Tim Marman's Loosely Coupled

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• MTA's new Trip Planner

  MTA recently launched a new service called Trip Planner .  I've used it a few times since I'm still learning some of the buses and trains around our new offices, and it seems to work pretty well. What I like about it more than HopStop is that it gives you multiple routes and is actually tied into the schedule. After all, something may be 30 minutes of travel time, but if you're waiting on a bus that comes every 25 minutes or something, the real cost of the trip is longer. Of course, as Dan points out, it would be better if they actually tied into the service advisories, but like he said - maybe next version. Posted Feb 20 2008, 06:39 AM by Tim with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Personal, Web 2.0, NYC

• When will the NFL Network standoff end?

  Like so many others , I was furious when I couldn't watch the Packers-Cowboys games a few weeks back. The NFL Network is only carried on satellite which is simply not an option for many of us in urban areas like NYC. For those who haven't been paying attention, there's been a long-running standoff between the cable companies and the NFL network. (ComCast carries it at a premium, but neither Time Warner or Cablevision offer it, free or otherwise). To sum up: The NFL wants its network carried on basic cable packages with channels such as ESPN or CNN, where it can reach the broadest possible audience. Cable companies including Time Warner Inc. say it belongs on a sports package, or tier, where its audience would include only those fans willing to pay extra. I am a huge fan of the NFL and would certainly subscribe in a second. Much like the issues with net neutrality, the problem is that we're not dealing with a perfect market. If Time Warner doesn't offer me the ability... Posted Dec 27 2007, 12:22 PM by Tim with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Intellectual Property, Rants, Things that bother me, Sports, Law, NYC

• Exploring the Startup Culture in NYC

  On the nextNY mailing list , there has been a great discussion about the NYC startup culture, what (if anything) is broken, and how to fix it. Google making NYC its second home is a good start (though I'd like to point out that 14th St and 8th Ave isn't exactly "the heart of Chelsea"). One of the recurring themes in that discussion was that we need an "anchor": once things get going, the ecosystem will feed itself, but until that point we need someone like Google to be the base. "Google's perceived less as a threat in New York -- one that might hire away top talent from surrounding companies -- than as a catalyst of good things to come." Cost is obviously an issue. The NYSIA gave cost in NYC a C- for cost, and some suggest that we are becoming "a trustafarian resort-town" . Office space (can be) expensive, but there are alternatives. It should come as no surprise that many startups are moving to DUMBO and Williamsburg which are (slightly... Posted Feb 28 2007, 01:18 PM by Tim with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Entrepreneurship, Events, NYC, Startup, NextNY, Notches