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Photography Fest

September 15, 2005 By 1 Comment

After buying my Nikon D70 last summer and taking it on our Alaskan cruise — snapping over 700 pictures — I was lamenting to a friend that I was bummed only a dozen or so pictures were ones I was proud of taking.

Eric spent some time easing my mind by describing the experiences he’d had (after years of photography and an analytical mind that understands the nuances of the camera) and that this low number was not atypical. In fact, photographers often take hundreds of photographs to get a single one.

Next, I gained understanding of the 2 or 3 “golden hours” of light best for landscape or outdoor photography (right after dawn and before sunset). Otherwise, the temperature of the light was too high and the dynamic range of the photo was minimized (i.e., they look like crap and marginally interesting). Shadows and the warmth of the golden hour light were best.

So tonight I’m headed up north to Eric’s lake home. He, his friend and I are going to have a photography fest over the weekend. Taking pictures, geeking out over our respective cameras, having fun and understanding how to improve as a photographer are the goals.

Minimal postings this weekend…

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Innovation is Accelerating

September 14, 2005 By 1 Comment

Is it just me? Or are you seeing innovation accelerating too?

Over the last several weeks, I’ve been emailed, called and have read and experienced announcements and heads-up on new and exciting technologies and offerings. There is lots of discussion about Web 2.0 and the internet-as-a-platform, and I’m seeing numerous releases from companies that are taking advantage of the shifts occurring due to increased critical mass of enabling technologies, new approaches and an increase in bandwidth driving consumption.

Here are just a few items from just the past few days:

  • EBay buys Skype. This has been all over the ‘net and everyone is talking about it since Skype was and is cool. But Skype is based on a set of proprietary protocols and not the open SIP format. Michael Robertson (of mp3.com and Linspire fame) has SIPPhone and the Gizmo project (think Skype on open protocols). After EBay announces the acquisition of Skype, Robertson announces “SIPphone is partnering with FreeConferenceCall to let any U.S. telephone and any PC user worldwide participate in high-quality conference calls with up to 10 participants per call and a maximum of 6 hours per call. This service is available with no monthly fees, no setup fees, no per minute charges – no charges whatsoever.“
  • Yahoo mail is coming. I wrote last Friday about Writely (web browser-based Microsoft Word-like offering) that is really cool…but now *another* company works on snagging a piece of the Microsoft value proposition…Outlook.
  • NerdTV debuts. Now you may be wondering, “So what?”. It’s IPTV…that’s what. There aren’t a lot of great examples out there yet, but most of the smart podcasters — that are mini-celebrities or have something people would like to see — are simultaneously podcasting and shooting video (many in high definition…just in case). Read an article about a new report here.
  • Hybrid cars are all over the Frankfurt Auto Show. Big incentive with the price of gasoline.
  • Lots of buzz about a new web browser called Flock that will embrace Web 2.0 standards.
Filed Under: Innovation, Web 2.0

Connecting the Dots Podcast for September 12, 2005

September 12, 2005 By Leave a Comment

Yeah…I like the book and I’m not done with it yet! It’s sparked a lot of thought…so this week’s show talks about the new John Batelle book “The Search“.

The show also features those topics which hit Steve Borsch’s radar screen this week (which you can read below). Radar Screen is a segment that adds some “color” around the blog posts from Borsch.TypePad.com in the past week.

Download the mp3 file of this week’s show

Filed Under: Conversational Marketing, CTD Podcast, Innovation, Podcasting, Web 2.0

“The Search” and predicting your online behavior

September 12, 2005 By Leave a Comment

I *never* proffer up my opinion (or do a review) of a book until I’m finished reading it. But over the last couple of days, I’ve read about 25% of John Batelle’s impressive new book “The Search“, and am excited about the upside and concerned about the downside of this next phase of the internet.

