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Monday, December 31, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
One Billion Smart Devices
According to Gartner, in 2013, the number of smart devices in use world wide will eclipse one billion. That is a huge number. That represent something like 15% of the earths population. But actually, the number of devices sold isn't a one to one relation. For instance, I have several devices, and I would assume many others have several devices.
There is one fact that companies just cant escape, if they have a major online presence, it needs to be optimized for a mobile experience, or you will lose business. It's not a matter of maybe any more, it's a fact.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
54 Hour Startup Weekend Ogden
I attended Startup Weekend in Ogden Utah November 1st-3rd, 2012. Check out the website, it's a very cool global meet-up.
I've read for years about small groups building products over a weekend, getting some recognition, and some even getting funding to push the product further. I had a hard time believing they had a product worth investing. And that was my naive view, and lack of understanding. What I experienced at my first Startup Weekend was the complete opposite.
Overview
Startup Weekend is like a tech conference with a rocket ship attached. From idea to product, your team build the framework of a business, including product, marketing and sales in 54 hours. What a rush.
There were so many great ideas, it was hard to pick just one. Several didn't make it past the first few hours. Other projects started from the dust of the fallen. Some didn't stay after the first day. Others changed projects (it happened to my project). Everyone wants to succeed.
Getting There Early
Those getting to the event early are smart, they get to do a little interviewing, get a feeling for those who will ultimately become team mates. I didn't understand that, and made a few mistakes when it came to introductions.
My recommendation is to arrive early and network. You won't have any time to do it once the event starts. Get to know who is there to pitch ideas; who are the developers, creatives, marketer and business guys.
I also recommend staying at the hotel of the event if possible. This will give you more time to work.
Takes notes during the pitches
I'm sure this part of the event will vary at each location, but the one I attended, everyone who wanted to pitch an idea was lined up and given sixty seconds to convince us they were the project to be part of. This was another mistake I made. With 50-60 pitches, I quickly lost track.
Once the pitched are finished, everyone gets 3 votes. After 20 minutes of voting (hearing more details of projects), votes are tallied, and the project pool is announced.
Now the fun begins. Project leaders are asked to create a project team, and get started. There was a lot of recruiting, a lot of explaining, and interviewing. This is a serious process which I wasn't expecting to be so quick. Within 30 minutes pretty much every project had a team of 5 or more developers, designers, and business folks.
Why are you there?
My original thought was to show up, learn a little, see how the process worked, watch from the fringe. But that isn't how it works. Everyone there fell into one of three different buckets; developer, designer, everyone else. So of course I fell into the developer bucket.
I recommend showing up with an agenda. Look for a project that you can relate with, and decide before hand what you want to get out of the event. Do you want to act as a developer/designer, and contribute to a project. Do you want to pitch an idea and put together a project team. Or can you help a project team with sales and marketing? Great opportunity for sales and marketing gurus to become part of a startup. We really needed more of this skill for sure.
Pace yourself
I'm not 20 any more and find it difficult to work at a high level for 24-36-48 hours straight. But some can do that. I need some sleep, water, food, and simply getting up and walking around.
Pacing your self will not only give you the ability to go the distance, but give your team better work. I promise that after 50 hours, you will be burnt out. You will want to walk away.
Just participate
You're there. Do it all. get excited. Help. Encourage. Build relationships. Network when possible. Alex Lawrence, the guy who put together the Ogden Startup Weekend did it right. He had prizes (I didn't win a thing, I never do at these things), contents, guests, mentors, and entrepreneur judges.
It's definitely a culture.
Wrapping it up
We were fed well. Hydrated well. And created some great technology. I was so amazed at what was accomplished by everyone in 54 hours. Most of the work was early stage, minimal viable product, far enough along that we could see results. But nearly every project has miles to go.
If you ever have a chance to attend a Startup Weekend, I highly encourage it. The experience alone will get your creative juices flowing. And you get to meet some incredible people.
Have you attended a Startup Weekend? What was your experience?
