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And tonight I will be perving at the web site for the brokers selling these beauties. Related posts: Developing for iPhone? Happy Chinese New Year. Lunch Lunch yesterday
And tonight I will be perving at the web site for the brokers selling these beauties.
Some telecoms carrier bigwigs are proposing a content tax on Internet connections: Over the top (OTT) players also need to play a role, according to Mittal. “If we have to build the highways, there has got to be a tax on highways. You cannot have automobiles running on these highways which are paying nothing,” he … Continue reading “There has got to be a tax on the (information) superhighway”
Some telecoms carrier bigwigs are proposing a content tax on Internet connections:
Over the top (OTT) players also need to play a role, according to Mittal. “If we have to build the highways, there has got to be a tax on highways. You cannot have automobiles running on these highways which are paying nothing,” he said.
Dear Mister Telecoms Operator,
I do not remember receiving any of your service provision for free. In fact, every data bit I receive while at Mobile World Congress is being paid for at a ridiculously over-the-top rate. I also pay a monthly subscription to your services whether I use them or not. In fact, I think you’re getting excellent value from me considering you’re selling me something and I am paying for it and I’m not even using all of the “stuff” I’m paying for. Thinking about this, you owe me.
What you propose would mean I, the consumer, would be paying for empty bits unless the content silos also pay for the very same bits. And I’m pretty sure that you don’t give Apple or Amazon or Google their Internet connections free and gratis. I’m sure they’re paying for them.
This is what is considered to be double-dipping. In fact, as Google already pays for transmitting their bits and we already pay to access those same bits from the Internet, imposing a tax at both ends of this would constitute triple dipping or worse. I wish I was at that session because I’m sure I would have thrown a shoe.
So, please fuck off.
Sincerely,
Matt
Does Digital Circle need to do more? Simple enough question. Between August 2008 and September 2011, Digital Circle was funded to create presence, to motivate and accelerate, to help provide a communications stream between government and the digital media industry. The funding was to hire one person, provide some admin support and a little travel … Continue reading “We want to do more.”
Does Digital Circle need to do more?
Simple enough question.
Between August 2008 and September 2011, Digital Circle was funded to create presence, to motivate and accelerate, to help provide a communications stream between government and the digital media industry.
The funding was to hire one person, provide some admin support and a little travel and a marketing and events budget. We managed the budget to deliver on time (though we moved a chunk of cash from salary to the travel budget).
We didn’t do everything perfectly, not by a long shot. The App Economy resulted in half a million jobs in the US and by that scale we should have managed a thousand. We managed probably less than 20% of that. We simply didn’t campaign hard enough for the additional training that would be required to deliver that scale. The local software industry is currently facing two challenges:
Companies cannot grow without new staff and the rate we are training software engineers is significantly lower than the rate they are leaving the industry (through career change, emigration, retirement and death). We currently have over 650 vacancies in ICT-related jobs and this number will be a lot higher next year.
Software engineers are the skeleton of the industry and this discipline is becoming more and more important as our media services move ever more digitally focused and delivered. Upon this skeleton, we estimate four times as many jobs can be created in other disciplines. Artists and designers to add form to function, managers to ensure delivery, marketing and sales to generate cash and then the ripple effects of the spread of wealth.
From October 2011 until March 2012, Digital Circle was funded by the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure and though the future is uncertain, the future is always uncertain and it needs to be uncertain in recessionary times. The challenge is to constantly provide value for money.
I wasn’t concerned when a local tech magazine started even though someone suggested we should do that. Or when a series of big ticket event started and people said we should do that. Or when a venture fund appeared and, yes, people said we should do that. Or a dozen other things – all of which would be fun and worthwhile but it would require a much larger team. Because while we might have been able to do one of those things, we couldn’t do them all and nor should we try.
Digital Circle was not meant to do everything. It’s really just one person, restricted by delivery requirements and job roles and a network of volunteers each of which have their own careers and businesses to manage.
Towards the end of March we will be asking everyone in our industry to comment on what we plan to do in the future. Not so much on Strategy but on Implementation, Roadmap and Milestones.
We have no idea what happens after March with Digital Circle. We have no promises from government, no idea what the size of the ask should be (and in recession we don’t know what’s available). We know what we can expect and what we would hope for (and yes, they are vastly different).
We want to do more.
