Monday, December 29, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
Friend View and my phone - so happy together
First of all, I hope you all had a great Christmas with family. I know I certainly did with my wife in our first Christmas here in Beijing since our move from Toronto.
I tried to upload version 0.830 of Nokia Friend View on my phone a couple of days ago, but for some strange reason, I kept getting "Certificate error, please contact the vendor". As cryptic as that error message sounds, I checked my certificates that Friend View would use and using my engineering background, tried to reverse engineer from which certificate was causing the problem. After deciding not tinkering with removing the certificates with the risk of making other software on my phone unusable (as is like with Windows machines), I decided to remove Friend View and revert back to the one that did work which was version 0.823. But, alas, I got the same error and couldn't install. Same for Nokia Image Exchange.
All I wanted for Christmas was having my Friend View back, because I couldn't FV on my phone and had to use the web. But seriously, it was probably good to have that break since I'm beginning to be addicted to FV on the phone.
Well, I'm glad to say that my phone and I are back to normal with FV reinstalled after I decided to reinstall my phone by flashing it. Thank you Nokia PC Suite for backing up all my data, all I had to do was restore after installing Friend View and Image Exchange, and it didn't take that long (maybe 10 minutes) to do the restore and I had all my applications and data back to normal. Boy, I wish it was that easy with reinstalling Windows on my PC.
So all is well in Friend View land for me and me and my phone are now happy. Onto enjoying the rest of the Christmas holidays, and hope you are also having a great Christmas holidays too!
I tried to upload version 0.830 of Nokia Friend View on my phone a couple of days ago, but for some strange reason, I kept getting "Certificate error, please contact the vendor". As cryptic as that error message sounds, I checked my certificates that Friend View would use and using my engineering background, tried to reverse engineer from which certificate was causing the problem. After deciding not tinkering with removing the certificates with the risk of making other software on my phone unusable (as is like with Windows machines), I decided to remove Friend View and revert back to the one that did work which was version 0.823. But, alas, I got the same error and couldn't install. Same for Nokia Image Exchange.
All I wanted for Christmas was having my Friend View back, because I couldn't FV on my phone and had to use the web. But seriously, it was probably good to have that break since I'm beginning to be addicted to FV on the phone.
Well, I'm glad to say that my phone and I are back to normal with FV reinstalled after I decided to reinstall my phone by flashing it. Thank you Nokia PC Suite for backing up all my data, all I had to do was restore after installing Friend View and Image Exchange, and it didn't take that long (maybe 10 minutes) to do the restore and I had all my applications and data back to normal. Boy, I wish it was that easy with reinstalling Windows on my PC.
So all is well in Friend View land for me and me and my phone are now happy. Onto enjoying the rest of the Christmas holidays, and hope you are also having a great Christmas holidays too!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone
I'd just like to wish everyone and readers to my blog a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May the new year bring us joy, more open standards and integration with social media and social networks, new gadgets (like the Nokia N97), new technologies, peace, safety, and security around the world.
Even though we all love our tech gadgets and love to blog, FriendFeed, Twitter, Facebook, Jaiku, Flickr, etc., we all need to remember what is most important in life. And that is God, our family and loved ones. So, spend time with them, tell them how much you love them and enjoy the holidays. Let's remember the true meaning of Christmas, if you haven't read the book The Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren (author of The Purpose-Driven Life), I'd strongly recommend you to read it.
For some Christmas humour, check out this song and video.
God bless everyone for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
圣诞快乐！
Joyeux Noel!
Felix Navidad!
Even though we all love our tech gadgets and love to blog, FriendFeed, Twitter, Facebook, Jaiku, Flickr, etc., we all need to remember what is most important in life. And that is God, our family and loved ones. So, spend time with them, tell them how much you love them and enjoy the holidays. Let's remember the true meaning of Christmas, if you haven't read the book The Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren (author of The Purpose-Driven Life), I'd strongly recommend you to read it.
For some Christmas humour, check out this song and video.
God bless everyone for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
圣诞快乐！
Joyeux Noel!
Felix Navidad!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Monday, December 08, 2008
40th anniversary of computer mouse and hypertext
I've just heard that this day in 1968 was the first public debut of the computer mouse, hypertext, object addressing, dynamic file linking, and shared collaboration technologies by Douglas Engelbart from his famous SRI demo (otherwise known as "Mother of all Demos"). These technologies have changed the world forever and started the computer industry and computer research today as we know it. Thank you Doug and you can see the original demo post and videos here.
On Technorati: mouse, Mother of All Demos, hypertext, SRI, DougEngelbart
On Technorati: mouse, Mother of All Demos, hypertext, SRI, DougEngelbart
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Friday, December 05, 2008
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
The genie is outside of the bottle: Nokia N97
So everybody already knows by now that the new stunning, QWERTY keyboard, touch screen, iPhone competitor is out from Nokia at Nokia World. It is the N97 and it looks really nice. Wow it has 32 GB of onboard memory! My, that's like a server on a phone! It expands till 48 GB if you add a microSD card, just simply amazing! This phone was definitely made for video. It does 16 X 9 resolution. Promo video of the N97 phone is shown below.
Here's a demonstration of one of the videos of the N97 in action at the NYC flagship store:
Robert Scoble (from FastCompany) has a blog post about the N97 compared to the iPhone and his viewpoints which he says has many features better than the iPhone, especially video.
Ah, ooh, and there is mention of doing Facebook on the phone as well. So, how will the N97 fare with consumers compared to iPhone, well only time will tell.
Many people are saying how they want to retire their N95 or other phones to get the N97. Seeing that the price is around $600 US starting, it's certainly expensive for the average consumer but I can see where business people would want to get it.
Just imagine the possibilities you could use this phone for Mobile Web 2.0 and mobile social networking!
On Technorati: Nokia N97, Nokia World 2008
Here's a demonstration of one of the videos of the N97 in action at the NYC flagship store:
Robert Scoble (from FastCompany) has a blog post about the N97 compared to the iPhone and his viewpoints which he says has many features better than the iPhone, especially video.
Ah, ooh, and there is mention of doing Facebook on the phone as well. So, how will the N97 fare with consumers compared to iPhone, well only time will tell.
