Amazing ePubs

I’m not keen on the proliferation of book “apps” but this ePub3 demo (using HTML, CSS and JS) shows amazing potential for the ePub format. Walrus Epub demo #3 from Walrus Books on Vimeo. I would love for a local company to produce something of this quality. It would be an example of what I … Continue reading “Amazing ePubs”

I’m not keen on the proliferation of book “apps” but this ePub3 demo (using HTML, CSS and JS) shows amazing potential for the ePub format.

Walrus Epub demo #3 from Walrus Books on Vimeo.

I would love for a local company to produce something of this quality. It would be an example of what I think CIIF is all about.

What Colour Would You Choose?

MacRumors posted an interesting graph: As these numbers indicate the level of sales, would you choose to sell iPhones (red) or iPads (grey) over selling music and movies (orange) or MP3 players (green). Apple has always maintained that the iTunes Store is a break-even affair for them. If this is true (and the numbers seem … Continue reading “What Colour Would You Choose?”

MacRumors posted an interesting graph:

As these numbers indicate the level of sales, would you choose to sell iPhones (red) or iPads (grey) over selling music and movies (orange) or MP3 players (green).

Apple has always maintained that the iTunes Store is a break-even affair for them. If this is true (and the numbers seem to bear it out), why would anyone launch a store for media and expect to make a lot of money?

ideaspace

This morning I had coffee with Marty Neill (from AirPOS and Brian McKimm (from eSynergy). I could have done with another couple of hours (and a whiteboard) but in all I was very pleased with the conversation even though we may not have agreed on the finer points. In essence, I was pitching to try … Continue reading “ideaspace”

This morning I had coffee with Marty Neill (from AirPOS and Brian McKimm (from eSynergy). I could have done with another couple of hours (and a whiteboard) but in all I was very pleased with the conversation even though we may not have agreed on the finer points.

In essence, I was pitching to try to increase the “ideaspace” in Northern Ireland.

I’m of the opinion that there are small ideas and big ideas. The theory is that all of these ideas tend to have equal chance of happening in any given time. The difficulty then is not only finding the time to just have ideas but also having the space, time, resource and, probably most importantly, the network, to realise the idea.

Sometimes what seems to be a small idea can turn into a big idea and it’s not always apparent immediately. Facebook began as a blog, turned into a college network and is now permeating every aspect of our lives. Twitter began as a way to send text messages to groups (and have them be able to easily reply to the group). Google began as a search engine and now does pretty much everything.

I can’t speak for others in this but I’m pretty sure that AirPOS started because Marty realised that Point of Sales systems were hopelessly outdated and none of them used the Internet. I’m sure that Onotate started because Rumble Labs needed a controlled way to share graphical assets with clients and generate appropriate feedback. I’m certain that Planzai started out as a way for Richard to organise some of the activities in his dual life as a rockstar software developer and a rockstar. But these were big ideas masquerading as small ideas.

We’re working on methods now to increase the ‘idea space’ in Northern Ireland. We’ve been doing it through the InvestNI Collaborative Network Programme and we’re continuing it with the development of an “innovation hub” in Belfast. Part hub, part incubator, part soft landing zone; the intent is to provide the default industry location for the development of ideas and collaborations. It’s what I’ve been doing for the last three years – with the ideaspace being virtualised – and it’s what we’re going to be executing on for the next three years.

If you’re interested in being a part of it, drop me a line.

Pivot? No, Tack and Gybe!

This weekend I was entertained by the news that Color, a social media startup, was moving from “mobile” to “FaceBook” as their primary platform. Whether you think that’s a good idea or not or whether the only thing Color has going for them was the $40million they received in venture capital, it represent a pivot … Continue reading “Pivot? No, Tack and Gybe!”

This weekend I was entertained by the news that Color, a social media startup, was moving from “mobile” to “FaceBook” as their primary platform. Whether you think that’s a good idea or not or whether the only thing Color has going for them was the $40million they received in venture capital, it represent a pivot in their strategy.

My second company pivoted. I didn’t like it much. We started out doing products, bootstrapping due to the complete lack of seed funding in the region (something that has been fixed) and ended up selling our souls to contract development. Yes, we were bootstrapping but only due to lack of choice. And I hated it.

