Android and Alleged Fragmentation
March 22, 2012
I was in a third world health care facility this morning. As luck would have it, no fragmentation injuries ahead of me and twisted knickers. I kicked back in the delightful on deck circle for the emergency room checking out posts on my lousy notebook computer.
What did I spy? A headline about “fragmentation.” Well, in my line of work anything with the stem frag* warrants a second look. The headline? “Fragmentation B_mb Wounds Android in Developer War” is an interesting headline. One “watch word”, b_mb and one word on the fence, w-r.
The focus of the article was not on a military topic. The article describes how a mobile phone operating system has a negative impact because of the many different versions of the operating symptom. The collateral in this type of fragmentation affects developers. I see some impact upon civilian users.
There is no Google Android fragmentation. There are just different types of cookies. There is the parent cookie Google Android, and then the different children cookies. What’s the problem?
Here’s the passage I noted:
A new study conducted by IDC and mobile-developer platform and services company Appcelerator has determined that as Google’s open source Android operating system becomes more and more fragmented, fewer and fewer developers are putting it on their “must-code-for” list. “We’ve seen a steady erosion of interest in Android” among developers, Appcelerator’s principal mobile strategist Mike King told The Reg in a prebriefing before the study was released on Tuesday morning.
Okay, the sample size looks fine, but I don’t know anything about the representativeness of the sample. The fact that a single developer group was the source of the sample adds more questions about the validity of the survey.
So, let’s assume that the big study findings are okay. The hot platform for mobile developers to support is the walled garden inside the Apple Country Club & Bank. The losers living in the digital trailer courts are coders who are into Symbian, HP’s TouchPad, the BlackBerry Stone Age gizmos, and Windows Phone. It is early days for Windows 8, so these laggards may come on strong in the mobile developer race.
Another Poobah Insight: Marketing Is an Opportunity
March 21, 2012
Please, read the entire write up “Marketing Is the Next Big Money Sector in Technology.” When you read it, you will want to forget the following factoids:
- Google has been generating significant revenue from online ad services for about a decade
- Facebook is working to monetize with a range of marketing services every single one of the 800 million plus Facebook users
- Start ups in and around marketing are flourishing as the scrub brush search engine optimizers of yore bite the dust. A good example is the list of exhibitors at this conference.
The hook for the story is a quote from an azure chip consultancy. The idea is that as traditional marketing methods flame out, crash, and burn, digital marketing is the future. So the direct mail of the past will become spam email of the future I predict. Imagine.
Marketing will chew up an organization’s information technology budget. The way this works is that since “everyone” will have a mobile device, the digital pitches will know who, what, where, why, and how a prospect thinks, feels, and expects. The revolution is on its way, and there’s no one happier than a Madison Avenue executive who contemplates the riches from the intersection of technology, hapless prospects, and good old fashioned hucksterism. The future looks like a digital PT Barnum I predict.
More Data Concentration Ahead
March 18, 2012
TMCnet announces that “Smartphone Usage Eclipses ‘Dumbphone’ Usage, Fueling Unified Data Storage ‘Tipping Point.’” IceWEB, Inc., a provider of unified data storage appliances, came to this conclusion after reviewing this recent study from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project which found that the majority of mobile phone users in the US are now smartphone users. This means a surge in demand for cloud-based unified storage. The write up quotes:
’With nearly half of all adult Americans using smartphones to capture and share billions of storage-heavy pictures and video, all that media takes up more and more storage in the cloud,’ said Steven Toole, Chief Marketing Officer at IceWEB. ‘Unstructured data such as photos and video lends itself to IceWEB’s unified data storage appliances, where data centers hosting smartphone users’ media can easily and more cost effectively manage and scale as these trends continue.’
Unified storage is a harbinger of consolidation, which is good for search and for eDiscovery. It is easier to dig through fewer bins.
IceWEB boasts that it can provide quality, enterprise-level unified data storage solutions at hefty savings over the competition. They declare that their unified storage arrays save storage costs, space, and power. The company is headquartered in Washington, DC.
Cynthia Murrell, March 18, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Tools for Mobile Sites
March 9, 2012
The unstoppable adoption of smartphones has led to a need for drastic mobile web site optimization according to the article “Mobile Site Mania” on RetailSolutionsOnline.com. The push to develop either exclusively mobile sites or main pages that are simplified to view on a smartphone has almost reached a frantic pace as competitors race to be the first and best in mobile business.
