This just in. The folks at Arc90 Lab have created a Flex REST service AS3 (ActionScript 3) library. I haven't downloaded it yet but be assured I will. You can get it here.
Basement.org states:
"We're also big fans of Adobe's Flash and Flex platforms. Unfortunately, AS3 isn't exactly REST-friendly out of the box. There's some HTTP support, but we needed more robust support for REST. To remedy this, we've built our own AS3 library: RESTService. It's a "class that makes fully aware HTTP service calls. Fault and Result events contain all response headers and status messages, as well as the response body." It even supports HTTPS by leveraging the AS3 Crypto Framework"
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Adobe Flash Lite Shipments Pass Half Billion Mark
According to SDA Times, Adobe's Flash Lite mobile shipments have surpassed the half billion mark. This means over 500,000,000 devices worldwide from manufacturer's including LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson have now been shipped carrying the mobile version on Flash. Adobe’s Flash Lite Player runtime specifically designed for mobile devices. According to Adobe, Flash Lite has seen over 150 % growth over the last year.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Flex Builder Free for Education!
Adobe recently expanded the free Flex Builder offering for Education. The information below describes the details. If you're a student or staff at an education facility, get this offer!!
The offer:
Effective March 3, 2008 all education customers, including staff, faculty and students can now download Flex Builder 3 Professional for free. This offer is for download-only product and requires a valid serial number to activate the trial version of Flex Builder. Education customers will need to register to receive their free Flex Builder serial number at www.flexregistration.com . All applications will be processed within one week. This registration site and serial number distribution is managed by a third party vendor for Adobe.
Eligibility
All education customers are eligible for free pricing. WOOT!!
Customer Service
If you don't receive a serial within one week of submission, contact customer service by emailing info@flexregistration.com
The offer:
Effective March 3, 2008 all education customers, including staff, faculty and students can now download Flex Builder 3 Professional for free. This offer is for download-only product and requires a valid serial number to activate the trial version of Flex Builder. Education customers will need to register to receive their free Flex Builder serial number at www.flexregistration.com
Eligibility
Customer Service
Monday, March 17, 2008
What you need to know about SPAM
I am not sure if this is a badge of honor to be worn or not, but it appears that one or more of the spammers I have been threatening have been busy spoofing my name as the "sent from" field in their latest spam campaigns. Needless to say, if you have received a message purporting to be from me which is spam, I can assure you I did not send it. Expand the headers and read and you will see this is true. Yours truly has been targeted by spammers, likely as retribution for my actions against the spammers.
I hate spammers. I will hunt them down and punish them whenever possible. They are responsible for more lost time (including writing this blog article) and more waste of network traffic than any other form of life on the planet.
Spammers are the lowest form of life on our planet to boot. Most of them are only the second generation in their bloodline to walk upright and have relatives who still live in trees.
Spammers - too bad you are too chicken to stand in front of me and tell me you are a spammer. You'd find out very fast that some of the advantages of NOT spamming include never having to use the phrase "I have no teeth left". OK - I am not advocating vigilante justice, but I like to fantasize.
Until then my fellow brethren, keep fighting against spammers. Together we can eliminate this menace from our society. Some points of interest:
1. Know what the anti spam laws are in your country. Keep a record and find out if you can pursue these idiots financially.
2. If your country does not have laws, start some or get involved in the process.
3. Contact companies that are the source of spam and threaten them. Tell them you will NEVER do business with them. Report them to the authorities in their country and tell them what their actions have done to tarnish that nations image. Set up an "advertising" contract such as the one on the comments page for this blog and send them invoices threatening to sue if you don't get paid. Take legal action and garnish the money owed to the spammer.
4.Do whatever you can to make their lives miserable. I have sent several messages to the central Chinese Ministry telling them about Sunjun (see bottom of comments here), one spammer Falun Gong activities. This is highly illegal in China and some have even been put to death for this. This sounds drastic however these people hurt the entire world. We all make less money as a result of their actions which in turn hurts people in developing and transitioning economies. If words like "Nigeria" get stripped as spam, how the heck can people in that country who are trying to use the internet to develop their economies able to survive? It hurts us all. Note that according to State Department reports, people who have responded to “pay in advance ” solicitations have been beaten, subjected to threats and extortion, and in some cases, murdered.
5. If you know a spammer, make them stop. Let them know exactly what you think of them and how others will react. There is a small percentage of spam that appears to be generated by otherwise well meaning people who are just unfamiliar with internet etiquette.
6. If the spam is illegal, report it to the authorities. For example, child pornography, Nigerian Scams, illegal ripped software can all be reported. Most software companies have an anti piracy team (Adobe's is piracy@adobe.com). If it is a phishing scheme or other illegal scheme, report it to the government. The USA has several places set up to handle this including the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission and others.
7. Specific to Nigerian or 409 scams:
If you receive a letter from Nigeria asking you to send personal or banking information, do not reply in any manner. Send the letter to the U.S. Secret Service, your local FBI office, or the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. You can also register a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel.
If you know someone who is corresponding in one of these schemes, encourage that person to contact the FBI or the U.S. Secret Service as soon as possible.
Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as Nigerian or foreign government officials asking for your help in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts.
Do not believe the promise of large sums of money for your cooperation.
Guard your account information carefully.
There is so much more I can write but I am going to spend my time trying to track down the filth who used my email address to spoof spams this weekend. I will find him and punish him.
8. If the deal is too good to be true, it isn't true! You may think you are buying a discount copy of Windows Vista or Adobe Photoshop, but you are not. What happens is the criminals who advertise this simply take your personal information and GIVE YOU NOTHING IN RETURN. Think about it. They are already breaking the law. Why would they even bother to send you a link to download the software. Why not just take your personal information and use it to punish you. After all, you cannot report it to authorities if you are involved in perpetuating a crime too (buying bootlegged software is illegal in most countries and punishable by jail time and fines). These spammers simply take your credit card and personal information and sell it or use it to hurt you more.
This post may seem like a bit of a rant, but spammers would not spam if it didn't work. Hunt them down and punish them.
I hate spammers. I will hunt them down and punish them whenever possible. They are responsible for more lost time (including writing this blog article) and more waste of network traffic than any other form of life on the planet.
Spammers are the lowest form of life on our planet to boot. Most of them are only the second generation in their bloodline to walk upright and have relatives who still live in trees.
Spammers - too bad you are too chicken to stand in front of me and tell me you are a spammer. You'd find out very fast that some of the advantages of NOT spamming include never having to use the phrase "I have no teeth left". OK - I am not advocating vigilante justice, but I like to fantasize.
Until then my fellow brethren, keep fighting against spammers. Together we can eliminate this menace from our society. Some points of interest:
1. Know what the anti spam laws are in your country. Keep a record and find out if you can pursue these idiots financially.
2. If your country does not have laws, start some or get involved in the process.
3. Contact companies that are the source of spam and threaten them. Tell them you will NEVER do business with them. Report them to the authorities in their country and tell them what their actions have done to tarnish that nations image. Set up an "advertising" contract such as the one on the comments page for this blog and send them invoices threatening to sue if you don't get paid. Take legal action and garnish the money owed to the spammer.
4.Do whatever you can to make their lives miserable. I have sent several messages to the central Chinese Ministry telling them about Sunjun (see bottom of comments here), one spammer Falun Gong activities. This is highly illegal in China and some have even been put to death for this. This sounds drastic however these people hurt the entire world. We all make less money as a result of their actions which in turn hurts people in developing and transitioning economies. If words like "Nigeria" get stripped as spam, how the heck can people in that country who are trying to use the internet to develop their economies able to survive? It hurts us all. Note that according to State Department reports, people who have responded to “pay in advance ” solicitations have been beaten, subjected to threats and extortion, and in some cases, murdered.
5. If you know a spammer, make them stop. Let them know exactly what you think of them and how others will react. There is a small percentage of spam that appears to be generated by otherwise well meaning people who are just unfamiliar with internet etiquette.
6. If the spam is illegal, report it to the authorities. For example, child pornography, Nigerian Scams, illegal ripped software can all be reported. Most software companies have an anti piracy team (Adobe's is piracy@adobe.com). If it is a phishing scheme or other illegal scheme, report it to the government. The USA has several places set up to handle this including the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission and others.
7. Specific to Nigerian or 409 scams:
If you receive a letter from Nigeria asking you to send personal or banking information, do not reply in any manner. Send the letter to the U.S. Secret Service, your local FBI office, or the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. You can also register a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel.
If you know someone who is corresponding in one of these schemes, encourage that person to contact the FBI or the U.S. Secret Service as soon as possible.
Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as Nigerian or foreign government officials asking for your help in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts.
Do not believe the promise of large sums of money for your cooperation.
Guard your account information carefully.
There is so much more I can write but I am going to spend my time trying to track down the filth who used my email address to spoof spams this weekend. I will find him and punish him.
8. If the deal is too good to be true, it isn't true! You may think you are buying a discount copy of Windows Vista or Adobe Photoshop, but you are not. What happens is the criminals who advertise this simply take your personal information and GIVE YOU NOTHING IN RETURN. Think about it. They are already breaking the law. Why would they even bother to send you a link to download the software. Why not just take your personal information and use it to punish you. After all, you cannot report it to authorities if you are involved in perpetuating a crime too (buying bootlegged software is illegal in most countries and punishable by jail time and fines). These spammers simply take your credit card and personal information and sell it or use it to hurt you more.
This post may seem like a bit of a rant, but spammers would not spam if it didn't work. Hunt them down and punish them.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
LiveCycle ES wins Dr. Dobbs award.
LiveCycle Enterprise Suite has been announced as a "Productivity Winner" for the "Enterprise Tools" category
of the Dr. Dobb's 18th Annual Jolt Awards. Winners will be featured in the June issue of Dr. Dobb's Journal.
The full list of winners is published here:
http://www.drdobbs.com/blog/portal/archives/2008/03/jolt_award_winn.html
SOA the real winner?
What is interesting is that this really represents the business value of SOA to the enterprise. While not specifically discussed in terms of SOA and BPM, the Jolt awards really emphasize products that have "jolted" the industry in the past year. LiveCycle Enterprise Suite is a clear choice as it represents the third major evolution of Adobe's enterprise platform. While most people were only "talking" of "registry-repository" back in 2003, Adobe had one in LiveCycle 6.0. While people talked about Service orchestration and aggregation (composition), Adobe LiveCycle 7.0 delivered. While people talked about SOA Governance, LiveCycle BAM (Business Activity Monitoring) delivered the goods again.
Winners of the Jolt awards are selected by judges consisting of industry insiders, columnists, and technology leaders. It does not surprise me that our enterprise suite captured another award and recognition. Adobe has been heavily involved in SOA standards, web services work, and business process management standards for a while.
With that said, if anyone out there wants to give it a go, I have a few LiveCycle ES developer DVDs left. Ping me (dnickull at adobe dot com) with your mailing address and I'll send one out.
of the Dr. Dobb's 18th Annual Jolt Awards. Winners will be featured in the June issue of Dr. Dobb's Journal.
The full list of winners is published here:
http://www.drdobbs.com/blog/portal/archives/2008/03/jolt_award_winn.html
SOA the real winner?
What is interesting is that this really represents the business value of SOA to the enterprise. While not specifically discussed in terms of SOA and BPM, the Jolt awards really emphasize products that have "jolted" the industry in the past year. LiveCycle Enterprise Suite is a clear choice as it represents the third major evolution of Adobe's enterprise platform. While most people were only "talking" of "registry-repository" back in 2003, Adobe had one in LiveCycle 6.0. While people talked about Service orchestration and aggregation (composition), Adobe LiveCycle 7.0 delivered. While people talked about SOA Governance, LiveCycle BAM (Business Activity Monitoring) delivered the goods again.
Winners of the Jolt awards are selected by judges consisting of industry insiders, columnists, and technology leaders. It does not surprise me that our enterprise suite captured another award and recognition. Adobe has been heavily involved in SOA standards, web services work, and business process management standards for a while.
With that said, if anyone out there wants to give it a go, I have a few LiveCycle ES developer DVDs left. Ping me (dnickull at adobe dot com) with your mailing address and I'll send one out.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Adobe Reader beta program open to you!
Interested in participating in the Adobe Reader Beta Program? It's the best way to get an early peak at future versions of the product and provide valuable feedback into the development process.
We're accepting participants now. Just CLICK HERE to sign up. Thanks!
We're accepting participants now. Just CLICK HERE to sign up. Thanks!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
6 Adobe AIR Apps Worth a Look
Adobe's AIR platform allows developers to create web applications that run on your desktop without the need of a web browser. Now that AIR has dropped the beta tag (see our previous coverage), it's time to look at some of the AIR apps you can use today.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Adobe joins SQLite! More Open Source/Standards moves!
As reported at http://opensource.adobe.com, Adobe has joined with Mozilla and Symbian to support the work of the SQLite Consortium to help ensure free, open access and development of SQLite. Adobe uses SQLite within many of its products and recognizes the importance of providing support for technology and tools that are open source because of its value to the entire developer and software communities.
