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: Tech-Surf-Blog.com (Page 20 of 43)

Whatever Happened to Apple’s ‘Push’ iPhone 2.0 Update?

July 13, 2008 / / 1 Comment

I’m kinda pissed at Apple. (And I guess at AT&T, too — but then I’m always pissed at them.)  I mean, being a longtime Apple customer and a loyal iPhone user and all, not to speak of being an AT&T wireless customer since the beginning of time (I have the whole freaking iPhone package, including unlimited text messages).  So the point being, I bought into the whole deal here — okay, Apple?  You and your buddies at AT&T should really like me. Manpushingcar_3

But I just think they treated their existing customers shabbily this time around.  First of all, they never really communicated directly to me (neither firm) about what to expect regarding the upgrade to version 2.0 of the iPhone software, in the week approaching The Big Day.  I had to rely on what was being reported — and it wasn’t all that obvious, actually.  But I did read in a couple of places (can’t remember just where) that the upgrade would be handled by Apple doing a "push" of the v2.0 update to all existing iPhone customers (only those who were "official," of course, meaning signed up with AT&T here in the U.S.). Well, it never happened — still hasn’t. Not a word, and it’s now Sunday morning.

I finally got tired of waiting yesterday. About 11:00 Central Saturday morning, I was chatting with a buddy who told me how he got the update, and it had gone without a hitch for him. So, I went ahead and tried his approach. I hadn’t even tried to go "pull" it down — I was waiting for this "push" that had been promised!

First, on Thursday, I had downloaded iTunes 7.7  — which I’d read somewhere was required first, before I could use the iPhone 2.0 update. No sweat — that happened without any issues.  But I found it strange, come Friday morning (I had figured the 2.0 software wouldn’t be available till then), that I still had not seen the "push." So, I clicked on "Software Updates" in my Apple menu, and was surprised to see it tell me nothing was available — that I was all up to date. (Lies!)  But I figured, hey, they must be overwhelmed right now, or waiting to update existing customers till all new customers could be served (which is another customer service topic, but I won’t get started on that). Iphone20screen

So I thought, okay, apparently Apple did tell the press that this "push" was coming — so just be patient, I reasoned.  What’s the big hurry? I would never even THINK of going and standing in line for a new phone myself, just to be first.  So, why should I care when I actually get the 2.0 update to my current phone?  Except all the hype about the flood of new apps coming — which I couldn’t use without the new software update — was getting deafening. I was itching to get some on my damn phone and try ’em!

Like a dutiful little Apple fan-boy, then, here I was sitting and waiting for this "push" they were going to do to us — and I get super busy, putting in a 15-hour day on Friday. But, heck, I would have broken for a message from Apple!  So, here comes Saturday morning, and I find that the update IS in fact out there for us "old" iPhone users to "pull" down, and that other people already have it!  Shees, I’m a laggard. Apple has left me sitting here looking like an ass, waiting for their damn "push"! 

I had synced my iPhone earlier Saturday morning, expecting maybe to see when iTunes popped up on my Macbook that "You do not have the current iPhone software – do you wish to upgrade?" — or some such message.  Never happened. On the contrary, it said "your iPhone is up to date"!  Weird, I thought, maybe Apple’s servers were still screwed up from the barrage of the day before.  Then, I hear my buddy ask, "So, do you have the new iPhone software yet?  Some of these new apps are cool."  I ask him, "How the heck did you get it?"  He tells me, and it’s really strange.  Get this — even though the message on iTunes tells me I’m up to date, I have to click on a button there that says "Updates" and — lo and behold — I will THEN be able to get my blessed update.  WTF kind of usability is that?

So, natch, now that I become aware of this strange situation, I click.  In another blast of user unfriendlieness, there’s no feedback that anything at all is happening!  So, there I am, wondering WTF to do.  But it had warned me on the initial screen that "This will take a while" (mentioning it had to back up all my stuff first). So, I figured I’d better just leave it alone, that something was happening in the background — and that I should just leave my Macbook and tethered iPhone combo sitting there while I hit the shower.  Some twenty minutes or more later, I came back to find the process was successful, and the two apps I’d previously downloaded on my Macbook the day before (remember, I had iTunes 7.7 so I could do that), were right there on my third "home screen," just like they were supposed to be!  Typepadiphoneapp_2
Those apps were the free Typepad app — so (you guessed it) I can now enter posts from my phone to this blog! — and the free myLite Color Strobe and Flashlight, a "Utilities" app, so I can be the life of the party at my next rock concert. [Okay, I don’t go to many, but I definitely want to be ready… 🙂 ]  Myliteicon

Alas, what to make of this whole mess?  I don’t care about the snafu related to so many people not being able to activate their new iPhone 3Gs on Friday in the stores — I’m talking about the way the software update was handled for existing customers.  It sucked.  I agree with at least one other blogger who said it should have been offered by Apple FIRST to their current, loyal users, well ahead of the onslaught of the iPhone 3G debut on July 11. Instead, they treated us as not important — didn’t even communicate to us about it directly. And, if they’d have gotten that out of the way first, it would have greatly lessened the burden on the servers for the 3G activation process.

