Home automation, location-based iPhone apps chosen for funding

[AppleInsider]

An application that will allow you to control your household appliances and another for finding out what's going on around your current location are the first two pieces of iPhone software to receive funding under the iFund.

BusinessWeek reports that fund managers at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers have received submissions from 1,700 startups hoping to vie for a slice of the $100 million iFund, announced this past March at Apple's iPhone Software Roadmap event.

The venture capital firm has thus far funded just two of those companies, made an offer to a third, and is presently considering funding for another ten.

Pelago, a developer of on-the-go lifestyle applications, was reportedly the first to see funding for an iPhone version of its Whrrl application. By leveraging the mapping capabilities of the iPhone and other smartphones, the software tries to make it easy to find information about places and businesses within close proximity to a user's current geographical location.

"Say you're lost in Las Vegas and need a restaurant recommendation. With iPhone in hand, you can scan the locations of nearby restaurants, just Italian restaurants, or just those recommended by foodie friends," BusinessWeek explains. "Or you could search for the highest-rated bars or kid-friendly activities recommended by friends from your social network."

Joining Pleago as the only other company to receive an iFund grant at this time is iControl, makers of home automation software that would give iPhone users remote control over air conditioners, lighting, window shades, and so forth.

iControl for iPhone should let you kill the lights from the dent in your couch.

Not all third-party developers authoring iPhone applications for distribution over Apple's upcoming App Store are necessarily in need of funding. The same report notes that Loopt, which offers software that lets mobile users see the proximity of their friends, will announce deals with more mobile providers at "an upcoming event."

BusinessWeek echos the popular notion that June 9th, the first day of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, will see the unveiling of the company's much anticipated 3G iPhone. It may also offer a preview of one or more of the aforementioned applications.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[macFanDave]

That iControl is exactly the next thing Apple can expand in! How it is done, what devices can be monitored and controlled, and the adoption by third-party manufacturers (to implement a consistent Mac-like interface) will all be determining factors in its ultimate success.

[hdasmith]

Neither of these apps seem to me to warrant money from the iFund. Google maps can already tell you where restaurants are (OK no user feedback, but still), and iControl seems to be for such a limited user base, and it's not really innovative.

Maybe I'm just being a Scrooge, but I wouldn't have either of these apps on my iPhone, even if they were free.

[anantksundaram]

Originally Posted by hdasmith

Neither of these apps seem to me to warrant money from the iFund. Google maps can already tell you where restaurants are (OK no user feedback, but still), and iControl seems to be for such a limited user base, and it's not really innovative.

Maybe I'm just being a Scrooge, but I wouldn't have either of these apps on my iPhone, even if they were free.

Yeah, I have to agree. These seem like such pedestrian, uninspired choices. Esp. coming from a classic, savvy VC firm such as KPCB.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by hdasmith

Neither of these apps seem to me to warrant money from the iFund. Google maps can already tell you where restaurants are (OK no user feedback, but still), and iControl seems to be for such a limited user base, and it's not really innovative.

Maybe I'm just being a Scrooge, but I wouldn't have either of these apps on my iPhone, even if they were free.

I agree with macFanDave. IControl is a natural progression of what we should be able to do with our electronics and appliances. But you are right, at this time the user base would be very small. We'll need to get some new standards in place to make it ubquitous. I think Bonjour networked devices would be a good start. It'll take a decade before we start to see any real change, but I think it's inevitable.

I'm a little confused by this other app. Maybe it does offer some things that Google doesn't. I guess I'll have to see it first. I wonder if this is an indiavation that the 3G iPhone won't have true GPS.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by hdasmith

Neither of these apps seem to me to warrant money from the iFund. Google maps can already tell you where restaurants are (OK no user feedback, but still), and iControl seems to be for such a limited user base, and it's not really innovative.

Maybe I'm just being a Scrooge, but I wouldn't have either of these apps on my iPhone, even if they were free.

If the iFund has any intelligent people, for their first round picks they should just fund existing companies with actual users (what a concept) who only lack the funding to take their product to the next level. After an initial round of guaranteed success, they could take greater risks on unproven companies and concepts.

[NasserAE]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

If the iFund has any intelligent people, for their first round picks they should just fund existing companies with actual users (what a concept) who only lack the funding to take their product to the next level. After an initial round of guaranteed success, they could take greater risks on unproven companies and concepts.

I thought the idea of the iFund is to help small developers get their software on the iPhone and to encourage new ideas not existing ones!

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by NasserAE

I thought the idea of the iFund is to help small developers get their software on the iPhone and to encourage new ideas not existing ones!

Clearly they are not pursuing that goal very aggressively and since they are not, they should at least boldly support some existing apps.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

Clearly they are not pursuing that goal very aggressively and since they are not, they should at least boldly support some existing apps.

I wonder how closely they are working with Apple. Perhaps Apple doesn't want them to fund apps and services that in anyway compete with Apple's current and future products and services. Man, I hope that isn't the case.

[lepton]

Well... I'm going to beat them by including something they won't have - a neural-net-like system that predicts - and learns - just which people, places, things and events you will find most interesting at a particular time.

People get more or less interesting from moment to moment. Are they in a place you find interesting right now? Are they with people you find interesting? Then they themselves are currently more interesting than usual. Maybe you should give them a call, or text them - get in on it! Is a place full of interesting people? Is it having an interesting event? Then it is more interesting than usual. Maybe you should go on over. Where is the most interesting place in the world right now? I'm on a trip - what will the most interesting places be in Seattle next Tuesday?

Funding? Didn't get any. Heck, Apple hasn't even let me into the full iPhone developer plan yet. And it's annoying, developing a location-based app without being able to load it on frackin' phone! But I'm not going anywhere.

YHIHF.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by solipsism

I wonder how closely they are working with Apple. Perhaps Apple doesn't want them to fund apps and services that in anyway compete with Apple's current and future products and services. Man, I hope that isn't the case.

Same here... but it looks like Apple is not a part of this fund, only tangentially through Al Gore's involvement.

http://www.kpcb.com/team/index.php?all

[amador_o]

iControl sounds cool. I've been wanting to get into home automation, but it's hard to know where to start. If there were a known device, such as iphone, out there that would act as a control, I think more people would get into it.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by amador_o

iControl sounds cool. I've been wanting to get into home automation, but it's hard to know where to start. If there were a known device, such as iphone, out there that would act as a control, I think more people would get into it.

Home automation is still an idea without a market. The number of people who could really take advantage of this are infinitesimally small. Not the big winner I was expecting. For simple TV/entertainment center control, it would be fine.

[macFanDave]

Originally Posted by solipsism

I agree with macFanDave. IControl is a natural progression of what we should be able to do with our electronics and appliances. But you are right, at this time the user base would be very small. We'll need to get some new standards in place to make it ubquitous. I think Bonjour networked devices would be a good start. It'll take a decade before we start to see any real change, but I think it's inevitable.GPS.

Thanks.

I went to the iControl site and was a little depressed about how much emphasis on the Big Brother camera system there was compared to the scant attention to home automation.

Seriously, my family's schedule is so unpredictable that a thermostat with a timer is almost useless. The interface on the thermostat is so clunky, even modest changes require monumental effort. Of course, before we can expect our appliances to allow fine-grained control via our Macs, perhaps our Macs need more fine-grained control over their own scheduling (you can hardly believe what control you can have with the Terminal command "pmset" -- the Energy Saver scheduling is just the tip of the iceberg of what is possible).

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by macFanDave

Thanks.

I went to the iControl site and was a little depressed about how much emphasis on the Big Brother camera system there was compared to the scant attention to home automation.

Seriously, my family's schedule is so unpredictable that a thermostat with a timer is almost useless. The interface on the thermostat is so clunky, even modest changes require monumental effort. Of course, before we can expect our appliances to allow fine-grained control via our Macs, perhaps our Macs need more fine-grained control over their own scheduling (you can hardly believe what control you can have with the Terminal command "pmset" -- the Energy Saver scheduling is just the tip of the iceberg of what is possible).

I suppose homes that exhibited more "awaress" of where people were in each room, automatically shutting off lights, heat, a/c, etc. as they move around would be ideal, and if a house was smart enough to evaluate the inhabitants actions in the house and "think ahead" (possibly even to the point of sending out the iRobot to clean up when the room was empty) it would make relaxing around the house much more enjoyable.

