Planetaki Planet redundante

Flickr Co-founder’s New Startup Finds a Glitch

2010-02-09T15:56:46+00:00

Flickr co-founder Stewart Butterfield’s new startup Tiny Speck has announced its first product, to be released in the fall of this year: a massively multiplayer online game called Glitch. Judging by the video trailer provided at the Glitch site, the game is a modern — and somewhat psychedelic-looking — take on the 2-D genre, like a trippier version of Super Mario Brothers (for some screenshots, scroll down). According to an in-depth description at CNET, which got an exclusive look inside the development of the game, Glitch will have a number of social elements, such as collaborative puzzle-solving.

The Flash-based game, which Tiny Speck has been working on since the launch of the company in March of last year, is a bit of a “back to the future” move for Butterfield. As some Flickr fans know, he and now ex-wife Caterina Fake got their start building a massively multiplayer online game called Game Neverending in the late 1990s, but changed course after it became obvious that users were more interested in the photo-sharing portion of the game. That feature ultimately became Flickr, which the pair sold to Yahoo in 2005 for $35 million. In what could be a veiled reference to Butterfield’s earlier startup, the description of Glitch at the game site calls it a “neverending feast of imagination.”

The company’s choice of Flash as the basis for a game also makes sense given that Flickr was one of the web services that helped popularize Flash as an interface. Using it as a platform means Glitch will be relatively easy to distribute and even embed in other sites or services (except the iPhone or iPad, of course, neither of which support Flash), and also suggests that Tiny Speck is going after the kind of casual-gaming market that has made Facebook games like Farmville and web sites like AddictingGames.com so popular.

Butterfield formed Tiny Speck last year with several senior Flickr staffers, including Cal Henderson and Eric Costello. They were later joined by Digg designer (and, like Butterfield, Canadian emigre) Daniel Burka. Tiny Speck is backed by Accel Partners and serial entrepreneur Marc Andreessen. In an interview last year with the Globe and Mail, Butterfield said the game was inspired by Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss) and “magic realism” author Jorge Luis Borges, and that the goal was to create a “fun and really interesting world with its own rules, absurdist and strange but fully realized, if imaginary.”

Related content from GigOM Pro (sub req’d):

Could Games Redeem Windows Mobile and Palm’s webOS?

Twilio’s Telephony API Now Lets Applications Send And Receive SMS Messages

2010-02-09T15:15:03+00:00

Back in November 2008, we covered the launch of Twilio, a startup that’s akin to an Amazon Web Services for telephony apps. After signing up for a phone number, Twilio lets you integrate phone services into your application using intuitive tags like Dial when you want your app to place a call. Today, the company is expanding to include support for the world’s most popular data channel: SMS messaging.

The basic idea remains the same. As with its telephony API, Twilio’s SMS functionality is meant to make previously complex tasks as simple as possible. If you want to send a SMS message to a user from your web app, you can do that using a single line of code. CEO Jeff Lawson says that this new functionality removes many of the hurdles associated with running a service that uses SMS. He explains that it’s often very expensive and time consuming to get your own SMS shortcode, and that the logistical hurdles are substantial. With Twilio, you can get SMS up and running on your web app in a few minutes.

Potential uses for the service are really limited only by developers’ imaginations. For example, a developer over at the Washington State Department of Transportation used Twilio’s phone API to build a call-in service that lets local residents call a number to listen to the schedule of the local ferry. Using this new SMS functionality, that developer could allow users to simply text a query like “When is the next ferry?”, to which the application could automatically send a reply. Businesses could use the service to occasionally ping their customers with new deals and discounts. Politicians could use the service for their awareness campaigns (they already make heavy use of Twilio’s telephone offerings). And Salesforce recently used a beta version of the service to build a custom audience polling app for its Dreamforce conference.

One key aspect of the new service is that it lets you use the same phone number for Twilio’s phone services and SMS messages (it also means that you can use SMS with any existing Twilio numbers you may have). The service costs 3 cents per text message, and Twilio’s voice service costs 3 cents per minute during a call.

Twilio isn’t the only company around that looks to make it easier to leverage SMS. Many of its competitors, like TextMarks, use a shared shortcode model — they own the rights to one shortcode, and then have all of their clients share it. Each client is given a keyword, which users are then instructed to include in their messages. For example, if we wanted to build an SMS app using one of these services, we might tell our users to “Text 41441 with keyword TECHCRUNCH”. Twilio has an advantage over these services because users don’t have to remember to include a keyword; they simply send their query to a standard phone number. Other options include more enterprise-focused shortcode aggregators, and Tropo, which is run by Voxeo.

There’s a broad appeal for SMS-based services — it’s just the hassle of setting one up (or the impression that it would be expensive) that keeps many businesses from doing it. Which is why I think Twilio seems positioned to do quite well with this new feature. That said, I think Twilio could appeal to a much broader set of users if they built some kind of wizard for its API. No matter how simple Twilio’s API is to use, most small businesses and retailers probably don’t have any developer resources to speak of. And given the fact that most of them will probably be interested in sharing the same information via SMS — things like directions, their hours, and sales — it probably wouldn’t be hard to fill most of their needs using a few template programs.

Twilio has raised $3.7 million in funding, including a Series A round from Union Square Ventures and angel funding from Founders Fund, David Cohen, Mitch Kapor, Manu Kumar, Chris Sacca, and other angels.

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With SMS, Twilio Continues to Shake Up Communications

2010-02-09T15:56:46+00:00

About 25 months ago, when I first met Jeff Lawson, formerly of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the founder and CEO of Twilio, I was skeptical of his chances. After all, he wanted to marry the world of voice to the world of web applications. This oft-discussed marriage of web and voice has been attempted many times and has often met with failure. So for the longest time I resisted writing about it.

