Comparing the google IM tool versus the yahoo one, there is certainly a crisper delivery of the google one. Plus the responsiveness is better, whereas I see some lag-time in typing into the yahoo tool. The UI is also rather cheap looking. Google really understands crisp clean interfaces.
My team development and contacts seem to take a step forward, then another one back. I have a couple of reasonably firm collaborators, but my guy on patents has taken ill, and so I'll need to drum up someone else.
Going to try to move things along enough today that I will be able to a) get a collaborator to try my app remotely, b) get a better version of my biz overview presentation together c) polish my biz plan enough that I can start to share it and get input.
Finding time for some outdoor walking is getting tough with crappy weather - it's snowed continuously and things are slushy. Not great for my productivity when I can't walk outside.
Researchinator walks to window to see what the odds are for a walk today...
Friday, November 28, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Pieces of the Biz Plan
Market assessment work and proforma revenue reports, there's a world of assumptions wrapped up there. And though everyone puts up their slide showing $B with a few numbers around them for the market size, it's still gotta be there. Truthfully, though, with a few active brain cells, if you describe a product, one should be able to estimate for themselves whether the market is a few million, or billions. That's mostly the deduction that needs to be made. But I've seen some crazy perceptions from the start-up crowd, so, nothing can be taken for granted I guess.
My other big challenge is to start to weasel my way into my designated market area in the community. I need to scan the events calendar for sessions where these people get together, and find out what they're up to, then go and horn in on those activities. A few charity dinners perhaps, and a few hand shaking opportunities, and I can hopefully start to build some contacts. That could be tough, but I need to find out where the deep pockets are. I need contacts not only from a potential funder point of view, but also potential partnering opportunities.
On the patent side - still no call on my write up, but at least a ping from my guy saying he's out of the office ill, and will be in touch in a few days. Just as well I didn't see him in person. That's my first test point, and it will be interesting to see if there's anything salvageable (ie fileable) in my disclosure.
To be able to refer to patented technology will be a big help.
Talked to an foreign affairs guy today - he had suggested they were super helpful for startups - but as a test, I asked for some source of market sizing information in US and Europe, and he came back with suggesting a website and a google search. Duh - thanks for the professional assistance.
I've already got some good estimates, though they are a 3-5years out of date. That's not a big issue really, and it's enough to have put together a first draft biz plan. I couldn't help but feel a bit pumped and optimistic after completing that. It sure looks positive - no doubt I'm horribly misinformed. Sadly if the venture fails, I'm sure (as has happened so often before) I'll see the business emerge elsewhere 5 years from now, and swearing will ensue.
Anyway - off to an industry talk tonight and again an opportunity to chat and press the flesh.
Researchinator practises his hand shaking with the cat...
My other big challenge is to start to weasel my way into my designated market area in the community. I need to scan the events calendar for sessions where these people get together, and find out what they're up to, then go and horn in on those activities. A few charity dinners perhaps, and a few hand shaking opportunities, and I can hopefully start to build some contacts. That could be tough, but I need to find out where the deep pockets are. I need contacts not only from a potential funder point of view, but also potential partnering opportunities.
On the patent side - still no call on my write up, but at least a ping from my guy saying he's out of the office ill, and will be in touch in a few days. Just as well I didn't see him in person. That's my first test point, and it will be interesting to see if there's anything salvageable (ie fileable) in my disclosure.
To be able to refer to patented technology will be a big help.
Talked to an foreign affairs guy today - he had suggested they were super helpful for startups - but as a test, I asked for some source of market sizing information in US and Europe, and he came back with suggesting a website and a google search. Duh - thanks for the professional assistance.
I've already got some good estimates, though they are a 3-5years out of date. That's not a big issue really, and it's enough to have put together a first draft biz plan. I couldn't help but feel a bit pumped and optimistic after completing that. It sure looks positive - no doubt I'm horribly misinformed. Sadly if the venture fails, I'm sure (as has happened so often before) I'll see the business emerge elsewhere 5 years from now, and swearing will ensue.
Anyway - off to an industry talk tonight and again an opportunity to chat and press the flesh.
Researchinator practises his hand shaking with the cat...
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Making User Tools a Delight, Not a Pain.
The fateful day that the snow arrived. It's white outside, and the forecast sounds pretty relentless at providing us with a constant replacement for anything that melts during the near zeroC temperatures. I'll have to find some time to go do some shovelling. And it's the heavy stuff too, at this temperature, and with drizzle mixed into the rain. The sound of the obsessive guy's snowblower is rumbling outside. This is the guy that mows his lawn and his neighbours lawn every day during the summer. In winter, the slightest dusting of snow means he's blowing as well. He's a one-man green-house gas king. Still, it's not helping with shortening the winter for us at all.
Yesterday on my project I started into a next phase. Planning the evolution of my tools to make them more functional, now that I've got a basic proof of concept in place. I'm employing a technique that works very well for application design in the past, so I'll share it.
Assuming you are an experienced user of applications of the type you are designing, you have expectations about how such a tool will work. Thus, to help the user discover that the tool responds as he would expect, a good approach is to think of the task you want to acheive - the end goal you are shooting for- and then imagine opening and using a finished tool to accomplish that. Write out each step, ignoring whether its possible or easy to program it or not, until you've described a full funciton.
That's the tough part - and many programmers are too close to their craft to pull it off successfully. You have to forget what you know ('everyone knows that file modes are set with control-alt-F9') and concentrate on making something that is as easy as possible for a non-programmer, intelligent, but novice user. Later, one can consider expert modes and such things, but concentrate first on the learning curve, and getting the task done effectively.
The next stage is to move those walk through steps into a table, and create another column for resources - these are UI resources. What things will be needed for what you
described. Mode menu entries, text entry areas, file open or file save capabilities, timer displays etc.
Make another pass through after that, to indicate how often each of those elements will be used. Is it a setting tweaked at the first use, and retained forever, rarely adjusted by the user again? Is it a button that will get clicked every few minutes. This will guide placement as to whether something can be in a pull-down menu or should be front and centre.
A good tip here is to think also about anything that is dangerous. Is there a delete-everything button mentioned? You'll want to remember to not place that beside the quick-save button. That's a rule violated by many UI's - yes I'm talking to you microsoft with your delete email button beside the send email button. "Yikes, what was I thinking I can't send that email to bob" *click* "Oh crap!"
Following that step, then create another column in which you can look over the previous column's elements and group things together into sensible places. IF you have 3 or 4 file configuration widgets needed, those might fit well into a "file config" menu, or a config menu under file, or into a configuration panel.
Lots of erasing and rejigging is useful there, and finally you have a rough idea. Then take a pencil and paper and sketch out a rough view, and imagine yourself following the steps laid out earlier. Some adjustments are likely.
Switch back to the programmer mode, and think about how you'd code it now. Are there some impossibilities? Sometimes a minor element might take 80% of the effort, so you have to rationalize the usefulness - but don't compromise on quality if you can help it. An elegant, intuitive user interface is a beautiful think. Nothing encourages a user more than guessing where a feature might live, and finding it there exactly as expected.
Some adjustments might be possible that both preserve intent and make programming easier, but be prepared to work a bit harder to preserve the user experience.
Anyway, that's what I'm into just now - and there's a whole lot of work ahead of me.
Researchinator returns to crafting a UI plan...
Yesterday on my project I started into a next phase. Planning the evolution of my tools to make them more functional, now that I've got a basic proof of concept in place. I'm employing a technique that works very well for application design in the past, so I'll share it.
Assuming you are an experienced user of applications of the type you are designing, you have expectations about how such a tool will work. Thus, to help the user discover that the tool responds as he would expect, a good approach is to think of the task you want to acheive - the end goal you are shooting for- and then imagine opening and using a finished tool to accomplish that. Write out each step, ignoring whether its possible or easy to program it or not, until you've described a full funciton.