[macFanDave]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

Home automation is still an idea without a market. The number of people who could really take advantage of this are infinitesimally small. Not the big winner I was expecting. For simple TV/entertainment center control, it would be fine.

You are pretty narrow-minded. You deserve to be stuck with 20th century thinking.

As energy prices are rocketing up, that infinitesimal number will become appreciable. Also, if electric companies everywhere start charging differently for peak hour usage from off-peak and middle-of-the-night usage, then you might find a lot of people scheduling tasks when electricity is cheapest. Unless there is a quick, consistent and easy way to schedule water heaters, clothes dryers, ice makers, etc. to work at the optimal time, people will continue to waste money operating those appliances with expensive power.

Finally, as home power generation starts to take off (solar, maybe some wind turbines) people may want to use as much of their own power as they can until net metering laws become fair for the homeowners.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by macFanDave

You are pretty narrow-minded. You deserve to be stuck with 20th century thinking.

As energy prices are rocketing up, that infinitesimal number will become appreciable. Also, if electric companies everywhere start charging differently for peak hour usage from off-peak and middle-of-the-night usage, then you might find a lot of people scheduling tasks when electricity is cheapest. Unless there is a quick, consistent and easy way to schedule water heaters, clothes dryers, ice makers, etc. to work at the optimal time, people will continue to waste money operating those appliances with expensive power.

Finally, as home power generation starts to take off (solar, maybe some wind turbines) people may want to use as much of their own power as they can until net metering laws become fair for the homeowners.

Oh, brother. I love that you immediately attack the person, in this case a person you do not know, instead of addressing the idea or the comment. Thanks, Dave. Thanks a lot.

Well, for your information Dave, my comments were made based on reality as it is, not as we wish it to be. I'm a fan of automation, but it's not widely used now, nor will it be for a long, long time. Reading between the lines, you seem to be a big fan, but Dave you are in the minority of people capable of affording or using such a system. That's a simple fact.

[NasserAE]

Originally Posted by macFanDave

You are pretty narrow-minded. You deserve to be stuck with 20th century thinking.

As energy prices are rocketing up, that infinitesimal number will become appreciable. Also, if electric companies everywhere start charging differently for peak hour usage from off-peak and middle-of-the-night usage, then you might find a lot of people scheduling tasks when electricity is cheapest. Unless there is a quick, consistent and easy way to schedule water heaters, clothes dryers, ice makers, etc. to work at the optimal time, people will continue to waste money operating those appliances with expensive power.

Finally, as home power generation starts to take off (solar, maybe some wind turbines) people may want to use as much of their own power as they can until net metering laws become fair for the homeowners.

I believe his point was cost. How much money people are welling to pay for the controlling devices compared to the simple schedule ones? What about maintenance and support?

Few years ago I was part of the design team for a 20,000 sf. Villa. I remember the owner wanted to control every room temperature, lights, AC, TVs, speakers, power outlets, and security system from a handheld tablet like device. It was an amazing custom made system for which he paid a LOT of money.

The technology is there. The question is how many can afford it?!

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by NasserAE

I believe his point was cost. How much money people are welling to pay for the controlling devices compared to the simple schedule ones? What about maintenance and support?

Few years ago I was part of the design team for a 20,000 sf. Villa. I remember the owner wanted to control every room temperature, lights, AC, TVs, speakers, power outlets, and security system from a handheld tablet like device. It was an amazing custom made system for which he paid a LOT of money.

The technology is there. The question is how many can afford it?!

Right on target.

[Bageljoey]

Hey fellas, lets keep it civil in here!

They way I look at it, the apps that you want most right now, are probably being developed by companies that have the resources to do it already. Other killer apps will be developed by low-cost programer/entrepreneurs and will grow into something big because they had a great idea or plan. But there are some fliers that will need resources and time to create a market that does not yet exist. Both of the examples listed are going to need time (and money) to integrate all the information/functions before they even have a chance to be compelling to the average iPhone owner.

I would agree with the slew of early posters that the two announced projects do not sound earth-shattering. However, remember that we are looking at a 2 or 3 line write-up by somebody who (probably) has not seen the full proposal. And none of us know what these ideas could grow into.

