Good-Bye to Venture Capital

Good-Bye to Venture Capital By Howard Anderson June 2005 1 of 1

Good-bye! We venture capitalists like to think of ourselves as giants striding across the technology landscape, showering money on terrific young entrepreneurs, adding value, creating jobs, nurturing real companies. We are financial samurai. But I am giving it up. Why?

First, technology supply is bloated. Innovation is not dead, but demand for new technologies is moribund and will continue to be weak for at least the next five years. During the boom times, VCs financed more than 5,000 new companies a year in information technology, communications, biotechnology, and the Internet. The problem is that the buyers of new technology cannot possibly utilize all this stuff. There is a very real limit to what can usefully be deployed. IT and communications spending is no longer growing at 15 percent per year; growth will be in the middle single digits for at least the next five years. Therefore, few software and communications companies will enjoy the double-digit growth that inflames company valuations and makes VCs rich.

Second, there's a good reason why technology spending is stagnant. The hype machine is broken. For years, technologists told the world that "information is strategic"; we said that if companies didn't overspend to protect against Y2K they were committing corporate hara-kiri. Executives spent like crazy people. No longer. Their new mantra: spend no more than last year.

Third, the financial markets for technology companies are no longer exuberantly irrational. VCs hate rational markets: rational markets value companies at two and a half times their sales at an initial public offering or one and a half times their sales at a merger. We need a little irrationality to earn a living--but the total capitalization for the leading technology companies is now one-sixth of what it was five years ago.

Fourth, these changes in venture funding are structural, not cyclical. VCs actually like cyclical markets; we can buy in cheaply and wait for exuberance to bail us out. Traditionally, we knew that if we picked the right sector we could make 10 times our money. In fact, we knew if we picked the best two or three companies in that sector, we could make 50 times our money--but you get my point. But those days are, regrettably, over.

Here's why: it takes about $30 million to get a startup software company to break even--and even great software companies rarely grow more than 100 percent a year. In irrational times, a software company with $30 million in sales would have been worth $180 million, or 600 percent of a VC's investment. Which is good, but not great. Unfortunately, in rational times, the company would be worth $47 million to the investors, or only 157 percent of their investment. But that's over five years! Per year, it's a return of only 11 percent--and that's for a winner. Remember: in venture funds, only 20 percent of investments are winners. Forty percent are in the middle, 20 percent are losers, and another 20 percent are write-offs.

Venture funds all strive to rank in the top quartile. But the returns of the top-quartile funds depend on when they were launched. Take a look at these numbers for venture capital returns from Cambridge Associates: Year Percentage increase 1984 12.9 1988 22.7 1994 49.6 1997 67.5 1999 -8.7 2000 -8.3

If you were a VC between 1994 and 1997, you couldn't help but make money. But by 2000, you were underwater.

Finally, it's not just supply of new technology that is too abundant. Ten years ago there were 240 member firms in the National Venture Capital Association. Today, that membership has nearly doubled, and our fund size under management has increased eightfold. There's too much venture money pursuing too many deals. There's nowhere for all that money to go: we can't spend the money we've raised.

Venture capitalists view themselves as pragmatists, but if they think the dynamics of the business haven't changed, they're as self-deluding as the next person.

Ever wonder what we did for a living in early-stage venture funding? I bet you think we spent the day searching for the next insanely great company. But we spent most of our lives in endless meetings with people who were lying to us: scientists who swore that their patents were solid and entrepreneurs who insisted that they had no competition. We lied right back at them: said our money was different.

That was the old way, and it was tons of fun, and we all made too much money. I'll miss it. But now the markets are too rational, and the returns are too small and uncertain. So, time to leave.

Howard Anderson is the William Porter Distinguished Lecturer at MIT's Sloan School of Management, where he teaches courses on early-stage companies. He founded the Yankee Group and cofounded YankeeTek Ventures and Battery Ventures. He plans to raise no new monies for his venture funds.

QR Codes

http://pukupi.com/tools/codeatron/

The Mobile Codeatron Generate AU, DoCoMo and Vodafone compatible QR codes.

Newer mobiles from AU, DoCoMo and Vodafone in Japan include the ability to read QR codes and all operators have developed specifications for embedding phone book entries, email messages, and so forth within QR code.

The Mobile Codeatron generates AU, DoCoMo and Vodafone compatible QR codes including a hybrid format that will work with all operators. If you are feeling brave, it also includes the option to format your text yourself. Most fields are optional and you only need fill fields in the sections you want to use in your QR code.

Mobiles only support QR codes up to version 10 so if you intend to include all sections in your QR code, you may need to be frugal with phone book note and mail message fields. If you use the hybrid format, you will probably need to limit yourself to just one section. You will receive a warning if your data exceeds the maximum supported QR code version.

You can learn more about QR codes and what you can do with them in my blog.

First Symbian OS v9 phone announced

Welcome to Symbian OS Community News #38 - bringing the Symbian OS community the latest news and resources

IN THIS ISSUE ------------- SYMBIAN OS PHONES [00] N70 - small 3G phone packed full of features [01] N90 - camera phone with Zeiss optics [02] N91 - first Symbian OS v9 phone announced

FEATURES [03] Symbian OS shipments rise 180% to 6.75m [04] A seriously cool time to be a mobile developer [05] Top five selling Symbian OS products in Sony Ericsson's application shop

LIBRARY [06] Extending the reach of MIDlets: how MIDlets can access native services [07] What's new for UIQ [08] What's new for Series 60 and Series 80 [09] Creating an MP3 decoder with MAD

TOOLS [0A] SymScan - checking for compliance [0B] Panix - a debugging tool [0C] BoomslangBT - a Bluetooth serial API library [0D] New version of SymbianOSUnit - now supports UIQ [0E] EzBoot updated - with added Series 80 support [0F] CodeSourcery - a GNU tool chain for Symbian OS

TECH TIPS [10] General tech tips [11] C++ tech tips [12] Java tech tips

TRAINING and EVENTS [13] Symbian OS training in London, Dallas, Santa Clara and Bangalore

OTHER INFO [14] Coming in SCN #39

---------------------------------------------------------------------- SYMBIAN OS PHONES

See all Symbian OS phones at: http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.1.5796 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [00] N70 - small 3G phone packed full of features

The Nokia N70 is the smallest Series 60-based 3G WCDMA/EDGE multimedia device (108.8 x 53 x 22.8 mm), combining the Nokia Nseries design with easy mobile photography. In addition to MMS, email, Bluetooth, WAP 2.0 (XHTML) browsing, and Java technology, the device features a music player, an FM radio with stereo audio and two integrated cameras: a two mega-pixel back camera and a VGA front camera - which provides two-way video calling and real-time video sharing applications.

The N70 runs Symbian OS v8.1a and Series 60 2nd Edition, Feature Pack 3 and is expected to become available during the third quarter of 2005.

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.2.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- [01] N90 - camera phone with Zeiss optics

The Nokia N90 is the world's first camera phone equipped with Carl Zeiss optics. Based on a pioneering multi-hinge twist-and-shoot design, the N90 WCDMA/EDGE imaging phone combines improved imaging (a two mega-pixel camera and VHS resolution video) and visual sharing functionality with the latest smartphone features; MMS, email, Bluetooth, WAP 2.0 (XHTML) browsing and Java technology.

The N90 runs Symbian OS v8.1a and Series 60 2nd Edition, Feature Pack 3 and is expected to become available during the second quarter of 2005.

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.3.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- [02] N91 - first Symbian OS v9 phone announced

The Nokia N91 WCDMA/EDGE music device combines stereo sound, hard disk-based (4 GB) storage capacity for about 3000 songs and over-the-air music downloads, with the latest smartphone functionality; MMS, email, WAP 2.0 (XHTML) browsing and Java technology, and a two mega-pixel camera. The N91 features multiple connectivity options, such as 3G WCDMA, WLAN, Bluetooth and USB 2.0.

The N91 is the first phone announced to run Symbian OS v9.1 and Series 60 3rd Edition. It is expected to become commercially available worldwide by the end of 2005.

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.4.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- FEATURES ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [03] Symbian OS shipments rise 180% to 6.75m

In the first quarter of 2005 shipments of Symbian OS phones totaled 6.75m (Q1 2004 - 2.40m); a year-on-year growth of more than 180%. These shipments took the worldwide installed base of Symbian OS phones to more than 32m. A total of 48 Symbian OS phones, including twelve designed for 3G networks, were shipping to more than 200 network operators around the world in the quarter. As of March 31st, a total of 41 phones and variants were under development by 11 Symbian OS licensees.

