I'm in Boston at The Spotted Apron, which is a fairly snazzy bakery near Audrey's apartment that caters to people with laptops by having approximately eleventy billion outlets to plug into. Whether they designed it this way or it was just a happy accident is up for debate, but my guess is they realized they would have a ton of people kicking around with laptops, and nothing draws laptop people more than sweet, sweet alternating current. And the longer they stay, the more they drink coffee and purchase cupcakes. Truly a perfect business model.
So I began to wonder today why I feel so glum about working for large companies. It doesn't necessarily follow that large companies make people sad, and they didn't always make me sad. But something about the thought of working for a huge company (let's say more than 50 people) sort of gnaws at me now.
Back when I first started programming, I figured I would work as a cog in a huge company, which is pretty much what my father does. It looked lucrative to me when I was younger, and by all accounts it is. And although it may be somewhat uninteresting programming, even uninteresting programming is preferable to, say, bagging groceries. Plus, even at a young age I knew computers were going to be my life. They fascinated me beyond anything else the world had to offer. And back then, the only way I knew how to work on them was to work for a big company, like Dad.
Flash forward to age 23. I realize my programming skill has allowed me to pursue my own activities in whatever language I want. I further realized that I wanted to be my own boss. And after many a drunken bull session, a plan was made: to make something new that people would like.
But why is it that I want to do this? Is it the money? Maybe. I can make a fine living continuing to work for a large company. But I will never have sizable equity stake in anything unless I go my own way. Is it the challenge? Perhaps. Making my own company work would be far harder than anything I could possibly experience working for a big company. But it would also be far and away more rewarding to succeed.
So we come to the real reason I am striking out on my own: I want to do something new. I want to be the first to do something. And I want to help the world at large somehow. What I am working on right now (with my co-founder) will not make the world better. But if it becomes successful, I will have enough money to do something worthwhile. Something to change the lives of people who need help. That is the ultimate goal -- to be achieved through a mix of naive optimism and disillusionment.
'Cause I'll throw you off the line. I'll break you and destroy you, given time.
This site is turning into all OLPC news all the time. But I can't help it if it seems to stay in the limelight.
These fuckers think they can run roughshod over OLPC! First Microsoft attempts to re-design Windows to fit on the ultralight and ultra-hot OLPC XO, and realizes it for the fool's errand it is. My guess is someone finally told the boss MISSION IMFUCKINGPOSSIBLE in no uncertain terms. Such as, you know, yelling "MISSION IMFUCKINGPOSSIBLE" right in their face.
But wait, there's more! Microsoft, showing audacity levels never before seen, has asked OLPC to help them. "Can you redesign the whole fucking thing so we can play, too?"
If Negroponte has any stones whatsoever, and I bet he does, he will send back this message: "Nuts!"
Apologies for this profane rant. It has been tagged accordingly.
As promised, a book review. Technobabble will resume tomorrow.
The book Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur's Odyssey to Educate the World's Children is by an interesting guy named John Wood, who, as you may be able to guess from the title, used to work at Microsoft, left, and founded an excellent charity concerning books. You can see how I might be biased towards such a piece, since it involves both of my favorite things to do, but I think it is a genuinely good piece of writing.
A word about how I came by the book. Normally, I have a stack of books five or six high to read, and when I was given this book was no exception. Nine times out of ten a book I have never heard of given to me as a gift will end up getting ignored, not because of any fault of the gift giver, but due to the fact that I keep finding stuff to read in the meantime, and never get around to my gift. However, the person who gave me this book means a great deal to me, and I respect her opinion immensely. So a book that otherwise might never have had a chance got bumped to the top of the list.
And what an amazing book! John Wood has a particularly conversational style of writing, which makes for excellent nonfiction. Subjects which may have been boring when broached by other authors are quite interesting when rendered in his style. Also, he liberally sprinkles the book with interesting asides, both about his time at Microsoft (he worked in China during the height of Microsoft's power, and even had some dealings with The Bill) and about his attempts to start a charity. His stories about raising funding ring especially true to me, and anyone else running a startup.
While I don't want to give away too much of the book, I will end my mini-review by saying how inspiring the book is to anyone wishing to leave a lasting legacy of good in the world. And thanks to Audrey Etlinger for finding it!
And in case anyone reading this has spare pocket change or is looking for a cool charity, look no further than the one the book is all about, Room To Read.
"But Sean! Where is the clever title? Where is the probably copyrighted image you add to make yourself seem oh-so-witty?"
Pipe down. I'll add a fully-fleshed article tomorrow morning, maybe. I have been busier than hell with school stuff, company stuff, and personal stuff. Attempts to take the suck out of my life have snagged the top priority on all my cores, to make an awful computer metaphor.
I break radio silence only to let you know of the stuff going on with the OLPC.
Pow!
Blam!
Future! I can smell it cooking down south. Man, that last sentence is gross!
Those who live outside the US may be wondering why people in the so-called First World are getting to use these (Pow! links to a story about Alabama kids using the OLPC in school.) While I could probably make a pretty funny joke about Alabama being a howling maw of poverty, the question is just. What the fuck, Negroponte? I mean, yeah, great, spread the love. But the spread the love in places the love is needed. Kids in Alabama are not in desperate need of these things. It seems they won't even be used to their capacity -- just as some half-assed teaching aid. The kids have to give them back at the end of the year!
The program I envisioned when I heard about this was something GIVEN to children unable to acquire these resources any other way. I'm pretty sure those kids in Alabama have a library with computers, or probably even a computer lab in a nearby school or even one in their own elementary school. I envisioned a tool that a child could make into any other tool they needed or wanted. A cornucopia machine the kids could use in any way they wanted, to program anything they wished. I am more than a little disgusted that some are going to the US as a charitable donation to a SCHOOL, not actual individuals.
Oh well, enough whining. At least the vast majority are going someplace useful. Enough bitching from me for now.
Watch tomorrow for a review of a book named Leaving Microsoft to Change The World that someone amazing gave me.
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