GabCast is pretty cool system that allows a user to call in a GapCast to a system that will convert your voice call into a mp3 and then hook this up to your account which can host subscribers. All of the details are handled by the website, which was very well done in terms of usability. Simply sign up for an account at www.gabcast.com, then choose the option to phone in your GabCast, call the toll-free number, enter in some account info, and then record. That's it! People can subscribe to your feed and get updates.
I wanted to test out the system, and I created a 10 second proof of concept - just click here. For me, this model doesn't fit how I would use the system (I rather write/read than talk/video). However, if I were traveling across the globe and didn't have a computer, this would be a great way to give friends updates as to my activities. In most countries a phone is easily acquired, certainly it is easier than a computer and Internet connection. I would also imagine in terms of real-time information, this would be handy. Certainly on a college campus news of a great party will spread even more quickly!
With my up and coming travel I will keep this tool in my Web 2.0 toolkit. I know that I will be traveling to locations where connecting to the Internet will be difficult at times. However, with GapCast, its just a phone call away.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Web 2.0 Browsing with Tags - Delicious
Here is one more tool that I am checking out. This tool is http://del.icio.us and you can find my list here http://del.icio.us/scchadwi. This tool is a like your browser, but it is online and the links are shared. This browser also allows the bookmarks to have tags for categorization which allows advanced searching. I say that I am checking this tool out because I think that it will take several months to get a feel for this tool and how useful it will be. However, the initial thoughts are that this tool should be pretty cool. I say this because links of interest are only bookmarked when people think that the link is meaningful (people don't like clutter, so why bookmark garbage). Because there is a filter on the system (albeit a social filter), the system can bubble up the most popular links within a given field to the top of the list. This has two uses - emerging trends become clear, but also experts within the field, even the new ones are identified. This, to me, is very exciting and useful. Combine this technology with Goggles "Top 100 searched items" found here, a broad picture is formed. If you haven't downloaded this tool and setup your account, you might be missing out!
Web 2.0 Technorati
In checking out Technorati, the first objective was to figure out what the heck this website http://technorati.com/ is and what does it do for me as a user. I went to the website to see if the meaning would jump out. I studied this for a while without luck. So, when that happens, where do you go to figure something out - realizing that no single person can be an expert in everything. Well, www.Wikipedia.org is your best bet. Sure enough, Wikipedia told me what I needed to know (found here if you want the official scoop).
Technorati is a search engine for blogs. The need to search blogs will increase as more meaningful information is posted. I tried out Technorati for a while, and although I recognize this is a first attempt into this field, I am not sure it is ready for prime time. In terms of searching, I entered some content from experts within their respective field, unfortunately the blog didn't return what I was hoping for. It is certainly possible that I just happened to request the wrong search words, but in this specific instance I was disappointed. Google does a very good job of bubbling content up to the top that most people find valuable and pushes the other stuff towards the end of the search list. I decided to investigate some of the content to see if I could spot why the search results were so different from what I expected. I was surprised by what I found.
In looking at content for top blogs, a number of blog authors were asking people to push their blog to the top by requesting that people add an entry and then do a search on that blog. I think that this explains in part why the returned search results from above were skewed. It is too bad that Technorati doesn't ban/delete this type of behavior as it really diminishes their service. When I saw this, it started to make sense. Anyways, I think that my summary of Technorati is something along the lines of I like the idea of a blog search engine, but unless they figure out how to get the right content on the first try, then Google will likely put them out of business.
Technorati is a search engine for blogs. The need to search blogs will increase as more meaningful information is posted. I tried out Technorati for a while, and although I recognize this is a first attempt into this field, I am not sure it is ready for prime time. In terms of searching, I entered some content from experts within their respective field, unfortunately the blog didn't return what I was hoping for. It is certainly possible that I just happened to request the wrong search words, but in this specific instance I was disappointed. Google does a very good job of bubbling content up to the top that most people find valuable and pushes the other stuff towards the end of the search list. I decided to investigate some of the content to see if I could spot why the search results were so different from what I expected. I was surprised by what I found.
