Disqus - Latest Comments for dbriere

Re: SXSW PanelPicker®

dbriere — Fri, 09 Aug 2019 10:13:15 -0000

So I think real-world application of STEM and non-STEM skills are critical to making education tangible for our kids. Invention Education is the next big movement in education, and there are all sorts of indicators this is catching on. InventionEd needs to be a regular presence at SXSW EDU going forward.

Re: sxsw-panelpicker-logo PanelPicker®

dbriere — Mon, 08 Aug 2016 18:08:50 -0000

This is a great panel of people who really know the education competition space because they all run national programs affecting hundreds of thousands of kids.

Re: What’s the best cure for hiccups – and when should you see your doctor about them?

dbriere — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 10:16:23 -0000

You should try Hiccupops! www.hiccupops.com Invented by a then-13-year old girl with the hiccups all summer long. http://www.cbsnews.com/vide...

Re: Vanishing Mediary

dbriere — Sat, 22 Aug 2015 06:54:26 -0000

+1 Brad, awesome term, I'm hooked on it too.

Re: How to quickly scan a business card and save its info to Contacts

dbriere — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 11:37:34 -0000

Update required, I dont think this is free anymore. Seems to require Evernote $49 subscription, at least I cannot get it to freely operate as you say here....

Re: If the Innovation Act Is Bad For Patents, Why Do Large Patent Owners Support It?

dbriere — Sat, 25 Apr 2015 08:06:55 -0000

Matt, actually, the one thing I don't hear discussed in all of this is the fundamental misalignment between getting a patent and enforcing it. Patent lawyers will take your money all day long to file patent applications. And, if you pay them $1m-$5m, they MAY be willing to go after a firm violating a patent. But put yourself in my position. I have a series of fundamental patents regarding the Internet that I literally have more than 1000 big brand names that are violating it. My patent firm is one of the most respected, largest, and more focused on tech patents in the market. They told me that they would not be willing to go after such a large number of companies because they would be seen as a patent troll and "part of the problem." It went to the Board level. Also, they said that they would likely be conflicted out of most of it anyway, because most of the targets are their customers. Also, they said it would take millions of dollars to enforce it.

So I paid the patent lawyer dues to get my patents, I have these other firms using my patent knowledge, competing with me, and I can do nothing about it. I don't have the millions it would take to enforce my patents.

So tell me, what good is the new patent system as redefined? How will conflicts go away? How will the law firms with resources suddenly be willing to take on such sweeping, risky projects on contingency? How will it suddenly not cost $1m to protect my patent? How will this new situation help me?

The answer is that it won't. Frankly, the ONLY solution for me is a patent troll, and I welcome them. I'm looking for one now. (If you are one, contact me).

How many other people are in my situation? I would argue the vast, vast, vast majority of patent holders. Who has $1m to sue someone? The lawmaking in Washington, from what I can see, has been by the big interests, for the big interests, and has little to do with the AVERAGE patent holder who just wants to protect his/her intellectual property. Washington offers nothing for me. Bring on the trolls as long as they live, I say. Perhaps some meaningful change will happen some time in the future. But from what I can tell, this is not it.

Re: Introducing FG Press

dbriere — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 18:41:18 -0000

Best of luck to the FG Press team on this. I've written more than a dozen books (just finishing my latest now), many with Wiley, so I have lots of thoughts to share over a beer. At least you got 15% - mine's been a little less, ha!

I've got an idea for a book for startups that I've been thinking about, next time we chat we could discuss perhaps. Thanks for the help on the other project! Emily has been following up on your leads!

Re: Do More By Doing Less More Deeply

dbriere — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 20:01:00 -0000

Great post Brad. Funny that I ended up largely in the same place in the 4th Q last year. I too jettisoned working with Government, and came away after 2.5 years of intense work here on all sorts of items with so little to show for it. So depressing how those with the power do everything to keep the power rather than using the power for real change. I'm surprised our nation has lasted this long. I have cut back on my do-gooder stuff -- likewise frustrating because I found that there are many volunteers but too few doers. Being one of the few doers means I do a lot, too much. So I just started pulling back and saying, "No."

What I *DID* do is make a commitment to only work on fun stuff or challenging things. Hence, we're planning a space mission to Mars, a worldwide invention convention for kids, and some other fun stuff. 2014 for me is going to be a fun year, and if it's not fun, it's not likely to make the list.

Don't think I can make the commitment to not travel for business though. That's a toughie with what I have in the works.

Best of luck, look forward to talking again soon.

Re: I’m Sorry – I Don’t Remember Your Name

dbriere — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 10:56:45 -0000

I agree with Tami. This problem confronts all of us. I left the Verizon Wireless guy working on my phone in a semi-heart attack when I told him I had 10,000 names in my Contacts database. And I trimmed that back a few years ago. It's still way too many, but I don't have time to do better. Waiting on that startup to solve that problem for me.