54 Hour Startup Weekend Ogden
I attended Startup Weekend in Ogden Utah November 1st-3rd, 2012. Check out the website, it's a very cool global meet-up.
I've read for years about small groups building products over a weekend, getting some recognition, and some even getting funding to push the product further. I had a hard time believing they had a product worth investing. And that was my naive view, and lack of understanding. What I experienced at my first Startup Weekend was the complete opposite.
Startup Weekend is like a tech conference with a rocket ship attached. From idea to product, your team build the framework of a business, including product, marketing and sales in 54 hours. What a rush.
There were so many great ideas, it was hard to pick just one. Several didn't make it past the first few hours. Other projects started from the dust of the fallen. Some didn't stay after the first day. Others changed projects (it happened to my project). Everyone wants to succeed.
Those getting to the event early are smart, they get to do a little interviewing, get a feeling for those who will ultimately become team mates. I didn't understand that, and made a few mistakes when it came to introductions.
My recommendation is to arrive early and network. You won't have any time to do it once the event starts. Get to know who is there to pitch ideas; who are the developers, creatives, marketer and business guys.
I also recommend staying at the hotel of the event if possible. This will give you more time to work.
I'm sure this part of the event will vary at each location, but the one I attended, everyone who wanted to pitch an idea was lined up and given sixty seconds to convince us they were the project to be part of. This was another mistake I made. With 50-60 pitches, I quickly lost track.
Once the pitched are finished, everyone gets 3 votes. After 20 minutes of voting (hearing more details of projects), votes are tallied, and the project pool is announced.
Now the fun begins. Project leaders are asked to create a project team, and get started. There was a lot of recruiting, a lot of explaining, and interviewing. This is a serious process which I wasn't expecting to be so quick. Within 30 minutes pretty much every project had a team of 5 or more developers, designers, and business folks.
My original thought was to show up, learn a little, see how the process worked, watch from the fringe. But that isn't how it works. Everyone there fell into one of three different buckets; developer, designer, everyone else. So of course I fell into the developer bucket.
I recommend showing up with an agenda. Look for a project that you can relate with, and decide before hand what you want to get out of the event. Do you want to act as a developer/designer, and contribute to a project. Do you want to pitch an idea and put together a project team. Or can you help a project team with sales and marketing? Great opportunity for sales and marketing gurus to become part of a startup. We really needed more of this skill for sure.
I'm not 20 any more and find it difficult to work at a high level for 24-36-48 hours straight. But some can do that. I need some sleep, water, food, and simply getting up and walking around.
Pacing your self will not only give you the ability to go the distance, but give your team better work. I promise that after 50 hours, you will be burnt out. You will want to walk away.
You're there. Do it all. get excited. Help. Encourage. Build relationships. Network when possible. Alex Lawrence, the guy who put together the Ogden Startup Weekend did it right. He had prizes (I didn't win a thing, I never do at these things), contents, guests, mentors, and entrepreneur judges.
It's definitely a culture.
We were fed well. Hydrated well. And created some great technology. I was so amazed at what was accomplished by everyone in 54 hours. Most of the work was early stage, minimal viable product, far enough along that we could see results. But nearly every project has miles to go.
If you ever have a chance to attend a Startup Weekend, I highly encourage it. The experience alone will get your creative juices flowing. And you get to meet some incredible people.
Have you attended a Startup Weekend? What was your experience?
read more...
I've read for years about small groups building products over a weekend, getting some recognition, and some even getting funding to push the product further. I had a hard time believing they had a product worth investing. And that was my naive view, and lack of understanding. What I experienced at my first Startup Weekend was the complete opposite.
Overview
Startup Weekend is like a tech conference with a rocket ship attached. From idea to product, your team build the framework of a business, including product, marketing and sales in 54 hours. What a rush.
There were so many great ideas, it was hard to pick just one. Several didn't make it past the first few hours. Other projects started from the dust of the fallen. Some didn't stay after the first day. Others changed projects (it happened to my project). Everyone wants to succeed.