Fast-forward to today and my skepticism about Jeff’s business is decreasing, for multiple reasons. For starters, the company, which has raised $4.3 million in total funding from the likes of Union Square Ventures, The Founders Fund and well-known angel investors, has been very smart about leveraging AWS to build a massively scalable telephony platform cheaply. Amazon CTO Werner Vogels, when describing his fascination with Twilio recently, remarked:

“Twilio excites me with their programmable voice platform and that is a company where you see the power of the cloud, of a startup becoming a platform to challenge any incumbent. The cloud is helping make an even playing field.”

More importantly, it’s gained traction with developers, its target market. In a marketplace where giants like BT (via Ribbit) and Telefonica are stalking similar opportunities, Twilio’s early traction is testament to the company’s laser-sharp focus on developers and their needs. It has taken what had been a complex task and made it simple. Using Twilio, developers can add new phone numbers in real time, allowing them to re-sell them to their customers.

The dead-simple service gives even voice newbies an ability to add voice-to-web apps. It’s garnered the support of nearly 6,000 developers, who have built 1,000 applications that utilize Twilio’s voice API in their web applications. From Heineken to Sony to Intuit — all are users of Twilio’s service.

Today Twilio is launching Twilio SMS, which allows app developers to add SMS-based functionality to their web apps for about 3 cents a message. By working with SMS wholesalers and developing such a simple SMS integration platform, the pay-as-you-go service means that any app can have notifications or can be made to do specific tasks via SMS. In addition, the company has cut the per-month, per-phone number price to $1 a month from $5. Toll-free numbers cost $2 a month. Lawson says that even at $1 a month he makes money, so he is happy to discount.

With my initial skepticism subsiding, it’s clear that I’m going to be keeping an eye on this little company, looking forward to their next disruption.

Company.com Debuts Social Community For Businesses

2010-02-09T15:15:03+00:00

Today sees the public launch of Company.com, a new social community service for small to medium-sized businesses. The website aims to provide companies with useful editorial content and reviews, a vetted Web-based vendor marketplace, a Q&A section and more.

Of course, there are hundreds of community websites for businesses out there, and so far it seems like the premium domain name is the only thing that makes Company.com stand out of that particular crop in any way. That said, the company is backed and advised by a slew of experienced entrepreneurs and field experts, so it would be premature to assess its fate upon launch.

Company.com says it’s setting out to build a truly trusted community of vendors, offering exclusive deals to website members, while presenting their offerings in a Comparison Shopping Engine Environment (CSE).

Initially, services will be focused on financial products and lending solutions that can help SMBs through the credit crunch, accompanied by user guides, answers to business-related questions, specific articles and interviews from experts related to the issues or products that solve for better efficiency and savings for the SMB.

Subscribers can also promote their business on the Company.com website and gain access to other subscribers, giving them the chance to find new customers and partners within the ecosystem.

Company.com aims to attract SMBs from a diverse set of distribution channels. The startup hopes to reach some 20 million SMBs through cooperative agreements that will launch in Q2 2010 – Company.com sais it has already successfully contracted relationships representing over 7 million small and medium-sized businesses in the States, although the company wants to keep the identity of these partners confidential until the agreements are fully implemented.

Company.com is funded by a group of angel investors, led by the company’s CEO Bill Wade and selected angels that invested in his prior companies Network 1 Financial and Verus Financial Management. Prior to Company.com, Wade served as Vice Chairman of Sage Payment Solutions, a division of Sage Software.

On its board, a set of seasoned executives: Kamyar Kaviani (Chairman and CEO of Application Corporation), Shervin Pishevar (founder and former CEO, now Chairman of social gaming company SGN), Colin Digiaro (one of the co-founders of MySpace, where he most recently served as SVP of International Corporate Development) and Peter Adams (former President of Matchpoint.com), among others.

To date, Company.com has raised total of $3.2 million in two closings, one in March 2009 and the second in January 2010.

As for the nice domain name: it has been under ownership of a private company co-owned by Bill Wade since 2001. It has no operational history, and Wade made the decision to launch a business around the attractive domain after he retired from Sage Software in 2008.

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Apple Store Down — iPad Ordering, New MacBooks, or Just Aperture 3?

2010-02-09T15:40:29+00:00

The Apple Online Store is down again, and it’s a Tuesday, and it’s Macworld — though sadly neither of those two things mean much anymore — and so our email boxes are flooding with heads-up and excited guesses about everything from iPad pre-ordering going live, to MacBook Pro updates, to… Aperture 3.

Yeah, Aperture 3. Sorry iPad fans and MacBook hopefuls, but Apple has already put up a PR and so far that’s it.

We’ll updated, of course, if there’s anything else.

It is a Tuesday after all, and Macworld…

Apple Store Down — iPad Ordering, New MacBooks, or Just Aperture 3? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Navigon MobileNavigator Goes 3D, Social, and Intelligent

2010-02-09T15:40:29+00:00

And now we can tell you why Navigon is so excited about their new 3D terrain viewing, social media integrated, intelligent routing version 1.5 update to MobileNavigator [$69.00 on sale -- iTunes link] that they’ve put it on sale and are giving TiPb readers a chance to not only win copies, but get a guided tour at Macworld 2010 on how to use it. Here are the highlights:

Connection to Facebook and Twitter: A simple icon tap posts users current position, destination, and ETA without navigation interruption.
NAVIGON MyRoutes: Analyzes driving habits, patterns, location, time/day and provides up to three routes clearly displayed in-map with ETA, distance and driving times for each.
Panorama View 3D (in-app purchase – $9.99): True 3D in-map views obtained from NASA’s height and terrain data enable intuitive orientation of surrounding environment, and what lies ahead with digital landscape elevations, shadows, and geographic images. Panorama View 3D is integrated in-map, independent from the phone’s data connection.

MobileNavigator is typically $89.99 but is on sale during Macworld for $69.00. The update is free for existing user. Traffic Live, typically a $24.99 in-app purchase is likewise on sale for $19.99. As mentioned, Panorama View 3D is also an in-app purchase at $9.99.