I spent last weekend sailing with Ballyholme Yacht Club and earned my RYA Level 2 “Start Sailing” certificate. The core concept of sailing is summed up by five essentials:

  • Trim
  • Balance
  • Sail setting
  • Centreboard
  • Course Made Good

Trim and Balance are all about keeping yourself in the boat while the wind and waves are trying to throw you out. In dinghy sailing, keeping the boat at flat as possible means you can eke out the best performance. Plow the bow in too far and you lose speed, similarly too much weight on the stern causes excessive drag.

Sail Setting is about keeping the wind in your sails. When sailing, your primary method of locomotion is through the wind. While you can make some progress on the currents, surfing the odd wave and negotiating the tides, it is with the wind that you make progress.

Centreboard, also known as a daggerboard or keel, provides resistance to the wind driving you sideways and off course. It also helps in keeping you in a boat. You have to know when to set the centreboard hard or when to pull it in a little to reduce drag.

Course Made Good is figuring out which way you have to point your little boat in order to arrive at the destination, taking into account the current and tides, waves, obstacles, other vessels and, of course, the direction of the wind. Sometimes the most direct route is impossible (sailing upwind) and you may have to tack or gybe your way through the wind to reach your desired goal.

So what are tacking and gybing?

Tacking is moving your boat against the wind to change direction. As you face the wind, the power is lost from the sails. You lose some speed but the manoeuvre is controllable, predictable and if things go wrong, the worst thing that can happen is that you slow to a stop.

Gybing is moving your boat through the wind to change direction. The wind is always fully in the sails, the process is much quicker and much more violent but there is much more risk of losing control and ending up in the water.

Knowing when a tack is needed and when only a gybe will do is something that is gained through experience. It depends on what direction you are going, where you want to go and what direction the wind is heading. it depends on what risks you are taking. Our instructor, Alice, related a tale of how she was forced to tack multiple times during a race when one gybe would have completed the turn because the high winds and risk of capsize would have lost her the race.

I can’t help but relate the concepts of tacking and gybing to startups who feel the need to pivot. In fact, all of the five essentials of sailing can be related in some way and would, in my opinion, go well in a business plan.

Games Development Seminar – Belfast, 14th Sept

Last chance to register for a games technology development seminar here in Belfast. Wed, 14 September from 10:00 to 12:00 at Radisson Blu, Gasworks, Belfast The speaker is Paul Durrant, Abertay University’s Director of Business Development. He has been instrumental in developing a range of projects to support digital media IP generation, business start-up, incubation, … Continue reading “Games Development Seminar – Belfast, 14th Sept”

Last chance to register for a games technology development seminar here in Belfast.

Wed, 14 September from 10:00 to 12:00 at Radisson Blu, Gasworks, Belfast

The speaker is Paul Durrant, Abertay University’s Director of Business Development. He has been instrumental in developing a range of projects to support digital media IP generation, business start-up, incubation, and skills development particularly in the video games area. He developed Dare to be Digital and Dare ProtoPlay to become significant international events including a partnership with BAFTA to recognise talented young developers and the development of the Channel 4 Crunchtime TV series. He also raised £2m to establish a prototype fund for small games developers and has recently launched a partnership with the Technology Strategy Board to fund novel games applications.

In this seminar, Paul will describe the Scottish experience in digital content, the contribution from Abertay and the funding opportunities available through Abertay which are available to companies in Northern Ireland. In particular, he will describe the Abertay University Prototype Fund (http://prototypefund.abertay.ac.uk/) and the Future Games Contest ( https://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/future-games-contest )

Climate Change: what and when, not why and who

John Gruber posts about the debate over climate change and I think he has a point about the media intentionally placing a bias in a debate in an attempt to be balanced – thereby positively discriminating for the point of view which has less evidence, less popular support. The Kevin Drum footnote illustrates it perfectly. … Continue reading “Climate Change: what and when, not why and who”

John Gruber posts about the debate over climate change and I think he has a point about the media intentionally placing a bias in a debate in an attempt to be balanced – thereby positively discriminating for the point of view which has less evidence, less popular support.

The Kevin Drum footnote illustrates it perfectly.