Getting There Early
Those getting to the event early are smart, they get to do a little interviewing, get a feeling for those who will ultimately become team mates. I didn't understand that, and made a few mistakes when it came to introductions.
My recommendation is to arrive early and network. You won't have any time to do it once the event starts. Get to know who is there to pitch ideas; who are the developers, creatives, marketer and business guys.
I also recommend staying at the hotel of the event if possible. This will give you more time to work.
Takes notes during the pitches
I'm sure this part of the event will vary at each location, but the one I attended, everyone who wanted to pitch an idea was lined up and given sixty seconds to convince us they were the project to be part of. This was another mistake I made. With 50-60 pitches, I quickly lost track.
Once the pitched are finished, everyone gets 3 votes. After 20 minutes of voting (hearing more details of projects), votes are tallied, and the project pool is announced.
Now the fun begins. Project leaders are asked to create a project team, and get started. There was a lot of recruiting, a lot of explaining, and interviewing. This is a serious process which I wasn't expecting to be so quick. Within 30 minutes pretty much every project had a team of 5 or more developers, designers, and business folks.
Why are you there?
My original thought was to show up, learn a little, see how the process worked, watch from the fringe. But that isn't how it works. Everyone there fell into one of three different buckets; developer, designer, everyone else. So of course I fell into the developer bucket.
I recommend showing up with an agenda. Look for a project that you can relate with, and decide before hand what you want to get out of the event. Do you want to act as a developer/designer, and contribute to a project. Do you want to pitch an idea and put together a project team. Or can you help a project team with sales and marketing? Great opportunity for sales and marketing gurus to become part of a startup. We really needed more of this skill for sure.
Pace yourself
I'm not 20 any more and find it difficult to work at a high level for 24-36-48 hours straight. But some can do that. I need some sleep, water, food, and simply getting up and walking around.
Pacing your self will not only give you the ability to go the distance, but give your team better work. I promise that after 50 hours, you will be burnt out. You will want to walk away.
Just participate
You're there. Do it all. get excited. Help. Encourage. Build relationships. Network when possible. Alex Lawrence, the guy who put together the Ogden Startup Weekend did it right. He had prizes (I didn't win a thing, I never do at these things), contents, guests, mentors, and entrepreneur judges.
It's definitely a culture.
Wrapping it up
We were fed well. Hydrated well. And created some great technology. I was so amazed at what was accomplished by everyone in 54 hours. Most of the work was early stage, minimal viable product, far enough along that we could see results. But nearly every project has miles to go.
If you ever have a chance to attend a Startup Weekend, I highly encourage it. The experience alone will get your creative juices flowing. And you get to meet some incredible people.
Have you attended a Startup Weekend? What was your experience?
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
LinkedIn First Million Member
This post is really for me, just documenting a cool email I received from Reid Hoffman, Co-found of LinkedIn, telling me that I was one of the first million LinkedIn members, 979 thousand something, so just barely. March 2011.
My user ID on Twitter is also 770 thousand something, so I'm a first million member there too.
Again this is really only something I care about. But I can show off to my wife and kids.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Amazon Prices J.K. Rowling's New Book Sky High
Checked out J.K. Rowling's new book The Casual Vacancy on Amazon today. Just wanted to see what the reader ratings were, and what the price would be. And to my surprise, the Amazon Kindle version at the time of this writing was $17.99. What the?
I guess you can no longer justify the cost of an e-reader as a way to buy cheaper books. Publishers have decided e-books are just as expensive as paper versions. Flawed thinking.
I know writers, published and self-published will tell me how wrong I am, but for years, media publishers have tried to justify the high cost of their goods based on cost to manufacture. This isn't the case for digital books, or digital music. But I guess music is the same, you buy a digital album for $10, about as much as you would in a store. It's just crazy.
Monday, September 17, 2012
WordPress App For Android Sports Snazzy Stats
WordPress for Android (and iOS) has a pretty snazzy stats module. The UI is simpe but has great graphs. You must log into your Wordpress.com account, and it's possible you will also need JetPack. My stats suck so thanks for helping a brother out.
