Oenoki Notepad (Beta)

Misc » MSR 'Shift'

Thu, 17 May 2007 21:55:00 GMT

Looks like MS Research came up with a cool touch screen interface. Take a look here.

Misc » Stop Surfing. Start Zooming.

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 03:41:00 GMT

I wrote about the Zoomable interface from Microsoft Research (MSR) the last time. I felt it was a great innovation and can sometimes be more convenient than iPhone or PocketPC style interface. It turned out Microsoft spun off a new company called ZenZui to pursue this idea and technology further. Make sure to check out their introductory video which is pretty cool.

Misc » iPhone and User Interface Design

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 07:24:00 GMT

With the introduction of iPhone I believe more people will think consciously about user-interface design on small screens. Rather than to talk about iPhone, I thought I’ll talk about a series of Microsoft Research projects by Daniel Robins. He has many interesting UI-related projects, including ZoneZoom, FaThumb, and TapGlance.

The first project, ZoneZoom, is based on two simple concepts. First, the screen is divided into nine segments and each is assigned to the corresponding number key. Second, the number keys support two actions: press and release, and press and hold. The former is for navigation, and the latter is for glance. That’s all. Simple, isn’t it?

Now let’s look at an example. Suppose you have a map application on your screen. Since the screen is divided into nine regions, pressing #3 allows you to zoom to that location (north-east). The zoomed screen will then be re-divided into nice regions for further navigation. If you press and hold #3, on the other hand, you’ll still zoom to that location, but upon releasing the key you’ll go back to the original screen. You can see a short demo here (58MB).

The second project is called FaThumb which incorporates the principles of ZoneZoom into search. Since typing is hard on a cell phone (especially if you’re in the wrong generation :), it is replaced by spacious navigation introduced by ZoneZoom. Navigation is done by several different aspects, such as category (eg, “restaurant”), distance, location, time, and price range. FaThumb is not meant to be a generic search engine, but rather one that is useful in specific scenarios, such as finding restaurants or shops. To see it in action, take a look at this introductory video.

The third project is called TapGlance, which applies ZoneZoom to the “home screen” of a smartphone. With TapGlance, you see nine applications (3 x 3) in the first screen, and a brief status of each app in each of the segment. For example, the Inbox segment may indicate the number of new messages, or the Windows Media Player segment may indicate the current song being played. You can then use the same navigation technique (press or hold) to navigate to or to glance each app in more detail. I believe this is a big improvement over Windows Mobile, which is essentially based on list (list of recent apps, list of programs, etc). TapGlance on the other hand takes advantage of your spacious memory.

Misc » iPhone に負けないインターフェース

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 07:21:00 GMT

長い間噂されていた iPhone の登場によって小さなスクリーン上でのインターフェース・デザインの重要性が改めて認識されるようになるだろうと思う。しかし今回は iPhone について書くよりも Microsoft Research のDaniel Robins 氏による UI プロジェクトを紹介しよう。

彼の基本的なデザインは ZoneZoom と呼ばれ、二つのコンセプトから成る。まず第一に、スクリーンがキーパッドに符合するように 3 x 3 の領域に分かれているという事。そして第二に、キーパッドで、「押す (press)」と「押し続ける (hold)」の二つの動作を行えるという事。押す動作は Navigation で、押し続ける動作は Glance となる。

この二つのコンセプトをアプリのナビゲーションに適用する事によって、シンプルなインターフェースを構築できる。例えば地図上では、スクリーンが 3 x 3 の領域に分かれているため、北に行くには２を押して、南に行くには８を押す、という具合になる。そして例えば北に行ったら、その領域がさらに 3 x 3 の領域に分かれ、細部を見ることができる。もし「押す」代わりに「押し続ける」ならば、キーを押し終えた時に元の画面に戻るという事になる。簡単なデモを見たい方はこちらへ (58MB)。

ZoneZoom を検索に適用したのが FaThumbプロジェクト。携帯上でタイピングを少なくするためのインターフェースだ。FaThumb ではまず最初にカテゴリー、場所、時間、値段等を設定することによってターゲットを絞り、そして検索を行う。検索結果はリアルタイムで表示されるため、全てをタイプしなくても探している情報を見つけ易い。レストランやコーヒーショップ等を探している場合は効率良く検索ができる。デモを見たい方はこちらへ。

ZoneZoom を携帯の「ホーム」スクリーンに適用したのが TapGlance だ。TapGlance ではホームスクリーンに 3 x 3 の九つのアプリが簡易表示される。例えばメールなら新着メールの数を表示したり、カレンダーなら次のアイテムが表示されるという具合だ。そして Pressによってそのアプリケーションをフルスクリーンで起動し、Hold で細部を簡単にチェックできる。

Misc » Blink

Sat, 30 Dec 2006 07:17:00 GMT

We've all made quick decisions that took only a split second, whether at work, or at home, or while playing sports. But have you ever wondered what goes on in your mind and brain during that few seconds? Blink is a book by Malcolm Gladwell, the author of The Tipping Point, that attempts to answer that question. The book discusses several theories behind those "blink" moments.

The ability to understand the whole from smaller parts is known as Thin Slicing. For example, when you're walking in downtown looking for a place to eat, you're thin slicing as you walk by different restaurants. Perhaps you look at the people eating inside the restaurant, or perhaps you look at the general cleanness of the place. Whatever you do, conciously or unconciously, you're making a series of quick decisions to decide where to eat. You're thin slicing.

While thin slicing, it's important to understand what to look for, and what information you can or cannot get. Using the same restaurant example, one can probably tell how expensive the restaurant is by observing the way people dress. However, you probably can't get the same information by simply looking at the name of the restaurant. Yet, the name of the restaurant can, for the most part, tell what kind of cuisine the restaurant serves, though the way people dress cannot give you that information (unless it's very unique, of course).

It follows that you can usually make good judgements in your area of expertise since you already know, mostly unconciously, what to look for based on past experience. For example, singers can judge other singers, and basketball players can judge other basketball players. Even software programmers can judge other software programmers, which explains the success of Microsoft and Google in hiring the right talent.

It's important to understand one's weaknesses when making "blink" decisions. Given two singers with equal talent, for example, most of us perceive the one with a better look to be a better singer, at least initially. Sometimes we may even perceive the one with less talent to be a better singer simply because he or she has the right look for a singer. The author calls it the Warren Harding Effect, in which one votes for a handsome but unqualified president. Understanding your own weaknesses allow you to make better "blink" decisions.

There are many other factors and examples that Blink discusses. As with the Tipping Point, it's a very interesting and pleasant reading, and I highly recommend it.

