So, what do you do when a customer asks if you can create a Windows Mobile application that looks like an iPhone app? Well, if you’re smart, you’ll run. If you are not, like me, you’ll give it a go. Seriously though, creating a rich user experience with an iPhone-like look, feel, and interaction is hard if not impossible to attain on a Windows Mobile device today. The tools for implementing complicated business logic and algorithms on Windows Mobile devices are fantastic; want to interact with a camera or bar code scanner, stream live video, implement complex data structures or OO architecture, build an intricate ORM/relational database app, or do some other complex bit twiddling, that’s no problem on Windows Mobile. If you want to make a stunning Windows Mobile user experience – good luck. There’s no CSS treatments you can leverage or Ajax goodness… you gotta build your fancy shmancy controls from scratch and that’s no fun. When I created the NewsGator iPhone reader (m.newsgator.com) I had a great UI toolkit to work with (thanks to Joe Hewitt), but no such luck with Windows Mobile.
So, in this case I spent many painful (but oddly enjoyable) hours writing custom controls to build a fairly interesting and attractive RSS “widget” for Windows Mobile… there are some screen shots below. Yeh, I know it’s no iPhone app but it’s not bad…
As a side note, after seeing some of the demos of Silverlight running on mobile devices (Windows AND Nokia – that’s right Nokia), I’m pretty psyched to see this technology flourish. It may be just what the doctor ordered. Flash Lite is another possibility but has been painfully slow to get adoption. Oh, there’s the iPhone SDK now too which is sure to enable some beautiful mobile apps. Good times!
April 3rd, 2008
Some day this will be me… just with longer socks 
April 3rd, 2008
Do you have that entrepreneurial itch that you can’t shake? When I was coming out of undergraduate school, I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur but I had no outlet to explore this desire. I took a job working in my field of mechanical engineer which I enjoyed, but @ the time I really wanted to explore my idea of an online classified system (this was 1989). I convinced my dad that it was a good idea but it pretty much ended there. Hmm… imagine if I had a chance to explore this concept? Perhaps eBay would have been founded earlier
Well, today there is no excuse for not pursuing your dream. There are plenty of options out there and thanks to the open tubes on the internet those options are easy to find.
One of the best options for young, aspiring entrepreneurs is TechStars. This is an amazing opportunity to nurture your ideas and learn from the best. You will be exposed to brilliant folks who have “been there and done thatâ€. And to top it off, all the people involved in TechStars are good people!
The founder of TechStars, David Cohen, is one of the brightest tech minds I have ever met, and he is down-right a generous and kind human being. Don’t get me wrong though, David will not hold back and will let you know what’s on his mind and that is another trait that I admire and aspire to replicate. You’ll also get introduced to folks like Brad Feld – I have not had an opportunity to work too closely with Brad, but when you hear him speak and recognize the legacy he is creating in the Boulder Tech scene you realize this is a special individual and you should pay close attention. The opportunity to learn from folks like this is on par with a degree from a top notch university, is condensed into one summer, and you get a little bit of cash to boot.
If you are thinking about TechStars stop now and just apply. Do it and thank me later! The application deadline is coming fast - http://www.techstars.org/apply/
March 10th, 2008
Okay maybe it’ll take 60 seconds. The process for getting NewsGator Go! on your mobile device used to be somewhat cumbersome. You had to create an account using NewsGator Online, request a download link in NewsGator Online, wait for an email with instructions, and the proceed.
Well, that’s old news. Now the entire process can be done from your device in just 2 steps (it is in beta, so keep that in mind).
Got to http://mbeta.newsgator.com/d (don’t forget the /d for download) and grab the installer. Once the process is flushed out completely, we’ll drop ‘beta’ from the url:
Fire up the client. If you already have an account you’re done and off to the races. If not, just enter a username and password and you’re done (we’ll create an account for you on the fly):
If you just created a new account, you’ll be teed up with a mobile starter pack.
