Here's what the folks at today's Blue Ribbon panel (Convergence 2010) had to say when asked the above-mentioned question:
Sprint: Vehicle to infrastructure (v to i) will be very important.
KIA: The industry will be looking at how to commoditze data.
Microsoft: A natural user interface will be big.
RIM: Intersection with the user’s lifestyle; how to make the car a destination point.
ATX: Management of loyalty, relationship with the consumer.
Freescale: We will be talking about what no one has thought of yet.
OnStar: Fundamental cost of maintaining connectivity after purchase.
Gartner: We'll be looking at things like leveraging metadata to improve traffic flow.
19 October 2010
15 October 2010
Convergence 2010: QNX gets laser focused
According to Susan Friedmann, the Tradeshow Coach and author of Meeting and Event Planning for Dummies, over 76% of visitors go to shows to see “what’s new.”
Believe it or not, having no shortage of new can be a curse. Getting a group of excited engineers to focus is not for the faint of heart. But without a strong focus, you get the tradeshow equivalent of a three-ring circus - too many pods, too much literature, too many graphics ... you get the idea.
The QNX booth (#717) at this year's automotive Convergence show is, I'm happy to say, laser focused. We'll be showing off one thing and one thing only - but what a thing! The Connected Car 2.0.
This new four-wheeled proof of concept illustrates in full 3D glory, the future of the in-vehicle experience. Like the connected car before it, our new concept car is built on the QNX CAR Application Platform, a complete production-ready software stack. Its customizable HMI and pre-integrated software is a boon to development teams creating the new breed of in-vehicle infotainment systems.
I'm not exactly a 'car guy' but I think this is one sweet ride! Wish I could show you all the gory details (sneak peak above) but I'd be scooping our PR dude, who normally shuns such preemptive excitement. More to follow.
Believe it or not, having no shortage of new can be a curse. Getting a group of excited engineers to focus is not for the faint of heart. But without a strong focus, you get the tradeshow equivalent of a three-ring circus - too many pods, too much literature, too many graphics ... you get the idea.
The QNX booth (#717) at this year's automotive Convergence show is, I'm happy to say, laser focused. We'll be showing off one thing and one thing only - but what a thing! The Connected Car 2.0.
This new four-wheeled proof of concept illustrates in full 3D glory, the future of the in-vehicle experience. Like the connected car before it, our new concept car is built on the QNX CAR Application Platform, a complete production-ready software stack. Its customizable HMI and pre-integrated software is a boon to development teams creating the new breed of in-vehicle infotainment systems.
I'm not exactly a 'car guy' but I think this is one sweet ride! Wish I could show you all the gory details (sneak peak above) but I'd be scooping our PR dude, who normally shuns such preemptive excitement. More to follow.
18 June 2010
Nike versus Adidas (or YouTube versus BoobTube) at FIFA
There are many who still think social media is a passing fad at best, a kids playground at worst. Nike is not one of them.
The reigning sponsor in soccer is Adidas. To maintain this status, the company purchased the greatest sanctioned presence at this month’s FIFA World Cup for $200 M. Up-and-comer rival, Nike, did not take this lying down. In fact they fought back.
What Nike didn't do is every bit as important as what they did do. They didn't purchase expensive TV ad space. Nor did they rent a led zeppelin. Rather, Nike created a video - a very creative commercial - and posted it on YouTube.
The Nike video, Write the Future, was released on May 17 and went viral in just 10 days. With close to 16 M views to date, it has been lauded as the company's best creative work in soccer.
The folks at Adidas responded with a Star Wars Cantina video on June 12. This video has only 3.5 M views to date - definitely the creative weakling of the two - which is still not bad when considering the placement cost: Free.
Clearly Nike is the big winner with far better creative (no doubt planned well in advance), 16 M free views of their commercial, and no $200 M invoice to pay. Plus, they look like innovators, despite the closing claim of the Adidas video.
The take-away is so obvious it pains those of us who still try to convince our companies of the ROI of social media. Not only is YouTube a legitimate and cost-effective tool for marketers, it may soon displace the "boob tube" (hopefully I'm not the only one who remembers this expression) as the holy grail for advertisers.
The reigning sponsor in soccer is Adidas. To maintain this status, the company purchased the greatest sanctioned presence at this month’s FIFA World Cup for $200 M. Up-and-comer rival, Nike, did not take this lying down. In fact they fought back.
