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Google Buzz: 5 Things You Need to Know - New in O'Reilly Answers
February 9, 2010
Google Buzz brings status updates, links, videos and other shared features into the Gmail interface. If you've updated through Facebook or Twitter you'll be comfortable with the process: enter a quick sentence or paragraph describing ... well, anything really. Your thoughts. A recommended link. A question. It's all fair game.Share knowledge, ask questions on O'Reilly Answers today.
Google Buzz re-invents Gmail
February 9, 2010
Social networks get all the attention, but email remains an important information console for many. That's why the introduction of Google Buzz is so noteworthy. It adds the power of asymmetric following to Gmail's interface.
The Importance of The User Experience (UX) - Effective UI: The Art of Building Great User Experience in Software
By Sara PeytonFebruary 9, 2010
The importance of the user experience (UX) is now at the forefront of technology trends and applications. Users not only expect it; they now demand it, and businesses often grapple to achieve better UX for their software. The "UX factor" can certainly make (or break) any software's viability and appeal -- whether it's for a Web, mobile or desktop experience.
Ignite, Syndicated Events, and Social Media Marketing
February 9, 2010
As we approach Global Ignite Week, a collection of Ignite events around the world during the first week of March, I can't help but think about the future of conferences, one of O'Reilly's major businesses. Here are some of the things we're learning from Ignite. People love the rapid-fire format.
Four short links: 9 February 2010 - Government Dashboard, Science Code Errors, Scaling Online Games, Information Theory
February 9, 2010
Track DC -- informative drill-down report from Washington DC government about the different departments. (via Sunlight Labs blog). Errors in Scientific Software -- a 1994 study of scientific software that found inconsistent interfaces (1 in 7 for Fortran, 1 in 37 for C) and poor use of arithmetic such that significant figures declined from 6sf in the data to 1sf in the result. This and more in today's Four Short Links.
Flickr Photos In Google Street View
February 9, 2010
Google Maps has added more user photos to its Street View (above). Now the Yahoo-owned Flickr is joining the Google-owned Panoramio and Picasa photo sites as a supplier of alternative street views. GeoBloggers reported it earlier today and also noted that the photos are available in the Panoramio 3D view...
Staying Competitive in a Tough Job Market - Which O'Reilly books have helped you?
February 8, 2010
With so many people searching for jobs, it's important to stay up on the newest technologies, or constantly improve in the areas you're already involved in. At O'Reilly, we publish books that help you zoom in on the details of specific programs and languages, so you can stay competitive in your field. Leave a comment with the name of an O'Reilly book that will make you more marketable for a chance to win three ebooks of your choice.
Google Book Settlement Round 2 - Don't Hold Your Breath
February 8, 2010
The US government filed its Statement of Interest regarding the revised Google settlement yesterday with the District Court in New York. While the statement was signed by an attorney from the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department, several agencies including the Copyright Office reportedly contributed to it. As you may recall, the judge has only 2 choices: he can approve the settlement, or send it back to the parties for revision. He cannot modify it himself.
Feedback and analysis: the missing ingredients in local's recipe - Access to local information is great, but context is even better
February 8, 2010
There's plenty of enthusiasm for local / hyperlocal projects, but the sweepstakes has yet to be won. So many of these local efforts rely on traditional information delivery through news articles or databases. That material has use, no doubt. Yet few projects take the extra step and put that data into context.
Four short links: 8 February 2010 - Kindle SDK, Javascript eBook Reader, Peer Review Review, eBook Moments
February 8, 2010
Kindle Development Kit APIs -- Amazon will release a Kindle SDK. These are the API docs. (via obra on Twitter) This and more in today's Four Short Links.
Featured Video: Behind the Scenes at MAKE and CRAFT
By O'Reilly MediaFebruary 6, 2010
Subscribe to Make Magazine today!
Four short links: 5 February 2010 - Public Domain, Science Code, Bad Crypto, Javascript Grids
February 5, 2010
Javascript Grid Editors -- nice wrapup of available Javascript editable grid components, divided into "data driven", "light edit", and "spreadsheet". (via joshua on Delicious). This and more in today's Four Short Links.
