Windows Mobile on the iPhone 3G

It was just a matter of time until someone would hack the iPhone, not to change the mobile carrier, but to run another OS on the iPhone.

In a Blog I saw today, Erik Kristiansen, shows his 'boot-camp' version for the iPhone.



It would be interesting to see how cross-OS capabilities would effect sales of phones hardware. Will iPhone be the best device to run Windows Mobile?

E.T.

Would You Stand By Me?

The next few months are not going to be easy.
You can read about it everywhere (alleyinsider, gigaom, venturebeat, techcrunch and many more).

And then came the Sequoia slides:

Sequoia Capital on startups and the economic downturn

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: depression recession)

As I was reading all these "get-real" posts and looking into these slides I felt as something is missing.

Do you think/feel the same?

In general, as a startup, we can work harder, burn less money, re-prioritize development plans and do all the things you can see listed in the slides.
For example:

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As my 4 years old son once told me:

"If you are sending me home, you need to come with me..."

We are all in this together.

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As we can all agree, the recovery will be long

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We need to keep working as a team.

As for the phrase I keep hearing "raising an internal round", reinvesting in portfolio companies is 'internal round' as well.

I know great investors and VCs who are looking beyond and investing in their portfolio companies with wisdom, connections and other non-funding ways, helping, as true partners, to overcome these hard days and to be ready for the future.

I only wish they would be more vocal about it and help/make the media balance the current state-of-mind.

So, as you 'get real', look at your investors and ask:

"Would you stand by me?"

E.T.

PS - please read the Blog disclaimer

Do The Math

Next time your kids would like to 'play' on your computer or iPhone, you could make sure they have one, or you could make sure they learn something new (while trashing you machine...).

http://www.thatquiz.org is a great website for teaching your kids Math.

Comment and warning :

http://www.thatquiz.org focuses on short, time based quizzes, on a variety of topics.
So, less explanation and more fun and getting points.
Make sure this would be good for your kids before you start with it.

Another option is http://www.gengarstudios.com.
BrainTuner is a great iPhone application (click the image for a direct link to the Apple store).
You can use it to stay sharp, or to prove to your kids that 3 hours sleep a night do not make you smarter...

A more generic brain/Math game is Brain Toot.

That should teach this kids a lesson...

E.T.

Sony EyePet

Sony EyePet is a great example for user interaction and design that breaks down the 2D I/O concept and supports cross generation user interaction.
It is so cool to see how every-day objects become part of the virtual world, as the virtual world become part of the physical world...




Not sure when this would be available.

E.T.

SDForum: Cool Technologies Driving Mobile Media

Next week (6:00 PM - 8:30 PM October 14, 2008) I plan to attend the SDForum to discuss mobile media.



This panel will focus on mobile and technology trends and what do these trends mean for media, how media companies are going mobile and what the next generation of devices and
content will look and feel like. What are the devices of the future?
What content will people expect to have and what will they use? What
new technologies and services are coming our way? Who cares and who's
investing now for the future?

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Agenda:
6:00-6:30 pm Registration, Networking, Cocktails
6:30-7:00 pm Introductions
7:00-8:00 pm Panel Discussion:

• Etay Gafni, Veodia
• Beau Laskey, Steamboat Ventures
• Stephan Noll, T-Venture
• Louisa Shipnuck, IBM
• Moderator: Mike Doran, Fish & Richardson

8:00 pm Q&A and Networking
8:30 pm Event Concludes

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Feel free to register and come over.

E.T.

Slacker G2 Portable Player

Think about your business 'mission critical applications'.
Probably eMail and the other usual suspects are on your list.
For me, I cannot work without music.

I've been using Internet radio for years.
First great radio was Yahoo! launchcast. It got too heavy in the recent years.
Than was Pandora. Great selection and cool iPhone application.
Now (for the last year and a half), the king is Slacker.
With a great collections and a smart, elegant UI to create and modify stations, Slacker makes listening to music and discovering music a great joy. Beside the music, the background info on each band/singer is cool as well.



Although Slacker 'Software Player' is not Mac friendly, the online experience and the basic service is great.