Remember, if it was an obvious pitch or a guaranteed hit, they wouldn't need VC money--they could go to the bank with a business plan.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by macFanDave

You are pretty narrow-minded. You deserve to be stuck with 20th century thinking.

I think you may have misinterpreted his post. It reads to me that we are all on the same page here. Just as I said it would take a least a decade he said it was an idea without a market. To me, that is the same thing. We have tech, have had the tech, but without simple integration the cost will remind prohibitive to all but a few.

Originally Posted by NasserAE

I believe his point was cost. How much money people are welling to pay for the controlling devices compared to the simple schedule ones? What about maintenance and support?

Few years ago I was part of the design team for a 20,000 sf. Villa. I remember the owner wanted to control every room temperature, lights, AC, TVs, speakers, power outlets, and security system from a handheld tablet like device. It was an amazing custom made system for which he paid a LOT of money.

The technology is there. The question is how many can afford it?!

Forget home automation for a second, I'd love to have a remote control for an entertainment system that knows who has the controller. For instance, an integrated fingerprint reader on the side so when you pick it up it reads who you are and sends info back so that it sets up your preferred music and video library, DVRed TV and favorite chsannels and shows are now the focus on the TV when using the remote. This could also prevent children from seeing anything questionable when the remote registers them.

I know this farfetched, but I am trying I think of a more dedicated automation system that could help lead us onto a more encompassing system.

[jplevine]

I already use Indigo to control my home automation items (irrigation system and landscape lights for now). It lets you create web pages to control your devices. I created a version that is made for an iPhone, accessible via Safari. You can even make it password protected so someone else cannot control your devices. It may not be the slickest of apps, but it certainly gets the job done and gives the designer lots of flexibility.

[samab]

Originally Posted by macFanDave

You are pretty narrow-minded. You deserve to be stuck with 20th century thinking.

As energy prices are rocketing up, that infinitesimal number will become appreciable. Also, if electric companies everywhere start charging differently for peak hour usage from off-peak and middle-of-the-night usage, then you might find a lot of people scheduling tasks when electricity is cheapest. Unless there is a quick, consistent and easy way to schedule water heaters, clothes dryers, ice makers, etc. to work at the optimal time, people will continue to waste money operating those appliances with expensive power.

Finally, as home power generation starts to take off (solar, maybe some wind turbines) people may want to use as much of their own power as they can until net metering laws become fair for the homeowners.

From a practical standpoint --- the cheapest electric rates are after 9pm weeknights and basically anytime in the weekends. Even the cheapest dishwashers right now have a 2-4 hour delay button.

People do their laundry in the weekends anyway --- they don't schedule their washing machine to do the wash some time after midnight and then leaves the clothes in the washer until the next day when they schedule their cloth dryer to dry the already washed clothes after midnight 24 hours later.

Fridges and ice makers run 24 hours a day --- or else things melts.

Add a European style "tankless" electric water heater.

Europeans have survived for 50 years with higher petro and electric prices without these kinds of fancy home automation technology --- that's why they have dishwashers and cloth washers that use less energy and water and they have tankless water heaters.

[Bageljoey]

Originally Posted by NasserAE

I believe his point was cost. How much money people are welling to pay for the controlling devices compared to the simple schedule ones? What about maintenance and support?

Few years ago I was part of the design team for a 20,000 sf. Villa. I remember the owner wanted to control every room temperature, lights, AC, TVs, speakers, power outlets, and security system from a handheld tablet like device. It was an amazing custom made system for which he paid a LOT of money.

The technology is there. The question is how many can afford it?!

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

Right on target.

But isn't the idea. If all of this can be done through your iPhone (which everyone is going to have anyway) and the proposed software then won't the cost become negligible? Instead of the custom built extremely expensive house system that Nasser wrote of, you will be able to have the same thing at software pricing on your iPhone. What may be an infinitesimal minority of people may become a real market if the cost factor disappears.

[Ireland]

I sense a Mac touch in the wings

iControl is a killer domain btw

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by Bageljoey

Hey fellas, lets keep it civil in here!