Microsoft: Imagine what a step back it would be if we could no longer watch videos on our computing devices or connect via Wi-Fi, or if only some products, but not others, had these capabilities. That would defeat the whole purpose of an industry standard. … Microsoft recently announced that it will not seek injunctions … Continue reading “FRAND”
Imagine what a step back it would be if we could no longer watch videos on our computing devices or connect via Wi-Fi, or if only some products, but not others, had these capabilities. That would defeat the whole purpose of an industry standard.
…
Microsoft recently announced that it will not seek injunctions against other firms’ products on the basis of standard essential products (and Microsoft had never done so). Apple and Cisco made similar statements. Unfortunately, Google refused.
So, the silly fight on software patents is now extended to hardware, manufacturing, engineering, design and tooling.
From Gamasutra: Newsbrief: In the wake of Double Fine’s astonishingly successful Kickstarter campaign, industry trade body UKIE called for legislation changes that would allow UK video game companies to use crowd funding to finance their projects. UKIE explained that the UK’s current legal and regulatory framework puts too many restrictions on crowd funding, and the … Continue reading “Crowd funding Investment: I have a bad feeling about this.”
Newsbrief: In the wake of Double Fine’s astonishingly successful Kickstarter campaign, industry trade body UKIE called for legislation changes that would allow UK video game companies to use crowd funding to finance their projects.
UKIE explained that the UK’s current legal and regulatory framework puts too many restrictions on crowd funding, and the group promised to release a report that outlines the ways in which the laws should change to better suit game developers and the entertainment industry at large.
I view this with some discomfort. There is nothing stopping UK video game developers using crowd funding to finance their projects. Nothing. Beginning their position with a straw man argument sets the scene for a document filled with repetition and obfuscatory prose.
The restrictions of the UK’s current legal and regulatory framework are in place to protect people from shysters. It’s not always possible and some people get burned but it’s the best thing for everyone.
There is nothing stopping Kickstarter from being in the UK as-is. But this paper from UKIE is attempting to effect serious change in the way securities are dealt by permitting crowd funding from “small holders” to purchase securities in bulk and I’m extremely wary of it for two reasons:
So, the mother of all unintended consequences would be to permit this and allow investment managers to punt junk companies on the Internet for pennies. In effect, doing a pre-IPO IPO. With the number of companies out there and the number of potential investors, this becomes an administrative nightmare. While the fund managers laugh all the way to the bank, you have thousands of shareholders wondering why they bothered considering the bulk of the money goes on fees and you’ve got such a micro-percentage of the company that you can’t control anything anyway. Ending up with a heap of shares in a worthless company isn’t the only potential outcome. Are they seriously going to have shareholder meetings with thousands of shareholders when a company is worth £100K?
I might be spending too much time worrying about the motivations of strangers. In my opinion, these people are not to be trusted.
A school in Maine deployed iPads: “classes using iPads … outperformed the ones without them in every literacy metric used.” “The objective has to be learning, not just getting the technology out there” “We are paying attention to app selection and focused on continuous improvement — we aren’t just handing equipment to teachers.” “many educational … Continue reading “The objective has to be learning, not just getting the technology out there”
A school in Maine deployed iPads:
“classes using iPads … outperformed the ones without them in every literacy metric used.”
“The objective has to be learning, not just getting the technology out there”
“We are paying attention to app selection and focused on continuous improvement — we aren’t just handing equipment to teachers.”
“many educational institutions have not put in enough effort.”
It has never been about the “new and shiny” though detractors of 1:1 computing programmes have always used this as a defence against the investment in learning. This isn’t about putting Angry Birds into the hands of students or distracting them from their studies with FaceBook but rather adopting a permissive approach to technology. When you permit students to use technology in learning, they use technology in learning. Obviously. There’s no need to compete with FaceBook or BBM for attention if the materials and delivery are engaging.
Note that none of the quotes put the responsibility on teachers. But in the end it is the teachers who have to be engaged with the process before the students can be engaged. We’ve been thinking how the Department of Education in Northern Ireland (DENI) and the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) can help in this without just funding cheap iPads (which is not the desired end result). And it obviously has to be in the development of the curriculum and assessment of students.
In the interests of being pro-active, Momentum and Digital Circle are supporting the next TeachMEET in Belfast (because ICT pervades every teaching subject), have published a position paper on 1:1 computing (and the need to accelerate development of resources) and support the removal of ICT in its current for at GCSE and A-level (as it has become the 21st Century equivalent of Typing Class). We are also in the process of creating a new collaborative network for educational content and technology where we hope to bring together local industry, sectoral bodies, academic research and primary/post-primary education to attempt to resolve the big issues we see before us. From what we can see, we’ve inherited decades of legacy and centuries of process, something has to change.
