Webnik Recommends
webnik recommended this 1 year, 10 months ago
A pleasant surprise of a book that not only is lively in its prose, but really brings game theory to life.
Fundamentally shows you that when you make plans, remember that the opposition aren't inanimate things but people who can react to what you do: "It’s the art of anticipating your opponent’s next moves, knowing full well that your rival is trying to do the same thing to you."
bradysalz recommended this 1 year, 11 months ago
Unlike most typical fantasy novels, this one cuts out on the orcs, dwarves, and elves and instead delivers some of the most jaw-dropping political intrigue literature has ever seen. It's dirty, it's gritty, and it's an absolutely marvelous read.
webnik recommended this 1 year, 11 months ago
The "printing of things" revolution is starting to gain mainstream mass. Hitting Colbert is among the best ways of getting there, both for Makerbot and 3DPrinting in general.
webnik recommended this 2 years ago
Samsung develops seamless folding LCD-like screens
webnik recommended this 2 years ago
The flexible, ultra thin Paper Phone sci-fi dream is real and becomes a practical reality
webnik recommended this 2 years ago
How to really bring a product to market. More than just a general case of how to start and operate a company, this book moves beyond the "how to start a startup" and delves into the specifics of the actual process in making your product(s) a success.
Works great if your'e a startup, but is one of the few great books that totally applies even to an existing or large company.
webnik recommended this 2 years ago
Technology has been advancing not linearly, but exponentially-- even logarithmically.
What happens when technology advances enough that it exceeds human comprehension?
webnik recommended this 2 years ago
Real 3D Printing (a.k.a. "fabbers") at a budget, as a home kit. Forget the various expensive printers out there, this is one you can build yourself and obtain today. Like the computer industry in the beginning, this is currently made of kits you assemble as a harbinger for the future, and enables you to print real objects (materials like abs plastic, edible items, etc.) from your desktop.
webnik recommended this 2 years ago
A one-page business plan may not exactly be the kind you use to get funding, but it is definitely one you'll be thankful for having as a daily guide not only to remind you and keep you focused on the big picture, but also because the clarity you obtain from making (and referring regularly to) it will do wonders for reaching your objectives.
webnik recommended this 2 years ago
This book is unique not just in its format (text/content is in the bottom half while the upper parts are choice quotes and memorable notes) but the power of its lessons. For example, most people see companies as an aggregate of various products and businesses, when in fact companies like Medtronic not only started with one product/service, but did so with an extremely simple, easy product.
webnik recommended this 2 years ago
One of the best books on bootstrapping (and I've read many). This book is not only the Goldilocks of the genre ("just right" is an understatement), but guides you not only in starting up a business where you are now and at little to no cash, but also teaches you what happens after, in surviving as well as sustainably growing your company, including the mindset that gets you there.
webnik recommended this 2 years ago
One of the earlier books that clearly brought home the concept of 3D Printing that is all the rage today, and that heralds a future where we print not only documents, but entire objects. This book encapsulates the various implications of a future already in the process today where, if you want something, you need only download a file and then print it out. And what that can mean in our lives.
webnik recommended this 2 years ago
Enables me to hook my Macbook Pro to two or more monitors. This is as hairy an exercise than you might believe at first because MBPs make it easy to connect to one (even a larger 30" Cinema display) monitor, but can be complicated if you had to do 2 or more external ones (the iPad can be another via the AirDisplay app, but that's another story).
Cons: Output can have a bit of latency sometimes
webnik recommended this 2 years ago
I'm a Threadless addict, and make purchases a regular monthly fare, especially now that beyond the fine designs, now delivery (which has always been a big deal) is a breeze. When I travel, there are no worries as the company ships through DHL and is now quick and painless (what used to take a month for the package to arrive now takes a few days, at least in most parts of the world I've ordered).
webnik recommended this 2 years ago
Interesting how a book as old as this for the info economy is not only relevant today but its concepts transcend the times. I learned the dynamics of what makes the likes of Intel, Microsoft and Oracle tick from this book, and its real treat is how the same things apply to today's rising companies.
webnik recommended this 2 years ago
When doing design work day in and day out, even something you love can be a chore. Wacom Cintiqs make even hard continuous work a pleasure. A more portable 12" version as noted here is great, although the 21" is a must-have, price point permitting.
webnik recommended this 2 years ago
Shows you what to do when your company hits hypergrowth (particularly during a time of a rapidly expanding market after the "chasm" has been crossed as noted in the author's earlier book) by showing you how successful tech companies did it. Some points are interesting in how they seem illogical at first and even counter to conventional wisdom.
webnik recommended this 2 years ago
Ayn Rand's seminal opus written more than half a century ago yet applies perfectly to any time (including today) and would have been very prescient if only it wasn't equalled by the power of its controversial thesis, that liberty is paramount and rational self-interest (and also as a basis for capitalism) does far more good overall than most people think.
webnik recommended this 2 years ago
A great story set on a grand canvas that only the Grandmaster of SF can tell. This won the Hugo Award as best trilogy that beat Lord of the Rings, yet hasn't been adapted to a movie because its story is based on various lives across hundreds of years that span the galaxy. The concept of the Ancient Roman Empire set in space would have been enough, but it's also a masterpiece of storytelling.
webnik recommended this 2 years ago
Shows you how the path to success can seem very different and illogical to what society expects and what everyone else seems to have taught you growing up.