The world of Venture Capital ...

Well, I have been taking casual glances at VCs again after more than a year of completely ignoring them. Doing some pretty extensive research the last week or so, I found a cool site called Ventureblogs, where many links to the industry's most vocal VCs can be found (heavyweights like Mark Cuban, David Sifry, etc...). I have read over quite a few of them, and let me state outright some of these guys just don't get much of anything. I'm not gonna call any guys out, but it's painfully clear that Web Bubble 1.0, and the new coming-to-a-town-near-you Web Bubble 2.0 are the direct result of these slick and sly masters of money manipulation and outright hob-dob crookery. Just big words coming out of my mouth? Maybe, but check them out yourself.

I *did* enjoy reading the insights of folks like Steve Hall, Roger McNamee, and Jeff Clavier among others ... they seemed to know what they were talking about (at least not talking out of their asses) and had a good sense of humor about the industry. I'm sure there are many more out there worth reading, if you know of them, please let me know.

Having said all this - I do understand that these guys demand (and deserve) a ROI for their investments -- generally in the form of a M&A (merger & aquisition), or a a full-blown IPO. Therefore, this means generally they do not need to really get the "technology" for technology's sake, but only that they can see a clear path to ROI. However, what's difficult to deal with sometimes is explaining the hidden human-technology interaction factor (or, in short, the "WOW" factor) that, much of the time, many of them do not get because they themselves do NOT use technology outside of email or a mobile phone.

I've heard lots of negative things about our technologies in the past, be it our older IM technologies we brought to the mobile world, or with our current Jellingspot Data Server. Maybe it's just me, but I remember one clear example that proves this point in someways -- SMS. Back in 1999 when I moved to Europe, SMS was starting to move, but was by far not crazy like it is today. I would make the main argument about bring additional SMS services to customers to drive new business models and new ecosystems, but marketing managers and financial gurus at the carriers would shoot me down and say, "SMS isn't that big, it's too difficult to use for most, and people can just use voice." A few years later, SMS is a super billion dollar industry, and most carriers are pushing it hard. It seems tech people are always ahead of the people who just look at the bottom-line (they don't seem to see anything else around them). I've heard the same arguments against Jellingspot at times from VCs, but that defiant rejection is slowly turning as more and more location-marketing/POS systems hit the market and people are actually using them (not to mention some of my competitors have pulled off funding).

Which brings me back (getting off topic a bit) to the VCs -- yes, I'm looking again, so if you know any bright folks out there who are into the VC business, I'm more than willing to throw down with them verbally to discuss Jellingspot if they have an interest in this very promising market. However, I will still continue to avoid VCs who generally, with their first question, ask, "What is the projected ROI?" You're already showing yourself to be an ass, so it's best you don't waste my time (or yours).

Flash Lite: Revisited

Well, I have been reading all about Flash Lite again lately. My main motivation for doing so is because my good friend (and marketing genius) just landed a primo job at Smashing Ideas, a Seattle-based interactive marketing agency, that among many things, is focusing on bringing interactive Flash Lite content to mobile phones for their customers. I believe he might be working on this in the near future, and as he's familar with Jellingspot, I now seem to have additional motivation to bring a Flash Lite service to Jellingspot.

Now, blogger Bryan Rieger (who appears to be moving his blog again) has been discussing Flash Lite for a while, since he and his wife are Flash developers. To make a long story short, bringing cool Flash Lite content to mobile phones with Jellingspot seems to be something down the immediate road we'll think about. Instead of using our static banner rotation service Adpusher (see demo) on Jellingspot, we'll create some "Flash" service where multi-media Flash banners will be viewed. Won't be that difficult of a service to create, so maybe we'll start on it in the next month or so. The problem is just finding Flash enabled phones ... it's just not a standard run-time environment yet like Java on phones. I guess it's coming, it's only a matter of time.

We'll see how it goes -- currently improving the UI on Jellingspot, which of course, you can download and use for free right now.

[ Technorati Tags: Jellingspot Advertising Flash Lite
Marketing mobile ]

The Fear of Technology ...

