OT: SubEthaEdit

Our development team is spread out. That’s the price of a telecommuting company.

We have some amazing developers that use creative ways to stay in contact - IM (of course), a Jabber chat room, Skype, a wiki… all of these tools have helped immensely.

Some of our developers have been trying out an editor for OSX called SubEthaEdit from CodingMonkeys. They seem to like it. It lets you collaboratively edit a document together in a developer-centric interface.

I think it might be decent for code reviews, so I’m willing to give it a shot. Personally, I’m addicted to method completion popups, so I don’t think I want to code with it full time. But reviews are for looking, commenting, and sometimes quick changes. So it could be useful for that.

The reason I’m posting is because MacZOT and TheCodingMonkeys will award $105,000 in Mac software by discounting SubEthaEdit based on qualifying blog posts.

Basically it comes down to if enough bloggers blog about it, all of us get SubEthaEdit for free. I’m running a startup, so free is good.

Go over to BLOGZOT 2.0 on MacZOT.com and read the rules about blogging. Then blog it if you want a copy.

Let me know what you think about it when you use it too.

PSP Now Supports Flash

The new 2.70 firmware has been released for PSP. You can get it at

http://www.us.playstation.com/psp.aspx?id=SoftwareUpdate

On normal desktop flash sites, like Homestar Runner pictured below, the performance is less than spectacular. However, as I said in a previous post, I think this opens up a huge area for Flash developers.

However, nothing has been mentioned about any special concessions made for developers to gain access to PSP hardware buttons. Currently, you can move the pointer around with the analog stick, and click with the X button. This limits game possibilities significantly.

We’ll see what tricks developers pull off as time goes on. But it’s a great start!

See Ya Russ

This is a real shocker.

Russ Beattie is calling it quits after years of blogging.

Come on, you know you read his blog. It’s probably the first one you check while making your rounds.

Though Russ could trigger a debate over technology like no other, love him or hate him, he got people talking. The reason - he honestly loves tech and was able to communicate that passion by not putting a filter between his brain and what he wrote. A lot of times that rubbed people the wrong way. But he didn’t care - and that raw presentation was what made his blog most people’s first stop.

Russ, you know it’ll be hard - all the developments that will come along in the next months and years. How are you going to resist not commenting on it?

Anyway, thanks for speaking out about the potential of the mobile industry all these years. I’m sure you’re still going to run the Bay Area Mobile Mondays?

Helio and Bringing the Asian Phone Market to the US

Engadget has an interview with Sky Dayton, CEO of Helio.

Up to about a year ago, I would have been over the moon about what they’re trying to do. I had this nasty habit of visiting KDDI and NTT DoCoMo’s product pages weekly. Of course, it was pure torture, since there were no networks to support Japanese phones here. Helio would have been a dream come true.

Nowadays I visit those pages a lot less frequently, and each time I do, I realize that the rest of the world is quickly catching up. Some could say we are almost totally caught up now. Not only are we getting phones that are quite similar in features, but our networks to drive the next-gen apps I’ve been lusting over are coming to maturity as well.

Case and point: I had a Nokia N90 last year - the flagship N-Series phone. It had a screen with a resolution on par with my PSP (!!!), 3G support, and an awesome camera. Sure it wasn’t as sexy as most asian phones, but the specs were there.

What are the main differentiators between US and asian mobile phone capabilities now? Here’s my take:

Screen Information Density

Look at these screenshots:

The Japanese (for one) LOVE information density. In the US, clarity and sparseness reign supreme - and if too much information is presented in an interface, it’s considered bad design and not user-friendly. But in print, TV, magazines… all over… the Japanese overload themselves with information. For me, as a power-user - I’m totally onboard with it. The middle screenshot above is my holy grail. I want blindingly small text packed in like Sallarymen on the Yamanote line at rush hour.

The N90 lets you use an ultra small font in the browser. You can’t shrink the whole UI unfortunately, but the user experience with the browser was getting close to that holy grail of screen information density. Here’s some screenshots I took browsing Engadget and using Google Local Mobile:

That Google shot still makes me drool. However, the rest of the built-in applications (like Email - grrrrrr) and the main interface were restricted to huge text:

But even with those shortcomings, at least the people who want to pack the information in are getting some consideration.

Now I’m back to a 320×240 Windows Mobile screen. Even though some think it’s the bee’s knees, coming down off that 352×416 monster is a bummer.

Asia remains a step ahead in the resolution department, however. Mobile VGA is here - but this time I don’t think it will be too long before we see it as well.

Real-World Integration

QR codes and RFID are going strong in asia. DoCoMo’s FeliCa is a drop-dead success, and all sorts of real-world items can be purchased by merely swiping your cell phone. LBS is also in full swing - being integrated into many applications.

These services tie the internet to your real life through your mobile device, creating a personal relationship between you and information. In turn, they bind you to your device - making your phone as necessary as your keys and wallet. Here in the US, that kind of attachment gets a negative spin, with terms like “crackberry” showing the disdain people have for relying on their devices so much.

This leads us to the next point:

Ubiquity and Consumer Education

A much higher percentage of people in asia know how to use technology and want to integrate it into their lives. Part of the reason is the high density of urban commuters - the captive audience for mobile devices. But whatever the cause, the result is a very educated consumer base that are not afraid to try and adopt new services that would be beyond the complexity/usefullness ratio threshold of westerners.

Where americans reject or reluctantly accept increasing attachment to their mobile devices, asians embrace it. This leads to more sophisticated (and complex) applications that actually have a chance of gaining foothold with the population. Software developers can take bigger risks and have a large chance at reward. This makes for a great sandbox for new mobile applications.

So where were we? Oh yeah - Helio.

Helio can bring the last 10% of client-side hardware improvements to the US. But that’s not going to be their stamp on our market (if they make one).

