November 23, 2010 by sshadmand
So this is pretty cool. Your head is in the grinder day and night, in and out. Is it worth it? Does anyone care? And then you stumble upon some guy at Oxford writing a thesis about us. It’s small in some ways, but big in others. I mean someone we don’t know found out about us and was interested enough to write a thesis. I am not sure why, but it was a nice morning pick-me-up none the less.
http://fundable.co/2010/11/what-does-fundraising-look-like/
Category Technology | Tags: appmakr,thesis | No Comments
November 21, 2010 by sshadmand
I love focused ideas that get one thing perfectly right and easy. Remembering URLs is getting easier and easier and more and more tools will be used per day on purpose and app like based on social discovery (I’ll explain more in other blogs). For now here are two sites that are hella useful. The second you go to the site it gives you a unique idea. Simply save the unique url and share it to collaborate with friends. Super simple:
Pirate Pad: Instant realtime collaboration document writer: http://piratepad.net/ep/pad/newpad
Thingler: Instant todo list: http://thingler.com/
Category Technology | Tags: website | No Comments
November 21, 2010 by sshadmand
http://www.kickstarter.com/
Fund your idea crowd source style. A startup for startups.
Category Business, Technology | Tags: development,tips,website | No Comments
November 10, 2010 by sshadmand
I stumbled onto the google test list tonight and noticed a new preview feature in search. It works really well and takes good advantage of the excess white space on their search page. A nice bonus is the non forced nature of it. If you mouse over any of the results nothing happens unless you click on one of the magnifying glasses. The full length preview of the page immediately comes up (way quicker than I have ever seen on other search engines) and since its the full page scrolled you can read and browse it quite thoroughly. After the first magnifying glass is selected, subsequent search results show the preview by simply putting the mouse over it. Also if you scroll the preview does not flicker through mouse over events so you can browse the full preview. When you stop scrolling and mouse over a new result it then switches. Overall feel was great and I hope they roll this out.
Google preview
Category Technology | Tags: design,google,news,preview,search,web | No Comments
August 17, 2010 by sshadmand
Focus is extremely important when starting a company. It is easy to think that the best thing to offer your customers is everything they need. I mean wouldn’t you want to be the one stop shop for someone’s needs so they can keep wanting to come back for more? Unfortunately, that always sounds great in theory, but in reality it’s a concept that kills. McDonald’s does burgers, and even though now they have a fish fillet and a McRib now and again, they are a burger joint and when they started and took off they did burgers better then anyone in the biz. After a while they added more products to stay current and further saturate their market but they had to start somewhere, and dig into the dirt. Creating a business on the sidelines often gives people a chance to improve on a big company’s ideas, but they neglect to realize how long it took for the company to get there and build their brand off of doing one thing great.
The mishap is much like a sub shop that notices that people on their lunch break often needs copies made, so they become a sub shop and copy center. Would you eat at a sub shop that does copies when you want subs and vice versa? The problem is everytime you add an “and” to a sentence about what you do when you are a growing company you are devaluing each individual thing in that claim by half. I mean if one person is great at flipping burgers and they put all their time into that skill what happens when that same person makes shakes? Well you can hire another person for the shakes, but the problems still trickles up — now the manager must be great at spending half his time on managing burger flippers and half of his time on shake makers. Make your core your focus and do that one thing better than anyone in the world. If you find yourself using the “and” in your value prop raise a red flag.
Another way to think about it is that often times you try to increase value with increasing your offerings. So you say we are a company that focuses on the very best linens (but then you think how do I get the linens to the customer so you continue on) … and we deliver the linens to your door. What just happened there is once you started thinking about alternative ways to increase the value of your company you have inadvertently admitted that the “fine linens” part of your company’s offerings isn’t good enough to stand on its own. I have the finest linens – [period]. I am so focused and great at making fine linens you will want them – [period]. It rings stronger and internally, in every conversation and meeting that comes up if the discussion doesn’t ultimately improve the quality of your fine linens don’t waste your time talking about it. Every new offering (if you want it done well) deserves all the attention it needs and will suck attention from another offering unless you have the brand, management, money, exposure, customer base to help carry you onto something else.
You just can’t avoid it no matter how smart or hard working you are you will give your customers mixed signals, employees diffused objectives and passion, and a mitigated product that can’t compete with a rival that could spring up and do everything they can to be better at one thing than you. Information gets around quickly and people know how to manage multiple systems, if they can save time by finding someone who does something important better than anyone they will use them in no time.
Note: I should make one more point. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have new ideas, just recognize that the new idea will need focus and attention and if you think your original idea/business isn’t good enough to stand on its own you should decide whether to keep the old business or shift focus completely to the new one.
