Virtually Speaking
My what a difference a year makes. The trends on viirtualization have reflected the markets – and not quite 180 degreee changes but drastic revivals are the order of the day. Just take a look at Serverwatch’s 2008 predictions versus the assessment for the year ahead at ZDnet for 2009. Perhaps a stop at Information […]
Green Gadgets ?
Engadget has a great story about one of the most novel green gadgets that appeared at the CES show. I am surprised this was not at DODView – a pseudo Department of Defense exhibition where stuff == procurements for the $600 Billion US Defense budget get screened. Imagine having a power device that can run […]
Windows 7 Free Beta
Just for the sake of clarity here are some of facts on the Windows 7 “free” beta: 1)the free downloads are here and pay attention to the Redmond cautions. This is a significant amount of work and will require a large spare machine. 2)The limit is now no longer 2.5million downloads but rather the cutoff […]
Instant on PCs
Netbooks popularized by Asus with the Eee at $399 or less will become the formfactor for more access to the Cloud. And its now taking a new twist – Instant on PCs. These are Netbooks that can boot in 10 seconds or less. The very interesting fact is that Linux with preprogrammed, small taskbars is […]
CES 2009: Yahoo TV Widgets
We cover in our sister publication, PictureThat, the accelerating convergence in functionality and features between still cameras and video camcorders. Still cameras are borrowing much wider zooms, low lux performance, and image stabilization from video cameras while providing HD video recording capabilities with interchangeable lessons in cameras like the Nikon D90 or Canon Mark 2D […]
CES 2009: Touch Screen PCs
Asus is up to the innovation business in the PC marketplace – and it will be giving HP and nobody-else-so-far a run for the touchscreen marketplace. Its not fully multi-touch but at $499 an 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard disk and Windows XP with Asus. Seen at CES 2009 the Asus Eee […]
JavaScript 2/ECMAScript 4 Delayed-Means Forking Inevitable?
I have previously commented on the importance of JavaScript to Adobe and Web 2.o in general – so it is very notable that work on ECMAScript 4 has been partitioned or delayed depending on who you consult. Clearly there is a functional and learning burden making the shift up to JavaScript 2/ECMAScript 4 – just […]
Piria’s Rombla Online Web Developer
Having featured SiteGrinder, its only fair to consider Rombla: The idea is the same as SiteGrinder, make the development of websites more conducive to designers by eliminating most if not all of the coding required to do modern Web 2 website designs. On first glance, I think Rombla is a few steps ahead of SiteGrinder […]
Photoshop for Web Development
Sitegrinder is a Photoshop plugin – not an ordinary photo-effects oriented plugin; but rather a Web Development tool. SiteGrinder allows graphic artist to layout the design for a website page (or pages) in Adobe’s Photoshop. Using the extensive Layer and Layer Comp facilities in Photoshop one can add sophisticated buttons, links, page transitions, galleries, and […]
Google Finance
As one can well imagine throughout the Financial Fiasco, letting the Financial community handle your investments has become both financially risky and intellectually stressing. So I am now doing do-it-yourself investing. Thus I am responsible for tuning and diversifying the portfolio with returns and risks managed to longer term goals. And being a Web developer […]
The Ultimate HTML Reference by Ian Lloyd:Updated
This book is not the Ultimate HTML Handbook for two reasons. First, much of its content is already dated with the rapid change in HTML and browser capabilities making Ian’s good work on compatibility with browsers unfortunately out of date(he does not know of IE8, FireFox3, Google Chrome, Opera 9.6, …). It also lacks, for […]
Languages as Religion…
This notion is not as absurd as it might seem. And I have proof, a series of LOL characterizations of popular programming languages as if they were religions. Check the following three out and see if you don’t agree: C would be Judaism – it’s old and restrictive, but most of the world is familiar […]
Picking Through Redmond’s Dirty Web Laundry
An argument being made on this blog is that Microsoft, by trying to stifle Web Development by not improving IE features for 5-6 years(only security fixes were made between 2001 to 2006), has continued to retard Web Development in 3 ways even after Bill Gates’ infamous one-only “Mea Culpa”: 1)many W3C standards did not get […]
Flash Turnover
I have been maintaining that the rate of change in the computing industry in both hardware and software technology is just increasing slowly, surely and stressfully. I would like to use Flash from Adobe by way of Macromedia as an example. But just take a look at Visual Studio, Oracle DBMS or Intuit QuickBook versions. […]
Underhyped Software
Let me suggest one candidate for underhyped software – that is software that is quite good but just manages to stay under the radar except for the people doing work with it – the ones in the know. The JavaScript framework jQuery is just such underhyped software. jQuery Selector lab demo from the book jQuery […]
