mad dog in the fog

Rainforest Exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences
in Golden Gate Park. More photos here

• How Intuit managed to hold off Microsoft | Beyond Binary – CNET News
  “Intuit is one of the few companies to take Microsoft head-on on its home turf–packaged software–and come out on top. Even more notably, Intuit has managed to do it several times, with Quicken of course, but also with QuickBooks and TurboTax.  Of course, it was more than just Intuit’s success that led to Money’s demise, which CNET News first reported on Wednesday. The product was ultimately doomed by several factors, including a shift away from packaged software, the rise of Internet-based rivals like Mint.com, and a brutal economy that has forced Microsoft to scale back ambitions in several areas.”
  (tags: business intuit personalfinance microsoft)

• TechCrunchIT (Steve Gillmor): Why Apple wins. every. time.
  "Apple’s rigorous march forward and its deep understanding of what the market will want next is not only keeping them ahead of the competition but building the markets they will own tomorrow. They’re like WIllie Mays and the basket catch, making the hard stuff look easy."
  (tags: apple iphone iphone3gs innovation)

• Funemployment: Jobless young San Franciscans are welcoming the worst recession of their lives with open arms (SF Weekly)
  "To encounter the laid-off twenty- and thirtysomethings blogging about unemployed life or roaming this city's bars, museums, and parks on weekday afternoons is to witness a weirdly upbeat portrait emerge. This is no Lost Generation, but a generation that, through loss of work, claims to be finding itself — and having fun along the way."
  (tags: sanfrancisco jobhunting)

• Google Wave: Finally, Innovation » Webomatica
  "I’ll reserve final judgment until I actually get to play with Wave, but at this point, I’m ready to forget about streams and get to the ocean, where the waves reside."
  (tags: google realtimeweb googlewave)
• Google Wave: Our First Hands-On Impressions
  Another positive review of Google Wave.
  (tags: google realtimeweb googlewave)
• Hands-on with Wave: Weird and quite wonderful | Webware – CNET
  An early review of Google Wave.
  (tags: google realtimeweb googlewave)