FCHouse

Twitting…

Posted by Carlo - 29/11/07 at 02:11:41 pm

Some days ago I open a twitter account. Why did I do it? Because the time to write a blog post in these days is hard to find, but the time for a twitting some words is much easier to be found between a project plan, some code and some dreams.

If you have twitter and you would like to follow my (pretty insane) thoughts you can see my profile here.

I have had some problems when I tried to register, but now the registration process seems to be fixed. The “gmail email sucker ” that finds your gmail contact already on twitter is not working though.

Using twitter from an iPhone is gorgeous, and it is the perfect ShoutBox! On myMac I have seen that Twitterrific is really nice!
Cheerio!

BarCampLondon3 AKA why I Love Google

Posted by Carlo - 27/11/07 at 10:11:27 am

The BarCampLondon3 was my second BarCamp, but it has been the best so far. This one will be remembered as the one that made me fell in Love with Google! In these years I have seen a lot of HQs around London, but no one can win a comparison with the one we have been able to use for two days.

More over, ask each and every barcampers what do they think about the food we received… Every day the Googlers have their lunch free (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and the cooks are spectacular! Of course they have a huge choice of desserts!

So, apart from the FoodCamp, I have to say that Google has been the perfect host for a BarCamp. The presentations were very interesting, and the quality of the people was amazing. The comparison with the BarCampLondon2 sees Google offering the best connectivity, the best user friendly environment, the best food, the warmest welcome and the most appreciated good bye. We have to say a big “thank you” for everything that has been done, because it has been done brilliantly!

I hope for dozens of BarCamps like this one.

London Barcamp 3

Posted by Carlo - 24/11/07 at 11:11:43 am

This morning waking up so early was not easy! But now we are in the London Google HQ for the London Barcamp 3!

Differently from February, this time the connection is provided by Google, without the 24 hours limitation we had at the Barcamp London 2!

I will keep posted of the interesting things happenings here!

Of course I thought about the Kindle!

Posted by Carlo - 21/11/07 at 10:11:13 am

It is the worst designed “thing” I have ever seen. It is UGLY! Have you ever seen a tech toy so awful? Moreover it is locked on the contents only Amazon can deliver. Spectacular, great move from Amazon. The users DO NOT WANT DRM, I do not care if the editors wants it, we DO NOT… unfortunately the kindle has “DRM” written all over it!

What’s next?

Facebook and the forgotten faces

Posted by Carlo - 20/11/07 at 03:11:42 pm

Few minutes ago my Google notifier signalled me that Facebook had a message for me.  Someone had added me to his friends, and the name was immediately known to me, even after so long.

Sixteen years have passed since the last time we met. After eight years our roads diverged, and they never met again. I moved in Trieste and then in London, as far as I have understood he moved in Losanna and then all over the world.

It is strange, but I still remain amazed  how the social networks can shrink time and space.

Venture capitalists, wannabe entrepreneurs and ideas

Posted by Carlo - 15/11/07 at 10:11:57 am

It should not surprise anyone knowing that I have a plan. Since my childhood I would have loved to build something, and the more I grew old, the more I knew I would have done it. Do not judge me wrong, please. I think I know my limits and I know what I can or I cannot do, but my personal motto is: learn every day!

In the last months I have analysed different possible “ideas 2.0″ to kickstart, but I have not been really in love with any of them, but the last one. Yes, this one is something that hit me like a lightning bolt, and I am working hard to analyse/criticise/improve. It is called theClef.com and in our mind it will be a hit for every unsigned artist. Clearly I cannot leave my day-to-day job right now because I have responsibilities to carry on, but I am working hard in any minute I have to reach a critical point. In the horizon there can be ideas for external funding (Angels, Venture Capitalists or whoever) so it is obvious that I am following trusted advices. One of the most important was “The Art of the Start“, a spectacular book by Guy Kawasaki.

I follow Guy’s blog with much interest, but today I am not sure on how to read his latest post: “In search of inexperience“. From one point of view I can joy from the power I can get from his post, the triumph of the new generations of Brin & Page, the call for new ideas to come from new entrepreneurs… but there is the other side of the coin.In particular I have been hit by a passage of his post where he says:

Amen, baby! I vote for two guys or gals in a garage who are an unproven team, unproven technology, and unproven market.

Great, but what does he say on the guidelines of his own VC company (yes, because he is a Venture Capitalist)? The guidelines of Garage are clear, expecially in the section “Critical Factors for Obtaining Venture Funding“:

You may have a great idea, but if you don’t have a strong core team, investors aren’t going to be willing to bet on your company…

…the founders have to have the credibility to launch the company…

This is a different point of view, isn’t it? I know it seems I am looking at the small details (?), but find a VC ready to believe in your idea is not easy. Please,try not to offend me: I know their job is to make money, and they can do it selecting only those ideas who can really make the market explode. I know this, nevertheless working hard, knowing that looking for funding will be the hardest part of your dream is not so easy.

I have an idea, and I think it is Great. I have a team, brilliant brains that works well together. I have a Dream.

I know I can be repetitive, but this video is the one I watch every time the times are dark and the problems seem to be impossible to overcome.

See you soon, Guy.

The iPhone is here!

Posted by Carlo - 12/11/07 at 10:11:15 am

Hi everyone! In the end I decided to buy an iPhone, but it has not been an easy choice.

In the past days I have thought a lot about it, mainly because of the contract: it is total crap! It is extremely expensive and it offers you very limited minutes every month. It will last 18 months and I fear I should not have done it…

Overall I am extremely happy with it: I was used to use a US model and the connectivity I was lacking is a great added value. The visual voicemail is nice…

No, I am not jumping around for the happiness of having in my hands this little jewel (mind… it remains the best phone I have ever used. I am not so satisfied because of the network loking and the theft contract.

So, the tagline of the UK version of the iPhone is: the Best Phone with the Worst Contract I have ever seen!

Books Underground: The Book Thief

Posted by Carlo - 01/11/07 at 07:11:37 pm

It has been hard carrying this hardback on the underground. It is not light as a paperback, and you cannot push it easily in your bag… but the physical book took perfectly the weight of the words that it carries. The Book Thief is a sad story, a story about the World War II, a story about a life lived and thousands of lives loss.

The book is well written and even if it not able to take your breath away, it is a good book in the end. This is not one of those books you cannot stop reading, and a comparison with “Schindler’s List” is a good one: a good film, that you will not watch twice.

The war without the war, with the death as narrator. Interesting, but not a light reading. A good story, but not enough to keep you awake in the night. Well written, but not breathtaking. I would not suggest it, but to be completely honest it is much better than many many other books I have read lately! Enjoy!

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Carlo Nicora is at home in London.