That's the tough part - and many programmers are too close to their craft to pull it off successfully. You have to forget what you know ('everyone knows that file modes are set with control-alt-F9') and concentrate on making something that is as easy as possible for a non-programmer, intelligent, but novice user. Later, one can consider expert modes and such things, but concentrate first on the learning curve, and getting the task done effectively.
The next stage is to move those walk through steps into a table, and create another column for resources - these are UI resources. What things will be needed for what you
described. Mode menu entries, text entry areas, file open or file save capabilities, timer displays etc.
Make another pass through after that, to indicate how often each of those elements will be used. Is it a setting tweaked at the first use, and retained forever, rarely adjusted by the user again? Is it a button that will get clicked every few minutes. This will guide placement as to whether something can be in a pull-down menu or should be front and centre.
A good tip here is to think also about anything that is dangerous. Is there a delete-everything button mentioned? You'll want to remember to not place that beside the quick-save button. That's a rule violated by many UI's - yes I'm talking to you microsoft with your delete email button beside the send email button. "Yikes, what was I thinking I can't send that email to bob" *click* "Oh crap!"
Following that step, then create another column in which you can look over the previous column's elements and group things together into sensible places. IF you have 3 or 4 file configuration widgets needed, those might fit well into a "file config" menu, or a config menu under file, or into a configuration panel.
Lots of erasing and rejigging is useful there, and finally you have a rough idea. Then take a pencil and paper and sketch out a rough view, and imagine yourself following the steps laid out earlier. Some adjustments are likely.
Switch back to the programmer mode, and think about how you'd code it now. Are there some impossibilities? Sometimes a minor element might take 80% of the effort, so you have to rationalize the usefulness - but don't compromise on quality if you can help it. An elegant, intuitive user interface is a beautiful think. Nothing encourages a user more than guessing where a feature might live, and finding it there exactly as expected.
Some adjustments might be possible that both preserve intent and make programming easier, but be prepared to work a bit harder to preserve the user experience.
Anyway, that's what I'm into just now - and there's a whole lot of work ahead of me.
Researchinator returns to crafting a UI plan...
Friday, November 21, 2008
Job Creation Standing By
Friday leading into a cold weekend, but thankfully the snow remains at bay for now. I hope we can carry this on into December, and maybe even get a thaw in the interim.
I received my final paperwork from the oceanographic research behemoth, and so should swing by the employment office to register for the dole. The money isn't a really important factor currently, but given that I paid into it for a decades, it's good to get something out of it occasionally, at least until I can get something else off the ground.
You'd think that a government concerned with creating jobs would help small firms get started - I mean my intention is to create 15-20 full time, permanent jobs with this thing, and no doubt generate a lot of taxes. But nope - there's no path to help out on that front.
Meanwhile I've got a writeup on my intellectual property front in for scrutiny, and hopefully it will get some support to get filed. That could form the foundation of moving everything forward, or be some means to get a little revenue from my explorations in the past, or it could go nowhere and demoralize me so that I don't much pursue this thing any longer.
Researchinator says such are the challenges of the 9th week of freedom...
I received my final paperwork from the oceanographic research behemoth, and so should swing by the employment office to register for the dole. The money isn't a really important factor currently, but given that I paid into it for a decades, it's good to get something out of it occasionally, at least until I can get something else off the ground.
You'd think that a government concerned with creating jobs would help small firms get started - I mean my intention is to create 15-20 full time, permanent jobs with this thing, and no doubt generate a lot of taxes. But nope - there's no path to help out on that front.
Meanwhile I've got a writeup on my intellectual property front in for scrutiny, and hopefully it will get some support to get filed. That could form the foundation of moving everything forward, or be some means to get a little revenue from my explorations in the past, or it could go nowhere and demoralize me so that I don't much pursue this thing any longer.
