Mark Gero
IEOR 190G
HW 4
February 4, 2015
Claim one of Apples "slide to unlock patent" basically lays out the idea of using a touchscreen device with an animated object or picture that denotes some sort of locking mechanism and then the use of continuous undifferentiated movement along said touch screen to a region denoting the unlocking of said device to unlock the device.
The basic idea behind Samsung and Apples dispute was that Samsung used a similar slide to unlock procedure on their smart phones and apple sued for damages. Samsung eventually lost the case, but while Apple wanted two billion dollars they got less that 200 million dollars in damages. The reason for the decreased pay out was that the judge ruled that "Accordingly, Apple has not met its burden to show clear and convincing evidence that Samsung acted despite an objectively high likelihood that its actions would infringe a valid patent." This basically means that Samsung didn't know they were infringing on a patent, so since it was not will full it is a smaller payoff.
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2604328/intellectual-property/apples-slide-to-unlock-patent-not-willfully-infringed-by-samsung-judge-rules.html
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
My Top 5 Worst Predictions
Mark Gero
IEOR 190G
Assignment 4 Part 2
February 16, 2015
These are my Top 5 worst predictions that I found on the internet. Same as with the last 5 these ones were chosen based on their degree off of todays reality.
1) Everything that can be invented has been invented.» Charles H. Duell, an official at the US patent office, 1899.
I chose this one because this is about as false as they come. In any day or age it is blatantly ignorant to think that all inventions have been invented, the same way it is ignorant to think that any record is permanent. This prediction is timelessly wrong as new inventions and patents will never cease to be invented.
2) If anything remains more or less unchanged, it will be the role of women. David Riesman, conservative American social scientist, 1967.
This statement is so woefully incorrect. This prediction was made before the widespread use of birth control which is and was a huge contributing factor in women eventually gaining equality (to the extent that they are equal in today's society). In a world where women and presidents, priministers, CEOs, as well as house mom, it is so patently false to assume women's place in society remains in the kitchen when women have shown time and time again that they are capable of anything a man can do.
3) «The multitude of books is a great evil. There is no limit to this fever for writing; every one must be an author; some out of vanity, to acquire celebrity and raise up a name, others for the sake of mere gain.»
Martin Luther, German Reformation leader, Table Talk, 1530s(?).
IEOR 190G
Assignment 4 Part 2
February 16, 2015
These are my Top 5 worst predictions that I found on the internet. Same as with the last 5 these ones were chosen based on their degree off of todays reality.
1) Everything that can be invented has been invented.» Charles H. Duell, an official at the US patent office, 1899.
I chose this one because this is about as false as they come. In any day or age it is blatantly ignorant to think that all inventions have been invented, the same way it is ignorant to think that any record is permanent. This prediction is timelessly wrong as new inventions and patents will never cease to be invented.
2) If anything remains more or less unchanged, it will be the role of women. David Riesman, conservative American social scientist, 1967.
This statement is so woefully incorrect. This prediction was made before the widespread use of birth control which is and was a huge contributing factor in women eventually gaining equality (to the extent that they are equal in today's society). In a world where women and presidents, priministers, CEOs, as well as house mom, it is so patently false to assume women's place in society remains in the kitchen when women have shown time and time again that they are capable of anything a man can do.
3) «The multitude of books is a great evil. There is no limit to this fever for writing; every one must be an author; some out of vanity, to acquire celebrity and raise up a name, others for the sake of mere gain.»
Martin Luther, German Reformation leader, Table Talk, 1530s(?).
This prediction comes in contrast with all the point mentioned in class about the printing press and its value that it brings to society. With increased books, and the reading and writing that comes along with them, comes all of the positive externalities associated with increased education. Some of these are decreased crime, increased life expectancy, increased sharing of ideas. Overall education is in many senses the key to a successful and progress society, and the start of that is books.
4)That the automobile has practically reached the limit of its development is suggested by the fact that during the past year no improvements of a radical nature have been introduced.»
Scientific American, Jan. 2 edition, 1909.
This prediction has a fundamental flaw in its reasoning. Just because there is no change in a set amount of time does not mean something is permanent. This flawed thought process may have been forgiven if he had not been talking about cars, which have progressed infinitely since 1909 and even today continue to progress with increase full efficient, design, etc.
