Gregorious v2.0

I'm Moving...

2010-04-18T16:28:00.000-07:00

My new blog site is here.

I'll see you there!

Microsoft Dreams Big, Dreams of Oslo

2010-02-06T13:14:00.000-08:00

The Dream
Microsoft started dreaming of Oslo back in 2007. Its aim was to empower nondevelopers the ability to build distributed applications from models or diagrams. Oslo was supposed to be a general purpose software modeling platform for application modeling and SOA(Service Oriented Architecture). The initial goal was to deliver a visual tool for creating models along with a repository to store the models and metadata. Oslo is designed to capture people’s ideas and allow them to work with and create data requirements. Oslo is a set of technologies that will help take model driven design mainstream.The tool enables users to capture domain knowledge in domain-specific views. It will also be useful for more advanced diagramming, such as enabling the development of BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notification) workflows and UML (Unified Modeling Language) services.

Microsoft is making investments aligned with a vision to simplify the effort needed to build, deploy, and manage composite applications within and across organizations. The effort builds on model driven and service enabled principles and extends SOA beyond the firewall. Designing, developing, and deploying applications will be facilitated by a simpler process.

The Reality
As of the November CTP (Community Technology Preview) 2009, the "Oslo" project codename was renamed SQL Sever Modeling CTP. There are 3 technical components to the SQL Server Modeling CTP:

SQL Server Modeling Services: this includes a SQL Server database with enhanced functionality that allows the storage of model schemas. It is built on SQL Server 2008 and serves as a platform to manage application metadata. This allows easy leverage to the existing SQL Server database ecosystem. The modeling service supports all editions of SQL Server except for SQL Server Compact.

M Modeling Language: a textual language for defining model schema and instances. “M” is being developed as a complement to visual modeling tools so that developers can choose the format (text or diagrams) that are best suited for their task. It is a declarative language that provides an approachable, textual format for authoring models and domain-specific languages (DSLs). The “M” language also allows specification of structural types and values (storing and queries), all of which enable the developers to have a natural development experience for building models.

Here is an example of some M language code. I am not at all familiar with it so I cannot begin to tell you what this code means. What M language aims for is to map to a T-SQL query to a relational database by way of textual representation.

Quadrant Modeling Tool: a tool for visualizing and interacting with relational data stored in SQL Server databases. Quadrant is focused on a modeling technology that enables developers to describe parts of their application in data. It is intended to be a graphical tool for editing and exploring data in any SQL Server database. These include tools for viewing, querying and editing data. Enabling the ability to modify built-in viewers with simple UI-based customization functionality and being able to create domain-specific browsing and editing experience by configuring and extending “Quadrant”.

Microsoft wants to unify the approach to modeling by building a modeling language, a set of tools, and a unified repository. Microsoft's modeling language provides a way to unify existing modeling languages, similar to Microsoft's Common Language Runtime for application development. The model is to expand beyond UML to cover deployment as well as management. The key to Microsoft's effort is a unified metadata repository. Deployment, policy information, workflow, and rules are all maintained in one location to prevent data loss when deploying and managing an application or writing business rules against it. I have no experience using Microsoft's .Net framework, so I neither know it's strengths nor weaknesses. I can understand the impetus behind the idea and if it creates an easier way to develop in a model driven methodology, I'm all for it.

Advertise with Google AdWords

2010-01-17T10:18:00.000-08:00

Google AdWords

With a bazillion sites on the interwebs these days, how do you get noticed? You advertise, duh! Google has one thing going for it (well, maybe more than one) and that is the fact that the majority of people use Google as their search engine. And when you have a bazillion web users using your search engine, you have a bazillion users searching for something out there on the interwebs (I'm assuming a one to one correlation here). This is why using Google's AdWords can be great way to increase market awareness of your particular site, product, and/or service.

What seems to be a fairly straightforward concept is actually a lot more complicated once you open up the hood and take a look underneath. This is coming from someone who has never taken any marketing or advertising courses, nor have I ever tried to produce a campaign of any sort. This isn't to say that one shouldn't let the experience overwhelm you. I'm sure the algorithms they use could land an astronaut on the sun blindfolded, so I'll take their word for it and trust that they work.

Essentially, you create advertising campaigns (and there are many different types that I will not go into details here). Within each campaign, you can set the targeted key words and a budget. This budget guarantees that you will not go over the predetermined allocated amount that you have budgeted. You can also control your costs by your bids and ad quality. There is no minimum spending requirement and you pay a small one time activation fee. You will always have the option to have total control over every minute detail, but Google does offer recommendations based on their metrics and analytics that they have measured on the keywords you've specified.

Each time your ad is eligible to appear, an auction takes place among your ads and all the other eligible ads. Your bid is one of the factors that determines whether your ad shows, and in what position. Based upon those criteria and your Quality Score, Google determines when and where to place your ads when the relevant keywords are searched. Your Quality Score is a measure of how relevant your ad, keyword, or webpage is.

Below is my attempt at a Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) flowchart representation of the AdWords' process. This is only scratching the surface of the business process but it gives a broad overview of what a newcomer can expect once they open the front door and step inside AdWords' world.

Click on the image for a closer view.