In the meanwhile, I always, like Tami, go up to people and tell them my name and context, assuming they had forgotten it. I don't take offense. it's just too much. So if everyone did this, your problem perhaps would be substantially erased.

What *I* need to work on is when people say, "Oh you are surely familiar with XYZ thingamajob..." and I immediately say "Yes" even though I don't know, because I feel like I'm an idiot if I don't know about it. That's just a knee jerk reaction I need to solve!

Re: Post Office in Storrs Mansfield, CT - USPS Hours and Location

dbriere — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 22:07:31 -0000

They have had a sign on the door for at least six months that the retail part closes at 430. I will try to send you a picture next time I'm there. But we went their just the other day based on your site and it was closed at 445.
Sent from my iPad, pardon the brevity

Danny Briere
Managing Partner, Horsebarn Hill Ventures
CEO, Startup Connecticut
803 Warrenville Road
Mansfield Center, CT 06250
(860) 429-0100 office
(860) 614-3403 mobile

Re: Post Office in Storrs Mansfield, CT - USPS Hours and Location

dbriere — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 17:16:50 -0000

Hours are wrong. Front office closes at 4:30pm

Re: The Awesomeness of Battlestar Galactica

dbriere — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 13:48:08 -0000

And when you are done.... Don't forget about Caprica, the spinoff TV series, but sadly it was cut midstream, but for completeness a must!

And then there is the necessary sibling session: Watch all the Planet of the Apes movies one after the other.....

Re: We need to teach kids about entrepreneurship early on

dbriere — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 14:47:09 -0000

Check out www.ctinventionconvention.org This program is a K-8 program for teaching some 12,000 kids in CT about how to invent and market those inventions.

Re: Christmas Isn’t Awesome For Everyone

dbriere — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 08:44:45 -0000

Great post that I have shared out with my friends. I think on of the wonderful things about the community where I live is that the school system bends over backwards to teach respect and engagement with all the different cultures. Our kids here are being raised to try to empathize with situations like yours and to help make their special times something they share with others too, and are not ignored. I think it starts early, teaching kids how to enjoy these times in different ways. Think about the Muslims in our communities too. That said, it will always suck being at the inlaws when they hate you. Glad you've found peace and inlaws that like you. (And high speed internet access to check email.)

Re: Photo of 'single mom' receipt goes viral

dbriere — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 11:14:47 -0000

So the whole concept of tipping is broken. I just read another article that said you have to leave a tip even if you get bad service because of all the other staff that share in tips. If tips are expected to be given all the time, as many posters say here, and that it's largely lost a relevance to the quality of the service, then it should be built into the price of the meal, and waiters/waitresses should be paid more, and let's return back to the age where tips are special occasional things you do for truly quality service. I'm not validating what the woman did -- I'm just saying that there's a bigger problem here we should focus on.

Re: Teenage Canucks Fan And Brain Tumor Survivor Slapped In Head At Sharks Game

dbriere — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:09:52 -0000

There should be zero tolerance for this. The drunk fan should be identified and banned from the arena. It's just no excuse.

Re: State Support for Building CT Startup Ecosystem

dbriere — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 15:43:51 -0000

Love the role reversal idea Miles,... really! I think it's going to take the combination to work -- State money and private sector action. The State should not be in the business of indefinitely funding development, and if we as entrepreneurs want to be able to see a sustainable ecosystem, then we have to step up and make sure it's built in the image that we'll want to live with. If we sit back and wait to be handed a solution, then our bad.

Re: Letters to the editor, May 31, 2011 Trade pacts reverse Obama promise | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

dbriere — Tue, 31 May 2011 11:23:04 -0000

I still cannot believe the City's position on Diamond Cove. It is such a one-sided agreement. They want to take full tax revenues and will lien your house and foreclose if you do not pay. This despite the fact that Diamond Cove homeowners plow their own roads, pave their own roads, pick up their own trash at houses, are required to have their own public transportation, and so on -- all things that other Portlanders get as part of their taxes along with other Portland benefits like schools (Diamond Cove IS part of the City of Portland and get NO benefits from these on the island). And yet after arguing strenuously in Court that they own the properties enough to be able to vote in Diamond Cove affairs (among other things, voting down a revised Island dog leash law and other things in addition to the approvals for the hotelminium), it says that it does not have to pay assessments because it gets no benefits. Well you can't have it both ways -- time to buckle up -- the assessments due actually are around $1.5m now, and are accruing each month. And yes, there is a lien on the City too for back payments, and yes you can expect another fight coming your way over this. It's about time the City treated the islands as something other that cushioned coffers and started living up to its responsibilities.

