| | | Posted by Michael on 07/23/07. | |
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| Richard Hackathorn from the fames of the Serious Second Life Meetup is going to be an instructor at the event.
If you have been sitting on the sidelines, you might want to check it out.
From the site:
You've developed some Second Life content creation skills and are ready to test your metal in the metaverse marketplace. How do you begin?
This class will teach you the basics of starting and running a business in Second Life. What's already out there? How do you find your niche? How do you attract potential customers? How, exactly, do you sell stuff in Second Life anyway?
Learn all this and more as Feniks Stone shows you how to get started on the path to Second Life Business success. |
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| | | Posted by Michael on 07/22/07. | |
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| Broadband is definitely here. Now, what kind of fun applications can we build around it?
Audio and video are being done. Tons of great services already exist in the media space. But what other kinds of applications will 1.3MB/sec bandwidth allow? Second Life is a great start, and maybe the full 3D internet will emerge soon, but those aren't what I'm thinking here.
Here's an idea from the past... NeXT (Apple) had the ability to execute applications on remote computers as if they were local. The GUI would be the only thing executing on your computer, the rest of the app lived on the other computer.
Are there some cool network OS ideas out there? Truly distributed apps maybe? I'm thinking along the lines of Amazon's Web Services and the EC2 platform. Remote storage like S3, integrated into the desktop?
What do you think? |
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| | | Posted by Michael on 07/18/07. | |
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| Since the iPhone's release, it seems that everyone has an opinion on whether or not the features are worth the money, or how it will or won't impact the world. It has this, and doesn't have that, etc. Here are a couple of my observations.
First, I know 25 people with the iPhone - personally. I have never seen such adoption of any consumer electronics device. Say what you want about the feature set, but the numbers don't lie. The interesting part of this is that nearly all of them have (err, had) and iPod too.
If you doubt the draw of the iPhone, go to a local Apple store and watch not only which device draws attention, but notice the sheer volume of traffic in the store. People of all ages are there, from the dreamer in grade school, to the mature senior adult.
Second, I've noticed that iPhone users are less likely to use their computers after business hours. I noticed on Sunday, for example, that after my morning email/news checking, that I didn't open my laptop again until Monday morning coffee. If you know me, you know that this is very, very unusual.
It took a while for that to sink in, but once it did, I pinged a few other owners. The story is the same. The experience with the phone is so delightful, that it is actually enabling people to get away from their computers.
I bet Apple didn't anticipate that one.
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| | | Posted by Michael on 07/08/07. | |
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| Well under way, Startup Weekend is absolutely one of the coolest things I've been involved in. The company we've created is a web/sms service for making quick decisions.
If you want to ask a few friends about a decision you want to make, come to the site, enter their email addresses, or mobile phone numbers, and we'll send the questions and options to them. They reply within a given time period and you're notified of the results. There is way more to it than that, especially if you ask the developers, but that is the general idea. Think pro features, white labeling, etc.
Everyone broke in to groups of specialty after the idea was chosen. For example: marketing/pr, front end development, creative, back end development, business development, legal, and user experience. These teams formed magically. How cool.
Normally I'd stick myself into one of the dev teams, but as I grow I want to offer my experience to as many people as will listen. So with this project, I signed up in the "I get things done" role. I floated from group to group, and if I say so myself, that worked well. I spent most of yesterday with the user experience team.
Keep an eye on the site... it will launch today (it may be tonight!) but it will go. Absolutely the best way to get a quick vote is with VoSnap. ;-)
Let me know what you think. Oh, we were TechCrunched (thanks Mike!) We were the featured show last night for quite a while on ustream.tv, and will be streaming the event live today too. Check it out at at ustream.tv |
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| | | Posted by Michael on 07/06/07. | |
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| Some of Boulder's best and brightest startup talent is gathering tonight at 6. What exactly we'll be doing is still totally unclear, but the result will be a complete startup/product on Monday morning. If the idea is solid, there is plenty of opportunity for going big. Frankly, with the people involved, I expect just that.
