Mood:  hug me

If Microsoft is counting on exhibit_for_msft_response.pdf to prove "prior art", Microsoft shareholders should start getting shelac and brushes to use to decoupage their Microsoft shares once they lose the VCSY patent lawsuit.

UDATE

And IF I am allowed by the poorly acting site software I will endeavour to prove my contentions.

As it is, just logging in to this blog is a chore as the software is hanging up and not allowing free movement.

UPDATE

Apparently this blog site is no longer on-line. I shall retire to Laughing Place #3 and tell the story there that I have been denied the opportunity to tell here.

Posted by Portuno Diamo at 4:14 PM EDT

Updated: Wednesday, 25 July 2007 6:10 PM EDT

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Mood:  hug me

Masts and Sails! Either this is a flagship or a pirate ship. harrr. Best pump up me parrot and screw in the old powdered peg leg. Looks like more socializing with the hedge hogs.

Astoria and the Semantic Web

Kevin Hoffman's Blog

I have said it before and I'll say it again, Microsoft's Pablo Castro is one of the few people putting stuff out there from Microsoft that really seem to "get it". He knows how people want their data (well, he knows how I want my data, and that's really all that counts, right?) and he seems to be on the same page as everyone else that I have spoken to as far as the whole REST thing. People want their data to be located at discrete, uniquely identifiable URIs. End of story.

In case you have been living under a rock, or you really don't care about Microsoft's "data in the cloud" strategies, Pablo Castro is the technical lead responsible for such gems as the ADO.NET Entity Framework and Astoria. Astoria is a project that wraps up an Entity Data Model in a WCF service with a uniform URI query format that allows for RESTful access to relational data via XML, RDF, or JSON.

The notion of the semantic web isn't really all that new, but it has been gaining a lot of momentum lately. The short story is that right now everyone is using the Web to publish and view human-readable content. What we look at on a daily basis is graphical, textual, and has animations, flash, whatever. The bottom line is that the content is human-readable. The semantic web pushes forward the notion that in addition to using the web for human-readable content, it should be used for data as well. The means by which the data on the semantic web is accessed is through raw HTTP, through a standard representational format like XML or RDF. It's a fantastic theory but I think it's too eutopian at the moment. I don't think that anytime in the near future the web is going to be flooded with this huge sprawling green field of RESTful services exposing POX/RDF data for the entire world to consume. Ths is where technology and business diverge. Technologically speaking, the eutopian vision of the truly semantic web is quite possible, and many people are working toward that goal right now. If you look at it from a business perspective, however, the outlook is a little darker. Bottom line is that people aren't going to embrace the semantic web until they can make money off of it.

Tools like Astoria are a fantastic tool by which we can expose data in a way that jives with the vision of the semantic web. The problem is that there are business concerns to exposing data on the web, not the least of which is of course -how do you charge people for that data? How do you make money off of exposing that data? The great thing about a semantic web and standardized data location and access methods is of course mashups. If anybody knows how to get at your data, and they know that your data is referenced in a way that is similar to the way in which Bob is exposing his data, etc - then everyone can consume everyone's data and the entire world enters a euphoric bliss of data consumption.

So what I see really happening is that corporations are going to take baby steps. Perhaps they will adopt "semantic web" style philosophies internally... hopefully they will even be using Astoria to expose relational models and helper methods on top of those relational models to allow applications within a corporation to consume data. In my ideal world, this is the way much of an organization's data is exposed internally. The clash between technological philosophy and real-world business practice occurs when you try and deal with how to authenticate access to your data, how you charge for your data, and how you license your data, etc.

The great thing about tools like Astoria for exposing the data and tools like Silverlight for rendering exposed data is that regardless of what the business people decide the future of the semantic web is going to be - you'll be ready. In that regard, as long as people like Pablo Castro are still allowed to make some decisions within Microsoft, we will still see a steady stream of good things coming - at least from the data team, anyway.

UPDATE

 testing one two three

Posted by Portuno Diamo at 12:03 AM EDT

Updated: Wednesday, 25 July 2007 1:35 PM EDT

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Mood:  lazy

Uhhh... This is, like, really weird, ok? We was all just having a hoot on Raging Bull and choochoo's all like 'Bro, Vertical Computers switch CEO's' and we're all 'No way.' and he's all 'Way bro.' and he has this URL and what it says on the piece below. Check it out and see if you can figure out what this means.

Vertical Computer Systems Inc. Announces Appointment Of ChairmanWed Jul 18 17:30:00 EDT 2007
Reuters
Vertical Computer Systems Inc. announced that Timothy Philip Read joins the Board of the Company as Executive Chairman. The Company also announced that Roy Spencer steps down as Chief Executive Officer of the Company and becomes a Non Executive Director of the Company. Stop.

Only one problem. That's not the CEO of VCSY. Richard Wade is the CEO. 

Now, that may not look like much to you, but to some it looks like VCSY has an announcement in the pipeline and some copy clerk and editor made a big time booboo.

We're waiting to see what the explanation will be.

It might mean we're rich but then again it might mean we're, like, out of chicken and pepsi.

Like, wow, man.

This update brought to you by The Hooka House the original hemp boutique south side of San Mateo and tell them Jerry sent ya.

UPDATE

The Reuters URL: http://stocks.us.reuters.com/stocks/keyDevelopments.asp?symbol=VCSY.OB&WTmodLOC=C3-News-8

Posted by Portuno Diamo at 11:30 PM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 19 July 2007 12:31 AM EDT

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Mood:  hug me

I decided to post a promised rackdown on a concept I've been waiting to show in the press. Now that it has (see this:  http://weblog.infoworld.com/yager/archives/2007/07/web_20_needs_ad.html  - again, thanks to POSCASH for understanding what this article is saying. POS is a fine example of our PHeaven BootUpTheButt Camp techno-novices who fundamentally leap-frog the existing technological world with a buzzword grasp that turns him into an information surgeon. [Tissue sample, lunch meat, if you slice the stuff thin and can look at it in an educated way, you end up with a happy customer instead a piece of dead meat]) I think a bit of education per patent examination will enlighten the reader's way a bit more.

I've dispensed with the comic book font for these Series posts (except for a friendly howdy or a sardonic "what the c:!$$$ are you people doing?") for clarity and reading ease and look forward to plotting out what VCSY technology means to the web world.

Thanks for your kind attention.

Series 1 - post 1. How to step over a stream.

Rule 0. Words that are in () are for your edification. (Don't go talking like that in a technological crowd because they will think you're a freak. It hurts feelings. Like asking for a boiled weinie in a Sushi restaurant.)

Rule 1. When it says ('reference:'), get your crackedass to a search engine and search the words after that reference.

Rule 2. Words that are in Rule 1 format but are not reference you can read at leisure. It will be better to read Rule 1 subjects first so you can have a background sufficient for appreciating Rule 2.

Rule 3. Words in "" are 'sardonic'.

(Nobody expects you to understand any of what you read, but we expect you to read it. It's the least you can do for the work we've put out for no pay. It will enrich your understanding of the industry [as it can be best read from a 15,000 foot level while watching the activity of everybody involved down there at 3000.] Read wikipedia if you can find one on the word.

What you will have after that is a 'buzzword' that people use as a shorthand to explain a very large concept in a word or phrase. Other's will understand, to some degree, the background information need to fully describe that buzzword subject, application and discipline in that order.

Some understand a substantial amount.

Some are like you.

It doesn't matter AS LONG AS YOU KNOW HOW THE BUZZWORD SUBJECT WORKS. If you don't STFU and listen. You will learn over time and then you can be a useful part of the conversation. Thank you for your kind attention. Now, on with the show and tell.)

Begin A:
Short story (from here to Mom's house):
One thing you need to remember and watch in the days, weeks, months and years ahead is this: AJAX = 7,076,521

What does that mean? It means, when AJAX evolves into an ultimately useful item, it will have succeeded in duplicating the claims of patent 7,076,521

-----------
Long story (from zero to first stage cutoff):
So, what does that mean? It means the work MSFT did in XMLhttp to build a client on the browser ultimately evolved into something that would listen for a call from the server while it sat on the browser acting as a client.

The button or image or hyperlink you pressed could send a signal to the server saying, hey, whatever display object this item is connected so, send that the information related to this thing (button, etc).

The server would then do whatever work it took to find that information (data processed) and would then send JUST THAT data (information transported) to the item on the page (usually a text box - any changing text on a web page is most likely in a text box) which would usually display the information in context with the rest of the page (since the textbox is supposed to be a part of the formatted content on the page).

So those are the steps and here is what that accomplished:

In traditional webpage programming, without such a client you have to send the requested information embedded in an entire copy of the web page. That is the cause of the latency (that delay between the time you pushed the 'send' button and the number in the box you entered actually showed up as a new number - it's the time it takes for the button to send the request and the time the browser takes to process the source code into a webpage for display - even if the round trip between the client and the process could be refined to 'zero', the time it takes for the browser to read the source code and interpret that code into the webpage display you see, including the new information you pressed the button for.) that drives you mad and makes it impossible for the internet to act as a computer.

So, Microsoft and others came up with something called XMLrequest which allowed the guy or gal (you) to push the button (which sends a request for data to be displayed like the previous example button did, but, this time with only the text that the button asked for - not the entire webpage).

So the server sends back this one piece of data and it goes directly to the item on the page (text box, image anchor, Flash(tm of Adobe) - anything on the web page you could tag as an item for showing data in context as information).

The web page sits there and does nothing because it never received any source code to execute (the web browser is a little software computer built on top of a hardware computer like your desktop or cell phone etc. - where the hardware is 'real' the software computer is 'virtual' [exists only as data] and thus is called a 'virtual machine' or VM).

But the little textbox next to the button you pushed just changed.

It will change as fast as it takes for the round trip from the client agent (the XMLrequest) to the server and back. Thus, the interaction has less latency (see there, now you're talking like a communications guru) and a more realtime 'look and feel'. Plus, this frees up the connection between your webpage and server by not having to send the webpage chunks again.

So, something like XMLhttp (which later morphed into 'XMLhttpRequest') by Microsoft is good to have as you can see.

It updates the information on a webpage with less latency (faster).

Good all around and nice to have. Essential to web application building.

Now, I want you to look at the eventual 'obvious' destination such an effort will take you. Like I said, you don't have to understand it, as long as you read it. The brain has a marvelous capability of allowing information to seep past the shallow associations we have in our brain's model of the day. In a few days it gets to becoming more clear and you have no idea where that information came from.

One of the Biblical guys said no man may receive (get to know) anything except it be from God ("the 'force'" imprints us with a pattern of logic and we think the thoughts) thus invention is a divine thing and most likely protected by the divinity doing the invention (programming).

(reference: DHTML, XML, XMLrequestHttp)

Glossary:
agent (a consumer of services that does other things)

United States Patent  7,076,521
Davison  July 11, 2006 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Web-based collaborative data collection system

Abstract
The present invention is directed to a system for gathering data from a web-based server, transmitting the data to a web-based client, and storing the data on the web-based client. The web-based server translates data from a data supplier's proprietary data model into a data consumer's proprietary data model using a data mapping function. The web-based server also converts data from a structured data format to a markup language format. The web-based client periodically polls one or more data servers for data. The web-based client receives data in a markup language format and translates it into a structured data format, then stores it in a database. The web-based client and the web-based server can collaborate with each other to streamline the data conversion and translation process.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inventors:  Davison; Jeff (Rockledge, FL) 
Assignee: Vertical Computer Systems, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA)
 
Appl. No.:  09/882,494
Filed:  June 15, 2001

Posted by Portuno Diamo at 1:12 PM EDT

Updated: Wednesday, 18 July 2007 1:15 PM EDT

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Mood:  incredulous

I said it before and I'll say it again.

I would also think if Microsoft were so confident about their ability to fight this 744 patent fight, they would have given their response more visibility.

You know, like, encourage the troops with a demonstration of fighting spirit so the partners can tell they really should navigate toward the web services sea instead of setting the Captain adrift for stringing them along for so long.

If you've done any readign on the patents you're likely to be saying "Hell, that covers every aspect of computer construction on the web." and you would be right, sir or madam as the case may be.

BUT. There's one problem with your kneejerk response of 'too broad' or 'too obvious' and that's Microsoft's Friday evening filing of a response to VCSY's lawsuit that covers the web ecology patent 744. they disagree with your assertion by default. They aren't challenging the content or validity of the technology so the 'bull$#!@' tag that was thrown over VCSY stuff on this board last year is in the dumpster where it belonged all along.

You sorely misinformed those who read your thoughts.

It's going to cost all these trusting loyal partners some heartbreak and broken promises moments and years. I hope they can forgive that sort of betrayal. Delay delay delay their entry into the web arena... why, because Microsoft was afraid to have to face the 744 issue in public. So they waited because that's better than stepping out there and having to face it early?

Pretty sad legacy here for what Bill Gates' is leaving Microsoft shareholders holding. A wizard who can't float his own hot air balloons and a cowardly lion who can't face his own partners? Is Buffet the one without the heart? Is Gates the one without the brain?

So, like it or not, 744 covers web applications of all kinds and that covers web-operating systems.

And if they don't work out that imbroglio out they can't get to 521 which covers web-facing data trans-processes.

So. Hmmm. VCSy price is rock steady like it's been coming up to this day. Everybody's holding tight waiting for an announcement.

Microsoft... what's the price been doing with Microsoft's history of stock price? Holding flat for how many years? The market saying 'Show us something and we'll get excited.' MSFT saying 'Yeah, but you're really going to love what we put out when we finally produce something. hee hee' ... then telling pretty-partner to turn around and take it like a chump and not even an apology. Stupid partners. Didn't you know all this web services thing wasn't a fad. Just like you followed Bill Gates when he told you the internet was a fad. Are you all just legless sheep unable to move if you had a thought come across your mind?

Sounds like true love.

And Microsoft, bragging about their 'rights' would love to show you their long history of innovation but it's buried up to the hilt in partner pooh. But, HEY, We're all set to prove this bogus patent is bogus, like, if we... have to. We'll pull it out and reveal it for sure! Just you wait!

Yeah. That inspires safe and secure confidence like a prophylactic on a wedgie machine.

Posted by Portuno Diamo at 8:09 PM EDT

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Mood:  celebratory

And this is so important I thought I should post it in two places at once.

Will Microsoft be reverse engineering 521?

Is this a test rocket or a cannonball?

It's my opinion this is not doable without stepping on 521 claims. I am open to debate anyone who says they think Microsoft is doing it differently.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=582
July 17th, 2007
Microsoft offering Office 2007 for rent on a monthly basis
Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 12:11 pm

Looks like Microsoft’s intial pilots of pay-as-you-go pricing for Office were successful.

Microsoft has expanded its Office rental trial in South Africa to include Office 2007. Microsoft will make Office 2007 available for 199 rand ($28.54) for a three-month subscription, according to a Reuters report. First-time users willg et an extra three months for free, Reuters said. (Thanks to Bink.nu for the link to the Reuters story.)

Microsoft has been testing pay-as-you-go schemes for Office 2003 in several developing countries, including South Africa, company officials said earlier this year. At that time, Microsoft officials said the Office rental trials were also in full-swing in Mexico and Romania. Back in January, Microsoft was planning to decide “in the next couple of months” whether to extend the program to include Office 2007.

I’ve asked Microsoft whether it plans to extend this program and offer Office 2007 on a subscription basis in other countries. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, would you be interested in renting Office — or any other Microsoft app — on a monthly basis? Why or why not?

Posted by Portuno Diamo at 4:14 PM EDT

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Mood:  happy

Some folks think I have no life. Of course I do. This is it. What would I do if I didn't have this hobby? Maybe finish my model airplane.

Posted by Portuno Diamo at 3:52 PM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, 17 July 2007 4:02 PM EDT

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Mood:  incredulous

For those of you who don't get out much, here's a little slice of Raging Bull for your edification. It's not often you get service like this. It's like being there without having to go there.

Posted by Portuno Diamo at 2:42 AM EDT

Updated: Monday, 16 July 2007 3:17 AM EDT

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Mood:  energetic

An interesting bit of reference knowledge:

An Overview: Where Things Stand in IBM, Novell, and Red Hat

Sunday, July 15 2007 @ 10:01 AM EDT

I thought it would be useful, judging from some recent confusion in the media, to highlight the latest goings on in all the ongoing cases in the SCO saga all on one page, so everyone can follow the bouncing ball. That will mean some slight repetition for some of us, but it also will make it easier for those who don't follow the SCO saga as intently as we do to grasp the current picture. The very latest is that the court has signed [PDF] the stipulated adjustments the parties proposed to the pre-trial schedule in Novell, there was a SCO status report [PDF] filed in Red Hat and here's Red Hat's latest [PDF], and there was a goofed up filing in IBM, where SCO filed its memorandum in opposition to Novell's evidentiary objections (2nd objections; Novell reply to SCO) in the IBM docket by mistake, and IBM has asked for a 30-day extension of various pretrial scheduled items. But now, let's look at the overview to see how they all interrelate, and I'll also try to give you a picture of what trial preparation in Novell is probably like right about now.

You can read the rest at Groklaw.

http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20070715072440971

Posted by Portuno Diamo at 12:14 AM EDT

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