TiPb’s Navigon give-away is still going on, so check it out, MobileNavigator 1.5 will hit the App Store this spring and will run on iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and the iPhone 2G and iPod touch via GPS-enabled dock accessories.

Navigon MobileNavigator Goes 3D, Social, and Intelligent is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Foursquare Teams With Zagat to Make Yelp Squeal

2010-02-09T15:56:46+00:00

Foursquare is looking beyond virtual badges to high-profile content brands to give it a leg up on competitors such as Gowalla and Yelp. The company said today it’s inked a deal with Zagat to enable users to access restaurant reviews and recommendations, according to the New York Times. And AdAge reports it’s in the process of deploying promotional campaigns for HBO and Warner Brothers. The moves follow its recent tie-up with Bravo Media as well as a deal with the Canadian version of Metro that will provide users with local news content as they check in. The strategy appears to be about making Foursquare fun AND functional.

The Zagat agreement is a counterpunch to Yelp, which last month continued to take its offering to mobile by launching check-ins for iPhone users. (The friend-finding app Loopt has joined the bandagon, too, adding local reviews two months ago.) And the flurry of new partnerships continues a roll that has seen Foursquare close in on 300,000 users — roughly tripling the base of its rival Gowalla — as it expands to 50 new cities.

The deals will give Foursquare a chance to gain mainstream exposure by opening the door for nationwide cross-promotion through well-known media companies, and will enable Foursquare to continue to gradually introduce sponsors to its users. Most importantly, though, partners like Zagat and Metro bring value to an offering that’s essentially a friend-finding service. Foursquare’s fun, gaming-style service has built considerable momentum — and is the reason it has become Om’s favorite mobile app — but virtual pats on the back and mayoral crowns will only go so far. The addition of valuable, location-based content will be crucial if Foursquare is to move beyond early adopters and into the mass market.

Image courtesy Flickr user cambodia4kidsorg.

ViralHeat: Social Media Analysis for the Budget-Minded Soul

2010-02-09T14:08:44+00:00

These days, the words "social media campaign" are on the lips of everyone around, from media professionals to small business owners to college students in coffee shops. While the idea of a social media campaign is becoming widespread, the tools to manage one are often left for the former, while the latter look in awe at the price.

ViralHeat, a social media analytics firm, hopes to fill the space left empty by other, far more expensive services.

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The Basics

ViralHeat has been around for just over six months, providing a low-price but full-featured social media analysis for the budget minded. We had a chance to chat with CEO Raj Kadam and founder Vishal Sankhla today before the relaunch, which is unveiling support for Facebook monitoring, a new user interface and API support.

The fully Web-based app gives full analytics by monitoring an array of blogs, over 200 video sites, Twitter and now Facebook for mentions of your brand, which is set up as a profile. Each profile exists as a simple logic search, wherein you can keep track of your brand by searching for phrases, domains and hashtags, all in the syntax we've become accustomed to from using from sites like Google.

Champagne Tastes on a Beer Budget?

While ViralHeat compares itself on price to services like Radian6, there is a primary difference between the two services. ViralHeat offers a full set of analytics features, from standard mention monitoring to sentiment analysis using a natural language algorithm, but this is where it stays. It does not venture over to the content creation side, where we find the more expensive and extensive services like Radian6. Other services might offer workflow management, scheduled content delivery and other conversational tools, but this would be overkill for the users we imagine at this app's usability sweetspot.

We see that as an additional merit: ViralHeat has both the price point and the feature set fit for the company that wants to get on top of its image and perception on the social Web but can't afford to bring a social media expert on board - and on salary. The learning curve is suitable for the DIY set and the analytics it provides are self explanatory, not riddled with indecipherable, industry jargon.

For those of you that like the pricing but want to do a little more with the data, the service also allows you to export data into Excel format and access your data using the API.

The Price is Right

Speaking of pricing, this is a point that really brings it home for ViralHeat. With today's relaunch of the site, ViralHeat offers a three tiered pricing system, starting with a basic package for $9.99, a professional package for $29.99 and a business package for $89.99. The Basic package offers standard mentions analysis for 5 profiles, while the other packages offer sentiment analysis and API access for 20 and 40 profiles, respectively.

If we haven't drilled it in enough quite yet, here's the bottom line: ViralHeat looks like a solid social media analysis tool that is priced and designed for the more casual user, while offering simple features like export and API interaction that keep it flexible enough for the more serious user.

Discuss

Apple Releases Aperture 3 – Retail Price Is $199, Upgrade Costs $99

2010-02-09T15:15:03+00:00

It’s been almost 2 years to the day when Apple released Aperture 2.0, and this morning the company announced that the third iteration of the photo editing and management software is available. Some of the new features include Faces, Places and Brushes, many of which will be familiar to people using iPhoto ‘09.

With the new version, Apple makes it easier for people to step up from iPhoto to Aperture, while still providing professional photographers with a powerful program for editing and managing their libraries. Apple says the new software boasts over 200 new features.

One of those, Faces, works just like in iPhoto, using face recognition technology to find and organize photos by the people in them. You can view faces across your entire photo library or view just the faces that appear in selected projects. In a new view, Aperture 3 displays faces that have been detected but haven’t yet been named.

Places lets you explore photos based on the location they were taken, and like in iPhoto, Places automatically reverse geocodes GPS data into locations.

In Aperture 3, you can assign locations by dragging-and-dropping photos onto a map or by using location information from GPS enabled cameras, tracking devices or iPhone photos.

Aperture 3 also introduces new tools to refine your photos including Brushes for painting image adjustments onto parts of your photo, and Adjustment Presets for applying professional photo effects.

New slideshows let you share your work by weaving together photos, audio, text and HD video.

