Thoughts on Charlie Rose's interview with Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg

Really insightful interview by Charlie Rose with Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg.

Some thoughts after watching the interview:

Facebook's strategy - cooperation vs competition
It seems like most of the bigwigs in the tech industry are engaging in multiple fronts of war with some other company. Apple is having this iPhone/iPad war with Google/Amazon/Microsoft, and another dimension of this is the iTunes vs Google Market/Amazon. Google/Amazon/Microsoft is also into cloud computing, putting it in direct competition with Oracle, Salesforce, Rackspace. The list goes on and on. TechCrunch has a great article on the challenges faced by Google. It does seem that other tech giants face similar issues as they expand the ranges of their products and services.

Meanwhile, Facebook has really just stuck to one product/service as they grow. What we see here is a laser-sharp focus on their core competency. And rather than spend the resources to fight off the other tech heavy-weights, Facebook is making the effort to ensure they have their finger in every pie out there. Additionally, by opening up it's platform architecture to other developers/companies, it allows a rich user experience where users can not only socialize, but also to enjoy games, music, videos and services that they couldn't have otherwise. By enhancing the experience, it makes users find Facebook so much more addictive.

But while Facebook has no intention of getting into a fight, Google is taking the fight to them in the form of Google+. While Google hasn't been particularly successful with their social networking projects in the past, no one can really write them off given the amount of resources and talent they possess.

Employing talented engineers
Every company in Silicon Valley wishes to hire more talented engineers than there are available. Zuckerberg and Sandberg are pointing to both the US education system failing to produce enough engineers and immigration policies that restrict the number of engineers they can employ. As they said in the video, it's first, second and third on their priority list.

This is an interesting problem because companies in Singapore also have problems with finding enough engineers, and fewer Singaporeans study engineering or stay in the industry. Former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and the Prime Minister's Office, Mr Ngiam Tong Dow is wary of Singapore becoming high-cost, low-tech. As he wisely notes, we cannot become a knowledge-based economy except through science and technology.

Sonic Generations Cutscene 01 - Abducted Friends

I've gotten the PC version of Sonic Generations from Steam, and man it's been a blast! The game brings you two Sonics - Classic and Modern. Classic Sonic basically plays like a 2D platformer while Modern is 3D, but the graphics are rendered in glorious 3D for both.

Why are there 2 Sonics? Well, here's a little clip to give you some hints.

Get iT @ Expo and Metro Expo Sale

I got some hands on for Sonic Generations at a game store the other day, it's pretty fun so I got it from Steam. I decided to get a Logitech F710 at the PlayCraft game fair at Expo to play it.

What did I see there? Fifa 09, Left 4 Dead (without the 2), Company of Heroes (good game, but dated). You get the idea. While the PC offerings were weak, the games for console appear to be better. But, no Logitech. No Razer. So I just roamed about for while.

Turns out there's a Metro Expo Sale a few halls down, so it was a good chance to find a replacement for my beat up wallet.

100% Bug Powered Smartphone

No one likes bugs in the smartphones's OS or apps, but what about an actual phone powered by real bugs? Check out Qualcomm's video where a circus of bugs perform tricks and power up a phone!

Dead Fantasy - Gee

SNSD's Gee is one of the most overplayed songs in recent times, but it's still interesting to see the girls of Final Fantasy and Dead Or Alive dance to beats of Gee.

Google Finance: Bug when imported transactions with value of 500

I've been using Google Finance to keep track of my shares and it's been a very useful tool.  Today I've discovered a bug in the system when I tried to import transactions into my portfolio.

The number of shares is greyed out for the value of 500, the 450 is in black. If you play around with the column header, you'll realize for purchase price and commission, 500 will still be greyed out and 450 will be black. When you try to import them, an error will occur. It's one of those very common bugs for all those doing programming.

I've already sent in an email informing the Google guys about the bug, hope they'll fix it soon :)

Learn almost anything for free.

One of the traits of a great teacher is that he can take an idea, distil it's essence, and communicate it to his audience in an easy to understand way. Recently, I've found such a mentor at the Khan Academy. Basically it's this site with a vast collection of Youtube videos (more than 2400 at this junction) on a whole lot of diverse topics, all created by one man - Salman Khan. Most of the videos are just him speaking in the background, along with some doodling on screen, there's no fancy animation or things like that to distract you.

Some may question if you can ever learn something useful from these short clips. But hey, if even Bill Gates is a fan, this guy must be doing something right.

Danny MacAskill - Way Back Home

An amazing video showcasing excellent cycling skills and beautiful scenery and landscapes.


Danny MacAskill - "Way Back Home" from Dave Sowerby on Vimeo.

Who cried during campaigning in GE 2011?

One thing that surprised me during the General Election campaigning was how many people were crying. I don't think there was any of that last time round. Here's a round-up of the emotional candidates. I think there may be more tears after tallying vote count today.

PAP, Lim Boon Heng, when refuting claims about groupthink within the PAP.
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PAP, Lim Swee Say, when he sang along with residents at a farewell party thrown by residents at Commonwealth Crescent.
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PAP, Khaw Boon Wan, when he recalled residents asking him how he was after his heart bypass surgery.
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WP, Watson Chong Cham Weng, when he disclosed the resistance he faced from his family when they learnt he was joining the opposition.
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Video


NSP, Nicole Seah, twice. First, when she spoke with a female resident in MacPherson who was facing financial problems. Second, when she recounted the incident in a rally.
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Video

Worker's Party GE rally @ Bedok Stadium (30 Apr 2011)

Some scenes from the rally.

The Brothers Mario

Saw this cool machinima on the Mario Bros, and had to share this. It's what happens when you cross the classic game with GTA.