Many people are saying how they want to retire their N95 or other phones to get the N97. Seeing that the price is around $600 US starting, it's certainly expensive for the average consumer but I can see where business people would want to get it.
Just imagine the possibilities you could use this phone for Mobile Web 2.0 and mobile social networking!
On Technorati: Nokia N97, Nokia World 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Mobile Mondays Beijing event
Right now I'm in the meeting at Mobile Mondays Beijing. This event was started by Benjamin Joffe of PlusStar. The meeting tonight is about foreign firms in China. The speakers for this meeting are Lin Song from Opera China, David Sullivan from Alliance Development Group, Karl J. Weaver from Gemalto China, Dan Wong from Nokia China and Allen Yang from LemonQuest China. There is such a great turnout here at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, around at least 100 people! The speakers are now talking about why they entered into the Chinese market.
Lin Song is talking how Opera started as a narrow facility and then how it expanded in the mobile browser market. Allen Wong says their main reason to come to China was to bring research and development together, produce in China, and then market abroad. LemonQuest does development of mobile games. Karl J. Weaver is now saying why Gemalto came to China because it makes sense to come to the largest market in the world. In fact, I did not know that Gemalto was the original developer of the SIM card that is used in GSM mobile phones. It makes sense to go to China to go to the largest subscriber base. David Sullivan is now explaining that it is important to choose your partners, working with Huawei and ZTE, it's having your engineers work with others. He says that you become "customers of your partners". You must maintain speed and the technology roadmap, you need to have offense to protect your defense, in football speak.
Benjamin is now talking to Dan Wong, VP of Software and Services of Nokia China about how Nokia is getting into the services area. IPR for services and software is more complex, one of the important things is how to protect IPR for your business, one way to do this is to look at China. In China, it is easy to copy products, as people are familiar with. China created free software but charge for time to connect with the server, that is the business model that works, according to Dan. The deeper question is can you develop a business model that is IPR proof, it is broader challenge for developing services globally. Nokia's vision is that OVI provides a very differentiated experiences via just the hardware. According to Karl Weaver, you cannot stop IP, you cannot stop the flow of technology, there are strategies that you can compete. According to David Sullivan, a lot of foreign companies use the same model to start up shop in China, but it doesn't work. Services are becoming very important and critical in China, if you get the service model right then you can protect yourself. You need to keep staying ahead.
How do the foreign companies keep staying ahead, is the next question addressed by Benjamin. According to David Sullivan, it is important to identify the ecosystem and then identify the suppliers, there is a need to be much more creative. From Lin Song of Opera, you need to have a great product and get constant feedback from users.
Third question: What kind of difficulties have you found in growing the business in China?
Karl J. Weaver: Chinese companies treat information as secret, which is frustrating in trying to grow the business in China.
Allen Yang: Foreign companies can never act local when they are global, they say act global stay local.
David Sullivan: A lot of companies go into China and see the level of investment needed, and decide not to come. The challenge is localization, you need to find the Chinese partners and the language. The challenge is also talking with headquarters.
Dan Wong: The biggest challenge is market challenge, the biggest market in the world. In China, there are 2000 models, the level of competition is at an entire new level from the regulatory environment, the unique standards, and the market structure. The biggest challenge is the combination of all those things.
According to David Sullivan, there are companies that are starting to develop with the China market first and then bring it globally, that have 95% of the development work in China. From a consumer demand, Nokia's Dan Wong says want to compete in the services arena in a different way, it is not to replicate this. For mobile music, people in China will pay for downloading music, Dan says we are seeing pockets of opportunity.
Question: What are some failures and success stories with your companies?
Lin Song: There is an importance of finding the right people, it is not that they are not competent, it is the element of trust.
David Sullivan: A lot of companies project their experiences but have no idea what is going on, which results in failure. when companies find the right technology fit and right partner, and commit to that localization, then there is a lot of opportunity for success.
In the end, a great talk and discussion, I've never been to an event where there was so many people listening to the speakers, and there is internet access, and power where my seat is! Now, it's time to network and eat a light buffet!
Lin Song is talking how Opera started as a narrow facility and then how it expanded in the mobile browser market. Allen Wong says their main reason to come to China was to bring research and development together, produce in China, and then market abroad. LemonQuest does development of mobile games. Karl J. Weaver is now saying why Gemalto came to China because it makes sense to come to the largest market in the world. In fact, I did not know that Gemalto was the original developer of the SIM card that is used in GSM mobile phones. It makes sense to go to China to go to the largest subscriber base. David Sullivan is now explaining that it is important to choose your partners, working with Huawei and ZTE, it's having your engineers work with others. He says that you become "customers of your partners". You must maintain speed and the technology roadmap, you need to have offense to protect your defense, in football speak.
Benjamin is now talking to Dan Wong, VP of Software and Services of Nokia China about how Nokia is getting into the services area. IPR for services and software is more complex, one of the important things is how to protect IPR for your business, one way to do this is to look at China. In China, it is easy to copy products, as people are familiar with. China created free software but charge for time to connect with the server, that is the business model that works, according to Dan. The deeper question is can you develop a business model that is IPR proof, it is broader challenge for developing services globally. Nokia's vision is that OVI provides a very differentiated experiences via just the hardware. According to Karl Weaver, you cannot stop IP, you cannot stop the flow of technology, there are strategies that you can compete. According to David Sullivan, a lot of foreign companies use the same model to start up shop in China, but it doesn't work. Services are becoming very important and critical in China, if you get the service model right then you can protect yourself. You need to keep staying ahead.
How do the foreign companies keep staying ahead, is the next question addressed by Benjamin. According to David Sullivan, it is important to identify the ecosystem and then identify the suppliers, there is a need to be much more creative. From Lin Song of Opera, you need to have a great product and get constant feedback from users.
Third question: What kind of difficulties have you found in growing the business in China?
Karl J. Weaver: Chinese companies treat information as secret, which is frustrating in trying to grow the business in China.
Allen Yang: Foreign companies can never act local when they are global, they say act global stay local.
David Sullivan: A lot of companies go into China and see the level of investment needed, and decide not to come. The challenge is localization, you need to find the Chinese partners and the language. The challenge is also talking with headquarters.
Dan Wong: The biggest challenge is market challenge, the biggest market in the world. In China, there are 2000 models, the level of competition is at an entire new level from the regulatory environment, the unique standards, and the market structure. The biggest challenge is the combination of all those things.
