Archive for 2009

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RIAs hit Hollywood

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

Universal Pictures have launched an Adobe AIR widget to allow film-goers to get all the information they’ll need in order to keep up to date on the upcoming movie ‘Fast and Furious’. The application offers breaking news related to the film, exclusive content, a countdown timer to the launch date, easy access to view trailers and video clips, wallpaper images, polls, and a chat feature to allow users to connect with other fans.

The widget is a solid piece of marketing and is a must-have for anyone who is passionate about this film. It is one of the first examples of the use of an RIA by Hollywood in the promotion of a film and demonstrates a creative execution which enables fans to connect with each other and discover the information they are seeking all from one desktop-based application. Universal Pictures was able to repurpose existing content and package it within a high-octane looking package, ensuring that they are creating a dynamic user experience with materials already on hand. It’ll be interesting to see the results of how many users downloaded the application as well as if this has any impact on the box-office receipts.

Click here to download the ‘Fast and Furious’ RIA.

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Why Web 3.0 should never come to be

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

In essence, the web is a self-structuring and evolving entity. Unlike most industries that matured in the last couple of hundred years, it’s not controlled by one central entity, or a “boy’s club” of key players (like that of the telecommunications or airline industries). No one’s in charge (nor should anyone be in charge) of clustering a bunch of “blessed” features under a simplistic label and marketing them as a package to the rest of the world.

I don’t mean to criticize Tim O’Reilly for having coined the term “Web 2.0″ because he did precisely what I am advocating. He observed the hotbed of ideas, identified trends and brought forward emerging patterns of successes and labeled them “Web 2.0”.

In my opinion, one should not wait and expect that sets of rules will be created for them by a supreme committee selected to decide on what to include or exclude from any future “product releases” or “seasonal trends”. The next incarnation of the web is happening now, as you are reading this blog post, with incredibly innovative ideas materializing every instant on numerous fronts.

You may want to call this Web 2.1, or Web 3.0, or (why not) Web π. Regardless of what we call it, these days a flood of ideas are being generated and what’s in the container is more important than the if the container is made of tin, glass or crystal.

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A discussion of “Game-Changing Technologies”

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009

During the panel discussion on “Game-Changing Technologies” at the recent Photo Marketing Association, Tradeshow and Conference, I brought up the point that Web 2.0, in fact, doesn’t really change any game after all. My position was that most theories in marketing developed in the last fifty years studied only one sample audience: the baby boomers. Gen-Xers are the forgotten generation, hardly paid attention to and always assumed to follow in the steps of the baby boomers. With the emergence of Generation Y, the economic balance of the world is shifting and what is considered to be “new technologies” are in fact “everyday technologies”.

Many believe that the game is changing but in fact, our old assumptions and initial theories were indeed flawed to begin with.

Deep down, humans haven’t changed. We all have the same needs, desires and anxieties as before. Whether we are participating in Web 3.0, Web 2.0, or Web 1.0, it’s important to address these needs as opposed to just jumping on the same bandwagon as the Jones’s.

In my next posting, I will argue that the term “Web 3.0” should never come to be. Stay tuned.

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INM’s President Participates in Panel Discussion at PMA’09

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

INM President and Co-Founder, Vahe Kassardjian was in attendance at the recent Photo Marketing Association Tradeshow and Conference held in Las Vegas from March 1st to 5th and spoke on a panel discussion on “Game-Changing Web 2.0 Technology” as it relates specifically to the photo imaging industry.

The panel comprised of Paul Worthington from Future Image Inc., Yuval Koren, founder and Chief Product Officer at Eye Fi and Greg Downing from xRez Studio Inc, covered how development platforms such as Microsoft Silverlight and Adobe Air are allowing new imaging technologies to flourish.

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Virtual Panel on “The Current and Future State of RIA”

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

Info Q has just conducted a Virtual Panel on “The Current and Future State of RIA” featuring the thoughts of many individuals from well-known and well-respected companies in the space such as: Mozilla, Curl, Java, Microsoft and Adobe. Each spokesperson was provided with a series of questions relating to whether RIA technologies have “made it”, what the optimal user experience of the RIA should be, what other applications will be driving RIA technology adoption, as well as an overview of the various RIA frameworks and languages.

This virtual panel provides an examination of how each company views where RIAs are headed and the advances made by each as of this point. The predictions point towards greater use of RIAs within the enterprise, integration with audio and video and applications that harness the power of real-time collaboration.

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Small is In: :Where is the small devices trend headed?

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

The move towards smaller and less commercially dependent computing systems demonstrates the interconnected nature of market conditions as financially strapped consumers are opting for these new breeds of mini-systems causing fears for the PC manufacturers who are growing more concerned with the economic impact of this trend.

In an article in the New York Times Technology section titled “Smaller PC’s Cause worry for Industry”, Matt Richtel wrote about how these smaller technologies are reducing the profit margins of the old kids on the block such as Microsoft, HP, and Intel.

“When I talk to PC vendors, the No. 1 question I get is, how do I compete with these netbooks when what we really want to do is sell PCs that cost a lot more money?” said J. P. Gownder, an analyst with Forrester Research.”

