- Demo of Stemming Algorithms — type in text and see what it looks like when stemmed with different algorithms provided by NLTK. (via zelandiya on Twitter)
- Crowdmap — hosted Ushahidi. (via dvansickle on Twitter)
- Opinions vs Data — talks about the usability of a new gmail UI element, but notable for this quote from Jakob Nielsen: In my two examples, the probability of making the right design decision was vastly improved when given the tiniest amount of empirical data. (via mcannonbrookes on Twitter)
- The Next Silicon Valley — long and detailed list of the many forces contributing to Silicon Valley’s success as tech hub, arguing that the valley’s position is path-dependent and can simply be grown ab initio in some aspiring nation’s co-prosperity zone of policy whim. (via imran and timoreilly on Twitter)
"SaaS" entries
Why clouds and web services will continue to take over computing
Part 3 of the series, "What are the chances for a free software cloud?"
My long-term view convinces me we all will be in the cloud. The advantages are just too compelling. But what can we do to preserve freedom in the cloud? (Part 3 of a 5-part series.)
Defining clouds, web services, and other remote computing
Part 2 of the series, "What are the chances for a free software cloud?"
Technology commentators are a bit trapped by the term "cloud," which
has been kicked and slapped around enough to become truly shapeless.
So in this section I'll offer a history of services that have led up
to our cloud-obsessed era, hoping to help readers distinguish the
impacts and trade-offs created by all the trends that lie in the
"cloud."
Resolving the contradictions between web services, clouds, and open source
Part 1 of the series, "What are the chances for a free software cloud?"
A "free software cloud" may seem to be an oxymoron. But I believe that free software and remote computing were made for each other; their future lies together and the sooner they converge, the faster they will evolve and gain adoption. (Part 1 of a 5-part series.)
Four short links: 17 August 2010
Stemming Demo, Mapping Service, Value of Data, and The Magic of the Valley
Report from HIMSS Health IT conference: building or bypassing infrastructure
lectronic record systems need all kinds of underlying support. Your
patient doesn't want to hear, "You need an antibiotic right away, but
we'll order it tomorrow when our IT guy comes in to reboot the
system." Your accounts manager would be almost as upset if you told
her that billing will be delayed for the same reason.
Service Monitoring Dashboards are mandatory for production services!
Google App Engine went down earlier today. GAE is still a developer preview release, and currently lacks a public monitoring dashboard. Unfortunately this means that many people either found out from their app and/or admin consoles being unavailable or from Mike Arrington's post on TechCrunch. Google has a strong Web Operations culture, and there are numerous internal monitoring tools in…