Gregorious V 2.0

2009-12-15T18:10:00.000-08:00

Under Construction

Enterprise 2.0

2009-12-13T08:43:00.000-08:00

Enterprise 2.0

Have you noticed how 2 of the arguably largest (in terms of user base and activity) social networks have had an increasing business presence? Think of 'Fan of...' pages on Facebook and companies setting up business Twitter accounts. What was once a consumer focused technology has been adopted by companies as another front to run their business.

Enterprise 2.0 is the idea of creating and using an open ecosystem of tools in a business setting that encourages a culture of learning and sharing ideas. It's about access to real time data through inter-connected applications, services and devices. Though there are many different facets, I'm mainly going to concentrate on those aspects that we have covered in our course, mainly social software. With the way that the interwebs have weaved itself into our daily lives, it's becoming increasingly important to be cognizant of the current environment. Think about how Google and Microsoft have now included Twitter tweets and trending topics in real time search results.

The gambit of Enterprise 2.0 can run from internal corporate settings out to every 'connected' person on earth. It is about providing a 2 way channel of communication and stepping away from the structured settings of the past. Is it to allow collaboration to increase innovation, productivity, and flexibility. Two heads are better than one, many heads are better than two! Imagine collaborating on a project through email.

Email is a very linear structured format and is essentially displayed as such. One respondent may answer one question but miss the next and responses to questions get mixed up and lost within the sea of emails. It is like starting at the top of the ladder with a question and then stepping down each rung to find the corresponding answer. Now take a program like google wave and consider what it does to email. It provides real time updates to conversations (or waves as they like to call it). You no longer have a ladder structure of conversations. Each wave can be responded to separately and flows more naturally like a real conversation. Links, polls, and embedded web content all make Google Wave a much more usable collaboration tool as opposed to email. This extension also applies to blogs and wikis which allow a collaborative effort in an unstructured environment. Using a multiauthor system, people can easily contribute all types of content-text, video, pictures. Participants can continue the conversation, challenge each other and push ideas forward in a collaborative network.

Let's return to the topic of Facebook and Twitter. The use of social networks and social media is having a major impact on how companies learn and share information in a business setting. It used to be where the only time a customer visited a site is if they needed something. A very one way street type of travel. Then came RSS feeds, Facebook, and Twitter. A customer subscribing to a companies RSS feed can be kept up to date about current happenings. A nice idea, but feeds only goes to subscribers. How do companies reach a broader audience? Enter social networks. Twitter allows companies to reach out to consumers, but in a different fashion. A personal RSS feed is more private compared to a Twitter account who has followers. These followers are public. And friends of followers can see who all they follow. This allows a wider audience potential and allows for a more public yet personal interaction. I complain about Comcast on Twitter and what happens? I get a tweet from @ComcastMelissa asking if she can do something to help.

What about Facebook? Create a Fan page on Facebook. Get people to become 'Fans' of your company page. Friends of friends are able to see this new friendship and can become fans/friends as well. Updates show up on fans/friends news feed. The more a company updates its page, the more a fan/friend is reminded of that company. And that's what they want, to be in the minds of consumers and use the power of social networks to spread the brand recognition. Facebook is not as powerful a tool as Twitter is in terms of customer engagement, but these social networks are all linked. LinkedIn is another social network with a focus on business and networking. They provide links that enable you to follow them on each major network. And this is what the impetus is all about, utilizing the ubiquitous environment of the interwebs social realms.

Though Enterprise 2.0 is composed of much more than just social software, social software does encompass much of what Enterprise 2.0 is about. We are just now entering in a new era where rich Internet applications, providing software as a service, and using the web as a general platform, are coming to the forefront of the business space. Only time will tell how the business landscape will adapt and change in this rapid web centric environment.

Wordia

2009-12-10T15:00:00.000-08:00

Wordia

Wordia is a compelling new way to learn about words. Imagine those calendars that teaches you a new word everyday, now plaster that onto a website with user generated videos and you have Wordia. They have an existing Wordia corpus so only those words are allowed at the moment. They are working on a feature that would allow the submission of new words. Be it as it may, our group, consisting of Chris Thorn and Keith Manthey shot a total of 3 videos.

1. Findability.

Though it's not in the Wordia corpus, it is in actuality a real word and an imperative aspect of website design.

2. Massage

This video was submitted to Wordia and we were the first group to submit a video for this word. As a prize, we get a red ribbon place upon our video for all the world to see. I haven't figured out how to embed the video straight from Wordia so I've place the YouTube video instead.

3. Wordia

And our final attempt was the word Wordia itself. We found it ironic that Wordia was not in Wordia's corpus. We are waiting anxiously for the day where we can submit a request to have Wordia added to the corpus and our video added to the site. Until that day comes, you may see my ugly mug in the YouTube video below. Enjoy it while you can because it will be coming down very shortly.

Pivot Tables

2009-11-18T18:13:00.000-08:00

PIvot Table

You may be asking yourself why I have a picture of turn table on my blog. Well, 'turn' is analogous to 'pivot' and hence, 'Pivot Table'. Plus, searching for a pretty 'pivot table' was just not happening.

