March 2009 – Page 4

The first 100%

A lot has been written about the funding gap for startup companies. The idea that the first 50% is hard to get if you’re a startup remains true but it comes back doubly when you realise that you have to fund it 100% out of your own pocket and then go through a vouching and … Continue reading “The first 100%”

A lot has been written about the funding gap for startup companies. The idea that the first 50% is hard to get if you’re a startup remains true but it comes back doubly when you realise that you have to fund it 100% out of your own pocket and then go through a vouching and receipting scheme to claim back a maximum of 50% (and they’ll do their best to give you less, down to 30% is the aim).

Also, unless you have forecast that you’ll spend this money in this way, with an 18 month forecast expected, you can’t claim it. So any trade shows or new projects just can’t be counted. Therefore it’s not possible to be agile with your funding and there’s no way a startup can properly bootstrap while waiting for months for this kind of funding. The small number of investors (angels or venture capital) in the technology sector and especially the digital content sector just leaves it wide open.

Add to that the deMinimis rules (no company/entity can receive more than â‚¬200 000 in 3 years) means that support is extremely limited – despite the fact that the governments are throwing millions of pounds of taxpayer money at banks which have proved their inability to effectively manage a business.

At the Innovation Accelerator last week, Enterprise Ireland got a lot of cat-calling because of the convoluted processes they have in place an the poor amounts, percentages, schedules and timing of monies received once they are finally released. This is not an isolated case – this is going to be the case with every public funding source. It doesn’t matter if the adverts are saying otherwise, the reality is that private businesses need to be able to look after themselves.

The only stimulation you’ll get in the industry is with private money. You can’t expect the Public Sector to lead here – the public sector has no place in leading the private sector – they’ve no direct experience, they have layers and layers of red tape to qualify (which we the taxpayers have demanded they put in) and they are naturally risk-averse. It isn’t a great way to promote the digital content sector in any country any more than having a big party with free beer is a great way to create business networking opportunities.

I’m frustrated because it seems every time I get some progress, something else steps in the way. I’m done with it. Buy new laces, it’s Bootstrapping all the way.

GamesIndustry.biz poll

GamesIndustry.biz have the results of a poll on the 2009 tech people can not wait for. Over 300 industry professionals in the GamesIndustry.biz Network were polled to gauge interest on new technology, with the Wii MotionPlus, iPhone, Nintendo’s DSi and the continued evolution of the New Xbox Experience also piquing interest. 3D TV/Gaming Wii MotionPlus … Continue reading “GamesIndustry.biz poll”

GamesIndustry.biz have the results of a poll on the 2009 tech people can not wait for. Over 300 industry professionals in the GamesIndustry.biz Network were polled to gauge interest on new technology, with the Wii MotionPlus, iPhone, Nintendo’s DSi and the continued evolution of the New Xbox Experience also piquing interest.

3D TV/Gaming
Wii MotionPlus
iPhone
DSi
New Xbox Experience
PlayStation 3
New Wii peripheral
Android
DX11
- 10 New PlayStation 3 controller
- Digital distribution
- id’s Tech 5

Who would have thought that an Apple device would be in the top 10 of any games industry list never mind ahead of luminaries such as the PS3, the DSi and anything from id Software.

If that’s not reason to consider the iPhone a major platform for the next 18 months, then you’re got some pretty major biases there (hey, yes, I have biases, and reasons for them).

Why the hell not?

Jeff LaMarche writes: This really needs to stop, Apple. There is nothing in the SDK agreement or documentation that you can point to that would reasonably justify this rejection. It’s your store. If you want to set up concrete rules and enforce them, that’s fine. I think you’d be better off letting the market decide, … Continue reading “Why the hell not?”

Jeff LaMarche writes:

This really needs to stop, Apple. There is nothing in the SDK agreement or documentation that you can point to that would reasonably justify this rejection. It’s your store. If you want to set up concrete rules and enforce them, that’s fine. I think you’d be better off letting the market decide, but it’s your house, I’m okay with you making rules about what goes on there. But… make real rules and enforce them fairly. This arbitrary, capricious shit has got to stop. Applications shouldn’t get rejected because some reviewer got in a fight with their spouse, got a speeding ticket on the way into work, or just hasn’t gotten laid recently.

The capricious and some might say haphazard way that some apps are permitted and others rejected and some are removed after a time, tells me that it’s not one person making the decisions, it’s a team. And some of them don’t like fun.

I’m unlikely to buy apps like iFart, Sound Grenade or Nails on Chalkboard but I’m inclined to think that if people want to buy that sort of shit and if it’s only a couple of dollars, why the hell not?

I’m not suggesting they open the doors but I’d appreciate some sort of consistency in the screening process and more description of why in the rejection process. At the moment it’s a lot of chickenshit posturing and vague pointing to things that are ‘inappropriate’ or in their heads ‘don’t offer sufficient value’.

Plus Ã§a change

Apogee Press Release: Santa Monica, CA, February 23, 2009 – As of 2009, Apogee Electronics will no longer develop products for the Microsoft Windows platform. Apogee has made this decision in order to focus all research, development, and support resources on the Apple platform with its unparalleled power and stability. Apple offers a wide range … Continue reading “Plus Ã§a change”

Apogee Press Release:

Santa Monica, CA, February 23, 2009 – As of 2009, Apogee Electronics will no longer develop products for the Microsoft Windows platform. Apogee has made this decision in order to focus all research, development, and support resources on the Apple platform with its unparalleled power and stability. Apple offers a wide range of affordable, powerful desktop and laptop solutions ideally suited for music creation and audio production.

A couple of years ago, Wil Shipley wrote about why he develops for the Mac and how it allowed him to score a big fat Lotus sports car.

Frankly, I see this happening more and more in the near future as people change their needs and there are realisations that beyond the FUD, there’s not much difference between Vista and Mac OS X in terms of casual surfer utility and once you break this hold on people, it changes them forever.

I’d like to think that ten years of running NIMUG and five years of running Mac-Sys would mean something in the current tsunami of people coming to the Mac platform in Northern Ireland but in truth we’d have to point at the Apple Store in Belfast as having a huge effect on general acceptance. Actually having a store on the high street was something that I’d considered (but frankly the margins available to me as an Apple Reseller did not permit that – and that’s fine. The Apple Store excels at bringing people to the platform and giving them the basic training skills and Mac-Sys excels at fixing their computers (according to Apple, MacSys has a 93.3% approval rating which put’s comfortably in the top 10% of Euro Apple Service Providers.)

Having a complementary relationship with Apple was always something we strived for. We didn’t have cash flow to sell Apple hardware but there was always room for us to help customers find the best and cheapest place to buy. And we spend hours on the phone every month fighting for value for Mac owners in terms of dealing with insurance companies, Apple Customer Service and other repair companies (who don’t specialise in Mac repair). We’re responsive to the market which is why Mac-Sys now has a “Free on Friday” health check, waiving diagnosis fees for hardware we receive on Fridays, the Enterprise Park is open late on Tuesdays and so is Mac-Sys and lastly, the guys have dropped the charges for picking up hardware – we have guys out in the field already doing installations in homes and offices and it’s going to be a minor detour to have your Mac picked up and dropped off after repair.

Like Apogee, we’ve responded to the market as a result of making the decision to specialise on the Mac platform six years ago as no-one else was doing it in Northern Ireland.

Find your niche, own your niche and when folk in your market tell lies about you, try to resist the temptation to punch them in the mouth 🙂

The Crisis of Credit

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo. Related posts: Take a couple of minutes to appreciate genius. OpenMoko FreeRunner: *sigh* Paul Graham at TechCrunch50 Give Microsoft Credit

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.