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Irony: The major icon of USA space race found its rest at the week of the 50th anniversary of first man in space12 April, 2011
NASA just announced the final home for the space shuttles, and Endeavour will rest at the California Science Center , in Los Angeles. It is a bit ironic that this week we were celebrating the 50 years since first time man visited space, and we get the news on where the major icon of American's space 'endeavors' are going to rest forever, reminding us of the beginning of an era when USA is going to completely rely on Soyuz [
Adriano Marques
New hybrid engine to save up to 90% of auto emissions?09 April, 2011
A while ago, I had the chance of driving a hybrid car, at the time they have just arrived in Europe and people were beginning to draw interest for this sort of car. At that time, I was sure that hybrid cars would be the next auto revolution. I'm not saying it because I don't believe in fully electric cars, but that technology isn't ready yet. Hybrids are certainly going to be the next step before fully electric cars. Drive one, and you'll figure it. All the hassles of electric cars (recharging
Adriano Marques
Loyalty Mobile01 June, 2010
It looks like cell phones today have so many features that it is becoming less phone and more everything else. The new trend, when it comes to transforming your mobile phone into something else, is turning it into a Loyalty Card Collector. Startups like CardStar and CardBank already offer business a solution that uses barcodes to virtualize loyalty cards and store them in mobile phones. There are plenty of others, like Foursquare [htt
Adriano Marques
Readers' Social Network26 May, 2010
It is wonderful how powerful communication through social media is. If you simply start following the right people on Twitter , you'll get a clear glimpse of what is happening around the world, as well as local and worldwide trends. Just mentioned that, because I was reading some tweeks, and came across one that was sent by a Social Network for avid book readers, and that is ultra cool. Just took some time, and signed in to that social network (called Skoob [http
Adriano Marques
Rework23 May, 2010
Outstanding book for entrepreneurs looking into inspiration for addressing common development dilemmas like whether to reed to customer's suggestions or how to approach software development for maximizing profit and deliverability. Focused on startups whose main product is the software they develop, and wrote by the founders of 37 signals, this book breaks most of the old common sense understandings on how a company should be built and how software development should be managed based on their ow
Adriano Marques
Software Patents not worth the effort?08 April, 2010
This week I read an article from Erik J. Heels , where he states that patents are not always worth a try for startups, mainly when it comes to software patents. Well, it happens that I have being reading about this subject lately, and sometimes I do agree, sometimes I don't. Although being expensive and time consuming, patents do give its owner a reasonable advantage over competitors avoiding them from stealing the idea. Ok, I agree that it doesn't always avoid t
Adriano Marques
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People08 March, 2010
Not a quick read, but it is definitely well worth it. The 7 habits put your behavior into perspective, and helps you understand where you've being failing. Life doesn't come with a manual, and we all go on with continuing our habits, good or bad, the way we have always done, and the way we always believe was right. When you put your habits against those of people who are successful is when you learn what you've being doing wrong all along. Quick list of the 7 habits: 1. Be Proactive 2. Begi
Adriano Marques
Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion13 January, 2010
I may have been the first person who bought Crush It! before knowing who Gary Vaynerchuk was and having never seen the Wine Library TV. The latter being of no surprise, since I don't drink. Instead of going for the book, I bought the audiobook at audible which is narrated by Gary Vaynerchuck himself. His energy and enthusiasm really got me excited right off the bat, and the way he narrates really shows his passion and love for what he does. Since I've never seen any of his videos before, that al
Adriano Marques
The Future of Management15 June, 2009
Using heavy examples of new management paradigms, using examples from internet focused companies like Google, Gary delivers his findings that the old school of management doesn't provide the ideal environment for nurturing creativity and engaging employees in the company's cause. This is a good book, and provides an alternative perspective, when compared to the myriad of books that deliver the same make your employee happy centered view, given that Gary is an acclaimed international management c
Adriano Marques
Saving the World at Work27 May, 2009
Social Responsibility is continually becoming a hotter and hotter topic as businesses find themselves serving a world wide community through the internet that is increasingly demanding on how careful the business is and its social consequences. The book brightly describes the successful moves several companies like Walmart, Patagonia and Timberland have done in this area and the amazingly positive consequences these socially responsible actions have brought upon these companies. It is filled w
Adriano Marques
Getting Things Done12 April, 2009
The "Getting Things Done" method, or GTD, is a great way to organize your activities and actually get your things done throughout the day making better use of the time you have available. It preaches the use of an inbox for keeping all your tasks ordered, and whenever you have time available, tackle the quick ones first. The author talks about the 2 minutes parameter to define whether a task is quick or not, but given the nature of some tasks it is hard to accurately estimate time, so I go by in
Adriano Marques
Chief Culture Officer: How to Create a Living, Breathing Corporation27 February, 2009
Culture is a set of standard behaviors we can observe in a group of people. Each school, university and business is got its own set of standard behaviors defined by rules, environmental conditions, ethnicity of attending people, etc. Most cultures can be shaped for good, creating a standard set of behaviors that people will instinctively follow and ultimately further benefit the group. Culture shaping can be achieved inside any size group of people, in any company, and if done right can lay th
Adriano Marques
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