A Conversation with David Shaw:
In a rare interview, David Shaw discusses how he’s using computer science to unravel the mysteries of biochemistry.
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In this interview, Hanrahan and Shaw discuss Shaw’s latest project at D. E. Shaw Research: Anton, a special-purpose supercomputer designed to speed up molecular dynamics simulations by several orders of magnitude. Four 512-processor machines are now active and already helping scientists to understand how proteins interact with each other and with other molecules at an atomic level of detail. Shaw’s hope is that these "molecular microscopes" will help unravel some biochemical mysteries that could lead to the development of more effective drugs for cancer and other diseases.
A Conversation with Van Jacobson:
The TCP/IP pioneer discusses the promise of content-centric networking with BBN chief scientist Craig Partridge.
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To those with even a passing interest in the history of the Internet and TCP/IP networking, Van Jacobson will be a familiar name. During his 25 years at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and subsequent leadership positions at Cisco Systems and Packet Design, Jacobson has helped invent and develop some of the key technologies on which the Internet is based.
A Conversation with Steve Bourne, Eric Allman, and Bryan Cantrill:
In part two of their discussion, our editorial board members consider XP and Agile.
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In the July/August 2008 issue of ACM Queue we published part one of a two-part discussion about the practice of software engineering. The goal was to gain some perspective on the tools, techniques, and methodologies that software engineers use in their daily lives. Three members of Queue’s editorial advisory board participated: Steve Bourne, Eric Allman, and Bryan Cantrill, each of whom has made significant and lasting real-world contributions to the field (for more information on each of the participants, see part one). In part two we rejoin their conversation as they discuss XP (Extreme Programming) and Agile.
A Conversation with Steve Bourne, Eric Allman, and Bryan Cantrill:
In part one of a two-part series, three Queue editorial board members discuss the practice of software engineering.
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In part one of a two-part series, three Queue editorial board members discuss the practice of software engineering. In their quest to solve the next big computing problem or develop the next disruptive technology, software engineers rarely take the time to look back at the history of their profession. What’s changed? What hasn’t changed? In an effort to shed light on these questions, we invited three members of ACM Queue’s editorial advisory board to sit down and offer their perspectives on the continuously evolving practice of software engineering.
The Ever Expanding Ecosystem for Embedded Computing:
Mike Vizard from ACM Queue talks with Oracle’s Mike Olson about the changing architecture of network-enabled applications. Olson explains the thinking behind the company’s new focus on embedded database and middleware technology. He explores the technical, business and economic forces shaping this fast-growing market. Tune in to learn how Oracle plans to serve customers way outside the enterprise.
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Mike Vizard from ACM Queue talks with Oracle’s Mike Olson about the changing architecture of network-enabled applications. Olson explains the thinking behind the company’s new focus on embedded database and middleware technology. He explores the technical, business and economic forces shaping this fast-growing market. Tune in to learn how Oracle plans to serve customers way outside the enterprise.
Instant Legacy:
John Michelsen, CTO of iTKO, on testing tools for SOA applications
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Companies building applications in an SOA environment must take care to ensure seamless interaction and make certain that any changes to their applications won’t negatively impact other applications. In an interview with ACM Queuecast host Mike Vizard, John Michelsen, CTO of iTKO, a Dallas based provider of testing tools for SOA applications, discusses the need for companies to recognize this delicate balance.
Orienting Oracle:
Amlan Debnath on Oracle, SOA, and emerging events-driven architectures.
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As vice president of server technologies for Oracle, Amlan Debnath is one of the few people who can synthesize Oracle’s software infrastructure plans. In an interview with ACM Queucast host Mike Vizard, Debnath provides some insights to how Oracle’s strategy is evolving to simultaneously embrace service-oriented architectures alongside the demands of new and emerging events-driven architectures.
