Fuck off death reaper! Dennis Ritchie too?!

Despite the commotion about Jobs’s death, many probably don’t know about the death of Dennis Ritchie (even that being in second on Twitter Worldwide Trend Topics while I was writing this post). Yeah, who the hell is Dennis Ritchie? I had no idea either, but his legacy is much bigger than Jobs’s.

What?! Wait a minute! How so someone I’ve never heard about is more important than Steve Jobs? That is the difference to real geniuses: their legacy is even greater than their fame. Dennis Ritchie was the designer and developer of C language, not that would be enough mind-blowing he also co-created Unix.

It’s like Newton’s famous quote: “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”. I am not going to talk how internet, iOS and basically everything on IT relays in C, Unix or their legacy. But despite everything that other created, designed and built for Jobs to sell, Ritchie made things himself.

It is so sad people who worked in the greatest revolution of mankind are passing away. What are we going to do with all the transformation and power they gave us? I am going to finish this drop with much more philosofical statement than the usual “That is all for now. Until next post, with more drops of logs from a Computer Scientist’s life”:

Fame is not important. Let’s be ready to change the world and stay anonymous.

[+/-] show/hide

[+/-] show/hide

[drops.log]: Life follows...

I was thinking in to entitle this post as “Apple loses jobs even no one was fired”. But I guess the main thing here is: life follows.Steve Jobs passed away but that means little. Better products weren’t going to stop of show up. Apple is not going to die tomorrow.

I don’t get the commotion. What really hit me was random black humor phrases like:

“Who would like to trade Apple stocks?”.

“I guess we don’t need to study iOS API anymore.”

“Jobs has just released his newest innovation, the iDead” (that was kinda obvious, but I didn’t read on Twitter).

“Is Apple going to put Jobs funeral tickets in the iTunes?”.

“Finally a really nice work spot opened in Silicon Valey”.

“Jobs is uncontrollable, even iDead he has already done millions purchase his final product: iSad”.

“Apple says: we don’t have enough e-mail addresses to spam, send yours to rememberingsteve@apple.com”.

My acquintaces came up some funny stuff too, but I am not going to copy them here.

I would also recommend watch Pirates of Silicon Valley and tweet to keep iDead in the Twitter Trend Topics for one more day at least. That is all for now. Until next post, with more drops of logs from a Computer Scientist’s life.

[+/-] show/hide

[+/-] show/hide

[drops.log]: An inverse path, from photo to album

Wow! I’ve been absent since last week. My logs didn’t increase much in the while. I keep groping the Facebook Graph API with the restFB java wrapper.

It is easy to get the photos from a album. This post is about the inverse. The current task is to find what album a photo belongs. Let me put some context. Imagine you are using the Facebook Real-time Updates API to read feed and get every time user share/post something. Sometimes it is a new album. But when the feed is fired up with a new album you get only the cover photo from the album.

So now I need to check out what album holds that picture to iterate in it and do my app job. I read a comment in the StackOverflow saying the old REST API covered that easily, but the current graph api doesn’t do such a good job. Thankfully they already caught the album ID is encoded in the link attribute.

So... Let’s cut the talk and show where is the album ID in a Facebook Graph API Photo object. A photo object has a attribute link like this:

"link": "https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=255682667892372&set=a.255682644460941.54884.100000719217155&type=1",

If we think for a moment it could become clear the set parameter in the URL could provide something and even more the a could stand for album. That is it! Have you caught? Parse from set=a. until the next dot and you got the album id that keeps the photo. (Yeah. That easy.)

So, let's extract that field and retrieve the album, and iterate for the fellow photos in a album. Since my Facebook Graph API wrapper is restFB let’s use Java regular expression.

//posts is a Post list retrived from a user's feed
Post post = posts.get(i);
if(post.getType() != null && post.getType().equals("photo")) {
	//Got a photo
	if(post.getCaption() != null) {
		//it is from a new album
		
		//this regex compilation could be static
		final String ALBUM_REGEX = "(?<=set=a\\.)\\d+";
		Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile(ALBUM_REGEX);
		Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(post.getLink());
		if(matcher.find()) {
			String albumId = matcher.group();
			Connection< Photo > photos = fbcClient.fetchConnection(albumId + "/photos", Photo.class);
			for(Photo photo : photos.getData()) {
				//do your job with the photos
			}
		}
	}
}

I would love the album ID would be encoded in the Photo object too. It would be much more Object Oriented and far easier. Enough of complains. I guess that is all. Until next post, with more drops of logs from a Computer Scientist’s life.

[+/-] show/hide

[+/-] show/hide

[drops.log]: To pay attention usually pays the effort

That title is a bit vague but can get handy. I commented I got stuck with Facebook Real-time Updates API. The problem was incompatibility between my subscription and user authorization. I subscribed to users feed, but never asked them (myself in the case) for the auth to read their feeds. Of course facebook would never pass me content users never allowed me to get even with a offline access token. By the way, I haven't tried yet, but I am pretty sure you will need one to handle updates processing since the updates are mere announces, no content is delivered.