According to David Sullivan, there are companies that are starting to develop with the China market first and then bring it globally, that have 95% of the development work in China. From a consumer demand, Nokia's Dan Wong says want to compete in the services arena in a different way, it is not to replicate this. For mobile music, people in China will pay for downloading music, Dan says we are seeing pockets of opportunity.
Question: What are some failures and success stories with your companies?
Lin Song: There is an importance of finding the right people, it is not that they are not competent, it is the element of trust.
David Sullivan: A lot of companies project their experiences but have no idea what is going on, which results in failure. when companies find the right technology fit and right partner, and commit to that localization, then there is a lot of opportunity for success.
In the end, a great talk and discussion, I've never been to an event where there was so many people listening to the speakers, and there is internet access, and power where my seat is! Now, it's time to network and eat a light buffet!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
University of Toronto CS department featured in ByteClub
The University of Toronto Computer Science department of which where my PhD comes from, is featured in this video from Byte Club which is a Toronto-based web show featuring technology companies and their culture:
It's a great show, showing the cool things in Computer Science happening in University of Toronto and what the students are doing. Who said Computer Science was just for geeks?
On Technorati: UniversityOfToronto, ComputerScience, ByteClub
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
I'm trying out this new service called Ping.fm for posting to multiple social networks like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and FriendFeed. This allows you to avoid having to go to the individual social networking site in order to write your message. It's quite nice, and they also have a feature to post to Blogger which I'm doing right now.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Monday, November 03, 2008
It's now Dr. GadgetMan
Yes, that's right, you heard me. I successfully defended my PhD today with just minor changes. Finally, after 5 long, hard, blood and sweat years, I've been able to arrive at this milestone in my life. Thanks to everyone my family and my committee for being there and supporting me. And especially thanks God for providing me the strength to do the PhD, God is so awesome. Also, my wife who has always supported me in everything I do, thanks honey!
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Finishing the final preparations for my PhD defense
I'm right now finishing up my preparations and rehearsal of my talk for my PhD defense tomorrow at 10 am. I hope everything goes well. Please pray for me in your prayers tonight and tomorrow, and once I know the result of my defense I will let you all know on this blog, Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, Plaxo, MSN, Google Talk and all my other social networks.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Heading back to Toronto today
Yes, that's right. I'm just doing the last stuff for packing back to Toronto and then preparing for my PhD defense on Monday! I'm so ecstatic, so please pray for me to have a safe trip back to Toronto, and a successful defense for Monday!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
PhD defense in 1 week!
It's 1 week left and counting until I go back to Toronto to do my PhD defense! Boy does time fly fast. I'm busy now doing the preparation for my defense. I've been waiting for this moment for 5 years and finally I'm at the final stage. Please pray for me that it will be a successful defense, I've gone through a lot the past 5 years (you can probably read from my blog). Thanks to my loving parents for supporting me in this journey and also my especially loving wife who has supported me in my PhD ever since we first met when I started my PhD, and continues to support me in our move to Beijing and my work at Nokia Research Center. She has been the rock upon which I have been able to lay upon through all the challenges and tribulations.
Even though my dad is not here with me (as he passed away in March), I know that he is proud of me as I'm following in his footsteps of getting a PhD. Dad, watch over me and provide me the strength in my defense.
I'll let you know the outcome of my PhD defense on November 3.
Even though my dad is not here with me (as he passed away in March), I know that he is proud of me as I'm following in his footsteps of getting a PhD. Dad, watch over me and provide me the strength in my defense.
I'll let you know the outcome of my PhD defense on November 3.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Survey of how scientists use computers
I'm forwarding this on behalf of a professor at the University of Toronto (Prof. Greg Wilson) who is doing research on how scientists use computers through a survey. See below and participate!
Computers are as important to modern scientists as test tubes,
but we know surprisingly little about how scientists develop
and use software in their research. To find out, the University
of Toronto, Simula Research Laboratory, and the National Research
Council of Canada have launched an online survey in conjunction
with "American Scientist" magazine. If you have 20 minutes to take
part, please go to:
http://softwareresearch.ca/seg/SCS/scientific-computing-survey.html
Thanks in advance for your help!
Jo Hannay (Simula Research Laboratory)
Hans Petter Langtangen (Simula Research Laboratory)
Dietmar Pfahl (Simula Research Laboratory)
Janice Singer (National Research Council of Canada)
Greg Wilson (University of Toronto)
Computers are as important to modern scientists as test tubes,
but we know surprisingly little about how scientists develop
and use software in their research. To find out, the University
of Toronto, Simula Research Laboratory, and the National Research
Council of Canada have launched an online survey in conjunction
with "American Scientist" magazine. If you have 20 minutes to take
part, please go to:
http://softwareresearch.ca/seg/SCS/scientific-computing-survey.html
Thanks in advance for your help!
Jo Hannay (Simula Research Laboratory)
Hans Petter Langtangen (Simula Research Laboratory)
Dietmar Pfahl (Simula Research Laboratory)
Janice Singer (National Research Council of Canada)
Greg Wilson (University of Toronto)
My paper published in New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia and preparing for PhD defense
First of all, apologies for not writing to my blog for a while, I've been extremely busy finishing off the thesis, doing work for Nokia Research Center Beijing, and travelling. I just came back from a business trip last week to Helsinki, Finland talking about my research for Nokia about Web 2.0 and social networks.
Anyways, I have great news to say that my paper on Automatic detection of cohesive subgroups within social hypertext: A heuristic approach has been published in the New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia, a top-tiered journal for hypertext. I'm so ecstatic!
I'm currently busy now preparing for my PhD defense which happens in about 2 weeks. I can't believe that I'm almost towards the end of the PhD after about 5 roller-coaster years. It is just a great feeling to know that all these 5 years were all worth it, for my career. Then, everyone of you call me Dr. GadgetMan!
Anyways, I have great news to say that my paper on Automatic detection of cohesive subgroups within social hypertext: A heuristic approach has been published in the New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia, a top-tiered journal for hypertext. I'm so ecstatic!
