Blogs
iTunes App Store: The First Five Months
By Ben LoricaDecember 2, 2008
Taking a cue from Raven's recent post announcing the 10,000 iPhone app milestone, I decided to update some charts from earlier posts on the U.S. iTunes app store. First, the weekly growth in the number of apps was slower in November: the number of apps grew less than 10% on a weekly basis for all of November. During the last...
Getting OpenID Into the Browser
By David RecordonDecember 2, 2008
Imagine if your web browser knew who you were on the web. Just as you login to your computer, what if when you fired up your browser, it said "Hello Dave" and asked you to "unlock it" as well. In doing so you become securely logged into your OpenID provider and as you move around the web your browser takes care of automatically logging you into the sites that you want to be, asking you about others, and helping you register with new ones using your OpenID. Argue as much as you want about the details in making this happen, but I think it's hard to disagree that making it easier for people to manage and use their identity (or identities) online is a bad thing.
MacMania 8 Roams the Eastern Mediterranean
By Jochen WoltersDecember 2, 2008
What do you get when you combine a higher-end off-the-shelf cruise vacation with a choice selection of on-board seminars presented by well-respected Mac experts, plus some 170 passengers who are died-in-the-wool Mac-heads?
Photoshop CS4 is for the Birds!
By Rick SammonDecember 2, 2008
[TOC Webcast] Tomorrow: Making the Case for Print on Demand
By Mac SlocumDecember 2, 2008
Tools of Change for Publishing will host a free webcast tomorrow at 1 p.m. eastern (10 a.m. pacific). Presenter Brian O'Leary will discuss "Making the Case for Print on...
Ten Worst Practices in Database Projects
By Robert StackowiakDecember 2, 2008
You, no doubt, try to incorporate best practices when engaging in database projects. This week, I was asked to present at the Oracle BIWA SIG conference on "Unusual Oracle Data Warehouse Deployment Strategies" and developed a lengthy list of worst...
OpenSolaris 2008.11 Release
By Chris JosephesDecember 2, 2008
It looks like the 2008.11 release of OpenSolaris just hit their download page. My plan this week is to install the image on my primary laptop and gauge ease of installation, configuration, driver support, and performance. According to blog reports,...
More super-styling
By Rick JelliffeDecember 2, 2008
n yesterday's blog I suggested the idea of super-styles. These are properties of elements which sit above the kinds of typesetting mechanisms our current generation of typesetting and office applications provide. They specify the rhetorical characteristics of an element that the rendering should expose. So what might these super-style properties be?
Finding a sweet spot for crowdsourcing: uTest outsources software testing
By Andy OramDecember 2, 2008
The promise of peer production seems to reach everywhere these days, but harnessing it is quite a trick. uTest seems to have corraled all the necessary elements. Their business model can be described quite simply: uTest signs up freelance testers for participating software development firms, who in turn pay each tester for each bug found. Anyone who wants to try peer production in his own industry can get some tips by studying how uTest and a company with some similarities, TopCoder, found their sweet spots.
First Steps in Rails (on Heroku)
By Simon St. LaurentDecember 2, 2008
If you want to explore Rails, heroku.com offers an easy way to get started, using a web-based interface that neatly hides the complexity of installation and database management.
The Energy Secret
By Julian DarleyDecember 2, 2008
Do we really understand the deepest causes of the economic crisis? If not, then we run the risk that our remedies will not produce sustainable results.
10,000 iPhone Apps
By Raven ZacharyDecember 1, 2008
Two services that track the iPhone App Store - AppShopper and 148Apps, announced on Saturday that there have been over 10,000 iPhone applications released on the US App Store. The number of currently available applications is just shy of 10,000 due to discontinued apps and a few that have been pulled by Apple (e.g. trademark disputes, terms of service violations,...
Where 2.0 CFP Closes December 2nd
By Brady ForrestDecember 1, 2008
The fifth Where 2.0 Call For Participation will be closing tomorrow (December 2nd). This year we're going to focus on location-aware technologies and their implications. The iPhone and Android have paved the way for a new breed of app and Where 2.0 will be focused on it. We won't be leaving mapping or geodata behind -- instead we'll look...
Moldy but Good: Keyboard Performance Hacks
By David BattinoDecember 1, 2008
Watch Moldover deconstruct a toylike keyboard and reassemble it as an innovative musical performance controller.
The Lawsuit Ain't Over Til the Fat Lady Sings
By James TurnerDecember 1, 2008
Last week, the final judgment was issued in the SCO v. Novell lawsuit. No big surprise, Novell took the day, with SCO ordered to fork over around 3.5 million dollars. This lead many to declare SCO dead, that truth and...
XForms for Prototyping
By Philip FennellDecember 1, 2008
A high-fidelity prototype provides the engineers and QA organization with a rich, interactive description of the product's intended functionality and design to be used as a reference basis for implementation and test. Whenever this subject is raised my thoughts turn immediately to XForms. The advantage of prototyping with XForms is that it is quick, declarative, readable and is well defined.
