Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Llamawerx Summer Update

Monday, August 1st, 2005

Summer’s here and while the US is baking under a heat wave, I thought it would be a good time to update everyone on what we’ve been up to here at Llamawerx.Have you thought about setting up a website, but continue to put it off? Do you have a site that could use freshening up? We’re running a summer special on web development and hosting. For a limited time, you can get a professionally designed website starting at $595. For details, visit www.llamawerx.com/promo. Hurry, this offer expires September 1, 2005.

Llamatrax the newsletter has been retired – and replaced with The Llamatrax Weblog. For us, blogging is a big improvement over the PDF newsletter. Entries are simpler to create, written in HTML, archived chronologically, allow comments and can be read using a web browser or RSS reader. If you haven’t seen it yet, visit blog.llamawerx.com and read what’s there. Don’t forget to bookmark it and come back!

Llamawerx proudly announces the launch of JetsetJr – an online community dedicated to traveling with children. I know many of you have children and sometimes you’re looking for information to help make a trip go smoothly. On JetsetJr, you’ll find a weblog, message boards and an online shop. The more people that visit – and participate – the more information will grow. Even if you’re not traveling, take a look. You might find some neat gifts for the kid in all of us – www.jetsetjr.com/shop.

Finally, if you’re looking for something to read this summer, visit our bookshelf for some great Amazon selections: www.llamawerx.com/bookshelf.

Enjoy the summer.

doug

Build, Show, Go

Wednesday, June 29th, 2005

For me, prototypes have always been a key part of developing software. I’ve tried low-fidelity paper models and hi-fidelity working code; and I have to admit I gravitate towards the hi-fidelity models. Yes, they do cost more. But, in my opinion, they provide more value too.

  • Easier for users to interact with.
  • Require less “imagination”.
  • Gain understanding of the target technology.

Of course prototypes are often “quick & dirty” so the prevailing process is “build, show, throw”.

  1. Build the prototype.
  2. Show it.
  3. Throw it away.

With Cryotrax Researcher Edition, we’ve adopted a “build, show, go” approach. The first two steps are the same, but instead of throwing it away, we’re going forward with development.

By making a couple of simple choices while developing the prototype, we prepared it to “go” to development.

  1. Use the target technology and tools.
  2. Isolate the “data” from the user interface.
  3. Build some of the control.

This doesn’t take considerable effort. There’s no need to architect the backend systems. There’s no need to develop a complex object model. This is a Java application so we created a class to contain the prototype data (mostly Strings & Lists) and accessed it through static methods. Crude? Yes. Effective? Yes. Simple? Yes.

After the “go” decision, we evolved the object model and backend system one step at a time.

  1. Identify the function to develop.
  2. Build & test functionality using test-first principles.
  3. Remove the call to the prototype data; replace it with a call to the business logic.

Using this approach, we’re evolving the prototype while maintaining the “façade” of a working application. Real and prototype functionality is interspersed in a constantly narrowing spiral – the real application overtaking the prototype.

Proclaiming Rain Falls Mainly to a Plane

Friday, June 17th, 2005

That’s the title to an article appearing in July 2005 issue of Technology Review. In an effort to improve weather forecasting, sensors are being attached to commuter airplanes and transmitting real-time weather information to a central ground station.Some facts…

  • Most weather forms in the lower levels of the atmosphere – below 20,000 feet.
  • In the US 69 weather balloons take readings twice a day.
  • 64 commuter planes are involved in this project.
  • Measurements are taken every time an aircraft takes off or lands: 600-800 per day.
  • While cruising, aircraft take periodic measurements.
  • AirDat, located in Morrisville, NC processes the sensor data.

Proclaiming Rain Falls Mainly to a Plane

Technology Review

Mesaba Airlines

AirDat

Triangle Biotechnology Spotlight

Monday, June 6th, 2005

Recently, three major biotech events occurred in North Carolina.On May 13th, the first annual BioPharma Leadership Forum was held at NC State University. The all day event focused on “Biotechnology/Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Modernization and Optimization.” In addition, the university spotlighted its new MBA concentration in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.

On May 24th & 25th, the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), along with the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, the North Carolina Biosciences Organization (NCBIO) and the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), hosted the 14th annual Biotech conference. Biotech 2005 attracted over 800 people for two days of keynotes, panel discussions, and networking. The event emphasized collaboration, partnership, and growth in the community.

On June 2nd, the state of North Carolina broke ground on a 91,000 square foot Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center on NC State University Centennial Campus. Built to industry standards, the new facility will serve students and works from around the state. NC State will also offer new undergraduate and graduate degrees in biotechnology.

Now you might ask yourself what these events have to do with information technology. In the 1990’s information technology grew into an industry of its own. IT professionals identified with technology more than business. In a new and rapidly expanding market that makes sense. Now as IT matures, the professionals need to re-align themselves with the business and the problems they solve. We need to understand how to apply technology to benefit the company’s bottom line. How to grow the business. How to reduce costs. How to open new markets. Being plugged into industry, through events like the ones above, gives us the perspective to help optimize our client’s business, challenge their thinking, and offer fresh insight. Without that, our value approaches zero.

Wikipedia, an encyclopedia for open culture

Thursday, May 26th, 2005

Have you visited the wikipedia lately? If not, I suggest you take a look. Wikipedia is billed as “the free-content encyclopedia that anyone can edit.” The half-million page English version covers a spectrum of information from culture and geography to society and technology. Want to know something about stem cells? Wikipedia will help you understand the differences between embryonic, adult and cord blood stem cells. Looking for something lighter? How about Cirque du Soleil, the circus without animals based in Montreal Canada.There is a wide variety of information in the wikipedia. How did it get there? Who contributes? In the spirit of freedom, subject matter experts and laypeople volunteer their time and energy to create and edit the content. I can’t even imagine how many man-hours it has taken to generate 500,000+ articles. And wikipedia isn’t limited to the English language. In March there were 92 “active” language editions.

What about the information quality? What is the impact of open editing on the content? Wikipedia’s supporters point to the fact that hundreds of thousands of people have the ability to view, comment, and change the information. In effect, you have thousands of editors. Are there mistakes? Sure. But major errors are corrected quickly.

So visit the wikipedia today. Search on your favorite subject and judge for yourself. If you have time, contribute; if not, enjoy the freedom.

Be sure to check out other parts of the wikipedia universe too.