Only recently, I'd say within the past couple of years, have I noticed that when i want to export a spreadsheet, I had 2 options. The first was to export as a table, and the second was to export as a pivot table. Now, I had never heard of a pivot table nor knew what it did. And since no one had ever asked me to utilize it for anything, I had thought that maybe it was a legacy table, left over from the relics of non-GUI based software interfaces.

Then at my last job interview, the interviewer asks me if I knew how to use a pivot table! Wow, someone is asking me about this ancient technology left over from the days of the Great Pyramids! I was excited. I had to answer honestly and declined that I knew anything about pivot tables, but I said I was willing to learn. All interviewers love hearing about wanting to overcome your shortcomings. As I started working, I only utilized the standard tables. I was never asked again about the pivot table or was ever taught how to use it. But they would send out weekly statistics to the team. The information was overwhelming. We always thought to ourselves, 'how do they have the time to run all these reports and number?'

So one day, I'm sitting in our Database Management course and the pivot tables comes up again. Huh, this is interesting, we're gonna talk about pivot tables. Maybe we're taking a stroll down memory lane like in our Software Development course when we talked about the Turing Machine. Boy was I wrong, the pivot table isn't old and it is definitely not outdate. Not only was I wrong about how old it was, I was also wrong about the power behind it. I suddenly had an epiphany about my team leads as work. They were using pivot tables to run all those statics! And it didn't take them all day, using a pivot table allowed them to do it in minutes! I was flabbergasted, for lack of a better word.

Pivot tables are an extension of the standard spreadsheet that is capable of displaying the summarization of the data sets contained within the spreadsheet. The name comes from the ability to pivot the different data sets on the summary table and it's power seems to be limitless. Well, I may be overselling at this point. I've only used it for a couple of days now but the hidden potential isn't lost upon me. You can learn more from Oreilly.

Net Neutrality: What does it mean for you?

2009-11-09T18:14:00.000-08:00

Net Neutrality

Do you love the way your smartphone comes bundled with a data plan (most of the time it's mandatory) and text message plan? Do you love the way you can choose your different movie and sports bundles through your cable provider? Great! Well, corporate America has once again graced us with their familiar business model of bundling packages. This sounds like a good idea to begin with. You only pay for the amount of internet you use. Why is this bad? This is where it gets a little more complicated and for the end user Joe Schmoe, a lot more scarier. The telecommunications companies want to have a tiered internet. The more you pay, the faster your connection. This doesn't apply only to the end users, it also applies to the corporations and companies that want to get that information to us. The more the companies pay, the faster their information is sent to us. Its a two way street, with the bandwidth connection going as fast as the slowest connection speed. So you could have blazing T3 lines, but since you requested information from a small Mom & Pop shop running dial-up speed, you'll be sitting and waiting and waiting and waiting.

Not only are the connection speeds tiered, there is preferential treatment for their own content. The telco's may slow down or completely block content or services provided by their competitors. Now that we've ended racial segregation, lets start with internet segregation. I digress. Let's say Comcast and Google have entered an agreement that bars either from using anybody else's service. How would it feel to not be able to use Google search just because you're not on a Comcast connection?

Where do the bundles come in? Let's say you want a sports bundle, you could purchase and pay an extra fee on top of your basic cable costs. What about different search engines? There could be a bundle for that. And family orientated programming? I'm sure they'd create a bundle for that. And how fast do you want these bundles to be delivered? I'm sure they'd be happy to take more of your money to send content to you a smidge quicker. What's at stake here is the freedom to access any and all content, regardless of content provider or service provider, all at the same speed.

The internet was an even playing field (I'm speaking in past tense as if it has already happened, somehow, corporate America always wins) to all players. Small startups could easily start a site and promote their company and products. The cost of entry was relatively low. WIth tiered pricing, businesses would have to compete at the top tier to be competitive. To play at those levels, you have to be a big dog. Already established corporations and companies have no problem, it's the little guys that get stepped on. The rich get richer while the poor get poorer. Nothing would exacerbate this more than the proposed tiered internet. The big dogs continue to control the market while at the same time, eliminating any smaller competition from gaining ground.

If this post seems biased, it's probably because you work for one of the telco companies. Show your support for Net Neutrality and spread the word by visiting Save The Internet.

iPhone Web Development Resources For The Noob

2009-11-03T19:20:00.000-08:00

iPhone

As a new developer, it can be a daunting task to create something from nothing. What is available in terms of documentation, resources, and examples? Probably the most important question; where does one start? There a many resources that are available online, but one must remember that the landscape changes frequently and not all online resources update to reflect the changes. Here is a list of resources to get one started...

This first one is provides a general overview of elements to be mindful of when developing web content. 12 Things to get you started

The WebKit framework is what Apple's iPhone Safari web browser is based upon. As such. it's probably a good idea to know how it works. Apologies for being Mr. Obvious. Anyways, a Webkit tutorial should get you on your way.

Sometimes it helps to belong to a community of developers. They can provide much needed guidance and assistance when one comes to a mental block in trying to figure out how to get something to work correctly. iPhoneWebDev has a iPhoneWebDev Google Groups page with an active user base where one can ask questions and toss ideas around.

If you've been around web development, you may have heard of Web Monkey. This is an excellent site for reference and provides many tutorials. iUI is an excellent way to provide a very Apple-like user interface to web applications and one of Web Monkey's iUI tutorials takes you through the process.

