Geekonomics

What a nice surprise email from Reid this morning, made my day for sure:

Dear Nicholas Aaron,

I want to personally thank you because you were one of LinkedIn’s first million members (member number 382059 in fact!*). In any technology adoption lifecycle, there are the early adopters, those who help lead the way. That was you.

We hit a big milestone at LinkedIn this week when our 100 millionth member joined the site.

When we founded LinkedIn, our vision was to help the world’s professionals be more successful and productive. Today, with your help, LinkedIn is changing the lives of millions of members by helping them connect with others, find jobs, get insights, start a business, and much more.  

We are grateful for your support and look forward to helping you accomplish much more in the years to come. I hope that you are having a great year.

Sincerely,

(Reid’s signature which I did not include here)

Reid Hoffman
Co-founder and Chairman
LinkedIn

*Your member number is the number embedded in your LinkedIn profile URL (after "id=").

Here’s a new app that seeks to provide a new way to see who’s around and what they’re up to, by using Facebook log-in and integrating with Facebook Places. I guess time will tell if they will gain traction or become just another one of the many location-based service. For one, tapping into Facebook Places seems like a smart move, though this geek wonders about their monetization strategy.

San Francisco, CA — March 24th, 2011 — MeMap, unveiled today, is an iOS app that enables everyone to see which friends are around and what they’re up to, without any hassle. The current generation of location-based social networks make actually seeing your social network difficult and impractical in real time. MeMap’s tight integration with Facebook and Facebook Places aggregates all geo-data shared via Facebook through any location-based social network into one, easy-to-view map interface.

Though location-based networks including FourSquare, Loopt, Gowalla and Buzzd are only gaining traction, they remain fragmented, lack Facebook’s critical mass of users, and only return value for people with friends on specific networks. Since MeMap aggregats all location-based data shared from any network to Facebook Places, MeMap users are already part of a massive worldwide network. Users can stick to enjoying their friends’ posts or easily share their own location via Facebook Places, Twitter or to MeMap friends.

Breaking Down Barriers to Entry:

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Apple® today announced that iPad® 2, the second-generation of its third post-PC device, will go on sale in 25 additional countries this Friday, March 25. iPad 2 will be available at Apple retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers at 5 p.m. local time, and online through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com) beginning at 1 a.m. Apple today also announced that all models of iPad 2 will be available in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and additional countries in April.

iPad 2 with Wi-Fi will be available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK on March 25 for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model, $699 (US) the 64GB model. iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G will be available for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model.

iMovie® and GarageBand® for iPad apps are available for $4.99 (US) each from the App Store℠ on iPad or www.itunes.com/appstore. The Smart Cover is available in a range of colors in vibrant polyurethane for $39 (US) or rich leather for $69 (US).

This geek is actually looking forward to the arrival of iPad2, since we can now use Garage Band with it. Too bad shipment to Singapore, South Korea, and Hong Kong is only due in April.

Came across this release by Symantec a week back. Now why is this geek not surprised? Guess the now and current is more important to many than the past. Interesting angle Symantec took to do the survey, I must say, including questions on whether victims would be willing to pay a ransom to get their phones back. This geek was just musing about “internet dependency”. I guess this warrants some thought on the new topic “mobile dependency”.

About half of Singaporeans have had their mobile phone lost or stolen and 84 percent of them found the experience stressful.

SINGAPORE, 15 March 2011 – Smartphones today have become an indispensable tool in our everyday life; as our primary way to communicate, work, share and collaborate.  A survey conducted by Norton reveals that 52 percent of adults in Singapore have fallen victim to mobile phone loss or theft, and despite that, only 37 percent currently have a password protecting their devices.  The imminent need for mobile protection is increasingly important in Singapore where 89 percent of Singaporeans never leave home without their mobile phones and nearly half cannot live without their phones.

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The Continental Automated Buildings Association (CABA), an international not-for-profit industry association dedicated to the advancement of intelligent home and intelligent building technologies, has just announced a liaision agreement with Continua Health Alliance, an international non-profit, open industry alliance of more than 240 leading healthcare and technology organizations dedicated to developing a global ecosystem of personal connected health solutions.

The liaison agreement will allow both organizations to benefit from CABA’s collaborative research study entitled “Aging in the Connected Home”.  The study will examine and determine potential connected home product, service and business opportunities based on needs and expectations of the senior consumer market to support aging-in-place.

This announcement should be considered a significant step forward for the proliferation of pervasive computing for seniors. This geek is thinking about prototypes I’ve seen on products that track elderly folks, sense gait, and know if there is a fall or if there is no motion for a long period of time.

A prototype showcased at the Intel Developer Forum 2010.

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Thought I’d share this announcement from Skype on what they are doing for Japan. This should be really welcome since mobile communications seems to be one of the hardest hit this time. Even till now, I’m having a hard time trying to get in touch with my friends in Japan. Do pray for Japan.

Over the last few days, we’ve been watching and listening to reports from around the world about the ways people are using Skype to communicate during this time of crisis in Japan.

We’re fortunate to be able to report that all of our Japan-based employees and their families are safe, and we’re also incredibly fortunate to be among the providers of technology which help people stay in touch during times of need, even when other means aren’t available.

