This is some cool stuff. It's pretty much a 2D barcode, which is read by your mobile phone using the camera. Their proposed app is that a URL will be embedded in the tag and then the phone will go to that website. But anything can be embedded in the tag and this could easily be a replacement for barcodes. I'm having problems finding a cheap, small, barcode reader that works well with my Treo. I currently use the Socket SD barcode reader, but it uses really low power and it therefore makes scanning very difficult. Something like this might work perfectly. Unfortunately, the Treo camera can't be programmatically accessed, so therefore this technology currently doesn't work on it. But I'm sure a solution will come out soon. Here's the url for semacode - http://semacode.org/. There are a couple of other competing technologies as well - ShotCode, ColorCode and QR Code.

Well I've been using my Treo as my mp3 player for a couple of days now and I think I may have jumped the gun a little. It's still pretty solid, but I have two major complaints:

1. It can't stream anything over 64k
2. Sync'ing from iTunes, is turning out to be a little bit of a pain and kinda slow. I have to pretty much take the tunes I want and drag them into the Treo sync tool. There is no way to just hotsync and take the files out of an iTunes playlist. And if I copy the same file, it'll put two copies on my Treo.

This is really an Apple iTunes issue. The only player that seems to sync with iTunes is an iPod. Gotta love how Apple makes their products "kinda" work with the non-apple world.

...and my 1GB card is definitely not going to be enough.

So my iPod broke on me the other day. I considered buying another one, but since I have 3 other MP3 players, I figured I'd try not to spend the money. So I figured I'd see how the Treo works as an MP3 player. Well I ordered a 1GB card for $50, but it still hasn't arrived, so all I can load up is about 1hr of music on a 64mb card that I have.

So I'm in the gym today and with pocketTunes (an app that you need to buy) you can supposedly stream audio. Well I gave it a try, and it's pretty sweet. Go to ShoutCast and you can stream internet audio right onto your Treo. So who cares how much memory it has! With my unlimited internet access for $15 a month from Sprint I can stream internet audio at the gym, car, wherever! The quality is good and this thing rocks! Only problem is I look like a dork at the gym on my Treo and you can't get calls while it's streaming. Hey, but now I've got one less piece of electronics I need to carry, and I'm all over that!

If you want really nice looking stickers, then I would suggest getting die cut stickers. I use die cut stickers on my lockers.



The way this works is a piece of vinyl is cut using a plotter. I bought a Roland Stika printer to do this and it works great for large pieces and small volume. But doing it yourself in any kind of volumen, for small, intricate cuttings is a nightmare! I was spending about 45 min per decal. So I just ordered some from these guys - http://www.victorystore.com/decals/cutvinyldecal.htm. Pricing is really cheap and hopefully they do a good job.

I'll keep you posted.

Well, I tried to file my trademark on my own and it looks like I kinda screwed up. I want to trademark the name Laundry Locker, as it is a completely new business and no one has a trademark on it yet. So I filed on my own and sent a picture of the locker with my company logo on it, to show that the trademark was currently in use.

Well, you can't trademark a mark that "merely describes the subject matter of the service". The examiner came back and said that I was trademarking a laundry locker. Well until LL, there was no such thing as a laundry locker. We invented it! So I can try to fight it, but that's gonna cost me beaucoup bucks. Or, I can amend the application and file for a supplemental registration. The supplemental will work, and then in 5 years I can convert it to the full blown thing, but there seems to be some confusion out there on the strength of a supplemental registration.

Had I paid the $2000 for a lawyer to file it in the first place (vs. The $350 I paid to do it myself), I probably wouldn't have been in this mess.

Oh well, lesson learned. I've got pros handling my patent applications.

Okay, so check this out. Just found out about this service called Teleflip. With Teleflip (www.teleflip.com), you can send an SMS to someone from your email, for free. The only way to do this before was to pay per message, which gets pretty expensive, or to know what carrier the customer was on and convert their phone number to the required email address for that service provider.

On LL.com, we currently send SMS messages to people, but users have to register their cell phone's email address with us. For example, 4155675698@sprintpcs.com. With Teleflip, they can now register just their phone number 415-567-5678. Then we send the message to 4155675678@teleflip.com and they get an SMS message on their phone. And if they change carriers, no problem.

Looks like I'm gonna have to do some recoding and data cleanup.

So I've been thinking of writing a blog for a bit now. I mainly haven't done so yet cuz I'm really not that into writing. However, I'm going through a pretty crazy time in my life right now and I thought it'd be fun / educational / insightful to share and document my journey.

As a quick background, in June of '05 I pretty much put a screeching halt on my professional, personal and social life to go balls to the wall and start Laundry Locker. For those of you who don't know (like anyone is reading this blog), Laundry Locker is a concept that I developed to provide the most convenient and easy way to do laundry and dry cleaning. I developed custom lockers and a web based infrastructure that allows customers to securely get their laundry and dry cleaning done in the convenience of their apartment building.

As a struggling entrepreneur, it's a daily struggle to to keep motivated, put food on the table, grow the business, raise money, have a social life, keep my customers happy, etc... I can't say that any of this has come as a surprise, but it is still a challenge.

This blog is going to be about my experience. Day-to-day, the business challenges I face as a starving entrepreneur and will hopefully document my path to success. Unfortunately, I'm starting this about six months later than I should have, so maybe I'll go in and backfill when I get a chance. Much of what I write will be filtered (hopefully) as I have many constituents that I need to be constantly aware may be reading this. Competition, investors, customers, girls, etc.

Enjoy my writing and hopefully the lessons I learn through this voyage can benefit others in, or considering going into, my same situation.

The Laundry Blogker,
Arik