And now for something completely different. Late last night I spent a bit of time looking into firewall topology for DailyLit’s growing server infrastructure. When you google the topic, you wind up with a lot of fairly old posts at the top. Wondering whether I am searching for the wrong thing (tried a bunch of different search terms) or this simply hasn’t changed much since I last looked at the topic three or four years ago. In any case, it seems that a screened subnet / triple-homed firewall...

And now for something completely different. Late last night I spent a bit of time looking into firewall topology for DailyLit’s growing server infrastructure. When you google the topic, you wind up with a lot of fairly old posts at the top. Wondering whether I am searching for the wrong thing (tried a bunch of different search terms) or this simply hasn’t changed much since I last looked at the topic three or four years ago. In any case, it seems that a screened subnet / triple-homed firewall...

This morning I tweeted about what an incredibly good deal Buffett managed to strike for his investment in Goldman (10% dividend, 100% in-the-money warrant coverage). But I am wondering about the interaction between his deal and the bailout. Somehow I don’t think Buffett would have done this deal if he thought it could go terribly wrong based on political risk. That would means he either thinks that the bailout will get approved and work or that he thinks Goldman Sachs at the price he got is a...

This morning I tweeted about what an incredibly good deal Buffett managed to strike for his investment in Goldman (10% dividend, 100% in-the-money warrant coverage). But I am wondering about the interaction between his deal and the bailout. Somehow I don’t think Buffett would have done this deal if he thought it could go terribly wrong based on political risk. That would means he either thinks that the bailout will get approved and work or that he thinks Goldman Sachs at the price he got is a...

Nice article in today’s paper by Claire Miller http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/technology/22venture.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&ref=business&oref=slogin

Nice article in today’s paper by Claire Miller http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/technology/22venture.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&ref=business&oref=slogin

There are a lot of problems with the proposed bailout. Yesterday I described a scenario where the government winds up causing a rise in interest rates and inflation. But it is also possible that this plays itself out in a deflationary way as it did in Japan following their real estate bubble. That could happen if instead of resuming to lend, the financial institutions hord government bonds and the global confidence in the US remains sufficiently strong. The trouble in essence with the plan is...

There are a lot of problems with the proposed bailout. Yesterday I described a scenario where the government winds up causing a rise in interest rates and inflation. But it is also possible that this plays itself out in a deflationary way as it did in Japan following their real estate bubble. That could happen if instead of resuming to lend, the financial institutions hord government bonds and the global confidence in the US remains sufficiently strong. The trouble in essence with the plan is...

So the federal bailout package is taking shape. The President is asking Congress to approve $700 Billion for the Treasury to buy pretty much anything it wants to over the next few years. The theory behind this approach is that buying up bad assets will result in banks resuming business with each other and once again extending credit to businesses and consumers. Even if this works it will be painful because of the implications for interest rates, the US dollar, and inflation. Adding $700B to $...

So the federal bailout package is taking shape. The President is asking Congress to approve $700 Billion for the Treasury to buy pretty much anything it wants to over the next few years. The theory behind this approach is that buying up bad assets will result in banks resuming business with each other and once again extending credit to businesses and consumers. Even if this works it will be painful because of the implications for interest rates, the US dollar, and inflation. Adding $700B to $...

Fantastic chart in today’s New York Times Week in Review Section with data from Robert Shiller. Shows clearly how Fed policy after the implosion of the dotcom bubble enabled the real estate bubble. Now we are likely to overshoot the long term average on the downside.

Fantastic chart in today’s New York Times Week in Review Section with data from Robert Shiller. Shows clearly how Fed policy after the implosion of the dotcom bubble enabled the real estate bubble. Now we are likely to overshoot the long term average on the downside.

As previously promised, I am starting to post about the principles that I believe define cloud computing. The first and to me most important principle is that cloud computing from a developers perspective no longer involves machines. This is a much stricter principle than most people are using today. For instance, by my approach, Amazon EC2 is not cloud computing. I should be clear that I am a huge fan of what Amazon is doing with EC2 but I would not (yet) call it cloud computing. On EC2 you ...

As previously promised, I am starting to post about the principles that I believe define cloud computing. The first and to me most important principle is that cloud computing from a developers perspective no longer involves machines. This is a much stricter principle than most people are using today. For instance, by my approach, Amazon EC2 is not cloud computing. I should be clear that I am a huge fan of what Amazon is doing with EC2 but I would not (yet) call it cloud computing. On EC2 you ...

With all the stuff going on in the markets it is easy to be depressed about the future. And while the road will be a lot more bumpy, I find myself optimistic because I believe that we have barely started to see the changes and opportunities made possible by the web. Today I have a post on the USV blog that talks about one change that I am particularly excited by: Power to the People. http://www.unionsquareventures.com/2008/09/power_to_the_pe_1.html

With all the stuff going on in the markets it is easy to be depressed about the future. And while the road will be a lot more bumpy, I find myself optimistic because I believe that we have barely started to see the changes and opportunities made possible by the web. Today I have a post on the USV blog that talks about one change that I am particularly excited by: Power to the People. http://www.unionsquareventures.com/2008/09/power_to_the_pe_1.html

I am still trying to figure out what exactly Paulson is proposing, but a few things seem clear. First, people had been misled on a massive scale about the safety of money market funds. Even today the New York Times writes in one of their cover story “ultra-conservative money market funds” – as if. Earlier this year we advised all of our portfolio companies to make sure that the money market funds they were holding did not invest in anything that could turn toxic. Turns out almost all of them ...

I am still trying to figure out what exactly Paulson is proposing, but a few things seem clear. First, people had been misled on a massive scale about the safety of money market funds. Even today the New York Times writes in one of their cover story “ultra-conservative money market funds” – as if. Earlier this year we advised all of our portfolio companies to make sure that the money market funds they were holding did not invest in anything that could turn toxic. Turns out almost all of them ...

“That’s not a company, that’s a feature." So goes a frequently heard VC comment on business ideas that are incredibly narrow and don’t seem to deliver enough value by themselves. I have certainly made that comment in the past. But I believe that cloud computing is changing what’s a feature and what’s a company: a feature may now well be a company. How? Well, there are many features of web apps and services that are hard to build, operate and maintain but are incredibly useful. So if you can b...

“That’s not a company, that’s a feature." So goes a frequently heard VC comment on business ideas that are incredibly narrow and don’t seem to deliver enough value by themselves. I have certainly made that comment in the past. But I believe that cloud computing is changing what’s a feature and what’s a company: a feature may now well be a company. How? Well, there are many features of web apps and services that are hard to build, operate and maintain but are incredibly useful. So if you can b...