Our hearts go out to all of those of you who have been affected by this disaster, and we’re taking two steps to help people across Japan communicate:

o Providing free WiFi at hotspots throughout Japan with Skype Access*. With Skype Access, you can connect to the Internet using Skype, and this will be free in Japan until 19th March (here’s a list of compatible hotspots including WEP/WPA keys if required).

o Providing all of our Japanese customers with a ¥80 Skype Credit voucher**, worth a call of more than 25 minutes to a landline phone in Japan (and to some other countries such as China and the USA) or to send text messages directly from Skype. Vouchers will be issued by email in the next few days.

If you’re in Japan, we encouraging you to participate in the Red Cross family reunification programme if you have any information which could help connect missing people. If you are outside of Japan and would like to help the relief effort in other ways, please visit the Japanese Red Cross or the International Red Cross for more information or donate directly.

* Connection to a Skype Access-compatible hotspot requires the latest version of Skype. Offer will be valid until March 19, 2011 GMT.

**¥80 voucher expires April 17, 2011. The actual number of minutes you can redeem with this offer may vary based on calling destinations. A connection fee may apply. Our global calling rates can be found here.

Apple’s #1 All-Time Top Paid App in the US, DOODLE JUMP, celebrates its second birthday today with over 10 Million Paid iPhone and Android Downloads, a Hollywood movie tie-in (Hop) and a new line of stationery under its belt. 

Looking forward, here is what to expect from the mobile app giant, who remains a team of two NYC brothers:

Lima Sky, the creative force behind Doodle Jump, is set for an ambitious expansion of the franchise with development plans to bring Doodle Jump to XBLA Kinect, one of the hottest sectors in console gaming. A free multiplayer update will be out very soon for the iPhone version, and the long-awaited Doodle Jump for iPad is, well, still in the works. Tapping into their creative juices, Lima Sky is designing Doodle Jump for iPad to include brand new content. With Doodle Jump stationery sets published earlier this month, a new line of Doodle Jump toys in development, and an upcoming Doodle Jump comic book, this year is poised to be the biggest yet for one of the mobile’s most famous franchises. 

What a great story about a mobile app hitting the mainstream and making the switch to console!

Friend was lamenting to this geek that his World of Warcraft account got permanently banned because of botting. I thought the email from Blizzard was so eloquently worded it should be shared with all as a solemn reminder that you shouldn’t use unauthorized cheat program, also known as a "hack" to provide your character benefits normally not achievable in the World of Warcraft including, but not limited to, increased speed, teleportation, or running through walls/boundaries.

p.s. This geek is not a WoW gamer and doesn’t have a WoW account, just in case you were wondering.

From: <WoWAccountAdmin@blizzard.com>
Date: Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 10:43 AM
Subject: World of Warcraft — Account Closure Notification — Exploitative Activity Found

English speaking customers: Please refer to the start of this mail
Para los clientes españoles: Por favor vayan hasta el fin de este correo electrónico
***Notice of Account Closure***
Account Name: ********* (masked to protect my friend)

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Sounds like a good time to get a GPS for your car. Although this geek has been using the GPS from my mobile phones, nothing like having one attached to your car, especially if the price is good.

Singapore, 10 – 13 March 2011 - TomTom, the world’s leading provider of location and navigation solutions, will be at IT Show 2011 with great deals for drivers this 10 – 13 March 2011, along with partner AAAs.
TomTom’s Booth number is Level 6, Booth 6711.
TomTom’s Exclusive IT Show 2011 Promotional Offer:
Drive The World with TomTom. Get a Bonus International Map of your choice (valued at up to $114 SGD*) with any TomTom GPS purchase during IT Show 2011. There are additional free accessories offered on TomTom XL 550 and TomTom GO 750.

Note: Sharp price offers will also be announced during IT Show.

TomTom products on offer: TomTom XL 250, TomTom XXL 550 and TomTom GO 750.

TomTom XL 250 South East Asia
Maps of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, Hong Kong (new) &
Macau (new)**
Usual Price: SGD$269
The easiest way from A to B
Sporting a 4.3” touch screen with easy two-button menu access, Advanced Lane Guidance and spoken street names, the TomTom XL 250 is the easiest way from A to B.
You’ll never be lost again with the handy Help me! Emergency Menu, TomTom’s latest map guarantee, free daily map updates with TomTom Map ShareTM and postcode search.

Promotional offer for TomTom XL 250:
·     BONUS international map of your choice worth up to $114* SGD

(more after the break)

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Singapore’s so far behind South Korea when it comes to mobile infrastructure and technology. In fact, our infrastructure has become so overloaded that I think Singaporeans will be happy just to be able to make phone calls without lines dropping. At least it’s true for this geek and my friends.

So we can only dream of the days when mobile video becomes as ubiquitous in Singapore as it is now in Japan and South Korea. I guess this technology by Syniverse is one good example of how the South Koreans are powering ahead while we are left “buffering”.

New video offering gives consumers industry-first ability to send live video broadcasts to any mobile device or PC on any network

SINGAPORE – Feb. 28, 2011 – Consumers have long wanted a face-to-face connection via mobile and now those in South Korea can have it. Syniverse Technologies announced today that Korea Telecom (KT), the country’s largest fixed-line operator and its second-largest mobile network operator, is deploying a new mobile video broadcast service that is interoperable across every 3G and 4G network and device, as well as PCs. (more after the break)

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