iPhone - "Works Like Magic"

There's something magical about technology, especially at those breakthrough moments. I'm not sure the iPhone is as much of an iPod-caliber breakthrough as Steve Jobs portrayed it at MacWorld last week, but he does have a David Copperfield air about him when he describes it.

Since technology often carries a certain magic, it gets used by magicians. The best of them bring some amazing technology to the performance, and then make it invisible. Which illustrates what the iPhone and other good technology does well - it makes the man behind the curtain invisible. When technology is really good, it disappears.

And if you haven't seen an excellent adventure/mystery/suspense film since "The Spanish Prisoner," check out "The Illusionist" which just came out on DVD. It's about magic and technology -- and disappearing.

What's After What's Next?

Now that collaboration tools like wikis and widgets of Web 2.0 are established enough for business software companies like SAP and IBM to steer applications in their direction, it's time to think about what might be next.

Predicting the future can be a tough gig. (Even when you know the teams.)
Looking past the shift to collaborative content, what's in the next version of the internet? Or what about Web 4.0? Perhaps it's something as Seth Godin suggests that taps you on the shoulder.

Boost's "loopt" is already heading this direction with cell phones. When you're within range of someone in your network, your phone tells you. It can also recommend (or not) a place for dinner based on your network's comments. Prescient or Citroen? Only time will tell.

Joost Out!

Move over TVU -- Joost is out and destined to be more of an ideavirus than say, "The Venice Project," as it was formerly known. The brains behind of Kazaa and Skype (Zennstrom and Friis) have put together video programming formerly known as TV in a P2P format. Take a look at the beta download here.

i.c. stars Hits An Even Dozen in 2007

What better way to start off the new year than by finishing a thousand hours of training and getting off to a fresh start in a technology career? Last week the twelfth group of interns in the i.c. stars program were all smiling bigger than Robbie Gould as they spoke passionately about the world of opportunity opened up to them through their four-month experience in learning about business, leadership and technology. What a great program -- and with perfect timing a new $25,000 scholarship fund has just been announced in partnership with Geneca and DePaul University. See this week's Yahoo! story here.