A Tale from the Skunkworks Department - Skunkwork projects are a long-standing tradition in Silicon Valley. Many engineers work on personal projects in the hopes that they will one day be turned into products, even if they've never been sanctioned or officially have been canceled. But this story is different in a couple of ways. First of all, remember that Seinfeld episode where Kramer decides to work for a company without actually getting hired? Well back in 1993 at Apple Computer, a programmer named Ron Avitzur pulled a similar stunt. Can you imagine that he and a colleague snuck into Apple every day for months to work on a project without authorization or pay just because they believed in it so strongly? Except unlike Kramer who did no real work and ended up getting fired, Mr. Avitzur and his colleague were much more successful. In fact the product they helped developed is still being shipped today, over a decade later!

The Googlization of Libraries - You've probably heard by now that Google is in the process of digitizing vast numbers of books from Stanford, Oxford, Harvard, the University of Michigan and the New York Public Library. But don't throw that library card away anytime soon. Why? Well the first hurdle to overcome is the fact that it's going to take years to scan all those books and secondly, the books that are being scanned are mainly...well...old. Mostly 1923 and before. Why? Copyright issues. Just because there is a way technologically to make vast stores of information available to everyone doesn't mean that one can do it without consideration of its legality...which of course takes time and money.

Anthropology and Technology - Every year, the people of the Trobriand Islands in the Solomon Sea off Papua New Guinea exchange ornamental seashell armbands and necklaces. It is a social ritual that binds their circle of fishing communities to each other. Now, reports Will Knight of the New Scientist, Vodaphone is using a similar concept to help the bottom line. So, how on earth do they expect to increase profits by observing rituals in the South Pacific? Well according to Knight, the idea is that "you send an [a] picture-and-text message to Vodafone, who will print it as a postcard and mail it to whomever you want. Like the islanders' gifts, Vodafone's postcards are permanent—unlike text messages. The idea is that the recipient will then want to send a postcard of their own, perhaps to a third party, and so draw more subscribers into the network. The hope is that exchanging more valuable artifacts, such as music or video files, would come next.

Hey, I Think I'm being Followed! - RFID stands for "radio frequency identification." This technology was just about unknown ten years ago. It's a device about the size of a pencil tip and is beginning to infiltrate every corner and pocket of American life. "Great," you say, "soon Big Brother will be able to track my every move!" Well maybe so, but there may be a significant upside as well. Just one of the potential benefits is how gasoline may be priced. For instance, California is considering using RFIDs so that commuters are taxed on the number of miles they drive instead of adding the tax to the price of fuel as it is now. So, the consumer who drives modest distances could be in for some big savings.

The Red Pill of Software Success - (Paraphrasing Morpheus from The Matrix): Let us tell you why you'll attend the next Taste of Success session at Menlo. You'll attend because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire career: there's something wrong with the world of software development. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that will bring you to us. Do you know what we're talking about? We're trying to free your mind, Neo. But we can only show you the door. You're the one that has to walk through it. See you on January 20!

Revolution Brought to you by BitTorrent - Clive Thompson of Wired magazine looks at the huge changes coming to the video industry due to a new technology called BitTorrent. Movie studios hate it. File-swappers love it. Bram Cohen's blazing-fast P2P software has turned the Internet into a universal TiVo. Soon everyone will have free video-on-demand.

The Need to Identify Tsunamis - It may be possible in the the coming years to avoid another terrible disaster like the one caused by the massive tsunami in Asia on December 26. But choosing the right technology will be crucial. In this case, the earthquake that caused it was detected in the United States several precious moments before the waves hit land. But in addition to knowing whom to warn, it's critical to be able to determine the likelihood and nature of the tsunami. For instance, not all earthquakes generate tsunamis. Some tsunamis may appear as a tide that doesn't stop rising, while others are turbulent and savagely chew up the coast. It's crucial that the proper tidal gauges are installed so that information can be feed to a warning system. Such a warning system could analyze earthquake information from several seismic networks, including the U.S. Geological Service. This information could then be fed into a computer to model a "picture" of how and where a tsunami might form. Thus saving many lives.

What are you waiting for?

Morpheus I see it in your eyes. You have the look of a person who accepts what he sees because he is expecting to wake up. Ironically, that's not far from the truth. Do you believe in fate, Neo?
Neo: No.
Morpheus: Why not?
Neo: Because I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life.

Take control and consider joining our Menlo Software Factory team. Our growth has created a need for additional software developers, high-tech anthropologists, and project managers to work on customer projects in the Menlo Software Factory. In order to meet our needs, we are planning an Extreme Interviewing event on Wednesday, January 26^th at 6pm. Those interested in receiving an invitation to this event, should provide information to us at ExtremeInterviewing@menloinnovations.com.

Open Source Reality Check- Christopher Koch, CIO's Executive Editor, discusses the issues and misconceptions around open source software. For instance, he says, "The worst myth about open source licenses is that if you modify the software in any way, you will somehow be required to show those changes to the entire world. Critics point to the GPL ( General Public License ) as proof. But the GPL, one of the most restrictive open source licenses, is not restrictive at all if you are a company that does not sell or distribute software." You really need to do your homework to see if open source software may be right for your company and you just might be pleasantly surprised at what it has to offer.

See How Far the Rabbit Hole Goes: Neo, sooner or later you're going to realize just as I did that there's a difference between knowing the path of great software development and walking that path. What are you trying to tell me? That I can dodge bullets? No Neo. I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't have to. Get ready by taking one of Menlo's classes. The new class schedule awaits.

"I know why you're here, Neo. - I know what you've been doing... why you hardly sleep, why you live alone, and why night after night, you sit by your computer (reading the Menlo Briefs). You're looking for a public speaker with words of wisdom about great software development. I know because I was once looking for the same thing. And when he found me, he told me I wasn't really looking for him. I was looking for an answer. It's the question, Neo. It's the question that drives us. It's the question that brought you here. You know the question, just as I did." Neo: "What is great software development?" Trinity: "The answer is out there, Neo, and it's looking for you, and it will find you if you want it to." Look here for a list of some of the topics that we've spoken about in the past.