After, I needed to figure out what is going wrong with my JSP in google appengine. That was very disturbing since this part was working in my develop environment. The case was my fool attempt to save in the session an not serializable Object. Yeah. That stupid! Since appengine doesn’t save on session objects not serializable, but my local development environment does I did that silliness and tried to save the restFB com.restfb.DefaultFacebookClient.

In short I could have finished this coding stage two days early if I have payed more attention in the f*cking documentation. Other damn thing is I needed to revise the code I posted with Facebook Auth Filter. But that was to show me: To pay attention usually pays the effort.

That is all. Until next post, with more drops of logs from a Computer Scientist’s life.

[+/-] show/hide

[+/-] show/hide

[drops.log]: Facebook in Java

I started to do a small piece of code to interact with facebook. I spent some days wondering why the hell my application wasn’t working. The case is bad documentation on Facebook developers page. They say you should pass the authorization code and your app secret to the Graph API token endpoint from an URL like this:

https://graph.facebook.com/oauth/access_token?client_id=YOUR_APP_ID&redirect_uri=YOUR_URL&client_secret=YOUR_APP_SECRET&code=THE_CODE_FROM_ABOVE

That is very misleading since the URL contains a parameter redirect_uri that is useless. They never redirect from your page. You get the access_token not as parameter but as content.

I tested facebook-api and restfb and none made a good work to authenticate. You must lead with the initical oauth/dialog url, get and parse the content to retrive the access_token. There is a reasonable elegant way to do that on java servlets: create a Filter that redirect to the authorization page and retrieves the content on the URL above.

Here is the code:

public class FacebookAuthorizationFilter implements Filter {
    public static final String AUTH_URL_BASE = "https://www.facebook.com/dialog/oauth?client_id=%s&redirect_uri=%s&scope=%s";
    public static final String ACCESS_TOKEN_URL_BASE = "https://graph.facebook.com/oauth/access_token?client_id=%s&redirect_uri=%s&client_secret=%s&code=%s";
    
    @Override
    public void init(FilterConfig filterConfig) 
        throws ServletException 
    { /*init code*/ }
    
    @Override
    public void destroy() { /*destroy code*/ }

    @Override
	public void doFilter(ServletRequest request, ServletResponse response,
			FilterChain chain) throws IOException, ServletException {
		
		HttpServletRequest req = (HttpServletRequest) request;
		HttpServletResponse resp = (HttpServletResponse) response;
		
		String code = request.getParameter(MyConstants.CODE_PARAM_KEY);
		String accessToken = request.getParameter(MyConstants.ACCESS_TOKEN_PARAM_KEY);
		
		if(accessToken != null) {
			//there is one already let the application follow usually
			chain.doFilter(req, resp);
			return;
		}else {
			if(code == null) {
				//ask for authorization from facebook
				resp.sendRedirect(String.format(AUTH_URL_BASE, this.appKey, this.redirectURI, this.scope));
			} else {
				//already authorized, fetch the access_code
				accessToken = retriveAccessToken(code);
				//save the access_token
				req.getSession().setAttribute(MyConstants.ACCESS_TOKEN_KEY, accessToken);
				chain.doFilter(req, resp);
			}
		}
	}

    /**
     * Retrieves the content of the page with the access_code token 
     * @param code the code parameter passed to the redirect_uri from the oath/dialog page
     * @return The String access_token provided from facebook
     * @throws IOException
     */
    private String retriveAccessToken(String code) throws IOException {
	    URL url = new URL(String.format(ACCESS_TOKEN_URL_BASE, this.appKey, this.redirectURI, this.appSecret, code));
	    //TODO: Try to sintetize with CharStreams from guava-libraries 
	    ByteArrayOutputStream byteWriter = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
	    InputStream urlReader = url.openStream();
	    int r;
	    while((r = urlReader.read()) != -1) {
		    byteWriter.write(r);
	    }
	    String fetchedResult = new String(byteWriter.toByteArray());
	
	    String[] fields = fetchedResult.split("&");
	    //TODO: Make a regex to extract that
	    for(String field : fields) {
		    String[] pair = field.split("=");
		    if(pair.length == 2 && pair[0].equals("access_token")) {
			    return pair[1];
		    }
	    }
	    throw new RuntimeException(fetchedResult);
    }
}

Sumaring the process on a servlet:

1. Make a filter that asks for the client object or access_token on the session objectc
2. If there is no parameter in the session stops the request and redirect to:
https://www.facebook.com/dialog/oauth?client_id=YOUR_APP_ID&redirect_uri=YOUR_URL&scope=email,read_stream
1. Where scope are the permissions you want
2. The redirect_uri is going to work this case and you must to have a filter in the redirect_uri able to get the code parameter (line 30 in the snippet above)
3. Fetch the content of the follow URL:
https://graph.facebook.com/oauth/access_token?client_id=YOUR_APP_ID&redirect_uri=YOUR_URL&client_secret=YOUR_APP_SECRET&code=THE_CODE_FROM_ABOVE
1. (Lines 48 to 56 in the snippet above)
4. Parse the content to extract the parameters (at least acess_token) (lines 60 to 65 on the snippet above)
5. With access_token you can create the actual client object to access facebook data (line 37 on the snippet above)
6. Put the object where you can retrieve it (line 35 in the snippet above)

[+/-] show/hide

[+/-] show/hide

[drops.log]: Google+ API roadmap (and shortcuts...)