No question that the last several years have made me fully aware that anonymity on the internet is a myth. Privacy and trust is equally elusive and fragile. Batelle’s book does a phenomenal job of articulating what most people who “get it” already know: that the free Web services (Google, Yahoo, AskJeeves, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo-mail, Flickr, Technorati, MSN, et al) are nothing but crack cocaine to get us to use these services in exchange for enabling them to deliver HUGE value-added analytics on top of the data generated by our collective input.

Batelle starts off the book with a twist as he describes the “Database of Intention” (all of our collective intention revealed through our searches — the search strings we input, what we find relevant by clicking on it, etc.) as the heart of the value proposition of the search companies. This Database of Intention is just waiting to be mined and is being mined. Everything you do online that starts with a click from a search engine (or every email you receive on one of these free hosted services) is stored and is being analyzed, contextually understood and aligned with those who want to know you, your intention so as to predict your behavior, and ultimately to get you to cough up money (i.e., through advertising — think Google text ads, AdSense, etc.).

The upside of this is obvious: if you are interested, say, in a new HDTV plasma screen and are on-the-hunt for one, it would sure be helpful if everything relevant was suddenly at your fingertips wouldn’t it? If advertisers could target a product(s) to you, your budget, your available space to hang a screen? You’d read/watch/listen to this perfectly targeted-to-you advertisement, wouldn’t you?

One of my latest posts contains my thoughts around search matched to location (location awareness). So now if I’m at a Starbucks in Minneapolis and search for HDTV plasma screens, it’s not a stretch to have a search company display ads that are within the zip code where I’m sitting at that moment*. With mobile phones beginning to ship with Global Positioning Systems within them (allegedly for 911 geolocator services to triangulate on you if there’s an emergency — but there are darker sides to this I’ll discuss in another post), the next step is to offer services that can do the same thing but deliver this data to you wherever you are at that moment.

The dark side is the absolute potential to build a dossier on every single internet user that is a collection of your purchases, what you search on, what you read from that search, and what your intention is (Batelle gives examples of mental profiling that could be exhibited by search of, say, a serial killer or terrorist based on what their searches contain). With the Patriot Act and draconian portions that have targeted libraries, it would be trivial for the government to pressure for-profit organizations to cough up your data — and these organizations would undoubtedly rollover quickly and not fight. It also would be trivial to know where you are at any moment in time via that mobile telephony device you carry in your purse or pocket.

Even in the first 25% of the book, The Search has provided me with a clarity around the effort, energy (and accelerating market caps) of companies in search — and I’m going to finish it in the next day or so. It’s worth your time if you want to “get” what’s going on too.

*UPDATE: CNet reports that the National Security Agency has been granted a patent on determining an internet user’s physical location.

Filed Under: Conversational Marketing, Innovation, Web 2.0

The only constant is change: a Seattle example

September 11, 2005 By Leave a Comment

Here in Seattle for a family event. It’s always easy to see changes in a place that you come to infrequently, and this city is no exception.

I first came here 20 years ago and was stunned that real estate prices were cheap in comparison to suburban Chicago. The traffic was light, it was physically beautiful with mountains, ocean, Olympic peninsula, San Juan islands, and Nordstrom’s department store was here (one of my wife’s favorites).

Today, the real estate prices, traffic and volume of humans that have moved here are pretty crushing. It’s highly unlikely that this would be a place we’d choose to live. Still, it’s pretty fun to visit though in years past, the area that comprised the 1964 World’s Fair (where the Space Needle* sits) was not some place you’d want to be as it was a bit seedy.

Yesterday’s adventure included a stop at the Experience Music Project (EMP) and the Science Fiction Museum in the shadow of the Space Needle and the entire area has changed for the better . My daughter, who is drawn to music in ways I’ve not seen anyone else be, absolutely loved EMP (and paid no attention to its locally controversial Frank Gehry designed building) as did my bride. I found it interesting but not personally compelling. I think my little guy was bored silly.