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.5.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- [04] A seriously cool time to be a mobile developer

Bradley L. Jones from developer.com Wireless asked some candid, to-the-point questions to Srikanth Raju, Senior Technology Manager and Head of Technical Services and Consultancy, Americas Region, Forum Nokia. The context for 'Mobile Development: Why Should I Care? A Q&A with Nokia' is immediately given with: "Today, that cell phone might be programmable in multiple languages, offer an address space of a hundred megabytes or more, and crank with a processor speed north of 100 MHz. It holds the user's calendar, contacts list, and can open up an IP pipe to any URL on the planet. This is a seriously cool time to be a mobile developer."

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.6.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- [05] Top five selling Symbian OS products in Sony Ericsson's application shop

Last month, Handango ranked the Sony Ericsson P900/P910 as the number one phone adding software by revenue across Handango's application distribution network (see SCN #37). The five best-selling Symbian OS applications for Sony Ericsson smartphones in the first quarter were:

1. DateMate, developed by MobiMate 2. English dictionary, developed by Paragon 3. WorldMate Professional Edition, developed by MobiMate 4. New 2005 Quickoffice Premier 3.0, developed by MDM 5. Handy Day 2005, developed by Epocware

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.7.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- LIBRARY ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [06] Extending the reach of MIDlets: how MIDlets can access native services

In this collaboration with independent software consultant Arvind Gupta, we illustrate how a MIDlet can access native services on Symbian OS using socket communication over localhost.

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.8.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- [07] What's new for UIQ

* ListView selection for UIQ smartphone list controls Here's an example application of a straightforward control for displaying content in a list. The ListViews you can choose from include a column list, text list, snaking list and hierarchical list.

* Working with a contacts database in UIQ smartphones This application shows examples of managing stored contact information in a contacts database with an easy-to-use API.

* Appwizard - how to rapidly create Symbian OS applications This downloadable code sample contains a command line UIQ wizard for rapidly creating project files for Symbian OS applications.

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.9.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- [08] What's new for Series 60 and Series 80

* Nokia Developer's Suite for Symbian OS This set of tools enable efficient Symbian OS C++ application development using Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 and Nokia SDKs for Symbian OS.

* Multimedia framework and other multimedia APIs Description of the multimedia framework (MMF) introduced in Symbian OS v7.0s as well as the related servers and libraries that are commonly used in multimedia applications.

* Creating audio and video applications in C++ These two documents describe how to use the capabilities of Symbian OS to record and play audio content, and the video file formats and the APIs needed when creating video applications.

* Thread and active objects example This package includes an example that demonstrates how to create an active scheduler and how to use active objects inside a new thread.

* Guidelines for testing Symbian C++ applications This document presents guidelines for designing and developing native Symbian OS C++ applications for Series 60, Series 80, and Nokia 7710 devices. The document will also assist developers in ensuring their applications are in line with Nokia recommendations and satisfy the Symbian Signed criteria.

* User-friendly form design In Series 80 applications This article gives advice on how to design usable forms that include complex features for Series 80 applications. An example application is included.

* Series 60 Platform 2nd Edition Feature Pack 3: scalable UI example v1.1 This updated package includes a Noughts and Crosses example application for the scalable UI framework. This package is aimed at programmers who wish to port code written for Series 60 Developer Platform 2nd Edition to Series 60 Platform 2nd Edition, Feature Pack 3.

* Series 60 2nd Ed. SDK for Symbian OS, supporting Feature Pack 3, for C++ This beta SDK delivers all the tools required to build C++ for Symbian OS applications. The package contains the Series 60 device emulator, API implementations, documentation, and sample applications.

* Series 60 2nd Edition SDK for Symbian OS - Japanese & Chinese These Series 60 Developer Platform SDKs (supporting Feature Pack 2) for Symbian OS, for Java MIDP, allow Java developers to quickly and efficiently run and test Java applications for devices that are compatible with the Series 60 Developer Platform.

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.10.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- [09] Creating an MP3 decoder with MAD

Denis Mingulov explains how to adapt MAD (an MPEG audio decoder library) for use with Symbian OS. In this article, Denis shows how to add support for MP3 decoding using the libmad MPEG audio decoder.

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.11.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- TOOLS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [0A] SymScan - checking for compliance

SymScan is a command line tool aimed at reducing the complexity of the learning curve of writing novel applications for Symbian OS while improving the quality of those same applications. SymScan addresses this by scanning Symbian OS C++ code for compliance of:

* Use of the deprecated literal macro - _L() * Correct usage of the cleanup stack * Correct opening and closing of 'R' classes * Highlighting functions marked as non-leaving which can leave * Correct use of descriptors in function calls

An installer with the binary utility and documentation and the source files (with the Visual Studio project files) are provided.

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.12.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- [0B] Panix - a debugging tool

Panix is a tool written by Chiralion, which allows developers to debug their Symbian OS applications when they fail to execute properly on a specific device, even though they may function correctly under the Symbian OS Emulator. In many cases, Panix can be used to pinpoint the offending line of source code without debugging information being embedded in the executables themselves.

This package contains two components: the Panix utility which runs on a Symbian OS phone and provides information on software panics, and the Panix tracer, a Windows application which provides in-depth analysis of the data generated by the Panix Utility. This tool currently supports devices running the Series 60, Series 80, Series 90 (Nokia 7710) and UIQ platforms while the Windows application requires the Microsoft .NET Version 2.0 runtime environment.

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.13.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- [0C] BoomslangBT - a Bluetooth serial API library

Developed by Boomslang Studios, BoomslangBT 1.0 is a C++ static library handling all the phases of Bluetooth connectivity between Symbian OS phones with a simple callback mechanism. It provides two distinct classes: server and client for single and multipoint connectivity (up to one server and seven clients). Applications using the library can be compiled with the Series 60 v1.2 and v2.0, and UIQ v2.0 and v2.1 SDKs for Symbian OS. The library is free-of-charge for freeware applications.

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.14.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- [0D] New version of SymbianOSUnit - now supports UIQ

SymbianOSUnit, the open source test tool for Symbian OS applications written in C++, has been given a major update. Penrillian's latest version now supports UIQ, as well as Series 60, and has been enhanced with a number of powerful features. Improved documentation and a tutorial project will help developers new to the test framework to get started.

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.15.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- [0E] EzBoot updated - with added Series 80 support

NewLC has updated its EzBoot boot manager application, which enables an application (typically a server) to auto start when the phone is powered on. Here is the change list:

* Added: Series 80 support * Fixed: applications were not started after installation on Nokia 6630 * Fixed: applications were started before PIN code entry on Series 60 devices * New packaging for Series 60: no language popup for both Series 60 v1 and v2

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.16.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- [0F] CodeSourcery - a GNU tool chain for Symbian OS

CodeSourcery has made available its 2005-Q1 release of the GNU tool chain for ARM processors. This release adds a compiler targeting Symbian OS. The compiler is based on the ABI for the ARM architecture. With it, you can target Symbian OS v9 phones.

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.17.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- TECH TIPS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [10] General tech tips

- Why does my font file work on some Symbian OS phones and not others? - How can I access the 'real' root and other folders on a P910i's memory stick? - How does signing affect the installation of embedded SIS files? - Why do I get an IAP dialog when I try to install my application?

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.18.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- [11] C++ tech tips

- How can I point to a file under the EPOC32 directory using SOURCEPATH without creating an absolute path in the .mmp file? - How can I make my UIQ application work in both 'flip open' and 'flip closed' mode on the Sony Ericsson Pxxx series? - Why doesn't the Code Warrior "Import Project From .mmp File" option work after I add a new device using devices.exe?

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.19.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- [12] Java tech tips

- Why are incoming UDP datagrams truncated at 512 bytes?