Of course I’m interested, I’m a parent.
From a discussion on LinkedIn: For 95% of businesses, connectivity isn’t an issue. It never was – they’re not hamstrung by their slow speeds because the services they use are all located out of country anyway. And so I think its better to focus on these 95% – they’re the business owners in retail, in … Continue reading “Digital Northern Ireland – don’t ignore it”
From a discussion on LinkedIn:
For 95% of businesses, connectivity isn’t an issue. It never was – they’re not hamstrung by their slow speeds because the services they use are all located out of country anyway. And so I think its better to focus on these 95% – they’re the business owners in retail, in farming, in small manufacturing. They’re happy to limp along on <2Mbps connections. But the body of knowledge in using their Internet connection for more than the purchase supply chain is incredibly poor and laced with difficulty. Difficulties that are, for the most part, caused by the other 5% and the daft idea that every business needs its own web site, it's own e-commerce space and it's own app. These things are quickly becoming commodities. In the recent Innovation Fund, web sites and shops/e-commerce sites are not considered innovative for a reason. A small manufacturer (we often use the almost-pejorative "craft sector") can easily use online platforms such as eBay, Amazon Marketplace or Etsy or Folksy to sell their wares. And for most of the good ones, the problem is not accessing the Internet to sell, it's in meeting the capacity the Internet has created a demand for. Most small retailers already use the Internet in their supply chain because their suppliers demand it. My own business has been using the Internet for supply chain for 10 years now. It was never speed that was the issue, only connectivity. When moving offices meant losing Internet connectivity in the office for a month, that was the big issue in connectivity. And it still is. For the 5%? The digital businesses? Ones who should be better equipped? I can't even begin to describe where we fail them. From the provision of connectivity to the supply of their raw materials (skilled workers). But there is a reason my content servers are in the USA and that comes down to the cost of providing connectivity per sq ft.
Here’s a thought. What if our local RDA immediately contacted the DoubleFine crew and promised to match their money in order to get them to move to Northern Ireland? That would kill multiple birds with one stone. Especially as their Kickstarter is less than $50,000 from $1,000,000. Amazing work, guys. Related posts: Fabulous Kickstarters The … Continue reading “Kick me…”
Here’s a thought.
What if our local RDA immediately contacted the DoubleFine crew and promised to match their money in order to get them to move to Northern Ireland?
That would kill multiple birds with one stone. Especially as their Kickstarter is less than $50,000 from $1,000,000.
Amazing work, guys.
Tadhg Kelly writes about the recent funding of DoubleFine – getting over $400,000 (their target) in less than a day. What’s also interesting is the spread of backers. Around half have donated the basic $15 pledge, which gets you a copy of the game plus video documentaries. A further 35% have gone for the $30 … Continue reading “Chicken, Egg – getting Kickstarted ain’t a panacea, a diacatholicon, an easy road, a snap, a sure thing”
Tadhg Kelly writes about the recent funding of DoubleFine – getting over $400,000 (their target) in less than a day.
What’s also interesting is the spread of backers. Around half have donated the basic $15 pledge, which gets you a copy of the game plus video documentaries. A further 35% have gone for the $30 pledge, which gets you to the video in HD plus a soundtrack. 10% have pledged $100. 3% have pledged $250. 31 people have put up $1000 each, 5 people have put in $5000 a-piece and one intrepid soul has put $10,000 into the project.
Double Fine Productions previous had success with Psychonauts and Brutal Legend (among others) so this success is a little like the reported success of Radiohead and NIN in their independent efforts. It’s going to be a lot easier when everyone already knows you are awesome.
I’ve seen a lot of Kickstarter projects fail – both to get funding and also fail to deliver the end product. In many cases it’s because they are new to the market. I’ve considered using Kickstarter for my own games project but despite my background, I would be considered new to the market and I would need to collect a team of established professionals to my vision in order to be taken seriously.
So is success in Kickstarter going to require building a career first? Or tapping into a meme? Masterful use of social media and connections?
Saw this Tweet by @notch: Related posts: Jonathan Gems on the abolition of the UKFC Ten Apps I Want… Digital Circle going independent and my thoughts on the Future Stop the Big Brother State
Saw this Tweet by @notch:
