Codeless Ajax in action
August 27, 2009
Codeless Ajax in action
If you’re a regular here, you’re already well aware that we’re knee deep in our latest series of feature peeks, highlighting some of the great new and improved features of Alpha Five Version 10. We put out a press release earlier this week announcing the series, and I wanted to share it with you here.
““““““““““““““““
See Codeless Ajax in Action on Alpha Software’s Blog
The real-time Web is coming, where online apps look and feel like desktop apps. Codeless Ajax makes building real-time Web apps nearly effortless for developers, consultants, businesses, and Web designers.
BURLINGTON, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Calling all developers, designers, and entrepreneurs! Hit the Alpha Software blog right now to see how codeless Ajax lets you create rich Internet applications, without having to write or debug any code. Watch how easy it is to assemble custom Web apps that look, feel, and perform like desktop apps, but run entirely in the cloud. Witness Web databases that take user input and update screens in real time, without reloading pages or having users click “submit.” See how you can spend less time bringing killer ideas to life, and more time making money with them.
“The era of slow Web applications is ending,” says Richard Rabins, Co-Chairman of Alpha Software. “With the emergence of rich Internet experiences and the drive to cloud computing, businesses want desktop-like functionality for their workers and customers. This is a huge market opportunity for any developer, designer, or entrepreneur who can deliver next-generation Web experiences quickly and efficiently. And you won’t find a programming tool on the planet that can build rich Internet apps faster than Alpha Five Version 10, with codeless Ajax technology. You must see it to believe it.”
Invented by Alpha Software, codeless Ajax is the hallmark of the upcoming Alpha Five Version 10, an award-winning rapid development platform with visual editor, database designer, reporting engine, support for major SQL databases, Xbasic language, app genies, dozens of prefab functions and controls, and more. Now in beta, the platform is slated to ship this year. Developers can request a copy of the beta by writing to Marketing@AlphaSoftware.com. And everyone can see Alpha Five Version 10 in action by visiting the Alpha Software blog, and watching the company’s New Feature Peeks. New Feature Peeks are being added every few days, so check back often to see the latest demos of codeless Ajax in action. You can also subscribe to the Alpha Software blog to be alerted whenever a New Feature Peek is posted.
Beta tester and professional developer Jim Dusoe used Alpha Five Version 10 to build a student information tracking and reporting system in just 24 man hours. This would have taken him at least three man weeks using other development platforms, such as Visual Studio, IronSpeed, FileMaker, Servoy, PHP, or Java.
“I was able to prototype the app and get my client’s buy-in in minutes, literally,” Dusoe says. “I had the system finished and delivered three days after first contact with the client. I’ve never used anything as productive as Alpha Five. In fact, I was so impressed with the results, I dropped IronSpeed as my development platform and switched to Alpha Five.”
Rabins characterizes codeless Ajax as a true breakthrough in the history of development tools. “In the 80s, Borland’s Turbo Pascal revolutionized programming by introducing the integrated development environment,” he says. “In the 90s, Microsoft’s Visual Basic raised the bar with visual programming for Windows applications. The bar will be raised again when we unleash our codeless Ajax technology in the next quarter, and developer productivity will take a flying leap forward. No matter what you use to build Web apps, if you care about productivity, keep your eye on Alpha Five with codeless Ajax.”
Dusoe agrees. “Users want Web applications that perform as well as desktop apps,” he says. “Designers want to add database features to their sites without having to get a computer science degree. Entrepreneurs want to launch their killer app in weeks, not months. And the faster developers can prototype and deliver solutions, the more revenue they can earn in a year.”
For more information about Alpha Five Version 10 please visit the Alpha Software blog, Web site, or contact Richard@AlphaSoftware.com.
ABOUT ALPHA SOFTWARE
Since 1982, Alpha Software has been providing developers with award-winning tools that make it easy to build business applications. Today over 1 million developers and tens of millions of users rely on Alpha Software’s Alpha Five. The company is privately held, and based in Burlington, Mass. Alpha Software can be found on the Web at http://www.alphasoftware.com. The company’s blog is located at http://blog.alphasoftware.com.
