Are we finally going to get rid of the relational database?
February 12, 2008
Well, not anytime soon. But for those of us working and thinking outside the parameters of conventional enterprise software, LAMP stacks and so forth, some alternatives are emerging. I am only beginning to take a look at these. In particular I am interested in high availability in the cloud. Now that comes with its own unique set of challenges, not least of all coming to grips with losing the ‘C’ in ACID. Dare Obasanjo has captured this challenge in his post When Databases Lie. More challenges and opportunities are documented by Charles Ying in What You Need To Know About Amazon SimpleDB.
Way back in 1999 I tried to shed relational database by using quite a few good object relational databases. It was a liberating experience, and I grew and learned by making some bad mistakes, including making the data unsearchable. I think that is a lesson I can carry forward when looking at the new breed of high availability, on-demand scalable candidates. You do have to build your own indexes for text search.
Today we have more reason to look beyond relational databases. They just don’t work that well in the cloud.
At SynthaSite, we will be building prototypes around some of the candidates out there. These include Mnesia, SimpleDB, CouchDB as well as abstractions like Elastra. We will also be taking a long hard look at using data store alternatives if the requirements are simple enough. MogileFS is a candidate in this regard.
I am working with a great team, which helps when grappling with these things. In particular I am enjoying working with Neil for whom I have had great respect over the years, but until now I have not had the opportunity to work closely with.
Neil is also the one who gave me shove to start blogging again.
Linux powers Boeing entertainment
May 17, 2007
On a Boeing 777 flight across the Atlantic, Nathan Zeldes noticed during a ‘reboot’ of the video entertainment system that it was being powered by Linux. He posted this discovery on an Intel blog. He thinks it was a Red Hat distro.
Is ‘Better Gmail’ really better?
May 15, 2007
I have been using the Better Gmail Firefox extension for the last month since reading about it on Lifehacker. It is an amalgamation of various Greasemonkey scripts that scratch Gmail itches. I like it, and you are able to turn the different functions on/off as well as customise them.
Is it better than the real thing? I think so - let me know if you agree.
SA Blogger going to Google SoC
April 12, 2007
South African technologist and blogger Charl van Niekerk just posted that his Joomla-related entry to Google Summer of Code has been accepted. Here you can see the project he will be working on. Having South Africans working at the bleeding edge of innovation backed by resources as large as Google’s is fantastic. I am interested to explore how many other Africans are involved.
If you know of others let me know.
Upcoming Web 2.0 event
April 12, 2007
I am cautiously optimistic about the First Tuesday event coming up on 8 May 2007. The First Tuesday site itself does not have much detail, but the announcement on bizcommunity.com says it will cover Web 2.0 marketing and what it means for South Africa. The blurb is ‘Vinny Lingham, founder and chief strategy officer of incuBeta, will provide an insightful view on the offline and online marketing markets and the paradigm shift in spending that is going on around the world’.
First Tuesday also met early April to discuss “Web 2.0″, though I only heard about that event after the fact, via bloggers who had attended. The First Tuesday site itself does not even seem to mention it - the last ‘past event’ mentioned is way back in 2005.
I have never been to a First Tuesday event, but I will give this upcoming one a try. If the ‘business think tank’ is having a comeback, I will welcome it. And maybe volunteer to get their web presence a little more dynamic.
Let me know if any of you have First Tuesday experience. Hope to see you there.
“The best way to predict your future is to create it”
April 9, 2007
Abraham Lincoln originally said this, according to quoteworld.org. I don’t know what triggered my memory of this quote, but I woke up thinking it and how apt it is on so many levels, but particularly when it comes to how we are going to be using software from now on.
For the first time in the history of software users (and I don’t mean corporate software buyers or developers) can input into what and how software will form part of their lives. And it will be a part of their lives, via a mobile phone or television, or through sharing videos and photos, all the way through to paying taxes and writing novels. Users are going to be slammed with choice, methods of feedback, and the simple option of terminating one service and moving to another without downtime or loss of data.
It poses a very special challenge to those who want to deliver these software services.
Update
I discovered the unconscious source of the Abraham Lincoln quote trigger - I read a blog entry the previous day which contained a similar quote.
Searching for a Web 2.0 community in South Africa
April 7, 2007
It was only two weeks ago that I managed to have my first face-to-face conversation with a South African who knew what web 2.0 was. In fact we even had some common vision about how it could impact South Africa. It felt wonderful and real sitting at Greens eating fishcakes and speculating about Web 2.0 Enterprise in Southern Africa. Granted, he had just spent a number of years in Europe, but still.
Since then I have been taking yet another look at the market and players in the space, and am pleasantly surprised to see that there is some movement and presence. Watch this space to hear more.
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