Since the age of 18, when I left San Francisco as a merchant marine and sailed to Asia, I have traveled extensively through the world. It was not always easy. The virus put a dent in that early in 2020, and I am just recovering from those restrictions. Right now, my wife and I are … Continue reading
Category Archives: About life in the last third
These are the good old days
. Lately, I have been feeling very pessimistic about the future of humanity because we have so many daunting challenges ahead of us. But, generally, the leaders of most countries are only interested in their own power and do not want to take the required actions. I suggest you read this thoughtful article by Richard Heinberg, … Continue reading
Thinking Outside the Coffin
There is a famous saying, “think outside the box.” It means not thinking traditionally. Some people (I am one) are described as people who can think outside the box. Generally, it is thought of as a positive trait in the abstract, but it is often discouraged in reality. I call this kind of thinking “thinking … Continue reading
Saif Mansour
Saif Mansour, an amazing man, died suddenly a few days ago. Soon after I left Intel in 1999 and started The Avram Miller Company, I got a letter from Saif (we still got letters in those days). He was just 21 and finishing his last year at Brown. Saif asked me to consider hiring him … Continue reading
I have been animated
For the last two months, I have been doing podcasts and video interviews regarding my book, The Flight of a Wild Duck, recently published. It has been an exciting and largely enjoyable experience. Most of the podcasts were audio, although I would have video communication with the person interviewing me. One podcast was the Silicon … Continue reading
Personal Digital Assistants
I am in the process of writing a series of essays about the history of today’s smart phone which was the result of the convergence of many different independent developments, including Personal Digital Assistance, mobile phones, two way pagers, digital cameras, music players and GPS devices. I am going to start with Personal Digital … Continue reading
Forty five years of not being Steve Jobs
Much is being written about Steve Jobs on this, the tenth anniversary of his death by people that knew him much better than I did. But Steve Jobs played a big role in my life or, better said, in my mind. So I thought I would share a bit of my history with him. We … Continue reading
Dialing for Readers
When I was a very active member of several non-profit boards, I used to have to “dial for dollars” to get donations. It was a very miserable experience. When I was on the board of many early-stage companies, I would also have to “dial for dollars” to help these companies raise investment capital. Also, a … Continue reading
Could Franklin have been Compaq and Apple, Microsoft?
This is another outtake from my book, The Flight of a Wild Duck. In April 1983, I left Digital Equipment Corporation, where I headed the development of that company’s Professional Series Computers to join Franklin Computer as Chief Operating Officer. However, in reality, I function a the CEO. I had considered starting my own company, … Continue reading
Was the Personal Computer Industry Inevitable?
While writing my book, The Flight of a Wild Duck, I couldn’t help but speculate on alternative realities. So much of one’s life is driven by random events. So it was easy for me to imagine how things could have unfolded differently. One of the possibilities that intrigued me was derived from the significant shift … Continue reading
Two Thirds Done 