The ProgrammableWeb web API directory now has 900+ open web service APIs, see the API Dashboard.
ceo
Archive for August, 2008
The Programmable Web continues to grow — 900+ APIs
Friday, August 29th, 2008SXSW 2009 Interactive Panel Picker
Friday, August 29th, 2008
Today is the last day to cast your vote for next year’s SXSW Interactive sessions… The mobile and wireless sessions are looking great. This year I am part of the advisory board for mobile and wireless, but sorry, I take no bribes… 
Go check out the session and cast your vote!
ceo
Google introduces Android Market – the Google App Store for Android
Thursday, August 28th, 2008As (I) expected (and predicted), Google has launched its own application store or marketplace; see Android Market: a user-driven content distribution system (Android Developers Blog).
And with the Android Market solution, Google is addressing the problem of application discovery and download; and their approach is user-centric, similar to YouTube — very, very good; exactly as how I would have approached it… YouApp!
Developers will be able to make their content available on an open service hosted by Google that features a feedback and rating system similar to YouTube.
:
Similar to YouTube, content can debut in the marketplace after only three simple steps: register as a merchant, upload and describe your content and publish it. We also intend to provide developers with a useful dashboard and analytics to help drive their business and ultimately improve their offerings.
Very cool…
Related to this see The Next Big Thing in Mobile: Local Applications, and how the iPhone will, and how the OHA and Android can change perceptions.
Interesting to me is Google’s user-centric approach to the mobile application market, as I had started a project on my own, YouApp.mobi, whose goal or paradigm is exactly that: a user-centric application discovery, sharing and download — Google beat me to it 
ceo
Mobile Web Megatrends 2008 (Sept 8)
Thursday, August 28th, 2008
A quick note about the Mobile Web Megatrends event, organized by Ajit Jaokar of FutureText. The event is on Sept 8th.
The event is a gathering of mobility practitioners/experts including Mike Rowehl (Skyfire), Barbara Ballard (Little Springs Design), Michael Mace (Rubicon Consulting), William Volk (MyNuMo), and folks from OMTP, Oracle, Cellfire, and many other. Me, I was scheduled to speak, but can’t make it.
From the event web site:
The Mobile Web Megatrends is a unique one day event that addresses the strategy and best practices relating to key current trends for the Mobile Web. The simple idea behind Mobile Web Megatrends is to create a small, niche event focused on developments that are key to the Mobile Web currently (2008/2009).
Also, remember the MobileWidget Camp Austin, a day before Mobile Web Megatrends, on September 7th, 2008.
ceo
Mobile Service Architecture 2 Article
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008A good intro article about MSA2 at the Sun Mobility website – see Mobile Service Architecture 2 — Coming Your Way.
Related to this see Mobile Service Architecture (MSA) 2 (About Mobility Weblog).
ceo
Mobile Web Strategies 2008
Monday, August 18th, 2008
If you work on mobile web technologies and/or applications, or are just interested on learning about them, you should consider attending Mobile Web Strategies 2008 event (September 9th 2008, San Francisco).
The are lots of interesting topics being discussed, including Who is using the Mobile Web and why, the strengths and weaknesses of the mobile web, to who and what will drive the next generation of mobile web applications and business models.
The event, organized by my good friend Ajit Jaokar (Futuretext), looks solid with expert speakers from all the mobile industry… (I was originally scheduled to attend and speak on the topic of mobility and analytics, but unfortunately I can’t make it).
Who Should Attend?
Carriers – Software Developers – Online Retailers – Media Outlets – Search Engines – Web Developers – Content Providers – Service Providers – Internet Marketers – Information Providers – Entertainment Companies – Investment & Commercial Banking – Venture Capitalist – Educational – Game Developers – Advertising Agencies – Consultants – Government Agencies – Brand Managers – Directories – Location Based Services – Billing and Payment Companies – Internet Security Providers – Analysts
A very interesting event that you should consider attending…
ceo
Technology Review: 10 Emerging Technologies 2008
Friday, August 15th, 2008Technology Review has published a Special Reports on the 10 Emerging Technologies for 2008:
- Modeling Surprise — Combining massive quantities of data, insights into human psychology, and machine learning can help manage surprising events, says Eric Horvitz.
- Probabilistic Chips — Krishna Palem thinks a little uncertainty in chips could extend battery life in mobile devices–and maybe the duration of Moore’s Law, too.
- NanoRadio — Alex Zettl’s tiny radios, built from nanotubes, could improve everything from cell phones to medical diagnostics.
- Wireless Power — Physicist Marin Soljacic is working toward a world of wireless electricity.
- Atomic Magnetometers — John Kitching’s tiny magnetic-field sensors will take MRI where it’s never gone before.
- Offline Web Applications — Adobe’s Kevin Lynch believes that computing applications will become more powerful when they take advantage of the browser and the desktop.
- Graphene Transistors — A new form of carbon being pioneered by Walter de Heer of Georgia Tech could lead to speedy, compact computer processors.
- Connectomics — Jeff Lichtman hopes to elucidate brain development and disease with new technologies that illuminate the web of neural circuits.
- Reality Mining — Sandy Pentland is using data gathered by cell phones to learn about human behavior.
- Cellulolytic Enzymes — Frances Arnold is designing better enzymes for making biofuels from cellulose.
Two of the emerging technologies listed have direct implications on future mobile software and applications: 1) offline web applications, and 2) Reality Mining.
