Deploy Windows Applications with VMware ThinApp

VMware has a product called ThinApp (Wikipedia) (formerly Thinstall) which is an application virtualization and portable application creator suite by VMware that can package conventional applications so that they become portable applications. These thin apps virtualize the entire underlying Windows registry and device driver stack so that you can package and deploy portable applications on any type of storage device (i.e., USB drive, flash drive, etc...) Check it VMware Thinapp.

What makes ThinApp compeling is that users run applications on virtually any computer they have access to, including kiosk and hotel PCs. They won’t need to install software or device drivers and won’t need admin rights. Applications run directly from portable storage devices, including Flash drives.

Sounds promising... this is something to research in 2010.

Chrome on Linux Performance

I finally found the time to install, test and use Google Chrome (specifically Chromium) web browser for Linux. All I can say is wow! This browser is the fastest I have seen to date. In comparison to Firefox 3.5 on the same machine, this browser is blazingly fast. Especially YouTube for some reason. There apparently are some internal optimizations that Chrome implements or that YouTube exploits for video performance.

I installed the lastest Chromium on my Acer Aspire One Linux netbook and it just flies. Since doing this I have switched to using Chromium as my primary browser. The rough edges I see are Flash Player 10 support in some sites (like Hulu, Vevo) and some UI widget strangeness that are a minor annoyance. Overall, the lightning fast performance of Chrome on Linux far outweighs any of these minor annoyances which will be resolved as Chrome on Linux matures. Great job to the folks working on Chromium for Linux.

OS Dependency Dilemma

Google Chrome for Mac requires Mac OS X 10.5 or higher. The operating system version dependency appears to be universal today. I see these same issues on Windows (i.e., .NET 3.0/3.5 or greater requires XP or greater) and Linux also… Hmm… The announcement and wide spread release of Google Chrome OS in 2010 is just-in-time for mitigating the OS dependency dilemma. On my primary home machine, I plan to upgrade my MacBook to Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard so that I can use Chrome for Mac on it. I am currently running Mac OS X Tiger 10.4 since 2006 which is starting to show its age.

Based on the operating system dependencies and upgrade dilemma, it appears that operating systems now have a useful lifespan of approximately 2 years before you are forced to upgrade in order to the latest software to work (i.e., Google Chrome, Handbrake, etc.) For me, this used to be a 3-4 year lifecycle.

Anyway, I plan to upgrade to Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) on my MacBook over the Holiday break later this month.

The New Wave

I received my Google Wave account last month. After playing with it, I can see where Waves will be beneficial in the future. For the short-term, I think understanding the concept, technology, and potential will take some time for the 95% of today's users.

"The Completed Guide to Google Wave" is the first book I have seen published about Wave. It is available online and for $6 you can purchase a downloaded PDF e-book. The book talks about how Google didn't choose Wave's name for the reason you might assume—as a play on the idea of surfing the web. Its engineers were paying homage to writer and director Joss Whedon's brief but well-loved science fiction TV series, Firefly (2002-2003). Very cool!

Cloud-Based Detection of Malware and Viruses

The advent of cloud-computing brings with it the need to secure the cloud serveres for all internet enabled devices that will be accessing cloud services. In the "Enhanced Detection of Malware" article, the authors propose a cloud-based anti-malware/anti-virus architecture. The article goes into quite some detail and has some really good visualizations of the proposed architecture that Intel is researching. Intel has been researching these architectures for quite some time. The proposed Cloud Anti-virus Server component make sense.

This architecture makes extensive use of x86 virtualization leveraging Intel Virtualization Technology (Intel VT) and Intel Active Management Technology (Intel AMT) microprocessor capabilities. Here is a link to the OpenAMT site.

There is an excellent set of research resources in the references section of the article. This is a must read for anyone involved in systems administration, network engineering, systems engineering and security of networks.