Recently, I had the chance to check out the new Slacker G2 Portable Player.



Small, light and very functional (for example, protective case with a clip that works well on a belt as well as on sport gear).
Easy to use 'blackberry' design (big buttons, right-side scrolling wheel).
Simple wireless and equalizer setup.

It was great just to link the stations I have online with the device.
One of the best things about the Slacker service and the portable device is that unlike iPod/iPhone - the stations are created dynamically with out any need to buy new songs.

I connected it to the car AUX - it is better than satellite radio.
I took it to the GYM - just start running listening to James Brown (does not get better than that).

Slacker G2 Portable Player is a great improvement from the first version.

Added to my list...

E.T.

Efficient & Useless

One definition of Interaction Design is:

“designing interactive products to support people in their everyday and working lives.”

Yesterday, at San Diego airport I saw this great example for an efficient system that is useless to most of its users.

Persona:

• User A: a person visiting the bathroom
  
• User B: a cleaning crew personal

Task:

• User A: wash and dry hands
• User B: keep the bathroom clean
  

Design:
Position the automatic paper disposer/machine right above the garbage hole. Minor side-effects may include: providing the user A with a wet paper to dry his hands and direct disposal of paper without the 'need' for user A to use it...

User B is very happy with the design. I've actually met him.

E.T.

Gary Vaynerchuk's "Bipolar" motivation speach

I was following the Web 2.0 Expo (NY) and came across Gary Vaynerchuk's (Wine Library) key note. He talked about "Building Personal Brand Within the Social Media Landscape".



Few notes:

• His answer for "What wine goes with fish?" is exactly as mine: "What ever you like".
• Work on things you love. If you cannot make money doing it, either you are not good at it, or you need to keep you day job.
• Building business is tough. Build a real business with a real value.
• Listening to your customers is important. Few actually care about their customer. Show your customers that you care by doing things for them.
• Keep trying.

At the end, I did not know if I am happy, sad, motivated or depressed.
But at least - it made me think.

E.T.

The Wife Song

As a follow up for the 'Mom Song', here comes the 'Wife Song'.

Special thanks to Mickey for forwarding...



E.T.

Veodia at Office 2.0 - Humanizing Communication

For the last 3 years, Office 2.0 has been a great opportunity for me to meet smart people, to learn about new technologies, and to experience new ways of getting business done.

I always look for the ‘human touch’ that's associated with this event.

This year, communication has reached a new level.
We are using a wiki to communicate and exchange ideas, and now we can make it even more personal — using video notes.

Veodia is again a proud sponsor, not only enabling the event with video recording of each session, but also allowing every participant to record his or her own videos — making Office 2.0 communication even more personal.

I am looking forward meeting you and having great conversations with you.
View complete Blog on Office 2.0 site.

ZendCon 2008

Looking for PHP knowledge and great networking?

The Zend/PHP Conference is the largest gathering of the PHP community and a unique opportunity to meet with PHP developers, luminaries and business leaders.

It is going to be a great event (I have my sources...).
Mark your calendars: Santa Clara, CA - September 15-18.




Do not miss the opportunity to meet Zend’s CTO, Andi Gutmans.


Registration

Have fun.

:-)

E.T.

Babylon for Mac - Online Version Only...

I was so happy to open my eyes to an eMail from Babylon announcing the Babylon for Mac.
I've waited for this version for a long time...

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So I clicked the link and got this:




Thinking to myself, online version or a desktop application...

Well - no need to think much, both versions are working only when you are online...

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So now I am disappointed.

I've worked hard to work-around the fact that there was no Babylon for Mac.

Alternatives for Babylon application for Mac:

On-line:

• Use Babylon online dictionary
  
• Use Google "Define: ... " tool
• Use online dictionary

Off-line:

• Use MacOS dictionary Widget
• Use MS Office spell checker
• Use Babylon application on a VMware/XP (I know... one of the only reason to boot XP...)

I was expecting the off-line capabilities.
I suppose the 'Beta' team feedback was so great and failed to push it to the top of the list...

Babylon - please let me know when you are serious about supporting Mac...

