Jim Coyer’s Weblog

Want to get smarter about how to think about Global Warming?

Read Dyson’s review of two recent books about Global Warming, and count yourself better educated:

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/21494

Lots of cool news out of Steve Jobs’ Macworld keynote, but this is perhaps the most interesting: Apple shipped 4M iPhones in 200 days. Apple probably set a low bar last year when they announced the iPhone — and their 1M unit sales target, but still: has any other phone shipped that much that fast?

BusinessWeek this morning reports on Friis and Zennstrom’s next venture, called The VeniceProject: a video player for peer to peer sharing a la Youtube or Amazon’s Unbox. Some will say it’s a crowded space, but it’s also just taking off; perhaps Skype’s founders have some P2P tricks up their sleeves again…

In talking with a colleague at work the other day, I was trying to make a point that I think people are becoming interested in other countries, other cultures, other ways of life because of how accessible the Net has made it. And I was using an amazing Volvo site I had seen a couple years ago as my example of how the Net allows us to get a taste of a place or a way of doing things.

This morning I found the site again, and had to blog it. Take a look for yourself. Then go here to see a Flash movie about the ad agency that made it. One of the agency’s bosses makes a pithy comment at the end that just resonates:

“You must take some risk to create something new.”

Indeed.

Very light and cool Dashboard widget from MAYA Design, an interesting design firm in Pittsburgh.

My good friend Vik Yashpal just started a blog on his experience making his first film, Trade Offs. Over the course of the last couple years, Vik’s told me about some of the challenges he ran into making his movie completely independently. Independent, as in, with only some books and raw drive to get him through. His first entry talks about some of that, but it only scratches the surface. There’s quite an amazing story there. (Hmm, third film Vik?)

I hope he shares some of his stories about making the film, but I also hope he tells us what it’s like as he develops more scripts and starts making his second movie.

Head on over for a look.

Technorati Tags: movies

I’ve thought now since I bought a Mac that my thinking … how to say this … is better. Clearer. Is it any surprise when Macs are designed — really designed — by a guy who says things like this (watch this short video; it’s worth it).

via the inimitable Garr Reynolds and his Presentation Zen.

Technorati Tags: apple, great ideas, steve jobs

Techcrunch this morning says BusinessWeek is adding legitimacy to the rumors that Apple is launching movie downloads from iTunes midmonth.

We’ve updated the survey results code over at Killersurvey. Let’s see how we’re doing: here’s a survey on the Best 80’s Band out of Manchester. Are the latest results showing up as they change (they should be).

All the Dark Horses from the album “Weightlifting” by Trashcan Sinatras

Technorati Tags: killersurvey, startups, survey

A kinetic sculptor.

I’ve thought for awhile that it’s a shame we don’t know who our current Rodin is - a sculptor that stretches the medium and teaches us something new. Perhaps Theo Jansen is our modern Auguste?

via Joz.