Graeme Thickins on Tech

Reflections & analysis about innovation, technology, startups, investing, healthcare, and more .... with a focus on Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes. Blogging continuously since 2005.

Tag: DEMO (Page 15 of 19)

DEMO ’08 Opening Party Pix

January 29, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Here are some of my pix from the opening reception at DEMO ’08. The venue was great (again), and the turnout was big.

1) View from my window…. Demovenue

2) Let’s get this party started…. Demoparty1

3) The mob converges…. Demoparty2

4) The bar tries hard to keep up…. Demoparty3

5) Gary Bolles and Dan Gillmor…. Demobollesgillmor

6) Dan Farber, Steve Larsen, Gary Bolles…. Demofarberlarsenbolles

7) Kevin Dorren, Nigel Eccles (both of HubDub), Steve Larsen, Miko Mentz…. Demohubdublarsenmentz_2

8) Renee Blodgett and Stuart  Cohen of SpeakLike….

UPDATE 1/29:  Oops, sorry, that was Sanford Cohen…it was late when  I did this  🙂Demoblodgettcohen

What I Like at DEMO So Far…

January 28, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Well, it hasn’t even started yet, but looking over the list, perusing the press room, and chatting with a few folks, these companies are some I definitely will be checking out…

• BitGravity – who can’t like the company with the technology that will be live streaming DEMO for the very first time? (watch DEMO.com starting tomorrow morning to see their work)
• Blist – world’s easiest database…makes relational database creation and management as easy as using a spreadsheet
• HubDub – DEMO describes this one as a brilliant marriage of news aggregation and prediction markets, and these guys came all the way from Edinburgh…great Scot!
• Livescribe – a new kind of content creation tool (how could I not like that?)…its Pulse Smartpen is a computer in a pen that records and links audio to what you write on paper (ooooh)
• Redux – a new concept in social networking, using a unique set of algorithms based on user actions and  personality preferences

That’s just a start. There are 77 presenters!  More soon….

DEMO ’08 Announces Presenting Companies

January 25, 2008 / / 1 Comment

Well, have I ever got a linkfest for you. Following up on my post of January 7, the big event next week is now taking shape: I just got the early word that no less than 77 new products (!) will be launched at the DEMO ’08 conference. Check out the list — did I mention it’s with links? — that I inserted for your clicking pleasure below. David Weinberger would love this one. And my other Cluetrain friend, Doc Searls, too. He once described a post I did as "linkier than a vest of chainmail."  Well, this one’s got more, Doc — about eighty, if you can stand it.  I’m getting so adept at inserting links in my Typepad WYSIWYG interface, it’s scary. Remember, it’s not so much how many people read your posts, it’s how long you engage them. Well, this one’s got a lot to keep you engaged if you’re hooked, like me, on just having to know what’s coming next in tech.

The rules for DEMO presenters state their products must not be previously available or promoted publicly, so many of the links below are brand-new sites, and some may not have much info online till Monday morning, the day registration opens.  So keep watching their sites…that’s right, via those links below.

Most of you probably don’t need me to tell you this, but DEMO is a twice yearly "emerging technology showcase" that’s known for launching some of the tech industry’s biggest innovations.  Now in its 18th year, the events have hosted a "who’s who" of company and product debuts, including those from VMWare, Google, IronPort, Apple, salesforce.com, Palm, Intel, HP, Yahoo!, Logitech, TiVo, and GrandCentral. The show’s producers, led by Chris Shipley, select presenters from hundreds of applications. Each firm launches its new product in a six-minute live stage demonstration attended by journalists, investors, and business professionals from around the globe. The press corps, of which your humble blogger is a part, will number close to 100. As I like to say, everyone from Walt Mossberg on down. (Okay, I’m at the bottom.) DEMO ’08 is being held January 28-30 in Palm Desert, CA. [You can still register — click on the graphic at right.]

