Tim Marman's Loosely Coupled

Browse by Tags

• .NET
• AJAX
• Blogging
• Business
• C#
• DRM
• Entrepreneurship
• Microsoft
• Programming
• Rants
• Startup
• Technology
• Venture Capital
• Video
• Web 2.0
• YouTube

• There's no such thing as Web 2.0

  I've said before that I hate the term Web 2.0 but that it's more than a buzzword . Perhaps what I meant to say is what Marc Andreessen said: there's no such thing as Web 2.0 ( via Fred Wilson ) - thing being the key word there. The first Web 2.0 conference was held in the fall of 2004, and coincided with a large number of people in the tech industry (myself included) peeking our heads out from the fallout from the nuclear winter of 2001-2003 and realizing that the Web was not only not dead, it was thriving. From there, it was easy to conclude that "Web 2.0" was a thing , a noun, something to which you could refer to explain a new generation of Web services and Web companies. Many people have since pointed out that there is no clear definition of Web 2.0. Tim O'Reilly, whose organization created the conference (and the term), attempted to define Web 2.0 as follows: "Web 2.0 is the network as platform, spanning all connected devices; Web 2.0 applications are those that make the most of the... Posted Jun 11 2007, 03:09 PM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Technology, Software Development, Web 2.0, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Startup, Venture Capital

• Microsoft Silverlight

  A lot of people are very excited about Silverlight , the technology that was formerly known as WPF/E. Jesse says it will give Flash a real run for its money because of a better video story (emphasis in original). Unlike Flash, Silverlight (the new name) will support DRM, it supports the industry standard VC-1 codec used in HD-DVD and Blueray, and it can take advantage of the built-in media streaming capabilities of IIS. As for DRM support, I don't think that's of any real consequence. Jesse claims "companies that want to stream TV and movies over the web, will not consider any method that doesn't allow for DRM protection", but we're already seeing a trend away from DRM. That said, there are certainly things to get excited about, particularly the prospect of cross-platform CLR support and the ability to develop Flash-like applications with the power of the Visual Studio environment (and not having to learn a new scripting language at that). One thing worth noting is the fact that Flash is... Posted May 25 2007, 02:30 PM by Tim with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Software Development, Innovation, Microsoft, C#, .NET, Video, Programming, DRM

• An Anthropologist's Take on Web 2.0

  The Machine is us. ( Link to the video ) Posted Feb 09 2007, 02:35 PM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Technology, Software Development, Web 2.0, Innovation, YouTube, Video, Blogging, Entrepreneurship

• Web 2.0 is more than a buzzword

  I hate buzzwords , but I agree with Kathy when she says that Web 2.0 is more than just a buzzword . It is not a meaningless term (or as Letterman might say, it's "not nothing"). Kathy makes the ever-important distinction between buzzwords (bad) and jargon (good). Ultimately, she says, Web 2.0 gives us vocabulary to discuss an otherwise complex and abstract idea and allows us to have more intelligent conversations about what's really going on. While this vocabulary does facilitate discussions, it also allows us to be lazy and gloss over what is really important. Much like architecture , the Web 2.0 principles are important as long as they are consciously applied and we don't lose sight of why the feature matters in the first place. Posted Jan 08 2007, 04:37 AM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Software Development, AJAX, Web 2.0, Innovation

• notch.es is hiring

  Notch.es is seeking ninjas . If you're a rock star, give Corey a call. I'm reposting the two job descriptions here. Don’t want to spend the next six months working under florescent lights on a corporate PC with no Internet access fixing someone else’s five year old code? Would you rather help build the next Digg or Delicious? Here is an opportunity to work in an exciting, fast-paced, collaborative early stage start-up with lots of room to flex your creativity and help shape the product. We practice iterative development; pair programming and have short milestones. We are looking for self-starters who are not afraid to voice concerns, take initiative and drive major subsystems. Corey will be at BarCamp NYC2 tomorrow. I have to work in the morning but I'm registered and will be there in the afternoon/evening. Posted Sep 29 2006, 08:32 PM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Software Development, AJAX, Innovation, Business, C#, .NET

• Interesting Developments with Windows Live

  Microsoft is embedding Live services within the operating system . This isn't really too surprising, considering it was one of the stated principles behind the effort from the start. (As a developer, it is exciting though). Microsoft appears to recognize that web applications are a complement, and not a substitute, for desktop applications. The goal is to deliver the richest experience available on a particular piece of hardware, and no matter how many times Steve Gillmor says it , that will never be in a browser. In fact, the example I use most often to illustrate the point above comes from Microsoft's Exchange Server. If I'm on a machine that has Outlook, I'm invariably going to choose that over Outlook Web Access - but I appreciate being able to use the rich OWA interface when I am on a machine with just a web browser. And if all I have is my mobile device, Outlook Mobile Access offers a simplified interface. The important thing is that, in each case, I'm accessing the same data. I think... Posted Jun 21 2006, 12:34 PM by Tim with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Software Development, AJAX, Web 2.0, Innovation

• Thoughts on Bill Gates' pending departure

  Microsoft must be crumbling - first Scoble and now Gates. The big news yesterday, of course, was Microsoft's announcment that Bill Gates is leaving his role as Chief Software Architect to focus on his foundation . (He will remain as chairman). Jason suggests that this was a step towards getting lean . From the interactions I've had with Microsoft and the friends I have there, I'm not sure that's really a problem. Even if it is, though, I don't think Gates was somehow synonymous with bloat. Gates is a brilliant man who clearly "gets it", and this is a huge net loss for Micrsoft. Luckily, I think Ray Ozzie is another one who also gets it, so Microosft is left in pretty good hands. Joel says the Microsoft stock "should probably be going down. Ozzie is smart but not in the same class as Bill Gates. And it's really Ballmer that needs to go." As a shareholder, I certainly hope Joel is wrong, but as I mentioned before, Gates is not exactly easy to replace. It will be interesting to see how Microsoft... Posted Jun 16 2006, 03:34 AM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Technology, Software Development, Innovation

• Entrepreneurial Proverbs

  Marc Hedlund posted an indispensible set of Entrepreneurial Proverbs , distilled from his "Entrepeneurship for Geeks" talk at ETech last month. ( via ) Posted Apr 11 2006, 08:37 AM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Technology, Software Development, Innovation

• Webaroo seems so 1999 to me

  At first glance, here's something I don't get: Webaroo . They store the content of Web pages for offline retrieval , apparently keeping it searchable and serving it alongside ads. Acer laptops will come with a 40Gb pre-packaged web pack. I'm sure, or at least I hope, they're doing something more than saving webpages and displaying ads, but I can't help but be reminded of all those products like SurfOffline that saved a local copy of a website. Granted, I'm in one of those "metropolitan areas" that has a 3G network , but the coverage is getting better every day. It's clear that the "online web" is greater than the "offline web" even if it's not broadband speeds. Being connected allows me to do a lot more than just read the "best of the Web", whatever that means. But let's take a step back: Even before I had this always-on connection, I had all the things I really wanted to read already saved in my RSS reader for offline consumption. It just seems like a curious place for a startup. On one... Posted Apr 10 2006, 12:00 PM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Technology, Software Development, Rants, Innovation