Remember MS Office's Web Services concept?

A feather silently popped in Google's cap, within Google Documents, Google's MS Office alternative - functionality Microsoft has been looking towards for a while.

Here are just two examples of why SaaS (Software as a Service) providers can much more easily tap into the power of the web.

• Gadgets in spreadsheets
  Ever wish you could map your spreadsheet data? Pivot around it? Plot it on a fancy chart? Create any visualization you want by choosing from our existing library of gadgets, or writing your own. The power is yours. Learn more.
  

• Historical quotes using GoogleFinance

The GoogleFinance function can now be used to view historical prices of stocks. Just specify the stock and a date range (or number of days) and get values of open, close, volume etc. of stocks for those days. This is valid for the Nasdaq, New York, American and London exchanges. Learn more.

Wow - maybe Microsoft should hurry up and buy Yahoo. Then again, maybe it's just tougher to move from desktop to web than from web to desktop?

• Offline access
  You can now edit your documents and view your presentations and spreadsheets without an internet connection. Changes are saved to your browser while you are offline and automatically saved when Google Docs detects an internet connection. Learn more.
  

Modern Scientists "Gets Medieval"

OK, maybe not medieval. But it had to be a catchy title...

This guy built a "robot" from wood, string, a weight, and some wheels.

I love the part when he talks about "string programming language." The great thing about string is that it is a significant improvement of sinew 1.0, which had some big flaws...

Interesting, how big an achievement this basic machine was at its time.

Ning Street Cred

There are times when a company seems to hit the PR sweet spot.

It seems that Ning has - Fast Company article.

Here's a video of Ning CEO Gina Bianchini talking about the company.

Privacy and Personal Data - Ooops, Did You Not Want Us To Publicly Publish That?

A continuation of another important thread - keeping private information private!

TechCrunch reports today that Twitter users may be interested to find some of their private messages shared publicly. Oops. The user statement at the beginning of the post says it all - if I can't trust an application provider to keep my data private, then why should I use them?

Even with "free" applications, there are certain expectations that users have. Once burned significantly, it's hard to win someone's trust back.

Surprisingly, the "lost tapes" scandals of the summer had little impact on governments and businesses to blame. Both consumers and businesses will, as expected, probably do a little cost-benefit on these issues, just like a manufacturer with defective product.

But it does seem logical that, with more internet apps used for more sensitive data by more people (increased volume), and with the abysmal integration across apps/lack of user control over their own data, this problem will show up again.

Perhaps with more dire consequences than someone deleting their Twitter account.

Prepare for the Pressure to Drop

I love it when I'm right. I love it. Really do.

Wait, that's kind of egotistical.

But I do love it.



Keep watching these trends folks - equipment prices keep falling because the inventory of ideas out there and the competition necessitates it. How about a $100 iPhone with "virtual reality" goggles. Sit at Starbucks for the free internet and coffee, and hold meetings with your pals through your iPhone. This is not a sci-fi book, but nearly a reality.

From eWeek today...continued dropping price for the iPhone

"Mobile phone groups O2 and Carphone Warehouse have cut the price for the most basic version of Apple Inc's iPhone in Britain by 100 pounds ($197) ahead of the expected launch of a new model.

The two groups said the 8 gigabyte phone would be available for 169 pounds until June 1, while the 16GB phone will remain priced at 329 pounds."

From MacRumors today...headmounted display from Apple

just click here

Ubiquitous Computing - Watching the Trend

In its April 12th 2008 edition, the Economist featured, as one of its leaders, a little article (Our Nomadic Future) that echoes much of what we've been discussing on our blog.

As mobile devices become more powerful, similar to the laptops of less than a decade ago, and telecommunications infrastructure (in the broadest sense) converges on absolute coverage (airplanes, rural areas, etc.) at increasingly low prices, our world is beginning to reform around some new realities.

For example:
- People are increasingly connected,
- People have more and more data available to them (and others about them),
- Sophisticated tools are within the reach of a huge percentage of the population, some for free (Google Office, for example)

The truth is that as a society, we've been debating these ideas for a while - telecommuting, flexible work hours, at-home work days. But we're reaching a new inflection point in the debate, as many of these technologies are moving out of the "early adopted" phase globally, and hitting the mass market even more heavily.