Re: Diamond Cove 'hotelminium' hits legal snag | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

dbriere — Wed, 04 May 2011 10:16:23 -0000

Ha ha, I love this: "Nicole Clegg, a spokeswoman for Portland, said the city believes it shouldn't owe any dues because it doesn't benefit from the things dues support, such as maintenance of the grounds, a pool, croquet courts and a marina." By that logic, people living at Diamond Cove should not have to pay City taxes because it's too hard to send kids to public schools from the island with existing ferry service, have to plow their own roads because the City won't do it, have to pick up their own trash at each home for the City with their own trucks, have to buy and maintain their own public transportation, and so on. Nice to see the pendulum on the other side for once.

Re: Mobile Notifications

dbriere — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 22:03:38 -0000

The model for notifications in general is very backwards, in fact 180 degrees backwards. The model has been all about going places, giving them your personal information like phone numbers, email addresses, etc., and having them send you info. It really needs to flip and be about having readily accessible choices of opt-in information streams and having these sent to you where and how you want them. Flipping that model really is integral to ramping information flows to the mobile phone or elsewhere too, because you need to have more semblance of control. To do this, you need a different model for getting in front of users. To us, this all ties to the way Groups are handled -- whether they are groups of interest, organized groups, or even spontaneous groups. We think groups are the real core here for where the next age of social nets is going, and we're seeing proof of that all over, whether it's in the form of group texting, group coupons, group checkins, etc. You really need to have some organizational paradigm in front of all these notifications or it fails. But it's not just about notifications, IMHO, but also Contacts and Calendaring items -- these are notification streams of a similar ilk. You need the same paradigm in front of these to organize your life. Once you have that in place, you can do some really neat things to own big spaces.

Re: Superfeedr : Realtime web technologies

dbriere — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:06:09 -0000

Very nice aggregation of information. One thing we're focused on is adding one more layer -- embedded tagging for standard types of content so the data is more consumable by the subscribers and target servers. But that's an overlay to all of this. Thanks for compiling!

Re: Gmail Introduces Rich Text Signatures

dbriere — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 08:40:29 -0000

How do you insert a LinkedIn Profile link, such as found here? http://www.linkedin.com/pro...

Re: Shup The Hell Up You Self-Promoting Turd

dbriere — Sun, 17 May 2009 09:52:11 -0000

Chris I have a question: What do you do if you are in the point in your company's lifecycle where you have lots of great enthusiastic clients, but THEY feel that they have something special that everyone else doesn't -- connoting a strategic edge -- and don't want to talk about it to extend their strategic advantage? While we have it in our contracts that customers have to do joint marketing (case studies, white papers, news release, etc.), they really stall and don't want to do it. And it's not because they don't like it ... it's the opposite. When we go to talk to people such as yourself, we get the response in this article, which essentially is, "If you are so great how come I've never heard of you?" We're caught between a rock and a hard place. Eventually, we'll break loose and have enough talkers to carry the day, but there are periods of a company's development where you can hand the mic to your customer and they just don't want to talk! A lot of startups go through this stage and would benefit from your advice.

Re: AZIZ VS. IMAX ROUND 2: IMAX CEO Responds! And so do I. I challenge you to a televised debate sir!

dbriere — Thu, 14 May 2009 18:05:29 -0000

IMAX is diluting its product faster than the Dummies book series is. I used to revel in a full screen IMAX experience but now having been burned on a small screen, I don't know what I'm going to get, so I just don't bother doing IMAX anymore. It's their fault for just making a stupid decision to so bastardize their product. Next thing you know, they'll be telling me that IMAX on my cell phone screen is the same thing as the big screen (and apparently just as good as a MatchBox BMW!)

PS: The CEO will never have the guts to face-off on TV. Heck he would not even do it as IMAX PPV!

Re: Does interactive television (TV) need a new user interface? | Telephony Online

dbriere — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:50:05 -0000

Ha, so funny reading Joe's and Steve's comments. SONY and Microsoft said the same thing, before and even after the Wii came out with their product. And they still have not come out with anything to put up against it. So what did they get? An emboldened and cash-heavy competitor that was before DOA. Good for TV interests it's just for "games". (Better tell Apple they're wasting their time filing all those motion-enabled TV patents). So sure, Verizon can assume that no one wants to move anything from their PC to the TV (just how ludicrous is that) and Cox can take its baby steps (is that for the market or for Cox internally) and in the meanwhile they are basically creating an environment for OTT to get traction. I guess with this parental attitude that their customers just can't handle something novel that will ultimately let others succeed in the mid-term. For now, where there's no competition, it's fine the way it is. ZillionTV, Boxee, AppleTV, bring it on!