maramine

Bye Bye Maramine

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:11:00 -0400

Hey guys - this is just a quick note to thank those of you who subscribed to this blog. As you might have noticed, I’ve stopped writing here. There are several reasons for this, but why dwell in the past? I have another blog that you likely don’t know about yet, but as of today I’ve just about completely emptied it and will start fresh - using it as my personal blog. I know it’s tough to get people to resubscribe to things, so tomorrow I’ll be moving this feed over to the new blog. I hope you stick around!

Bagging Handango

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:26:36 -0400

I have made no mystery of my distaste for Handango. I won’t reiterate my feelings here but suffice it to say, they represent all that is wrong with the mobile software world. In my post a couple of months ago (linked above) I stated that I would be pulling my themes off of Handango for numerous reasons culminating with a recent hike in Handango’s revenue take. As I mentioned, the money isn’t what did me in. It was the sneaky means through which Handango’s new sharing model was introduced and the ridiculous scale that it chose to implement.

Yesterday morning I happened to log into an old email account that I hadn’t checked for a while and it just so happens that this is the address tied to my Handango Partner account. To my surprise, it contained a bounty of new sales notifications. Oh no! I completely forgot to close my account.

So now I’m waiting to hear back from Handango Partner customer care with regards to the termination of my account. Why am I telling you all this? Once my account is closed, I plan to distribute all of my commercial themes here on the maramine blog, for free. I’ll likely do so one or two at a time, probably once per week. I was never into selling themes as a source of income. It’s true that I did make a fair amount of cash doing so, but the real reason was simply to cover any costs associated with SiMo. As AdSense seems to be covering me in that department now, I no longer have a need to sell themes. Hopefully I’ll have my frist free themes up here sometime next week.

I hope Handango will act quickly for me; actually all of my experiences with customer care in the past have been good. They have been very helpful each month in fact, as I had to point out that Handango’s accounting department was consistently stealing money from me. Yes, I use the term “stealing” because when royalties come through low each and every month it can hardly be considered a mistake. Since my sales were low comparatively - I believe my best month was probably only around $1,000 in sales - the errors were typically in the $10-$20 range. I actually gave up on them after a while; let them have their pennies. I hope the big guys are watching their checks though…

From time to time I’ll post some tracks that may or may...

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:21:00 -0400

From time to time I’ll post some tracks that may or may not be of interest to you. Despite the fact that my entire online persona is focused on mobiles and technology, music is a much greater passion of mine.

This track is an unreleased cover by Electric President, a group that I’ve loved for quite some time now. The title is Time After Time, originally recorded by Cyndi Lauper. EP is comprised of two young musicians; Ben Cooper and Alex Kane. I’m a very big Ben Cooper fan - in fact I’ve yet to sample a project of his that I haven’t enjoyed thoroughly. Other projects of his include Radical Face (indie-ish) and Iron Orchestra (a project with his brother).

EP has just finished mastering a new album that I couldn’t be more excited about. Their first major release was very electronic while their early work was more along the lines of Radical Face. I’m not sure what form the new album will take but I’m sure I’ll love it.

If you like the track you should most certainly find the time to check out Ben’s site as it’s home to plenty of samplings from his various endeavors.

I’m sorry, but this is a fantastic commercial. Great job...

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:13:00 -0400

I’m sorry, but this is a fantastic commercial. Great job HTC! Exciting things ahead for HTC by the way…

Nokia Conversations Goes Live

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:33:53 -0400

Last week I gave you a quick intro to a new site that Nokia had launched privately called Nokia Conversations. The site is now live - definitely head over and check it out!

Nokia Conversations

Dear Techmeme,

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 09:46:00 -0400

I love Techmeme as much as the next guy, and I’m also going to make the complaint that everyone else makes. New sources please! Gabe Rivera did a fantastic job with the Techmeme concept and site. Everyone knows it. When you start a new tech-related blog you simply haven’t ‘arrived’ until you hit Techmeme.

The one complaint that essentially all of us have is the top tier stories are constantly pulled from the same handful of blogs. Is every single post that appears on Techcrunch really top-tier Techmeme worthy? (The answer by the way, is no)

This is not entirely Techmeme’s fault of course - the tech blogosphere is a giant echo chamber. Techcrunch and the like are the sites that everyone goes to for content. In fact the “take the opposite stance in response to an Arrington post” formula has gotten plenty of mid-range blogs to the next level. At the same time, I would love to see Techmeme tap the breaks a bit.

Intentionally dodge some Techcrunch posts. Sure, they are all linked 50, 100, 1000 times but omit a few anyway. Your advertisers will still get hits, I promise.

There’s a great new planet called meme13 that I’ve been following lately (discovered it on Techmeme of course). meme13 pulls in the 13 newest sites that have appeared on the Techmeme leader board and redistributes their feeds. I’ve found several new blogs this way that I probably would have otherwise passed over. I mean, do you really ever check out more than one or two second / third-tier articles on Techmeme?

