Slashdot Mirror
How Not To Launch a Gadget
An anonymous reader writes "Starfish sells itself with this slogan: 'The next biggest thing is the next smallest thing: The world's first ever interactive iPhone and iPad mirroring device on your wrist.' The reality is that building products is hard. Building products with amazing feature sets is harder still. And, as the old saying goes, if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. From the article: 'On Thursday morning when the show floor opened, Starfish’s booth was completely empty—no product, no marketing materials, not even any people. Come Friday, various permutations of representatives appeared at the booth intermittently. ... Saturday arrived, but the watch didn’t, at least not at first. After hourly promises of its imminent arrival, a single prototype of the Starfish watch appeared sometime before 1 p.m. My colleague Dan Moren got to the booth before I did, and the Starfish device wasn't working then. It had apparently worked, briefly, in some sense of the word "worked," when a reporter for TUAW visited the booth. ... The sole representative at the booth when I returned wouldn't give his name. What information he did give me didn’t mesh with what [the CEO] had told TUAW. ... "Why did he send you to man the booth if you can’t answer questions about the watch?" I asked the rep. "I’m done talking to you," he said, as he moved to position himself directly in front of my face. His expression had gone from brusque to combative. "Did you hear me? I’m done talking to you." My accompanying colleagues and I took the unsubtle hint. We left the booth.'"
Unfortunately, so many companies have bought into the idea that hype - any hype - will lead to funding, which will lead to product development .... which will lead to the product that was being hyped.
... *sigh*
And we keep falling for it
- Nec Impar Pluribus, or so I'm told.
Having people who have terrible people skills represent your interests usually ends badly. Just ask the LAPD. Or [hated political group]. If you can't manage that, at least bring scantily-clad women to the party... nobody expects them to answer questions about the device, and as a bonus, you'll get a lot of pictures of it. This isn't rocket science...
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
iPhone-ista Outrage!
"I believe in Karma. That means I can do bad things to people all day long and I assume they deserve it." : Dogbert
Surprise, surprise. It was funded, at least in part, by Kickstarter. Kickstarter businesses, by definition, are almost always going to be the worst of the worst simply because of the nature of funding. The company founders couldn't borrow the money, they couldn't get anybody to invest, so they ultimately end up on Kickstarter, begging for handouts from the clueless general public. Of course, some Kickstarter projects are run by intelligent, capable people who use Kickstarter because some kind of principles that they may have, but the vast majority of the projects are there because the owners didn't have any other options.
Personally, I see it as a real karmic kick in the ass to the people starting these "projects" every time one falls over. Inevitably, they're people who think they've got the next idea for the next big Apple accessory, but they pooh-pooh the mundane details of engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution, all of which they look down their noses at (an attitude often espoused by Slashthink, too). As an actual business owner, that provides actual services for people, and deals with actual, physical products, I have to smile every time I see one of these holier-than-thou fools fall flat on their proverbial faces because they can't figure out the nuts and bolts of running a business.
Running a business is hard. It's very hard. Coming up with an idea for some new gee gaw is about 1% of the effort required to do something like this project. The other 99% is the fun, yet very difficult business-y stuff that these kinds of people try to ignore.
I don't respond to AC's.
Yes, but you have to wash it down with hot dog flavored water.
Also, you have to listen to shrill, horrible music.
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
A device called "starfish" turns out to be vaporware? Color me surprised.
Am I the only one a little concerned by how intent Lex Friedman (author of TFA) was on getting information from the representative that clearly didn't know anything. He took pictures of the booth while he waited around for the CEO to show.
It will take time but I can see printing out circuit boards after 20-30 years of material science and studies.
Before that though I can see a 3D printer that prints gaskets, o-rings, etc's other on demand. Eliminating the need for companies to stock them. After that will come aluminum, nickel, steel and zinc parts,screws, nuts, bolts primarily single piece of metal options.
Complex parts will take longer, but you get those two and industries will be transformed.
i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
Without being so annoying as to be told to f-off, he wouldn't have a story. So he does seem to be trying to get a reaction.
As it is, it's just a product planned for launch that wasn't ready to launch. Well that's same as usual for new products. Once you realize the guy there isn't a rep with any knowledge, hassling him for knowledge you know he doesn't have, is designed to illicit a negative response.
Perhaps it was a slow show and he had no story.
you can already order a huge number of expensive things custom 3d printed in a vast array of metals and have them mailed to your door. I personally have purchased a set of gaming dice 3d printed from stainless steel. The same company will print in various plastics, silver, gold, or even glass and ceramic. Anything you design that will fit the dimensions their hardware can print, you can order. (they may have a ban on sexually explicit items and weapons, i've never checked). Based on that, I think the idea of printing a working circuit board is more like 5-7 years out, on an experimental scale, and 10-15 on a 'I designed this board, and they printed and mailed it to me' scale.
I've decided to Diversify my Holdings. I've divided my cash between my left and right pockets, instead of all in one.
Now the Pebble has definitely caught my eye as a way to put your phone on your wrist like this: http://getpebble.com/
Looks awfully like this here thing http://getpebble.com/ but I was only going off the look from the photo in the first link. Still, it's a poor showing on their part to not have anything to ...show. I hope Pebble goes better, or at least something decent in both price and and function.
Also, if they were rude, you should have just gone away - don't give them the time or exposure; just let them be dicks and lose everyone's respect.
