BIT320 Remix: blogging Archives

A New Blog from WWW Founder Tim Berners-Lee and a Bit of WWW History

A new blog posted by WWW founder Dr. Tim Berners-Lee

In del.icio.us/mridge, 12/20/2005 | Original | Archive

» Structured blogging–what's in it for users?

Standardized blogging - not a good thing. Unlike other standardized things like RSS/XML

In del.icio.us/mridge, 12/20/2005 | Original | Archive

TypePad Goes Down, Bloggers Bothered

Bloggers are bothered by service interuptions - another sign blogging has become more than a "fad"

In del.icio.us/mridge, 12/20/2005 | Original | Archive

Classroom Blogging

Another nay-sayer turned on to the blogging world

In del.icio.us/mridge, 12/20/2005 | Original | Archive

As the blogging portion of the class comes to a close, it also signifies the end of a semester. People are starting to slow down a bit as finals time runs down, and the holiday spirit begins to set in. I want to wish everyone the best Christmas, Chununkah, Kwanzaa, or whatever you may or may not celebrate this holiday season (yeah, that’s about as PC as you can get. ). It’s been a great semester and I wish everyone the best of luck next semester and beyond.

In Matt's Musings, 12/20/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Structured Blogging is a thing you do -- not a format

I've been pleased to see that the relaunch of Structured Blogging has been almost universally well received...

In del.icio.us/tigerlily23, 12/19/2005 | Original | Archive

The PR Practitioner of the Future Has the Skills of a Blogger

The ideal corporate blogger...

In del.icio.us/tigerlily23, 12/19/2005 | Original | Archive

Can you hear me now? Umm…no.

A while back Supriya blogged about a possible migration of cellular companies from CDMA to GSM. PinkFootsie commented on the prevelance of cellular players outside of the US.

I’m a recent convert to the GSM camp. For years I had Verizon, followed by Sprint, and then Nextel. They all operate on CDMA networks. The each had various levels of call clarity (from high to low as listed), however I was never satisfied with the level of services offered. Then this summer I switced over to Cingular. While my call quality is definitely not as high as it was with Verizon or Sprint, I am a much happier cusomter. GSM phones use SIM cards, so transfering data from phone to phone is much easier, plus the GSM providers tend to offer a greater array of services.

However, lately it seems as if the GSM providers (Cingular, T-mobile) have been resting on their previously superior laurels while the CDMA providers have been upgrading their networks like crazy to reach 3G land. So I’ll give the throne at the moment to CDMA.

At this point, I don’t think their is a clear winner between the two technologies. Both have their pros and cons and from what I can tell, one isn’t necessarily better than the other. However, I think the cellular market would benefit from a unified standard (take a look at DVDs vs the Betamax/VHS fiasco). A unified standard would allow cell technology to advance and explode to unprecedented levels across the globe and very well may pave the way for a truly global communications network. However, CDMA towers aren’t easily converted over to GSM technology, so I don’t see the CDMA providers switching over anytime soon. They’ve spent billions of dollars on their current networks to change now.

So I’m not holding my breath for a change. But I CAN NOT WAIT for US carriers to get with the program and approach the level of technology currently enjoyed by the European and Japanese populace. I can not wait…until then, I’ll just drool at the phones I run across on Gizmodo.

In Matt's Musings, 12/19/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

RSS Specifications and RSS Feeds

Information related to RSS and XML, including software, newsreaders, specifications, content syndication, and the history of rss.

In del.icio.us/supermatt, 12/19/2005 | Original | Archive

Univ. of Illinois Launches Farming Blog

The Internet provides farmers a wealth of information on crop marketing, financial management and dealing with crop diseases. But on a busy farm, it can be hard to find time to search the Web for useful information.

In del.icio.us/tigerlily23, 12/17/2005 | Original | Archive

Project Question

I have a question regarding our project. So, I am trying to create a form which asks the customer to enter the retailername and outputs the store information (address, phone etc.) for the retailername queried by the customer.

