Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Web Components progress?

Many JavaScript frameworks and libraries are converging to concept of "web components"
but standardization is quite slow, so web code and content is not reusable.
If original web was so diverse, complex and custom, it would have never taken off with all benefits. 

The actual challenge is not efficiency of web development, but multi-modal communication,
including voice, VR, AR, MR etc. Smart web content should be able to auto-adapt for available interface, including M2M API-like communication.

WebComponents/ - W3C Wiki

Shadow DOM
Spec: Shadow DOM - W3C Editor's Draft
Tutorial: Shadow DOM 101 - HTML5Rocks

Custom Elements
Spec: Custom Elements - W3C Editor's Draft
Tutorial: Custom Elements v1 - Google Developers

HTML Imports
Spec: HTML Imports - W3C Editor's Draft
Tutorial: HTML Imports: #include for the web - HTML5 Rocks


Monday, October 30, 2017

Windows 10 "Fall Creators Update"

Microsoft naming of Windows 10 "Creators Updates" suggests that Windows computers are great for "creating content" as opposed to mostly "consuming content" from mobile devices like iOS and Android.

Windows 10, version 1709 now available - Microsoft Tech Community

As usual, this is a big update that replaces most of system files, similar as on mobile devices.
"Windows as a subscription" is now reality, and the changes are both frequent and large in size.

What's new in Windows 10, version 1709 | Microsoft Docs

"a list of some of the new and updated content that discusses IT Pro features in Windows 10, version 1709, also known as the Fall Creators Update. Windows 10, version 1709 also contains all features and fixes included in previous cumulative updates to Windows 10, version 1703."


Need to be confused a bit more? 
Actual version number of Windows 10.1709 is "10.0.16299.15"
and base "build number" is 16299.15.


Same version of Windows is available for Windows Server : 
When developing UWP (Universal Windows Platform) apps for Windows 10
the developer can select minimum level of features / version supported. 


"The Dream.Build.Play 2017 Challenge is pushing game makers to maximize their creativity and create experiences that engage gamers from across the world. This competition is open to all creators, working solo or in teams of up to seven. Create a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) game for one of the categories below by December 31, 2017, and you’ll have a chance to win cash prizes and share your game with the world."


Sunday, October 29, 2017

tutorial: building Cortana Skill

Getting Started: Building your first Cortana Skill using the Cortana Skills Kit in under an hour!
26.PNG

One Hour to your First Cortana Skill! | Coding4Fun Blog | Channel 9

Cortana Skills Kit Blog - Microsoft Tech Community


Hello World Podcast

A real treat for real geeks :)
100 interviews with great software developers.
Hello World Podcast

Hello World Podcast - Shawn Wildermuth's Rants and Raves

"Shawn Wildermuth brings you his "Hello World" podcast where we learn about how your favorite developers tell their story of how they got started writing software!"


mini-pc 4 IoT

mini-pc Archives - Liliputing

single board computer Archives - Liliputing

Asus Tinker Board is a Raspberry Pi-like mini PC with a RK3288 processor - Liliputing
4K video, $60


Rock64 is a quad-core, 4K-ready single-board PC for $25 and up - Liliputing

NanoPi NEO Plus2
$30

Windows 10 Core Starter Pack for Raspberry Pi 2 - Raspberry Pi


Azure IoT Developer Kit (MXChip, Arduino, WiFi, display, buttons)


image



Get the Azure IoT Developer Kit Now... | Coding4Fun Blog | Channel 9

Azure IoT Developer Kit: Sensor Overview – Build Azure
Built-in IoT Sensors:
  • Temperature
  • Humidity
  • Barometric Pressure
  • Magnetometer
  • Motion / Gyroscope

Order Azure IoT Developer Kit (AZ3166) on Amazon with FREE Shipping – Build Azure

Amazon.com: MXChip AZ3166 IoT DevKit Integrated with Microsoft Visual Studio, Azure, Arduino Software: Computers & Accessories
$39.00
  • "Build a cloud powered IoT app in minutes using Microsoft Azure services with this fully Arduino compatible board.
  • Develop quickly and seamlessly utilizing Visual Studio with the Arduino Extension
  • SoC module combines the power of the ST Microelectronics STM32F412 at its core and Cypress BCM43362 for WiFi.
  • On-board peripherals include an OLED screen, headphone output, stereo microphone and abundant sensors like humidity & temperature, pressure, motion (accelerometer & gyroscope) and magnetometer.
  • 25 external GPIO pins on the edge connector allow you to connect many external sensors and actuators."


Saturday, October 28, 2017

edu: MOOCs => Degrees

MOOCWatch #16: MOOC Providers Target Degrees — Class Central

"In the past year there has been a flurry of MOOC providers announcing online degrees or their plans for online degrees.

