Category: Google

Streaming pile of doo

~ michael_msft ~ 1 Comment

Funny – I just read this :: http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6215246

Notice that most of the list is not really about making anything better for users.

Back to the post…

As I am in the states I have been messing around with all the streaming services available in the states. Amazon, iTunes, Hulu, Netflix across a variety of devices like TVs, Roku, Apple TV, Sony Blu Ray, Xbox, iPhone, iPad, and who knows what else. Its amazing all the innovation but yet everything is generally a pain in the ass to use and all suffer from edge cases. Nothing is really awesome and nothing works well across all use cases. 

As a precursor to all of this I know the general issue is that the content owners just don’t allow for innovation. It plain and simple how clear that is. So unfortunately I think the whole industry is held back by the owners of the content. This is why piracy is so rampant and in some sense the best user experience because product people can do amazing things with files, networks, and user experiences. Legal services cannot do anything they want and are mostly held back. Such is life. I don’t think this will change anytime soon.

It’s clear to me that even guys like Jason who is building https://www.vessel.com know this which is why they are focusing on user generated content since if they get it right they can do anything they want in reality. Of course there will be markets economics driving some decisions and they have to compete with YouTube while attracting content makers but still the playing field is much less restrictive than real content or shall we say trapped content. I have no idea how vessel will do but I think it will shake the market up some. YouTube is huge but the search experience, the curation and some of the viewing experiences are really broken. They are so big though they don’t care. Vessel has the time, money and experience to make a go of it.

In my own experience of using services while I am in the states I find that the best device to use is still Apple TV but it really could use an update. The remote sucks, the home screen is too cluttered and it needs more apps but the overall experience is better. On a technical note even if I am using Netflix I would rather use it via Apple TV cause it partially deals with one of my Netflix pet peeves which is streaming only and sucks on bad connections. Yes – America is full of shitty connections. However the way the Apple TV works, and it is the only Apple device that does this, the movie is essentially downloading as you watch it which means it does not pixelate or buffer much providing the viewing position is behind the download. If you use the Netflix app, Netflix on the web or Netflix via a smart TV app the streaming only issues will crop up. I need to dig into Roku more but I think it still streams versus downloading. All in all I prefer Apple TV and Netflix.

Problem is though Netflix is pretty shitty content wise. Sure you get the big Netflix hits and a few others but almost all new TV shows are not on it and the movie selection is dim. Which means that as the family gathers around the TV and we want to watch something new – we have being using the Apple TV to purchase movies on iTunes. The selection really is the best for movies and TV shows. Yes it costs money but if 15 of us are sitting in the room and we want to watch a new release, paying 4-10 bucks is still cheaper than going to the movies. So it is actually an affordable deal. Not everything is yet released on it but there is way more new content on iTunes than anywhere else. With Netflix I have to know what I want to watch cause there is no awesome way to sort movies by rating or by other characteristics, it is mostly just genres and then lists in the order that Netflix wants you to see it. I also find that I either want to use the Netflix app on iTunes or I connect my phone to the TV to use the iOS app. The Samsung Netflix apps are shit, the Roku one is okay and the Sony BluRay one is okay. None are amazing. In summation Netflix is the best for streaming, subscription and amount of content all wrapped up into one.

Just a quick side note – Sony makes the worst software ever. No wonder they lose money and are easily hacked.

The big issue I have is Netflix is streaming only. Which sucks if you are on a bad connection, are mobile or want to prep stuff for your kids. There is no way to download anything or cache anything so once you hit the road Netflix is useless. For this I turn to either YouTube or iTunes. YouTube cause I can stream easily on mobile and find lots of kids stuff but of course this is using mobile data. I can’t offline or download YouTube yet. For iTunes I can buy and download stuff and keep it on my device. This is awesome for road trips. It sucks that Apple does this but they can’t seem to figure out streaming. Again this is where any one service cant fit all models well. Netlfix won’t download and iTunes won’t stream. This stuff is not rocket science and it sucks they both can’t figure out how to combine these functions but my guess is that the content guys are part of the problem. I know from my own experience with Spuul that content people can dictate tech or product features. Sad but true.

All this means that there is no perfect service or device – well apart from just pirating whatever you want to watch. I like the Apple ecosystem more than others but it is also ripe for disruption if Apple does not ship a new Apple TV and figure out the cloud. Netflix is obviously the big service for streaming but the inability to control bandwidth, download and sort is such a big miss for me. It will be interesting to see how Netflix conquers new markets with these limitations. Google is in the mix but I honestly don’t use it apart from YouTube – Chromecast is cool and all but Apple TV works better for me. Mostly cause I am into iOS. 

I am sure there a better solutions ahead but the content guys hold the keys I think. So the product guys can innovate all they want but the end result is content is king. The content guys are in the tech dark ages. This is why I am convinced that Vessel is focusing on user generated content first – this way the product can shine.