I'm Refusing To Talk About The iPhone 5 Or Samsung Galaxy S III... Today
It's not going to happen. There is no way I'm going to link bait you here to talk about those two products, the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S III. Wouldn't you rather discuss things like solving first, second and third world problems? My next post for sure.
Photo by zigazou76
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
At The Mercy Of Cloud Storage
I'm a big cloud services user. I have cloud storage accounts with a net of nearly 100GB of free space. I use a lot of the space for archives, but lately I've been using Google Drive to keep my school documents available no matter I am. And today that system failed.
Early this morning, apparently before a major Google services outage, I had saved a document I needed to print for a class later in the evening. When I got the school, and opened up my browser with the intention of printing the document, I discovered I couldn't get to Google Drive. So no homework. It was frustrating. Class started in a few minutes and I would have to turn in a late assignment because of this failure, and the failure wasn't all Google.
Luckily I had the original still in a Word document, and I was able to print it out and failure averted. But what if I didn't have a second copy? So now, I need to back up my cloud storage in multiple places in case one is off line. That seems redundant and painful.
It's also a lesson in why local applications can be important. About a month ago I removed all the cloud storage apps I had on my main machine. Dropbox, Box, SkyDrive, Google Drive, and a few more. Each of these has a cached version of my file on the local hard drive. But my thought was why do I need a local copy. The whole reason for cloud storage is so I can get it off my local storage and free up space for things, like movies.
The dilemma then is are you willing to keep cached versions of files on your local system or totally trust that the files will be available 24-7.
You could write a recipe on If This Then That (IFTTT) that copies from one service to another. But that seems so backwards and broken.
You Can Blame Or Act On Education Failure
Look at how many kids are forced into remedial courses at the college level. Our current #Education models are failing.
— Laura(@GOPrincess) September 11, 2012
I'm in no way criticizing Laura for her statement. But it got me thinking about what the statement really means. I hope to start writing more on Educational issues, and especially education and technology. But let's start here.
Earlier, Laura says that when she was in school she excelled, and felt frustrated that she had to listen to teachers dumb down the class. I can see that happening, I saw it happen. But wouldn't a better solution be to get rid of "grade levels" and start an education system based on ability, not disability.
There will be many who claim that system won't work. I ask if you have tried it? Why wouldn't it work? If I'm an exceptional student I should be able to move at my pace and not be held back because of the "group". Or, if I'm a student who needs extra help, I should be in a class setting that gives me more attention.
Imagine a school, or schools, where one teacher could handle 20-30 kids all at the same level, and 2-3 teachers helping those who need more attention. Imagine the level of education our children would graduate with.
Grade levels, no student left behind, remediation; these are all things from an archaic education system that is dysfunctional and not producing results. It's not good enough anymore to graduate everyone for the sake of psychology.
The question is why haven't we done this? What is holding us back? Where are the road blocks? I can't be the only one who has thought of this. And if it's being done, it's not visible enough.
Photo by Serge Melki
Monday, September 10, 2012
Why Don't We Use Career Managers?
Just throwing this out there for discussion
Generally a professional sports athlete hires a manager to negotiate contracts and details with teams the athlete plays for. Why? I know not all athletes do this, but why do the majority of professional athletes hire managers?
Why don't people with specialized talents hire managers to negotiate their employment contracts? Let a manager find new and improved career opportunities. Let a manager help you become the best you can be in your career, your skills, and your salary/benefits.
Is the role of an employment agency similar? My experience has been agencies aren't interested in you beyond the current placement need.
Would a career manager get in the way? Could they help you? In your career, would an advisor, coach, manager, have helped get you a better position?
There is some great discussion on this topic happening on Google+ (http://thom.ws/OBLbN9). Check it out, or start your own discussion below.
Photo by lrargerich
Thursday, June 21, 2012
LogMeIn For iPad Has Nasty Security Flaw
I've been a LogMeIn user since the Hamachi days. Several months ago I installed the iPad version of LogMeIn. I was really excited, and have used the application numerous times with success. I remotely connect to an iMac which is my main computer.
