Tom Siebel was once among the toughest -- and most successful -- entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, and his company, Siebel Systems, was famous for its buttoned-down, take-no-prisoners style. But, in the years since he sold the company to his arch-nemesis Larry Ellison and Oracle (and became a billionaire in the process), Tom Siebel has largely disappeared from the public eye. But that doesn't mean he hasn't been busy . . . indeed, when the final accounting is made, what may be most remembered about Tom Siebel is not the company he built, but the many lives he has saved in his characteristically fierce battle against Montana's methamphetamine epidemic. A portrait of the entrepreneur as philanthropist, video and blog by NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelings.com contributor, Scott Budman.
The (Real) Philanthropist
Depression 2.0
Edgelings Editor-in-Chief is taking his annual summer vacation in the southern Oregon coastal town of Bandon-by-the-Sea. Over the last quarter-century, he has seen Bandon go through good times and bad -- from the hard times of sawmills closing to the real estate boom just a few years ago. But never has he seen times in Bandon as foreboding as now. With fifteen percent unemployment, the State government preparing to raise taxes and far-off Washington seeming to have forgotten basic economics, these are scary times to be in Bandon . . .and nearly every place else in America.
It Turns Out That the Internet Won’t Kill Us After All
Like most reporters, Scott Budman has written his share of apocalyptic Internet stories -- how the Web alienates us, rots our kids' brains, detaches us from the real world. But then, a Tweet from an old friend reminded him that the Internet is also a tool for saving lives, rescuing the lost . . .and sharing good news with old friends. Commentary by KNTV-NBC tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman.
Transforming “Transformers”
The new summer mega-flick "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" may seem like the ultimate Hollywood special effects production. But the real stars (and the superior actors) of the movie are the robots, created by computer special effects geniuses in . . .San Francisco. An interview with the lead animator on the film, Shawn Kelly of Industrial Light and Magic, by NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor, Scott Budman.
Opportunity’s Unexpected Turns
The unexpected importance of the new Web 2.0 technologies -- Twitter, Facebook, YouTube -- in getting the news out about the election fraud protests in Iran, is yet one more reminder that not only has the Internet and cellular telephone technology transformed the world . . .but, once again, the real uses for these technologies will be far different than the ones predicted for them. Commentary by Edgelings editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone.
Face-Off Over Facebook
Aaron Greenspan could have been the most famous twenty-something billionaire entrepreneur on the planet. Instead, that title went to his old classmate and business partner Mark Zuckerberg. And therein lies a tale. . . Commentary and video by KNTV-NBC tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman.
The Obama Surprise
No American industry did more to elect President Barack Obama than high tech. Obama, after all, was supposed to be one of them -- smart, tech-savvy, entrepreneurial and, like a true Silicon Valley CEO, committed to making a change. They would get Obama into the White House, and he in turn would take care of the high tech industry. But it hasn't quite worked out that way -- and after just six months, high tech's biggest names now find themselves between a rock and hard place.
Don’t Call it an iPhone . . .
It was while watching a developer sitting next to him at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, doing seven things simultaneously on his iPhone -- none of them that involved making an actual phone call -- that Scott Budman had an epiphany. Why even call it an iPhone when nobody seems to use it for that purpose? Why not call it by a name that more accurately captures its extraordinary versatility? Send us your suggestions. Commentary by NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelngs contributor Scott Budman.
One Pixellated Party
Rick Smolan has given us some of the most successful -- and most innovative -- photography books of the last quarter-century -- including "One Digital Day" and the "America 24/7" series. Now, he has taken that innovation to the next step. The "Obama Time Capsule" is not just a memento of an historic presidential campaign and election; rather, it is a glimpse into the future the book itself. In fact, "The Obama Time Capsule" doesn't even exist in print -- at least not until you order it on Amazon.com. And even before it is printed, the reader is invited to insert his or her own photographs from those exciting days in with the work of some of the world's best photographers. In other words, the ultimate scrapbook. Commentary and video by NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman. [Full disclosure: Edgelings editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone, who has worked with Smolan over the last fifteen years on five books -- including this one -- was not involved in the reporting of this story.]
Picking Locks
Sure, the high tech world has given us a lot of cool stuff over the last decade -- the iPhone, Twitter, YouTube -- but has it had any FUN doing so? Compared to all of the Wild West craziness and bad blood of previous years, tech has been awful sedate and polite lately. Well, all of that is about to change. Get ready for duels to the death, vicious feuds, and a whole lot of bad behavior. Commentary by Edgelings editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone
What Happens to Fly-by-Wire When Someone Pulls the Plug?
Flight 447 is the worst kind of air disaster imaginable: one that leaves little trace and few clues. Thus, there is little that it can teach us to prepare for the next time this might happen. We may never know exactly what occured high over the Atlantic Ocean, but that won't keep us from speculating. Frequent Edgelings contributor Charlie Martin, who has spent years writing code for aircraft computers, has his own thoughts on what may have happened -- and offers a glimpse in the dark corners of computer-based aircraft control systems.
A Tale of Chips and Chassis
A major American industry finds itself growing old, slow and expensive -- and under assault from more nimble foreign competitors that enjoy lower labor costs, shorter product cycles and a reputation for higher quality. Sound familiar? Detroit, of course, but also Silicon Valley's semiconductor industry in the late 1970s. The difference is that this story has a happy ending: the Valley quickly turned itself around and went on to even greater success. The difference between Silicon Valley then and Detroit now? NBC-KNTV technology reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman thinks he knows the answer.
How Google Wave Could Swamp Microsoft
The last few days the tech world has been buzzing about Microsoft's new 'Google-killer' search engine, Bing, Google in turn has been quietly working on its own own 'Microsoft-killer'. Called Wave, it is designed to challenge Microsoft's generation-long lock on the Internet browser (Explorer) and email (Outlook) markets. Here's a sneak peek by NBC-KNTV technology reporter and regular Edgelings.com contributor Scott Budman. No video this time, folks, because this project is still so hush-hush that Google wouldn't let Scott bring his cameraman.