Well, my foreplay with Google+ API, launched past week, was too rush and to practical. Let’s make some notes useful for the next time.

First observations:

• To work with Google+ API we need the Google Client API to get access to user google account and the Google Plus Service API. Make sure to download both
• We need to get permission from our apps access Google services and data. SO you need to sign in Google API Console
• Create the app by creating a Client ID, providing type of app, hostname address
• Switch to ON the status of the services you will need to access from our app

One note for JAVA users, when I was writing this post the documentation was a bit misleading. The feature version of the JAVA wrapper for the Client API was 1.4.3 but version of the google plus API in the Developer’s Guide page was 1.2.1 which is incompatible with the 1.4.3 version, so download the 1.5.0 version

There are start sample code provided for some languages wrappers, the one for JAVA is quite good. It shows for instance how get the access token. Let’s make a Servlet Filter (analogous to drps.log about authentication of FB apps that I showed) to do the job of checking or authorising, retrieving access token... It is very simple, but a bit verbose:

public class GoogleAuthFilter implements Filter {
	
	@Override
	public void init(FilterConfig arg0) throws ServletException {
		// TODO Auto-generated method stub
	}

	@Override
	public void destroy() {
		// TODO Auto-generated method stub
	}

	@Override
	public void doFilter(ServletRequest request, ServletResponse response,
			FilterChain chain) throws IOException, ServletException {
		HttpServletRequest req = (HttpServletRequest) request;
		HttpServletResponse resp = (HttpServletResponse) response;
		AccessTokenResponse accessToken = (AccessTokenResponse)req.getSession().getAttribute(MyConstants.ACCESS_TOKEN_RESPONCE_KEY);
		//test to check access credential 
		if(accessToken == null) {
			String code = req.getParameter(MyConstants.CODE_KEY);
			if(code == null) {
				//no code means the user must allow the app access their data
				AuthorizationRequestUrl authUrl = new GoogleAuthorizationRequestUrl(
														MyConstants.CLIENT_ID, 
														MyConstants.REDIRECT_URI, 
														MyConstants.GOOGLE_PLUS_SCOPE_URL);
				resp.sendRedirect(authUrl.build());
			} else {
				//use the code to generate access token
				accessToken = new GoogleAccessTokenRequest.
										GoogleAuthorizationCodeGrant(
												new NetHttpTransport(), 
												new GsonFactory(), 
												MyConstants.CLIENT_ID, 
												MyConstants.CLIENT_SECRET, 
												code, 
												MyConstants.REDIRECT_URI
										).execute();
				req.getSession().setAttribute(MyConstants.ACCESS_TOKEN_RESPONCE_KEY, accessToken);
				resp.sendRedirect(MyConstants.SERVLET_PATH);
			}
		}
		chain.doFilter(req, resp);
	}
}

To get the Plus service client object is also simple and verbose, just snip of a servlet to exemplify:

AccessTokenResponse accessToken = (AccessTokenResponse)req.getSession().getAttribute(MyConstants.ACCESS_TOKEN_RESPONCE_KEY);
GoogleAccessProtectedResource requestInitializer = new GoogleAccessProtectedResource(
					accessToken.accessToken, 
					new NetHttpTransport(), 
					new GsonFactory(), 
					MyConstants.CLIENT_ID, 
					MyConstants.CLIENT_SECRET, 
					accessToken.refreshToken);
Plus plus = new Plus(new NetHttpTransport(), requestInitializer, new GsonFactory());

With the Plus object you can make requests to access people data

String who = req.getParameter(MyConstants.WHO_KEY);
who = who == null ? "me" : who; 
Person me = plus.people.get(who).execute();

You could access the activities too, but just the public.

