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Eric Schmidt just joined Apple’s Board of Directors. Google has been trying to build out their OSX development teams for some time. Apple has been taking their time with their web service and infrastructure strategy.

Here’s the recipe: Mix 1 cup Apple first class design with 1 cup Google’s first class infrastructure and algorithmic expertise and you have an unbeatable combination. I’m sure much speculation (GigaOm, TechCrunch) is already running rampant. So here are my 3 initial reactions to the Google Apple deal:

1. Google hosted .Mac-style service (ad supported). Already, I could see Google hosting all features of .Mac iLife, and iWork and provide it ad supported to all Apple customers. Of these, the most interesting implications would be:
   • Google hosted Apple publishing.
   • Google hosted Apple iDisk ~ Windows Live Drive.
   • Google hosted future Apple spreadsheet-style application.
2. Google hosted Apple iTunes streaming = iTunes Movies and Home Theatre. High quality and fast movie streaming with Google’s infrastructure and Apple’s design strengths.
3. Google hosted WebObjects or Apple iWork database / spreadsheet application. Although a spreadsheet app is in the cards for Apple, I wonder if Apple may be working on a hybrid database + spreadsheet application. With Google Base’s infrastructure, think hosted Access + Excel databases or spreadsheets with sexy GUI on top. Imagine the types of databases a small business (or even personal stuff like recipes) could publish or host in a Google Apple web office.

I avoid speculating on anything more long term strategic goals for the two companies, it’s really anyone’s guess here… like a Apple + Google MVNO or a Google WiFi + Apple iPod integration.. the list goes on here.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Eric Schmidt, Google, Steve Jobs

I’ve decided to start my own company. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, from writing little game programming projects in elementary school and high school to starting companies around graphics technologies in college and my early years.

That was my intent when I left Openwave, but instead found a great vision, new friends, and a very valuable education from my time at FilmLoop. What a ride it has been so far.

But the market has evolved, and it is now time to take a fresh look at one of my core passions: Making stuff easy and fun for people to use.

And do this especially for mobile phones. Because right now, they’re hard to use, and certainly not fun when you are.

I trust that my past experiences will guide me through this journey, and I hope it will be very much a shared adventure with past and future friends, acquaintances through partnerships, customers, and conferences I have visited through the years.

Along the way, I will write about my new and past experiences and share any humble insights as they may come.

So with a bit of luck and elbow grease, let’s get to work!

Adobe acquires Macromedia.

Wow. I’m still speechless.

Having spent a significant part of my previous life guiding client research, strategy, and competitive analysis for Openwave, I’m completely floored by this news.

Flash is a jazzy media player. Flash is also a very kick-ass application platform, very much like a browser is. Macromedia has also nutured a huge and formidable Flash developer community, and has leveraged Flash’s strengths extremely well, packaging their core technologies to bring value to customers and users.

And this is quite a story when Macromedia decided to go mobile. Openwave makes a web browser, and let’s face it, when you stack up a traditional mobile web browser against mobile Flash, it’s clear who’s sexier.

And when we (Openwave ‘we’) realized Macromedia was going mobile (this was before they announced it several years ago), our strategic direction shifted. One of those directions was SVG and to a more limited extent, a partnership with Adobe.

Ah yes, SVG and Flash. Much has been written on that topic.

One thing I remember vividly is back when Thomas Reardon wanted to show something SVG related at DEMOmobile 2003. So I set about packaging the prototype SVG engine at that time, integrating it into our UI framework, and building several sexy demos to show off our engine’s capabilities. The demo was a big hit, and I heard that Reardon and the Macromedia CEO exchanged some words after the presentation.

Now that Adobe and Macromedia are part of the same family, I hope their respective technologies can stop vesting so much energy in competing and combine their strengths to make forward progress in moving rich internet applications, media, and mobile forward.

Though I do worry, it’s a pretty large company now.

Update: David Shea weighs in.