EdX announced their first online degree with Georgia Tech in January. Coursera announced two more online degrees (taking the total to four) in March, along with plans to offer up to twenty degrees by the end of 2019.




iMBA enrollments infographic

Udacity Official Declares MOOCs ‘Dead’ (Though the Company Still Offers Them) | EdSurge News

MOOCs Are Dead? | eLearningInside News
"Coursera, one of the first MOOC providers to switch to a more aggressive, for-profit model, found that, by charging for their courses, completion rates jumped from 10% to 60%. Udacity’s premium courses include a hiring guarantee. If students don’t land a job after six months of completing a course, the company will refund their tuition."


Counterpoint: MOOCs are neither dangerous nor dead (opinion)
"...today’s 7,000 MOOCs sweep a landscape that includes 700 universities and 60 million participants worldwide. Coursera, one of the leading MOOC providers, just raised $64 million for an overall $800 million valuation, putting it in “unicorn territory” of $1 billion. Grow with Google recently invested $1 billion to provide digital skills, part of which will be through Coursera certificates."


technology: Covered Bridges

"Technology is anything that wasn't around when you were born." - Alan Kay 

Now it is "effective AI" (Andrew Ng: "Why AI Is the New Electricity")
100+ years ago it was electricity (and cars, airplanes, telephone...)
200+ years ago it was "Covered Bridges"

On a beautiful autumn day we visited some nearby "covered bridges",
a standing testament of continuous usefulness of technology from many years ago.
But why they are built that way? Is it just to protect from snow and ice?

It is engineering craftsman solving technical challenges:
  • make a strong structure longer than available materials (wood beams) : Truss
  • protect the wood structure from degrading after 10-15 years
  • protect horses from being scared of large water below :)

Covered bridge - Wikipedia
Larrys Creek Covered Bridge.JPG

 Truss bridge - Wikipedia
 RRTrussBridgeSideView.jpg
Covered Bridge Map

Many "wood frame" houses are still build by using those simple techniques, despite all more advanced technology available today. It works and is reasonable affordable, but it does look like covered bridge compared with Golden Gate Bridge.

What should the technology of houses be now, at the age of effective AI?

Golden Gate Bridge as seen from Fort Point.jpg  The Valverde Wood Interior Framing
List of highest bridges - Wikipedia

Qualcomm IoT for Printers / security

A clever way to expand market for mobile ARM CPUs...
Next stop: PCs... Microsoft is already on board with ARM version of Windows...

Connected Cloud Printer Solutions | Print Management | Qualcomm

"Make anywhere printing a reality with smart printers and scanners that seamlessly connect to a variety of smartphones and tablets. Our system controller solutions make it easy for original equipment manufacturers (OEM) to build leading smart printer products. An effective print management solution, connecting printers and scanners to the Internet offers users the freedom and flexibility to print from across the room or across town and addresses the hassle of relying on a fixed computer for printing."


Printers - Imaging SoC - Products - Marvell

Hewlett-Packard Designates Printing A First-Class IoT Security Platform

This Teen Hacked 150,000 Printers to Show How the Internet of Things Is Shit - Motherboard
bot
Hacker hijacks thousands of publicly exposed printers to warn owners | PCWorld

"Stackoverflowin claims to be a high-school student from the U.K. who is interested in security research. He said that for the most part he simply sent print jobs using the Line Printer Daemon (LPD), the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) and the RAW protocol on communications port 9100 to printers that didn't require authentication."
Microsoft claims Windows 10 ARM battery life will be a ‘game-changer’ for laptops - The Verge





Friday, October 27, 2017

IoT security: Amazon Cloud Cam + Plan

Amazon Cloud Cam Indoor Security Camera, works with Alexa

Amazon.com: Cloud Cam Plan: Extended: Memberships and Subscriptions

"Do more with your Cloud Cam. Cloud Cam subscription plans unlock advanced computer vision algorithms that give Cloud Cam more intelligence. Additionally, Cloud Cam’s intelligence lives in the cloud, so advanced alerts and features are continuously being added."



architecture: Monolith to Microservice Evolution

Low-risk Monolith to Microservice Evolution Part I – Software Blog
Low-risk Monolith to Microservice Evolution Part II – Software Blog
Low-risk Monolith to Microservice Evolution Part III – Software Blog


About When Not to Do Microservices – Software Blog

illustrations by iPad app:
Paper & Pencil by FiftyThree


web: vueJS


back to simple and fast web development, with JavaScript program library:
vueJS 

Vue.js is a popular JavaScript front-end framework that was built to organize and simplify web development.
The project focuses on making ideas in web UI development (components, declarative UI, hot-reloading, time-travel debugging, etc.) more approachable. It attempts to be less opinionated and thus easier for developers to pick up."

URL that always redirects to latest version of vue.js
https://unpkg.com/vue

Axios is another library for making HTTP request from vue.js 
https://unpkg.com/axios/dist/axios.min.js


State of Vue.js · Monterail

A Comparative Study of Progressive JS Frameworks: Angular.js & Vue.js

podcast:









Thursday, October 26, 2017

book: The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google

Triangulation 320: Scott Galloway - YouTube

"Scott Galloway is the author of The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google. He talks with Jason Howell about how Apple became a luxury brand, why Amazon is so addictive, what makes Google the new god, and why Facebook should be shut down."



"...top 1% of captured 90% of the income gains since the Great Recession 
so it's never been easier to be a billionaire never been harder to be a millionaire "


The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google

The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google @Amazon
"Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google are the four most influential companies on the planet. Just about everyone thinks they know how they got there. Just about everyone is wrong.
...How did the Four infiltrate our lives so completely that they’re almost impossible to avoid (or boycott)? Why does the stock market forgive them for sins that would destroy other firms?"




Expert explains how Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook have made enormous wealth - Business Insider

summary/review:
The Future Of Amazon, Apple, Facebook And Google @ Forbes

Scott Galloway: Big tech is avoiding taxes and destroying jobs

Why Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google are so powerful [Video]
+ Microsoft, Netflix...

Scott Galloway (professor) - Wikipedia


a podcast and another book about the same 4 companies:

Reining In The Tech Giants | On Point
"The tech giants now who frame the workings of so much of our lives – Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple – have a range of reach beyond the industrial giants of the past. Into the most intimate corners of our lives. Across a huge spectrum of commerce, inquiry and communication."


Permissionless Innovation: The Continuing Case for Comprehensive Technological Freedom | Mercatus Center


WiFi WPA2: KRACKed security


Wi-fi symbol made out of clouds. Photo by Shutterstock

Episode 134: KRACKed security and a river of sensors – IoT Podcast – Internet of Things

"Security researchers disclosed a vulnerability in the Wi-Fi protocol that could cause problems for smart device owners. The details of the KRACK vulnerability:"


"Users are urged to continue using WPA2 pending the availability of a fix, experts have said, after security researchers went public with more information about a serious flaw in the wireless encryption protocol. So-called Key Reinstallation Attacks, aka KRACK, potentially work against all modern protected Wi-Fi networks....

It affects WPA2 Personal and Enterprise, regardless of the encryption ciphers used by a network. It mostly affects Linux and Android 6.0 and above, as well as macOS and OpenBSD. Windows and iOS are more or less unaffected due to the way they implement WPA2. Gadgets from Cisco, Linksys and other networking gear makers are also vulnerable. "



"The long short of all of this is: you're definitely affected in some way, it just depends on which devices you use as to how to protect yourself. The most important thing to do is check if all of your devices can be patched immediately: not just your router, but whatever you're using to get online too."


Here's the paper outlining the vulnerability with the full technical details:"Key Reinstallation Attacks: Forcing Nonce Reuse in WPA2" (PDF)

Krack Attacks (WiFi WPA2 Vulnerability) - Computerphile - YouTube
"Secure WiFi is broken - Dr Mike Pound & Dr Steve Bagley on the Krack Attack discovered by researchers in Belgium."

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Oracle Cloud: DaaS: Data as a Service

Oracle President Thomas Kurian Highlights Oracle’s Cloud Innovation at Oracle OpenWorld 2017

"Data as a Service: Powering Oracle Adaptive Intelligent Apps, Oracle Data Cloud enables them to learn, react and adapt in real time based on historical and dynamic customer data. This empowers marketers to quickly identify audiences, connecting their behaviors across devices and platforms—so they can deliver the right message, to the right customer—at the right time. Oracle Data Cloud, which is the largest data marketplace in the world, features a collection of more than 5 billion global consumer and business IDs and more than 7.5 trillion data points collected monthly."


Tuesday, October 24, 2017

quantum computing: Intel vs Google (vs. GPUs)


Google Aims to Demonstrate Quantum Supremacy with a 50-Qubit Processor

"In a paper published in Nature, Google has revealed its plans to demonstrate that quantum computers can perform a computational task beyond the capability of a classical computer, a claim known as quantum supremacy. Key in Google’s plan is building a 50-qubit processors to solve quantum sampling problems."




"While Intel executives say Moore's Law is doing fine, last year the MIT Technology Review declared that it was dead, and earlier this year Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the same thing."



Nvidia’s Huang predicts further advances to come from GPU computing.

by the way, all those fast GPUs come with a high price...