In looking at content for top blogs, a number of blog authors were asking people to push their blog to the top by requesting that people add an entry and then do a search on that blog. I think that this explains in part why the returned search results from above were skewed. It is too bad that Technorati doesn't ban/delete this type of behavior as it really diminishes their service. When I saw this, it started to make sense. Anyways, I think that my summary of Technorati is something along the lines of I like the idea of a blog search engine, but unless they figure out how to get the right content on the first try, then Google will likely put them out of business.
Web 2.0 - My Slide Show
I decided that I should make a quick slide show as I wanted to see how simple it is to create a project. Good news - it is as simple as cut/copy/paste/save and then upload. You don't believe me? Here are some quick steps to make a slide show. I opt'd to use a service called www.slideshow.com to host my slides. This is a free site with options to upgrade if needed. The default has something around 1 GB of hosting which isn't bad considering it is free.
The steps to use this site to share pictures are as follows. Decide how you want to upload your slideshow - PDF, PPT or some other options. PPT is very user friendly, so I used this. Ok - now for the recipe
There is one gotcha that I thought I would point out. Notice in my example the 2nd slide is just a pure gray slide? Well, this is because I didn't have the slide centered in the ppt and only a portion of the slide was taken. The entire picture must be centered. I was hoping that the application would center the picture as this seemed reasonable, but that isn't the case.
What would make www.slideshow.com even better (besides being faster and centering pictures?), well, a bit of user protection for content would be nice. Once pictures are uploaded, anyone on the Internet can look at them. This isn't a huge problem, but if you are taking pictures of your family/kids, you might not want this content available to the general public. It would be nice if they created access control lists or some other structure that controlled access.
Go luck and enjoy!
The steps to use this site to share pictures are as follows. Decide how you want to upload your slideshow - PDF, PPT or some other options. PPT is very user friendly, so I used this. Ok - now for the recipe
- Take your pictures and place each picture(s) on a slide. Add as many slides as needed as long as you stay under the 30 MB file size limitation. Pictures can be added in terms of cut/copy/paste or inserted.
- Go to www.slideshow.com and log into your free account.
- Now select the option to upload your presentation - wait a fairly long time for the presentation to upload [It's free - what do you expect...]
- Click on 'my slide show' and there you have it.
There is one gotcha that I thought I would point out. Notice in my example the 2nd slide is just a pure gray slide? Well, this is because I didn't have the slide centered in the ppt and only a portion of the slide was taken. The entire picture must be centered. I was hoping that the application would center the picture as this seemed reasonable, but that isn't the case.
What would make www.slideshow.com even better (besides being faster and centering pictures?), well, a bit of user protection for content would be nice. Once pictures are uploaded, anyone on the Internet can look at them. This isn't a huge problem, but if you are taking pictures of your family/kids, you might not want this content available to the general public. It would be nice if they created access control lists or some other structure that controlled access.
Go luck and enjoy!
Web 2.0 SlideShow
In checking out SlideShow, I was pretty impressed. I think that this is a pretty cool tool and there was some interesting content out there. I think my favorite slide show is located here - it is along the lines of Art that messes with your mind... Each picture has multiple pictures within - and they are very different. Anyways, I might post my own slide show for fun, but for now, I will leave you with an interesting link.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Web 2.0 Flickr
So I was checking out some web picture/sharing services. I blogged on Flickr and Google earlier, but now I wanted to check out the next level - how to access the services programically. I was pleased by the amount of material on the web around Flickr - a number of examples and podcasts exist that allow easy incorporation into Ruby/Rails, C# and most other popular languages. Here is the Flick link with key information.
I also looked at Google, but I haven't found quite what I was looking for in terms of ease of implementation. There api documentation is found here. However, I didn't find as many examples on how to use this API and it doesn't look like it support the incorporation into native languages as does Flickr. Maybe someone can point me in the right direction as I could certainly use the help with Picassa and Google. Thanks!
