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The Media

Submission + - A to Z of the Social Media Landscape Reaches P (ulitzer.com)

Submitted by jg21
jg21 writes: Only a brave soul would attempt an A-Z of the social media landscape but John Ryan has attempted just that at Social Media Journal. He begins with A-H and has already reached Part Two (H-P). Ryan adds market research based on Alexa, Compete and Quantcast, and both parts have some intriguingly eclectic choices. Worth glancing at to see if there's something out there you're missing...like CouchSurfing for example. [From the article: "If the stickiness [of a particular site] really impressed me, I issued the Social Glue Award to the site."] Such awards are given to, for example, Bebo, Fotolog and LiveJournal, but not to Digg, Ning or Orkut. When he gets to S, however, Slashdot should be safe in the stickiness stakes.
Programming

Submission + - AJAX, SOA & Virtualization: Predictions for 20 (sys-con.com)

Submitted by jg21
jg21 writes: Can the future of Internet technology and enterprise computing be boiled down to just three key areas, as suggested by this informal survey? The participants indirectly imply that you won't miss much of significance in 2008 if you keep your eye on: AJAX, Service Oriented Architecture (a.k.a. SOA), and Virtualization. All three recur repeatedly in a predictions round-up that includes the thoughts of XML's co-inventor Tim Bray, who also mentions mind you that Rails "will continue to grow at a dizzying speed," and Microsoft's senior evangelist Joshua Allen who throws in the worrying observation that that "Net neutrality will take an even worse beating in 2008 than 2007." A gloomy thought.
The Internet

Submission + - Where's AJAX, SOA & Virtualization Headed in 2 (sys-con.com)

Submitted by jg21
jg21 writes: It's not often that Internet technology futures seems narrowable-down to just three keywords, but this informal survey suggests that you won't miss much of significance in 2008 if you keep your eye on: AJAX, Service Oriented Architecture (a.k.a. SOA), and Virtualization. All three recur in a predictions round-up that includes the thoughts of XML's co-inventor Tim Bray, who also mention Rails "will continue to grow at a dizzying speed," and Microsoft's senior evangelist Joshua Allen who says that "Net neutrality will take an even worse beating in 2008 than 2007."
Programming

Submission + - The Future of AJAX and the Rich Web Dscusssed (ajaxworldmagazine.com)

Submitted by jg21
jg21 writes: This AJAXWorld Magazine article indicates how far AJAX has come since devs complained here that it sucked all the time. Eight experts were asked what questions we should now all be asking, with 2008 just around the corner, about where AJAX is headed next. The suggested questions are refreshingly hard-headed, including: "How are we to fix the web?" (Douglas Crockford, JSON inventor), "When will AJAX development finally be easy?" (Google's Christian Schalk), and "Do we really need JavaScript 2.0? Won't it be somewhat irrelevant by the time it becomes commonplace and thus usable?" (Josh Gertzen, lead developer of the ThinWire AJAX Framework). One of the most interesting questions came from Kevin Hakman, co-founder of TIBCO's General Interface: "On what timeline will AJAX skills become commoditized like HTML skills became?" With a question like that, one is reminded that AJAX has come a very long way in a very short time.
The Internet

Submission + - Is It Time for a "Kinder, Gentler HTML"? (web2journal.com) 2

Submitted by jg21
jg21 writes: Web 2.0 Journal brings to our attention Yahoo! Architect and JSON inventor Douglas Crockford's latest ideas to fix HTML. Not a fan of HTML 5, which is still just an Editor's Draft and not endorsed by W3C yet, Crock puts forward ten ideas that in his view would provide extensibility without complexity, adding that the simplification of HTML he is proposing would reduce the cost of training of web developers and incorporates the best practices of AJAX development. [From the article: "The problems with HTML will not be solved by making it bigger and more complicated. I think instead we should generalize what it does well, while excising features that are problematic. HTML can be made into a general application delivery format without disrupting its original role as a document format."]
Software

Submission + - RoR Gains Increasing Traction With Java Developers (web2journal.com)

Submitted by jg21
jg21 writes: In this Ruby on Rails primer for Java developers, Web 2.0 Journal concedes that RoR is behind the times when it comes to deployment, notes that the JRuby project has made enormous progress in helping it play catch-up, and notes that outside of the Rails core team there's a lot of work to drive Rails into very scalable deployments and even into the enterprise. One surprising omission from TFA is that there is no mention of how Sun is working on making Netbeans a kick-ass Rails IDE. [From the article: "The Rails community is continuously working to find inefficiencies in the common tasks that we do as developers. Rails will continue to sand down the rough patches that appear in the development process."]
Programming

