July 2010
2 posts
The No-Reply Email
Why do startups insist on sending mail from a “no-reply” email address?
I’ve sent a lot of email (first at the admissions office at UChicago, next on the Automated Email team at Amazon, and now at AppStoreHQ) and the only time I think it was justified was in Amazon’s marketing mail. Their volume is so large that it’d be very, very difficult to sift through the...
AppStoreHQ Blog: Yowza. Guess we struck a nerve... →
Last week we published a report on the current state of the ‘superphone’ developer ecosystem, shining a light on the 1,400+ developers currently shipping apps for both iOS and Android (plus the Top 100 Cross-Platform Developers).
In restrospect it was pretty stupid to put this story…
Our post last week on the relative sizes of iOS and Android app developer communities got picked up...
June 2010
6 posts
“Midway through the second half, while watching Howard rush the ball toward his...”
– George Vecsey, NYTimes: A Foreign Game Looks Very American. If you missed my post yesterday about The American Spirit, read it now and you’ll see both Alexi and I learned the same thing about Americans.
The American Spirit
Fresh off his awesome 91st minute goal in the World Cup after another disallowed goal, Landon Donovan said to the ESPN reporter, “This team embodies what the American spirit is about. We had a goal disallowed the other night, We had another good goal disallowed tonight. But we just keep going. And I think that’s what people admire so much about Americans. And I’m damn...
Case Study: Selling a paid mobile web app...
I just made a large comment on Hacker News, in response to a post by Eric Meyer about App shopping and the potential for mobile web apps. I thought the comment warranted it’s own post as a quick case study in selling a mobile web app, so here it is.
In his post, Eric writes:
Except that’s only true because until now, nobody has launched an alternate store that offers web stack...
“6:52PM Walt: So last year we had a company called Siri, a search...”
– Walt Mossberg interviews Steve Jobs at D8.
Apple will launch a search engine sometime in 2010-2011. You heard it here first.
May 2010
10 posts
“The CEO must set the context that every employee operates within. This context...”
– How Andreessen Horowitz Evaluates CEOs
“Princess is our staging environment. So why didn’t we just call it “staging”?...”
– Etsy Code As Craft: Quantum of Deployment
Funny, I was just telling our team today about how I don’t like staging servers. Instead, I prefer what Amazon called “pre-prod” — a collection of servers that touched production data, but weren’t visible to actual users.
...
Google Previews Chrome Web Store — An App Store... →
Google is readying a web app store. Web apps are the future, both on the desktop and on mobile.
This dovetails extremely nicely into what we’re doing with AppStoreHQ and our mobile web app store (see an example with fortysquires, an HTML5 frontend to foursquare). I don’t think this is a killer of what we’re doing, rather a validation of it. This seems to be focused more on...
WatchAttended Notre Dame’s graduation yesterday, where Brian Williams gave a commencement address. He was fantastic: funny, serious, and inspiring. Watch it.
foursquare: A redesigned app gallery →
One of our goals since our API first launched was to create a space where we could feature your apps and make them easy for users to find. We did this with the first version of our app gallery, but soon realized that it wasn’t flexible enough for you.
With that in mind, we went back and…
Neat little app directory from foursquare. I added fortysquires.
Watchmobilehtml5:
CBS has confirmed that they plan to bring all CBS.com video content to iPad via HTML5 format by the fall television season.
When we were looking at the iPad as a separate device, it had a lot more similarities to a PC in our mind…So for us, we wanted to make sure that video was available through HTML5 on the iPad first.
Via TiPB, via NewTeeVee.
“In my almost 92 years on this Earth, the good Lord has blessed me with this...”
– Thank you, Ernie.
Working away from work?
go:
If you are gainfully employed, typically there is an office that goes along with your job. A place you show up and drink the coffee, and talk at the water cooler, check emails, and generally get a myriad of tasks done.
It’s a brave new world and some are choosing (either personally or their companies are asking them) to telecommute. With mobile tech and the beauty of Wi-Fi, almost any...