Next we stopped at the smaller SciFi museum next door (both are labors of love and investments by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft). My son and I loved it though my wife and daughter did not. Books, memorabilia (like Captain Kirk’s chair from the bridge of the Enterprise, a Tricorder, the creature from Alien, the robot from Lost in Space that used to cry, “Danger, danger Will Robinson” and much more) and videos made it a pretty fun experience. Even though my 10 year old son had no context for much of the memorabilia, he had seen many of the movies and remarked at one point, “I remember seeing that one as a kid!”

*It’s funny the things you remember as a kid which really makes you aware of change. My grandparents had come to the 1964 World’s Fair in Seattle and my Grandma told me on the phone that she’d be bringing me a present: a “replica of the space needle”. My mind went wild with thoughts of a space ship or some large metal toy perhaps. When they arrived home and paid us a visit, I ran up the driveway as they pulled up, she climbed out of the care and handed me a small, metal replica of the Space Needle. “What is THIS?” I thought. I was crestfallen but tried not to show it.

Both grandparents are gone now. When my grandma passed and my Dad asked if there was anything I’d like to remember them by, I chose their replica of the space needle since mine had been lost. So being here has made me ponder change…and not just change to the city of Seattle itself.

Filed Under: Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness

Cash cow Microsoft Office in jeopardy?

September 9, 2005 By Leave a Comment

It’s got to be tough to be Microsoft with open source at your heels and startups going after your cash cow, Office. Of course, $1B going to the bottom line every quarter probably eases the sting.

Is their Microsoft Office franchise in jeopardy?

First HalfBrain builds a “smart net app” in 1999 that emulates the spreadsheet Excel and later the presentation package Powerpoint (HalfBrain was eventually sold to AlphaBlocks which was sold to IBM). Then some of that crew form OddPost building a web-based email application that emulates Microsoft Outlook (and gets acquired by Yahoo).

Now a smart team of folks have knocked off Word at the startup “Writely.” Currently in beta, it still is pretty awesome…especially to be able to create permissions, email those with whom you want to have access, and collaborate on a document.

Writely’s “Questions” FAQ succinctly presents their value proposition:

What does Writely do?
Writely allows you to edit documents online with whomever you choose, and then publish them online — also for whomever you choose.

How is it different than a wiki?
For one thing, it has permissions, so that you can invite only you choose to edit or view your documents. For another, it’s easy to use. ;)

Why should I try it?
Because it’s new and cool! Seriously, though, if you need any of the features mentioned below, then this could be the tool you’ve been looking for.

What can I do with it?
You can:

  • Upload Word documents, HTML or text (or create documents from scratch).
  • Use our simple WSIWYG editor to format your documents.
  • Edit documents online with whomever you choose.
  • View your documents’ complete revision history and roll back to any version.
  • Publish documents online to the world, or to just who you choose.
  • Download documents to your desktop as Word, HTML or zip.

Do you offer a version I can put on my own server?
We’re working on it. If you’d like to participate in our beta program, click here to tell us.

Security and sensitive data controls will be the hurdle over which all web enabled applications must vault to break in to the enterprise — so that last question is key. But is that even the target market? Or are the tens of millions of daily Office users — tired of emailing around documents and trying to maintain some semblance of version control — the market? Lawyers from two different companies going back-n-forth over document iterations and redlining? Inside salespeople tweaking proposals collaboratively with the customer? Project managers working with their outsourced group in India on joint plan development? Teachers that want to post curricula or schedules with blank placeholders for parent involvement.

The more I ponder all the uses, the more enthused that I become that these Writely guys have hit a hot button. It will remain to be seen if some firm, willing to compete headon with Microsoft, will buy them and assemble an online competitive offering to Office.

Filed Under: Innovation, Web 2.0

Nano-machines achieve huge breakthrough

September 8, 2005 By Leave a Comment

Everywhere I look I’m seeing that we’re on the threshold of major advances in medicine, space, technology and, especially, in the field of nano scale technologies.

A major advance in nanotechnology with far-reaching potential benefits in medicine and other fields is to be announced at this year’s BA Festival of Science in Dublin.

