DaMoon

Side by Side comparison: Apple Maps vs Google Maps (source:...

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 10:27:43 -0400

Side by Side comparison: Apple Maps vs Google Maps

(source: @corxo -> Here’s new iOS6 maps and the normal Google Maps side by side for Kings X. Which would you rather use?)

"His proposal has pitted neighbor against neighbor, who, after failed peacemaking efforts over local..."

Wed, 23 May 2012 09:34:18 -0400

“His proposal has pitted neighbor against neighbor, who, after failed peacemaking efforts over local artisanal cheese and wine, traded accusations in the local newspaper.”

- George Lucas’s Plans in Marin County Upset Wealthy Neighbors - NYTimes.com

parislemon: iOS 6 “Sundance” And The Sunsetting Of Google...

Mon, 14 May 2012 11:09:42 -0400

parislemon:

iOS 6 “Sundance” And The Sunsetting Of Google Maps

Very good post by MG Siegler Apple Maps and the digital mapping landscape in general. There is a large shift, finally, occurring in the digital mapping world and it will lead to a ton of innovation in the space.

In its initial iteration, Apple does not need to beat Google Maps 5 but simply make something comparable to the existing Maps App on iOS. The biggest challenge here will be to match or beat, Google search results on the map. This includes, one box search, location logic (does New York Pizza mean pizza in New York or a place called New York Pizza) and overall venue freshness and accuracy. Google is very very good at this and users will notice poor results very quickly.

Regarding map API’s for developers, this will not be as big of a challenge as some people suspect. Essentially, MapKit just sends map tiles on request for developers to layer information on top. Creating a map tile set, once you have the data, is something Apple is very capable of doing.

The more interesting innovation will occur down the road. The map provider who is able to provide an API that is vector based and give developers the tools to harness the power of vectors will create an new ecosystem of innovation.

*** I obviously have my biases in how this map industry shakeup will turn out. My company, UpNext, is a interactive 3D mapping platform for mobile. We strongly believe vector based mapping is the future of maps. Check it out for yourself -> UpNext Maps for iPhone

UpNext Maps for iPhone -> iTunes Link We just launched our...

Fri, 11 May 2012 11:16:00 -0400

UpNext Maps for iPhone -> iTunes Link

We just launched our newest and best app, UpNext Maps for iPhone. Watch the video above for a quick demo.

UpNext Maps is the first fully dynamic map; a map that fluidly moves between three different but essential experiences.

1) Immerse/3D - a city-centric experience, giving users a feel for a city without actually being there. Complete with fully textured cities, enhanced roadways and tappable buildings.

2) Explore - a venue-centric experience, boldly highlighting interesting places to see and venues to discover while de-emphasizing buildings and roads.

3) Navigate - a road-centric experience, offering routing and transit and total directional clarity, with high-contrast roads, animated trains moving from stop to stop, and road labels at every junction.

These dynamic experiences are a new direction in mapping. Maps that are not only visually rich and beautiful but more useful and responsive to the user’s input.

Ho Nam: The King of Spectacular Returns

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:30:18 -0400

Ho Nam: The King of Spectacular Returns:

honam:

One of the highlights of this year’s NVCA meeting was seeing Mike Markkula interview Arthur Rock.

Rock’s “most fun deal” was Scientific Data Systems, his first big exit. He didn’t get into details about this spectacular investment so I did a bit of research.

SDS was founded in 1961, the same…

"Over the years, much of Eugene’s business wisdom became widely known as “Kleiner’s..."

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:09:04 -0400

“

Over the years, much of Eugene’s business wisdom became widely known as “Kleiner’s Laws.” I was fortunate to have many lessons taught me one-on-one. Some of my favorites:

• Make sure the dog wants to eat the dog food. No matter how ground-breaking a new technology, how large a potential market, make certain customers actually want it.

• Build one business at a time. Most business plans are overly ambitious. Concentrate on being successful in one endeavor first.

• The time to take the tarts is when they’re being passed. If an environment is right for funding, go for it. Eugene, more than anyone, knew that venture capital goes in cycles.

• The problem with most companies is they don’t know what business they’re in.

• Even turkeys can fly in a high wind. In times of strong economies, even bad companies can look good.

• It’s easier to get a piece of an existing market than to create a new one.

• It’s difficult to see the picture when you’re inside the frame.

• After learning some of the tricks of the trade, some people think they know the trade. This reflected some of Eugene’s own humility; he recognized that many venture capitalists thought they were experts when they had just a bit of knowledge.

• Venture capitalists will stop at nothing to copy success.

• Invest in people, not just products. Eugene always respected founding entrepreneurs. He wanted to build companies with them not just with their ideas.

On Nov. 20, Eugene Kleiner died at the age of 80. In the last weeks of his life, I asked Eugene if he had any regrets — any investments he wished he’d made, places he wished he’d visited, anything he’d missed. He sighed deeply, and his answer surprised me, “I know I was lucky to get out (of Austria) myself, and I was young, but I wish I could have brought some of my friends too — I know it’s not realistic, but I wished I could have saved them.” With all that Eugene had done, all that he had contributed, he never forgot the value of a single human life.

”

- USATODAY.com - Remembering Eugene Kleiner

Hopscotch

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:11:28 -0400

loveitorleavitt:

Hi there. I took a break from posting (and social media in general—if you check my twitter, it’s been pretty thin lately) for a while due to some major life events both expected and not. Nothin’ like a little life to put the world of consumer software startups into perspective. But while I may not have been so chatty in the last four months, we’ve been hard at work at Hopscotch.

What’s Hopscotch, you ask? Short version: educational software to teach kids to program.

Yeah, yeah, we know programming education has been a hot topic lately. Learning to code is sexy because of startup sweepstakes stories like Instagram, and roaring demand for software engineers at a time of sustained high unemployment. A lot of people —especially in the world of tech startups—like the idea of learning to program.

But Sam and I were talking about doing something like this quite a while ago—back when we were figuring out how to overcome marketplace dynamics for Kangaroost. ”I wish there was a toy to get girls into learning how to program,” we thought. We were focused on something else though, so after idly chatting about how great the equivalent of female Legos for programming would be, I added it to my list of startups I wished someone would build.

But this past fall, when Sam, Evan and I were feeling a little lukewarm about applying to YC with NerdNearby, we dredged this idea back up again and all instantly realized we were all much more excited about this than a mobile location-based app.

Our general take on teaching kids to code is that you only want to learn to code in order to make stuff. Programming a computer is a means to an end: you don’t just code for the sake of learning coding, you code to make a product that has its own value. And so to get kids interested in it, you need to give them specific things to make.

Following the “launch early and often” philosophy, we put out a couple of experimental products:

1) Daisy the Dinosaur - an iPad app with a drag and drop programming language to animate a dinosaur.

2) Hopscotch Kits - CoffeeScript coding tutorials to make specific projects using the Raphael drawing library.

We’ve been surprised by the positive response these products have received, considering their lack of polish and our lack of promotion. To us, it only underlines the strong demand for a good product that gives people exposure to programming.

We’ve also learned a lot about kids learning programming. We’re hard at work on a new product now, and we’re back to the iPad. We’re really excited about all of this. And I’m excited to (try!) to be a little more consistent about posting here. Stay tuned, folks.

Green Dot Acquires Loopt For $43.3 Million In Cash

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 12:46:01 -0500

Green Dot Acquires Loopt For $43.3 Million In Cash:

cdixon:

caterpillarcowboy:

damoon:

caterpillarcowboy:

Wait, what? Can someone explain this to me? These guys were fucked, weren’t they?

Loopt (Sequoia) -> Green Dot (Sequoia)

Thank you. Dirty VCs.

lol. yeah a VC board member forced a public company ceo to buy another one of the VCs companies. not how the world actually works.

My other thought was that Green Dot exhaustively evaluated the location space, identified the most innovative companies, found the one with the right fit and paid a fair price for the company.

Green Dot Acquires Loopt For $43.3 Million In Cash

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 10:32:47 -0500

Green Dot Acquires Loopt For $43.3 Million In Cash:

caterpillarcowboy:

Wait, what? Can someone explain this to me? These guys were fucked, weren’t they?

