I’ve never seen this properly studied, and only rarely taken into account by software developers: the opportunity cost of committing to one service or program over another. In a word: Why is it software that’s in charge, not the data itself? An obvious one is Twitter vs Jaiku. Which one to embrace? Jaiku actually has… Read More »
Why is everyone switching to the likes of Gmail and Google Reader, even when they aren’t sure why, or that they want to? The most compelling reason, I think, is the ease with which you can get up and running if you need to switch. Your computer crashes, or you’re away from it. Or you’ve… Read More »
The measure of a society should the simplest one: how it treats its foot-borne citizens. When I lived in Hong Kong a decade ago I remember the continual battle with security guards — Toytown Police, I’d call them — in the mall where my office was. There were precious few places to sit to have… Read More »
Traffic is all about rules. But which rules work, and which don’t? A smart planner will always be observing rules and seeing how they might work better. Lifts, for example, have never been optimized for how people organise themselves inside the lift. Buildings will often arrange lines for getting into a lift, but not for what… Read More »
What business is it you’re really in? Transportation or advertising? Tram, Tin Hau, March 31 2007 Tags: hong+kong, trams, advertising, transport