Google Shakes the Web Again: Sidewiki
Google is up to its innovation tricks, proving once again that it is master of Web 2.0 Interface Innovations with Sidewiki – a post-a-comment on any Web page system [and its a Wiki no less]. Google once again is proving that it is taking Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo, Twitter and the Web 2.0 horde seriously. Facebook […]
More on Google’s Chrome OS
Google promised a beta release of its Chrome OS before 2010. Google’s Android OS is just starting to appear for some netbooks and with mixed reviews so far. the OS has already garnered a number of unofficial blogs, here is a typical one , that appear to be trlling mightily for more than tidbits of […]
Improving Google Mail
I have been waiting patiently for Google Mail to support embedded images in emails for 5 years. But now that Gmail has transitioned from beta to full time Google app – I have given up. I have switched my client to Mozilla Thunderbird – and what a relief! And the transition was so easy as […]
Software Rot : PHP Change Example
One my favorite references for PHP over the past 5-7 years has been PHP Functions – Essential Reference by Greant et alia. It is still available on Amazon.com and I refer to its MySQL functions from time to time. But of late I am having ever more problems. There is no coverage of PDO, OB, […]
Apple Announcements Fade Fast
Apple’s announcements today just did not have sustaining interest– especially given the buildup. First return to the presentation stage by Steve Jobs. Yes, the on stage presence of Steve Jobs to a long standing ovation was impressive. There were price reductions, selected video+voice recording+pedometer add-ons plus memory enhancments to half a dozen iPod models. There […]
JavaScript Frameworks in Action
One of the problems with the host of good JavaScript Frameworks available is the sheer richness of offerings . During the course of the Summer I have started to test some of the frameworks to determine a)which are robust enough for use with other JavaScript Frameworks+widgets and b)which offer any styling and development advantages. In […]
IE8 Versus Chrome 1, Firefox 3, Safari 4 and Opera 9
This article could really be titled how IE8 measure against W3C and other Web Standards. So this is really a report on progress on picking up the pieces on W3C and Web standards since Microsoft’s browser embargo on all feature improvements to IE from 2001 to 2006. The Five Year Freeze imposed by Microsft went […]
IT Corral Shootout: Apple versus Microsoft
Just as Apple’s Snow Leopard hits the streets I just saw the Microsoft attack ad material – Apple 13.3″ MacBook 2Ghz procesor, 160GB Drive for $1200. $1200 when Walmart is offering on its website for $348 an Acer Aspire 11.6″ Netbook : Operating System: Genuine Windows XP Home Edition Processor: Intel Atom Processor Z520 [much […]
IT Corral Shootout: Apple Snow Leopard
Foghorn T. Leghorn has always been one of my favorite cartoon characters, as much for his Down-South voice as well as for his pithy observations – “I say I say – I keep tellin you and you keep duckin” . I am tellin you there is going to be a Shootout of Major ComeFlagourNation in […]
Fall Bench Pressings
With the Shootout at the IT Corral set to go off this Fall, the Apple and PC vendors have started with their back to school sniper shots. Apple has Snow Leopard out a head of schedule and Speed is the Apple motto: Above is an example, Apple is trumpeting the Speed of Mac/OSx 10.5 Snow […]
SilverLight Barely Allows for a Moon
MoonLight, the Linux version of Microsoft’s Silverlight is well named – it is a distinctly lesser Light in comparison to the original SilverLight. This is the classic Microsoft approach to cross platform development of Windows programs: 1)Do not guarantee and do it yourself, have others do so [Novell]; 2)Delay the start-up so the cross platform […]
Why HTML 5 is Vital to Cloud Computing
Tim Oreilly of OReilly Books has written a piece on the bet that Google is making on HTML5. This is a good introduction a)to some of the key features of HTML5 and b)where they stand in terms of implementation by the key players in the browser and smartphone community. Here are some of those key […]
Google Apps Scripting: JavaScript
The good people at Google Blogoscope have done a story about the new scripting capabilities being added to Google apps. As seen below there are screenshots and examples: But the keypoint is that Google Apps scripting language will be JavaScript. It is not immediately clear which JavaScript engine is being used and what libraries Google […]
Google Finance II