Misc » Blink

Sat, 30 Dec 2006 07:14:00 GMT

第一印象は最初の数秒間で決まると言われるが、その数秒間に何が起こっているかを探るのが Blink だ。第一印象は正しい時もあれば間違っている時もある。それではどのような状況で直感に頼るべきで、どのような状況で頼るべきではないと解析できるだろうか。Blink はその答えを探る。

必ずとは言えないが、まず一般的には自分の経験のある分野、または専門的な分野においては瞬間的に正しい判断を下せる確立は高い。これは過去の経験から、その瞬間に得た膨大な情報を瞬時に整理することができるためだと言う。例えばアメリカに住んだ事のない人がアメリカン・フットボールの試合を見ても、最初は何が起こっているのか殆ど分からないだろう。しかし多くの試合を見たりルールを勉強したりすれば、次第に何が重要で何が重要でないか判断できるようになる。その積み重ねが瞬間的な判断力を高める。

面白いのは、「何が重要で何が重要でないか判断する」ということは、つまり決定的な要素さえ含まれていれば情報量は少ない方が良いという事だ。現代の情報化社会において情報量は増える一方だが、その膨大な情報をどのように処理するかが大切であることが分かる。ある研究結果によるとプロセスする情報が増えればそれに基づく判断の正しさへの自信は増えるが、その判断の正確性そのものは殆ど変わらないという。

それではどのような状況では直感に頼れないだろうか。Blink はブロンクスで起きた白人警官によるアフリカ系移民アマドゥ・ディアロの悲劇的な射殺事件を取り上げ、緊迫した状況下では正しい判断を下すことが難しくなると説く。これは動物は危機に面した時、生き残るために有用な情報の処理のみに集中するためだそうだ。

もう一つ「直感の弱点」として Blink は視覚を挙げる。これを Gladwell はウォーレン・ハーディング効果（ハンサムだが無能な大統領に投票してしまう行為）と呼ぶ。例えば同じくらい歌の上手な歌手二人を見た場合、歌手として見栄えの良い方の歌唱力を過大評価してしまうことはよくある。これは歌手だけでなく、スポーツ選手や俳優などにも当てはまる。

Blink ではこの他にも色々な考え方や物語が紹介されている。The Tipping Point と同様、面白くて意外と読みやすい本だ。

Misc » Solar Revolution: The Economic Transformation of the Global Energy Industry

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 09:27:00 GMT

I saw an interesting talk by Travis Bradford on the topic of solar energy. Travis is a strong believer in the solar energy. In fact, one of his main arguments was that it is economically, more so than environmentally, inevitable for the use of solar energy to dramatically increase in the future. I’ll briefly summarize his argument.

One important characteristics of solar energy is that it is the only form of renewable energy that can be taken advantage of both centrally (in terms of large centralized plants) and distributed (by deploying solar panels). Consider alternative sources of energy available today, including hydropower, wind, geothermal, ocean, and bio-mass, and they all require large centralized plants. Travis believes that the distributed use of solar energy will become increasingly practical over the next few decades because of two factors:

Cost of fossil fuel will continue to increase due to higher demand and decreasing supply
Cost of solar energy will continue to decrease due to “learning rate” (which he estimates to be 20%/yr)

It is interesting to note that the cost of electricity that will be replaced by solar energy is high. Consider that electricity demand is high during the day than night, and during summer time than winter time. Obviously the cost of electricity during high demand is higher than that during low demand. It so happened that solar energy can most efficiently be obtained during the day and during summer time. According to Travis, solar energy will be economically competitive to fossil energy at peak cost by 2020.

Travis envisions three phases of solar energy development. In phase 1, solar energy replaces expensive power, as mentioned above. This can happen around 2020. In phase 2, some form of storage will be available for unused energy. An example would be charging an electric car using solar energy. This can happen as early as 2030. In phase 3, solar energy will become more viable economically than any other forms of energy, and there will be a disruptive transformation in the entire energy industry.

The Solar Revolution will bring many benefits, aside the environmental ones. First, it will create more employment opportunities in terms of R&D, production, installation, and maintenance. Second, and more importantly, the decentralized nature of the solar energy system allows distribution of cheap electricity to remote locations where electricity was previously unavailable. This contributes to wealth creation, especially in developing nations.

Technically speaking, the Solar Revolution is sure to happen, but the acceptance and the spread of solar energy will not automatically happen without effective policy support. For example, Travis proposes the introduction of “solar mortgage” to encourage existing homeowners to install solar energy system. He also proposes new building codes which enforce the installation of solar panels in new homes and buildings.

The energy industry used to work under the economy of scarcity, ie, there are finite amount of resources available and we needed to work within the constraint. The Solar Revolution transforms the industry into the economy of abundance. It will likely have a lasting impact in shaping the future of the world.

Misc » 太陽エネルギーの将来を考える

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 09:25:00 GMT

Travis Bradford 氏による太陽エネルギーのプレゼンを見た。Bradford 氏によると、現在開発されている再生可能エネルギーの中で太陽エネルギーが最も将来性があるという。

他の再生可能エネルギー源と違い、太陽エネルギーには中心的な発電所は必要ない。太陽パネルを分散すれば、色々な場所から太陽エネルギーを得ることができる。この「分散性」は水力、風力、原子力等のエネルギー源と比べて太陽エネルギーの大きな特徴で、コストを抑えることができれば広範囲での使用が期待できる。

Bradford 氏によると、将来的な化石燃料の価格上昇と太陽技術の発展による価格低下を考えると、20 年後には太陽エネルギーのコストは化石燃料によるエネルギーのコストと競争できるようになるという。エネルギーのコストは需要が多い時ほど高い。例えば日中には夜より需要が高く、夏には冬より需要が高い。太陽エネルギーはこの需要が高い時のエネルギーを賄うため、それを考えれば太陽エネルギーのコストがピーク時のコストを下回るのは 2020 年頃だろうと Bradford 氏は予測する。

さらに技術が進めば、2030 年頃には使い切れなかった太陽エネルギーを蓄積するという利用方法が広まるという。例えば電気自動車の充電に使うことができる。

太陽エネルギーの使用が広まれば、環境面以外でも様々な利益をもたらす。例えば開発、製造、設備、そしてメンテナンスなどの分野での雇用促進が期待できる。さらに発展途上国で今まで電気を送ることの出来なかった地域に比較的低コストでエネルギーを提供できるようになる。

今までのエネルギー産業は資源の「希少性」に縛られていた。太陽エネルギーの発展が進めばエネルギー産業は希少性に縛られない「潤沢経済」または「余剰経済」へと移行する。希少経済から余剰経済への根本的な移行は世界を大きく変える原動力となるだろうと Bradford 氏は予測する。

Web 2.0 » The Tipping Point

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 09:18:00 GMT

I finally finished reading The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. This was one of the most well-written books I’ve ever read, and I already can’t wait to read his next book, Blink. The Tipping Point is an attempt to understand how certain phenomenon happens rapidly and dramatically once a critical mass or “tipping point” is reached, almost like the spread of an epidemic. For example, how do you understand the sudden rise of teen smoking, or the multiplying effect of word of mouth? The Tipping Point describes three principles that are critical to understanding the Tipping Point phenomenon.

The first principle, the Law of Selected Few, says that not everybody is capable of starting an epidemic. On the contrary, only a few exceptional people are capable of starting one. These special people are classified as the Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen. Connectors are those who are gifted in bringing people together. Mavens are those who are extremely knowledgeable in certain subject matters. Salesmen are those with exceptional persuasion skills. These people can start the kind of epidemics that most people cannot because of their unique personality, knowledge, and credibility.

The second principle is the Stickiness Factor, which says that to be effective information must to be conveyed in ways that make it memorable and “sticky”.

The third principle, which I think is the most powerful, is the Power of Contexts. This is also known as the Broken Window theory, which says that broken windows (context) cause increase in the number of crimes. This theory implies that the right context causes people to behave differently than they normally do. This is scary to think about, and it even suggests that some attributes of a person, both positive and negative, may not be as absolute as we’re used to thinking.

In Afterword (which was written after the original Tipping Point was published back in 2000), though it sounds contrary to the arrival of the Information Age, the author argues that we’re about to enter the age of the word of mouth. As the amount of information increases and the size of the technological networks of people (via phone, fax, and email) expand, people develop immunity, that is, people will learn to use it selectively. Increasingly people will rely on the Selected Few, in particular Mavens in the Information Age, to deal with the complexity of the modern world.

