Software Soapbox

Vancouver Olympic Volunteers: Unpaid Job Draws Global Help

My mom is one of these! (Volunteers, not drunk people).  Thanks Mom!

Vancouver Olympic Volunteers: Unpaid Job Draws Global Help - Yahoo! News.

One of the toughest places for the volunteers to operate, it seems, is the curling venue. "I find that there's a lot of drunk people at curling,"

IBM launches Lotus Symphony 3 beta; Office alternatives pile up

via Between the Lines | ZDNet.com.

I’m stepping up on the evaluation of alternatives. I’m in the market for a laptop and pondering whether I need to get Microsoft Office loaded on it. On paper, it’s a simple decision—go elsewhere. But I’m one of those users that will throw a laptop through a window if there’s a formatting issue to deal with. I know the interoperability is 99.5 percent there for the most part, but as a user that 0.5 can drive me nuts. I’m also more comfortable with a desktop client or hybrid approach than a pure cloud suite.

Cool: 1-800-GOOG-411

1-800-GOOG-411: Find and connect with local businesses for free from your phone..

Does the world need OpenID Connect?

via Dare Obasanjo

One of the reasons this hasn’t happened is for a reason I failed to anticipate. Back in late 2008, I assumed we would see lots of competitors to Facebook Connect.

This hasn’t truly materialized. Google Friend Connect has turned out to be an interesting combination of OpenID sign-in and the ability to add “social” widgets to your site but not about integrating with Google’s social networking services in a deep way (probably because Google doesn’t have any?). MySpaceID has failed to gain traction and lacks key features of Facebook Connect such as being able to publish rich activities from a 3rd party site to MySpace.

And that’s it. Those two technologies are the closest to Facebook Connect from a major online player and they fall far short.

MagicJack's home cell phone adapter

via Yahoo! News.

The size of a deck of cards, it plugs into a PC, which needs a broadband Internet connection. The device then detects when a compatible cell phone comes within 8 feet, and places a call to it. The user enters a short code on the phone. The phone is then linked to the magicJack, and as long as it's within range (YMax said it will cover a 3,000-square-foot home) magicJack routes the call itself, over the Internet, rather than going through the carrier's cellular tower. No minutes are subtracted from the user's account with the carrier. Any extra fees for international calls are subtracted from the user's account with magicJack, not the carrier.

Microsoft shows off Windows tablets at gadget show

via Yahoo! News.

Ballmer announced a new version of Mediaroom, its technology that delivers TV over the Internet on such services as AT&T Inc.'s U-verse system. The newest version of Mediaroom will let subscribers watch live and recorded TV and video-on-demand on Windows computers and phones and through Xbox 360 consoles, in addition to a set-top box. It will work over regular broadband, not just special fiber connections.

Microsoft begins testing new tech support forum staffed by paid 'independent experts'

via ZDNet.com.

TechSupport Marketplace is a new Microsoft site that will bring together “Customers who are having a problem and independent Experts with the skills and ability to troubleshoot and help resolve those problems. In return for helping Customers with their computer problems in a one on one manner, the Experts earn some money directly from the Customer they are helping,” according to an e-mail message about the program cited by Kakkar.

The R Project for Statistical Computing

The R Project for Statistical Computing

R provides a wide variety of statistical (linear and nonlinear modelling, classical statistical tests, time-series analysis, classification, clustering, ...) and graphical techniques, and is highly extensible. The S language is often the vehicle of choice for research in statistical methodology, and R provides an Open Source route to participation in that activity.

One of R's strengths is the ease with which well-designed publication-quality plots can be produced, including mathematical symbols and formulae where needed. Great care has been taken over the defaults for the minor design choices in graphics, but the user retains full control.

IBM vs. SAS: The Battle over Data Analysis Software

via BusinessWeek.

"We're still making a lot of money this year. Why should I lay off 3,000 people so we can say our profits went up?" he said. "I'm not going to listen to a bunch of 28-year-old kids on Wall Street telling you what your profit should be down to the penny."

Are Open Source Developers Suckers, Fools, and Tools?

via CIOZone.com

"software is largely a service industry operating under the persistent but unfounded delusion that it is a manufacturing industry."