This follows on the heels of a rash of Open Source and Open Standards initiatives by the software company in the last few years. Adobe donated the PDF standard to ISO which is now ISO standard 32000. Adobe has open-sourced the core Flex SDK and Blaze Data Services under various GNU based licenses. It was less than 24 months ago when we also donated core Actionscript Virtual Machine code to the Mozilla Tamarin project. We have also pledged to contribute back to the Webkit HTMl engine project when we work on that code base.
All of this makes me proud to work for a company that understand the importance of the software community.Important notes about Adobe AIR
Yesterday, Adobe officially launched version 1.0 of the Adobe Integrated Runtime or AIR. As anticipated, the press have given it justice however there are a few facts that need to be illustrated to help developers who want to give it a try.
What I encourage developers to do.
Download both the latest version of Adobe AIR and the latest version of Flex Builder from Adobe labs to ensure you are up to date.
Why AIR code samples might not work.
All AIR applications use a descriptor XML file to describe the application and link resources. During the last few beta drops of AIR, the schema for this file changed a bit. If you try to build someone's code samples with a newer version, the project might not actually build. In fact, the observed behavior is that nothing happens.
What can you do?
To mitigate this, in Flex Builder (available for free trial 60 day download on Adobe labs), simply set up a new project by clicking "File -> New -> Flex Project". To make an AIR project, make sure you select the correct type of project by selecting the AIR option in the second screen. Make sure you are on the latest builds.
Open up the source code of the project you want to try in an ordinary text editor and cut and paste the code into your MXML base document for the project. Be sure not to write over the top level XML element until you are sure that the project is using the same namespace value and root element consistent with your version of Flex Builder. Pay close attention to the root element. In most up to date (1.0) AIR applications, it should look like this:
<mx:windowedapplication mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" layout="absolute" applicationcomplete="init()" backgroundcolor="0x003030" focusrect="false">
<mx:script>
</mx:script>
</mx:windowedapplication>
Once this is done, try saving your project and eliminate any duplicate root elements etc until all errors go away.
Note: for pure AS3, HTML and other projects the process is a bit more complicated. Consult the documentation.
Alternatively:
If the project you want to install is a zip archive, try importing it by using the "File -> Import -> Flex Project". This should allow you to import the project and FB3 should correct.
What I encourage developers to do.
Download both the latest version of Adobe AIR and the latest version of Flex Builder from Adobe labs to ensure you are up to date.
Why AIR code samples might not work.
All AIR applications use a descriptor XML file to describe the application and link resources. During the last few beta drops of AIR, the schema for this file changed a bit. If you try to build someone's code samples with a newer version, the project might not actually build. In fact, the observed behavior is that nothing happens.
What can you do?
To mitigate this, in Flex Builder (available for free trial 60 day download on Adobe labs), simply set up a new project by clicking "File -> New -> Flex Project". To make an AIR project, make sure you select the correct type of project by selecting the AIR option in the second screen. Make sure you are on the latest builds.
Open up the source code of the project you want to try in an ordinary text editor and cut and paste the code into your MXML base document for the project. Be sure not to write over the top level XML element until you are sure that the project is using the same namespace value and root element consistent with your version of Flex Builder. Pay close attention to the root element. In most up to date (1.0) AIR applications, it should look like this:
<mx:windowedapplication mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" layout="absolute" applicationcomplete="init()" backgroundcolor="0x003030" focusrect="false">
<mx:script>
</mx:script>
</mx:windowedapplication>
Once this is done, try saving your project and eliminate any duplicate root elements etc until all errors go away.
Note: for pure AS3, HTML and other projects the process is a bit more complicated. Consult the documentation.
Alternatively:
If the project you want to install is a zip archive, try importing it by using the "File -> Import -> Flex Project". This should allow you to import the project and FB3 should correct.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Flash on the iPhone?
As reported by the Alley Insider, Flash is coming to the iPhone. An article posted today reads:
"More than half a year after its launch, Apple's iPhone is set to get an app it should have had from the beginning: Adobe's Flash plug-in." You can read the whole article here:
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/2/adobe_flash_coming_soon_to_apple_iphones
Gearbox also reports the same but I am skeptical having not seen either Apple nor Adobe issue any statement. The rumor buzzmill is running at half capacity. Once again, we have to wait and see if there is any truth behind it.
