Lately, I've been thinking about screens. And I've always had an appreciation for arts. So then, I've been thinking about a merger between the two.

Something that you'd like to focus on. Something that would pull you in, in a serendipitous way.

Something that makes art more accessible to more individuals. 

Something simple. Yet elegant. 

Timing, could make all the difference.

A couple of days ago, I started thinking:

• Imagine, if DaVinci was born in our day and age.  The information, tools and technologies that he’d have at his disposal. The magic he would weave.  The inventions that he’d come up with.
• If Warhol was born 600 years ago. Would he still be as successful? What would he draw and what would he make? No can of soup. Hmm.
• Van Gogh born in the 21st century. He would have probably started receiving treatment. And maybe, we wouldn’t have a Van Gogh. Maybe we would. Maybe he wouldn’t have had to die penniless.

Stumbled upon this clip on Youtube and this has got to be one of my favorite interviews of Steve Jobs.

1995: Almost a decade has passed since Jobs was ousted from Apple. During this time, Jobs ended up launching two companies. Namely, Next and Pixar.

I like this interview for the obvious reasons. As usual, Jobs is being quite honest and candid about everything.

The interview starts with Jobs being reminiscent about his childhood. How various individuals helped pique his interest, when it comes to leveraging his skill set and getting him interests in Electronics. To his teachers in junior high, those who encouraged him through the learning process by literally bribing him with money and candies. And how that worked out quite well. Really well in-fact. Take that Daniel Pink! (Drive). To a very candid confession that Jobs would have probably ended up in jail, if it wasn’t for some of the individuals and particularly some of the teachers during his formative years. Jobs knows the kind of tendencies he possessed and how they had the capacity to direct his cognition and his destiny. I, for one, understand what he is saying.

Jobs also ends up talking about his experiences and how it took him into uncharted territories like the education sector (with Next). And some of the things he had to do in order to market Next to the education sector. Like talking to politicians and his experience dealing with the differing bodies of Governance. Seems like not much has changed throughout the decades. Jobs is sympathetic towards how the teachers are treated (pay) and generally how the system is broken as it fails to attract the best candidates for some of these jobs. Also, mention of the unions and how they protect the broken system.

Jobs also ends up talking about things that almost all the Leaders in the Tech industry should stop and pay attention to. His words are relevant to this day. Specially for Businesses and specifically businesses in the Tech industry that find themselves in a somewhat precarious situation.

Jobs talks about a number of things. Some of the themes that I noticed:

• The value system
• The corrupting influence of money. Sculley’s administration and most of the execs under him were for the better part, concerned with making money. That was in stark contrast with what Jobs had envisioned Apple or rather the Mac to be. To make a revolutionary machine that would help challenge the status-quo (big blue) and to get this machine in the hands of as many people as possible. Basically to create a new medium. And to make rational (as opposed to excessive) profits along the way
• He spends quite a bit of time emphasizing upon the fact that the primary goal of any organization should be to hire A-players
• How artistry is about having insights and about expressing those insights so that others can benefit from it. In that respect artists and scientists are no different from each other
• Tons of other unique insights. I think I’ve already mentioned how Jobs prophesied how disruptive of a force the Internet is going to be and the opportunities that offers. We’re still living through that phenomenon. To his strong and vocal opinion in favor of net-neutrality. An open and free Internet and why no one organization or group should control it. It is so unreal listening to Jobs talking about Net-neutrality at that time. Specially when we’ve had to deal with bills like SOPA, PIPA e.t.c now some 18 odd years later.

While going through the interview. I just couldn’t help but think of a particular organization. I won’t say which one.

Great interview. Thank you Steve Jobs. Rest in peace.

Originally published Mar 4, 2013


I’ve never come across an artists who isn’t passionate about what they are doing.

The range is very wide an encompassing. From the artists who’d draw caricatures in downtown New York, to some of the music directors I have witnessed, growing up as a kid in South Asia. And now increasingly collaborating with some artists.

Artists love what they do. Art moves us.

Intelligent and engaged interactions with the artists yields much better results. Details matter.

Originally published on Feb 14, 2013


One of my childhood dreams, to see the creation of vehicles, that can levitate. That includes most land-based vehicles. Trains, automobiles and even skate-boards like they show in "Back to the Future". Marty McFly's skateboard. In-fact, I think that's where I  got the idea from the first time I saw that movie. I wonder why we don't make movies like that anymore. 

Anyhow, I decided to collaborate with an artist. The scope of this particular project of our, was to envision a world where:
- Clean energy is abundant and over-flowing
- We have cars that can levitate. And all the (efficient) benefits derived from such a model. 

Here are some of the conceptual designs that we came up with: