First Look At 3D Camera App 3DAround

http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/24/3daround/?ncid=rss&cps=gravity

What if you could shoot those cool 360-degree, swivel-around photos you see on ecommerce sites or in The Matrix with just your smartphone? Then you’d be using the 3DAround camera app that launches next month from Dacuda, which gave TechCrunch an early peek. Simply hit record, revolve your camera phone or tablet around an object, and 3DAround stitches together all the photos into a 3D image the viewer can spin at will.

Dacuda is famous for its PocketScan appthat lets you wave your camera over a document to get a digital image of it without a bulky scanner. Now Dacuda’s 25-person team and 5 years of experience are combining to make your phone a 3D scanner that always gets the perfect angle…because it gets every angle. For starters, it’s going to add some 360-spice to a ubiquitous but often boring type of photography: food porn.

“It’s a really good time for this kind of tech because Apple just opened up the camera APIs” Dacuda founder and CTO Dr. Alexander Ilic tells me. “We need pretty low-level access to controlling exposure time, focus, and more.” That’s just what Apple allowed with iOS 8.

Illic says the inspiration for the app came from watching food blogger friends take dozens of photos of plates of grub from different angles and struggle to decide which was best. He thought “Why can’t you just go around the whole thing, so you don’t have to worry about the perfect shot with a single angle.” Originally he figured that would require a camera with expensive 3D sensors, but in fact, newer iPhones are capable if given the right software. That’s where Dacuda comes in.

Spun out of top Swiss engineering school ETH Zurich by students from the university and MIT, Dacuda’s expertise is in image stitching. It’s backed by Wellington Partners, Swiss bank Schwyzer Kantonalbank, and Austrian entrepreneur Hans-Peter Metzler.

The 3DAround app extracts depth and structure information from a success of rapid-fire photos to create the 360-degree views. You’ll be able to interactively view the swivel-able photo through the 3DAround app or WebGL-equipped browsers like Chrome, and share some version of the images to Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterst

The app will launch for free next month on iOS 8 devices for the iPhone 5 on up. While some phones like the HTC EVO now have stereoscopic double cameras that can take slightly “3D” photos, 3DAround looks like the real deal. We’ll have hands-on coverage once the app launches, so check back to see us spinning around some delicious food.

Immediately Is An Email App For Sales Reps That Tracks When Messages Are Read

http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/30/immediately-launches-an-email-app-for-sales-reps-that-tracks-when-messages-are-read/

SquareOne, an email startup that launched its iOS app for organizing messages earlier this year, has now pivoted to become Immediately, an email app designed with the needs of sales reps in mind. The new app, which is currently live on the web and on iPhone, is an email client application offering features like reminders, templates, scheduling and Salesforce sync, as well as the ability to track email opens — allowing you to jump when customers and leads are in their inboxes reading your message.

On mobile, you can configure the app to send you push notifications when email opens occur by designating which emails you want to track with a push of a button in its “Compose” interface.

This is not the first app to track email opens. In March, an app called MailTracker debuted on iOS that offered similar functionality. However, in its case, the MailTracker app allows you track opens and engagement time for emails sent using Apple’s built-in Mail App. It’s not meant to be a standalone client.

In addition, Immediately offers a number of features that make it more competitive with something like Acompli, as the new app also lets you quickly share your calendar availability without having to change to a different application.

Other buttons appear below your Compose screen, letting you quickly do things like change your signature, respond with a template or create a reminder.

Contact details are available at glance, too, allowing you to quickly get background information on those you’re communicating with by pulling data from LinkedIn — a feature that’s useful for those even outside the “sales rep” space Immediately is targeting.

The company says it trialled its app across a number of companies before today’s launch, including Plethora.io, TalentBin and Visually. Now live in the App Store and on the web, Immediately’s long-term plan is to leverage data to make intelligent suggestions to salespeople — like whether their pitch is wrong, or being sent at the wrong time — that will help them become more productive.

For what it’s worth, even email apps that let you stalk your recipients can tell you everything. Email clients that offer push notifications with message previews, or interfaces like Gmail that show headlines and part of the message, are often how those with busier inboxes “read” their messages – that is, they scan their inbox to know who’s emailing them and why, and react accordingly. And no app – Immediately, MailTracker or otherwise – can track that sort of thing.

Immediately is free for individuals and will offer a paid tier for enterprises.

Why Google Glass Is Far More Important Than Any Smartwatch

http://readwrite.com/2013/04/17/google-glass-outsmarts-smart-watches

This week has been full of news on wearable devices: First the report from The Wall Street Journal that Microsoft is fabricating a smart watch (whether it’s just a prototype or an actual product is not confirmed); then Google’s release of guidelines for developers building apps (known as “Glassware”) for Glass; followed by the news on Wednesday that Google will start shipping Glass units to participants in its Explorers program.

(See also Google Glassware: How Developers Can Build Apps For Google Glass.)

