February 2012
2 posts
Thoughts on Siri - 4 Months Later
When the iPhone 4S launched, Siri was the bee’s knee’s. I’ll admit, I was one of those customers who spent all night asking Siri asinine questions like how much wood can a woodchuck chuck if a would chuck could chuck would. Siri was the ultimate party trick. Then the novelty wore off and I stopped asking it stupid questions.
Here is how I use Siri now:
Setting reminders while I...
WatchCurrently working on a revolutionary new way to watch tv on the internet.
December 2011
3 posts
Advice on Hiring Developers
There have been numerous blogs, advice, and studies on how to hire developers for your startup. It’s the single most important role for founders, CEO’s and CTO’s of a software company. The 2011 trend seems to favor hiring:
Hackers who can get shit done and willing to learn anything
Coders who are also secretly designers
Coders who can move up and down the stack (front-end to...
Managing Bugs and Defect Creep
We all learn in project management/engineering 101 that feature creep is the number one reason for why 99% of software projects are always delivered late. While this is true, and incredibly damaging to not only profits, but team morale, this is often attributed as the sole reason for why projects fail.
Time to shed a bit of truth.
Defects hurt your product more than overcommitting to your...
Productivity Hack: Meetings
I’ve attended my fair share of meetings throughout my career. Code review meetings, feature planning meetings, scrum meetings, client meetings, urgent life-stopping bugs being reported meetings (to the customer the world must stop :).
Meetings are highly disruptive. People are most productive when they’re in the zone and uninterrupted. Meetings disrupt this workflow, and going back to...
October 2011
2 posts
Why Files Won't Matter
Files are going to be a thing of the past. Gone are the days of creating folders, shortcuts and managing your recycle bin (lolwut). Managing files is cumbersome. Most people are also notoriously bad at staying organized.
This is why Gmail doesn’t have folders for your inbox. If you want to find an e-mail just search for it. Let Google take care of it for you.
This is why the iTunes App...
iPhone 4S Quick Review
I’ve only been able to use my iPhone 4S for a day, but I’ve been running iOS5 for a few months now. So here is the quick and dirty.PROS- It’s fast. You’ll notice the difference from the 4, and you’ll definitely notice the difference from Android - Siri is not only fun to use, but very useful. Voice commands are nothing new (I had an HTC Wizard back in 2004 running...
July 2011
1 post
How to make mobile payments easier
(sweet phone bro.) People have been talking about mobile payments for at least a decade (as noted by the 90’s phone in this post that has premo features like a monochrome screen and redial). Analysts like to quote a person is more likely to notice his phone is missing than his wallet, therefore, money would be better placed in the phone than in the wallet. Fast forward to today and we...
June 2011
2 posts
Speed vs. Responsiveness
Speed is everything on the internet. We love fast food, fast cars, and fast loading webpages (admit it, I know you do). I’m about to squash the myth here that speed isn’t everything. At least not on mobile.How many of you shopping for a phone see meaningless information like “1.5 Ghz SnapDragon dualcore processor” or “1GB L2 Cache?” Sounds fancy (it really...
iCloud, Apps and the Interactive Web
Apple announced iCloud last week. They aren’t changing the internet here, the technology is the same stuff Google has been doing for a few years now. What is changing is how we interact with the cloud. Let’s look at the Google Scenario: Open up your browser of choice Go to http://docs.google.com Login Make some docs, and save it in a folder so you can access it later.Pretty...
April 2011
3 posts
The Unsubscribe User Experience
Unsubscribing is not fun. It sucks for the user because they are unhappy with a product/service and it sucks for a business because they have an unhappy customer. Talk about catch 22. The customer is always right so here is how you can make the process effortless: Unsubscribing should take only 1-click. Don’t make them log into their account settings just so they can click an...
3 Usability Tips for Login Screens
Don’t enable auto-complete for password fields. Having your 27 character password that contains at least two numbers, 3.5 capital letters and a llama, auto-corrected gets annoying very fast. Use Facebook Connect or Twitter OAuth. Nobody likes typing in that crazy long password. Chances are your users are already connected to Facebook and Twitter. Don’t prompt for login until...