Apple features six pre-designed themes but also lets you choose your own transitions, background, borders and titles, and add your own soundtrack. You can export your slideshows directly to iTunes to take with you on your iPhone or iPod touch. There’s also a social networking element to the new Aperture, as you can publish photographs to online photo sharing sites like Facebook and Flickr, straight from the software client, in addition to the ability to print photo books.

The Apple Store is currently still down, but it will be available on there soon, as well as in the company’s own retail stores and Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $199. Existing Aperture users can upgrade for a suggested retail price of $99.

A downloadable 30-day trial version is available here. Aperture 3 runs as a 64-bit application on Mac OS X Snow Leopard on Macs with Intel Core 2 Duo processors.

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Apple Store Is Down. Nobody Knows Why. Carry On.

2010-02-09T15:26:22+00:00

For the record, the Apple Store is down. And since this is Apple -- and MacWorld 2010 starts today, and the iPad can't yet be pre-ordered -- one of the high-tech universe's favorite parlor games has begun. What's really going on?!

Alertas de vuelos vía Twitter con Trabber

2010-02-09T14:06:10+00:00

Si hace poco os hablamos del servicio ofrecido por Nomaders para buscar hotel a través de Twitter ahora os traemos un servicio con similitudes para la búsqueda de ofertas de vuelos. Se trata de Trabber_ofertas y podéis ver en la imagen de fondo de su Twitter el funcionamiento.

Para dar de alta una alerta sólo hay que enviar un tweet a @trabber_ofertas como éste por ejemplo: @trabber_ofertas madrid nueva york por menos de 500€ A partir de ese momento Trabber te enviará vía Twitter todas las ofertas que cumplan lo que has pedido. Es posible elegir el período de tiempo, la duración del viaje, etc.

El buscador de vuelos Trabber cuenta ya con 8.000 visitas diarias y entre sus novedades, además de la de Twitter podemos mencionar Trabber Radar + Gráfico mensual = Evolución de precios mensual y al opción para calcular el coste de facturación de maletas.

Five User Experience Trends

2010-02-09T15:05:58+00:00

Since my blog has been broken a lot recently I missed this excellent overview of Five User Experience trends by Gene Smith.

I can’t help but agree with all of them:

Services as Software – Gene is one of the first people in the UX industry to admit that good enough, fast and cheap tools like usertesting.com will have a real impact. While most people still feel the need to argue “User testing is important”…the market is moving past that. “How fast can you measure?” is as important as “Did we find everything?”
User Experience Analytics – Gene references a post I wrote called What Metric are you designing to improve today? and I think he’s absolutely right (obviously). This is where I’m focusing for the next year or more as I believe metrics-driven design is the future. I’ll be talking about this at UXLondon and am working hard on this at Performable.
Content Strategy – My friend Kristina Halvorson saw this coming…here is an excellent post in which she explains how content strategy is more than a bunch of tactics.
Return of the Mobile Web – Gene suggests that building apps using web standards is the eventual future of the mobile web, not getting locked into platforms like iPhone and Android. I would add to this by saying I actually think Apple would partially agree here…they are pushing HTML5 like gangbusters so that this can be a reality.
A Real Experience Economy – Are people moving away from a world of things to one that values experience more? I think Gene’s right on with this one.

Read the rest here: Five User Experience Trends I’ll be Watching in 2010.

How The Godfather Would Pick Enterprise 2.0 Champions

2010-02-09T14:08:44+00:00

From time to time, we look at how Enterprise 2.0 practices are reaching into companies.

A recent post by Michael Idinopulos demonstrates how the premises for finding Enterprise 2.0 champions is often flawed. Too often the search is for the right personality. Instead, the focus of the search should really be for the people who are "exchanging knowledge, information, and ideas across large parts of the organization."

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Idinopulos compares it to how The Godfather's Don Corleone would approach the issue when choosing the right people for the job: "It's nothing personal. It's just business." In other words, people are chosen for their role in the organization not for who they are as people.

Let's just say the "Godfather," process is still not widely used. Often, managers look for the "it" factor. Here are a few of the more common things Idinopulos has heard managers say they are looking for:

The Young and Hip: "Jimmy's only 28. He grew up on Facebook!"
The Tech-Savvy: "Mary's always got the latest gadget. She's a natural for this!"
The Connectors: "Martin knows everybody. He's the ideal social networker!"
The Visionaries: "Isabel is so visionary. She'll totally get what we're trying to do!"

Idinopulos makes the point that these psychological attributes don't work for a few reasons:

The premise that just a few have such talents is repudiated by the fact that it gets adopted by any number of people who don't fit into any one category
They re not actionable. How can you scale this across an organization of 5,000 to 10,000 employees?
The signal does not transmit. Do you know the lonely social media evangelist? The one who finally just gives up and says people "just don't get it." The enthusiasm has to transfer to the organization.

It's evident a methodology is emerging for how to make Enterprise 2.0 a deep institutional focus. Companies like the Dachis Group and Pragmatic Enterprise are pioneering new methods to help clients institute technologies and practices that fit with the social enterprise.

Dion Hinchcliffe and Michael Krigsman of Pragmatic Enterprise take a holistic approach. They look at the political, technical and business issues that come with any social Web initiative. They look for executive champions who want to use social technologies to solve a business problem. Once the problem is identified, a process begins that seeks out the spectrum of opinions about the
project and the use of Enterprise 2.0 practices for the group.

The business world is developing its own methods for how it makes social technologies a part of the business process. At times it may be surprising how the technologies get adopted. Idinopulos points to a marketing manager who turned out to be responsible for attracting thousands to a Socialtext environment that Idinopulos and his group had implemented for the company:

"Because the Marketing Manager's commitment to social media wasn't a personal thing, it transferred quickly to other parts of the business. Other Marketing groups got wind of the project, and started posting their own content, creating their own workspaces, starting their own conversations. Then it started to spread beyond Marketing, to Sales and Product groups that had initially participated as consumers of Marketing content. Marketing's cross-silo reach positioned them to involve different parts of the organization, which then went on to do their own thing. That would not have happened if Marketing's success had been a function of one person's passion."

