I went to RocketSpace last night where Michael Scherotter, principal architecture evangelist for Microsoft gave a pretty interesting talk about the simplicity of the windows 8 design.
He started by pointing out the Bauhaus chair he was sitting in and showing that there is nothing extraneoius about the design. He evoked the work of architect Mies van der Rohe, one of the early leaders of the Bauhaus design school in the 1930s.
It's a marriage of form and function which takes away all distraction and just makes the experience of sitting in the chair a pleasurable one. A tablet interface -- at least this is what I thought Michael was saying -- is a place where that same kind of Windows 8 experience gets played out.
When Michael talked about how this same kind of thinking went into the Windows 8 interface, it began to get interesting. He said that looking at the screen, it is very clear that there are some things that fingers are good at doing, and there are some things that the mouse is good at doing. His suggestion to app developers was to pay attention to the meaning created by each of these types of movements. I had not heard a developer / designer talk about these things so I wrote some of these things.
The main focus in developing Windows 8, from the customer trials and focus groups to the reease of the preview last week, is on putting "content before Chrome." Chrome is not the Google web browser. Chrome is the extraneous. He looked around RocketSpace and said, "You notice there are no cornices. There is no artifice" around the room. "all that has been taken out." RocketSpace is an old loft warehouse. It's just bricks, industrial lighting, some ceiling tiles and space to work.
There is no "chrome" in the architecture. "Everything is functional." Where there is functional design, there is room for intimacy, for thinking, and for intentions. There is a purity in the straight and formal utilitarian design. It's quite thrilling.
He went on to say that the new interface was made to be Touchfirst, where people could easily read what can be done with the fingers, and easily move from one thing to the next and make some kind of meaning out of their experience. I really liked this. I think it suggests a fundamental shift for Windows technology and Microsoft thinking. Yes, other companies have done touchscreen. But to see this powerful shift to something that was just about the desktop and only about the mouse and keyboard to something that is about -- for mobile-heavy users like me -- something about the inherent intimacy between touch and wants, or touch and intention, is really powerful.
Entrepreneurs better be prepared to compete on both mobile and desktop, since the future is not about mobile killing off desktop computing. It's about the blurring between the two categories.
In the run up to the Euro Summit hosted by Microsoft Bizspark on June 7, we asked some of the important investors in Europe what they think about startups in Europe, and what they think are important facets of the startup ecocystem. We start today with Nic Brisbourne, Partner at DFJ. He's one of the judges for the Euro Summit, and he will be assessing if there is any mojo among the 15 startups vying for the People's Choice Awards.
You can vote for your favorite, by the way.
Nic has been in Venture Capital since 2000. In that time, he has worked in London, Europe and Silicon Valley. His main areas of focus have been software and media. Nic’s investment experience includes Zeus Technology (acquired by Riverbed for $140m), buy.at (acquired by AOL for $125m) and UltraDNS (acquired by Neustar – NYSE NSR). He currently sits on the boards of Conversocial, Tribold, and WAYN. Prior to joining DFJ Esprit, Nic was with Reuters Venture Capital, a software and services start-up called Operis; and Cap Gemini.
Interview
Bizspark: Let's start with a practical question: Does a company have to have traction in order for it to be a good idea? Or, is a good business model enough? Or just a good idea? In other words, what is the first thing that catches your attention about a company’s business plan?
Nic: Great companies start as good ideas and then become businesses as they get implemented in products and get traction. We like to talk with entrepreneurs at any stage in that journey and we will sometimes invest before there is traction. In these cases the company will have developed a prototype or beta product, they just won't have got anyone to pay for it yet.
BizSpark: Now for a theoretical question: What do you think of apps as being a place where you can develop communities? Do you look for apps that have an ability to create community, or do you just look for apps that get tasks done?
Nic: With some apps the community is a crucial part of the product, but other apps are fine for solo users. Both can make great investments. We are looking at a healthcare application at the moment with a community component and one of the reasons we like it is that the community element makes it harder for would be competitors to enter the market but there are many more successful apps that are task driven e.g. Angry Birds and Kindle.
BizSpark: Mobile has been said to solve the issue of immediacy – wanting something done now. Do you think mobile solutions are creating any pressures on desktop computing? Or does desktop computing just turn into just another thing we do?
Nic: As mobile devices are becoming more powerful we are using them for more and more tasks, and that comes at the expense of the desktop, but the bigger picture is that they are no longer distinct categories. I think we have now reached the point where there is a continuum of computer devices from phones through tablets through laptops to desktops and there is no clear cut off point where mobile ends and desktop starts. So tasks are the things we do and we use the best available computer device to do them.