I also looked at Google, but I haven't found quite what I was looking for in terms of ease of implementation. There api documentation is found here. However, I didn't find as many examples on how to use this API and it doesn't look like it support the incorporation into native languages as does Flickr. Maybe someone can point me in the right direction as I could certainly use the help with Picassa and Google. Thanks!
Web 2.0 Corporate Skype
Skype - not just a fun word to say, but a very cool program, or so the advertisement goes. The program can be found here. Skype allows calls between users and also included video (web cam) if you have it installed. Anyways, I had an interesting issue with Skype, and maybe someone has a solution. I can only run Skype with a corporate version installed on my work computer. This ensures it is battle hardened I guess. Well, this is pretty irritating because my VPN runs at a fraction of the network speed I have available which diminishes call and video quality. However, when I don't run with the VPN, I don't have access to the proxy server (obvious statement). I don't want to turn on and off the proxy server daily, so I am in somewhat of a pickle. Anyone have any ideas? I can't run the public version because then I am in non-compliance of our security policies :( Feedback and solutions are welcome!
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Robotics - The Need
So what is the need for robotics one might ask. We have all watched science fiction movies and have thought that is not practical. Well, you might be right (for now). However, in an earlier blog I noted that the "need" for robotics can often accelerate the innovation within a field. So, why would we need a robot?
In reading the following article, the author shows some clear examples of what services a robot could provide. One example was how the household vacuuming is now done by a robot. Here is a link to the robotic vacuum he mentioned. He notes that each night the robot comes out and vacuums up the house. This is clearly a service that many would be interested in, and is available today.
Another example are the Predator unmanned drones used during wartime. These drones have proven to be invaluable to the military as illustrated by their continued use. Other robots include devices used to dismantle bombs which are used by SWAT and the military teams. In both cases above - risk to the human operator is reduced. Other robots could certainly be used in search and rescue operations. Combining robotics with advanced sensors could certainly help save lives in environments where humans might not be able to easily go such as into burning or collapsed buildings, or other hostile environments. These robots could send feedback about the environments and then the human operators would be able to make better decisions. Many of these examples are highlighted in the above article.
The above examples are meant to illustrate the need for robotics. Between the commercial value and the benefit to human lives, many would agree that robotics offers solutions to problems that have yet to be addressed. Given this need, the innovation is sure to follow.
In reading the following article, the author shows some clear examples of what services a robot could provide. One example was how the household vacuuming is now done by a robot. Here is a link to the robotic vacuum he mentioned. He notes that each night the robot comes out and vacuums up the house. This is clearly a service that many would be interested in, and is available today.
Another example are the Predator unmanned drones used during wartime. These drones have proven to be invaluable to the military as illustrated by their continued use. Other robots include devices used to dismantle bombs which are used by SWAT and the military teams. In both cases above - risk to the human operator is reduced. Other robots could certainly be used in search and rescue operations. Combining robotics with advanced sensors could certainly help save lives in environments where humans might not be able to easily go such as into burning or collapsed buildings, or other hostile environments. These robots could send feedback about the environments and then the human operators would be able to make better decisions. Many of these examples are highlighted in the above article.
The above examples are meant to illustrate the need for robotics. Between the commercial value and the benefit to human lives, many would agree that robotics offers solutions to problems that have yet to be addressed. Given this need, the innovation is sure to follow.
Robotics - Developing the Infrastructor
When reading an article about robotics, it became clear that many of the topics that we have covered in a our class need to intersect to develop the required infrastucture. Many of the items seemed to echo comments made by Dr. Halal during our residency. Here are some examples.
In order for robotics to flourish, the computational requirements need to be addressed. Robotics leverage AI, which is recognized as heavily computational. However, looking to the future, we see quantum computing just up on the horizon. Also, parallel computing is under active research right now - just look at Best Buy to see the presence of the new Quad-core computers from Intel. Robotics will benefit from the advances in computational computing - who knows - they might turn out to be a major driver.
Grid computing is another interesting concept. If there is not enough computational power within a system, then the system can reach out to the network and ask for network resources. This collection of computing resources is called grid computing, among other names.