Super-styling: Are our current page-breaking hints too low-level for acceptable interoperability?
By Rick JelliffeDecember 1, 2008
Can our ideas of page-break styling, derived as they are from the mechanisms of quite ancient WP systems, be replaced by some more high level styling concepts that would allow greater mechanism-independence for typeset output.
Is Apple OS X More Secure than Windows?
By John ViegaDecember 1, 2008
OS X Security is a pretty fun topic for me, because I love watching the carnage when people fight. Before I register my opinion, I need to be clear that I've been operating almost exclusively on a Mac since OS...
Data Center Power Efficiency
By Jesse RobbinsNovember 30, 2008
James Hamilton is one of the smartest and most accomplished engineers I know. He now leads Microsoft's Data Center Futures Team, and has been pushing the opportunities in data center efficiency and internet scale services both inside & outside Microsoft. His most recent post explores misconceptions about the Cost of Power in Large-Scale Data Centers: I’m not sure how many...
Super Street Fighter II and OC Remix: Fans create soundtrack for game
By The Fat ManNovember 30, 2008
Now that's what I call interactive music. The fans re-mixed the tunes from the old game, and they got put in the new version of the game. Can you dig it? It's right here:...
iPhone Apps Over $100
By Raven ZacharyNovember 30, 2008
Put aside the debate about $0.99 vs $1.99 on the App Store for a minute. How about $109.99 vs. $199.99?! There are currently 14 iPhone applications for sale on the US App Store for more than $100. While some of...
Fedora 10: Upgrading an Earlier Version Still a Bad Idea + Adobe AIR Doesn't Like 10
By Todd OgasawaraNovember 30, 2008
Updating Fedora from one release to another is still a bad idea even with Fedora 10. But, the biggest issue for me is that Adobe AIR for Linux Beta 1 doesn't install on it.
Key Security Issues for the Amazon Cloud
By George ReeseNovember 30, 2008
This follow-on article to the Twenty Rules for Amazon Cloud Security examines six real security concerns that gave rise to the 20 rules.
PyMOTW: readline
By Doug HellmannNovember 30, 2008
readline – Interface to the GNU readline library Purpose:Provides an interface to the GNU readline library for interacting with the user at a command prompt. Python Version:1.4 and later The readline module can be used to enhance interactive command...
Why I Love Twitter
By Tim O'ReillyNovember 29, 2008
If you care what I think, you know that Twitter is just about the best way to learn what I'm paying attention to. I pass along tidbits of O'Reilly news, interesting reading from mailing lists and blogs I follow, and of course, tidbits from the twitterers I'm following. These are all the things I could never find time to put...
Borrowing Pitch and Time Correction Techniques from the Pros
By Mark WalsenNovember 29, 2008
Suppose you are happy with a home recording of your voice or your acoustic instrument, except, rats, there were a couple of bad notes. What do you do? ... Although it is a tool well-suited for professional recording studio use, Melodyne is also quite friendly enough for everyday musicians.
Lala's Potential iPhone App
By Paul KafasisNovember 29, 2008
Yesterday I posted about Lala.com over on the Rogue Amoeba weblog. You can read the full article, but in short, I discussed the very cool Lala.com music service, which offers several advantages over the iTunes Store. I'd certainly encourage you...
Put change.gov Under Revision Control!
By Tim O'ReillyNovember 28, 2008
Last week, the New York Times wrote about Changes at change.gov: The policy section of the transition site was removed without notice just days after Change.gov went live shortly after the election. At the time a spokesman for the Obama-Biden transition effort said they were “re-tooling” it. There was an almost instantaneous outcry from bloggers and other advocates of transparency...
Locating, tagging, and retrieving views
By Erica SadunNovember 28, 2008
Last week, I wrote about exploring subviews both of the user-added and Apple-created varieties. Many GUI components contain view classes that are hidden from the developer but are composed of perfectly standard components.
Twenty Rules for Amazon Cloud Security
By George ReeseNovember 27, 2008
The Amazon EC2 cloud computing model introduces new classes of security concerns as you look to deploying web applications into the cloud. These twenty rules for Amazon Cloud security will help you protect the integrity of your cloud deployments from many different kinds of security threats.
Todd's 2008 Top 5 For-Fee Mac App Picks
By Todd OgasawaraNovember 26, 2008
I reviewed the for-fee Mac apps I wrote about this year and created my Top 5 for-fee Mac apps list. Feel free to add your own list of Top 5 for-fee Mac apps in the comments area.
My Web Doesn't Like Your Enterprise, at Least While it's More Fun
By Jim StogdillNovember 25, 2008
The enterprise sucks, just ask the web. But will the web always be fun?
Take Control of iCal Invitation Replies
By Jochen WoltersNovember 25, 2008
In the comments to last week's post on the caveats of using invitations with iCal, a reader pointed out John Maisey's iCal Reply Checker. As it turns out, that little utility delivers a set of useful options that should have been built into iCal all along.