Google has been putting together some of the finest tools for manipulating and displaying stock results. I suspect they will be giving Yahoo Finance and MSNBC’s Money a run for their … ahem, Money. The newest Google Finance Jewel is the Stock Screener: Try it out and be sure to add your own screening criteria […]
Liquida Widgets
For the past few months I have been working on a blog widget … it was just about ready when I got an attack of appendicitis. Just before resuming the project I found the Liquida Post Widget [its Live!, click on it]: Liquida READ ALL Damn! this widget is really good – and ready to […]
ShootOut at the IT Corral
The Big Fall ShootOut at the IT Corral Listen up folks, specially you Stock Investors looking for Big Gains – they is going to be a big and bloody ShootOut at the IT Corral this Fall. And them thar Whipper Snappers are in such a fowl mood this BloodBath may continue write to the Winter. […]
Simple: Google’s Basic
I could not believe what I saw on the code.google.com site – Simple, a Google version of Basic, really VB/VBA, for the Google Android OS. So it appears the battle between Google Android versus Google Chrome OS may well be a real brouhaha. But even more important is the fact that Google Android for the […]
Gaming Widgets and the Change in the RAIA Race
Get the <a href=”http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/bubbles-game” mce_href=”http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/bubbles-game”>Bubbles</a> widget and many other <a href=”http://www.widgetbox.com/” mce_href=”http://www.widgetbox.com/”>great free widgets</a> at <a href=”http://www.widgetbox.com” mce_href=”http://www.widgetbox.com”>Widgetbox</a>! The following game widget can be found here. What is interesting is that it is available in 3 formats: 1)JavaScript – as used just above here 2)Flash – which can embed on just about any website 3)MySpace […]
Chrome OS Questions
Chrome OS has generated more questions than answers since its announcement. And the questions [doubts] are relevant: 1)InfoWorld – Will Chrome OS collapse under the weight of its own Web browser? 2)Information Week – describes several challenges including Desktop/Cloud integration 3)Information Week – good analysis of the strategy/positioning of Chrome OS 4)PCAdvisor – Is Chrome […]
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Microsoft
We have titled this note a la Steve Ballmer mode [you know “developers, Developers, DEVELOPERS”] as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer pledged allegiance to Microsoft’s developers. I suspect that ordinary Windows users, including most businesses, wish that Steve had made an equivalent pledge to Windows users. Nope – instead he delivered Vista which is slower, more […]
Time for Naked Shorts of Apple?
It is your last chance to do naked shorts of Apple – for two reasons. First, the SEC is working hard to eliminate naked shorts from market trading. Second, Apple will be vulnerable as its stock is skyrocketing towards Fall when the great PC/Laptop/Netbook/Smartphone conflagaration will unfold. But I suspect that after the correction by […]
A Look at Mozilla Firefox
The NYTimes Technology section has a 3 page story on Mozilla and its most important product, the Firefox browser. This story is notable for 3 reasons. First, it acknowledges the signifigance of Mozilla’s Firefox which has a)become the most popular Open Source software with more than 300 million downloads and b) wrested 25% of the […]
Enterprise Browser Analysis: IE8 As Laggard
eWeek’s Jim Rapoza has done a comprehensive survey of Web browsers evaluating their suitability for Enterprise Applications. This is ever more important in the business world as Cloud Computing accelerates and Web 2.0 programs dominate new Enterprise Applications . Also Netbooks/Smartphones are becoming ever more prevalent with much better browser and Web connections. So businesses […]
JavaScript to Duplicate Java Speeds?
With the browser wars fully engaged – the improvements in JavaScript speed has been no less than astonishing. But now its not just Mozilla versus Microsoft but also Google, Apple Safari, and Opera are in the mix. Just a couple of years ago, IE7 used to lead the parade with the fastest JavaScript performance in […]
A Tale of Two Mobile Apps SDK Strategies
I have been absolutely astounded by the spectacular rise in the number of Apps for the iPhone. From 2008’s launch date’s 40 apps to 5000 apps three months later and now more than 50,000 apps as of the turn of Summer 2009. Last time I saw this type of programming support and take-off was with […]
Who Is This Rabble Rousing IT Website?