Interestingly, global travel is, through airline competition and increased ease of getting visas, supporting the "technical interconnecitivty" of people with physical connectivity. You know, the old school "let's grab a beer." Give the state of aviation/travel today, its hard to imagine that that industry will not undergo a painful and complete transformation in the future.

But back to technology. There are lots and lots of implications of ubiquitous computing, depending on what your question is. Rather than go into detail, here are some thought bubbles:
1. I can work anywhere - GREAT! More time with friends and family.
2. Work can work me anywhere - Sorry, Mom, I have to do a conference call. Yeah, I know it's Sunday and I'm on vacation.
3. No more sitting in the car for a long commute! Whew, with this $10/gallon gas, it couldn't have happened sooner.
4. Cabin fever? I'd pay $100 a day just to be in an office with live people again...
5. How did you know I was fat in high school? Oh, you Googled me...and found me on fatinhighschool.com.
6. How did you know my social security number? Oh, you Googled me...
7. Isn't it great that I still talk to my friends from Kindergarten...on kindergartenfriends.com.
8. Let's head go live on a farm to get away from it all...
9. Internet personal trainer? Do I really need someone to coach me on my online persona(s)?
10. Funny, she doesn't look like her online persona...
11. Technology exclusion zone is the new commune? Sounds great...sign me up.

Innovating Isn't Easy...Baseline Story

Baseline ran the following story in its April edition. Although it is mostly about fantastically successful companies like Google and Walmart, a hidden nugget buried in it is this.

"(These are) companies that exemplify what Nerac analyst David Fazzina calls, 'People who follow their own dreams despite lack of popular support and even if their ideas are not considered the latest buzz.'"

Many folks out there focus on the sizzle of a Google or Facebook, but fail to appreciate that for each of those great companies, there are thousands of others sweating it out.

If nothing else, entrepreneurs should check out the story as confirmation that the rocky road is normal, and worth it.

Google + Salesforce Tie Up?

Ah, Spring. As we slough off the snow (or lack thereof) and cold, thoughts of love (er, mergers) abound.

Just as Microsoft, Yahoo, and friends are circling around each other as if they're in a pre-teen playground fight, the media is beginning to speculate about a Salesforce + Google tie up.

Marc Benioff spends enough time talking about the cloud, and Google's designs on the MS Office market are apparent enough to make this possible.

But at $7.3B, what is Google getting? Microsoft would certainly benefit from Salesforce's culture and cloud-computing abilities, but Google doesn't really seem to need it. And they certainly don't seem to need inroads into the market. I'm sure that Google could develop their own app for less than $7.3B.

The key question seems to be this - what does Google gain in buying Salesforce? Subscription (not ad based) revenues? Diversifying their revenue streams may be interesting, but maybe just keeping it away from Microsoft is good enough?

Ventures with Global Intentions - Be Mindful of the Differences

If you are planning a business or running a business with plans to serve users in other countries, it pays to be mindful that not all countries are as open as the US.

For example, Arabian Business released the following story today, about the UAE's nationwide proxy server, which will restrict dangerous content of all kinds. For example, some restrictions in place cover sexually explicit sites, others cover services like Skype, which has long been blocked (at least for client application download).

We blogged last year about a client in China whose domain was shut down because its site, an ice hockey related site, contained "questionable" content.

New Yahoo Messenger for Mac (with Voice)

Ah...Messenger with Voice is available for Mac, complete with web cam and voice support. Although Skype is great, Yahoo is one of the most reliable programs out there. In fact, for certain countries, like Dubai, it is the only option for web-based conference calls.

Enjoy!

Confirmed - Vista Stinks

Two Garter analysts announced at a company-sponsored event what we've been saying - Vista stinks, and Microsoft better do something about it.

Chief among the root causes of stinkiness:
1. Lack of compelling new features
2. Bloated code base

"This is a large part of the reason [why] Windows Vista delivered primarily incremental improvements," they said. In turn, that became one of the reasons why businesses pushed back Vista deployment plans. "Most users do not understand the benefits of Windows Vista or do not see Vista as being better enough than Windows XP to make incurring the cost and pain of migration worthwhile." (from ComputerWorld)

As we've been remarking for some time, cloud computing, mobile computing, Linux, and embedded systems will eventually take their toll on Windows. And let's face it, Windows Mobile is also a substandard product at this point - if only from a usability perspective.