I'm currently busy now preparing for my PhD defense which happens in about 2 weeks. I can't believe that I'm almost towards the end of the PhD after about 5 roller-coaster years. It is just a great feeling to know that all these 5 years were all worth it, for my career. Then, everyone of you call me Dr. GadgetMan!
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
PhD thesis has been sent!
My PhD thesis has finally been done and sent,whew! All those late nights for the past couple of weeks. Now, I just have to prepare for my defense which is on November 3. Meanwhile, it's Chinese national holiday for this week so I've been postponing this and my wife and I's one year wedding anniversary until I finished sending the thesis. I can now take a break and relax for the rest of this week!
To all those in China, have a happy, safe, and relaxing holidays! Guo xing jie kuai le (yes, I'm practicing my Mandarin, it's been actually much better since 2 months ago!)
To all those in China, have a happy, safe, and relaxing holidays! Guo xing jie kuai le (yes, I'm practicing my Mandarin, it's been actually much better since 2 months ago!)
Monday, September 29, 2008
One year wedding anniversary
Today is our one year wedding anniversary for my wife and I. Can't believe that it's been one year already. But it's been a great year, and I continue to be so blessed with her. She is so supportive of me in my move to Beijing to start my job here at Nokia Research Center. I'm in the midst of finishing sending my PhD thesis to my committee members (really busy now) but it will be sent soon. Then I can relax and we can celebrate our one year wedding anniversary.
I can still remember our wedding last year, getting up, going to pick her up at the hotel, giving tea to my parents and family, going to the church, walking down the aisle and seeing her in that beautiful wedding dress. Then saying "I do", going to the park, and then the reception. If I had to do it all again, I would and I would not change a thing.
All I can say is thanks God for everything that we have, and continue to bless our marriage.
I can still remember our wedding last year, getting up, going to pick her up at the hotel, giving tea to my parents and family, going to the church, walking down the aisle and seeing her in that beautiful wedding dress. Then saying "I do", going to the park, and then the reception. If I had to do it all again, I would and I would not change a thing.
All I can say is thanks God for everything that we have, and continue to bless our marriage.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Social networking researcher danah boyd joining Microsoft Research
Just read this from the SOCNET mailing list which was sent by Barry Wellman. danah boyd (yes the lower case spelling is intentional), who is known for studies on Friendster and MySpace, and studying the youth in using these social networking services and acting as advisor to many companies and in politics, is going to join Microsoft Research in Boston in January 2009. danah wrote up about this on her own blog, Zephoria.
I think this is great for her and for Microsoft. She mentions how she will be directing her own research and how MSR is a great fit for her after she met with the MSR folks. Congratulations danah and keep us posted with your research.
And yes, I understand about the dissertation because I'm also in the same boat with finishing up the changes so I'll be ready for the defense.
I think this is great for her and for Microsoft. She mentions how she will be directing her own research and how MSR is a great fit for her after she met with the MSR folks. Congratulations danah and keep us posted with your research.
And yes, I understand about the dissertation because I'm also in the same boat with finishing up the changes so I'll be ready for the defense.
OneWebDay
Did you know that September 22 is OneWebDay, I didn't know until I read the Nokia Conversations post (thanks Charlie from Nokia Conversations for this post). It's a day to promote one web, one world, one dream. Sounds similar to what the WWW 2008 conference's motto was from Beijing. I think that's great, we use the web on a daily basis, and we should promote a vision to have one Web with unifying goals. What will this web look like? Let's help to drive this vision!
Anyways, promote OneWebDay by joining the Facebook group!
Web 2.0 Expo NY presentations and videos
Even though I did not attend Web 2.0 Expo in NY, but my work colleague did, it's nice that there are videos and presentations already on the Net on this. There are videos from Blip.TV and presentation slides from O'Reilly (which sponsored and hosted the Web 2.0 Expo conference).
The most notable keynote I watched was that from Tim O'Reilly, the founder of O'Reilly Media and the person who coined Web 2.0, on Enterprise Radar. Tim was talking about how the Web meets the World, in that the valuable contributions and impact on Web 2.0 is not creating a gaming application for Facebook but using Web 2.0 technologies to help the world like for example in global warming, for helping detect weather storms and informing people, etc. Tim gave a challenge to users out there to make something that is useful for the world that is life changing. I think that is good advice.
Another video I saw was of Jay Adelson from Digg talking about the growth of collaborative filters. There wasn't really anything new here I found.
On Technorati: Web2.0ExpoNY
The most notable keynote I watched was that from Tim O'Reilly, the founder of O'Reilly Media and the person who coined Web 2.0, on Enterprise Radar. Tim was talking about how the Web meets the World, in that the valuable contributions and impact on Web 2.0 is not creating a gaming application for Facebook but using Web 2.0 technologies to help the world like for example in global warming, for helping detect weather storms and informing people, etc. Tim gave a challenge to users out there to make something that is useful for the world that is life changing. I think that is good advice.
Another video I saw was of Jay Adelson from Digg talking about the growth of collaborative filters. There wasn't really anything new here I found.
On Technorati: Web2.0ExpoNY
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Web 2.0 Expo comes to New York
The Web 2.0 Expo, which is the Web 2.0 conference for industry, just started in New York yesterday and is being held September 16 to 19. A colleague from my research group at Nokia Research in Beijing is there right now providing us with updates from the conference. I'd be interested to hear from the attendees how they feel about the conference and the relevant keynotes, presentations and tutorials about how Web 2.0 is being used in the enterprise and how developers are creating Web 2.0 applications for mobile devices.
On Technorati: Web20ExpoNY, Web 2.0
I've attended a Web 2.0 conference before in Toronto called Mesh, just before I moved to Beijing. I blogged about Mesh on my personal blog, as well as Twittered and Facebooked my updates. Apparently, Ignite NYC was happening before Web 2.0 Expo. For those who don't know Ignite, Ignite is an event where people are given just 5 minutes to talk about their product or idea and pitch it to the audience. It seems that there was a cupcake contest in which there were buttons on the iPhone in the form of cupcakes, see below.
There appears to be lots of energy online about the Web 2.0 Expo in NY as can be seen from joining the Twitter feed, the blog, as well as the photos.