To put these stories in perspective, Glass is a much, much more important story than any smart watch story — whether that watch is made by Microsoft, Samsung or even Apple. Smart watches could enable new “glanceable” experiences that we haven’t had on other devices, enhanced by body-generated data, like the Basis smartwatch does today. But they won’t fundamentally disrupt social norms in the way that Glass will. At best, they’ll reinforce existing ecosystems for smartphones — i.e., iPhone buyers might buy an iWatch; an iWatch might displace some phone usage, but wouldn’t replace a phone altogether.

Google Glass Could Be The Next Big App Platform

Smart watches are incremental steps forward toward the smart body future, but Glass is a giant leap forward in shoes propelled by rocket fuel. There is a very real chance that consumers will reject Glass, consigning it to the geeky niche of Bluetooth earpiece headsets. But if Glass succeeds, it could be the next iPhone: the next great platform for app development — not just for professional software developers but for non-tech companies like media, banks, retailers, hospitals and every other entity that wants to engage its customers or employees digitally.

Three initiatives in particular stack the deck in favor of the Glass success scenario.

First, Google’s transparent approach to product development gives Google insight into how consumers envision using Glass, identify concerns early and adapt its product and marketing accordingly, all while building buzz among socially connected early adopters. (Key fact: 68% of Glass Explorers have 1,000 or more followers on Twitter.)

Second, the new Glass Collective seed fund from Google Ventures, Andreeson Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins ensures that Glass-related apps, accessories and other products get the investmeent they need to feed the Glass ecosystem — just as iPhone app startups got in 2008.

The third initiative — Google placing restrictions on app developers in support of the user experience — takes on the biggest barrier to Glass adoption.

Wearing Glass creates a new experience not just for the person wearing the device, but also for everyone near someone wearing the device. Initial curiosity could quickly fade to annoyance when talking to someone seemingly distracted by a display you can’t see.

(See also 5 Socially Unacceptable Things You're Going To Do With Google Glass.)

And then, of course, there’s the anger and frustration you feel when your likeness is photographed or videoed, autotagged and shared without your consent or control.

(See also Google Glass: Our Lives Are Not Reality TV.)

We already live this every day on Facebook; Glass just accelerates the phenomenon. The hardest challenge for Glass to overcome is not making the technology work or attracting developers, but establishing social norms around the device that draw people in rather than making them want to run for un-surveillanced cover.

Google Can Influence How People Use Glass

Google can’t control consumers’ manners — if you’re rude enough to text on your phone at the dinner table, you’ll be rude enough to read texts on Glass in front of other people. Your rudeness is not Google’s fault any more than it is the phone manufacturer’s fault. Still, Google, Glass Collective investors and app developers can influence the degree to which Glass supports, rather than distracts from, human goals (see Adam Gazzaley’s research at UCSF to understand what I mean).

Google is moving Glass in a positive direction, forbidding apps with advertising on Glass, forbidding apps to access sensors on the device and forbidding apps to track and share user data for advertising purposes - at least to start. The New York Times Bits Blog quotes Google advising app developers to “make sure apps do not send updates too frequently and to be sure to avoid doing anything consumers do not expect,” and get users’ explicit permission to do things on the user’s behalf.

This is a smart move on Google’s part. It not only supports consumers’ interests but also makes it more likely that using Glass — and being around someone using Glass — will be a positive experience: The less intrusive and distracting the experience of using Glass is, the more Glass wearers can focus attention on the people they’re with or the task they’re trying to accomplish.

(See also Is There Any Way To Jam Google Glass?)

We will all play a role in shaping how Glass fits into our lives and our culture. Consumers must take ultimate responsibility for how they use the device, but it’s encouraging to see Google playing its part.

7 Essential Predictions For Mobile Apps In The Enterprise

http://readwrite.com/2013/02/08/7-essential-predictions-for-mobile-applications-in-the-enterprise

Guest author Chris O’Connor is chief executive of mobile solutions provider Taptera.

The booming mobile applications market is a hot topic right now at many a water cooler in Silicon Valley and beyond. I've toiled in the mobile market since 2007 and in those  years I've witnessed more than my fair share of changes - some entirely predictable - others not so much. Relying on the wisdom that comes with a decade-plus in the business, I'd like to offer a few educated guesses as to what's next in enterprise mobile apps.

A Mobile Crystal Ball

Here are seven predictions for the mobile apps market in the coming year:

1. Mobile Tools For Salespeople. Mobile devices are the business tool of choice for most salespeople. As a result, there will be even more new apps that cater to these often-mobile employees. Look for apps that allow salespeople to more effectively pitch prospective clients, make presentations to existing ones and update opportunities, all while they’re away from the office. 

2. Enterprise Platform Vendors Continue To Stumble. Enterprise software giants SAP and Oracle stumbled in 2012 with application-development platforms that were intimidating and offered limited cross-platform support. Expect the next few months to be no different: customers will continue to avoid single-vendor solutions in favor of a more open approach. In mobile, that means apps able to connect into heterogeneous environments will be clear winners.