Now, I have the xsql, xsml and xml working right now. But it is setup such that when I convert the xsql to xml, I enter RETAILERNAME= MEIJER in the secureshell as per the discussions with Tigerliliy and Bud earlier. But now I want to automate the whole process so that a form shows up on the screes where the customer enters Meijer, and the information shows up. My question is that how do I remove the manual interface of entering information in the secure shell, and put it in a form instead?

Bud, I know you mentioned about FORM ACTION, and to use that in your OH. However, where do I put this command? Does it go in the XSQL file, or do I create another file (of what type?)? Is there an example of such an interface with the form that we may have done in class?

I would really appreciate some help. Please let me know if you need any clarification. Thank you.

In supriya, 12/17/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Is CDMA dead?

“Will US carriers switch mobile standards?” I read this rather shocking article which talks about how the US Wireless industry is moving from CDMA to GSM technology. I was shocked because I have been doing a lot of research on CDMA since I am writing a CSIB paper on Sprint which is a leader in CDMA technology. From the articles that I have read earlier, I got an impression that CDMA is still a leading technology in the US, and Sprint is further developing it by adding additional data features to it like the EV-DO technology and 3G networks. Also, there were discussions on how Sprint, after its recent merger with Nextel, will be able to combine its CDMA technology with Nextel’s WiDen services and lead the industry with the best networks.

However, this article talks about how there is a migration from CDMA to GSM. The article reads:

“CDMA is losing market share globally as the new mobile phone users live mostly in the areas where GSM is the leading technology”

From earlier blogs, I realize that our class has a good knowledge of different networks and the wireless industry since many of us are researching it for CSIB. What are your opinions? Is Sprint going to convert to GSM, and will GSM really take over CDMA?

In supriya, 12/15/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Happynews.com

I came across a very interesting website called happynews.com. This website is the brainchiled of Byron Reese, who also has published several advice websites.

Media today is increasingly focused on accidents/ mishaps or exaggerating misery. Hence, I thought this website is a great way to learn about the happy or constructive events happening around the world and cheer yourself up from the dull and depressing media news.

For example, one of the stories talked about how Japanese are making the penguins exercise to stay healthy as they gain weight in the sever winters. Some other stories include: “Emily the stowaway cat is coming home”, “man decorates his house with synchronized lights” etc.

Even though some of these stories may sound lame or not as important, I think its a wonderful way to spread cheer and happiness and make people away of the good things that go on in this world in addition to the misery or war which is on media perpetually.

In supriya, 12/15/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Project: Problem with XSL File

We have another problem with our XSL file. We modified the original XSL file that we used to create forms to input store information and was working to create another file to create a form that the customer would enter the query and retrieve the store information. So, the xsl file is called insertStoreHTMLTEST3.xsl and we converted the xsql to TEST6.xml. Now, when we do oraxsl insertStoreHTMLTEST3.xsl TEST6.xml, we get the following error:

Error occurred while parsing insertStoreTEST3.xsl: /home/usr01/bit320/kevlers/webapps/XSQL5/XSQL5TEST/insertStoreTEST3.xsl (No such file or directory)

But insertStoreTEST3.xsl does exist in the directory. Could you please look into our files, and tell us where we are going wrong?

Thank you.

In supriya, 12/12/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Question regarding project

We made the changes as advised by Bud in his post and added the RETAILNAME parameter in place of the ?. However, our XSQL is still not working. Our files are in Kevin’s account in the directory kevlers>webapps>XSQL5>XSQL5TEST. We created two versions - insertStoreTEST5.xsql has the code as advised by Bud. The other file - insertStoreTEST3.xsql has the same code as the other but we defined the bind param in the code above.

However, neither of the two files are working.