There is an interesting (ok, not really ... ) article today on CNN's website that tries to give some kinda of "Technology for Dummies" overview of how technology, wireless in particular, has "changed" and/or will continue to change society. Without being a complete twit, I am always amazed how sensationalist American "main stream" media outlets tend to be in regard to EVERYTHING, but even technology? Being a stalwart American living in Europe, I can't help but gag everytime I read something from American "main stream" (read, idiotic and generally misinformed ... among other things) media ...

Europe has been much more wireless than the USA for at LEAST the last 5 years, and I just don't see people addicted to the internet (minus freaks like me, that I digress) ... "shooting up" on every corner wherever a Wi-Fi hotspot can be found. Currently, I have a PDA with Wi-Fi and a mobile phone with a GPRS connection, which means I can get pretty fast to very fast i-net access almost anywhere in the Czech Republic ... I tend to check my email if I'm out for more than a few hours and I'm standing around waiting for a Tram or something, but I just don't see it. The problem isn't really technology, the problem is a sedentary life-style. Americans are just fat slobs who generally just sit around around watching TV (if you think it's just the USA, however, think again .. most W. Europeans are even bigger, so don't believe the hype) ... at least in the CZ, people are out always playing football (Soccer), or something ... they just don't watch TV like Americans.

Of course, I won't get into the details of why I think Amiks watch so much and are lazy (overworked, under "vacationed", and over consumed???) ... but these articles from outlets like CNN just tend to reinforce the idea that Americans really DON'T know anything, since they never pay attention to anything beyond themselves.

Now, don't get me wrong ... Technology DOES have a sort of crippling effect ... if you want to read how Technology has changed the human soul, check out Ernst Juenger's Storm of Steel ... I won't spoil the book. But, think of it this way ... today, some over-weight slob jamming away to 50-Cent can be eating away on a Subway sandwich in some control room 500 miles away and completly BLOW to smithereens a group of ancient Arthurian knights on horse back (if they existed), whose every ounce and fiber of existence was to be honorable and chivalrous. I think that makes my point ... obviously, we all know which side you'd WANT to be on in your sub-conscious, but let's be serious -- nobody wants to take a 500lb. laser guided bomb for the team.

Anyway, I'm a bit off topic now -- but, I think you get my point -- technology has its goods and bads, but in the case of this article, it's nothing but fish-wrap (in regards to the scare mongering).

Apple's New Video IPod

Yawn ....

Apple released, finally after everybody else on the planet, a video playing version of its popular IPod PAP ... now it's entering PMP (no, not pimp ... Personal Media Player ... even if Apple is denying it) status .... as I posted eariler, it's almost laughable how Apple gets big headlines for releasing new toys that other people have been making for a while. What I *do* like is that Apple has forged a few deals to bring TV shows to the IPod's screen, allowing you to purchase for $1.99 TV show episodes... that's actually kinda cool, I guess if you think people watching idiotic TV shows on the run cool (minus the Simpsons of course) ... but, as I noted, others have been doing it for a while, and doing it in a much cooler fashion using TiVo.

Of course, Apple's IPod is pretty slick in terms of size (but then, again, only a 2.5" inch screen, so what should you expect?) ... not to mention, Apple's probably illegal deal with Samsung has given them a slight advantage in getting new memory goodies (hence smaller devices) ... putting them (seemingly, innocent until proven guilty!) into the same bowl as Microsoft, who Apple fanatics like to bash as a bully .... whatever the case, if anybody can help mobile video get popular, it's gonna be Apple.

Way to go guys ...

[ Technorati Tags: Apple IPod Mobil Video
Tivo mp3s ]

6th Sense

Well, 6th Sense Communications has decided to jump into the location-based "personal networking" market, going toe-to-toe with the likes of Nokia Sensor and Mobiluck. If you don't quite remember, let me refresh your memory ... "personal networking" is where you generally search for and then, once found, interact with other people in your immediate area, generally via Bluetooth wireless technology on your mobile device, to send messages, pictures, etc... basically, taking the art of flirting to the mobile-tech level.