Thoughts on the Mobile Web
The iPhone is HOT. Android phones are flying off the shelves. Even Windows Mobile 7 is making a surprising run. Businesses want apps on every platform, iPhone, Android and Windows Mobile 7.This means they need to 3 types of developers: An Objective-C developer for iPhone A Java developer for Android A .NET developer for Windowsor a rockstar ninja who can do all three.Facebook recently...
March 2011
1 post
iPad 2 - A Week in Review
PROS: It’s REALLY fast. Just try scrolling, smooth like butter. So sleek and thin. You’ll notice the difference. It’s white and looks like a Kindle, a product I really admire. The smart cover is a really nice finish. 1000x better than the original iPad case.CONS: If you already own an iPad, this might be a pricey upgrade. Camera’s are low quality. Who really video...
February 2011
4 posts
Current Android Tablets: A Poor Execution Strategy
Honeycomb is great. I’ve had the chance to play with it on my simulator and briefly used the Xoom in person from my buddy @ishboo3002.It has solid multi-tasking and the tried & true Android notification system. The UI is fantastic and almost Apple-esque in nature. Win for Google. But lets forget about tech and talk strategy. Manufacturers like Motorola, Samsung and a slew of others are...
Why I Don't Buy the iPhone Nano Hype
The interweb loves to debate Apple’s future product line-up. Recently the WSJ reported that Apple is working on an affordable, iPhone Nano that won’t have any memory. Everything from music, to movies, to your contacts will all be synced to the cloud via MobileMe. This is interesting, however a memory-less phone will be slow. Speed is everything on mobile. Throw in AT&T’s...
What Happened to Write Once, Run Anywhere?
Remember Java? Write once, run anywhere. So much for that false promise. Loic from Seesmic posted some great thoughts on what it takes to build your brand in the tech world these days: The new nightmare of developers and brandsTo summarize you need: - Website- iPhone app- Android app- Desktop app (if you’re still in that business)- Windows Phone app (there is no denying that it is gaining...
How To Think App-Centric: Yesterday's Software vs....
Thanks to Apple, we now live in an app world. We download apps on our iPhones, BlackBerries, and Android devices. We also download app’s on our Macs, and soon we will see App Stores for Windows and new platforms that rise from the roots of innovation. Yesterday vs. TodayYesterday’s software was big, bloated, and feature rich. Think Microsoft Office, Lotus Notes and Quicken. They...
January 2011
5 posts
Pandora's UI Fail
Pandora is a great web service, I use it to listen to all kinds of music, but one thing that really pisses me off is how small their station list is. It’s not easy to navigate through stations when you have a list that is compressed like this. Scrollbars are ugly, especially when the entire page itself has so much screen real-estate. I guess thats what happens when you turn your entire site...
Essential Mac Apps for Developers
I hope these tools make you as productive as it makes me. CloudAppAllows me to take screenshots, automatically upload it to the web, and copy the URL so I can send it to my designer for feedback.SimplePastieSimilar to CloudApp, but this lets me copy my code and automatically upload it to Pastie.org or Gist so I can share quick snippets of code with fellow developers. Skype/iChatIndispensable if...
Why Google doesn't care if Android is the best...
Android isn’t an attempt to build the best mobile platform and sell it on its merits; it’s a play to control the vast majority of the mobile market, secure eyeballs for Google advertising and eliminate any threat to Google. Interesting analysis of the Android platform and why Google doesn’t care about selling the best software or the best phones. (Android Isn’t About Building a Mobile...
Steal This Idea: Easy Mobile Authentication
I like to practice what I preach. Ideas are cheap, execution is everything. I’d like to start keeping track of ideas that I don’t have time to build myself.What: The world is shifting towards mobile. It’s inevitable with the prevalence of smartphones, tablets and touch-screens. Signing into websites is still particularly cumbersome because the user has to type their username and...
Untitled
“Vision without execution is hallucination.” - Tomas Edison Posted via email from Sheehan Alam | Comment »
November 2010
3 posts
Beautiful iPad Apps - November Edition
Music Aweditorium Very impressive UI for discovering new music. Artists are shown in a grid and you navigate by pinching, zooming and swiping. Little details like music fading in and out when switching artists are a nice touch. SportsNBA GameTime Nice visual way to display sports scores. I was tired of apps showing me scores in a list. This app hits the spot.Videos VLC Not only is VLC technically...
