Subversion by Introversion

Feeling nostalgic I was looking around the internet at various things related to the game Uplink (by Introversion).  Then I came across this.   This is the quote that really caught my attention:

You may also see a lot of Uplink in this game – which is no accident, as we’ve always considered Subversion to be the "Spiritual Sequel" to our debut game.

Foundation series on the big screen

Now how long have I been saying that the Foundation series should be on the big screen?

The evil has begun to spread

It appears that java.sun.com now has the Oracle logo on it.  While Larry Ellison lied about no wholesale cutting of projects; many of the projects have fallen in the transition.  JRuby, Project Darkstar, Project Wonderland, Kenai, OpenSSO, Identity and SOA, their cloud, some hardware and what else so far?  And their ego has apparently decided that their inferior products that barely function at all (like Weblogic and JDeveloper) will be the enterprise-class products while the old Sun products (Glassfish and Netbeans) would be for open source projects.  Evidentally, the future of OpenSolaris is also in question and I personally find it interesting that the referenced PDF didn't mention Xen in their Virtualization section.  Also that HotSpot is being merged with JRockit can't be a good sign. And then there is the whole Accessibility layoffs.  I assume many of these are next.  Oracle is telling developers that they can still go to JavaOne as long as it is part of OracleWorld while we are all thinking we need to start our own convention -- maybe the opposite side of the country the same days so Oracle can't manage to attend.

So I guess the question is what next?  Do we abandon Sun now that Oracle has taken over?  Do we replace OpenSolaris, ZFS and Java with something Oracle can't ruin?

Google Buzz

6 years ago I started using a service called Dodgeball.  It was pretty cool -- I could see if my friends were nearby and what they were up to.  A year after I joined, Google bought the service and I thought, "Yay! Now this will integrate with everything!".

Then Twitter came out.  I didn't join because it was nowhere near as useful as Dodgeball.  Then Google killed Dodgeball.

And now, Google has Buzz.  From a mobile phone perspective, it seems like it is pretty much a Dodgeball replacement.  From the browser, however, it appears to be more like Google Wave.  Auto-integrated with your email, maps, photos, blogs, etc etc in a very Google Wave type of look.

We'll see how it does.  I really liked the concept of Google Wave; but it's lack of integration with my normal email made it useless for me to switch over to.  Maybe this is how they get their foothold in your daily life so that you can eventually switch.

Oracle kills off Project Darkstar

It's things like this that make me hope Oracle goes bankrupt.  Of course, I'm sure they'd get bailout money.

TSLA: Electric car maker Tesla Motors files for a $100 million IPO

1/29/10

Tesla Motors, which produces high-performance, fully-electric vehicles, filed on Friday with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering. The Palo Alto, CA-based company was founded in 2003 and booked $108 million in sales over the last 12 months. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank are the lead underwriters on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.

Oracle and Sun merger complete

These two pieces were my biggest take-away:

Yes, there will be a JavaOne Conference in 2010. JavaOne will be co-located with Oracle Develop during Oracle OpenWorld in San Francisco from September 19-23, 2010. You may experience and register for JavaOne as a standalone conference just as before, or you can attend Oracle Develop 2010 and/or Oracle OpenWorld as well; it's your choice. Furthermore, unlike in recent years, JavaOne will focus solely on Java Technology and its associated ecosystem. You're welcome to attend Oracle Develop and Oracle OpenWorld to gain insight into specific products. As usual, all Java users and partners are invited to submit papers and to attend JavaOne.

Project Kenai, however, will be discontinued for public use.

Oregon votes against Mom & Pop shops

With the passage of measure 66 and 67, Oregon voters have effectively helped Oregon loose more business to Delaware. Now, if your hole-in-the-wall store makes no money (say, not one single customer) or you in fact loose money, you get to pay an additional $150 in taxes! Yay!  Since Oregon's minimum tax is now equal to Delaware's maximum tax, make sure to consider registering your business outside of Oregon, especially if you are doing an internet-based business.

Move Over or Slow Down Law

The news reported that police are out in force today, fining people $382 for a new law that passed a couple weeks ago.  No, this isn't the new cell phone law (in which they are also ticketing people for something we didn't know came into existence a couple weeks ago) -- it's the "Move Over or Slow Down Law".  Usually, I wouldn't be concerned about this as I do pull over or slow down when I see ambulances or police with their lights on or whatever, but this law also applies to vehicles with the amber lights on -- like tow trucks.

Drivers must now move over to a non adjacent lane (or slow down) when approaching the rear of a tow truck or roadside assistance vehicle that is providing assistance to a disabled vehicle on the roadway. The original law covers police, fire and ambulance vehicles.

Now, you must move over if possible to another available lane (or slow down if you can't move over or if the move would be unsafe) when approaching the rear of an Emergency vehicle, tow truck or roadside assistance vehicle that has it's amber, red or blue flashers activated.

Slow down means reducing your vehicles speed by at least five miles per hour below the posted speed of the roadway.  HB 2040 requires drivers to slow down at least 5 mph below the posted speed if making a lane change (moving over) is unsafe or impossible (i.e. two-lane road.)
 
Most importantly, drivers should be alert. If you can safely move over when approaching a disabled vehicle receiving assistance, do so. If you can't, then slow down!
 
The fine for this violation is currently $287.00 ($400.00 if the location is within a Safety Corridor, School Zone or Work Zone).
 
The Law (adding tow trucks and roadside assistance vehicles) Becomes Effective: 

January 1, 2010

A partnership between the Oregon State Police and the Oregon Department of
Transportation regarding the "Move Over" law has created new media
opportunities and additional public outreach materials which are posted below.  The Zip File was created to allow you to download all available Oregon Media
related to the "Move Over" Law.

Cass Sunstein

Ok, let me get this straight...  to prevent people from believing in a conspiracy theory, you want to publicly have the government infiltrate the websites, social networks and hangouts of those people who think the government is out to get them....  idiot.

Willow Garage Gives Away 10 Free Robots to Jumpstart Open Source Revolution

I thought this was cool, so thought I would share...  from Singularity Hub:

If you were a robotics developer, why would you want to apply for Willow Garage’s deal? For starters, the PR2 robot is a high quality machine. It has two sophisticated arms capable of grasping, lifting, and coordinated work. It can also see what it’s doing. According to its specs, it has two laser scanners, half a dozen cameras, and arrays of other sensors. Just as important as the hardware, however, is the software. PR2 is fully compliant with ROS, and other open source robotics code supplied by a vast community robotics experts.

AMD and Intel Announce Settlement of All Antitrust and IP Disputes

Wonder what this will do for 'competitive prices'.

Intel Corporation and Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) today announced a comprehensive agreement to end all outstanding legal disputes between the companies, including antitrust litigation and patent cross license disputes.

Tesla Motors IPO

Came across this link today which said that Tesla Motors was going to be going IPO soon.  No specific date yet, but I want in on that action!