100% of climate scientists believe global warming is happening. Something like 98% of them believe that it’s mostly caused by humans. But I’m giving our survey respondents a break, since I suspect most people automatically think “human-caused global warming” whenever they hear “global warming.”

The language used is important. From my point of view I don’t want to get drawn into a debate over what is causing globe warming but rather what we are going to do about.

Reducing emissions and waste products in the environment might help. They might help because we don’t know where we are in the equation. We could be near a tipping point (as the overly dramatic and very fun “The Day After Tomorrow” movie showed) or it could be decades away.

More importantly and core to my concern is what do we do for human society to continue. We can argue all day what’s causing glacial ice to melt but I’m more interested in what this will cause? Rising sea levels? We already have flooding in some coastal areas. Will this get worse?

Stop debating the why and who and start debating the what and the when.

GeoFencing vs Check-In

I was pitched yesterday by a local location-based-services start-up. I’ll not mention the company unless I get the nod from the founder. At one point I asked a question about location processing and while it was a slightly technical question, it caused a pause. Most location services use either geofencing or check-ins. Check-ins are where … Continue reading “GeoFencing vs Check-In”

I was pitched yesterday by a local location-based-services start-up. I’ll not mention the company unless I get the nod from the founder. At one point I asked a question about location processing and while it was a slightly technical question, it caused a pause.

Most location services use either geofencing or check-ins.

Check-ins are where you hope that the user is so addicted to your services that they will remember to check in by launching your app. Tapping the “Check In” button then sends a message to the company server and your check-in is saved in the cloud. In my opinion, if your service relies on check-ins, then you’re an idiot.

Geo-fencing is a “virtual perimeter” service. The software maps real-world locations onto a virtual map and the software takes action when you move around in the real world because you may cross a virtual fence on the virtual map. This is the sort of technology used in criminal tags, for security of physically located services or for the protection of children or vulnerable adults. For this to work, location-based services have to be running constantly on the device. And when a match is found, EITHER a message is displayed on device or a message is sent to the GeoFence server.

The question is: is location processed on phone or in the cloud?

When the device moves and crosses a fence, does the software on the phone calculate this on its own from a locally stored database or is the location of the device sent constantly to a server in the cloud and compared to a database on the server.

Nearly every GeoFencing solution I’ve seen so far processes location in the cloud. This has some personal data security implications obviously (for those people who don’t like being tracked) but I’m more concerned about the data traffic and the drain on the battery.

A better solution, in my opinion, is to download the database of geofences to the device. A geofence, in its simplest form, is a point location and a radius. In theory, the entire database for a business could be downloaded quickly over a 3G connection. The location service checks location against the internal database and if it finds a match, posts a notification to the device screen or sends a message to the GeoFence server.

There’s a hundred uses of GeoFencing though I’ve seldom seen it used for anything really interesting. That’s a real shame because once you remove the security implications, it’s amazing technology. These implications are mostly in the minds of paranoid net-geeks and journalists desperate for a headline.

Claim Chowder

The Guardian ran an article after the announcement of the iPad which looked at the market and claimed that while every manufacturer was aiming to undercut an Apple tablet at $800, none of them were prepared for an Apple tablet at $499. Even at the keynote viewing event we attended, everyone was prepared for being … Continue reading “Claim Chowder”

The Guardian ran an article after the announcement of the iPad which looked at the market and claimed that while every manufacturer was aiming to undercut an Apple tablet at $800, none of them were prepared for an Apple tablet at $499.

Even at the keynote viewing event we attended, everyone was prepared for being asked to pay nearly $1000 for an iPad. When it came out at half that price, several folk said they’d buy two.

The best bit in the Guardian article, however, was the comments section especially a sequence of comments by a charming individual who identified himself as handedtheirarse:

Do you really think the Taiwanese “rivals” will be as underpowered and underfeatured as the iPad? They might be the same price, but they’ll probably run an iPad emulator faster than the original is…

It’s a largish touchscreen with nothing under the hood. I’d say in the far east they could put these together for $200. Hell, that’s probably what Apple do anyway.

Please don’t tell me you’re in on the Apple ad thing? I hope at least it’s for money and not for some free rubbish computers. 😉

I guess all those hard up PC using stockbrokers are selling their shares to buy an iPad? Hahaha.