Ideas are Cheap, Execution is Everything
“If you were the inventor of Facebook, then you would have invented Facebook.”Everyone has an idea. Idea’s are cheap. Building, iterating and executing are what make products & companies great. Go build something. Posted via email from Sheehan Alam | Comment »
iPad Review: 8 Months Later
When we get our hands on a new tech toy, we tend to over-hype it’s capabilities, especially right after we unbox them. I’d like to give my take on the iPad - 8 Months Later.GOOD- I don’t watch videos on my laptop anymore. Period. It’s too easy to watch streaming tv shows and movies from Hulu, ABC, and Netflix.- I used to wake up every morning and read the news on my iPhone...
October 2010
8 posts
The Social Network is Our Generation's Pirates of...
Pirates of Silicon Valley: The story of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates The Social Network: The story of Mark Zuckerburg “You know whats’ cooler than a million dollars? A billion dollars.” <— cheesy but true. Posted via email from Sheehan Alam | Comment »
The Next Generation Business
“Next-generation businesses are built on next-generation assets. Yesterday’s businesses were built on cash, factories, and IP - financial, physical, and intellectual capital. Next-generation businesses are built, instead, on human, social, natural, and cultural capital - to name just a few.” - Umair Haque, Harvard Business Review Posted via email from Sheehan...
Why Instagram Rocks
Instagram is the latest hot app for the iPhone. Snap photos, add some effects and share. So simple. Why is it better than the basic camera app, or even a regular point and shoot that has higher quality? Because it’s fun. Sharing is easy, photos are social, and the experience is classy. Posted via email from Sheehan Alam | Comment »
The Carriers are Killing Android
Cell phone carriers are taking the “experience” out of Android. Take a look at this ad I snapped on the subway. Each phone has a different UI and a different set of buttons, but they are all Android (excluding the Blackberry). TV’s are easy to use and offer the same experience to anyone watching it, because they are holistically consistent. All TV’s work the same. ...
Wanna-Be MBA Analysis: Apple vs. Google vs....
With the mobile and operating system space really heating up between Apple, Google and Microsoft, I thought I’d take a look at the financial health of all three companies. There are lots of nerdy data points we can extrapolate from here, but I’d like to point out a few interesting things: Apple has the highest market cap and revenue/employee. I know they have very small teams, and...
Products vs. Technology
Businesses sell products. Not technology. The big technology giants: Google, Apple, Microsoft etc. sell products, even if they are bad (you know who I’m referring to).Businesses that sell technology are usually doomed. Take a look at Sun Microsystems. The way to sell technology is through a service. IBM, HP and Infosys get this right.Services are products too. Sell products. Not...
Desining Products...Well
“When you’re designing products and features, don’t think about what you can and can’t do. Think about what you can do well.” - Sheehan Alam Posted via email from Sheehan Alam | Comment »
There is no Need to Rethink the TV Strategy
Apple and Google are about to go head to head for app space on the tv. While I’m sure both companies will have a great product offering, whether its Flash on the big screen, or the ability to stream movies from your PC, the bottom line is execution. Consumer behavior is really important here. When you watch TV, you except it to turn on instantly, and you don’t anticipate any lag...
September 2010
2 posts
PC vs. Mac vs. Leonardo Di Caprio?
Posted via email from Sheehan Alam | Comment »
Android Initial Thoughts
Now I know this isn’t a truly fair comparison, since the iPhone 4 (my current phone) is one generation ahead of the Nexus One (the only Android phone I have) comparatively, so I’ll try to keep this post about more about the OS and experience than hardware & guts.What I like about Android Deep Google integration - and I mean DEEP. It’s nice logging in with my Gmail account and...
August 2010
2 posts
The Best Investment Advice You'll Ever Get From...
“Saving 15pct on the $1k dollars worth of items you know you will absolutely spend money on is a better return on your money than making 15pct in a year on a $1k investment because you don’t pay taxes on it.” - Mark Cuban, The Best Investment Advice You Will Ever Get Posted via email from Sheehan Alam | Comment »
Apple Rejecting Apps That Require Registration is...