However, to reach the grid, the network must be established. To have a network, not only bandwidth is required, but also coverage must be in place. Both of these requirements are already under active research. Look at the proposals around WiMax, Wi-Fi, 802.11n. Distances of both long and short range are addressed, and transfer speeds of data are becoming quite impressive, and will continue to grow.
Grids and city coverage are also being established. Cities like Albuquerque and Portland already have blanket city coverage. Technologies such as the iPhone and Blackberry are starting to leverage the VOIP to make calls, which will continue to drive the proliferation of these networks.
In short, the infrastructure to enable robotics to thrive is either in development or on the horizon. Really, the question is if robotics is going to help drive and accelerate these solutions, or if it is gated by the current technology. My take - it will drive it. The need for robotics is huge - and when there is a need, innovation always prevails.
In order for robotics to flourish, the computational requirements need to be addressed. Robotics leverage AI, which is recognized as heavily computational. However, looking to the future, we see quantum computing just up on the horizon. Also, parallel computing is under active research right now - just look at Best Buy to see the presence of the new Quad-core computers from Intel. Robotics will benefit from the advances in computational computing - who knows - they might turn out to be a major driver.
Grid computing is another interesting concept. If there is not enough computational power within a system, then the system can reach out to the network and ask for network resources. This collection of computing resources is called grid computing, among other names.
However, to reach the grid, the network must be established. To have a network, not only bandwidth is required, but also coverage must be in place. Both of these requirements are already under active research. Look at the proposals around WiMax, Wi-Fi, 802.11n. Distances of both long and short range are addressed, and transfer speeds of data are becoming quite impressive, and will continue to grow.
Grids and city coverage are also being established. Cities like Albuquerque and Portland already have blanket city coverage. Technologies such as the iPhone and Blackberry are starting to leverage the VOIP to make calls, which will continue to drive the proliferation of these networks.
In short, the infrastructure to enable robotics to thrive is either in development or on the horizon. Really, the question is if robotics is going to help drive and accelerate these solutions, or if it is gated by the current technology. My take - it will drive it. The need for robotics is huge - and when there is a need, innovation always prevails.
Robotics - Initial Read
I started to read a bit on Robotics and thought I would start internally with my company. I was curious to see how we played in this field. Here is a press release that I thought was very interesting. The format is an interview Q&A style. Click here for the article.
Jim Butler talks about some very interesting aspects of robotics - areas that I had previously not thought about. For example, I was curious about Intel's engagement in this field. As it turns out, robots requires a lot of computing power. This power is for the computations and the associated AI that helps drive a robot. As such, the computational component call out to Intel as this is their expertise. Many other interesting items were covered in the article. Anyways, I'm going to blog on specific areas of this article over the next few days and dissect portions of the article as there are many areas that require further exploration.
Jim Butler talks about some very interesting aspects of robotics - areas that I had previously not thought about. For example, I was curious about Intel's engagement in this field. As it turns out, robots requires a lot of computing power. This power is for the computations and the associated AI that helps drive a robot. As such, the computational component call out to Intel as this is their expertise. Many other interesting items were covered in the article. Anyways, I'm going to blog on specific areas of this article over the next few days and dissect portions of the article as there are many areas that require further exploration.
Web 2.0 - MySpace - you can keep it...
In an earlier post I spoke about the Google web interface/web page. I had tried this tool/interface out but it didn't meet my needs. I decided that I would check out MySpace as I hear a lot about that interface. I poked around at it for a few hours and wasn't too impressed. It did a great job on giving choices and profiles, but the layout seemed a bit restricted. It seems that flexibility of AJAX hasn't quite caught up with some of these web tools. If drag and drop applets were allowed, then this would significantly enhance the experience. I was content to move on and say this tool didn't meet my need. However, the next day, I woke to an inbox of spam from MySpace. I don't mind if a tool doesn't meet the need, I do mind if the tool creates waste, or allows waste to be created. I need to check my settings, but an inbox full of spam is just not acceptable. My goal for today, delete my account from MySpace.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Web 2.0 - Driving a changing in my behavior - how about you?