If you're interested in Web 2.0 or are working in Web 2.0, keep track of this conference. It looks like the first day just finished the workshops and tomorrow starts the keynotes, sessions and exhibition hall. In relation to Nokia, it seems like S60 is a sponsor of this event so it will be interesting to see the mobile development for Web 2.0 on S60 devices.
If you're interested in Web 2.0 or are working in Web 2.0, keep track of this conference. It looks like the first day just finished the workshops and tomorrow starts the keynotes, sessions and exhibition hall. In relation to Nokia, it seems like S60 is a sponsor of this event so it will be interesting to see the mobile development for Web 2.0 on S60 devices.
Looking forward to hearing about the keynotes and the other sessions and demos in the following days.
On Technorati: Web20ExpoNY, Web 2.0
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Google Chrome
I'm trying out the new Google Chrome browser that Google has created. You may ask yourself why do we need another browser? Google created this video just to answer that question.
According to this video, Google has redesigned the browser to take advantage of the media, the richness and the speed that users require for accessing the internet, as well as security and personalization. Do we need another browser? Well, before we used to have Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer. We now have Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, Apple's Safari, and now Google Chrome. It always doesn't hurt to have more competitors, it can only help consumers. And it seems that Google Chrome is much faster in loading pages than the other browsers I've been using.
Google Chrome is open source and can be downloaded here. There's also an interesting comic book about Google Chrome as well. As with all new software, Google Chrome has not escaped bugs, there are some early security vulnerabilities as indicated in PC World magazine.
In my opinion, what will make Google Chrome a success is its openness to developers wanting to write plugins for this browser. I see many developers and techies flaunting to try new things, but what about the average joe user? They are already happy and know how to use Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer, what will be the compelling reason for them to change? And I don't know if Google Chrome will support ActiveX because many web sites use ActiveX plugins like Microsoft's download sites and Windows Update. The only time I use Internet Explorer is to have to use Windows Update to check my computer for the latest updates since it won't work with Firefox.
What do people think? Are people using the Google Chrome browser, what are your experiences with it? Is it good that Google is creating another browser, are they dominating the web with their presence, is this part of the Google empire?
On Technorati: Google Chrome
According to this video, Google has redesigned the browser to take advantage of the media, the richness and the speed that users require for accessing the internet, as well as security and personalization. Do we need another browser? Well, before we used to have Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer. We now have Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, Apple's Safari, and now Google Chrome. It always doesn't hurt to have more competitors, it can only help consumers. And it seems that Google Chrome is much faster in loading pages than the other browsers I've been using.
Google Chrome is open source and can be downloaded here. There's also an interesting comic book about Google Chrome as well. As with all new software, Google Chrome has not escaped bugs, there are some early security vulnerabilities as indicated in PC World magazine.
In my opinion, what will make Google Chrome a success is its openness to developers wanting to write plugins for this browser. I see many developers and techies flaunting to try new things, but what about the average joe user? They are already happy and know how to use Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer, what will be the compelling reason for them to change? And I don't know if Google Chrome will support ActiveX because many web sites use ActiveX plugins like Microsoft's download sites and Windows Update. The only time I use Internet Explorer is to have to use Windows Update to check my computer for the latest updates since it won't work with Firefox.
What do people think? Are people using the Google Chrome browser, what are your experiences with it? Is it good that Google is creating another browser, are they dominating the web with their presence, is this part of the Google empire?
On Technorati: Google Chrome
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Added FriendFeed to my growing list of social network tools
I'm looking at FriendFeed and it seems great where it aggregates all my social network information and Mobile Web 2.0 services into one feed (like Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, StumbleUpon, delicious, etc.). I've just added the FriendFeed widget to my blog so check it out! I hate having to go to all the different social networking and Mobile Web 2.0 sites to add updates to my blog, this just aggregates it in one place. You can subscribe to my FriendFeed here.
On Technorati: FriendFeed, social networking, Web 2.0
On Technorati: FriendFeed, social networking, Web 2.0
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Technology summary for August 28, 2008
Today, I'm going to start a new thing, writing a technology summary of the news that I have read for that day and writing my own comments. Hopefully, it will be easier to read than having to post so many posts a day and inundating people reading my blog.
The first news to share is that of Palm. People know that I have a Palm Zire 71 and I haven't upgraded it. It's actually not in use right now since I have found out that the Nokia N82 is serving my needs quite well for now. It seems that Palm is coming out with the Palm Treo Pro, and by the looks of it, it's getting some good reviews and looks really sleek.
It's been a while since Palm came out with a good device, Palm has lost its PDA and smartphone marketshare to Apple's iPhone, RIM and Windows Mobile. This shows that Palm is still not dead yet. In fact, in this article, Palm has a plan to come back into the game. They just hired Jon Rubinstein to help them out with their design and save Palm. Jon Rubinstein apparently is noted in the industry, he helped Apple get back on its feet with the hit iMac and iPod designs. In fact, Jon has hired a bunch of other employees previously working at Apple, to reign the ships at Palm. I think this is really good news for Palm. And Palm is working on their next generation OS, Palm OS 2.0 which features stuff from BeOS that Palm bought a couple of years ago. Let's see how this goes, having many competitors boosts great value for customers.
The second news is that an Android phone maybe coming to market this year. Android is the software from Google for creating a mobile phone OS that is open source. There has been talk about Android for a while now, but no actual phones that are powered by Android. There are rumours that T-Mobile in the US is going to come out with an Android phone called the HTC Dream later this year. More details can be found here. Latest news that I've found is that the date for launch of the HTC Dream is October 13. I think this will spur great innovation and customer choice in making the phone become more open source and allowing developers to develop easily for phones as they can now for PCs. I can see great momentum and excitement in the mobile arena. Can't wait to see how the Android phone will look like. I wonder how many will buy the Android phone and how the numbers will compare to Apple's first launch of the iPhone.
Third bit of news is that Japan is planning to open up their technology for wallet phones that uses a computer chip called FeliCa for allowing you to pay for goods using a reader installed at cash terminals. I think it uses NFC communications. I've been waiting for a eWallet like this, I carry so many cards (as I'm sure many of you do as well) it would be nice to loosen my pants (not physically of course!). And how many times you can't find the right credit card or loyalty card because you left it at home!