NVIDIA Tesla P100 Price Analysis | Microway
Tesla P100 SXM2 : 16GB : $9,428* : 5.3 TFLOPS : $1,779

Big Bang For The Buck Jump With Volta DGX-1


Microsoft just upped its multi-million bet on quantum computing | ZDNet

Amazon Echo (2nd gen)

Amazon Echo (2nd gen) review: smaller and cheaper, but mostly the same - The Verge
$99

AI: Azure Machine Learning (AML) news

Announcing tools for the AI-driven digital transformation | Blog | Microsoft Azure
  1. "the AML Workbench, a cross-platform client for AI-powered data wrangling and experiment management,
  2. the AML Experimentation service to help data scientists increase their rate of experimentation with big data and GPUs, and
  3. the AML Model Management service to host, version, manage and monitor machine learning models."
Diving deep into what’s new with Azure Machine Learning | Blog | Microsoft Azure
the data science workflow:
Business goals

Monday, October 23, 2017

SQL Server 2017 on Linux


Azure Podcast: Episode 200 - SQL on Linux

Video Indexer - Cognitive Video Indexing

SQL Server According to Bob – Come here for knowledge about SQL Server uniquely provided by the two Bobs at Microsoft

SQL Server 2017 is using same binary (.exe) on both Windows & Linux (!)
thanks to "drawbridge" technology from MS Research

Microsoft's SQL Server 2017 for Linux and Windows moves ahead with first Release Candidate | ZDNet

"Microsoft used the Microsoft Research "Drawbridge" technology to bring SQL Server to Linux."

Microsoft Azure: new logo, tagline & manifesto

Microsoft releases Azure Manifesto, refreshed logo for its cloud platform - Neowin

Ignite 2017: Microsoft Azure gets new logo, tagline | On MSFT

tagline: 'Azure. Cloud for all' 

Azure Manifesto - YouTube

Microsoft Azure Cloud Computing Platform & Services





AI transcriber: Video Indexer with Microsoft Cognitive Services

transcribes audio and video files, and then analyze "sentiment" of conversation (positive/negative)
currently a free trial

YouTube does similar transcription, but not (yet) suggesting the mood.

Microsoft Video Indexer - Unlock Video Insights
vi.microsoft.com

"Video indexer builds upon media AI technologies to make it easier to extract insights from videos. Power new forms of content discovery such as searching for spoken words, faces, characters, and emotions. Enrich your apps with embedded video insights to drive user engagement."

used by Azure Podcast: Episode 200 - SQL on Linux



Sunday, October 22, 2017

VS Code Tools for AI

Visual Studio Code Tools for Artificial Intelligence | Visual Studio

"Visual Studio Code Tools for AI is a cross-platform extension that supports deep learning frameworks including Microsoft Cognitive Toolkit (CNTK), Google TensorFlow, Theano, Keras, Caffe2 and more. You can use additional deep learning frameworks via the open architecture. Visual Studio Code Tools for AI leverages existing code support for Python, C/C++/C#, and supplies additional support for Cognitive Toolkit BrainScript."




Microsoft hones Azure AI Services at Microsoft Ignite 2017

Visual Studio Code Tools for AI - Visual Studio Marketplace

visual: Blockchains

interesting "literal" illustration :)

Blockchains: How They Work and Why They’ll Change the World - IEEE Spectrum
"The technology behind Bitcoin could touch every transaction you ever make"
img

related:
Top Secret? Microsoft Opens Door to Government Blockchain Use - CoinDesk

new book: "Leonardo da Vinci" by Walter Isaacson


Amazon.com: Leonardo da Vinci eBook: Walter Isaacson: Kindle Store

from same legendary author of books:

The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution: Walter Isaacson: 9781476708706: Amazon.com: Books

Steve Jobs: Walter Isaacson: 9781501127625: Amazon.com: Books

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (8601400226605): Walter Isaacson: Books

Einstein: His Life and Universe: Walter Isaacson: 9780743264747: Amazon.com: Books

Kissinger: A Biography: Walter Isaacson: 9780743286978: Amazon.com: Books


podcast interview with author, and free except from the book:

Decoding The Creative Genius Of Leonardo da Vinci | On Point



Virgin Hyperloop One

Introducing Virgin Hyperloop One | Hyperloop One

Virgin Group founder Richard Branson on space travel, the hyperloop and Donald Trump

Virgin Hyperloop One Reveals How It Got Richard Branson @ Frotune
"...Los Angeles-based startup recently raised $85 million in funding, including a newly-announced partnership with billionaire mogul Richard Branson and his Virgin Group—a move the now-called Virgin Hyperloop One says “provides external validation.”


Hyperloop One

Hyperloop Explained | Hyperloop One

Hyperloop One XP-1