5)«Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?»
H. M. Warner, co-founder of Warner Brothers, 1927.
While this prediction pales in comparison with the others as movies are not nearly as influential as cars or books, this shows a trend of people believing they understand humans. There are many quotes referring to rock and roll and rap as fads that won't persist. This prediction follows the same flawed thought process of executives believing they fully understand what they audience want or will want in the future.
http://www.2spare.com/item_50221.aspx
http://www.2spare.com/item_50221.aspx
Mark Gero
IEOR 190G
Assignment 4A
February 16, 2015
Here are my top 5 bad predictions out of the list of 25. The basic criteria I used was in looking at the effect of the technology that the person underestimated. So the technologies that have had the greatest effects and the worst predictions will be on this list.
1) "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." – Western Union internal memo, 1876
I think this is one of the worst predictions because this encompasses both mobile and stationary telephones. Even if mobile phones had never been invented, stationary phones have changed the world immensely and have been vital to both business and personal situations world wide.
Keeping mobile phones in mind and the effect that they have had on our culture, society, and way of life it is hard imagine a world without them.
2) "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." – Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
This comment clearly came from a place that could never fully understand the potential of this technology. In his defense, at this time computers were massive and could realistically do comparably very little to what they can do now.
Computers are essential in our everyday lives and more importantly have completely revolutionized so much of our industrial and business world that it is hard to imagine our economy without computers.
3) "Everyone acquainted with the subject will recognize it as a conspicuous failure."– -Henry Morton, president of the Stevens Institute of Technology, on Edison's light bulb, 1880
This is one of the world predictions I have ever heard in my life. It is hard for me to imagine a world that was simply lit by sun during the day and candles during the night. In this world, when an invention that would revolutionize lighting and thus everything attached to it, how can one underestimate its importance. Lighting completey changes the way people can live their lives and the way companies can operate.
4)"No one will pay good money to get from Berlin to Potsdam in one hour when he can ride his horse there in one day for free." – King William I of Prussia, on trains, 1864
I picked this one because I think of all of them it is the most correct using the assumptions of the time, and possibly the least correct given the cultural norms of today. Back in the mid 1800s and earlier everything moved slower and time was not valued as it is today. A letter could take months to reach its destination and everyone simply accepted this as truth. I todays society time is everything, and if one is able to save an extra second it is worth a great deal. King William I simply did not understand or forsee this paradigm shift in society.
5No, it will make war impossible." – -Hiram Maxim, inventor of the machine gun, in response to the question "Will this gun not make war more terrible?" from Havelock Ellis, an English scientist, 1893
I thought this one was particulary interesting because people say the same thing about nuclear weapons and how they make war impossible. The simple truth is that humans will always quarrel with one another, and however much destructive power can be harnessed, people will always find ways to kill one another over the same issues that they have been fighting over for centuries.
IEOR 190G
Assignment 4A
February 16, 2015
Here are my top 5 bad predictions out of the list of 25. The basic criteria I used was in looking at the effect of the technology that the person underestimated. So the technologies that have had the greatest effects and the worst predictions will be on this list.
1) "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." – Western Union internal memo, 1876
I think this is one of the worst predictions because this encompasses both mobile and stationary telephones. Even if mobile phones had never been invented, stationary phones have changed the world immensely and have been vital to both business and personal situations world wide.
Keeping mobile phones in mind and the effect that they have had on our culture, society, and way of life it is hard imagine a world without them.
2) "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." – Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
This comment clearly came from a place that could never fully understand the potential of this technology. In his defense, at this time computers were massive and could realistically do comparably very little to what they can do now.
Computers are essential in our everyday lives and more importantly have completely revolutionized so much of our industrial and business world that it is hard to imagine our economy without computers.
3) "Everyone acquainted with the subject will recognize it as a conspicuous failure."– -Henry Morton, president of the Stevens Institute of Technology, on Edison's light bulb, 1880
This is one of the world predictions I have ever heard in my life. It is hard for me to imagine a world that was simply lit by sun during the day and candles during the night. In this world, when an invention that would revolutionize lighting and thus everything attached to it, how can one underestimate its importance. Lighting completey changes the way people can live their lives and the way companies can operate.
