A Summary of Web Things

I have always been fascinated by new technology, and I was very happy to have had the opportunity to participate in the Web 2.0 initiative at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), School of Information Technology (SIT). In preparation for the Workplan 2007/2008, staff from all ranks were encouraged to brainstorm and share ideas in bringing Web 2.0 technologies to SIT; through teaching, working and project development for the school's industrial partners. This was very much in the spirit of the collaborative web. So kudos to the management for its staff engagement focus.

So allow me to take stock of my Web 2.0 journey in NYP. A picture paints a thousand words, so I have illustrated a summary of what communities I have joined and contributed:

The Web 2.0 technologies and communities have been grouped in eight different categories. Some of them have been described in my earlier post. This is not an exhaustive list of communities out there. The check marks indicate sites that I have a user account or technologies that I have used. I am also currently actively contributing content/data to some of these.

So what's next? R/WW seems to have the answer... do they? You decide.

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For me, the next Internet Age will definitely see the importance of sharing data in a form palatable for machine consumption, collaborating and publishing ontologies that make sense and relations of linked data; and agents that can make assertions and decisions on behalf of humans.

It hasn't been easy

These past few weeks have been the hardest. First I found out that one of my best friends is gravely ill. Then Cocoa left us this morning. It was totally unexpected. Only yesterday did we all go out for a stroll, basking in the little sun we have had, and showering in what we thought was snow.

I took this picture of her at the end of our walk, and that's how she'll be remembered.

Windows 2008, here I come!

This is way cool. Easycgi has migrated my website from a Windows Server 2003 platform to a 2008 version with IIS 7.0. All that was done within 24 hours of my request. Now that is service!

Maybe this weekend I should get started on the new OS and to explore its features, even though I only have a year to do so. I just completed one course on server virtualization with 3 more to go. If you're interested in learning more about the latest server OS, there are a few courses and books that are currently offered free on Microsoft Learning.

Post conference blues

Not that I missed the conference much... but I'm having a really lousy throat made worse after I walked 3km yesterday. Funny, sometimes the best way to get around town is on foot!

The Launch wasn't all that great. The location was a little too small for comfort. The halls were okay, but the common areas and partner exhibition areas were too tight. It was really hard getting around and even worse trying to get my lunch.

The sandwich I had was pretty okay. Cold turkey hams, lettuce, mayonnaise, honey mustard and buns. I couldn't ask for much since this was a no-cost event and marketing budgets seem to be tighter these days. But I had a good time eating my bun on the balcony. You couldn't do this in Singapore without feeling the discomforts of heat and humidity. The air is fresh as Westin Bayshore was located along the harbour front.

I was most disappointed by the complimentary copies of Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 and Windows Server 2008. The licenses issued were only good for a year after your first installation. That makes me worry about using it at all. But you know what, I'll probably find sometime to evaluate the new server software. After all, I really need to have a server or 64-bit OS to fully utilize the excess RAM I have in my computer now.

But more importantly, what did I learn?

• A few more tips and tricks about using Visual Studio 2008.
  
• That Windows Hyper-V is actually running on SUSE.
  
• Different methods for virtualisation.
• Identifying the User Group leaders in Vancouver and meeting them face-to-face.
• Not all MS experts can answer what Microsoft is doing for the Semantic Web (I mean, I couldn't find one. The chump just shrugged and said, "Don't know."). My English must have sucked. Too much powder. Duh.
• SQL Server 2008 is still not ready, and so is Hyper-V.
• SP1 will make Vista closer to what consumers want in an operating system.
• A lady photographer (I can't remember her name) was commissioned by Microsoft to take pictures of IT heroes from 18 different countries.

Nevertheless, I am grateful to Microsoft for organizing the event. A little more knowledge is always good. Thanks for the freebies and lunch. But I really hope you guys can think of other ways to make software more affordable. And please, give us a feature to deactivate our copy of Windows so that we can do a re-installation without needing to call your hotline and feel like a pirate.

It's been a while

I just came across an interesting site with a very different perspective on the Web 2.0: The Drama 2.0 Show. Isn't it good to read the alternative opinion on your pet subjects?

They were recently critical of Data Portability, and how it's a useless endeavour by a bunch of techno-elites. To be fair, the Internet that is now so much a part of our lives, was only possible because of these tech geniuses. So cut them some slack ya?

However, I cannot disagree with them that the ability to move around one's personal data has a general following. The demand for human consumption of portability is pale, and the usefulness in LinkedData remains a necessity for software agents and data integration. Basically... no one cares.

One of other poser requires deeper thoughts: just how can I prevent others from adding links to me without my consent? How much entropy exists in such data links? And how much cost is paid for in reduced privacy? I am particularly interested in quantifying the level of privacy available in a set of published data. If you have any good resources to get me started, I'll be most grateful if you could point me the direction.

Btw, it seems there will be a Singapore launch event for Microsoft Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008. Thanks to Mokkie for sharing the information. You can register here here.