The example is proof that the enthusiasm comes from how the social technologies help people in their work so the business can prosper. As the Godfather would say:

"It's not personal. It's just business."

Discuss

GIPS Wants iPhone to Video Conference More Often

2010-02-09T15:56:46+00:00

GIPS, a San Francisco-based company that licenses intellectual property including codecs for audio and video, says it’s come up with a technology that would allow third-party developers to embed video chat in their iPhone-related applications. The new technology is called VideoEngine (VEI) Mobile.

The VideoEngine utilizes H.263 (video codec), GIPS wideband/HD voice (iPCM-Wb) and G711 (audio codec) to provide functionality that would allow real-time video chat or multipoint video conferencing. GIPS is using the H.263 codec because it (and in turn the developers who use VEI) doesn’t have to pay royalties.

Despite GIPS’s statement, VEI can’t really offer real two-way video chat today. Why? Because the iPhone doesn’t have a frontal camera. At best, VEI can be embedded in a mobile application and thus can receive video from some PC-type application, say, from your PC using your IM client to the iPhone. Just not the other way around. Audio is bidirectional. In December 2009, Fring launched a one-way video calling service as well.

That said, I can only see one real value proposition of this new offering: tight synchronization of voice and video that will end up on the iPhone. And I’m not sure if that will be enough for GIPS to get the traction. For video conferencing to take off on the iPhone platform, two things need to happen: First, there needs to be a frontal camera for two-way video chats. Second, Skype needs to make available a video chat offering.

Skype it seems is unlikely to use VEI. It’s already licensed H.264 video technology, which is being included in many mobile phones. I wouldn’t be surprised if Skype ends up using some sort of scalable video version of H.264 for its mobile clients, one that adjusts the video quality based on the network conditions.

As for GIPS, let’s just hope the iPhone gets an upgrade of its dreams — one that involves a video on the front of the device.

Cisco: The Mobilpocalypse Is Coming!!!!!

2010-02-09T15:56:46+00:00

Cisco forecasts that by 2014 we will be using 3.6 exabytes a month on mobile networks worldwide, according to its Visual Networking Index figures released today. (For those pondering an exabyte, it’s equal to 1 billion gigabytes or half a trillion MP3 files.) And by 2014, we’re apparently going to be sucking down 40 exabytes annually from our mobile broadband networks, up from a total of 1.08 exabytes in all of 2009.

A desire for always-on connectivity is behind Cisco’s incredible predictions for growth as well as the increasing number of devices that allow us to surf the mobile web with wired-Internet ease. If the mobile web is a cocktail served at a bar, our devices have moved from being thin cocktail straws to data-quaffing iPads. Plus, more of us are now able to drink legally, which means more bar patrons and more consumption by those bellying up to the mobile broadband bar. It’s both a nightmare and dream for mobile operators, and a clear opportunity for equipment vendors like Cisco and gadget makers like Apple.

For example, today, the average mobile broadband connection generates 1.3 gigabytes of traffic per month — while consumers using mobile broadband via a data card pay around $60 a month for a 5 GB-chunk of access. By 2014, the average mobile broadband connection will generate 7 GB of traffic per month, which means that operators are going to have to revamp their pricing plans while also lowering the costs associated with sending bits through their networks in order to keep margins up.

I’ll have more analysis on the numbers later, but here are the bare bone stats, which should be enough to knock your socks off — or strike terror into the hearts of mobile operators — some of which can’t even handle the data deluge caused by the iPhone.

Global mobile data traffic has increased by 160 percent over the past year to 90 petabytes per month — the equivalent of 23 million DVDs.
Global mobile data traffic today is growing today 2.4 times faster than global fixed broadband data traffic.
Smartphones and laptop air cards will drive more than 90 percent of global mobile traffic by 2014.
Of the anticipated traffic, Wi-Fi offload and other offload will only reduce mobile data use by 25 percent by 2014.
Global mobile video traffic is forecasted to be 2.3 exabytes per month by 2014.
By 2014, more than 400 million of the world’s Internet users will access the network solely through a mobile connection.
Today, smartphones are only 10 percent of all handsets in use, but generate over 50 percent of global mobile data handset traffic.

Related GigaOM Pro report (subscription required):

How AT&T Will Deal With iPad Data Traffic

“Geekonomía, un radar para producir en el postdigitalismo” último libro de Hugo Pardo Kuklinski

2010-02-09T13:23:30+00:00

Tal como comenta Pablo en Amphibia, hay libros que hay que leer, y más aún si están escritos en nuestra lengua y con una óptica geográfica compartida. Hace poco encontré una lista, muy buena por cierto, de los libros más relevantes de la década en el ámbito de las políticas tecnológicas y el impacto que tiene Internet en la sociedad, economía y cultura. La lista es amplia y recorre todo el espectro metodológico e ideológico, pero lamentablemente tiene un sesgo inevitable en su marcado anglo-centrismo.

Por eso mismo hay que fomentar la lectura de los buenos trabajos en el ámbito de la cibercultura en nuestra lengua, y más si es distruibido electrónicamente bajo un sistema de donaciones y licencia Creative Commons, con libertad de copia, distribución y derivación. Este es el caso de “Geekonomía. Un radar para producir en el postdigitalismo”, en el que Hugo Pardo Kuklinski, especialista en el ámbito de los nuevos medios, impacto cultural de la tecnología y como él lo mantiene, el post-digitalismo, nos invita a una aventura conceptual que arriesga el cómodo presente para ya discutir un incierto futuro como animales sociales de la red.