Gifts for Shooters - Suggestions for Your Holiday List
By Derrick StoryNovember 25, 2008
We all know that shooters are some of the most difficult people to impress with an affordable holiday gift. If they really need it, they already have it. If they don't have it, it's probably too expensive for them -- so that means you can afford it? I think photographers deserve good gifts just like everyone else, even if that...
Random House Expands Ebook Offerings, Embraces EPUB
By Peter BrantleyNovember 25, 2008
Random House is pursing digital with a vengeance, recognizing a growth market. From the Huffington Post: The publisher already has more than 8,000 books in the electronic format and...
Open Question: Standalone iPhone Ebooks vs. E-Readers
By Mac SlocumNovember 25, 2008
Ebooks as iPhone applications started as a novelty/workaround, but the technique is now being used by Houghton Mifflin for a full-fledged digital rollout. From Wired's Epicenter blog: The publisher...
Using Schematron to declare and report implementation limitations
By Rick JelliffeNovember 25, 2008
Implementation schemas are used to test documents that they only contain structures or values that can be accepted by a particular implementation of a standard schema.
Dear Facebook: You Lost My What?
By M. David PetersonNovember 25, 2008
Highlighting the importance of the phrase "data backup" with an "Are you kidding me?"-type moment, it seems Facebook has some serious "'splaining to do" as to how they /lost/ my (and I assume others) application notification settings.
A Conversation with the Authors of JRuby Cookbook
By Timothy M. O'BrienNovember 25, 2008
Henry Liu and Justin Edelson authors of the just released JRuby Cookbook talk about JRuby, the current state of the Java platform, and some of the compelling benefits of integrating a language like Ruby with the Java platform.
Where are the XML Editors?
By Eric LarsonNovember 25, 2008
Recently at my job I've had to spend a good portion of time working with a set of languages we created from scratch. It is interesting to think in terms of lexers and parsers, but I've hit the point where...
“Technology is the 7th Kingdom of Life” - A conversation with Kevin Kelly
By Joshua-Michele RossNovember 24, 2008
Kevin Kelly doesn’t need much in the way of introduction to Radar readers. He is a big thinker looking at the intersection of biology, technology and culture. Kevin gave a great High Order Bit at the Web 2.0 Summit and I caught up with him afterward. This interview covers: The impact of the web on our recent elections The rich...
Why Does Twitter's Business Model Matter to You?
By Sarah MilsteinNovember 24, 2008
That's a real question, not a rhetorical one. In a Radar post I wrote last week about whether Twitter's user base was hitting a critical inflection point, the first comment was, "How does Twitter make money?" Although the post wasn't about Twitter's business model per se, a lot of the comments were. Which wasn't too surprising, given that many people...
Point-Counterpoint: Digital Book DRM, the Least Worst Solution
By Bill McCoyNovember 24, 2008
In the second part of a point-counterpoint exchange, Bill McCoy examines two scenarios: a publishing industry that doesn't embrace interoperable DRM, and one that does.
Experimental O'Reilly Ebook iPhone Integration with Stanza
By Andrew SavikasNovember 24, 2008
Back in August, I showed how to read O'Reilly EPUB ebooks on an iPhone (or iPod Touch) using the popular (and free) Stanza reader app. I'm pleased to announce...
Q&A With Co-Creator of Classics iPhone E-Reader
By Mac SlocumNovember 24, 2008
The Classics app is a little different than competing iPhone e-readers: for starters, it's not free. Classics co-creator Phill Ryu discusses the app's pricing, design and development in this Q&A.
Can I trust my data to a security company? My password, for instance?
By Andy OramNovember 24, 2008
I bought a Windows PC this weekend and got ESET NOD32 Antivirus with it. What struck me was the elaborate security theater ESET puts you through to register for updates.
A sketch on recasting XBRL in Schematron
By Rick JelliffeNovember 24, 2008
In the next few years a lot of people will be generating XBRL documents, in particular for financial filings to regulators. And a few years later a lot of people will be figuring out what to do with all that data too..I decided to take a look at whether XBRL could, keeping the same instance syntax and concepts, have a schema language transplant so that Schematron was used instead of XSD....
Help! The Polar Bears Have Fallen Down the Well!
By James TurnerNovember 24, 2008
This is an essay about human nature, and the way that the global warming (or global climate change) problem is encountering a "perfect storm" of human shortcomings. It is unabashedly an advocacy piece, and I'm equally unabashed in my support...
Our first big infection
By John ViegaNovember 24, 2008
At 7:30 eastern this morning, one of my brothers called to tell me that he is, "being attacked by hackers. My computer has hackers on it, and over 100 viruses, spywares and password stealing Trojans, and I don't even know...
Are Computer Languages Irrelevant?
By Kurt CagleNovember 24, 2008
Consider this - I spend a significant amount of my working day staring at a web window pane within a browser. Now, that browser may be written in C++ (which would certainly have been the case even five years ago) but is increasingly likely to be written in JavaScript or Python of even Java, not necessarily because these languages are any faster (even with some of the most startling improvements in JavaScript, there's still an order of magnitude or two separating performance) but because these languages are generally easier to work with.
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