Who is responsible for these articles on Friday July 17th 2009? They certainly do not mince words or pull punches. One flatly asks Google where is the economics behind Chrome OS? A good question as Chrome OS or Google Android certainly could take a big chunk of Netbook OS market share. And Netbooks in turn […]
Bing’s Advantage
The following NYTimes story shows the impact that Microsoft’s newly re-relaunched search engine, Bing, is having in the search engine wars. Instead of being a hapless me-too, Bing brings real innovation and a competitive advantage in search results display to BING over Google. But the writing was on the wall – Google’s frugal search result […]
The Death of XHTML2
Go to the W3C Web standards website and see the following headline posting: XHTML 2 Working Group Expected to Stop Work End of 2009, W3C to Increase Resources on HTML 5 2009-07-02: Today the Director announces that when the XHTML 2 Working Group charter expires as scheduled at the end of 2009, the charter will […]
“Most IT pros not planning on Windows 7 rollout”
“Most IT pros not planning on Windows 7 rollout” is the headline of an article at the IT scoop site, theRegister. The story is based on a survey done of 1100 business users by Scriptlogix. This survey goes counter to what Microsoft has been saying about users reactions to Windows 7. A number of factors […]
Goggle Chrome OS Commentary
Google Chrome OS has provoked a lot of commentary. This posting will be updated over the next month or two. Here is the best seen so far: July 8th Information Week by Art Wittman – catches the nature of the opportunity very well. July 8th by Jeff Bertolucci at PCWorld – proposes a series of […]
Bing to Google: Its Serial
After 10 years of playing increasingly third fiddle to Google’s search engine Microsoft’s Search Engine , Bing, has turned an important corner. It is garnering ravish reviews – the game is on. As we previously reported the reaction to Bing is increasingly positive particularly the innovations on displayed results where About.com and others have done […]
Google Chrome OS: Pivotal Player
Google will have not one but two OS available for Netbooks and PCs by this time next year. Google Android has already been adopted for smartphones and is also being used on a number of Netbooks for introduction this Fall. But now Google has officially announced the Google Chrome OS – which is a new […]
Google as Face of Cloud Vulnerability
Google Breaks Down Editor Deb Donston has done an eye opening editorial in the May 18th 2009 issue of eWeek –” Oh my gosh can we really afford to go to Cloud Computing if even Google can go out for a portion of the day ???’. First there is utter disbelief – this must be […]
Kindle is a Netbook
The following Business Week article confirms the nearly obvious – Kindle is going to be a SmartTablet or NetBookPhone or whatever you want to call it. And Amazon is getting into the broader Kindle-selling game. It is preparing Kindle selling apps for other smart devices. What is absolutely amazing is that Kindle eBooks displace Adobe’s […]
Required Book Reading in Redmond – Customer Winback
The following book, Customer Winback : How to Recapture Lost Customers–And Keep Them Loyal, should be required reading in Redmond. The problem with Vista is that Microsoft has gone about systematically ruining its Windows brand. So one would think that Microsoft would be in “customer winback” mode. And the book is quite explicit about the […]
Cost of the iPhone 3GS
If this Indian website is right, Apple has certainly taken the gloves off in its fight for smartphone market share. The basic facts: Bill of materials = $172.46 Manufacturing cost = $6.50 Total cost before distribution = $178.96 AT+T Price of iPhone 3GS 16GB version = $199 32GB version = $299 So if the Tech2 […]
Return of the Vapors: Corrected
Update: just 3 days after this story was written Bing was alive and available with few hiccups. The analysis and reviews on Bing have been fairly complimentary: Bing takes nearly 3% market share from Google One of many positive reviews from diverse quarters But perhaps most important of all, Microsoft has Google’s attention now that […]
RIA Irony
RIA – Rich Internet Application are designed to show off what is possible to do both online and offline with the latest Internet enabled programs and interface design tools. Many developers are looking at tools like Adobe Air, Java+JavaFX, Microsoft Silverlight, Trolltech Qt and other tools to provide not just Online but also Offline savvy […]
Opera Browser: More Stunning Innovations
eWeek’s Jim Rapoza and I agree mostly on browser performance but share a common admiration for the Opera browser. We both credit Opera for a large amount of the innovation being done in the world of browsers. Think gestures, CSS adoption, tabs, SVG support, Carousel, fast+simple dowload thru install – Opera has consistently lead in […]
Developers, Developers, Developers
Give the NYTimes David Pogue full credit – he was one of the first pundits to recognize the value of the iPhone’s API and apps creation capabilities. Listen to what he said a year ago: “It’s no big secret that the big tech news next week will be the July 11 release of the new […]
Microsoft: Developers Dream ?
