This is the second of what now appear to be three columns about how we as a people allow ourselves to be victimized, whether by unscrupulous computer hackers or unscrupulous computer bankers. This part is about the bankers — the guys whose bonuses were too big to be discontinued. Part three will present a possible solution to this specific systems problem…
A year ago I wrote a sad little column about my friend Ralph and his difficulty getting his mortgage adjusted. Ralph had lost his tech job, there was this federal program to help people in his position lower their mortgage payments, but for some reason it just wasn’t working. […]
Note — This is the first of 
I was about to board an airplane Wednesday when Apple announced the resignation of Steve Jobs as CEO and his replacement by Tim Cook. With a couple hours to think on my flight to Charleston it became clear to me that this story is far from over and the long-term leadership of Apple has not yet been determined.
Hewlett Packard was different from other Silicon Valley companies and always a leader. By the time I met Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard in the late 1970s they were nearing retirement but still active and I knew them, working occasionally for both men and for their respective foundations. Hewlett was the good cop and Packard was the bad cop, but both men had figured out through a steady process of evolution over four decades how to build and run a fantastic company. Those days are over. Though confirmed by this week’s HP decisions to change direction and ditch the PC business, let’s understand something: the HP I knew died many years ago.
A reader came to me this week with a problem. He was being sued in federal court by a company claiming he had defamed them online. That will be $75,000, please. I’m not getting into who the reader is, which company is suing, even what jurisdiction, because none of that matters here. But the case is real and I feel for the reader. So let’s come up with a way to make sure this doesn’t have to happen again.
