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The slow death of html-integrated Flash
Currently, Apple is under a lot of pressure to add Flash to the iPhone and iPad. Since, according to Adobe (http://www.adobe.com/products/player_census/flashplayer/), 99% of internet-enabled PC's have Flash installed, it's fair to say that Flash is currently a well-adopted platform. And I guess that about 70% of the online video-content is Flash. But, no Flash for iPad. It's a CPU hog and old technology, according to Steve (http://www.pcworld.com/ar...obs_bad_mouths_flash.html). Is he right? Well... a bit.
The problem here isn't Flash, or at least wasn't. 1) It's the lack of Flash-like features in native browser technologies such as HTML that should have been there. 2) It's the fact that HTML isn't a very good RIA-platform.
Why is YouTube using Flash for displaying movies? Because HTML didn't support it natively. Why is it that a lot of RIA apps are built in Flash or Silverlight? Because it's much easier to do than a RIA app in HTML and therefore you get better results. If you don't believe me, take a look at the Silverlight-version beta of Bing Maps. It's not a coincidence either that Google Street View is Flash. Ever tried building something like that in HTML?
I see a lot of change in the RIA world. HTML 5 supports video and a canvas, making it a lot easier to create animation, transitions, and video-based websites and thus deprecating the use of Flash for a lot of cases in websites that use Flash for that right now. But, the dark side of it is that it's a very premature technology. Not all browsers support it. Developers around the world still need to understand how to work with it. HTML 5 isn't done yet. And most importantly: it won't support all RIA cases.
With these things in mind, I think the following will happen in the next 3 to 5 years: HTML 5 will replace flash for video in the browser and cases where Flash was used for fluid animation and font embedding. Technologies such as Flash and Silverlight will be used more and more outside the browser (Adobe Air for example) or standalone in the browser for standalone connected applications instead of integration with HTML.
And for what it’s worth: Although it has some implications, overall, I think that’s a good thing.
The problem here isn't Flash, or at least wasn't. 1) It's the lack of Flash-like features in native browser technologies such as HTML that should have been there. 2) It's the fact that HTML isn't a very good RIA-platform.
Why is YouTube using Flash for displaying movies? Because HTML didn't support it natively. Why is it that a lot of RIA apps are built in Flash or Silverlight? Because it's much easier to do than a RIA app in HTML and therefore you get better results. If you don't believe me, take a look at the Silverlight-version beta of Bing Maps. It's not a coincidence either that Google Street View is Flash. Ever tried building something like that in HTML?
I see a lot of change in the RIA world. HTML 5 supports video and a canvas, making it a lot easier to create animation, transitions, and video-based websites and thus deprecating the use of Flash for a lot of cases in websites that use Flash for that right now. But, the dark side of it is that it's a very premature technology. Not all browsers support it. Developers around the world still need to understand how to work with it. HTML 5 isn't done yet. And most importantly: it won't support all RIA cases.
With these things in mind, I think the following will happen in the next 3 to 5 years: HTML 5 will replace flash for video in the browser and cases where Flash was used for fluid animation and font embedding. Technologies such as Flash and Silverlight will be used more and more outside the browser (Adobe Air for example) or standalone in the browser for standalone connected applications instead of integration with HTML.
And for what it’s worth: Although it has some implications, overall, I think that’s a good thing.
Problems migrating a VM from Virtual Server to Hyper-V
If you are migrating a VM from Virtual Server to a Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V environment, there is a point where you want to install the virtual guest services. It's like the VM Additions, but with more features. It adds speed, mouse support over RDP-sessions and some management options.
But, when I wanted to do just that, there was a problem. I got strange errors (Error 32000) that stated that the virtual guest services couldn't be installed and in the event log of the guest I got errors that stated that a SCSI device "disappeared from the system". Wait, what?
This is the point I found out that my VM still had the old VM additions of Virtual Server installed. It could be the problem. Maybe there's some interference between VM additions and virtual guest services. But when you try to remove the VM addtions, you get errors that the guest OS is not a supported OS. That is a strange error, considering that the additions are in fact already installed and that you just want to remove 'em.
Well, I did some Googling and found the solution. The trick was to mount the VHD's in a Virtual PC VM. This gives you the opportunity to uninstall the VM Additions without errors. The resulted VHD's can then be remounted on the Hyper-V VM and, hurray(!!), the virtual guest services installed without any problems.
But, when I wanted to do just that, there was a problem. I got strange errors (Error 32000) that stated that the virtual guest services couldn't be installed and in the event log of the guest I got errors that stated that a SCSI device "disappeared from the system". Wait, what?