There are 70 people signed up. Think about that for a second. An entire company's worth of high level talent, coming together to build something cool over the course of a weekend.
For updates on the project, keep an eye on http://startupweekend.com
I have to thank my wife Heather for her support on this. She'll be responsible fully for Z and will have little time to herself while I'm off creating something cool with my friends. She has plans to take our 3 year old son Z to the Colorado Renaissance festival on Sunday. She'll have fun! Thanks Heather! Don't forget about daycare! :) |
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| | | Posted by Michael on 07/05/07. | |
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| I'd like to test out Kevin Rose's new venture, but it is invite only. Can anyone reading this post spare an invite? |
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| | | Posted by Michael on 07/03/07. | |
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| I was second in line at the Apple store in Boulder to buy the iPhone on launch day. I've been using every aspect of it since, and I've found things I'd like to see changed with the first update.
Instant Messaging
Whether it was at the insistence of AT&T, or that Apple just ran out of time, iCaht is the main thing I'd like to see added. I know I can forward my IMs to SMS, but that isn't the point. The experience isn't the same. I've been trying for days to do it, but for some reason AOL's verification process fails every time.
Tethering
This was a feature that I used only occasionally with the Cingular 8125, but it was those times that made the feature priceless. If you're unfamiliar with the term "tethering" here, it means the ability to use (via Bluetooth or USB) a mobile phone as an internet access point. You connect the phone the EDGE network, then tell your laptop to use that connection for internet access. So in the middle of a park, you could get to the internet on your laptop using the phone's internet connection.
To-dos
This is a biggie. I use iCal's to-do lists frequently. The Cingular 8125 and The Missing Sync managed this beautifully. The iPhone has no concept of to-tos at all. None.
Video Codecs
I subscribe to several video podcasts and normally view these on my Apple TV. The iPhone can't play several of them even though it is touted as having video iPod features. One great thing about the video podcasts that do get to the iPhone is that the iPhone will play the audio track alone. It sees the podcast as a podcast and makes no distinction when playing it. Very nice.
True widgets
I would really like to be able to access the battery widget that shows when you're charging the phone. I'd like a wifi signal strength indicator, and several other widgety displays. Given that the Stocks and Weather "applications" are widgets, would it really be that hard to replace their icons with a Widgets or Dashboard icon that you would then use to get to that stuff?
The keyboard
Special note to Blackberry keyboard users. If you start using the iPhone with the "it doesn't have physical keys so I can't possibly like it" point of view, you're not going to like the keyboard. I came from the mother of all mobile keyboards and I like the iPhone's just fine. I'd really like to see a globally available horizontal keyboard though, not one that is only available from Safari.
Flash
Flash is a mainstay on the net. As much as it has annoyed me in the past, modern implementations are actually useful. CNN video, Google Video, etc. are Flash based. Since this is a new CPU architecture for Apple, I'm willing to let that one slide. As a matter of fact, I'll bet that Apple will be the porting Flash to the iPhone, not Adobe.
There you have it. My summary of some of the things I'd like to see fixed on the iPhone. Thoughts? Comments? |
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| | | Posted by Michael on 07/03/07. | |
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| While trying to come up with a usable solution for a friend of mine's mobile lifestyle requirements, it occurred to me that there is an untapped network of temporary living spaces around the world. It is just that the owners, the hotel chains, don't know it yet.
If you're untethered (single, no kids, can work anywhere there is wifi, and can travel) this idea might be interesting to you. Instead of paying rent to an apartment community or landlord, why not pay a flat package price for your living space... to a service? With the monthly price, you get total location flexibility with only a few days advance notice. You get housekeeping, coffee, laundry facilities, continental breakfasts, location independence, and all of the other benefits of staying at a hotel.
The inventory you're buying would be vacant hotel rooms in cities around the world. Imagine, one day you're in Denver, a few days later Colorado Springs. From there you may go to New Mexico, or Texas. The idea is that you're not at all tied to a city. Your home is the next place you decide to visit. You could use this plan with air travel of course to make it more interesting. If you find yourself in Seattle, but want to go to San Diego for a week, just choose the room you want and go.