Media contact:
Kate Ritchie, 610-642-8253, ext. 162
KateR@GregoryFCA.com
Alpha Five Version 10 Feature Peek #21: Conditional formatting
The conditional formatting option in Alpha Five Version 10 lets you format data conditionally, depending on its value. For example, you might set the color of the quantity field to be red if it is above average. In the video below, you’ll see the conditional formatting in action, including conditional formatting at the cell and control level, and conditional formatting at the row level.
Why couldn’t Jennifer Johnston go to SIT -
August 10, 2009
Why couldn’t Jennifer Johnston go to SIT – they have no fees
Jennifer Johnston wants to be a nurse and is moaning she can’t get a training incentive allowance. She lives in Invercargill and started training two year’s ago.
Jennifer is passing with an A-average and was expecting to embark on the nursing degree next year. But with the allowance discontinued and childcare, course materials, uniforms, transport and other costs not covered by a student loan, Jennifer has no idea if she can continue.
Some may not know that the Southern Institute of Technology in Invercargill now has a zero fees scheme. Is there any reason, given that she lives in Invercargill, why Jennifer Johnston cannot go to SIT and study a batchelor of nursing there, and get a child care subsidy and an interest free loan for books and transport costs?
Jobless graduate sues US college – New Zealand Herald
August 2, 2009
Jobless graduate sues US college – New Zealand Herald
NEW YORK – A New York City woman who says she can’t find a job is suing the college where she earned a bachelor’s degree. Trina Thompson filed a lawsuit last week against Monroe College in Bronx Supreme Court, The New York Post reports. The 27-year-old is seeking the $70,000 she spent on tuition
Orioles routed by Martinez, Red Sox – Cecil Whig
BALTIMORE – The addition of Victor Martinez to the Boston Red Sox lineup has proven to be mutually beneficial to the team and its grateful newcomer. Martinez had a career-high tying five hits and four RBIs, Josh Reddick and Rocco Baldelli homered, and the Red Sox reached season highs in runs and
Wis. Jury: Father Guilty in Prayer Death Case – ABC News
August 1, 2009
Wis. Jury: Father Guilty in Prayer Death Case – ABC News
 BBC News |
Wis. Jury: Father Guilty in Prayer Death Case
ABC News AP A central Wisconsin man accused of killing his 11-year-old daughter by praying instead of seeking medical care was found guilty Saturday of second-degree reckless homicide. Dale Neumann smiles at his defense attorney Jay … A US jury has found a man guilty of killing his sick 11-year-old … Guilty in daughter's death Parents 'murdered daughter by prayer' |
A Bitter Pill? – Washington Post
 Times Online |
A Bitter Pill?
Washington Post With the health-care initiative stalled, what general strategy should President Obama follow? Dramatically reduce the ambition of the reform effort? Try to muscle it through Congress with only liberal Democratic votes? Launch a full-blown national … White House Team Takes Stock, Obama Touts Economic Progress The Lobbying Web Petrash: Derailing Obama? Not likely! |
US won't stop deadly blitz in Afghanistan – PRESS TV
 MiamiHerald.com |
US won't stop deadly blitz in Afghanistan
PRESS TV The newly appointed commander of US-led troops in Afghanistan says he does not plan to halt controversial air strikes which have killed many civilians in the war-torn country. Gen Stanley McChrystal emphasized the blitz were necessary to protect troops … 3 US Soldiers Killed By Afghanistan Bomb War effort is being hampered by troops too unfit to deploy World Briefing |
Bomb scare closes NY airport – Boston Globe
 ABC News |
Bomb scare closes NY airport
Boston Globe Thousands of passengers who arrived at LaGuardia Airport for early morning flights were forced to evacuate for nearly three hours yesterday. All the concourses in the main terminal were reopened by midday. (Ron Beard/ Associated Press) By Al Baker and … LaGuardia Terminal Evacuated in NYC, 1 in Custody Judge orders psych evaluation for suspect in airport scare laguardia terminal evacuated in NYC, 1 in custody |
PhD student: A systems analysis of rodent animal models of human disease
July 14, 2009
PhD student: A systems analysis of rodent animal models of human disease
PhD student: A systems analysis of rodent animal models of human disease
Function title PhD student Where Bioinformatics Laboratory, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam Apply before July 15, 2009 Project Model organisms have been essential for improving our knowledge of human disease. Especially rodents, mainly mouse and rat, are often used for this purpose, as well as for pre-clinical trials of new drugs and toxicology screens. However, often animal models fail to mimic human disease adequately. As a consequence drugs successfully tested in animal models fail in costly clinical trials or are falsely discarded.
