My friend Alex Castro over at Pluggd quite rightly wants to convince the world that podcasting doesn’t require an iPod! Shocked? You shouldn’t be. You know that you can listen to a podcast right from your PC (on Pluggd.com for example) or on any other device. Help make podcasting even more mainstream and win your free iPod in the process. 
Last Thursday we went out for a nice little boat cruise with about 17 folks. As usual, the skipper was Tom Hughes. We BBQ’d, drank copious amounts of summery cocktails and wines and enjoyed the 80 degree waters. The sunsets this time of year are pretty amazing. Good times!
We’re quietly lifting the wraps off of the ImageKind beta tonight. This is the first project spun out of Curious Office Partners…a venture founded by myself and Adrian Hanauer. We’re probably excited about ImageKind for many of the same reasons that John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins was excited about Zazzle. However, we didn’t invest $16 million into what we’ve done so far. In fact, we’ve invested only $300k. We know that consumer services require marketing dollars so we’ll certainly invest more into the company but we believe we’ve found a niche that is unique and we’ve done a decent job with the first version to differentiate ourselves from other products out there.
In a nutshell, we provide a very sophisticated online system for print-on-demand production of fine art (wall art). For now, we don’t make mousepads, frisbees or coffee mugs. Our system is custom designed for those who want to Shop, Create or Sell fine art prints and wall art. That art can be photographic, traditional art that has been digitally captured or digital art originating from a PC (e.g. Photoshop and Illustrator files). And that art can be cropped, matted and framed on our site.
ImageKind expects to be home to hundreds of thousands of digital images from a community of contributors who are artists, photographers, designers, and creative consumers worldwide. Contributors can choose to make their creations public by setting up a free gallery where anyone can browse, comment and connect with others who share their artistic interests. Unlike most other sites just getting into this business, we let the artists keep the profits from their sales. Every artists gets a free gallery. Period.
Everyone knows that the collision of emerging print-on-demand technologies and the Internet has huge implications. The inception of print-on-demand technologies have created a whole new, way of creating fine art prints called giclees and many galleries have embraced them. Today, giclees are the leading type of prints that art dealers and gallery owners have added to their inventories. Make no mistake about it…put a $10,000 original along side a $200 giclee on canvas–the giclee is so beautiful that few customers will opt for the more expensive product and they will really enjoy the print in their home or office.
ImageKind is simply developing a community where sellers and buyers can come together in a new, dynamic environment. We very well may get into other print-on-demand markets in the future (e.g. gift cards etc) but pratically every wall in every home and office in every major country has something hanging on it and we think that we’re tapping into a very nice market if we develop a reputation for online art reproduction. We want to bring these evolved print-on-demand technologies to the mass market at low production prices.
There are other macro factors involved that I really like about this business. Digital cameras and creative software are turning a whole new generation of individuals into “psuedo artists” and the “pro-sumer” creative market is growing rapidly. And why not? If you can shoot 1000 photos and get 5 good ones and then process those 5 on your PC into veritable works of art using free, downloadable software then one should expect that there will be buyers for this content especially when it is provided for lower price points.
Digital Fine Art Magazine says that fine art “print on demand” is growing at 60% per year! Curious Office has already demonstrated that it can develop sophisticated systems on a limited “web 2.0″ budget. If we can be a leader in the way photographers, artists and hobbyists market their work over the next several years we’ll have a nice hit on our hands. This first version is most definately a beta version. We’re already working on an all new V2.o so the entire platform will be much, must tighter going forward. But, already it is easier to use than Zazzle and easier to access than Art.com (who require that you sign over rights to your work while giving away most of your profits).
For regular users, we hope you’ll think of ImageKind when you return from those family vacations, holidays, special events and sports events. We back every product with a no questions asked guarantee but I am confident that you will be amazed by the work of art that you can create from your own desktop.
So I finally got around to posting a few pics from the fourth of july get together at our place. This year was quite a bit smaller than our normal bash but we’ll try to make up for our slack on the next holiday. Brian McGarvey brought over his new (old) toy…an old, mean Camaro which really looks great in person. Not sure if these pictures really do it justice. Nothing quite like some good old American muscle.
