Vista is Dead in the Water
Vista is Dead in the Water but no matter – Microsoft is reputed to be spending a cool half a $billion to convince you that it is not. The NewYork Times, ZDNet, Gizmodo are just a few that have picked up this storyline and are punting it for all the satire its worth. Here is […]
Do No Evil
Ray Kurzweil has written a series of books ( The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology, The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence, and The Intelligent Universe: AI, ET, and the Emerging Mind of the Cosmos) in which the underlying theme is that intelligence will blossom unimaginably aided and abated by […]
Hands on Computing
For the past 15 months I have been arguing that touchscreen computing with multi-touch capability will be along with RAIA (the ability to deliver GUI apps that run on any browser and/or locally on any platform) the two technologies that dominate the personal PC and mobile device direction. Well its nice to see that Scientific […]
Joe Wilcox Caves on Windows XP
Joe Wilcox at Microsoft-Watch has been doing more truth-saying about Microsofts various latest deliveries in the PC marketplace than any other IT Trade Press pundit. He has been correct to not be kind to Redmond on Vista, aspects of Live Mesh, and the process of doing the Yahoo-Buy. But on Windows XP, Joe unexpectedly loses […]
Silverlight Full Court Press
Microsoft is certainly delivering a full court press on Silverlight (its RIA cross browser tool)- and really pushing its proprietary features that will work only on Windows XP and Vista but also “best” only with .NET 3.5 (2.0 .NET is what you get with XP and various versions of .NET depending on when you got […]
Google Coasting
I am doing a review of the OReilly book, Google Apps: the Missing Manual, and it brings up a key point about the Google empire. It is accidental and becoming static. But it is an Empire because Google has just gotten Yahoo to sign a deal that will have Yahoo displaying Google Search ads on […]
Virtual Desktop Package
I am amazed that a virtual company like VMware or Citrix/Xen has not teamed up with a PC vendor like Dell, HP, Lenovo or Asus to offer a packaged VM desktop that runs in Linux and then your choice of Vista, XP, or Mac as a VM machine. And VM would be preset-up and loaded […]
Microsofts Management Cracks
This is the second time I have picked up strong signals that Management at Microsoft is showing the stress of 7 years and counting of very mixed innovation. The results are very low at times -IE delayed almost beyond rescue as Firefox 3 just trumps even the upcoming IE8, Vista Death Watch, Zuneys, Silverlight-is -not-open-enough, […]
Best Browser: Firefox 3
This is a review worth repeating. I would like to tell you that the new Firefox 3 web browser is blazingly fast, full of new GUI features yet with great ease of use. And FireFox 3 has one of the best set of add-ons, themes and extensions. It leaves even the upcoming IE8(early next year […]
Firefox 3.0 : The Best Browser By Far
The just released Firefox 3 is the best Internet browser by far. Here is the coverage from 3 major IT reviewers: eWeek – The Next Generation Browser … Firefox 3 is poised to usher in a new phase of Web browsing that will change how Web applications are built and delivered, and even how most […]
Subject to Change
One of the biggest problems confronting Developed countries and their businesses is that there is a huge backlog of 1.5 billion workers in India and China which can be drawn upon for the next 10-15 years as a source of cheap labor at a fraction of Developed economies labor costs. Since for many goods, the […]
The Facts about Windows XP
I worry when Microsoft tells me they are going to give me “the facts” about its products – the notion is to reminiscent of their Get the Facts website which compared Linux to Windows. This site was an object lesson in omission, deception, and out-and-out prevarication on the relative capabilities of Linux and Windows. With […]
SaasS Takes more Bites
SaaS and Web 2.0 developments have started to percolate. Take a look at the May 19th issue of Information Weeek and some of the large scale contracts that are going down in the SaaS space:| – CocaCola and Microsoft team 35,000 seat for Microsoft hosted services using Exchange and Sharepoint over the Web – SalesForce.com […]
Moores Law Comes to Cameras
Moores Law that see a doubling in capability for the same price in computing and memory chips every 12-18 months has arrived in the SLR camera world. And really that should be no surprise. In 2006, more than half the new cameras sold were digital and that market share has since swept to the 85-90% […]
JSF – JavaServerFaces
Java Server Face is four year old technology which bring component based development to JSP-Java Server Pages. Here is how the Wiki summarizes JSF capabilities: JavaServer Faces (JSF) is a Java-based Web application framework intended to simplify development of user interfaces for Java EE applications. Unlike other traditional request-driven MVC web frameworks, JSF uses a […]
The Sun on Storage
Sun might be thought of as the first Open Source Enterprise vendor. Sure Microsoft practically gives away its BI software to sell SQL Server and is making small nods towards Open Source usage; but really now. Likewise, IBM has big chunks of its entry level software available for free while Oracle gives away its complete […]
HP Touchsmart
Well it appears HP and Microsoft Vista have won the derby to have a fully touchscreen enabled PC on the market. No, the Apple Touch Pad with gestures iMacs just do not qualify as the real deal. I had expected Apple to win this race. And once again, HP saves Microsofts bacon because this machine […]
IBM+RIM Mobile Software
In a mid April post on Mobiles Ascendant, I posited that mobiles were ready to go up against not just PCs but the Cloud for business loyalty. The basic argument is that the mobile interface and computing power have matured so rapidly – see our takes on computing power, storage, power and displays for digital […]
Vista Watch III
June 6th, 2008 Vista Watch Update Infoworld has been fighting the demise of Windows XP. But it appears despite more than 200,000 petitions, Microsoft is doing the Caesarian Thumbs Down. And so it is doubly ironic – just as Microsoft releases Service Pack 3 with even more XP performance improvements, it also is taking away […]
Video Still Bad
One would think with the 40 years of video computing and the recent strong movements towards Web 2 and RIA-Rich Intercface Applications, the dust would be settling and a few major video formats would be emerging in the marketplace. And you would be wrong. Its a proprietary mess. Now one can understand that the technology […]
Microsoft to Use Open Source in Major App
Perhaps to test the waters, perhaps as a deep seated survival urge, Microsoft will be using Open Source software in a big way with its Enterprise Management Software, System Center. Will this be the first of more Enterprise ventures that concedes the argument that “if it runs on Windows (client and/or Server) why else does […]
Acrobat SaaS
If there was any doubt that the Cloud Wars using SaaS are in full swing take a look at Adobes website, Acrobat.com. Make no mistake, Adobe is reserving a place in the Office SaaS space with its free offering of Acrobat.com. The preliminary reviews, including this reviewers quick trip through the tulips is that this […]
Why Touchscreens Now ?
Why is there such a flurry of activity, particularly from Microsoft, on touchscreen? Let me list 7 hypotheses as to why Redmond might be preoccupied with touchscreen. 1)Vista is currently a Zombie. Dead On Arrival and only getting market because you can fool some of the people some of the time if you have some […]
Update: Touchscreen Post
Joe Wilcox of Microsoft Watch/Apple Watch (or Monopoly Watch) has just posted 7s Sleight of Hand raising the very same question yours truly had about the new Touchscreen capabilities targeted for Windows 7 => What are the hardware and software requirements of touchscreen capabilities?Joe thinks the demo of Multitouch on an ordinary Dell Latitude was […]
Touch Screen Race Is Fully On
At the D6 Conference put on by the Wall Street Journal, the Windows 7 demo Debuted with Touchscreen technology. In our posting of July 23rd last year I said this would be the battleground between Microsoft and Apople – a fully touch screen enabled machine. What iPhone and Windows 7 have done is brought two […]
CMS Watch
I have been doing a lot of CMS installations of late and I am amazed at the continued quality improvements. The following is the screenshot associated with osCommerce, a good commerce website with very nice features for setting up your web business including categories, products, shopping cart, shipping module, and support for Paypal plus 20 […]
Microsoft World Wide Telescope
The above is a screen shot of the Download page for Microsofts one-up on Google Earth – call it Microsoft Universe. This software, which requires a huge machine and a great connection to the Internet produces from the wealth of Hubble and other astronomical images a brilliant adventure in Space. I have seen Hubble images […]
Code Complete 2
Code Complete 2 by Steve McConnell, Microsoft Press – 2004, $40 990pages This is the second edition of a book that was ground-breaking for how it described approaching development in the new world of first GUI, event loops, and uncertain sequences of operations – then in the even more nebulous world of Web and Client […]
A Sematic Web Primer
A Semantic Web Primer by G. Antoniou and F van Hermelen – MIT Press, 2004 The Web and the PC Networks have steadfastly resisted Repositories and Metadata systems. The only exception may be the Wikipedia and the various Google, Yahoo and other search engines. But an activeclassification of knowledge bundles beyond simple tagging as in […]
Portable Apps
Portable Apps has done something very nifty. It makes a lot of Open Source apps portable to any USB Flash Stick – for free. They ask for donations, and given the time, energy, and convenience, I do give despite the tight times in freelance programming. The list of applications is growing very fast – 13 […]
Microsoft Brand II
In the first part of this essay I raised the question of whether Microsoft with Office and especially Vista had done tremendous damage to the Microsoft Brand – lowest initial and ongoing costs in software, top features with no show-stoppers, most applications and therefore interoperability is largely irrelevant, etc. All of these attributes are in […]
The Microsoft Brand I
Many readers have commented that I am biased against Microsoft. As one reader noted “you are just blinded by some deep-seated misanthropic dislike – and there is nothing that Microsoft can do that is right”. Wrong. First, I have and continue to work with Microsoft software and the best test of good software is the […]
Adobe Flex Builder 3
I have been saying that Flash/Flex/Air have a lead in the RAIA race. Here is confirmation of that notion from Infoworld – in an extensive review.. Get all the docs and downloads from Adobe here and try it yourself.
