Ray Tomlinson, the Inventor of Email

The Verge, interviewing Ray Tomlinson on the birth of email, the future of communication technology and his thoughts on spam:

I see email being used, by and large, exactly the way I envisioned. In particular, it’s not strictly a work tool or strictly a personal thing. Everybody uses it in different ways, but they use it in a way they find works for them.

40 years on, we haven't changed a lot. A space worth disrupting, no doubt.

Digg Team Acquired by Washington Post?

Anthony Ha, reporting on behalf of Techcrunch:

We’re hearing that the Post has hired the Digg team, but is not acquiring the site or the technology. In other words, this is a talent acquisition, and in fact Digg properties, patents, and assets are still for sale.

TheNextWeb’s report provoked some “what the hell?” reactions on Twitter, but a talent acquisition makes a little more sense. The Post isn’t trying to revive a struggling social news site. Instead, it’s recruiting a team that can help develop its Trove social news platform, as well as Trove-powered products like its Social Reader and Personal Post.

To me its the best 'exit' for Digg. The social news site has been fading into history, so it's a good thing the team will be moving on to something else.

Meet Silicon Valley’s newest VCs: Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss

The Next Web, on the Winklevoss twins being VCs:

Yes, you read that title correctly. The “Winklevii” as they’re sometimes referred to, and not so affectionately, are now dabbling in other people’s companies by starting a new VC fund.

The twins that made headlines by suing Mark Zuckerberg for stealing the idea behind Facebook sat down with CNBC today to discuss their latest venture.

Heh. I'm really not sure what to make of this.

How Andreessen Horowitz Bunted on an Instagram Investment

Unlike Instagram, Picplz planned a cross-platform approach. It had just launched an app for Android in May and planned to roll out an iPhone app in August. Instagram would not launch its iPhone app until October.

Andreessen Horowitz suddenly found itself in the awkward — and conflicted — position of having two competing products in their portfolio. The partners told the two that they would have to choose one or the other and promised to stay in touch.

But what happened next, people close to the company said, left bad blood. Months passed without a word. That November, Instagram’s co-founders were left to learn from technology blogs — along with everyone else— that Mr. Andreessen had led a $5 million investment in, and would take a board seat with, their competitor.

Goes to show that when it comes to investments, nothing is certain. What was thriving yesterday might've dwindled down to nothing today.

The unforgivable heresy of Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, on leaving the office at 5.30:

“I walk out of this office every day at 5:30 so I’m home for dinner with my kids at 6, and interestingly, I’ve been doing that since I had kids. I did that when I was at Google, I did that here, and I would say it’s not until the last year, two years, that I’m brave enough to talk about it publicly.”

I think it's a wake-up call for the technology industry to work smarter, not harder. It's a culture that we need to change. Employees with work-life balance result in happier employees. And that usually means productivity goes up.

The 4inch iPhone 5

The Verge, on how the next iPhone could keep its physical dimensions but have a larger screen.

"Timothy's idea was to keep the shorter side of the iPhones screen the same, i.e. 640 pixels at 1.94 inches. With that in mind how much would the longer side need to increase so the that diagonal measurement was 4 inches. The answer, derived using simple algebraic rearrangement of Pythagorus's theorem, 1152 pixels and 3.49 inches. That leaves the the diagonal length measuring a little over 3.99 inches, I'm sure Apple PR could round this to 4."

I think this is in fact a great idea for everyone, except if you're a developer. This is the problem that Android developers face: device fragmentation. Basically there are so many configurations of Android phones (screen size, amount of memory, processor, etc.) that one spends more time worrying about these technicalities than focusing on making their application brilliant.

Right now there are only two sizes to design for (well, actually with Retina displays, that complicates things slightly): iPhone/iPod touch and iPad. Bringing in a widescreen iPhone would add a third size to the mix. Respect the developers, make device hardware simple so we can look forward to greater mobile apps.

The Swan Chair

David Obel Rosenkvist, Vice President of North American Sales at Fritz Hansen, on the swan chair:

"It’s Arne Jacobsen at his best; the chair is truly timeless. It has sculptural and organic lines, and at the same time it’s so simple and pure. It does not have to have a direction. The Swan is natural from all angles, and makes every room a little more beautiful."

It's truly a beautiful chair. Just wished it was more affordable.

Instagram + Facebook

Kevin Systrom, CEO of Instagram, on being acquired by Facebook:

"When Mike and I started Instagram nearly two years ago, we set out to change and improve the way the world communicates and shares. We’ve had an amazing time watching Instagram grow into a vibrant community of people from all around the globe. Today, we couldn’t be happier to announce that Instagram has agreed to be acquired by Facebook."

The question on many peoples' minds is: How can Instagram justify a $1B valuation? Well, at the end of the day, it boils down to what the market will pay for. Facebook obviously sees the explosive growth of Instagram, an alternative social network, as a threat. If Instagram rises up someday to compete with you, well, you do what you can to bring them to your side.

If it took $1B to eliminate the competition and secure its future, then it was a smart move for Facebook.