Get a Free Sampler of "Open Government" - Collaboration, Transparency, and Participation in Practice
February 5, 2010
"Open Government is a comprehensive compendium of the who, what, how, and why of the emergent national "Gov 2.0" movement; it's a must-read for all who care about transparent, efficient, and participatory government, which, by definition, should equate to each and every one of us in our capacity as citizens and voters." — Andrew Hoppin, CIO, New York State Senate. View the free book sampler now!
One hundred eighty degrees of freedom: signs of how open platforms are spreading
By Andy OramFebruary 5, 2010
Visualize open networks--and remember how far we've already come from the days before flat-rate long distance phone calls (much less app stores for cell phones).
Apple vs. Adobe vs. Content Creators - Lack of Flash support on the iPad could undermine publisher's tablet ideas
February 4, 2010
Publishers may have gotten ahead of themselves when they rolled out pre-iPad tablet demos. At least one relied on Adobe Air, which the iPad won't support. And the ongoing spat between Apple and Adobe could soon influence publishers' decision making.
Educational RIA StrataLogica Combines Quality Map Content with Useful Interface
February 4, 2010
Despite formal education's best efforts I still find geography enjoyable which is probably why I've spent way too much playing with Google Earth. Nystrom a Herff Jones company has recently released StrataLogica to harness this and combine it with their own map content for use in the classroom. StrataLogica is an online version of Nystrom's wall map and globe content.
Four short links: 4 February 2010 - Personal Ad Preferences, Android Kernel, EC2 Deconstructed, Symbian Opened
February 4, 2010
Google Ad Preferences -- my defaults look reasonable and tailored to my interest. Creepy but kinda cool: I guess that if I have to have ads, they should be ones I'm not going to hate. This and more in today's Four Short Links.
An SOE comedy of errors - PortableApps as a guerilla SOE
By Rick JelliffeFebruary 4, 2010
Over the years, the IT section has been pro-actively trying to improve security, to lock the system down, and keep commercial information safe. However, these steps also prevent the engineers from getting their jobs done, so they are all circumvented. The more that the official, central SOE is locked down, the more that the remote users have banded together to make their own unofficial SOE that doesn't get in the way.
Why is Simple Soooo Not Simple? - Upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7
By Sarah SorensenFebruary 3, 2010
Based on the recommendation of a couple of friends I sat down at my computer and decided I would do the upgrade from XP to Windows 7. Little did I know what I was committing to! Like many a blind date, where you hold out hope for Mr. Right, but open the door to a guy wearing too tight pants and smelling slightly of dirty socks, I found myself facing a situation fraught with mind-numbing discourse and disappointment. What did I do wrong?
What Facebook's HipHop means for developers and businesses - O'Reilly PHP author Kevin Tatroe puts Facebook's PHP project in context
February 3, 2010
Facebook claims to have reduced CPU usage by 50 percent with its HipHop for PHP project, and now it's releasing the code as open source. O'Reilly author and PHP expert Kevin Tatroe digs into HipHop's applications beyond Facebook.
PARC Forums Now Streamed Live
February 3, 2010
Most people know PARC as the place that famously turned Steve Jobs on to graphical user interfaces in the 1970s. You may not know that since about the same time PARC has been hosting talks by a diverse range of speakers, which are free of charge and open to the public. If you live in the Bay Area, it's definitely worth keeping an eye on the schedule. Check out A Behind the Scene Look at Google Maps Street View" by Luc Vincent an Engineering Director at Google.
How to Compete with Apple, Adobe or Amazon
February 3, 2010
When a company like Apple launches that sexy new product (iPad), one can be reactive (Amazon) or be caught flat-footed (Adobe). It's easy to look at today's market situation and say who's winning or losing. The more interesting conversation is to determine what someone can do to compete or take advantage of this changed topography.
Global Ignite Week - What do you know that's worth sharing?
