Infony - Musings on Information Architecture

Mobile Applications, RIP

2008-04-14T20:29:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, Somebody have to call a Spade a Spade. The truth is getting out louder and louder. Mobile Applications are all but dead.

The business of making native apps for mobile devices is dying, crushed by a fragmented market and restrictive business practices. The problems are so bad that the mobile web, despite its many technical drawbacks, is now a better way to deliver new functionality to mobiles. I think this will drive a rapid rise in mobile web development, largely replacing the mobile app business. This has huge implications for mobile operators, handset companies, developers, and users.

Even RussellBeattie has called it quits.

The Mobile Operators had never allowed third party developers to deploy their applications into the networks by demanding a heavy toll. The iPhone and the next generation of the SmartPhones are now having full fledged browsers and the web browser is the platform for application development.

Having developed many mobile applications, I had realized this truth longer. However, Lightweight Widget Applications could be the survivor of the native mobile applications. Everyone has praised Yahoo Go! Platform. This could be the dominant platform for Mobile 2.0 applications (widgets and widget platforms).

Column Oriented Databases

2008-04-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

Google is slated to launch its AppEngine web platform which would allow outside developers access to their BigTable Database Engine which is the distributed, column oriented database. There are alternate open source column oriented databases available including Hadoop and Hypertable. SimpleDB from Amazon also provides a similar service.

Comparing SimpleDB to Relational Databases -

"Today, many developers correlate the word "database" with Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS). While RDBMS offerings provide deep functionality, for many use cases, they introduce more complexity (and more cost) than is necessary. Many developers simply want to store, process, and query their data without worrying about managing schemas, maintaining indexes, tuning performance or scaling access to their data. Amazon SimpleDB removes the need to maintain a schema, while your attributes are automatically indexed to provide fast real-time lookup and querying capabilities. This flexibility minimizes the performance tuning required as the demands for your data increase."

These developments are the first steps of the next leap in database technology. SQL might lose its position as the Dominant Domain Specific Language for Databases. The next step in the database would include graph oriented databases which would graphs as additional abstract connecting the columns. Also, Datalog, a logic programming based query language, could become mainstream.

A database which supports Streams, the core data structure in MirrorWorlds, and which can store and dynamically reorganize by Person (who), Place (when), thing/tag (what), Event (where) and helps querying using who/when/what/where constructs would be the next leap in database technology. The immediate application for this database would be news sites such as techmeme, buzz.yahoo.com, news.google.com, topix.net etc.

Moblin - OS for the Internet Devices and Country Specific OS

2008-04-06T19:04:00.000-07:00

Intel has announced that it would adopt linux based Moblin as the operating system for netbooks and other internet appliances. Notably absent is their counterpart, Microsoft. Intel is using Apple as their alliance part for major technologies like ultra-thin laptop processors etc. what does these two entail? It is losing its thoughtleadership position.

Microsoft is slowly but surely getting pushed out or getting cornered from both Apple at the top end of the market and linux from the bottom end of the market. With Enterprise Market also heading towards Open Source Technology Stacks, are the current trends indicating a market shakeup?

What is the most exciting part of moblin and other linux based OS is that it would open up new markets for country specific oS at least for the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China). There would also be country specific OS coming up in European countries.

MirrorWorlds - Another Inspiration of Apple

2008-04-02T22:01:00.000-07:00

David Gelernter's Linda Spaces Concepts have been acknowledged as the inspiration for Java by James Gosling. His MirrorWorlds Streams and Streams based Desktop is the inspiration for many web2.0 pioneers. MirrorWorlds has however not got its due yet and it is now suing Apple for infringing on its patents.

Checkout my blog post on time/calendar based file system which is also in a way based on the mirror worlds concept.

Secret of Apple's Designs

2008-01-17T03:16:00.000-08:00

Apple's products have been heralded as the best of designs. Someone has identified the secret of the source of apple's inspiration - Braun. The designer behind the Braun's products of the 1960s
is Dieter Rams. One can clearly see the similarities in their philosophies way beyond the sparse use of color, the selection of materials and how the products are shaped around the function with no artificial design, keeping the design "honest."

This passion for "simplicity" and "honest design" that is always declared by Apple Designer Jonathan Ive whenever he's interviewed or appears in a promo video, is at the core of Dieter Rams' 10 principles for good design:

• Good design is innovative.
• Good design makes a product useful.
• Good design is aesthetic.
• Good design helps us to understand a product.
• Good design is unobtrusive.
• Good design is honest.
• Good design is durable.
• Good design is consequent to the last detail.
• Good design is concerned with the environment.
• Good design is as little design as possible.