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.20.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- TRAINING and EVENTS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [13] Symbian OS training in London, Dallas, Santa Clara and Bangalore

Symbian OS Essentials - for new Symbian OS C++ developers * London, UK: June 8-10 * Bangalore, India: June 20-22 * Santa Clara, California: June 1-3 * Dallas, Texas: August 17-19

Application Engines - for developers of Symbian OS engines or application functionality * London, UK: July 11-13 * Dallas, Texas: August 22-24

Application User Interface Design - for developers who write application UIs for Symbian OS * London, UK: August 2-4 * Santa Clara, California: September 12-14

Symbian OS Internals - for developers of advanced applications, system services, device drivers and device ports * London, UK: June 13-14 * Santa Clara, California: September 14-15 * Dallas, Texas: November 14-15

Symbian OS Internals Supplement - for developers wanting to know more about EKA2 * London, UK: June 15, August 10 * Santa Clara, California: June 8 * Dallas, Texas: November 16

Symbian OS Platform Security Workshop - for developers wanting to know more about security enhancements in Symbian OS v9 * London, UK: June 16

Newsletter readers are entitled to a 20% discount for bookings confirmed two weeks before the course (this discount may not be used in conjunction with any other). Quote 'DEVNET' when booking.

http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.21.5796

---------------------------------------------------------------------- OTHER INFO ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [14] Coming in SCN #39

- Symbian OS C++ applications development using the CodeWarrior IDE FAQ - Code generation wizards which assist C++ developer productivity - More code examples - More top tips for developers

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER ----------------------------------------------------------------------

See the archive for previous SCN issues at: http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.22.5796

Subscribe or unsubscribe at: http://www.symbian.exvn.com/page.cfm?article=0xaf4488a7564c9950fabd0d67eae1d 89b.23.5796

SCN is published monthly to subscribers of Symbian Developer Network. News for the community? Tell the editor at david.mery@symbian.com

Copyright (c) Symbian Software Ltd 2005. All rights reserved. ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Flash applications for cell phones

Flash applications for cell phones With U.S. carrier support of Flash, the next generation of mobile apps may be on the way

By Ephraim Schwartz May 16, 2005

The announcement last week that small ISV Oddcast, which develops a conversational agent software called avatars, will be developing applications for cell phones using the Macromedia (Profile, Products, Articles) Flash development environment may help initiate a new era of easy-to-use mobile applications.

Oddcast's decision to design its Web-based VHost platform and avatar for handsets is, in effect, a leading indicator of what may become an explosion of consumer and enterprise applications on cell phones.

Because Flash is a ubiquitous tool used by almost every Web site developer on the desktop, it could become a catalyst for an entirely new generation of applications on cell phones, said one industry analyst.

"If you know Flash, you can now easily port that to a mobile environment. It could create a whole new market for software products," said Roger Entner, a wireless and telecommunications analyst at Ovum.

According to Entner, developers can leverage that same Flash expertise for cell phones and are capable of designing far richer UIs than previously possible for handsets.

In its first offerings, Oddcast's talking VHost avatar will be designed for concierge services, such as weather, sports results, news, horoscopes, and the nearest restaurant, as well as for training applications in the enterprise.

The Oddcast announcement follows a deal struck earlier this year between Macromedia and Nokia (Profile, Products, Articles) that will license Flash for Nokia's Series 60 handsets. To realize the importance of the agreement, Keith Nowak, a spokesman for Nokia, noted that to date 20 million Series 60 phones have sold. Although Nowak would not say when the phones would incorporate Flash, he did say, "This is not pie in the sky. It is in the offing."

Anup Muraka, senior director of marketing for mobile and devices at Macromedia, said he believes handsets with Flash will be in the United States by the end of the year. Muraka also said Samsung phones are expected to use Flash.

Ovum's Entner compared Flash to Java.

"It is similar to J2EE and J2ME, in that you can have Java both on the desktop and on the phone," he said, calling Flash one of the easiest programming languages to use.

A spokesperson for Nokia Forum, Nokia's global developer support community, called cell phones the new PC and noted that carriers are becoming a leading content-distribution player.

At present there are approximately 1.8 million developers writing for the Nokia platform and more than 1 million Flash developers.

"The Nokia developers will have access to Flash, and the existing Flash community will find a whole new outlet for their creative talents," the spokesperson said.

Google has apparently acquired social networking service Dodgeball

 

Google buys social networking service

By Margaret Kane
http://news.com.com/Google+buys+social+networking+service/2100-1038_3-5704496.html

Story last modified Thu May 12 05:06:00 PDT 2005

Google has apparently acquired social networking service Dodgeball, as it continues its expansion beyond search.

Dodgeball posted a notice on its site about the purchase but did not reveal financial details. A representative for Google could not be reached to confirm the purchase.

Dodgeball's service helps members link up with friends and acquaintances using text messages sent to phones.

 

Through acquisitions and its own research and development, Google has expanded far beyond being just a search company, offering e-mail applications, photo management and blogging tools, among other features. The expansion has led many to question how far the company expects its reach to extend.

Google has already begun dabbling in the social networking field, launching its Orkut service last year.

Copyright ©1995-2005 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.

Solipsis: a Serverless Open-Source MMORPG

Solipsis: a Serverless Open-Source MMORPG http://newsvac.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/05/09/1825206&from=rss

Anonymous Reader writes "As reported in InfoAnarchy, Solipsis is a complete system (protocol, basic implementation and APIs) for an infinitely scalable virtual world. It relies on a pure peer-to-peer infrastructure. "Solipsis is a public virtual territory. The world is initially empty and only users will fill it by creating and running entities. No pre-existing cities, habitants nor scenario to respect... Solipsis is open-source, so everybody can enhance the protocols and the algorithms. Moreover, the system architecture clearly separates the different tasks, so that peer-to-peer hackers as well as multimedia geeks can find here a good place to have fun !" p2pnet releases an interview of author"

The economics of blogging

A blog revolution? Get a grip

By Tom Zeller Jr. http://news.com.com/A+blog+revolution+Get+a+grip/2100-1038_3-5700042.html

Story last modified Mon May 09 06:57:00 PDT 2005

Don't ask Nick Denton, publisher of Gawker Media and its growing list of popular Web logs, about his empire. "People come up to me as if it's witty and say, 'How is the empire going?'" Denton said, "which is pretty pathetic."

Don't ask him about his business plan, either. He says he never had one. The only reason he formed the company, he said, was to make his network of blogs--which includes Gawker, the flagship chronicle of Manhattan news and gossip; Fleshbot, the thinking person's diary of smut; and about 10 other titles--more attractive to advertisers.

"It doesn't help with readers," he said. "It's actually a disadvantage, because it looks corporate."

At a time when media conferences like "Les Blogs" in Paris two weeks ago debate the potential of the form, and when BusinessWeek declares, as it did on its May 2 cover, that "Blogs Will Change Your Business," Denton is withering in his contempt. A blog, he says, is much better at tearing things down--people, careers, brands--than it is at building them up. As for the blog revolution, Denton put it this way: "Give me a break."

"The hype comes from unemployed or partially employed marketing professionals and people who never made it as journalists wanting to believe," he said. "They want to believe there's going to be this new revolution and their lives are going to be changed."

For all of the stiff-arming and disdain that Denton brings to the discussion of this nonrevolution, however, there is no question that he and his team are trying to turn the online diarist's form--ephemeral, fast-paced and scathingly opinionated--into a viable, if not lucrative, enterprise. Big advertisers like Audi, Nike and General Electric have all vied for eyeballs on Gawker's blogs, which Denton describes as sexy, irreverent, a tad elitist and unabashedly coastal.

He says that there is no magic behind Gawker Media, his 3-year-old venture based in New York. To his mind, it is built around a basic publishing model. But like it or not in the overheated atmosphere of blog-o-mania, Denton, 38, remains one of the most watched entrepreneurs in the business.

If his reluctance to be interviewed is theater, it is deft theater. A British expatriate and former Financial Times reporter, Denton is tall, slim, and salt-and-pepper handsome, with the slightly embarrassed air of someone who invested in the dot-com boom and came out unscathed. (He made millions in two previous ventures--including a company called Moreover Technologies, an online news aggregator that presaged the twitchy, check-this-out linking that now make blogs de rigueur reading for desk jockeys worldwide.)

Striding toward the unadorned third-floor TriBeCa loft that is the closest thing to a Gawker nerve center, Denton reiterated, in a polite, sometimes halting staccato that often fades into a string of inaudible syllables, that he would not discuss money. He declined to say if Gawker was profitable, or how much he paid Gawker's dozen or so bloggers--editors, as the company calls them.

He fired up a Marlboro Light and, hustling across Canal Street, chattered obliquely about overhead (minimal in the blogging business), libel (always a concern) and Fred Durst.