4)"No one will pay good money to get from Berlin to Potsdam in one hour when he can ride his horse there in one day for free." – King William I of Prussia, on trains, 1864
I picked this one because I think of all of them it is the most correct using the assumptions of the time, and possibly the least correct given the cultural norms of today. Back in the mid 1800s and earlier everything moved slower and time was not valued as it is today. A letter could take months to reach its destination and everyone simply accepted this as truth. I todays society time is everything, and if one is able to save an extra second it is worth a great deal. King William I simply did not understand or forsee this paradigm shift in society.
5No, it will make war impossible." – -Hiram Maxim, inventor of the machine gun, in response to the question "Will this gun not make war more terrible?" from Havelock Ellis, an English scientist, 1893
I thought this one was particulary interesting because people say the same thing about nuclear weapons and how they make war impossible. The simple truth is that humans will always quarrel with one another, and however much destructive power can be harnessed, people will always find ways to kill one another over the same issues that they have been fighting over for centuries.
Friday, February 6, 2015
In this post I will discuss the importance of the environment in the topic of innovation. I believe Plato is credited with the origination of the idea that necessity is the mother of invention. I will specifically look at this idea through the lens of Israel and explain the correlation between "necessity" and Israel's incredible success in innovation and entrepreneurship.
When my great grandparents moved to mandated palestine in the 1930s they worked draining swamps in northern palestine (now modern day Israel, Afula to be specific). To see it as an incredibly vibrant and first world country a mere 70-80 years later is incredible and is in large part due to the "necessity" that has led to many inventions and innovations.
I spent 3 months in Israel two summers ago, and it seemed like everyone had a startup idea or 3, a phenomenon I have never experience in my 20 years in America. I believe this is in many ways correlated to the fact that Israeli's are constantly threatened by terrorist attacks and incoming terrorist rockets, which pushes people to do "more" than what is simply required. The fact that all Israeli's spend a couple years in the army is also a large reason why there are so many entrepeneurs, but I believe the culture of constant fear for one's life and country engenders the innovating spirit and promotes invention.
When my great grandparents moved to mandated palestine in the 1930s they worked draining swamps in northern palestine (now modern day Israel, Afula to be specific). To see it as an incredibly vibrant and first world country a mere 70-80 years later is incredible and is in large part due to the "necessity" that has led to many inventions and innovations.
I spent 3 months in Israel two summers ago, and it seemed like everyone had a startup idea or 3, a phenomenon I have never experience in my 20 years in America. I believe this is in many ways correlated to the fact that Israeli's are constantly threatened by terrorist attacks and incoming terrorist rockets, which pushes people to do "more" than what is simply required. The fact that all Israeli's spend a couple years in the army is also a large reason why there are so many entrepeneurs, but I believe the culture of constant fear for one's life and country engenders the innovating spirit and promotes invention.
Revised List of Top Ten Inventions.
1- Controlled Fire- We take fire for granted because it is so central to a million things in our lives in modern times. We have also begun to move away from fire to electric heating and other such sources, but we need to understand the historical importance of controlled fire and how it contributed to cleanliness and the cooking of food which save countless lives.
2 Penicillin- In keeping with the theme of health it is vitally important to remember the importance of modern day antibiotics. So much of society as we know it today could not function when people's lives were constantly being threatened by minor infections. A healthy society is a functioning society.
3- The Wheel- This is one of the most basic and important inventions of all time. Most forms of modern transportation as well as machines and anything with a pully system is impossible without the wheel. While it may not seem glamorous today we could have have done many of the amazing human accomplishments without the advent of the wheel.
4 Engine- The Engine is the key to every modern day machine including every form other than manual transportation. The Car, Plane, Motor Boat, and Train are all not possible without the modern Engine. Along with that list is most machinery necessary to efficient production.
5 Sewage- It is almost impossible to imagine societies today without modern sewage systems today, because they are so integral to healthy human existence. Part of the reason that cities are viable things is because of modern sewage systems. Without sewage it is hard to image a world that progressed past having a majority of people live as subsistence farmers because they had to stay spread out enough to be able to leave feces and urine in unused land.