Submission + - Shouldn't Facebook Have Been Written in Java? (web2journal.com)

Submitted by jg21
jg21 writes: Software executive and chief technology officer Coach Wei, whose Java credentials are impeccable, has opened up a can of worms over at Web 2.0 Journal by raising the issue of why Java's not in favor any more for building web sites, even complex ones. Even a complex site like Facebook, Wei notes, is not written in Java. [From the article: 'Why do "cool kids" choose Ruby or PHP to build websites instead of Java? I have to admit that I do not have an answer. ... the power of Java is a perfect fit for the areas where websites may need more than markups or scripting, such as middleware logic.']
Google

Submission + - Redmond's Heavy Guns Go After OpenSocial

Submitted by jg21
jg21 writes: It is probably coincidental, but two responses to OpenSocial from well-respected members of the Microsoft blogging community have each in their own way come out against Google's OpenSocial initiative, Dare Osabanjo because in his view OpenSocial while billed as a standardized widget platform for the Web, actually isn't. And Don Dodge because his claim is that fifty million Facebook developers "don't know what OpenSocial APIs are...and don't care."
Google

Submission + - Can "Don't Be Evil" Survive at "Googzi (web2journal.com) 1

Submitted by jg21
jg21 writes: Web 2.0 Journal draws attention to Google's love affair with mathematics, as recently transformed by an author named Stephen E. Arnold into a 266-page study called "Google Version 2.0" and punningly sub-titled "The Calculating Predator". Arnold introduces the term "Googzilla" for the current incarnation of the search giant from Mountain View, CA, which he says is under no threat whatsoever from competitors Yahoo! or Barry Diller's Ask.com. [From the article: "Google is perhaps today's best example of a company built on calculative thinking. Characteristics of calculative thinking include efficiency and logic, not emotional reactions. An elegant proof of a theorem bundles intelligence and beauty into a construct of great beauty. . . . Like a grand master in chess, Google uses strategic feints to obtain its objective — winning the game."]
Media

Submission + - Will Google Shares Ever Reach $600? Is Elvis Dead?

Submitted by jg21
jg21 writes: "Will Google Shares Reach $600?" asked Web 2.0 Journal this morning, having witnessed them reach $596.81 at one point yesterday before closing back down at $584.39. This question ranks right up there with "Will the Sun Rise Tomorrow Morning?" and "Can Bill Gates Expect to Get Richer or Poorer in the Next Five Years?" What other no-brainer — Doh! — technology questions can Slashdotters think of?
Google

Submission + - Ajax for President, Anyone?

Submitted by jg21
jg21 writes: Google loves it and, as discussed here on Monday, Yahoo! thinks it's worth paying $350M for. Why there's even now an upcoming real-time Poker Tournament being driven by it — in, where else, Silicon Valley. "It" of course is Ajax, and its giddy rise continues, in spite of any downsides either real or perceived, defying all the early predictions that it was just another passing fad. In fact, if Ajax were running for President next year, it might just get elected! Where will it all end, anyone care to speculate?
The Internet

Submission + - 10 Things Bloggers Forget To Do (web2journal.com)

Submitted by jg21
jg21 writes: A useful checklist of "10 Things Bloggers Forget To Do" has been compiled by an Australian developer and is published by Web 2.0 Journal this morning. Among the things all too often ignored the author includes Permalinks, Customized Templates, and last but not least...Polish (not the language!). [From the article: "Bloggers are lazy ... That extra bit of editing could be the difference between a B+ article and the outstanding A+ which is your money maker. Revisit your old posts and have a feel of whether there has been a growing polished feeling in your posts and compare."]
Technology (Apple)

Submission + - Which Is Better, iPhone or the Windows Smartphone?

Submitted by jg21
jg21 writes: Interesting to see that even the CEO of a successful software company can't resist discussing which one is better, the iPhone or the Windows Smartphone? Austrian-based Alexander Falk of Altova fame admits to having been hooked on using Windows Smartphone devices, because of the seamless integration with Outlook, buy says he has been won over by the iPhone. His reasons are purely technical, and include the fact that the Apple device uses XML to talk to the back end servers. Anyone else fall in love with iPhone because of XML?!?
Sun Microsystems

Submission + - CEOs Who Live by the Blog Risk Dying by the Blog

Submitted by jg21
jg21 writes: Web 2.0 Journal notes that Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz's blogged announcement about Sun ditching SUNW for JAVA next week as its NASDAQ ticker symbol is a textbook example of how any CEO who lives by the blog must also be prepared to die by the blog. Of the 350 comments so far, calling Schwartz everything from brilliant strategist to a "marketing weenie," some 300-plus of them are surprisingly eloquent and rational in their hostility to the move.

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