Blogging the Aloha State and Beyond
Last night brought the official launch of IslandFunder, a crowdfunding startup focused specifically on Hawaii projects. The gala event, at Five-O Bar and Lounge in Waikiki, featured Jason Alan, Jahlivity, and Rebel Souljahz. But...
One of Hawaii’s earliest Kickstarter projects is back with a vengeance. Juicies+ is the follow-up to Juicies, a set of colored smartphone charging cables launched in 2011. And while that first project hit a...
Gibi Technologies, founded by two sisters from Honolulu, is in the running to have its pet-finding gadget and app boosted by the nation’s largest retailer. The Gibi is a waterproof, rugged yet lightweight GPS...
“Surfing is an elegant endeavor that was born, practiced, and perfected here in Hawaii. Our goal with nude is to cohesively portray surfing’s beauty, history, and elegance into a publication that will speak to both surfers and non-surfers alike.”
Uber, the startup that aims to serve as “everyone’s private driver,” had its soft launch in Honolulu today. Based in San Francisco and deployed in over 30 cities around the world, Uber empowers smartphone...
The concept of “virtual reality” has been around for decades, and has inspired science fiction and popular culture in countless ways, from the “cyberspace” of William Gibson’s novels to “Tron” and “The Matrix.” But...
Every year I look forward to organizing the Hawaii Geek Meet. And every year I get so wrapped up in it that I only get around to blogging about it after it’s over. This...
Earlier this year, retail job postings on the Microsoft web site revealed the company’s plans to set up its first Microsoft Store in Honolulu. Sure enough, shoppers at Ala Moana Center soon spotted the...
The South by Southwest (SXSW) festival is now underway in Austin, Texas, starting with SXSW Interactive, which draws thousands of startups and entrepreneurs hoping to make connections or launch the next big thing. And...
StoryTree, the app startup co-founded by Hawaii-born Matt Sullivan (@MattHawaii), has recently released two new complementary apps. The first, SimplePrints [iTunes]  helps you easily turn your photos into printed books. The second, SleepyTime Photos [iTunes], is...
Capping off a historic year of government transformation and grassroots innovation, the first HON*CELERATOR competition aims to inspire the best apps and online tools that use open data to improve the day-to-day lives of...
Last year, Hawaii-based consulting engineering firm Oceanit showed off an iPhone app that it had developed to help Hawaii State Civil Defense speed up disaster documentation. Dubbed MERCI, or Mobile Emergency Response and Command Interface,...
Google announced yesterday the first underwater imagery in Google Maps. And among the locations you can explore are Hanauma Bay on O’ahu, and Molokini crater off Maui. Evan Rapoport, former island resident and now Google...
The new Data.Honolulu.gov site takes the city’s transparency efforts “to the next level,” expanding upon the “CAN-DO” portal it unveiled last March.
When my friend and fellow geek Burt Lum suggested we start a local chapter of Hacks/Hackers, I was initially skeptical. Frankly, both of us have an unhealthy tendency to jump into the latest cool...
When I first signed up for Twitter in November 2006, it was even harder to explain than it is today. Twitter was born as a group SMS messaging service (a side project of a...
Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle has directed all city department and agency heads to support its open data initatives. And now, Honolulu’s engagement with the national “Code For America” program has now brought three new web apps for citizens.
The Sea-Based X-Band radar ship, the SBX-1, dominates the horizon when it’s in port in Pearl Harbor, making headlines just by showing up. Part of the U.S. Department of Defense Ballistic Missile Defense System,...
Google today added over 200 popular Hawaii visitor attractions, historical sites, resorts, parks, schools, and golf courses to its Google Street View collection. And the expansion takes Google’s 360-degree imagery of the Aloha State...
Declaring daily deal discounts an ‘old school’ fad, a local firm is betting that free stuff is the best way to connect businesses to new customers.
What I’m Reading
Hawaii Hui