6 Birth Control- The pill allowed for women to take control of their lives in a way that was never seen before. Historically women would get married, get pregnant, and be a stay home parent as a result without any chance at a career or the plethora of other life paths. With the advent of the pill women became far less tethered and could join the work force in mass.
7 Electricity- Life today is almost unimaginable without electricity. If we simply look at the one application of electricity through light bulbs it is easy to see the importance of being able to work see and live after the sun goes down. Instead of being able to effectively capture 12-16 hours of the day one could now capture all 24.
8 Printing Press- The printing press was huge in the spreading of literature at resonable prices in high quantities. As a result people became literate in much higher numbers and the idea of education gained importance. All the positive externalities associated with education can be attributed to the printing press.
9 Internet- The internet has had a similar effect as the printing press as it has once again made the spreading of ideas and literature much cheaper and easier and has once again helped with educating the masses as well as connecting people to a much greater extent.
10 Semi Conductors- These are at the center of every computer, cell phone, and a million other machines. Without semi conductors the majority of modern day computing and electronics are not possible.
1- Controlled Fire- We take fire for granted because it is so central to a million things in our lives in modern times. We have also begun to move away from fire to electric heating and other such sources, but we need to understand the historical importance of controlled fire and how it contributed to cleanliness and the cooking of food which save countless lives.
2 Penicillin- In keeping with the theme of health it is vitally important to remember the importance of modern day antibiotics. So much of society as we know it today could not function when people's lives were constantly being threatened by minor infections. A healthy society is a functioning society.
3- The Wheel- This is one of the most basic and important inventions of all time. Most forms of modern transportation as well as machines and anything with a pully system is impossible without the wheel. While it may not seem glamorous today we could have have done many of the amazing human accomplishments without the advent of the wheel.
4 Engine- The Engine is the key to every modern day machine including every form other than manual transportation. The Car, Plane, Motor Boat, and Train are all not possible without the modern Engine. Along with that list is most machinery necessary to efficient production.
5 Sewage- It is almost impossible to imagine societies today without modern sewage systems today, because they are so integral to healthy human existence. Part of the reason that cities are viable things is because of modern sewage systems. Without sewage it is hard to image a world that progressed past having a majority of people live as subsistence farmers because they had to stay spread out enough to be able to leave feces and urine in unused land.
6 Birth Control- The pill allowed for women to take control of their lives in a way that was never seen before. Historically women would get married, get pregnant, and be a stay home parent as a result without any chance at a career or the plethora of other life paths. With the advent of the pill women became far less tethered and could join the work force in mass.
7 Electricity- Life today is almost unimaginable without electricity. If we simply look at the one application of electricity through light bulbs it is easy to see the importance of being able to work see and live after the sun goes down. Instead of being able to effectively capture 12-16 hours of the day one could now capture all 24.
8 Printing Press- The printing press was huge in the spreading of literature at resonable prices in high quantities. As a result people became literate in much higher numbers and the idea of education gained importance. All the positive externalities associated with education can be attributed to the printing press.
9 Internet- The internet has had a similar effect as the printing press as it has once again made the spreading of ideas and literature much cheaper and easier and has once again helped with educating the masses as well as connecting people to a much greater extent.
10 Semi Conductors- These are at the center of every computer, cell phone, and a million other machines. Without semi conductors the majority of modern day computing and electronics are not possible.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Assignment 1-
My name is Mark Gero. I am a Junior Business Administration major. I am originally from Westlake California which is just North of Los Angeles. I went to New Community Jewish High School, which is a small private school with about 120 students per grade. In high school I played Soccer, Cross Country, Lacrosse, and Volleyball. Up at school I continue to play a good amount of sports including intramural soccer, basketball, football, and ultimate frisbee. I am taking this class because I am very interested in entrepreneurship and becoming an entrepreneur is one of my many goals.
My name is Mark Gero. I am a Junior Business Administration major. I am originally from Westlake California which is just North of Los Angeles. I went to New Community Jewish High School, which is a small private school with about 120 students per grade. In high school I played Soccer, Cross Country, Lacrosse, and Volleyball. Up at school I continue to play a good amount of sports including intramural soccer, basketball, football, and ultimate frisbee. I am taking this class because I am very interested in entrepreneurship and becoming an entrepreneur is one of my many goals.
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