Seattle’s Belltown loses Bada lounge and gains Umi Saki House. We thought we’d check it out. Umi is the same location and owner as Bada was before it. Umi (“ocean” in Japanese) take the place of Steven’s previous restaurant which closed mid-February 2006 after a four-and-a-half year run. Steven isn’t exactly your standard restaurateur—he graduated from the University of Washington in industrial design and worked at Microsoft on user interfaces. “One six-month project was enough for me,” laughs Steven.
The new place is a much more evolved (and improved) affair. There’s an open kitchen, a tatami room, a semi-private dining room, sushi bar and back yard patio. Diners at the sushi bar look through a window into the “back yard” and see trees. Skylights let in natural light. Diners on the patio will look at trees and a shingled wall—the “outside” of the house.
We loved it. When in Seattle check it out.
Tricia and I decided it was time to buy a new car today. We were torn between the Land Rover Sport which is a really amazing car/truck/suv and the Porsche Cayenne. We actually don’t spend a lot on luxuries. I drop her off at work most days and we really only have one nice car between us. In any case, the reality is that the Range Rover Sport is a much cooler looking ride. More luxurious too. But, one drive in the Cayenne and it’s clear what the difference is. The Cayenne may well be remembered as an unnecessary departure for Porsche but enough Porsche genes were infused into this vehicle that it makes other trucks feel like….well…trucks. This is a sports car of a truck. We opted for a V-8 powered Cayenne S though folks with more disposable income (or less sense) can step up yet another level to the turbo model. Personally, a 500HP truck doesn’t make sense to me anymore. Living here in Seattle though, this high performance car shaped like a truck somehow started to make sense. I’ve got a few hardcore car guys in my group and I’m sure to get a bit of ridicule but if I toss them the keys for a tour around the block I think they’ll see what I liked about this crazy thing. The Cayenne is a Porsche experiment that may not withstand the test of time but if you want a SUV type thing that isn’t docile then this is the only thing on the market that really ticks the box. It isn’t the sexiest truck on the road but this truck flies like a Euro sedan.
If you refuse to use Firefox for some reason wholly unknown to me, at least upgrade to Microsoft IE Beta 3 from Beta 2. Beta 2 sucks and it causes web pages to break more often than they should. Not stable.
Better yet, switch to Firefox. And why wouldn’t you? Do you see any extensions to IE? Do you see upgrades as often? Why hasn’t the whole world switched yet? C’mon people. Get with the program!!!
My older brother is owner/designer of a woman’s clothing company called Tracy & Michael. His stuff is carried at Sacks Fifth Avenue, Nieman Marcus and some Nordstroms locations. Every once in a while some famous folks decide they like his stuff too. Here’s Felcitity Huffman of Desparate Housewives in one of his dresses.
Relay is a Ruby based open source directory listing tool. You can download it as is or get into the source code to manipulate it to your liking. I can think of so many uses for this. Many times, I have friends or clients as for basic upload functions or other methods for getting a very basic usage out of their web servers. Unlike other directory listers, there are a few nifty features including:
Michael Schumacher is not only the highest paid athlete in any sport on an annual basis he is also a living legend in his own sport. Today, he won the Formula 1 race at Indy. Although Formula 1 is primarily an international motorsport, I believe this win still puts him in the category of “most wins” in terms of drivers who have won at this circuit.
Schumacher made his Formula 1 debut in 1991, and just one year later, he managed a third-place finish in the overall drivers’ standings. By 1994, Schumacher had truly arrived, winning the first of his seven F1 points titles. He performed the feat again in 1995, then moved over to the Ferrari team and won each year between 2000 and 2004. His 2003 season victory moved him ahead of Juan Fangio, who finished atop the standings five times.
Schumi also holds the F1 record for most race wins with 85 (Alain Prost is a distant second with 51) and most wins in a season with 13. All three records are unlikely to be overturned.
The top living atheletes in the world in all sports categories according to Kelly are Tiger Woods, Michael Schumacher and a soccer player. I’m tempted to say David Beckham or Ronaldinho Gaucho as number three. Ronaldinho is a likeable genius. Spectacular. Outstanding. A naturally gifted player with sensational ball control.