What hardware? The iPad is shockingly underpowered and underfeatured. I’m sticking to my guess of $150-$200 per unit cost to Apple.

Pardon? PC slates will have a modified UI layer on top of Windows. How many “apps” do you reckon Windows can run? And not just iBeer and iFart either.

Well aware of Jack’s battles with the Macolytes. Just this article stinks of a conversion to the dark side… 🙂

Do you need to roadtest a Punto to know it’s not as powerful a Diablo? Really?
Slow processor, tiny hard drive, graphics card probably non-existent. There’s a reason it doesn’t run OSX I’d say. It can’t.

You might have the time to trial run an iPad for a week to find out if you want one, but out here in the real world customers need to know:
1: What it does
2: What the specs are

There’s few answers for number 1 and everything I’ve seen so far on number 2 has been distinctly lousy. My guess is the new chip is designed for one thing only: low power consumption, to combat Apples infamous crappy battery life. Ditto the lack of multitasking.
What do I do with 16GB? My phone can hold that much. And play it back. And make calls.

It is running OS X, just not Mac OS X.
If this is the extent of your argument you’re in trouble.

I don’t need to have read the source code to know they’re not compatible, which is the only thing that matters. What was your point about the exact nomenclature of the iPad and Mac OSes again? Oh, you didn’t have one. Sorry.

Inflation adjusted, Avatar is the 26th biggest seller of all time.
Do you think the 26th biggest selling piece of tech hardware will be enough to end the utter dominance of Wintel?

I think you’re overestimating Apple’s market share in personal computers. Mac v PC is a war that is well and truly over. Nokia/Symbian v iPhone could possibly be worth watching in a few years if Apple get any decent market outside the US/UK. While choice is great, the world is PC/Nokia and doesn’t look like changing for a long long time.

They sell, what, 1 in 10 of all smartphones. Maybe about a a 1/4 of what Nokia sell.
Facts please.

I see you’ll use any criteria except how many phones they sell to decide which company is most important in the smartphone world.
Facts? Apple didn’t have the first touchscreen or internet phones. You can have your intangibles like “kick-ass UI” (do you find other phones too complicated for you?) I guess as they’re pure opinion that can’t be proven or disproven.

The Windows tablets coming out will be powerful enough to run a full OS like W7 or the rock-solid XP, which I’ve had no virus or BSOD in 8 years with. No cut down, half-assed OS. And cheaper, yes. And Flash. And USB. And more “apps” than any store Jobs can think up of. And I doubt if there’ll be a pointless 16Gb version.

This is truly hilarious fanboy “reviewing”. Why would I consider running a single iPhone type app on a 1Ghz processor as as “mind-boggling”?

Market trend sounds awfully like a pissing contest too TBH, only one that doesn’t fairly reflect the current usage of tech.

As for being a usability consultant, you never answered: do you have difficulty using mobiles other than the iPhone? I’ve yet to find one I find complicated. And yes, it is still down to user preference, whether you market research individual preferences or not.

There are some times when the smugness about being right doesn’t quite cut it. I’d like to know what claims “handed their arse” is making these days about Nokia/PC superiority and how shifting units is the most important factor in market dominance.

And I’ve yet to see a tablet with a better battery life than the iPad. Two years on.

The Investor is a Customer

One final note: investors who want business plans are probably not your target market, if you’re founding a high growth technology startup. We had lots of great followup conversations with the angels who wanted them, but ultimately none of them turned in to investors A bit of sense from Dan Shapiro which is worth reading … Continue reading “The Investor is a Customer”

One final note: investors who want business plans are probably not your target market, if you’re founding a high growth technology startup. We had lots of great followup conversations with the angels who wanted them, but ultimately none of them turned in to investors

A bit of sense from Dan Shapiro which is worth reading in its entirety.

The problem I see at the moment is a heap of self-labelled entrepreneurs who won’t write anything down. They have obviously spent too much time watching Dragons Den or making pointless elevator pitches at BarCamp (where most people are too polite to be honest) and reckon that by sheer force of personality they’ll get what they want. Because, obviously, this has happened. Deals can be made on the back of a napkin, the investor wants to invest in you as a person so they’re not interested in the detail. And I’m not even talking about a 30 page operations plan, folk won’t even put the time n to do the executive summary which is, after all, the most minimum of effort and the only thing worth writing.