Cascading Style Sheets were your friend in web development and they will continue to be your friend in mobile web development. Tutorial Hero is here to save the day with their CSS tutorial.

And because the iPhone has 2 modes, portrait and landscape, one must adapt our pages accordingly. What better place to go and get information than straight from the horses mouth, er, or Apple's Viewportpage.

A good link to have handy is Apple's iPhone Dev Center where one can get the latest updates, builds, and development information.

Good luck! You'll need it.

XML for Dummies

2009-10-31T17:28:00.000-07:00

XML

XML: extensible markup language. It's a different language. Different from HTML,hyper text markup language. HTML focuses on describing how a Web browser should display images and text on the screen. It merely serves as a way to format the information on the page that is presentable to users.There is no meaning to the browser what the elements (images and text) represent. Users infer the meaning based on the context of the elements. If numbers appear on the screen that follows a date type format, then they recognize it as a date. To the browser, it is just numbers separated by slashes.

XML is a means to replace HTML. It is a language that is designed to be structured, with meaning, while allowing for data exchange. How would XML replace HTML? There are 2 file types. First, there is the XML file. This file defines the elements within the page. There is so much information out there in the interwebs, how do we define everything? XML allows for data modeling with the Document Object Model (DOM). In conjunction with a Document Type Definition (DTD), there is now a data model and a corresponding definition for each data element. Predefined tags are used to separate the different elements and data. By looking at an XML file, one could determine the meaning of the document without having to look at the website and determining its meaning through the context in which it is placed. Elegant isn't it?! So by using a standard set by organizations with a common interest, it would be possible to share data between them, all through the content on the web site.

Because XML focuses on the meaning of data and elements, it does not touch upon the visual aspect of how such information is displayed on a web page. To remedy this, one must use a stylesheet. The Yang to XML's Ying is the eXtensible Stylesheet Language (XSL). The XSL document defines the rules for displaying an XML document's data on the web browser. With the power of the two working together, one is able to replace a merely visual interpretation of a web page with a more meaningful and data rich document.

Findability...yes, it's a real word.

2009-10-31T12:47:00.000-07:00

SEO

Everyone wants their 15 seconds of fame. For the online world, that fame is equivalent to being listed first in search engine results. Studies have shown that users view results pages from left to right, top to bottom. Seeing a site being listed first usually signals to the user, 'Hey there Mr User, I am exactly what you're looking for. Your key words exactly match my keywords. Click on me and you'll find what you're looking for!"

The better way to be found on the interwebs is to be listed in the major search engines. The best way to be found on the interwebs is to be listed first in the major search engines. It is of great importance to be listed first in a search result. You have the honor of being the most relevant site and having the highest chance that the user will click the link. How many pages do you personally scroll through before you change the wording in your search to find what you're looking for? If I don't find what I'm looking for in the first couple of pages, I rephrase my search, hoping for better results. Here is where it gets tricky for websites, in terms of content management, to produce better site exposure and findability.

In contrast to Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization uses natural or organice ways of editing and managing onsite content to increase the rankings in search engine results. The reason this is important is because 70% of traffic comes from organice search results, in contrast to the 30% for paid ads in SEM. So how do we optimize a site so that it appears as a relevant site for search queries? We have to first look at how search engines parse the information on a site, what weight is given to what elements, and how the totality of those elements affect the standings.

Search engines have become complicated affairs. They have incorporated a wide number of factors and algorithms they use to evaluate a site. And of course, these algorithms are trade secrets, you wouldn't want the world to know how you make your search engine go VROOM VROOM would you? Then other sites would produce the same results and web sites would edit their sites to make sure they're listed as #1.

On page factors, the content that we can control, plays the major role in creating a level of visibility in search engine queries. Here, we delve deeper into the architecture of the webpage. The Title Tag, body, and header tags all play roles in creating what is called keyword density. Even the domain name should have something relavant to the keywords if not the keywords themselves. If there is any usage of images, make sure descriptions for the images also relate to the content and keywords. Another trick is to have the keyword as part of the filename itself. On site links also play a role; these include links to other relevant sites as well as outside links referring to your own site.

By doing some research to determine what keywords generate the most search queries relavent to your site, you can then optimize the content on your site. But because each search engine runs a different algorithm, it will be hard to find one format that will flourish in every search engine. This will be a game of cat and mouse, determining what works for each different engine. You must take into account, also, that changes made to your site might not be acknowledged by the search engine right away either. There may be some down time before you see a change in the volume of traffic, or lack thereof.

Its All About The Semantics

2009-10-25T14:08:00.000-07:00

Semantic Web

It can be a tortuous journey crawling through the endless interwebs of information in cyberspace. This is because the internet and World Wide Web is fairly young, still in its infancy. The search engines we use can sometimes struggle with our search queries because it quite doesn't understand our homo sapien thought process. It cannot tell the difference between Paris Hilton and the Hilton in Paris. This is because it bases its search on keywords and not the meaning behind the words. What if search engines and the interwebs were smarter? What if it understood the natural language process that we use? Curtains open, music plays, and drum roll, let me introduce to you the notion of Web 3.0, aka the Semantic Web.

By using a set of standards, the World Wide Web would become one big database. But this is a large undertaking because the entire World Wide Web would need to be re annotated. The metadata on each page would need to be updated following the specifications of RDF, OWL, and XML, to name a few. The goal is to create a more intelligent Web. One that is understandable by computers on the same level as it is for humans. One that would not only look at key words, but take into consideration the relevance and context of other words associated with the key words. The Semantic Web is about using a common format so that data can be combined as well as integrated. It is also about how data correlates to real world objects. One that could serve as a personal assistant of sorts. Today, if you wanted to grab dinner and a movie, you would search for your movies options by location, time, and theatre company. Then you would search for the various restaurants in your area that may be of interest any maybe sort them by customer ratings. Only after you visited a number of sites would you be able to make your decision. In a Web 3.0 solution, you would be able to ask for a dinner and movie recommendation in your vicinity. The search engine would analyze your query, search for all possible answers, and then organize the results for you. It would be as if you asked 'someone' else to do it for you and then come back with the answers. It would be able to take complex queries, rationalize them, and returning an ordered set of results.

Recently in the headlines is a government site, Recovery.gov. The Obama administration is using these next generation web technologies to allow the general public view how the economic stimulus of about $800 billion dollars is being spent. A quick overview blurb of the project can be seen here.

Show The World

2009-10-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

YouTube

Now that we have created our content, how do deliver it to our viewers? You can decide to use a service to host your videos or utilize one of many websites on the interwebs that focus on user generated content.

If you decide to use a service or host this yourself, there are a couple of decisions you would have to make. There are 2 types of video delivery mechanisms; progressive download (web server) and streaming (streaming media server).

In the progressive download method, the media file is hosted on a typical web server. The web server treats it like any other file and sends the data out without regards to the contents inside. You cannot view the content until the file has been downloaded. Once an initial amount of data has been loaded, you may watch that portion. You are not able to skip ahead until all the data up to that point has been loaded. Sometimes, you may have to wait until the entire file is downloaded before you can start watching. It works in a very one way interaction. The file is saved on the computer temporarily so that it can be viewed without having to download the file again.

In the streaming download method, the media file is hosted on a streaming media server. The media server has specialized software that knows about the bandwidth, format, structure and the performance of the player receiving the media file. As such, the server streams the data at an optimum rate. Because there is a 2 way communication between the server and media player, there is more control over the stream itself. Users are able to skip around to different points in the media file and the server will send the appropriate data. The video file is not store on the computer as it is done with the progressive download method.

An analogy is to view the different methods as different ways of drinking juice. In progressive download, you cannot drink the juice until it has been poured into the glass. You have to wait for it to be poured. With streaming download, you may drink directly from the bottle, at any time you wish.

To sum everything up, the main reason for downloading from a web server is that it uses existing infrastructure and is fairly simple. It’s good for short video content with high bitrates that also allows users to save the file. Streaming is better when you have longer clips and want to allow a bit of user control or are streaming live webcasts.

But that would be the hard way. You can head right over to any of the dozens of web sites that host user generated content for free. YouTube is by far the most dominant player commanding a 43% market share and being the fourth most visited site on the internet, it is a great place to get exposure and take advantage of the large user base and audience that it provides.

YouTube allows videos that are up to 10 minutes in length with a file size of 2GB. It accepts the most common formats that include .AVI, .WMV, .MOV, .MKV, MPEG, .MP4, DivX, .OGG, and .FLV. YouTube offers 3 different formats. There is a "high quality", an HD (high definition), and also mobile format. One of the best features of YouTube is the fact that the videos are viewable outside of the website. Each YouTube video is paired with a snippet of HTML code that allows it to be embedded on web pages outside of YouTube. Talk about portability! TIme to get crackin!

To read about capturing video...visit Chris' blog

To read about video compression...visit Keith's blog

2009-10-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

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Google Docs...The Doc of All Trades?

2009-10-01T17:38:00.002-07:00

Cloud Computing

Google has been pushing their cloud computing software as a service for some time now with their software suite called Google Docs. What would compel someone to use their services? The cost. It is a free application. It does not get any cheaper than that. There are many advantages to Google Docs as well. The documents are stored on Google's servers and they accept most formats; including Microsoft's Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. You can invite "collaborators" who can view and edit your document in real time and the changes are reflected immediately. This is a great feature and time saver as our database management team used Google Docs to collaborate on our project from different locations. Having the documents stored on their servers means you have access as long as you are connected to the interwebs (and assuming their network is up and running). I must say the interwebs are most interesting!

http://www.google.com/google-d-s/tour1.html

Another major competitor is Zoho. Zoho also offers a set of online applications that are accessed from their website. They too, cover the gambit of Microsoft's offerings. Do we see a common denominator here? Zoho is also free, though they do have paid services for higher tiered applications for organizations. Zoho seems to have a more extensive collection of applications; of which include web conferencing, a database application, and online invoicing to name a few.