Merry streaming!

 

Android first

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Marco is obviously a very successful guy but I think this is where he and a lot of people from the states and Europe miss the boat sometimes – they clearly don’t understand the emerging markets and the freedom developers have around Android when it comes to telcos and bizdev. Given this – for some apps going Android first may make a ton of sense.

http://www.marco.org/2014/11/07/business-insider-maintains-usual-level-of-quality

Amazing to see the depth at Google

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

https://www.techinasia.com/googles-lead-apac-product-manager-andrew-mcglinchey-speaks-on-how-the-company-picks-its-battles-in-asia/

Google prints money so it is not surprising they can afford to have resources for a product manager that helps to represent Asia. This is similar to what I was doing at Yahoo but of course we didn’t have this expansive of a charter.

I have to admit that Google is pretty serious about Asia. We are working with them at Spuul on some stuff and they devote ample resources, are very organized and run some strict deadlines.

As I hear about all the dismantling of Yahoo in Asia, I tend to think about what could have been but obviously wasn’t.

Google is not my favorite but I am impressed with how much money and effort they put into Asia.

Will write up another post about an interesting project they are doing with PWC in the region.

My new fav podcast

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

I am sure these guys don’t need my promotion but going to do so anyway.

This is one of my fav podcasts right now: http://stratechery.com/2014/podcast-exponent-episode-022-peak-google-monologue-edition/

I actually had a nice email exchange with James and my comment to him was that it covers tech but gets into the human stuff as well. They don’t diverge too much into politics, sports and so on but they talk tech, argue and discuss the impact on humanity. It is also not too long to make it a regular habit.

I assume these guys must be killing it.

I have not heard this episode yet but seems they discuss peak Google more which I wrote about here :: http://www.nokpis.com/2014/10/23/calling-the-top-on-google/

enjoy!

Microsoft is only missing the apps…

~ michael_msft ~ 1 Comment

Excellent read here by Aulia :: https://medium.com/adventures-in-consumer-technology/picking-up-nokias-last-flagship-phone-ad6576cf06dc

Bummer it’s on medium…

As I read the article I nod my head and concur that it sounds like a great phone and the camera is amazing. My wife has asked about these phones before cause she wants the best camera but I always warn her that in the end she will hate the phone. Yes HATE it. Why?

That’s very simple. The apps suck.

The Lumia 930 a great mobile device that’s let down by the lack of third party app support in terms of quality if not selection but the popular apps are there and functional and the lack of polish doesn’t seriously affect their usage (except maybe for Path and Flickr, which at this point are just ridiculously bad).

Microsoft will never be able to crank out enough of their own apps to fix this issue. They also seem to be unable to properly prime the pump.

What you see then is a bunch of 3rd rate apps with some of them even being from first rate companies who have been convinced by someone in marketing to build the app (they were promised promotional love by Microsoft). The app is built, probably outsourced, and it works but it doesn’t compare to the same app on iOS or Android. Those apps were written by the core team cause they know that they have to excel – it is where all the competition and customers are.

For this issue we only have Microsoft to blame. They tried to incentivize a lot of devs but they did it the wrong way – they created an open door policy around getting apps built. This didn’t work well cause it was just devs chasing easy money.

What they should have done and still refuse to do is help folks with category leading apps on either iOS or Android to build something for Microsoft.

Let me highlight my own experience with Spuul. Microsoft was willing to help pay for a Spuul windows app but we told them over and over we see no reason to have one – our website works just fine on IE. This flummoxed then because they were focused on pushing windows – we all know now that didn’t go so well.

Then they offered to help coach us with design and said there were even some design resources we could use to outsource the work to but we told them we have our own designer. They seem to think if they help with design that all the apps will look cool but they don’t realize that design is only half of it – you still need to build a great app.

We asked if we could take the design money and use it to outsource the code since we don’t have the expertise on the Microsoft stack. Nope – the money was only available for design.

So we did nothing.

Months later we finally got a phone out of them so we could test our designs some and model app behaviors. Getting this phone was like getting a tooth pulled – it’s funny to me that Microsoft thinks all of us have their phones. They sure seem to hand them out like candy to bloggers. Newsflash – bloggers don’t make apps Microsoft – you need apps more than you need bloggers writing about cool phones that are missing cool apps.

Microsoft is a big company – they could fix this problem. Hand out phones. Design kits and IDE kits. Give every real startup or company with a good app some cash to outsource development to – a starter package of sorts. Offer every certified app a discount on App Store transaction fees and give each app a week of promotion.

Prime the pump in a methodical way.

Otherwise be prepared to keep reading blogs about cool phones that don’t have any cool apps.

Your move Microsoft.

Ps. I will add that even when I approach Microsoft to concur that I will build a Spuul app they still will not put in writing they will promote it. So they offer zero incentives to take a risk. Yes – spending a startups resources to build for Windows Phone is a risk.