Web 2.0 » The Tipping Point - ティッピング・ポイント

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 09:17:00 GMT

Malcolm Gladwell 氏による The Tipping Point を読んだ。この本は、あるアイデアや口コミが一気に広がる劇的瞬間（Tipping Point）を感染に例えながら分析・解明する。著者によると「劇的瞬間」が起こるにあたって三つの法則が挙げられるという。

第一は「少数者の法則」。「感染」の裏には特別な能力を持つ少数者が存在するというのだ。その能力とは多くの人とつながりを持つ Connector 、専門的な知識を持つ Maven 、そして並外れた説得力を持つ Salesman の三種類に分類される。こうした一握りの例外的な人たちの働きによって口コミなどは「感染」されるという。

第二は「粘りの要素」。情報の表現や伝達の方法を工夫して覚えやすくすれば、当然その情報は「感染」し易くなる。

第三は「背景の力」。これは壊れた窓の存在が犯罪を増加させるという「壊れた窓」の法則と似ている。つまり、状況は人間の行動を変える鍵であるという考え方だ。これを一歩進めると例えば人間の性格など不変であると考えがちな特性も実は外部環境に決定されているかもしれないということになる。「感染」の広まりにはこの「状況」が大きな鍵となる。

「少数者の法則」、「粘りの要素」、そして「背景の力」の三要素が満たされた時、アイデアや口コミなどは一気に広まる。もしその情報の表現の仕方が少し違ったり、または違う人によって情報が伝えられたり、または状況が少し違ったりした場合、その情報は「感染」しなかったかも知れないという。

結論で著者は情報社会においての Maven の重要さに触れている。情報量が増え、テクノロジーによる電話やEメール等のネットワークが広がるにつれ、我々は情報を選択せざるを得なくなる。そのプロセスに大きな役割を果たすのが「少数者」、特に Maven だと言う。

Misc » Understanding Group Effectiveness in an Online Community

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 06:47:00 GMT

I saw an interesting Microsoft Research talk on understanding long-term group effectiveness in an online community. Though many different ideas were presented, there were two that I found particularly interesting.

The first is to view group (people) networks in terms of two categories: instrumental and expressive. Instrumental ties are network hierarchies that are enforced. In most workplace, for example, organizational structure forms instrumental ties between employees. Instrumental ties are effective in conveying task-related information and advice. Expressive ties, on the other hand, are social networks in groups that grew organically. They are effective in providing emotional and social support, and are critical to long-term sustainability of the group.

To understand the effectiveness of these two networks in an online environment, the presenter suggested taking these measurements:

Network density: do team members communicate with each other?
Degree of centralization: does the team depend on one person?
Reciprocity: how do team members respond to each other?
Transitivity

One advantage of online environment is that digital form of communication (email, IM, VoIP, etc) can be recorded, measured, and analyzed. These data can also be used, for example, to measure the level of expressive ties within the team, or to understand “core” or “periphery” team members.

The second idea that I found interesting was the five processes that were identified as important in achieving high productivity within a group:

Communication
Cohesion: how united the team is in terms of shared vision and goals
Conflict management: what processes are in place to resolve disagreement
Participation
Learning: how does the team as a whole retain information and knowledge

Cohesion and conflict management are particularly important in online communities due to the lack of face-to-face meetings as a way to develop mutual understanding and resolve differences.

Misc » オンライン・コミュニティーを測るには

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 06:45:00 GMT

Microsoft Research のオンライン・コミュニティーに関するプレゼンを見た。色々なアイデアが紹介されたが、その中で面白いと思った二つについて書いてみる。

第一は、人と人のつながりには二種類あるという事。一つ目は会社の組織の様に意図的に作られたネットワーク、二つ目は自然に作られたネットワークだ。前者は短期的な情報・知識の伝達に役立ち、後者は長期的なメンバー間での社会的・社交的役割を果たす。オンラインの世界ではメールや VoIP 等のコミュニケーションを測定できるため、この二つのネットワークの状況がある程度数字で把握できるようになる。例えば：

ネットワークの密度：メンバーはお互いコミュニケーションをとっているか
ネットワークの集中度：コミュニケーションが偏っていないか
ネットワークの相互関係

第二に面白いと感じたのは、以下の五つのプロセスがグループの高い生産性を維持する上で必要であるという事。

コミュニケーション
結束性：メンバーが同じ目標を持っているか
対立の管理：意見や利害の衝突をどのように解決するか
参加
学習：グループとしてどのように学習するか

特に結束性や対立の管理方法はミーティング等による直接的なコミュニケーションをとる機会が無い、または少ないため、グループとして高い生産性を達成する上で不可欠だ。

Misc » Getting Closer to Minority Report

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 22:51:00 GMT

Here's a very cool demo by Jeff Han on what he calls "interface-free" computer. Bill Gates also showed a similar system from MSR few months ago. It’s very cool what you can achieve with hardware and software innovations.

Misc » Minority Report への一歩

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 22:50:00 GMT

Jeff Han が「インターフェースの不要なコンピューター」のデモを行った。ビル・ゲイツも数ヶ月前の Company Meeting でマイクロソフト・リサーチで開発された似たようなシステムを披露した。ハードウェアとソフトウェアの融合の限りない可能性を見せてくれるプロジェクトで、映画 Minority Report を思い出させる。

Misc » Demystifying .NET Framework 3.0

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 19:48:00 GMT

Microsoft recently announced WinFX will be renamed to .NET Framework 3.0. So what is WinFX exactly? It is a collection of rich frameworks built on top of .NET Framework 2.0 that include the following components:

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), formerly Avalon
Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), formerly Indigo
Windows Workflow Foundation (WF)
Windows CardSpace (CS), formerly InfoCard

This leads to the following equation:

.NET Framework 2.0 + WCF + WPF + WF + WCS = .NET Framework 3.0

This implies that there have been no changes in the core of .NET Framework 2.0 (CLR). In fact, when you install .NET Framework 3.0, you'll also get .NET Framework 2.0 in the Microsoft.NET directory.

Here are the supported platforms for .NET Frameworks:

2.0:	Win9x, Win2k,	XP, W2k3, Vista, LHS (Longhorn Server)
3.0:		XP, W2k3, Vista, LHS

It should be noted that .NET Framework 3.0 will be pre-installed in Vista.

.NET Framework will evolve beyond 3.0, of course. At the moment it appears that LINQ may become a part of the next version of .NET Framework.

Misc » .NET Framework 3.0 とは？

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 19:35:00 GMT

マイクロソフトは数ヶ月前 WinFX を.NET Framework 3.0 と改名すると発表した。WinFX とはマイクロソフトが開発中の次世代のライブラリで、以下のコンポーネントを含む：

Windows Presentation Foundation (Avalon)
Windows Communication Foundation (Indigo)
Windows Workflow Foundation
Windows CardSpace (InfoCard)

つまり、簡潔に言えば以下のような足し算の式が成り立つ：

.NET Framework 2.0 + WCF + WPF + WF + WCS = .NET Framework 3.0

注目すべきは .NET Framework 2.0 のコア（CLR）は以前と同じであるという事。これは、プラットフォームである CLR には不必要な変更を加えず、安定した基盤として確立させるためである。実際、.NET Framework 3.0 をインストールすると.NET Framework 2.0 も同時にインストールされる。

サポートされている OS は以下のとおり：

2.0:	Win9x, Win2k,	XP, W2k3, Vista, LHS (Longhorn Server)
3.0:		XP, W2k3, Vista, LHS

.NET Framework 3.0 は Vista に添付される。

.NET Framework はこれからも進化を続け、例えば次のバージョンでは LINQ が取り入れられる予定らしい。

Misc » Sun Micro's Project Blackbox

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 07:30:00 GMT

Sun Microsystems recently announced an interesting project called Project Blackbox. Built with the assumption that the biggest data center that can be built is the biggest thing that can be transported (efficiently), which would be a standard shipping container, Project Blackbox is a prototype of a movable and power-efficient virtualized datacenter with 250 servers and water-based cooling system, all inside a shipping container. In addition, it survived an (accidental) drop from the height of 6 inches, which is quite amazing.

