Utah Tech Spotlight

Utah Tech Spotlight Events

Evernote for the iPhone: WOW!

  • Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Sep 23

Iphone EvernoteOkay, so I have to admit I am a bit of a late adopter here… But I am now fully on the bandwagon.  I have had people telling me for the last six months how cool Evernote is.  I had looked into it a few times, but it just wasn’t jumping out at me.

A month or so ago I installed it on my iPhone.  It just sat.  But last week I started to play with it a bit… and I wanted to share.

So here’s the deal: Whatever it is you need to remember, you can store it in evernote.  You can jot down a note, you can snap a picture, or record audio.  You can snap a picture of that whiteboard brainstorming session to keep it.

Okay, nice, but so what? I keep pictures, notes, and recordings already.  What’s cool is that all of the text and tags become indexed… EVEN THE TEXT IN YOUR PICTURES.  That’s right… it will recognize words from that whiteboard session on Compensation plans.  And, since it’s all indexed, it’s like your own little mini google.  Search later for “compensation”, and that picture of the whiteboard pops up.

But wait, it gets even better.  It knows when and where you made the note.  Want to know where you had that discussion?  It will show you on google maps.  Want to have evernote search for all “Indian food” in a 5 mile radius?  It will do that.

My first use of evernote was for paint.  It seems that whenever I paint a room, I never keep the details on the paint… so if I need to patch something I have to repaint the whole room.  Well, I just painted two rooms in a duplex I own.  If the tenants knock a hole in the wall, I can just patch it, and search for “duplex paint” to find what colors I had used.

I’ve watched many of the new apps that have come out on the iPhone, and and platforms like Facebook, and been a bit frustrated that it seems that we have taken a step backward in capabilities in some ways.  It is sad to think that some of the most popular apps out there are not really much cooler than what I played over my 2400 baud modem on a BBS in the early 90’s.

It is really great to see an app like Evernote push that, and deliver an experience and value that is way beyond anything before.  Nice job Evernote.

Word Up: Wordpress… Word Camp

  • Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Sep 16

It has been really interesting to watch how quickly, and how world effecting the landscape of communication has changed.  I imagine folks standing around watching the first run of printed pages created from movable type presses (Holy Crap, that was cool!)  Then watching as the impact of that invention slowly spread, and slowly began to change the world (although I’ll bet it didn’t seem slow to them.)

But just take a look at what is happening now!  Radio, then Television… Mobile Phones, BBS (That’s a flash from the past for some of us :) ), FidoNet, Internet, SMS, Email, IM, Blogs, Search Engines, Social Media…

Ten short years ago we were still trying to figure out how to get CC:mail, Lotus Notes, and Groupwise to really talk nice together, and look at where we are now.

The crossbow changed warfare.. Anyone could be lethal, even if they couldn’t swing a sword.  Guns even further leveled the playing field… a person was now a person… all equal (as long as they were pointing a barrel at you at least.)

But now the combination of the Internet, Search Engines, and various forms of self publishing.  All of a sudden you are not just equal to other people… you can be equal to the Media!  You can compete for eyes and mindshare.  You can be heard.

It has been said that “Knowledge is Power.”  But if you’re just really smart, but no one gets to hear your ideas, then it would seem that your ability to affect change… to be “powerful” is fairly limited.  Thus, knowledge, and the ability to be heard are power.

If so, then very few things have done more to bring “power to the people” than blogging platforms.  Perhaps one of the finest (at least the one all of my blogs are on) would have to be Wordpress.

Rather your an active blogger, someone who wants to learn more, or someone who has seen the power, but just hasn’t done it yet, there is an event coming up that should interest you:

When: Saturday, September 27, 2008 from 9:30 AM, to 5:00 PM

Where:

Novell, OSTC

1800 Novell Pace

Provo, Utah 84606

Tickets: $20 (includes lunch, t-shirt, stickers, etc.)

Website: http://utah.wordcamp.org

Livepitch Event… Check it out

  • Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Sep 16

So you have seen me do posts about cool utah companies, and about Speed Pitching events… why take my word for it?  Go check one out… Livepitch gives you that very chance.  What is it?  Where is it?  Well here’s the scoop:

Provo, Utah Sept 15, 2008 — LivePitch returns to Utah on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008 at the Novellʼs Open Source Technology Center from 11:00-1:30.

The LivePitch Event puts 5 pre-screened and pre-coached entrepreneurs in front of three to five investors and industry experts. Entrepreneurs pitch to the panelfor four minutes. Investors then have three minutes to ask questions. Lastly, the panel gives feedback and review the companies performance. After the time has
expired the next company pitches and is evaluated.

Spectators, entrepreneurs, accredited angel investors and industry experts interested in participating in the luncheon may register by visiting FundingUniverse.com, or by calling 877.638.3616

-Fees-
Investors Luncheon Fee: Free
Entrepreneurs Application Fee: $25. Presenting fee (if selected): $50
Audience Fee: Free

Reach Out and Touch those around you… Virtually

  • Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Sep 16

As you know, it is the goal of the Utah Tech Spotlight to bring more visibility to tech cool Tech right here in our backyards.  What better way to do that than to have a finger on the pulse of the new up-and-coming companies being funded.  To that end, the Tech Spotlight works closely with Funding Universe to take the coolest Tech presented in their monthly Speed Pitching events, and tell you about it here.  Oh, and look… here’s one now :)  :

Seek Mobile Interactive, Inc.

It’s a very interesting time in technology, as we watch not only the development of new, and revolutionary technologies, but also the convergence of various pieces being brought together into Mashups.  For those not familiar, a Mashup is essentially the taking of various pieces of other applications, and hooking them together in new and exciting ways.  Think of it sort of taking all of the best pieces from your favorite toys and snapping them together to create a cyborg Hulk with spidey-sense.

Another type of “trend mashup” involves taking the momentum that a specific type of movement, medium, or social trend and combining their energies together like multiple tidal waves merging into a single massive Tsunami.

A local company, Seek Mobile Interactive, is looking to capitalize on just such a convergence: Mobile Experiences, Social and Persistent Gaming, and Location based interactions.

Please follow this link to see the full article regarding Seek Mobile Interactive.

Local Figure: Chris Johnson from SCI

  • Posted by Steve Spencer

Article posted on Sep 02

As a followup to the Utah Innovation Awards earlier this year, we had a chance to sit down with Chris Johnson the Director of the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute at the U.  Chris is also:

Director, Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute (SCI).
Co-Director, Center for Integrative Biomedical Computing (NIH NCRR).
Distinguished Professor of Computer Science.
Research Professor of Bioengineering.
Adjunct Professor of Physics.
Faculty Member, Computational Engineering and Science (CES) Program.
Faculty Member, Brain Institute .
Co-Founder, Visual Influence Inc.
Co-Editor, The Visualization Handbook.

Chris is and his program at the U are doing some really amazing things… not just in the technologies they are coming up with, but with the culture they are building, and their ability to see these become more than just ideas, but to be a place for thoughts and people to flourish here in Utah.  As well as a program to help those ideas become realities, and businesses.

I hope you’ll enjoy hearing from Chris as much as I enjoyed talking with him.

As a note, if you don’t see the video below you can find your way to this original post as this link