Meme13 is a band-aid though, and I was surgery. I want Techmeme to explore some new blogs. It shouldn’t be hard; there are plenty of good ones. Not that I’ve managed to do a good job of moving traffic from the other blogs I write for over here quite yet, but maybe I’ll do my part by listing a new blog from my Greader here every week. Yeah, I like it - not that I’ll remember to keep it going.

Week 1: Thanks to Fred Wilson, the latest addition to my Greader is Over The Counter Culture. The author is a heavy contributor to the comments section on many Wilson posts (by the way, I believe A VC collectively has the best commentents I’ve come across on the net) and his blog is great. Although I don’t recall Wilson’s post linking him directly, I hope a fair number of his readers follow the trail because there is a great blog at the end of the road.

A great pic of my “puppy” that I found while...

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 08:42:22 -0400

A great pic of my “puppy” that I found while organizing my desktop.

Apple Hears the Blogosphere

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:16:13 -0400

Amazing. Last month the blogosphere errupted when we learned that Apple was trying to sneak Safari past unsuspecting PC user through the Apple Software Update engine (ASU). Here we are less than a month after the offense and Apple has responded with an attempt to remedy the situation. The result may still be a bit foggy to some, but let’s give credit where credit is due. Apple could have easily rolled over and ignored the situation; similar issues are most often forgotton within days in the blogosphere. Instead, Apple reacted and rectified the situation. Kudos. Click through if you would like to read my quick post about it on BGR.

Stefan's Nokia Conference Call Coverage

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:13:01 -0400

Stefan's Nokia Conference Call Coverage: Did you miss Nokia’s Q1 2008 results conference call this morning? Of course you can download and listen to it but Stefan’s play by play coverage on Jaiku was much more exciting. Definitely worth a read - hit the link in the post title.

NFC Becomes a Reality

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:03:00 -0400

Nokia’s upcoming 6212 Classic handset was press-released yesterday and while the overall specs might not knock you out of your seat, the presence of Near Field Communication (NFC) couldn’t be more exciting. With a Q3 release, the 6212 won’t be the first NFC-equipped device but it will likely be the first to be widely marketed by a top company. What is NFC? The press release illustrates usage cases well:

Near Field Communication is designed for intuitive, simple and safe interaction between electronic devices. By tapping an NFC-enabled tag, consumers can receive new content such as weblinks, audio files or contact data directly to their phone. They can activate a profile in their handset or open applications such as FM radio or web browser. Photos and videos can be easily shared by tapping another NFC-capable phone and pairing with a Bluetooth NFC-enabled device, like the new NFC variant of the Nokia BH-210 headset, happens with just one touch.

Of course the applications of NFC are essentially limitless. Mobile handset-invoked payment remittance for example, would be infinitely more secure as compared to current methods. In fact the technology is so exciting that perhaps it will spark some advancement here in the US where we are lagging at best with like technology. I’d love to be able to tap my handset against an ATM to withdraw cash from my checking account or tap it against a gas pump to fund my fuel purchase.

Back to the now however, we can expect to see light uses come into play as 2008 fades into 2009. Parrot for one, has just today announced a pair of NFC-equipped portable speakers that will be available for around $150 this summer. If the 6212 Classic was being issued with AT&T-compatible UMTS I’d likely snag both of the aforementioned toys. Alas…

Gmail Redesigned

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:30:00 -0400

Gmail Redesigned: A complete and instant redesign of the Gmail web UI thanks to a Firefox plugin called Stylish and a style by Globex Designs (link). Looks phenomenal. Note that it does slow load time down a bit when you first hit the Gmail site, but once it’s open I notice no lag issues beyond the norm. Thanks to Jonathan for the link.

Delta Cares

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:57:00 -0400

A few weeks ago on a trip that took me through Atlanta, Dallas and Las Vegas, I was stuck in the ATL airport for about 12 hours as a result of the MD-88 fiasco. Don’t get me started. Yesterday I received a surprising letter from Delta however. Many apologies and 10,000 complimentary Sky Miles. The consolation isn’t necessarily valuable, but the gesture is unexpected and well received. After reading about ‘consolation prizes’ from some other airlines, credit is due: Good job Delta.

Nokia Strengthens Customer Bond With 'Conversations'

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:12:00 -0400

I could not be more happy about this. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine told me about a project currently underway behind the scenes at Nokia that really sounded exciting. “We all know and love S60’s blogs,” he said. “What if Nokia had a similar site that touched upon all of the major areas relating to Nokia?”

Our conversation ended and since then I’ve heard nothing about the project - until last night. An email found its way into my inbox containing access information for a special preview of Nokia’s upcoming site: Nokia Conversations (link not yet live). I finally had some time to browse through it a few moments ago and thusfar I’m very, very happy. Despite the fact that SiMo isn’t one of the blogs they follow (nor is maramine of course, it just launched!), the team behind Nokia Conversations has done a fantastic job putting this site together. Headed by the ever-popular Charlie Schick, Conversations is just what my friend said it would be; the S60 blogs of Nokia.

