Brad DeLong points to an article in Financial Times on Asia: "Asia's rise is the economic event of our age. Should it proceed as it has over the last few decades, it will bring the two centuries of global domination by Europe and, subsequently, its giant North American offshoot to an end. Japan was but the harbinger of an Asian future. The country has proved too small and inward-looking to transform the world. What follows it - China, above all - will prove neither... "

A lengthy and skeptical response comes from Michael Gordon. Much of the discussion centres around China.

I believe that China and India are emerging as the twin dynamos for the world economy - India more slowly than China. Both are piggybacking on the outsourcing-to-cut-costs trend and their emerging and increasingly prosperous middle class with money to spend. But for both, real and sustained growth will mean ensuring that the 70% of the populace in the rural areas also needs to be impacted. So far, there are few signs of that happening.

News.com has some quotes from a speech by Jason Chen (president of sales and marketing) at Computex in Taiwan:

By 2006, the emerging-market contribution to overall market shipments will go to 40 percent; 1999 was only 20 percent. That's a very significant signal to the industry.

Computing and communications devices will converge so that the two capabilities will no longer be separate. The trend is best embodied today at Intel by Centrino.

Wireless networking is growing fast. There are 12.8 million wireless access points today.

Dan Bricklin reports on an interview by Scott Kirsner with Esther Dyson (of Release 1.0). Excerpts:

In India, with a billion people, outsourcing is a tiny thing. Talent is being used to serve outside of the country, with no direct benefit to the general population. They know how to market their talents to the world. The Russians are terrible at marketing, but 90% of what they do is for customers in Russia. There is more of a sense of building for the future now then there was.

When asked about the Internet, WiFi, et al, and the developing world: She reminds us of "lower technology" that is very valuable, such as sewing machines and water pumps. Cell phones are more immediately and locally important than the Internet because of cost and accessibility, which is more relevant for now than WiFi, but she noted that the best underlying backbone for communications is the Internet. It is important to know the price of cotton, which you can do via SMS -- you don't need a web page with fancy graphics. What it all does is change the balance of power. Those in power, and especially those abusing power, tend not to like transparency. Usually bad governments create poverty; poor people don't create it.

[via Scoble] Yes, you read the headline right. An interesting view on Linux Universe: "What happened was Microsoft won the battle but lost the war."

Don Tapscott writes that "in the traditionally opaque corporation, people hoarded knowledge, hoping it would bring personal power and success. Now individuals must be encouraged to share knowledge; corporate success depends on it." What better way to do it than K-logs(knowledge weblogs).

Steve Outing writes about a collection of RSS tools:
- Toolbutton: toolbar add-on for Internet Explorer to make subscribing to RSS feeds easier
- Klips: an awareness and notification tool that utilises RSS
- Quikonnex: a turnkey, soup-to-nuts publishing service
- MyWireService: a Web-based RSS aggregator

On a related note, Nick Gaydos writes: "I've found that people are really asking for a method to share events, not a new calendar." Roland Tanglao's reply: "RSS is the event transport of the 21st century. Goodbye CMIP Event Reports, Apple Events, etc. RSS is it for now."

Microsoft Watch writes about an interesting idea: "Solution Accelerators are a collection of methodologies, blueprints and other services aimed at customizing one or more Microsoft products for a particular vertical or horizontal audience. While Solution Accelerators are built with partners in mind, customers are also able to obtain and make use of them on their own...Microsoft officials claim the accelerators will allow companies to increase productivity, shorten business cycles, streamline business processes and eventually lower the overall cost of doing business."

Adds News.com: "The first seven products from the Accelerator Program will focus on specific business segments and tasks: sales proposals, personnel recruiting, quality-management projects for Six Sigma (an efficiency theory made popular by General Electric), financial reports, compliance projects for new Sarbanes-Oxley Act accounting rules, business scorecards and financial scenarios."

Joe Wilcox (Jupiter) has a point of view on this.

We should look at something similar for OpenOffice.

Open-Source and India

I gave a presentation (PPT, 202 KB) recently in Pune on open-source at a workshop organised by the local CSI chapter. I cannot help but think that India is missing a golden opportunity when it comes to leading the world in the development of open-source software. India has the maximum to benefit, and yet we continue to hardwire Microsoft products in our tenders and curriculum. Piracy and non-consumption are not the solutions. What is needed for a few people to come together and provide leadership and co-ordination for the open-source community in India.

All it needs are a few people. Take a look at many of the revolutions that have been started. They all began with one, and others joined along the way. From Gandhi to Linux Torvalds, we have a lot to learn from these pioneers who beloved that it is possible to take on the establishment and bring about change. India needs these change leaders.

What is needed for one or a few to articulate a vision for what India should do in the field of open-source, articulate a roadmap and provide ways by which others can contribute in their own small ways. This needs top-down thinking and bottom-up execution. India and Indians should be at the leading edge in pioneering and championing the next software advances. We have the armies, what is missing are the generals.

Entrepreneurial Challenges

One of the best things about being an entrepreneur is the difficulties one faces – and the working out solutions for each of these challenges. Entrepreneurship is about imaging the impossible and making it a reality. There are many moments which one wishes one could fast-forward, but life is not a VCR. Each moment, each scene has to be played through sequentially – however unpleasant it may be. These are the true tests for entrepreneurs – the crucible. Each of these challenges enriches and teaches in a way no textbook or management course can.

One of the things I have found useful when faced with challenging situations is to make to someone else. It is easier said than done, because few of us like to open up with people on the outside or like to seek help. But just the talking, just the brainstorming can help the answers come out – from within ourselves. I would go to the extent of saying that it would be nice if entrepreneurs could pair up (somewhat like extreme programming.) The ideal companion would be someone who is also an entrepreneur, but is no way related to the business. One should be able to periodically able to talk openly to the companion, knowing fully well that there is no hidden agenda the other person has.

Life at the top is lonely. Everyone needs a friend. Maybe some of the social networks can help pair entrepreneurs together?!