It was clear that Charles Jolley, CEO and co-founder of Strobe was onto something big.  His mission to create an HTML5 mobile app development platform that would enable developers to create apps instantly and easily accessible across multiple platforms and devices was hotly anticipated.  When the company opened the doors to a limited beta and allowed a few to take an early peak inside, they were flooded with requests for broader access.  Apparently, it wasn’t just developers who were eager to get their hands on Strobe.

Yesterday, Charles announced that the team had been acquired by Facebook to help the largest social network in the world create “innovative mobile experiences.”  It was a great pleasure and honor for us to work together with Strobe and we’ll continue to keep an eye on their progress.

A few stories emerged about the acquisition, as shown below.

Related articles

• Facebook Acquires HTML5 App Delivery Network Strobe; SproutCore Lives On (techcrunch.com)
• Facebook Buys A Company To Help It Master Mobile Applications (businessinsider.com)
• Facebook acquires HTML5 app-builder Strobe (intomobile.com)
• HTML5 Apps Platform Creator Absorbed by Facebook (readwriteweb.com)
• SproutCore creator and ex-Apple developer’s cloud company Strobe team joins Facebook (thenextweb.com)
• Facebook Acquires HTML5 Application Developer Strobe (allfacebook.com)
• As Facebook buys Strobe, Tilde embraces its Web tech (news.cnet.com)
• Facebook’s new acqui-hire: HTML5 mobile app startup Strobe (gigaom.com)

Last week, Strobe lit up the social media airwaves when news broke they were giving away a limited number of access codes to their highly anticipated app delivery network, a one-stop shop that allows developers to create and manage HTML5-based web apps for smartphones, desktops and tablets from a single interface.  The Twitter-sphere in particular was aglow with requests to @Strobe for the access code, as developers quickly recognized the benefit of using Strobe’s platform to regain control over the way apps are built, published, monetized and managed.  Now the question of whether to go web app or native is dramatically simplified.  Just go Strobe.

Strobe is founded by Charles Jolley, a former JavaScript Frameworks Manager at Apple, where he worked on MobileMe and iCloud. He’s also the creator of the open source JavaScript framework, SproutCore, which powered Apple’s Web services.

Related articles

• Strobe Launches Game-Changing HTML5 App Platform (techcrunch.com)
• Former Apple HTML5 Chief Builds His Own Apps Platform (readwriteweb.com)
• Strobe brokers the peace between web and native apps (gigaom.com)

Posted via web from Kathy’s posterous

AdAge just posted an article about doubleTwist, following their new campaign in NY and SF which features ads in buses and commuter trains.  However, it’s also interesting to note the outcome of the mystery of the disappearing ad during Apple‘s WWDC in San Francisco.  You might remember the ad went up right under the Apple logo at the Apple store, only to come down hours later — and stayed down on the strategically key dates which were important to doubleTwist’s marketing plan.

AdAge reports,  “The $25,000, three-month billboard lease lasted just two days, was taken down twice and replaced once. No matter: The days following saw a 10-fold jump in downloads and a sustained increase in DoubleTwist’s website traffic.”

The story made great fodder for articles and speculation.  A taste of the coverage surrounding the BART debacle are shown above.

via crackberry.com

I’m a big Blackberry fan myself – I’m currently using a BlackBerry 8310.  But the camera is rather lame and my phone has been slowly dying – the USB synchronization no longer works (I can only sync my contacts through Bluetooth) and the volume has been fading out too, so I’m in the market for a replacement.  I was considering the iPhone, but then I heard a new version is coming out around the Apple Developers Conference in June.  I’ve also been feeling a bit reminiscent about the Palm – I loved my Palm Pilot but Palm eventually lost their way (and market share) and I haven’t even considered one of their phones until now (apparently, those that have played with the prototype think the new Pre is Awesome… yes, with a capital A).  And now, BlackBerry is following closely behind with the rumors of Onyx – although it apparently isn’t coming out until September and only on T-Mobile.  I don’t know if I can wait that long – so I’m looking forward to summer weather… and my new phone.  Whatever that will be.

Posted via web from Kathy’s posterous

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• Ten Reasons to Love the Palm Pre (usnews.com)
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This week San Francisco is playing host to journalists from around the world as MacWorld kicked off and many wondered what the big news would be.  While the announcements weren’t earthshaking (most notably – iTunes will be DRM-free), there was significant discussion about the health of Steve Jobs and his revelation of hormonal issues as the cause for his dramatic weight loss.  Whatever is the culprit, I do hope he has a healthy recovery.  Apple‘s stock has slightly risen – a reflection that pulling the wool over our eyes and saying Steve was simply suffering from a “common bug” wasn’t convincing anybody.

Meanwhile, while in Silicon Valley, Rory Cellan-Jones of the BBC gave viewers an inside peak into the Google campus – lavish in all its amenities and providing all the accoutrements to fill a tech worker’s heart and mind.  Then he popped over to the Kosmix office – quite humble in appearance but formidible in entrepreneurial spirit.  I enjoyed the humility, optimism and sheer determination that was evident in the interview.  Kosmix recently announced the launch of its beta version, as well as a significant new round of funding led by Time Warner.  Their appearance on the internationally-acclaimed BBC News is a great way to start off the new year

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