"More than half a year after its launch, Apple's iPhone is set to get an app it should have had from the beginning: Adobe's Flash plug-in." You can read the whole article here:
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/2/adobe_flash_coming_soon_to_apple_iphones
Gearbox also reports the same but I am skeptical having not seen either Apple nor Adobe issue any statement. The rumor buzzmill is running at half capacity. Once again, we have to wait and see if there is any truth behind it.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Flex, AIR samples migrating to Adobe Flex Cookbook
I have decided to move many of my Flex and AIR recipes from the Flex Cookbook to the official Adobe Flex cookbook site. The first two are posted there now. If there is interest (comments, users) I'll post the rest over the next few weeks. You may also request the cookbook as a standalone document commented with instructions by emailing dnickull at adobe dot com.
1. Building an Apple shaped, chrome-less application as per the photo below. This application has been updated from previous versions to be compatible with the latest build of Adobe Flex Builder 3, beta 3.
2. Simple Demonstration of Binding to a Camera using flash.media.Camera. This sample is all about quickly binding to a camera stream and displaying the video image on your application using an object. Screenshot below.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Yahoo! Maps — Releases the AS3 API
The new Yahoo! Maps API is now entirely built in ActionScript 3.0. The Maps API now gives you an incredibly powerful map engine and the ability to create custom components, overlays and markers while consuming different webservices provided by Yahoo!, or your own. Flash/Flex your heart out!
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Friday, February 08, 2008
Microsoft faces third EU probe over OOXML!
Andy Updegrove has written:
"The Wall Street Journal and Information Week reported this morning that EU regulators have announced a third investigation into Microsoft's conduct on the desktop. This latest action demonstrates that while the EU has settled the case against Microsoft that ran for almost a decade, it remains as suspicious as ever regarding the software vendor's conduct, notwithstanding Microsoft's less combative stance in recent years. The news can be found in a story reported by Charles Forelle bylined in Brussells this morning. According to the Journal, the investigation will focus on whether Microsoft "violated antitrust laws during a struggle last year to ratify its Office software file format as an international standard." The article also says that the regulators are "stepping up scrutiny of the issue." The Journal cites the following as the type of activity it will look into."
My take:
Dear Microsoft:
Why not just adopt ODF like the rest of us? If it falls short, you can participate in a well established standards process and explain to all of us why ODF needs to change. We'll listen and maybe we'll learn from you. OOXML is going to make the Office XML of era 2000 look elegant by comparison.
PLEASE: work within the community, not by yourself.
"The Wall Street Journal and Information Week reported this morning that EU regulators have announced a third investigation into Microsoft's conduct on the desktop. This latest action demonstrates that while the EU has settled the case against Microsoft that ran for almost a decade, it remains as suspicious as ever regarding the software vendor's conduct, notwithstanding Microsoft's less combative stance in recent years. The news can be found in a story reported by Charles Forelle bylined in Brussells this morning. According to the Journal, the investigation will focus on whether Microsoft "violated antitrust laws during a struggle last year to ratify its Office software file format as an international standard." The article also says that the regulators are "stepping up scrutiny of the issue." The Journal cites the following as the type of activity it will look into."
My take:
Dear Microsoft:
Why not just adopt ODF like the rest of us? If it falls short, you can participate in a well established standards process and explain to all of us why ODF needs to change. We'll listen and maybe we'll learn from you. OOXML is going to make the Office XML of era 2000 look elegant by comparison.
PLEASE: work within the community, not by yourself.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Adobe Tech Summit
I wish I could talk about all the cool things going on at the 2008 Adobe Tech Summit. Unfortunately, this is largely an internal show and a chance for Adobe engineers and inventors to mingle and share ideas. To me, this is probably the single largest gathering of really intelligent people I have ever witnessed.
More later.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Flex, AIR teams at Adobe Rock!!!
I have been using the latest build for Flex Builder 3 beta 3 (available for free download here) for my latest set of speaking engagements and personal development. I want to publicly acknowledge that this is by far the greatest version of Flex Builder ever made. The Adobe team responsible for this, including such greats as Matt Chotin, Mike Potter, Luis Polanco, Robert Christensen, Adrian Ludwig, and all the developers have done an outstanding job.
Just making a great product isn't the whole story. The team I work on (Technical Evangelism) is probably the most nit-picky group for any product team to cater to. On top of that, they have around 50 beta testers who are regularly dishing out feature requests, bug reports, and a host of other demands on their minds.
There are hundreds of others who I cannot name here on my blog who have worked on Flex Builder 3. To honor their work, take the Flex Builder 3 public beta 3 for a test drive. If you want a mini-cookbook of Flex and AIR projects, with full source code, please email me (dnickull at adobe dot com) and I'll send it over. It also has a script to show you how to take full advantage of the new features in Flex Builder 3 and the latest AIR 1.0.
Just making a great product isn't the whole story. The team I work on (Technical Evangelism) is probably the most nit-picky group for any product team to cater to. On top of that, they have around 50 beta testers who are regularly dishing out feature requests, bug reports, and a host of other demands on their minds.
There are hundreds of others who I cannot name here on my blog who have worked on Flex Builder 3. To honor their work, take the Flex Builder 3 public beta 3 for a test drive. If you want a mini-cookbook of Flex and AIR projects, with full source code, please email me (dnickull at adobe dot com) and I'll send it over. It also has a script to show you how to take full advantage of the new features in Flex Builder 3 and the latest AIR 1.0.
Glowing review of Web 2.0 book
Scott Mark has offered a glowing review of our upcoming O'Reilly book "Web 2.0 Design Patterns".
"Duane, James, and Dion captured a high-speed drive by of all things 2.0, carefully deconstructing all of the cool tools we’ve been having so much fun with recently. They setup the book with a dissection of some flagship Web 2.0 properties, and contextualization of key memes. Next they define applicable models for capturing Web 2.0 in a pattern language. One my favorite aspects of this chapter was the use of “low end” modeling techniques - such as concept maps, and HTML
Read more here.
"Duane, James, and Dion captured a high-speed drive by of all things 2.0, carefully deconstructing all of the cool tools we’ve been having so much fun with recently. They setup the book with a dissection of some flagship Web 2.0 properties, and contextualization of key memes. Next they define applicable models for capturing Web 2.0 in a pattern language. One my favorite aspects of this chapter was the use of “low end” modeling techniques - such as concept maps, and HTML
Read more here.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Canada at War: History repeats itself
Warning: This is an intensely political post!
Within Canada, there has been a lot of debate on whether Canada should be in Afghanistan after 2009. For the record, I 100% support our troups being deployed in this country with the goals of keeping the Taliban from re-surging and helping build a free an independent Afghanistan. Our army is made up of professional soldiers, not people being drafted. I am proud of what they represent as peace keepers. The only Caveat is that what has been reported in the general media about the conditions pre and post invasion are roughly true, which I do believe in this instance they are.
For those of you who do not think Canada is a force to be reckoned with militarily, look back to WW2 and WW1. Canadians have a long history of running to the aid of those who are in the most dire needs. Most of my friends and others who I know here are willing to give up their lives for something we see as crucial to world peace. In WW1 and WW2, Canadian forces played a crucial part by taking on the toughest of the tough challenges that others either wouldn't do or had failed at. In World War One, Canadians succeeded in taking Vimy Ridge despite catastrophic loss of life. To portray the adds, here is the text from the official Canadian government archives:
Now we are at a third cross roads of our military history. Once again, Canadian troup's have been deployed to the worst areas of a military conflict. In this case it is South Afghanistan. As reported by Reuters:
"European allies' refusal to deploy to Afghanistan's dangerous south and east has opened a rift with Britain, Canada, the Netherlands and others which, along with the United States, have borne the brunt of Taliban violence."
So far, 78 Canadian soldiers and a diplomat have died since Ottawa deployed troops to Afghanistan in 2002.
SO WHAT IS OUR MISSION?
Simple - a society can be judged by how it cares for the weakest members who are unable to care for themselves. Throughout world history, Canadians have generously donated their resources to people from other countries in times of peril. It is a cultural norm to help your neighbor in Canada. Many of us see the global community as an extension of our own communities. When people who cannot defend themselves against tyranny need help, we are there. If the cause is just, we tend to pitch in. Note that we carefully avoid Iraq due to it being deemed an illegal war by the majority of Canadians.
WHAT WE WANT:
First - world peace. Yeah - this is an idealistic goal but it isn't that what everyone wants? However, to get there, evil must be confronted. The Taliban cannot be allowed to murder with full impunity. The citizens of Afghanistan must be given the right not to be killed. The Clash song "Know your Rights" is relevant here. If I may quote "Number 1: You have the right not to be killed! Murder is a crime!"
NATO nations - please help us here. We helped you in two world wars. Millions of young Canadians lost their lives in the cold, icy Atlantic waters, on the slopes of a foreign land and wherever we were called. We answered your call for help. No we need you.
Our mission in Afghanistan runs out in 2009. Our government has asked for other nations to help in rebuilding the country. We need to help women achieve the rights they deserve there. We need to provide people hope and a future. Peace and prosperity cannot be achieved if the Taliban return.
