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October 13, 2006
The future of Eudora
I've used Eudora as my primary email program for, well, forever. At least ten years. Every time I try an alternative, whether desktop or web-based, I find its interface and features inferior to what Eudora gives me. It's far from perfect, and it hasn't advanced much in several years, but I still think it's the best email productivity tool out there. According to Eudora's statistics, I spent over 500 hours last year in the application.
So, the announcement from Qualcomm, Eudora's owner, that it will be transitioning the software to the open source Thunderbird project under the Mozilla Foundation, produces mixed feelings for me. A modern, open source Eudora, regularly updated, would be delightful. On the other hand, I've tried Thunderbird a few times and found it lacking. It's not bad, and in many ways it's better than Outlook, but it's no Eudora. If the open source Eudora community can somehow preserve the elements that distinguish Eudora from everything else out there (especially the search function and multiple mailbox windows on-screen), I'll jump for joy. If not, I'll keep using my old-fangled version of the app as long as it still runs.
Posted by Kevin Werbach at 9:16 AM | Comments (1)
October 12, 2006
FCC moves forward on unlicensed "white spaces"
Well, here's a pleasant surprise. The FCC has adopted an order (news release PDF) moving forward the process of opening up unlicensed wireless "white spaces" around the broadcast TV bands.
This is potentially a big deal. More wireless capacity at low frequencies for unlicensed devices is the last, best hope to overcome the current broadband bottleneck and catalyze a whole range of new communications applications. It will be several years before the technical work is completed and actual devices come on the market -- 2012 would be a rough guess. So, don't expect any impact in the near term. Over the long haul, though, this could be big news for communications users and innovators.
The proceeding seemed to be stalled after Kevin Martin took over from Michael Powell as FCC Chairman. I didn't think Martin would expend the necessary political capital with the broadcasters to keep it going. The fact that he did seems to be a testament to the efforts of a small group of companies, led by Intel and Microsoft, pushing the idea, along with public interest groups such as the New America Foundation. It also reflects the changing political calculus of the digital TV transition, now nearing its endgame, and, perhaps, some realization by the broadcasters that in a world where YouTube is worth $1.6 billion, the value of scarce over-the-air broadcast licenses is diminishing.
Posted by Kevin Werbach at 1:19 PM | Comments (0)
Vertical vs. Horizontal Models
Jack Schofield of The Guardian has a long quote from me in his column about horizontal and vertical models for technology companies. Here's the first portion:
"Most of the time, and in the long run, the open platform solution will win. But not always. The successful technology companies are generally those who are not religious about vertical or horizontal approaches, but who appreciate that a platform is more valuable when other companies have appropriate incentives to build and compete on top of it."
It's a good piece. Jack puts his finger on some important issues for the future of the tech ecosystem.
Posted by Kevin Werbach at 11:44 AM