Google Sites Data API

Google Sites is eventually going to be the cloud-based collaboration platform many companies use. This prediction just took on another facet with the recent release of the Google Sites Data API last week. The new API allows you to use Java, Javascript, .NET, PHP, or Python as the scripting languages to customize Google Sites to your needs. It is not only limited to Google Sites but to all of Google's online properties including YouTube, Sites, Docs, Calendar, Financial, Blogger, Health, Maps...

Web-based Diagramming!

While surfing the web found a few really nice web-based diagramming tools. Here they are
diagrammr
Diagramic
gliffy
websequencediagrams

Of these four, gliffy is the most polished. It is available in a basic (free) SaaS and premium (paid) SaaS application. All of these are excellent examples of web-based software leveraging the cloud and your web browser.

I played with each of them and really like gliffy since it can do all types of diagrams including flowcharts, floor plans, business activity, UML, network diagrams, org charts, etc. This is a whole new category of web-based applications that provide functionality previously limited to desktop diagramming applications like Visio, Dia, Gimp, OpenOffice, etc. This is definitely an emerging category to watch evolve and use.

Now only if gliffy could evolve and start importing Visio .vsd files... now that would be entirely impressive.

Botnets and New Defense Techniques

Recently, I read a really good article that describes advances in botnets, malware, bot-herding, and advances in defenses against this tuff. "The Dark Cloud: Understanding and Defending Against Botnets and Stealthy Malware" provides a good explanation of botnets, stealthy malware, and the sophisticated internet/web threats they represent in the future. It discusses several advanced concepts including: botnets, bot-herder, polymorphism, rootkitting, hyperjacking, etc..

The article makes an interesting analysis of the botnet Life-cycle. There are some really good diagrams.

TweetDeck First Impressions

I was looking for practical examples of Adobe AIR applications and recently discovered that TweetDeck is developed using Adobe AIR. Very cool. After downloading and installing it, I am impressed with Adobe AIR. I have been getting deeper into Adobe technologies (LiveCycle, Flex, AIR) preparing to develop a few RIA research prototypes and just experimenting with the Adobe stuff out of curiosity.

As a side note, TweetDeck is actually a decent application if you are a Twitter and/or Facebook user.

Chrome OS

After Google released Chrome last year, this was anticipated. They came out with a bang and I am looking forward to Chrome OS. It is a disruptive announcement and is indirect shot at Microsoft. The next 12-months is going to be very exciting as always. This is the da bomb announcement from Google this year. Google just has not stopped innovating in 2009.

This article has some very good points about Chrome OS admist all the media buzz, FUD, and propoganda from all sides.

Web-based Screen Casting with ScreenJelly

I just saw this on Chris Parillo's CNN video blog and it is quite impressive. Check out ScreenJelly. Screenjelly records your screen activity with your voice so you can spread it as a video via Twitter or email. Use it to quickly share cool apps or software tips, report a bug, or just show stuff you like. To start recording, click on the red button. No need to install or download anything!

Now this is really cool and is a yet another web-based technology moving us closer and closer to the cloud.

Google Voice

Google Voice will be a really useful service that is the successor to GrandCentral. Can't wait.

The Decline of Blogs?

"The end of blogging" is an interesting article that raises some key observations in my own behavior towards blogging after joining Facebook and Twitter earlier this year. I have to agree with the author that I have noticed that I am not blogging as much this year (2009) either. Is this a trend or just natural selection occurring?

If blogging is making journalism obsolete and FB and Twitter are making blogging obsolete, then where are we now with even shorter attention spans and bursts of ideas on these new social networks? I have noticed that even my blog entries are getting shorter this year. Wow! Innovation is great. Wonder where we will be in 2010?

Ok, this was more questions than anything else but I am getting long winded on this blog so see my FB postings or my tweets on Twitter... later.

Google Wave!

Just finished watching the Google Wave Preview video. Wow! Innovation at its finest. This is really going to change things on the web.

