Brightside founder Jonathan Frishberg and the Brightside app
Our Emily has been at the Web Summit in the RDS since Tuesday.
She phoned in the following
So what was her favourite first world problem solving ‘thing’?
Emily writes:
My favourite app I came across over the past few days is Brightside represented by the app’s creator and co-founder Jonathan Frishberg whose stand was situated in the main hall (Angel Carroll, Birghtside’s other co-founder was out on the floor networking).
Brightside works out mathematically using building measurements and meteorological data to deduce where the sun is shining on a terrace or outside a cafe and for how long to make it easier to find a good spot to enjoy a beer or coffee. Just started in Barcelona, hoping to open in Dublin soon!
Pic: Emily
If only there was some other way of checking if the sun was shining, or if it is shining, how are we meant to know how long it will be there for?
A real game-changer here.
Ah yes, welcome to Ireland where if tis sunny here, tis sunny there!
I like it. Can it be adapted for irish windy/ rainy weather, where it accounts for which side of the street you will get completely drenched versus being just lashed on.
I think you are over estimating the power of technology.
Perhaps you should wait until a cloud seeding app comes along.
As a fan of sunny terraces, I think It’s a nice idea.
Presumably there is a Darkside app for Gingers?
I need this!
Oh very useful
And that’s the most useful thing there?
A little infuriating eh? Benefit of the doubt given since she seems to have been asked what was the best first world problem solving thing.
He looks pretty useful
Like if I was stuck
Just grease the doorway with a little frytex and you’ll be fine.
Can’t see this being a big hit in Barcelona, sorry.
This.changes.everything!
I like it.
I admire any tech entrepreneur, I really do. But there are times when innovation yells “Adiós!” to common sense and intuition and this is one of them.
Why so?
If you fancy a coffee outdoors in the sunshine, knowing where you might get some would be very handy indeed.
This of course assumes his data is accurate.
If you want coffee, go to a good coffee shop.
If you want sun, got to the Bahamas.
If sitting outside on a wet metal seat in the freezing bright cold is more important to you than having to drink whatever it is that Starbucks sell as coffee instead of drinking a nice cup of good coffee, this app’s for you!
Ah. Of course. If I want sun there is sun in the Bahamas. Sorry I hadn’t thought that through.
Thanks for the tips.
He reminds me of ALF.
Alf Villas Boas!
Excellent!
Alf Roberts maybe
Jesus christ almighty.
I second that emotion.
+ lots
Scorchio?
I already have an App for this.
It’s called Cop On.
You…eh, might want to use it.
This would be a handy plug-in for property websites so you tell how the sunlight falls during the day and as the year progresses.
I assume this is their ultimate goal with this. If it isn’t, they are idiots.
http://suncalc.net/#/53.333,-6.249,12/2014.11.06/14:14
But yes a plug-in would be useful.
I can see a use for this. Picture yourself on a sunny Friday afternoon in July, sitting in work watching the minute hand crawl towards 5 and wondering where there’s a decent beer garden to sit in the sun and have a refreshing pint. The answer will be at your fingertips.
Probably won’t change the world but I’m guessing a lot of these small niche apps are more about advertising the developer than the usefulness of the app.
What you should be wondering is where there’s a pub with decent beer.
The sun, the garden, all that stuff is secondary. If you want sunshine, get some ice cream and go to the park or the beach.
If this is advertising the developer and your first thought is that the app is useless…
That’s is Mark. Tell Paddy what he wants.
What Paddy wants is a good kicking for the nonsense he was saying about TCD degrees earlier.
What constitutes decent beer is subjective. Sunshine is not.
My first thought was that there was a use for the app or did you miss the first line of my post there? The one where I said “I can see a use for this.”?
No, I saw that. And I thought “He’s wrong”. And here we are.
Bag of cans and the dart out to Howth is always at your fingertips.
This plus the other post on the Ipad photographers is good summary of the level of WS. Luckily the real players are working away and not spending time in this gigantic farce of a show.
How’s the blog coming along, Ger?
Good grief- I had a feeling that the websummit was full of tosh but this one takes the buscuit. Ignoring the ridiculousness of an app telling you what terraces or balconies are sunny, imagine it can tell you where it is sunny,a few hipsters having this app- all the said sunny spots would be swamped and you wouldnt get a seat or standing area!
Terrible waste of time and whatever money has been spent on it already (how much is it to exhibit at this show?).
“imagine it can tell you where it is sunny,a few hipsters having this app- all the said sunny spots would be swamped and you wouldnt get a seat or standing area!”
So what you are saying is if it works it would be a huge success and you’d have no where to sit because you think it’s ridiculous.
see this gives me a better idea ..release a few free apps like this..sunspot locators , ironic moustache are apps, ‘original vinyl NOT rerelease ‘ shop locaters , fixie bikeracing games and the like(all Iphone only of course)..then release a PAID android app that tracks the amount of users of all those other apps in one area ..call it ‘avoid the hipster infected hellhole’. you’d clean up.
Notice the bit guys where it says “my favourite”? Not which is my “best pick”. Sigh.
Cool. So what was the most useful thing there?
Some things are destined for where the sun don’t shine?
Ah now Emily. This is a very contrived reason to take a pic of a nice fella ;)
I want an App that takes me to a terrace where no one has heard of the Web Summit.