I realized last night that blogging has driven a change in my behavior and was curious if anyone else in our class noticed that they had changed as well. I realized that my typo's have been reducing. When I initially used the spell check on the blogs I would have lots of corrections. However, as I continue to blog the number of errors has been dwindling - in terms of typo's. I know that I often use the wrong word, but spell check can't catch that issue. However, I have also upgraded to Word 2007 which provides instant feedback - so maybe that is driving the change in behavior. I was curious if anyone else noticed that their accuracy was increasing with the arrival of these new feedback mechanisms?
Web 2.0 - Communication Tools - Linked-In
I tried the Google Groups and the web page as a way to stay connected with family. I liked the idea of the Google Groups, but as a connection tool with their web pages, I wasn't overly impressed. In terms of connection tools, the Groups are great for generic email addresses, but I think that there are some better web tools to allow connections and networks. Here is one such tool.
LinkedIn (found here) is a great tool that allows personal networks to be formed between individuals. I didn't find this tool, it found me. Let me explain. LinkedIn allows social networks to be built - and people can be added to your network. When I came in one day, I had a number of "LinkedIn" emails waiting for me. I read up on the concept, and I started accepting these "invitations." The power of this system becomes readily apparent as you see your network of business contacts grow. In fact, I even became connected to one of the CTU professors that taught one of our classes through a friend - yup - small world! Anyways, as people tend to move around and change industries, you can keep in touch and develop your network over time.
Another neat item about LinkedIn is that it seems to cross reference with the monster.com job posting. If your network is big enough (which it grows quickly because your friends friends become your friends) you can possibly get an inside contact on the job front. I think that there was a movie about everyone being within 7 degrees of freedom of knowing each other - this system works off of the same concept.
Anyways, the point of this post is that finding the right tool for the right job is very important. If the tool you are using isn't a perfect fit, chances are that there is a tool out there that will work better. GoogleGroups are great for emails, but LinkedIn is better for maintaining a business/social network - IMHO.
LinkedIn (found here) is a great tool that allows personal networks to be formed between individuals. I didn't find this tool, it found me. Let me explain. LinkedIn allows social networks to be built - and people can be added to your network. When I came in one day, I had a number of "LinkedIn" emails waiting for me. I read up on the concept, and I started accepting these "invitations." The power of this system becomes readily apparent as you see your network of business contacts grow. In fact, I even became connected to one of the CTU professors that taught one of our classes through a friend - yup - small world! Anyways, as people tend to move around and change industries, you can keep in touch and develop your network over time.
Another neat item about LinkedIn is that it seems to cross reference with the monster.com job posting. If your network is big enough (which it grows quickly because your friends friends become your friends) you can possibly get an inside contact on the job front. I think that there was a movie about everyone being within 7 degrees of freedom of knowing each other - this system works off of the same concept.
Anyways, the point of this post is that finding the right tool for the right job is very important. If the tool you are using isn't a perfect fit, chances are that there is a tool out there that will work better. GoogleGroups are great for emails, but LinkedIn is better for maintaining a business/social network - IMHO.
Google Groups and Home Page
I decided to try and create a home page for a Google Group that I created. I worked on this for a while, but I wasn't too excited about the end result. However, considering that this was a first for Google to go into this space, I wasn't too disappointed. I think what would make this better is if they were to leverage the applet concept from the personalized web space. If you haven't created your own Google home page, you are missing out. The problem I had with the Google Groups home page is that I couldn't really get the layout that organized the web page in a way that I liked. It needed the pick-up and drag concept. Maybe someone out there has an example of what a great Google Group web page looks like? If so, I would love to have a link so I can shameless copy it!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Mind Map
Part of an assignment is to investigate Mind Mapping Tools and Technology. I thought I would do this assignment in Google Docs for fun and then maybe publish to a blog, although I'm not sure yet. Regardless, I thought this would be a good test to see how easy Google Docs handles a longer gathering of information.
