Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Slashdot | Lake spotted on Titan?
'It looks like a lake has been seen on Saturn's moon Titan by the Cassini probe. But don't get too excited yet. As mentioned by Elizabeth Turtle in the article, it could also be a dried up lake that left dark deposits.'"
Google in sight as Ballmer vows .NET push
He made the comments at a partner briefing in Sydney this evening on the first day of his whirlwind Australian tour.
In the country for two days of talks with employees, major customers and the business community, Ballmer met a group of state government CIOs as well as federal health minister Tony Abbott earlier today.
A spokesperson for Abbott confirmed the meeting but declined to reveal further details.
Later, a typically-enthusiastic Ballmer addressed approximately 500 partner attendees, who grilled the CEO on all things Microsoft.
Asked about the future of its .NET strategy, Ballmer admitted the platform "had stalled in the last 12 months". But there would be a renewed .NET push, he said, and this was "an assigned priority" for the government sector.
"Government has really been pushing for stronger interoperability.
"We can't support open source, but we can support interoperability," he said.
Another partner complained of SQL Server's lack of spatial storage capabilities, saying the database was being beaten by Oracle.
This may be addressed in the next release [of SQL Server] in 18 months, Ballmer said, but conceded he "really didn't know".
A question on location-based services saw Ballmer plug Microsoft's "heavy investment" in mapping. But when a participant asked why MapPoint had not expanded to South East Asia so such services could be built, Ballmer was stumped.
"I didn't know we weren't doing well there," he said. "I'll address that with the team vigorously."
Microsoft's innovation was a constant theme throughout the 20-minute address. This would bring rewards for partners across the globe, including Australia, he said. "Our business in Australia will grow five to six percent over the next [financial] year."
Going after Google
Ballmer saved the best for last, firing a salvo at Google.
"What you're saying is, 'you're so far behind, why bother'?," he said when pressed to reaffirm Microsoft's commitment to search technology as it struggles to catch-up with Google.
"Well, if anyone thinks innovation is done in search, you're wrong.
"Does anyone here really believe search is going to look like it does now in 10 years?," he asked attendees.
He claimed Microsoft's long-term view was already making ground on Google.
"In the next six months, we'll catch Google in terms of relevancy," he said.
Search has more relevance than just the desktop, he said, reiterating Microsoft's well-known stance . "It's important for people who search a corporate network," he added.
"We'll use search to peer into a range of business applications which would allow multiple applications to be searched simultaneously.
"Take for instance the Siebel database. Now I've never used that interface. But I'd love to go to it and say 'who is the account manager for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia?'," Ballmer told the partners.
Microsoft's vision for search would eventually make such data discoverable, without using the [actual] application.
"This is important for our customers, but also in joining the battle with Google!
"Give up the fight? No, never," he said.
Microsoft gets hip to AJAX
Not to be left out of any development trends, Microsoft is working to simplify the job of building so-called AJAX applications, or Web applications with sophisticated graphics.
The company is building software, code-named Atlas, that provides developers with tools designed to ease creation of AJAX-style applications. An early version of the software will be made available to developers at the company's Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles in September.
Though it's a relatively new term, AJAX describes a set of Web technologies invented and standardized during the past eight years. Those include JavaScript, dynamic HTML and a feature called XmlHttp which reduces the need for Web clients to reconnect to a Web server every time information is downloaded.
A growing number of proponents argue that applications created with AJAX perform better than today's Web browser-based applications.
Microsoft's Atlas is a "Web client framework" designed to make the job of building AJAX-style applications simpler, said Charles Fitzgerald, the company's general manager for platform technologies.
"People who do (AJAX development) are rocket scientists," Fitzgerald said. "In some ways, this papers over the mess that is JavaScript development. It's easy-to-build 'spaghetti' code."
Atlas--which is a downloadable piece of JavaScript code--gives developers a more structured environment for building applications, providing time-saving services such as an object model and debugging, he said. It will work across any Web browser that supports AJAX technologies.
Fitzgerald said Atlas is part of a suite of Microsoft technologies for creating so-called rich-client applications, which feature sophisticated user interface design and quicker performance than traditional Web applications.
The company is also investing in development tools to more easily build Office applications that tap into data from back-end applications, such as those from SAP and Siebel.
At the Professional Developers Conference, Microsoft will give more information on front-end development using Avalon, the presentation system and programming model scheduled to arrive with Windows update Longhorn next year, Fitzgerald said.
So sue me » Blog Archive » Google Video Viewer
Google has released Google Video Viewer, a browser plugin based on VLC. Here’s one of the features they’ve added:
+ // Google mods
+ const char* allowed_host = \'video.google.com\';
+ char * host_found = strstr(p_sys->url.psz_host, allowed_host);
+ if ((host_found == NULL) ||
+ ((host_found + strlen(allowed_host)) !=
+ (p_sys->url.psz_host + strlen(p_sys->url.psz_host)))) {
+ msg_Warn( p_access, \'invalid host, only video.google.com is allowed\' );
+ goto error;
+ }
This “feature” prevents you from playing videos that are not hosted on Google’s servers. Download and run this patch I wrote to remove this restriction. Running the patch requires a .NET runtime."
source: http://nanocrew.net/?p=114
Back to the Future - Morse Code and Cellular Phones
The hot trend today is to cram every feature imaginable into mobile telephone handsets. This has led to some cool things like camera phones, mobile gaming, and such. The problem is that a lot of designers overlook some basic limitations in these devices, and more importantly, the situations in which people use them.
Cellular phones are all about mobility. Good mobility applications recognize that the user is often in motion (walking, driving, etc). Safety and convenience require that the application should demand as little visual attention as possible. Badly designed applications force the user to stare at the telephone's display instead of paying attention to surrounding environs. This is why speech user interfaces work so well for mobile users. They allow the user to interact with a service in a 'heads up' stance, without looking at the phone. Unfortunately, most mobile applications are of the badly designed 'let's take a PC interface and shrink it down' category.