...and his lack of personal hygiene, confrontational nature, total lack of empathy or ability to understand or identify with any viewpoint except his own, complete obliviousness to how he comes off to others (remember the pages-long travel missives?)...
...I'm modded "flamebait" or "troll." Heaven forbid there are people who point out the man's numerous flaws. Ordinarily it'd be ad hominem, but he's a spokesman and figurehead, which makes every single one of the points above completely relevant.
Please help metamoderate.
You can already get "quick turn" circuit boards in a few days from real board houses.
I don't see 3D printing speeding it up any, especially when the boards produced may not be continuity tested or have 94V-0 approval.
Besides, once you make the board, it needs to be populated, soldered, functional tested, and possibly safety tested (hipot).
Slowing it down can save money - standard turn & assembly may take a few weeks, but the cost may be 1/100th of quick turn (economies of scale, no expedite charges, standard freight instead of expedited...).
What's new about a wrist phone? Swatch had the Swatch Talk wrist phone in 1998. Samsung had one in 2001. If you want one right now, there are several on Amazon. They're cheap, too; well under $100 for an unlocked phone.
There's even a full Android device in a watch size announced. This thing can supposedly make phone calls, shoot video, browse the web, get your location, etc.
Looks very much like a MetaWatch SDK to me. Anyone with some programming skills can slap together something like that -or something that actually works in some way- for $200.
Oh, the beautiful gloss of greality!
"Did you hear me? I’m done talking to you."
And thus, with nine words, a company dies. They clearly have no manufacturing capability, little-or-no software development capability, and have done no market research. The have a half-baked idea, and a part of a marketing plan. Probably saw a piece of existing hardware, and figured they could customize it to do something different - and were wrong. There have been successful products that launched way too soon, but not with THAT kind of press. Done for, now.
It will take time but I can see printing out circuit boards after 20-30 years of material science and studies.
Before that though I can see a 3D printer that prints gaskets, o-rings, etc's other on demand. Eliminating the need for companies to stock them. After that will come aluminum, nickel, steel and zinc parts,screws, nuts, bolts primarily single piece of metal options.
Complex parts will take longer, but you get those two and industries will be transformed.
Gaskets and o-rings are already doable today, with some limits on materials. Metal is doable today, like that lady who got a 3d-printed titanium jawbone replacement.
Excuse me, wtf r u doin?
How can a company be _so_ ignorant of it's own abilities.
I mean the main problem is getting a proper case and interfacing with iOS. The rest is just a wristwatch sized computer with Bluetooth. Give a good engineer some time and it'll find a way to resize the screen. It probably won't be perfect, but hey what do you expect?
The problem inside those companies is that three problems come together.
First of all, you have people to stupid to realise that they are wrong.
Second, the people who know a bit more, don't interfere with bad decisions for various reasons.
Third, people who actually know what they are doing will be worn out struggling against the idiots and simply leave the company.
Granted, this is an extreme example, but it happens quite often. There are 'idiot companies' out there. They are the ones thinking that OPC is a good idea. They are the ones basing their company on some VBA scripts.
In lighter cases you get all those little gadget which require you to have some complex software products to use them, and which will end on the dump once installing the software is more effort than the device is worth.
Yes but these dice were *3D*, can you imagine such a thing? 3D gaming dice - the possibilities!
I personally have purchased a set of gaming dice 3d printed with stainless steel.
FTFY
It's a small but important distinction. The ability to print stainless steel would be revolutionary, while the ability to powder cast has been around for millennia. A hyped convolution of the mold making process is not going to change much besides the number of shitty knives and dice in pawn shop display cases.
It is indeed possible to print IN stainless steel, titanium etc.... Using a technique called selective laser sintering, fine metal powder is selectively melted/fused by a high power laser, allowing you to directly print custom parts from metal.
And why is this better than "I designed this board, and they made it the same way we've always made boards and they mailed it to me"?
because you can make every part snap fit..
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
I personally have purchased a set of gaming dice 3d printed with stainless steel.
FTFY
It's a small but important distinction. The ability to print stainless steel would be revolutionary, while the ability to powder cast has been around for millennia. A hyped convolution of the mold making process is not going to change much besides the number of shitty knives and dice in pawn shop display cases.
you seem to misunderstand the possibilities with expensive equipment on the market..
http://www.shapeways.com/materials/steel
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Mmmm 3D printed D3...
you've met my wife!
One of these days I'd be very tempted to special order a custom chess set this way.
The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
you can already order a huge number of expensive things custom 3d printed in a vast array of metals and have them mailed to your door. I personally have purchased a set of gaming dice 3d printed from stainless steel. The same company will print in various plastics, silver, gold, or even glass and ceramic. Anything you design that will fit the dimensions their hardware can print, you can order. (they may have a ban on sexually explicit items and weapons, i've never checked). Based on that, I think the idea of printing a working circuit board is more like 5-7 years out, on an experimental scale, and 10-15 on a 'I designed this board, and they printed and mailed it to me' scale.
It would probably be trivial to etch a board with a subtractive laser device like most maker shops have. It would be easier, of course, to go to radio shack and get a DIY circuit board kit with pretty much consists of a fully copper clad board, a bottle of etchant solution, and a magic marker. I think I bought my first one about 15 years ago - they were probably around long before that.
If you require precision, you can print iron-on patters rather than hand drawing with a marker.
My point is that there are already solutions out there for this problem that are easier than 3d printing copper or some other material for circuits. Until we are able to 3d print carbon nanotubes, that is.
More info: http://www.eham.net/articles/20120