We are almost finishing. Let’s list (or relist) useful links too:

• Google API Console: https://code.google.com/apis/console
• Google Client API Downloads Page: http://developers.google.com/+/downloads
• Google API Java Client Developer’s Page (be aware they misleading concerning the versions of Client API wrapper and Service API wrappers, use 1.5.0-beta for the first one and 1.2.1 for the Google+ Service API wrapper): http://code.google.com/p/google-api-java-client/wiki/DeveloperGuide
• Google+ Developers Discussion Group: http://groups.google.com/group/google-plus-developers
• Google Client API Javadoc: http://javadoc.google-api-java-client.googlecode.com/hg/1.5.0-beta/index.html
• Google+ API Javadoc: http://javadoc.google-api-java-client.googlecode.com/hg/apis/plus/v1/index.html
• Bugs, issues and Features requests of Google+ platform: http://code.google.com/p/google-plus-platform/issues/list
• Bugs, issues and Features requests for the JAVA wrappers: http://code.google.com/p/google-api-java-client/issues
• Authorized Access Sites, Apps and Services configuration page: https://accounts.google.com/b/0/IssuedAuthSubTokens

That is it. Enjoy the Google+ small set of accessible data. And let’s hope we get more soon.

[+/-] show/hide

[+/-] show/hide

[drops.log]:More, more, more, plus... Google+

Not long ago I dropped something about the Google+ API release. Well, they do not let any grumpy comments (like mine) get cold. They just released the Google+ Hangout API. Well, of course I need to take a look, make some tests, but I have to much to do right now (Anyone could help with Facebook Real-time Updates on app hosted in Google Appengine?).

They announced a lot of Google+ new features today 1, 2. What do I comment about all that? Google+ really wants to get in your pants pocket (Yeah, lame joke, I know, but I don’t speak English natively), purse, bag, anywhere you keep your smart device. I guess since Facebook is getting closer of Google+ best features it seems Google wants to attract the users by that thing they are always toughing, playing, even doing nasty things: their mobiles (What? Have you known about any nude pictures taken by mobile devices and spread over the internet? Ever heard of sexting? Other bad joke... I know, but sexting is nasty, isn't it? :$).

Jokes apart I guess Google is showing their intelligence and fighting in a place they can do great: smart phones. After all they have the droids in their side... (Enough of silly jokes, bye.)

[+/-] show/hide

[+/-] show/hide

[drops.log]: FHS, where to install stuff?

I have been reading the the Filesystem Hiearchy Standart (FHS) documentation. As I was reading I was checking the contents o different Linux boxes I have access to (debian, ubuntu and CentOS). What got me confused was about the /opt. Since google chrome is installed in the /opt/google/chrome as recommended but besides that /opt directories were empty.

But, wait. Shouldn’t be firefox, libreoffice, pidgin, etc. in /opt, making it full of directories? I lost my reading track and started to search why, in the document and the net. A linux magazine article was helpful. Even if I am not totally sure that is why I guess firefox is in /usr and google chrome is in /opt:

Firefox is shipped with the distribution. Even if optional package say for instance Inkscape is avaliable in the distro repositories the distro guys install it in the /usr. Google chrome in other hand is not provided with the distribution. Since google chrome is not part of the distribution it should be installed in the proper place, in that case /opt.

The point could be incompatibility of Licenses but since Gnome is GPL, Firefox is Mozilla Public License ("MPL"), and LibreOffice LGPL and they are shipped together in one basic, initial instalation of a distro like ubuntu. So I guess I am going to stick with my former explanation.

One could say the point of /usr is to be shareable. Agreed. It is one of the characteristics expressed in the FSH documentation. But, if can firefox installation shareable, why couldn’t chrome?

Anyway, what that conclusion got me was: So if I develop a piece of software I should make it be instalable in the /opt correctly, but if one distro decides to put my software in their product they should move the instalation to /usr. That could get even with different version. Let’s say: the most recent release I program to /opt, and if the distro has frozen that package their instalation is in /usr and if a user download my package and installs it he should get two different ersions, one in the /opt alien to the distro and other in /usr distro official.

I hope I have gotten that right. We must keep FHS on mind when developing.

[+/-] show/hide

[+/-] show/hide

[drops.log]: Google+ API... First Impressions

I tried three times write this drop, but they just become too long. I guess after I am going to write a roadmap + shortcuts to make the first app accessing Google+.

So, What are The First impressions? They are:

* You will need the new Google Client API big time. That is nor bad neither good.

I tested the JAVA flavour wrapper for the API

- JAVA is naturally verbose, but the Google Client API wrapper to JAVA is too much for my taste... I guess the objective is to make it the most detached possible, even so...

- Documentation is kinda misleading. For instance:

- They divulged the Google Client API, but what I was expecting was the Google+ API, it is not so straightforward to get you need the client API to authenticate and one API for each service to get the wrappers for that service

- The featured version of the Google Client API for JAVA is the 1.4.3, but the Google+ service API JAVA wrapper version 1.2.1 is incompatible with it. So, if you get some error like: java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: com.google.api.client.http.json.JsonHttpParser. download the version 1.5.0 of the client API ¹

- I have no idea why my calls for Person.getName() and Person.getNickName() are returning null

* There are a lot of runtime errors out there, if your user has a google account, but no account in the specific service, Google+ in our case, I got 404 error. We should keep this in mind. There are tons of things that could get wrong during the communication and Google recommends that kind error don’t blow in the user face. Let’s pay attention.