DEMO kicks off 2008 with a variety of technologies for consumers and businesses alike. Here are some hints about what’s coming next week:

• a personalized telephony service converging data and voice
• broadcast-quality video delivery service for the Internet
• a Web-based platform for scalable storage delivery
• a portable learn-to-read system
• a service that enables image and video collaboration
• a solution that teaches you to play your favorite popular tunes
• a collaboration solution for business and personal use
• TiVo for your mobile phone
• HD video conferencing over IP networks
• multiple technologies for students, parents, and children
• and products from all over the world, including Australia, Canada, Finland, Israel, New Zealand,  Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

Here are the DEMO ’08 demonstrators:

2Win Solutions, Ltd.; Raanana, Israel; www.2win-solutions.com
800 PBX, Inc.; Fremont, CA; www.800genie.800pbx.com
Acesis, Inc.; Mountain View, CA; www.acesis.com
Asankya, Inc.; Atlanta, GA; www.asankya.com
Aternity, Inc.; Westborough, MA; www.aternity.com
atlaspost.com; Taipei City, Taiwan; www.atlaspost.com
Avistar Communications Corp.; San Mateo, CA; www.avistar.com
BitGravity, Inc.; Burlingame, CA; www.bitgravity.com
blist, Inc.; Seattle, WA; www.blist.com
Buzka, Pty Ltd.; Subiaco, Australia; www.buzka.com
Capzles, Inc.; Culver City, CA; www.capzles.com
Catalyst Web Services, LLC; Alexandria, VA; www.catalystweb.com
CellSpinSoft, Inc.; San Jose, CA; www.cellspin.net
Celsias, Ltd.; Wellington, New Zealand; www.celsias.com
CHALEX Corp.; Grasonville, MD; www.chalexcorp.com
Circos.com, Inc.; San Mateo, CA; www.circos.com
Citiport, Inc.; Taipei City, Taiwan; www.citiport.net
Citrix Systems, Inc.; Ft. Lauderdale, FL; www.citrix.com
Cozimo.com, Inc.; Berkeley, CA; www.cozimo.com
Delver, Inc.; Herzliya Pituach, Israel; www.delver.com
Ecrio, Inc.; Cupertino, CA; www.ecrio.com
Education.com; Redwood City, CA; www.education.com
Eyealike, Inc.; Bellevue, WA; www.eyealike.com
Fabrik, Inc.; San Mateo, CA; www.fabrik.com
Flypaper, Inc.; Phoenix, CA; www.freshbrew.com
GoldMail, Inc.; San Francisco, CA; www.goldmail.com
good2gether, Inc.; Melrose, MA; www.good2gether.com
Green Plug, Inc.; San Ramon, CA; www.greenplug.us
HealthPricer Interactive, Ltd.; Vancouver, BC; www.healthpricer.com
Hubdub, Ltd.; Edinburgh, Scotland; www.hubdub.com
Huddle.net; London, England; www.Huddle.net
Iterasi, Inc.; Vancouver, WA; www.iterasi.com
iVideosongs; Alpharetta, GA; www.ivideosongs.com
Jodange, LLP; Yonkers, NY; www.jodange.com
Kaazing Corp.; Mountain View, CA; www.kaazing.com
LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc.; Emeryville, CA; www.leapfrog.com
LegiTime Technologies, Inc.; Westport, CT; www.legitext.com
LiquidPlanner, Inc.; Bellevue, WA; www.liquidplanner.com
LiquidTalk, Inc.; Chicago, IL; www.liquidtalk.com
Liquidus Corp.; Chicago, IL; www.liquidusmedia.com
Livescribe, Inc.; Oakland, CA; www.livescribe.com
MANDIANT; Alexandria, VA; www.mandiant.com
MOLI, LLC; West Palm Beach, FL; www.moli.com
Movial; Helsinki, Finland; www.movial.com
Nirvanix; San Diego, CA; www.nirvanix.com
NotchUp, Inc.; Los Altos Hills, CA; www.notchup.com
Notebookz.com, Inc.; Berkeley, CA; www.ileonardo.com
Pathworks Software Corp.; Mountain View, CA; www.pathworkssoftware.com
Redux, Inc.; Berkeley, CA; www.redux.com
Review2Buy, Inc.; San Francisco, CA; www.review2buy.com
Ribbit Corp.; Stanford, CA; www.goribbit.com
Rove Mobile, Inc.; Ottawa, Ontario; www.rovemobile.com
Santrum Networks, Inc.; Taipei, Taiwan; www.santrum.com
SceneCaster; Richmond Hill, Ontario; www.scenecaster.com
Seesmic; San Francisco, CA; www.seesmic.com
Silobreaker, Ltd.; London; England; www.silobreaker.com
Skyfire; San Jose, CA; www.dvclabs.com
SpeakLike, LLC; New York, NY; www.speaklike.com
Sprout, Inc.; Honolulu; HI; www.sproutfusion.com
Squidcast; San Francisco, CA; www.squidcast.com
StackSafe, Inc.; Vienna, VA; www.stacksafe.com
Standout Jobs, Inc.; Montreal, Quebec; www.standoutjobs.com
STEP Labs; San Jose, CA; www.steplabs.com
Sterna Technologies, Inc.; San Mateo, CA; www.friend-ltd.com
support.com; Redwood City, CA; www.support.com
SupportSpace, Inc.; Redwood Shores, CA; www.supportspace.com
Symantec Corp.; Cupertino, CA; www.symantec.com
TimeTrade Systems, Inc.; Bedford, MA; www.timetrade.com
Toktumi, Inc.; San Francisco, CA; www.toktumi.com
TubeMogul, Inc.; Berkeley; CA; www.tubemogul.com
Vidyoâ„¢, Inc.; Hackensack; NJ; www.vidyo.com
Visible Measures Corp.; Boston, MA; www.visiblemeasures.com
Voyant, Inc.; Austin, TX; www.planwithvoyant.com
xtranormal, Inc.; Montreal, Quebec; www.xtranormal.com
Yoics, Inc.; Palo Alto, CA; www.yoics.com
YouChoose, LLC; Thornton, PA; www.youchoose.net
Zodiac Interactive; Valley Stream NY; www.zodiac.tv