SOA Testing:
Wayne Ariola of Parasoft on best practices for building SOA applications
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As developers move to build applications that span service-oriented architectures, many of them underestimate the testing challenges associated with building and maintaining applications that can comprise hundreds of different Web services. Developers need a robust set of testing tools and a systematic approach to testing to prevent errors from being introduced or, worse yet, propagated throughout the system. Wayne Ariola, vice president of corporate development for Parasoft, in a conversation with Queuecast host Mike Vizard, highlights some of the more common miscues associated with SOA and discusses best practices for building SOA applications.
Google Talk:
Although Google remains relatively mum about its ambitions in the area of speech recognition, Mike Cohen, head of the company’s efforts in this area and a co-founder of Nuance Communications, says that speech recognition will increasingly play a bigger role in all Web-based applications going forward.
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Although Google remains relatively mum about its ambitions in the area of speech recognition, Mike Cohen, head of the company’s efforts in this area and a co-founder of Nuance Communications, says that speech recognition will increasingly play a bigger role in all Web-based applications going forward. But for developers to be successful in this space, they will need to get in touch with their inner persons more than ever if they hope to create applications that ordinary people will actually use.
Bringing IT All Together:
A piecemeal approach to building data centers that relies on commodity servers, switches and systems management software only leads to inefficient systems that add unnecessary cost and management overhead to IT operations. In an interview with Queuecast host Mike Vizard, Liquid Computing CTO and co-founder Mike Kemp offers a fresh approach to enterprise computing.
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A piecemeal approach to building data centers that relies on commodity servers, switches and systems management software only leads to inefficient systems that add unnecessary cost and management overhead to IT operations. In an interview with Queuecast host Mike Vizard, Liquid Computing CTO and co-founder Mike Kemp offers a fresh approach to enterprise computing.
A Behavioral Approach to Security:
Analyzing the behavior of suspicious code
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The CTO of Finjan, Yuval Ben-Itzhak, makes a strong case for a new approach to security that relies more on analyzing the behavior of suspicious code than signatures that have to developed after the attacks have already started.
The Silent Security Epidemic:
Developers are challenged by attacks that target certain types of applications.
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Although the industry is generally getting better with dealing with routine types of security attacks, developers are today being challenged by more complex attacks that not only flow below the radar, but also specifically target certain types of applications. In this Queuecast edition, Ryan Sherstobitoff, CTO of Panda Software describes what new types of sophisticated attacks are being created and what proactive steps developers need to take to protect their applications.
The Power of IP Protection and Software Licensing:
Software Digital Rights Management solutions are the de-facto standard today for protecting IP.
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Intellectual Property (IP) - which ranges from ideas, inventions, technologies, and patented, trademarked or copyrighted work and products - can account for as much as 80% of a software company’s total market value. Since IP is considered a financial asset in today’s business climate, the threats to IP create a real concern. In an interview with ACM Queuecast host Michael Vizard, Aladdin vice president Gregg Gronowski explains how Software Digital Rights Management solutions are the de-facto standard today for protecting software IP, preventing software piracy, and enabling software licensing and compliance.
IDEs in the Age of Eclipse:
Oracle’s chief architect for tools and middleware Ted Farrell talks about the role of IDEs in the Eclipse open source era.
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In this edition of the ACM Queuecast hosted by Mike Vizard, Oracle’s chief architect for tools and middleware Ted Farrell talks about the role of IDEs in the Eclipse open source era, and why developers still need IDE tools to better leverage a wide variety of middleware assets and take a more modular approach to building complex business applications.
The Compliance Game:
Although complying with myriad regulations affecting information technology these days can feel like a chore, technology professionals now have an opportunity to leverage these efforts and create a proactive approach to IT governance. Tune into this month’s Queuecast as Kris Lovejoy, CTO of Consul, discusses with host Mike Vizard why companies must shift their focus on compliance to a new governance approach that will ultimately better serve a company’s needs.
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Although complying with myriad regulations affecting information technology these days can feel like a chore, technology professionals now have an opportunity to leverage these efforts and create a proactive approach to IT governance. Tune into this month’s Queuecast as Kris Lovejoy, CTO of Consul, discusses with host Mike Vizard why companies must shift their focus on compliance to a new governance approach that will ultimately better serve a company’s needs.