Misc » サンの Blackbox プロジェクト

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 07:15:00 GMT

サンが Blackbox という面白いプロジェクトを発表した。「最も大きな移動可能なデータセンターはコンテナサイズ」というアイデアからスタートしたプロジェクトで、250 のサーバーをコンテナに収めたそうだ。電力消費を抑えるために水を使って冷却したり、衝撃に強い床にしたり（実際 15cm ほどの高さから誤って落としてしまったそうだ）等の工夫がなされている。

Windows Live » The Laws of Identity and .NET Passport

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 07:54:00 GMT

I came across an MSDN article The Law of Identity. It was an interesting reading, especially in the context of how .NET Passport breaks many of the laws. It helps explain why it failed in its mission to become the single sign-on mechanism on the Web.

The second Law of Identity is "minimal disclosure for a contained use". With Passport, the user cannot control how personal information is disclosed; in fact, all information is disclosed. According to the Law of Identity, the user should be able to control when and how much personal information to disclose.

The third Law is "justifiable parties," that is, user information should be shared only among the parties that need the information. Since Passport is a proprietary technology of Microsoft, it doesn't make sense to most non-MSN sites since Microsoft is always involved.

The fifth Law is "pluralism of operators and technologies". This is in direct conflict with Passport’s mission to become the single, centralized sign-on technology. Passport's biggest strength turned out to be its biggest weakness: single point of failure. The Law of Identity proposed a more federated metasystem.

The sixth Law is "human integration" in terms of "offering unambiguous human-machine communication mechanisms offering protection against identity attacks." With Passport it is too easy for hackers to create phising sites.

Windows Live » .NET パスポートは何故失敗したのか

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 07:49:00 GMT

MSDN で The Law of Identity という面白い記事を読んだ。幾つかの法則を見てみると .NET パスポートが何故 Single Sign-In の認証サービスとして失敗したかが見えてくる。

例えば第二の法則は「最低限の情報の開示」。例えばクレジットカード情報の必要ないサイトにはその情報を公開しない様にする仕組みが必要だ。パスポートにはそのような仕組みはなく、ユーザーがどの情報をどのサイトに対して公開するかは管理できない。

第三の法則は「不必要なサイトへの情報開示」、つまり個人情報の開示を必要最低限のサイトのみに限定するための仕組みだ。パスポートはマイクロソフト独自のテクノロジーであり MSN 外のサイトの殆どではマイクロソフトが関わる必要はないが、それを避けることはできない。

第五の法則は「複数のプロバイダー」。これはパスポートの様に中央化された一つの Identity システムに頼るのではなく、複数のプロバイダーが互換性のある Identity サービスを提供する Metasystem を提案している。

そして第六の法則はハッカーからユーザーを守る「明白なインターフェース」だ。現在のパスポートでは偽造があまりにも簡単すぎる。Identity システムは曖昧でない、明白なインターフェースをユーザーに提供する必要がある。

Office » What's New in 2007 Office Systems

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 07:06:00 GMT

Office 2003 is already packed with great features. Though it may be hard to believe, 2007 Office System is even better, with countless new improvements. Now that it is almost ready for prime time, I thought I'd share my Top 3 new features:

3. Excel Web Access

Have you ever wanted to display Excel data on your site without exposing the entire spreadsheet data? With the previous version of Excel it was an all-or-nothing proposition, which left most people with no choice but the latter. With the new Sharepoint and Excel Services, you will be able to publish partial Excel data on the Web. Excel Web Access allows you to share charts, pivot tables, and other elements of Excel. In addition, users can interact with these elements (say a pivot table) so that they can obtain the information they need. There's no need to have Excel in the client machine since Excel Web Access is browser-based.

2. Web 2.0 Support (Blog/Wiki/RSS)

Among the many features of Sharepoint Server 2007, out-of-the-box support for blog, wiki, and RSS is the most relevant in the world of Web 2.0, and increasingly in the world of business as well. Blog supports Word and email publishing, while RSS feeds can be set up effortlessly for almost any entries. Take a look at this Channel 9 webcast if you're interested to find out more.

Of course Sharepoint Server 2007 comes with many more benefits, including improved enterprise security, search, content management, and support for business processes and business intelligence. Sharepoint keeps getting better and better.

And now, drum roll please...

1. OpenXML Format

The new Office document format is now XML-based, packaged in the ZIP format (in fact, you can rename *.docx to *.zip to see the content). Though it may cause occasional inconveniences for some users, this is a huge win for developers as it allows them to build useful tools around it. For example, it would be possible to build a diff tool, or a tool that removes comments or notes from Word or PowerPoint documents before they are published on the Web.

There's a community website for the new Office format, for those interested to tap into new possibilities and opportunities.

Office » 2007 Office Systems の新機能

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 07:01:00 GMT

2007 Office Systems では、すでに一流の Office 2003 にさらに改良が加えられた。リリースが近づいてきたところで、数え切れないほどある新機能の中から厳選した Top 3について書いてみた。

3. Excel Web Access

以前は表計算のデータをウェブ上にのせるには、エクセルファイルそのものをのせなければならなかった。これでは全て公開するか全く公開しないかの二つしか選択肢がなく、殆どの人は後者を選ばざるを得なかった。しかし、新しい Sharepoint と Excel Service では表計算の一部だけをウェブで公開することが出来るようになる。例えばチャートだけをのせるとか、ピボットテーブルだけを公開するという事が可能になる。もちろんユーザーがブラウザ上でピボットテーブルをカスタマイズして情報処理することも可能だ。また、Excel Web Access はブラウザベースなので、クライエントにエクセルは必要ない。

2. Web 2.0 のサポート

新しい Sharepoint には新機能が満載だが、Web 2.0 に関してはブログ、Wiki 、RSS がサポートされる。ブログや Wiki はビジネスの世界でも重要になりつつある。ブログに関してはワードやメールで投稿でき、RSS に関しては殆ど自動的にブログはもちろん、リストや検索結果なども RSS として配信できるようになる。Channel 9 にこうした新機能について面白いインタビューがあるので、興味のある方はそちらへ。

1. OpenXML フォーマット

ユーザーにとっては不便な面もあるかも知れないが、開発者にとって一番の新機能は何と言っても新しいファイルフォーマットだろう。XML ベースなので、オフィスドキュメントを扱うツールなどを比較的簡単に作る事ができるようになる。例えば Diff ツールや、またはウェブに公開する前にコメントやノートを削除するツールなどが考えられる。詳しくはコミュニティーサイトの OpenXML Developer へ。

Misc » Protecting Your #1 Asset

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 17:06:00 GMT

I recently read the book "Protecting Your #1 Asset", which talks about intellectual property (IP) protections. Though it was a technical reading with many legal terminologies I wasn’t familiar with, I learned how IP protections apply to the software world. I'll talk, with plenty of examples, about three forms of protections that are most relevant in software; patent, copyright, and trademark.

Patent
Patents can protect certain functional aspects of software, though historically software used to be considered mathematical algorithm and hence was not protected under patent laws. For a patent to be granted, the invention in question has to be novel and non-obvious.

There are many software-related patents. Perhaps Amazon.com's "One Click" patent and Eolas' "browser plugin patent" are two of the most infamous ones, while the RSA patent for public key encryption is probably the most famous example.

Speaking of patents and inventions, Intellectual Ventures, a private company founded in 2000 by Nathan Myhrvold, is an interesting company whose business is pure invention and licensing. It aims to develop a large patent portfolio through invention and purchase of existing patents.