April 2010
20 posts
WatchInside Founder’s Co-op: Whiskey, dogs and entrepreneurs
Free shot of Maker’s Mark to first person who can tell from the quick snap of me what t-shirt I’m wearing (void if you were around me that day). ;)
I'm not an ice hockey fan but...
evangotlib:
I’ve been spending a lot of time in Detroit and the folks out there LOVE their Red Wings. So I hope they win tonight.
Thanks for the support. And, yes, we do LOVE our Red Wings. They have to step it up against the Sharks, though.
(You can take the person out of Detroit, but you can’t take the Detroit out of the person.)
AppStoreHQ Blog: You already know iPad apps are... →
It’s only been two weeks since Apple introduced the iPad, but there are already 3,357 “iPad ready” apps, and 2,905 apps (and counting) designed specifically for the device. Many of these apps are significantly more expensive than their iPhone cousins, raising the stakes for…
We’re launching formal support for iPad apps today. It’s a great addition to an awesome and growing...
Keep The Ride Alive!
Help Celebrate Our Own Potential As Individuals:
On the April 18, 1775, Paul Revere and other riders set out to warn American farmers and villagers that the time had come to fight for freedom.
As individuals, these riders combined to help launch our country’s quest for independence – an independence that gave each of us the opportunity and freedom to engage our own individual...
We're Hiring a Web UI/UX Designer/Developer
appstorehq:
Position:
We’re looking for a jack-of-all-trades UI/UX designer/developer who isn’t afraid to get slightly dirty in the backend. You’ll work primarily on our Rails frontend code: simplifying, beautifying, and generally making our site easier and more fun to use for the hundreds of thousands of folks who do so each month. You’ll A/B test multiple designs to find the best one, but...
“The two key components every platform must deliver to create value:...”
– Andrew Weissman.
This is why the App Store works.
“Schmidt also said the technology he is most excited about in this area is HTML5,...”
– Eric Schmidt on Google’s “mobile first” attitude, weaknesses (via mobilehtml5)
Opera Mini App approved for the App Store →
Yay! Go Apple! Go Opera! Golf claps all around. Looking forward to trying this out.
Announcing fortysquires.com (an HTML5 version of...
A week ago I decided I was going to go the full month of April using only mobile web apps instead of native iPhone apps.
At the same time, I wanted to take some time to try out the beta of Rails 3.
Over the course of the week, I realized that foursquare was the app I had the hardest time with (their mobile web site is awful). So, I decided to use their APIs to do something about that.
About 10...
Don't forget, there is a browser on that iPad
bijan:
If you have been reading this blog from time to time or even with some regularity, you’ll know that I’m a bigger fan of the open mobile web than mobile apps. At least from a philosophical point of view especially in a world of private APIs and app stores play the role of gatekeeper.
Yesterday I had a funny experience on the iPad.
I wanted to find a take out place for dinner. I tapped...
Why Apple may not be a monopoly
go:
Apple has sat on a plea to carry Opera’s Web browser in its iPhone App Store for two weeks.
Blogger iseffcom asks:
A serious question (from someone with a very simplistic view of the legal world): MSFT was tried for abusing monopoly power when they began bundling IE with Windows. You could still install other browsers if you wished. Here we have AAPL bundling Safari with iPhone OS...
Google Maps Street View in 3D
Haven’t seen this posted anywhere, but Google Maps Street View is now available in 3D (provided you have 3D glasses). Example:
Normal:
3D:
Eating my own dog food: A month with ONLY mobile...
I know I sound like a broken-record with my love for mobile web apps, but I just can’t help it. Last week, the PragProg folks wrote an article about the return of the thick client, thanks to the App Store. I agree with the fact that native apps are winning right now because of the App Store, but disagree that they’re the best way to go, long term.
Putting my money where my mouth is,...
The iPad is killing it, but so are mobile web apps
appstorehq:
We don’t need to tell anyone how hawt the iPad is right now, so we won’t. (We will, however, let you in on a little secret: we’re working hard on a full-featured iPad apps section of our site this very moment, to complement our Android apps and iPhone apps section).
The other, less talked about news of the last few days or so has been the plethora of awesome mobile web/HTML5 apps...