+ Google Client/Services API are opensource (they are under the Apache License 2.0)

- The main missing feature is public information is too little. Google justifies that saying is only the first step of a long journey . They should rush, facebook is quickly copying the great features of Google+

+ Google is providing a great set of language wrappers (even if they are in beta, or even alpha). That is a ball facebook drop long ago, and twitter never bothered about

* This API use OAuth 2.0 draft 10, but the wrappers make things simple enough to don’t need to dive in the subject

* You should read the whole documentation of client API in your favourite language before to jump in coding (don’t repeat my mistakes).

* I wonder how we will set the data access. I haven’t read about the access limitations, but I wonder if a app could get in all my post, or photos, or videos sometime. That goes in the opposite direction of specific and limited shares. I guess app could be like elements I put in circles and share with them some amount of data, granular and event specific. I don’t want apps out there accessing all my data similar to facebook.

NOTES:

1. http://code.google.com/p/buzz-java-client/issues/detail?id=18

[+/-] show/hide

[+/-] show/hide

[drops.log]:A definitive future to AI

I am going to start the Stanford AI course in October. I like AI concepts. People think about Terminator when they think about AI and that is plain dummy, I guess. But after this study hint, let’s go to what was in my mind.

Sometimes I wonder what is the computing future. I am sure AI and “smart computing” have a great deal in that future. When I talk about “smart computing” i am not talking about the magazine, I am talking about computers to guess nicely. When a system suggest me similar products based on my or friends’ statical behavior it is a good guess, smart enough. What could AI and smart computational guesses can do for us? Well, predict the future in computing is really messy.

What I know they wont do it, or at least shouldn’t do it is: think for the you. Ultimately, you should make the choices. They could suggest, but you should accept after reasonable thinking. Don’t think because Facebook suggest your friends classification that should be your classification. Amazon says your friends would like some gift, check out their actual wishlist, the one they choose the products, not one made up by their shopping behavior.

So, programmers out there, don’t try to make programs that think instead their users.

[+/-] show/hide

[+/-] show/hide

[drops.log]:Why innovate when you can copy?

What has Facebook done to fight its direct competitors, Twitter and Google+ ? They definitely aren’t standing still. For instance, they enhanced their share feature. It is not as easy and practical as Google+ however. They have launched a Subscribe option. Basically you can provide a Subscribe button on your profile and let people follow you. That is the Twitter main behavior, for sure. So, instead of making innovations are they replicating their competitors’ best features and concepts? That is at least fair keeping in mind how much Google+ copied from them.

Maybe you haven’t seen the presentation that based Google+. It talks a lot about how we keep subjective groups while we establish relationships. Twitter and Google+ acknowledge a simple and obvious behavior: many relationships are asymmetric. They do acknowledge it since who you follow and who follows you, or who is in your or has you in circles are independent sets. My point is: Google+ still is better. Basically everybody is up to be followed, similar to Twitter, but the “sharers” decide who their shares are going to reach. I guess this is the perfect concept. And 140 characters limit and Twitter lists really suck.

Since Facebook is going to just copy their competitors ideas they could just make their share tool equal to Google+, rip off the “add as friend” and just make everybody follow who they want and let to the user choose what to share with who. In short: Since they are coping Google+ anyway, they could just become it and kill this Google attempt. They have best ecosystem, a good API, pages from organizations, a much larger users base and so on. I hope in the process of becoming Google++ they kill the stupid groups. That features is really lame.

[+/-] show/hide

[+/-] show/hide

[drops.log]: Facebook, Pidgin, OpenID, and other chat frustrations

I started to use the OpenID from Google to access my facebook. That make less loginand password digitation. What frustates me is only initial facebook page can use it to login. If I access from a e-mail they send me that doesn’t work.

Since I configured that on my facebook my pidgin stops to access my facebook account to chat. I need to change the facebbook password to pidgin back to login. If that isn’t enough I can’t be logged on facebook chat in pidgin and disable the facebook web page chat. That is annoying I want only chat from the pidgin. I don’t want that little windows filling my facebook navegation.

I found out facebook let you select the groups you will show on-line. That is a great feature. Even more impressive since the Google+ enables you to hung out only to certain groups, but not separate your chat status in the same way.

[+/-] show/hide

[+/-] show/hide

Preface: drops.log

I have more comments than real posts and etc, but since I still don’t started the “Very basics” series I guess my comments could be something for the blog. So, I am going to share small comments, opnions, even code samples here. They are small drops I am going to “log” on the blog. Even though my English sucks I am going to do it in this language.

[+/-] show/hide

[+/-] show/hide

So what?

I read this days about Google phasing out Windows internal use due to security concerns. So what? I like, really like, Google and their products, but I didn't understand the reason for such repercussion. I actually am disappointed it took so long for that.