Anyways, this sounds something similar to RF tags like Esso's SpeedPass or the Dexit tag which I've tried back in Canada. I would love this on my phone. Of course, one thing to make note of is that if I were to lose my phone, there needs to be an option where others wouldn't be able to access my credentials. Maybe something where the phone automatically erases all the information when an attacker tries to get in or the phone explodes. Kind of like a sci-fi scene.
The first news to share is that of Palm. People know that I have a Palm Zire 71 and I haven't upgraded it. It's actually not in use right now since I have found out that the Nokia N82 is serving my needs quite well for now. It seems that Palm is coming out with the Palm Treo Pro, and by the looks of it, it's getting some good reviews and looks really sleek.
It's been a while since Palm came out with a good device, Palm has lost its PDA and smartphone marketshare to Apple's iPhone, RIM and Windows Mobile. This shows that Palm is still not dead yet. In fact, in this article, Palm has a plan to come back into the game. They just hired Jon Rubinstein to help them out with their design and save Palm. Jon Rubinstein apparently is noted in the industry, he helped Apple get back on its feet with the hit iMac and iPod designs. In fact, Jon has hired a bunch of other employees previously working at Apple, to reign the ships at Palm. I think this is really good news for Palm. And Palm is working on their next generation OS, Palm OS 2.0 which features stuff from BeOS that Palm bought a couple of years ago. Let's see how this goes, having many competitors boosts great value for customers.
The second news is that an Android phone maybe coming to market this year. Android is the software from Google for creating a mobile phone OS that is open source. There has been talk about Android for a while now, but no actual phones that are powered by Android. There are rumours that T-Mobile in the US is going to come out with an Android phone called the HTC Dream later this year. More details can be found here. Latest news that I've found is that the date for launch of the HTC Dream is October 13. I think this will spur great innovation and customer choice in making the phone become more open source and allowing developers to develop easily for phones as they can now for PCs. I can see great momentum and excitement in the mobile arena. Can't wait to see how the Android phone will look like. I wonder how many will buy the Android phone and how the numbers will compare to Apple's first launch of the iPhone.
Third bit of news is that Japan is planning to open up their technology for wallet phones that uses a computer chip called FeliCa for allowing you to pay for goods using a reader installed at cash terminals. I think it uses NFC communications. I've been waiting for a eWallet like this, I carry so many cards (as I'm sure many of you do as well) it would be nice to loosen my pants (not physically of course!). And how many times you can't find the right credit card or loyalty card because you left it at home!
Anyways, this sounds something similar to RF tags like Esso's SpeedPass or the Dexit tag which I've tried back in Canada. I would love this on my phone. Of course, one thing to make note of is that if I were to lose my phone, there needs to be an option where others wouldn't be able to access my credentials. Maybe something where the phone automatically erases all the information when an attacker tries to get in or the phone explodes. Kind of like a sci-fi scene.
Went to Bird's Nest and Water Cube!
I had the wonderful privilege last week to go watch the Olympic athletics events at the National Olympic Stadium aka Bird's Nest. I also was able to see the Water Cube from outside (didn't get tickets for inside). The views of both are breathtaking. You can see the photos here on Ovi:
Beijing has really put on a spectacular show for the Olympics to the world and it is going to be difficult for London in 2012 to top this off.
Also, I've updated photos from the Beijing Food channel and Around Beijing channel where I went to see the Temple of Heaven and Wangfujing.
Around Beijing:
Beijing Food:
Enjoy!
On Technorati: Beijing Olympics
Beijing has really put on a spectacular show for the Olympics to the world and it is going to be difficult for London in 2012 to top this off.
Also, I've updated photos from the Beijing Food channel and Around Beijing channel where I went to see the Temple of Heaven and Wangfujing.
Around Beijing:
Beijing Food:
Enjoy!
On Technorati: Beijing Olympics
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Toronto TTC may finally be with the rest of the world
I just read this post from BlogTO today about how the Toronto Transit Commission will be ordering new TTC subways and transforming their stations with a system that actually lights up and announces the current station and next station is in the subway cars. Some photos of this here courtesy of BlogTO:
LED lights in the subway car of the route you are taking:
Outside of the subway car:
Inside the new subway car:
Finally, the TTC is getting along with the times. After riding subways in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou, I'm so fascinated at the efficiency and promptness of these subway systems and wonder why Toronto can't do the same. A transit system is behind the life of a city, it is what makes the city thrive. As I am in Beijing now, I am impressed at how Beijing was able to get so many new subway lines installed and operating this year for the Olympics. The subway system in Beijing here is just great, it runs smoothly and it is a pleasure to use. When I always come back to Toronto, I really envy the subway system abroad and wish Toronto would have a system like that. Well, it looks like Toronto may finally have, and about time too!
On Technorati: Toronto Transit System
LED lights in the subway car of the route you are taking:
Outside of the subway car:
Inside the new subway car:
Finally, the TTC is getting along with the times. After riding subways in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou, I'm so fascinated at the efficiency and promptness of these subway systems and wonder why Toronto can't do the same. A transit system is behind the life of a city, it is what makes the city thrive. As I am in Beijing now, I am impressed at how Beijing was able to get so many new subway lines installed and operating this year for the Olympics. The subway system in Beijing here is just great, it runs smoothly and it is a pleasure to use. When I always come back to Toronto, I really envy the subway system abroad and wish Toronto would have a system like that. Well, it looks like Toronto may finally have, and about time too!
On Technorati: Toronto Transit System
2008 Computer History Museum Fellow Awards
Three people have been inducted as Fellow Awards at the Computer History Museum. They are Jean Bartik, Robert Metcalfe and Linus Torvalds. I'm sure most of you know Robert Metcalfe as the one who invented ethernet and is now a VC and Linus Torvalds, the inventor of Linux. But I never heard of Jean Bartik, which apparently according to the Computer History Museum Fellow Awards web site is one of the first programmers of the groundbreaking ENIAC computing system in 1945.
Congratulations to Jean, Robert and Linus! I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Computer History Museum and post photos of my trip there.
On Technorati: Computer History Museum, Linus Torvalds, Bob Metcalfe
Congratulations to Jean, Robert and Linus! I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Computer History Museum and post photos of my trip there.
On Technorati: Computer History Museum, Linus Torvalds, Bob Metcalfe
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
new Beijing photo channels on Ovi
I've organized my photos into several channels for easy access in Ovi. They are the following:
1. Beijing Olympics channel
2. Around Beijing channel
3. Beijing food channel
Enjoy and post comments if you have any.
