tag:broadcast.oreilly.com,2008-08-07://53 2009-09-24T21:53:40Z Movable Type Pro 4.21-en tag:broadcast.oreilly.com,2009://53.38015 2009-09-24T21:53:40Z 2009-09-24T21:53:40Z

The use of algae as biofuel has also become one of the hottest areas of development in an increasingly aggressive alternative energy sector. Large, traditional oil companies are increasingly creating joint ventures with bio-savvy startups, while others, seeking an opportunity in pond scum, are going it alone.

Kurt Cagle The use of algae as biofuel has also become one of the hottest areas of development in an increasingly aggressive alternative energy sector. Large, traditional oil companies are increasingly creating joint ventures with bio-savvy startups, while others, seeking an opportunity in pond scum, are going it alone. tag:broadcast.oreilly.com,2009://53.37991 2009-09-22T06:09:16Z 2009-09-22T06:09:16Z

The phrase "government standards" has to be one of the most boring (or, depending upon your context, terrifying) phrases in the English language. The term conjures up institutional green walls, documents crammed full of acronyms, bored looking bureaucrats shuffling paper from one department to the next, their whole purpose in life to stamp a bit of ink in the designated place on each form that comes in so that it can be ferried off to its ultimate destination in thick tomes that make "War and Peace" look like a light read.

Kurt Cagle The phrase "government standards" has to be one of the most boring (or, depending upon your context, terrifying) phrases in the English language. The term conjures up institutional green walls, documents crammed full of acronyms, bored looking bureaucrats shuffling paper from one department to the next, their whole purpose in life to stamp a bit of ink in the designated place on each form that comes in so that it can be ferried off to its ultimate destination in thick tomes that make "War and Peace" look like a light read. tag:broadcast.oreilly.com,2009://53.37699 2009-08-10T04:57:19Z 2009-08-10T04:57:19Z

Kurt Cagle tag:broadcast.oreilly.com,2009://53.35718 2009-03-26T16:31:11Z 2009-03-26T16:31:11Z

The Illinois River is a slow moving, meandering waterway that originates out of Lake Michigan, flows beneath downtown Chicago, then cuts through the rich Illinois topsoil as it wends its way to Peoria (giving the area its distinctive river bluffs formation) then through the middle of the state until it finally meets the Mississippi river at Alton, Illinois, on the Missouri border. Given where it begins and ends, the Illinois sees a lot of river traffic, from barges laden with grain to shipping containers to steam-powered paddle-wheel boats that evoke the memories of Mark Twain.

Kurt Cagle The Illinois River is a slow moving, meandering waterway that originates out of Lake Michigan, flows beneath downtown Chicago, then cuts through the rich Illinois topsoil as it wends its way to Peoria (giving the area its distinctive river bluffs formation) then through the middle of the state until it finally meets the Mississippi river at Alton, Illinois, on the Missouri border. Given where it begins and ends, the Illinois sees a lot of river traffic, from barges laden with grain to shipping containers to steam-powered paddle-wheel boats that evoke the memories of Mark Twain. tag:broadcast.oreilly.com,2009://53.35699 2009-03-24T21:30:00Z 2009-03-24T21:30:00Z

I've long been a fan of Lady Ada Augusta Lovelace. She was not only one of Charles Babbage's biggest patrons, but she also was one of the first to suggest the use of "Jacquard Loom" type cards as a way of programming the Analytical Engine as well providing what may have been the first software programs. Lovelace, the daughter of the infamous poet Lord Byron, was also herself a "free spirit", albeit one with an astonishingly brilliant intellect behind it.