This post would be rated as one of the best posts I've found in the blogosphere.

Timeline/Calendar based File Manager

2007-12-11T00:23:00.000-08:00

Calendar/Event Visualizations are becoming very important as the explosive growth of content in everyone's desktops. Nemo, a Calendar based File manager has just been launched for Linux.
This is a surefire winner. Like the Compviz and Beryl Graphics for Desktops, another innovation coming to Linux first.

hiehrarchial carousel widget

2007-12-06T00:09:00.000-08:00

A Nice Visualization Widget for Hierarchical datasets..

In-Box 3.0

2007-11-19T22:07:00.000-08:00

Google and Yahoo are planning to add Social Networking to the In-Box . But This is adding more spice to InBox 2.0 : Stream Processing and Rich UI elements put in right mix.

Wal-Mart’s $200 PC - sold out

2007-11-13T22:56:00.000-08:00

The first batch of 10,000 gOS PCs have been sold out indicating that there is potential sweetspot for these linux devices in the market. Web 2.0 technologies are already changing the desktop space. Ulta-Lightweight and Cheap Internet Access Devices in the PC form factor would become the mainstream computing form factor within next two-three years and Desktop Linux might become the standard OS for that future.

GPhone/Android - Welcoming it with Open Arms

2007-11-05T22:38:00.000-08:00

The Android Platform is the first mobile platform that promises to allow 3rd Party Applications a equal footing to bundled applications. The story so far is that Mobile Device Makers have always restricted the capability for 3rd Party to develop innovative applications by restricting the access to hardware features of the phone. For eg. Using Symbian and J2ME as a ploy, Nokia had restricted market all the good applications to itself.

As a frustrated Mobile Developer, I welcome Android with Open Arms.

Here is the feature list from Android :

1. All applications are created equal
2. Breaking down application boundaries
3. Fast & easy application development

These features would cut through Nokia's World Domination Plan of providing content, games and other software services. It also threatens the power of Mobile Network Operators significantly and reduce them to be just Mobile ISPs.

Computing for Second Billion

2007-11-04T23:03:00.000-08:00

Asustek's $300 Laptop is making waves already in the market. Everex, the Maker of gPC - the $200 desktop is also jumping into the fray with a $300 laptop. What is in common with the these two is that they are both having a sleek linux desktop as the OS. Forbes has covered the Asustek Laptop in this Jonney Machine article.

GOS screenshot looks great;

Computing for the Next Billion, as put by Asustek CEO, Jonney Shih, is going to be the significant IT trend. Nokia seems to think the same.

There are 1.2 billion people on the Internet. It took 12 years to reach that milestone; it will take only 7 years more to reach the next billion. Most will be in developing markets, and most will be getting online first with a mobile device, very likely a Nokia. With such customers out there Nokia has a historic opportunity to become synonymous with the Web much the way Google, Yahoo and Baidu are for millions now. "We almost have an obligation to create a market here," says Kallasvuo.

Here is the video of the Eee PC user experience :

The Next Big Thing : User Contributed Metadata

2007-10-31T02:20:00.000-07:00

Info graphs about people (facebook/social graphs) , twine (topics/memes) etc. would be the basis for the next generation of web. Several Websites are emerging as repositories of these information graphs. When these repositories allow open access, as proposed by Google's OpenSocial initiative, new web apps/sites can emerge to exploit this information , mainly customizing the user experience according to the info graphs that the user provides.

Web 3.0 (third decade of web, according to Nova Spivak) Revolution party has al;ready started. Some of the leading web 3.0 companies would include facebook, twine, metaweb etc.

Another Perspective of this

Prism - XUL next version

2007-10-30T00:28:00.000-07:00

Firefox has made the XUL Runner Platform much easier to use for the mainstream user with Prism. Prism allows the users to create websites as web-apps with desktop short-cuts. If Prism provides system level services access also, it would be a great platform, competing head to head with Adobe AIR and Silverlight.

Watchout iPod Touch! here comes UMPC 2.0

2007-09-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

Take a look at this video: Great UMPC Concept Device with some love from Intel. Lot of these are powered by Ubuntu's UMPC version..

Here is yet another UMPC device from BenQ :

can Intel's support for Linux for the MID Platform help Linux compete with iPod Touch and MS-Windows.. I hope there is some support for Java in all these platforms.