Copyright
Copyright, unlike patents, is granted automatically and protects non-functional aspects of software. Copying of source code without a license constitutes copyright infringement.

The Apple vs Microsoft legal dispute of the late 80s was a copyright infringement lawsuit in which Apple claimed that the "look and feel" of MacOS was protected under copyright law. In accordance to the copyright law, however, analysis was made on specific GUI elements as opposed to the overall look and feel itself, and it was found that most elements were already properly licensed to Microsoft. If Apple were successful in obtaining a software patent to protect the "look and feel" as an invention (which it wasn’t), Apple would have pursued Microsoft under patent law.

One aspect of copyright protection that is relevant to software (and the Internet in particular) is that knowingly facilitating copying of unauthorized materials contributes to copyright infringement. This explains why Napster was sued by major recording companies, and why there is a similar lawsuit against YouTube.

It is interesting to note that "fair use" of copyright material is allowed. For example, the use of partial text by major search engines is considered fair use.

Trademark
Trademark aims to protect reputation and goodwill of businesses that provides products and services to consumers. A recent article about the use of the term "Google" is an interesting example that illustrates how trademark works. Under the trademark law, arbitrary or fanciful term(s) receive the highest level of protection while generic terms receive the lowest. Hence, it is in Google's interest to not let the term "Google" become generic. In fact, they published guidelines for the use of the term.

Another aspect of trademark protection relevant to software is that distribution of unauthorized software may constitute trademark infringement, as it damages the reputation of the maker of the software. Obviously Microsoft is the main victim of software piracy.

With the rise of the Internet, trademark law has been extended to protect domain names. Businesses are protected from the so-called cybersquatting though some critics claim that it unfairly favors large corporations.

Misc » ソフトウェアの知的財産について

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 17:01:00 GMT

最近「Protecting Your #1 Asset」という知的財産に関する本を読んだ。法律の専門知識はないが、特にソフトウェアの知的財産について色々学ぶことができた。例を挙げながら特許権、著作権、商標権という、ソフトウェアの知的財産を保護する上で重要な三つの権利について簡単に書いてみた。

特許権（Patent）
特許の保護の対象は「高度な発明」（ソフトウェアでは機能面においての発明）である。その定義については詳しくは書かないが、一つ間違えやすい点は「発明」は創作である為「発見」の場合は特許を取得することはできないという点だ。

ソフトウェアの特許で特に知られているのは、RSA 暗号のアルゴリズムだろう。また Amazon.com の One Click や Eola のブラウザのプラグインに関する特許も、（悪い意味で）知られている。

特許のテーマで注目に値するのは、Intellectual Ventures (IV) という会社がNathan Myhrvold によって創立された事だ。IV は特許権のポートフォリオを築いて、ライセンスによる知的財産のみのビジネスを展開する面白い会社である。

著作権（Copyright）
特許権が発明に対する保護を与えるのに対して、著作権は「表現」そして「著作物」に対する保護を与える。例えばソフトウェアでは、ソースコードそのものは著作権によって保護されている。

覚えている方は多いと思うが、アップル社とマイクロソフト社の８０年代の訴訟は、マックOS の「Look and Feel」の著作権をマイクロソフトが侵害したとする訴訟だ。結果的に著作権は Look and Feel を全体的には保護しないという判断が下され、個々の具体的な表現（例えばゴミ箱のアイコンなど）についてはすでにマイクロソフトにライセンスされているため、著作権の侵害には当たらないという結論となった。

著作権に関して特にインターネット上で重要なのは、著作物の複製を促進するサービスは著作権を侵害しているとみなされるという事だ。例えば Napster は音楽ファイルの違法コピーを助長したためメジャーのレコード会社に訴訟された。YouTube も似た理由から最近訴訟されている。

著作物の使用においては、認められている範囲がある。例えば「引用」は、正当な範囲内であれば認められる。検索エンジンが検索結果の一部を表示できるのはこのためである。

商標権（Trademark）
商標法は商品やサービスを他のものと区別するために用いられる名称や図形などを保護することによって、商品やサービスを提供する側の世評またはグッドウィルを保護することを目的としている。商標権には効力が及ばない範囲があり、例えば普通名詞などがそれである。最近のニュースでは、グーグル社が「グーグルする」という動詞の使用を認めないという事がニュースになったが、それは商標が一般化されて普通名詞として扱われればブランドとして商標権を失う可能性があるからだ。事実、「エスカレーター」や「ホッチキス（Stapler）」の様に一般化された商標は存在する。

ソフトウェアの商標権に関しては、海賊版ソフトウェアの販売は商標権の侵害とみなされる。これはそのソフトウェアを提供する会社のグッドウィルを損害する為だ。ちなみに海賊版ソフトの無断製作・製造は著作権の侵害に値する。

Web 2.0 » Why the Future of Business is Selling More of Less

Mon, 09 Oct 2006 08:47:00 GMT

Chris Anderson's The Long Tail is an interesting reading to understand Web 2.0 from the perspective of the Long Tail phenomenon. Though I've heard his talk in the past, it was great to finally read his book and get a deeper understanding of the concept of the Long Tail. I'll discuss some of the ideas in the book that I found particularly interesting.

First, the Long Tail model creates probabilistic systems. I believe this is a key to understanding Long Tail systems. One implication is that one cannot rely on such a system to provide a definitive answer. One can, however, rely on the collective accuracy of answers that are provided. Wikipedia is a prime example. Developed by the Long Tail of professional and amateur writers, Wikipedia may not be able to provide as definitive an answer as traditional encyclopedias on a single topic. Collectively, however, Wikipedia provides broader coverage of topics as well as superior overall quality. And as with other probabilistic systems, I believe it is fair to say that Wikipedia is more useful than traditional encyclopedias in most cases.

Another idea I found interesting is the observation that the Head economy is driven by money, while the Tail economy is driven by other factors, such as reputation. Typically the Head is comprised of professionals while the Tail is comprised of amateurs. This is particularly apparent in the world of blogging, where selected bloggers are successful in monetizing on their effort while the rest are driven by passion and reputation. This is an interesting characteristic of the Long Tail.

Another important notion to understand the Long Tail is that as the collective size of the Tail increases, aggregators become more important to sort out vast amount of information. Google, Amazon.com, eBay, and iTunes are such examples. Some aggregators have sophisticated mechanisms, such as Netflix’s recommendation system, to expose Tail information to larger audience. These mechanisms are designed to combat the paradox of choice by providing relevant information to the audience that assists them with their decision making.

There are many other interesting ideas that are presented in the book, such as the implication of the Long Tail on both business and cultural diversity, and I highly recommend it if you haven’t read it yet.