However, whereas Mobiluck is free to use (once you purchase the software), it's my understanding from the quick blub about 6th Sense on Windows For Devices, that you can get the software for free, but you must pay for data services to use it (ie... you are making server requests via the carrier). In other words, what seems to happen in their own words is this (from Windows For Devices):

"6th Sense says its approach differs architecturally from similar applications such as Nokia's Sensor and MobiLuck, in that it is client/server-based rather than peer-to-peer. By having much of the processing done on a remote server, the client application can be made smaller and simpler. Additionally, new features can be added on the server, without having to upgrade the client. Also, security is improved because no user data is exchanged over Bluetooth, the company adds."

The article goes on to say:

"On the other hand, one disadvantage of the client/server approach used by 6th Sense is that communications between the server and the mobile phones running the 6th Sense app incur over-the-air data transfer charges."

If you're still not following, basically, this is what happens:

You sign up for an account online ... and you store all of your information there. Then, you fire up your client application you have on your phone ... which I'm guessing (I will download it and play with it later) has some kinda unique ID for your profile in it or something ... then, when you search your location with the client (using Bluetooth technology), it can find other profiles .. and if you want information about that profile, you have to fire up your 3G/GPRS connection to get it (this is where you run up data charges).

I won't pass judgement on this take just yet (gotta try it first), but it's an interesting way to do what can be doing with simple P-2-P applications. I can see the good and bad (as the article indicates, too, above) pretty quick ... interesting to say the least. I suggest you all download it and let me know ... I'll do the same.

[ Technorati Tags: Bluetooth Mobiluck Nokia Sensor
6th Sense Social Networking ]

RSS Feed Read'n ...

Recently, one of my good friends has recently just obtained a new job where he gets to actually USE technology (he was in a very traditional sector before) ... I hinted that he might want to read RSS feeds so he can quickly read what's going on in the industries he is working in as information about new products, services, etc... is released. He didn't know anything about RSS, so I sent him to Wikipedia (which is always so slow!) to read more about it (Atom/RSS/OPML, etc...). Having done that, I recommended that he download Omea Reader, since I work for the company that makes it, so I could help him learn it quickly since I use Omea Pro on a daily basis, not to mention it's free. However, we quickly ran into a problem ... he needed to install the .NET Framework in order to use Omea Reader, and he did NOT have permission to install anything like that on his computer. He would have to put in a request to the admin to do it. What a bugger! But, this presents a problem which I'm sure he's not the only one to have run that course. What to do?

Well, get a browser based RSS reader of course! I then recommended Bloglines (although I personally don't have any experience with it, as I use a rich client) ... but then somebody else told me about Pluck. I haven't had a chance to crash test the two, but Pluck is pretty impressive, easy to use (a plus for novices), and free (at least for now). Plus, they have something cool called Shadows (I won't discuss that, since I don't know enough about it yet, but basicaly you can create your own personalized search engine ... more about it later when I play with it.) integrated into it.

Whatever the case, web based RSS clients are pretty useful, but if you wanna read off-line, there will be a need for rich clients, too, with off-line functionality. I guess it just depends what you need.

The Importance of Roaming

Recently, on my trip to the US, I was pretty surprised that I was able to connect to a GPRS connection and send/receive MMS outside of my "native" mobile area (the Czech Republic). That surprise wore off quickly, as I remembered that Vodafone actually purchased the small mobile carrier I was using (Oskar) recently ... this purchase, which I didn't think was a big deal at first, automatically gave me access to all Vodafone networks and the networks of carriers they have agreements with. Wow, pretty freak'n cool! Last year, when I travelled outside of the CZ, I had to just "give up" my GPRS connection at the border, but it seems those days are long gone (sure, I could have switched to T-Mobile then, but I was happy where I was for the time being).

I guess sometimes, it's cool when a large company gobbles up your smaller one .... :-)

Back from the PDC ...