Which strategic direction will the behemoth choose? Developing server software and development tools? Becoming an internet giant? Improving its desktop software? Being a gaming force? Each of those spaces, at this point, are looking tough. Fighting in all arenas doesn't seem to be working out super well for Microsoft.

"Seed-stage stuff is going to get tougher to get..."

For those of us on the front lines, this is not exactly huge news. But it is worth mentioning - Mass High Tech reporting in its April 4-10th edition that angels continue to become more like VCs. Expansion stage deal financing by angels is up to 21% versus previous years, when it only accounted for 12%.

But there are several sides to the story - angel investment is up to $26B (last year's number), a 1.8% increase over 2006. And the number of ventures funded is up 12% over 2006.

The numbers are unclear at this point - the redistribution to later stage deals could be related to the decreasing cost of venture financing, for example. A second story was posted shortly after the first.

Venture Formation (Legal): How to Conduct a Patent Search

A day rarely goes by here without the subject of patents coming up. At a recent board meeting for an incubator we're involved in, the subject came up, and a war waged over whether you need to file a patent or not. Long discussion.

But guess what - you don't actually need to obtain a patent in the beginning. But you do need to understand what's out there, and how you might benefit from a patent.

So one of the first steps in a venture should be to do a patent search. Of course, you can pay an attorney, but you might want to dig in to the data before you hire an attorney. And guess what? There are a bunch of free tools out there:
- Prior Smart (http://www.priorsmart.com/) allows you to search multiple US and global sources, which is really convenient.
- Google Patent Search (http://www.google.com/patents?hl=en)
- The US Patent & Trademark Office (http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/search-adv.htm)
- The European Patent Office (http://ep.espacenet.com/advancedSearch)

A common issue cited by IP attorneys is "finding what you're looking for is hard, because of creative naming and because you don't know what you're looking for."

While this is true, it isn't as insurmountable an issue as you might think, and besides, you're trying to get a handle on the issue, not conclusively prove anything. What you do need to have, however, is a process for conducting your search.

Here's a suggestion from eHow - the first step being self-search:
"Conduct a Self-Search

Step 1:
Determine what type of patent you will be seeking. A utility patent covers the functional aspects of an invention, while a design patent only covers the appearance of an invention.

Step 2:
Access an online patent database such as the ones provided by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) and IBM. Determine the most relevant classes and subclasses for your invention.

Step 3:
Read the class descriptions in the database to see which are relevant to your idea.

Step 4:
Review all patents issued within those classes.

Step 5:
Perform comprehensive keyword searches for your potential invention. Leave no stone unturned.

Step 6:
Assemble your search results into a report that can be readily referenced.

Hire Professional Services

Step 1:
Know your options: a patent agent or attorney or a lay searcher. A patent agent is an individual with some technical training who is licensed by the U.S. PTO to prepare and prosecute patent applications. A patent attorney is licensed by the PTO to prepare patent applications. To find a patent searcher, look in the yellow pages under "Patent Searchers."

Step 2:
Also see Tips below.

Step 3:
Utilize your searcher's services efficiently. Do this by providing the searcher with a clear and complete description of your invention together with easily understandable drawings. The more thorough you are, the better.

Step 4:
Analyze your searcher's response thoroughly."

Future of Social Networking, part 2

Arrington from TechCrunch has an interesting post today on the future of social networking. While we don't agree that being able to walk into a meeting with your iPhone and see dossiers on everyone present is insanely compelling, it is, at least, compelling enough to extend the relevance of social networking. And it is possible that this "class" of location-aware mobile (web 3.0) services will give ad revenue-based business models more legs.

The privacy issue offers another revenue model we've been waiting to emerge - privacy-sales based revenue. In other words, if I walk into a meeting, I may have to pay people for the right to see data beyond their name and picture. (Or their network provider could, in exchange for free access...).

Online Advertising Bubble Bursting?

