It’s official, and we had a party to prove it!
Last night (Feb 9th, 2009) down in Santa Clara, my company hosted the Meet & Greet party for the SMX West 09 conference. This was the kick-off party for the conference where we were officially announced our new product, Pixelsilk.
Most of the Sales & Marketing folks were down at the party in Santa Clara. It looks like they had a great time. You can read about it in Kandi Humpf’s blog post here. Be sure to take a look at the picture of the laptop!
On the other end of the laptop connected via Skype, the rest of the team (development, web and support) were having a great time eating cajun tater tots, pizza and of course drinking hand-crafted beer at our local McMenamin’s, the Old St. Francis School. Here are some photos of the team enjoying a well deserved celebration.
I want to give a shout out to the entire team for helping us get to this point! It has been a lot of hard work, but thanks to the all of the great folks it has always been fun!
Ready to Launch
At Smart Solutions, the company I work for, we’ve been working on a new product for quite some time now. Our target has been a launch in February at the SMX West 2009 conference. We’ve just announced it on our company blog.
Warning…Warning…The Coolest New Product of the Year Announced!
But you’ll have to be at SMX to see it!
Well, that’s not entirely true – you can also see it at www.pixelsilk.com; but you’re going to want to be at SMX to really get to know the geniuses behind this leading-edge…some would say “futuristic”… SEO-enabled Content Management System.
You can read the all the details here. It’s an exciting time and very fulfilling to see the the results of our labor bear fruit. Congratulations to the entire team!
Is Science Fiction finally coming through?
For years science fiction authors have written about fantastic technologies that will make our lives easier, more fun, and generally better in many ways and ever since we have been wistfully dreaming of those times.
Now it seems that there are a lot of things new announcements and products that fulfill some of those visions. Here are some of the cool items you may not have heard about.
Video on Demand Evolution
Cable companies have had limited video on demand for quite a while now, and more recently companies like Joost, Netflix and Hulu have began bringing us a whiter variety of programming available to watch what when want to when we want to watch it. The networks are getting the hint by making some of their shows available as well; however until now most of these choice required you to sit in front of your computer unless you were among the small percentage of folks that have some sort of media center integrated with your audio-video system.
We have seen set-top appliances that allow us to stream this content to our sets, but that is still yet another piece of equipment to have in your living room, something many wives simply do not like.
Recently some television makes have announced their sets will support streaming with no other device, and they will do it over Wi-Fi. LG announced 2 of their lines will support NetFlix, CinemaNow and YouTube, while Vizio unveiled models that not only stream NetFlix, Blockbuster, Amazon and Yahoo!, but it will also support images from Flickr, streaming music from Pandora and Rhapsody and more. Not to be left behind, Sony announced the ability to stream from Yahoo!, Amazon, YouTube, Slacker(sm) and more.. I would also be remiss to mention that the XBox360 got streaming movies from Netflix last year, and with applications like PlayOn Media Server you can get your Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, ESPN and CBS on the XBox, Playstation 3 and soon the Wii. All we need now is to replace the actual screen with a hologram ala The Minority Report and we will have arrived!
Mobility and More
Of course everyone knows about the iPhone. What you may not have heard of are the new generations coming with the Android operating system, with the T-Mobile G1 being the first to market. BlackBerry and Palm have also provided significant updates to their operating system given us many choice for little computers walking around in our hands with functionality from GPS navigation to price comparisons via scanned bar codes. Oh, and they still let us talk to people too!
This revolution in mobility is beginning to make its way into other devices. Android has been spotted as the underlying OS for new desktop phones and with its easy to use interface it makes it perfect for other embedded devices. Can you imaging having a microwave or oven that you can set up to come on at certain times more easily, or a refrigerator that will let you know you are running low on milk via SMS before you come home?
Automotive
The newest Microsoft Sync is pruported to read your text messages as they come in, and even recognize your voice commands for not only calling, but for interacting with the navigation system and all of your music as well.
Oh, and since you asked (I know you were going to!) the flying car is making progress. There are still a lot of issues from logistics to infrastructure and more, but it looks like there are some very smart folks working towards making the ultimate sci-fi dream a reality.
There’s far too many other gadgets to go into without turning this post into the size if War and Peace, but be assured that it is an exciting time in technology!