When we run the file insertStoreTEST3.xsql, we get the followin error:

&lt ?xml version = ‘1.0′? &gt
&lt page &gt
        &lt xsql-error code=”1006″ action=”xsql:query” &gt &lt statement &gt SELECT RETAILERNAME, ZIPCODE, STORESTREET, STORECITY, STORESTATE, STOREPHONE
        FROM STORE
        WHERE RETAILERNAME='’ &lt/statement &gt &lt message &gt ORA-01006: bind variable does not exist
&lt /message &gt &lt /xsql-error &gt
&lt /page &gt

Then, when we run the file insertStoreTEST5.xsql, we get the error:

&lt ?xml version = ‘1.0′? &gt
&lt page &gt
&lt ROWSET&gt
&lt /page &gt

Could you please tell us what is going wrong. We replaced the ? with the RETAILERNAME parameter, and then tried two ways: with and without defining RETAILERNAME parameter, but none of it is working. Thank you

In supriya, 12/12/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Google Analytics

Get Stats about your Site

In del.icio.us/supermatt, 12/11/2005 | Original | Archive

NewsIsFree: Your Personal News Portal

Use RSS feeds to create your new portal

In del.icio.us/supermatt, 12/11/2005 | Original | Archive

Blogdigger : RSS / Atom Search Engine - Search Blogs

Search RSS feeds

In del.icio.us/supermatt, 12/11/2005 | Original | Archive

Writely.com

A web-based word processor that provides simple and secure document collaboration and publishing on the web

In del.icio.us/kevlers, 12/11/2005 | Original | Archive

Let ‘Em Know

So here were are at the end of semester. We’ve struggled through learning some nifty new languages, tackling some tough problems, and conquered the blogsphere. And there are many take-aways we can take-away as Kevin, JB, and SuperMatt have pointed out. But there’s another area that I’d like to look at, WordPress.

For me, using WordPress has become a transparent aspect of this class: it has it’s quirks, and I’ve just learned to use them and work around them. But remember, the version we’re using is still very early. So I’m wondering, now that we have a pretty intimate knowledge of the basic workings of WordPress, would the WordPress people be interested in knowing this? I can’t remember if Bud worked out a deal with them or not for us to pilot test this program, or if it is just open to anyone who wants to give it a shot. But I say, if you’ve got a few moments and feel strongly about it, shoot WordPress an e-mail and let them know your impressions of their software. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.

In Matt's Musings, 12/10/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Do you RSS?

Hey, I was bookmarking online and started thinking about RSS readers. Does anyone have an experience with them and could reccomend a good one? I noticed that PinkFootsie blogged a bit about the Google reader. And I know that Safari has a built in RSS reader. I figured it’d be a good way for me to fully understand the RSS phenomenon. Any thoughts?

In Matt's Musings, 12/10/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Why Blogging is a GOOD idea

I talked before about the Benefit about knowing 5 languages and while don’t even claim proficiency let alone fluency it has been an interesting semester. It is obvious that learning the 5 languages is a lot like learning a foreign language. I have always felt that it would be easiest for me to learn a foreign language by being put in the middle of a country that speaks the language. The reason for this is that people learn best from multiple sources. Therefore if I was in a foreign country there would be many people teaching me, as opposed to a class room which traditionally has one professor teaching many students. Bud has completely changed this in his class. First he has basically dropped us off in the middle of a foreign country having us dive head first into XML, and just like how we would really be if we were put on a foreign land we were scared and confused as everyone around us was speaking a foreign language, but now just a few weeks later we all seem to have a much better understand of the new languages we are starting to comprehend. Also he has shifting the job of teaching from just him to the entire class. We all help each other learn, in essence making more teachers. This helps in two ways. First whenever I have a question I don’t just have to go to Bud, I can blog about it, or ask a classmate for help. Second, when we help each other or tackle questions together we solidify and internalize concepts. Another idea that makes this class exceptional is the use of the internet in the class. Most classes only use textbooks as reference, but frequently we are encouraged to find websites that provide answers to our questions, references, or further information about a topic. When students find these they post them in their blog. Which brings me to my final point as to why this is a good class. The blog. Sure it is difficult and sometimes unpleasant to post in your blog because we are busy or can’t think of a good topic, but if you look at all of my points you will see they all revolve around blog. Of course, if we were not required to blog or it was worth a little portion of our grade we would not do it, but with emphasis put on it, we are all using it and benefiting from it.

In SuperMatt, 12/09/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Check out the Mimobots

I just came across this website on Mimobots. Wondering what mimobots are? USB flash drives!!! You must check out the pictures of these USB Drives.. Rather interesting, they look like little aliens to me. There are different series like Galaxor and Jolibear and then each of these series have different characters. As the website states:

Mimobots are little friendly data fiends! Feed the 2″ monsters all your essential data (tunes, pics, presentations, videos, etc.) and transport your files wherever you go. mimobots are what happens when designer toys meet USB flash drives - a marriage of art and technology.

Inspired by urban vinyl, we created the mimobots with intentions of injecting a dose of interactivity into the designer toy movement, and to bring style and soul to personal tech devices. mimobots are available in 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB (all Hi-Speed USB 2.0) and are compatible with Windows and Mac. mimobots are made with love in the USA.

I am pretty intrigued looking at these UBS Drives. Have any of you seen one or own one? I am curious to see one.

In supriya, 12/09/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

YAY for SQL and the X-Team!

Working on our project, and making forms to enter new data in the database reminded me of the days when I used HTML to store data, and how cumbersome the whole proces was!

HTML forms collect data, but they do not usually process it. In order for a form to be processed, it must go somewhere. To enable this you need to include two attributes in the

it the form to a program stored on a web server.

Process the form with JavaScript.

Send the form to a database.

E-mail the results of the form using mailto.

I actually used the email method when I was managing a database a few summers ago. Though its the easiest to set up, it produces results in a very crude format and sends you an email everytime a new data entry is made in the table. I had to then manually input the data in the database which was very laborious and time consuming. Moreover, it was annoying to get so many emails every day.

But SQL has come to our rescue now. YAY! I love how the insert statements automatically insert the data and one does not have to deal with a gazillion emails every day. I wish I could have taken this class earlier and learned about the X-Team which would have saved me many hours at my summer job two years ago. The class project is definitely a great way to bring together all that we have learned in class, and do it ourselves from scratch to get a hands-on-experience. I am excited to use the X-Team members the next time I have to manage a database so that I don’t have to sit there and make manual entries from HTML forms.

In supriya, 12/09/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Fido has a cell phone?

Tigerlily recently blogged about an interesting article which talked about PetCells. Though she did not seem very excited about the idea, I think its a great great invention. I am a big pet lover, and I would love for my dog tp have a cell phone.

As Tigerlily mentions, its a great way to track a lost pet. I do not know of many other systems out there which can be used to track lost pets, so I think its a very useful tool.

I specially like the idea of being able to talk to your pet if you are away on a vacation. While this might sound over the top to many non-pet-lovers, but its a great relief to be able to just say hello to your dog or listen to them bark while you are away. I know many pet-lovers who basically set their answering machine on speaker, call their home-line and talk on the phone hoping their pet is around listening to them.

I wonder how the phone network would work, as in, will it have some kind of a phone plan or will it be like a prepaid service? I am definitely excited for this new PetCell to hit the markets.

In supriya, 12/08/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

BIT 311- Response to JB

JB recently posted a blog, inquiring about BIT 311.

However, I’m on the waitlist for BIT 311 and can’t decide if it’s worth it to try to get in. Has anyone ever taken this course? If so, was it valuable?

I am actually taking the class right now. I think its a good class to take, specially if you want to learn about Macros and VBA. For the first few weeks, we learn about excel functionality such as creating charts, pivot tables, solver etc. Then, the last half focuses on VBA.

You can learn a lot of the topics taught in class by reading the dummies books or just trying out different features yourself. But I like watching the in-class demos, and then doing it. So, I would definitely recommend the class. I think the part on macros or even tables and VBA would be useful in future jobs. Moreover, I have heard from many Michigan Alumni, who are now in the financial industry, that they use a lot of Excel functionality learned in this class at work everyday. Hope that helps!

