Commentary – Page 52

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”

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”

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.

5 ways to get you coding…

Geoff McGimpsey pointed this out: Five easy ways to get you coding Aside from the usual “Programming is fun” speech that you will get from any geek, learning to code can help you to solve many day to day technical quickly and quite easily. It also earns you a fair amount of kudos among other … Continue reading “5 ways to get you coding…”

Geoff McGimpsey pointed this out:

Five easy ways to get you coding
Aside from the usual “Programming is fun” speech that you will get from any geek, learning to code can help you to solve many day to day technical quickly and quite easily. It also earns you a fair amount of kudos among other computer users. That’s why I’ve put together a list of five great ways to learn to program without having to spend hours reading a book that is more than likely going to go out of date within a year or two. – from memeburn

Geoff runs a PR and public affairs agency, McGimpsey Communications, and is a top bloke.

There was also some brief discussion on Twitter about the difference between initiatives like “iPad into schools” and projects like Raspberry Pi – a £25 computer designed to teach kids about programming. They both represent a leap forward in technology capability for schools though it’s most definitely not an either-or situation.

The iPad enhances communication, increases interactivity and collaboration. It partially replaces textbooks, can replace notepads, assures delivery of assignments and timetables, can even be the active element in a homework setting. Sounds fantastic – but the iPad is not a programmable environment. For whatever reason known best to themselves, they won’t let even sandboxed development environments on there. They’ve conceded to let some BASIC interpreters (like in the C64 emulator) but there’s no way to produce anything else or expert that content out.
Raspberry Pi, in contrast, provides an inexpensive and, more importantly, permissive way for kids to get involved in programming computers. It’s a UK clone of Arduino – a basic ARM-based machine running a Linux shell. In my opinion they need to make it a little more accessible than this, but ultimately easily hackable. In other words – not the antithesis of the iPad but more of the iPad being a companion to the device. This project obviously aims to restart the home computing revolution that began in the 80s in the UK with the BBC Micro and the Spectrum.

This is a useful resource for Computer Programming for Everyone (cp4e).

Burn rate of software startups?

I’d be interested in comments here as some conversation around the office was regarding how much it takes to start a product-based software startup. This is interesting to me because I’ve hired three software developers during my time in Mac-Sys and Infurious had at least one software developer in-house. Our estimate was a development team … Continue reading “Burn rate of software startups?”

Our estimate was a development team of 3-4 people for a minimum of two years would mean probably half a million pounds when you add travel, marketing, overheads.

This assumption was based on 4 people (presumably 3 developers, 1 designer), earning mid-range to low-end salaries (£25,000 per annum) probably because they have some sort of equity stake.

This is assuming you’re not a service company – you’re not paying salaries by doing development for other people.

And then there’s the assumption that it’ll take you a year to build it and the second year you’re building product #2 and supporting product #1 with bug fixes and updates.

Public Funding: a pitfall?

I have the privilege of getting to meet a lot of very smart people in my job. One of those is Andrew Ferris of Small Town America and we had a brief conversation of the benefits and pitfalls of filling in forms for public funding. His point of view: Filling in forms is like every … Continue reading “Public Funding: a pitfall?”

His point of view:

Filling in forms is like every other activity for your business. If the time it takes is worth the money then you will do it.

Three years ago, there wasn’t much in the way of funding for technology startups. Now we have just started the second round of CIIF and the NISPO Fund is just entering its third year. We have new programmes starting, new funds everywhere.

And still people complain.

The issue has moved from “There is no funding” to “I’m much too clever to be filling in these forms“. And frankly, I have no time for that level of misplaced arrogance.

The Present of Technology in Education

Fraser Speirs wrote about the state of computing in schools. We are already at a point where the ratio of professionals to computers is 1:2. A laptop and a smartphone are standard equipment in our society. With the advent of the tablet, we may be moving towards or beyond three computers per person. … Thinking … Continue reading “The Present of Technology in Education”

Fraser Speirs wrote about the state of computing in schools.

We are already at a point where the ratio of professionals to computers is 1:2. A laptop and a smartphone are standard equipment in our society. With the advent of the tablet, we may be moving towards or beyond three computers per person.
…
Thinking back through my own history of computing, I asked myself a question: what was the last year in which I did not have exclusive use of at least one computer? The answer: 1995.

What is the current state of computing in education?

We have allowed a 16-year gap to develop between society and schools in terms of our children’s access to computers.
…
The hour is already late. We have allowed a 16-year gap to develop between society and schools in terms of our children’s access to computers. Can we properly prepare Beth and her cohort for the year 2029 with the same level of access to computers that I had 35 years before?

I want to tell them that the iPad is not the future of education, it’s the present of education. If we consign the iPad to the realms of the future, then we are implicitly saying that it’s not for right here, right now, today.
…
In another 14 years, if GSMA are right, society as a whole will have 7 connected devices each – will we be delivering relevant education in that world if each pupil only has a third of a computer to themselves?