I say this after writing a dozen business plans, after finishing an executive summary and now having to write the accompanying 30 pages of supporting materials for a strategy document. I’m currently on page 11 with that one. But you have to choose your battles and suit them to the audience. And by audience I mean customer.

The customer is the person who gives you money. The customer may change over the life cycle of your business and you’ll need to change your pitch accordingly.

  • The customer as private investor
  • – will want a story about markets and returns and how you’re going to achieve them. You are competing with golf, drinking cocktails by the pool and sailing in the Aegean so your pitch needs to be short, snappy and exciting.

  • The customer as public sector
  • – a very different story when accessing public funds. The risk-aversion will go deep and wide and you’ll have to address every concern. And it’ll need to be written down.

  • The customer as VC
  • – in many ways like the private investor but with fewer bikinis and sailboats. You have to outline possibility and opportunity and, to be honest, make I seem like you can deliver.

  • The customer as Punter
  • – way too many variables depending on where the market is, how much it’s going to cost, whether it’s a hit model or a slow burn, buy once or forever subscribe. Arguably these are the second most important customer.

Your punter customers don’t necessarily want to see your entire business plan and it’s likely that your initial investors don’t either. But they’ll want to see something and the more institutionalised they are, the more paper they’ll want to see.

At the moment, Northern Ireland is awash with startup supports. There are more than 10 startup incubators either in planning or in execution. All of them will require you to do more than an elevator pitch.

RasPi vs iPad Showdown: only one can leave the ring…

Not really… The Raspberry Pi and the iPad sparked off a conversation with @fraserspeirs, @funkeemonk @kevinhoctor, @craicdesign and @mdhughes – all much smarter than I. Much of it was discussing the similarities and differences but the medium of Twitter is not well disposed to detailed conversations. The point being that the iPad and RasPi are … Continue reading “RasPi vs iPad Showdown: only one can leave the ring…”

Not really…

The Raspberry Pi and the iPad sparked off a conversation with @fraserspeirs, @funkeemonk @kevinhoctor, @craicdesign and @mdhughes – all much smarter than I.

Much of it was discussing the similarities and differences but the medium of Twitter is not well disposed to detailed conversations. The point being that the iPad and RasPi are not competing.

An iPad is a personal computer, a 1:1 device. It comes with a screen, a wireless card, 16 GB of storage, a series of accessible input software, bluetooth support for peripherals and a staggering array of software including, by default, the best mobile browser in existence. It has two cameras and a 10 hour battery. And you get that for £399. It’s designed to replace textbooks, deliver homework assignments and be a companion to every student in a school. They’re inexpensive for the possibilities but yes, they may be too much for some cash strapped school districts. And it is up to people with vision and ability to find ways to deliver on the 1:1 personal computer, if the budget is found lacking.

In comparison, the RasPi is an IO board, an ARM processor, a tiny bit of storage with a Linux kernel, a basic userland and a Python IDE. It will allegedly ship (in November) with a software stack that will enable it to be used by a student, parent or teacher. You will need a keyboard to plug into it, and a television (with either HDMI or Composite). It’s cheap enough for almost every district to buy but it’s a mistake to think that it’s the same thing as an iPad. And that’s because it’s not meant to be. The creators of RasPi say the device is for teaching computer programming. That capability is precisely what the iPad cannot do. Once you’ve added $100 of television and peripherals. And linked it to a wired ethernet switch. Then got it all working – you’re not saving much money.

You can’t compare the RasPi to the iPad any more than you compare it to the computer labs of standardised PC hardware which represents the “state of the art” in most computer facilities in schools (bringing an industry circa 1985-level experience to the classroom). They’re three different things – the most obvious thing being that the static computer lab of shared computers is, for the most part, redundant.

We should be aiming for every student to have an iPad-like device for their learning materials. And for those who show an interest, a RasPi becomes something they keep alongside their pencils and rulers in their schoolbag – something they bring home and work on. If a district can afford iPads, then they can afford a few RasPi. If they cannot afford iPads, then the RasPi is not a suitable replacement for either the iPad or the PC computer lab. Not for a few years anyway.

And yes, I’ll be buying a RasPi for my 10 year old (and my 9 year old) when they’re released.