The Nike video, Write the Future, was released on May 17 and went viral in just 10 days. With close to 16 M views to date, it has been lauded as the company's best creative work in soccer.
The folks at Adidas responded with a Star Wars Cantina video on June 12. This video has only 3.5 M views to date - definitely the creative weakling of the two - which is still not bad when considering the placement cost: Free.
Clearly Nike is the big winner with far better creative (no doubt planned well in advance), 16 M free views of their commercial, and no $200 M invoice to pay. Plus, they look like innovators, despite the closing claim of the Adidas video.
The take-away is so obvious it pains those of us who still try to convince our companies of the ROI of social media. Not only is YouTube a legitimate and cost-effective tool for marketers, it may soon displace the "boob tube" (hopefully I'm not the only one who remembers this expression) as the holy grail for advertisers.
11 May 2010
Video - in a flash
At the MarketingProfs B2B Conference last week in Boston, I heard about this video company, Pixability, that does fast and easy B2B videos. Their business model is great for anyone who needs to turn around video fast and who doesn't want to invest in equipment . Here's how the comany works:
I have yet to try the company myself but heard nothing but good reviews from the attendees in Boston.
I have yet to try the company myself but heard nothing but good reviews from the attendees in Boston.
14 April 2010
Apollo 13 anniversary
This week marks the 40th anniversary of Apolo 13. This struck me as interesting for two reasons. One: When all the other kids wanted to be doctors, teachers, lawyers, and the like, I wanted to be an astronaut. And two: QNX Software Systems just celebrated its 30th anniversary.
While the first thought is pretty much moot since I probably won't make the leap from marketer to rocket scientist in my 40s, the latter lead me to wonder about what Apollo 13 had for computerized systems. I mean, if QNX - the first commercially available microkernel RTOS - came into existance some 10 years after Apollo 13 and one year before DOS, what could the space mission possibly have used?
I quickly learned some interesting facts about the Apollo guidance computer (AGC), the principle embedded system aboard the spacecraft:
Fixed memory was high density core rope; tiny nickel-iron cores woven together with thousands of copper wires. This required developers to create and verify their programs before the rope was woven because the program determined the weaving or wiring sequence. The erasable memory used iron cores as storage devices.
The introduction of the integrated circuit is what the Apollo guidance computer is best known for. The integrated circuit was a risky choice at the time as the technology was considered untested, but it was necessary for the computer's digital logic. The AGC used only one type of chip although it used 5,000 of them. Soon therafter, this chip went on to power calculators like the HP-35 by the millions, giving birth to the semi-conductor industry.
As for software, AGC software was written in assembly language. While it was based on a simple real-time executive and batch job-scheduling that could run only eight tasks at a time using cooperative multi-tasking, there was an interrupt-driven component that could schedule multiple timer-driven tasks.
It all sounds very simple, however, the AGC was anything but. I could write a book on it but it appears many others already have. The point is, NASA was on the leading edge of computer science 40 years ago ... as it is today. And today it uses systems based on QNX software. And, quite frankly, it's no wonder.
QNX Software Systems has repeatedly been on the leading edge of innovation throughout the past 30 years. Our industry firsts are too numerous to mention right here and now. The AGC interface alone makes me grateful that QNX introduced the world's first microkernel-based windowing system back in 1994. (Take a look at this video of the AGC interface and you'll be grateful too.) Today, the QNX Neutrino RTOS is the foundation upon which systems in the shuttle and the space station are based.
So while I never did become an astronaut, I can take solace in the fact that a little part of me did make it into space. Granted this is a stretch but I'm stickin' to it.
While the first thought is pretty much moot since I probably won't make the leap from marketer to rocket scientist in my 40s, the latter lead me to wonder about what Apollo 13 had for computerized systems. I mean, if QNX - the first commercially available microkernel RTOS - came into existance some 10 years after Apollo 13 and one year before DOS, what could the space mission possibly have used?
I quickly learned some interesting facts about the Apollo guidance computer (AGC), the principle embedded system aboard the spacecraft:
- The hardware weighed 29.5 kg
- Memory cycle time was 11.7 microseconds with a single addition time of 23.4 microseconds
- Fixed memory (ROM) had a capacity of 67.5K with an erasable memory (RAM) of 3.75K
- Developing and verifying a software program required a full year
- The operations plan document was close to 10-cm thick
The basic display and keyboard (DSKY) aboard Apollo 13 was the UI for 198 basic verb and noun codes, which were combined for typical "Verb, V1, V2, Noun, N1, N2, Enter" sequences.
