Here is an interesting Snow Leopard feature, and a little freeware application to exploit it.
Even is the feature is not officially supported, Snow Leopard is now able to mount NTFS volumes with both write and read support.
NTFS and Snow Leopard
The Freesound Project
A database of sounds under Creative Commons license. There are search and random sound options, as well as user tags and geotags. You can mashup several tracks at once. Useful if you need sound effects or background for a web page.
The Freesound Project is a collaborative database of Creative Commons licensed sounds. Freesound focusses only on sound, not songs. This is what sets freesound apart from other splendid libraries like ccMixter. New to this site? Read the What is Freesound page to learn more!
Requirements process maturity indicator of IT project success
A recent IAG Consulting report indicates that moving from ad hoc methods to a high maturity level for requirements development and management boosted on-budget performance for technology projects by 95%. The results were derived from a survey of 400 North American companies.
33% of money spent on IT development is wasted, says IAG Consulting – IT Services : News
The study compared companies at 5 different levels of requirements maturity: ad-hoc, defined, implemented, institutionalised and optimising, found that low maturity companies failed to achieve their business objectives on almost half their projects, while taking 35% more time to complete them. High level maturity companies, however, turned their greater management efficiency into fiscal results with return on assets- on average – 10% higher than comparable publicly traded firms in their industry.
Sample Java for connecting to online SQL Azure Database
Something to consider if you are facing the roll out of Microsoft SQL server as your in-house database vendor. You might be able to it cheaper in the cloud.
So, in this example I’m using Java 1.6, NetBeans as the editor and the latest JDBC driver for SQL Server which you can download from here. The only jar file I’m currently using to compile (and run with) other than the expected JRE jar files is the, “sqljdbc4.jar” jar file which comes along with the download I’ve linked to above.
Social Network Demographics
I would have been interested to see where non-social network users fell within demographic space.
More Proof: Facebook for the Rich, MySpace for the Poor
According to the research, the top third of lifestyle segments relative to affluence (aka the “richest” users) are 25% more likely to use Facebook than those in the lower third. The bottom third segments related to affluence (aka the “poorest”) are 37% more likely to use MySpace. Also of note, Facebook users are more likely to use LinkedIn, a site for professional business networking, and again, another factor which points towards the differences in demographics between the two social networks.
Spiceworks: Free IT management and montioring
Well, no. I haven’t tried it. It may not be as sophisticated as Enterprise class solutions costing half a million dollars to license and implement. But if you are an SMB IT division head or CIO looking at having to satisfy more and more accountability requirements on a shrinking budget: how bad could it be?
Spiceworks – Free Network Monitoring Software for Network Management
Spiceworks is the complete network management & monitoring, helpdesk, PC inventory & software reporting solution to manage Everything IT in small and medium businesses.
via Emily Chang
JotSpot Spotted
Apparently, the Google Sites API allows for easy import and export between Google Sites and SharePoint. Google is on the march.
Google Sites API Aims For Data Liberation
After 3 years of sitting quietly in the Google arsenal, JotSpot has now reemerged in the form of a Google Sites Data API.
A very nice Scala tutorial for Java programmers.
This is the best introduction to Scala I’ve seen so far for the Java programmer. I’d classify it as “best” because it is short and cuts right to the chase. The example used is complex enough to reveal enough of the underlying language elements to be worthwhile, but simple enough to allow you to concentrate on the language and not the problem being implemented. Nice job.
Is Scala really more complicated than Java?
After a conversation with a guy at work, I was inspired to take a look at whether Scala is inherently more complex than Java, and decided it wasn’t.
IE 8 runs 10x faster when infected with Chrome
So Google is sort of like creating a zombie army that is 10x faster than the humans it will hunt. This won’t last long.
Internet Explorer 8 runs ten times faster with Google Chrome plug-in – Techworld.com
Microsoft’s Internet Explorer zips through JavaScript nearly ten times faster than usual when Google’s new Chrome Frame plug-in is partnered with the browser, benchmark tests show.
Google Begins to Surround the Desktop
Google seems like its on a roll, with an upcoming Sept 30 release of Google Wave into public beta. It also just released new versions of Picasa (3.5) and SketchUp (7.1) as well as releasing a Chrome plugin for Internet Exporer to bring it up to speed with HTML5 and JavaScript. Once Google has the desktop is encircled, and begins to tighten its noose by satisfying customer needs, the Desktop will be a place to open your browser. Nothing else about it will matter, even the Operating system or hardware underneath … like Android or Chrome OS.
Now Apple also wanted the Desktop.
They have done a pretty good job, especially since the iPod became popular. Apple’s strategy was to make the Desktop into a finely crafted appliance, like a swiss watch. More expensive and less variety, true, but more reliable than the competition. To each his own. But the Google strategy by comparison is almost viral. Infect existing Desktops with a foreign Desktop, and if the user experience is better, offer it on a less expensive platform and let market forces do the rest.
None of this should be a surprise. It is interesting, though, to be able to see the orchestration in motion. Apple’s tactics are clouded in secrecy by comparison.