Within Canada, there has been a lot of debate on whether Canada should be in Afghanistan after 2009. For the record, I 100% support our troups being deployed in this country with the goals of keeping the Taliban from re-surging and helping build a free an independent Afghanistan. Our army is made up of professional soldiers, not people being drafted. I am proud of what they represent as peace keepers. The only Caveat is that what has been reported in the general media about the conditions pre and post invasion are roughly true, which I do believe in this instance they are.
For those of you who do not think Canada is a force to be reckoned with militarily, look back to WW2 and WW1. Canadians have a long history of running to the aid of those who are in the most dire needs. Most of my friends and others who I know here are willing to give up their lives for something we see as crucial to world peace. In WW1 and WW2, Canadian forces played a crucial part by taking on the toughest of the tough challenges that others either wouldn't do or had failed at. In World War One, Canadians succeeded in taking Vimy Ridge despite catastrophic loss of life. To portray the adds, here is the text from the official Canadian government archives:
Vimy Ridge was a key to the German defence system. Rising 6l metres above the Douai Plain, it protected an area of occupied France in which mines and factories were in full production for Germany. It was a linchpin covering the junction of the main Hindenburg Line and the defence systems running north to the coast of the English Channel. Since capturing the Ridge in October 1914, the Germans had been building fortifications to add to its natural strength and dominance.
The slopes of Vimy Ridge favoured the defenders. Because the incline on the west was gradual, many of the Canadians would have to attack over open ground, where they would be prime targets for artillery, machine-gun and rifle fire. They would face three main defensive lines, consisting of a maze of trenches, concrete machine-gun strong points that had hedges of barbed wire woven around them, and deep dug-outs, all linked by communication trenches and connecting tunnels. As well, there were vast underground chambers, some capable of sheltering entire German battalions from Allied shells.
The Commander of the Canadian Corps, Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng, planned an assault on a front of seven kilometres by all four of his divisions abreast. To reach their final objectives on the far side of the Ridge, the Canadians would have to capture the commanding heights of Hill 135 and Hill 145, which formed its crest. By April 12, 1917 the Canadians controlled the entire ridge, at a cost of 10,602 casualties (3,598 killed and 7,004 wounded).
During the Second World War, Canadians again suffered heavy losses for a nation that was young and not part of the original conflict. We were there!Ross Munro of The Canadian Press, assigned to cover the Canadian troops in Britain, went ashore with allied shock troops storming the Dieppe beach on August 19, 1942, to get this first-hand story of the war's biggest commando raid.
"For eight hours, under intense Nazi fire from dawn into a sweltering afternoon, I watched Canadian troops fight the blazing, bloody battle of Dieppe. I saw them go through the biggest of the war's raiding operations in wild scenes that crowded helter skelter one upon another in crazy sequence. There was a furious attack by German E-boats while the Canadians moved in on Dieppe's beaches, landing by dawn's half-light. When the Canadian battalions stormed through the flashing inferno of Nazi defences, belching guns of huge tanks rolling into the fight, I spent the grimmest 20 minutes of my life with one unit when a rain of German machine-gun fire wounded half the men in our boat and only a miracle saved us from annihilation."
Now we are at a third cross roads of our military history. Once again, Canadian troup's have been deployed to the worst areas of a military conflict. In this case it is South Afghanistan. As reported by Reuters:
"European allies' refusal to deploy to Afghanistan's dangerous south and east has opened a rift with Britain, Canada, the Netherlands and others which, along with the United States, have borne the brunt of Taliban violence."
So far, 78 Canadian soldiers and a diplomat have died since Ottawa deployed troops to Afghanistan in 2002.
SO WHAT IS OUR MISSION?
Simple - a society can be judged by how it cares for the weakest members who are unable to care for themselves. Throughout world history, Canadians have generously donated their resources to people from other countries in times of peril. It is a cultural norm to help your neighbor in Canada. Many of us see the global community as an extension of our own communities. When people who cannot defend themselves against tyranny need help, we are there. If the cause is just, we tend to pitch in. Note that we carefully avoid Iraq due to it being deemed an illegal war by the majority of Canadians.
WHAT WE WANT:
First - world peace. Yeah - this is an idealistic goal but it isn't that what everyone wants? However, to get there, evil must be confronted. The Taliban cannot be allowed to murder with full impunity. The citizens of Afghanistan must be given the right not to be killed. The Clash song "Know your Rights" is relevant here. If I may quote "Number 1: You have the right not to be killed! Murder is a crime!"
