Electric / hybrid cars: Myth that they dont provide as much power. Lotus, Porsche love them!

I own a hybrid (a Toyota Camry Hybrid). One of the myths about hybrids for the general consumer is that they dont provide as much punch or power as a conventional engine. Not true! My hybrid, with the combo of combustion and electric provides great pop at a red light. This article in the Economist actually states that electric engines provide even more pop than a combustion engine. Lotus and Porsche are already showing as much pop and 78 miles per gallon!

Posted via web from Suneil Mandava's Posterous

Obama Signs Health Care Overhaul Into Law - We should understand how it affects us and our business

On Tuesday, March 23, American President Obama signed into law new rules for healthcare coverage in the United States. Being that Mobile Aspects is deep into the healthcare realm, and currently focuses mainly on the US Market, it is important for our company to understand how this will affect us.
The legislation is long and complex. It mainly covers insuring individuals today without insurance, but has many other provisions. This legislation affects everyone in Mobile Aspects. Hospitals, physicians, our commercial partners, all will have to adjust the way they do business. This definitely will affect our company too. I will be out talking with our customers and partners about their thoughts on the legislation.
As long as we understand its effects, we can adjust, and it will create opportunity for Mobile Aspects. I encourage everyone to read up and understand this bill as much as they can. I also encourage everyone to discuss, whether impromptu at desks or hallways, or on the blog, their thoughts on how it could affect our company.
We are a collection of very bright minds at Mobile Aspects. Everyone's opinion is very much appreciated and solicited.

Posted via web from Suneil Mandava's Posterous

Copy and Paste strikes again!

Boy, copy and paste must be more difficult to code for than we all think. First Apple (though they caved), and now Microsoft is not including the functionality in their new Windows 7 mobile.

No Copy And Paste for Windows Phone 7 Devices: http://bit.ly/cKpLIy

Posted via email from Suneil Mandava's Posterous

Stuctured recess is a good idea; just not too structured!

I kinda like this idea of 'structured recess'. I am just concerned of what it could morph into (gym class, or worse). Free time IS good for kids to wind down, up, backwards or in circles. But a little structure to make sure the kids are doing something and not being alone woththeir iPods is a very good thing.

From The New York Times:

Forget Goofing Around: Recess Has a New Boss

A growing number of schools use a recess coach to curb behavior problems.

http://s.nyt.com/u/2ef

Posted via email from Suneil Mandava's Posterous

80/20 rules continues: Online News Readers Use 5 Sites or Fewer

In my business, I use two sayings ad infinitum (or our employees probably say ad nauseum): 'don't let the tail wag the dog' (more on that in another essay) and 'Plan by the 80/20 rule.'

The report referenced by the NYTimes below indicates that, though we have a vast number of sources of news online, most of us just stick with 5 or less sites. They compare this to cable where, again though we have hundreds of channels we stick with a relative few (for me, the major networks + comedy central + espn).

This 80/20 (Pareto) rule lives in everything we do. At our company, we try to plan by this rule. We try to use it in product planning (what 20% of the features will users use 80% of the time); we use it in problem solving (typically a small percentage o problems cause 80% of the issues seen by users), etc. We use it in marketing and sales too.

The reason it is so important is often times we get lost in the various data available today. Also, engineers (me being one) often think the most complex problem is the most important one to solve. If you can break down the data to show you the most important items to work on, you can prioritize, make a better product and respond to customers better / faster. Now isn't that an engineer's (and CEO's) dream?

From The New York Times:

Most Online News Readers Use 5 Sites or Fewer, Study Says

Only 35 percent have a favorite site and 21 percent rely primarily on a single source, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center.

http://s.nyt.com/u/2Eq

Posted via email from Suneil Mandava's Posterous

This Prius incident seems all a little too "boy stuck in a hot air balloon shaped like a ufo" to me

I dont know about all of you, but this doesnt smell right. Kinda like when we first heard about Balloon boy, we were all suspicious; or when we heard about Gov. Sanford "going hiking". We all knew it didnt add up. Malcolm Gladwell has a great piece on how we can instantly smell out fakes. I smell a fake.