Web 2.0 » ロングテール：ビジネスはどのように変化するのか

Mon, 09 Oct 2006 08:42:00 GMT

Chris Anderson 氏のベストセラー「ロングテール」は新しいビジネスの形、そして Web 2.0 の新しい見方を提案する。彼のプレゼンは以前見たことがあるが、今回本を実際に読んでさらに多くの事を学ぶことができた。特に面白いと感じたアイデアについて少し書いてみた。

まず、ロングテール現象から生まれるシステムは「確率的」であるという特徴は、ロングテールを理解する上で重要な要素だ。これはロングテール現象からイエス・ノーという答えを出すのは難しいが、全体的に見れば確率の高い答えを得ることができるという事だ。例えばプロとアマチュアというロングテールによって書かれた Wikipedia と今までの百科事典を比べてみると、一つのエントリーだけを見れば百科事典の方が質が高いかもしれないが、全体的に見た場合 Wikipedia の方が質の面でも情報量の面でも上回っている。これはロングテール現象が生むシステムの根本的な特徴の一つだといえる。

もう一つの特徴は、Head が経済的な要素によって動かされるのに対して Tail は非経済的な要素（例えば個人の世評・評価など）によって動かされるという事。そのため Head ではプロが活躍するが、Tail はアマチュアの舞台であることが多い。これが最も顕著に現れている例の一つはブログだ。経済的な利益を得ることができるのはごく一部の Head のブロガーだけで、大部分のTail では殆どの場合経済的な利益でなく個人の知識や情熱が原動力となっている。

ロングテール現象を理解する上でもう一つ重要なのが、Aggregator だ。彼らは膨大な Tail の情報を分かりやすくまとめ、そしてユーザーの必要とする情報を探し易くする役割を担う。Google や Amazon 、eBay や iTunes などは Aggregator のいい例だ。サーチ、カテゴリー、ランキング、ユーザーによるコメント、Recommendation システムなどは膨大な情報を整理するのに頻繁に使われるテクニックだ。

ビジネスだけでなく、ロングテールは例えば生活・文化に関連する現象を理解するのにも役立つ。是非お勧めする一冊だ。

Windows Live » Technical detail of Live Clipboard

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 05:00:00 GMT

In this blog I'll dive into the implementation detail of Live Clipboard, which was originally proposed by Ray Ozzie several months ago. But first, I developed a simple demo below:

Live Clipboard Demo

First, let's examine how the UI is implemented. The context menu you see when you do a right-click is, quite surprisingly, from a transparent TEXTAREA. The TEXTAREA, via CSS, has the cursor set to 'pointer', z-index set to positive, and opacity set to 0. When a right-click is detected via onMouseEvent (which is fired before the context menu is displayed), TEXTAREA's value is set to the content that should go to the clipboard, and the entire text is programatically selected (so that the context menu for text selection is displayed). When the user select "Copy", the desired text is indeed copied to the clipboard. As for Paste, onPaste event is simulated by calling a function every 50 millseconds that checks the value of the TEXTAREA. If it changes, then either delete, cut, or paste was performed by the user. They seem "hacky" at first, but this is one of few techniques that work well across browsers.

Next, let's examine the data that actually go to the clipboard. As you may have expected, XML is used for this purpose, and its schema is well documented here. As a reference, here's a sample XML for a vCard:


  source="http://localhost:2475/live/liveclipboard.htm" 
  xmlns:lc="http://www.microsoft.com/schemas/liveclipboard">



  
  Keiji　Oenoki

  keijio@microsoft.com
  425-705-0742

  
  Work:
  1065 La Avenida St

  Mountain View
  CA　
  94043　
  USA

It is important to note that microformat is used here. Micrformat is a way to encode semantic information using the class tag of HTML. This allows both human and machine to easily access the information. Here's an example of encoding "first name" and "last name" using the SPAN tag:

This document was prepared by Keiji Oenoki,
who lives in Mountain View...

Next, let's talk about presentation using CSS. CSS controls how the data is displayed. For example, name can be displayed in a bold font, or address information can be made hidden.

Finally, JavaScript bridges the gap between the data and the presentation. In Live Clipboard, this is achieved by connecting three JavaScript objects - HCard, MicroFormatBindingObject, and WebClip. Consider this example:

var hCard1 = new HCard("Keiji", "Oenoki", "keijio@microsoft.com", 
  "425-705-0742", null, null, null, null, null, null, 
  null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, 
  "1065 La Avenida St", "Mountain View", "CA", "94043","USA", "Microsoft");
var contactBinding1 = new MicroFormatObjectBinding(
  document.getElementById("contactHcard1"), 
  hCard1, "ContactContainer unselected", 
  "ContactContainer selected");
var clipBoardControl1 = new WebClip(
  document.getElementById("webClipControl1"), contactBinding1.onCopy, 
  contactBinding1.onPaste, contactBinding1.onActive, contactBinding1.onInactive);

The first line instantiates the raw data, the second line associates the data with a DIV element (for presentation purpose), and finally the last line connects the data and the presentation using events. There are four types of events in WebClip:

onCopy: returns the data used during the Copy operation
onPaste: invoked when delete/cut/paste is performed
onActive: invoked when the data is selected
onInactive: invoked when the data selection is cleared

That's it! The source code is open to anyone interested:

Windows Live » Live Clipboard の仕組みを探る

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 02:53:00 GMT

Ray Ozzie 氏の提案する Live Clipboard 、どのような仕組みになっているか気になっていたので調べてみた。まずその前に Live Clipboard の簡単なデモを作ってみた。

Live Clipboard Demo

それでは、まず UI の仕組みから調べていこう。右クリックした時にでてくるメニューは TEXTAREA のものだ。意外に思うかも知れないが、CSS で cursor を pointer にして、z-index をプラスにして、Opacity を 0 にしてある。そして右クリックの MouseDown のイベント（メニューがでる直前）でその TEXTAREA のテキストをクリップボードにコピーしたい内容に置き換えて、Select All をする。その後すぐにメニューが表示されるので、あとはユーザーがコピーを選択すればテキストがクリップボードへコピーされるという訳だ。それでは Paste はどうかというと、onPaste というイベントはないのでなんとタイマーを使って毎0.05秒ごとに TEXTAREA のテキストが変わっていないかをチェックしている。もしカットやペーストされればテキストが変わるので、それが onPaint ということだ。うーん、どう考えても Hack としか思えないようなテクニックだが、クロスプラットフォームとセキュリティーを実現するには他にあまり方法はないのかも知れない。

さて、次にクリップボードに実際にコピーされるデータの形式について。これは XML で、親切にきちんと Document してあるのでそちらを参照してもらいたい。参考に vCard の XML はこんな感じ：


  source="http://localhost:2475/live/liveclipboard.htm" 
  xmlns:lc="http://www.microsoft.com/schemas/liveclipboard">



  
  Keiji　Oenoki

  keijio@microsoft.com
  425-705-0742

  
  Work:
  1065 La Avenida St

  Mountain View
  CA　
  94043　
  USA

ここで重要なのはマイクロフォーマットが利用されているという事。マイクロフォーマットは簡単に言えば HTML に CSS のクラス名を使って情報を付け足すという面白いテクニック。例えば名前なら

This document was prepared by Keiji Oenoki,
who lives in Mountain View...

という具合だ。人にもコンピュータにも読みやすくするのがマイクロフォーマットの目的だ。ペーストの時にはこの XML を Parse して、必要な情報を手に入れるという仕組み。

次に、プレゼンテーションのための CSS 。これでどの情報をどのように見せるか調節する。例えば名前を Bold にしたり、アドレスを見せないようにしたりできる。

最後に、JavaScript がデータとプレゼンテーションを繋げる。Live Clipboard では HCard、 MicroFormatBindingObject、WebClip の３つのオブジェクトを使っている。

var hCard1 = new HCard("Keiji", "Oenoki", "keijio@microsoft.com", 
  "425-705-0742", null, null, null, null, null, null, 
  null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, 
  "1065 La Avenida St", "Mountain View", "CA", "94043","USA", "Microsoft");
var contactBinding1 = new MicroFormatObjectBinding(
  document.getElementById("contactHcard1"), 
  hCard1, "ContactContainer unselected", 
  "ContactContainer selected");
var clipBoardControl1 = new WebClip(
  document.getElementById("webClipControl1"), contactBinding1.onCopy, 
  contactBinding1.onPaste, contactBinding1.onActive, contactBinding1.onInactive);

一行目で hCard データそのものを作り（データ）、二行目でその hCard を DIV とくっつけて見れるようにし（プレゼンテーション）、そして三行目でイベントを使ってデータとプレゼンテーションを連動させる。（ちなみに最初に話した TEXTAREA は WebClip に渡された DIV に作られる。） WebClip のイベントは四つある。

onCopy コピーに使われるデータを渡す
onPaste　ペーストだけでなくカットや Delete でも呼ばれる
onActive セレクトされた時
onInactive　セレクトが終わった時

これで完成。ソースコードを公開しているので、興味のある方はこちらから。

Web 2.0 » The future of weather.com in Web 2.0 style

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 20:40:00 GMT

I listened to this podcast on IPv6 a while ago. It talks about a lot of things, but in particular talks about an interesting experiment to generate a micro weather map by assigning IPv6 addresses to the wipers of taxi cabs. The idea is to correlate the location of each cab with the movement of the wipers to figure out the areas that are raining. I think that's a pretty interesting experiment.

