FiberGeneration

Alleluia : Twittervision on the iPhone is there !

Just installed Twittervision on my iPhone. Absolutely stunning app. The potential uses in business are countless. I better hurry up creating my Web 2.0 start-up in Pau ;-)

Microsoft SMS : the Stupid Me-too Strategy

Microsoft has just launched its Windows Mobile Apps online store, apparently (you bet) to compete against Apple' s AppStore for the iPhone.

As I've both an iPhone and a PocketPC, I can do head-to-head comparison. I swear, it's not because I'm an Apple Fanboy, but the AppStore rocks and the WinMobApps sucks. A matter of product design, of course : the user experience per se, with the integration of the store into a global solution, the ease-of-use, etc.

For instance, the Microsoft store requires you to install Silverlight, to enable the caroussel type of product selection. Guess what : this feature is embedded into Mac OS X (ever heard of CoverFlow ?)...

That is a pretty stupid strategy from the guys in Redmond (another one ? ;-), proving that Microsoft is struggling like hell to stay... alive.

Funny MacDailyNews take on that one : "Any day now, we expect a post-liposuction Ballmer to show up at some trade show dressed in jeans and a black mock turtleneck saying "Boom!" a lot."

iPhone & MobileMe : Say Bye Bye To The Auto-Reply

Verifying my .Me settings this morning, I've realized something : since I bought my iPhone 8 months ago, I never used again the automatic reply feature for emails when traveling. 

Since the advent of Lotus Notes and MS Outlook, the typical auto-reply looked like this one :

Dear Sender,

Thank you for contacting Marc Duchesne.
I will be on a business trip until October 31st.
During that time, I will have limited access to my e-mail. I will respond to your message as soon as possible.

I apologize for any inconvenience,
Carpe Diem,
_Marc

Now, thanks to the iPhone, I don't care mind being abroad on the road : I ALWAYS have access to my e-mail. Will I reply to them "as soon as possible", that's another story !

The Web 2.0 Typical Disease, or How To Make Your Product Stand Out

I've just cleaned up my .Me (formerly know as .Mac) email inbox, reducing the infernal number of messages from 500+ down to a more affordable 100+.***

Among those hundreds of messages that I sorted, archived, or trashed, more than 20 were confirmations of registration at this or that Web 2.0 new service or new application. I tell you what : I couldn't remember 4 out of 5 of them. What the heck is this or that stuff about, I can't tell.

My first conclusions on this fact : either I start suffering Alzheimer's Disease (maybe I should call on Dr. House) or the service itself wasn't worth the try - which explains why I didn't remember even the names. About names : I'm not the first one nor the last one to say that many of the Web 2.0 start ups have obscure names or products names - that's a Web 2.0 game, actually : choose the most non-sensed name, and you'll get noticed. At least for a short while (see above).

Now, the lesson : if you want your Web 2.0 app to stand out the crowd, make it shine. Make it visible. Make it recognizable. Pick a handful of early adopters, wait a month or two after they've signed up, and then ask them what your product is about. If they're able to answer right on the spot, you won. If not, better think again your model.

*** I do use my inbox as a To-Do list - that doesn't mean I've got 100 to-do items (ever heard of threads ? ;-)

Tip of the day : for those of you don't have a Gmail account yet, create one. Then, use it as a backup for your regular email account(s). I personnaly set-up a special Gmail account just for this backup task a couple of months ago, and I can tell : it's very very convenient. You never sweat again when you delete an important message by mistake : it's still there, somewhere in the Cloud ;-)

Feedly And The Customer Satisfaction Fairy Tale

Since last week and the latest Firefox 3 update (3.0.1), I can't get Feedly running any longer. That's a real pitty for me, as I consider Feedly as the best RSS feed reader so far - for once, you can design your own online newspaper at a fingersnap.

Unfortunately, the automatic FX update stopped the service. No chance to re-install the add-on : "The feedly 1.0b3 could not be installed because it is not compatible with Firefox 3.0.1."

So after several attempts, I decided to call on Feedly' support. I discovered the Get Satisfaction service : technical support the Web 2.0 way. Absolutely stunning, for it is the one place you as an end-user can go and call for help on most of your favorite tools and apps. The list of companies currently being supported by Get Satisfaction is definitely impressive, from the smallest newest startup (say... Feedly for instance) to the biggest largest company (say Apple). Twitter seems to be the number one in terms of questions and support team.

Among a few other Web 2.0 apps, Get Satisfaction is typically the sort of tool which every single Enterprise 1.0 should adopt and integrate immediately. It's a fantastic way to keep in touch with your end-users, by proving them how much you care about their satisfaction.

Actually, this type of service is based on an old concept made modern. In this case, it's Usenet and its numerous FAQs and discussion boards at the Web 2.0 sauce. Nothing new ("the people-powered customer service for absolutely everything") but all new (the ease of use and the flexibility).

As soon as I get my own startup up and running, Get Satisfaction will be part of the toolkit.

ps : my own dashboard is here.

Your Moment Of Zen

iPhone 2.0 'Remote' : a Small App For A Giant Leap Forward

Shall you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can now remote control your iTunes libraries (Mac and PC, Folks) with the little yet jaw-dropping awesomely fantastic Remote application.

Now, once again Apple is showing the way to the Future : how we'll be able to control any *connected* device from our smartphone - er, iPhone.

Possibilities are endless, including for professional applications. ***

More details on Remote here.

*** Call for developers : you 're young, you're open-minded, you're french (yes, some of us combine those three criteria ;-) you're an iPhone/Mac developer : please drop me a line (Twitterers welcome).

ROTFL (Rolling On The Floor Laughing) Seriously ;-)

Here's an ATM machine' s screenshot, captured last night in downtown Pau. What a brilliant customer experience, is it ?!!!

For you geeks reading this blog, here's the MS Windows' s error message :

Question : Who the heck developed this mission-critical app ?

Next question : When the hell will the big guys (hey, you're seeing a large bank here) realize that Windows really sucks ?

Who Said Fiber Is Secure ?

See this !

For the sake of your PC, better not visit the site (Mac users : you can ! ;-)

Portugal Commits to FTTH (in the meantime, France awaits the next Google...)

That is one of the headlines on the FTTH Council Europe homepage :

" Public and private interests in Portugal have this week made a series of ambitious and immediate commitments to FTTH investment that could propel the nation into the top tier of European fibre nations. 

On Friday 4^th July, the Portuguese government set the target of 1 million FTTH connections by 2010, and there is every indication that this will be achieved as carriers Sonaecom and Portugal Telecom announced investment plans to potentially exceed this number before the end of the decade. 

Incumbent telco Portugal Telecom forecast connecting 100,000 homes by the end of this year and a total of 1 million by the end of 2009.

In February, alternative operator Sonaecom announced a €240m FTTH roll-out to reach around a quarter of Portugal’s 10.6 million population.  Its project completion is anticipated three years from now."

So, Portugal enters the Ultra-Broadband race with a quite aggressive plan.

In the meantime, FTTH deployments are still on hold (sort of) in France, with the three major telcos : FT-Orange, SFR-NeufCegetel, and Free waiting (sort of) or the final decision by the Authority of Regulation ARCEP on the mutualisation.

OK-derle, Portugal is a small country compared to France - say 6 times smaller population-wise. However, 1 million connected homes by 2012 as target goal defined by the Portuguese government is more aggressive than the one set by the French government - 4 million homes (link in french) - when compared to the respective population numbers : for Portugal, the ratio is 1:10, whilst for France it is 1:16. Ever heard of the Digital Divide ?...