“As you use Google’s web-based applications on iPad, you’ll notice that you...”
– Google services on the iPad and tablet computer (via mobilehtml5)
Caterpillar Cowboy: The inside story on how I... →
GigaOm just posted about the $350,000 angel round we just raised. Here’s the inside story how we raised the money.
Back in January, we raised about $150,000 from friends & family - my mentor from DreamIt Ventures, my old Amazon VP, my parents, a friend from college, a bizdev guy I met at …
Very happy to hear this story from Dave.. wish you guys all the best of luck!
March 2010
14 posts
Watchsoupsoup:
purns:
Is this the greatest prank of all time? A fraternity put up “Event Parking” signs outside a Glenn Beck rally (festival of uninformed hate), then had the 53 cars that parked on their site towed. I fully support this kind of fratty behavior, particularly when directed against the willfully ignorant.
(via Gawker, which wants to act a fool about embeds, and thusly, must get...
AppStoreHQ is Hiring! →
AppStoreHQ is hiring. We’re looking for someone who can play a “senior engineer” role (for some definition of senior and engineer). We’re very flexible on all sorts of things, as long as you’re awesome.
My 10 Coding Commandments
Thou shalt not optimize until absolutely necessary.
Thou shalt ruthlessly delete code at any available opportunity.
Thou shalt use the right tool for the job.
Thou shalt abstract when necessary, but ONLY when necessary.
Thou shalt stand on the shoulders of giants.
Thou shalt never become religious.
Thou shalt test.
Thou shalt launch early and often.
Thou shalt always be...
New York Home Staging →
Getting Google to spider my uncle’s new web site.
Looking for mobile web app developers...
I really believe in mobile web apps. We’re supporting that belief at AppStoreHQ. But there’s a whole lot more we could be doing than just adding these apps to our site.
I’d like to learn more from these mobile web app developers: how you’re approaching development, payments, marketing, distribution, etc. As a developer myself, I have some ideas and theories, but following...
One quick thought on health care reform
Personally, I’m thinking of health care reform like a startup. Yesterday, the founders secured the vision, team, and seed funding. Over the next couple years, the startup will work towards launching.
But neither of those things constitute a successful startup. A successful startup is all about what happens after launching. Will the government execute well? Will citizens love the product?...
Interactive tour of the Los Angeles Marathon route →
go:
You like to run? You like to run a lot?
Or maybe you just want to live vicariously through others. In any case, check out the interactive tour of this year’s L.A. Marathon route. This year’s course stretches from Echo Park all the way to the sea.
Awesome use of Google Street View (check out the San Vicente part where you really feel strange heading the wrong way down the road).
AppStoreHQ Blog: Now text a download link directly... →
Today we’re releasing a small, but important and extremely useful (and oft requested) feature. Previously, if you clicked the Download button for an iPhone or mobile web app, you’d be taken to iTunes or the actual mobile web app. This works well when your phone is plugged in and able to…
Just released my first use of Twilio’s API. It’s a simple feature — put in your...
“Many founders starting out worry too much about ___ startup they saw in...”
– To egg your competitors or not to egg, that is the question - garry’s posterous (via giantrobotlasers)
AppStoreHQ Blog: Android app search comes to the... →
We just got into the Android app discovery business in a big way - here’s the “official” story on what we’re up to…
Leading iPhone app search engine AppStoreHQ announces full-store Android app search + discovery platform for consumers and publishers
Seattle, WA - Tuesday March 16, 2010 -…
We launched Android support! And it’s great! Now we cover all iPhone, Android, and mobile...
Market Cap Per Employee
AAPL is now worth >$200B, along with only (I think) XOM, MSFT, BRK, and WMT. So those are the biggest companies, but how do they stack up on a per employee basis?
AAPL: $202b / 34,300 = $5.9M/e
WMT: $207b / 2,100,000 = $98,600/e
MSFT: $252b / 93,000 = $2.7M/e
XOM: $315b / 80,700 = $3.9M/e
AMZN: $57b / 24,300 = $2.3M/e
BRK.A: $203b / 222,000 = $914,000/e
Facebook (reported): $10b / 1,200...