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Topaz Labs built a $48M business by breaking every Silicon Valley rule: no VC money, no blitzscaling, just laser focus on real customer problems. My interview with CEO Eric Yang for Crazystupidtech reveals how they did it. Lot of lessons for founders here. https://crazystupidtech.com/2025/06/30/topaz-labs-ceo-interview-visual-ai/

The recent Google Pixel fracas over the role of influencers and tech ‘reviews’ is a good reminder that in this age of distributed and disaggregated information, sometimes a review is not a review.

https://om.co/2024/08/17/not-all-reviews-are-a-review/

My midweek field notes featuring everything from AI to Ozempic to Figma to the Post and some real good reads! https://om.co/2024/07/03/field-notes-07-03-2024/

Passing of WordPerfect co-creator Bruce Bastian resulted in this reflection on the evolution of word processors from personal productivity to collaboration-centric tools such as Google Docs to a new future of more personalized productivity. A short essay. https://om.co/2024/07/02/from-wordperfect-to-perfect-word-with-ai/

Serendipity is what makes San Francisco special. Technologies, new ideas, and people collide randomly in the oddest of places, at the oddest of times. I was reminded of this when walking in the park, playing with Poetry Camera. https://om.co/2024/06/26/a-poetic-ai-camera/

Sometimes my love for cricket and startups comes together!

https://om.co/2024/06/25/why-i-love-underdogs/

Some notable bits I gathered in my internet travels. Think of these as my field notes! Plus, three amazing long reads about the self-checkout disaster, why perpetual recycling of plastic is nonsense, and what went wrong at the Lambda School. Also, the joy of using Dot & Spiral.

https://om.co/2024/06/23/weekend-edition-field-notes-june-23-2024/

WWDC '24 Preview: Apple to unveil AI-powered Siri, Safari search, developer tools in iOS 18 & macOS 15. Some thoughts on Apple's Silicon Edge, and the importance of Siri especially as a brand in the invisible interface era that is upon us. https://om.co/2024/06/08/apple-ai-what-to-expect-at-wwdc-2024/

Something different today -- not about tech, but its impact. Let me elaborate if you’re wondering why this is a topic of interest. Whether it involves selling in-game upgrades, pursuing growth at all costs, or engaging in sports betting, I believe these practices are fundamentally wrong and not the right way to use technology. The proliferation of smartphones, affordable always-on connectivity, big data, & algorithms has facilitated the weaponization of sports betting. https://buff.ly/3Xc8jgp

Fable Studio is imagining a future that allows users create episodes from prompts. It got me thinking -- and reminded me of early blogging platform, and wondering if that is how we will see this be a behavior with non-textual interfaces. My new essay. https://om.co/2024/05/31/why-i-want-my-ai-tv/

Google has added AI summaries to its search results. However, it seems to behaving teething problems. It reminds me of "anus" problems it had back in 2014. Who remembers that (funny) debacle. https://om.co/2024/05/24/ai-has-an-anus-problem/

In my latest piece I breakdown how @openAI out-hustled Google and what it announced at I/O. In doing so, it showed the contrasting approaches to the AI race & Google’s challenges. https://buff.ly/4blC7LQ

Why is the new iPad Pro 13 so think? Well, it’s all thanks to the M4 Chip. And what does that all mean for MacBooks of the future? https://om.co/2024/05/13/some-thoughts-about-the-m4-chip/

"Apple is not alone. Its big tech peers Amazon and Google are finding growth much more challenging." https://om.co/2024/05/09/apple-is-primed-to-stumble/

I once spent days transcribing and editing. Now AI tools help condense that into a few hours. Digital transcription and smart editing eliminate sleepless nights, making my writing process efficient. This is the essence of augmented intelligence: Simplifying tasks, and saving time https://om.co/2024/05/01/how-ai-has-helped-my-writing-process/

Tech’s past tells us that the future doesn't unfold along a predetermined timeline. Despite the rocky starts of Humane’s AI Pin & Rabbit’s R1 device, we're heading to a promising era where invisible information interfaces become as commonplace as screens. https://om.co/2024/04/30/the-reality-optimism-of-ai-hardware/

Every single time I use @opalcamera's Composer, I become acutely aware of how far behind the camera companies are lagging in thinking about artificial intelligence, computer vision, and software to look beyond selling hardware. https://om.co/2024/04/22/sometimes-a-camera-is-not-just-a-camera/

It is not just Post.News. Many Twitter-like social platforms such as Mastodon, Blue Sky, and Threads got out of the gates fast but eventually slowed down. The question is why?And the answer is simple. https://om.co/2024/04/22/postnews-script/

Cars, flying cars, climate change, and what’s the deal with titanium — these are some long form reads that are worth your time (and attention). I read them over the weekend. https://om.co/2024/04/21/what-i-read-this-weekend/

I wrote something about @naval new thing, @getairchat
https://om.co/2024/04/15/im-airchatting/