Overhyped Gadgets
Digital Trends by way of Yahoo has a list of the most overhyped gadgets for 2008. I really did not expect to agree with their selections … “one man’s delight is another man’s poison”. But I was surprised to discover that these products did all have a consistent trait – they were heavily promoted and […]
Microsoft and Interoperability
One of the ways that Microsoft hopes to break into Cloud Computing beyond leveraging its Leviathan Presence on the Desktop is through a quiet but ever more broad Interoperability campaign. Witness: 1)Several agreements with Sun over Java and other software co-operation – here is the latest; 2)IBM and MS are doing selective agreements like content […]
Welcome Back – Pix of Toronto
Welcome to Pix of Toronto on WordPress 2.7. Our Toronto blog was down out for the count for the past few days. But thanks to some help from the WordPress people we have been able to restore Pixof Toronto.com to its full resplendent state! In addition we have added some new postings long overdue. Please […]
Max Adobe Show
The Adobe Max Show in San Francisco this week is becoming as important to Web and Cloud Designers and Developers as the Microsoft PDF/TechEd conferences used to be for staying on the state of the art in IT development. But now it is Adobe that is moving on a three prong front that is really […]
Flex 3 Documentation
I have been very tough of late on Adobes documentation for its products – CS4 Production Premium Suite downloads with an online help that is just not finished and the tendency is to drive users to the Web “to get the latest documentation”. Some vendor is going to make a mint when they make available […]
A Book to Bypass
I just got offered the opportunity to review this book; and I rejected it immediately after reviewing its specs on the SitePoint/OReilly website. Why ? The title of this book on CSS looks a bit provocative but innocent enough .. but like Paul Harvey was wont to say in his news broadcasts – “Here is […]
Web 2.0 Cloud Summit
Attendees at the Web 2.0 Cloud Summit say one of the most interesting sessions was the Cloud Panel which had major spokes people from Salesforce (CEO Marc Beniof), Adobe(CTO Lynch), VMWare (CEO Paul Maritz), Google (Enterprise President Dave Girouard) among others. Tim OReilly asked a number of relevant questions – and to some observers the […]
The Vista Performance Problems
This report from Nov 2nd 2008 is now updated on November 11th 2008 with results for Win XP using 3GB of memory plus Service Pack 3. Microsoft is presenting for its software developers, developers, developers a serious performance problem with Vista. Take the situation with Adobe and its CS4 line of products including the ever […]
Continuing AntiTrust Crimes
There are at least two continuing AntiTrust Crimes that the new Obama administration might want to take a look into now that the US Justice Department and specifically its AntiTrust Division will likely be fumigated and deloused … uhh given a broader and more balanced mandate. The first is Internet Explorer. Despite being found to […]
Windows Vista III
Baseline has a good article on the future of Windows, given the disasterously bad version that is Vista. This review starts off badly with Laura Dadio doing a George Bush advisor-like misdefining of the problem: “If Vista were just a standalone operating system [OS], where you’re just playing with it on your desktop, it would […]
Vista II Becomes Windows 7
Here is what eWeek is saying about the new Windows 7 revealed at Microsofts PDC conference this last week. Now remember Windows 7 is not due out until late 2007: Windows 7 Is a Big Improvement Over Vista Review: Microsoft Windows 7 is a less ambitious offering than Vista, but more realistic goals is just […]
The Principles of Project Management
The Principles of Project Management by Meri Williams published by SitePoint in 2008 at 204 pages – $40 In the past few years I have become very fond of short books on on serious topics. For example, Mike McGraths CSS in Easy Steps lasts just just under 200 pages but is so good and concise […]
Whats in a Cloud?
TheOpenSourcery.com starts coverage of what is happening to Web 2.0 as it goes prime time. Sprout Builder for Cloud Widgets and Mash-ups The move of organizations large and small to the Cloud is predicated on three factors: 1)Web/Cloud Apps apps can deliver on 24/7 anytime and global anywhere more effectively than desktops; 2)Web/Cloud Apps can […]
Dell offers Windows XP Downgrade
. . . Dell is upping the ante and offering a pre-installed Windows XP Professional “downgrade” for $99 on many of its computers. Now this feature has “bonus” (Dells own description) has been available since this summer. But now its being pushed in the bulk of Dells offerings. As previously shown, HP offers this “downgrade” […]
Apple Falls Short, Again
Apples new laptop fell well short of making a serious dent on competing PCs. Yes, Steve Jobs lowered the price of the lowest cost laptop by $100 to $1000. He also added new performance with NVidia chips on some laptops and multi-touch pads were extended to all Apple laptop models. But the fundamental problem is […]
Phoney War?