In supriya, 12/08/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

New York Times memo on blogging

Yesterday we launched a genuine, authentic, by-the-book New York Times blog. It’s Carpetbagger, about the Red Carpet at awards shows

In del.icio.us/tigerlily23, 12/08/2005 | Original | Archive

The Business of Blogging

How blogs are influencing business -- and helping investors.

In del.icio.us/tigerlily23, 12/07/2005 | Original | Archive

When blogging gets risky

Bad-mouthing job leads to firings

In del.icio.us/tigerlily23, 12/07/2005 | Original | Archive

Blogging for health

Doctors encouraging sick patients to write online

In del.icio.us/tigerlily23, 12/07/2005 | Original | Archive

Pictures make my life pink

I love finding cool websites. Today, while looking for some clip art with elephants on it (i’m organizing a white elephant game for my floor…RAing in full swing) I came across this cool page with funny pictures on it. I think it’s awesome what people take pictures of and what they can do with them. It’s sites like this that really make the internet a great technology base. Some of these are quite bizarre and others just, well let’s just say wow {no comment}. Look at the few below (I know I’m picture crazy, but you know you love it). PS. It also has its own Microsoft category (yeah Kevin, just fulfilling your request haha ) Found any cooler ones? Bring it on, let’s aggregate! That’s what I’ll look like next year.

Cute Pic

Cool Pic

Funny Pic

In Pink Footsie, 12/06/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

A Perfect Remix Cont…

I agree completely with Matt M when he says

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I’d love to see this remix continue and grow once the class is over.

I think we need to continue this site after the class is over. I know FOR A FACT we will not blog 5 times a week, but it would be easy to do, and an exciting way to keep up with each other well after graduation. I’m sure after Project2 or with the help of Bud, any of us could set up a site that would use RSS feeds to pull our articles and put them in a blog. Now this would not need to be fancy, but it would be a easy way to keep up. Not only would this be a fun/social thing, but it could be another networking tool. For example, if in a few years, I want to connect someone with Microsoft, I can simply get on the blog site and I know that at least 2 people reading the blog site will be Microsoft employees. One thing I have learned about networking is the best way to keep up contacts is to remind people of yourself without bothering them. Blogs are a great way to do this. With a blog people always have the option of reading what you have to say without bothering people. I would encourage all of you to even think about creating similar sites with your friends. In my case I was thinking about creating a RSS feed blog site for my business school friends and my fraternity brothers. It is such an easy way to keep contact and with virtually no cost.

In SuperMatt, 12/06/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

When murder hits the blogosphere

Personal sites suddenly very public in aftermath of Pennsylvania killing

In del.icio.us/tigerlily23, 12/06/2005 | Original | Archive

BIT 320: Two Thumbs Up

Kevin recently posted his evaluation of BIT320. Kevin says:

Most importantly, I truly understand the power and value of cutting edge database platforms. I feel that with this newly acquired lingo, I can now wipe the bead of sweat off my head and feel confident when conversing with techies at Microsoft. I definitely will recommend this course to others.

I agree. I’ve already recommended this course to many people. It frusterates me when they say “But I don’t know anything about computers.” Because I think that’s my favorite part about this class: I’m no computer expert, but I still find the material incredibly interesting and it makes me feel very confident when talking technology to others. While I might not encounter any Microsoft techies like Kevin, I still feel confident carrying on a conversation with anyone who knows what they’re talking about. For example, the other day I had to alter the back end of a software program we use at work. This program uses MS Access. You should have heard me throwing around database terms with my boss like it was nothing. The world is full of databases, and we should all know what we’re dealing with.

ition to databases and specific syllabus topics, I feel as though I’m coming out of this class with knowledge about a variety of other technology topics. The re-mix is to thank. When my classmates blog about something I don’t know anything about, I read it and I might even reference their links. Then I become interested or at least aware. Or when I bookmark I do a lot of searching on the web that I wouldn’t normally do. Now I find myself going to tech sites for news even when I’m not thinking about blogging or bookmarking. I think this is incredibly important because in today’s world technology plays a vital role and we should keep ourselves updated. I used to take a lot of things for granted; now I’m interested in how they work or what’s next.