1. Beijing Olympics channel
2. Around Beijing channel
3. Beijing food channel
Enjoy and post comments if you have any.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Nokia SportsTracker Beta
One of the cool things with the Nokia N82 cell phone is that you can download an application called Nokia SportsTracker Beta which allows you to record your workouts like jogging or walking using GPS and accelerometer to track your speed, altitude and location on a map. I tried out this feature and just uploaded my walk from the bus stop that I got off to Oakwood residence . You can see the results of this walk here.
Let me know what you think by putting comments on this blog or on my SportsTracker Beta
web page!
Friday, August 08, 2008
Final torch relay in Beijing before opening ceremonies tonight
Today, I had the wonderful privilege on behalf of Nokia to witness and see the torch relay in our area (Beijing Economic Technological and Development Area). Today is the final leg of the torch relay before it enters the National Olympic Stadium for tonight's opening Olympic ceremonies. It seems so surreal that I'm actually here in Beijing and witnessing this live.
I managed to take some pictures which I've uploaded to Nokia's Ovi service using my Nokia N82 cell phone. Unfortunately, the most important event when the torch flame was exchanged between the torch bearer and the other one here at leg 114 (seen
below), I wasn't able to capture because my cell phone ran out of battery!
Here is a picture of me below.
By the way, you can view more pics from this momentous event from Ovi here. And if you want to try out Ovi (instructions here), it's quite nice, it seems to work pretty well and you can download the Ovi client on your Nseries phone to view pictures and your friends' pictures.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Testing out Nokia Ovi
Nokia has a software service called Ovi that allows for easy management and uploading of media from an Nseries Nokia phone to the web. We all have many photos and videos that we like to share with people. It's very easy to download these media to your computer, however it is very time consuming to share it with others. You need to find the media once it is downloaded to the computer, then select a web site that can upload those photos or download some software to allow you to upload to that web site. In my case, I use Flickr Uploadr or Shutterfly Studio which allows me to drag and drop which photos I want and I configure the web service with my account information and the name of the online album that I want to create. However, once that is done, then I have to go to the online album that I have created and then select all the recipients that I want to share with. With Shutterfly, it's really strange, you have to either share the album which is a cryptic link within an e-mail or you can make a special URL to a collection. But within that e-mail that is sent from Shutterfly, I can't change the title and message of the e-mail!
If I want to embed the photos to my blog then I can either link the entire album online or have to choose each photo separately with the embedded link. In Flickr, the link is cryptic and long so it becomes very time consuming. Sometimes, it takes so long that I don't even do it. How to make this process of uploading and sharing photos from your device much easier? Nokia aims to do this with Ovi.
You can subscribe to the Ovi service by making an account and then downloading the Ovi Suite program. This creates programs to synchronize your calendar and contacts with the Nokia Nseries phone (in my case the N82), and to synchronize photos and videos from the phone to a designated folder on the computer automatically. It also includes a Nokia Application installer to install apps on the phone, a program to view contents on the phone via a phone browser, a gallery to view the photos and videos, a 3D gallery that shows your photos in space by time. It also includes a Music Manager to help manage your music from your computer to the phone (like Apple's iTunes). To upload and share the photos and videos with your friends, you use Ovi's share service.
I then followed the instructions to upload the files using Firefox, which allows you to use the Web Publishing Wizard in Windows Explorer to publish to a web place which is Ovi. It's pretty easy to set up and use. In less than 10 minutes I was able to make a share on the web of my pictures that were downloaded from my Nokia N82 mobile phone. These are my photos of my tour around the city of Beijing.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Mobile phone barcode
I've got a mobile phone barcode for my contact info which I've created at Nokia so if you have a mobile phone with a barcode reader like N93,N93i,N95, E90 then you can scan and save it as my contact on your phone. You'll see it at the sidebar below my Blogger profile.
Going around Beijing
While I'm not at Nokia Research, I'm going around Beijing along with my wife. This past weekend we were looking at apartments to rent. Here are some pictures around Beijing.
Enjoy! It's really hot in Beijing now and everyone is gearing up for the Olympics. There are so many people wearing Beijing Olympics T-shirts with a red-band on their hand, these people are Olympic volunteers who will direct people to the Olympic venues. Apparently, those volunteers get to ride free on the Beijing subway!
Enjoy! It's really hot in Beijing now and everyone is gearing up for the Olympics. There are so many people wearing Beijing Olympics T-shirts with a red-band on their hand, these people are Olympic volunteers who will direct people to the Olympic venues. Apparently, those volunteers get to ride free on the Beijing subway!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Great Web 2.0 video
For those that need to explain what Web 2.0 is to those not technical, this video is a great way to show what Web 2.0 is all about.
This is exactly what Web 2.0 is all about and why everybody needs to get on the bandwagon of Web 2.0, it isn't hype any more, it's real.
On Technorati: Web 2.0
This is exactly what Web 2.0 is all about and why everybody needs to get on the bandwagon of Web 2.0, it isn't hype any more, it's real.
On Technorati: Web 2.0
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Social networking comes to Microsoft Excel
Marc Smith's Community Technologies research group at Microsoft Research has just released .NetMap which is a plug-in to do social network analysis in Microsoft Excel. This was presented at the Microsoft Faculty summit this week. Just import your data into Excel and let .NetMap visualize the social network, calculate centrality, and do all the other stuff that UCINET, Pajek and NetDraw do. Gone are the gzillion steps that you have to do in order to get the visualization of the social network (in my PhD thesis, this involved MySQL to get the actual data in a table format, creating a DL file to import into UCINET, then taking the file and converting it into Pajek to use Pajek features, or visualizing it in NetDraw).
More details of .NetMap are below:
New tools from Microsoft Research make performing many basic network
manipulations and visualization tasks as simple as using Excel. The (Excel)
.NetMap add-in provides directed graph charting features within Excel,
allowing users to create node-link diagrams with control over each node and
edge color, size, transparency and shape. Since .NetMap builds within Excel,
all of the controls and programmatic features of Office are available.