The DEMO conferences, which are now held in China and Europe as well as the U.S., focus on
emerging technologies and new products that are hand-selected from
across the spectrum of the technology marketplace. DEMO has earned a reputation for consistently identifying tomorrow’s
cutting-edge technologies, serving as a launchpad for
companies such as Palm, E*Trade, Handspring, and U.S. Robotics, helping
them to secure venture funding, establish critical business
relationships, and influence early adopters. More information about the conferences is at Demo.com.

Oh, one more thing: my buddy Mike Garity at Network World Conferences, which runs these great events, would especially want me to tell you this:  videos of the live stage demonstrations launching each of the 77 products will be available on Demo.com beginning Tuesday afternoon, January 29.  That’s a new wrinkle, and I hear a whole new Demo.com site is launching, complete with community and social networking features. That will be cool.

Let me know what you like from the above list, or want to know more about.  I’ll be live-blogging from the event, as always.  Hell, I might even Twitter, too…from my iPhone…while simultaneously uploading the pix I’m shooting to Flickr…or maybe Tittr.

UPDATE (3:30 pm Central):  To fix three links…  🙂

DEMO ’08 Is Coming – And I’m Pumped

January 7, 2008 / / 2 Comments

Fellow innovation junkies, your day is fast approaching: it’s almost DEMO time again, and I can’t wait!  You’ve heard me say before that this is simply the best tech conference there is, which is why I cover every single one of them. Demo08reignite
The anticipation for this event is like no other, not to speak of the surprises — with up to 70 new companies or products launching at each of the twice yearly conferences. This is where you see the new stuff. How does 2,380 company launches over 17 years of experience sound?  It’s an amazing record. Through it all, as the DEMO folks say, their focus "remains on one thing: the future." Read more on the DEMO About page.

Jwmarriott1So, yes, January 28-30, I’ll be in Palm Desert, CA, attending the DEMO ’08 conference as a member of the press corps again. And, as part of this prestigious group, I’ve been given the opportunity to offer Tech~Surf~Blog readers a special discount to attend.
You can get more than $600 off if you register through this special, whiz-bang link. Demo07poolsceneClick here for more DEMO information and conference details, and here’s a great FAQ page, too. (Just be aware that this discount cannot be combined with other offers or promotions, or applied to registrations that have already been processed.) 
I really hope you can make it, because I love to meet my readers in person!  And I know you will find it a valuable experience.Jwmarriott2_2

The thing about DEMO is that it’s so much fun, too. Here are some of the events. There’s nothing that beats partyin’ with your fellow innovation junkies (between blog posts, of course).

And the venue?  Oh, baby, this place is awesome: the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort, as you can see from a few pix I’ve included here. Click here as well for more about the hotel and travel details.

