Getting the XML Messaging Bug

Now this is interesting...Dave Winer's note about Bug Labs here for two reasons - but first, a quick Quote of the Dave:

...Its an architecture for pluggable gadget components. There's a hardware interface, which I know little or nothing about (I'm a software guy). It was explained to me as "60 pins" -- they said they interface all the capabilities of the chip, whatever that means. But at a software level, each of the components interfaces with XML over HTTP. It's as if they read my mind. The pieces are all fractional horsepower HTTP servers. They are using RESTful interfaces everywhere. I haven't actually seen the XML, let's hope it's simple.

Its interesting for 2 reasons:

(i) That it would appear that there is a Consumer / SoHo Appliance play for an XML appliance / service engine emerging - thus far its mainly been corporate ironware and geeky stuff.

(ii) That it is going "back to basics"for webservices - XML, HTTP, REST - the Really Simple Stuff that works - recent trend has been to increasingly complicate things (WS-Splat anyone?), we were already sort of wondering if blue water had been left between the industry heavyweights' desires to "add value", and what people actually wanted. (Along with the usual it apparently also has a GPS...now that has got the cogs turning...)

Turns out that A VC (he of the recent Twitter Investment and the "all people over 30 in this space are drongos" fame*) has invested in it, and comments on Bug Labs over here and notes:

Bug Labs is certainly our most "out there" investment. Some of our investors have a hard time getting their head around it. Brad, who led this investment for us, is always very careful to explain that this is really a software/services bet, not a hardware bet.

But Bug is launching with a hardware product, The Bug, and they are going to launch slowly and ideally without too much hype and expectations.

Right re hype...dinner with Winer and Scoble is just for a bit of witty repartee then...anyway, he goes on to note that:

There's a lot more to Bug than what Dave captured (probably on his napkin) but the parts that Dave got, he got right.

Dave actually refers to it potentially being a "fractional horsepower" server approach, and he has seen it..... Be very interested to see it launch. (Any chance of a prototype to play with, guys ?)

Reading what Dave wrote and adding our own experience, then in our view its probably less "out there" than Twitter - this looks like an XML appliance / server play at the low end (ie easy to use, cheap to buy, market largely deserted by the majors) of the huge and rapidly growing XML Webservice / SaaS infrastructure market ( the emergence of home web appliances is fascinating to contemplate, maybe even potentially a bridge device for the emerging home m2m market eventually?), whereas Twitter is - at best - a nice little consumer Unified Messaging Lite system (sorry, "microblogging system") with no clear monetisation model yet, and a lot of competition emerging that is embedded in far bigger apps (eg Facebook Status Update).

Update....Jeremy Toeman, who has been consulting to Bug Labs, has written a bit more on it here.

If you think about a Lego block, it’s a basic module that you inherently know how to use. This is the right analogy for Bug modules, they are pieces that make sense to any programmer. I’d say I’m a well-below average coder, but can still hack well enough to hook up Facebook and Wordpress for example. With the Bug platform, I probably couldn’t make the best gadget, but at least I’d be able to give it a shot. That’s the hobby I enjoy.

Now.....teasing like this is normally a bit tedious (and will get so unless da beef is shown soon) but if this thingy does what it purports to do on the (veiled) tin, then we are talking about XML appliances in the home / SoHo office...and that could be a major step for the Home Automation market (never mind the whole XML messaging application industry)

Update 2...a bit more useful detail from engadget:

Sounds kind of out there, but here's the model:

Users snag a small Linux-based micro-PC with USB, WiFi, Bluetooth, and plenty of special ports for attaching these functionality modules.
Users can develop Java apps and load custom software onto the base device to take advantage of expansion modules for any usage scenarios they can dream up.
Users expand each portable's capabilities by adding modules, such as a small or large screen, QWERTY keyboard, GPS, camera, speaker, etc.; the user can add whatever is necessary to build the gadget that fits their purpose. (Sorry, no cell radio modules at launch.)
Each component is accessible and web addressable, meaning users can write and load software to / from their own or other users' components, as well as share their functionality or data (i.e. user A can use an app to remotely share his / her GPS locator or digital camera with user B).
Of course, all these hardware component schematics, interface protocols, etc. will be made available online if you want to build your own Bug-based gear.
Bug Labs might also allow users to submit novel and relatively marketable configurations for mass manufacturing, and serve as a storefront for budding gadget designers using the Bug platform.

* A VC is forgiven, as he too gets frustrated with Facebook's crap comms services - its an Old Fart giveaway, once you've seen email there is no going forward