Rex St. John

Architecting For The Future Edge (Why Kubernetes Changes Everything)

By rexstjohn | March 17, 2021 by rexstjohn

All opinions shared here are my own and not those of my employer. Recently I have received and been testing the new Jetson Mate from Seeed Studio. Having been immersed in Edge Computing for the last decade, I get a first-hand view of trends from the field. Frequently, the observations of market changes represent fundamental shifts which have great impact across the industry. Based on my experimentation with the Jetson Mate, I am pretty excited…

Cryptocurrencies

Redesigning Startup Incentives With Cryptocurrencies

By rexstjohn | March 15, 2021March 15, 2021 by rexstjohn

The current state of startup incentives is not looking good and must be replaced with something significantly better. I am going to make some proposals or suggest some ideas about what that “Better Thing” might be in this article. Problems With Stock Options Competing With Giants Startups, which often focus on attempting to disrupt major competitors through speed, talent and execution, need to attract and unleash top talent. However, with the growth of the FAANG…

Cryptocurrencies

The everything disruption

By rexstjohn | March 13, 2021March 13, 2021 by rexstjohn

I wanted to take a moment to write about the disruption which is coming to the world of stocks and stock options. Let’s stop pretending stock options have value anymore If you think about it, the way the tech industry builds companies is broken and everyone knows it. There is an incredibly long and complicated ramp from startup to IPO which involves many convoluted stages of dilution and funding which frequently leave founders and employees…

Alt-Coins

Good Coin, Bad Coin

By rexstjohn | March 6, 2021March 6, 2021 by rexstjohn

I have been developing a set of filters to help me explore the emerging Alt-Coin world for investing purposes. I will share my filters in this article. There are so many questionable coins and tokens out there, you have to get incredibly specific because it is very easy to get lost and confused. I see a lot of people referring to “fundamentals” without much clear thinking involved. Without further ado, here is how to spot…

Off Topic

Connecting Africa To The Internet

By rexstjohn | February 21, 2021 by rexstjohn

I think the fastest way to connect Africa to the internet is to use a decentralized Satellite internet sharing system which incentivizes operators with cryptocurrencies. E.g., if you set up a StarLink station or share internet via your own hardware and connectivity, you get paid based on who uses your networks. I can see a combination using HiveCell and Helium plus StarLink or other satellite internet provider. I’m going to give this a shot. Really…

My Work Open Source

Some objectives

By rexstjohn | February 21, 2021 by rexstjohn

Some objectives, no particular order: Become a leading expert in Cloud-Native and Edge-Native Technologies and Ecosystems Learn how to build and design micro-datacenters, MECs, Clusters Produce reference designs for all of the above Create a reference design for a decentralized internet based on cryptocurrency sharing, similar to Helium, to wire up regions of Africa not connected to the internet Become a leading expert in Edge Co-Location networks, hardware design Fix cluster experience, not quite sure…

My Work Off Topic Open Source

Bets and Pay-Offs

By rexstjohn | February 16, 2021 by rexstjohn

Bet #1: The Convergence of Cloud-Native, Open-Source, Edge Computing, Edge-Native, Edge AI Will Be Explosive I am making a significant career investment in the idea that there will be a convergence of multiple markets in the area of Cloud-Native software migrating to the edge. In particular, edge co-locations and Open-Source software. I am focusing all of my available time and energy on gaining advanced expertise in this area, as measured by the production of high…

Off Topic

The “Bull Case” for Doge

By rexstjohn | February 16, 2021 by rexstjohn

Here is the “Bull” case for Doge: Doge has a strong brand and Elon Musk gravitates towards good brands Elon Musk’s target audience in all his activities are “technical” males, Doge appeals to them Doge is an established Cryptocurrency with an established Brand Doge can be fully “bought out” well within Elon Musks’ financial capabilities Elon Musk might try to “Corner” Doge by buying most of it Elon Musk could instantly “skyrocket” the price of…

Off Topic

First Principals

By rexstjohn | February 16, 2021February 16, 2021 by rexstjohn

First Principles – “Done” There is no such thing as “Done,” it is a non-concept The ideal project generates high interest, attention, inbound connections, learning and is never “Done.” The ideal project continues to generate value at all times, none of the value comes from being “Done” When a project is “Done,” it no longer generates value, therefore, being finished is never a goal. First Principles – Corporations & Organizations Profit is waste because it…

Blog Community Market Insight

Cliff Schmidt and the Amplio Talking Book

By rexstjohn | August 5, 2020 by rexstjohn

My talk with Executive Director of Amplio, Cliff Schmidt (https://www.linkedin.com/in/cliffschmidt/). Amplio are a local non-profit who are using hardware to help spread education to the emerging world. Cliff joined us to talk about the Amplio Talking Book and how he and his team are using electronic devices to change the world.