Researchinator says such are the challenges of the 9th week of freedom...
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Finer Things Required
It's hardly morning, in fact it sure gets dark quick these days, and there's another month to go before we start to spin back the other way. These are the toughest days. Somehow, I think if we had a fireplace for a roaring wood fire, it would be less difficult - you gotta work the cozy thing I think to compensate. And lots of comfort food.
Hence I'm doing a long slow chicken bake today. 5 hours at 275F should about do it, with a jerk-style rubbed seasoning: Alspice, sage, soya sauce, salt,pepper and ginger. Then stuffing the cavity with star anise tarragon sage and garlic - lots of smashed garlic. Then half a can of beer in the roaster and let her rip for 5 hours or so. That should make for a decent supper and given the organic, local free-range chicken we are using up, it's pretty enviro friendly and healthy too.
Also nipped out and got a hair cut and picked up some new shoes. I've been thinking the wardrobe needs a bit of a refresh in preparation for more meetings on the project and selling the concept. I've been able to let the beard go a bit and wear the same old shirt and jeans for days at a time while coding like crazy, but I need to change gears and get ready to spend more time with the outside world.
As a bonus, the SO has her xmas party coming up shortly, so that will be good shoe-break-in time.
Now, if I could just find a decent dark brown, quality jacket. I'm very particular about suit jackets. I do not care for the conventional navy blue, black and grey options. Well, a decent charcoal might be okay. But so many men wear the same marginal stuff - and there is way to much polyester out there. Nope - give me all wool or silk, natural fibres, and a 3-button blazer... though a decent 4button would be nice too. But finding what you want can take forever. And when I saw a decent suit in Paris last year, I didn't buy it and have regretted it ever since.
Oh well, so thus the hunt goes on. The many varied challenges of the modern researcher - from how to properly slow-cook a chicken to finding a good quality suit jacket, we have so many mountains to climb.
Researchinator sips a whole leaf ceylon-darjeeling blend and ponders his wardrobe options...
Hence I'm doing a long slow chicken bake today. 5 hours at 275F should about do it, with a jerk-style rubbed seasoning: Alspice, sage, soya sauce, salt,pepper and ginger. Then stuffing the cavity with star anise tarragon sage and garlic - lots of smashed garlic. Then half a can of beer in the roaster and let her rip for 5 hours or so. That should make for a decent supper and given the organic, local free-range chicken we are using up, it's pretty enviro friendly and healthy too.
Also nipped out and got a hair cut and picked up some new shoes. I've been thinking the wardrobe needs a bit of a refresh in preparation for more meetings on the project and selling the concept. I've been able to let the beard go a bit and wear the same old shirt and jeans for days at a time while coding like crazy, but I need to change gears and get ready to spend more time with the outside world.
As a bonus, the SO has her xmas party coming up shortly, so that will be good shoe-break-in time.
Now, if I could just find a decent dark brown, quality jacket. I'm very particular about suit jackets. I do not care for the conventional navy blue, black and grey options. Well, a decent charcoal might be okay. But so many men wear the same marginal stuff - and there is way to much polyester out there. Nope - give me all wool or silk, natural fibres, and a 3-button blazer... though a decent 4button would be nice too. But finding what you want can take forever. And when I saw a decent suit in Paris last year, I didn't buy it and have regretted it ever since.
Oh well, so thus the hunt goes on. The many varied challenges of the modern researcher - from how to properly slow-cook a chicken to finding a good quality suit jacket, we have so many mountains to climb.
Researchinator sips a whole leaf ceylon-darjeeling blend and ponders his wardrobe options...
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Meetings and Presentations - the Pitfalls
Skipped an entry yesterday, due to a morning meeting. It was a meeting billed as a breakfast meeting, but turned out they didn't have any breakfast. Nice. They also said it was from 9:30 to 12:00, then it turned out they were serving a lunch after the meeting at 12:00 - also great, as it looked like a decent lunch, but of course, I had planned to get back to work for noon, and have lunch at home. Left-overs in the fridge can't always wait.