UI 2.0 : Some Thoughts of Adobe AIR and SilverLight

2007-08-21T23:31:00.000-07:00

Rich Internet Applications is finally coming of age. Adobe AIR is providing a good platform for developing next generation of Desktop/Internet apps by leveraging the Ajax frameworks. The great thing about Adobe AIR is that it is providing a tool without development entry barriers as converting websites to AIR apps seems to be trivial. Adobe AIR seems to deliver a application layer above the operating systems, which was the promise of Java. Adobe AIR would also empower application development which were not possible in Ajax such as developing a Photoshop application... Now it seems someone already releasing a Photoshop developed on the Flash Platform. As Flash is about to get HD support, Adobe would become the media based applications platform.

Microsoft's Silverlight is going to go head to head with Adobe AIR. As Microsoft also embraces the Adobe's concepts, Software Development and Delivery mechanisms are going to change drastically. Software As a Service Model will become mainstream. Firefox Community would now have lot of catch up to do. However, Site-Specific-browsers, SVG/Canvas and other core pieces of technology are already in place. It would not be long before they also release a completely integrated platform.

Interestingly, these technologies severely undermine the OS as the Application Development. Ubuntu and Linux based Desktops would become more widely accepted as the OS gets commoditized as the users would be more and more engaged with the Adobe AIR/Silverlight /Firefox Platforms.

For Developers, these technologies are providing graphical and visualization capabilities. The programming frameworks with ease to use constructs such as Pie-Menus, Graphs etc. have to be readily available. It would take atleast 2-3 years for the next generation of applications that take advantage of these platforms to emerge.

Site Specific Browser - A Killer Web 2.0 Application

2007-07-30T00:56:00.000-07:00

Site Specific Browser is great web 2.0 application. What is it?

Basically it is a stripped out firefox which is tied to a specific site. If you click on the app's icon, it connects and opens that site. Add Off-line features, it would become a application service. This is going to take off like fire in the near term.

I have been using the notepad for about 10 years to jot down my thoughts. with this tool, I have switched to google docs because i can access it any where instead it getting scatter in different machines and me having a tough time organizing it.

It would be great platform for applications like youtube to organize videos in one's own machine..

Humble Beginning of a New Revolution

2007-07-23T05:58:00.000-07:00

OPML is going to become a great platform like HTML to write Applications. Take a look at IUI based OPML browser.. IPhone is the new HyperCard.

I am planning to build a OPML based widgets platform. More Details to follow.

ASUS Eee PC - First Mass Market Linux Device?

2007-07-15T23:11:00.000-07:00

The ASUS custom linux for its Eee PC is the first GUI that has impressed me as very professional quality. While the secret of this $199-$200 laptop might its smaller screen, it has all the ingredients to take the PC platform to the next level. OLPC and Eee PC have the potential to become the PC standard for the future, at least in the 3rd world countries.

JavaFX - Java Flash Wannabe - A Skeptic's View

2007-05-21T03:14:00.000-07:00

I am seriously skeptic about JavaFX. I had earlier burned my hands by putting a big effort in SWING applications. I had developed first an IDE, which was quite ok as it was targeted at developer community. But when I developed a consumer p2p application with SWING, the application had serious performance issues. After a long while came SWT from IBM and there have been some successful apps based on Java/SWT for desktops. It took quite a long time for Desktop Java to reach the usability stage.

I had later ventured in J2ME. First for Games and then mobile information streaming. It was obvious to every serious developer in the J2ME domain that Flash/Scalable Vector Graphics is the way to go in mobile computing because mobile devices had non-standard screensizes and the only way to get write once run anywhere apps at least in mobiles was to go the Flash way.

SUN has taken so long to realize this. And the time of announcement is also bad as it immediately follows Microsoft Silverlight Announcement. It is going to take such as long time for JavaFX to be delivered that it would be dead on arrival.

It is not Flash/Silverlight that is going to kill JavaFX but Ajax/browsers. iPhone is not even going to include Java. All third party apps have to be through browser. Other manufacturers might also follow suit. While there is still some value proposition for JavaFX, SUN might have to deliver it right the first time itself, but History is not favourable to JavaFX.

Interestingly, if SUN is also adopting a scripting language to achieve write once run anywhere, then it is not Java which is going to fulfill this promise but JavaScript as it would be the basis for browser apps.

Flex to be open sourced

2007-04-27T01:22:00.000-07:00

Adobe has announced that Flex would be open sourced. This is a good development for RIA Platform developers. It opens the Flash Platform and Apollo for developers.

Computing for the Next Billion

2007-04-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

This is the World's PC Population Map . Following OLPC's plans, Microsoft has also announced that it is going to reduce the price of its windows and office software to just $3 in developing countries. With the emergence of UMPCs, Mobile Multimedia Computers (la Nokia) , Computing is set for another paradigm change. This shift, along with the Rise of Linux and other open source technologies, would provide new business opportunities for startups. So we are into interesting times again

Intel's MID UMPCs : Hello Linux

2007-04-16T03:17:00.000-07:00

Before the ink has dried from my previous post, comes this surprising announcement from Intel that it is going to launch its own Linux powered mobile Internet enabled UMPCs.