My coworker told me a somewhat related story. Apparently one can buy a device that can measure certain weather conditions (temperature, etc), install it at home, and broadcast the result over the Internet. This becomes very interesting if enough houses install the device, since we'll then be able to generate a real-time weather map that are more accurate and more micro in scope than the traditional weather map we get today.

It's interesting to think of these examples as Web 2.0 style experiments, because they take advantage of "collective intelligence" in a fundamental way. This allows them to provide better services than a single provider can provide.

Web 2.0 » Web 2.0 による次世代の天気図

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 20:39:00 GMT

伊藤洋一のビジネストレンドで IPv6 についての Podcast を聞いた。面白いと思ったのは、タクシーを使って天気図を作るという実験の話。ワイパーに IPv6 のアドレスを割り当て、タクシーのロケーションとワイパーの動きのデータを利用してリアルタイムの天気図を作るというアイデアだ。これなら細かい、しかも実用的な天気図を描くことができる。

似たような話を同僚から聞いたことがある。彼によると、天候に関するデータを測定する器具を個人で簡単に買えるそうだ。そしてそれを家の外に設置して、インターネットでデータを配信することもできる。一人ではあまり役に立たないかもしれないが、もし多くの人がこの器具を設置したらワイパーの実験と同様リアルタイムの天気図が描けるわけである。

こうした実験はすごく Web 2.0 的だと思う。一つの組織に頼るのではなく、皆から少しずつデータをもらって大きなサービスを作り上げるという考え方は、Web 2.0 の基本的な考え方の一つだ。

Web 2.0 » Experimenting with Amazon aStore

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 02:16:00 GMT

I finally had a chance to play with aStore, Amazon's personalized online store. This is an interesting experiment that takes full advantage of Amazon's incredible selection of products. What I liked the most about aStore is that it can be created without any programming or technical knowledge. Take a look at what I came up with:

Keiji Store

Since aStore is still in beta, there are many aspects that can be improved, including:

The number of personal category is limitted to one, and the total number of item is limitted to only nine (but come to think of it, this may be a good strategy to increase the quality of selection)
Item cannot be rearranged
Personal comment is limitted to 128 characters

Despite these shortcomings, aStore can potentially become bigger by incorporating community-building features and other Web 2.0 elements.

In addition to aStore, Amazon recently has provided other interesting web services.

Web 2.0 » アマゾン aStore を作ってみた

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 02:13:00 GMT

最近アマゾンでオリジナルのオンラインストアを作れる事を知ったので、時間を作って試してみた。品物の豊富なアマゾンならではの機能だ。気に入ったのは技術的な事を知らなくても簡単にオンラインストアを作ることができる事。

Keiji Store

しかしまだベータ版なので、使い勝手や機能の面ではまだまだ改善の余地がある。例えば：

自分のカテゴリーは一つしか作ることができず、アイテムの数も限られている（ただ数が限られているために載せるアイテムをしっかり選ぶので、考えようによってはプラスかも）
アイテムの順序を変えることもできない
自分のコメントも 128 文字しか入れることができない

等など。しかし将来的にはストアに対するフィードバックやアイテムへのコメントなどコミュニティー機能を加えればかなり大きくなるのではないかと思う。

アマゾンはこの他にも色々なウェブサービスを公開するなど、最近面白い事を試している。

Misc » Watching TV anytime, anywhere

Fri, 15 Sep 2006 00:19:00 GMT

In Japan a new digital audio/video/data broadcasting service called 1seg started in April. This revolutionary service allows the user to watch TV anywhere using 1seg-enabled mobile devices, such as cell phones, MP3 players, handheld game consoles, and even laptops. I've heard that the picture quality is clear, and, unlike cell phones, it works in tall buildings.

In addition to its broadcasting capability, what is significant about 1seg is its potential to unify broadcasting and communication. It is possible to, for instance, display ads of items that are shown on TV. It blurs the line between TV (broadcasting) and the Internet (communication).

Here's a screenshot of Vodafone 905SH, which is popular in Japan.

In US, the mobile landscape is many years behind, unfortunately. We are only beginning to talk about the recent popularity of Smart Phones. Yes, there are services like MobiTV but they haven't been accepted widely by consumers yet.

Windows Live » Playing with Windows Live and Google Toolbars

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 18:06:00 GMT

Windows Live Toolbar 3.0 and Google Toolbar 4 have been released recently. They both have a feature called Custom Button, which allows new buttons to be added via XML. So I took them for test spins.

First, Windows Live Toolbar. I found MSDN Custom Button SDK through Windows Live Gallery. Usually I'm not a big fan of MSDN as most documentations are not easy to follow, and Custom Button SDK doc was no exception. I found it more helpful to refer to the MSDN button, which was installed in \Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Microsoft\WLTB Custom Buttons. Here is the XML source code for Keiji Notepad button, and this is how the button looks like:

Next, Google Toolbar. I found the API Documentation from Button Gallery. Though the documentation was easy to understand, I was disappointed with the limitted functionality. First, Google Toolbar only support displaying one RSS feed, as opposed to up to 10 in Windows Live Toolbar. Also, it was not possible to add custom menu items. Here's the XML source code, and here's the screenshot:

Though Custom Buttons are obviously not as powerful as other forms of adding functionality, it certainly offers great simplicity. For those interested in installing Keiji Notepad buttons, here are the links:

Keiji Notepad (Windows Live Toolbar)
Keiji Notepad (Google Toolbar)

Windows Live » ツールバーで遊んでみた

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 21:10:00 GMT

最近 Windows Live Toolbar 3.0 と Google Toolbar 4 がリリースされた。両方とも Custom Button という新しいボタンを XML を使って作ることができる機能を備えているので、試してみた。

まず Windows Live Toolbar から。Windows Live Gallery の開発者用のページから Custom Button SDK へ。 MSDN は情報量では言うことはないのだが、個人的に分かり易く書かれているとは思えない。Custom Button SDK も分かりづらかったので MSDN Button を参考に見ながら書いた。（Custom Button は \Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Microsoft\WLTB Custom Buttons にインストールされる。） XML ソースコードはこちら。スクリーンショットはこんな感じ：

さて次に Google Toolbar へ。 Button Gallery の API Documentation を読みながら作った。MSDN よりも全然分かり易く書いてあってすいすい書けたのはいいが、Live Toolbar と比べて機能的に劣っている。例えば Live Toolbar では RSS Feed をいくつか書けるが、Google Toolbar では一つだけ。あと、Google Toolbar ではメニューに RSS と普通のリンクの両方をのせることはできなかった。XML ソースコードはこちら。スクリーンショットはこんな感じ：

XML ベースなので本格的な開発者にはまだまだ API の質が足りないが、簡単にツールバーの機能を拡張できるのは便利だ。Keiji Notepad のボタンをインストールしたい方はこちらから：

Keiji Notepad (Windows Live Toolbar)
Keiji Notepad (Google Toolbar)

Misc » The next generation of computing

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 01:50:00 GMT

I read a Gartner report "A Road Map to the Next Era of Personal Computing". It describes the fundamental shift in personal computing that we are likely to experience between now until 2012. Here are some of the highlights:

2007-08: Platform Changes

The PC infrastructure is likely to undergo significant upgrades due to Windows Vista, Multi Core system, and hardware-based virtualization. There will be trend toward power efficiency and enhanced security. Vista will have corporate impact in 2008.