In March, Durst, the Limp Bizkit front man, sued Gawker, among other sites, for linking to a sex video in which he appeared.

"Honestly, though, we don't know why you're so mad at us," Gawker's editor, Jessica Coen, sneered in a March 4 entry. "The situation is really rather simple. Someone sent us a link to a video of your penis, we went into shock, and we shared it with the world for about two hours. Then we wept, found God, took a hot bath, and removed the video from our site."

Durst eventually dropped the suit.

A grueling climb led to the quiet, whitewashed loft space where a few Gawker Media hands--including Lockhart Steele, the company's managing editor, and Gina Trapani, the editor of one of the company's newest blogs, Lifehacker--were plucking away at laptops. (Gawker shares the space with another blogger, Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan of Apartment Therapy.)

Steele, who joined the company in February, is the den mother for Gawker's far-flung collection of bloggers and is in near constant communication with them throughout the day via instant messages. About half of the editors live in New York. The rest are distributed around the country. In California, Mark Lisanti edits Defamer, the Los Angeles counterpart to Gawker, and in Colorado, Brian D. Crecente edits one of the newer sites, Kotaku, dedicated to video games. In New Orleans, John d'Addario edits Fleshbot, while Ana Marie Cox covers political gossip from Washington on Wonkette.

"Some of my own favorite sites are ones that have no consistency beyond the wit and charm of the writer." --Nick Denton

Each editor is under contract to post 12 times a day for a flat fee, Steele said. (Gawker has two editors and now posts 24 times a day.) It is best to have eight posts up before noon, if possible, to keep readers coming back, he said.

The editors scan the Web for the best tidbits. Readers, and apparently even published authors, send in tips. When a Gawker site highlights articles from, say, The Wall Street Journal or The New York Times, it is likely, both Steele and Denton said, that the article's author sent an e-mail message to Gawker pointing out its existence. (This reporter's naivete about this process was met with gentle laughter.)

Site traffic is a particular obsession. Gawker draws just over a million unique visitors a month; Fleshbot, the most popular site, lures nearly twice thatnumber, and Gizmodo, a site dedicated to gadgets, roughly 1.5 million. All editors can earn bonuses if they manage to generate spikes in traffic --say, with a link to the latest Paris Hilton crisis or Fred Durst's anatomy.

Trapani's hour-by-hour traffic statistics serve as the desktop image on her computer. "It's extremely fast paced," she said. "It's a lot of output. Some days it's overwhelming without a doubt. Other days it goes really smoothly if I get some good reader tips and there's something great going on."

Like Denton, she was careful not to discuss specifics of Gawker's business, including how much its editors are paid. But a published interview with Steele earlier this year provides some insight. Bloggers are paid a set rate of $2,500 a month, he told a digital journalism class at New York University taught by Patrick Phillips, the editor and founder of I Want Media, a Web site focusing on media news.

When asked in the class if the company was in the black, his response was straightforward. "It is profitable," Steele said. "We're very small, have no overhead, no office space. Everybody works from home. And you heard what we pay our writers. Nick founded Gawker very specifically with the idea of starting a whole bunch of blogs in very niche topic areas, hire freelance writers to write each of them, hopefully draw a lot of eyeballs and then sell advertising around it. He had the idea that no one site would probably ever make a fortune. But if you have 10 sites each making $75,000 a year, then, OK, maybe it's not like Conde Nast money, but it's a nice little business."

Denton chafed at the mention of Steele's interview. He said it was misreported and was supposed to be off the record. Phillips said that no such arrangement existed, and that the posted interview was an exact transcript from a recording of the session.

Whatever the circumstances, for those quivering about the revolutionary potential of blog publishing, or wondering what makes ventures like Gawker tick, there couldn't have been a plainer explanation.

The simplicity of the model may be why Denton is alternately guarded and dismissive of all the hype surrounding blogs. He seems to recognize that he is not up to anything particularly trailblazing, and that it's only a matter of time before others catch on. Competitors like Jason Calacanis' Weblogs, with its network of more than 70 consumer and niche blogs, are already copying the Gawker model.

The idea of grouping the blogs, Denton said, was to give the company an air of respectability. "The only reason we're listed as a group at all is for advertisers," he said. "Advertisers treat Gawker titles more seriously because it's part of a group."

In other words, Gawker speaks their language. It has a publication schedule and can traffic in digital marketing babble like "frequency capping" (how often an advertising spot runs) and "skyscrapers" (tall, thin ads).

Such familiarity with the ways of Madison Avenue makes a difference in the world of blogs, where marketers still fear to tread, said Jill Griffin, who is now a senior vice president and group account director at Media Contacts, the interactive division of the Media Planning Group of Havas.

Earlier, when she was a digital strategist at the marketing firm OMD, Griffin was one of the first advertising executives to bring big-name clients to blogs--including Absolut and GE to Gawker.

"I think it was in mid-2003," Griffin said. "It was just myself and some friends and business associates in the professional advertising community. We just started reading Gawker because we thought it was a hoot." She said that after realizing that they were all single, young, well-paid and casting their gaze on this fertile space, she thought, "We've got to get on that."

On the Gawker sites, CPM rates--the cost for every 1,000 times an ad is presumably seen by visitors--can run anywhere from $4 for a small, button-sized ad to $50 for exclusive-sponsorship ads, in which an advertiser helps underwrite the debut of a new Gawker site. ( Sony did this for Gawker's blog Lifehacker.)

Denton says that a clear line is drawn between news and advertising, and that so far none of the companies buying space on the sites--including the Times auto section, which advertised on the car blog Jalopnik--have ever tried to influence content. The editors are expected to write a "thank-you to our sponsors" at the end of each week, although this is typically done sarcastically--for example, thanking advertisers for keeping the staff well-stocked in crack cocaine.

"It goes beyond any kind of question of church and state or journalistic ethics that the whole editorial tone of the Gawker sites is absolutely wrapped up in the notion of take no prisoners," Denton said. "It owes nothing to anybody, and if one ever started compromising that, it would be grim."

But others have begun to wonder if the brand itself is a form of compromise. Stowe Boyd, president of Corante, a daily online news digest on the technology sector, suggests that there may be something lost when networks like Gawker Media and Weblogs turn blogs into commodities, churned out for a fee, owned by an overlord and underwritten by advertisers.

"They're pursuing a very clear agenda, and they've done very well with that," Boyd said of Gawker. "But they're just an old-media company in new-media clothes, and I still maintain that they are missing part of the point."

The point, Boyd said, is that blogging is unique because of its spontaneity and individualism, and that bloggers, like dancers and sculptors, are most interesting because they are "pursuing their muse." The editors on Gawker are talented, entertaining and informative, Boyd said, but also indistinguishable from any freelance writer, with no ownership of what they produce. "These people are hirelings," he said. "What they are cranking out are the 700 words they signed on to produce."

Other critics of the blog movement wonder whether the hoopla over the commercial viability of blogs--particularly as publishing ventures--is overstated. "Blogs primarily excel at marketing and promotion for companies or individuals," Phillips of I Want Media said. "I think blogging can catapult unknown writers, and it can give them a platform if they're talented. But as a standalone business, I think the jury is still out on that."

Denton, who says that no one, least of all him, is becoming rich publishing blogs, would seem to agree with that notion. It's not about the money, he said--or about corrupting the art of the blogger. "If someone is saying that we publish according to a routine of at least 12 posts a day and begin in the morning and if someone is sick we replace them, then I plead guilty," he said. "We believe in regular posting schedules."

But he also says that nothing he is doing prevents other blogging models from taking shape, or independent bloggers from logging on and doing what they have always done. "Some of my own favorite sites are ones that have no consistency beyond the wit and charm of the writer," he said. "There's room for both."

And there is, apparently, a ceiling on Gawker's expansion. Last month, the company started Sploid, a Drudge-like headline news blog with a tabloid look, and Denton says two more titles are planned for the short term, although he would not be specific about the particular consumer itches he'll be scratching this time. Having covered everything from BlackBerries to Beltway gossip, it's hard to imagine what else looms, but he said writers had already been lined up.

That will bring the number of titles to 14, and Denton indicated that 17 seemed a good stopping point, if for no other reason than that is the number of titles published by Conde Nast.