3. iOS And Android Dominate. Last year marked the advent of BlackBerry 10 and Windows Phone, two new competitors in the mobile operating system market. But both BlackBerry 10 and Microsoft’s Windows Phone may be too late to pose legitimate threats to Google and Apple's mobile operating systems. Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android are far more mature and entrenched platforms that offer developers a flexible framework. And they have proven security measures. They are simply too good for developers and users to ignore.

4. New Leaders For Mobile Projects. Sales-and-marketing department heads and business unit managers are mobile’s advocates within the enterprise. Increasingly, they hold the purse strings for new mobile initiatives. If and when these new initiatives spread across the enterprises, budgetary control may return to the information technology department. At least for now, any new mobile apps should be designed for the non-techie audience.

5. Security Remains A Bottleneck. Allowing employees to bring their own devices (BYOD) is a trend that will continue to gain strength in 2013. But security continues to be a serious concern. App makers that offer compelling security features in their products will find a receptive audience among enterprises transitioning to BYOD.

6. Employee Expectations For IT Service Continue To Rise. Employees want the gear they use at work to be as powerful and easy to use as the stuff they have at home. Enterprises that don’t offer employees decent tools they will be at a disadvantage when it comes to hiring and retaining talent. 

7. Mobile Security Vendors Will Overlap. Selecting a mobile device management (MDM) system was often the first step businesses took toward implementing a mobile strategy. MDM is becoming a commodity as app developers and platform providers incorporate it into their menu of services.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

Will Windows 8 Bring HTML5 To Enterprise Applications?

Cormac Foster posted 2 hours ago

When Microsoft gave its first public preview of Windows 8 in 2011, the now-President of Windows Julie Larson-Green sent shockwaves through the Windows development world with just four words: "our new development platform." The reason? That platform was based on HTML5 and Javascript.
To casual observers, that makes sense. HTML5 is roaring to the forefront of development far faster than industry predictions. We even saw some commercial proof of the platform's "Write Once, Run Anywhere" promise in 2012. To seasoned Windows developers, though – particularly those building enterprise apps in dedicated Microsoft shops – it crushed their world. After spending decades learning to use different languages and development environments – most recently Microsoft's proprietary but feature-rich WPF and Silverlight – the thought of jumping ship for HTML5 was devastating.
Microsoft has backpedaled in a number of forums since then, assuring developers that while HTML5 is the new standard for cross-platform apps, other tools will continue to work for Windows-only development. But the writing is on the wall. HTML5 is the future, so if you develop enterprise Windows applications, should you bite the bullet and make the move?

Will HTML5 Save Enterprises Money?

The cost argument will rage for some time. One camp holds that HTML / Javascript developers are cheap and plentiful, so HTML5 is necessarily cheaper. The other side believes that instability of the HTML5 spec (only recently finalized and not scheduled for Recommendation status until 2014) compared to the more mature development environments available for "traditional" Windows development means developers can build complex applications faster, without worrying about tweaking things down the road.
The CTO of one small software vendor saw value in both views: "For our simpler apps, I can hire kids with good Javascript skills and let them learn the Windows specifics on the job. For really complex applications with tens of thousands of lines of code or more, It would be dumb to break what already works." He added that his more experienced Windows developers are mentoring the generally younger HTML developers to cross-pollinate knowledge. "Ultimately, each tool will have a use, for at least the next several years, and I want all of my devs to be able to pick the one that makes sense."

"Serious Coders" vs. "Script Kiddies"

His biggest problem so far is a reluctance to embrace change. "I have a couple 28-year-olds who act like grumpy old men, afraid that the 'script kiddies' without any real computer science knowledge are moving in on their turf. To them, HTML5 cheapens the application, dumbs down their resumes, and opens the door to a whole lot of bad coding from people who know how to make Web pages, but don't have any formal experience with structured coding."
The last point is probably the most valid. Knowing HTML and some Javascript isn't a particularly high bar, so enterprises need to be diligent about hiring and mentoring. If you pull developers off of Craigslist for $15 an hour, you're not going to get quality enterprise work. Even well-established Web developers coming from a LAMP background may not have the right experience. A mentoring program using Agile or another pair-programming methodology – can be a great way to ease Web developers into a more formal programing environment.

What Do Developers Want?

One long-time C++ and (more recently) C# developer wasn't excited about the rise of HTMLt5: "Eh. I get what they're doing. It's all about the portability of UI. They've been on that path for a long time, but whatever. The thing is, developers don't want to learn a new markup when Microsoft has already forced them to learn one recently. WPF / Silverlight is crap, but so was Winforms. If they'd skipped WPF, they'd probably have more success trying to get people to shift to HTML5... I'll go where the money is, though."
That last point is telling. Developers will follow the work, they really don't have a choice. And that it won't be long before everyone will be doing at least some work in HTML5. Smart enterprises will be begin mixing in some of that work now makes sense, but there's not yet good reasons for a complete shift.

http://readwrite.com/2013/01/07/will-windows-8-bring-html5-to-enterprise-applications

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