In jb's blog, 12/05/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Blogs used by media to get info

News reporters used Kara Borden and her boyfriends Facebook, myspace, and Xanga blogs to find information and remarks made by the teenage couple. Her boyfriend murdered her parents while she was present, in what many believe was a planned murder that both were involved. Reporters have looked through the accounts for statements that are clues as to the circumstances leading up to the murder.

There were some statements made that give clues that the murder was planned, but it doesn’t seem like there is too much to go on.

In musings of william h, 12/05/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

You won’t see my blog listed on my resume

Privacy is becoming impossible as Matt points out in his blog. He makes a very understandable argument saying

I’m curious as to all of your opinions on this subject. Personally, I would like to think that my personal life would be kept seperate from my job life. What I do at home should be my business and my business alone

I think this is an all too real problem. In the past, I have heard of background checks and even sometimes private investigators used to lookup histories on potential and current employees. While this process is time consuming about difficult, Googleing someone is cost effective and easy. For this reason, I could see many HR departments doing such things.

To give you one such example, I myself and interviewing with a company later this week. In my blog I have specially pointed out flaws this company has. If someone could track my comments, I could be in danger of no longer be considered for the position. For this reason, I did not put my real name with the blog.

In SuperMatt, 12/05/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Question: Sprint’s data leadership

I was just reading some articles, and came across Sprint’s leadership is wireless data services. It talks about how Sprint has 5.5 million subscribers for its data service, and also the EVDO network by Sprint.

I am not sure, but by data services, are we simply talking about wireless internet access? I know T-mobile has something called the Hot-Spot where you basically access wireless through T-Mobile and pay them. Is this the same service but provided by Sprint instead? Also, are these data subscribers using it primarily to access wireless internet from their laptops or from their phones? Lastly, what is the EVDO network?

Any help on this topic will be appreciated

In supriya, 12/05/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Blogs affecting hirability

Matt brings up an interesting point, in his discussion on how having a blog can affect if you will get a job. This is something to think about. If you apply for a job, run for government office, or even if you are a leader of an organization, the things that you say in blogs can come back to haunt you. I personally am very hesitant to use my real name on anything that I write and post online. I would say that this is the solution to the problem, just use a different name or spelling of a name so that you can’t be searched. This allows you to remain uncensored in your blogging and without reprecussions in other parts of your life.

In response to the comment about not wanting to work for a company like that, I disagree. You can’t judge a company by its hiring policies, because most public companies follow the same basic procedures when hiring new applicants. It’s just smart business to do checks on applicants. If you put your opinions on the web with your name and its googled, then I think that it is your own fault, as you knew that it could happen by posting to a publicly viewable area.

In musings of william h, 12/05/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Flock it to me

So I recently ran across a news article that talked about a new browser called “Flock“.

In a similar vein to the site TigerLily blogged about (SuperGlu), flock takes a stab at remix culture from the browser end. Apparently Flock is a beefed up version of Firefox that really emphasises remixing. Apparently, it does away the traditional idea of “bookmarking” in an internet browser where every person has their own self-contained favorites. Instead, it’s tightly integrated with del.icio.us so that when you run across a page you like, you can “star” it and tag it. Then it gets sent to your del.icio.us account. Then it further remixes things up by recommending other pages that might be of interest based on the bookmarks of other people who have common bookmarks with you. Things getting a bit crazy here? I think so.

I think this is a really cool idea and I can’t wait to see it in practice. However, Flock’s only currently available in a developer build (think pre-Beta)…so it may be a while. But I’m definitely going to keep an eye on this.

In Matt's Musings, 12/05/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

A Perfect Remix

I’m extremely impressed with how far the class has come in the blogsphere this semester. From what I’ve been able to gather, like me, most of the class was pretty new to the blog world. Most of us either had never blogged before, at least not regularly. But after a slow start while we all tested the water, we seem to all have hit a stride now.