Goal of this project is to explore the suitability of rodents as a model organism for human disease, specifically metabolic syndrome. Since metabolic syndrome is a complex multifactorial group of metabolic conditions, a systems approach will be taken to uncover the molecular networks perturbed by disease.
Specifically, we aim to validate the similarity of a large number of rodent models for metabolic syndrome to their human counterparts. The project is tightly linked to ongoing projects in biological and clinical groups at the AMC. This project is part of the second round of the BioRange programme of the Netherlands Bioinformatics Centre (NBIC; ww.nbic.nl).
Tasks
The successful candidate will work towards a PhD degree in bioinformatics. We will build a compendium of rodent and human metabolic syndrome related gene expression datasets. We develop module-based joint analysis methods that search for conserved patterns consisting of sets of genes and sets of conditions in both rodent model and human under which they are co-expressed. These patterns are used to evaluate the molecular similarity of rodent models and their human counterpart. Conserved patterns will be further interpreted by constructing functional networks for metabolic syndrome in rodents and human. We expect methods developed and resulting conserved patterns and functional networks to be useful for elucidating the model mismatch and for increasing the predictive value of preclinical trials and toxicity screens.
Requirements
We are looking for an enthusiastic communicative team player with
• a MSc in one of the following areas: bioinformatics, computer science, engineering, statistics, physics, plus a proven interest in biology
• strong background in computer science (machine learning, graph algorithms, relational databases)
• good programming knowledge (R, C/Java/C++, SQL)
Additional conditions of employment: The appointment will be on temporary basis for a maximum period of four years. Based on a full-time appointment (36 hours per week), compensation will be according to standard salary levels for PhD students starting with a salary of € 2046,- with a yearly growth to € 2622,- gross a month. The collective employment agreement of the AMC is applicable. Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained
from: Dr. ir. P.D. Moerland Bioinformatics Laboratory Telephone number: +31 (0) 20 566 4660 E-mail address: p.d.moerland@amc.uva.nl
Contact: Applications should include a detailed curriculum vitae and a letter of motivation, and be sent to:
AMC Medical Research BV.
Mevrouw M.J.Scholtemeijer
Personeel & Organisatie, J1A-229
Postbus 22660
1100 DD Amsterdam
The Netherlands
PPC… Can It Enhance Your SEO?
June 29, 2009
PPC… Can It Enhance Your SEO?
Can pay per click marketing really work in tandem with SEO? I have found that the most successful SEO campaigns were born from PPC results. What do I mean? Read on…
Just a like a company’s house list, the information they gather from their own PPC campaigns can provide a significant boost to the effectiveness of their search engine optimization efforts. The key is to know what information you’re looking for and how to use it to generate qualified visitors to your website.
Qualified visitors are those that have a higher degree of interest in your products or services and a greater likelihood of purchasing your products. I’ve often seen websites that have reduced their traffic while significantly improving conversion rates. The result is lower costs related to traffic acquisition and higher revenue. With more revenue and less expense, margins reach a new level of success.
