gdp's Comments

Where the Rubber Meets the Road... : The Gold Rush Problem: iPhone App Innovation Shrinking

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 16:02:00 +0000

Time is a good point -- though I'd argue that a lot of it is a bit more irrational. You have a plan for your app, and a vision "make one incredibly great app" which I commend. Unfortunately, the lowest common denominator on the store is the audience that doesn't care about making a great app and they are driven more by the short term rewards than sustainability. It is kind of a "Slash and Burn" approach to app building.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road... : The Gold Rush Problem: iPhone App Innovation Shrinking

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 15:56:02 +0000

I totally agree. ConvertBot is a great example of a well thought out application standing out and my hope is that others will follow. Over time it is my hope that the quality in the store rises as a whole, yet we will always have stand out applications that push the platform forward and set the new bar.

Brightkite Blog : Huge news! Limbo is joining forces with Brightkite

Wed, 8 Apr 2009 16:21:58 +0000

Great news!

Where the Rubber Meets the Road... : iPhone Dev Tip: Resizing UILabel Text With numberOfLines & adjustsFontSizeToWidth

Fri, 6 Mar 2009 07:14:55 +0000

If you don't want to subclass UILabel, you might use NSString's sizeWithFont:constrainedToSize: which gives you the recommended height of a string (given the font used and any constraint to the height). You can use this height to adjust the UILabel's frame to match.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road... : Macworld Recap -- Brightkite is THE Killer Conference Tool!

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:50:34 +0000

Yeah, I was there for three days and didn't feel like it was enough time. See you next time!

Where the Rubber Meets the Road... : The App Store Isn't a Free Ride. Really.

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 19:15:27 +0000

Peter, excellent points! In particular #3.... some people entering the App Store marketplace have never marketed a product before. Most are also not Type A networkers. That poses real barriers to be sure, but nothing that can't be overcome with some resourcefulness.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road... : The App Store Isn't a Free Ride. Really.

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 19:13:37 +0000

Very true--- what a success indeed! While the Bart Simpson-esque entrepreneur may not have had a "business plan", he or she understood very well that the demographic which has driven early App Store success is exactly the demographic that loves Bart Simpson and is willing to spend some coin on a electronic fart machine. Thanks for keeping this post relevant. The App Store is the wild west and changes with every passing day.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road... : Custom Business Applications for iPhone

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:16:00 +0000

Sounds great, see you there!

Where the Rubber Meets the Road... : iPhone IS Entrepreneurship

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:51:18 +0000

Fantastic! :-)

Where the Rubber Meets the Road... : Where's the iPhone Open Source?

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:52:55 +0000

No doubt about it. My point is that the sooner a lively open source community is built around iPhone the better for commercial and non-commercial interests. You're right, though. The App Store has overnight created an economy that everyone wants a piece of. It almost reminds me of the flyers on street corners: "Make $5000 per week from home!!!".

Where the Rubber Meets the Road... : What Makes a Killer Workspace?

Thu, 5 Jun 2008 10:28:26 +0000

Fluffy chair? What do you have in mind? Good callout on adjustable height desk!

Where the Rubber Meets the Road... : Clear Markerboards

Thu, 5 Jun 2008 10:27:27 +0000

I agree... a little expensive. Good call out on the plexiglass. Someone should repackage plexi in a "reconfigurable" way for this purpose.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road... : Brainpark To Solve Information Loss in the Workplace

Fri, 16 May 2008 11:14:20 +0000

You bet Mark. I look forward to it!

Where the Rubber Meets the Road... : Open Source and the Soul of a Startup

Mon, 12 May 2008 08:40:32 +0000

Thanks Chris, will do. I strongly believe the story of Open Source is rich with lessons and learns that can be applied to the broader world of business.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road... : The Startup Process - Research & Competition

Mon, 12 May 2008 08:37:35 +0000

Thanks Ray!

Where the Rubber Meets the Road... : Tiny is a big deal!

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:58:14 +0000

Matt- this is great. Relay is exactly what I need. It looks slick while being relatively lightweight. Thank you!

VC Adventure : Know your audience

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:24:01 +0000

Maybe a by-product of the twitter world we live in? The perception of accessibility could confuse the dynamic and result in some of the characteristics you are describing. Hmm.

VC Adventure : Know what you don't know

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 11:31:12 +0000

Absolutely. They need to give users many ways to receive their results. RSS is great, but only one tool in the toolbox. For example, I might want to receive super important Filtr feeds via Instant Message if the results are needed in quick-reaction type setting.

FiltrBook might want to think about providing an open API architecture that allows developers to plugin a variety of different "delivery modes" such as they ones you and I have discussed.

VC Adventure : Know what you don't know

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 11:26:42 +0000

Seth, you are absolutely correct. Of course, tuning goes both ways. The user experience needs to encourage usage that prevents a lengthly (and burdensome to the user and thus active usage) trial-and-error cycle.

It might be interesting if they provided a way for users to (optionally) "seed" a URL or text clipping that is highly relevant to what results they hope to receive in an on-going fashion.

I love the idea of a world that downplays keywords. :-)
(one reason I hope PowerSet has moderate success)

A few suggestions, otherwise I think they really have something fantastic that I will no doubt be using (I hate search). Thanks!

VC Adventure : Know what you don't know

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:14:01 +0000

Oh, and by the way. How great would it be if they could deliver the morning briefing over Socialthing! or Twitter?

Of course, their pitch is all about "business intelligence" so they would have to interact with a social stream in a way that ensures the results are only shared with the intended audience.