We are becoming part of a more generalized entertainment structure in our society. No longer is it defined by the length of time the product presents itself, the depth of interaction it offers, the star being living or made-up, the device in which the interaction takes place – or the time in between each interaction. We are now in a world where those versions of the product can be matched, bundled and even merged to create a whole new ecosystem. We are living in a world where all types of entertainment, big games and small, game shows and reality, information and news, can sit side-by-side, hand-in-hand, equally, through any channel they choose without prejudice or barriers. Your entertainment is free at last, and we are the entrepreneurs that will shepherd it into this new world, slicing through old corporate structures, and short sighted economics, to build a brighter and far more entertaining future.
Fake Response Server: Slow response time generator
Here is another quick tool built on AWS. This one is super simple, but pretty handy. Today Twitter went down, and somewhere in our system we were using the Twitter API to display one of our status feeds. Them being down became us being slow.
Well, I wanted to do some quick tests to keep this from happening again, but byt the time I got to it Twitter was responsive again. To fix it I would need to create a bad URL. The crappy thing is I wanted a slow response time, not exactly a bad response/error. Creating a 404 error is easy, just go to some url that doesn’t exists and test. But I want a slowwwww response.
I quickly searched Google for something I could use, and didn’t find one. When I realized I would have to create a fake pause endpioint somewhere I figured someone else out there might benfiift from a quick public version of this system. So, I created fake response server. The first default endpoint available sleeps for a variable time.
and add a sleep param to change the sleep time in milliseconds
https://fakeresponder.com?sleep=500
Nothing major, but why not publicize the tool incase it can help some other shmuck out there like me 🙂
Cheers.
What does coke, the bible, and good business gut all have in common?
On the car ride up from a meeting on sand hill, Daniel Odio interviews me in “the hot seat” on how process plays a pivotal role in your startup’s business success.
My first iMovie: Demoing a product
Here is a vid of the Android demo. It is my first iMovie project so it’s a bit rough around the edges, ut to be honest it was kind of fun to do.
I’m looking forward to making the iOS one, or for any feature for that matter, and taking what i’ve learned to improve.
Some tips, lessons learned that I wish I did.:
– Take you finger away from the shot after every action, it makes it way easier to cut up
– Shoot it side ways so the stage is not taller than wide
– tape the phone down and mount your camera so it doesnt move throught the shot. again, better cutting chances.
make a short movie first and play with all the transitions, and effects and themes. Cut up your movie and add each clip to the stage and add some text and transitions again. Then add some music. I would have saved allot of time on the final if I had known what I know afte the final was made, but by te end of the real movie i was to tired to go back and start over.
Awesome, Inc’s MobileX Conference: Lexington 2012
The name says it all. Awesome, Inc put on a great show and have an amazing team and location to help push technology in the midwest.
I just wrapped up doing the Keynote for their Lexington conference 2012.
Here are the slides from the Ketnote, with the video to come in the next few days.
Gas: Remember. Learn. Be Smart.
Complaining about gas prices is like complaining that your love of ice cream has made you fat. This is the data points that should matter to you: http://cl.ly/0H0R1H312e1h0n1h3x42… Stop buying big cars that suck gas, EVEN when this fall/winter gas prices go down, as they usually do.
If you feel like a baller and you want to get a big car that sucks gas, then keep that top-dog mentality and pay the high gas prices in with some pride. As a matter of fact, it would make more sense if you bragged about how much you get to pay for your big high-roller rich-boy status.
Again, please read the data before you shout form a hill and light those torches in the street, based on some guy in a suite trying to get the most sought after job in the world, and tells you something that makes him look good — no matter what side that may be.
As usual, here is my non-political mouthed stats and data, from the source, with links to where you can read more in case you are without time, or just lazy.:
http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/25.htm
” (OPEC) was founded in Baghdad, Iraq, with the signing of an agreement in September 1960 by five countries namely Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. They were to become the Founder Members of the Organization.
These countries were later joined by Qatar (1961), Indonesia (1962), Libya (1962), the United Arab Emirates (1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973), Gabon (1975) and Angola (2007).”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OPEC
” OPEC members collectively hold 79% of world crude oil reserves and 44% of the world’s crude oil production, affording them considerable control over the global marke”
You also might have forgotten the highest increase in gas was between 2001 and 2008. Remember when we had all those awesome Hummers that were sold only a few years later? Oh and those wars in those countries that are the leaders of OPEC because we were “so angry”? Yeah – remember, learn, be smart.
Get more data about energy use and projections here: http://www.eia.gov/
Control what you can control, and think ahead next time some one out there tries to save up money in our national bank, asks you to help them cut down on our dependency on oil, and says you will look cool in a big gas thirsty car. Whether gas prices or high OR LOW.