Asus EEE and Intel Atom
Asus Eee Pc using Linux and small chips is starting to do what the OLPC -One Laptop Per Child was supposed to do – bring computing and Internet connectivity to users that dont want to spend $600-900 for a big, overloaded laptop with features geared for developers or Photoshopping graphic designers. Just give users portability, […]
Live Mesh
With the introduction of Live Mesh the Cat is out of the Bag, Microsoft is making one more try at corralling the Web to its own ends – and the leader of the drive is none other than Ray Ozzie. So much for Open from the bottom up at Microsoft. First, a quick set of […]
Pro Drupal Development
Pro Drupal Development by J.K. VanDyk and M. Westgate, Apress June 2007 $45US As you can see, Pro Drupal Development came out in June of last year and it is already out of date. Pro Drupal covers Drupal 5 and Drupal 6 is already out the door. In general Web 2.0, social networking and CMS […]
Mobiles Ascendant
It is clear from a number of factors that dominance in the future of client computing will not be derived from the desktop or even laptop markets but rather from a position of strength in mobile phones and/or handheld devices. Here are some of the key factors: 1)In its April 12th-18th, 2008 issue, the Economist […]
Joomla Book
I have been using a proxy for direct evaluation and reviews of Open Source CMS software – its the Google Trick. See how many good books and articles point to a particular Web CMS – and use those as an indicator of the quality of the the software. Then got to Opensorcecms and actually try […]
Opensourcecms : Try Before You Buy
Opensourcecms is a fabulous resource for finding out about medium to large scale yet free open source Bulletin Boards, CMS, Galleries, Wikis, and the like. You get to try every one out right on Opensourcecms . For well over one hundred of these apps, Opensourcecms allows browsers to not only try out the front-end of […]
Ning is Late- But Very Very Good
By the standards of timeliness, Ning is late to market. WordPress and Googles Blogger were among the first wave of social sites. Then Myspace and Facebook arrived – and set new standards for what could be done on a social website. Now Ning has arrived and set a new standard for how easily things can […]
Yahoo Enters Adsense
One of the problems for webmasters using website advertising is the overwhelming power of Google. They determine all the rules of the game – and users have a few choices like Chitika or Amazon – but there is really not a lot of leeway because Google sets the “standards”. Well now Yahoo, perhaps seeking to […]
Vista Watch I
Windows Vista is on life support. It is dying and will be replaced as soon as possible . This blog will follow the demise of Vista on Vista Watch. We do so to highlight a)how fast the change over will be made; b)how well Microsoft treats its existing Windows XP customers. For example, when exactly […]
Eclipse Support
Eclipse is gaining ever wider acceptance in the developer community – Borland/CodeGear is using it for JBuilder 2008, Adobe is using it for the Flex/AIR line-up and Web 2.0 developer Aptana is using it for Aptana Studio, Google for GWT and Android plus grandfather IBM uses Eclipse all over the place. Not All Good News […]
Apple as Evil Genius
The April 2008 issue of Wired has a cover story about Apple titled Evil/Genius: How Apple Got Everything Right By Doing Everything Wrong. The subtitle tells the story – that Apple is much like Microsoft, ruled by an autocrat who is not above screeching at his employees (employees call it the “hero-shithead roller coaster”), matching […]
Switch to Firefox Gets Easier
The switch to Fire fox gets easier 5 ways: 1)Business is starting to make the migration to Firefox in a big way as detailed by Information Week here. Wh 2)The download and auto-updates of Firefox are so easy. Try here. 3)The new Firefox 3 is much faster especially in JavaScript execution which is so important […]
Windows Server 2008: the Expectations
Windows Server 2008 is the subject of a lot of expectations but those great expectations may have a few surprises associated with them. Here is what a survey published in the March 3, 2008 issue of Information Week of 1100 IT shops resulted in: 1)50% of the users will deploy Windows Server 2008 on half […]
SSD-Solid State Disk Drives
What you see above is a 256GB SSD – Solid State Drive. This is something that has been promised in Byte magazine over a dozen years ago. The advanatge of SSD over traditional HDD-Hard Disk Drives is speed, weight, size, plus less power consumption. But holding back SSD has been hard disks drives uncanny ability […]
CIOs Uncensored
John Soats columns in Information Week has always been amusant and provocative, but the March 10th 2008 edition – Big Transition, Big Role, Big Thinker just hit the spot – it was sort of like the Barack Obama speech on Race in US politics – intelligent, nuanced and covering all the key points with In […]
Better Ajax Development
Jon Udell wrote a great Strategic Developer column in the October 10th 2004 issue of InfoWorld in which he described the fun he was having with the E4X extension to JavaScript. This article got me to invetigate and use JavaScript wherever it was available. And Jon is right, E4X is a real boon to XML […]
Twine
I have been arguing that the Web 3.0 train has already started to leave the station with the significant advances that are coming fast in the RAIA arena – think Adobe Flash/Flex/AIR (especially AIR), Java with JavaFX and inherently in J2ME and JApplet extensions, and a wavering on interoperability (no cross OS desktop standalone capability […]