He also plans to reintroduce Gawker's "blog of blogs," called Kinja--a service that even Denton says was rather badly deployed and even more awkwardly explained in its original form. A team of programmers has been working for the last two years to revamp the service, which allows users to explore and scan their favorite blogs in one place. The new version will be ready in about a month. Disharmony on your cell phone

So, onward goes the nonrevolution. "If you take the amount of attention that has been devoted in the last year to Web logs as a business and something that's going to change business and compare that with the real effect and the real money, it's totally disproportionate," Denton said, "in the same way all the coverage of the Internet in the late '90s was out of whack.

"There are too many people looking at blogs as being some magic bullet for every company's marketing problem, and they're not," he added. "It's Internet media. It's just the latest iteration of Internet media."

Entire contents, Copyright C 2005 The New York Times. All rights reserved.

Skeptics take another look at social sites

Skeptics take another look at social sites

By Gary Rivlin http://news.com.com/Skeptics+take+another+look+at+social+sites/2100-1038_3-5 700008.html

Story last modified Mon May 09 05:40:00 PDT 2005

There was a time when David Sze, a venture capitalist at Greylock Partners, could be counted among those skeptical of the millions of dollars being poured into Internet companies that were creating online communities to foster business and social contacts.

"Basically, it reminded us a lot of what we saw in the late 1990s," Sze said of the first rush of investment in social networking ventures in 2003. "It was, 'Let's hope some users come, and if they do, we'll figure out how to turn that into a business.' We didn't see a real business model there." Even now, a year and a half later, the question persists of how these ventures can make money--and justify the millions already invested. Still, some of the start-ups have shown such impressive growth in number of users that they are starting to win backing from skeptics like Sze. And there are some signs that selling classified ads on these Web sites may be a solid business model.

In October, Sze and Greylock partners took the plunge as majority investor when LinkedIn, a social networking venture based in Palo Alto, Calif., was seeking an infusion of $10 million to expand its operations. The company had previously raised $4.7 million in venture financing in November 2003, most of it from Sequoia Capital.

LinkedIn had signed up only 40,000 members on its site when its founders first approached Greylock in 2003, Sze said. By last fall, it had nearly a million members. Today the site has 2.5 million registered users.

"They're showing the rapid growth you like to see," Sze said.

Like other social networking sites, LinkedIn is hoping to create a viable business by capturing a small piece of a classified advertising market estimated to be worth more than $20 billion. That strategy has been tested in recent months.

"A lot of these sites rose with great fanfare, but many are still scrambling to make a go of it," said Greg Sterling, an analyst with the Kelsey Group, a market research company.

The study of social networking, a decades-old academic discipline, has given the world the concept of six degrees of separation, among other theories that help explain the nature of social interactions. In the context of computers, it is a catch-all phrase used to describe any effort to replicate people's social and business networks over the Internet, or to create new communities around shared interests.

The LinkedIn Web site allows business professionals to make contacts for sales leads and the like. Users are encouraged to invite people within their business sphere to join the site and connect with people they know who are already part of the network. Joining is free, although there is the nonfinancial cost of deciding whether to give permission--or deny access--every time someone seeks to make a connection through you.

In February, the company announced it would charge employers $95 to post a job listing for 30 days, the first in a series of revenue-generating strategies. The company would not provide any figures, but a search at the site revealed that it had at least 1,000 job listings over the previous month.

"Everyone knows that the best jobs come through people's networks," said Reid Hoffman, the chief executive and co-founder of the company. "So this seemed a natural starting point for us to start demonstrating to people how they can use their online network in a very strong way." Job seekers and employers alike can use the service to screen one another through mutual connections.

"They're giving recruiters access to people they wouldn't normally be able to get to," said Charlene Li, an analyst with Forrester Research. "These are passive job seekers--people who aren't actively looking for jobs--who are extremely valuable to the recruiter and the hiring manager."

These are not the type of people posting their resumes on big online employment boards like Monster or HotJobs on Yahoo, she said. Monster recently added a social networking component, but Li said that LinkedIn catered to a much higher-skilled job seeker than Monster.

More recently, the company introduced what it called LinkedIn Services, which invites users to find local lawyers, accountants and other professionals through one's social network.

"People say you shouldn't use the yellow pages to find a lawyer, but that's exactly what most people end up doing," said LinkedIn's co-founder and marketing director, Konstantin Guericke. "This is a way of getting recommendations through trusted contacts."

The finder service is free, though the company will start charging service providers who want to provide more detailed profiles--just like in the yellow pages. The site will start charging for other services in the coming months, Guericke said.

He said the company was on target to start turning a profit by the first quarter of 2006.

"I would say LinkedIn has successfully made the transition from a novelty site into a model that has some sustainability," Sterling, of the Kelsey Group, said. Sterling and Li said they were less sanguine about the success of other social networking companies.

Another start-up, Tribe.net, which is based in San Francisco and raised $6.3 million in venture funding in November 2003, is less focused on business contacts than LinkedIn. Members there are encouraged to join "tribes" of mutual interest--whether mountain climbing or searching for low-priced ethnic restaurants--or create their own.

"A lot of these sites rose with great fanfare, but many are still scrambling to make a go of it." --Greg Sterling Analyst, the Kelsey Group,

Tribe is a free service that charges for classified ads posted on its site. Ultimately, the company hopes to generate enough traffic so that it can do a brisk business selling classified ads aimed at specific audiences--a San Franciscan wanting to sell used climbing gear, say, can direct the ad to the tribe for Northern California rock climbers. Mark J. Pincus, the company's founder, would not share specific revenue figures, but said help-wanted ads and apartment listings currently accounted for virtually all of Tribe's revenue.

"I think Tribe's concept is sound, but they've had trouble executing," Sterling said. The problem is that Tribe does not yet have the kind of traffic needed to sustain a vibrant local marketplace--a point that Pincus concedes. The service has reached a "critical mass" of users in the San Francisco area, Pincus said, but nowhere else.

Tribe had 243,000 unique visitors in March, according to ComScore Media Metrix, which measures Internet traffic, compared with the 3.7 million people who turned to Craigslist, a Web site used to find apartments or jobs, or to sell used items. But Pincus said that traffic on Tribe had tripled over the last 12 months, and said he expected it to triple again over the coming year.

"Up until now, we haven't spent money on marketing because we've wanted to be conservative," Pincus said. "But with revenues starting to come in, we're now spending money on marketing to get more traffic." The company is currently closing a new round of venture funding.

And then there's Friendster, which helps people keep in touch online with their social set and was a sensation among teenagers and people in their 20s when it started in 2003.

Friendster, which received roughly $13 million in venture funding in October 2003, most of it from Benchmark Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, seemed rich with potential because it could deliver a golden demographic to advertisers.

Yet early users soon started to complain that the company was slow to enliven its site, and Friendster found itself eclipsed by a pair of newer, more narrowly focused social networking companies--MySpace, specializing in music, and Thefacebook.com, geared to college students.

Friendster had 975,000 unique visitors in March, according to ComScore. By contrast, 11.3 million users visited MySpace that month, and 4.1 million people visited Thefacebook. Disharmony on your cell phone

"You're talking about a notoriously difficult group to reach, so this is very valuable to traditional brand marketers," said Li of Forrester. "The problem facing Friendster is that others, especially MySpace, have done a really impressive job reaching this group."

Friendster is cash-flow positive through the sale of ads on its site, a company representative said. The looming question is whether it will earn the kind of revenue that venture capitalists need to see when investing $13 million in a single start-up.

Entire contents, Copyright C 2005 The New York Times. All rights reserved.

The Minds Behind Mappr

 

The Minds Behind Mappr

Posted by Wade Roush at May 6, 2005 03:16 PM in Telecom/Internet .

In a way, the dot com era never ended in San Francisco, which still has a huge supply of smart, young, hip people working on cool technologies that are going to change the world. I met three more of them this week. They are Eric Rodenbeck, Michael Migurski, and Tomas Apodaca of Stamen Design. The group is famous for creating interactive visualizations on the Web, including a map used last year by MoveOn.org to illustrate a nationwide, one-day campaign to deluge senators' offices with calls from constituents. I visited Stamen's plant-filled studio in the Mission District on May 4.

Mappr was my reason for wanting to meet these guys. It's a Web-based program that organizes  digital photographs by location. Mappr grabs photographs from leading photo-sharing site Flickr (which was recently acquired by Yahoo!) and uses the captions and other information that users attach to the photos to assign the images to specific geographic coordinates on a large map of the United States. The data is acquired in real time, so you can see where the last 20 or 50 or 100 Flickr users have been clicking their shutters. Rodenbeck says Mappr now includes some 880,000 Flickr photos.