Don’t get me wrong — my 2.0 update process went smoothly.  I have my "new" iPhone, I love the apps I have so far, and I will be getting a lot more.  But, then, there are things I don’t like about the App Store process, either — the slowness of them getting new, approved apps up there (I know of several that aren’t there yet and should be), the way they handle consumer reviews, and more. But don’t get me started — that’s a topic for another post.

Maybe I’ll do that one from my iPhone (thank you, Typepad app!) — though it will understandably have to be a lot less keystrokes than this one…  🙂

UPDATE: Whoops, meant to include this link to Declan McCullagh’s post on a CNet blog from Saturday afternoon: Apple iPhone v2.0 software on Saturday: Still M.I.A.

ReadWriteWeb Gets Into Startup Database Game

July 9, 2008 / / 3 Comments

It’s about time somebody else started doing this — providing a way for tech startups to get themselves listed on a database. RWW just launched ReadWriteWeb Companies (tricky name), and did it the smart way: by using a platform already available (TradeVibes), instead of trying to code their own.

Rwwcompanies

TechCrunch has really been alone at the top as the only decent resource designed for this purpose, with its CrunchBase service — which now lists some 6500 startups, 13,000 people, and more than 2700 funding rounds. It was only logical they would start such a database, seems like at least two years ago now, with their close ties to the VC and startup communities in the Valley. They do a decent job, as I can attest, having listed a startup there a few months ago. They provide very good, responsive service. (Note that it’s not an automated, unattended service — a real human monitors and approves what you try to list there.) One drawback? You’ll get sales calls like mad once your listing goes live, from outfits such as outsourcing companies in India, etc.

Another service, KillerStartups, which of course does not have nearly the reach and buzz of TechCrunch, offers both a free and a paid service ($50, as I recall). Having learned the CrunchBase lesson, we were more than happy to pay their fee, which means you won’t get hammered with offers from service providers who have so many things to try to sell to startups, it boggles the mind! If you’re too strapped to pay the $50, get ready for the barrage.

Another service launched last year is StartupSearch, a sideline project of Niall Kennedy, whom I can attest is one smart, plugged-in dude. He runs the Widget Summit conference, which I blogged extensively about last fall, and the service appears to be an offshoot of that endeavor — which required an extensive database all by itself. The site says it tracks "facts and figures" about Web 2.0 startups, including traffic to their sites (though it doesn’t say how it does that). However, StartupSearch only lists 81 companies to date. That may now grow with the attention it’s getting on ReadWriteWeb’s post today, which links to it. But it seems Niall, who’s a busy guy, may not be devoting much attention to the site anymore — yikes, his last "Weekly Web Wrap up" was September 10, 2007! (Just before things got really busy for him with the Widget Summit.) But, after all, it is a dot-org.

ReadWriteWeb did a smart thing to launch its service — there is definitely room for another decent offering in this space, and I wish Richard luck. He took his time and did it right. And, now, whenever you read a RWW post about a given company, if there’s a database entry for it on RWW Companies, you’ll see a little widget you can click on to take you to their listing. Cool — I’m gonna test it out.

P.S. Oh, the startup I’m talking about above?  You’ll know more on July 11.

UPDATE 7/30/08:  The startup is DoApp Inc., at www.doapps.com.  Or check us out at the iTunes App Store.

 

W

Jack Johnson Made Me Do a Post About Surfing

July 1, 2008 / / 8 Comments

Well, not Jack directly, but my local buddy (and San Diego transplant) Jim Perry, a fellow Surfrider Foundation member. He was lucky enough to catch Jack’s concert on June 22 at River’s Edge over in Wisconsin, and said it was awesome. Sigh, I was too busy. But his email inspired me to post something…at least surf-related. The photo here is from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s review of the event, Surf-Rocker Riding the Green Wave. Jackjohnsonconcert
And, no we’re not talkin’ about "spending some time in the green room" here (surf lingo for locked in a tube) — we’re talking eco stuff. Jack is huge into it, and is working closely with The Surfrider Foundation to promote its cause, and they in turn attend and help promote his latest tour events. [They even traveled from CA to set up a booth at the River’s Edge. And we didn’t even have any waves for ’em, just a river and water slides… 🙂 ]

Okay, maybe this post is more about music than surfing, but I’m throwin’ in a shot of Jack surfing at one his favorite spots in Hawaii (where he’s from), just for the hell of it.  Call it a gratuitous attempt to assuage some of my guilt in not posting about surfing in a while. Jackjohnsonsurfing
Haven’t been to my place in California for way too long, and (darn) I missed a return to the Cold Water Surf Fest up in Duluth this year, too, back in early June. But, for that matter, I really haven’t been posting here at all much lately, I’m sorry to say.