February 3, 2010
Ignite goes global--from March 1-5, 2010, 50+ Ignites will take place in cities around the world. Upwards of 10,000 entrepreneurs, technologists, DIYers, creative professionals, and enthusiastic knowledge-seekers will gather in local pubs, theaters, and other convivial venues for an evening that is a unique blend of networking, information, and fun, encapsulated in the Ignite motto: "Enlighten us, but make it quick."Don't miss being part of this enlightening week -- attend, present, or lead an Ignite in your city.
Four short links: 3 February 2010 - Bad Census Data, Telephone Fraud, Math Art, and EBook Bugs
February 3, 2010
Bad Census Data for The Last Decade (Freakonomics blog) -- the "representative sample" of statistics data that the Census Bureau releases has apparently been flawed. It's been used in thousands of studies, and the Census Bureau has refused to correct it. This and more in today's Four Short Links.
Forget Google, social search is all about mobile - New research from Aardvark shows higher social search use on the mobile side
February 2, 2010
A new research report from social answering service Aardvark finds that social search is more popular with mobile users. It begs the question: will the mix of social search and mobile apps catalyze search's next evolution?
Rethinking Open Data - Lessons learned from the Open Data front lines
February 2, 2010
In the last year I've been involved in two open data projects, Open New Zealand and data.govt.nz. After nearly a year in the Open Data trenches, I have some advice for those starting or involved in open data projects. First, figure out what you want the world to look like and why. Second, build your project around users.
Four short links: 2 February 2010 - Physical UIs, Code Visualization, Money Money Money, and Educational Screencasts
February 2, 2010
Code City -- an integrated environment for software analysis, in which software systems are visualized as interactive, navigable 3D cities. The classes are represented as buildings in the city, while the packages are depicted as the districts in which the buildings reside. The visible properties of the city artifacts depict a set of chosen software metrics. (via mikeloukides on Twitter) This and more in today's Four Short Links.
Text Messages and Mapping Tools Help Earthquake Victims - Open Source, Online Platforms Heavily Utilized
February 2, 2010
Technology Saves Lives in Haiti — "When the news of the earthquake broke, several groups and companies sprang into action very quickly," writes Brady Forrest, chair of O'Reilly's Where 2.0 Conference. In a new O'Reilly Insights column on Forbes.com, Forrest continues, "Ushahidi, a portal originally built to track election violence in Kenya, created Haiti.Ushahidi.com. The site, developed by Patrick Meier, director of crisis mapping at Ushahidi, tracks incidents, search and rescue operations and people in Haiti." Read more.
The iPad is real-life social
February 1, 2010
As a computing device, the iPad has some obvious limitations that have puzzled many tech-savvy Apple devotees, provoking a variety of critical articles explaining where Steve Jobs has gone wrong. After reading one such blog post saying that the iPad was antisocial, because it didn't have SMS or the ability to run IM in the background, it struck me this was a restricted view of what it means to be social. The iPad is real-life social in a way that a phone and a laptop just aren't. It will find fans not only in a family setting, but in a creative setting where collaboration and comment is in person.
Can open source guide a moon mission? - The Open Luna Foundation has a $500 million plan to build a moon station.
February 1, 2010
The Open Luna Foundation has a $500 million plan to build a moon outpost, and it's going to rely on open source to make it happen. Question is: does the distributed nature of open source lend itself to complex, mission-critical ideas? Take a look at key elements of the Open Luna project and share your thoughts.
Four short links: 1 February 2010 - Android Charting, Trojan Cameras, Web-based IDE, Projected UIs
February 1, 2010
Bespin -- sexy HTML5 "code-in-the-cloud" IDE from Mozilla Labs. If the future is truly in locked-down hack-free devices whose only interface to the world is through the web browser, these sorts of IDEs are going to become critical for finding and raising the next generation of hackers. This and more in today's Four Short Links.