Roku is going for it – an IPO that is!

~ michael_msft ~ 10 Comments

Updated

https://gigaom.com/2014/10/24/roku-could-file-for-ipo-soon-raise-as-much-as-150-million/

Guess they really want to go all the way whisk the getting is still good.

I personally don’t find the devices that impressive but I admire their persistence. As far as their TV endeavors I applaud anyone trying to do a better job at smart TV’s than the smart TV goons but that’s not too high a hurdle. Problem I have with Roku is that for international content it is essentially a closed platform due to the exclusive deal with DISH – hopefully that will eventually dissolve and Roku can expand their app offering.

Clearly Apple and Google will be the biggest contenders, the new Android TV looks good on paper, but Apple TV is in serious need of a refresh to compete effectively.

Maybe Roku can clean up on the smart TV ecosystem, apart from the biggies like Samsung and LG, while expanding their devices and apps.

To do this though they need cash and lots of it.

https://gigaom.com/2014/10/22/roku-raises-25-million-in-additional-funding/

Calling the top on Google?

~ michael_msft ~ 1 Comment

I love Ben’s work and find myself glued to his podcast as well – especially digging this episode on cable and the great unbundling :: Exponent: 021: Gamergate of Thrones
http://overca.st/Bihm6OYms

What I dig about Ben is his willingness to go out on a limb a bit with some provocative ideas. Discussing peak Google is for sure a bold claim.

However I must admit I tend to agree. They have one cash cow and in other parts of advertising – video, mobile, native and brand – they are not the clear winner. Search adversities will wane some day and they must follow up with another trick. I think Facebook will be the clear winner when it comes to mobile advertising but Twitter is also going to make a go of it, http://www.mopub.com/

Google is obviously working on a lot of stuff and some of it will hit and some won’t but the question remains – will they remain the giant they are today? I don’t know to be honest.

Peak Google :: http://stratechery.com/2014/peak-google/

Dare we trust Twitter?

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

I love Twitter but I must admit I only ever see it via tweetbot. At Spuul we have started to use Mopub and will be comparing it to the new Facebook ad product. I must admit that wherever possible in the ad space I try to use google as little as possible.

Now enter Twitter with something interesting around logging in. At Spuul we do a lot of telco integrations and we always enable some form of login via mobile phone number. Problem is that each integration is locked to that specific carrier and therefore not super portable.

If Twitter has truly built a handy global phone number based login system that I can just drop into a mobile app – I am intrigued.

Problem is, as we all know, Twitter has a habit of effing over developers but for my products I am not interested in Twitter integration but the other services they are offering like Digits and Mopub.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/22/7034113/inside-twitters-ambitious-plan-to-kill-the-password-on-mobile-devices

Times they are a changing and I may just go with the flow…

Google vs Apple

~ michael_msft ~ Leave a comment

Say what you will but this is the battle of our times. Why do I feel that way? Cause I still believe the mobile phone or let’s say the handheld computer that is always on, always connected to the Internet and happens to be in our pockets that is able to make and receive calls – is the biggest thing since sliced bread. It just is – bottom line.

There are still years to go for this global phenomenon to play out. Years.

That being said, even if you do not agree, it means that the biggest two companies in the world who control this ecosystem are Apple and Google.

You can click the Google or Apple categories on my blog to see what I have written before. I am not a fanboy. I am a realist. I started with Android and moved to Apple. As a startup wanting to dominate the world – I am fluent in managing teams shipping both Apple and Android apps. I won’t get into which app to build first or which platform is bigger or better – if you expect global domination then you have to ship Apple and Android apps. Period.

I won’t lie – there are reasons to like one platform over another but lately I have to admit that Google is pulling ahead. Not in hardware, software but in other places – sheer scale, better app store tools and in relationship building.

Knowing people is a big thing – it trumps developer docs, forums and conferences. I do my best to network and I think it’s important to reach out to folks you know when you need some help. Knowing people is a huge asset.

Do I know anyone in Apple for SEA region? No – only one developer contact who doesn’t respond to me much. Do I know anyone in Google SEA? Yes – many. Did I hunt them down? No – they hunted me down.

It started with someone from Adx and then grew into other connections from various departments and groups. Then it was over to some Android folks and then it is suddenly a meeting with four Android folks from around the region. Yes – they called me.

They updated me on the latest Android news, talked through some issues we had and gave us some guidance with our Google strategies. Was it groundbreaking or earth shattering? No – but is was helpful, meaningful and personal.

Does it make my team and I feel closer to Google? Yes. Do I feel even farther away from Apple as a result? Yes.

Apple seriously needs to step up their game. The OS’s are buggy, the developer support is weak and the App Store needs a redo.

Am I still a big fan! I am. But for the first time ever – I am starting to think Apple is spreading themselves way too thin.

Given their huge profit margins – I find this slightly appalling.