El libro logra un notable equilibrio entre el lenguaje académico, el argot digitalista y los casos cotidianos del medio, tocando temas como el cloud computing, economía de la red, la transición de formatos, las implicancias de la propiedad intelectual en las actividades (y usos) de la red, el remixeo y la cultura commons, modelos p2p, átomos y bits, identidades plurales, la era post-desktop, etcétera.

Un punto interesante -y filoso- que aborda Hugo en “Geekonomía” y que no está muy difundido, salvo honrosas excepciones en la literatura iberoamericana, es el debate sobre el impacto que tiene el modelo abierto y colaborativo y las capacidades relacionales que el ecosistema-red desarrolla en el ámbito universitario. Según Pardo, la institución universitaria, como espacio tradicional -y físico- del saber y el conocimiento, está en riesgo de default, decidiéndose entre formar parte de una vanguardia social con liderazgo en el cambio o quedar relegada a ser una “marca blanca distribuidora de títulos oficiales”. Por eso resalta la importancia y emergencia de conceptos como el edupunk, la educación expandida, los journals abiertos (OpenJournal) como alternativa libre y distribuida ante la rigidez y la obsolescencia del áncien regime de los journals pagos.

En fin, es más que evidente que es una lectura que no hay que dejar pasar, y de la que seguro vamos a comentar alguna reflexión más. Hugo nos propone una invitación a debatir el presente y futuro de nuestra vida postdigital.

PD: No pierdan pisada a la colección del libro (Transmedia XXI) del Laboratori de Mitjans Interactius de la Universitat de Barcelona, que promete muchas obras de interés y calidad como esta que hoy comentamos.

Apple Store Down, Wild Speculations Abound

2010-02-09T12:45:09+00:00

Whenever Apple store goes down, it’s a moment of geek bliss, especially if you like Apple products. What will Apple launch this time? Will they just update specs on some of their Macbooks, or do they have something really interesting in store for us this time?

In any case, the Store is down now, so feel free to share your guesses on what’s coming once it goes back up again. Let’s just hope it’s not common maintenance.

Tags: apple, Apple Store

"Piénsatelo antes de publicar" en Internet... o acarrea con las consecuencias

2010-02-09T13:13:11+00:00

Con motivo de la celebración del Día Internacional de Internet Seguro 2010, representantes de la Policía Nacional, Microsoft Ibérica, la Comisión Europea y la organización para la protección de la infancia en Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación Protégeles, han convocado una rueda de prensa para advertir a los internautas sobre los peligros que entronca la Red, con especial foco en la privacidad y protección de los jóvenes.

Así se desprende de una encuestada realizada por MSN a 600 personas durante las dos últimas semanas de enero: el cuarenta por ciento de los adolescentes proporciona el nombre de su colegio en sus detalles personales y el 24 por ciento la dirección de su casa. Además, el estudio revela que más de la mitad de los adolescentes españoles (un 56 por ciento) han sido contactados por un extraño y el 76 por ciento ha respondido por curiosidad.

Para Francisco Fonseca, director de la representación en España de la Comisión Europea, hay que atajar esta situación a través de la educación y el sentido común: "Los jóvenes deben ser desconfiados ante lo desconocido igual que lo son cuando les ofrecen caramelos en la puerta del colegio".

Por eso, la Policía Nacional y Microsoft Ibérica han firmado un acuerdo de colaboración que contribuirá a fomentar el uso de Internet de forma más segura entre los jóvenes. Este compromiso se materializará en una serie de sesiones informativas que la compañía impartirá a la Brigada de Investigación Tecnológica de la Policía Nacional con tal de formar e informar a los adolescentes y profesores a través de charlas didácticas.

Manuel Vázquez, comisario jefe de la Brigada de Investigación Tecnológica, se ha referido a la desprotección de los menores españoles, que "carecen de experiencia vital para saber qué hacer y qué no". Vázquez, que se ha incluido entre los que sufren la brecha generacional que existe entre hijos y padres, ha resaltado la importancia de la formación, no sólo entre los más jóvenes, sino también entre los padres, que "deberían saber cómo educar a los hijos en el caso de Internet".

Toque de atención a las redes sociales

Uno de los aspectos que más preocupa es la cantidad de fotos privadas que se 'suben' a Internet. Según datos de Microsoft Ibérica, los internautas cargan seis millones de imágenes al día a la comunidad online Windows Live en todo el mundo.

Para Guillermo Cánovas, presidente de Protégeles, hay que tener en cuenta dos cuestiones antes 'subir' una imagen: "Primero, piensa si estás dispuesto a que la vea todo el mundo y, segundo, si estás dispuesto a que circule toda la vida en Internet. Si la respuesta es negativa, no debes colgarla".

Preguntado por el uso que redes sociales como Tuenti y Facebook hacen de la información privada de los usuarios, Cánovas ha dicho que "quiere que adjudiquen perfiles privados por defecto a menores de edad ya que sólo el cuarenta por ciento lo hace", en referencia a un estudio de la Unión Europea que señala que "sólo 11 de 22 sitios impiden que los perfiles privados de los usuarios menores de edad puedan buscarse a través de motores de búsqueda".

Por su parte, el director general de Consumo y Online, Juan Carlos Fernández, ha anunciado una batería de herramientas para que los padres, en consenso con sus hijos, puedan decidir qué páginas web pueden visitar o la lista de contactos con los que se pueden comunicar a través de Windows Live Messenger, Hotmail o Windows Live Spaces.

Fernández ha lanzado una campaña online de concenciación junto a Protégeles a través del portal www.protegeatushijos.com (http://www.protegeatushijos.com/), donde se pueden encontrar vídeos informativos, un décalogo de seguridad y enlaces de interés.

