"Eventually, a reversal towards smaller farms and less production of corn, soybeans and cotton may even result. Also, for a few years, U.S. input costs may escalate while other regions (not yet seeing superweeds) continue to use lower priced Roundup, making the cost of production lower in South America, for example. Consequent rising input costs here in the U.S. will include potentially higher new GMO seeds, chemicals, labor, and fuel. The volume of chemical use will potentially become much greater, more toxic, and more expensive."

"Just as the auto-industry is fragmenting as it becomes clear the majors can’t satisfy niche demand propelled by personalization, the mobile phone industry knows that the success of Apple’s iPhone is a sign that customization and personalization are now more important than engineering excellence. No manager, executive or designer is unaware of it – though we’ve seen a succession of ultra-high functionality phones launched recently, with a phone-based Sony playstation device to come."

"Maybe depressed isn’t quite the right word. “Cognizant of absurdity” captures it better (I’m sure the Germans have a good word for this). What I’m seeing on the Javitz Center floor plan is an effort by publishers to remove themselves once and for all from the people they perceive to be their customers–librarians and booksellers. And the people who actually buy the products…you know, actual readers? Of course, they continue to be completely shut out. Not invited to the party."

"…But there is one compensating advantage for the people who escape the old system: when the ecosystem stops rewarding complexity, it is the people who figure out how to work simply in the present, rather than the people who mastered the complexities of the past, who get to say what happens in the future."

"Joel has decided to chase venture capital for StackOverflow, but I can’t exactly figure out why. He lists six benefits that just don’t compute under even light scrutiny"

"What does this mean to you?

If you currently receive Time Inc. or Forbes periodical content electronically from Gale or any provider other than EBSCO, you and your patrons will lose access to that content over the next year. While there will remain alternative, high-quality titles in all information providers' products, there will be an impact on users, especially those who access content through long-term statewide subscriptions."

"I can understand why a retailer would want to use my copyright as bait to lock in readers—but exactly how is this good for me? This is why I'm not selling digital downloads of the professional readings of With a Little Help. With so much friction and goofiness in the marketplace, I'd rather give the MP3s away under a Creative Commons license and solicit donations through PayPal. My listeners don't want DRM. They want to get their books with a minimum of hassle. But, for the record, I'd put my books in Audible and the iTunes Store in a hot second if only they'd sell them on the same terms that I'd be willing to buy them: no DRM and no license agreement except “don't violate copyright law.”"

"You, Randall Stephenson, and your lazy stupid company — you are the problem. You are what’s wrong with this country."

"The reason the internet is such a home to wow business models is that it's easier to create a network here than any other time in history."

"Call to Action: We therefore urge every U.S. law school to commit to ending print publication of its journals and to making definitive versions of journals and other scholarship produced at the school immediately available upon publication in stable, open, digital formats, rather than in print."