A few weeks ago I was poking around the settings and noticed the blank screen mode was set, but the computer I was logged into was till wide open. I'm sitting in front of the host PC, logged in through the iPad version of LogMeIn. I turn the feature on and off, and also turn the remote keyboard off too. I see a message that says it's disabled, but guess what, it's not!
This whole time I'm thinking the screen was blanking every time I connected to my remote computer the screen remains fully open for any one to see what I'm doing. I know, I should have taken the time check and make sure the screen really went blank. Surprise, it doesn't.
This is a serious security hole if you ask me. If I am trying to connect to an office computer, or a personal computer, I would expect the host (remote) computer to blank the screen during my session, if the setting is turned on.
There are many complaints on LogMeIn forums and disgruntled blog posts, none of which have a solution. I see many cases where LogMeIn says they will fix this problem that has persisted for what looks like years. There also appears to be a problem with people getting their money back when they discover this problem. Purchased through iTunes, of course it now becomes Apple's problem. LogMeIn feels their owe you nothing.
My Windows friends apparently don't have this problem. I'm so glad they are getting what they paid for.
LogMeIn for crying out loud, please fix your broken software. We paid you for it, and it's an advertised feature. 3, 4, 5 years is long enough to come up with a solution.
read more...
A few weeks ago I was poking around the settings and noticed the blank screen mode was set, but the computer I was logged into was till wide open. I'm sitting in front of the host PC, logged in through the iPad version of LogMeIn. I turn the feature on and off, and also turn the remote keyboard off too. I see a message that says it's disabled, but guess what, it's not!
This whole time I'm thinking the screen was blanking every time I connected to my remote computer the screen remains fully open for any one to see what I'm doing. I know, I should have taken the time check and make sure the screen really went blank. Surprise, it doesn't.
This is a serious security hole if you ask me. If I am trying to connect to an office computer, or a personal computer, I would expect the host (remote) computer to blank the screen during my session, if the setting is turned on.
There are many complaints on LogMeIn forums and disgruntled blog posts, none of which have a solution. I see many cases where LogMeIn says they will fix this problem that has persisted for what looks like years. There also appears to be a problem with people getting their money back when they discover this problem. Purchased through iTunes, of course it now becomes Apple's problem. LogMeIn feels their owe you nothing.
My Windows friends apparently don't have this problem. I'm so glad they are getting what they paid for.
LogMeIn for crying out loud, please fix your broken software. We paid you for it, and it's an advertised feature. 3, 4, 5 years is long enough to come up with a solution.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Google Drive And Cloud Storage
Dropbox is the 800 pound gorilla in cloud storage for consumers, and doesn't have a lot to worry about at the moment. But the one thing that keeps cloud storage services like Dropbox, SugarSync and Google Drive from really getting all my content is file size. Limit me to a couple hundred MB or less and I just can't fully integrate your service. I'd even pay for the large storage service if you would up the file size.
* I know some services will allow for larger files with premium accounts. *
Several of the services allow for any size file uploads using the desktop, and that's fine, but I don't use a desktop all the time. In fact I'm using one less and less. There is still a lot of room for improvement, and I know it's coming. I hope. Security and privacy still remains an issue with most services, mainly because the terms of service or use state the service has access to your data and can do what ever they want with it. You may not like this, but don't let that deter you.
Photo courtesy of sebastiankippe
Monday, April 23, 2012
Microsoft SkyDrive Cloud Storage Gunning For Dropbox
Microsoft released an update to their SkyDrive product, and they did its in a big way. This is a serious challenge to Dropbox, with the addition of Mac and Windows native app, and mobile apps for iOS and Windows Phone. But not Android mobile, which is a shame, because it would have been just as easy to write an Android client at the same time.