On the mobility side, we're likely to experience growth of notebook usage due to improved performance and longer battery life. In 2008, corporate spending on notebooks will begin to approach the level of spending for desktop. In addition, there will be a growing number of wireless devices with the introduction of the wireless USB.

2009-10: Virtualization

There will be a growing trend toward virtualizing all aspects of client environment, including software deployment, environment management and device interactions. In addition to the improvement in the virtualization technology itself, there will be two factors that drive the adoption of virtualization. The first is the acceptance of four- and eight-core chips in client system. Virtualization, along with natural language processing and search technology, is one of the applications that benefit the most from multi core systems. Second, an increasing number of users will use personally owned equipments as their day-to-day systems for work. Virtualization will be useful in establishing and managing work environment.

On the mobility side, continuing effort to extend battery life and improve form factor will provide all-day mobile computing. There will be a trend toward smaller, lighter notebook, including the "ultramobile" form factor.

2011-12: The User-Centric Era

In the next decade, the ability of users to carry their digital persona and preference between operating environments and devices will become commonplace. This trend will be facilitated through online centralized repositories and portable storage devices.

It is likely that users will increasingly communicate with verbal, visual and gesture-based forms of interactions with their computing devices.

While technology development in the last five years delivered only marginal benefits, those that will be implemented in the next five years (mainly through hardware developments) have the potential to provide substantial benefits.

Windows Live » Windows Live Toolbar: Introducing Smart Menu

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 00:04:00 GMT

Check out this great blog entry of Dennis, a PM in the Live Toolbar team. In my opinion this is by far the best feature of the Live Toolbar. It's worth installing the Live Toolbar just for SmartMenu and MapButton.

Office » The First Look at Office Live Beta

Fri, 01 Sep 2006 07:04:00 GMT

I spent some time playing with Office Live today. Office Live offers three main features - website design, collaboration applications, and business applications. Since I have an Office Live Basic account, which doesn't include the collaboration and business applications, I test-drove the site design feature of Office Live.

Though the functionality of Office Live was limitted at the moment (it is still in beta after all), I believe it has the potential to become a rich platform on which third-party developers can add new features. For website design, I'm sure we'll see many interesting web parts once the API becomes public. Office Live Developer Portal is a good place for developers to get ready.

From The Office Live Blog business applications is one of the areass which the development team seems to be focused on. I can't wait to try the final version.

Office » The Office Platform

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 22:20:00 GMT

I was introduced to Office IBF, Information Bridge Framework, which enables integration of Office with line-of-business data and operational information. Since knowledge workers are already familiar with many of the Office applications, including Outlook, Word and Excel, making it easy to access back-end data directly from Office is a great way to enhance productivity. IBF facilitates such development.

Duet, formerly known as Project Mendocino, is a great example of the power of Office integration. Using Duet, information workers can easily and quickly access SAP business data and processes from the Office environment. Duet.com has a great introductory video that demonstrates many of the benefits.

Simon Dale, who works in the Duet project, wrote a great blog "The Last Mile". It offers a new perspective on Office as a platform.

Web 2.0 » The World is Flat

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 08:06:00 GMT

I saw a great Webcast presentation by Thomas Friedman, the author of The World Is Flat. It offered interesting opinions and perspectives that were not covered in the book. There were also interesting questions from the audiences during Q&A.

As an interesting example of the Flat World, Friedman talked about an interesting experiment conducted by McDonald's. In the new experimental system, drive-through orders are not taken not by the workers in the store, but rather by someone else in a different location. The order is then routed back to the store where it will be fulfill and handed to the customer. The benefit of the new system? Lower rate of errors as a result of the separation of responsibilities. This kind of system was difficult to implement before the Flat World, but not in the new Flat World.

Friedman also talked about the shift of power from countries to companies to individuals. He gave a great example of how Southwest Airlines put this concept into action. About a year ago Southwest implemented a new system in which passengers can print their own boarding passes at 12:01am on the day of the departure. As a frequent Southwest flyer, I thought this was convenient, but didn't quite understand why Southwest did this. I always though Southwest's A-B-C seating system encouraged passengers to arrive to the airport early, which increases the likelihood of on-time departures. By allowing passengers to print their own boarding passes, I felt that Southwest passengers no longer have any incentive to arrive early. Friedman pointed out, however, that Southwest essentially turned its customers to its employees, ticket agents. This was a great example of the shift of power from a company to individuals. This is a win for customers as we don't need to waste time in the airport, and it is also a win for Southwest as it can lower its operation cost. As long as it doesn't cause any negative side-effects, such as more frequent flight delays, this system is a win-win for both Southwest and its customers. Judging from the fact that Southwest now allows boarding passes to be printed 24 hours before the flight (as opposed to 12:01am, which can be inconvenient), I think it is reasonable to believe that the system must be working well.

There were many interesting questions from the audiences during the Q&A session. During his presentation Friedman mentioned that Bill Gates had some comments, so there was a question about what those comments were. According to Friedman, Bill Gates thought that the book put too much emphasis on Open Source, which is understandable given that it threatens Microsoft's software business. Perhaps I'm biased, but I actually share Bill's viewpoint. Bill Gates also talked about the other half of the world that is not flat. Obviously Bill is very active on his foundation work, and I'm sure he's well aware of the issue.

There was an interesting question about education, a topic which Friedman discussed in depth in the book. Given that U.S. is not well-prepared for the Flat World, an audience asked what we can do in this field. Friedman offered two answers. The first is the importance of parenting. He talked about an interesting story of a school teacher in a PTA conference. The first family, an Asian family, asked the teacher to increase the amount of homework so that their child will study more. The second family, a European family, asked the teacher to put more emphasis on science education. The third family, from U.S., asked the teacher to reduce the amount of homework because their child is busy with soccer practice, piano lesson, and also, their child need time to chill :) In the Flat World, people in U.S. compete with people from countries with more discipline on education. The second point Friedman mentioned was the importance of the "ability to learn how to learn". He pointed out that because of the fast pace of change in the Flat World, the ability to self-learn new skills is more important than ever.

Friedman then talked a bit about U.S. immigration policy. Though U.S. is a country which benefited greatly from open immigration policies, the situation has changed since 9/11. Friedman fears that closing the country from immigration means no exchange of ideas, no collaboration, and no development of friendship. He is concerned about closing off what he calls "America's DNA" in the Flat World. At one point he mentioned that Ph. D students should receive diplomas with Green Cards stapled, which drew applause from the audience :)

I'll quickly recap Friedman's 10 Flatteners:

1. Windows: it became a platform on which individuals can author information
2. Netscape: it popularized the Internet as a platform to exchange information, and the dot-com era that followed caused over-investment of $1 trillion in building fiber optic network (which of course became the foundation of the Flat Wolrd)
3. Workflow: offered a way for applications to talk with each other

Based on those Flatteners came:

4. Outsourcing
5. Off-shoring
6. Uploading (Open Source, blogging, podcasting): this is the Architecture of Participation in Web 2.0
7. Supply-chaining: Friedman pointed out that "Wal-Mart is one of the largest companies in the world, but it doesn't make anything"
8. Insourcing: UPS insources Toshiba's technical support, Nike's online store, and Papa John’ logistics
9. Web search: individuals have more power to find information than ever before
10. Wireless and Mobility