The concept that I teach in SEO training is the most effective way to combine pay-per-click advertising with search engine optimization is to focus on conversions. What keywords have you promoted through pay per click advertising that led to conversions? If you’ve been running PPC for a while and you are still unsure, then consider expanding your analytic coding to include Google conversion tracking.
Once you have the answer and know which terms produce the greatest conversions, regardless of ad variation, then you SEO keywords have been determined. You want to generate organic traffic to the same keywords you’re promoting through PPC as long as they are generating your highest conversions.
An example of this might be someone promoting a book on how to fix a car. If the highest converting keyword is, “car repair”, then you should consider car repair as a keyword phrase you must optimize for. Organic traffic to this term will produce targeted web site visitors and conversions for little or no money as you improve your rankings.
The last piece is to take your highest converting landing pages and build in some or all of the elements into your website. Once you’ve tracking and optimized landing pages via PPC, you can duplicate what you’ve learned from a conversion perspective organically. Consider applying the landing page elements that have generated the highest return for you on your pay-per-click advertising.
Whether you’re just getting started with search engine optimization or consider yourself a search engine optimization expert, leveraging your pay-per-click advertising is the best investment you can make. Determine which keywords generate the type of traffic that is most valuable to you and optimize around these terms. They will generate more traffic and revenue.
To learn more about PPC, check out our comprehensive Content Bully Review.
Get fit by kicking bad habits
June 12, 2009
Get fit by kicking bad habits
Swimsuit season is upon us and many people make that their excuse for getting fit.
While any excuse to exercise and eat healthy is a good one, there are a few great ways to get started so it becomes a lifestyle rather than a seasonal trend.
Chief Instructor 6th Degree Black Belt Renshi Gregg Brown, instructor and nutritionist at Shogun Martial Arts Center, said the key to getting fit and staying fit is diversifying activities.
How to: keep your money in Kansas City
June 4, 2009
How to: keep your money in Kansas City
Boulevard beer
When founder John McDonald won a trip to Europe more than 20 years ago, no one knew it would lead him to open a brewery.
When he returned to Kansas City and could not find ale that tasted as good as those he drank abroad, he started making his own.
M. Sc. Optics and Photonics-Germany
M. Sc. Optics and Photonics
KSOP Masters Education. We believe that a Ph.D.graduate school is unlikely to be successful without the background / infrastructure and the “funneling / filtering” through a corresponding associated, interdisciplinary coordinated masters program, aiming at attracting excellent students from abroad.
36 students per year can be admitted to our masters program. The best students of the masters program are supported by the KSOP Scholarship Program. Access to the KSOP masters education is granted via an application procedure.
A study plan is developed for each individual masters student (corresponding to his/her educational background) when entering the KSOP.
The M.Sc. course is divided into four stages providing the students with the necessary prerequisites (Stage I: Introduction) , to give them a solid background on the most important topics within the wide and diverse field of Optics and Photonics (Stage II: Core Subjects) and let them acquire specialized knowledge (Stage III: Specialization) to be able to competently perform a six-month research project on a current topic of research (masters thesis). In addition, an 8-weeks industrial internship is scheduled between stages 2 and 3.
Scholarship
The KSOP scholarship amounts to 800 Euro/month for international students and 400 Euro/month for German students. Part of the scholarship is a research assistantship. Within the scope of this assistantship, you will have the opportunity to work on a research project in one of the KSOP institutes.
The scholarship is first admitted for 12 months. At the end you have to proof your successful participation in the KSOP M.Sc. Program through very good study results in order to extend the scholarship for another 12 months.
Guideline for Scholarship Application
Step 1 – Fill out the KSOP scholarship application form
You can apply for a scholarship at the KSOP Office after having applied for the program M.Sc. in Optics & Photonics. Please fill out the KSOP Scholarship application form. The application deadline for the upcoming winter semester is July 15 each year.
Please note that you have to send your scholarship documents seperately from your application to the student office, the KSOP Office or the international student office respectively.
You will receive feedback from the KSOP Office on your scholarship application after July 15.
