Category: microsoft

Miguel de Icaza on DLR

Miguel de Icaza, lead of the Mono project (opensource CLR) on the new Dynamic Language Runtime:

Binaries of the DLR were released today as part of Silverlight 1.1, and the source code was included with IronPython 2.0 (also released today).

The release for the DLR is done under the terms of the Microsoft Permissive License (MsPL) which is by all means an open source license. This means that we can use and distribute the DLR as part of Mono without having to build it from scratch. A brilliant move by Microsoft.

By the light of Dynamic Silverlight

Keeping secrets is tough. Hearing about the Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR) from John Lam in February this year was one of those secrets that kept well.

John Udell interviewed John Lam, and has a backgrounder here. Some in the Ruby community didn’t see this coming.

Jim Hugunin has a posting on the new DLR, open source nature of the DLR on his “Thinking Dynamically” blog.

In addition to the Silverlight release, we’ve also made the full source code for both IronPython and all of the new DLR platform code available on codeplex under the BSD-style Microsoft Permissive License. All of that code can be downloaded today as part of the IronPython project at codeplex.com/ironpython.

The reality of being able to debug Ruby in a client-side UI framework on Safari on a Mac using Microsoft Silverlight tickles me, and others, greatly.

Blog from the keynote today, with all the ups-and-downs. Good to see I am not the only one who craves demos and has subversive thoughts in the midst of formal sessions.

Ryan Stewart has comments, and further links. The DLR adds 400K (what the!) to the Silverlight download. Wow.

zdnet has a sort of transcript of the Q&A that occured with Mike Arrington, Ray Ozzie and Scottgu.

Does Microsoft get Web 2.0? Yes.

Big Day in Queensland

A big thankyou to Scot Steinhardt, Principal of Mount Gravatt High School. He runs a tight ship, and had a big day yesterday with “big names” arriving from all corners of Australia to get some of his time.  Thanks, Scot. And live that dream!

To all the teachers who attended and answered my random questions. Thanks.

Also, thanks to Sean Tierney for hosting me – and providing some excellent guidance from a professional’s perspective. Notes from my day are posted here, for comments.

Year 10 (and the Year 11s who subversively arrived, too) at Mount Gravatt: remember Astronauts and Princesses. You guys have the opportunity to do anything you want. First thing, is ensure that the Wikipedia entries for your school, and your local area are up to date and informative.

Later that night, Difference of Opinion on the ABC covered this whole area of the digital generation gap.

And even later, Chris Saad, Cody Robb and I had a long discussion on the debate. Mount Gravatt came up in the podcast. The world is small when its highly connected.

Notes: Mount Gravatt ICT Day April 2007

mount gravatt, 7:30am

  1. Web 2.0: needs extra work to map to teaching outcomes (del.icio.us, flickr) Many Web 2.0 sites still blocked by policy. It makes it difficult to use all the cool web 2.0 stuff in school, especially when these tools will be used by the students for project delivery. Think a mashup as a project handin. (cool!)
  2. If multiple-media submission types (Powerpoint, video, web sites) are required for presentation: how do we present? Making the technology easier is key; and the students have more advanced Quicktime, FlashPlayer, WMV, Powerpoint than on the standard, locked down desktops. Secondly, as SVGA style connections to projectors in the room.
  3. Web job opportunities mapped to ICT. What sort of jobs exist for students in a web-world? Art teachers > design, for instance
  4. 90+% of Yr10s have IM address; 80+% communicate with people outside Australia! Can only think this is based either on family or friends overseas with similar interests
  5. Managing the balance between ICT evangelism vs. Microsoft demo-stuff.  Showing cool stuff is cool. Consider that video cabling and audio may not suit in all circumstances.
  6. Key guidance from Sean Tierney critical. 20 minute chunking important; just like adult learning.
  7. Surprised many teachers how few people it took at Castlemaine XXXX to make beer, how automated the process is. Can a bunch of teachers organise a p*ss-up in a brewery? (yes, if timetable permits)
  8. Mount Gravatt High: Im in ur your Wikipedia pages.

Introducing me mate, Paul Foster

IMG_1315Paul Foster, he of landed gentry and serf owner in England (all I know is that it ain’t London), is starting to blog more. Being a smarter chap than I, and more experienced with robots and Microsoft stuff, he gets to write about cool things like exploding dunnies.

With the connection to my new English friend, Nick Hodge, I am coming over all emotional about revisiting the old-dart soon.

God love the English.

Doing more than Dumb Video

Dumb Video is hard. You spend all your time editing, fixing audio, encoding and uploading.

Smart Video is going to be easy with this Microsoft Silverlight stuff. URLs, chapters, and deeper sub-tagging. All these ideas are flowing through my mind from this conversation from Uncle Dave, the Life Kludger.

Imagine a canvas of videos and podcasts. Zoom into one, and see the “sub-tags” or links to other videos, or general searches. Sort of a doing what HTML does for text for other, non-textual content.

Time to learn some new stuff.

Another Monday, Too Much Software

silverlight

Well, it’s not quite a normal Monday. Today is the first day of NAB2007, Las Vegas in the US.

Apple has new software toys. Shame I don’t do production on a Mac.

Adobe has pre-release Premiere Pro and AfterEffects CS3 to help you use up spare bandwidth.

And Microsoft has announced something new called Silverlight! Well, actually it’s that strangely named WPF/e with a name that actually works.

Additional (6:30pm)

Second Channel 9 Interview: Compiler Geeks

I loved doing this interview: two rock stars in the same room! Thanks to Joel Pobar and John Gough for their time last month.

John Gough is a world-respected expert on Compilers – a sorcerer if you will; and Joel Pobar is one of his “apprentices” who went on to work on the .NET team in Redmond.

http://channel9.msdn.com/Showpost.aspx?postid=299901

If you are into computing history, compilers, multiple processors and other deep technical things: you’ll love this interview.

If you have geek that have a story that needs to be told: I’m there. Any suggestions? All I need is an email!