Spam Ranks High at Google?

Heh, this is amusing...and a slghtly annoying revelation:

HOW TO Get Billions of Pages Indexed in Google

Geez, not another toolbar agreement

Yes, I'm afraid it IS another toolbar agreement. Adobe is going to distribute the Google toolbar on a number of products, starting with the Shockwave player.

• Adobe
• Google
• Reuters

I wonder how long the Yahoo! Toolbar will get to stay with the Flash player?

You go, Bert

Wow...these were created entirely in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop without the use of scans.

Streaming Flash? For free?

I don’t think it’s anywhere near “primetime,” but Red5 may be an interesting free product to keep an eye on. (You may need to scroll down for a bit to see the descriptions and links).

http://www.osflash.org/red5

Windows iPod

A pretty clever parody! Perhaps it's only funny to graphic artist types, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Scheck it out....

Merging Two Sites: The New Adobe.com

Yeah! This article, and the way the merger with Macromedia has been handled in general, gives me great hope where once I was pessimistic about the new Adobe.

Of course, I'll still give credit to its best successes to "former Macromedia employees." :) Predjudices die hard.

Applications for Windows SharePoint Services

Interesting…Microsoft has created several template-based applications for SharePoint.

These application templates are tailored to address the needs and requirements for specific business processes or sets of tasks for organizations of any size. The applications are the first out-of-box custom scenarios for the Windows SharePoint Services platform, though they also provide a starting point for partners and developers looking to build deeper Windows SharePoint Services solutions.

Ubiquitous Computing

Just a few quotes from a neat, visionary article.

“Sometimes a change in technology has implications that are so epochal that everyone must wrestle with them, accommodate them, or prepare for them. The revolution in information technologies known as ‘ubiquitous computing.’”

“…ubiquitous computing is information processing that has left the desktop behind, and been distributed throughout the built environment: "invisible, but in the woodwork everywhere."

“Since 1997, residents of Hong Kong have been using a single, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-equipped smart card called "Octopus" for everything from purchasing rides on the tram and snacks at the corner store, to getting in their front door. A Pittsburgh-based startup called BodyMedia offers a wireless biometric monitor little thicker than a BandAid. The data it collects is interpreted using information-visualization software that creates a "physiological documentary of your body," which can be shared with your doctor through a secure website. Meanwhile, companies as diverse as Samsung, Intel® and Apple, sensing unparalleled opportunities in the amorphous area where communication, information, and entertainment converge, are all making a play to own the "digital home."

*

The Way Back Machine

I heard about an interesting site on NPR the other day. The Internet Archive. What especially caught my interest is their “Way Back Machine” which has archived versions of Web sites from nearly a decade ago.

Microsoft MIX06 Conference

Here's an article I should have read in March.

BILL GATES: Well, good morning. And welcome here to MIX06. This is a new event for us, and we're very excited about everyone who is here, and the opportunity to talk about how the Internet is changing, and how software can create fantastic experiences connecting you with your customers.

Flash Active Content Update

OK, just one more...just...one...more...

Macromedia has released an update that allows the option of building these new embeds automatically, rather than hand coding them:

Flash Professional 8 and Flash Basic 8 Active Content Update
4/14/2006 This update provides new publishing templates for Flash Professional 8 and Flash Basic 8 so that user experience is not impacted by Microsoft's update to Internet Explorer regarding handling of some web pages using interactive controls (learn more). All users should apply this update.

Microsoft and UGS Announce Strategic Alliance

Wow, most of these latest posts are from E. Thanks, E!

New Product Life-Cycle Management Solution Will Change the Way Product Teams Collaborate, Innovate and Compete

REDMOND, Wash., and PLANO, Texas — May 3, 2006 — Microsoft Corp. and UGS Corp., a leading global provider of product life-cycle management (PLM) software and services, today announced a multiyear, global strategic alliance to “change the game” of how companies create innovative products by delivering the full suite of UGS® software solutions on the Microsoft® platform.

The alliance will help UGS deliver a version of the full suite of its PLM technology currently used by more than two million users — including digital life-cycle management — on the Microsoft platform. The full solution empowers manufacturers with the ability to create and manage all their product data in a easy to use and security-enhanced environment, while allowing global team members, customers, industry partners and vendors to participate in the creative process. The end result is that customers are able to be more innovative to drive profitability by getting products to market faster. more>

Open Source JavaScript RIA

Check out this video. Not only is the content interesting, but the format is really useful featuring video and converted PowerPont slides.

Mashup Data Formats: JSON versus XML

Another great article, courtesy of E:

It’s not the latest sequel to the “Jason versus Freddie” movie, it’s one of the decisions you need to make if you’re rolling out a Web 2.0 product.

NoteTag

Like so many cool news items, E pointed out this neat utility:

NoteTag is a sample Flex 2 application that allows users to capture notes during meetings and assign tasks within those notes to individuals.

See the NoteTag Flex app in action. (3 minutes).

Yet another voice on active content...

Yep, these are pretty much the solutions I've been debating between. MS said sometime in June the fix would become permanent. Will it be soon?

I want to be 2A when I grow up...

Wow. Have you been to 2Advanced lately? They've come out with their latest iteration:

http://www.2advanced.com/

2Advanced has also started a company blog:

http://www.plat4m.com/

Instant Recall With XML Data Caching

Hm...this seemed like an interesting concept.

By caching database information on the Web server or application server, you can relieve the database server of some of its repetitive work.

One way to do this is to create an in-memory database on the Web server that maintains a copy of static, read-only information drawn from the database. Not only does this enhance performance by reducing the database load, but you also gain greater flexibility in how your application can use the data. For example, the application could then perform its own sorting, key lookups, and operations on data subsets.

This isn't as hard as it may sound. You can find a prebuilt solution in most developers' toolkits: A good XML parser coupled with an XSLT processor delivers everything you need, and more.

The entire article is: Instant Recall With XML Data Caching