http://www.zoho.com/

The common denominator here is Microsoft and its software suite. I think it is safe to say Microsoft has a strong foothold on the word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation market. So when Google and Zoho came along and offered free and comparable products, people would naturally gravitate towards the new offerings. More users using Google Docs and Zoho meant less users using Microsoft Office. Now they can't let THAT happen can they? Their answer, Microsoft Web Applications 2010. This has just entered testing and has not been released to the public yet. Rumors have it that this would be a free service. How could they charge when their competitors are just giving it away. What they will try to accomplish is to provide the same consistent look and feel of the application that their users are already accustomed to across all channels; this includes the desktop software, the online web application, and through mobile sites on smartphones. Let me state this, Google Docs and Zoho both can be viewed through the mobile web. I tried the Google Docs through my iPhone and I don't understand why anyone would want to, unless their phone was the only available connection to the web they had. Editing a spreadsheet is a mind numbingly cumbersome activity.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2009/jul09/07-13Office2010WPCPR.mspx?rss_fdn=Press%20Releases

So it seems that all 3 competitors are on equal playing grounds. Google has the brand recognition behind it, Zoho has an extensive software suite, and Microsoft has a user base that spans corporations and countries. I believe it will come down to ease of use. Simple as that. How easy can they make it so we can what we need to get done quicker and easier? A simple and intuitive interface with a quick learning curve. I will hold my judgement until Microsoft's Web Applications goes live.

Dr. Horrible Isn't So Horrible

2009-09-30T20:53:00.000-07:00

Dr Horrible

The Emmy is a television production award. One of the most honored awards to receive. How would a show that didn’t surf on the television air waves receive an Emmy you ask? For that answer, we’d have to ask Dr. Horrible. You see, his sing along blog (a contraction of the term web log) won an Emmy this year. His blog chronicles the failed misadventures in both his personal and business life. And as busy as his life is, it seems he doesn’t have the time to sit down and answer our questions as he contemplates his next move to guarantee a seat in

the Evil League of Evil.

Dr. Evil’s blog does have some professional production value at its back, but it does go to show that content does not need to be aired on TV to get viewers or recognition. It can be argued that the internet is just as a powerful medium for entertainment as the television is. With so much content available on the interwebs, users have a treasure trove of media at their fingertips.

Television stations recognize the reach the interwebs have on our daily lives and have made their programs available online as well. You can now watch most of the popular shows online at your convenience. The interwebs can also be a testing ground for new shows and concepts. Televisions stations may one day air test pilots on the interwebs as opposed to wasting precious TV air time. Marketing for a new show or pilot is considerably cheaper on the interwebs too, as opposed to on air advertisements. There have even been movies that were funded based upon

concepts and short films like Neill Blomkamp’s District 9. User created content such as vlogging (a contraction of the term video web logging) is another avenue of entertainment one can find on the interwebs. With sites like YouTube and Qikwhere users can broadcast to the world and the cost of admission is only a webcam, expect to see the next hit show come from the interwebs.

Dr. Evil’s evil show…http://www.hulu.com/watch/28343/dr-horribles-sing-along-blog

Web Analytics

2009-09-30T19:36:00.000-07:00

Data Analytics

It's a Sunday afternoon and you've taken a break for a moment to do some online shopping. You see a particular item that is in stock from the online store but you would like to check the availability of a store nearby so that you can try it on first. You search around and no such luck. The company does not maintain those records. It's as if the online store is a separate entity itself. Or what if you are obliviously looking at men’s clothing, but the online advertisements keep pushing ads focused on the female persuasion. Does the website know something you don’t know? I hope not! Out of frustration, you turn off your computer and go back about your usual business.

Unbeknownst to the store, they have just lost a sale and possibly future sales from you as well. What happened? You didn’t find what you were looking for and nothing the web site offered pertained to you? Say hello to web analytics. Web analytics, say hello to your customer.

Web analytics is the collection, measurement and analysis of internet data. The premise is simple; one database with real time evaluation and interaction. The single database stores all the information pertaining to the products sold as well as all the information it has on its customers. Based upon current web activity, the information is fed to a program that determines what is appropriate for the shopper. If a customer is searching for women’s tops, then offer relevant ads that actually might interest the customer. Show banner ads that are complimentary to what is current displayed on the page. The goal is simple; learn more about your customer’s spending habits and get them to spend more money. The end result, customer get more of what they want and the company takes a few more dollars out of their wallet.

Tweet Tweet

2009-09-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

A list of various applications for use with Twitter...

GeoChirp: A Twitter and Google maps mashup that allows one to search for Twitter users with similar interests in any particular geography around the world.

Uses: Event organizers could search local twitterers with similar interests and send mass tweets. Think of it as walking the local streets and handing out flyers.

http://www.geochirp.com/

TwitPic: Enables users to share photos on Twitter. This is one of the more popular photo hosting tools on Twitter.

Uses: This tool has a wide spectrum of uses. Companies can publish photos of new products, marketing campaigns, and even local stores. People can publish photos of their vacation, their current locale, or even share pictures of their friends.

http://twitpic.com/

TweetFeed: Have your RSS Feeds automatically post to your Twitter account.

Uses: Users who may not have access to a computer but have their cell phone handy can still get their news and updates.

http://twitterfeed.com/

Tweetube: The video version of TwitPic. Enables users to share personal videos, YouTube videos, as well as photos.

Uses: From the obvious sharing of various moments to capturing crimes in action or recording a concert. This could also be seen as an extension to those who have a YouTube community.

http://www.tweetube.com/

TweetDeck: Unifies users MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter accounts. It also enables users to manage multiple Twitter accounts.