They way I look at it, the apps that you want most right now, are probably being developed by companies that have the resources to do it already. Other killer apps will be developed by low-cost programer/entrepreneurs and will grow into something big because they had a great idea or plan. But there are some fliers that will need resources and time to create a market that does not yet exist. Both of the examples listed are going to need time (and money) to integrate all the information/functions before they even have a chance to be compelling to the average iPhone owner.

I would agree with the slew of early posters that the two announced projects do not sound earth-shattering. However, remember that we are looking at a 2 or 3 line write-up by somebody who (probably) has not seen the full proposal. And none of us know what these ideas could grow into.

Remember, if it was an obvious pitch or a guaranteed hit, they wouldn't need VC money--they could go to the bank with a business plan.

I agree with everything you said, Bagel-man.

[Ireland]

Originally Posted by NasserAE

I thought the idea of the iFund is to help small developers get their software on the iPhone and to encourage new ideas not existing ones!

You thought wrong. You're dealing with investors here. Most are wealthy because they are dull

[Ireland]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

Same here... but it looks like Apple is not a part of this fund, only tangentially through Al Gore's involvement.

http://www.kpcb.com/team/index.php?all

In this case they have no involvement. It's merely a private fund for him.

[macFanDave]

Originally Posted by samab

From a practical standpoint --- the cheapest electric rates are after 9pm weeknights and basically anytime in the weekends. Even the cheapest dishwashers right now have a 2-4 hour delay button.

People do their laundry in the weekends anyway --- they don't schedule their washing machine to do the wash some time after midnight and then leaves the clothes in the washer until the next day when they schedule their cloth dryer to dry the already washed clothes after midnight 24 hours later.

Fridges and ice makers run 24 hours a day --- or else things melts.

Add a European style "tankless" electric water heater.

Europeans have survived for 50 years with higher petro and electric prices without these kinds of fancy home automation technology --- that's why they have dishwashers and cloth washers that use less energy and water and they have tankless water heaters.

1. My electric rate is uniform. I have one $/KWH rate on my bill.
2. The freezer would obviously stay cold 24 hrs a day, but the energy used to move the latent heat of fusion from liquid water (i.e., make new ice) would be left for nighttime operation.
3. Tankless water heaters are ridiculously expensive here. One of the ideas I was echoing was that the French set their water heaters to start when EDF set the lowest rates. And, by the way, tankless is not a "no-brainer", current water tanks are very well-insulated so heat only gets wasted if the water is not used for several days.
4. My wife does laundry almost every day. She may be OCD.
5. We don't follow Europe's lead. Otherwise, we'd all have kings! Why would we need those fancy-schmantzy iPods when FM radio gives you music for free? I'm surprised you didn't mention hanging the clothes out to dry!

[samab]

Originally Posted by Bageljoey

But isn't the idea. If all of this can be done through your iPhone (which everyone is going to have anyway) and the proposed software then won't the cost become negligible? Instead of the custom built extremely expensive house system that Nasser wrote of, you will be able to have the same thing at software pricing on your iPhone. What may be an infinitesimal minority of people may become a real market if the cost factor disappears.

Well, there are 2 issues.

Some anslysts have just stated that Apple is going to plaster your home with a lot of technology. If that is true, then you will have a Apple home automation system made by Apple --- thus rendering this 3rd party iphone home automation app dead on arrival.

Secondly, prices for consumer electronics go down a lot in a short time. Prices have drop so much that almost every kid's room has a phone, a computer, a tv, a vcr and a dvd player. Don't need a fancy expensive structured wiring to route your dvd's from the living room dvd player to your bedroom tv when you can buy a dvd player from walmart for $20. Same thing is going to happen to tivo's and blu-ray player.

[hdasmith]

One thing I do want is salling clicker on my iPhone. That'll allow me all the automation I need for my house.

[macFanDave]

Originally Posted by jplevine

I already use Indigo to control my home automation items. . . It may not be the slickest of apps, but it certainly gets the job done and gives the designer lots of flexibility.

And that is exactly what Apple has excelled at for it's entire history -- taking obscure, difficult technology and making it accessible to the masses. Years ago, I had a Rio Volt MP3 player and even with a whopping 32MB capacity, it was a confused mess: hard to load, hard to navigate. The iPod took that fringe concept and made MP3 players very popular.