Well, first off, I made it back ALIVE. I don't know how many of you have ever been in a plane that aborted landing on the first attempt, but let me tell you, if you want a sure way to crap yourself, this is it. As if flying 10 hours from LA to Amsterdam wasn't bad enough, the KLM Boeing 747-400 I was flying on decided to trick all of the passengers at the last minute, by jacking the jet-engines to full-throttle as we came over the runway to go screaming back up into the sky ... everybody in Business Class (where I was :-) had the look for SHEER HORROR on their faces ... I don't know how mine looked, but I counted to 15 and figured if I wasn't dead by then, it'd be ok ... after about 30 seconds of full-throttle going up at 45 degrees and then leveling out, the Capitan came on and said some plane hadn't managed to make it off of the run-way yet, and it was dangerous for us to land as we might rear-end it ... at least the guy was honest -- as we did a loop to come back around to land and he said, "Flight attendants prepare to land" -- everybody started laughing, since he had just said that about 10 minutes prior ....

Anyway, enough small talk ...

Microsoft's PDC, from a mobile stand-point, wasn't all that interesting. There was almost NOTHING there in regards to development stuff --- no specific SDKs for Bluetooth development ... nothing (Note: I didn't manage to see about 30% of the booths, so maybe there was something there I missed). They had some propaganda booths showing MS Mobile devices (I even played with the HTC Universial), but outside of this -- when I started pressing them with development questions in regards to Bluetooth development, seems they didn't really have anything to offer (however, I did land a Windows Mobile 5.0 Developer Eval Kit with VS .NET 2005 Beta 2 on it ...). Symbian is still far ahead in regards to SDK "openess" (although Symbian SDKs suck). Whatever the case, not much else to report ...

Off to Microsoft's PDC ...

Well, I'm off to Microsoft's PDC in Los Angeles this week ... while this is a developer's conference, I hope to find some interesting development tools and technologies relating to the Compact .NET Framework and Bluetooth. Wish me luck on this 9/11 travel day (great) ....

Over-Hyped Apple Ipod Nano ... now in stores ...

Ok, I'm gonna get thrashed for this, but I stand by my guns that Apple's portable music line, iPod, is both over blown (in terms of feature set) and over-priced (for equal players). Case in point, everytime Apple release a new player, such as happened today with the iPod Nano, it hits the airwaves hard, like no other portable music player. It even gets mentioned on CNN everytime something new about it comes out. I don't know if this is just paid advertising or what (I don't think so), but it is almost annoying everytime I hear something about Apple (who have a large chuck of the portable music market in the USA, but not in Asia or Europe ... and who were late into the market, and certainly haven't out innovated iRiver or Creative.

Hats off to the Apple Marketing Team -- I think nobody on the planet is as good as them as producing so much hype and driving so much interest out of products that have existed for some time.

Back to the Nano ....

It does, unlike the Shuffle, seem pretty cool -- small form factor, thin, and with 4GBs of space, it seems Apple may just have launced a REAL death blow to the other portable music player makers ... unlike prior hype, maybe Apple is for real this time. Guess I'll have to buy one to find out :-)

Omea 2.0 Released ...

JetBrains' Omea version 2.0 has now been released. This is the ultimate integration information environment. If you're an RSS and Newsgroup junkie like me, this tool is essential. However, it also indexes all of your local emails and files, so you can find stuff quickly (better than Google Desktop) ... it even indexes ICQ and Miranda messages (which are then searchable). Plus it does a whole bunch of other things (for organizing this information -- you can link info, categorize info, etc...). Check out its demo to get a small taste of what it can do.

New Jellingspot Website... Kinda

Well, I posted up some fragments (yes, I know, pretty freak'n cheesy) of the new website ... my designer doesn't get back until next week, and I don't want to wait anymore (I would have it all up, but I lost most of it in a HDD crash ...). Anyway, check out the main Jellingspot page -- you can even see our flash demo (but this animation is older -- the newest one was lost -- I'll update it once Alexander gets back from his vacation). It's pretty much the same as the latest, but he doesn't moonwalk in the new one (so, enjoy, it won't last for long). Obviously, I could have waited, but I guess this website is a rolling upgrade, so be pateint while stuff changes for the next few weeks (still). It shouldn't look like this (current) site much when it's all done. But, I've been doing blah, blah, blah, so long, so enough ... enjoy.

Spamming solutions causing backlash ...

Well, some may consider it complaining, but I have warned about the alternative location marketing solutions out there that just spam ... the backlash is starting to grow:

http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2005/08/009681.htm

This is why solutions that use a client-side appilcation like Jellingspot (and I think Wideray and Bluepulse to some extent ...?) are needed, and not just spamming solutions.

