Do we need programming languages? You may think that the answer is no. But, if you go by the recent trend you may need to change your mind. Consider for example the following questions: Why is Google working two (GO, DART) new programming languages? Why has IBM (X10), Cray (Chapel) and Red Hat (Ceylon) working on creating a new programming language of its own? Why did the attendees of a recent conference in London select 5 (HTML5, DART, Scala, Clojure, Node.js) new languages as the most important software development trends for 2012? What does Neil McAllister mean when he says that these 10 (DART, Ceylon, GO, F#, OPA, Fantom, Zimbu, X10, Haxe, Chapel) programming languages that could shake up IT? Why did Anders Hejlsberg of Microsoft, the creator of Turbo Pascal, Delphi and C# launch TypeScript? Are new programming languages getting created just to satisfy the creativ... (more)

Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) and Floods Hit the Philippines

I was lucky that Typhoon Ondoy did not affect my apartment. We are out in Pampanga two hours from Manila but we did not have a flood in my little neighborhood. But so many people died in this typhoon, and now the world knows what can happen in the Philippines. We get more than 20 typhoons each year and they cause many problems. Typhoon Feria back there in June damaged many houses in Samar Province where I am from. I was visiting then and it was very scary. You know we don't have a radio there or any way to know when a typhoon is coming. We just hope for the best and we know that no one will help us. Two other typhoons in August and September gave us rain for more than one week. A lot of floods and some people died then, too. But I think that nobody outside of the Philippines knows about these things unless they are very, very bad. As I said, my family and friends ... (more)

What Does Doorstep Milk Delivery Have in Common with Subscriptions?

Some of our customers and billing industry contacts are somewhat intrigued (or even bemused) by the upsurge in attention being given to the concept of "subscriptions". Some are concerned that they're missing something because, after all, subscriptions have been business-as-usual for most of us for years. So why all the fuss? Does the growth of subscription-type services delivered over the Internet indicate there's some exciting new business model out there? Are we seeing fundamental changes in the way companies are doing business? Part of the mythology surrounding subscription services is that there is something fresh and new about this, something that needs a new generation of billing systems optimized for subscriptions. This is puzzling. Subscription services have been around on the Internet since its earliest days. Actually, subscription services in various form... (more)

Integration or Connectivity - "as a Service"?

Integration challenges in cloud computing have always been intriguing to me and I had posted a previous blog on the importance of SaaS vendors supporting standards enabling easier connectivity. Patchwork solutions integrating applications written over the years have created an inventory of application portfolios so complicated to maintain that their budget drains a large percentage of corporate information technology expenditure even today. >Cloud computing makes the need of world-class integration services important to the overall success of solutions. Vendors are not ignoring this customer need. Several studies indicate integration as a top barrier to cloud computing. Informatica has built a cloud integration solution. IBM purchased CastIron in May, 2010. Start-ups like SnapLogic and RunMyProcess seem to be changing fundamental techniques of delivering integrati... (more)

[Update 2] WikiLeaks & Web 3.0 - A Commentary

[Further updated to include advance word of Jay Rosen/Dave Winer "Rebooting the Media" podcast - #75 coming Monday Dec 6] [Updated to include PayPal announcement of the closure of WikiLeaks' PayPal account.] Is Web 3.0 maybe going to be less the utopia we've been envisaging and more like the real, physical world, with all the real-world limitations that follow along with it...? The latest WikiLeaks ("Cablegate") affair, coming as it does at the very end of the first decade of the 21st Century, comes at an appropriate moment. An undoubted political and diplomatic hornet's nest, the swirling discussions surrounding the organization's drip-drip release of (so far) 612 of the quarter of a million or so diplomatic cables in its possession are all grist to the mill of an "awakening" that in my view is likely going to mark the difference between the Web of 2000-1010 and that... (more)

Dell and VMware Simplify Disaster Recovery with Integrated Virtualization Solution

In keeping with Dell’s mission to simplify IT, Dell announced the seamless integration of Dell EqualLogic storage arrays with VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM), which automates disaster recovery (DR) management in virtual infrastructures. As one of VMware’s largest resellers and Global Technology Alliance Partners, Dell and its network of Enterprise- Architecture-certified channel partners can now deliver a complete end-to-end DR automation and management solution. The combined Dell EqualLogic/VMware solution integrates PS Series Auto-Replication directly into SRM using PS Series SRM Storage Adapter software developed by Dell. VMware SRM enables non-disruptive, automated testing of recovery plans and automates the recovery process using SAN-based data volumes replicated to the remote site by native PS Series Auto-Replication software. Both Auto-Replica... (more)

