Honey CSA

Tracey and I invested in a CSA last year. Our return tastes amazing.

Photos for Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire

It’s been a really busy holiday season at litl.

Several weeks ago, the ideas we had about photos coalesced around a vision. Hundreds of thousands of people (or maybe millions) would wake up on on a cold morning in December with a brand new Android tablet. None of those people would have a good way to get their photos on their tablet. The Amazon Kindle Fire doesn’t even ship with a cable!

So, the litl team sat down and cranked out two apps, one for the Kindle Fire and one for the Nook Tablet. It was a miracle that we were even able to get them into the stores in such short notice, but that is a different tale with many heroes. If you’re gifted one of these devices, here‘s a present for you from the litl team! You can get more information about the free app on the Woven website (http://woventheapp.com/).

This is a free app from the small team at litl. It would be helpful and appreciated if you could spread the word (and joy; and cheer; and happiness; and tidings of good fortune) to all new owners of these tablets. Happy Holidays!

Nook Tablet Variations

We purchased a bunch of Nook Tablets to do some development on today. Something that the developers noticed is that there was a difference between some of the units we received. Specifically, it seems as if one of them has a GB of “Additional Storage Space”. That unit also has a screen that seems brighter and has whiter whites.

I’m not sure what caused the difference, but if you’re in the market for a Nook Tablet, you’re getting shortchanged if you get one without the additional memory and the dimmer screen.

Bonobos Website Is Down

I ran across this error on the Bonobos website.

I like a few things:

• It’s visually striking. It admits error while simultaneously referring to their core business.
• The layout stays close to David Ogilvy’s guidelines on effective advertising
• You can still sign up for their mailing list and take advantage of the offers. They’ve turned their error into an opportunity for you (and Bonobos).

Legislation That Keeps The Bubble Alive

This congress is considering legislation that will prolong the current funding bubble. The Private Company Flexibility and Growth Act (H.R. 2167) aims to “amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to change the threshold number of shareholders for required registration under that Act.” Although the changes it proposes may seem minor, they could have far-reaching and disastrous consequences.

• It revises the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Companies were forced to register with the SEC when their assets reached 1 million dollars and held by 500 persons. The proposed change would extend the limit to 10 million dollars and 1000 persons.
• The proposed bill exempts accredited investors and employees.

There are some differing ideas about why this legislation is needed. Sure, you can give in and say that it will help keep private companies private, and protect that piece of our economic landscape. I think the legislators would argue that its noble purpose is to allow private companies more runway to grow before going to the public markets for capital funding. If you are a cynical person you might think that the true purpose is to keep SecondMarket alive by fixing inherent flaws in their business plan.

However, there are many overlooked consequences of the bill. As others have pointed out, the bill could delay IPOs and exits for VCs. It will further depress the number of IPOs in a depressed IPO market.

The real danger of the bill is that it allows companies to grow larger and attract more investors before having to disclose material facts about the company. Combined with the current bubble in early and late stage funding, it’s a setup for a catastrophe.

There is no doubt that there is a bubble in angel and VC funding. As everyone has been saying for the last year, young startup companies are flush with cash from Angels and VCs. They will now have a secondary market to sell stock in their fledgling companies. If the only rule is “caveat emptor”, Angels and VCs will dump underperforming investments into a secondary market, rather than take the coming losses. Pension funds, investment managers and employees, regardless of their investment skill, will be entangled in another toxic asset class. So will anyone else chasing quick bucks in the technology sector.

The Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 was passed to mitigate risk of fraud for consumers and investors when investing in securities by providing transparency. By changing a few small provisions, this bill will open the door for unscrupulous salesmen to create new financial WMDs. Furthermore, it is going to pump the bubble and keep the funding Ponzi scheme alive.

Funky Android

My Android Virtual Device is acting all funky on Oneiric Ocelot.

Sidewalks

The WPA embedded copper placards into the sidewalks on Willet Street in Quincy. I used to admire them on the way to work. In the last few weeks, the roads and the sidewalks on that street were torn up and replaced with granite curbs.

Try Things

Sriram Krishnan hits the nail on the head with his post, Don’t be so f*king strategic.

All large companies (and I do mean all – this is not a post about Microsoft) tend to be in love with finding the right “strategy” in place before doing anything.

In the strategy consulting industry, this is close to what they call “analysis paralysis”. It is easy to get stuck in a loop searching for the ultimate strategy or design.

For big companies, analysis paralysis leads to a lot of wasted management time. For smaller companies, a lack of action can lead to wasted development and design cycles. It is important to find test projects and try random things with any spare cycles, and make that part of the strategy, than lose valuable development hours.

Charlie Brown

Via Good

New Glasses

I’ve bought eyeglasses online before. This time I ordered from 39DollarGlasses. All told, I paid just over 60 dollars for a pair of UV and anti-reflection coated lenses.

As you can see, it comes with a high-quality case and some accessories. Overall, I am pleased with my purchase and would buy from them again.