Location Marketing: BlueCasting

Well, seems like the market for location marketing solutions is starting to offer up lots of choice .... this "spam" solution (ie... as far as I know, no client is needed ... it just sends you stuff) from BlueCasting -- the guys who have been in the news lately for spamming people in London with Coldplay material from their new CD -- offers yet another similar soluton to Wideray, Kameleon, Hypertag, Futurlink, and the like ... it's good to see more people in the field, but as I noted in a previous post, I'm a bit nervous about these spam solutions -- there is a back-lash growing against them, I just hope Jellingspot is not caught in the cross-fire.

I wonder, will spamming win over "client" solutions (after all, if people dont' have a client app, how can they use it?) ... or, will there be some middle-ground I don't see, or will everything migrate to a client (let's just call it a browser) type solution? From a power and usability perspective, I'm betting on the latter.

Download page ...

I've added a simple download page for the Windows version at:

http://www.jellingspot.com/downloadserver.htm

You can still nab the Linux version at the previous link, but I believe one of its internal licenses has expired, and I don't have the tools to update the license ... you'll have to wait until Frank gets back (so, in other words, the Linux version is worthless right now).

In the last 3 days since I made the link available to the public in my blog, there have been 22 downloads of the Windows version -- not bad for something not really made known yet -- I'm still holding out on the new website before I go live with everything, but my early adaptors and blog readers can get a taste now ... I also enjoy getting feedback. You can debate, discuss, or bash Jellingspot in our fora, too ....

www.jellingspot.net (community website) ....

Once the new website is up, I promise not to post so much about Jellingspot (since the product has taking over my blog lately) .... I'll return back to other things ... however, until then, just put up with me. ;-)

System Requirements for Jellingspot on Windows ...

It seems a few sites have posted about my blog entry, as downloads for the Windows version of Jellingspot are starting to move quickly (the blog was really intended for my early adaptor audience, but Ooh, well!). Please note, that THIS IS STILL BETA SOFTWARE, so please report bugs if something crashes.

System Recommendation:

- Windows XP with SP2
- 256mb RAM
- Pentium 3 or 4, or AMD Athlon

We HAVE had it working on non-SP2 boxes, but everything has been optimized for SP2 boxes ... there still seems to be some problems between Pentiums and AMDs, but recently we "fixed" that (we hope) ... so, if you're using something older, let us know (if it works or crashes). We have NOT yet tried it on other Win32 platforms (Win2000, Win98, etc...). If there are enough requests, maybe we'll try to optimize it for those platforms, too, but as of now, good luck -- Win XP is our targeted platform.

You can read the requirements for the Linux distro here.

Jellingspot for Windows: Go Get it!

Well, I have been promising the Windows version of Jellingspot for a while ... what has been holding me up is the new website, since it is pretty cool ;-) However, my designer has bolted for a 3 week vacation and our server just "happen" to crash right after he did, loosing all of the cool stuff, and so we have to wait until he gets back (I know, I know ....) before we can go live with the new site (since he has all of the newest animations, graphics, etc..). However, I have promised so much, I am having a hardtime beliving myself .... so, without any further ado, you can download Jellingspot for Windows here.

Download the Jellingspot-1.61.5.exe ... if you have any problems, then email us at info [a-t] midletsoft [d-o$t] com ... The Linux version is also there for anybody brave enough to install it, along with BlueZ, etc... go for it.

For the Windows version -- don't forget the license key in the license.txt file ... once you open the console (see the icon created on your desktop to start it), put the license in the "license space" there. Again, if you have problems, email. It has some content by default (you can delete it). You'll need a USB Bluetooth dongle and a Symbian Series60 phone (with the Jellingspot client) to use it. Feel free to use it however you see fit (in your shop, office, etc...) -- this does NOT come with the super powerful fServer service (not yet). Just the good'ol fashioned Adpusher and TextBroadcast services at this time.