What they call Reality Mining is an area of great interest to me, as it deals with taking into consideration user’s mobile context (and related behavioral analytics) to bring a better user experience, to bring the right information that matters and when it matters the most, to bring more value to both the end-user and the business-side of the equation:
Reality mining, he says, “is all about paying attention to patterns in life and using that information to help [with] things like setting privacy patterns, sharing things with people, notifying people–basically, to help you live your life.”
See the video on Reality Mining, where Alex (Sandy) Pentland, director of the Human Dynamics Group at MIT, describes “a future in which cell phones log data about their owners’ behavior, data that can be used to strengthen social networks, generate recommendations, help track diseases, and monitor personal health”.
As the tagline for this blog reads: Mobility is (about) People, their Interactions and their Data.
ceo
SMS is King, Heaven and Hell, all at the same time
Friday, August 15th, 2008SMS is King, from the end-user’s perspective. SMS is heaven, from the operators’ perspective, as it is a cash cow. And SMS is hell for businesses offering messaging, but that don’t have a good plan for monetizing it…
SMS is way expensive to offer. For example, in the U.S.:
- A dedicated keyword will cost you around $12K a year,
- Connectivity to a message aggregator will cost you like $2K a month,
- Messages originated from your server will cost you about 2-5 cents, depending on volume.
- Time and development costs related to certifications across carriers (and differences between them), plus the ongoing support for audits.
Startups must do appropriate planning and have a business model that will cover SMS operational costs, or your SMS support will be short-lived. For better or worst, the above costs are barriers to entry for startups and anyone wanting to play the game. But SMS is King, a necessary “evil”, an important channel to support.
Twitter recently killed its support for SMS on the UK; for a long time many of us have been wondering how the hell Twitter has been able to support its offering without a business strategy that allows them to make money and cover operational costs.
So I’m not surprised to see Twitter cut costs, but what I’m surprised to see is that they decided to cut support for U.K. instead of introducing a revenue model and validate it; people will pay for useful services.
The question is not “Will someone kill SMS already?”. But the question is “Will SMS (costs) kill a Startup already?”.
“To SMS” or “Not To SMS”; that is the question…
ceo
“I am Rich” iPhone application – a statement or a scam?
Thursday, August 14th, 2008
Some people calls it a scam, others calls it smart…
At $999.00 and for those who can afford it, the “I am Rich” iPhone application (which implements no real run-time functionality, is a statement.
But Apple decided to remove the application from its App Store; and with it, it has set a precedent…
In my opinion, the “I Am Rich” application is a very interesting exercise. Here the author identified a segment of users who doesn’t care about functionality or cost, but cares about differentiation and exclusivity… A niche with great potential returns; cheap to build application with high returns. That is very smart.
So, as long as the author properly describes the application and what you get for the money, the app is totally valid, and should not be removed by Apple… people will buy.
See Apple’s iPhone-App-Approval Mouse Falls Off Treadmill: Buy The $1000 App That Does Nothing (AAPL).
ceo
Java is the top programming language
Thursday, August 14th, 2008According to the Tiobe Programming Community Index, Java is the top/dominant programming language (Aug 2008):
Tiobe Programming Community Index, August 2008 (Credit: Tiobe)
The same reports indicates that COBOL scores a new all time low (at position 19), yet it still is above Objective-C (at position 42)!
Top 10 programming languages:
1. Java
2. C
3. (Visual) Basic
4. C++
5. PHP
6. Python
7. Perl
8. C#
9. Ruby
10. JavaScript
:
19. COBOL
:
23. Fortran
:
37. Smalltalk
:
42. Objective-C
:
50. Caml
ceo
[Via c/net Java still top programming language)
Hecl Mobile Scripting Language for Java ME
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008
Hecl is a scripting language engine that runs on MIDP2.
The scripting language is a wrapper for MIDP, and allows you to very quickly create UI elements, access the record store, use HTTP, access the file system (if available) and even use kxml2 XML parser. You can call Hecl code from Java, and even create your own new Hecl commands…
This kind of reminds me of TCL.
ceo
[Via Hinkmond Wong's Weblog]
About Interactive Ruby Tutorial (and Scratch and teaching programming to children)
Monday, August 11th, 2008Is Ruby the new BASIC?
For those looking to learn about Ruby, the Interactive Ruby Tutorial is a great way to get a quick introduction. This interactive tutorial would also be great for children wanting to learn about programming. MIT’s Scratch is another interesting tool to teach children about programming.
ceo
Candid Cameraphone
Sunday, August 10th, 2008A day like today, on 1948 (ABC) “Candid Camera” original run made its TV debut. But original title was “Candid Microphone.” Is “Candid Cameraphone” next? That would make sense: from microphone (audio) to camera (video/audio) to anywhere-and-anytime-(mobile)-camera… Hm, maybe there is an idea right there…
ceo
Seth: Architecture or Design
Friday, August 8th, 2008I like Seth’s brief yet meaningful essay on architecture, see Is architect a verb?
So I reserve “architect” to describe the intentional arrangement of design elements to get a certain result.
:
Architecture, for me anyway, involves intention, game theory, systems thinking and relentless testing and improvement. Fine with me if you want to call it design, just don’t forget to do it.
ceo
Developers, start your engines – Nokia commits another $150M to mobile investment
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008$150MM for startups that create new and exciting mobile applications, that uses context, location, payments, advertising, music and entertainment… very neat…
See Nokia to Invest an Additional USD 150 Million Through Nokia Growth Partners.
ceo