“Compared to excellent ink-and-paper designs, most current software communicates deplorably. The main cause is that many software designers feel they are designing a machine. Their foremost concern is behavior—what the software does. They start by asking: What functions must the software perform? What commands must it accept? What parameters can be adjusted? (In the case of websites: What pages must there be? How are they linked together? What are the dynamic features?) These designers start by specifying functionality, but the essence of information software is the presentation.

Instead of dismissing ink-and-paper design as a relic of a previous century, the software designer should consider it a baseline. If information software can’t present its data at least as well as a piece of paper, how have we progressed?

“Lewis Hamilton is the youngest driver ever to lead the F1 drivers’ championship. He also holds the record of being the only driver ever to finish in the top three in all of his first six Grands Prix and the only newcomer to have led the championship.

“There is a bridge over the Buckingham Canal, between Triplicane and Mylapore in Madras. Built early in the 19th century, it was named after a then Governor: Hamilton Bridge. This name was too difficult for the common people to pronounce, who ultimately called it Ambattan Bridge. This word in Tamil denotes a barber. In course of time, this was re-translated into English and the bridge came to be called Barbers Bridge. The Government have now directed that the present name be changed to the original one of Hamilton Bridge.

“South Africans will never forget the Durban Test of 1969-70, when Richards and Graeme Pollock flayed the Australian attack to all parts of the Kingsmead ground.

“It has been pretty hard not being able to tell people what I work on.

“There are five stages of grief every spammer will go through when his content is removed.

“Friends would ask me, “What’s it like to be a famous international Internet CEO?” “I’m not a famous international Internet CEO,” I would answer. “But I play one on TV.”

I absolutely, completely, 100% sold myself to the media to promote Tripod.

Tripod was all hat and no cattle. Had we taken it public, we would most likely have failed, and everyone, including many unsuspecting individual investors, would have lost a lot of money.

The vast majority of journalists are not interested in covering what is actually happening. They are interested in covering what they think people want to think is actually happening.

“Don’t egosurf. You never find the NICE things people say that way.