Not only are the wallets of PC manufactures feeling the pinch, but many are literally feeling pain in their bodies. The trend towards smaller devices presents a whole new series of challenges for usability concerns and ergonomics specialists. “You can never get positioned properly when typing on a notebook,” says Deborah Quilter, coauthor of The Repetitive Strain Injury Recovery Book (Walker and Company, 1998). “When you have the notebook in the proper position for your hands, you have to look down too far to see the screen and that strains your neck. If you have the notebook in the proper position for viewing the screen, you risk straining your arms and hands to reach the keyboard.” Manufacturers can only go so small before these systems become too small to allow for a positive interaction with their interfaces. The trade off resulting from skimping on a quality experience at the expense of making the smallest computer possible won’t provide the user with any additional benefits beyond portability.

This seems to be a small consideration for many consumers as worldwide subnotebook shipments are expected to reach 5.2 million units in 2008 and 8 million units in 2009, according to market-research firm Gartner Inc. The market is expected to continue its strong growth, and there could be as many as 50 million subnotebooks shipped in 2012.

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Small is In: Where is the ‘small netbooks’ trend coming from?

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

Smaller netbooks are preferred by the ‘digital nomads’ in our society. Best seen in the backpacks of travelers, wayfarers and students who appreciate the freedom and flexibility that these mini-computers provide, today’s tribe is traveling more and has an ‘always-on’ mentality. So much of our user experience is on-the-go computing in which we are empowered to find and share information as we find it, rather than wait until we are at our desk to blog, tweet or add photos to our profile. In this mobile age, it holds true that for many of us, the first thing we ask is ‘Is there Wi-Fi available?”. We appreciate instant access to this information and feel lost without a connection.

The cost of netbooks is quite low and provides an easy point of entry for students and those who are budget conscious. This can be attributed to the cost of existing hardware, components and monitors now being much cheaper than they were in the golden age of personal computing.

Back in 1987, Go Corporation worked to create software for mobile computers and PDA’s(personal digital assistants) and had developed robust technologies for pen-based computing systems and created a tablet computer for AT&T’s EO Personal Communicator. Its products never did take off and they closed their doors back in 1994.

The Apple Newton was released back in 1993, only to be killed off in 1998 due to among other reasons, its size, poor product marketing and problematic bugs. The product still has quite an impression on Macheads as Wired magazine noted in a past article that “Fans still take their Newtons to Jobs’ keynote speeches at Macworld and wave them in the air in silent protest.”

Looking back on the personal computing devices of the past, innovations at that time often were top down creations and failed because they were too expensive due to requiring a larger investment, both in time and resources. Today, small computing devices are benefiting from a more agile, software-design style of development in which products are designed to be smaller and lighter to see if they will be purchased.

The Kindle is a perfect example of this quick-iteration philosophy as it’s easy to consider that this product is likely to take on a different use or format several years from now. Re purposing an existing solution so it meets an entirely new need is something that speaks very well in today’s economic times.

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Over 100 Million Installations of Adobe AIR!

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

Adobe has recently announced that AIR has been installed over 100 million times and credit applications such as: Adobe Media Player, AOL Top 100, eBay Desktop, TweetDeck and Twirhl in helping to generate this number.

You can read more about this announcement and find details as to how this figure was calculated on the Adobe AIR Blog.

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“Small is In” – Economic Woes Trigger Push toward Smaller Devices

Monday, February 9th, 2009

In these tough economic times, budgets, incomes and staff levels aren’t the only things shrinking. Tower computing systems, super-sized 17-inch laptops and brick sized mobile phones are all being replaced by sleek, tiny devices and peripherals which pack high-level performance into their small form factors.

We’re seeing innovation at a reduced size via the launch of some notable products like the miniscule 7”, 9” and 12” Inspiron Mini laptops offered by Dell (at a sub $500 price range) as well as the EEEPC line from Asus.Not only do these computers speak to the budget conscious, but they are a worthy selection for any student, business traveler, or executive looking for a decent portable solution without breaking the bank.

Also of note is the One Laptop per Child initiative (OLPC) which sends a design-centric, mini-laptop to a child in a developing country when you purchase one for yourself. The $399 price tag is a small cost to pay to spread access to technology to those less likely to be able to afford such privileges. It’s worth crediting this organization with sparking the whole trend towards netbooks in the first place although the feedback on this project hasn’t been overwhelmingly positive.

Operating systems of choice for these systems not only include the license-based Microsoft Windows, but also open source Linux options. These open source options keep software licensing costs down so these companies can provide reduced-cost computers without going too deep into their profit margins.

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nycgo: A Geolocal RIA powered by Google Maps

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009

Oftentimes, it’s not necessary to reinvent the wheel when developing a Rich Internet Application (RIA). A perfect example of leveraging an existing solution to construct a useful application is the latest initiative from NYC & Company which provides visitors and residents of New York City with an immersive website that provides recommendations for local hotspots, cool hangouts and tasty eateries.

nycgo, uses Google Maps API for Flash to provide directions for recommended locations throughout the city. A map of the location is available in the sidebar of each feature story allowing for quick information within the same page, saving the user a trip to an additional page to secure this information. It’s details like this that show the potential of geolocalization-specific RIA’s.

What’s also interesting is the immersive experience beyond the website alone as the new NYC Information Centre has been ‘Googlized ‘as well. Ryan Pollock,one of Google’s Product Marketing Managers gave mention to the interactivity of this centre in a post on the Google Latlong Blog,

“When you walk into the Information Center, you pick up a puck that you then place on an interactive map table. Up pops a wheel that lets you select restaurants, attractions, Broadway shows, and more. You save places to the puck and then walk to the back of the hall, where you set the puck back down at a station. A gigantic video wall then shows you a Google Earth tour of the places you saved to the puck. The 3D model of New York City looks amazing!”

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