Additional features of (Excel) .NetMap generate social networks from data
sources like personal e-mail (drawing data from the Windows Desktop Search
engine). Arbitrary edge lists (anything that can be pasted into Excel) can
be visualized and analyzed in .NetMap. To download the Excel .NetMap Add-in
and slides, go to the following Web site in CodePlex (Microsoft's version of SourceForge).
I'm going to try it out and see how it works. Of course this could have saved me time in my PhD research analysis!
On Technorati: .NetMap, Microsoft Research, Excel
More details of .NetMap are below:
New tools from Microsoft Research make performing many basic network
manipulations and visualization tasks as simple as using Excel. The (Excel)
.NetMap add-in provides directed graph charting features within Excel,
allowing users to create node-link diagrams with control over each node and
edge color, size, transparency and shape. Since .NetMap builds within Excel,
all of the controls and programmatic features of Office are available.
Additional features of (Excel) .NetMap generate social networks from data
sources like personal e-mail (drawing data from the Windows Desktop Search
engine). Arbitrary edge lists (anything that can be pasted into Excel) can
be visualized and analyzed in .NetMap. To download the Excel .NetMap Add-in
and slides, go to the following Web site in CodePlex (Microsoft's version of SourceForge).
I'm going to try it out and see how it works. Of course this could have saved me time in my PhD research analysis!
On Technorati: .NetMap, Microsoft Research, Excel
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Arrived in Beijing
I've just arrived with my wife in Beijing and staying at a temporary apartment until we find a permanent housing to live. Can't believe that it's finally here, that I'm in Beijing and living and working here. Going to start my first day of work at Nokia Research tomorrow, looking forward to it!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Off to Beijing
I'm at the airport now with my wife and we're waiting for the flight to Beijing. This move is really exciting as I've been in Canada (specifically Toronto) throughout my entire life. I can't wait to start my new job at Nokia Research and I'm looking forward to this new journey in my life.
Please pray for us for a safe flight and a new and blessed beginning in Beijing. Maybe we'll get a chance to see the Olympics while we're there!
Keep reading my blog and keep in touch via e-mail. This is not good bye but a new beginning since so many things have happened in my life this year. And I'm grateful for God for everything in my life, my family, my amazing blessed wife, my exciting new job, and finally nearing towards the end of my PhD (my defense is in November).
God always has a plan for all of us.
Please pray for us for a safe flight and a new and blessed beginning in Beijing. Maybe we'll get a chance to see the Olympics while we're there!
Keep reading my blog and keep in touch via e-mail. This is not good bye but a new beginning since so many things have happened in my life this year. And I'm grateful for God for everything in my life, my family, my amazing blessed wife, my exciting new job, and finally nearing towards the end of my PhD (my defense is in November).
God always has a plan for all of us.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Preparing my move to Beijing
Today, the moving company came to move the items that my wife and I are packing to Beijing. They were pretty fast, done within 2 hours, but they had 3 people to help to pack in boxes. Now, it's packing stuff in suitcases and then physically flying to Beijing.
I'm so excited to start a new job in Beijing and with Nokia Research and it will be a great opportunity to start a new life with my wife. I'm beginning to learn how to balance work and family life and having an amazing wife that supports me, I feel I'm the most blessed man and husband in the world.
I'm so excited to start a new job in Beijing and with Nokia Research and it will be a great opportunity to start a new life with my wife. I'm beginning to learn how to balance work and family life and having an amazing wife that supports me, I feel I'm the most blessed man and husband in the world.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
PhD final defense scheduled!
Finally, the PhD is near its end after 5 years. I just scheduled my PhD final defense for November 3. It feels great that I'm going to graduate soon and start a full time job. I have accepted a full time job in Nokia Research in Beijing, China which should be exciting and challenging. I'll be moving with my wife to Beijing. Maybe I'll be able to see the Olympics while I'm there.
Just need to finish minor changes and flow in the dissertation.
As I reminisce on my PhD years, what I've learned is that a PhD prepares you for life, it's not about the degree, it's about the experience and skillset that you gain. You go to conferences, you practice your talks, you meet other people, you socialize with other researchers, you work on interesting projects, you improve your writing skills by writing papers, and you cooperate with other students and faculty. It is such an enriching experience. It isn't without its ups and downs, but its the ups and downs that make it all worthwhile.
Just need to finish minor changes and flow in the dissertation.
As I reminisce on my PhD years, what I've learned is that a PhD prepares you for life, it's not about the degree, it's about the experience and skillset that you gain. You go to conferences, you practice your talks, you meet other people, you socialize with other researchers, you work on interesting projects, you improve your writing skills by writing papers, and you cooperate with other students and faculty. It is such an enriching experience. It isn't without its ups and downs, but its the ups and downs that make it all worthwhile.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
TV houses using social media for research
TV companies like ABC and NBC are always looking for ways to improve viewer ratings, viewers themselves to watch TV, and to create enhanced services based around TV shows. We've already seen this with Facebook applications like Addicted to Lost around the ABC's hit TV show Lost and Warner Brothers' move using Facebook on their TheWB.com network. Now, NBC is using the Beijing Olympics as a testbed for research into social media to determine which sports viewers like to watch and to provide a "comprehensive picture of how people are supplementing TV viewership with tools such as video streaming, video on demand and mobile phones" (Alan Wurtzel, NBC's research chief). They are also giving online surveys to viewers to guage their feedback and even giving special programmed cell phones to look at viewer behaviour when away from the TV watching the Olympics.
I think it's about time that TV began to use social media and integrate it with their own TV offerings. There needs to be more value add in TV, it needs to be a more social experience. This reminds me of a research project from PARC called SocialTV. You can also read a previous blog post I wrote about this.
On Technorati: Olympics2008, social media, TV
I think it's about time that TV began to use social media and integrate it with their own TV offerings. There needs to be more value add in TV, it needs to be a more social experience. This reminds me of a research project from PARC called SocialTV. You can also read a previous blog post I wrote about this.
On Technorati: Olympics2008, social media, TV
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Hypertext 2007 trip report published in ACM SIGWEB newsletter
If you're an ACM SIGWEB member, then the latest SIGWEB newsletter is out. In there you'll find an article co-authored by me and James Goulding about the Hypertext 2007 conference trip report.
Have a read and let me know what you think!
On Technorati: SIGWEB, HT07
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