Uses: I for one use this personally. It allows me to update my Facebook status messages and manage my personal and professional Twitter accounts. Others may have different Twitter accounts specifically geared towards certain areas of interest.

http://tweetdeck.com/beta/

Ways To Use Twitter

2009-09-22T19:34:00.001-07:00

After searching for hours furiously on the interwebs, it seems everyone has find a way to utilize Twitter to their advantage; some more obvious than others. I personally follow a wide variety of tweeters and marvel at their ingenuity.

The more obvious ones are those of the retail sales outlets. Customers who like their goods follow them for product updates, sales, or even store closings. As such, companies will reward these followers with advance notice of sales or even higher discounts at the mention of the tweet.

Dana White, the frontman and voice of the UFC organization will tweet about preliminary fight outcomes, upcoming events and current contract negotiations. He even tweets his whereabouts on fight nights where followers can find him and receive free tickets to that night’s events. Everybody likes things for free and it’s a great way to generate interest about the event and its organization.

One of the most inventive ways of using Twitter is tweeting live coverage as it happens. From gallop polls during the latest election to road closings due to the flooded streets from the heavy rainfall during this past week, you no longer have to be on the computer, listening to the radio, or watching the TV to get your news anymore. You are able to get your twitter updates from your phone; you essentially have the news in the palm your hands.

Twitter 101

2009-09-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

From Twitter 101

5 Things To Know Before You Tweet

1. Tweet anything you want, as long as it’s 140 characters or less.

People tweet about their personal experiences and daily happenings in their lives. Companies tweet about updates, new products, or even promotions. Some use it to vent to the world, others to discuss what’s currently happening in the world.

2. Public or private?

Do you want the whole world to know what you’re tweeting? If not, you can make your profile private and only your followers will able to see your tweets.

3. @replies and mentions

@replies is when someone is replying to or directing a tweet to you. Mentions are when tweets contain your user name within them.

4. Direct Message

This is a private message that is sent to you and only you can see, no matter if your profile is public or private.

5. Following & Followers

You may follow anybody you like, friends, family, companies, or even news outlets. Anybody may follow you as well, though you have more control on this end. You may block anyone who you do not want to follow you.

Opera Web Browser

2009-09-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

Opera

Their mission is simple..."to develop a superior Internet browser for our users through state-of-the-art technology, innovation, leadership and partnerships."

What they’ve done is tackle almost every front where the internet can be accessed. Their browser supports Linux, Mac, or Widow’s based computers. They have also extended their range to the mobile market where cell-phones can run Opera mobile or Opera Mini. They even have a browser for the Nintendo Wii and DSi.

Opera offers many features for its browsers which include tabbed browsing, pop-up blockers, fraud protection, a download manager, web feed aggregator and search bar. It is not merely a web browser though; Opera has their own social network as well as an internet portal. Their social network focuses on blogging and photo sharing within the community. Their internet portal is still in beta, but it allows you to setup and customize your own home page.

One of the latest and neatest developments that is still in development is Opera Unite. By utilizing a plug-in called “Services,” you are able to add web server capabilities to the browser. This allows you to host a site, stream media, and even allow file sharing. File sharing, thats a whole other topic.

Here is a quick blurb about Opera's Unite...

http://www.webmonkey.com/blog/Opera_Unite_Puts_a_Web_Server_in_Your_Web_Browser

I am a Wikipedia ninja!

2009-09-13T17:26:00.001-07:00

Ok, so no, not really. I am not a ninja, let alone a Wikipedia ninja. What I have become is a contributor to the world of Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit. And when I say anyone, I mean anyone who signs up to create an account and can click the 'edit' link. That is essentially how easy it is to make a change to an entry.

With such ease of access to make changes, one would assume that there is a lot of erroneous information on the site. It is up to other users to catch and edit those errors. As such, Wikipedia does not guarantee the validity of it's contents. So it stands to reason that using Wikipedia as a information should only be done with caution.

With that said, my personal experience with Wikipedia has been a fruitful and pleasant one. Resources and links are usually referenced so you can go to the acutal site where the information came from originally. One of my favorite cars is the S2000. It has won many accolades, too many to list in its 10 year production run. Looking through the list, it wasn't hard to find entries that could be added to its long list of reviews and awards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_S2000

S2000

Reality Augmented, For Your Viewing Pleasure

2009-09-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

Imagine having the 411 on everything that was in your line of vision. You place your iPhone in front of you as you gaze into its display. You see a neon sign appear above the restaurant, in it appears the name of the restaurant, its hours of operations, maybe even coupons to entice you to come in and spend your hard earned dollars. You tap the sign to download the coupon into the phone to use at the restaurant. Sound too futuristic, too science fiction, or too good to be true. That day is upon us.

What has been labeled as the Information Age is about to enter a new era; The Augmented Reality Information Overload Age. Ok, so I made the name up. It does have a certain cache to it doesn’t it? With the compass, GPS, and accelerometer built into the current generation iPhone, it now knows where you are, at what speed you’re traveling, and in what direction you’re facing. With this information, it can create a virtual computer-generated (augmented) reality whose elements are merged with the real world environment that is captured on the screen on the iPhone. What you see is a mash of the real world with a computer generated layer on top. Examples can be seen below.