Category Business, featured, Philosophy, Technology | Tags: | No Comments
August 17, 2010 by sshadmand
For years employees would hire veterans because after x amount of years of experience an employer knew they were getting a knowledgeable person based on track record, but that is kind of a lazy way to hire. It’s just like football, you hire skill and lose potential, you pay to mitigate risk. Employers would then hire young people at a low salary if they were bright, once again to mitigate risk. “You seem smart but you don’t have a track record so we will have to pay you less.” Much like football you are not setting your team up to win a super bowl in the coming years. (This also sounds similar to VC world)
What FaceBook, Google, etc. well in addition to hiring smart veterans was they flipped the script a bit. They started hiring young people with alot of potential and paying them alot of money. A few years later they are winning super bowls. And the old employer style is having a hard time finding talent. Now everyone wants a young genius and they are in short supply.
Time and time again this risk mitigation strategy is a red flag and one should be sure they are mitigating for the right reasons. Also, when you save time by mitigating it is a red flag because in a way you are being lazy, and when you are lazy you give opportunity to those that aren’t lazy to move ahead. (not lazy cause you don’t work hard but lazy because you are using a system to think for you and when you do that you get further and further from being different and different equals success because not everyone can be successful).
Category Business, Philosophy, Technology | Tags: | No Comments
August 16, 2010 by sshadmand
Tan Le
Tired of your technology not being able to keep up with your awesome, fast paced brain? — Me too! Check this ground breaking product out that is breaking mind control into the affordably comercial landscape. (Video on Ted)
Category Business, Feature Style, Technology | Tags: | No Comments
July 15, 2010 by sshadmand
TED Talks
http://blog.ted.com/2009/03/sixth_sense_demo.php
Great technology of the future. Why take a mobile device out of your pocket when your environment is constantly able to take input and interface with all the world knowledge.
(The 21 min summary version)
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy.html
Read and loved his book, “Stumbling on Happiness” which gives perspective on the science behind what lead to sadness, happiness, imagination and how poor/amazing those things work.
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
What IS smart? DO we reward all sorts of talent or have we progressively become a society that our bodies are simply a transport device for our big brains. Sir Ken gives a humorous take on our recognition of education.
And his follow up years later if you like him: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/garrett_lisi_on_his_theory_of_everything.html
This van bound Hawaiian finds the balance in quantum physics and life.
Category Philosophy, Style, Technology | Tags: | No Comments
May 1, 2010 by sshadmand
Category Technology | Tags: article | No Comments
January 22, 2010 by sshadmand
Success is not a point, but a process
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January 14, 2010 by sshadmand
Music/Rhythm is the 4th dimension in life. Without it your are JUST moving in A direction in space and time. I love music, I need music! Fill your space and time with music!
Category Technology | Tags: ramblings | No Comments
January 4, 2010 by sshadmand
AppMakr.com has gotten some good press today :)
TechCrunch/CrunchGear
http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/01/06/appmakr-make-your-own-iphone-apps-for-just-two-bills/
“What AppMakr lacks in vowels they make up for in coolness. ”
MobileCrunch
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/01/03/appmakr-transforms-app-store-landscape-enables-anyone-to-make-their-own-iphone-app/
“Surprisingly, AppMakr was extremely well done and easy to use.”
Livingston
http://www.livingstonbuzz.com/2010/01/04/appmakr-makes-iphone-apps-accessible/
“AppMakr service is a no-brainer for most small companies and nonprofits.”
Scobleizer
http://scobleizer.com/2010/01/04/part-i-hot-startups-to-watch-in-2010-2/
“Top 25 Startups of 2010″
Guy Kawasaki
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2010/01/how-to-make-an-iphone-app.html#axzz0benPLHYD
“I can now offer custom iPhone apps for each of the 800 Alltop topics. How cool is that?”
Category Technology | Tags: appmakr,news,press | No Comments
December 25, 2009 by sshadmand
Now that tablet PCs are not just “coulds” but are “soons,” designers must start to really reinvent the way the rest of us will digest content. Non laptop touch interactive computers are coming soon, probably the first jaw dropper in late January. So what will this new world be like?
Berg, a design company in London, tasked themselves with creating a video that describes this new reading environment. How you will read content, scroll through content, orientation, spacing, interaction, etc. must all be well thought out to keep the reader immersed in the content while allowing the great new tools a tablet can offer to become exposed and, well, at your fingertips — ready to go.
Category Technology | Tags: apple,apps,design,mac,mirosoft,tablet | No Comments
December 23, 2009 by sshadmand
iPhone Undo
Lately I have noticed that I get prompted to “undo typing” or cancel my text. I would hurriedly press cancel and after getting the message a few times I started to think something was becoming buggy with my phone or my fat fingers were accidentally pressing some wrong button. The I realized — wait there is no “undo” button/feature on the phone where the hell is it coming from? After some quick research, I found out there is an unpublished “undo” feature on the iPhone after SDK 3.0.
Ready for it…..and….
Activate Undo Text Feature:
After typing on the iPhone, shake the phone to undo what you have typed.
Category Technology | Tags: iphone,tips | No Comments
October 29, 2009 by sshadmand
The implications are great. Imagine architecture being 3D in seconds based on a back of the napkin sketch…cool implementation of augmented reality.