Kurt Cagle I've long been a fan of Lady Ada Augusta Lovelace. She was not only one of Charles Babbage's biggest patrons, but she also was one of the first to suggest the use of "Jacquard Loom" type cards as a way of programming the Analytical Engine as well providing what may have been the first software programs. Lovelace, the daughter of the infamous poet Lord Byron, was also herself a "free spirit", albeit one with an astonishingly brilliant intellect behind it. tag:broadcast.oreilly.com,2009://53.35670 2009-03-24T04:50:00Z 2009-03-24T04:50:00Z

Sun's software side of the acquisition ledger, especially by IBM, has been rather oddly overlooked, given that it will likely have major implications for software development and cloud computing for years. Sun's software holdings cover five primary areas - Java, Solaris, mySQL, Open Office, and Sun's recently acquired QLayer cloud infrastructure. Understanding how IBM could potentially ramp up (or destroy) each of these gives some interesting insight into the real value of IBM's potential software acquisitions.

Kurt Cagle Sun's software side of the acquisition ledger, especially by IBM, has been rather oddly overlooked, given that it will likely have major implications for software development and cloud computing for years. Sun's software holdings cover five primary areas - Java, Solaris, mySQL, Open Office, and Sun's recently acquired QLayer cloud infrastructure. Understanding how IBM could potentially ramp up (or destroy) each of these gives some interesting insight into the real value of IBM's potential software acquisitions. tag:broadcast.oreilly.com,2009://53.35584 2009-03-12T21:13:35Z 2009-03-12T21:13:35Z

In 2007, Google acquired the Grand Central Service, a VOIP based service that let users take advantage of a single phone number that could be used to forward to other phones, to record conversations and so forth. This service has been under the radar for some time, but today Google announced the new Google Voice, a free service based upon Grand Central that will debut in the next several weeks to new users.

Kurt Cagle In 2007, Google acquired the Grand Central Service, a VOIP based service that let users take advantage of a single phone number that could be used to forward to other phones, to record conversations and so forth. This service has been under the radar for some time, but today Google announced the new Google Voice, a free service based upon Grand Central that will debut in the next several weeks to new users. tag:broadcast.oreilly.com,2009://53.35547 2009-03-11T08:23:00Z 2009-03-11T08:23:00Z

Anyone who has used languages such as XSLT should have a pretty fair idea about the complexities involved in treating XML as a programming language itself - it's verbose, forces thinking into a declarative model that can be at odds with the C-based languages currently used by most programmers, can be difficult to read, and as a syntax it doesn't always fit well with the requirements in establishing parameter signatures and related structures.

Kurt Cagle Anyone who has used languages such as XSLT should have a pretty fair idea about the complexities involved in treating XML as a programming language itself - it's verbose, forces thinking into a declarative model that can be at odds with the C-based languages currently used by most programmers, can be difficult to read, and as a syntax it doesn't always fit well with the requirements in establishing parameter signatures and related structures. tag:broadcast.oreilly.com,2009://53.35539 2009-03-08T22:51:34Z 2009-03-08T22:51:34Z

The news out of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (the BLS) was grim this weak - the unemployment rate had reached 8.1%, climbing two whole percentage points in the last quarter. This rise is even more stunning given that unemployment had reportedly been stable for the past several years at around 5%, though this may also be simply a reflection that the numbers haven't been cooked quite so vigorously.

Kurt Cagle The news out of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (the BLS) was grim this weak - the unemployment rate had reached 8.1%, climbing two whole percentage points in the last quarter. This rise is even more stunning given that unemployment had reportedly been stable for the past several years at around 5%, though this may also be simply a reflection that the numbers haven't been cooked quite so vigorously. tag:broadcast.oreilly.com,2009://53.35536 2009-03-08T05:18:17Z 2009-03-08T05:18:17Z

In 1997, I was at the Macromedia User's Conference to give a talk on creating "intelligent" agents within Macromedia Director. At this particular conference, Macromedia announced a new product called Dreamweaver, an HTML editing application that exercised a profound effect upon the web development community.

