I know what you mean about focusing empathy on employees. I tend to take my relationship with co-workers too personally and that leads to problems when the other person doesn't have the same priorities. And it's even harder in a startup. There is a VAST difference between a founder and an employee. And if you expect an employee to care about the company in the same way a founder does, you are headed for trouble.

And what I'm only beginning to comprehend is that relationships are dynamic. Just because you work well with someone at the start doesn't mean that you will be good together a year down the road. The context of peoples lives change over time, you can't expect your relationship to remain static. People are hard man :-)

Great post!

Skype over wifi is fine if all you are doing is making outgoing calls. What if you want to be able to accept calls? Leave your Skype iPhone app running all the time? Pay extra to get a dedicated Skype number that forwards to your iPhone? Tell people that you want them to call you on Skype between 5-7 pm and on your mobile number between 9-5? Skype's dedicated numbers aren't reliable.

I live in the mountains and AT&T's mobile coverage is dismal. I would pay the $120 for the device no problem. But an extra $20 a month for a service that I should already be getting? "You can pay $120/month if you want the service or you can pay $140/month if you actually want the service to work"!

Hey AT&T, go to hell! As soon as we get other providers up high, I'm leaving AT&T.

Looks like as much fun as the husky beach: http://twitpic.com/8v8id

I'm not as worried about having to hide from cyborgs that look like Arnold after Skynet becomes self aware as I am about the social repercussions of globalizing technology. Sure, I'm meeting people from all over the world, but what is happening to my ability to interact on a physical level. Will I be able to talk face to face without signing emoticons in a few years?

Good morning Jon,
These designs are indeed mocks. However, the screens are actively being built. Be on the lookout!