VelociPeek

Song of The Day: Digging In The Dirt - Artist: Peter Gabriel

Today I checked out a start-up from Santa Clara, CA: Webaroo. I came across the start-up reading an article in the WSJ Online by Kevin J. Delaney titled: Start-Up Firm Begins Service To Browse Web While Offline. It is a product that allows one to search the Web offline. At first the product reminded me of other online/offline products and tools like BackWeb, Pointcast (bought by AOL when InfoGate in ‘03), and AvantGo. For example, BackWeb in ‘97 allowed WSJ users to download content for offline use, but the service faded through time with broadband acceptance. Pointcast allowed one to view aggregated results, like news, in online/offline screensavers. Demand waned for its push technology when it encountered network congestion. AvantGo, I use today with my Treo 650 to download maps and other information.

However, since the service purports to index the entire Web for a PDA, smart phone, or laptop, I thought I would take a look. Furthermore, the WSJ quote by Eric Schmidt caught my attention:

“Imagine carrying all of Google with you in the equivalent of an iPod device,” Mr. Schmidt told financial analysts last year, saying such a device could be connected to the Internet wirelessly.

With this in mind I downloaded the software…

As I downloaded the software, I noticed that the service only works with Windows and with mobile devices using Windows Mobile 2003 operating system 2nd edition–bummer. This immediately left my PalmOne Treo 650 hanging in the distance. Since I had already taken the steps to download the software, I pressed on.

Anyway, I thought, I could still use and view the service via my laptop. Upon installation, I had the choice of adding a web pack or adding a web site. I decided to add my blog website (www.velocipeek.com) with link depth 1. Afterwards, I clicked the link and the browser opened, but it went into an infinite loop attempting to open the URL. Interestingly, the software listens on the local computer network interface (i.e., localhost). The URL I kept seeing was the following:

http://127.0.0.1:1000/webaroo/e29f1fe6/rewrite?type=html&url=http://www.velocipeek.com

I imagine that the software is encountering a redirect loop or some other URL rewriting error. Unfortunately, this is all I have time for today. Perhaps, in a future post I will attempt to troubleshoot this infinite loop error.

Webaroo may be a novel idea, but I plan to shy away until more phones are supported and until the product is more mature.

Song of The Day: Better Way - Artist: Ben Harper

Today, the company, for which I work, officially changed its name from America Online to AOL. If you never really differentiated between the two, I think that is further evidence that it is a good move. :)

Back in ‘91 AOL changed its name from Quantum Computer Services, Inc. to America Online, Inc. to align better its name with its mission and corporate identity. Furthermore, during my tenure, the initials were briefly attached to the Time Warner logo in ‘01 until the board approved a reversal in September of ‘03.

In a prepared statement, our CEO said it is time for another name change to reflect better our…

“new corporate identity…[and]…our expanded mission — to make everyone’s online experience better. Plus consumers in the U.S. and around the world already know us by our initials.”

Jon Miller, America Online Changes Name to AOL, WSJ Online

The name has a storied history and I think this will be a positive part of it.

One other interesting aspect, in light of all this, is that the company is converting to a limited liability company (LLC) as a part of its agreement with Google, which will own 5% of AOL by the end of this quarter.

Again, all the indicators appear upbeat to me. :)