We’ve been developing Web application since 1997. Yeah, in the early days of the Internet. Its unusual, our eyes have always been part turned to location. One of our partners is a weirdo geographer. You know the people you always ask the capitals of different countries. And find pleasure in coming up with one they don’t know – “whats the capital of Uzbekistan?”… Tashkent (thanks Wikipedia). More about location in a bit.
The Rise of the Internet
It was very interesting watching the rise of the Internet. The kernel of our company came from that era; suddenly in 1994 seeing a Web site (what is that?) being ‘beamed in’ from Russia. Amazing. Science fiction. The Internet used to be a place of the academic; Lynx, Mosaic, those of us in academia feared corporate interference. It was a place of newsgroups, academic discovery. Lynx was text based. Mosaic gave us a multimedia browser. So pictures. Amazing. Since the Internet was in large part funded by public money, we all felt comfortable commercialization was unlikely. Naive little academics.
Yet companies were very hesitant. Throughout early and mid 1990’s the World Wide Web, this new medium, was alien. Companies in large part sat on the sidelines and watched. Some dipped their toes in the water. But the expense of this new unproven technology was hard to justify. As is so often the case, the media helped to push things. If there is a buck to be made, lets publicize and help our sponsors make money. We live in a manipulated world. Open the Dot Com boom. Crap ideas, crooks, bribery. No need to go on. The Internet turned into a casino. But the technology was earth shattering. Short term gain disguised something which, those of us involve at its birth knew, would change society.
Internet Boom and Bust
The artificial boom and bust, which characterizes our system, happened with the Internet. So many ‘Dot Com Leaders’, proclaimed in Newsweek and the rest of our media; ended up in jail or sitting comfortably on their ill gotten gains. Yet the wonders of the Internet; technology funded by our tax dollars, continued. In the 2000’s the Internet became a commercially driven medium. No more the bastion of academia. Companies embraced the Web.
The technology moved forward relentlessly. From browsers just showing text and images, to animation. Desktop type applications became Web type applications. Why buy and install Microsoft Word, have to upgrade it for each new release? Lose it if a virus takes down our system. Just do it all on the Web. The Web has taken over. Applications installed on out PC or desktop computer are becoming ever fewer. We now have ‘cloud computing’ where you can access all you need over the Internet.
There; 5 paragraphs which summarize the rise of the Internet. That’s 15 years of change. So what next?
MOBILE that is what.
Make no mistake, we are at the beginning of a new revolution. Maybe bigger than the Internet. A new set of crooks are rubbing their hands. Paying the same media. But the impact of mobile has only just begun to be felt. At the minute it is a consumer and phone focused transformation. But we are about to wonder how we ever managed without mobile computing.
Mobile Application Development Revolution
Just like the period before the Internet boom, companies are again sitting on the sidelines. Stupid over-financed companies like Foursquare and Groupon are the main media story (I overstate). But the effect of mobile will be profound. Beyond the IPhone. Tablet computers will change our world.
Mobile computing represents a massive opportunity to transform how we work, and how we function.
The geographer within our company finally wants his say. Location is key, Huh?
Mobile devices all have built in GPS. Meaning they know where they are and can report that information. So a mobile user can ask questions about what is nearby; great restaurants, friends, shopping deals. Mobile users can be tracked (!). Mobile allows workers to work when out of the office. Not just mobile workers ANY worker. We can now build applications which allow workers to work anywhere. And be more efficient and more effective.
So is this the end of the PC?
You bet. We will all be using mobile computers in the office, in our homes, out and about.
Utah Mobile Application Development Company
In the day we called ourselves a Utah Web application development company. We got started before the Internet boom, and attracted much attention. Today we have re-focused. We have transformed into a Utah mobile application development company. More than that, with location, maps, GIS as a cornerstone of our original vision. We are well positioned to provide new innovative solutions to clients. World-wide.
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