Estudiantes de Mérida participan en el proyecto europeo 'Jóvenes ideas para Europa'

2010-02-09T13:13:10+00:00

MÉRIDA, 9 (EUROPA PRESS)

Un total de 30 alumnos del I.E.S. 'Emérita Augusta' de Mérida trabaja entre hoy y el próximo viernes, día 12, en asuntos relacionados con Europa, dentro del proyecto 'Jóvenes ideas para Europa' que está promovido por la Fundación alemana Robert Bosch, y que en España está organizado por la Fundación Ciudadanía.

El núcleo de la iniciativa es un taller de cuatro días, durante los cuales los jóvenes van a debatir y desarrollar sus ideas sobre la política energética y el cambio climático en la Unión Europea. Contarán con la orientación de expertos y estarán en contacto, a través de las Tecnologías con los participantes de otro centro educativo alemán. En el último día del taller, los estudiantes presentarán sus ideas a personas invitada y representantes de los medios de comunicación.

Para lograr este objetivo, 30 alumnos del I.E.S. Emérita Augusta, de Mérida y 30 jóvenes del centro escolar Städtisches Gymnasium Hei*en, de Mülheim (Alemania) van a seguir durante esta semana exactamente el mismo programa y van a comparar sus resultados a mediados y finales de la misma.

Trabajarán y conocerán aspectos relacionados con el tema 'Plan de acción sobre la nueva Energía para Europa'. Los jóvenes estarán en contacto a través de la página web del proyecto, www.youngideasforeurope.euy de videoconferencias y chats que realizarán utilizando el inglés como lengua de conversación, informó Fundación Ciudadanía en nota de prensa.

Durante esta semana aprenderán sobre las políticas energéticas en la Unión Europea, debatirán sus aspectos positivos y negativos, formarán sus propios partidos políticos ficticios para defender sus ideas y realizar sus propuestas en un debate parlamentario de la UE simulado para, al final votar al partido político que mejor defienda sus posturas.

Asimismo, mañana miércoles tendrán la oportunidad de compartir sus ideas y propuestas con un experto en temas europeos. En el caso de Extremadura, el experto será Miguel Bernal Carrión, presidente de la Asociación Extremeña para la Cooperación Este Oeste (Aeceo), que compartirá sus ideas sobre el futuro de Europa y las políticas energéticas.

El programa 'Young Ideas for Europe' empezó a mediados de 2009 en Alemania y se celebrará durante los primeros meses de 2010 en, al menos, 9 países europeos, coincidiendo con la Presidencia Española de la Unión Europea.

En Extremadura lo organiza la Fundación Ciudadanía en colaboración con el I.E.S. Emérita Augusta de Mérida, la Red Extremeña de Información Europea, el Instituto de la Juventud de Extremadura, Aeceo y la Academia Europea de Yuste.

Salud desarrolla un proyecto pionero de prevención de drogas para los jóvenes a través de las nuevas tecnologías

2010-02-09T13:13:10+00:00

LOGROÑO, 09 (EUROPA PRESS)

La Consejería de Salud de La Rioja ha impulsado el desarrollo de un nuevo programa de prevención de drogas, teniendo en cuenta los resultados obtenidos y las aportaciones de los jóvenes al primer proyecto europeo de estas características, denominado 'Drojnet' y que se llevó a cabo en nuestra Comunidad auspiciado por la Consejería de Salud del Gobierno de La Rioja.

Este nuevo proyecto, que se denominará 'Drojnet2' y también estará financiado con fondos europeos, consiste en un servicio de información sobre drogas que se sustenta en la interactividad y en la adaptación de contenidos y canales de comunicación al público joven gracias al uso de las nuevas tecnologías (mensajes a móviles, páginas web y redes sociales virtuales), como sistema de participación y de implicación de los jóvenes en la elaboración y difusión de mensajes preventivos y de reducción de riesgos asociados al consumo de alcohol, tabaco y otras drogas entre los propios jóvenes.

La Consejería de Salud lleva a cabo este proyecto en colaboración con el Gobierno de Aragón, la Generalitat de Cataluña y la asociación Bizia de Bayona (Francia). El programa está cofinanciado por el Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, (FEDER), que aporta un 65 por ciento al presupuesto global de este proyecto, que supera el 1,13 millones de euros.

DOS ÁMBITOS DE ACTUACIÓN EN EL PROGRAMA

En el ámbito de la prevención, el programa se dirige a estudiantes de 3º de la ESO y de Programas de Cualificación Profesional Inicial, a los que se accede desde los centros educativos, y que pueden participar creando, difundiendo y recibiendo en sus móviles SMS y MMS que puedan servir para prevenir el consumo de alcohol, tabaco y otras drogas.

La acción denominada Reducción de Riesgos se dirige a jóvenes a los que se accede en el ámbito del ocio nocturno y pueden participar recibiendo en sus móviles vía bluetooth SMS y MMS enfocados a la reducción de riesgos derivados del consumo.

EVALUACIÓN DROJNET

La Consejería de Salud lideró también el primer proyecto europeo, que se desarrolló entre julio de 2006 y octubre de 2008 con la colaboración del Gobierno de Navarra y la región francesa de Bearn.

Entre los resultados obtenidos de este proyecto destacan que un 75 por ciento de los centros y un 31 por ciento de los adolescentes participaron en el proyecto. Se dio una mayor participación por parte de las chicas (37 por ciento frente a 26 por ciento).

Después de un año de experiencia piloto, más de la mitad de los adolescentes seguían deseando recibir mensajes.

Tras recibir los mensajes se sentían mejor informados sobre drogas. La mayoría había comentado con su grupo de amigos y en algún caso con padres y hermanos. Algunos guardaban los SMS móvil.

El proyecto Drojnet se dirigió a jóvenes de entre 14 y 16 años, de los que 324 eran de La Rioja. La Consejería de Salud envió, a lo largo de un año, más de 16.000 mensajes de móvil a estos adolescentes. Mediante los mensajes, Salud les informaba sobre las sustancias de mayor consumo, con el objetivo de desmontar mitos y provocar en el adolescente una reflexión propia sobre el uso de estas sustancias.