There have been reports of Apple rejecting apps that require users to register first before using. This is great. Registration is the biggest barrier to entry. User retention drops off dramatically at the point of registration on the web. The mobile experience is completely different, and users want access to information quick. Wasting time registering is not quick. It’s tedious. The best...
July 2010
1 post
Beautiful iPad Apps - July Edition
CalcBot - Beautiful calculator with nice crisp sound fx when you click on buttons FlipBoard - takes your news, twitter and facebook feeds and lays it out into a magazine. This sets the bar high for news readers. Uzu - sweet particle physics visualizer. You have to see it to believe it. Press your finger against the glass and the particles will react. FlickPad - cool way to visualize your Facebook...
June 2010
11 posts
Beautiful iPad Apps - June Edition
ProductivityDigits - I find it odd that Apple didn’t include a basic calculator with the iPad. Never fear, this app makes great use of typography; not to mention has a roll to keep track of every calculation you’ve made. Beautifully simple.NewsThe Early Edition - Displays your Google Reader/RSS feeds in a news paper style format. This is a different take on UI, a deviation from the...
Quick iPhone 4 Review
Good Sleek, all glass design FaceTime video calling works all the time, seamlessly, with very high quality resolution. Dual camera is awesome. Especially during FaceTime. Camera takes very high quality pictures for a smartphone. Retina display stands up to the hype. Text is crisp & clear. The phone is snappy Battery lasts a little bit longer.Bad The antenna problem does exist. Signal quality...
The iPhone Needs Flash
I’ve had many debates in 140 characters or less with my friends @mazimi, @dustinstapp, and @ishboo3002 over why Flash doesn’t matter on the iPhone. I stand by all of my points that flash is slow, drains battery, and is mostly used to serve crappy ads on the web. However, yesterday I was showing my dad my shiny new iPhone 4 (blog post on that later this weekend), and he asked,...
NBA Players in FIFA
I’m not the hugest soccer fan, but I believe this guy should be playing in the NBA. Disclaimer: I have mad photoshop skills. Posted via email from Sheehan Alam | Comment »
iPhone vs. Android Phones
Three simple reasons why the iPhone has trumped thus far: App Store - Not only does the iPhone platform have the largest app community, the quality of the apps are much better. Multitouch & Responsiveness - Swiping, pinching and zooming are quick and fast on the iPhone. It still amazes me that three years later the competition can’t even create a multitouch display to rival even the...
Entreprenuers vs. Investors
“One of the great things about young entrepreneurs is that they don’t know that something can’t be done. So they try something that’s so audacious and usually end up pulling it off. But I don’t think that audacity is great when it comes to investing.” - Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures Posted via email from Sheehan Alam | Comment »
Orbit get's their Facebook all up in her Twitter
</object>I’m a huge fan of Arrested Development. I’m also a huge fan of savvy marketing. Could this be the next viral internet video? Check out this digital short a-la Saturday Night Live. Posted via email from Sheehan Alam | Comment »
Money Advice to Graduates
“The most financially well-off people I know knew at 22 exactly what they wanted to do with their financial assets. Some of the poorest 40-year-olds I know are still clueless about money.” - from Advice To Graduates, by The Vanguard Company Posted via email from Sheehan Alam | Comment »
The Best Investment Advice You'll Never Get
Just before Google went IPO in 2004, Eric Shmidt hired a Nobel Laureate to advise a bunch of 20 something engineers on how to manage their money when they become overnight millionaires. [Full Story]. A few take-aways: Financial advisors and mutual fund managers are salesmen first, financial experts second. They have families to feed and get paid on commission. This is a conflict of interest...
Rent an iPad
Disclaimer: This post is being written on an iPad An Australian jetliner will be renting out iPad’s to their inflight customers as entertainment devices [Full Story] for $10 soon. For a struggling industry, this can bring in extra revenue since inflight entertainment is sub-par at best. Security and theft would be the biggest logistical issue, but aside from that, the iPad is making waves...
5 iPad App Design Tips
Don’t take your existing iPhone app and port it. The extra screen space can be used to display information more intuitively. Design to maximize every pixel. Make use of gestures. It’s easier and more natural for users to swipe, pinch and use their hands, especially on a large, responsive touch screen. Minimize clicks. The less interacting the user has to do, the more they can focus on...