I'm not sure why they insisted on misrepresenting the meeting so badly, but I wasn't impressed. The content itself was related to international trade stuff, and two of the four speakers were pretty lame. It's hard to believe there are senior people in significant roles who are unable to put up slides and talk. They actually stand there and read the full text of their presentation. Not only does it show a lack of confidence in the subject matter, but an inability to think on their feet.
So not a stellar event - a bit of networking opportunity there, and I'll follow up on that I think. And really, that's pretty much the only reason for going there.
I like the idea of breakfast meetings - I just wish that they would involve breakfast :)
Researchinator goes looking for a second cup of tea...
I'm not sure why they insisted on misrepresenting the meeting so badly, but I wasn't impressed. The content itself was related to international trade stuff, and two of the four speakers were pretty lame. It's hard to believe there are senior people in significant roles who are unable to put up slides and talk. They actually stand there and read the full text of their presentation. Not only does it show a lack of confidence in the subject matter, but an inability to think on their feet.
So not a stellar event - a bit of networking opportunity there, and I'll follow up on that I think. And really, that's pretty much the only reason for going there.
I like the idea of breakfast meetings - I just wish that they would involve breakfast :)
Researchinator goes looking for a second cup of tea...
Monday, November 17, 2008
Carving out some intellectual property
Each week loads up pretty much like the one before. A bunch of days ahead, so me huge goals that seem to never get closer, like mountains on the horizon. But once you dig into your projects and think more in terms of short-term accomplishments, it's easier to notice the changing landscape around your feet than the distant hills.
I was doing patent document stuff last Friday, and making good use of my tablet and stylus. It's quite surprising how much quicker things are when you don't need to move your mouse about. I bought a wacom Bamboo which is very thin, and about the size of an letter sized sheet of paper (the active surface a bit smaller). It works well with my 20" monitor.
Hopefully I can finish the patent document today and get it off to the legal folks for a go-over. Hopefully this will be economical. I'm used to big-corporate patent development - and this would be patent #5 for me... but it will be my first which I actually own myself, so it would be nice if it has some marketability, and some licensing potential.
The challenge with patent writing is keeping it focussed on solving a problem, and describing a well-bounded space. Not vague business plan stuff, but a series of functional elements and algorithms that comprise what can be called an invention. That is a little more difficult for an architecture than it is for a widget. But I think of patents for things like voice-mail, caller ID and IPTV and think about the structure of those. My own patents range from circuits to broad information presentation architectures for retail spaces, or failure control in routed networks. I need to keep focussed on how those came together to ensure my current system patent fits into a structure that is both valuable and defensible.
Researchinator returns to stylus and keyboard patent crafting...
I was doing patent document stuff last Friday, and making good use of my tablet and stylus. It's quite surprising how much quicker things are when you don't need to move your mouse about. I bought a wacom Bamboo which is very thin, and about the size of an letter sized sheet of paper (the active surface a bit smaller). It works well with my 20" monitor.
Hopefully I can finish the patent document today and get it off to the legal folks for a go-over. Hopefully this will be economical. I'm used to big-corporate patent development - and this would be patent #5 for me... but it will be my first which I actually own myself, so it would be nice if it has some marketability, and some licensing potential.
The challenge with patent writing is keeping it focussed on solving a problem, and describing a well-bounded space. Not vague business plan stuff, but a series of functional elements and algorithms that comprise what can be called an invention. That is a little more difficult for an architecture than it is for a widget. But I think of patents for things like voice-mail, caller ID and IPTV and think about the structure of those. My own patents range from circuits to broad information presentation architectures for retail spaces, or failure control in routed networks. I need to keep focussed on how those came together to ensure my current system patent fits into a structure that is both valuable and defensible.
Researchinator returns to stylus and keyboard patent crafting...
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