Finally audio based commands and tagging that doesn’t suck
QR Codes
I have kept an eye on QR codes for a few years now; it is a simple technology. Simple technologies win because – well, they just plain work. So many new technologies do a better job of adding complexities to solve a problem than they do to decrease them. I mean, as an example, the majority of the world still uses headphone jacks and earbuds to listen to their iPod, even though blue tooth is a great technology that removes the need to use those easily tangled cords. BUT those annoying tangled cords are still far more reliable and simpler to use than bluetooth. So we wait for the “simpler” technology to become – simpler. QR codes have the same M.O. They are simple and work, but they are also annoyingly primitive. For example, that QR code image you see on the left of this article means absolulty nothing to you visually. Yet I use it to take up space on the page, because it can provide value if you are willing to pull out your phone and take a snapshot of it.
The QR code works becuase it is a unique image that contains data within all its black and wite specks, like a data finger print or a bar code. A device with an app that can read those specks convert the “fingerprint” into a equally unique URL that the app can then direct you too.
A more complex, yet more direct solution, is to have an image that is human readable, like and ad, act as the data rich finger print. That way a person can either take advantage of the precious realestate of the ad by siimply reading it, or taking a picture of the ad and get directed to the related URL. It looks like technolgies such as Google Goggles are on their way to crakingthat nut. For now however, Google Goggles is not more reliable or simpler to use then our ugly, cryptic; yet simple, and relaibale QR code.
Audio Commands and Tagging
The use of audio commands has had a problem finding its place as a “simpler” solution to the everyday problems they always claim to have solved, but as often fall short on expectations. I don’t know how many friends of mine have had voice-command car systems that in the end just dont work as reliably and effectively as turning a dial or pressing a button on their dash.
John’s car: “bee-eep. Can I help you?”
John in his car: “Call Sean”
John’s car: “Looking for Jons and bathrooms in the area.”
John: “Ugghhh! No , Call Sean!”
Car: “Bee-eep. Thank you. Calling Don now…”
John: :-[
Siri seems to be making voice commands better, or at least marketing it that way, but the dream of talking to our computers, as the easier way to interact with them, still seems as far away as it did here (See min 3:00 in 1984) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B-XwPjn9YY
Okay, Siri and Google voice commands are doing better, and getting used more use than I have ever seen in the past with similar technologies, so that is promising…but yelling into your phone to “search for near by bars” in a crowded room is – well – shitty.
Shazam made some great leaps forward in the audio tagging and command space by finding the unique characteristics in songs, and turning that into pertinent data. That uniqueness is used so that the app can determine the song name, and its singer, just by holding up your phone to a song you hear on the radio.
This year, as some you may have already seen, Shazam has gotten into the QR related space by bringing their technology to TV comercials. When you see the Shazaam logo on a comercial open your Shazam app and let Shazam listen to the commercials unique audio. Their ability to link the unique “fingerprint” of sound coming form the commercials audio, and turn it into useful data allows them to link commercials to open a website on your device; much like a QR code. It is neat because the audio is as easily interpreted by human ears as it is by the Shazam app; maximizing the use of the allotted ad space. Unfortunately it falls short in the fact that it is impractical to expect a viewer to chase down their phone, open the Shazam app, and tag the comecials audio, before the comercial is over.
Audio Sync
I think I just saw a technology that actually make sense. Practical in its use, efficient in it implementation, and it solves a problem by decreasing complexity more then it adds.
In this case the audio is used to sync your tablet to a show you are watching. With this strategy you’re truly decreasing the steps needed to get what the show, and the viewer wants. No extra steps, no rushing for a unrelated app to open a web page, no ugly QR code images taking up space, just simply a way to help the user link the app their are using to the show they are watching.
It works by listening to the show you are watching, and applying the Shazaam like technology to the audio of the show to recognize what part of what show you are watching. The data is processed, and instead of just opening a web page, it sync your application’s experience to meta data surrounding the show on you TV. You can then interact with others watching the same moment at the same time, or listen to back stories related to the segment. Cool beans.
Finally audio based commands and tagging that doesn't suck
QR Codes
I have kept an eye on QR codes for a few years now; it is a simple technology. Simple technologies win because – well, they just plain work. So many new technologies do a better job of adding complexities to solve a problem than they do to decrease them. I mean, as an example, the majority of the world still uses headphone jacks and earbuds to listen to their iPod, even though blue tooth is a great technology that removes the need to use those easily tangled cords. BUT those annoying tangled cords are still far more reliable and simpler to use than bluetooth. So we wait for the “simpler” technology to become – simpler. QR codes have the same M.O. They are simple and work, but they are also annoyingly primitive. For example, that QR code image you see on the left of this article means absolulty nothing to you visually. Yet I use it to take up space on the page, because it can provide value if you are willing to pull out your phone and take a snapshot of it.
The QR code works becuase it is a unique image that contains data within all its black and wite specks, like a data finger print or a bar code. A device with an app that can read those specks convert the “fingerprint” into a equally unique URL that the app can then direct you too.