Loopt (Sequoia) -> Green Dot (Sequoia)

Apple And OpenStreetMap

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:33:23 -0500

Apple And OpenStreetMap:

parislemon:

The OpenStreetMap Foundation says that Apple has indeed switched from Google Maps in the new iOS version of iPhoto — to their maps. And they note that they’re using older data and not crediting OpenStreetMap. Interesting.

A few people pointed out yesterday that Apple’s new maps don’t look like OpenStreetMap, but it appears Apple may have just re-skinned the tiles. But there’s still some confusion here.

Some additional thought on this… Apple and Maps - New tiles are just the first step to building a mapping platform

Apple and Maps - more than just tiles

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 12:44:32 -0500

During Apple’s demo of iPhoto yesterday, the simple map feature shown at the end has resulted in a lot of speculation about Apple’s future mapping product.

MG Siegler

Daring Fireball

512 Pixels

Most of the speculation was due to the fact that Apple was no longer using Google Map tiles but instead was using Open Street Map data as the tile base.

Welcome, Apple! - OpenStreetMap Foundation

When thinking about a mapping platform it is important to recognize that data/tiles are just one piece of the puzzle and in many respect the easiest first step. From a high level here are the component needed to build an end to end mapping solution.

Data/Tiles/Vectors

Map data comes from a variety of sources. On one end of the spectrum is Navteq, which provides comprehensive data via license and on the other end is Open Street Map, which is free and maintained by its community.

Basically, map data comes in the form of raw geodata or tilesets. Tiles are pre-rendered map images based on different zoom levels. You find this in many mapping products. It is the quickest and easiest way to start building a map.

Raw geodata is the instructions for how to make a map and allows for more customization and flexibility. Once the raw data is manipulated, it can then be processed as tiles or vectors. Tiles, as mentioned before, are images of the map. Vectors utilize client side renderers to “draw” the map on your device. Oftentimes the data footprint is smaller (ideal for mobile) and can result in more dynamic maps. Google Maps 5 for Android and our own mapping product, UpNext HD Maps, uses vector based mapping.

Some basic changes you can make to geodata to customize your “look” are road colors, base color, fonts, labels, park colors, etc. In the case of iPhoto, it appears that Apple is using the raw Open Street Map data to create their own stylized tileset. In the end, the creation of your own geo dataset is the first step in building your own map.

Map Renderer

The map renderer is how mapping products differentiate themselves. Users want to navigate quickly and easily on a map. A slow, choppy renderer makes for a poor experience regardless of how pretty your map looks. Conversely, a fast, smooth and seamless map renderer can make people overlook drab cartography.

(This is where we, UpNext, truly excel and have pushed the boundaries of mapping. Give our map renderer at try -> UpNext HD Maps or watch this demo video)

Based on the brief map demo for iPhoto, it appears that Apple has a solid map renderer as evidenced by the smooth pinch and zoom navigation.

Venue Data and Search

The primary purpose of a map is to help people locate venues. Whether you are looking for an address, shop, home, intersection or country, all of these results need to be accurate and comprehensive.

You can buy/license venue data from various sources or you can try and aggregate through crawlers and API’s. Getting the initial dataset is relatively simple but keeping your data fresh, current and updated is a much larger task.

Similarly, geo search is a difficult problem to solve. If a user types in Hollywood are they referring to Hollywood, CA or Hollywood, FL or a bar in their neighborhood called Hollywood or Hollywood St in Anytown, USA? And this is one of the simpler problems to solve.

Let’s be honest, Google is the best at this. They have nearly all venue data through their continuous crawling of the web. in addition to all the companies who use Google Maps API contributing back to their venue database. Also, they are pretty good at this search thing.

Bell and Whistles

Once you get the above done, you got a basic map. Then you need to start thinking about some the following…

- Enhanced Datasets: 3D data, satellite, streetview

- Navigation

- Transit

- API/Developer Tools

- Backend Scaling

- Localization

- Lots more

Apple’s move away from Google Maps is interesting, but I caution people from extrapolating too much from the map product shown in iPhoto. Perhaps Apple balked at paying Google for map data when it was just a side feature of iPhoto. Or maybe Apple wanted an aesthetic more inline with their iPhoto design framework. Creating a new tileset is the simplest step in building a map platform.