Stamen's design philosophy is to create web-based visualization tools, then see how people use them. Migurski says he's been continually surprised and gratified at the things people do with Mappr. A Flickr member named Eric Snowdeal, for example, invited others to send him postcards with good wishes for his son, who was born prematurely. He photographed the postcards and tagged the photos with geographic locations, and now Mappr shows how broadly the infant's well-wishers are distributed (see http://mappr.com/mappr.phtml?user_id=35468137479%40N01&tag=postcard). "If you look on his page on Mappr, you can see a whole country's worth of postcards," says Migurski.

Some fascinating patterns have emerged from the collective activity of Mappr users, adds Rodenbeck. For example, photographs tagged "Route 66" form a thread stretching across the continent. "Mappr knows nothing about Route 66, but if you type in that tag, you get an exact map of it," Rodenbeck relates. "It's not intentional -- it's just one of those things that kind of happens."

How do geo-referenced photographs contribute to social computing? "You don't necessarily discover anything about anyone else around you if you only tag your photos with geographic information," acknowledges Rodenbeck. "There's got to be something else you tag -- say, 'This is somebody who hunts mushrooms, or is a bird watcher.'" Then people can use Mappr not just to see who's taking pictures where, but what interests they have. And that, in turn, could lead to online discussions or collaborations or even real-world friend-making.

"Location is certainly key," says Rodenbeck. "And absolute geographical positioning is totally coming  [in the form of future GPS-enabled camera phones that automatically tag photos with latitude and longitude, for example]. But in the meantime there is all this other stuff we can think about that has to do with the way people relate to each other relative to their location and their social space. We're trying to ask those questions without having to wait for the geopositioning stuff."

Videogames and Blogs: The Disconnect

Videogames and Blogs: The Disconnect By Eric Hellweg May 5, 2005

Of all the topics bantered about in blogs -- politics, music, media -- one seems woefully underrepresented: videogames.

There are some exceptions. Weblogs, Inc dutifully offer blogs such as Joystiq, a site that chronicles game industry goings on and issues, And sites like Gamespot provide blog-like dispatches. But for a subject that inspires such slavish devotion some observers believe the videogame makers are squandering an opportunity by not incorporating blogs into the games themselves.

Into the games themselves? Indeed. Why not place a blog within a massively multiplayer role playing game, the argument goes, where participants can offer fellow players advice, comment on game play, give tips, or spout off on any topic they choose? It seems like a natural extension of the kind of enthusiasm usually found for these games, say proponents, and could help foster a stronger sense of community within the game.

Alas, few are looking into this at the moment, but some observers believe it won't be long before game players find blogs in the games themselves

"I can see [incorporating blogs into games] happening down the road," says David Swofford, director of PR for game maker NCSoft North America. "But nothing we have that's being designed right now incorporates them."

South Korean NCSoft is arguably one of the most powerful online gaming companies in the world, anchored by its Lineage series, which has several million devoted players. Its North American operations are run by Richard Garriott, maker of Ultima, the first commercially successful massively multiplayer role playing game (MMORPG). NCSoft is also the distributor City of Heroes.

While in-game blogs have been slow to develop from the corporate side, players and fans are certainly open to the idea of blogging about their virtual lives.

"That would be a good idea," says Tom Zjaba, the man behind the classic videogame and comics blog Tomorrow's Heroes. "Anything that would make a game more interactive and make users more a part of it would be a good thing. I wish there was something like that."

Charlene Li, an analyst who covers blogs for Forrester Research, believes that the first major game platform to incorporate blogs will be Microsoft's Xbox, given that "community" has been part of its design since it launched, with Xbox Live, and user identification tags that work across different games.

Representatives of Xbox and Playstation didn't respond to interview requests by press time.

Ultimately, whether or not designers incorporate blogs into videogames may come down to whether it's enough of a draw to encourage sales.

"The reason we don't have more community elements like blogs in games is because the publishers haven't figured out how to harness it and make money off of it," says Li.

But with more videogames these days selling advertising through electronic billboards that dot the game's virtual landscape or by selling the right to play a band's song during game play, it's not too big of a leap to try and sell advertisements around an in-game blog. Everquest even bridged the virtual and real recently when it included a feature that allows users to order Pizza Hut pizza from within the game and have it delivered.

Of course, videogames and blogs do have a bit of a checkered past. In late 2003, Electronic Arts, maker of The Sims, banned a user of the popular game after that user's blog told of some of the unseemly activities -- such as virtual prostitution -- happening within the game's confines. Bringing blogs within a game's walls may make the line between free game play and policed game play a little blurrier.

Zjaba of Tomorrow's Heroes says that when he was trying to sell items on his site, he found the cheapest form of advertising was to create compelling content on his site, which drew traffic better than any ad campaign he tried.

Everyone contacted for this article expressed interest in seeing more game-specific or within-game blogs. While it may be awhile before we see blogs within games, one thing's for certain: there's plenty of room for them and, well, there's interest in blogging.

"Video game blogs are on the rise," says Swofford. "The segment is growing."

RE: Blogger announces mobile blogs with pictures

Hi Waleed

Just thinking out loud - wouldn't focusing solely on local (going from country to country) also limit or prevent our ability to scale and grow revenue exponentially? I may be thinking in the wrong direction, but that's the first thing that pops into my head if I were to think from an investor point of view.

Best Regards

Eugene Chan

-----Original Message----- From: Waleed Hanafi [mailto:whanafi@pacific.net.sg] Sent: Saturday, May 07, 2005 12:49 PM To: Chin Chin Canice Gan; Eugene Chan; Michael Yew Mu Tham; v3rt blog; Waleed - Venduss Subject: Blogger announces mobile blogs with pictures

http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=1131

Which brings us back to the point of recognizing that we don't have programming resources, and they don't have local content.

In other words, the value of the V3RT service is to create traffic (and therefore subscriptions and advertising revenue) not to build the enabling technologies.

This is actually good news because it plays to our strength, not weakness. We are local to our audience, something that no other organization can compete with unless they are here as well.

Blogger announces mobile blogs with pictures

http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=1131

Which brings us back to the point of recognizing that we don't have programming resources, and they don't have local content.

In other words, the value of the V3RT service is to create traffic (and therefore subscriptions and advertising revenue) not to build the enabling technologies.

This is actually good news because it plays to our strength, not weakness. We are local to our audience, something that no other organization can compete with unless they are here as well.

BlogMap - another piece in the puzzle

http://www.feedmap.net/BlogMap/

Welcome to BlogMap - a place where blogs meet maps and location!

Using BlogMap you can geo-code your blog, browse already geo-coded blogs and search for blogs. Once geo-coded, you can get your own BlogMap location using a simple url!

Here is a list of things you can do with BlogMap:

* Geo-code your blog feed using the submit page (and get your own BlogMap badge). * Browse blogs by location using the browse page. * Search for local blogs using the search page. * Find bloggers in your neighborhood! * Get local BlogRoll in OPML format.

You can also link to feedmap site for browsing blogs by country and searching blogs by place names!

IM+ Enterprise

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Thanks and best regards, Maria Dyatlova, Alliance Manager SHAPE Services www.shapeservices.com

P.S. I'm sending you this e-mail as you downloaded our IM+ Mobile Instant Messenger and we supposed that you might be interested to receive information about Mobile Instant Messaging. If you don't want to receive news about our products, just reply this e-mail.

Is Mobile Gaming Ridiculous?

Is Mobile Gaming Ridiculous? ARTICLE DATE: 05.04.05 By Lance Ulanoff

When I was asked to speak at the third annual Mobile and Online Games forum earlier this month, I was surprised-I'm not exactly a mobile-gaming expert or even a fan. I realized that my presence must have been intended as a bit of counter-programming-perhaps the naysayer voice. Ah, now there was a role I could warm up to. And so I began to map out my speech.

I would begin my speech.

In all honesty, I'm not a big believer in mobile gaming. I just don't get it. I am positively stunned at the size and popularity of this market (huge in Europe, exploding here). There are hundreds of games, dozens of Web sites, and many companies making lots of money producing all manner of games (from the simple golf game to the more complicated run-and-shoot to adult strip poker-in fact, there seems to be a preponderance of the latter).