eWeek has published under Darryl Taft’s signature a homage and effusive homily to Microsoft as the developer’s “heaven” or dream organization to collaborate and work with. It should be an embarrassment. The 20 page online slideshow looks like a PowerPoint presentation direct from Redmond’s PR headquarters. The thesis is that Redmond has been in the […]
OS Wars Are on Again
I have been tracking the wave of smartphones as being the the true delivery agents of Information at Your Fingertips. Talk about missing the obvious implications. And right next door the Browser monopoly situation is collapsing. Well so too the client OS monopoly. No no no – its is not a full frontal assault from […]
Apple’s Triple Hitter
Apple showed Monday at its developers conference that it has become conscious of its weakest link in the New Economy – a flock of new competitors. The enemy is not just Microsoft but Google with the Android Netbook and Mobile Phones, Amazon with the Kindle and Cloud Computing; Palm with the Pre and WebOS; and […]
What Is Philippe Kahn Upto?
Philippe Kahn was the founder of Borland software – the developers that “prospered through the help of Redmond” in the 1908’s and 1990’s. He is involved now with a company called FullPower which is involved in motion recognition software+hardware engine. This engine can be embedded in Netbooks, mobile phones, games and other specialized devices. This […]
Microsoft Linux
Linguists and English teachers would identify “Microsoft Linux” as an oxymoron. No, oxymoron is not a phantasmagoric cross between an oxe and a moron …. well maybe it is. The classic definition is a figure of speech that combines two normally contradictory terms like Microsoft and Linux. And the amazing phenomenon is that I am […]
Taiwan Take Lead in PC+Gaming Innovation
The E3 and Ciomputex shows just eneded this past week in Taiwan .. and major innovations in games, screen technology and computing software and hardware were introduced here. In this era of globalisation, Taiwan with the help and heft of mainland Chinese electronic factories has become a major power in the merging of PC, mobile […]
Pre Gets Positively Available
Now that the Palm Pre is set to launch (Saturday June 6th 2009), the final reviews are coming in and … well you decide on how good the Palm Pre is: David Pogue, NYTimes – very discerning reviewer of electronics is very upbeat Luigi Lugymar, I4U – wonders about the effect of the iPhone revelations, […]
Touch Screens Rising or Going Awry ?
This blog is on record as saying that the first vendor that delivered a laptop with a fast and efficient touch screen laptop, they would a)have my dollars faster than a speeding bullet and b)probably gain significant market-share especially within the business community. So HP has delivered its HP SmartTouch machines and yet no money […]
The Empire Strikes Back: Project Natal
Wouldn’t you know, just a day after someone had the temerity to proclaim Google as the new King of Software, the Redmond Empire Strikes Back with what appears to be a most impressive announcement in gaming hardware and software. Microsoft’s Project Natal is a hands free game controller (does this help explain all those gaming-themed […]
Science Buffs Rejoice
This party has been saying for a long time that Google and Wikipedia as models for how inteligent search should be done … well they leave a lot to be desired. Enter Wolfram Alpha. Yes, the makers of Mathematica have created a new search engine that is “computationaly smart”. Or as Wolfram phrases it – […]