Mobile Expert Interviews: Dan Bricklin, Co-Developer of the First "Killer App"

I am excited to share an interview I conducted yesterday in Boston with a member of software programming royalty, Dan Bricklin.  Dan was the co-developer of the world's first software "killer app", Visicalc.  Visicalc, a spreadsheet app for the Apple II series of personal computers, was so popular in the 1980s, that companies spent thousands of dollars on computers just to run the $100 software program.  Dan worked closely with Steve Jobs, Bill Gates many others in the early years of personal computers.  His life is outlined here on Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Bricklin.

Dan still programs and designs productivity apps.  He is the CTO of Alpha Software, the developers of sophisticated digital forms for mobile devices.

Dan has received many honors for his contributions to the computer industry from the ACM, IEEE, MIT, PC Magazine, the Western Society of Engineers, and others. In 1981, he was given a Grace Murray Hopper Award for VisiCalc.  In 1996, Bricklin was awarded by the IEEE Computer Society with the Computer Entrepreneur Award for pioneering the development and commercialization of the spreadsheet and the profound changes it fostered in business and industry.  In 2003, Bricklin was given the Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award for being a technology change leader. He was recognized for having used information technology in an industry-transforming way. He has received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Newbury College.  In 2004, he was made a Fellow of the Computer History Museum "for advancing the utility of personal computers by developing the VisiCalc electronic spreadsheet." Bricklin has appeared in the 1996 documentary Triumph of the Nerds, as well as the 2005 documentary Aardvark'd: 12 Weeks with Geeks, in both cases discussing the development of VisiCalc. His book, Bricklin on Technology, was published by Wiley in May 2009.

Video Link: https://youtu.be/ucDlFmrHfpk
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Kevin Benedict
Writer, Speaker, Analyst and World Traveler
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***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

Strategies for Combining IoT, Mobility, AI, CROME and 3D-Me

None of us like slow mobile applications or those that ask us stupid questions. Our time has value. Google reports 82% of smartphone owners research and compare prices in stores, and we don’t want to be standing in the aisle answering questions the mobile app and vendor should already know. We want our apps to recognize us, the context, and to understand our needs. We want real-time mobile applications connected to mobile commerce vendors running at real-time operational tempos.

In addition to speed, 90% of 18-34 years olds strongly value personalization in their mobile applications. Personalization comes in at least two forms, latent and real-time. Latent personalization means it lays dormant waiting for an application to be launched and then applies a stored personalized content profile. Real-time personalization, however, means dynamic real-time data, consisting of digital, physical and personal (3D-Me data) data, is being always collected and combined with CROME triggers (real-time contextually relevant opportunities, moments and environments) to instantly provide a personalized experience that is relevant now! For example, a security gate automatically opens because it is integrated with a mobile application that geo-fences the security gate. When you are 100 meters away it notifies the security system to open your front security gate, raise the garage door, turn on the inside and outside lights, deactivate the home security system and notifies your family members that you are home.  An AI algorithm understands the real-time meaning and context of the data it is receiving.

Real-time data collected via GPS on your smartphone automatically triggered a real-time, relevant event using real-time artificial intelligence algorithms. Combining real-time 3D-Me data, CROME triggers and artificial intelligence with smart devices connected to the Internet of Things (IoT) means more and more of your daily activities and behaviors can be understood and digital conveniences developed.

The scenario above requires an intimate understanding of the customer, their security systems, smart devices, passwords, locations and behaviors.  I predict that soon consumer scenarios will justify extending enterprise mobile security systems out to consumers.  This means enterprise mobile security vendors may soon expand beyond the enterprise into the integrated consumer mobility/IoT/AI markets as the entire integrated system needs to be secured.

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Kevin Benedict
Mobile Technology and Business Writer, Speaker, Analyst and World Traveler
View my profile on LinkedIn
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict
Subscribe to Kevin'sYouTube Channel
Join the Linkedin Group Strategic Enterprise Mobility
Join the Google+ Community Mobile Enterprise Strategies

***Full Disclosure: These are my personal opinions. No company is silly enough to claim them. I am a mobility and digital transformation analyst, consultant and writer. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

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