This is a big win for those who already have a SkyDrive account, you can be grandfathered into a 25GB plan, everyone else will be offered a 7GB plan. I've had my SkyDrive account for years but there hasn't been any integration with the desktop (not Mac anyway), and no mobile use until just recently.
SkyDrive is available everywhere I travel; laptop and mobile.
There are a few quirky things about the interface. The layout isn't like Windows Explorer, or Mac Finder. Files and folders are represented by big blocky icons, no detail list. And even weirder was they stuck the mechanism to change from large icons to small icons in the Pull Down process to refresh the screen.
Why do I think this is a serious player? Because aside from Android, which I'm sure is on the way, SkyDrive now integrates with all your systems, and you get more space. Microsoft says a study they did indicates most user have less than 7GB of data stored in the cloud, and that may be true, but the the big reason I don't have as much as I want in the cloud, is the file size limitation. I would push video files to the the cloud drives if most didn't limit to 100MB or less. That's a service imposed limit, not a user issue.
Limitations aside, 25GB is a lot of space, and I intend on using it, all of it. Get a SkyDrive and software here.
read more...
This is a big win for those who already have a SkyDrive account, you can be grandfathered into a 25GB plan, everyone else will be offered a 7GB plan. I've had my SkyDrive account for years but there hasn't been any integration with the desktop (not Mac anyway), and no mobile use until just recently.
SkyDrive is available everywhere I travel; laptop and mobile.
There are a few quirky things about the interface. The layout isn't like Windows Explorer, or Mac Finder. Files and folders are represented by big blocky icons, no detail list. And even weirder was they stuck the mechanism to change from large icons to small icons in the Pull Down process to refresh the screen.
Why do I think this is a serious player? Because aside from Android, which I'm sure is on the way, SkyDrive now integrates with all your systems, and you get more space. Microsoft says a study they did indicates most user have less than 7GB of data stored in the cloud, and that may be true, but the the big reason I don't have as much as I want in the cloud, is the file size limitation. I would push video files to the the cloud drives if most didn't limit to 100MB or less. That's a service imposed limit, not a user issue.
Limitations aside, 25GB is a lot of space, and I intend on using it, all of it. Get a SkyDrive and software here.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Running Ubuntu 11 On The iPad 2
The last OS I'm running on the iPad 2 is Ubuntu 11 using the Parallels app. Everything went well, and loaded fast. Might use it often.
read more...
Running Windows 8 On The iPad 2
Next experiment was running Windows 8 Community Edition on the iPad with the Parallels app. This wasn't nearly as easy as i thout it would be. All the problems had to do with Windows new Metro feature. I tried several times to figure how to turn it off (none of the examples found through Google worked.)
I can't say I'm a big fan of Windows 8, at least until I spend more time learning the new features.
Running Windows 7 On The iPad 2
More of a novelty than really functional, I managed to get Windows 7 running in the Parallels iPad app. As you can see in this image I am running Visual Studio 2010. Very cool.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Revealing Your Code
Checking out in Walmart the other day I noticed this on the screen in front of me. A console output left in by a programmer? A debug output oops? It has no value to the user.
read more...
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Google+ Shouldn't Provide A Post API
I've been disappointed that Google doesn't provide an API to post to my Plus stream. It's really selfish but I want to post from any of the client tools I use, and that is the problem, so does everyone else. As Google's Vic Gundotra says, "your stream could be easily overwhelmed", and I agree.
Looking at this problem from their point of view, with pretty weak noise control, Google+ would quickly turn into an out of control Twitter. The sad part is the difficulty of preventing people from abusing the API. Throttling and whitelisting seem to be common solutions to this problem, but there is no guarantee the user of a white listed app won't abuse it.
I'll take the hassle of having to manually post until Google can figure it out.
read more...
Looking at this problem from their point of view, with pretty weak noise control, Google+ would quickly turn into an out of control Twitter. The sad part is the difficulty of preventing people from abusing the API. Throttling and whitelisting seem to be common solutions to this problem, but there is no guarantee the user of a white listed app won't abuse it.
I'll take the hassle of having to manually post until Google can figure it out.
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