Kurt Cagle In 1997, I was at the Macromedia User's Conference to give a talk on creating "intelligent" agents within Macromedia Director. At this particular conference, Macromedia announced a new product called Dreamweaver, an HTML editing application that exercised a profound effect upon the web development community. tag:broadcast.oreilly.com,2009://53.35463 2009-03-01T19:40:00Z 2009-03-01T19:40:00Z

Seth Godin recently published a rather insightful blog post on how trade groups often work to stifle innovation in order to maintain the status quo. The comments are especially timely now, as industry after industry goes to Washington hat in hand in order to beg a few billion here or there to keep their particular company or even industry afloat.

Kurt Cagle Seth Godin recently published a rather insightful blog post on how trade groups often work to stifle innovation in order to maintain the status quo. The comments are especially timely now, as industry after industry goes to Washington hat in hand in order to beg a few billion here or there to keep their particular company or even industry afloat. tag:broadcast.oreilly.com,2009://53.35458 2009-03-01T06:25:00Z 2009-03-01T06:25:00Z

The Internet, ironically, has been abuzz this week with dire news about how the Social Media and the Internet itself is stunting our mental growth, is turning us into idiot savants, Aspergers and reverting our brains to a more primitive state. The first such statement came from Lady Greenfield, an Oxford University neurologist, baroness, and director of the Royal Institution in England, who warned that sites such as Facebook and Twitter were contributing to the decline of critical skills in children who used them heavily, claiming that repeated exposure could effectively rewire the brain.

Kurt Cagle The Internet, ironically, has been abuzz this week with dire news about how the Social Media and the Internet itself is stunting our mental growth, is turning us into idiot savants, Aspergers and reverting our brains to a more primitive state. The first such statement came from Lady Greenfield, an Oxford University neurologist, baroness, and director of the Royal Institution in England, who warned that sites such as Facebook and Twitter were contributing to the decline of critical skills in children who used them heavily, claiming that repeated exposure could effectively rewire the brain. tag:broadcast.oreilly.com,2009://53.35376 2009-02-26T21:40:00Z 2009-02-26T21:40:00Z

During the State of the Union speech, President Obama made formal an assumption that had been emerging since his candidacy - his support for a carbon market as a vehicle for capping carbon emissions. In such a system greenhouse gas pollution emitters purchase a certain number of carbon credits. However, the supply of such credits is strictly limited, and other concerns, including environmental groups, municipalities, and even independent traders, may also purchase such shares.

Kurt Cagle During the State of the Union speech, President Obama made formal an assumption that had been emerging since his candidacy - his support for a carbon market as a vehicle for capping carbon emissions. In such a system greenhouse gas pollution emitters purchase a certain number of carbon credits. However, the supply of such credits is strictly limited, and other concerns, including environmental groups, municipalities, and even independent traders, may also purchase such shares. tag:broadcast.oreilly.com,2009://53.35418 2009-02-24T23:31:08Z 2009-02-24T23:31:08Z

I've recently been following a superb series by Michelle McLellan on the Ideas that get in the way of saving journalism. In this series of blogs, she does a superb job of raising some very uncomfortable questions for newspapers, most importantly, whether they are in fact so wedded to the idea of the newspaper that they've lost sight of the journalism.

Kurt Cagle I've recently been following a superb series by Michelle McLellan on the Ideas that get in the way of saving journalism. In this series of blogs, she does a superb job of raising some very uncomfortable questions for newspapers, most importantly, whether they are in fact so wedded to the idea of the newspaper that they've lost sight of the journalism. tag:broadcast.oreilly.com,2009://53.35402 2009-02-23T22:00:00Z 2009-02-23T22:00:00Z

The political process has long been a realm associated as much with back rooms and cigars as it has with helping the people within a country. Otto Bismark, the first chancellor of a unified Germany in the 19th century, famously remarked "Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.", and this cynicism about the process by which laws are created has arguably become endemic within most governments today.

Kurt Cagle The political process has long been a realm associated as much with back rooms and cigars as it has with helping the people within a country. Otto Bismark, the first chancellor of a unified Germany in the 19th century, famously remarked "Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.", and this cynicism about the process by which laws are created has arguably become endemic within most governments today.