I think that this announcement is as monumental as Dell's announcement of its intention to adopt Desktop Linux. As discussed in my earlier post, Linux could very well ride on UMPCs to gain significant market share from Microsoft. With Intel's support, Desktop Linux should aspire for more. Go Linux, Go.

UMPC and the future of Desktop Linux

2007-04-13T01:39:00.000-07:00

Linux has been fighting an uphill battle with Microsoft for the Desktop. Dell's Linux Desktop could be a major success story of Desktop Linux. However, there is one key factor that is being ignored - UMPC.

With UMPC just emerging, it is the space were the next OS war would to be fought. Apple's own UMPC - iPhone has already got the Geek's mindshare. with Nokia, Samsung, As Motorola and all other device manufacturers are going to fight out for this market, UMPC margins are going to be very less and Microsoft's Tax could be a big burden for its adopters. So Linux should aspire to garner atleast 30% of the market along with Apple and Microsoft .

The UMPC consumers are be open to adopt new user-interfaces and concepts and most of these concepts would be extended back to the Desktop PCs as well. This can be observed from this concept video from Intel.

If this is true, a 30% marketshare in UMPC then could pave way for wider adoption of Desktop Linux as well.

From an alternate point of view, UMPC could also stiffle Desktop Linux because Linux is already many years behind (atleast Apple) in providing newer user experiences such as shown in the above video. As iPod success provided growth for OS-X, iPhone might multiply that effect by many factors in favor of Leopard because features such multi-touch could be extended from Leopard iPhone version to Leopard Desktop version.

Would UMPC make or break desktop Linux?

Spock - A Vertical Search for People

2007-04-11T22:34:00.000-07:00

I believe that the web should be evolving to structure information about people, places, events, objects etc. which are first class linguistic elements. Any development towards this structuring would improve search by many folds.

Spock, A People Vertical search engine is to be launched to provide better information about people (which forms 30% of all searches).

Coop - Firefox to get Social Networking

2007-04-03T23:15:00.000-07:00

It seems that Firefox team is planning to integrate the social networking features of Flock right into Firefox itself. With Mozilla Desktop, Offline feature and Coop, Firefox would become a much bigger platform than it is now, clearly trespassing Microsoft's territory. Is Firefox stretching too far?

Interestingly, COOP feature in Firefox would turn current websites into Web Services much like how google is a webservice in the current version. This line of thinking would lead us into accepting these new features are inevitable part of the web's evolution.

BlogCatalog - Social Networking meets Blogging

2007-03-28T03:34:00.000-07:00

How would it be if we create a social networking site for bloggers ? Blogcatalog has set out to do exactly the same.. It has a profile page for each of the bloggers and lets bloggers comment on other blog sites..

This is definitely a good evolutionary step for web 2.0. Surprising that it has not become popular yet.

Wikinomics, Future of Work and Enterprise 2.0

2007-03-23T05:19:00.000-07:00

Wikinomics - How Mass Collaboration changes Everything , is a very good introduction to the potential of web based collaboration platforms.

Here is The Blurb :

"In the last few years, traditional collaboration—in a meeting room, a conference call, even a convention center—has been superceded by collaborations on an astronomical scale.

Today, encyclopedias, jetliners, operating systems, mutual funds, and many other items are being created by teams numbering in the thousands or even millions. While some leaders fear the heaving growth of these massive online communities, Wikinomics explains how to prosper in a world where new communications technologies are democratizing the creation of value. Anyone who wants to understand the major forces revolutionizing business today should consider Wikinomics their survival kit".

If Wikinomics is definitely the future of work, then the Enterprise 2.0 software architecture should reflect the underlying phenomena described in Wikinomics.

Adobe Apollo Alpha is released! go get it!

2007-03-19T01:30:00.000-07:00

Adobe labs has released the alpha version of Apollo along with some sample applications include RSS Reader, Map App etc.

I just downloaded and played with it.. While the application looks just like a desktop app, I feel that adobe should launch much more jazzy apps to catch the fancy of the web 2.0 developer community. Hope that lot more would be coming from apollo.

Peer Production and Crowd Sourcing meets Citizen Journalism

2007-03-14T22:54:00.000-07:00

Digg.com extended the Slashdot by allowing anyone to post content. Digg had become the poster child for collaborative news site and several verticals have been formulated based on this model.

