iPhone Apps Class at Stanford

Last year, Stanford offered a Facebook Application Class literally the Fall after the Facebook F8 platform launched. The class did really well and produced some high traffic applications. This morning I learned (thanks to Brad Feld) that Stanford offered an iPhone Application Development Class for Fall 08 (the iPhone platform only launched in Summer 08) and they’ve been kind enough to put up the full course materials online. It’s nice to see a University on the cutting edge of web technology and I hope the students there appreciate the opportunities that they get to learn this kind of material for credit. It’s also awesome that Stanford is sharing the knowledge with the public and open-sourcing all of the course materials. I’m usually a skeptic on mobile, but I think Apple has nailed the user experience for mobile with the iPhone and they’ve made a believer out of me.

Quote of the Day

My always colorful accounting professor today:

Well shit, if I had sold all my stocks, gone into all cash last year, and bought a bunch of Bentleys with my retirement fund, I’d still have more cash left over than the value of my portfolio after last week.

On the Other End of a Pitch

The other week I got the opportunity to be a student judge for applicants pitching for acceptance into Wharton’s Venture Initiation Program. The program is an educational oasis for entrepreneurs at the University of Pennsylvania. It seeks to provide students with the resources and network to support them in their early stage entrepreneurial endeavors by providing things like office space, advising, small grants, and a network of support. If you’re a student at Penn with a business that you are passionate about building, I highly recommend reading up on Wharton VIP. (Full disclosure: my company, Sport Interactiva, is an alumni of the program. The program and the staff were incredibly important for our success.)