Home automation could be so cool, easy and useful. I think Apple is probably the only company around that can make it so. Smaller companies who may have the talent to do so won't be able to achieve critical mass and other big companies have shown no ability to be so innovative.

[samab]

Originally Posted by macFanDave

1. My electric rate is uniform. I have one $/KWH rate on my bill.
2. The freezer would obviously stay cold 24 hrs a day, but the energy used to move the latent heat of fusion from liquid water (i.e., make new ice) would be left for nighttime operation.
3. Tankless water heaters are ridiculously expensive here. One of the ideas I was echoing was that the French set their water heaters to start when EDF set the lowest rates. And, by the way, tankless is not a "no-brainer", current water tanks are very well-insulated so heat only gets wasted if the water is not used for several days.
4. My wife does laundry almost every day. She may be OCD.
5. We don't follow Europe's lead. Otherwise, we'd all have kings! Why would we need those fancy-schmantzy iPods when FM radio gives you music for free? I'm surprised you didn't mention hanging the clothes out to dry!

We should follow Europe --- because they have 50+ years of experience in this area. If only we can get home owners association to allow clotheslines in the backyard.

Current home automation systems are even more ridiculously expensive than tankless water heaters.

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by samab

Some anslysts have just stated that Apple is going to plaster your home with a lot of technology. If that is true, then you will have a Apple home automation system made by Apple --- thus rendering this 3rd party iphone home automation app dead on arrival.

I think that may be partially true, but I think Apple will go after the car audio and navigation system next. In conjunction with a killer GPS system by a 3rd party, having your car's audio (and videos if you have video screens) sync via secured wifi to your home's iTunes account (where your playcount and prefernces are all synced) seems to be the next move. It could also update contacts for handsfree dialing and easy GPS locations to contacts and let's passengers watch video you purchased or rented using iTS. Perhaps even reading your mail to you.

Since we know MS has already launched such a service I can't imagine that Apple isn't working on it too.

[samab]

I don't think Apple is going to be successful in the auto industry --- because the auto industry has very thin profit margins. Even Microsoft is going nowhere in that industry.

Basically the telematics industry is dominated by QNX.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by Ireland

You thought wrong. You're dealing with investors here. Most are wealthy because they are dull

Not sure I would have said it that way myself.... but, yes, the investors are mostly people without a fraction of a clue about applications on the iPhone.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by Ireland

I sense a Mac touch in the wings

iControl is a killer domain btw

So is "iRule".

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by samab

I don't think Apple is going to be successful in the auto industry --- because the auto industry has very thin profit margins. Even Microsoft is going nowhere in that industry.

Basically the telematics industry is dominated by QNX.

you could be right. Besides the margins there are plenty of technical issues that need hurdling. Converting iPod playlists to register as multidisc player is nothing compared to what would be required to make it happen. But I sure hope it does happen.

[NOFEER]

Originally Posted by amador_o

iControl sounds cool. I've been wanting to get into home automation, but it's hard to know where to start. If there were a known device, such as iphone, out there that would act as a control, I think more people would get into it.

imagine remotely from your iphone to VIEW and monitor several functions of your home or OFFICE have alerts to tell you of intruders, monitor devices hooked to a HOME SERVER wirelessly, maybe even remotely access your HOME SERVER for movies, music DVR like slingblade. and stream to your iphone. streaming to the iphone would be very useful.

now that would be cool AND usefull

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by NOFEER

imagine remotely from your iphone to VIEW and monitor several functions of your home or OFFICE have alerts to tell you of intruders, monitor devices hooked to a HOME SERVER wirelessly, maybe even remotely access your HOME SERVER for movies, music DVR like slingblade.

Mmmhmmm. Some people call it a sickle, I call it a slingbox. Mmmmhhhhmmm. About four cows worth.


Seriuosly though, that would be nice. Windows Home Server can already stream your content over the web to your phone and the web interface is quite nice for a MS product. Of course, it doesn't stream live TV like SlingBox but if you are recording or DLing your video you can access it with the domain name they give you. It's a good product and it looks like Apple has no interest in competing here either.