Open Handset Alliance

Well we didn’t exactly get what we were looking for.

Today Google announced the Open Handset Alliance and the Android mobile phone software platform - not exactly a GPhone but a big step forward.

More details later as they come in, but here’s a what Andy Rubin (who was in the NYTimes this weekend) said on the Official Google Blog:

“Android is the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. It includes an operating system, user-interface and applications — all of the software to run a mobile phone, but without the proprietary obstacles that have hindered mobile innovation. We have developed Android in cooperation with the Open Handset Alliance, which consists of more than 30 technology and mobile leaders including Motorola, Qualcomm, HTC and T-Mobile. Through deep partnerships with carriers, device manufacturers, developers, and others, we hope to enable an open ecosystem for the mobile world by creating a standard, open mobile software platform. We think the result will ultimately be a better and faster pace for innovation that will give mobile customers unforeseen applications and capabilities.” - Andy Rubin, Director of Mobile Platforms, Google

Tags: Open Handset Alliance, Android, Google, GPhone

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Would you buy Facebook stock?

As everyone is clamoring over Google’s OpenSocial initiative and how these social networks are going to war, an intersting point bubbled up from investor and board member of Facebook Jim Breyer.

“No IPO until 2009 at the earliest”

Read Facebook VC: No Rush for More $$, Would Work W/Google

Whaaaat?!? IPO? Are you kidding me? The only thing good that can come of this is Facebook having to open up its books to show everyone that it is not worth anything near $15 billion (or if they make any profit at all). And by that time the bubble will have burst.

IPO… you gotta be kidding me…

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Growing Iowa’s Tech Industry

Iowa’s House of Representatives recently passed HF829 as a means to grow Iowa’s tech industry. It calls for four things:

1. Boost high-tech training dollars for employers;
2. Promote small and large company collaboration;
3. Fund prototype and concept development with pre-seed capital; and
4. Connect students with IT companies through Internship Programs.

It is great seeing legislative support for IT growth, even though it is a very bureaucratic approach. That aside I am somewhat opposed to #2, especially after reading the *fine print*:

“The State has introduced a new program to provide financial and technical assistance to encourage joint-venture development of “orphan” IT innovations. Orphan IT innovations are those technologies which have commercial potential but the generators of the technology do not wish to further commercialize the innovation themselves.”

My question: if the parties responsible for developing the technology have not taken the opportunity to monetize it should that not throw up a very large red flag?

The example I have been given is that Wells Fargo has applications they’ve built sitting on their shelves (more realistically - on their servers) that have been deprecated but still have value. The idea is that smaller software firms can *acquire* this software in a joint collaboration effort with Wells Fargo to commercialize it. I’m sure there are other examples (please let me know in the comments). I’m just speaking on behalf of the small software firms but I’ll say “no thanks”.

Oh, and if anyone out there wants to take a week and do the paperwork for #3 for us that would be great!

Tags: Iowa, IDED, Technology

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

World War 2.0

A couple months ago I wrote about what I called the First Internet War in Estonia. Wired Science (new show on PBS) did a great piece on this “World War 2.0” and what they call BotNet.

Tags: World War 2.0, Internet War, Cyberwar, Cyberterrorism

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Cyber Law - A legal arsenal for online business

This is a simple one: If you do business on the web than you should read this book. Okay, now go buy it.

All joking aside this is a must read book by fellow Central Iowa Blogger Brett Trout. Other than the content of the book my favorite feature is the lack of legalese and straight to the point talk about legal issues when running online business.

If you run business online - whether blogging, e-commerce, advertising, social networking - you should be aware of the legal issues in everything that you do.

Brett goes beyond just running a business online but also includes those of us who do much more online - social networking, blogging, etc. Learn how to avoid scams, copyright infringement and other legal issues you wouldn’t have thought of without it.

Brett makes the point of “Avoiding Big Mistakes Before They Happen” which I see as the overall theme of the book. Do the little things now before you get into big trouble that will cost much more money and even more time.

Also, check out Brett’s interview with former Iowan and would-have-been Central Iowa Blogger Chris Pirillo.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

« Previous Page — Next Page »