This article suggests that growing use of phones and tablets have necessitated tweaks to sites in the form of simplification and tools especially intended for mobile users. Simple changes included confining menus to the margins and imbedding fewer photos and text on pages that once strove to be elaborate. Tools that are gaining more use include buttons to call or email the business directly and GPS to automatically provide the nearest relevant location.
Many are going a step further with software to ease the transition to mobile and allow for customization to fit specific customer needs.
From the article:
“Some vendors have released technology for mobile that provides interchangeable brand encounters across touchpoints to reduce frustration and accelerate cross-channel sales. For example, Oracle Endeca for Mobile allows your mobile customers to search and browse your entire product catalog, watch videos, create wish lists, download PDFs, read and write user reviews, and proceed through checkout — all from their mobile devices.”
Specialized software vendors like Endeca will allow for such ease of use that we will likely continue to see a merging of web and mobile features and functionality. It will be interesting to see if one platform overshadows another in the near future.
Derek Clark, March 9, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Registration Now Open for AppRapids Conference
March 5, 2012
Beyond Search and AppRapids have announced that registration is open for the first AppRapids Conference in Louisville, Kentucky on March, 28, 2012.
The enterprise information service, AppRapids, is a Monday through Friday service which focuses on app-related issues in the digital world. AppRapids targets important developments in the field and provides critical comments about these developments.
The one-day conference, held at WorkShop, the Creative Workplace, will bring together participants and speakers, allowing everyone to collaborate and share ideas and insights in the field of mobile applications.
The press release, “Apps are Where it’s at: Register Now for AppRapids Conference” tells us more:
“Apps have been integrated into every aspect of life on both personal and professional levels. However, a lack of knowledge, and consequently agency, exists among many app users and potential app creators. Apps have roots in the past, are impacting the present, and will construct the future. Conference sessions will range from planning and development to implementation and business implications. Speakers will provide details of real-life use cases, best practices and lessons learned.”
The conference will include presentations by women and minorities, and discounted rates are available for students and Seed2020 members. Conference sponsors include: Arnold IT, PolySpot, WorkShop, the Creative Workplace, and Interactive Media Lab.
To register and view the schedule and speaker information, head over to http://www.apprapids.com/conference-registration/.
Stephen E Arnold, March 5, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Oxymoron Department: Cloud Storage Appliance
February 23, 2012
This piece is not directly about search, but we think this is an interesting development which may spur more cloud-centric search solutions. Wired Cloudline reports, “Red Hat Appliance Smooths Storage on Amazon Cloud.” The application, Virtual Storage Appliance for Amazon Web Services, is intended to support cloud service providers besides Amazon sometime in the future.
The new appliance is POSIX compliant, which means data need not be modified before using it with the application. The write up informs us:
Terri McClure, an analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, said in a statement, ‘Organizations are increasingly looking for cloud storage that delivers the flexibility and cost savings of the cloud without having to overhaul their entire application and storage infrastructure. This newest offering by Red Hat enables organizations to seamlessly easily extend their datacenter storage to the cloud while still receiving the performance and availability desired.’
Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Red Hat is a premiere provider of the Linux operating system and other open source solutions. It prides itself on being “the bridge between the communities that create open source software and the enterprise customers who use it.”
Now a virtual appliance in the cloud. How does that differ from any other cloud function? Beats me.
Cynthia Murrell, February 23, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Android App Developers Prepare for Global Expansion
February 11, 2012
Android is a big winner or a potential headache. Here in Harrod’s Creek we just don’t know. The dramatic increase of smartphone and other tablet users over the past couple of years has resulted in the creation of thousands of apps. Read Write Web recently reported on the international smartphone market in the article “There is a Huge Market For iOS & Android Apps Overseas, Report Says.”
According to the article, the mobile analytics company Flurry has been tracking the progression of Android and iOS penetration all over the world. The company has found that despite the fact that the United States is the most mature smartphone market, app developers should consider pursuing emerging markets like China, Korea, and the United Kingdom.
The article states:
Flurry encourages app developers to look overseas for potential growth markets. For instance, in China there are 122 million middle class adults age 15-64 that are not using iOS or Android. In the U.S. that number is 91 million (figuring a 200 million potential smartphone user base or about 60% of the population).
While the U.S. remains a hotbed for testing new apps, be prepared to see global app expansion in 2012. With Android “sort of” open and fragmentation a headache for some developers, can Android crush the annoying iOS and deal a death blow to Microsoft?