The audience should feel me warming to my topic.

But what's the attraction of mobile gaming? I mean, look at these things. A typical mobile phone's screen is an inch or so wide and a couple of inches long. What's worse, you play on a keypad roughly the size of a playing card. Who can play an action game without getting a terrible phalanx-based cramp? I guess I understand grown men warming up to these games-those who are too embarrassed to carry around a Game Boy. They're happy to have a mobile phone for business calls and surreptitious gaming. "Look," they say, "I use the phone for work. Pay no attention to the strip poker game on the screen." But these guys have to be a small slice of the market, right?

And why would the target market-kids and teens-want to play games on a cell phone when they can play on the bigger, brighter screens and more useful controls found on a the Sony PSP, Nintendo DS and Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP?

I also thought the dual barriers of price and the difficulty of getting games onto the phones would surely present an insurmountable hurdle for mobile phone gaming success. And, until recently, high speeds on mobile phones were a pipe dream. Of course now we're watching video on our cell phones.

Hmm, that doesn't exactly support my theory. Perhaps I should strike the previous sentence. Nah, I'm sure I'll resolve it in the end.

So good, now we can download these 5MB to 15MB, $5 to $12 (today's typical sizes and prices) games with ease, but are they playable or compelling?

At this point, the audience might perceive me as antigaming. If they haven't been reading my columns, that would be a fair assumption. But loyal readers know that I own a GameCube, that I have tried Xbox, and that I-well, maybe they don't know this-have been playing first-person shooter games on my PC since the days of Wolfenstein 3D. No, I'm over-thinking this. I know games and can become as obsessed about them as the next person.

I'm sorry, but the new wave of mobile-gaming enthusiasm, heck, even the prospect of speaking at this forum [must remember to insert name of conference here] failed to convince me that I was standing at the brink of something big.

Huh? This isn't going as I had planned. Can I have a change of heart mid-speech? I guess I have to admit that I'm torn. Odd. I thought I knew what this speech was going to be about until a week ago. I guess I can recount what happened and throw myself on the mercy of the stage. Here's hoping no one brought tomatoes.

But that was before two recent events forced me to reconsider my position on mobile gaming.- Continue reading...

The other day my son and I were sitting in the barbershop, waiting to get our haircuts. I took out my Samsung SPH-A660 phone to check if I had missed any calls (a compulsive habit that I once promised never to give into) and my son, bored as always by two seconds of inactivity, pointed at my phone and asked if it had games. I looked at him sideways.

"No!" I blurted.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"No," I admitted.

He pressed, as he always does, so we started looking through my menus. Under downloads, we found, of course, games. There were just three, all Java Brew-powered-demos of Tetris and FOX Football and a full version of Bejeweled. My son was elated over our little discovery. I launched FOX Sports On-Field Live Football and tried to figure out the controls while my son pushed at my arm, begging to play. I believe I ran a couple of plays-though the tackles and first-down completions were purely accidents-but I couldn't really figure it out. So I switched to Tetris, a game I know, and I figured I could play since there wasn't too much happening on the tiny screen. I soon became more focused on getting the darn blocks into the right position before they hit the base than I was on how to use the controls. My son's pleading quickly faded into the background.

"Dad! Let me play!" he almost yelled.

"Awright, in a minute." I had to get that L-shaped cube to the base, pronto.

But it was time for our haircuts. I swear-and I'm not exaggerating-as soon as we stepped out of the barbershop, he asked to play with the phone's game in the car.

Obviously, the mobile-gaming industry already has my son, and without even really trying. I'm guessing that new video games are riddled with subliminal messages saying "Play Mobile Games."

What's worse, it had roped me in, too.

If I relate this next story, the audience will know I've flip-flopped, but I'm hoping they'll accept an honest conversion. Here goes.

Whatever doubts I had about the longevity and viability of this industry were fully erased by the second aforementioned event, a meeting with Immersion Corp.

Founded by a group of Stanford researchers in the early nineties, Immersion is a leader in haptics development and the company responsible for two of the best-known haptics devices: the Microsoft SideWinder joystick and the Logitech iFeel Mouse. Haptic interfaces let people interact with virtual, often 3-D environments via the sense of touch (vibrations, force feedback, tension). The company also does a lively business in the medical field, providing medical simulation devices to teach students how to perform catheterizations, endoscopies, IV insertions, and other procedures without touching real patients.

Immersion is not a hardware company, though. Instead it develops the software that drives motors and force-feedback systems in ways that generate a realistic tactile experience for the end user. In game controls, that can translate into something as simple as a rumble for an interstellar explosion.

Immersion, apparently, can apply the same sort of minute control to phone motors thanks to its VibeTonz mobile player. The company has been working with major phone manufacturers like Samsung to integrate the player. Initially, Immersion worked with American Greetings to offer VibeTonz mobile phone downloads.

But Immersion's software doesn't just turn the mobile-phone motors on and off-which is generally what happens when you leave your phone on vibrate. The company can control the mobile-phone motor in the most minute and exquisite ways, running it in forward and reverse, speeding it up, slowing it down, and more. And the truly great thing about this technology is that cell-phone manufacturers do not need to install new motors. An IBT (Immersion's proprietary format) file, which the VibeTonz player plays, is all that's needed to add a vibration to a cell-phone activity.

In its simplest form, Immersion's VibeTonz lets your phone motor offer a range of responses that can conceivably simulate handshakes, kisses, and high-fives. The first time I heard about this, which was about six months ago, I openly criticized Immersion, telling the executives that there was no way they could simulate any of those actions in anything approaching a realistic manner. I asked them if they imagined someone holding a cell phone up to their cheek to receive a virtual kiss-aren't these screens dirty enough?

Of course, this was before they showed me what they could accomplish with a couple of mobile-phone games.

During our most recent meeting, Immersion execs handed me a CDMA Samsung M330 phone (which became available in the U.S. last week). It contained a motorcycle game. I played the game and it actually felt like a tiny motorcycle racing along, revving, slowing, squealing around turns, hitting an outer wall. Essentially, it felt like my bad real-world driving habits were being replicated inside the tiny mobile cell-phone game. The sensations were, in a word, stunning. The whole experience left me feeling a little woozy.

I figure that by this time I've either emptied the auditorium or stunned them into immobility. Now for the big save.

So, I must admit I was wrong, dead wrong, about this market and for many obvious reasons:

First of all, I've greatly underestimated people's need for distraction and the kinds of usage experiences they'll endure for a little entertainment.

And there are other key factors that will keep this engine humming:

. Better bandwidth. (Thank you 3G and EV-DO.)

. Better graphics. (Thank you ATI and nVidia). Wait until you get a load of the 3-D graphics.

. Larger keyboards and amazing thumb dexterity. (Thank you evolution.)

. Some of the games and sensations are oddly compelling. (Thank you developers.)

. Kids and teens want the games because they have the cell phone with them anyway-inactivity equals boredom, which equals a bad thing. (Thank you television and console video games.)

To sum it up, I'm still not a fan, but I'm also no longer a naysayer on mobile gaming. It's here to stay.

And there's my speech. Not bad. It's believable because it's true, and it should be painless because it's short-models for good speechmaking.

Copyright (c) 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Instant startup, a data center fast track

Instant startup, a data center fast track By Matt Stansberry, News Editor 02 May 2005 | SearchDataCenter.com Become.com -- a new shopping search engine -- is the creation of Michael Yang and Yeogirl Yun, a pair that knows a thing or two about building search engines from the ground up. Yang and Yun founded the shopping comparison site mySimon and later sold it to CNET Networks for $700 million. Yun also founded the search engine WiseNut, which he later sold to LookSmart.

Become.com, the pair's latest project, which launched in February, uses a search algorithm is called Affinity Index Ranking to recognize product reviews, articles and consumer reports of specific sites.

According to Jongkeun Park, network/IT engineer for Become.com., one of the key components of a successful site launch is a solid IT infrastructure.

A startup tech company needs technologies that are highly scalable, easy to administer, based on open standards and, of course, low cost, he said. This type of flexibility can require a startup to consider several factors.

The outsourced component

Become.com launched from an outsourced data center in Mountain View, Calif., managed by New York City-based AboveNet, allowing the site to launch more quickly.

