R.I.P - Paul A. Samuelson

Nobel-winning economist Paul A. Samuelson dies at age 94

NPR Obituary

What the iPod tells us

Via twitter.com@delong

First, nationality matters. While the iPod is manufactured offshore and has a global roster of suppliers, the greatest benefits from this innovation go to Apple, an American company, with predominantly American employees and stockholders who reap the benefits… Apple keeps its product design, software development, product management, marketing and other high value functions in the U.S. This is not necessarily because the U.S. work force has superior capabilities in all of these areas, but because Apple has developed very specialized knowledge and ways of doing things that reside within the company and would be difficult to transfer to external locations... read more

Solar Lanterns Bring Light to Rural India

I am happy to see this step in the positive direction from an Indian company which makes solar lanterns. It's a classic example of Michael Porter's competitive advantage in his article on corporate philanthropy. I hope the guys who are able to help the rural poor in India get really rich doing it. That'll be a win-win.

TED India - SixthSense Technology Presentation

Earlier this month TED held their conference in India -- TED India. I happened to view this presentation by Pranav Mistry from the MIT Media Lab. The vision he creates of future human computer interaction by blurring the lines between the digital world and the real world is magnificent. Take a look:

Perspectives on Aging

I have spent a good part of this year and last researching challenges and opportunities in healthcare. There are many challenges and even more opportunities. As I look at the debate unraveling the thorniest issues of our times I decided to step back a little bit. What have we learned in the past? Are we rehashing old issues? Has anything changed materially?

The bottomline is that people want to live longer. The good thing is we are living longer. But what about the quality of life? Longevity can be problematic. Actually in various parts of the world this is already causing a lot of problems. Today Europe has a major crisis on its hand when it comes to an aging population. Supporting the old requires a nation state to have a thriving young population. In Asia, we are at the cusp of seeing the same problem manifest in China. The one child policy makes it worse.

The economics underlying aging is quite interesting. More on that topic later. The following is an interview from one of my favorite interviewers and one of my favorite interviewees on this topic, enjoy:

Google's Moment of Truth

Google is a great company. There is no doubt about that. However, when you are wildly successful, like Google (or Apple), you inevitably run the risk of being under constant public scrutiny. I came across an article on Scott Anthony's HBR Blog I thought I'd share:

Mention "Google," and innovation watchers immediately think of the company's seemingly paradigm-busting approach to innovation, where engineers spend up to 20 percent of their time working on passion projects, teams self-form around ideas, and internal market mechanisms prioritize, shape, and scale ideas. Add in Google's legendary perks, and it is no surprise that the company has attracted the world's attention and envy. Click here.

iPhone Killer?

This CNET Review covers the design and features of the Motorola Droid running on Verizon Network. IMHO, this product is likely to threaten and even wipe out Palm rather than take on the iPhone.

Global Fertility Rates vs Wealth

This Economist video visually illustrates how fertility rates will stabilize to the "replacement rate" (around 2) as countries get richer. Take a look at how the rate varied for China, Iran, South Korea, and France starting 1950 through today.