JavaScript == English
I was born and raised in the USA and as such, the English language comes naturally to me. Sure, I see the idiosyncrasies such as 3 words spelled 3 different ways sounding exactly the same (their they’re there), 1 word with multiple meanings (rich, row, tear) or a word spelled the same, pronounced differently and meaning something different (lead, bow, ..) when that is done. Due to these traits, it has been said that English is one of the, if not the, toughest languages to really master in the world if it’s not your native language. (Note: this is a generalization and every situation is different) The basics are easy, but to really grasp the language takes real immersion into the culture.
JavaScript feels the same to me. If your native programming language uses similar concepts (Lisp, Scheme) then you’re probably good, but if you are among the majority coming from a C based language (C++, C#, Java..) you will likely have problems. Sure, the basics are easy, it looks like your C based language, but mastering it can take a lot of time immersing yourself in its culture.
The question becomes this: In today’s web environment, is it worth it to truly master the language? The creator of JavaScript, Brendan Eich, casts his own doubts regarding his creations future:
I don’t really believe ES4 is a demon from the ancient world, of course. I’m afraid the JS-Hobbits are in trouble, though. As things stand today, Silverlight with C# or something akin (pushed via Windows Update) will raze the Shire-web, in spite of Gandalf-crock’s teachings.
Of course the Shire-web he refers to is the current status quo, and Gandalf is clearly Doug Crockford, one of (or perhaps THE) top authority on JavaScript.
My own experience have just recently brought me to an understanding of JavaScript that makes me feel like I finally really get it.
I feel like the <pick your Latin language based country here> who learned enough English when I was young to ask how much my dinner cost, where the bathroom is and to call a cab to get back to my hotel. Finally, moving to the USA, living, working and playing with native English speakers I get the mastery of the language.
Having made that analogy, albeit a stretched one, I think I now have enough information to say, it depends.
What? It depends? I’ve just read this entire piece of junk for a non-answer!?!? Well, yes. Nothing in this life is black and white, or at least very few things are. This includes JavaScript!
I really do think that JS’s multi-paradigm nature means there is no one-true-subset for all to use (whether they like it or not)
I feel JavaScript will of course be around for a long while. While the web does need an overhaul, there are too many people and pages invested in JavaScript to make some grandiose statement that Silverlight, Flash, Air or whatever will replace it. These new, powerful and exciting technologies have found ways to work with JavaScript and it is my belief that the world (wide web) will be a better place for it.
I also believe JavaScript will evolve, kicking and screaming if necessary. I believe it will become more powerful for the programmer. Of course, the problem with evolving JS is browser support and browser saturation. The platforms must support it and people must upgrade. That is the one advantage the other technologies have, at least for the moment.
If you feel you do not have the level of mastery you should have with JavaScript, I suggest immersing yourself with Doug Crockford’s writings. It’s a great place to start. Use jQuery as well since a lot of the examples you find force you to use patterns you may not have already investigated. As with all things, practice and perseverance are the key!
Good luck on your journey, Grasshopper!
Spelling is very important at Microsoft
While I am not saying that spelling is unimportant, indeed we should all try a little harder to improve our spelling and grammar, the update made available to me today in Vista just blows my mind.
Update for Windows Vista (KB995020)
It’s not so much that Microsoft feels it necessary to push out an update with five…yes that is only 5… words to the English and German dictionaries, it is the fact that it is flagged as important and that it may require a reboot! The last time I looked, checking spelling has the option to add a word that has been flagged as incorrect to your local dictionary. One button click is required to do this. Uno. Eins. That’s it! Yet, if I accept this update, according to the informational dialog, I may need to reboot!? C’mon Microsoft!
I decided to read the knowledge base article for KB955020. It shows me that the five words that will be added to the dictionaries are:
- Friendster (Is that a real word?)
- Nazr
- Obama (Oh c’mon, that’s a proper name! Surely we can add that manually?)
- Racicot
KB995020 Article
Scrolling down in the article to the resolution section I see under Restart requirement that indeed I will have to reboot my computer. Looking further down the page to the Workaround section shows me the Add to Dictionary method which I have already deduced. The update itself just seems a bit unnecessary, don’t you agree?
