2008 - what will remain?

This post is mostly for my kids, grand kids and generation of Seroussi's to come. No one will ever forget 2008. Like I studied about 1776, 1929, 1939, 1945, 1974, 1979 and 2001, 2008 will be one of those dates. A year where world has changed.

CHANGE because an African American was elected President of the United States of America, CHANGE because 'money' has switched hands, CHANGE because crude oil price is not ruling our world anymore, CHANGE because Europe is finally born, CHANGE because China and India have awaken, CHANGE because Madoff created a Big Bang in the world of finance, CHANGE because we will never think the same anymore.



I know this year was rough for everyone but I personally feel very lucky to be part of this historical moment. Looking at the big picture, my friends, will help us get through those times.
The important moment of your life is NOW - reconstruction. How changes are going to affect our everyday life? How we will behave in future and how we will 'run' our world.

I'm hopeful new values are arising. Respect and work will take over arrogance and ignorance.
There is no second chance in a global world where butterfly effect is part of our life!
CHANGE is not a concept unless you want it.

We need to rebuild for generations to come a safer and better world. My most sincere wish for 2009 is for everyone to CHANGE. Think different - think POSITIVE.

My favorite song

Jason Mraz - I'm Yours -

The One

I wonder how stupid McCain advisers feel when they look again at this vicious ad!!
Either you like or don't like Obama you shouldn't compare him to Moses and add this statement : 'Is he ready to lead??'.
Wrong message all the way...

Georges Bush ducks to avoid flying shoe

Amazing reflex from Bush on this one. He is very calm and even stops a security agent running toward him.

I think secret service agents will need to be much faster to protect Obama.

Android on HTC Touch

If you happen to have an old Windows Mobile HTC you can install Android on it. It works like a charm as you can see on this video.
This install is a dual-boot WM and Android made possible by XDA-Developers.
I was very active on XDA forums 5 years ago but I lost interest in Windows Mobile machines after my first BlackBerry. But if we can have Android on those devices...I might give it a try.

Test of Insignia HD camcorder.

This test is not really accurate for the following reasons:

- Original was an Avi converted in Mov via Quicktime
- HD was lost in the conversion.
- It was edited on iMovie and re-exported in mp4
- All shots in this video were taken on bright daylight behind a tinted windshield.
- Camera was not steady as I was holding it.
- Road was bumpy at some point which caused some distortions.

But overall it gives a good view of this tiny camcorder sold for $99 at Best Buy. It has a lot of potential and I will try to improve shooting and editing in next posts.

2008 My Social Media Year in image

This year was a tough year for everyone and the only person who knew something was happening was Jeff Pulver. Back on December 27th last year, Jeff hosted a SoFla [South Florida] social media breakfast and his prediction for 2008 happened to be very accurate. Watch and see for yourself.

I was on the road most of the year traveling to France, Spain, Switzerland, London, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Monaco, Nice, Tel-Aviv, New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Ottawa, Montreal, Bahamas, Arkansas, Boston, Houston, Seattle, Vancouver, and lots of other places I cannot name for confidentiality reasons.
Here is a mock-up of 2008 in videos and pictures:

Seattle in January

Later in January we had an important meeting in Mountain View:

One of best moment of 2008 was Barcelona GSM World Congress in February. I really had a great time with Jenny our COO, Bhaskar Roy co-founder of Qik, Paul Walsh from Segala, Loren Feldman video blogger 1938 Media, Jeremie Berrebi CEO Zlio, David Marcus CEO Zong, and Pat Phelan friend and business partner.

Pat Phelan and Bhaskar Roy

Vonx San Jose March 2008

St Patrick MaxRoam party



Circle Qik

April in Vegas:

You can admire Bellagio water show from one of their most prestigious suite

Cork, Ireland in April:





Tel Aviv in May where I received a nice gift from our partner:




And Monaco where Vodafone invited me to Formula1 GrandPrix :



And VIP access to Cannes Festival

Paris few weeks later in June with buddy Pat Phelan:

One of my favorite pictures in July. Our customer service team has a new silent tagline:



So I had to pray to make sure everything would work:


Jerusalem July 2008

Back to the Valley in August for a diner at Village Pub:


Jackie Danicki, Pat Phelan, Bhaskar Roy, Florian Seroussi

Highlight of 2008 was TechCrunch 50 in San Francisco:


Jeff Nolan, Pat Phelan, Florian Seroussi, Jackie Danicki

I must admit this was fun. Pat Phelan had the bright idea to offer free iPhone unlocking and he ended up by bricking Mike Arrington - CEO TechCrunch - iPhone. Funny part is that I was holding the iPhone when Mike walks back. Pat's face that day was just incredible. Watch this video:

Less funny - I had to go to New York and it happened to be the day all markets crashed.



Fall in Paris in October:



I'm just back from a short trip in the Valley:



For most of my readers it sounds like a dream - it's not. Jet lags, long flights, security hassle, packing unpacking, huge temperature difference, short nights, getting into a 4 hour meeting after an overseas flight, kids too far away....all those things are not on those pictures...but they exist.

It's my choice. I don't complain. Let's see how 2009 will be...

3 must have add-on for your Mac

Like many others I moved to Mac about a year ago after 25 years of Windows era. It was not easy and I think Apple could convert more users with some minor changes. First obvious change is the mouse. Windows users like right/left clicks. But Apple has decided NOT to change their strategy. On the contrary they went to 0 click on their new Mac...Good for some Mac junkies but very bad if you need to convince more Windows users.
On a software level here are 3 plug-ins Apple should bundle in OS X. A must have for ex-Windows_ers.

1. Email notification. Native mail app on OSX does not give you any notification of new incoming emails. Unless you check you masked dock every 10 minutes or so - you might not see an important email coming in. I use Mail Appetizer. It's free and does the job amazingly well.
2. Quicksilver lets you start applications (and do just about everything) with a few quick taps of your fingers. I really wonder why a company full of cash like Apple would not take their checkbook out and buy this first-class must-have add-on!!
3. Wireless panel on OS X is very basic. Too simple for most Windows users. We like to tweak and here we basically have 2 choices. Turn Radio on or off. Well try Air Radar. It has it all. Perfect to find a good hotspot while on the move.

By the way. Those 3 plug-in are 100% FREE and only ask for voluntary donations. We need to support them. Even $1 can help.
I could have listed many other apps/addons but those are so basic for me I wanted to keep the list short and relevant.
If you have some good tips about things I missed - please feel free to educate me :) I'm a new Mac user.