Create Your Own Social Network with Ning

Just when you though social networking was already getting saturated, a new idea rises up to the top of the visibility scope, Ning. I actually saw this on CNN (Ning: The future of online social networking?) and this social network is one with a slightly different twist. This one is focused on your common interests. It makes sense. It differentiates itself from Facebook and MySpace which focus on friends and family. Let's see what happens over the course of the next year.

Oracle Acquires Sun

Wow, I did not see this one coming at all. My initial reaction is that it is a good strategic acquisition for Oracle, bad for MySQL, and ok for Java. I have concerns about NetBeans and GlassFish though. As for Java, with Apache Software Foundation, Eclipse Foundation, and the open source momentum Java has, I think everything Java will be fine.

Steaming Video Steps up the Game

Just a few days ago, YouTube announced af few deals with Sony, Universal, and is in talks with other content providers. They just opened their Shows and Movies capabilities this weekend. I just watched two indie movies, "10 mph - Seattle to Boston" and "Electric Purgatory", on it and am impressed. I think they just stepped up their game with Hulu. "YouTube boosts full-length movies, TV show lineup"

I can't wait for the premium music site, Vevo, that YouTube is creating with Universal. This will be disruption to the music video business. I got into Hulu the 1st of January of this year and never looked back. Hulu has changed the way I view TV shows. YouTube just made the field of streaming video all more interesting.

Google AppEngine now with Java!

I have been waiting for this announcement since Google released AppEngine. The App Engine Java Overview is a good starting point. Based on an initial skimming of the site, it looks like Google has got a winner with Java support.

Google AppEngine support for Java includes servlets, JSPs, Eclipse, Groovy and more. For persistence it support Java Data Objects (JDO) and Java Persistence API (JPA) as interfaces to BigTable. For more info see the Getting Started:Java page.

Data Preservation and Ancient Egypt

Do you have all those old floppy disks, CDRWs, or obsolete mass storage devices (Bernoulli, Zip100, Zip250, etc.) laying around somewhere with no devices to access them? If you have been involved in computing for more than 15-years, then you probably do. There is an interesting posting about how the Egyptians and ancients got it right. "Data Preservation and How Ancient Egypt Got it Right".

This has been a problem I have experienced in the past 15-years. Every new digital format means converting of translating all your archived data from one digital format to the next. Whether it is in a database, compressed files, obsolete file formats, or other it is a problem. I recently experienced this looking for a EasyCASE model of an application that was developed in the mid 1990s.

To my surprise, finding the model in the configuration management system was a challenge. Then finding the valid license keys for the EasyCASE software took a few days. This is only for modeling information that is slightly older than 10-years.

Data presevation and archaeology of our digital information is going worsen and become a challenge in the next few decades.

Java, IBM, and Sun

An article about IBM purchasing Sun written in 2002 is surprisingly relevant to today's current news. "When Will IBM Buy Sun?" published in April 2002 identified all the reasons why it made good strategic sense for IBM back then. The bottom line, it is all about Java. Just as analysts and bloggers today are debating.

On the surface level, it makes sense. Sun is figuring out how to monetize its Java technology and IBM is monetizing its Java quite well. IBM has been on an acquisition spree these past few years adding to its portfolio making some very strategic and sometimes unexpected purchases (i.e. Telelogic, Cognos). Will IBM do it in 2009? We will know later this year.

Disruption in the Gaming World, OnLive

The game console war between PS3, Xbox360, and Wii may have been disrupted. OnLive, is a new on-line gaming business model that is seven years in the making! The article, "OnLive could threaten XBox360, PS3, and Wii", describes the new player. OnLive is created by WebTV founder, Steve Perlman and former EIDOS CEO Mike McGarvey. So it has some heavy hitters behind it and has gained interest from EA, Ubisoft, Atari, and others.

OnLive uses the cloud/web delivery model. It works on any internet capable device. Currently supporting PCs, Macs, and web enabled TVs. Impressive! This one to watch. OnLive just may be a game changer if it can deliver on its promises.