A more complex, yet more direct solution, is to have an image that is human readable, like and ad, act as the data rich finger print. That way a person can either take advantage of the precious realestate of the ad by siimply reading it, or taking a picture of the ad and get directed to the related URL. It looks like technolgies such as Google Goggles are on their way to crakingthat nut. For now however, Google Goggles is not more reliable or simpler to use then our ugly, cryptic; yet simple, and relaibale QR code.
Audio Commands and Tagging
The use of audio commands has had a problem finding its place as a “simpler” solution to the everyday problems they always claim to have solved, but as often fall short on expectations. I don’t know how many friends of mine have had voice-command car systems that in the end just dont work as reliably and effectively as turning a dial or pressing a button on their dash.
John’s car: “bee-eep. Can I help you?”
John in his car: “Call Sean”
John’s car: “Looking for Jons and bathrooms in the area.”
John: “Ugghhh! No , Call Sean!”
Car: “Bee-eep. Thank you. Calling Don now…”
John: :-[
Siri seems to be making voice commands better, or at least marketing it that way, but the dream of talking to our computers, as the easier way to interact with them, still seems as far away as it did here (See min 3:00 in 1984) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B-XwPjn9YY
Okay, Siri and Google voice commands are doing better, and getting used more use than I have ever seen in the past with similar technologies, so that is promising…but yelling into your phone to “search for near by bars” in a crowded room is – well – shitty.
Shazam made some great leaps forward in the audio tagging and command space by finding the unique characteristics in songs, and turning that into pertinent data. That uniqueness is used so that the app can determine the song name, and its singer, just by holding up your phone to a song you hear on the radio.
This year, as some you may have already seen, Shazam has gotten into the QR related space by bringing their technology to TV comercials. When you see the Shazaam logo on a comercial open your Shazam app and let Shazam listen to the commercials unique audio. Their ability to link the unique “fingerprint” of sound coming form the commercials audio, and turn it into useful data allows them to link commercials to open a website on your device; much like a QR code. It is neat because the audio is as easily interpreted by human ears as it is by the Shazam app; maximizing the use of the allotted ad space. Unfortunately it falls short in the fact that it is impractical to expect a viewer to chase down their phone, open the Shazam app, and tag the comecials audio, before the comercial is over.
Audio Sync
I think I just saw a technology that actually make sense. Practical in its use, efficient in it implementation, and it solves a problem by decreasing complexity more then it adds.
In this case the audio is used to sync your tablet to a show you are watching. With this strategy you’re truly decreasing the steps needed to get what the show, and the viewer wants. No extra steps, no rushing for a unrelated app to open a web page, no ugly QR code images taking up space, just simply a way to help the user link the app their are using to the show they are watching.
It works by listening to the show you are watching, and applying the Shazaam like technology to the audio of the show to recognize what part of what show you are watching. The data is processed, and instead of just opening a web page, it sync your application’s experience to meta data surrounding the show on you TV. You can then interact with others watching the same moment at the same time, or listen to back stories related to the segment. Cool beans.
Nanoseconds for dummies
One of our talented engineers Aseem sent this out over email this morning to the group. I really enjoyed it for a few reasons, and figured I would share it as well. First, it is a lecture from the inventor of the compiler; second, it is a lecture from someone in the military; third, she ( Grace Hopper) is very old and I find that inspirational and cute (as offensive as that feeling if mine may be to others – it’s true); lastly, and most importantly, it gives a great visual example about space, time, speed, and badnwidth.
Check-id-ouuuut…..
What do 1250 Horses feel like?
Well, when they are supercharged and upgraded from a turbo Lamborugini the answer is – obviously amazing!
The experience was so cool that I felt like it was worth more than just a Facebook post to describe it all. It was nighttime so the video I got below doesn’t show much, but the sounds you hear are all 100% genuine. And I swear I got into the car trying to be as unbiased as I could be. How much of a difference could it REALLY feel like? Right? I figured it would be fun, fast, and exciting, but nothing too jarring.
Well, I immediately realized how wrong that presumption was. Almost all of my body’s senses were involved. As we pointed the car toward the straight and empty road you could feel the car tense up. It didn’t necessarily rumble like a muscle car, but you could feel the power simmering up behind you. The sound was tough to describe. It was as if all the air around us began to be sucked into the car with a “just switched the jet engines on”-esaqe sound. Actually you know what it sounded like? It sounded like the proton packs did when the Ghostbusters switched them on.
So the car tenses up, the jet engine sound spins up, and the pedal drops. Boom! I’m not sure if it was just from the overload of all my senses going off, as the jaring impact of the car lifted me from the back of my seat, as I felt the front of the car lifting of the ground, but the lights in the road started to blur. It sort of blurred like the way the movies depict the Star Trek Enterprise jumping into warp speed. You could hear the popping of the transmission, and the switching on and off of the turbo charges. It was a large thudding sound.
The funny thing was the whole experience didn’t even leave 2nd gear, and you could tell that there was so much of the car left tucked away.
Oh, and one more thing…The exhaust did this!
Sean Shadmand 