Catching Up On Readings: Cool Houses, Green Design

They might not pop up on your block in the immediate future, but these new sun-powered homes, currently being exhibited at the Solar Decathlon Europe, are helping to shape the conversation about how we as a planet can live more sustainably. See inhabitat.com for more green design. Click on the paragraph link for the rest of this week’s posts. >>>

Envivio Plays for a Small Portion of Video Infrastructure Market

Researcher Synergy Research Group estimates that the video infrastructure market will grow 7% annually from $32 billion in 2011 to $45 billion by 2016. The most growth is projected in the content management and distribution segment, which is estimated to be worth $23 billion by 2016. San Francisco–based Envivio is one player trying to make it big in this market.

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Catching Up On Readings: The $50 Tablet

On the back of the release of Amazon’s Kindle Fire, Washington Post columnist Vivek Wadwha makes a case for a tablet free of the “bells and whistles” that have been a prominent part of higher-end devices. According Wadwha, the advent of inexpensive tablets will bring more connectivity to the next levels. Some of his points definitely merit debate – disposable devices already contribute to big environmental problems – but it’s an idea that could have a big impact. >>>

Alibaba and Baidu Driving China’s Internet Boom

The China Internet Network Information Center estimates that the number of people online in China grew 11% over the year to 538 million in July. Mobile Internet users are also on the rise. iResearch estimates that smartphone sales in China will grow 56% this year to 113 million units. Also in July, the number of mobile Internet users grew twice as fast at a pace of 22% to 388 million.

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Catching Up On Readings: A New Branch on the Family Tree?

This week, we come back from the barren surface of the moon to visit another harsh land, Siberia. In 2010, scientists discovered in a cave a fragment of finger bone that was found to be different from a theretofore unknown group of humans. A new study to be published in Science will discuss the important similarities between this group, the Denisovans, and modern humans. Click on the paragraph link for the rest of this week’s articles. >>>

Bootstrapping to $14M, Solving Serious Pain in IT Lead Generation: DiscoverOrg Cofounder Henry Schuck (Part 1)

Henry has more than 10 years of experience managing the sales and marketing activities of fast-growing IT data companies. Prior to DiscoverOrg he managed marketing and research at Global IT Profiles, LLC and led the company en-route to a successful private equity sale. At DiscoverOrg he manages sales, marketing, and strategic development for the company. He is a cum laude graduate of the University of Nevada – Las Vegas, where he received BS degrees in hotel administration and accounting. Henry also holds a JD cum laude from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and has studied comparative law at Oxford University in England. He is a licensed attorney in the State of Nevada.

Sramana: Henry, let’s start with some context about your personal story. Where do you come from? What is the back story that leads to your entrepreneurship journey?

Henry Schuck: I grew up in Los Angeles and I did my undergrad studies at UNLV, where I studied hotel administration and accounting. During the summer of my first year, I took a job at a lead generation company in Las Vegas. >>>

Catching Up On Readings: The Passing of a Legend

The death of Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, comes as sad news. This soft-spoken engineer became the symbol of a culmination of technological achievement. Read more about Armstrong in his New York Times obituary and relive that exciting day in July 1969. Click on the paragraph link for the rest of this week’s articles. >>>

Catching Up On Readings: A Touch of Silicon Valley in East London

In a lively discussion of a BBC video, Bindi Karia of Microsoft and Milo Yiannopoulos debate how and even if the UK should emulate the system created in Silicon Valley. Click on the paragraph for the rest of this week’s articles. >>>