E.T.

Office 2.0 Conference | 2008

I am very excited to participate again in the up-coming office 2.0 conference.
Last year I represented SAP, this year I am part of Veodia.

The Office 2.0 Conference is a collective experiment organized every year in San Francisco, CA and aimed at discovering the future of online productivity & collaboration. It is a unique gathering of visionaries, thought leaders, and customers using innovative online services for getting things done at the office, at home, and on the go.

Please register before August 31st to benefit from the online rate.
All paying attendees get an HP 2133 Mini-Note PC.



See you all there!

E.T.

Vote for Veodia | 2008 STREAMING MEDIA

Friends, thank you for your support so far.
We won the Enterprise 2.0 conference demo context and now it is time to leave our mark at the 2008 Streaming Media Reader's Choice Awards.

Please vote for us in the following categories:
- “User-Generated Content Platform” category
- “Webcasting Platform” category


As you vote, you will get a change to win an iPod-Touch...



Thank you !

E.T.

Mac Mini 4 Mini Me

Should young kids have their own computers?
Yes, especially when the alternative is for them to destroy my computers...
Ever since they were 2.5 years old, they did.

At the beginning, we used Comfy. A great Israeli product that supports over 21 languages!

So, our kids utilized our old laptops/desktops.
As most of the content is online, we are using Glubble to control their access (Some great features include the capability to receive access request via eMail, easy bookmarks and kids friendly homepage).

So all was well.

Until few weeks ago when my son came to me and said:

"... I do not like my computer... It is too slow and I do not like to blue sky and grass image and it is too slow and I want a one like yours and like I have in my school..."

Well, what can I say... The kids want a Mac...

So, I took the 'old' MacMini, added a monitor and an old keyboard and the kids is MacNative...
And now, my iKid continues to ride his iBike, play with the iDog, annoy the iSister and love his iMommy. Not bad for a 4 years old...

:-)

E.T.

Aurora: Adaptive Path/ Mozilla Labs concept browser

Have a look at this interesting concept.

"...Aurora is a concept video presenting one possible future user experience for the Web, created by Adaptive Path as part of the Mozilla Labs concept browser series. Aurora explores new ways people could interact with the Web in the future based on projected technological trends and real-world scenarios..."

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Looks very cool and intuitive at first, but I do have my concerns, especially in the areas of information overflow and cross generation UI.
It seems as the mobile experience is too similar to the desktop one. Squeezing all this date into a smaller screen will not be as effective.
As for older generation usage, I think the UI should be simplify more, including non-visual interaction, such s voice commands.

E.T.

Randy Pausch Last Lecture

Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist whose "last lecture" about facing terminal cancer became an Internet sensation and a best-selling book, died Friday. He was 47.

"Almost all of us have childhood dreams; for example, being an astronaut, or making movies or video games for a living. Sadly, most people don’t achieve theirs, and I think that’s a shame. I had several specific childhood dreams, and I’ve actually achieved most of them. More importantly, I have found ways, in particular the creation (with Don Marinelli), of CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center of helping many young people actually *achieve* their childhood dreams." - Randy Pausch

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E.T.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

I know I am one day late to comment on this.
(Well, I do have a day job).

What can I say.
Zoli saved me a lot of typing...
http://www.zoliblog.com/2008/07/21/the-techcrunch-fablet/




Maybe they would have called it redux-model-2...


UPDATE:
Ismael comments in his Blog:
http://itredux.com/2008/07/23/where-is-the-redux-model-1/



E.T.

BlackBerry Thunder | I know why...but why?!

I saw this post on Techmeme today.

It seems as Blackberry is exploring / going towards a touchscreen keyboard.



I know why... But WHY?!

I think that the Blackberry's keyboard is may be the last big advantage for business users, when it come to the Blackberry VS. iPhone question.

I hope the Blackberry Bold will be good enough...




E.T.

i<...>

The Blogsphere is full with echo of the iPhone G3 release fiasco, that could be summarized as:

• iPhone 3G
• iLine
• iFail
• iBrick
• iToldYouSo
  
• iDoNotCare...

E.T.