Web 2.0 Ideas : Next Generation Info-enabled-Cars

Responding to the growing desire of drivers to remain connected to their information and entertainment, even while on the go Microsoft has created a set of platforms to enable carmakers and their suppliers to meet this demands. They are:

Microsoft Auto 3.0 provides an integrated middleware stack and hardware reference design for a more robust starting point. A comprehensive hardware/software reference platform, Microsoft Auto enables carmakers and suppliers to more quickly and easily build a solution that provides consumers with features such as mobile device integration, speech recognition, infotainment and provide rich user experience such as:

- Easily placing a hands-free call from the comfort of their seat

- Voice readout of incoming text messages

- Drivers or passengers can use their voice to select an artist, genre, album, or even a specific song on their iPod, Zune, or other media player – even a USB memory stick – and enjoy it over their car’s speakers

Windows Automotive 5.0 offers complete control over the implementation of your device, with a variety of specialized tools to help tune your designs as you develop them. Windows Automotive helps:

- Enables designers who are not programmers to develop the user interface at a desktop PC.

- Facilitates the development of high-quality user interface “skins” that connect to the core application program.

- Eliminates the need to write user interface code in most applications and shortens development time.

Who are making the waves here:

* Carmakers and suppliers around the globe have based their automotive infotainment solutions on Microsoft’s platforms. Drivers and passengers can now experience Microsoft Auto or Windows Automotive technology in over 150 preinstalled and aftermarket devices from 18 world-class automakers and suppliers including Acura, BMW, Citroën, Clarion Co. Ltd., Chrysler, Fiat, Ford, Subaru, Honda, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, NexTech, Toyota and Volvo.

Microsoft and Hyundai-Kia Automative group to develop next generation of In-Car Infotaintment

* Microsoft Introduces “EcoDrive”. EcoDrive collects all necessary data relating to vehicle efficiency, environmental performance including CO2 emission level, provides tips to reduce CO2, save fuel and be a green-ready card.

How you can leverage from all this?

If you can developed a Windows Auto based application, you can always sell/market to this big giants. At the moment, the market is still in its early stages. So, take a look at

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsautomotive/default.mspx

Go through the development cycle, contact them for the development engines, sample applications, and look for partners.

My take on this is:

“Whatever applications today are available on a PC, mobile etc. would be able to run on a Car System”

So opourtunities are HUGH…

START YOUR ENGINE NOW!

Cheers!

Web 3.0 - What’s coming!

Web 3.0 is a term used to describe the future of the World Wide Web. Following the introduction of the phrase “Web 2.0″ as a description of the recent evolution of the Web, many technologists, journalists, and industry leaders have used the term “Web 3.0″ to hypothesize about a future wave of Internet innovation.

Following are some of the key development anticipated in Web 3.0:

API Providers
These are the raw hosted services that have powered Web 2.0 and will become the engines of Web 3.0 — Google’s search and AdWords APIs, Amazon’s affiliate APIs, Lulu’s API etc. a seemingly infinite ocean of RSS feeds, a multitude of functional services. More and more companies will start offering thier service, data, connectivity via thier own APIs.

API Integrators
These are the intermediaries that take some of the hassle out of locating all those raw API services by bundling them together in useful ways. Obvious examples today are the various RSS aggregators, and emerging web services marketplaces like the StrikeIron service.

Web 3.0 Applications
These will not be like the established application categories we are used today, such as CRM, ERP or office, but a new class of composite applications that bring together functionality from multiple services to help users achieve their objectives in a flexible, intuitive and self-evident way.

In nutshell, Web 3.0 will provide;

A new generation of services-based, composite applications that are tailored to fit the work processes that people actually need.

Transforming the Web into a ‘Database’

The first step towards a “Web 3.0″ is the emergence of “The Data Web” as structured data records are published to the Web in reusable and remotely queryable formats, such as XML, RDF, ICDL and microformats. SPARQL technology provides a standardized query language and API for searching across distributed RDF databases on the Web. The Data Web enables a new level of data integration and application interoperability, making data as openly accessible and linkable as Web pages. The Data Web is the first step on the path towards the full Semantic Web.

