Google releases Dart programming language
Posted on Oct 10th, 2011
Google unveiled the working version of Dart today. It looks to me that one of the primary selling points is that it’s designed to be run both on the server side and the client side (browser). I love my PHP but it has to depend on other client-side code (HTML / JavaScript / Flash) to do anything.
What’s also interesting is that Dart code runs in Javascript right now – so no plug-ins necessary if I understand it correctly.
I’ve been looking at a lot of different languages and how to apply them lately and i think my next big project is going to be done in Python. That said, I’d love to take a peek at Dart and see what it can do. I’d be hesitant to use it for anything large-scale right now (it has been out less than a day) but I’d love to see if there is a groundswell of curiosity around it in the next few weeks.
Take a look at Dart for yourself.
Major grocery chain gets rid of self-checkout
Posted on Jul 15th, 2011
See the original article at CNET News. In a move that might stun those who believe that capitalism exists merely to ensure that the majority of workers end up unemployed, Albertsons, the very fine grocery chain, has reportedly decided that self-checkouts are just not so good for business. It is removing all the self-checkout lanes from its 217 stores.
The way The Seattle Times tells it, Albertsons felt that the machines took away from employee/customer interaction.
Please pause to consider the depth of that one while I offer you the thought that, even though companies might offer many reasons, one just might be that people don’t enjoy using the self-checkouts. In my own regular wanderings through Safeway, I see the self-checkout lanes routinely empty while the lanes manned by stressed human beings are full of customers.
In support of my entirely unscientific observation, my regular reading of Storefront Backtalk reveals to me that Kroger’s, another fine chain, is also experimenting with removing self-checkout lanes from one of their Texas stores.
The simple truth is surely that self-checkout machines are a lot harder to operate than an iPhone and a lot less fun. Which doesn’t mean that technology and retail are enduring a permanent falling out. The Seattle Times reports that Home Depot is trying out 30,000 First Phones, which allow its staff to check customers out anywhere in the store. (That last sentence might have a double meaning, but it is entirely unintentional.)
In retail, the customer experience isn’t merely about speed. It’s about something that makes you feel good (or at least doesn’t make you feel bad) every time you do it.
Up to 25% of Accidents Are Associated With Gadgets
Posted on Jul 11th, 2011
A new study from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) highlights the impact thatcellphones and other gadgets can have on car crashes. According to the study, as many as 25% of U.S. car crashes are associated with drivers distracted by a cellphone or gadget.
Produced using a grant from State Farm, the GHSA report, titled Distracted Driving: What Research Shows and What States Can Do [PDF] looks at the main external driver distractions. Not surprisingly, talking on cellphones, fiddling with gadgets and texting while driving are some of the most common driver distractions.
After reading the 50-page document, it’s clear that this study contains as many certainties as uncertainties. As GHSA Executive Director Barbara Harsha says in a statement, “Much of the research is incomplete or contradictory. Clearly, more studies need to be done addressing both the scope of the problem and how to effectively address it.”
Still, one certainty is that cellphone usage increases the risk of crashing and texting is likely more dangerous than using a cellphone.
What is the Solution?
Understanding that drivers who text or talk on the phone are more likely to get into car crashes than those who don’t, what can be done to decrease these distractions?
Unfortunately, the GHSA study is inconclusive on the effects of both texting bans and public service announcement campaigns for distracted driving.
From the report:
- Laws banning hand-held cellphone use reduced use by about half when they were first implemented. Hand-held cellphone use increased subsequently but the laws appear to have had some long-term effect.
- A high-visibility cellphone and texting law enforcement campaign reduced cellphone use immediately after the campaign. Longer term effects are not yet known.
- There is no evidence that cellphone or texting bans have reduced crashes.
Still, the GHSA encourages states to pass more bans of driving while texting and while talking on cellphones — hands-free or not.
PHP and Flash teaming up together
Posted on Apr 11th, 2011This via TechCrunch:
Adobe and Zend Technologies, the PHP distribution company, are announcing Flash Builder 4.5 for PHP software, a new integrated product aimed at helping PHP developers create rich Internet applications for mobile, Web and desktop leveraging the Flash Platform.
Zend, which has been working with Adobe since 2008, offers its own distribution of PHP, the popular open-source scripting language for Web applications, and sells software and support services around the language.
The Flash Builder 4.5 for PHP gives developers a single code base for applications for Android, Blackberry Tablet OS and iOS while sharing code from Web applications. Adobe Flash Builder 4.5 for PHP includes an integrated copy of Zend Studio 8, which allows developers to develop Flash based applications within a single environment. Specifically, the integrated software offers a single UI framework to create Flex and PHP projects for desktop and mobile and the ability to connect to PHP services and generate ActionScript value objects.
The combination of the two frameworks in one suite is powerful, says Zend CEO Andi Gutmans. Adobe says that more than 131 million smartphones are expected to have Flash Player installed by the end of the year. And PHP is the leading language for public facing web applications, says Gutmans.
This could be interesting… I still think Adobe sat on it’s dominance with Flash far too long and let other companies / technologies catch up.
3D-printed bicycle rivals modern aluminum frames
Posted on Mar 8th, 2011
We’ve seen all sorts of objects printed from 3D printers, but the European Aerospace and Defence group (EADS) has shown off the first bike made from nylon—which they’re saying could replace traditional steel and aluminum bikes due to the affordable method it’s created.
The new manufacturing process is known as Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) and it allows single products to be grown from a fine powder of metal (such as titanium, stainless steel or aluminum), nylon or carbon reinforced plastics. Drip by drop, each part of the bike is made from powder with the machine connected to a computer loaded with the CAD bike design.
Aluminum bikes are already pretty light, but EADS is saying their nylon Airbike is 65 percent lighter. It’s also more eco-friendly to produce, and due to the nature of 3D printing, individual parts can be printed easily if damaged.
Andy Hawkins, lead engineer for ALM at EADS, described it as ‘a game changing technology’. "The beauty is that complex designs do not cost any extra to produce," he said. "The laser can draw any shape you like and many unique design features have been incorporated into the Airbike such as the auxetic structure to provide saddle cushioning or the integrated bearings encased within the hubs."
By removing production lines and the need for factories, Hawkins believes the costs of ‘manufacturing’ will be significantly reduced and, through this, ALM has the potential to reverse trends of urbanization that have historically accompanied industrialization.
