Keene on Tech

Building online databases is a foundation of Web 2.0 (a term that is starting to feel a bit long in the tooth) applications. Just about every web app has a backend database usually running mySQL and connecting to the browser through PHP which performs the heavy lifting of retrieving data from the SQL database and serving it to the user on the fly. Creating these web apps requires a programmer with some decent skills in SQL and PHP to make all this happen. But now, a new application called ModelBaker may change this. While the app claims no coding is required, its really not that simple. One does need to understand how databases work and are put together in order to fully appreciate this application and what it can do. However, for small departments that need webapps but can’t afford a programmer, or for programmers who want to quickly deploy an app for testing or protyping, ModelBaker may be a great tool to use. A nifty feature of the program is the ability to create iPhone, iPod Touch and Android compatible web apps on the fly which turns your web app into something that looks good on these devices rather than just viewing a traditional web page on a mobile’s rather small screen. There is a 30 day free demo and academic pricing is available at very good discounts for approved colleges and universities. The standard version is $399 for a single license and $99 for an academic license. Multiple licenses are available.

Happy New Year everyone!

Keene

The followers of all things start-up at TechCrunch just posted this about an HP, Yahoo, Intel combined launch into testing cloud computing. I am willing to bet it will get cloudier.

Keene Haywood (University of Texas@Austin – DIIA)

oh my…

Cloud computing. Predicting weather is tricky enough, predicting how technology can behave is an even dicier proposition. Whether one is a PC or Mac user, you have probably heard about the trials and tribulations of the rollout of MobileMe. I think Apple has been a bit humbled by its missteps, offering formal apologies and every other day updates on the service via an Apple blogger. This rather rocky public meltdown is a probably a good time to bring up cloud computing in general and why its important. Technology Review has an interesting article worth reading as it touches on issues with cloud computing and how this may affect those who depend on it. Cloud computing is not necessarily new, but it is a fairly new concept to the public at large. The TR article gives a nice simple summary of the concept…

Cloud computing has been touted as a potential tool for everything from improving business infrastructure to helping consumers keep tabs on their contacts. Storing data in the “cloud” of the Internet rather than locally allows users to access that information anywhere and at any time.

The big hitch with cloud computing is connectivity, and the quality of the connection in particular. What the whole MobileMe mess brings to light is that if one is computing in the cloud, whether it is just to sync contacts or actually using webapps such as Google Docs or Google Spreadsheets, if your connection goes down or is unreasonably slow, you are dead in the water in terms of your work. And that just is not acceptable for many users. This singular dependency is what makes the idea a little unnerving. This and the fact that most of your data will reside on servers across the globe and not on your hard drive sitting on your desk. Google’s solution to the cloud issues is found in their Google Gears (Firefox only on Macs) technology which they rolled out over a year ago. The idea is that one can still use the webapps offline on a local machine and then sync it to the cloud when you get back online. As the IT article points, out, this is probably the way forward, but we are not quite there yet. Also worth mentioning is Adobe AIR who is also throwing their hat in the ring with this web app development environment.

Associated with cloud computing is the idea of pushing data to a user when it becomes available. Blackberry users are the poster children for the push movement and Apple is trying to join their ranks by offering “push” solutions with MobileMe. However, they have abandoned using the word “push” specifically because of the various problems with MobileMe (lost emails, sluggish performance, etc.). They do still have the cloud in the graphic design for the service however. Pushing email is one thing, pushing lots of other data can be quite another issue. While many of us have come to accept broadband Internet connections, there are still many, many people who do not have fast connections or 24/7 connections. This can especially true in schools. I believe cloud computing is here to stay and it will become more prevalent, especially as the world becomes more wired with faster Internet connections. It is a new way of working and interacting with information. What we are seeing now are the hiccups (or in Apple’s case a belch) associated with implementing and adopting new technologies. We will get there one way or another via Google Gears, Adobe AIR, MobileMe, Research in Motion (BlackBerry) or some other technology yet to be unleashed. But one thing is for certain. It will indeed be a push.

Keene Haywood (University of Texas@Austin – DIIA)

The changes to Google Maps are subtle but nice. Specifically, the Directions feature has been moved down to the left and now sits next to your My Maps tab. The Directions interface is also changed to accommodate the new placement on the page. The column tab for hiding the left hand column is now at the top of the column and is more obvious (I circled the tab in red below to really make it obvious). Previously, it was just a small little triangle midway down the column that casual users probably missed. Hiding this left hand column gives you more screen real estate for the actual map (very handy on notebook screens). Also the colors have been changed to a nice light blue which is easier on the eyes. Also, the Print, Send and Link dialog boxes were also given a facelift. These are just the more obvious changes I have noticed. If you seen any other changes, post them here in the comments. Would love to know if there are more changes that are not so obvious.

Thanks,

Keene Haywood (University of Texas@Austin)