Fixed memory was high density core rope; tiny nickel-iron cores woven together with thousands of copper wires. This required developers to create and verify their programs before the rope was woven because the program determined the weaving or wiring sequence. The erasable memory used iron cores as storage devices.
The AGC used magnetic core rope memory to store its programs, what we now call ROM. It used magnetic core arrays to store its dynamic memory, or RAM.
The introduction of the integrated circuit is what the Apollo guidance computer is best known for. The integrated circuit was a risky choice at the time as the technology was considered untested, but it was necessary for the computer's digital logic. The AGC used only one type of chip although it used 5,000 of them. Soon therafter, this chip went on to power calculators like the HP-35 by the millions, giving birth to the semi-conductor industry.
As for software, AGC software was written in assembly language. While it was based on a simple real-time executive and batch job-scheduling that could run only eight tasks at a time using cooperative multi-tasking, there was an interrupt-driven component that could schedule multiple timer-driven tasks.
It all sounds very simple, however, the AGC was anything but. I could write a book on it but it appears many others already have. The point is, NASA was on the leading edge of computer science 40 years ago ... as it is today. And today it uses systems based on QNX software. And, quite frankly, it's no wonder.
QNX Software Systems has repeatedly been on the leading edge of innovation throughout the past 30 years. Our industry firsts are too numerous to mention right here and now. The AGC interface alone makes me grateful that QNX introduced the world's first microkernel-based windowing system back in 1994. (Take a look at this video of the AGC interface and you'll be grateful too.) Today, the QNX Neutrino RTOS is the foundation upon which systems in the shuttle and the space station are based.
So while I never did become an astronaut, I can take solace in the fact that a little part of me did make it into space. Granted this is a stretch but I'm stickin' to it.
03 November 2009
Multi-core: Boring is good
Marketing in high tech often involves being ahead of the product; it's not unusual for GA to be months out. This is no insignificant challenge - over promising and under delivering gives the company a bad name while using vacuous high-level descriptors that say little does the same for marketing.
I've recently discovered a new challenge at QNX: Being so ahead of the curve that the company gets "bored" just as the market begins to take notice. Multi-core support is a prime example.
The QNX Neutrino RTOS has been multiprocessor capable since 1997. When multi-core processers came on the market in 2005, we already had a mature solution. Our current offering has award-winning mutli-core tools that not only help developers migrate legacy code but also optimize it for multi-threaded environments.
Sustaining the multi-core message for close to five years has been a big challenge for a company as innovative as QNX. There is always some new shiny pebble to promote. But, as luck would have it, we begin getting bored with multi-core just when the market begins to understand its importance.
So what's a company to do when a product really is years ahead of the competition? Keep on message. Say the same things you said five, ten years ago. It may be boring but it's the repetition that counts.
I've recently discovered a new challenge at QNX: Being so ahead of the curve that the company gets "bored" just as the market begins to take notice. Multi-core support is a prime example.
The QNX Neutrino RTOS has been multiprocessor capable since 1997. When multi-core processers came on the market in 2005, we already had a mature solution. Our current offering has award-winning mutli-core tools that not only help developers migrate legacy code but also optimize it for multi-threaded environments.
Sustaining the multi-core message for close to five years has been a big challenge for a company as innovative as QNX. There is always some new shiny pebble to promote. But, as luck would have it, we begin getting bored with multi-core just when the market begins to understand its importance.
So what's a company to do when a product really is years ahead of the competition? Keep on message. Say the same things you said five, ten years ago. It may be boring but it's the repetition that counts.
07 October 2009
QNX CAR drives away with Adobe MAX award
I and my colleagues danced around in our respective kitchens last night as news spread that the QNX CAR Application Platform won an Adobe MAX award. This is so cool not only for the obvious reason that winning is always fun and because, well ... it's Adobe! (C'mon, you dont get much bigger in the graphics world.)
The second and main reason this is so cool is that we won in the mobile category - mobile! Now, who would think that the car is a mobile device? Adobe that's who. Along with millions of people worldwide who are beginning to realize the potential of a connected car.
The second and main reason this is so cool is that we won in the mobile category - mobile! Now, who would think that the car is a mobile device? Adobe that's who. Along with millions of people worldwide who are beginning to realize the potential of a connected car.
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