The problem with software niches

When choosing how to target your software product you have to be careful not to position yourself in the way of the big platform vendors. Covering a small feature gap has a very narrow window of opportunity.

A specific example are all the iPhone applications that are rendered obsolete every time Apple updates its software.

Read Joel Spolsky's blog post.

Idea Factory quote

Harvard is the fruit of industry, MIT is industry.

The Idea Factory, Learning to think at MIT

The Legend of the Holy Drinker / A Lenda do Santo Bebedor

The Legend of the Holy Drinker by Joseph Roth

A small tale, with delicate writing, about how small gestures can change the way we look at our lives.

/ This post is bilingual: English (U.S.) and Portuguese (Portugal) /



A Lenda do Santo Bebedor de Joseph Roth

Um pequeno conto, com escrita delicada, sobre a forma como pequenos gestos podem a forma de olhar a vida.

View from Chiado Hotel balcony

Thanks to some dear friends, we had a great opportunity to visit the Chiado Hotel balcony and look at its amazing view over downtown Lisbon.



Now you too can see the complete photo set.

I can't think of a better way to celebrate Portugal Day!

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas

Proteus: Do you have a plan?
Sinbad: Uh...how about try not to get killed?

Angels and Demons

Angels and Demons

Cardinal Strauss: Religion is flawed because man is flawed.

(Yet another) conspiracy movie. This time about the Catholic Church.

A technical triumph - it actually looks like the movie was shot in the Vatican - however the story falls prey to the pre-conceived ideas about religion in general and the Catholic Church in particular.

Both Science and Religion are caricatured. Without getting deep into the subject, just let me tell you this: Religion and Science are not opposites. They both serve a purpose in our search for Truth.

Please let me known if you are interested in the subject. I can suggest some very interesting readings. I also have some very good friends contributing to this debate.

Finally, I quote the beautiful poem of Patriarch Athenagoras about the true essence of the Church.

Without the Holy Spirit God is far away.
Christ stays in the past,
The Gospel is simply an organization,
Authority is a matter of propaganda,
The Liturgy is no more than an evolution,
Christian loving a slave mentality.
But in the Holy Spirit
The cosmos is resurrected and grows with the
birth pangs of the kingdom.
The Risen Christ is there,
The Gospel is the power of life,
The Church shows forth the life of the Trinity,
Authority is a liberating science,
Mission is a Pentecost,
The Liturgy is both renewal and anticipation,
Human action is deified.

XIII

XIII



(Yet another) conspiracy movie. This time related to the US Presidency.

Idea Factory quote

Intelligence can be a burden because you can't be fooled.

The Idea Factory, Learning to think at MIT

Meeting notes

Here a GTD-enabled meeting form. Thanks to Joana for another great work tip.

--

Date, time, participants (name and short-name)

Why are we here?

What do we want to achieve?

--

Calendar (new events)

To-do (personal tasks)

Waiting-for (tasks others will be doing)

--

Discussions topics in sequence

Nun'Álvares - Condestável e Santo

"Nun'Álvares - Condestável e Santo" by António dos Reis Rodrigues



Another telling of the great story of Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira. This book focuses on a different aspect of his life in each chapter.

This post is bilingual: English (U.S.) and Portuguese (Portugal) /

Outra forma de contar a grande história de Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira. Este livro foca um aspecto diferente da sua vida por capítulo.