"Building our own data center facility would have meant committing massive resources and delaying launch of our search engine," Park said in an e-mail interview. "Outsourcing has allowed us to fully support the company's goal of creating the world's largest search engine for shopping in less than one year."

Yun, Become.com's chief technology officer, shopped around five or six different places before deciding AboveNet was the most effective and best solution.

According to Park, a tier 1 network and great amount of bandwidth is required to support a massive crawler-based search engine (currently visiting and indexing over 3.2 billion Web pages, half of Google's index). And in terms of cooling and power, Park quoted the AboveNet Web site for features including: # Mechanical systems with multiple levels of redundancy. # Cooling systems that ensure ambient temperatures do not affect computing power. # Advanced continuous power supply and distribution systems that protect against commercial power grid fluctuations and service interruptions. # Very early smoke detection alarm (VESDA) that constantly samples the air for dangerous particles. # Biometric authentication and round-the-clock surveillance.

Park is the sole member of the Become.com staff that manages 100-plus servers at the data center. If Become.com has a disk failure, Park goes to the AboveNet facility to replace the hardware. According to Yun, this arrangement has worked because the systems have been quite stable, the hardware is kept to a minimum and a single disk failure does not require immediate replacement.

The hardware aspect

Become.com uses off-the-shelf Dell servers with 500 GB of hard disk attached. According to Park, based on internal testing, as well as price quotes from other vendors, Dell provided the strongest combination of reliability and price for performance.

Yun called the Dell product robust, and said there was little maintenance involved with operating them. According to Yun, the server farm may experience a hard disk failure every other week, in which case Park replaces the machine.

"We're quite different from Google because we don't need as many servers," Yun said. "It's a different philosophy. Google has maybe 100,000 servers -- cheap hardware. The problem with that approach is that there is so much manpower required to maintain that. It's great that you have a low cost overall, but you need a lot of people to maintain the equipment. Overall cost is really high if you have that number of servers."

As the lone IT engineer, Park spends a surprisingly small amount of time managing the data center hardware. He was initially spending over 90% of his time installing and managing the server farm. But today, he spends only 30% of his time managing servers and the network. The rest of his time is split between developing and working with systems management tools (20%), internal IT -- e-mail, PCs, telephone system -- purchasing ( 20%), internal support (20%) and researching new technologies and products (10%).

Open source crawler

The other component of Yun's startup plan is open source. Become.com runs SuSE and White Box enterprise Linux platforms, and is experimenting with other versions. Yun is also playing around with Solaris 10.

"Linux provides a cost-effective and enterprise-ready OS. We believe strongly in the benefits of open source, and Linux has been a great choice for us," Park said.

Park also said the company hadn't taken a serious interest in any new computing structures, such as virtualization or grid computing.

"We had very aggressive time frames and development goals," Park said. "We also had very high stability requirements. I took an approach that met our needs, minimized risk and ensured cost containment. I have not, however, ruled out exploring these technologies in the future."

Expansion

Yun hopes to increase the servers to handle 5 billion pages six months from now, nearly double the current amount. When that happens, 60 servers will arrive in the data center, and five or six engineers will come to unpack and put the servers in the rack. But after that, Yun said a lot of the process is automated.

"We only have 13 engineers, but every single one is like a super-engineer," Yun said. "Our one IT engineer [Park] handles all of the servers. It's unbelievable the amount of talent each individual has. That's why we're able with only 24 people in this company to crawl billions of Web pages and put together a really strong search engine."

Yun has been in the search industry for 10 years and knows that it's very important to reduce costs. He knows the amount of CPUs it takes to handle 500,000 queries versus 1 million, and how to plan in terms of management. And it's a big part of the reason he's vying to hit the dot-com lottery for a third time.

Mobile games poised for take-off

Mobile games poised for take-off By Mark Ward Technology Correspondent, BBC News website

Games on mobile phones are about to take off, just like console gaming did, says industry veteran Greg Ballard.

The boss of mobile games firm Sorrent/Macrospace and former head of games firm Capcom US, he launched Street Fighter and Resident Evil.

"We're seeing results that are reminiscent to me of the early console days in the 1990s," said Mr Ballard.

"There are titles now in mobile that will do between $6-10m," he told the BBC News website.

"That's half as big as the console business was in early 1990s yet it's only in the second or third year of business," he added.

Growth curve

Knowing that some games will do well was hugely important, said Mr Ballard.

"If we can say we believe that this title will do $10m it allows us to spend more money developing and marketing that game," he said.

"This is the first year I can look the marketing people in the eyes and say they may have a budget."

Those extra resources will help games reach a wider audience, said Mr Ballard, which will feed into more development for future games.

Success will also help mobile game makers persuade shops and stores to stock games. For all these reasons, said Mr Ballard, 2005/6 were going to be big years for mobile games.

And, he added, no-one really knows how big an audience they will gather.

"What's exciting about this is that lately everybody has a cellphone - even 10-13 year olds have them."

Research by Sorrent/Macrospace shows that younger people are by far the biggest users of mobile content such as games, ringtones and screen savers.

Sorrent found that 64% of the general phone-owning population play a game on their handset once a day or more. But 84% of those aged 10 to13 play daily.

But, said Mr Ballard, although numbers of players are rising and some titles are making millions, it was by no means clear which game makers would prosper.

"The assumption is that console companies are the natural heirs to this business," he said.

Time travel

But although some gamers did want more of what they got on consoles, many others wanted something less demanding that they could pick up and put down as necessary.

"You tend to see games that are not big sellers in other worlds are successful on this platform," he said.

One of Sorrent/Macrospace's top titles was its daily puzzle which gives people three problems to solve within a time limit, he said. When a player has completed the puzzles they get feedback on how their time compared to others.

Poker games and Who Wants to be a Millionaire? were also big hits.

Although Murdoch's News International have declared intentions to get into mobile gaming, it was by no means clear that they would prosper either, he said.

"They cannot get into the business without buying one of the players because its so complex and the technology has gone so far," he said. "For someone to think they can jump in straight from scratch is naïve and one thing these companies are not it is naïve."

And if these larger companies were going to make a move they would have to hurry up, he said because the frenetic pace of the mobile games industry is like no other sector.

"Internet time seems like a luxury," he said, "it's nothing compared to the pace of change we have seen in this space." Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/technology/4498433.stm

Published: 2005/05/02 02:56:00 GMT

Microsoft Updates IM Server to Connect with Other Networks

Microsoft Updates IM Server to Connect with Other Networks
April 29, 2005

By  Matt Hicks

Microsoft Corp. has released an update to its enterprise instant messaging and presence servers for free, a move that makes good on its promise to interoperate with the three major IM networks.

The Redmond, Wash., software maker on Thursday shipped Service Pack 1 for its Office Live Communications Server 2005. One of its key features is the ability for enterprises to connect their LCS installations with the AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger and MSN Messenger IM networks.

The IM interoperability is being offered for an option called Public IM Connectivity, and its availability comes about nine months after Microsoft first announced plans to work with its IM competitors.

RELATED LINKS

• Microsoft Takes Enterprise IM Mobile
• Microsoft Displays Real-Time Ambitions
• Microsoft Makes VOIP Move with 'Istanbul'
• Microsoft Sets December Release for Next-Gen IM Server
• Microsoft Opens IM Server to AOL, Yahoo

Click here to read about America Online Inc.'s recent effort to connect AIM with enterprise IM.

With the update, Microsoft also is setting the stage for supporting its revamped real-time messaging client, formerly code-named "Istanbul." LCS (Live Communications Server) SP1 will support the client, which was recently renamed the Office Communicator 2005 and is scheduled to be available by early June.

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates previewed the Communicator client and the LCS update last month. The client brings together IM and presence with telephony and video. It also will replace Windows Messenger as the preferred client for LCS.

What about mobile IM? Click here to read about Microsoft's plans for a mobile LCS client.

Other new features in LCS SP1 focus on security, taking aim at IM worms by allowing for the blocking of URLs and filtering out IM spam, also known as "spim," Microsoft announced. The update also provides enhancements in the way enterprises can directly federate multiple instances of LCS in order to communicate with partners and other companies.

LCS SP1 is available as a free upgrade for existing customers, and new customers can download a 120-day trial version. Non-English versions of the software will be available in another 60 days or so, Microsoft said.

Check out eWEEK.com's Messaging & Collaboration Center for more on IM and other collaboration technologies.

Copyright (c) 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.