Radio Bump

Wednesday, November 6, 2002

I've had about a week to process the information avalanche I experienced at Devcon. I took a lot away from the conference. Much of it was technical in nature, coding techniques, the use of the new technology in ColdFusion MX and Flash MX. Some of it was soft information, and relationships with incredibly smart people I would never have met otherwise. I would say, however, that the one thing that will stick with me the most is the concept of Rich Internet Applications. That is Macromedia's term, not mine. In my mind, what this is really is the natural evolution of Internet technology in a way that it now supports true client server type interaction. Now I should say, before you start sending me email that says I am wrong about this and that it is possible to create client serverish interactions using the DOM and DHTML, I know about that stuff. I know it really well because I have been working on the browser based rewrite of a manufacturing ERP system for the last six months. There are a ton of limitations doing this stuff with DHTML, not the least of which is that HTML based UI's just are not the best way to visually display some kinds of information, or the best way for users to interact with that information. Flash and Flash Remoting will give us the ability to do much of this stuff in an easier way. Cold Fusion Components will allow us to create objects with methods that are reusable, and this will lead to a more object oriented approach to our system development. I just wish we were using the MX platform now as I struggle with the creation of a manufacturing item creation interface. So that's what I took away in a nutshell.
2:08:45 PM

Apple released new portables today. Mmmm 1 Ghz. Mmmmm Superdrive. Too bad Robert does not have the money necessary to purchase one of these items.
1:59:08 PM

The Democrats got stomped yesterday, and the Republicans are now very comfortably in control of the country. While I choose not to directly associate myself with either party, I've always been more comfortable with the way our government was being run when each party had control of one of the major entities. I think that, from my perspective, the stomping the Democrats took has a lot to do with the lack of leadership and coherent messages from the Party itself. There were openings that they definitely did not execute on. The Republicans also seemed to outspend the Democrats. Perhaps they will get their shit together now. I doubt it though. I still find myself wishing for a legitimate third party. The barrier to entry makes this task a near impossible one.
10:05:40 AM

After exercising my right to vote last night and taking a brief nap, I headed out, by myself, to the Amon Tobin show at the Echo Lounge in East Atlanta. Bonobo was the first DJ up, and he rocked. His internationally influenced jazzy hip hop style got my feet a tapping. Next up was Strictly Kev of DJ Food fame. I don't know if I have ever seen a DJ who kept himself busier, lining one mix up after another and knocking them all down. Then there was a set, which was more scratching oriented, from P-Love. I wasn't familiar with him prior to the show, but he was really good, and technically solid. Finally, Amon Tobin hit the stage manning his Final Scrath Pro setup. He was great, creating these beat driven soundscapes that are really hard to describe. I had to leave before the end of his set, it being a school night and all, but I left wanting to stay.
10:00:33 AM