the future: A Palestinian State but no peace agreement

In my last post on the topic of Israel/Palestine, I laid out a number of possible scenarios. It was not an exhaustive list. The purpose of this post is to suggest what I think will happen. But I need to make a disclaimer first. It is extremely hard to predict what will happen in this part of the world. While there are clear forces at work, there is also a lot of random events that can shape the future. Never the less, I am going to give it a try. I could also not deal with each and every issue.
Continue reading

Apple / Google

How my blog post on Apple and Search went viral and my unintended experience with Internet Journalism

o I wrote a post that was really about how vulnerable Google is. If you are a frequent reader of my blog, you will know that I don’t think much of Google. I don’t like Facebook that much either, but am slowly gaining more respect for the company. I like how Zuckerberg is using his inflated currency (stock) to buy the companies that would end up being the next next thing. Apple amazes me. It proves that there can be life after death and I am now waiting for the third comingof Steve Jobs. Although he was not one of my favorite people, I cannot argue with his results. However, I believe that Apple has some serious challenges ahead.

For sometime I have been thinking that Google is very exposed. They make most of their money from search. While they have been trying to expanded beyond search, their efforts are mediocre at best. Frankly, I think the company is mediocre but it thinks it is not. That is dangerous. I always say the key to success in technology is 1) being lucky and 2) not mistaking your luck for being smart. Google thinks it was smart. Facebook thinks it was lucky. Apple is something else again and I can’t even articulate what that is other to say it is a cross between Italian style and German discipline which was run by a genius dictator. I am not sure about the guy that is running it now. I hope he is able to channel Steve.
Continue reading

Israel / Middle East / Palestine

Israel/Palestine: The Future Part I-Key Assumptions

We are almost at the end of my series on Israel and Palestine. All the other posts have dealt with the history and the current situation. My next posts will explore what might happen in the future. I will do that by first considering my assumptions in this post. The following post will outline the various alternatives I have considered. In my final post, I will choose the scenario I consider most likely and explain why. Then I will be done on this topic at least for a while. Continue reading

Avram's Past / Technology / The Post PC Period / Thoughts about the Media Industry

Announcing Pluto.tv – Lay back and enjoy

Today, Pluto.tv was officially launched. I am proud to be an early advisor and investor in this company. Those of you that read my blog frequently will know that I have been following and in some cases participating in the restructuring of the medium we call TV. I am pretty excited and decided to give it a plug on my blog. Please think of this post as an infomercial because it kind of is.
Continue reading

Jordan / Middle East / Uncategorized

A tale of two Countries: Jordan and Israel, not quite a love story

Jordan was very surprising to me. It was more developed than I thought and I didn’t even get to the north and Amman. The population is very well-educated. English is taught in most schools. The people are very welcoming. Even when people knew I was Jewish and that I was staying in Israel, they were still very friendly.
Continue reading

about business / The Post PC Period

It’s not big brother that should worry you, it’s little brother, the spy in your pocket.

In 1949, George Orwell wrote a book called 1984. I probably read it when I was about ten years old, in 1955. Then, 1984 seemed like a long time in the future. So it was interesting that Apple used this concept for it’s famous 1984 Macintosh SuperBowl ad. The concept of 1984 was that a totalitarian government was spying on all its citizens. It was busy developing “double talk” and had journalists whose job it was to rewrite history. Big Brother was not just a TV show. It was a term for the leading political boss (think Putin). If you have not read it you should, especially these days. So I find it ironic, to use the term “Big Brother” when talking about Apple Computer. Continue reading