Major Eclipse:
Mike Milinkovich on integrated sets of open source tools
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As the Eclipse Foundation gears up to ship its most comprehensive set of open source application development tools to date, Mike Milinkovich, executive director of the Eclipse Foundation, explains why a best-of-breed approach based on an integrated set of open source tools ultimately will provide a better experience for developers.
Scaling Components:
David Johnson, CTO of IPCommerce, on software components
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Building software components and then integrating them with applications built by others has always been one of the most difficult challenges for any development team. In today’s Web environment, developers are now being asked to build components that can be dynamically plugged into any application anywhere on the Web. In a conversation with Queuecast host Mike Vizard, David Johnson, CTO of IPCommerce, a company that specializes in distributed payment systems, explains how his company is rising to that very challenge.
Can You Hear Me Now?:
Roberto Sicconi of IBM on speech technology
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The ultimate alternative human computer interface is speech. Mastering the development skills to integrate speech into applications, however, has never been simple. But as time goes on, significant strides are being made, particularly in applications that leverage embedded processors. In an interview with ACM Queuecast host Mike Vizard, Roberto Sicconi, manager for mobile conversational computing at IBM, explains how and why speech technologies will become a standard element of most mainstream applications.
The Yin and Yang of Software Development:
How infrastructure elements allow development teams to increase productivity without restricting creativity
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The C/C++ Solution Manager at Parasoft explains how infrastructure elements allow development teams to increase productivity without restricting creativity.
Managing Collaboration:
Jeff Johnstone of TechExcel explains why there is a need for a new approach to application lifecycle management that better reflects the business requirements and challenges facing development teams.
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I think that fundamentally development is thought of, has become more of a business process than simply a set of tools. In the past, like you said, developers and development organizations were kind of on their own. They were fairly autonomous and they would do things that were appropriate for each piece of the process and they would adopt technologies that were appropriate at a technology and tool level, but they didn’t really think of themselves as an integral part of any higher business process.
Getting Bigger Reach Through Speech:
Developers have a chance to significantly expand the appeal and reach of their applications by voice-enabling their applications, but is that going to be enough?
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Mark Ericson, vice president of product strategy for BlueNote Networks argues that in order to take advantage of new voice technologies you have to have a plan for integrating that capability directly into the applications that drive your existing business processes.
From Liability to Advantage: A Conversation with John Graham-Cumming and John Ousterhout:
Software production has become a bottleneck in many development organizations.
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Software production (the back-end of software development, including tasks such as build, test, package and deploy) has become a bottleneck in many development organizations. In this interview Electric Cloud founder John Ousterhout explains how you can turn software production from a liability to a competitive advantage.
Arm Your Applications for Bulletproof Deployment: A Conversation with Tom Spalthoff:
Companies can achieve a reliable desktop environment while reducing the time and cost spent preparing high-quality application packages.
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The deployment of applications, updates, and patches is one of the most common - and risky - functions of any IT department. Deploying any application that isn’t properly configured for distribution can disrupt or crash critical applications and cost companies dearly in lost productivity and help-desk expenses - and companies do it every day. In fact, Gartner reports that even after 10 years of experience, most companies cannot automatically deploy software with a success rate of 90 percent or better.
Custom Processing:
Today general-purpose processors from Intel and AMD dominate the landscape, but advances in processor designs such as the cell processor architecture overseen by IBM chief scientist Peter Hofstee promise to bring the costs of specialized system on a chip platforms in line with cost associated with general purpose computing platforms, and that just may change the art of system design forever.
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Today we’re going to talk about system on a chip and some of the design issues that go with that, and more importantly, some of the newer trends, such as the work that IBM is doing around the cell processor to advance the whole system on a chip processor.
Reporting for Duty:
All too often the reporting tools that developers select for their applications are a little more than an afterthought. In this Premium ACM Queuecast, Vice President of Product Management for Actuate, Paul Clenahan, explains why it’s in the interest of developer to select richer sets of reporting tools and how these tools more readily accessible though the Eclipse Foundation’s BIRT project, spearheaded by Actuate.