When users envision Apple Maps, I believe they are expecting more than just different looking tiles. While this is definitely a step towards independence from Google Maps, building a quality mapping platform has many more challenges than just the data.

First time seeing this option… the ability to “Block...

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 19:00:16 -0500

First time seeing this option… the ability to “Block all www.yelp.com results”

"His tastes for travel got “a little bit more lavish,” he said. Kullberg, a triathlete, went to a..."

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 10:58:12 -0500

“

His tastes for travel got “a little bit more lavish,” he said. Kullberg, a triathlete, went to a bachelor party in Las Vegas in January after renting a four-bedroom ski cabin at Bear Mountain in California as a Christmas gift to his parents. He went to Ibiza for another bachelor party in August, spending $3,000 on a three-day trip, including a 15-minute ride from the airport that cost $100. In May he spent 10 days in India.

Earlier this month, a friend invited him on a trip to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The friend was going to be a judge in a wet T-shirt contest, Kullberg said. He turned down the offer. It wouldn’t have been “the most financially prudent thing to do,” he said. “I’m not totally sure about what I’m going to get paid this year, how I’m going to be doing.”

He thinks more about the long term…

”

- Wall Street Bonus Withdrawal Means Trading Aspen for Coupons - Bloomberg

"All of this makes it more important for Google to win over people like Ben Hopper. The 29-year-old..."

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:39:48 -0500

“All of this makes it more important for Google to win over people like Ben Hopper. The 29-year-old photographer in London joined Google shortly after it launched and said he believed the service had potential. But in November, Mr. Hopper stopped using Google . Instead, he re-focused on Facebook and social media sites like Twitter. Google “was an additional tool that needed time investment—time I didn’t have to begin with,” he said.”

- The Mounting Minuses at Google - WSJ.com

How do reporters find people like Ben Hopper? Legitimately curious because it seems like such a random addition to the story.

The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition (Alan Wilkis Remix)

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:07:00 -0500

The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition (Alan Wilkis Remix)

Trailer for Shanghai Calling My high school buddy, Daniel Hsia,...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:57:11 -0500

Trailer for Shanghai Calling

My high school buddy, Daniel Hsia, just released the trailer for his new film, Shanghai Calling. He is like the Jeremy Lin of Hollywood. Looks fantastic, so check it out and share it with everyone.

Check out our newest launch, UpNext HD Maps. Nationwide vector...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:31:42 -0500

Check out our newest launch, UpNext HD Maps. Nationwide vector maps with over 50 3D cities. Make sure to check out the enhanced 3D cities list.

We have been working on this for a while. Would love it if you could share it with others and if you have any feedback hit me up at dmoon@upnext.com or @dam00n.

Download it today

Wahoos coming to NYC (Park Ave btw 24th and 25th St) If you grew...

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:18:04 -0500

Wahoos coming to NYC (Park Ave btw 24th and 25th St)

If you grew up in So Cal, you have to be excited about this.

"But that argument, however well meaning, misses a larger point: technology is an enabler of rights,..."

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:33:28 -0500

“But that argument, however well meaning, misses a larger point: technology is an enabler of rights, not a right itself. There is a high bar for something to be considered a human right. Loosely put, it must be among the things we as humans need in order to lead healthy, meaningful lives, like freedom from torture or freedom of conscience. It is a mistake to place any particular technology in this exalted category, since over time we will end up valuing the wrong things.”

- Internet Access Is Not a Human Right - NYTimes.com

Roger and Mike's Hypernet Blog: Technology Waves and the Hypernet

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:32:11 -0500

Roger and Mike's Hypernet Blog: Technology Waves and the Hypernet:

thehypernet:

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to go surfing off the coast of Waikiki. The waves there are perfect because they are just the right temperature and they are forgiving enough that I can get up on the board and have a great time, despite being pretty out-of-shape. I have always been inspired by…