Text messaging is an enormously popular service, but it too suffers from this basic user interface conflict. Sending and receiving text messages requires the user to look at the display. Receiving messages can be done at a glance, so this is not such a burden. Sending them is another story. Some people are adept at tapping messages on numeric keypads, but doing so requires the user to pay attention to the display. Try writing a text message without looking at the phone. Not easy.
'Tapping'
Morse Code, or a derivative of it, could be one way to solve this problem. With Morse Code, one could tap text messages out without looking at the telephone, and without having to fumble with ever smaller keypads. I'll admit that the idea of resurrectin"
source: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/7016
BBC NEWS | Americas | Nasa 'failed' on shuttle safety
Discovery on its launch pad (AP)
Nasa aims to launch Discovery as early as 13 July
The US space agency (Nasa) has failed to meet tough safety recommendations issued after the Columbia shuttle break-up in 2003, experts say.
The independent Stafford-Covey Commission said a risk remained that pieces of foam and ice could break off and hit the shuttle at lift-off.
It also said the orbiter had not been sufficiently hardened and it lacked an in-flight repair system.
The findings could affect Nasa's plans to resume shuttle flights in July.
Nasa has been aiming to launch shuttle Discovery as early as 13 July.
Key decision due
The findings of the 26-member panel came after a deliberate and prolonged discussion.
The experts said that overall Nasa had complied with 12 out of 15 recommendations laid down by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board and considered essential for the resumption of shuttle flights.
Commission members went so far as to praise the space agency for the work it had done in going beyond the basic requirements of some recommendations.
The panel's head, Richard Covey, said the three outstanding recommendations were the most technically challenging.
As well as concerns about debris striking the shuttle, the commission said Nasa had not sufficiently 'hardened' the shuttle to protect against damage, and had not designed an in-flight repair system to deal with serious incidents.
When pressed by reporters to answer if it was safe to launch Discovery in July, Mr Covey, a former astronaut himself, declined to answer specifically.
However, he said that if he were younger he would have no concern about flying on the shuttle.
The panel members stressed that the final decision on whether it was safe to launch the shuttle rested with Nasa.
Top agency officials concluded last week that ice striking the orbiter's heat shield remained a possibility, but that the risk was lo"
Slashdot | France to Be Site of World's First Nuclear Fusion
'The New York Times (free registration) is reporting that 'France won an international competition today to be the site of the world's first nuclear fusion reactor, an estimated $12 billion project that many scientists see as essential to solving the world's future energy needs.''"
Slashdot | Amazon Patents User Viewing Histories
'Yet another astounding patent from the USPTO. I was browsing the patent database, and discovered that Amazon received a patent today on using customer viewing histories to generate recommendations. If a customer views product A, and then later views product B, and you use that to infer a relationship between A and B, then you've infringed on this patent. This patent is a continuation of an earlier patent (#6,317,722) on using shopping carts to generate recommendations. When will this stupidity end?'"
Slashdot | Trolltech Releases Qt 4.0
'Trolltech has released Qt 4.0 both under commercial and GPL licenses for X11, Mac OS X and MS Windows. It is the first time that a MS Windows GPL edition is available. To celebrate the release Trolltech employees have created a song and a music video (Bittorrent download, Ogg Theora version). Read the Qt 4 Overview and the online Qt Reference Documentation for more information. You can download Qt from ftp.trolltech.com or from one of its mirrors. Work on KDE 4 has already started with making a development branch of KDE compile and run with Qt 4.'"
Slashdot | Java to Appear in Next-Gen DVD players
'Sun Microsystems's Java technology will be built into Blu-ray DVD players, executives said on Monday during Sun's JavaOne trade show, a development that advances the technology in the consumer electronics market for which Sun originally developed the software. 'Java will be used for control menus, interactive features, network services and games,' said Yasushi Nishimura, director of Panasonic's Research and Development Company of America. 'This means that all Blu-ray Disc player devices will be shipped equipped with Java.'' Next stop, annoying Flash intros."
Cablevision Teams With Narad to Deliver Fastest Two-Way Broadband Experience in the New York Metropolitan Area
Access Services Over Existing Network Facilities
BETHPAGE, N.Y. and WESTFORD, Mass., June 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Cablevision Systems Corp., (NYSE: CVC) and Narad Networks, Inc., a provider of
business class broadband access solutions using switched Ethernet over cable,
today announced the completion of a successful trial and targeted deployment
of a new 100 megabit-per-second (Mbps) data service using the Narad Broadband
Access Network (NBAN) and Cablevision's existing network facilities that pass
more than 4.4 million homes and hundreds of thousands of businesses in the New
York metropolitan area.
In the initial targeted deployment of this high-speed service in Oyster
Bay, Long Island, Cablevision is providing a committed information rate of 50
Mbps, out of the available 100 Mbps, symmetrical services. The installation
leverages and further extends the capabilities of Cablevision's existing
state-of-the-art fiber and coaxial (HFC) network, and reflects the superior
speed, features and functionality Cablevision is delivering today to both
business and residential customers through its robust consumer offering and
Lightpath suite of business services.
'This initial deployment of a 100 Mbps data service is a powerful and
unmistakable indication of the enormous capacity of our state-of-the-art
network,' said Wilt Hildenbrand, Cablevision's executive vice president of
technology and engineering. 'Our operations people are extremely pleased with
how fast and easy the process was, and our product and marketing people are
excited to have the Narad technology available to tap more of the intrinsic
capabilities of our network to serve very high capacity demands. This
demonstrates that our HFC networks, in addition to ou"
