inquiline weblog

the first International Moblogging Conference

1IMC, signed sealed and delivered one complete online registration.

posted by Brian @ 11:46 AM 0 Comments

Thanks to Webmonkey for helping us get current by Sharing our site with RSS.

The path is the way to news on Inquiline.

posted by Brian @ 8:59 AM 0 Comments

Mobile Multimedia Messaging

AlwaysOn has a great conversation going on between Scott McGregor and Sutha Kamal (who also has an excellent weblog). But stop the press - the fray just got really interesting when I got here:

Interesting discussion. MMS - as posted by 'Straw Man' *is* 'only a specification' (the author of this blog implies that as well). The killer app has yet to be found.

Not a single MMS app has the key qualities necessary to be called a 'killer app'. Those key qualities can best be summed up - qualitatively - by paraphrasing Clayton Christensen (sp?), author of 'The Innovator's Dilemma', a seminal work. Roughly paraphrasing, Christensen claims that a 'killer app' is not a killer app unless it lets a customer accomplish tasks she performs already, only easier, (probably) cheaper, and (hopefully) with a path to real extension of enterprise for the app provider. Not *one* MMS app can currently claim these qualities on any significant scale.

The only mobile killer app out there is the first one - simple, dependable, mobile, voice-to-voice communication, and the sector still hasn't perfected *that* yet.

Just look at the devices, all with pathetic UI's, no real *functional/visionary* cooperation among phone manufacturers/applications providers/telcos (some kudos to Nokia for at least 'trying' on this score), etc. They're all at sea, with product developmet on 8 month cycles, massive debt, competition edging in from other sectors, etc.

After having dealt recently with several key phone, telco and consumer products companies (as part of an embedded software startup), I think it's going to be a long time before 'killer apps' come along. The players in this market just don't 'get it'. There is a massive amount of 'stuff' being thrown at the wall, but most of it is far-fetched garbage, attempting to disguise itself as a rose.

Bottom line: don't hold your breath in the hope that MMS will 'save' this sector; it won't. The players are too confused, inflexible, and afraid of losing to the degree that they're not really willing to 'listen' to what consumers want from their wireless devices. SImply put (from the 'Cluetrain Manifesto') "markets are conversations". Until the players in this sector grasp that fact with every fiber of their collective-market-being, we'll see nothing but one promising spec after another go unfullfilled, for want of 'listening'.

Sanford Forte

Amen brother Sanford!

posted by Brian @ 8:37 AM 0 Comments

SlideMation :: VSlider might be a nice touch for the blog.

posted by Brian @ 12:16 PM 0 Comments

This story was borrowed from Tech Update,
located at http://techupdate.zdnet.com.

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Wireless data transport technology Tech Update November 12, 2002 11:09 AM PT The progression of wireless data technologies from 2G to 3G promises faster transmission speeds. But before you choose your transport technology, it's important to know each one's advantages and disadvantages. Transport technology Description Typical use/ Data transmission speed Pros/cons TDMA Time Division Multiple Access is 2G technology Voice and data Up to 9.6kbps Low battery consumption, but transmission is one-way, and its speed pales next to 3G technologies GSM Global System for Mobile Communications is a 2G digital cell phone technology Voice and data. This European system uses the 900MHz and 1.8GHz frequencies. In the United States it operates in the 1.9GHz PCS band Up to 9.6kbps Popular around the globe. Worldwide roaming in about 180 countries, but GSM's short messaging service (GSM-SMS) only transmits one-way, and can only deliver messages up to 160 characters long GPRS General Packet Radio Service is a 2.5G network that supports data packets Data Up to 115kbps; the AT&T Wireless GPRS network will transmit data at 40kbps to 60kbps Messages not limited to 160 characters, like GSM SMS EDGE Enhanced Data GSM Environment is a 3G digital network Data Up to 384kbps May be temporary solution for operators unable to get W-CDMA licenses CDMA Code Division Multiple Access is a 2G technology developed by Qualcomm that is transitioning to 3G   Although behind TDMA in number of subscribers, this fast-growing technology has more capacity than TDMA W-CDMA (UMTS) Wideband CDMA (also known as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System--UMTS) is 3G technology. On November 6, 2002, NTT DoCoMo, Ericsson, Nokia, and Siemens agreed on licensing arrangements for W-CDMA, which should set a benchmark for royalty rates Voice and data. UMTS is being designed to offer speeds of at least 144kbps to users in fast-moving vehicles Up to 2Mbps initially. Up to 10Mbps by 2005, according to designers Likely to be dominant outside the United States, and therefore good for roaming globally. Commitments from U.S. operators are currently lacking, though AT&T Wireless performed UMTS tests in 2002. Primarily to be implemented in Asia-Pacific region CDMA2000 1xRTT A 3G technology, 1xRTT is the first phase of CDMA2000 Voice and data Up to 144kbps Proponents say migration from TDMA is simpler with CDMA2000 than W-CDMA, and that spectrum use is more efficient. But W-CDMA will likely be more common in Europe CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Delivers data on a separate channel Data Up to 2.4Mbps (see CDMA2000 1xRTT above) CDMA2000 1xEV-DV Integrates voice and data on the same channel Voice and data Up to 2.4Mbps (see CDMA2000 1xRTT above)

posted by Brian @ 9:45 AM 0 Comments

It looks like I've been missing out on an essential web component : community! Dur. While cleaning out my Yahoo Inbox, I crossed the last BloggerBuzz newsletter which touts a recommendation to the HotOrNot of bloggers. I can't believe I missed this!!

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Is Your Blog Hot? Jim and James of HotOrNot fame have put up a new service for ranking blogs - Blog Hot or Not? Submit your blog to be ranked by others or find highly ranked blogs in various categories.

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Blogs of note discovered on HotOrNot

• http://spoonfed.blogspot.com/ - where I like the personal content on the right column.
• http://benway68.tripod.com/ - what is this? A muppetlog?
• http://www.boredwithporn.org/ - what a great domain name

posted by Brian @ 1:22 PM 0 Comments

Oooooo - now this I LIKE!! The world needs more dreamers of dreams - making magic of technology. Take this article from Phone Scoop for example: Frog Design / Motorola Offspring Wearables Concept

posted by Brian @ 8:26 PM 0 Comments

Taking a look tonight at Andrew Orlowski's abysmal summary of a perfectly cheery Business Week article on an otherwise fabulous web site, The Register - Frankly I think he's got some good viewpoints, but they're pretty calloused. What I don't see is where he thinks all the hotspots are going to come from. He plainly states that while he's confused about, "who's going to line them(802.11 base stations) up on freeway off-ramps?" Regardless, he recognizes that the technology is significant enough that a major telco is hedging its bets against it.

So what if there's no killer app - if "the real value - and wealth - comes from the services that we use, not from fighting over the plumbing" then we'd better make sure that people have access to the service, or all the apps in the world won't be worth the digits their coded in.

Let's take a moment to lament the real QoS provided by the monkeys at Sprint:

Can y.. ..ar me ..ow? What *beep* [signal faded]
"Piece of *beep*!!!!"

posted by Brian @ 7:52 PM 0 Comments