Archive for Dec 2009


Build 384: Annotating Search Results with Large Datasets

Recently Azigo and the Better Business Bureau launched the BBB app that helps people locate BBB accredited business: The BBB's Accredited Business Locator is powered by Azigo's free, downloadable browser plug-in and displays the "BBB Accredited Business" seal whenever consumers search for products or services using popular search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and Bing. This seal indicates that a business is reputable and offers one-click access to the BBB report for that business. This provides maximum consumer protection and minimizes the risk of online fraud. From The Better Business Bureau Launches Service to Protect Online Holiday Shoppers -
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Quit Your Job and Get a PhD

Every once in a while I run across this question from people wanting to get a PhD: "I am interested in going on to the PhD level but I have run into a wall. Most of the traditional schools I have looked into want me to quit my job and attend full-time. I can't do this because of my family and house payment." There's a reason schools want you to be a full time student at the PhD level: it's the only way it will work. Getting a PhD isn't like getting a BS or MS;
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Service Oriented Architecture and Uncle Walter

This little slideshow from Michael Bell is an entertaining metaphor that introduces the concepts of service oriented architectures. The idea is that Uncle Walter has a business that is set up as silos the way most organizations set up their business processes (via their IT systems). He solves his problem by applying SOA principles. I think some people may object and say that Bell only mentions business processes--what does that have to do with architectures? Anymore, your business processes and your IT systems architecture are inseperable. You can't fix one without fixing the other.
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Burtonian Tutorials on the Kynetx Rule Language

Craig Burton has been busy the last few weeks cranking out tutorials on how to use KRL--the Kynetx Rule Langauge--in certain situations. What would a programming language introducation be without a "hello world" example and Craig delivers. The first tutorial anyone ought to watch is Hello World, which gives a video view of the instructions here. After that simple introduction, Craig goes right to the heart of the features that are important for creating useful Kynetx apps. The second tutorial is on External Data. In this tutorial, Craig extends the Hello World tutorial to use an external file as
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Free Pizza and Kynetx on Wednesday

On Wednesday we're going to have a little dev party at Kynetx for anyone who wants to stop by, ask questions, learn how to program in KRL, or just hand out. The Kynetx development team will be there along with other developers who are using KRL. Come by around 5pm and we'll stick around at least until 7, later if people want. Here's the address: 3098 Executive Parkway Suite 280 Lehi, UT 84043 Suite 280 is in the southeast corner of the 2nd floor. Here's a link to a Google map. I hope you'll stop by, check out our
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Looping in KRL

One of the design goals of the Kynetx Rule Language (KRL) is to make it easy to use online data sources to augment the user's experience in the browser. Using interesting data implies some kind of iteration. KRL supports both implicit and explicit looping. Ths article discusses looping in KRL and how looping in a rule language like KRL differs from how you might use it in an imperative language. First, recognize that the ruleset itself is a loop. You should imagine the rulset as a big switch statement inside a loop that is executed over and over again
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Ford Sync and the iPhone

On Black Friday I bought a big, expensive, mobile iPhone docking station called a Ford F-150 pickup. Ford, in an effort to compete with GM's OnStar system, co-developed a system called Sync with Microsoft. Sync is available as an option in most Ford vehicles and is standard in certain models (like my Lariat). My vehicle has the optional Sony music system as well, but not the $2500 touch-screen navigation system. That just seemed like something else to break. Sync provides phone integration, support for external music players, vehical status reporting, and navigation (turn-by-turn directions). The whole thing has an
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Build 354: Control Statements in Postludes

This afternoon we releases Build 354 of KNS supporting the addition of a last control statement to postludes. In addition, we also now allow guard conditionals on any statement in a postlude. These are relatively minor additions to KRL in anticipation of some larger features that are coming soon. The use a last statement in a postlude will halt the execution of the ruleset at that rule if it is executed. So, the following statement would halt execution after the current rule if the rule fired: fired { last } This can be useful for rules that initiate action
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Announcing the Kynetx Developer Exchange

Today we're releasing the Kynetx Developer Exchange. This is a forum, based on the StackExchange service that is the same code that runs StackOverflow, ServerFault, and SuperUser sites. The functionality is excellent and we're hoping that it provides a fruitful place for developers to interact with Kynetx programmers and each other. Mike Grace, who is now working for Kynetx, has done a good job of seeding it with the questions he's had as he's gotten up to speed. I'll be participating and so will others on the Kynetx team. We hope you'll use it to answer questions about programming
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CTO Breakfast on Thursday

This coming Thursday is the CTO Breakfast at 8am. This is the event for both November and December. The breakfast will occur in the usual place: Novell Cafeteria, Building G, Provo Campus (map). I have a few books from O'Reilly to give out this time. You don't need to be a CTO to come, just interested in technology and high-tech products. The discussion will be open and free-form. Future breakfast schedules are shown on Google Calendar or on the CTO Breakfast page. I hope to see you there.
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