Everybody keeps telling me that the mobile phone race is over – Apple has won the top tier and Microsoft-machines will clean-up on the low end. May be not. First, Nokia is open-sourcing Symbian with a consortia of manufacturers and major mobile phone services. With a good operating system going open more developers will be […]
Shhhhh … HP is Pre-instaling the Vista Downgrade
HP has seen the light and is pre-installing the Windows XP downgrade from Windows Vista. And coincidentally, Microsoft has extended the downgrade privileges to OEM vendors of Vista for 6 months. Hmmm is Microsoft finally acceding to market demands and XPs 40% speed/performance lead ??? Is the Windows XP include the latest Service Pack 3 […]
Word Press and Consumerization of IT
Information in covering the Cloud Computing has spoken about how Cloud Computing was leading to the consumerization of IT (see their September 8 2008 issue etc). Even after reading I was not sure what Information Week meant by consumerization of IT let alone whether this would be a successful endeavor. However, after attending Word Camp […]
Ballmer Clouds Windows
There was a sculpture at this weekends Nuit Blanche in Toronto that was so cleverly puckish it was bewitching. Immediately when I saw it I broke-out laughing so raucously that I flatly embarrassed my Nuit Blanche companion. Now in my defense I can say that we had just been discussing how both MacOS and Windows […]
Chrome vs IE8
Update: See the latest benchmark results including Firefox, Opera, Safari results here. On the day after Labor Day I got a browser surprise. During my Windows XP updates (I always select user customized over the default because Redmond gives me stuff I don’t want unlike on my Linux notebook), Microsoft offered me a chance to […]
Android vs iPhone and More…
About a year ago, David Pogue, advanced the argument that the programmibility of the iPhone gave it a distinct competitive advantage over all other mobile phones including ones powered by Microsoft Windows Mobile and Nokias Symbian. One of the key advantages that David cited was the multi-touch UI of iPhone and the ability to harness […]
Adobes New CS4 Suites
I have been reading in the Business press (try Business Week September 22nd 2008 edition or any recent issue of Harvard Business Review) that the US industry needs to get back to innovation. That may be true of the oligarchs like the Oil and Gas or the Auto Industry (GM is going hat in hand […]
Google Android Will Challenge
A lot of phone reviewers are poo-oohing the Google Android as first seen on the Dreem from T-Mobile. I thought “Wow could Google be making a big “going down in flames” mistake?” Then I heard the news commentary from Microsoft which said spokesmen for Redmond said “their phone was a growing player.” Hmmm – if […]
Apple Like Microsoft
Daniel Lyons, aka as Fake Steve Jobs,has raised the ire of the Apple community by suggesting that Apple and its CEO are just one step removed from being equivalent to Microsoft. Of course, that one step is a big one – Apple still does not have a monopoly like Windows or Office that is worh […]
Kid Gloves On For IE8
Here is an example of Kid Glove treatment. Here it is IE, the worst browser by far, continuing to get kid-glove treatment from the IT trade press. The writer is JR Raphael at PC World in a story featured on Infoworld – Browser battle: Firefox 3.1 vs. Chrome vs. IE 8. In contrast, look at […]
Mac Attack on Broadway
There is a particularly brilliant Apple ad available on the NYTimes website this first week in September. The ad mocks Windows Vista. It is ironic because just a few days before, the NYTimes ran an article that might as well have been written by Redmonds PR department. It purported to show that Microsoft was putting […]
NYTimes Kid Gloves Microsoft Vista
Steve Lohr at the NYTimes has written a kid-glove article about Windows Vista. It is so fluffy it makes one wonder if it was edited by the Times in order to get some of the half billion dollars in advertising that the author says will be spent by Redmond over the next few years to […]
Lenovo Media Notebook: An I/O Benchmark
Lenovo has launched the latest and most power packed graphics notebook this August – go to DPReview.com for all the details. What is notable is that this machine acknowledges that graphics processing is now driving PC development. Look at all the graphics goodies – 17″ Hi-resolution, high gamut WUXA screen, NVidia 3700 with 1GB of […]
Unadulterated Comments on Silverlight
TheRegister has sparked some interesting comments on Microsoft Silverlight now that it is getting Olympic exposure on the NBC Olympics site. There is some flaming but also the mark of deep distrust of Redmond – in effect another marker on the ruining of the Microsoft Brand. I can remember in the late 1980s and early […]
The Vista Lost Opportunity
Vista is so bad it can only reach 60% of the speed and performance of Windows XP. And the learning curve is non-trivial to make itself perfectly People Ready clear. And its compatibility with perfectly good Windows XP compatible software and hardware is very disappointing. So for competitors – this ought to be a big […]
Should You Pay Twice as Much for a Mac?
Joe Wilcox is at it again – asking the right questions at Apple Watch. Joe has done the research on what anyone who has been shopping for a PC desktop or notebook will likely have noticed – Apple is charging double the price for its platform and usually with less than half the features. As […]
Wheres the Beef
Apparently it is at Craigslists job want ads. I do freelance work and use Craigslist to cutout the middle man – link up with clients directly. Maybe its the price of gas or my imagination but I am seeing a lot more flaming of job offers that are patently low-balled. What is this indicative of […]
CUIL
Google has steadfastly ignored good GUI design in its search display renderings allowing ASK.com, Copernic, and even cnet.com to do all the innovation while Google laps the field with the most web pages and better retrieval algorithms. But now CUIL has even a more galumphing number of web pages than Google and I think a […]
Cloud Providers
Here is a simple exercise. Resort the the following alphabetized list of IT companies in the order of which would be most important to you as critical enabler in getting your organization onto the Cloud. Emphasize the ability to create Cloud exploiting apps. Give credit for SasS delivery; Cloud development processes plus tools; and having […]
Vista Performance:The Last Word
Randall C Kennedy at Infoworld sets the record straight on Vista and its performance. Here is the final word on Microsoft Vista performance relative to other Microsoft operating systems – go to the site for the complete story and documentation: Vista runs 40% slower than Windows XP Vista runs 17% slower than Windows Workstation 2008 […]