I thought I would show off a free tool called FreeMind, which can be found here. This is a great tool and I will include some information about this tool and some screen captures. First, what is this tool you might ask? FreeMind is a tool that is a Java based tool (runs on lots of platforms) and helps capture and share information. That is a broad description, but this tool does a lot! It is not web based, however, it is still a great tool to have in the toolbox. I often use this tool when I am brainstorming different ideas or trying to determine a flow of information. However, it can do much more than that.
Step 1 is to go to the link above and download the program for your given platform. The install is very easy, although the first time you run it might take a second or two to load up. After it is installed, the best way to get started is actually to click on the Help and then the documentation. The documentation that comes up is actually a mind map! By clicking through the navigation/help, the user gets a great feel of how the program works.
Here is a quick capture of a Mind Map - I took this out of the help tutorial, which does demo a lot of the nice capability.
What is nice is that the central idea is captured and then there are branches coming off of this idea. Each branch can have more branches - think of it as a free with a base which has limbs, which has branches, and then twigs and finally leaves. There is no limit to how many branches are present, and you can have as many leafs as needed.
Another nice feature is that the content that goes into a leaf can trigger other activities. For example, one leaf might have a huge section of help on short cut key mappings as shown on the left here.
On the right there are expandable links. Some of these links open web pages while others can link to other mind maps.
Executing other files is also possible (bat, exe's, etc.).
Another great use for Mind Maps and this application are for brain storming sessions. When a problem requires inputs from lots of people, this program can rapidly organize these ideas and facilitate the organization into a meaningful structure.
Anyways, check out this application - its free and very powerful!
Steve Chadwick
Aug 2007.
Success with Google Distribution Lists
Well, I am glad to report that I have had my first success with upgrading my family to Web 2.0. I setup a distribution list for group email via Google Groups. I am proud to report that it only took ~ 1 week before the family was sending emails to this dist list and sharing funny stories :) This dist list is a great way for folks to stay in touch with each other. Now I need to build up our web page which comes along with the group dist list. It looks like blogging is also allowed there as well - so it might be a great way to allow one stop shopping...
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Passwords and Web 2.0
With all of the new web 2.0 tools, and every tool having a login, a family member asked me about how to manage passwords. I thought I would respond to that question quickly here. There are several camps of thought here, and I thought I would hit a couple of them.
First, let's talk about passwords. Passwords should be at least 8 characters in length, and more is always better (meeting the next criteria). Passwords should have a combination of upper and lower case, numbers (0..9) and at least one special character (!#$%^&*()_+@) as examples. If your password has all of the above criteria, most would consider it a "strong" password.
Some folks say that you should use a different password for every account. That is certainly the most secure, but pretty tough to remember which password goes with each account . If you go this route, there is a great tool called Password Safe and is found here. This tool is free and has been proven to be very secure. Essentially Password Safe is an encrypted collection of all of your passwords and you have one master password to unlock your safe. The tool has a ton of neat features, including the ability to generate strong passwords.
However, not all folks want the added overhead of using a tool to keep track of all of their passwords. Another option, although not as secure, is to use a two or three tiered password system. This approach divides your accounts into several tiers. For example, your banking, stock/account that involve money is guarded by one strong password. This password is used only with these accounts. Another strong password (different from the first) is used to protect your common account such as email, or less valuable accounts. The advantage here is that your most commonly used password (accessing email, etc.) isn't in use as much a your financial password, and as such, this is more secure that using the same password for every account.
Regardless of the method you choose, make sure to change your password every 90 days (more frequently is better). Also realize that if someone wants into your account, they will probably figure out a way. The key is to make it tough enough that it isn't worth their time. Also, don't rule out social engineering as a way to attack your account. Social engineering refers to the techniques to extract the password from you via some "official" sounding reason. These techniques rely on impersonation or someone often saying that they want to help you, or some other official looking website looking for information (phishing).
First, let's talk about passwords. Passwords should be at least 8 characters in length, and more is always better (meeting the next criteria). Passwords should have a combination of upper and lower case, numbers (0..9) and at least one special character (!#$%^&*()_+@) as examples. If your password has all of the above criteria, most would consider it a "strong" password.