In closing, beware of KB95502 from Microsoft Update as it may require you to reboot….all in the name of proper spelling.
Lawn chair balloonist Kent Couch’s chair found!
It has been ten months since I reported about a local business owner and cluster balloon enthusiast Kent Couch took his ride from Bend across Oregon. After a little more than 10 months, someone finally found his lawn chair and video camera!
Congratulations to Kent! I know that the longer the lawn chair and video camera stayed missing, the less likely that it would ever be found and reported. I’m sure he’s quite happy about it since the camera contained the documentary of his flight from the perspective of the rider.
Open Source Alternatives
A buddy of mine sent me a link to The Top 50 Proprietary Programs that Drive You Crazy — and Their Open Source Alternatives | WHDb recently. It was an interesting list so I thought I’d share it with you all.
Serious phone fraud you should warn your loved ones about
Most emails that I receive concerning some new scam turn out to be little more than a hoax. It’s the sad state of our society that many find easy methods to waste time of those they do not know.
Today I received an email from a source I trust which sounded like an example of the above; however, I did my due diligence to make the determination for myself due to the regard I have for the person who sent it. To my surprise it turned out to be the one in a thousand (or more) that is true.
If you have loved ones that may not be savvy to official sounding phone calls, who are perhaps not as skeptical as you are when someone asks for information, please, I implore you to make them aware of this and impart the seriousness. This is identity theft via social engineering at its worst.
According to snopes.com, the scam first surfaced in 2001. It has cropped back up several times in different states up to at least 2005 which probably means it is destined to show up again.
First the corroborating links, then the story:
Jury Duty Scam
From the Tinley Park Police Department,
This has been verified by the FBI (their link is also included below).
Please pass this on to everyone in your e-mail address book. It is
spreading fast so be prepared should you get this call. Most of us take
those summonses for jury duty seriously, but enough people skip out on
their civic duty, that a new and ominous kind of fraud has surfaced.
The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. If you protest that you never
received a summons for jury duty, the scammer asks you for your Social
Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information
and cancel the arrest warrant. Give out any of this information and
bingo; your identity was just stolen.
The fraud has been reported so far in 11 states, including Oklahoma ,
Illinois , and Colorado . This (swindle) is particularly insidious
because they use intimidation over the phone to try to bully people into
giving information by pretending they are with the court system. The FBI
and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their web
sites, warning consumers about the fraud.
The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust
Certain artists are starting a trend of releasing albums direct on the Internet rather than going through a big record label. One of the recent bands to do that was Radiohead with their album In Rainbows. Now Trent Reznor has been working with Saul Williams and Saul is releasing The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust on November 1st. The price? $0 or $5, depending on your choice. Here’s an excerpt from the email sent by Trent:
The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! has arrived! After my own recent dealings with record labels we decided to release it directly to you. Head over to http://www.niggytardust.com for all the details
and
A word on the way we’ve chosen to release this. There are obvious similarities in how Radiohead just released their new record and the way we’ve chosen to. After thinking about this way too much, I feel we’ve improved upon their idea in a few profound ways that benefit you, the consumer. You obviously will be the judge of this in the end. One thing that IS very different in our situation is that Saul’s not the household name (yet!) that Radiohead is, and that means we need your support on this more than ever. If you like what you hear, spread the word.
My take on this is, support these guys! They are fighting the big business music industry and the hold they have had over album sales for decades with the power of the Internet. If you want the music and you want to make your voice heard, pay thee $5, it’s chump change for cryin’ out loud.
Personally I want to send the record labels a message; quit sticking it to us! Stop being so greedy! At the same time I want to thank the artists for their time and effort, they are making my life more enjoyable by the music they create.
Update: One of the things that Saul is doing differently with his distribution is this. For free you can download a 192k mp3 file. For the $5 you get the choice of 192k, 320k or flac(lossless) formats. You also get a PDF with all of the artwork and lyrics regardless of your price.
It is my sincere hope that people do not take advantage of this. Sending a message to the record companies begins with this sort of grass roots movement.
Update 2: I just had to mention this. Wikipedia already has this article about NiggyTardust, including references to the email sent by Trent last night! What a world we live in. It is no longer the Information age but the Wikipedia age. You may say, same thing, but in my opinion Wikipedia is faster than other medium!
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