Their ace is that they can bootstrap the mobile device attachment in young adults and teenagers with their MySpace deal. If they are able to draw a percentage of MySpace’s user base to their mobile devices, it might be the compelling first application that gets the next generation hooked - ready to embrace and try new, more sophisticated applications.

Will MySpace be to mobile data services what American Idol was to SMS? All I can say is that MySpace has the best shot at it of any service I can think of. Though it and the other announcements Helio has made are not enough to bring me, the Gen-X mobile power-user to their service - the mobile software developer in me wants them to succeed in bootstrapping the public so that I can have a better sandbox to play in.

Is RIM being challenged?

Research in Motion has been in the press a lot in regards to their patent fight with NTP recently, but now that that episode is over, analysts are focusing on some new challenges to their market. The best way to show the trend is with the WSJ chart from their article today.

They’ve passed the 5 million subscriber mark overall, but Blackberry users may not be replacing their devices as quickly. Could it be that with all the alternatives on the market now, we could see their dominance in the business world challenged. Probably not, but maybe the NTP challenge shook some people up? I’m sure RIM will respond with some technology, and defend their market share. It might not just be about email anymore.
It’ll be very interesting to see what their next generation of handsets look like in response to the market competition. I’m sure Engadet will keep us informed.

Helio HQ in West LA

I was in West LA the other day running errands and couldn’t resist snapping this picture of Helio’s HQ.

Verizon Thinking of Pricing for Heavy EV-DO Use

Say it ain’t so Verizon.

According to Ars Technica, Verizon is thinking about tiered pricing structures for heavy data usage. “Unlimited” doesn’t mean unlimited in all cases.

“I don’t think you ought to assume that for the long term you’re going to be able to pay the same amount as the… more casual user and be fair to all our customers. So I think you’ll find over time that the amount of usage that you demand from the network each month will in fact have to… drive the pricing structure,” [Verizon Wireless executive vice president and chief technical officer Dick] Lynch said.

This is partly in backlash to services like Sling Media’s Slingbox and Orb which take advantage of the bandwidth to stream your home media. How these things are different than watching MSNBC mobile video, I dunno. But it’s pissing Verizon off.

DSL/Cable went through the same growing pains. In the end they just had to buck up and make sure their technology kept up with usage patterns. We may see this high use pricing phased in, but I’m thinking it will be phased out again if it happens.

Carriers - you’re going to become normal ISP’s. Deal with it.

It’s Alive! April MoMoLA at the Arsenal!

>> What: April 2006 Mobile Monday, Social Mixer
>> When: April 17th, 2006, 7-10pm (3rd Monday of the Month)
>> Where: Arsenal (12012 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, 90064 - (310) 575-5511)
>> Who: Anyone interested in mobility
>> Cost: Nothing!

MobileMonday LA is back! We are having a social mixer to get everyone together again, and start planning the next series of events. Please come and visit us at the Arsenal .

For more information see the official annoucement at the Mobile Monday LA website.

A special thanks to Mario Tapia for all work setting up the new Yahoo Group for MoMoLa at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/momo-la. If you haven’t joined the MoMoLA group already, make sure you join here:

Click to join momo-la

See you at the Arsenal!

Invest Now! Who can control the Ultimate Back-channel?

There’s been a good bit of press about Google Inc.’s project to provide San Francisco with free wireless. The whole deal of free muni Wi-Fi is obviously in Google’s best interest as they look to stretch their Ad empire, but I thought of another side to this story: the ultimate back-channel, and who’s going to control it? And how?

I imagine that some corporate folks at the investment banks in SF are starting to freak out a little bit more about the prospect of another network available to employees while they’re at work. Today the scenario is: an employer has blocked access to AIM, so an employee relies on his mobile phone to SMS and uses the AIM client on his phone to stay privately connected.

Up until now, you’d have to pay to be connected on IM through your phone — might not be expensive, but you still have to pay a bit — even with flat data plans. Not only that, but up until now you wouldn’t expect to have a huge amount of bandwidth available on your phone.

Now, all of a sudden, add the new high-end, smart card reading, WiFi enabled phones (finding homes in the pockets of well paid executives and employees) and free muni Wi-Fi and you have the possibility of free access to the net with reasonable throughput. All of a sudden you have a CEO coming into the office jet-lagged, thinking he’s connecting his laptop to the secure corporate network but accidently connecting to the totally open GoogleNET AP and sending off the earnings report to his colleague. All of a sudden you have some malicious guy bridging into the corporate network.

What new corporate-theft episode is waiting to happen? What kind of insider trading is this going to facilitate? How are private companies going to respond to the increasing ability of information to literally flow out of the organization, and all in a timely manner. I’m obviously not the only one thinking of this issue: see here, but its entertaining and scary to think of a world with a persistent high bandwidth back-channel.

I’m wondering what companies are building technology to help control these risks. I think this is a medium to long-term investment opportunity. Any suggestions? Based on Google/Earthlink’s plans there may be a huge market growing here.

Update: I chatted to Rich over the weekend and he pointed out that there are some materials already in use that make buildings better Faraday Cages. Engadet has a good post here about Wi-Fi security in a corporate context. Including mention of Wi-Fi blocking wallpaper by a British Defence contractor.

Verizon [hearts] Flash

According to this press release:

… Verizon Wireless is expected to become the first wireless operator in North America to introduce Flash-enabled handsets that use the technology to deliver a customized user experience. Developers will be able to create and offer new rich content, applications and data services based on Flash and targeted at these handsets.

Wow, this is big. If they allow open downloading of unsigned apps, you’ll see a ton of web flash games ported over to mobile devices.

There could be such a wealth of free games available, commercial mobile games are going to have to step it up to stay appealing. Or should I say get appealing.