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Joining me today is Paul Clenahan, Vice President of Product Management at Actuate, and a member of the BIRT Project Management Committee, who’s here to discuss future trends in reporting tools.
Five Steps to a Better Vista Installation - Transcript:
Unravel the mysteries and learn the best practices associated with mastering the new application installation routines for Vista applications. In this Premium Queuecast hosted by Michael Vizard, Bob Corrigan, senior manager for global product marketing at Macrovision, and Robert Dickau, principal trainer, reveal the five most crucial things you need to know about Vista application installations.
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Joining me today is Bob Corrigan, Senior Manager for Global Product Marketing at Macrovision; and Robert Dickau, Principal Trainer for Macrovision. Today’s topic is Vista, and the installation routines around Vista and the opportunities that bring developers.
Software Operations’ Profit Potential:
Today’s software producer faces many challenges in building and keeping a satisfied customer base. In this ACM Premium Queuecast, Macrovision FLEXnet Publisher Product Manager Mitesh Pancholy discusses how companies can solve their license management challenges and turn their software operations into a profit center.
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Joining me today is Mitesh Pancholy, Product Manager for Macrovision, and Abby Domini, also with Macrovision. We’re going to talk about license management today.
Large Scale Systems: Best Practices:
Transcript of interview with Jerod Jenson, Enron Online
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Time again companies moving to build large scale systems and networks stumble over the same problems. In an interview with ACM Queuecast host Michael Vizard, Jarod Jenson, the brains behind the Enron Online trading site, talks about the best practices he emphasizes now that he is the chief architect for Aeysis, a consulting firm that specializes on advising clients on how to build manageable high performance systems.
Business Process Minded:
Transcript of interview with Edwin Khodabakchian, vice president of product development at Oracle
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A new paradigm created to empower business system analysts by giving them access to meta-data that they can directly control to drive business process management is about to sweep the enterprise application arena. In an interview with ACM Queuecast host Michael Vizard, Oracle vice president of product development Edwin Khodabakchian explains how the standardization of service-oriented architectures and the evolution of the business process execution language are coming together to finally create flexible software architectures that can adapt to the business rather than making the business adapt to the software.
Discipline and Focus:
Transcript of interview with Werner Vogels, CTO of Amazon
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When it comes to managing and deploying large scale systems and networks, discipline and focus matter more than specific technologies. In a conversation with ACM Queuecast host Mike Vizard, Amazon CTO Werner Vogels says the key to success is to have a relentless commitment to a modular computer architecture that makes it possible for the people who build the applications to also be responsible for running and deploying those systems within a common IT framework.
Automatic for the People:
Transcript of interview with Rob Gingell, CTO of Cassatt
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Probably the single biggest challenge with large scale systems and networks is not building them but rather managing them on an ongoing basis. Fortunately, new classes of systems and network management tools that have the potential to save on labor costs because they automate much of the management process are starting to appear.
A Conversation with Jason Hoffman:
A systems scientist looks at virtualization, scalability, and Ruby on Rails.
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Jason Hoffman has a Ph.D. in molecular pathology, but to him the transition between the biological sciences and his current role as CTO of Joyent was completely natural: "Fundamentally, what I’ve always been is a systems scientist, meaning that whether I was studying metabolism or diseases of metabolism or cancer or computer systems or anything else, a system is a system," says Hoffman. He draws on this broad systems background in the work he does at Joyent providing scalable infrastructure for Web applications.
A Conversation with Cory Doctorow and Hal Stern:
Considering the open source approach
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For years, the software industry has used open source, community-based methods of developing and improving software—in many cases offering products for free. Other industries, such as publishing and music, are just beginning to embrace more liberal approaches to copyright and intellectual property. This month Queue is delighted to have a representative from each of these camps join us for a discussion of what’s behind some of these trends, as well as hot-topic issues such as identity management, privacy, and trust.