Here’s how the DEMO folks recently talked about their record over the years in picking winners. They do have an uncanny ability to uncover new trends:

"DEMO was there when the seeds of Web 2.0 were planted… exploring some
of the first Web services before we even had buzz words to describe
them. We have stayed true to our mission: to find great innovation
wherever it occurs, identify market trends through the lens of the
products coming to market, and expose you to new ideas and
opportunities.

"DEMO does not follow trends – we invent them.
Never has this been more apparent when the NBC Today Show segment on
January 1st featured Top Tech Trends for 2008 and highlighted two DEMO
Alumni who launched at previous DEMO events – Ugobe and Dash. It was
great to see companies making an impact on the market with technologies
identified by DEMO two years earlier."

Want to read some more good stuff about their predictions and trends for 2008?  The DEMOblog is a great resource, written by the show’s executive producer, Chris Shipley, and edited by Keith Shaw. It’s one of the best kept secrets out there in blog-land, and is actually an online version of the venerable DEMOletter.

So, net-net — you really want to know what’s coming?  Attend DEMO — simple as that.  See you there if you can make it!  And watch for my next post on the event, which will include a listing and links to all the presenting companies, just as soon as they’re announced to us press folk (the weekend before).

DEMOfall 07: What I Like So Far

September 25, 2007 / / 0 Comments

The Bayview Lawn at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina was buzzing bigtime starting at 6:00 last evening to kick off DEMOfall 2007. Georgeous weather, sumptuous food, great friends, new people from all over the place, and tech talk flying in every direction. Does it get any better than this? I was so busy meeting new people and getting pitched, I didn’t even have a chance to shoot many photos. Demofall07party
Okay, one decent shot, and here it is: (from left) Marc Orchant, newly of Blognation…Aaron Fulkerson, cofounder of Mindtouch (who just who strolled over from his offices)…Shel Israel of Global Neighbourhoods…and Luis Villalobos, founder of Tech Coast Angels. [Man, I love the mixes I can put together at these events!] But if you want to see more photos, just check out these from Brian Solis, who does much better than I ever could. (Brian, you da man.)

But what new stuff did I hear about at the party that I like?  Well, for starters, Naomi Wall, content dev chief at MetaRADAR, told me they’ll be introducing a "media masher" that brings all your rich media content together, bridging the gap between websites, desktop apps, and mobil devices. And I also was glad to run into the guys from mSpoke in Pittsburgh (yes, some of those smart Carnegie Mellon dudes) — Sean Ammirati, VP biz dev (a colleague from Read/Write Web, who I’d only met online up till now), and Dave Mawhinney, CEO. They’re launching FeedHub, a whiz-bang new technology to help with your RSS information overload.  We’re talking a personalization engine that dynamically adapts to your reading habits. This is a space I’ve been following, and I just knew we’d be seeing some solutions to this problem soon. Bring it on, baby. A bloke from Manchester, UK, told me about YuuGuu, which lets you instantly share your screen in real-time with anyone, anywhere. Blimey, dude! The founder of LongJump told me about his firm’s online catalog of apps for small business, which can be customized via drag-and-drop. Then, lo and behold, I met a storage startup!  Fusion-io of Salt Lake City I learned will be introducing a revolutionary stroage architecture that puts SAN or NAS on silicon (high-density NAND), with access rates comparable to DRAM with the storage capacity of disk. DEMO says it "may prove to be among the most important products ever to launch" at their events. Yikes! Then, on the way back into the hotel bar [yes, the party continued inside, till God’s knows when], I ran into the the founder of iForem, which has a subscription-free service to store,protect and share intellectual property — an online safe deposit box for businesses and consumers, with a trust account. And then the folks from ideablob (site to
go live later this morning) caught me — we were the last ones on the lawn! — and told me their new venture is funded by
Advanta in Philly [how do all the PA startups find me?] This site is an open
community for small businesses, where members vote on new ideas and get
valuable advice and feedback from one another.  And get this: you can
actually win cash for your idea.

As the evening continued, I had a great chat with my longtime buddies Steve Larsen of Krugle and Shel Israel of Global Neighbourhoods, solving all the world’s problems. Then, it was beddy-bye time so I could get up early and write this post.  More soon!

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