SVA Blog

Preparing for the Valley

2007-05-12T01:20:00.000-07:00

Here we are, a few of us are already on their way via London, some will soon leave via Munich, while others are trying to take the longest possible flight that will make them spend at least 20h on an airplane (you know who you are :).

Looking forward to this trip as its going to be interesting and fun.

See you all in the Valley, as for the rest, keep up with us via the blog.

Infinite Loop by Jacques Gauchey

2006-05-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

The Infinite Loop goes around and around Apple Computer monastic world headquarters. A metaphor for the Cupertino's company flowing creativity? Actually, Apple is the contemporary interpretation of the myth of Sisyphus with Steve Jobs, CEO, herald and soul of the company, pushing a giant apple up the hill, only to see it rolling down on the other side, for ever. Apple's destiny is to constantly innovate, day after day, or disappear. An effort as vain as the human condition would say Albert Camus, but what an exciting digression, would answer Steve Jobs. Since 2001, 52 millions iPods, an easy-to-use universal product for all age-groups, have been shipped, Apple tells us. Not a bad way to spend a life.

Visit Google by Jacques Gauchey

2006-05-11T06:59:00.000-07:00

If Silicon Valley is Alice in Wonderland, Google is the White Rabbit. A googol is the digit 1 followed by one hundred zeros. It is also a game of chance. Both fit the Google story, a very rich and very swift company. A visit to Google is to follow the White Rabbit into a world of twenty-something, straight from Stanford University to create the internet new spaces: Google Earth, Froogle, Google Calendar, Google News or Picasa. They move around the campus on Segways, relax on a baby grand piano or retreat with their laptop inside yurts. Larry Page and Sergey Brin had no idea about Google's future when they launched their search engine in 1998. They survived and innovated. Today, Google's mission is to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible." One should add: "and link it to universal advertising." Therefore the billions.

Apple Shareholders Meeting

2006-04-29T06:58:00.000-07:00

April 27, 2006 - The first time I visited a shareholders meeting

-Apple Computer Inc. held a meeting for all company shareholders at its Cupertino, Calif. campus at their Town Hall on their famous Infinite Loop. Before entering the meeting there was heavy security, it was a bit like boarding a plane: Metal detectors, bag inspection, no laptops no mobile phones no pda's. A round of applause started the meeting as Steve Jobs walked on stage in his usual attire of blue jeans and turtle neck black shirt. The formal part of the meeting was much shorter than I has expected. It was almost like a regular AGM: There was a quorum, I was surprised to see that 80% of the shares were represented at the meeting. The election of the board of directors of which a few where present and other proposals were accepted with the exception of a proposal from an environmental group. The proxy voting results indicated that all would pass, despite the Board's recommendation against the passage of the fifth proposal.

Now the interesting part of the meeting began with a the question and answer session shareholders began lining up at two microphones placed in the aisles of the auditorium.

- A shareholder asked whether the sale of Pixar animation studio to Disney would mean that Jobs would now become the next Michael Eisner? No on the contrary he said, he will spend more time in Cupertino than in Tinseltown!

- A specific question about the Apple recycling program was asked and it was announced that Apple would start in June recycling computers with the purchase of a new Mac.

- A shareholder manager of KCSM a Jazz radio station in the Bay Area wondered why it is not listed on iTunes, Jobs replied that after the meeting he would direct him to the right person to get that fixed.

The meeting continued on similar notes all in a very relaxed atmosphere. We are not waiting impatiently for new products which are in the pipeline and as Jobs said "the best I've seen in my life"

Anticipation

2006-04-28T06:57:00.000-07:00

Hello SVA travellers,
Looking forward to seeing all of you. That should happen in Heathrow, as I'll be coming from Amsterdam and joining the group there. If you haven't been fed on the Geneva/London flight, let's find a good place for lunch and relaxing, with a view :-)

Genc, thanks for setting up the blog!

kit blake

flying to San Francisco

2006-04-26T06:55:00.000-07:00

Flying to San Francisco
I am on my way to California. It is 1 p.m. local time and less than 4 hours to go when I am writing this. Let me tell you how everything went since yesterday. I decided to pack my bags early and check-in the night before. I went to Geneva airport around 6 p.m. yesterday. There were no other passengers at the check-in and I got my boarding passes in no time. All I needed was my passport. The woman at the counter told me that it is always very quiet at the BA counter between 6 until 8:30 p.m. when they close. I was told to be at the gate half an hour before departure. So I did this morning. As I live near the airport, I left home only one hour before the scheduled departure at 10:10 am. Everything went fine, we boarded on time, however the plane did not move for almost 1/2 hour because of congestion in London. The flight was very fast and if we were not put into a holding pattern somewhere near London, we would have made it almost on time. When we finally touched down it was 11:30 a.m. London time. The transfer to Terminal 1 was quick, but getting through security over there took more than 1/2 hour. But of course I had plenty of time. If for any reason you have a tight connection then insist to go in the fast lane which bypasses the long lines. The flight to San Francisco , a 747-400 is full to last seat and took off a bit late, however it is catching up thanks to nice tailwind with a ground speed of nearly 950 km/hr. Arrival is estimated at 4:30 p.m. in San Francisco. The plane took a very "cold" route above Iceland and crossing the northern part of Greenland, very beautiful. We are now approaching Calgary and it is time to fill out the landing cards. Bon Voyage when it is your turn!

1906 Earthquake

2006-04-13T06:53:00.000-07:00

This year marks the centennial of the Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. It is almost 100 years ago that one of the most significant earthquakes of all times struck the San Francisco Bay Area. It was estimated at 8.25 on the Richer scale. It all happened at 5:12 in the morning of April 18, 1906. It lasted only one minute, the quake was felled from Oregon in the north to Los Angeles in the south. However most of the city of San Francisco was destroyed by the fire which engulfed the city afterwards, mainly from gas leaks. Stanford University which opened in 1891 was so badly damaged that it closed until the fall of 1906. During our 2006 Silicon Valley Tour we will have the opportunity to visit the Centennial Exhibition at the Stanford Archives.

15th anniversary of the Swiss Silicon Valley Association

2006-03-31T06:52:00.000-08:00

The Silicon Valley Association (SVA) was established in Geneva in 1991 as a nonprofit organization with a mission to promote academic and technical exchanges in the information technology field through study tours. SVA has since organized more than 16 scientific and technical study tours to Silicon Valley and other regions with the collaboration of the University of Lausanne, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, Webster University in Geneva and Stanford University. These study tours have attracted more than 200 participants from major Swiss universities as well as from the business and international communities.
Our first Silicon Valley Tour was in May 1992. To mark our 15 years, we are organizing a very special tour from 29 April through 7 May, reserved for those who have participated in one of the previous tours to Silicon Valley. The theme is "Still Crazy After All These Years? There are signs that after several bleak years, the technology boom is back. Just watch the performance of Google, Yahoo, Ebay and Apple.
During this tour we will revisit many of the familiar places and companies, -if they still exist- and visit the new ones. We will also team up with many of the people we have met over the years, and learn about the new directions of technology. Our anniversary celebration on May 4 will be a jazz party in Palo Alto organized jointly with the Palo Alto Jazz Association (PAJA) with musicians from Silicon Valley and Geneva!