Software Wars

This is a great visualization of the Software Wars where the Empire of Microsoft is at war with Everyone. It provides a really nice view of the many fronts and players in the software universe over the past 11 years (since 1998). Here is the most current map. It is really interesting to compare this to the first map back in March 1998.

MVC Web Frameworks and .NET in 2009

MS just released ASP.NET MVC RC2 yesterday which requires .NET 3.5 SP1. I can now see a dependency between the two. This stuff is still not entirely stable yet. This is in contrast to how Java MVC frameworks are not necessarily dependent on JDK updates. So it appears that ASP.NET MVC and the .NET 3.5 framework are co-dependent. This is not a good thing for stability and is bit on the accidental-edge. From where I sit, it looks like MS is back to its usual tactics with using the underlying framework (or OS, or API, or whatever) to remain in the drivers seat. It looks like ASP.NET MVC is driving the change to the .NET 3.5 framework.

Note: .NET 3.5 was released in Nov2007. .NET 3.5 SP1 was released in Nov2008.

The Microsoft Entity Framework, aka ADO.NET Entity Framework, implements the Model aspect of ASP.NET MVC and is tightly coupled to .NET 3.5 SP1. Based on a few blogs, it appears that MS is having problems with their MVC implementation “Testers give Microsoft’s Entity Framework a no-confidence vote” as late as June 2008. Here we are in March 2009 after 9-months and it is still an evolving work in progress.

In contrast, MVC webapp frameworks in Java (since 2000) and many Web2.0 languages (PHP, Ruby) have been around for years.

ASP.NET MVC is still trying to get out of the gates. Looks like Microsoft came to MVC party after the cleanup was done. At least they showed up. I recall looking for MVC webapp frameworks for .NET back in 2005-2006 and found nothing at the time.

Google Ocean

The folks at Google just keep innovating. They recently added bathymetric information and visualization to Google Earth. This is very cool. You can now see the terrain and contours of the Earth's oceans. In Google Earth 5, they have also enhanced the layering capabilities which is very impressive.

Source Code Analysis and Metrics

While researching tools, I stumbled upon a tool, Understand 2.0 http://www.scitools.com/products/understand/ which provides an impressive set of capabilities and source code visualizations, is multi-lingual and multi-platform.

The required critical capabilities are

• Multi-Lingual support.
• Searchable code structural visualization (something like this http://scitools.com/blog/2008/12/yes-searching-in-graphs.html)
• Rapid navigation for purposes for maintenance/support of inherited systems
• Vulnerability scanning (for Information Assurance purposes)

Driving Factors

• The tasks of static and dynamic code analysis, architecture recovery and visualization (from the code), code structural analysis, extracting other metrics (cyclomatic complexity, maintainability, other measurements defined by SEI) is an important part of a lot of projects.
• Frequently one tool would not cover all needs (and languages) and we normally deal with a combination of several tools both commercial and free/opensource

List of tools that researched (not an exhaustive list, just a compilation after about a day's worth of researching)

Commercial

• Aivosto
• Coverity (multi-lingual))
• JHawk (Java)
• Lattix (.NET)
• NDepend (.NET)
• PC-Lint
  
• Rational Software Architect (multi-lingual) -built-in capabilities. (Eclipse based)
  
• Understand (multi-lingual)
• Visual Studio (multi-lingual) - built-in capabilities, plugins.
  

Free/Open source

• Eclipse (multi-lingual) - built-in capabilities, plugins.
• FindBugs (Java)
• IBM Structural Analysis for Java (SA4J) - very impressive structural visualization.
• JDepend (Java)
• NetBeans (multi-lingual) - - built-in capabilities, plugins.
• PMD (Java)
• SourceMontor (multi-lingual) -creates nice Kiviat diagrams.

The bottom line is that source code analysis/metrics tools are plentiful in both the commerical and open source markets. You have to define what your requirements are, do the necessary research to devise a solution set of tools and techniques, and then resolve your problem.