According to this, this and this article,

“Scientists have built molecules that can, for the first time ever, move larger-than-atom-sized objects. Constructing molecular machines capable of performing relatively large-scale mechanical tasks has never been achieved before.

Now, in an unprecedented breakthrough, chemists at Edinburgh University have used light to stimulate man-made molecules to propel small droplets of liquid across flat surfaces and even up 12° slopes against the force of gravity. This is equivalent to tiny movements in a conventional machine raising objects to over twice the height of the world’s tallest building.

This significant step could eventually lead to the development of artificial muscles that use molecular ‘nano’-machines of this kind to help perform physical tasks. Nano-machines could also be used in ‘smart’ materials that change their properties (e.g. volume, viscosity, conductivity) in response to a stimulus. They could even control the movement of drugs around the body to the exact point where they are needed.”

Filed Under: Innovation, Nanotechnology

The real news from Apple’s announcement today

September 7, 2005 By 1 Comment

With the rampant rumors about today’s Apple announcement being solely focused on the iTunes/Motorola phone (and that Cingular would be the sole provider), there was alot of disappointment with this minimally exciting announcement. Coupled with the rumors about an “iPhone” was speculation about the upcoming Apple Expo in Paris and why Steve Jobs cancelled his keynote — and that this event was going to be a monumentally exciting one and the buzz was quite loud. (Here’s my blog post about this iPhone from April).

The phone was rolled out. So was a new, tiny “iPod nano“. My thought? Jobs was going to rollout the iPod nano in Paris but — with all the rumors and pictures of the ROKR Motorola phone and Cingular deal already leaked all over the ‘net — he had no choice but to deliver something new and fresh at today’s event. All-in-all the buzz is pretty lukewarm.

To me, the real news came in the form of statistics on the overwhelming market share Apple enjoys. MacWorld has a recap online that spells out the following very interesting facts which I’ve added opinion around with “SB” preceding it…

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Innovation

LED lighting…reducing energy consumption by 10%

September 6, 2005 By Leave a Comment

After a few conversations with people about the price of gasoline spurred more thinking around our nation’s dependence on foreign oil (or oil at all for that matter!), my thoughts turned to Light Emitting Diodes (LED’s). Knowing that they were being used currently for atypical and unique applications instead of general purpose lighting for now, I nonetheless have been increasingly enamored by them because, of all things, a “never needs batteries” windup flashlight!

On the 5th Annual Dad & Son Adventure to the North Shore of Lake Superior a couple of weeks ago, we took along two windup LED flashlights like the one at left (two in a package for $19.95 at Costco). They never need batteries, the LED bulbs are rated for 10,000 hours, and one minute of cranking gives an hour of cool, bright, white light. They were very useful.

So I thought long and hard about what I’ve skimmed in articles in the past year or so about LED’s: They’re energy efficient and could reduce consumption by 10% as of 2020 (using LED’s vs. incandescent light bulbs), the light is at a higher Kelvin temperature since they’re a more efficient process making them brighter, and the initial high cost of the current manufacturing processes would be obviated by the length of burn time of these LED’s.

Seems prudent to find numerous ways to drive down energy consumption. 10% here…10% there…pretty soon we’re talking about real savings and reduced dependence. Take a peek at the differences in LED’s vs. incandescent lights:

One more thing: I think about how useful water resistant lighting like this would be in areas like New Orleans (though food and water are a higher priority), and also in third world countries where there are an abundance of people that would glady trade one minute of hand cranking to enjoy an evening of one hour of illumination.

Filed Under: Innovation

Connecting the Dots Podcast for September 5, 2005

September 5, 2005 By Leave a Comment

Talk about the web host BlueHost and tools for hosters called cPanel and the fabulous Fantastico, as well as items around New Orleans (and the blogger from there called The Interdictor). The show also features those topics which hit Steve Borsch’s radar screen this week. Radar Screen is a segment that adds some “color” around the blog posts from Borsch.TypePad.com in the past week.

Listen to or download the MP3 file

Filed Under: CTD Podcast, Podcasting
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