Jasmine Ashton, February 11, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Expert System Italy
February 9, 2012
In 1989, Marco Varone, along with Stefano Spaggiari and Paolo Lombardi, founded Expert System Italy. The three wanted to develop semantic software to extract knowledge from text by replicating human processes. Varone is the father of the company’s Cogito technology.
Unlike traditional technologies based on keyword and statistics that can only guess the content of a text, Cogito reads and interprets knowledge trapped in unstructured text, finding hidden relationships, trends, and events. It relies on deep linguistic analysis and semantic disambiguation of text to ensure a complete understanding of a text. The technology can be used on files, e-mails, articles, reports, and Web pages.
After developing Cogito, Expert System partnered with Microsoft and integrated the linguistic and semantic technologies into Microsoft Office. The Cogito Categorizer is also integrated to the SharePartXXL Taxonomy Extension for Microsoft SharePointby the SharePartXXL Cogito Connector. In April 2011, the company was awarded a US patent for the Cogito semantic platform.
Products include Cogito Semantic Search, Cogito semantic Advertiser, and Cogito Answers, and Cogito Intelligence Platform. Expert System positions Cogito Semantic Advertiser as an alternative to Google’s AdSense search keyword ad management tool. The company applies semantic technologies to its contextual ad formula, discerning greater meaning from the text in an article to provide more relevant ads. Cogito Answers can be used to improve customer service, combining semantic analysis of sentiment and customer satisfaction monitoring with advanced natural language customer interaction features.
Profitable from the start and with recent growth at a compound annual growth rate of 50%, Expert System has a client list that encompasses a variety of industries. Customers include Vodafone, Eni Group, Pirelli, Telecom Italia, the Italian Ministry of Defense, RIM and CVS Pharmacy. Competitors are Google, Cisco, Flurry, Nuance Communications, and RAMP. Expert System has a strong following in the mobile search space.
Rita Safranek, February 9, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Pingar Sets Up Shop in Silicon Valley
February 1, 2012
Pingar, smaller than Google’s catering staff, sets up shop in Silicon Valley. The Bay of Plenty Times announces, “Tauranga Firm Sets Up Silicon Valley Base.” The New Zealand publication reports that co-founders Peter and Jacqui Wren-Hilton were impressed by the size of the big dogs’ campuses when they visited. Pingar follows three other New Zealand tech companies into Silicon Valley: Endace, Xero, and SLI Systems.
Pingar, which, in addition to the Valley, has offices in two New Zealand locations and in London, Hong Kong, Bangalore, and, soon, Singapore. Its innovative search engine works by asking specific questions. The company also offers an API, with 18 components accessible to developers. It is looking to break into the scanner market, with a unique product that automatically applies metadata to scanned documents. Yes, that would be helpful!
The company was recognized by the Silicon Valley Association of Startup Entrepreneurs as one of 30 hot emerging tech companies from around the world. Pingar is growing into its success; the article notes:
Twelve months ago Pingar employed 12 people, now the number is 30 and Mr Wren-Hilton predicts the staff will double to 60 by the end of next year; involving 20 in research and development, and 40 in business development, marketing and support services.
“Twenty-five of them will be based in Auckland and Tauranga, and 35 will be overseas, including seven in Silicon Valley.
Nicely played, Pingar.
Cynthia Murrell, February 1, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Chomp Takes App Search to the Next Level
January 31, 2012
As the app business is exploding in growth with over a billion app downloads a month a new service has been created by some of the Silicon Valley’s greatest minds and investors. The article, Chomp Leads in App Search During Move to ‘Appification’, on Infotech News, praises the young company for leading the masses in the ‘appification’ of the world.
Chomp, created in 2009, as an answer to the growing problem of app search provides an open source mobile app search for all the apps available to mobile customers on both the iOS and Android OS. Over the last few years as better developers have been incorporated into the company more precise searches are being conducted.
With this technology Chomp is pioneering in search app advertising. Of this new angle on app search the article says,
The new program, which is currently in private beta, allows developers for the first time, to bid on keywords or phrases which will deliver their ads when uses search on those terms within an app search engine. Chomp Search Ads is the only way to match app ads to the most relevant potential customer, resulting in quality ad matching for both the advertiser and the consumer.
As the app industry continues to grow and more and more app developers are making apps available on multiple operating systems the need for the regular Smartphone user to be able to search efficiently increases. Thanks to services like those offered by Chomp we will undoubtedly see an increase in the applications of such technology like the targeted advertising.
Catherine Lamsfuss, January 31, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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