PNG and GIF

So we were discussing whether the PNG (pronounced “ping”) graphics format included vectors. I thought it did since Fireworks lets you draw vectors and uses PNG as its native format. Turns out I was wrong. Fireworks extends the PGN format to include chunks for features others than bitmaps. See PNG feature support in Fireworks.
On a related note – PNG (Portable Network Graphics) was developed as a networked graphics format that was unemcumbered by patents the way GIF was until GIF Liberation Day (June 2002) when the patents expired. Now JPG is having problems as Forgent sues over JPG patent.
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HyperGraph: Embedded Site Map

The site for TAPoR at the University of Alberta has an interesting feature – a dynamic site map. In the lower left of every page (if your browser supports it) is a graph of the page you are looking at with the connections to other pages in the site. This worked for me in Safari, but not IE on the Mac. StÈfan Sinclair showed it to me as just one application of visualization. Now… can we turn it into a TAPoRware tool?

Quantum Computing and Information

Jerry McGann has been talking about quantum models of textuality for some time. (See McGann, “Preface to _Radiant Textuality: Literary Studies After the World Wide Web_”, Romanticism and Contemporary Culture, Praxis Series, Romantic Circles.)

In general whenever Jerry is interested in something it is worth thinking about, even when I don’t get it. Here, therefore are some links on quantum computing.

An introduction to Quantum Computing is a short and clear introduction.
Quantum Computation and Quantum Information is the site to a book with that title where you can download/read the first chapter.
Seb’s Open Research blog also has an entry on Quantum computing weblogs (Note: blog now gone). This entry got me going on the subject.
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A9: Amazon Search Engine

Search Technologies” href=”http://a9.com/”>A9.com is a new search engine site from Amazon that lets you search inside books in addition to searching the web. There is supposed to be a feature to allow you to link notes to what you find and you can, if you get an account, keep information about your search history.

Remember when people speculated that Netscape could become your OS? As Google and other (pseudo) portals add features we are returning to the possibility of a network portal OS. My kids use MSN for more and more, I use Google for more and more – at what point do I ditch the “personal” computer for an environment available through any networked device?

IBM 5100: First Portable Computer

The IBM 5100 computer from 1975 is apparently the first “portable” or personal computer. The 1981 PC from IBM was the 5150 model.

I learned from an improbably site – The Time Travel Tale of John Titor which provides posts from a purported time traveller from 2036 who came back looking for a 5100. (Thanks to Matt K for the link to this.)
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Virtual Cities

Future Cities: Virtual Cities is up! Future Cities is an off-site exhibit curated by Shirley Madill while the Art Gallery of Hamilton is closed for renovations. Virtual Cities is the web site extension created by a team of us at McMaster. This was my first community research learning projects – the web site and art online are by students and organized by students. Liss Platt (my colleague) and I facilitated (or whatever you would call it – perhaps curated) the online site. I hope this represents an ongoing engagement of the AGH and Multimedia.
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Problems with Open Source

Fundamental issues with open source software development is an essay in First Monday that lists 5 problems with many open source tools. The essay is by Michelle Levesque at U of T and is based on her experience with adapting an open source package. The problems are:
– Poor user interface design
– Poor documentation
– Feature-centric development
– Programed for the programmers
– Religious blindness
She points out how many of these problems also apply to commercial developments – the question is whether any of these are linked to the nature of open source development. She doesn’t quite complete the job of working from characteristics of OS development to the problems demonstrating the inherent strengths and weaknesses in the approach. That is perhaps for a further study.
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