How Cloud Computing Can Jump Start Your Recession Proof IT Career

Many already realize that the economic downturn increases the usefulness of Cloud Computing. But do you? Rather than writing that $2M check for your data center hardware refresh, wouldn't you rather manage your infrastructure as a service? Those attending SYS-CON's pioneering "Cloud Computing Bootcamp" (www.cloudbootcamp.sys-con.com) on November 20 at The Fairmont Hotel will learn first-hand how moving part of their infrastructure to the cloud can turn capital expenditure (or fixed costs) into operational expenditure (or variable costs). That's how to beat a recession! Being held for the first time at The Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, CA, on November 20, 2008, the free Cloud Computing Bootcamp will show you how to take advantage of the cloud. Cloud computing is an opportunity for businesses to implement low-cost, low-power and high-efficiency systems to deliver scalabl... (more)

Want To Be An Expert? Follow These Two Rules

Expertise is like beauty: It's in the eye (or ear) of the beholder. You can have facts and figures about a particular subject coming out of your mouth, but if your audience has no interest in or need for the information, then you are not an expert. Rule #1 to be an expert: Watch for the signs and signals you are getting through to your audience. Their body language will give you clear indications of your success or failure. (This is the subject of another Ulitzer article, "The Body Language of Acceptance.") You can also go from expert to non-expert quickly if you do not have a sense of timing. For example, when someone at a cocktail party engages you in conversation about web-based calendaring software and you know two things about the subject--enough to fill, say, 90 seconds--then change the subject when you run out of content. Rule #2 to be an expert: Know how lo... (more)

Homeland Security Keeping You Safe with Social Media

Secretary Napolitano requested that this sidebar, from an article PARADE Magazine published about the department in the Sunday, May 24, 2009 issue titled “We Are Prepared and Resilient,” be sent to all employees. In it, she describes the department’s top priority: to “help keep the nation in a state of readiness and help assure the American people that we are prepared and resilient.” The sidebar is available on PARADE’s Web site at http://www.parade.com/news/2009/05/10-ways-homeland-security-is-keeping-you-safe.html. The full article is available at http://www.parade.com/news/2009/05/we-are-prepared-and-resilient.html. TOP TEN WAYS HOMELAND SECURITY KEEPS YOU SAFE - within this list, are these two social media nuggets: 1) In a sign that they are keeping up with the times, DHS and FEMA now have their own Twitter pages. The agencies post important updates including trav... (more)

Which Cloud Services Providers Are Gaining Mind Share?

Cloud Computing on Ulitzer There is little doubt that cloud computing is big news, but who is gaining your mind share?  Amazon, NetSuite, and Salesforce.com, have been in the news recently with a number of announcements.  So many that I've been attempting to track them by creating specific journals for each. Our experiences are likely to be different, and barring actual surveys and research, is subjective and based largely on our own impressions and perceptions of which companies are in the news or making news in this segment. There are several lists that are excellent points of reference - The Top 150 Players in Cloud Computing, 85 Cloud Computing Vendors Shaping the Emerging Cloud, and The VAR Guy's SaaS 20 Index. Large technology companies like AT&T;, EMC / VMware, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Unisys, and others that come to mind have not been included below in the top 20... (more)

VideoEgg to Present at iMedia Brand Summit 2010

Session to Highlight how Brand Lift can be Maximised with Online Advertising London, March 10, 2010 - VideoEgg president Troy Young will present at the iMedia Brand Summit 2010 on 'Maximising Brand Lift with Online Advertising.' The session will consider the relative brand value of rich media ad units and how ad performance is impacted by environment. What: iMedia Brand Summit 2010 When: 9.20 a.m. - 9.45 a.m. GMT, March 10, 2010 Where: Grand Hotel, Brighton, UK VideoEgg's session will also highlight the company's recent collaboration with comScore in the largest lab based study to date that controls ad environment and ad experience to isolate the factors that enable brand lift to be maximised with online advertising. Highlights will include insights into the relative brand value of rich media ad units and how ad performance is impacted by environment. Related resour... (more)