NATO nations - please help us here. We helped you in two world wars. Millions of young Canadians lost their lives in the cold, icy Atlantic waters, on the slopes of a foreign land and wherever we were called. We answered your call for help. No we need you.
Our mission in Afghanistan runs out in 2009. Our government has asked for other nations to help in rebuilding the country. We need to help women achieve the rights they deserve there. We need to provide people hope and a future. Peace and prosperity cannot be achieved if the Taliban return.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Talks for WebManiacs 2008!
I have agreed to do two talks for WebManiacs 2008 in Washington, DC this spring (May 19-23).
The WebManiacs 2008 conference schedule has been finalized and registration is open. Early bird pricing ends Jan 31. Consisting of a two-day ColdFusion conference ("CFManiacs") coupled with a three-day Flex conference (FlexManiacs), hosting over 70 speakers and 130 distinct topics (some of which are hands-on), WebManiacs promises to have the most comprehensive coverage of Flex, AIR, and ColdFusion at the lowest price. Seating is limited, so folks should register early in order to get into the more popular sessions.
My sessions are architectural in nature:
1. SOA and BPM, a practical approach to business automation
Abstract: This session will discuss Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) as
an architectural paradigm then pose some interesting architectural questions
about the pragmatic relationship with Business Process Management (BPM).
While many consider BPM a part of SOA, it is in fact not and the presenter
will clearly explain why. It is, however, often the end state sought by
those who pursue SOA as an architectural model and hence has a close
relationship with SOA.
The topics covered will include identifying services by modeling
business processes to spot services used by more than one process, the
question of how much process state a service should be aware of, reuse vs.
repurposing, various standards approaches to SOA and BPM, as well as a case
study of large scale SOA for powering Enterprise 2.0 type applications.
2. Web 2.0 patterns, models and architecture
Abstract: Many enterprises seek knowledge of the design patterns used by
successful Web 2.0 companies. This session starts with Tim O'Reilly's list
of Web 2.0 examples and distills the abstract architectural patterns
behind the examples. By using the patterns notation, the core knowledge of
the design principles is preserved in a template which can be reused in
multiple contexts.
Duane will also show the evolution of the client server model into a 5-tier
model based on the consistent concepts of most successful Web 2.0 patterns.
The model serves as a useful starting point for anyone designing either
business models or technology for Web 2.0. The Web 2.0 model is also used to
illustrate a reference architecture. This abstract set of technology
components allows developers to start thinking about the types of technology
decisions required for building Web 2.0 projects.
***************************
Hope to see you all there!!!
The WebManiacs 2008 conference schedule has been finalized and registration is open. Early bird pricing ends Jan 31. Consisting of a two-day ColdFusion conference ("CFManiacs") coupled with a three-day Flex conference (FlexManiacs), hosting over 70 speakers and 130 distinct topics (some of which are hands-on), WebManiacs promises to have the most comprehensive coverage of Flex, AIR, and ColdFusion at the lowest price. Seating is limited, so folks should register early in order to get into the more popular sessions.
My sessions are architectural in nature:
1. SOA and BPM, a practical approach to business automation
Abstract: This session will discuss Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) as
an architectural paradigm then pose some interesting architectural questions
about the pragmatic relationship with Business Process Management (BPM).
While many consider BPM a part of SOA, it is in fact not and the presenter
will clearly explain why. It is, however, often the end state sought by
those who pursue SOA as an architectural model and hence has a close
relationship with SOA.
The topics covered will include identifying services by modeling
business processes to spot services used by more than one process, the
question of how much process state a service should be aware of, reuse vs.
repurposing, various standards approaches to SOA and BPM, as well as a case
study of large scale SOA for powering Enterprise 2.0 type applications.
2. Web 2.0 patterns, models and architecture
Abstract: Many enterprises seek knowledge of the design patterns used by
successful Web 2.0 companies. This session starts with Tim O'Reilly's list
of Web 2.0 examples and distills the abstract architectural patterns
behind the examples. By using the patterns notation, the core knowledge of
the design principles is preserved in a template which can be reused in
multiple contexts.
Duane will also show the evolution of the client server model into a 5-tier
model based on the consistent concepts of most successful Web 2.0 patterns.
The model serves as a useful starting point for anyone designing either
business models or technology for Web 2.0. The Web 2.0 model is also used to
illustrate a reference architecture. This abstract set of technology
components allows developers to start thinking about the types of technology
decisions required for building Web 2.0 projects.
***************************
Hope to see you all there!!!
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