Working for Thomson Reuters for the past two and half years was a great if not the best career experience of my life. Not only I led and drove with love innovative solutions for the company, its employees and its customers, but I learned more about myself – how to be better in what I do and for who I do it for. Self awareness is important as long as you stay mindful of everyone around that you support directly, indirectly or vice versa. Thank you, Thomson Reuters, and thank you, all my mentors, team, colleagues, and office friends. Good bye.
social media plagiarism
In school or college, plagiarism was a big deal. On the internet, it isn’t. You may look smart in front of an audience after you extrapolated some language or code from the net and did not bother to cite the source or give proper credit. You get away with it one time, two time, or many times. Your sudden fame with thousands plus likes makes you convinced that your are indeed special. Anyone calling you out looks like an act of jealousy or becomes a buried message behind all the kudos messages you receive. Please don’t plagiarize or claim something is yours by simply hiding any references. Be original. Be creative. Be respectful. Don’t cheat even there are no teachers around!!
8-bit Symphony
If you are a fan of 8 bit retro computer games, especially the Commodore 64, combined with a mixture of symphonic orchestra and modern day electronic music sensation for the gaming generation, watch the live stream of 8-bit Symphony and Commodore 64 at 12cst for free on YouTube’s c64audio channel or Twitch (https://c64audio.com). Music includes Imagine Ocean (Comic Bakery, Ocean Loader, Rambo), Green Beret/Rush ‘n’ Attack, W.A.R., William Wobbler, Forbidden Forest and Beyond, Kentilla, Ghosts ‘n Goblins, Flash Gordon, Barbarillax (Barbarian 2/Parallax High Score), International Karate, Aztec Challenge, Last Ninja(R) Wastelands, Monty on the Run High Score, Firelord, Trap, Monty on the Run, Stifflip and Co.
update august 3 2019, listen to the full stream of the concert below
Tech Titans – “Intentional Future Making”
I attented Tech Titans sponsored “Intentional Future Making” event at UTD. Speakers were Anne Balsamo, Dean of UTD School ATEC, Gwen Ishmael, Escalent SVP, and Ted Farrington, Kalypso Fellow. Dr Balsamo discussed the importance of researching culture and human behavior for innovation. Ms Ishmael shared use cases on digital ethnographic research, and how it applies in today’s technology consumption. Dr Farrington discussed deductive and inductive scenario methods, and how it was successful at major corporate R&D. Panel followed with questions from audience. I asked about the challenges facing ethnographic & R&D researches that are grounded in solid academic principles, while many startups jump quickly on the next idea and may be impatient for timely R&D. The challenge exists and innovators must realize the importance of timely research before jumping onto their idea. Panelists shared their insight on the criticality of research to prevent failed implementations, but at the same time, researchers are able to adapt to the new business requirements and are providing findings at lesser time while cautioning innovators against the risk of fast findings through incomplete research.
full replay of the presentation below
Intentional Future Making
I attented Tech Titans sponsored “Intentional Future Making” event at UTD. Speakers were Anne Balsamo, Dean of UTD School ATEC, Gwen Ishmael, Escalent SVP, and Ted Farrington, Kalypso Fellow. Dr Balsamo discussed the importance of researching culture and human behavior for innovation. Ms Ishmael shared use cases on digital ethnographic research, and how it applies in today’s technology consumption. Dr Farrington discussed deductive and inductive scenario methods, and how it was successful at major corporate R&D. Panel followed with questions from audience. I asked about the challenges facing ethnographic & R&D researches that are grounded in solid academic principles, while many startups jump quickly on the next idea and may be impatient for timely R&D. The challenge exists and innovators must realize the importance of timely research before jumping onto their idea. Panelists shared their insight on the criticality of research to prevent failed implementations, but at the same time, researchers are able to adapt to the new business requirements and are providing findings at lesser time while cautioning innovators against the risk of fast findings through incomplete research.
Dallas Innovation Task Force Q2
Just attended the second quarter task force meeting this year on innovation at Dallas run by the Dallas Regional Chamber. Special guests were Japanese delegates of CULCON (United States – Japan Conference on Cultural & Educational Interchange). The topics and forum discussions centered around AI and ML in addition to a lively discussion on the differences in AI adoption, opportunities, partnerships, and privacy among Japan, India, China, and the US.
Exciting Periods Ahead for Tech
I think that the remainder of the year and the following year will continue to be an exciting period for IT. Hype of AI has toned down a little, and now we have more focus on applications. Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and recently Apple are showing more developer centric products. Just check all their recent announcements. Open source still rules and GitHub is still the go to place even after Microsoft’s acquisition. Startups keep popping up in all different places such as in Texas and not just the traditional states. IoT, ARM chips, and Maker tools keep getting cheaper for affordable proof of concepts. The lucky interns are landing summer jobs while the unlucky ones will have to be patient for other opportunities but can pick up new skills in the interim or enjoy family unions. On the other hand, there is not shortage of learning and wisdom leadership by the incumbent corporate employees. Overall, it is great to be in IT.
The C64 is back!
Subsequent geeky announcements can’t get any better these few days. I posted about Raspberry Pi 4.0 release earlier and now a much more exciting news for me at least is the upcoming release of a new Commodore 64 with full size keyboard later this year. hashtag#C64 was the hottest home computer in the 80s. As a kid, it took me years to get my own (my childhood story here https://lnkd.in/eKG82ND ). The new full size to be released in Dec 2019 will expand on the c64mini that was recently released and is still fun to play or code with even with its fake miniature keys. (I will blog about that one soon). However, this will full fledged version with the exactly full size keys that shaped our coding and gaming childhood. Check it out at https://lnkd.in/ejkaV4p
Raspberry Pi 4
The launch of Raspberry Pi 4 today is a big thing in the Maker space, IoT technologies, and low-cost but powerful computing at PC-level. A powerful device for everyone at just $35. It was supposed to be launched in 2020 but they made it happen now. This is a big deal for technology enthusiasts and is likely to generate lots more innovation and practical solutions in the nerd community. Check the article and release at the link below https://lnkd.in/dyY4QUX
Gen Z in Corporate Strategy
In several forums on digital transformations that I attended in the last two years, I would ask the panelists on whether they are incorporating Generation Z millennials into their product development strategy. In such forums you never get a yes or no answer and that is understandably ok, but the silence prior to saying anything makes it clear. It takes an effort to think about it when it should not be. Digital first or mobile first strategy should begin by clustering customers (and employees because they can influence your customers) by generation (silent gen, boomers, X, Y, and Z). Spend more research in determining differences in behavior toward your current or future products. The Z generation could ultimately drop your product altogether, so it important to maintain such outlook and strategize accordingly.