Of course you should pay attention to security issues concerning Windows, but not because Google trumpeted them. Computers and Internet must be taken seriously and, of course, Windows has security issues. But, guess what. All Operational Systems have security issues and failures. Whether Mac or Linux (both POSIX).

It isn't even viable drop the general use of Windows. There is too many systems running only on Windows. It doesn't matter how many app are today on the Apple App Store or Android Market. The Windows's programs set is much bigger.

Maybe you have listened that your iPhone, Android mobile, iWhatever OS is safer than Windows. That would be truth. So what? It is not like Apple or Google have invented the light bulb. Their amazing concepts like “Sandboxing” and centralized application repositories are old news in Linux Distributions. Have you ever listened about apt-get, Synaptic, yum, and others? No? They are “Linuxes App Stores” and are around here for quite some time.

What matters little in the security field. It is a vicious cycle. The systems come out, the vulnerabilities are found and explored. New security features show up. New holes show up... And the main hole is somewhere is never going to disappear: the user. Murphy's laws fits perfectly here: if there is a way to user rip off the security barriers, he is going to do it soon.

Let's put it very simply: Google is doing that because it suit them better, it is better for their ecosystem, it doesn't mean the same goes for you. The great reason I don't understand the spotlights on that decision is really this: domestic users aren't going leave their comfort zone to try out something unknown as Linux. I sincerely hope no one people from Free Software is going to think it as opportunity to Linux grow and spread...

I would love to see people doing like I did: testing, finding and deciding what fits them best. I chose Ubuntu Linux, Google chose not-Windows. Google does even not care about OS. Their business is focused in the “cloud”. The Chrome OS is just a detour due to their current business needs. What better way to show that OS is not important than to make one proving it? So what? That is up to you. Are you going to quit Windows, just because Google is going to?

[+/-] show/hide

[+/-] show/hide

Game's art

Another day I read a very interesting post about a statement against video games classification as art. After some reflection I guess I picked my side.

The big matter is there is some ambiguity. There is video games and there is electronic puzzles. A electronic puzzle is a game played in an electronic device. Even common games like blackjack or draughts (checkers) are on electronic devices. If you consider chess just a game instead a sport, electronic chess against the computer is an electronic puzzle. I particularly prefer electronic puzzles.

Video game is something different. They aren't only about solve a problem against an automatic antagonist. Video games are touched, blessed, with the most permeator and abstract kind of art: literature. A fundamental point in a videogame is the need of follow a history, or create it somehow.

It's very simple to get there is histories behind modern and old video games. It may be just the background to a bunch of fights or a complex and mysterious screenplay. Sometimes people used the history just as an excuse to shoot zombies, alike some film out there. Even more if there is literature, there is art. There isn't such of thing like more or less art. If there is art is art. How much you have liked that particular work is totally up to you.

I even consider a person who tries to deny the video games as art are depreciating the literature. Even more, there is another kinds of art composing them. It is clear there is graphic arts involved. Even the electronic puzzles are plenty of graphic art. And graphics are fundamental as well it is to cinema and people don't deny it as art.

Perhaps the problem is about the challenge involved. We would hardly accept Olympic Long Jump as art. But in video games the player also acts like actor. There is some level of role-playing. The player incarnates the character, avatar, in that history. The problem about the player role on the art is the same ambiguity there is on dramaturgy. There isn't play without acting. But also on games and sports there isn't contest without the contestants. The video game player does as the actor does: make from literature a different kind of art.

There is a interesting book with this ambiguity between game and art. Das Glasperlenspiel (The Glass Bead Game) is the last work of the German author Hermann Hesse. In that fictional universe there is a game which encapsulates the whole synthesis of human learning and the matches are somehow art pieces.

Even video games are far from the concept alluded on Das Glasperlenspiel they are art and beyond. Art doesn't encapsulates video games, but they shouldn't be excluded of the art set either. I guess the synthesis is: Since videogames have literature and graphic art on them, they are art, but they aren't only art.

[+/-] show/hide

[+/-] show/hide

Technology before Education is unsorted...

The National Large Band Plan (Plano Nacional de Banda Larga) is a Brazilian government measure that has its merits, but is a symptom from a Brazilian habit very clear: it's better to extinguish fires instead prevent them.

This measure is comparable to others like ProUni and REUNI. They are attempts to mitigate a situation much graver and generalized in Brazilian society: lack of education. When I say lack of education, I am not saying there isn't access to education on the country. The indicators demonstrate instruction is wider, but what kind of education is given?

Before technology, even opportunities, the society must be educated. Education before technology is the right sorting. Informatics and Internet are too powerful tools to be available to unprepared people.

It is not the case to not have a plan to universalize Internet access and all information it grants, but the priorities are inverted. Where Internet connection transmission quality is better it is also visible there was a long time dedicated to population instruction.

