The PC Informant » Web 2.0

Can’t anybody play this here game?

Vic Laurie — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:47:11 +0000

I was reminded of the above famous quote by Casey Stengel about the hapless New York Mets baseball team he was managing when I saw this post at InformationWeek, 9 In 10 Web Apps Have Serious Flaws. Can’t anybody out there write safe applications?

Google Wave

Vic Laurie — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:08:24 +0000

I keep seeing references to Google Wave and even my wife is asking what it is, So here’s an explanation. It is an experimental program in Web collaboration. Groups of people can edit and discuss documents with each other in real-time. Presently, you have to be invited to participate. For more information see this Lifehacker guide:

Google Wave is a new web-based collaboration tool that’s notoriously difficult to understand. This guide will help. Here you’ll learn how to use Google Wave to get things done with your group. Because Wave is such a new product that’s evolving quickly, this guidebook is a work in progress that will update in concert with Wave as it grows and changes.

What’s been happening in cloud computing

Vic Laurie — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:00:46 +0000

Since many have been predicting that computing in the “cloud” is where we are going, you might be curious to know what is actually going on in the area. Gigaom has posted a summary, What Happened in Cloud Computing in Q2?

Cloud computing- the future?

Vic Laurie — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:30:24 +0000

A lot of talk goes on about whether the desktop PC as we know it is doomed to be replaced by the “cloud”. There’s a lot of money riding on how this develops. Some even say that something like Google’s Chrome operating system may break Microsoft’s effective monopoly.

Just where cloud computing may or may not go is of sufficient general interest that even the Op-Ed page of the New York Times is covering the story. Monday, a piece appeared called Lost in the Cloud. Harvard law professor Jonathan Zittrain is skeptical about the cloud. He worries about privacy and security. He also says that innovation may be affected. He is afraid that the Internet providers, social sites, and others may try to control content.

I think there are very good reasons to be concerned about privacy and security but I am not so sure about Zittrain’s conclusion that cloud computing will be less innovative. I think that progress in desktop computing is subject to roadblocks of its own, such as the Wintel hegemony. Controlling content on the wild, wild Web may not be as easy as he fears.

Mobile technology creating narcissism?

Vic Laurie — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:00:07 +0000

At Computerworld, Mike Elgan writes that mobile technology is creating a bunch of self-absorbed narcissists:

While everyone’s on the lookout for risks, such as a Wii controller to the face, or walking into an open sewer while texting, something subtler and more pervasive may be happening. Mobile technology may be transforming us all into raving narcissists.

He continues:

In general, however, everyone goes through narcissistic phases in both childhood and teen years. Normally, we snap out of it when reality smacks us in the face at some point. People learn (often the hard way) to interact with and have consideration for other people. We learn that we can’t get whatever we want whenever we want it. We develop thicker skin about criticism, and sometimes respond to it by striving to do better.

But now it appears that mobile technology, such as cell phones, social networks and mobile software, may be interfering with the natural process of growing up — of learning to evolve beyond adolescent narcissism. It may enable us to live in a self-centered social environment devoid of both non-peers and personal criticism.

Microsoft’s “Gazelle” project

Vic Laurie — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:20:51 +0000

Google’s Chrome browser and operating system (OS) is getting all the attention but Microsoft has a project of its own that may hint at a future OS that is Web oriented. It is called “Gazelle”. Little information is available but Microsoft Research posted the following:

Once upon a time, Web sites were the online equivalent of data sheets. Now users go to the Web to run business apps, do their banking, buy products, socialize, receive a daily news fix, or play interactive games. Nor are Web pages simple HTML anymore; a page can be composed of dynamic content from third-party ad sites, newsfeeds, or messaging sites.

In addition, the software industry has been moving steadily toward a software-as-a-service paradigm. As a result, the browser has taken on the role of application platform, but the increasing value of what is available through the Internet is driving development of Web applications that push the limits of browser capability. AJAX, postMessage, and other recent innovations to the browser platform empower Web developers to build richer Web applications. But Web applications have yet to achieve the richness and robustness of desktop applications; a misbehaving site, such as an ad, can interfere with other sites being viewed by the user, and today’s Web applications have limited access to local system resources such as Webcams, speakers, and printers.