This blog has speculated that the massive growth in ad-based business models is a bubble waiting to happen - although we may be misguided, there is some new evidence leading in that direction.

In a recent Economist article (April 3rd, 2008, Economist - San Francisco - "The case of the missing clicks"), the writer explores the very idea that we may have seen the peak in activity for in this area the biggest and most successful business of its type, Google. Reporting on Google's recent drop in paid clicks (see Comscore) - "Alas, as so often in the nebulous business of online advertising, the devil is hiding somewhere underneath the numbers, and probably planning some mischief. The first possibility is that web users performed fewer web searches, leading to fewer results pages, ads and clicks. This turns out not to be the explanation. Web searches on Google grew in January, faster than on rival search engines, and dipped only slightly in February, but again less than on rival engines. Google’s market share of searches also continues to grow. This means that the ratio of paid clicks to searches dropped even faster than the number of paid clicks: it was down by 16% in the month of January."

While this certainly isn't conclusive evidence of a bursting of an ad-revenue bubble, it seems likely that this business model will become more complicated and difficult to pull off in the future.

However, we would expect to see, in the next year, a resurgence of paid clicks on these stats, as the country comes out of recession and more traditional media advertising is displaced by web based ads.

It is likely, though, that as web users become more mature in their usage, and as new applications like ScanBy and Amazon's new service come out, that there will be increasing pressure on ads to deliver value to consumers, and justify their existence.

Connecticut Technology Council - "Growth Cells"

If you're starting a company in Connecticut, you should check out the Connecticut Technology Council's Growth Cell meetings. They are held throughout Connecticut - the next New Haven chapter meeting is on April 22nd (see details on CTC site).

The meeting is going to cover start-up legal issues, so it should be a good one.

The CTC also has a Ning-based social network you can check out, if you want to get a feel for the group.

Timing Is Wild - Amazon's TextBuyIt

In the vein of my Scanby post - Amazon's new TextBuyIt.

So now we can scan the product bar code in the store - get reviews or information - then text Amazon to comparison shop, and get the winning deal.

I smell integration or acquisition. Or both.

Treo...mmm...Crappiness

Not long ago, I went through the many stages of loss:
- iPhone coming out! (happy)
- iPhone nice, but maybe hardware and software based limitations making it impractical (sad)
- Maybe Treo can do the job? (denial)
- I think Treo can do the job! (extreme denial)
- Treo crashing, will not move files in File Explorer to card, will not sync... (anger)
- iPhone customers getting rough emails from S Jobs (depression)
- I will not buy a new cell phone until my Treo breaks

All I can say at this point is this - I think that whatever the Treo has in terms of functionality is rendered useless to me if it crashes and cannot be synched.

But I am not in favor of spending the equivalent of a plane ticket to Europe on a phone if the company's response to me will be to flip me the bird.

Boy - I hope there's a great little startup there targeting the next killer phone - if so, email me. I will buy your product.

Google Docs - Announcing a New 100% Discount on MS Office

Google Docs with offline access should be, at this very moment, available in semi-private beta. The Gears toolkit is powering the new feature, which makes Google Docs look a whole lot like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, LiveMeeting. Plus Hotmail, photo-sharing, social networking...

Hmm. Could it be that we will no longer require 1T hard drives on our personal computing devices? 2G of RAM? Maybe only if we want to secure and control our own data?

Bridging the Physical and Virtual World - Scanby

NPR and other large national media outlets have been giving some time to Scanby, the creators of ScanLife. It's easy to see how a product like this would garner some attention - anything you can attach a barcode to can be "searched" by taking a picture of it.

Not hard to imagine this firm developing partnerships with major e-tailers like eBay, Amazon, etc. to help you price comparison shop, or to work with a group like CitySearch or Google to obtain reviews, directions to shops or restaurants with better products, services or prices...

Another web 3.0 application moving forward with the overarching strategy of cloud application/data integration, geographic integration, and experience integration. Will barcodes tattooed on your body to facilitate social networking be next? (I kid. Because I must. Please don't tattoo your body.). By the way, if you're keeping track - Gibson 10, Stephenson 10.

Feel free to opine, as you may, if you disagree.