Our proficiency in blogging became apparent to me while catching up on the back-log of blogs I had missed. Not only was it an informative read, but it was an entertaining read as well. We seem to have struck a happy medium within the content confines of the class - it’s not boring, it’s not all business, but it’s not fluffy/trival either. But that’s just my opinion. What do you all think? I’m particularly curious as to Bud’s reaction on how we as a class have done. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I’d love to see this remix continue and grow once the class is over.

In Matt's Musings, 12/05/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

EECS 183: Indeed, a great course.

I was just working on my CSIB project and decided to glance at the remix site. Kevin’s post regarding EECS 183 immediately caught my eye. I took this course freshman year, and it is still one of my favorite courses. Like Kevin, we did several programs including a final project to build a virtual travel agency. I am very glad to have taken this course freshman year since it helped me get a good grasp of basic C++ skills, which have been very helpful in catching up with other languages such as HTML, SQL etc. One of the typical questions in my interviews has been:

What is your favorite course at the U of M?

EECS 183 it is!!! Even though I am a finance major, this course has set a great foundation for me, in terms of reasoning and logic which is applicabale in any analytical/quant course-work. I definitely recommend this course to everyone.

In supriya, 12/05/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

So I see here on your resume you have a blog.

While bookmarking tonight, I ran across a Dear Abby article. This article states,

“Just as employers have learned to read e-mail and blogs, they have learned to screen candidates through their sites.”

It goes on to say,
20;Googling a name isn’t difficult, and it could lead to an applicant’s blog.” I’m curious as to all of your opinions on this subject. Personally, I would like to think that my personal life would be kept seperate from my job life. What I do at home should be my business and my business alone. But at the same time, I know this isn’t the case. Employers want to know what type of people they are employing; are their employee’s “political activists, evangelizers, whiners or tattletales.” This makes a lot of sense to me. So maybe it’s ok for an employer to read my blog.

On the other hand, I wonder, “Do I want to work for a company that doesn’t want to hire me for me?” It would seem to suggest that a company that doesn’t want to hire me , soley due to an objection it had to something in my blog, would not share the same beliefs as me and would presumably not be a good fit. So maybe it’s NOT ok for an employer to read my blog.

I know SuperMatt expressed some concern about the issue of anonymity earlier in the class. What do you all think? Would you want your future employer reading your blog and possibly basing it’s decision on what it read?

In Matt's Musings, 12/05/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Job seekers should edit what they place on their blogs

More ways for a potential employer to find out information about you

In del.icio.us/mridge, 12/05/2005 | Original | Archive

AJAX vs. desktop development

How AJAX and stand-alone software are similar

In del.icio.us/mridge, 12/05/2005 | Original | Archive

Inserting Code: Thanks Kevin

Kevin wrote a really good post on how to write code on the community engine website. I remember that the first time I posted code on the remix site, I just typed it directly in WordPress, not realizing that it would execute the command. As a result, the result of my code got posted rather than the actual code I was asking about. And I felt pretty silly about it since I could not go back and edit it either as the post would not show the updated changes.

But I like Kevin’s idea:

I would recommend inserting a textbox in Microsoft FrontPage and then pasting your code into the textbox. Then copy and paste all the HTML from FrontPage to Wordpress.

Using the Front Page text box would save a lot of time and energy used by the cumbersome character codes. Thanks Kevin

In supriya, 12/02/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Microsoft to compete with Craigslist.

I read an interesting article on CNN, which talks about how Microsoft will now be competing with classified ad services like Craigslist. For a quick background, here’s a gist from the article:

Microsoft is developing an online classified service to compete with the likes of Craigslist and becoming the latest company to capitalize on growing consumer interest in buying and selling everything from cars to baby-sitting services on the Web.

