Dave W. Smith

In all of the discussion I’ve read about Google’s App Engine, I’ve rarely seen anyone call attention to the logo. That’s a shame. The App Engine logo is a brilliant piece of work.

I mean, look at that thing. Strap some stubby little wings on a big ol’ turbine engine, and get ready to go somewhere. What a great visual metaphor for the promise of programming against part of the Google infrastructure. And check out those understated colors. That is a logo that gets its point across without searing your eyeballs or resorting to smoke and mirrors.

Whoever designed the App Engine logo is due some major kudos.

A startup I worked for was recently acquired. Merger paperwork has been arriving in clumps. One document that invited my signature included the wording:

“You have reviewed and understand the escrow and indemnification provisions of Article VII of the Merger Agreement (attached hereto as Exhibit 1), …”

So, being in a responsible mood, I had a go at Exhibit 1, even though I’m way out of my depth, and am such a minor shareholder that were I to heave all of the paperwork into the trash, the merger would proceed without noticing my absence.

After slogging through nine narcolepsy-inducing pages of turgid legal prose, I found this little gem in the final paragraph:

“A decision, act, consent, or instruction of the Shareholder Representative, including an amendment, extension, or waiver of this Agreement pursuant to Section Error! Reference source not found, and Section Error! Reference source not found, hereof, shall constitute a decision …”

Now that’s I bit that I do understand.

“As the old Santayana quote goes, ‘those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it,’ but in Silicon Valley, those who rely on their command of history too much often find themselves getting crushed by a 23-year-old who skipped history class in favor of a CS degree.”

— Chad Dickerson