Who does best use of tools is whom better knows techniques and possibilities. It is essential to create a critic and ethic population. The access democratization on Brazil also means a large amount of people without preparation and critic skills is going to gave access to a tool which cans be used in a malefic, even danger, way.

What kind of use to expect from these Internet users? It isn't absurd to conjecture only a increase on social networks access while educational and business opportunities would be marginal. In a country where lack of ethics and social accommodation are so remarkable, to give so powerful implement with even none legal set to avoid excess it is fearful.

The creation of these opportunities are fundamental. If only one soul is saved and has better and bigger opportunities of learning and business that action is already positive. What it is need to keep on sight is the price is going to paying on that.

It is a hideous situation: it is not good as it is on present and doesn't seem like these actions under implantation will do better. A large amount of people accessing Internet is a way to global integration, a step to form a worldly society more open, expressive and dynamic. Meanwhile a majority little educated is synonym to not elevated uses like piracy, abuses on free speech use, even so criminalization.

Much more than a technical instruction which could happen on schools, it needs a ethical formation of this users group. It is not only amplifies the access and prays to things sort out. To cross the finger doesn't solve it. Before technology, Education.

Maybe people have a vision too inoffensive about informatics and Internet. They aren't inoffensive and demand their part. Let's see a example: hardly someone let a loaded weapon on eleven or twelve-years-old person, but many parents allow their children of that age to have profiles in social networks which explicit ask their users to be adults.

We need to form a generation capable to understand what they should demand about Internet access, privacy, free speech, respect to public and private property before to give so powerful weapons on their hands.

When I say I think people should have license to use computer and Internet some judge me surly and meddlesome, but a lot of them wont give a car or a gun to a fourteen or fifteen-years-old young. And if they would they aren't people who I care which their opinion.

To universalize and democratize a quality access to world wide web, but without forget we are doing that with a population little educated and little ethic. Remember there is serious gaps on regulation to Internet use on Brazilian territory. We need to be aware to the price we are going to pay in human and social consequences.

[+/-] show/hide

[+/-] show/hide

So Long Flash...

I remember almost ten years ago, when one of my first computing and IT mentors said me Flash wasn't the future, Flash was the present. Flash still is the present. When I guessed Flash reached the top Macromedia gave a step further and launched the FLV format.

FLV was what brought YouTube to life. Let's agree it was one feature to the present, not to the future. But are Flash days numbered? Probably not. It's very hard to detach of a technology so absorbed as Flash. Check out the benefits and needs of IPv6 and the wide difficulties of putting it on scene.

Many of discussion about that is because Apple products are not supporting Flash. A lot of reasons raised to explain that. In parallel Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) is going to support HMTL5. Even so they aren't giving up Flash. I think the discussion about Apple's opposition to Flash have two main and different branches: Technical and Market.

Steve Jobs has said they are dropping Flash because it's a obsolete and buggy technology. Clearly Flash has security and performance issues. But what hasn't? Apple said the Flash need of mouse cursor is an obstacle to Apple touch-screen devices. They also say HTML5 is the future because of video tag.

Let's put clearly: Flash is not only about video. HTML5 and AJAX made possible do a lot of things were Flash field before. What does Flash supply now a days? Let focus on three: Dynamic Interaction, Eye-candy Layouts, and Vectorial Animation. AJAX made clear there is no need to Flash plays the Dynamic Interaction role. Eye-candy Layouts can be provided by CSS and good HTML design. I see little obstacle to vectorial animation doesn't be delivered as video format or with AJAX. The one reason I see is better render in different screen sizes and formats. Adobe can work around touch screen issues, as well. So let's put apart the relation what flash provides and web video delivery.

I guess we can balance the discussion with the Market perspective. Performance and security issues, video demand toward HTML5 and touch screen issues are not impediment. Apple does not want something enabling the experience you only could have on their devices. That is Flash does, it let you have the same experience on any browser, any operational system, any device. Paradoxically IE9 HTML5 support lets people to get the same taste on their PCs and their mobile devices.

When Apple argues they can use devices MP4 H264 hardware decoder to improve performance they forget to say HTML5 doesn't say what kind of support video tag should give. Firefox is giving OGG support. It is Open Source format, but present versions don't play MP4 H264 videos... In some way HTML5 pushes Apple, Microsoft, Google and others to develop based on open standards, in other hand the web video revolution may be a standoff.

Particularly, the technical arguments to abandon Flash are weak. Apple doesn't want to follow a standard path, they just want to avoid you reach the experience they propose in rival devices. They want you be attached to iTunes to taste music and video.

Anyway is too soon to bury Flash. There is a lot of people skilled to develop on the platform, the developers aren't going to rip off abruptly Flash from their utilities set. HTML5 is under discussion as well. Before Flash lose its role on the web world two other players must give a step each: users and developers. Both need to adopt HTML5, but the thing is users and developers usually don't walk in synchronism.

