Google's Strong Competitor of Apple's iTV

(7/24/2013) Before Apple's iTV makes a strong hold in the video streaming market for it's TV dream, Google launches a very attractive solution for the consumers: Chromecase. It is a $35 device which can be connected to almost any device: "Android tablets and smartphones, iPads, iPhones, Macs, PCs and the Chromebook Pixel," which is much better than the picky iTV that only works on Apple's product. I love open platform.

(7/25/2013) It looks like many consumers are willing to risk $35 for a new solution. All Chromecast pre-order are gone. Netflix was enforced to terminate a promotion deal related to Chromecast because many people want that Netflix deal.

Pick Your Top Two Priorities

(7/23/2013) I love this sign very much. It fits into the basics of operations management very well.

Roommate Match-making App

(7/22/2013) When I was in graduate school, I don't like to live with roommate. I prefer to live on my own because I don't like to be bothered by others. So I definitely think a roommate match-making app makes a lot of sense. It is like dating app.

Independent Bakery Cafe Struggled

(7/18/2013) Not like retailers, independent bakeries and cafe face less competitions from larger chain competitors. But as we see more chain restaurants taking over the dine-out market, small independent bakeries and cafe see more big players entered their local markets. The larger players not only enjoy economy of scale in purchasing, warehousing and operations, they also have another advantage: certain level of trustworthy in their product and service quality.

I really prefer to support small coffee shop if I can always find good strong flavor coffee. However, I become a Starbucks loyal customer because I don't like to risk my day with huge variety of coffee from all restaurant or coffee shops. Sorry, small bakeries.

MOOC Still Falls Short

(7/10/2013) There is a good analysis about why no student at Colorado State University would take an online course by just $89 to get credits which normally cost more than $1000.

I think for those who have not attended college, they may not be technologically ready for MOOC. Plus, they receive no assistance from the institution regarding how to complete a series of course to be equally trained in one subject as those students attending real classes. At this moment, MOOC is still a platform of various independent free online courses. No wonder this news says most who took MOOC courses already have college degrees. They have been through, they know what they have missed and MOOC fills that gap.

Joys from Mindfulness Meditation

(7/9/2013) This article introduces five joys that you may find in the peaceful mind after dedicated meditation practices: 平靜(Calm),感激(Gratitude),內心清澈(Clarity),順其自然(Spontaneity),與 關懷在乎(Care).

Overview Effect – Samadhi

This is a short documentary about the life-changing effect that astronauts experienced when they conducted their space missions. They are the modern pioneers to see the earth from space: a green-blue jewelry with a thin layer of atmosphere hanging in the vast space. They call it the overview effect: seeing the earth from a perspective that people living on earth cannot fathom.

They bring their experiences, pictures and videos back to the earth and share with other people. There is an important message from their overview experience: we are not separate human beings and everything in the Universe is connected. When we watch some science or nature channels and see the earth from the space or the familiar landscape from high above (a new perspective from where we are), the audience receives a second-hand overview effect. It might be indirect, but to a person who has never seen a view like that, it is still very awe-inspiring and thrilling. This may explain why people like to watch documentaries that show us the earth, moon, sun from different perspective because they inspire us.

Though these pictures and videos might be new to modern people, the overview effect is not a totally new concept. As described by an astronaut in this documentary (at 11:00), Asian philosophy calls it Samadhi. “… you see things as you see them with your eyes, but you experience them emotionally and viscerally as with ecstasy, and a sense of total unity and oneness.” Many people experience this oneness feeling in their meditation, yoga practices and the altered state through drugs, near death experience (NDE) or religious rituals.

As Apollo 14's Edgar Mitchell put it another way: "We went to the moon as technicians; we returned as humanitarians." – from NBCnews.