[ Technorati Tags: Bluetooth Marketing LBS Jellingspot Proximity Servers wireless advertising retail ]

FuturLink: Another Competitor

Well, doing my occasional competition scan for Jellingspot, I ran into FuturLink, a Spain based company basically following on the heels of Wide-Ray (who just scored another around of financing .... 10 million USD!). First, I must say, I really like FuturLink's website and presentation ... things could always be better, but for the most part the visuals are good and the site is good at helping novices understand what their technology can do (Way to go guys!). I was actually happy to see another player in the field to help location-marketing grow.

My only concern is, that as our competition continues to grow (generally with large rounds of funding), they will move the industry more and more towards the "spam the hell out of everybody" philosophy, which is really a bad idea (and you see it out there already, people complaining about it). As our solution is opt in with a client-side application (our weakness -- however, or solution is more powerful), we ensured we would not spam people; however, it seems our competition doesn't care (at least, it seems that way, as many of them refuse to state you need some client side application to use their solution). I don't mind the competition, I just don't want to have to compete against party-poopers --- people who will DESTORY the industry before it has even bloomed.

Whatever the case, I wish FuturLink well ... see you on the battlefield!

Roaming & Pillaging

It seems the stink from carrier pricing schemes in regards to roaming charges is starting to be smelt by everybody, because in Europe the EU is starting to investigate such charges and will make a list public of what people are getting charged when they're roaming (since it generally remains a mystery to customers who roam) -- with the goal of helping people select the better carrier when they are roaming (I guess).

I remember back in 1999, when I went back to the Seattle area with my GSM phone from Prague -- OMFG. GSM was available (by VoiceStream at that time) ... even if nobody knew what it was ... and with my pre-paid SIM card (with about 20 dollars credit), I could generally manage to send SMSs to friends in Prague (and they to me) for a 2-week stay, and I generally had credit left. It seemed, everytime I came back, I could do less and less. What's worse, I used up 10 dollars of credit in like 5 minutes on a train in Germany -- the "neighbor" of the Czech Republic. I dn't know if it was Deutsche Telkom murdering me or if it was the Czech carrier I was using (I'm guessing a little bit of both). All I know is after I used up all my credit, added more, I REFUSED calls from abroad -- they were simply too much. To this day, I still do -- even if I have a contract from a different carrier ... prices for calling are STILL out of this world (SMS'ing is a bit more reasonable).

What I find funny is it has taken so long for people to say something (Europeans are generally used to getting screwed by their Socialist governments, so it's nothing new -- I still find it funny that I pay "by the pulse" to make public calls from HOME!) -- but what is worse, is that mobile carriers act more like cartels -- the prices they have generally ARE because of AGREEMENT between them all. Sure, they have different programs, but when it comes down to it, calling "per minute" isn't much different nor is "per SMS" pricing -- only their packages and promotions differ. Unless it's regulated (which, lets be honest, NEVER WORKS) somehow, the prices will remain the same. Carriers know that Euros go SOUTH during the summer (warm), so prices go up -- it's basic economics (supply and demand, but in this case, supply never runs out -- just demand increases). I don't know the roaming charges in Norway, but I'm guessing Italians visiting Oslo pay less than Norweigans visiting Rome .... just a guess.

The only "true" way to let market forces dictate pricing would to be have a SIM card that could connect to ANY carrier at anytime .... that way, you might use carrier XYZ during the weekend, ABC during roaming, and QRS during weekdays -- all because of better pricing. The technology is there -- it's just locked when you're in the "native" area of your SIM card -- the EU should just force "open sims" -- that'd be fun :-) (obvioulsy, carriers would charge more to open sims than to "customers" -- so, maybe there is no hope?)

Ooh, the new Jellingspot website is getting there -- you guys (I hope) won't be disappointed -- hang in there -- I'm slow! But, the Windows version if ready for you guys :-)

Servers Migrated...

Ok, I've migrated the midletsoft.com, jellingspot.net, and jellingspot.com servers to new boxes ... they're ready to be beat to death now. Now, this long 4th of July weekend, I will work on finishing the new websites and I hope by the end of next week (next weekend max) you'll see what I hope is the beginning of a new period in mobile content exchange ... time will tell. Get ready for the fun to start ...