Three Fields, Three Rings, Troika

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/07/mozilla-geode-released-with-support-from-pownce-and-fire-eagle/

I do get the programming itch from time to time. Yesterday I came by offices where my friends work, and I stood there, listening to their brainstorming on Java classes, interfaces, etc. Truth be told, sometimes I do like programming, sometimes I hate it. But I love nothing more than working along brilliant programmers, soaking up every gem of knowledge from them, even if that makes me look dumb compared to them.

I got rid of my bloated Eclipse Europa, reinstalled it, installed Spring framework, installed Tomcat 6.06. And now, the only thing I need is TIME… Determination and motivation are there, time is not…

Stumbled on this: http://www.mscapers.com. Question: will they be part of Google’s Android initiative or not? How will that play out?

You know me, I’m a habitual dabbler in various technologies - I’m always curious what’s out there and what it looks like. So I again downloaded Ruby on Rails (for detailed instructions, see http://www.rubyonrails.org). Then I thought, hmm, I want to use my Eclipse as the IDE. So I did some research - and again Aptana comes to the rescue. Install Aptana as a plugin, then set up RadRails - heck, just go here: (Aptana)+Rails+(Eclipse)

OK, finally the moment has arrived. Tomorrow (November 5, 2007) Google will announce the Android software package designed for mobile devices.  Read this article by the ubiquitous CNET: http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9810358-37.html

Now, what are implications? We all know them: Google is now competing against Microsoft, Apple, Symbian, and others in the realm of mobile devices OSes.  What makes Google’s case strong is not the open source-ness of its software package per se, but the very might of Google’s software platform.  Google already has entered the social networks fray by announcing OpenSocial initiative.  Now, the timing by Google is just perfect: release the software needed to run mobile phones and also provide the API for developers to write apps for social networks as well. By connecting the dots between social networks, mobile phones, and its ever improving search engine (never mind other products such as GMail, Blogger, Youtube) Google is to reap huge benefits from this synergy developing here.

It’ll be interesting to see how that affects, if at all, the business models of the nascent search engine start-ups such as Endeca, Powerset, Hakia, and others…

Hurray!!! For those who do not know what GWT is or are curious, check it out at: http://code.google.com/webtoolkit/

As could easily be predicted, the IDE vendors are scrambling to provide tools for developers to write and develop plugins for the iPhone. Case in point: Aptana has released a new build of their IDE (which is also available as a plugin for Eclipse!), available for download here.

I wonder how quickly will others follow. Any comments about this IDE are encouraged.