Trademarks, trust, and software quality - Trademark law hasn't caught up to free and open source software
January 29, 2010
A recent article discusses trademark issues in open source software, published in the International Free and Open Source Software Law Review. One thing that interested me is how the fuzzy areas in current law are comparable to fuzzy areas in software distribution; that's what I'll discuss in this blog. The main issue driving the article by Harvey Anderson and Tiki Dare is that trademark law was designed for fixed products and services left under the control of the vendor. Let's turn now to free software. People modify and redistribute it all the time, but to be honest about it, they shouldn't do so under the name chosen by the original developers.
Exploring Rails 3 - Our Free Rails Online Conference, Feb 18 @ 9am PT
January 29, 2010
Rails 3 is taking its final shape, so there's no better time to take a close look at the work that's been done in the past year. Join us for a series of talks on everything you'll need to get started with it — from creating a new application, to upgrading from Rails 2, to the foundation that makes it all possible. Attendance is limited, so register now!
The UnaBox - A MAKE Magazine Weekend Project Video
By O'Reilly MediaJanuary 29, 2010
Subscribe to Make Magazine today!
Web developers can rule the iPad
January 29, 2010
Arise, web developers! Our time has come to dominate! A lot of tech commentators seem disappointed that the iPad feels more like an evolutionary step than a revolutionary step. For one group of technologists, though, the iPad is an opportunity for revolution, to take center stage in creating experiences users will want, and even want to buy. The iPad is all about consuming content, but most of the conversation about that content has seen it in traditional silos...
The iPad is the iPrius: Your Computer Consumerized
By Jim StogdillJanuary 29, 2010
It's been a long time since most of us have used our computers to do anything approaching "computing," but the iPad explicitly leaves the baggage, leaps the conceptual gulf, and becomes something else entirely. Something consumery, media'ish, and not in the least bit intimidating. The automobile went through a similar evolution. From eminently hackable to hood essentially sealed shut.
Featured Ignite Video: How to be a Refugee - Episode 46
By O'Reilly MediaJanuary 29, 2010
Subscribe to this video podcast series via iTunes. Ignite your life. Join us for Global Ignite Week.
How dare Apple... - The iPad repeats Jobs' all-in-one vision of the 1984 Macintosh 128K
January 28, 2010
Back in 1984, when the Macintosh 128K had just arrived, I wandered down to Chemung Electronics to take a look at this supposed upgrade from the Apple ][ world. It was okay until I asked the salesman, "so how do I write programs on this thing?" He laughed and said I'd have to buy that separately. They'd even have to special-order it. Today, I find myself reading pieces from a lot of good people (Tim Bray, Alex Payne) who share the dismay of my 13-year-old self. How could Apple release a product so exclusively oriented to consumption, rather than production?
The Skill of Interviewing Part 2 - Research the Company, Ask Relevant Questions, Show Career Progress
January 28, 2010
At my office we are currently standardizing our interviewing process. This got me thinking about the subject in general, and so I thought I would share some things that I've learned over the years from being on both sides of the interviewing table. In my last article I detailed some tips on how to interview from a candidate's point of view. Here I will continue that thread, sharing more tips on how to interview as a candidate.
Search: The Most Disruptive Innovation of Our Time - Interview with Peter Morville, author of Search Patterns
January 28, 2010
Peter Morville is best known as the founding father of information architecture. His new book, Search Patterns: Design for Discovery, contains a bonanza of screenshots and illustrations that capture the best of today's design practices and presents a fresh perspective on the broader role of search and discovery. Co-authored by Jeffery Callender, Search Patterns, aims not only to inform but also to inspire readers to make search better.
Check Mate: Apple's iPad and Google's Next Move
January 28, 2010
There is an axiom that the biggest game-changers often result from ideas that, at first blush, seem easy to dismiss. So it goes with yesterday's launch of the iPad, Apple's entry into what they call the 'third category' of device -- the middle ground that exists between smartphone and laptop. Why is the iPad (seemingly) so easy to dismiss? Well, for one, it is an evolutionary device when conventional wisdom suggests that it needs to be a revolutionary device to find a wedge into a new market. In this instance, conventional wisdom is just plain off base.