Step 2 – Submit your application
You are required to include the following documents in your application:
- KSOP scholarship application form
- a certified copy of your qualification for university entrance (e.g. Abitur, High School Diploma, Bac.)
- a certified copy of your Bachelor degree (if the Bachelor degree is not yet available at the closing date for applications but will be completed before the registration, candidates can apply with a preliminary transcript of records)
- your CV
- proof of English language profiency: TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) with a minimum of 570 pb, 260 points cb and 88 points ibt or IELTS (International English Languag Testing System) band with a minium of 6.5
- proof of extra-curricular activities
- one or better two recommendations
- Statement of purpose
Please send the complete application preferrably via e-mail or alternatively via postal mail to:
Karlsruhe School of Optics & Photonics (KSOP),
Universität Karlsruhe (TH)
Schlossplatz 19
76131 Karlsruhe
http://www.ksop. de/fileadmin/ KSOP/download/ 03_programs/ Application_ Form_MSc_ Scholarship. pdf
University of Maine || Promotion and Tenure Guidelines || Promotion and Tenure Guidelines | Version 3.0
May 17, 2009
University of Maine || Promotion and Tenure Guidelines || Promotion and Tenure Guidelines | Version 3.0
New Media Department, University of Maine
Promotion and Tenure Guidelines
Addendum: Criteria by Category
Version 3.0
ABSTRACT: This document provides concrete guidance for evaluating faculty in the University of Maine’s New Media Department. The outline follows the official University of Maine template for promotion and tenure activity reports, citing examples of the kinds of new media accomplishments that qualify for each category. Because of the rapid pace of innovation in electronic formats, this list must remain partial, since it is impossible to predict what new recognition mechanisms may be relevant a few years from now.
[snip]
II. RESEARCH AND SCHOLARLY ACTIVITIES
Good collaborators are critical to thriving research ecosystems. Candidates are encouraged to list any collaborative roles they have played in publications and other activities, such as conceptual architect, approach designer, release engineer, or matchmaker (eg, introducing two other researchers whose collaboration results in a publication). Each new media department may choose to weight these various roles according to its own priorities.
A. Publications
1. Books/Monographs:
Networked or rich-media publications such as extended blogs, DVDs, or CD-ROMS should be included if they constitute a sustained investigation of a particular topic.
2. Refereed Journal Articles:
In a new media context, a “closed peer-review” article includes invited contributions to edited print journals and networked journals. The format of these contributions may go beyond the form of a written essay to include podcasts, videoblogs, and other forms of archival media.
An “open peer-review” article includes contributions to self-policing publication networks, where the quality or relevance of contributions are subject to community debate and evaluation.
3. Chapters of Books/Monographs (please indicate if invited or juried):
Essays or chapters in edited volumes are more important in new media than the sciences, for these edited volumes establish standards for discourse in emergent subdisciplines of new media.
This category should also include invited contributions to edited, single-issue networked publications.
4. Edited Volumes:
This category includes coordinating or managing a multi-user discussion list, whether accessible via email or Web.
This category also includes the conception, design, engineering, and/or editing of organized media collections, including film festivals , networked databases , and publications.
5. Technical Reports/Book Reviews:
This category includes networked reports and reviews.
6. Other Publications (e.g. editorials, working papers, etc.):
This category includes essays published to email lists, including all contributions to discussions sparked by the publication of that essay.
B. Creative Activities, Exhibitions, and Performance Related Activities (please indicate whether regional, international, national, solo, group, invited or juried):
1. Exhibitions:
This category includes networked exhibitions hosted by brick-and-mortar institutions or independent organizations , and can include online exhibitions as well as physical installations.
a Participating
b. Curated
2. Performance Related Activities:
This category includes political design, social software, and interactive performance.
3. Creative Writing and Poetry:
This category includes literature in all its forms, both analogue and digital, in print or online.
