Mark Scrimshire

Love it, or hate it, the Web 2.0 moniker is simply a rallying cry for the convergent and emergent development of new social architectures that Jeremy Geelan describes as The Perfect Storm of Web 2.0 in his recent column. There is something profound going on here. Dion Hinchcliffe adds another interesting perspective in his latest commentary on this subject. Web 2.0 is about the social dimension and the new architectures of participation that are being created. I actually agree with Tim Berners-Lee when he points out that the vast majority of developments that are being labeled Web 2.0 are in fact built on Web 1.0 components such as HTML and JavaScript. This is true, but the difference is the inventive ways in which these components have been put together to create new solutions. An interesting parallel here is Apple and the iPod. The iPod was not the first digital m... (more)

i-Technology Viewpoint: Windows Live – A Case of Reality Distortion?

In my earlier article, I covered the expanding feature set offered by Microsoft's Windows Live Web Service and how Microsoft appears to be switched on to the fundamentals of what a good Web 2.0 service should be. Some commentators have taken Microsoft's entry in to the Web 2.0 world as a reason for spreading doom and gloom and predicting the annihilation of small, innovative developers. I disputed this prediction and agreed with entrepreneurs Jason Fried of 37 Signals and Sridhar Vembu of Zoho in my Dodging the Gorilla post. The whole hype around Windows Live got me thinking whet... (more)

Apple vs Microsoft – and the Cardinal Rules of the "Internet Singularity"

In considering the 'Internet Singularity,' Mark Scrimshire has been postulating a series of guidelines or rules. He has already written about the first. Here he looks at the second and third rules. Let us start with rules to be at one with the Internet Singularity: Rule #1:  It's a journey and not a destination. You need to consider two sides to your Internet presence. One side is the web site as a destination. The other is to provide a suite of modules that provide services to your customers. These being delivered as modules that a customer can incorporate in to the tools and pages ... (more)

The Internet Singularity: It's the Journey Not the Destination

In an earlier article I have been discussing the potential implications of what is being termed, by Microsoft Technical Fellow, Dr. Gary Flake, the Internet Singularity. The core of this concept is that the Internet and physical worlds will become more and more tightly coupled. This is already happening as the world around us gets "instrumented". Think about it. New cars have GPS systems, They can track where we have been, We can be e-mailed about the health of the car on a regular basis. Radio Frequency Tags are being used to track inventory and soon will be embedded in many of ... (more)

Web 2.0 Takes a Hit and Nobody Noticed

Web 2.0 Journal contributing writer Mark Scrimshire writes: Boeing has announced the shutdown of their airborne Wi-fi service, Connexion, to provide wireless service to airline passengers. It represents a subtle blow to Web 2.0 and gives us all pause for thought, Web 2.0 depends on connectivity. Boeing launched Connexion in July 2005. Robert Scoble and others demonstrated it. It was intended to provide wireless service to airline passengers. There have been a lot of suggestions as to why the service failed. An interesting analysis is done in Mike Urlocker’s Blog. Basically Bo... (more)