Por otro lado, la Consejería ha creado la página web (www.drojnet.eu , a la que se puede acceder también mediante la página web oficial de Salud, www.riojasalud.es) con información sobre las drogas de mayor consumo entre este colectivo, adaptada al público adolescente, tanto en contenidos, como en diseño y lenguaje.

POLÍTICA DE PREVENCIÓN

La política de prevención de drogodependencias del Gobierno riojano está prestando especial atención al público joven y a la información que estos poseen. Se ha constatado en numerosas ocasiones, que la población juvenil no posee una información clara y real acerca de los aspectos clave de las drogodependencias (desconocen cuáles son las consecuencias que les pueden causar cierto tipo de consumos, qué sustancias contienen lo que consumen, etc.).

Por este motivo, este proyecto pretende proporcionarles todo tipo de información aprovechando las posibilidades que ofrecen las nuevas tecnologías, los recursos que los jóvenes utilizan habitualmente, tanto para comunicarse como para obtener información (chats en Internet, mensajes de móvil, etc.)

Un proyecto producido por la Consejería de Cultura gana el premio Transmediale 2010

2010-02-09T13:13:10+00:00

MURCIA, 9 (EUROPA PRESS)

El proyecto 'Buscando al señor Goodbar', realizado por la artista Michelle Teran y producido por la Consejería de Cultura y Turismo para la exposición 'Techformance' comisariada por Oscar Abril, y que la Región presentó en el Festival de Arte Contemporáneo Arco 2009, ha obtenido el premio al mejor proyecto artístico en el festival 'Transmediale' de Berlín, el más importante de Alemania y uno de los más reconocidos del mundo, informaron fuentes de la Comunidad.

Con el trabajo 'Buscando al señor Goodbar', elegido por unanimidad entre más de 1.500 proyectos presentados, la autora trazó un mapa de la ciudad de Murcia haciendo uso de Google Earth y Youtube, e invitó a todos los murcianos a descubrir a los protagonistas reales de una selección de vídeos colgados en Youtube.

Un grupo de veinte personas llevó a cabo este itinerario por las calles de Murcia, partiendo del Centro Párraga y buscando a murcianos anónimos presentes en Youtube que hicieron una demostración en directo de las habilidades que exhiben en los vídeos que cuelgan en la red.

Hoy tenemos a Pau Garcia-Milà en First Tuesday Madrid

2010-02-09T14:19:30+00:00

Con cerca de 200 asistentes inscritos, muy a pesar de los constantes fallos del sistema de registro de la web, hoy tendremos el First Tuesday Madrid a las 19.30 horas en el LEMON en Av. Brasil 5 de Madrid.

Para los que no puedan asistir el evento se emitará en directo a través de Agoranews.

Si no has recibido el email de confirmación o ha fallado el proceso de inscripción, puedes asistir igualmente. Esperamos solventar el problema lo antes posible cambiando la web de servidor y lanzando lo antes posible una web mucho más usable.

Tendremos como ponente a Pau Garcia-Milà, fundador de Eyeos, nos contará como decidió emprender su empresa con tan sólo 17 años y las dificultades y éxitos que ha obtenido hasta cerrar acuerdos con empresas como IBM.

Personalmente creo que Pau es una persona muy interesante con la que me apetece mucho debatir y poder charlar de sus inicios como emprendedor. Creo que no dejará a nadie indiferente y es una inyección de adrenalina emprendedora ideal para todos aquellos que tengan ganas de emprender y no se hayan atrevido a dar el paso.

El Patrocinador del evento es MadridEmprende.

Inscribete en http://www.firsttuesday.es para poder asistir de forma totalmente gratuita.

First Tuesday es un evento organizado en España por Amaia Helguera y Carlos Blanco, en Madrid contamos con la colaboración de Axel Serena y Roberto Fernandez.

Con la colaboración de LEMON, Hello Comunicación! eMascaro y Grupo ItNet.

Alemania le declara la guerra a Google Street View por intromisión a la vida privada

2010-02-09T13:13:10+00:00

Los ministros alemanas de consumo, ha declarado la guerra a Google Street View por proporcionar imágenes de la calle y de las casas de Alemania sin autorización previa, la ministra alemana Aigner considera que este servicio constituye una intromisión a la vida privada de los ciudadanos.

«El Nexus One es un ganador»

2010-02-09T13:13:10+00:00

Ha pasado poco más de un mes desde el lanzamiento oficial del Nexus One, el nuevo teléfono móvil de Google, fabricado por la gente de HTC, y que utiliza al nuevo sistema operativo Android 2.1. Desde entonces, las novedades principales relacionadas con el móvil se centraron en actualizaciones (la más reciente de ellas habilitando al solicitado multi-touch), y en el pobre volumen de ventas registrado hasta la fecha. Sin embargo, una voz de apoyo ha surgido del lugar menos esperado: Linus Torvalds, mente maestra detrás del kernel Linux, declaró en su blog personal estar muy satisfecho con el nuev...

Iberdrola: España puede asumir 10 millones de coches eléctricos

2010-02-09T13:13:10+00:00

El presidente de Iberdrola, Ignacio Sánchez Galán, ha afirmado hoy que la red eléctrica española puede soportar la implementación de 10 millones de coches eléctricos, una de las apuestas del Gobierno para reducir las emisiones de CO2."Actualmente, el sistema eléctrico español es capaz de asumir unos 10 millones de coches eléctricos, siempre que la recarga se haga de forma lenta y por las noches", explicó el directivo durante su intervención en el encuentro de ministros de Industria de la Unión Europea en San Sebastián.Galán propuso a los ministros que las estaciones de recarga comiencen a instalarse en garajes privados y después, en las estaciones públicas. También señaló que las eléctricas no necesitarán hacer grandes inversiones para proponer soluciones para la recarga de los coches "a precios competitivos".

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