Cedars is not a school of the future. I think we’re a decade late.

Passively Multiplayer – Massively Single Player

From Gamasutra: While Nintendo has historically hesitated to fully embrace online connectivity with its games and hardware, the company recently filed a patent for the concept of a “Massively Single-Playing Online Game.” The patent says that in this type of game, users playing a single player title could influence the characters and world of another … Continue reading “Passively Multiplayer – Massively Single Player”

From Gamasutra:

While Nintendo has historically hesitated to fully embrace online connectivity with its games and hardware, the company recently filed a patent for the concept of a “Massively Single-Playing Online Game.”

The patent says that in this type of game, users playing a single player title could influence the characters and world of another user playing the same single player title, reports Gamespot.

Based on the patent’s description, this concept hopes to capture the positive elements of online play without the need for human-to-human interaction: “Those who want to play games that are more dynamic, not-based on Al and not-pre-scripted like multiplayer games, however, don’t want to ‘deal’ with other people, appreciate the privacy it provides,” the patent says.

For some discussion of this, see this blog post and the comments. The idea of having connections between people playing the same game but not actively interacting is not a new one. (And as there’s heaps of discussion about it and a few examples of prior art, then it stands to reason that the USPTO will grant a frivolous patent.)

In truth, Nintendo are really describing the anonymity of friend codes and the ease of matching competitors in online games – where you can not only find it difficult to see who it is (through the use of Miis) but also have difficulty communicating because you have to use a set of pre-made scripted responses. And the result is genius because the last thing you want, when playing Mario Kart Wii, is some 14 year old screaming obscenities through a text chat interface while you’re trying to win an important race.

Because the best part of online gaming is, of course, everyone else. Yes, you have to put up with the noobs (people who have been playing for ages but who remain hopeless), the outraged (how dare you!) and worst of all, the TK (team killer, someone who things it’s fun to attack allies). Having one of these on your team can ruin a game. Having them on the opposing team can be hilarious but also ruin a game. The basic premise is: online people suck.

But we still want the experience of playing against humans. Where we know our win was because of luck and skill as opposed to exploiting an AI glitch which hilariously causes the boss monster to bounce like a Chinese Vampire rather than rampage through your team.

So in designing games which are ostensibly single-player – but which are online, it can be serendipitous to base some of the game events on the actions of other players. The simplest example of this? No, you can’t loot that treasure item because someone was here first. A simple idea, seldom executed.

For location-based alternate reality games, this is like a magic ingredient; being able to interact with other players in your story where a player can be in the same city, a different city or even a virtual city yet without having the hassle of finding players, timing them or even speaking to them.

Where does he get those wonderful toys….

Further to my earlier post about CIIF, I think it’s important to point out what an amazing opportunity this is for web and mobile companies in Northern Ireland. I remember the first time I saw a CSS-based parallax scrolling background (Example) and I marvelled. And then I saw the Safari tech demo pages (Example) and … Continue reading “Where does he get those wonderful toys….”

Further to my earlier post about CIIF, I think it’s important to point out what an amazing opportunity this is for web and mobile companies in Northern Ireland. I remember the first time I saw a CSS-based parallax scrolling background (Example) and I marvelled. And then I saw the Safari tech demo pages (Example) and I marvelled again. I just loved the falling leaves demo and I absolutely love what Paul Hayes did here.

It cannot be underestimated what the creation of toys can bring in terms of eyeballs. For a talented web developer team, they might get 100,000 hits from Hacker News but it only takes one new client (resulting from the coverage) to pay for the investment in the tech demo. The Creative Industries Innovation Fund can help a smart development team make great amazing toys.

For instance: look at this Kickstarter for A Canvas and WebGL Programmer’s Text Editor by Robey Holderith. He’s seeking $4,096 in order to “pay” him to build this. CIIF is offering up to four times that amount of money to get people to build amazing stuff.

I also look at the recent release of Kindle Cloud Reader which, although not perfect, really shows how good a web app can be (especially on iOS if you pin it to your home screen and therefore lose most of the Safari borders).

CIIF is looking for 50 great projects. Some of them will be tour guides, some of them web apps, some of them promotional videos but I’d love to see some really REALLY inspiring HTML/CSS stuff. I want developers and designers to thin hard about breaking the laws of (web) physics with this stuff. Do something that makes your peers go “wow”. Make it kick ass with WebKit and use your network to test and refine it.

And if you’ve already made some wonderful toys then please send me the link for it. We need to showcase talent when we see it. I want to rave about my colleagues and countrymen and tell everyone about their talent because while there may be appsterdam, we were doing it first with XCake.

Now, I know this isn’t always going to be possible but I am reminded of when the XCake folk have been able to stand up in front of their peers and tell them all about their latest view controllers. It’s gobbledygook for the rest of us but it shows the talent of the teams involved.

What I’m saying is: Make something awesome. Make a wonderful toy. And tell everyone.

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