Four short links: 28 January 2010 - ISP Lockin, Warped Priorities, Government Data, and Book Piracy
By Nat TorkingtonJanuary 28, 2010
Free Publicity: Who Do We Help? (Anil Dash) -- I love cool stuff as much as the next guy. What leaves me at a loss, though, is how many otherwise sane and sensible people give their time and energy freely to help support a company like Apple that, despite its elegant designs and generally excellent products (I use many of them), certainly doesn't need free PR from some of the most talented people on the web. This and more in today's Four Short Links.
When it Comes to News, Why Won't People Eat Their Vegetables? - Chris Lee thinks that people don't get enough news they need, as opposed to want.
By James TurnerJanuary 27, 2010
One of the basic questions in journalism these days is the one of what news consumers actually want. Chris Lee believes that today's citizenry is getting too much of what they want, and too little of what they need. With the Tools of Change for Publishing conference approaching, it seemed appropriate to talk to Lee, who has spent his professional life in the trenches of broadcast journalism, about where the industry is going and what the future of news looks like.
Happening Tomorrow: The Science of Social Media Marketing - A Free Live Webcast Presented by Dan Zarrella
January 27, 2010
The Science of Social Media Marketing — More and more people are using social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to talk about companies and products with their friends and colleagues. Learn what drives people to share information and opinions online and learn scientifically proven best practices for spreading your content virally through social media. You'll have plenty of time for Q&A with Dan Zarrella, social media and viral marketing scientist and author of The Social Media Marketing Book. Attendance is limited, so register now!
The iPad and publishers: A survey of early reaction
January 27, 2010
Publishers have been salivating over Apple's tablet for months. Some have gone as far to label it the industry's salvation. The jury's out on that conclusion, but the iPad's arrival has certainly inspired discussion. We're using this post to capture early analysis and sort out the real publishing opportunities the iPad could create.
Happening Today: Tour the Top 10 Treats in Entity Framework 4 - Join us for this Free Live Webcast @ 10am PT / 1pm ET
January 27, 2010
Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0 bring us a new version of ADO.NET Entity Framework, called Entity Framework 4. From the designer, to the APIs to entire new feature sets to support agile development, even former EF skeptics are getting excited about this version. There is a lot to see. In this one hour webcast, Julia Lerman, who is currently working on the 2nd edition of Programming Entity Framework, will highlight the ten most significant changes to the Entity Framework. Join the webcast now! More Upcoming Webcasts: The Science of Social Media Marketing Check out our Webcast page for on-demand videos of past webcasts and more upcoming live events!
Four short links: 27 January 2010 - Science Publishing, iState of the Union, Synthetic Bio Obstacles, UK Government Cloud
By Nat TorkingtonJanuary 27, 2010
Why I Am Disappointed with Nature Communications (Cameron Neylon) -- fascinating to learn what you can't do with "non-commercial"-licensed science research: using a paper for commercially funded research even within a university, using the content of paper to support a grant application, using the paper to judge a patent application, using a paper to assess the viability of a business idea. This and more in today's Four Short Links.
Obama's Year in Technology
January 26, 2010
As President Obama prepares to deliver his state of the union, after a year in office, I thought I would take a quick look at what has been going on with the technology agenda. There have been firsts, a few downright scary incidents and some good progress as the government really enters the Digital Age.
Ruminations on Apple Q1, 2010 Earnings Call and Investor "Dead Zones"
January 26, 2010
Listening to Apple's earnings call and then absorbing the chatter across a number of technology, investing and Apple-focused sites, and finally, watching the stock go up, down and sideways, I am reminded that when you are working from the wrong narrative, faulty storylines are destined to emerge. The analysts who got Apple's story wrong before are the same folks dazedly staring into space as they contemplate Wednesday's Apple Tablet announcement, and how it feeds the next leg of Apple's growth while throwing a lifeline to print media.
I. M. Wright podcast: "Spontaneous Combustion of Rancid Management"
January 26, 2010
Eric Brechner's alter ego, I.M. Wright, pulls no punches in his latest podcast about the trouble with "rancid managers." If you enjoy the podcast, check out Brechner's book, I. M. Wright's "Hard Code."
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