Silicon Valley, meet Silicon Wadi

Something akin to the joy of petting a fluffy kitten or getting to the top of the iPhone waitlist came over me this week. The piece on ties between Silicon Valley and Israel -- nicknamed "Silicon Wadi" after the Arabic word for desert valley -- finally ran. Whoop-dee-doo! Check it out. Israel has more venture capital per capita than the U.S. (but not the Valley, of course) and an entire generation of whip-smart technologists emerging from the army. Dealing with threats and tactical challenges spurs innovation, Israelis say. (So, uh, does that mean the nation should thank Iran et. al.? Just kidding.)

Also, does anyone know what to make of Rackspace's not-particularly stellar IPO? The Times suggests it could be a question of Dutch auction vs. to-market sales tactics. The article declined to blame Sarbanes-Oxley. Some folks at AlwaysOn's and STVP's Summit at Stanford two weeks ago were also calling for an end to SOX-rage.

Speaking of SOX --yes, this is a free-form post; forgive me, just hopped off a red-eye this a.m. -- check out "24 Days" the tale of Wall Street Journal reporters whose coverage brought down Enron. It's a great read.

Now, off to get a real New York bagel!

iScream, uScream, we-all-Scream for iPhone

What really struck me about the line outside Palo Alto’s Apple store on University Avenue today wasn’t how long it was. It wasn’t, in fact, long – only a handful of people waited to become proud owners of the new iPhone 3G.



Rather, the surprise came from how everyone expected the line to be long – and saw potential in the predicted media attention.



Anticipating that fans stretching around the block as in times past would cause reporters and cameras to circle like flies, businesses used the Apple iPhone release as free advertising.



The few people waiting – including a die-hard Mac user since 1984 and two teens who’d earlier been “banned for life” from Apple for downloading third-party apps onto an in-store phone – reaped the benefits.



According to the teens, Danny Fukuba and Eric Vicenti, a truck pulled up and plied them with Smartwater, the designer H2O. Product-design firm MindTribe handed out free t-shirts.
Design firm Speck – like MindTribe, based nearby in downtown Palo Alto – gave out a bright blue iPhone case, a color they said was limited to only 300 worldwide, according to a third teen in line.



Well, those companies were right. The Weekly did send me out and I did interview line-sitters, few though they were. And here their products are, getting air time on my blog – and on our video.



Check out the video for a look at what happens when someone tries to come between an Apple-enthusiast and his iPhone.