At this point, you are good to Go! with mobile RSS! That was easy, yeh? You can always add more feeds or tweak your settings from Go!, NewsGator Online, or one of our awesome and FREE clients (FeedDemon, NetNewsWire, or Inbox). Thanks TD for helping with the html and artwork.
Enjoy!
February 25th, 2008
Every now and again the debate stirs up over the merits of desktop vs. web based software. The debate ends here! And the answer is simple - it’s both!
My co-worker and friend, Nick Bradbury, sums it up in one line:
“PS: As I’ve written before, I think the so-called battle between web and desktop apps is overblown. It’s a hybrid world, not an either-or situation.”
January 11th, 2008
I was just watching Jay Leno doing a Q&A session with his audience. Someone asked him who was his least favorite guest… he answered Ken Wahl. So I googled poor Ken and in a few seconds landed on his Wikipedia entry and right in the entry was the following:
“On January 9, 2008 Jay Leno stated that he was his least favorite guest ever on the Tonight Show, adding (lightheardedly) that Wahl was “a pain in the ass.” Check it out.
Wow! That is pretty impressive and is a great example of the power and immediacy of user generated content!
January 10th, 2008
NewsGator Go! is now free!
So, you’ve went out and bought a shiny new mobile device, and now you are looking for some great software. But that new device and the holiday’s have tapped your budget. Well, I have good news for you. If you want to keep up with what’s going on in your world from your mobile, you can do that now and it won’t cost you a penny. NewsGator’s mobile news readers are all FREE:
And while you’re at it, grab one or all of the other NewsGator client products. They are all free as well! The clients are all fantastic, and they all synchronize with each other:
- Windows – get FeedDemon for FREE
- Mac – get NetNewsWire for FREE
- Outlook – get Inbox for FREE
I’m glad we are giving our killer consumer products away – it’s a great move for the company and a great move for our customers! A few months ago I was on vacation in the mountains outside of Denver relaxing in the hot tub with some other folks from the area. We started talking about what we do; all these folks were intelligent and technology savvy. However, none of them knew about RSS – I explained what it was and they all agreed it sounded great and useful. Well, now that our clients our free I hope I don’t need to do any more explaining!
On top of spreading the love about RSS, this move will certainly help my friends and co-workers in the enterprise side of the house sell more software. As folks learn about RSS and the aewsomeness of NGES, their job of selling becomes that much easier! In addition to helping enterprise sales, we will also be focusing the clients on delivering more relevant content - you’ll be hearing much more about that in the following weeks and months.
Nick and Greg do a great job of explaining this transition so be sure to check that out. Get ‘em while their hot!
January 9th, 2008
Yep, we all know that. So that’s all I have to say about that.
But what about the opposite. Nice people don’t suck. In fact, when you meet nice/good people make sure you value that relationship. I have a really good exaple about a great person and one who I am really glad to call a friend.
That cat is Andrew Hyde. Last week I was supposed to meet Andrew to kick around his business plan/idea (which is really cool btw). Unfortunately on the bike ride up from Denver to Boulder, I hit a patch of ice south of town, slid into an intersection, and tagged a car. I didn’t get hurt too bad but dinged my bike up a bit. I showed up to the Trident coffee shop way late and Andrew had left already.
When I told Andrew what happened and that I was about to leave the coffee shop, Andrew was just concerned about me! In fact, Andrew drove over. On the way, he saw me waiting for the bus, picked me up, and drove me home. We had a great conversation on the ride home, and I am really glad to have such a kick ass friend. Thanks Andrew!
[On a side note, if you are thinking about funding Andrew’s new business, do it. Andrew is guaranteed to be successful - just look at what he’s done with Startup Weekend.]
January 9th, 2008
I have a fax/printer/copier/scanner that I bought a few years back… it’s a Brother MFC8840D. The thing has been rock solid until my 4 year old, Asher, decided to use the top door thingie as a diving board.
I think it gave him some pretty good spring action until the hinge broke off. I called Brother and within 5 minutes I had a new hinge on the way and will be sure to keep the Brother out of harm’s way from now on.
Way to go Brother - solid customer service!Â
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December 28th, 2007
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