Disqus - Latest Comments for louisberlan

Re: The best is the last — Benedict Evans

Louis Berlan — Thu, 21 Apr 2016 04:09:42 -0000

Great analogies!
I'd also argue that cars - at least those with internal combustion engines - are in the same place: optimized to the nth degree, with marginal gains being chased by manufacturers heavily invested in a technological status quo.

Re: Fred Wilson Dot VC

Louis Berlan — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 10:44:46 -0000

Apparently you were sat next to Maple Leaf Phil Kessel - you're now on Puck Daddy: http://sports.yahoo.com/blo...

Re: What kind of camera should I buy?

Louis Berlan — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 09:43:35 -0000

Nope - it has an 18-200 lens on it, which means it only comes out for travelling/big occasions. The iPhone does everything else.

I really don't like shooting off the LCD (except iPhone), which is why I'm leaning more X100S.

I remember you did a great post on your editing process a while back. Would love to read an update of that (feat. Picturelife?) and your current rotation.

Re: What kind of camera should I buy?

Louis Berlan — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 09:25:16 -0000

Great post, thanks! I have an iPhone 5 + Canon DSLR setup, which covers pretty much all of my needs.

And yet I can't seem to shake the itch for a X100S, even though it makes no rational sense...

Re: AR Drone - The Maiden Voyage

Louis Berlan — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 08:28:43 -0000

I bought one about a year ago, and I agree with your points.
It's a much better experience outside (especially when you take away the foam protection).
The app is not intuitive enough, but the main problem I have was input precision. I'm wondering to what extent that's not due to a touchscreen interface - i.e. can you be as precise as a traditional RC plane/car without physical controls?
The cameras are very cool as well.

Re: Bijan Sabet - Yesterday my friend Ric took me for a ride in his...

Louis Berlan — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:37:27 -0000

Sweet plane, and awesome photos!

Re: Ryan Graves — after being on my ass with a broken ankle for a...

Louis Berlan — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 05:45:49 -0000

Love the pics - are you editing them at all, or are these raw?

Re: Bijan Sabet • My addiction with film continues. My dream camera...

Louis Berlan — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 15:37:06 -0000

I look forward to hearing more about this - there's an M3 in the family that I desperately want to get my hands on. I've always shot DSLR, so the learning curve will be very steep...

Re: Software, Sync and the Cloud

Louis Berlan — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:03:07 -0000

I was just thinking about this the other day.

Even when there is a solution (thinking Pocket Planes syncing to iCloud, for example), it is very hit and miss.

Reminds me of the "versioning" issues with multiple people working on documents.

Re: Bijan Sabet • Took some photos in and around our office in soho...

Louis Berlan — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 12:01:17 -0000

These are great, especially the cobblestones - are they straight off the Leica or did they go through VSCO?

Re: A Tale Of Two Cities

Louis Berlan — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 08:12:43 -0000

Great data - very interesting stuff.

Couldn't it also be that there's a more mature/bigger VC industry in the Valley, pumping more money into deals? Obviously a weakness of this interpretation is that to a Valley VC, investing in SF or Palo Alto is probably the same thing, but it would be interesting to figure out.

Re: Looking for suggestions - family ski trip out west

Louis Berlan — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 08:40:53 -0000

If you're willing to go a bit further out than Colorado or Utah, I'd suggest Whistler. I feel like it's still the best there is in North America, the town is great, the mountains are amazing with enough terrain for everybody to enjoy.

Also, it's a pretty easy all around package (not far from Vancouver Airport). Going to Canada, you also feel like it's more of a vacation than staying in the US.

I grew up skiing in California but when we switched to Whistler we never went back to Tahoe, apart from day trips.

Re: Six Slides

Louis Berlan — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 07:17:56 -0000

I agree, that'd be awesome!

Re: Fitbit

Louis Berlan — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:29:33 -0000

Am seriously thinking about getting one as well - I look forward to hearing how it "ages" and works on a daily basis.

Re: Gold vs Real Assets

Louis Berlan — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 10:03:03 -0000

I agree, it's a fascinating idea.

I half expect to see funds of Detroit real estate to invest in.

Re: Gold vs Real Assets

Louis Berlan — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 09:45:10 -0000

I agree with you regarding gold.

However, it is difficult to find a non-financial, non-cash asset that comes in "small denominations". If you don't want to invest at least $200k, land/real estate is impossible, whereas you can buy an ounce of gold.

Re: The Market Plunge

Louis Berlan — Fri, 07 May 2010 10:37:05 -0000

I totally agree with your sentiment, and really liked the post.

The wording of that sentence just reminded me of those ads, that's all. Tongue firmly in cheek.

Re: The Market Plunge

Louis Berlan — Fri, 07 May 2010 07:07:38 -0000

"I'm no expert in the stock market but I read a bunch of experts blogs."

That sounds like the "but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night" ads :)

Re: Ten Ways To Be Your Own Boss

Louis Berlan — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:32:19 -0000

I love the slides, but I hope we get a video feed - obviously there are going to be some pretty great stories behind them!

Re: Internet Freedom

Louis Berlan — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 06:44:34 -0000

I look forward to seeing how you guys do this.
I think the articulation between "inside" and "outside" the firm will be very interesting, but also a very blurry line.
Especially when, as individuals, you are so associated with the firm: it's difficult not to read anything here or on Albert's blog, and not believe that it - at least in part - reflects the firm's thinking.

Keep us posted on how you guys go about this, especially since we know how much you dislike lobbying and industry groups.

Re: The Cashless Exercise

Louis Berlan — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:57:16 -0000

Thanks for the insight into other markets!

Re: The Cashless Exercise

Louis Berlan — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:19:55 -0000

There are great money management/tracking front-ends, that operate on a lead generation model - I agree with you on that point.

However, to date, I haven't seen one that has the automatic account information pull features that Mint has (Yodlee technology, built on industry standards - European banks aren't there yet). That's what makes me use Mint for my US accounts, and the individual bank sites for my French accounts. I don't want to have to manually copy and/or export Excel files. And I think it was one of the key selling points for many consumers.

Obviously I could be wrong about the lack of pull technology, and I'd love to hear about any of them if they exist.

Re: The Cashless Exercise

Louis Berlan — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:16:25 -0000

Is there a French/European equivalent to Yodlee? If so, I'd love to know about it...

Re: The Cashless Exercise

Louis Berlan — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:02:48 -0000

Most small, non chain, shops in France won't take credit cards under 15€, and cabs don't.

One of the reasons I hate cash, is I like to track things. I hate looking at a bank statement and seeing "ATM, €60. Hmm, where did that go."

Which reminds me that we still don't have a real Mint like in Europe (nobody can automatically pull bank records).

Re: Rolling Up Your Sleeves and Getting Your Hands Dirty

Louis Berlan — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:29:10 -0000

Great advice.

To what extent do you still do this? Obviously I bet you don't really clear 2-3 days anymore...

Does most of it now come from totally embracing the products and services the companies provide?