I’ve been a little busy here, and posting elsewhere, here and there …when I can grab a little time on evenings and weekends. And, of course, Twittering. Micro-blogging is just so much easier and faster — seconds or a minute per tweet, versus an hour or more to research and write a good blog post (often much more). There’s a reason I’ve done more than a thousand tweets in maybe seven months, versus maybe 400 blog posts in three years.

But you know my heart will always be with surfing and surfers everywhere, and anything I can do to protect our oceans, waves, and beaches.  And hat tip to my buddy Jim Moriarty out in San Clemente for a his great blog of that name. I read it religiously; he does great work. Aloha, bro, and to all in the global tribe of surfing…. And, oh, say hi and thanks to your buddy Jack, too… 😉

UPDATE 7/2/08: As long as we’re on the topic, let me get all the surf outta me that I can. Another thing I learned this week (actually from my surfer/skateboarder son) is a cool new site that sells surf clothing & gear cheap, one item at a time until it’s sold out — similar to woot.com, except for surf stuff, not electronics. It’s WhiskeyMilitia.com — a hilarious site, funny just to read the copy. One day earlier this week, it was a full Ripcurl wetsuit for $125, another day board shorts for $15, the day before t-shirts for $7. Hey, I’m all over it, already gettin’ daily alerts… 🙂

The Best Advice I’ve Seen Lately On Using Startup Advisors

June 8, 2008 / / 3 Comments

Seth Levine is a VC in Boulder, CO, a partner with Foundry Group. I kinda know Seth, through his connections to the Twin Cities (he’s a graduate of Macalester in St. Paul), though we’ve never actually met.  We’ve emailed quite a bit about goings-on here in Minnesota, after having just missed each other at the Defrag conference in Denver last November.  Seth and his fellow partners are quite the bloggers. One of his sidekicks, Brad Feld (whom I did meet at Defrag), has a very popular blog called Feld Thoughts. And they also run another blog that has high readership in the entrepreneurial community called Ask the VC.

Seth’s blog is called Seth Levine’s VC Adventure. And, recently, he began a series of posts on startup advisors, a topic near and dear to my heart. Advicedefinition
In a departure for Seth, the posts are actually written by a guest poster, Gerald Joseph.  Part I was good, but Part II is even better: The role of company advisors (Part II).

Here’s how Seth explained how these posts came about:

“One of the things I enjoy the most about writing this blog is the discussion I engage in with readers – both through blog comments and in direct emails.  Over the past month I’ve had a particularly enjoyable exchange with Gerald Joseph.  One of the topics we’ve discussed is the role of advisors in the life of a start-up.  I generally think of advisors as non-paid ‘friends of the company’ and as you’d probably guess, advocate a pretty deliberate organization and use of advisors.  Gerald’s view is a little more expansive as he thinks of ‘advisors’ as the larger ecosystem that surrounds (or should surround) a start up company – one that includes people you pay (attorneys, CPAs, etc) and the people who pay you (your angel investors) in addition to the business and industry experts that are the typical ‘advisors’ to young companies.  I like this line of thinking and offered Gerald the chance to put his thoughts into a post.  He took me up on that idea and came up with a four part series on the topic that I’ll put up over the next few weeks.  After the final post I’ll summarize some of my thoughts as well as comments from readers.”

For entrepreneurs at any stage, I think these posts are excellent. I encourage anyone who could use some…uh…advice on how to use advisors to read them all, including Parts III and IV yet to come.

Is Twitter Affecting Blog Frequency? An Excellent Discussion…

May 26, 2008 / / 2 Comments

A question keeps popping up for me: is "micro" blogging (as in Twittering) affecting "macro" blogging (as in what you’re looking at here)? I say it definitely is slowing down the frequency of regular blogging, because people are just spending so much time on Twitter — well, the rabid early adopters, anyway. But many of these happen to be long-time bloggers, too. So, Twitter’s bound to have an effect on how often they blog.  I also touched on this in a post a few weeks ago: Blogging Less, Twittering More.
But then I saw a discussion on FriendFeed a few days ago, which you see here in the graphic. [Okay, it took me a few days to post it because I was Twittering….and FriendFeeding.]  Twitteringcutsblogging_2

The comments to this post certainly tell the tale, confirming my own suspicions. By the way, I don’t know any of these people, including the poster, Veronica — but, yes, through the magic of Web 2.0, they’re all my "friends" now… 🙂

The original blog post that Veronica dugg on Digg was this one from Ryan Block, the editor-in-chief of Engadget: Does Twittering Mean You Blog Less?

By the way, if you want to keep up with me on Twitter, just go here and follow me: www.twitter.com/graemethickins.  And to subscribe to my FriendFeed, go here: http://friendfeed.com/graemethickins. There quite a discussion now going on amongst the digerati as to whether FriendFeed will overtake Twitter, with all the downtime and scaling problems the latter is having.  I even questioned in a recent tweet whether FriendFeed might be bought by Google (which would be interesting, since it was founded by ex-Googlers).

What do you think? Do you like one over the other? Have you even tried either one? Does any of this matter, or it is all just about the kool kids trying to find the next fad?

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