No wonder then, that Helen J. Wang, senior researcher in the Systems and Networking group at Microsoft Research Redmond, is working on ways to evolve the browser into an operating system that supports an increasingly sophisticated Web environment.

At CNET, Ina Fried writes:

Many people think that the browser is starting to replace the operating system as the center of the personal computer.

Naturally, the view that Windows is on a path to irrelevance is not one generally espoused by Microsoft. That said, at least some inside Redmond’s walls argue that the Web browser needs to start acting more like an operating system.

Wang, who has been at Microsoft since getting her doctorate from University of California at Berkeley in 2001, argues that the Web browser should act as more than just a file clerk that rubber-stamps each request that comes its way. Rather, it should act more like a traffic cop, keeping things moving smoothly and ensuring that the computer’s resources are fairly allocated.

In short, Wang says, the browser needs to act more like Windows does–making sure that different Web applications are protected from one another–even those running within the same site. So Wang and her team came up with a prototype, called Gazelle, that does just that.

Is cloud computing the future?

Vic Laurie — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:00:51 +0000

The announcement by Google that it was going to create a new operating system caused a firestorm of discussion. Much of the discussion, however, downplayed or even ignored the fact that the proposed (it doesn’t exist yet) Google Chrome operating system would be a minimalist version aimed solely at getting on the Internet. A system would then depend on Web applications or the “cloud” for its functions. Is cloud computing the future? Not everybody would agree that computing is going to move online but the Week in Review section of Sunday’s New York Times has an article that says:

Whether Chrome OS succeeds may not matter. Much of the computer world is inexorably moving toward “cloud computing,” in a shift that could greatly simplify the way we access and process digital information.

There would be no more pesky software installations, no more trudging through menu after menu to configure programs, no more backups or upgrades. E-mailing bulky attachments would be a thing of the past, as people could allow others to access their files online, making collaboration easier.

Any device, anywhere — from a desktop PC to a mobile phone — could give users instant access to all their files and programs so long as it had a Web browser. At the same time, new kinds of devices would be possible, from portable computers that are even lighter than today’s thinnest PCs, to, say, a Web-connected screen in a hotel room that would give guests full access to their digital lives.

What’s your opinion? Would you be willing to do most of your computer activity on the Web?

Post and share files on the Web

Vic Laurie — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:06:36 +0000

Do you like to share music, video, slide shows, photos, and other types of files with your friends and family but find email attachments and embedding too cumbersome? There are various ways to post things on the Web (including blogging) but many home PC users just want some simple way to share their files without getting involved with social sites or anything very complicated. I have seem several recommendations for a site called Posterous. For example, Steve Bass notes in his newsletter:

I really like Posterous because it’s a free service with no signup to worry about. And there’s no muss or fuss: I just send them an e-mail and attach the file I want you to view. There are other features, such as making a blog private and password protecting it.

There is a Posterous FAQ at this link.

Five other free places to share files online are given at MakeUseOf.

Add effects to your photos online

Vic Laurie — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:00:02 +0000

I’m not a photography buff but many of my friends are. For some free ways to jazz up your pictures, take a look at some of the online stuff available. MakeUseOf has collected links to a number of sites that let you add interesting effects to your photos:

Trying to make your photos more interesting? Thinking about learning Photoshop to add some creative effects to images? How about achieving similar results by nothing more than point and click?

Check out the following sites to add funny, interesting and artistic effects to your photos…

Web 2.0 and other buzzwords

Vic Laurie — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:00:17 +0000

If you are like me, you get tired of all the jargon and buzzwords that proliferate like weeds on the technology scene. Web 2.0, cloud computing, tweeting, what’s it all mean? Lately, there has been talk that Web 2.0 is dead. Since most Web users have never had a clear idea of what Web 2.0 actually is (nor do they care), this chatter strikes me as just attempting to be more “in” rather than serving any useful purpose. PCMag editor Lance Ulanoff puts it this way:

The Web, or Internet, is not a piece of software. Web 2.0 is an old, tired label that should be retired—but not in favor of Web 2.5, Web 3.0, or even Next-Gen Web. Just call it what it is—the Web or Internet.