An evolutionary path to artificial intelligence

Web 3.0 has also been used to describe an evolutionary path for the Web that leads to artificial intelligence that can reason about the Web in a quasi-human fashion. IBM and Google are implementing new technologies that are yielding surprising information such as making predictions of hit songs from mining information on college music Web sites. collaborative filtering services like del.icio.us, Flickr and Digg that extract meaning and order from the existing Web and how people interact with it. Can you build a similar one.

3D Web

Another possible path for Web 3.0 is towards the 3 dimensional vision championed by the Web3D Consortium. This would involve the Web transforming into a series of 3D spaces, taking the concept realised by ‘Second Life’ further. This could open up new ways to connect and collaborate using 3D shared spaces.

Semantic Web

The Semantic Web is an evolving extension of the World Wide Web in which the semantics of information and services on the web is defined, making it possible for the web to understand and satisfy the requests of people and machines to use the web content. Humans are capable of using the Web to carry out tasks such as finding the Finnish word for “cat”, reserving a library book, and searching for a low price on a DVD. However, a computer cannot accomplish the same tasks without human direction because web pages are designed to be read by people, not machines. The semantic web is a vision of information that is understandable by computers, so that they can perform more of the tedious work involved in finding, sharing and combining information on the web.

Currently, the World Wide Web is based mainly on documents written in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), a markup convention that is used for coding a body of text interspersed with multimedia objects such as images and interactive forms. Metadata tags, for example

<meta name=”keywords” content=”computing, computer studies, computer”>
<meta name=”description” content=”Cheap widgets for sale”>
<meta name=”author” content=”Hack’s Hardware”>

provide a method by which computers can categorise the content of web pages.

The semantic web takes the concept further; it involves publishing the data in a language, Resource Description Framework (RDF), specifically for data, so that it can be categorized as human perception and be “understood” by computers. So all data is not only stored, but filed and well handled.

HTML describes documents and the links between them. RDF, by contrast, describes arbitrary things such as people, meetings, or airplane parts.

Some believe that emerging technologies such as the Semantic Web will transform the way the Web is used, and lead to new possibilities in artificial intelligence.

Web 2.0 exist today and had already shift the presentation of data on internet. Web 3.0 will not only make a hugh diffrence, but will change the whole methodology all togehter.

Cheers

Get some fresh AIR

This is an era of Rich Internet Applications/Websites/Services. Adobe AIR helps you to build such Rich Internet Applications. AIR is a platform which helps to build applications using Flash, Flex, HTML and Javascript and be able to deployed both on desktop and onto Web. Think of an application like dashboard or Yahoo Widget, iGoogle, but on a GRAND SCALE.

With Adobe AIR, applications can be built to access internet resources and web services, and also be able to store information locally for off-line access. This is a major requirement nowadays.

There is a huge market of companies who wants solutions based on new technologies like Adobe AIR etc. So, if you can build an application e.g.;

- Market Dashboard
- eBay Desktops
- Invoice Management System
- Employees IN/OUT system
- Document management etc.
- Extensions for FaceBook, YouTube etc.

You can potentially sell you application/service with good amount of money. Remember, you don’t need to be a programmer, you can outsource everything. So, if you have an idea, build using Adobe Air, outsource everything to elance.com.

To start building your own, go to www.adobe.com/products/air/ to download the full program. If you are not a developer, it’s ok, as you can always outsource your programming resources to elance.com, getacoder.com

To see sample AIR application, go to www.adobe.com/go/marketplace and get some ideas for your next generation application.

Abobe AIR is an advanced platform and it’s is pushing the web boundaries. So be an early bird, be there, build it, and capitalize the moment.

Cheers!