From Blogger

Imagine the possiblities of the different applications that could be implemented? With facial recognition software (assuming there is a national database) you could identitfy anyone you met through your phone. Depending on what that national database held, you may be able to find out their address, phone number, maybe even blood type. The display in the Terminator's head isn't looking so Sci-Fi anymore is it? Augmented reality applications coming soon to the App Store near you.

May The Force Be With You

2009-09-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

I come from a relatively technical background with no business background at all. One of the most desired dreams for many Americans is to open their own business; to be their own boss, to work their own hours, to start from scratch. How many of them actually sit down and come up with a game plan? How many of them take an educated approach to deciding what the chances are of them surviving in a competitive marketplace?

Porter’s 5 Force Analysis model does just that. It takes a comprehensive approach to analyzing the current industry and building a foundation for a business strategy.

1. Threat of substitute

2. Barriers of Entry

3. Supplier Power

4. Buyer Power

5. Degree of Rivalry

From 5 Forces

Think about how unique your product is. Are there others like it? Why would someone choose your product over the competitors? What does it take to get started? How much capitol must be raised? Who are your suppliers? What kind of relationship would you have with them? Who are your buyers and distributors? And what happens when you fail? How easy is it to leave the market place? What assets do you have and how would you rid yourself of them?

It is said that nine out of ten businesses fail within the first five years. Those are staggering odds, but with due diligence, careful planning, and a solid business plan, you can build a solid foundation for your business.

The Jesus Phone

2009-09-02T21:29:00.000-07:00

Apple's iPhone has gotten a lot of press since its introduction and is one of the most popular smart phone on the market today. There are many reasons for that; the intuitive operating system, the beautiful hardware design, and the App store.

These are the reasons that the University of Georgia's Masters of Internet Technology has chosen the iPhone as a focus for mobile web and application development. It's one of the reasons I am really excited about this program.

As enough time has passed to where I got bored with the iPhone, I started to hear about jailbreaking. Jailbreaking is essentially equivalent to hacking, just another term for it. It's a way to open a backdoor to the iPhone so that you can make changes to it. Please note that Apple strongly cautions against installing any software that hacks the iPhone OS. It is also important to note that unauthorized modification of the iPhone OS is a violation of the iPhone end-user license agreement and because of this, Apple may deny service for an iPhone or iPod touch that has installed any unauthorized software.

With that said, one of the most beautiful elements of the iPhone is the graphical user interface (GUI) or lack thereof. You basically have pages upon pages of apps, placed in any order you wish as long as you can remember where they are on what page(most people list them in ABC order). What I've found is that you do not have to follow Apple's rules. You can essentially change the way the GUI is layed out. From the wallpaper, to the icons, to even the format of each individual page. Jailbreaking has also allowed me to peak into the file structure of the iPhone OS as well. I may not be able to see source code for the OS, but I am able to see the elements that make up the GUI and the different file types associated with each.

My current GUI on my iPhone.

From Whitoken

Jailbreaking is kind of like a grassroots approach to development and there is a huge underground community dedicated to such. Their extent reaches beyond just GUI enhancements to incredible apps that aren't offfered by Apple in the App store, data tethering for one.

A great place to start...http://www.iclarified.com/finder/index.php

And so it begins...

2009-08-26T19:53:00.000-07:00

With programs like Dreamweaver, coding HTML by hand can become a lost art. And that is exactly the task we are undertaking at this very moment. Something very simple can quickly become something very complex. The layout, colors, borders, links, and media can all work in unison towards a user friendly design theme or concept, or they can all wreak havoc by creating a visual mess and ultimately frustrate the web user. A good user experience will always bring them back. First impressions are everything; would you ever want to come back to a really crappy site? Chances are slim.

Creating a uniform experience is also important. Not all web browsers support all types of elements. What may work in Internet Explorer may not work or show up in Firefox, Safari, or Chrome. Does the browser support images? Now a days yes, but it’s not guaranteed and a good site should be prepared for such cases. Planning for the worst case scenario is a good way at looking at it. We want the best possible site using the latest and most innovative technologies, but we have to be careful to make sure those practices and technologies are supported by the browsers. So we step into a brave new world…

2009-08-23T16:33:00.000-07:00

Hello World (the famous first words of any programmer)

The web has expanded exponentially over the years and has become an integral part of our daily lives. It has allowed us to stay in contact with one another in real time. Think about video conferencing. It has taken down walls and closed the distance between our foreign neighbors. There are so many facets of the internet that we do not give it much thought on how we utilize it in many of our daily routines; from email, to social networking, and even e-commerce. But how does it all work together? What is it that makes the foundation of the internet function?

I have just entered UGA's Masters of Internet Technology program. For the next couple of months I will be studying various internet technologies, protocols, and standards along with their implications on current web development. As such, I will be updating my blog to mirror the topics we discuss each week. I’ll try and highlight the main points of each technology and summarize what I’ve learned about each of them. An exciting aspect of this program is the focus on mobile internet and iPhone application development. So welcome to my blog, I hope you enjoyed your stay, please come back and see me soon.