About users role, I guess people only know about Flash because when they get in a site like YouTube the browser warns they need Flash plugin. Users are most interested on features, not how they show up. They are used to Flash way to deliver video, animations, interaction, but they have zero fidelity to the technology, they just want the features.

One thing for sure, the technical issues aren't killing Flash, market is. Since market is Advertising, I guess Apple is doing a great job making people to believe Flash is a obsolete technology. People get alienated by Steve Jobs opinion. He and Apple have their reasons to want Flash out of their platforms. Flash is going to became obsolete only when Adobe give up its. Flash is the present and it is going keep here for some time.

It's nice it is emerging options to Flash out there. I guess while it remains gaps between what Flash and its rivals provide, Flash will prevail. Other nice thing related options is you don't need to buy iPod, iPhone, iPad, nor any iPple product. There are options trying to cover as most support as possible and let you decide what is best.

Backing to begin: Sadly and surely Flash doesn't look like being future anymore. About ten years ago Flash seemed as future, but was present, even today, it still is present.

[+/-] show/hide

[+/-] show/hide

Googleopy

Somethings are neither good nor bad, they just are. Another day I listened about Google dealing to buy the Twitter. That is one of the things are neither bad, nor good, they just are. “Don't be evil” is a great motto. “To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful” is a remarkable, even titanic, piratically utopian mission. Google invests on their employees creativity. It tries to create a ludic and academic alike environment.

Don't delude yourself thinking Google is managed by idealistic students. It wont be a Fortune Forbes enterprise if it would. And because it is managed by professional capitalists Google is taking some attitudes some considers monopolist. If they are monopolist, the case is monopoly is neither good nor bad, it just is. At least speaking lexicographically, as defined by the Dictionary.com:

mo·nop·o·ly

/məˈnɒpəli/ –noun, plural -lies. 1 exclusive control of a commodity or service in a particular market, or a control that makes possible the manipulation of prices. Compare duopoly, oligopoly. 2 an exclusive privilege to carry on a business, traffic, or service, granted by a government. 3 the exclusive possession or control of something. 4 something that is the subject of such control, as a commodity or service. 5 a company or group that has such control. 6 the market condition that exists when there is only one seller. 7 ( initial capital letter ) a board game in which a player attempts to gain a monopoly of real estate by advancing around the board and purchasing property, acquiring capital by collecting rent from other players whose pieces land on that property.

I don't know who likes competition, it is told neither the devil likes. There is the ones who like competition, but by the simple joy to win and to overcome – it is human nature. Google, Microsoft, Apple, or any computing and technology company isn't different.

It has illusions about a company so competently capitalist is ingenuous, or generous, but don't suppose that. And why don't support Microsoft or Apple, for instance? One thing include little of theirs commercial policy. What makes me still like Google and did about the deceased Sun Microsystems is the philosophy permeates, but doesn't stop, on their commercial field: They adopt strategies that benefit the overall computing. When an enterprise gives the opportunity to another companies to use its technology or infrastructure that benefices the market. Twitter and Google do that with their APIs and services. When one open the source code of their products to share their quality like Sun did and Google does (check out Google code) all computing world benefits with that.

Because this kind of thing I pick Google side, even when it perpetuates actions simply commercial like Twitter negotiation, fact don't accomplished yet. It could until to get some monopoly. It could even stop to build free software, but it isn't like it could to impose any code leaving its free software state...

I like Open Source Software (and Free Software) by the non-impressive fact its to be good. If we take on count exceptions corroborate the rules, They are the scarse low-quality exceptions that prove open source software, or free software, is good.

That's the reason, and only that, why I like Google, why I like Open Source Software. Because the promote an improvement in overall computing, independent of monopolist ideals that drive Microsoft, capitalist that drive Apple, or idealistic that drive GNU. The most important is to benefit the computing.

On market terms and costumers actions one thing is sure: he isn't interested in nothing above. Imagine, for example, Google would purchase only twitter.com domain. Do you think people will be faithful to the service?

Don't blame Microsoft's monopoly by the viruses jeopardize Windows, the problem is fully different. Same way don't blame any Google's monopoly could have for private information leaks, after all it was you putted that informations on their database, and already knew, or should, that Google could use them when offers a new service.

A central point is on what we give importance. If the fateful Google's monopoly is frustrating enough to you don't want to use their products, go ahead and search. It isn't like they could kept alternatives to show up. Keep on mind the important is the service quality and computing evolution. Where that quality or evolution is tertiary.

It worths to remind the users aren't obligated to use a Google service (usually), neither a small company must to sell their product to another for any billionaire offer. On web technology field is very hard to close the market. Is a choice question. To use Google, Cuil or Bing is your option. To use, or don't use, Twitter (or Buzz) follow the same principle. To sell a good quality idea or product to a bigger company is an option too. Most important is good services show up, grow up, improve, ant computing and IT evolve.

[+/-] show/hide

[+/-] show/hide