Attending or hosting a Facebook Developer Garage is an opportunity for a deep dive into Facebook Platform: it is a forum to share ideas with local developers, look for partners on your latest project, see and participate in Facebook App demonstrations, seek technical support, or just network and socialize with other developers interested in the Facebook Platform.
Are you a marketing professional looking to learn more about Facebook applications? You are also more than welcome at this event. While most of what you’ll read online about Facebook Developer Garage seems narrow-cast to developers, marketing professionals have become a fixture at these events. It just makes sense—there’s nowhere better to get a feel for what can be done on the Facebook platform (or find a developer for that matter).
Facebook Developer’s Garage - Phoenix
Location: Tempe Center for the Arts
Date/time: November 14th, 2007 - 6 to 9 pm
Guest Speakers: Dave Morin (Facebook), Nate Warner (Red Bull)
Multi-touch devices seem to be popping up everywhere. Don’t be the last kid on your block to get yours. Don’t worry about the price—there’s something for everyone.
The Two Dollar Multi-touch Pad: $2.00 *
Manufacturer: You
Target Market: Subscribers to Make magazine
Pros: Icebreaker with huge nerds
Cons: It’s a Ziplock bag full of water and dye
Yes, for the lowest priced multi-touch device you have to roll up your sleeves. The $2 variant is cheap, but it’s not ready for prime time-nor is that the intention of its (far more clever than myself) creator Erling Ellingsen.
$2 Multi-Touch
* OK, the price is misleading, but even if you add the price of a Mac laptop, it still comes in as the second cheapest solution out there.
iPhone: $399
Manufacturer: Apple
Target Market: Everyone but people who use Microsoft Exchange
Pros: Portability, Price
Cons: Depends on your perspective
Let’s just not describe the iPhone. I’m pretty sure Apple has beat into your head what it is.
To clarify on the cons for Apple’s iPhone: there might be no cons whatsoever (ask anyone who would sit in front of an Apple store overnight to get a $79 OS X upgrade), it might have a few stumbling blocks (these people are referred to as ‘the general public’), or, it flat out sucks (Steve Ballmer).
Surface: $5,000 to $10,000
Manufacturer: Microsoft
Target Market: Consumer and Commercial (Everyone)
Pros: Leverages Microsoft’s developer ecosystem
Cons: It’s a big ass table
The Surface multi-touch computer is the product of years of R&D at Microsoft. Pricing is said to be between $5,000 and $10,000 - which, on the low end, doesn’t price it that much higher than a high-performance PC and monitor combination.
Surface’s form factor returns memories of the original sit-down Pac Man machines which have established beachheads in homes across America. Unfortunately, Microsoft isn’t envisioning Surface in your basement (whether you are or not). Combine the price with Microsoft’s developer community and expect to see Surface pop-up (I couldn’t say ’surface’) in a variety of venues. Hospitality industry first.
If you haven’t seen the Big Ass Table Surface parody, view Microsoft’s videos first and then get a laugh out of it (both are below).
Microsoft Surface: Imagine the Possibilities
Microsoft Surface Parody
Interactive Media Wall: Starting at $100,000
Manufacturer: Perceptive Pixel
Target Market: Affluent people like Steve Jobs (but not Steve Jobs)
Pros: Looks incredibly fluid Cons: Prices Starting at $100,000
Perceptive Pixel is Jeff Han’s company which launched after the oooohs and aaaahs wound down following his NYU experiments and TED appearances hit the ‘net. The company’s first product, the Interactive Media Wall, is an 8 foot by 3 foot screened computing device. The single-page Perceptive Pixel site is curiously quiet about its first product. It does, however, have a great video showing more recent experimentations.
Definitely cool. Curiously being sold at Neiman Marcus. That’s right, it’s at Neiman’s. Details are less than inspiring. Could we get some indication of what kind of software it comes with? Are companies developing software for it? OS? And, I hate to ask, but can I step back a few paces and just watch a HD movie on it from the couch?
There is about to be a major announcement in the social networking space. Developers will have access to the once closed data of a major social networking player.
Highlights:
The platform will consist of a set of APIs and a markup language to create applications
Applications will have the ability to use Flash and iFrame content
Deep integration will be possible - access to members of the social networks’:
Profile information
Friend list
Activity
History
Monetization - Developers will be able to monetize their applications by way of advertising and keep 100% of the revenue.
The announcement will be made in tech savvy San Francisco
No, I’m not late to the party. Following rumors which first surfaced this June, Michael Arrington at TechCrunch is reporting the launch of the MySpace Platform will take place next week at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco.
UPDATE: 10 Oct 2007: Meghan McCarthy says it’s not so over at Valleywag. Her sources are saying that MySpace will have an announcement at the Web 2.0 Conference, but it won’t be in relation to their platform launch.
UPDATE: 17 Oct 2007: Looks like Arrington was dialed in on this one. During a Q&A session with John Battelle at the Web 2.0 conference Rupert Murdoch and Chris DeWolfe devulged details of the MySpace Platform.
What is Uniqlock? A clock, some catchy music, interpretive dance, data visualization, and a blog widget. It’s also viral advertising pay dirt for Uniqlo, the Japanese clothing retailer who created it.
Launched in June, there are more than 14,000 Uniqlocks set, and the site has been viewed nearly 3.5 million times by visitors from 200 countries. Uniqlock (and Uniqlo) is better experienced than explained (go ahead, click on it).
The performance art piece wasn’t what got my attention, it was the WORLD.UNIQLOCK’s data visualization piece. To get to it, go to the Uniqlock site, click on the “MENU” on the left-hand side of the screen, then select the “WORLD.UNIQLOCK” option.
Terralever will be hosting the Phoenix Facebook Developer’s Garage Event on the 14th of November. Direct from the Facebook Developer Garage Wiki:
