Donner’s Daily Dose of Drama

Ilia Papas and I put this solution together about a year ago - actually, Ilia put it together based on my idea and prototype. Our article on Javaworld still generates some feedback and questions. I assume that there are people out there who would like to get their hands on a ready-to-use, configurable component as opposed to a collection of code snippets.

The characteristics of how people use the web are changing quicker and more profoundly than ever before. Some of the paradigms that we have grown so used to over the past 10 years all of a sudden don’t make sense anymore. This is the Web 2.0, it is great, I am all for it. As far as Ajax is concerned, I don’t think that Javascript and XML are the right platform for enterprise-class software development, but hey, it is all that Microsoft gave us.

Last week, I attended the Sys-Con “Real-World Ajax” Seminar in New York. I have not yet decided if the event deserves a blog entry - some of the 10 presentations where definitely interesting. But one thing that came up consistently was the term ‘mashup‘. A mashup is a web application that combines data or services from different sources to create added value. I was initially not excited by this concept - integrating content from multiple sources sounded too much like ‘portal’.
But when I discovered this matrix, mashups got a whole new dimension for me. There is definitely something big going on.

I recently evaluated the Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005 (what a name for a product!). I was not so interested in the history of the product and the politics of Microsoft’s product strategy than in how the product could be used to create a corporate dashboard on Molecular’s intranet.

I will be speaking about Open Source Business Intelligence at the First Annual Enterprise Open Source Conference in New York, NY, on June 5. I am in the middle of collecting material, contacting vendors and putting together a high-level agenda for the session. Check back frequently for updates and previews on this topic here.

My Point of View paper was published on Molecular’s website today.

From the content:

It would be hard to imagine today’s Web without Content Management Systems (CMS). The volume of content on the Web is increasing at a record pace, yet businesses and consumers alike are expecting to find just the right information, in just the right place, and at just the right time. Only a mature CMS can help control these opposing trends.
Although CMS products have become a virtual commodity, a custom implementation is still a significant undertaking that must be carefully planned and executed. Therefore, it is important to understand the various applications of a CMS and the potential value they can provide in a specificbusiness situation. This paper will help you to understand what a CMS product should do, what it cannot do, and the key criteria to consider when evaluating and selecting a CMS for your business.

When you need to localize and categorize

Bubble or no bubble - for many, that is the dominating question of their financial existence. I have been expecting the bubble to burst every year since 2000 when I purchased my second home, and I can barely express my amazement about how this market managed to put the inevitable off for so long. Finally, common sense seems to return into people’s purchasing decisions.

But that’s not what I want to talk about here, because this is an argument I could not win. Too many people who make a living off of selling real estate at inflated prices have argued that there is no bubble. Thinking about what I paid for my house and what it will actually be worth a few years from now gives me unpleasant feelings, though. Instead, what I want to talk about is an article by Russell Shorto in the New York Times Magazine from 3.5.2006 (the same article also appeared in the Herald Tribune on 3/3).

in this country is probably just one indicator of a much larger problem, namely that the cost of services is going up while the value is going down.

People start blogs for different reasons. In this case, it was because I am waiting for this article to get published that I submitted several weeks ago. The thought of being able to just put it up here is too tempting.