I envision the interface as a Google Maps mashup of locations with availability. We already know that hotel inventory is accessible on the fly... just take it a step further and map it out.
There could be packages, from platinum down to silver, that determine what kind of rooms you'll get. You can always upgrade a stay so if you're a silver member, and want to upgrade for a week to platinum, you can do that.
If you open this idea to apartments and even individual home owners, add a ranking system for the accommodations and the hosts it could get really interesting. Want to stay a week in Ft. Lauderdale? Hit the map and look for the green thumbtacks.
What do you think? Does this idea work? |
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| | | Posted by Michael on 06/26/07. | |
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| Everyone has heard the term "micro-payment." It has been associated with monetizing websites for nearly as long as the internet has been commercialized. Here's an outline for a simple way to monetize a site, using modern web technology and micro-payments.
The key here is to think in terms of cents, rather than dollars. If you do, then $5 or $10 can go a long ways toward rewarding your favorite bloggers.
The first time you use the widget, you'll be asked to create and fund an account at the provider's website (a slick modern site, by the way). From then on you can move money – pennies at a time – to the "accounts" of others using nothing more than a simple secure widget. The widget might have a slider from $.05 to $1, or may have an text field for a value. After you choose the amount, enter your pin, then simply click send. To avoid the 1-Click patent from Amazon, you may have to confirm the payment. Even if you were to allow a single click transfer, you may be safe because it isn't a checkout process on the provider's website. Either way, this is really simple.
Sure there's Paypal, but Paypal has the whole interstitial popup page with the the login and confirmation process. This process is simple enough for anyone to use... you never leave the site, or the page for that matter. The trick here is to be logged in on the provider's site, and subsequently in the widget.
Where do you make money? Here are some ideas: commissions, ad sales on the widget, a one-time setup fee, monthly service fee to the blogger over $x in sales, pro features (lose the ads, stats, etc.)
If you decide to implement the idea, let me know so I can set it up on my blog. |
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| | | Posted by Michael on 06/26/07. | |
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| The world has been abuzz about the iPhone, since even before Apple acknowledged its existence. Why? Who cares? My mom does... and so will you.
First, let's take a look at the state of mobile phones. For better or worse, mobile phones have become far more than simple phones. Text messaging, email, browsers, and custom apps have infiltrated them. A decade ago, a phone was a phone. Today, a phone is the micro computer.
As mobile carriers have rushed to add features, they have forced the desktop computer's generic UI (menuing , windows, etc.) into their tiny screens.
So what makes the iPhone any different? Apple started from scratch, ignoring everything that is commonplace in today's smart phones. Ok, so they didn't start from scratch, they started with the iPod interface, and appropriately appropriated some fantastic desktop features. Add to that the touch screen, iPod features, and Mac OS X.
What does this mean to you? It means that when you pick up an iPhone, you'll know how to use it, instead of spending days learning how to use it. How many of you have encountered people, not computer people, that are waiting for their iPhones?
This is a great start, though I feel that the impact of this phone has yet to be felt. Sure they'll sell million and millions of them. But far more important to the consumer mobile phone market is that this phone will be the one by which all that follow it are judged. Put another way, the features that make the iPhone will trickle in to other phones across all budgets.
Obviously many of the features in the iPhone are not unique. But the way they're implemented and the thought that went in to them is unmistakable.
On top of the great UI, Apple and AT&T have changed the mobile phone landscape in another way. The plans. Today I pay $40/mo for unlimited data on my Cingular 8125. That is $40/mo just for the data service. In addition to that, I pay another $60 for voice and messaging. As of Friday, the cheap plan with unlimited data is $59/mo, and that includes rollover minutes.
Two things change on Friday that are being heavily overlooked.
1. All mobile phones will become easier to use because they'll all use the iPhone as a base line.
2. All mobile phone plans will be less expensive ... they have to be to keep the world from switching to AT&T.
Photo courtesy of Apple, Inc.
Links:
iPhone Guided Tour
iPhone Data plans
What do you think? How will this phone impact the industry as a whole? |
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