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September 12, 2009 by sshadmand
I have always loved Nietzsche’s writings, but not until I started this Blog did I truly recognize the complexity of his work; to convey philosophy through aphorisms. It is, for some reason, so easy to talk about an idea out loud with passion and to do it while another person is right there sitting with you provoking you to push the story forward. Maybe it is easier because you are able to wiggle through the holes in the statements you make or because you are less critical of yourself when you know your mistakes will be lost in time and not in black and white to later be scrutinized by a passerby — the cost is that any of your good substance will be lost in the shuffle.
I am struggling with becoming any level of what can be called a writer and my greatest hurdle is talking through a written medium. Not burdening myself with the need to explain every point that comes up that has some relevant story behind it or to be too verbose, to somehow incorporate my passions and stream of conscious into written form, to have an open dialog within the writing (maybe add a character to debate with) and to not be so critical of posting anything no matter how dumb it may feel.
This I suppose is the next chapter to my first Blog post “My First Blog & the Dreaded Blank Page” and hopefully this broadcast admittance to my fears, hurdles, and lack of skill will once again be an evolution in writing for me.
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September 7, 2009 by sshadmand
Calculator Watch
LG has come out with a new and improved calculator watch, the LG GD910. It’s kind of an iPhone for the wrist. Check out this phone and other cool phones on youtube below.
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August 23, 2009 by sshadmand
Synthetic Life
Scientest have combined the building blocks of life and have been able to over come some major hurdles in the effort to create life from scratch. By creating a container for the life to reside in, a way to reproduce, and a way to convert raw materials to energy man can indeed create life if only for a few hours at a time. Scientist have made a confident claim this week that they expect someone to create artificial life from scratch, albeit microscopic at best, within 3-10 years.
Category Technology | Tags: biology,life,molecules,science,synthetic | No Comments
August 21, 2009 by sshadmand
Very cool, I love simple changes in technology that make way for completly new ways of doing common tasks. Like this subtle change in keyboard interaction. This keyboard uses pressure to interpret keystorokes. This allows users to add more demension to your typing or game playing. For instance, if you are shouting in your text simply press each key harder…..Anywho, it’s pretty neat check out the video.
More on the program:
UIST (ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology) is the premier forum for innovations in the software and technology of human-computer interfaces. Sponsored by ACM’s special interest groups on computer-human interaction (SIGCHI) and computer graphics (SIGGRAPH), UIST brings together researchers and practitioners from diverse areas that include traditional graphical & web user interfaces, tangible & ubiquitous computing, virtual & augmented reality, multimedia, new input & output devices, and CSCW. The intimate size, the single track, and comfortable surroundings make this symposium an ideal opportunity to exchange research results and implementation experiences.
http://www.acm.org/uist/uist2009/
Category Technology | Tags: computers,hardware,inventions,new,science | No Comments
August 19, 2009 by sshadmand
Being part of the industrial revolution must have been amazing. I use to wish I was around during a revolution of that size as I would have wanted to take risks and catch the business wave as early as I could. Like being around when Bill Gates started MicroSoft. How could people have thought it was a fad, or rejected such an practical, obvious, beneficial product? Computers and software changed the way life happens and a majority of the population were/are late adopters. These last few years have been the beginning of yet another great revolution in my eyes and I wasn’t going to pas it up. I cant believe how many thought/think the technologies of today are a fad, many of those nah sayers who argued in my and coworkers face and mocked the industries goals are forgotten (lucky for them) and from only 1 year ago! More and more are getting on the ride. Im glad I started giving it my all early on, no regrets.
We still have a long way to go. Those who said Facebook was a fad are now on FaceBook with the rest of their family and friends and use it fairly often. What’s more disturbing is how often I over hear people on FaceBook or in passing that scream how much Twitter is a useless fad……I guess we just need to give them a few years in which I suspect that they will be bashing yet another new technology, but will do it using Twitter.
Even the most basic and useful forums of social media get bashed to this day, often purely for cultural reasons in which technology in many peoples eyes equal sub par information and practicality. I don’t know how many times I’ve over heard intelligent people bashing any information found on Wikipedia. Although not perfect it’s easy to for get that Webster and Britannica were all originally missions of one man traveling the globe. One man one perspective asking strangers and alike what they knew to be knowledge of the earth and its inhabitants. Accuracy is subjective and in this case a multitude of subjective persons might be more powerful and “true” then a single man is the final say.
Let’s try harder to find use in things that catch on or connect us all, that increase our perspective across greater bounds whether it be 100% accurate or not. If we are brought together and information is shared more readily then we are only following a path set thousands of years before us first with smoke signals, then to written stone, bibles, printed news, telegraphs and phones, radio and TV, internet and social media. Let us allow ourselves to find the good, as we have so reluctant at each point of our past, in connecting with one another and decipher the positive gains in mediums that do just that.
Category Technology | Tags: editorial,facebook,ramblin,technological revolution,Technology,twitter,wikipedia | No Comments