Author: Michael Yung

Couple of months ago, I talked about Apple brought us Macintosh 20 years ago in 1984. So, do you know what IBM brought us 40 years ago (to be exact, 7th April 1964) ? It was the IBM System 360 – the first commercial mainframe in the world (you still can download the original System 360 Architecture paper in http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/rd/441/amdahl.pdf). You may think it was just a huge, useless system (from today’s POV), but in fact it was the first computer brought us the idea of “Time Sharing Computing”. The idea that later on evolved to multi-tasking and now the trendy term – utility computing … You see, something we use everyday was actually done 40 years ago and such an old idea is still influencing our future.

In fact, one of the best ways to tell how computer changed in the past two decades or so, is to check out the “Icon history” of the most popular Operating Systems ever built for mankind ….

http://www.aci.com.pl/mwichary/guidebook/icons/components

You have to call me a geek as I reeeeeeeeally love this web page.

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If you were a fan of the movie Star War Episode V : The Empire Strikes Back (1980), you would probably remember this famous line from the master – Yoda:

Do or Do Not, There Is No Try.

May be I am too old now, as I simply cannot give a positive response to the current generation teenagers’ attitude. Seems to me that they believe the world is too tough to them and they deserve everything on earth, without devoting any effort to earn it. No, no, no, everyone of us shall embrace the Can Do attitude, not I Will Try …. No doubt we will fail sometimes, but you know,

To Appreciate a Rainbow, You Need Some Rain.

OK … enough grumbling …

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I am sure most of you are too busy and have no time to visit museum or gallery to appreciate some artwork, but since we’re Internet geeks, so let’s do it online – the collections from the best street-painter on earth. Enjoy…

http://www.kurtwenner.com/gallery.htm

And what about some photos from the best photographers ?

http://www.msnbc.com//modules/yip03/slideshow.asp http://www.fifth-essence.com/archive/bestpix2003/index.htm

Ok, if you still have the time, think about what we shall do next … to me, I think it is time to provide a great brand experience to our customers. And here is one book that tells some tasty stories from the experts.

Uncommon Practice: People who deliver a great brand experience

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But if you don’t like this kind of book, may I suggest you to read the Five People You Meet in Heaven (from the author of Tuesdays with Morrie), in your relaxing Easter Holiday ? As usual, you can borrow those recommended books from me (after I finish it first 8-).

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Condition Changes. Results Shouldn’t. (Accenture)

Impossible Is Not A Fact, It Is An Opinion.

It is hard to comprehend the above slogan until I saw the advertisement from TV, showing legendary boxer Muhammad Ali fight against his daughter (Laila) in the boxing ring. I understand it is easy to use computer to do this kind of special effects, but the concept of the advertisement, the message it want to send across and the way it’s presented – is simply astonishing. The message is really strong when you see another advertisement of the same campaign, featuring Stacy Kohut, Paralympic Skateboarding Gold Medalist skateboarding.

Btw, to watch the Adidas advertisement, you can surf to http://usa.adidas.com/

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When was your last time to do something for the first time …. Keep discovering.

Have you seen this TV advertisement ? Have you ever asked yourself the similar question, doing something that you not try hard enough or you always have an excuse not to do … ?

I really wanted to get a nice Monkey picture to post here but unfortunately cannot find a good one from millions of web pages in the Internet. We are indeed in an information overflow age.

So, this year is the Year of Monkey. Chinese people think Monkey is smart (but sometimes cunning), responsive (but sometimes hyperactive), and sometimes indecisive. Of course, we are not going to be indecisive, but we need to be smart and responsive.

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I can’t help to recommend that book in this year – “Monkey Business“. If you wanna know how funny it is to be an investment banker, read this book.

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Have a great year – and to do that, plan now and act now.

Once every year, people talk about the year’s top 10 news, top 10 songs, top 10 movies etc. etc. I read a few “Year in Review” articles and found the following one from CNET matches us pretty close:

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The opening lines of that CNET report are …

“If one word could serve as a prevailing theme for 2003, it would be survival. As the technology economy continued to suffer, companies searched for creative ways to cut costs and experiment in new areas without losing their competitive edge or abandoning their core businesses. The result was a partial roadmap that began to show what a recovery would look like in coming years….”

The bottom line – do a good job in your position, reach out and help the others.

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Trees are interesting, but every now and then we have to step back and see the forest, too, in all its glory.

In year 2003, many good and great HK people left us. So, no matter how busy you are, spend more time with your family and love ones … … and like my favorite Beatles’ song – In My Life … http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/beatles/14823.html

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I am sure you have a good time in the X’mas holiday. I did kill some of my time in building a few web pages for not-for-profit organizations as well as watching some movies in the holiday. Have you seen the movie “Love Actually…” ? May be many of you are too young for that kind of movie, but when the scene of Emma Thompson looked back to her bedroom and the song (Both sides now) of Joni Mitchell plays in the background, it’s soooooo touching – A life, and the experience of a lifetime, all poured into music, in one song. What an emotionally moving scene … gotta buy the original soundtrack.

And not sure whether you have watched the movie “Space Jam” (a movie by Michael Jordan …. back in 1996) before or not – I did not. But you likely heard one of the songs in the original soundtrack as this song was broadcasted heavily on TV this year in Hong Kong to promote a bank’s service. The song is called “I believe I can fly”, sang by R. Kelly.

Would like to wrap up this boring newsletter with one of the lines in the song.

If I can see it, then I can do it

If I just believe it, there’s nothing to it

I believe I can fly

I believe I can touch the sky

I believe I can touch the sky one day, do you ? Never stop dreaming, for they will, one day come true.

Lastly, have a great New Year holiday and a rewarding 2004 !!

Kites rise highest against the wind – not with it. – Winston Churchill

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2003 is a very tough year, isn’t it ? But as the quote above, we can fly high only against the wind. We have encountered, resolved or lived with many difficulties this year but at the same time we have achieved many things as well.

As I mentioned one year ago … Every little thing you do today, actually can make a big difference tomorrow …

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Everyone of us will grow old, but not everyone of us want to grow up – Anonymous

Think about it, we are not young anymore, but are we acting like children in something what we are doing ? Can we be more mature in what we are doing and delivering. Yes, it’s no harm to be “young-at-heart” to dream wild, but in a business world, we really need to be more aggressive, competitive to survive.