By Brett Laffel
Due to overwhelming demand from our 30 to Launch Series in San Francisco, we’ve decided to host an additional series in Seattle as well!
Come join us at SURF Incubator in Seattle over the course of 4 different Wednesday nights to build great Windows 8 apps. Throughout the course of this four-part series taking place in June and July, guests will have a chance to learn from Microsoft experts about the world’s largest opportunity for app developers.
We’ll also have great food and drink each night – deli one night, hummus and cheese one night, meatballs and quiche on another! You’ll also have the opportunity to win great prizes! (See Official Rules here)
Register now! https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032514870&Culture=en-US.
SURF Incubator
Exchange Building
821 2nd Ave., 8th Floor
Seattle, WA 98104
Wednesdays, June 20, 27, July 11, 18 from 6pm-9pm
Series Schedule
June 20 - Week 1:· Business Opportunity for Windows 8· Designing Apps with Metro Principles and the Windows Personality
June 27 - Week 2:· How Metro style apps drive end user impact· Building Metro style apps with HTML and JavaScript· Creating Windows 8 Metro Style User Interface (UI)
JULY 4 – SKIP – HOLIDAY WEEKEND
July 11 - Week 3:· Bring Your App to Life with Live Tiles and Push Notifications· Integrating with key Windows 8 features
June 18 - Week 4:· Applying the finishing touches· The Business Opportunity Continued: Monetizing your app· The Windows Store
Based in San Francisco and interested? Limited spots remain, register for SAN FRANCISCO here (taking place at RocketSpace on 6/4, 6/11, 6/18, 6/25): https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032514381&Culture=en-US.
By Bindi Karia
Holding this year’s European BizSpark Summit in London gives me a good chance to put the spotlight on why the UK’s capital city has become one of the best places for start-ups (and business in general).
Someone who is as equally passionate as me about this topic is Pru Ashby, Senior Business Development Manager and Tech City Specialist at London & Partners, the Mayor of London’s official promotional organisation. I asked Pru to take some time out of her busy schedule to find out more.
BK: “Pru, can you tell readers what London & Partners do?
PA: “On behalf of the Mayor of London, we promote the city globally: to international students who can attend one of the many highly-regarded universities here; to event organisers, ranging from conferences to major sports organisations; and of course assisting businesses as they set up and grow, creating jobs in the city. As the Tech Specialist at London & Partners I work closely Tech City Investment Organisation, UKTI and the Mayor’s office to support London’s growth as a major digital hub.
BK: “Why should businesses think about locating themselves in London?”
PA: “We have a lot to offer and it’s all very accessible. In London, start-ups are within easy reach of a broad ecosystem: partners, customers, investors, even policy-makers. You can fit in several very useful meetings in one day, with minimal travel. And with its great transport connections, it is easy to get all over Europe and worldwide from here. And with a time zone spanning the global working day in London you can embrace both Asia Pacific and the US.”
BK: “Is the available talent pool here another factor?”
PA: “Absolutely. Companies like yours select London for just that reason. It’s true of start-ups too: I know of several organisations that chose London because it gives them access not just to developers and engineers, but financial, marketing and other skill-sets. Plus, if you are planning to ‘Europeanise’ your content or products, it is a lot easier to do from the UK, because we have the local expertise. London really is an international city.”
BK: “Why do you think programs like BizSpark are important?”
PA: “BizSpark is a key player in the start-up ecosystem. For young companies that have little capital, it helps them to get started quickly and – as far as technology is concerned – saves them a lot of money. There is also all the business and technical support that you and your colleagues are able to offer them and on a very personal level.
BK: “Putting you on the spot now: if you had to give one piece of advice to start-ups in London, what would it be?”
PA: “Lack of finance is cited as one of the biggest challenges facing any start-up, so I encourage all companies to find out more about the increasing range of options and sources available here in London. Shoreditch – where TechCity and the hub of London’s tech start-up community is based – is just a stone’s throw from the City’s huge financial centre. Off the back of that, we’ve seen the launch of initiatives such as Angels in the City and ‘City Meets Tech’, that have been created to get the banking community to invest in technology start-ups. Then there are all the great networking and learning opportunities available in London: Digital Shoreditch runs until June 1st, Le Web comes to London June 19-20 and of course, the BizSpark European Summit on June 7th. I look forward to meeting more of the BizSpark community then!”