Wired.com, is taking the digg model to the next level with Assignment Zero. Basically it is allowing the users to create categories which are interesting to them. It will also assign tasks to the collaborators (who were earlier not directed to do things like this).

This model is very interesting from collaboration software point of view. It is integrating the digg.com model for collaborative filtering with task / project management. This is also significant in that it merges the digital lifestyle based software features with digital workstyle. This model might have a good impact on the design of collaboration platforms in the near future.

The use of the newspaper terminology makes the underlying architecture and workflow clear to an average user. It is also important to note that Blogs were also influenced by the newspaper's information architecture of who, when, what and where.

Trillian Astra

2007-03-14T03:10:00.000-07:00

Trillian Astra is a good example of next generation of Rich Internet Application. The Trillian Astra team has developed components for web-desktop integration without Apollo. These components can access desktop files, dock in the system tray etc.

Their Application looks jazzy ..

AllPeers Goes Open Source

2007-03-11T22:33:00.000-07:00

AllPeers is a Mozilla Plug-in that allows the users to have IM, File Sharing functionalities within the browser itself. It is developed in XUL. However they are not releasing the server version open source. All the clients would be connecting to the AllPeers server for file sharing etc.

I showed the app to couple of my friends. They like the idea, but want a cross platform solution which works across browsers and also in mobile because file sharing would be happening between devices also.. So Single Platform would be a difficult proposition.

With several solution providers competing for this space and releasing products in a flurry, things are getting interesting..

After Ajax

2007-03-06T22:53:00.000-08:00

Web-Desktop Integration is seen as the next step after Ajax. There is already a flurry of activity happening in this space. Adobe's Apollo, Microsoft's WPF/E, Parakeet and many other approaches all are setting released one after another. Dojo Offline is also getting mature. So the ball has started to roll for Rich Internet Applications (RIAs).

The Web Community might not be foolish this time to choose a proprietory solution like Apollo or WPF/E. Discussions have already started on the web and web community is already getting alerted to the situation.

Why Open is Good and How Open Could Be Good for Flash and Adobe wants to be the Microsoft of the Web are pointers in this direction.

The most damning argument regarding microsoft and adobe comes from techcrunch. It says "Adobe is both a platform company and an application company. Conflicts are not avoidable".

I am just hoping that an firefox equivalent of RIA platform prevails, and startups have a field day.

Izimi - A Competitor to Dekoh

2007-03-06T03:36:00.000-08:00

Izimi is the next logical step in self-publishing; izimi empowers you to publish what you want, when you want, and keeps you in control. The old social networking services dictated what you could publish, but hey, that was fine when we had no alternatives.

Izimi is a direct competitor to Dekoh. It seems that there are quite a lot of offerings in this space. Firefox Developer Blake Ross's Paraket is a high profile offering in the same space.

The first product that integrated the webbrowser with an embedded server was Ray Ozzie's Groove. However, Groove did not have an aggregating central server as part of it. Groove was positioned as Peer-to-Peer version of Lotus Notes.

Brad Neuberg, a leading contributor of Dojo (offline version), had earlier released a JXTA P2P based Mozilla Plugin called Paper Airplane.

Paper Airplane is a Mozilla plugin that empowers people to easily create collaborative P2P web sites, without setting up servers or spending money. It does this by integrating a web server into the browser itself, including tools to create collaborative online communities that are stored on the machine. Paper Airplane Groups are stored locally on a user's machine. A peer-to-peer network is created between all of the Paper Airplane nodes that are running in order to resolve group names and reach normally unreachable peers due to firewalls or NAT devices.

Hive, my earlier effort, also integrated Jetty, JXTA and Browsers together to form a Peer-to-Peer tool similar to Groove. These products, during 2000 to 2002 were marketed as P2P products.

Social Networking and Web 2.0 memes took over the P2P Concept. People 2 People has become Social Networking. However Web 2.0 concepts such as Tagging, Ajax, User Created Content etc have definitely added some masala to the idea. However, the idea of content aggregator as a successful business model for the companies developing these products has gained currency. Also, Advertising as a revenue model has also gained currency between then and now..

Pramati to launch dekoh - Web 2.0 desktop

2007-03-01T22:19:00.000-08:00

Pramati, One of the EJB Server vendors based, in Hyderabad, is launching a Web 2.0 Desktop product called Dekoh.

The Key Feature of Dekoh is going to be Desktop based Application Integration. From Dekoh prespective, Application Integration is just Mashup. It would be a Portal and embedded webserver Combo. In short, it would be like Hive, which I had developed while I was in Alberg, Hyderabad.