I think what is particularly interesting is how MS is tying up the ad service with other products like its Instant Messaging service. For example, if someone is trying to buy a product from you, you will be alerted through you IM Service. Another feature which will set it apart from Craiglist is the high level of geographical personalization it will offer.

I think that the new classifieds service will not only be an innovative product for MS but it will also help them to cross-sell their other products. However, I was just wondering if entering into such diverse lines of business leads to brand dilution? Essentially, MS is most famous for its software suites like the MS Office. Should it focus more on its core competencies rather than entering into other business lines?

In supriya, 12/02/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

No More BlackBerrys?

BlackBerry has completely revolutionized the corporate world in the recent years. Working at a Wall Street firm this past summer, I noticed the extra-ordinary dependence of every single employee on the BlackBerry. In the elevators, formal meetings or even at the train stations - the BlackBerry viral effect cannot be ignored. However, I read an article on CNN regading the ongoing patent dispute. The article reads:

The patents being challenged by RIM are at the center of a long-running legal battle with patent holding company NTP Inc. that could force RIM to settle the case or face a court-ordered shutdown of most U.S. BlackBerry sales and service.

I almost cannot imagine the impact of no more BlackBerrys on the corporate world. In particular, continuous communication is inevitable in the Wall Street firms, and the BlackBerry has met this need exceedingly well. Here’s an interesting comment by a Lazard employee:

“The person that means a lot to me that complains the most loudly about my BlackBerry use is my wife. I realized a lot of executives were having the same problem so I came up with the perfect solution. I gave her one too, and I suggested they do the same.”

Will RIM lose this case and will it have to shut down its popular BlackBerry service? What do you think the impact will be on the corporate world? Will other competitors quickly replace the BlackBerry? Any opinions?

In supriya, 12/02/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Re-design my life

It seems like blogs are still my favorite topic so I’d like to expose you to this cool new phenomenon of design blogs. Webpages like ApartmentTherapy with cool ideas on how to spruce up your place, DesignSponge that adds a little bit of quirky and a bit of unique to your space and Funfurde which is my personal favorite that has the weirdest visual teasers that are actual furniture/accessories.

This is cool:

It’s a new movement aimed to release some creative in everyone and share some wacky to completely conservative ideas. This could be simply a diary of the imaginative paths of your brain or an outlet that could catch the right person’s attention (a way to change from your dilapidating, energy draining job that you oh so hate into the career of your dreams if you’re so artistically inclined). I think it’s simply cool to see the awesome things people can come up with and their ability through blogging to share it with everybody without the need to be a name brand of their own.

In Pink Footsie, 12/01/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Blog Wild

Some cool design related blogs. Check 'em out.

In del.icio.us/pinkfootsie, 12/01/2005 | Original | Archive

Re: Zebrality.com?

When I read jb’s post saying “My post now appears as a link on their Hurricane Katrina page.” I was reminded of an article that I found and a post that I wrote about splogs. What I think is that zebrality is using your post to increase their presence on search engines. Like I wrote previously: “The unforntunate part is that authors of credible material are being used by others to increase their presence on searches and to make money by having people click on ads on the sites.” Sorry Jennie. You can take it as a complement that your blog is popular enough that it will increase search presence for other sites or you can be upset that you are being used.

Disclaimer:I could be completely wrong on what they are trying to do with Jennie’s post.

In Tigerlily's Blog, 11/30/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

Adding a counter my second try

Well here I go again, for some reason I’m curious about how many viewers are making their way over to my site. Taking Supriya’s advice, I followed the link in here blog, to get free html text that should display a counter and other visitor statistics about my blog. After writing in my blog nearly 60 times, of course I want to see if anyone is reading. If this works, I suggest that you add it to yours. One thing I have noticed is that everyone in the class is very cognizant of people outside of the class reading their blog. This is another way to track activity.

Website Counter

In SuperMatt, 11/30/2005 | Original | Archive | Post to del.icio.us | Technorati

SQL, XML, & Ice Cream

A remixable web learning project at Michigan's Ross School of Business

BIT320 Remix — blogging