C. Professional Presentations and Posters (please indicate if regional, national, or international):
1. Conferences and Discussions organized
Researchers in new media at this point in its development are actively filling in gaps in the awareness of new media’s own history, a critical vocabulary, and other intellectual frameworks already in place in other fields. The new media program recognizes the value that organizing private and public events have for the field as a whole and, when local, for our students.
2. Presentations
As studies of new media have argued, presenting research at prestigious conferences can be more important than publishing it.
While there is no substitute for in-person gatherings, teleconferences are gradually becoming an important venue for conference presentations, though they vary in degree of formality and organization.
[snip]
IV. SPECIAL RECOGNITION/AWARDS/HONORS RECEIVED
A. Press
Given the limitations of publishing new media research in academic journals, recognition from the press in the form of articles or interviews about a researcher’s work can be a valuable indicator of influence.
1. Print and broadcast press
This category includes outside sources such as general-interest newspapers, radio or TV spots, and specialized journals or magazines.
2. Electronic press
This category includes articles in online journals as well as blogs,
B. Citations
Only general citations go here; citations to document the relevance and achievement of specific projects should accompany the entries on that research above.
1. Print citations
Although they are not as timely as electronic citations, citations in books on new media can suggest a measure of a researcher’s influence and relevance to the field.
2. Electronic citations
One measure of influence in academia can be suggested by citations in other university syllabi. (See the breakdown in PART 3.)
[http://newmedia.umaine.edu/interarchive/promotion_tenure_redefinitions.html]
Bibliometrics and Citation Analysis: From the Science Citation Index to Cybermetrics 
Bibliometrics and Citation Analysis: From the Science Citation Index to Cybermetrics / Nicola De Bellis / Scarecrow Press / March 2009 / 450 pp. / ISBN: 0-8108-6713-3 ; ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-6713-0 / $ 55 / Paper
DESCRIPTION
Since citation indexes came into the limelight during the mid-1960s, citation networks have become increasingly important for many different research fields. The book begins by investigating the empirical, philosophical, and mathematical foundations of bibliometrics, including its beginnings with the Science Citation Index, the theoretical framework behind it, and its mathematical underpinnings. It then examines the application of bibliometrics and citation analysis in the sciences and science studies, especially the sociology of science and science policy. Finally it provides a view of the future of bibliometrics, exploring in detail the ongoing extension of bibliometric methods to the structure and dynamics of the World Wide Web.
This book gives newcomers to the field of bibliometrics an accessible entry point to an entire research tradition otherwise scattered through a vast amount of journal literature. At the same time, it brings to the forefront the cross-disciplinary linkages between the various fields (sociology, philosophy, mathematics, politics) that intersect at the crossroads of citation analysis. Because of its discursive and interdisciplinary approach, the book is useful to those in every area of scholarship involved in the quantitative analysis of information exchanges, but also to science historians and general readers who simply wish to familiarize themselves with an important, albeit increasingly complex area of information science.
Fire breaks out and engulfs Mormon church in Cambridge during morning meeting – Boston Globe
May 17, 2009
Fire breaks out and engulfs Mormon church in Cambridge during morning meeting – Boston Globe
CAMBRIDGE — A fire broke out this morning during a meeting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints outside Harvard Square in Cambridge, sending members spilling out onto the street. The blaze, which hit three alarms, began at 10:37 a.m. in the church at at 4 Longfellow Park, off Brattle
Bird, Spielberg honored at BU commencement – Boston Globe
BOSTON— Larry Bird and Steven Spielberg are being honored at Boston University. The Celtics’ legend and the director are receiving honorary degrees Sunday at the school’s 136th graduation. Bird is now president of basketball operations for the Indiana Pacers, while Spielberg recently directed
EU commissioner declares victory in Lithuania vote – Seattle Times
The European Union’s budget chief was poised to become Lithuania’s first woman president after a landslide victory in a vote overshadowed by the Baltic country’s ailing economy, preliminary official results showed. Dalia Grybauskaite, the EU budget commissioner and a karate black-belt, had two