Some folks say that you should use a different password for every account. That is certainly the most secure, but pretty tough to remember which password goes with each account . If you go this route, there is a great tool called Password Safe and is found here. This tool is free and has been proven to be very secure. Essentially Password Safe is an encrypted collection of all of your passwords and you have one master password to unlock your safe. The tool has a ton of neat features, including the ability to generate strong passwords.
However, not all folks want the added overhead of using a tool to keep track of all of their passwords. Another option, although not as secure, is to use a two or three tiered password system. This approach divides your accounts into several tiers. For example, your banking, stock/account that involve money is guarded by one strong password. This password is used only with these accounts. Another strong password (different from the first) is used to protect your common account such as email, or less valuable accounts. The advantage here is that your most commonly used password (accessing email, etc.) isn't in use as much a your financial password, and as such, this is more secure that using the same password for every account.
Regardless of the method you choose, make sure to change your password every 90 days (more frequently is better). Also realize that if someone wants into your account, they will probably figure out a way. The key is to make it tough enough that it isn't worth their time. Also, don't rule out social engineering as a way to attack your account. Social engineering refers to the techniques to extract the password from you via some "official" sounding reason. These techniques rely on impersonation or someone often saying that they want to help you, or some other official looking website looking for information (phishing).
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Web Cam Finally Found
I'm no expert on Web Cam's, but I have tried a couple in the last two weeks and have found one that is great. I tried some of the lower end Logitech's and was very disappointed. I finally moved up to the Fusion, and the old saying is true: "You get what you pay for...". I am very pleased with the Fusion, the color adjustments, face tracking, clarity and voice are excellent. If you shop around, you can pick them up for under $50 as well (normally around $100).
Endnote X1 with Word 2007
Well, I was excited when Endnote released X1 which was supposed to work with Word 2007. Well, it worked for about a day, and now it doesn't. Everytime I launch Endnote it crashed. Even after contacting the support desk for various solutions and work-arounds, I have yet to make any progress. Anyways, not sure how isolated this problem is, but a word to the cautious - Endnote X1 isn't quite ready for prime-time...
Friday, August 3, 2007
A Future Prediction: Multi-core Design
In predicting the future, my gut feel prediction was that we would see 1024 cores in ~ 10 years. I decided to research this aspect of the prediction. I have found a number of very interesting links and will summarize here.
First, Intel has demonstrated a working 80-core processor, and a company called ClearSpeed has shown a 96-core. In both cases these cores are on a single chip. Here is the article. The article notes several issues that need to be resolved. First, the chips do not run the x86 instruction set - which is very popular today. Second, how memory interfaces with these chips needs to be resolved. Third, figuring out how to allow developers to leverage these chips in terms of parallel programming needs to be address. The third issue has shown itself as an issue in several other posts...
So, when will the 80-core be mainstream? Intel notes that 80-core should be available in 5 years [article]. Given the complexity of the manufacturing process, my gut feels says that is about right.
So - what does this mean to my prediction? Base on this new data, I think that my gut feel may have been overly aggressive. I would like to change my data based prediction to one of the following. In 10 years we will hit 512 core processors, or in 15 years we may see 1024. The 10 year/512 core also lines up better with the data from MIT that was blogged upon earlier.
First, Intel has demonstrated a working 80-core processor, and a company called ClearSpeed has shown a 96-core. In both cases these cores are on a single chip. Here is the article. The article notes several issues that need to be resolved. First, the chips do not run the x86 instruction set - which is very popular today. Second, how memory interfaces with these chips needs to be resolved. Third, figuring out how to allow developers to leverage these chips in terms of parallel programming needs to be address. The third issue has shown itself as an issue in several other posts...
So, when will the 80-core be mainstream? Intel notes that 80-core should be available in 5 years [article]. Given the complexity of the manufacturing process, my gut feels says that is about right.
So - what does this mean to my prediction? Base on this new data, I think that my gut feel may have been overly aggressive. I would like to change my data based prediction to one of the following. In 10 years we will hit 512 core processors, or in 15 years we may see 1024. The 10 year/512 core also lines up better with the data from MIT that was blogged upon earlier.
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