I've never said this out loud, but I often think to myself that if I had money to burn, I would start a restaurant. And if I had an idea that I thought would make that money, it would be a mobile payment system. And if I built it, it would look and feel a lot like the Mac Store - painless, on the spot, with an emailed receipt.
Looks like Jack Dorsey is halfway there with the card-reading, microlocal version of the Mac Store experience called Square (as in "Are we?"). I wonder how long it will be on the hype curve before I see one of these at Dante's Inferno Dogs. (microlocal insider reference)
Personally, I'm intrigued by the other half of the equation. Most likely built on the iPhone platform, it would be a bump-like payment application that allows you to pay via mobile device. It would securely store payment info and just make a smart transaction based on where you are. Why geotag a transaction when you can figure out who you're trying to pay in the first place based on where you are?
Imagine: you're with a large party at a restaurant. Everyone holds up their iPhones in a cheers-like fashion and with a accelerometer appropriate gesture movement, split the bill and pay. That's lovely. Tip and tax? All squared away.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Mobile + Cloud = Delight
Theory #1: Mobile will overtake desktop and laptop computing in the next 10 years. The leapfrog effect will leave personal computing in the dust as you're able to do everything from your phone.
Theory #2: Cloud computing really will work. (check)
If these two things happen, and we're headed in the right direction today, then it isn't hard to imagine a "cloudwerk" of unused mobile processing power (and even storage space) that creates a resilient cloud computing platform. How much unused storage space is out there, just counting iPhones?
There are two (obvious) major bottlenecks - network bandwidth and mobile provider compartmentalization. Each major provider has their own subscriber base and proprietary infrastructure. That's why something like broadband spectrum service is so appealing; it could jump over the fractured mobile provider battle and leap right into Cloud 2.0 - "always on" mobile devices with enough storage space and computing power to be their own cloudmesh.
Things will most likely slide towards each mobile provider creating their own "minicloud" of apps and infrastructure that will take longer to mature and collaborate, but Google keeps pushing towards a broader solution that could supersede the fractured fighting.
Theory #2: Cloud computing really will work. (check)
If these two things happen, and we're headed in the right direction today, then it isn't hard to imagine a "cloudwerk" of unused mobile processing power (and even storage space) that creates a resilient cloud computing platform. How much unused storage space is out there, just counting iPhones?
There are two (obvious) major bottlenecks - network bandwidth and mobile provider compartmentalization. Each major provider has their own subscriber base and proprietary infrastructure. That's why something like broadband spectrum service is so appealing; it could jump over the fractured mobile provider battle and leap right into Cloud 2.0 - "always on" mobile devices with enough storage space and computing power to be their own cloudmesh.
Things will most likely slide towards each mobile provider creating their own "minicloud" of apps and infrastructure that will take longer to mature and collaborate, but Google keeps pushing towards a broader solution that could supersede the fractured fighting.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)