Company insights, business insights, strategic insights, environmental insights, personal insight; it’s all there. No other handset manufacturer (or internet company) comes close to delivering customer relations experience that Nokia has in place today, and Nokia Conversations is a big step beyond anything we’ve seen before. I’m really not sure how much I’m supposed to reveal at this point, but I will say that the site is currently separated into six main categories:

Products & Services
Design
Future Technologies
Environment
Ideas & Opinions
Our Business

This will give you a good idea as to the content to be expected from Nokia Conversations. Once launched, the site will give visitors a unique opportunity to interact with many of the minds behind the products and services we all know and love so much. One of the aspects that I’m looking forward to most is the reactive side of the blogs. I hope many of the contributors take some time to give their input with regards to “current events” as they are reported on within the media and blogosphere.

Not all of the links on the site are live yet, but the email I received stated the site would “go live shortly”. Get ready…

RIP Mobile Web

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:23:13 -0400

When someone like Russell Beattie says that the mobile web is dead, it really doesn’t bode well for mobile web developers. Russell, co-founder of Mowser, is someone with a lot of weight when it comes to the topic of mobile internet. For those who hadn’t sampled it, Mowser is/was a web-based tool that allowed users to instantly convert most full web pages into low-end mobile browser-friendly pages. Like what Google does, but better. Yesterday Russell posted on his blog about the difficulties his company has had of late. As such, Mowser is no more.

How could Mowser have succeeded? Carriers and manufacturers are typically the toughest nuts to crack but Mowser needed a big deal with an AT&T, Verizon, Samsung, or other. A service like Mowser has huge potential in my eyes, but without exposure to the right audience it had little hope of becoming a success. It did get exposure but essentially only with the savvy crowd via the tech blogosphere. These are not the people who need Mowser. These are primarily tech-junkie types equipped with smartphones, UMPCs and internet tablets. The mobile web has no place with them. It is the less tech-aware who would have and still can benefit from a product like Mowser.

Contracting with a carrier like AT&T could have lead to a rebranding of Mowser’s technology. Integrate it with the default homepage (MEdiaNet page) accessed by non-smartphones and market it well to the less savvy user. Find interesting ways to show them the clear benefits of mobilizing webpages and watch as data traffic doubles. That is how Mowser could have succeeded. ‘Any information anywhere’ is big money for carriers and the right pitch(es) could have shown them the clear benefits of promoting and extending the reach of a product like Mowser.

But again, a small start-up like Mowser would likely have a difficult time cracking a nut like that - especially without some serious funding. Russell speaks of the difficulties they had in securing funding and with internet-aware VCs focused on social networks, over-valued Facebook apps and the like, it’s no wonder Russel and company had difficulties.

I wish Russell all the best and I wish that I had a job for him. He and his team are quite a talent and under different circumstances, Mowser could have really gone places. The mobile web isn’t dead, it’s just hibernating.

Web 2.5 = Theft?

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:30:00 -0400

Is this the future (for now) of the internet? So many new “Web 2.0” services are coming about with a core service offering that amounts to little more than theft. I read about WikiFM today on the Listening Post and it has me concerned. The site marries two amazing services; Last.fm and Wikipedia. Yes, the concept is there: Why not enable the listener to read in great detail about each artist as they stream through the Last.fm player? While Last.fm does have bio pages and other tools that allow users to learn while they listen, Wikipedia often goes into much greater detail.

So what’s the problem? WikiFM doesn’t own the technology that it is using as a sole service offering to users. I use the term “theft” lightly in this post - yes WikFM may have permission to feed from each of the sites in question, although I doubt it. Should sites attempt to build value by using such practices?

Shyftr and Friendfeed are two more examples that are hot in the blogosphere lately. The former is a social RSS reader. It allows users to pull in feeds from any site and share them with other users. The Shyftr community can then share comments (locally), etc thus devaluing the original source of said content in my eyes. The latter, Friendfeed, scoops up feeds from a host of social networks and life-streaming sites, aggregating them in one place. Great concept but just like WikiFM, Friendfeed is building value by making use of time / energy / resources that it did not expend.

So I’ll ask again: Is this where the internet is going?

Welcome

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:09:00 -0400

Welcome to maramine. I’ve been meaning to toss up a personal “everything” blog for quite a while now, and this is the result. Kudos to tumblr for putting together quite a versatile free outlet here; it has been remarkably simple to get going.

On this blog you’ll find a stream of consciousness of sorts. I currently blog for The Boy Genius Report and Symbian in Motion, neither of which is very condusive to much of the content I’d like to cover. And so here we are…

As to what you’ll find on this blog, I can’t say for sure. Rants, raves, rambling; yes. Insights; perhaps. Interesting content; I hope so.

Feel free to contact me for any reason and I’ll do my best to get back to you as soon as I can: zach [at] maramine [dot] com

Save the Planet, Use PT

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:39:38 -0400

Save the Planet, Use PT: