At present, the “Google essentials” app is a no-frills list of links hidden in an HP PC’s Program Files folder that is strangely not ‘essential’ (no Search, no Chrome, no Gemini or AI, no YouTube, and none of the communications suite beyond Gmail) nor functional (it shows links to web pages, each with a one-line description of the product, for a subset of Google Workspace apps that you already know about, plus Photos, Android Quick Share & Messages, and Play Games).

These are the materials I read/listened/watched this (and previous) week(s) to get a better understanding of the climate tech ecosystem and opportunities: Volts podcast re: movie/TV’s climate change representation, new EPA power plant standards, and the energy transition’s 5 supervillains and 5 superhereos Everybody in the Pool podcast re: tracking progress toward net zero by […]

These are the materials I read/listened/watched this (and previous) week(s) to get a better understanding of the climate tech ecosystem and opportunities: Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet book (finished!) Volts podcast re: transferrable tax credits, EPA carbon reduction, and distributed energy resources […]

These are the materials I read/listened/watched this (and previous) week(s) to get a better understanding of the climate tech ecosystem and opportunities: Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet book (25% through) Electrify: An Optimist’s Playbook for Our Clean Energy Future book Speed & […]

(Mountain View) — After twelve years at Google (ranging from small business services to unifying consumer identity experiences and privacy consents to aligning the product design toolchain), Micah Laaker announced his career transition to explore climate tech through the Climate Vine fellowship cohort. “Coming from families that were focused on sustainable living on family farms […]

(Omaha, NE) — Micah Laaker was today inducted into Omaha North High Magnet School’s annual Vikings of Distinction alumni honorees. A 1993 graduate of the technology magnet school in Omaha, Laaker was one of seven to be honored as part of 2015’s event. Established in 1983 to honor past graduates who have “achieved outstanding success […]

(Kearney, NE) — As part of today’s annual meeting, the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation welcomed Micah Laaker to its Board of Trustees. The Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation, a 501(C3) not-for-profit corporation, secures funding for the Nebraska State Historical Society from individuals and organizations, across the state and beyond, who value Nebraska’s unique heritage […]

Ed. Note: This is a repost of the summary shared on the Graphicly Blog. When I joined Graphicly a little over a year ago, we had two primary audiences: customers (those of you who buy, read, and discuss comics), and publishers (those of you who create comics). Each of these are familiar with a subset […]

Several weeks back, NPR ran a story dubbed “Wal-Mart Plans Ambitious Expansion Into Medical Care,” outlining how Wal-Mart planned to open medical clinics throughout its chain of stores. The story was later updated to suggest Wal-Mart did not indeed have such machinations. However, the idea has some interesting points worth considering, especially if you replace […]

Last year, I announced Shopdeck, an email receipt-filtering app I’d demo’d with Zach Graves at iPadDevCamp. My gut told me there was something valuable in a product like this, but after several chats with possible investors, it didn’t appear I would be able to raise enough to develop the idea for a competitive run. Graphicly […]

When Google rolled out Google+ a couple weeks ago, being the fanboy that I am (according to others), I quickly set up my profile. And then, being the self-promoter that I am (according to myself), I began trying to optimize my site content for sharing within the service. Having spent time earlier this year on […]

I recently signed up for TurningArt, a ‘Netflix for fine art,’ if you will. (Basic premise: subscribe to get new artwork of your choosing via a queue every 3 months in a provided frame, and each artwork ‘rental’ earns you credits to purchase any of the pieces at a discount.) Great concept, and I was […]

(Mountain View) — After six awesome years at Yahoo!, Micah Laaker today announced his transition to lead product experience at Graphicly, a multi-platform social comics and entertainment experience working to bridge comics, characters, and conversations. Since joining Graphicly, Laaker has led the charge begin incorporating its first wave of social features in the product’s Web […]

Last year I was contacted by Ivan Szekely of the OSA Archivum (Open Society Archives at Central European University) about translating into Hungarian the ACLU Pizza Surveillance short film I designed several years ago. Their effort was to “present privacy and informational self-determination as a value in the information society.” After linking him up with […]

For anyone who hasn’t had the pleasure to rock either of ngmoco:)’s great iPhone/iPad game titles, We Rule and We Farm, this post will make little sense. If, however, you are a fan of the “Farmville in medieval times” and the “Farmville in, well, Farmville times” game titles that are all the rage with the […]