25 Years of IBM’s OS/2

April 5, 2012

I remember using OS/2 back in the day when I worked at a bookstore.  It was a pretty stable OS and I don’t recall any problems with it. The only problem I recall was an occasional hardware problem.

Although I’m a Windows guy, I have to admit that apparently there were times in the past that Microsoft used heavy-handed tactics in its quest for OS dominance.

OS/2 started out as a joint IBM/Microsoft product.  Overtime however, Windows became mainstream and OS/2 became more of a nerd operating system.

Leave a Comment » | IBM, Microsoft, OS, Software | Permalink
Posted by UrbanTechGuy

Driverless cars ready to hit our roads

April 3, 2012

According to the article, driverless cars are ready to hit the road.
Nevada will now allow driverless cars as long as the vehicle displays a special “Red” license plate and the owners retains anywhere between a $1 million to $3million insurance bond.
A hefty price to pay.
Also, apparently legislation is being considered in California, Arizona, Florida, Hawaii and Oklahoma.

“Automation of cars is going to happen,” he says. “Computing has caused devastating change and transport is going to be its next target.”

So don’t be alarmed if you see  a vehicle coming toward you and no one’s in the driver seat. Or, if an owner is a joker and put’s an animal in the driver seat.

Don’t freak out.

Leave a Comment » | Computing, Transportation | Permalink
Posted by UrbanTechGuy

FBI’s New Sentinel (Case Management) System-Almost ready for deployment

April 2, 2012

Due to cost over-runs and frequent project delays, FBI CIO Chad Fulgham decided to transfer the remaining development of the project “in-house” using the Agile software development process.

Essentially, Agile uses an iterative approach to software development (design, coding, testing, etc.), with tasks and goals broken down into short time-frames, typically from one to four weeks.

The new software is supposed to assist agents to collaborate and to “connect the dots” on investigations.

Apparently, Sentinel’s user interface, influenced by consumer apps, is intuitive enough that PC-savvy users would have no problem adapting to it.

An exclusive look

1 Comment | Agile, Government, Software | Permalink
Posted by UrbanTechGuy

Apple, publishers to settle e-books price-fixing suit

April 1, 2012

Before the iPad was released, Apple secured agreements from the major book publishers to set “agency model” pricing for e-books.
This undermined the “wholesale model” pricing that Amazon and other retailers were able to charge, which resulted in higher e-book prices.

Fortunately, it appears that a settlement is near, so that “agency model” pricing will be eliminated and retailers will once again be able to set their own pricing.
If successful, the agreement should benefit the consumer, at least for the foreseeable future.

1 Comment | E-books | Permalink
Posted by UrbanTechGuy

100 Time-Saving Search Engines for Serious Scholars

March 30, 2012

A pretty good list of useful time-saving search engines for the serious & seriously curious alike.

The search engine list is sorted into these categories:

General
Meta Search
Databases and Archives
Books and Journals
Science
Math and Technology
Social Science
History
Business and Economics
Other Niches
Reference

As a test, I used one of the search engines listed there (HotBot) and retrieved relevant results on the first page with just one query.
This is great stuff!

Leave a Comment » | Research, Search engine | Permalink
Posted by UrbanTechGuy

Warehouse robots come of age

March 29, 2012

Modern warehouse robotics

Background:

“After his experience at Webvan — which raised and then lost over $1 billion in investor capital — Kiva founder Mick Mountz realized that there had to be a breakthrough in cost reduction for large scale distribution businesses to get to the next level. He came up with the simple, but very clever, idea of having the shelves come to the packing stations at the warehouse, rather than having workers go and retrieve each product from the shelves.”

Now, modern warehouse bots trek around the warehouse via a combination of high-speed sensors and a bar code grid to fetch needed items and bring them to human workstations.

Very impressive stuff.

Leave a Comment » | Robots, Software | Permalink
Posted by UrbanTechGuy

DARPA’s world

March 28, 2012

The most famous name in American innovation today isn’t Apple or Google. It’s DARPA.

“That DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, runs with the big dogs of commercial innovation reflects the importance of science and technology to national security. War, not necessity, is the mother of invention.
”

Also, DARPA, the agency that brought us the internet, is pursuing the “Avatar Project” wherein a soldier can partner with a robot.

Leave a Comment » | Innovation, Robots | Permalink
Posted by UrbanTechGuy

Programming and web construction learning is booming!

March 27, 2012

A NYT piece asserts that there’s an upward trend of more people leaning toward technical fields and as a result, people want to understand how it works.

“Inasmuch as you need to know how to read English, you need to have some understanding of the code that builds the Web”

“To be successful in the modern world, regardless of your occupation, requires a fluency in computers,” he said. “It is more than knowing how to use Word or Excel but how to use a computer to solve problems.”

Not to mention that good paying jobs await those who can master these fields.

Leave a Comment » | Internet, Programming | Permalink
Posted by UrbanTechGuy

Futurecasting at Intel

March 26, 2012

Intel’s futurecaster:

“My job is to look 10 to 15 years out and come up with a vision as to how people will interact with computers.”

There are various factors involved, from consulting with social scientists, the military, government, industry, etc.
Once the vision is determined, then Intel works on what it can build to meet the vision.

Rough draft for the future:

  • “Secret Life of Data.”
  • “Ghost of Computing”
  • “The Future of Fear.”

Leave a Comment » | Computing, Future tech | Permalink
Posted by UrbanTechGuy

Microsoft tackles botnets!

March 26, 2012

In an effort to disrupt internet criminals in their insidious behaviour, Microsoft along with U.S. Marshals, served a blow to Zeus.
Digital forensic examiners gathered evidence and technicians deactivated Web servers which were being used to infect unsuspecting users PC’s to steal their personal data, including bank account passwords, etc.

“The plan is to disrupt, disrupt, disrupt.”

Leave a Comment » | Cyber crime, Microsoft | Permalink
Posted by UrbanTechGuy

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