Posted via web from Suneil Mandava's Posterous

A Little Black Box to Jog Failing Memory: the future is here

Have you seen the movie Deja Vu? The technology is almost here to completely reconstruct histories visually.

From The New York Times:

A Little Black Box to Jog Failing Memory

Researchers have tested the Sensecam, which contains a digital camera and an accelerometer, as an aid to people with Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders.

http://s.nyt.com/u/pHQ

Posted via email from Suneil Mandava's Posterous

Watch March Madness basketball on the iPhone - USATODAY.com

the floodgates are about to open on AT&T's 3G.

Watch March Madness basketball on the iPhone
http://usat.me?81979

Posted via email from Suneil Mandava's Posterous

Really? Does HP and Microspft think they will win the tablet wars b/c they support flash?

This is such a dead issue, but seems to constantly come up again and
again. Whether you like it or not, Apple will not support Flash.
Other products may, but don't make it your differentiation strategy.
Flash doesn't make or break anything. It's all about ease of use,
packaging and content. We'll see what Apple does on content, but on
the first two, the iPhone shows what Apple can do.

HP Slate Demo Shows Off Flash Support [VIDEO]: http://bit.ly/bsNyyU

Posted via email from Suneil Mandava's Posterous

Have you seen a 2 yr old with an iPhone (incredible!) - now scale that up to the iPad.

Apple iPad announcementapple.com An announcement on Apple’s Web site that the iPad will arrive in stores on April 3.

Apple announced on Friday that the Wi-Fi versions of its long-awaited iPad will arrive April 3 in stores in the United States. The models that can tap into AT&T’s 3G wireless data network will be available in late April.

Customers can pre-order the iPad on Apple’s Web site beginning next Friday.

Apple’s tablet computer is expected to ship with 12 new applications designed specifically for the device, and it will run almost all of the more than 150,000 applications available for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Apple has been aiming the iPad squarely at e-book readers like Amazon.com’s Kindle. And in its news release Friday, Apple said that an updated version of its iBooks app that will include Apple’s iBookstore will be available as a free download on April 3 in the United States, with additional countries to be added later.

The company has been aggressively recruiting personnel for the new iBookstore, listing a variety of iBook-related job openings on its corporate job board — including “Manager, iBooks Asia Pacific & Canada,” “Independent Publisher Acct. Mgr., iBookstore” and a “Merchandising Manager, iBookstore.”

Apple said that pricing for the device will be the same as it initially announced in January:

iPad will be available in Wi-Fi models on April 3 in the United States for a suggested retail price of $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, $699 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi + 3G models will be available in late April for a suggested retail price of $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB. iPad will be sold in the United States through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers.

Apple said the iPad will be available in both Wi-Fi and 3G models in late April in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, with more countries added later this year.

Its finally coming... I do believe this is going to be an incredibly interesting product. This direct interface with computers is the future of computing. I watch my two year old daughter on my iPhone - you cannot believe how skilled she is with it. She know how to get to the apps she wants, she knows how to go screen to screen, and she is even getting the hang of zooming in and out of photos. She also even goes into the email app, turns the screen sideways and pretends to write and email to her friend.
Then I watch her try to use my desktop. The mouse is much more difficult and indirect. She cant double click on items, and the keyboard is as awkward for her as the touchscreen on the iPhone is for a lot of people.
This is the future of computing - this direct, easy to use interface, with just a virtual keyboard. Us old-folk will be the only ones complaining about not having a real keyboard within 5 years, mark my words. Everything is going to be immediate, on demand, ready for consumption at triple the level we are enjoying right now. Its gonna be fun.

Posted via web from Suneil Mandava's Posterous

Healthcare and Americans need to learn from Apple, Posterous, Netbooks that a lot of times less is more

"We have an American public that generally believes more is better. And rather than giving up bad habits, exercising and eating right, they would rather believe that the answer to health is in high technology."

Posted via web from Suneil Mandava's Posterous