Apple’s iWeb 2008

Apple’s iWeb (http://www.apple.com/ilife/iweb/) makes it easy to create a website that’s stunningly beautiful — and totally you. Start with an Apple-designed theme, then customize it with your own text, photos, movies, and podcasts until it’s exactly what you want. And switch themes with a click anytime.

iWeb is now integrated with Google Maps and Adsense. What’s more, you can publish your iWeb with your own Domain name as well.

Why I am mentioning to you, because this is the future of the new Website. You will see “Websites as Widgets” more and more. So build your website along the same themes.

Cheers!

Web 2.0 based Companies

Web 2.0 is a trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to facilitate creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaborations among users. These developmentss have led to the creation and evolution of web-based communities, such as social-networking sites like wikis, blogs and many more.

Below are some of the latest Web 2.0 based companies with thier quick profile. The reason i put together this list is, so that you can review these sites for thier;

- Design
- Interactivity
- Scripts used (javascripts, Ajax, php, aspx etc.)
- Forms handling
- Public/Members/Admin areas
- and most important the IDEAS..

BLOG/Bookmarking

technorati.com
Monitor your links and reputation through the world’s leading provider of blog information. Find new blogs to read and attempt to get into Technorati’s top blog list!

www.bloglines.com
Amass your own collection of blog feeds. Publish your own blog and share your favorite content with others.

clipmarks.com
Save the web content that makes you sit up and take notice, not just the webpage you found that content on. Share that content with others in the hope that it will make them think, “wow!” as well!

Books

www.lulu.com
Avoid the hassles of publishers and agents – publish your own manuscripts with Lulu. Browse the content that others have published via the site and vie to be featured on Lulu’s front page!

Business

www.instantbull.com
Compare and track the stock market, access stock message boards and browse stock market blogs. Instant Bull has all the current information you’d ever need about what’s hot on Wall Street.

shopify.com
Pick from templates or design your own online store. Track orders and keep your store highly organized.

Classifieds

www.oodle.com
A comprehensive classified site that lets users refine their searches in many awesome ways, such as by what college they attend.

Collaborative tools

www.writeboard.com
Online text editing made collaborative, Writeboard lets you and your team edit documents while still being able to access earlier versions of the same text. Subscribe to RSS feeds of documents’ changes and share documents with as many people as you like.

Communications

www.meebo.com
Use your favorite instant messaging service, no matter where you are or whether the computer you’re using has the right software.

Content Management

www.projectstat.us
Let customers know what’s going on with their projects by uploading their project’s information and letting them log in and view the project’s progress.

Events

www.eventful.com
Request that events take place in your town or search Eventful’s wide assortment of listed events. Search by locale, venue or topic; check out calendars and keep track of your event schedule.
Lists

www.43things.com
List the things you’d like to do, achieve or see. Keep track of your “things” and get ideas from others.
Marketing

www.icontact.com
Produce email newsletters, surveys, RSS feeds and more. Send information to subscribers quickly and easily

Philanthropy

www.begreennow.com
Keep track of how “green” you are. Record your environmentally friendly actions and see how your contributions adds to a world-wide conservation effort.

Podcast

www.odeo.com
Odeo shares millions of podcasts and MP3s with its audience. Users can gerenate their own podcasts or simply enjoy those of others’.

Networking

www.linkedin.com
A must for many professionals, LinkedIn allows people to recommend you, find you via your location and expertise, and prompts users to advertise their experience and education for potential clients and employers.

Real Estate

www.iiproperty.com
Manage your properties with software that lets you track rents, bills, advertisements and invoicing.

Start Pages

www.netvibes.com
A customizable page to start your day, you can add YouTube videos, personal notes, feeds, an email wizard and more. You even get to pick your page’s title.

www.pageflakes.com
Tell PageFlakes what you want to see when you log in, and get specialized feeds, games and news.

Widgets

www.yourminis.com
Find widgets for your blog or website that include your favorite services like Twitter and Digg.

Next time, Either you want to upgrade your existing website, or biuld a new website, take some ideas from the above listed companies and implement it with cutting-edge Web 2.0 technologies.

Cheers

Founder, NewInternetTrends.com