This is the point I found out that my VM still had the old VM additions of Virtual Server installed. It could be the problem. Maybe there's some interference between VM additions and virtual guest services. But when you try to remove the VM addtions, you get errors that the guest OS is not a supported OS. That is a strange error, considering that the additions are in fact already installed and that you just want to remove 'em.
Well, I did some Googling and found the solution. The trick was to mount the VHD's in a Virtual PC VM. This gives you the opportunity to uninstall the VM Additions without errors. The resulted VHD's can then be remounted on the Hyper-V VM and, hurray(!!), the virtual guest services installed without any problems.
TechEd 2008 Developers: An introduction
This week is Microsoft's TechEd 2008 Developers in Barcelona and gladly my employer gave me a change to go visit it. My goal was to write a blog post about it every day, but frankly the schedule is tight and Barcelona beautiful. That means that afterwards I don't go looking for an internet cafe to do my blogging. Instead, me and some of my colleagues go looking for a nice restaurant and go to bed early, because the sessions begin early in the morning again.
Like I did with the DevDays, I will be addressing some of the sessions I attended, but since my time is limited, I won't be able to do that this week. Instead, some visual impressions of the past days:
Waiting for the Keynote speech to start
Jason Zander (General Manager Visual Studio) talks about Visual Studio 2010 and what developing for Windows 7 means.
Waiting outside before the sessions begin. In the afternoon It is about 20 degrees celcius in Barcelona.
Barcelona Bonus Photo
The columbus statue near the busy street La Rambla. One of the many beautiful things in Barcelona.
Like I did with the DevDays, I will be addressing some of the sessions I attended, but since my time is limited, I won't be able to do that this week. Instead, some visual impressions of the past days:
Waiting for the Keynote speech to start
Jason Zander (General Manager Visual Studio) talks about Visual Studio 2010 and what developing for Windows 7 means.
Waiting outside before the sessions begin. In the afternoon It is about 20 degrees celcius in Barcelona.
Barcelona Bonus Photo
The columbus statue near the busy street La Rambla. One of the many beautiful things in Barcelona.Windows 7 - Facts and rumor
The next version of Windows is dubbed "Windows 7". These are some facts and rumors I came across. Please feel free to add or correct. I'm only human.
What is MinWin?
Windows 7 will include a new kernel, but MinWin is not that kernel. MinWin is a strip down of Windows to a complete minimum to create a "clear architectural layer". It is 25megs big and runs on 40megs of memory. It actually is the core of Windows 7. The MinWin layer is part of the Windows 7 code base. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNsS_0wSfoU. Currently MinWin is referred to as "Windows 7 Core". The result. No more useless HD-activity. No more strange slowdowns in copying data. Etc...
So what is the kernel?
Well, that remains uncertain. Vista's version is "Version 6.0". The screenshots of Windows 7 builds show "Version 6.1" as the version. Not much of a 7 there. According to Eric Traut it should be Version 7.0. But maybe the early versions didn't include the new kernel, or maybe even the new core yet. We'll find out soon.
Is it Vista?
Yes it is. Windows blackcomb/longhorn (for those who still remember) was supposed to be a complete new Windows. The .NET runtime would be the core of a lot of applications. Avalon, Indigo. It al became part of the .NET Framework and was purged from the Windows project. Windows 7 is no different. Steve Ballmer said: "It's Vista, but a whole lot better".
Major differences with vista?
• No legacy User Interfaces anymore. Wordpad, Notepad and Paint get the ribbon interface instead of the file-edit-view bar. Even the UI of calculator is rewritten.
• The UAC interface will be optimized.
• Windows 7 will include multitouch. Asus is even going to release a multitouch EeePC by the end of 2009. (Woohoo!)
• Speed ups. A major feature (go figure) of Windows 7 will be that it will offer just as much (and more) as Vista, but with betters speeds and less clutter. This is still a bit "rumory", but the use of a new kernel, a Windows 7 Core and the Vista fail, we can safely say Microsoft wants to clean up a mess.
When?
Next week at the PDC, previews of Windows 7 will be released. According to softpedia, the release will be at July 2009. Sound pretty darn fast to me, but then again: maybe it's good to forget about vista and start incrementally update a system that is build with a vision and build to last. Who knows?
Final words
Be cautious with optimism. We must learn from the past. Microsoft did promise us a new world of personal computing before and Vista was the result. Gladly, Microsoft is being far more realistic about the future nowadays. http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/ is a nice blog by the Windows 7 team to keep up with their plans.
What is MinWin?
Windows 7 will include a new kernel, but MinWin is not that kernel. MinWin is a strip down of Windows to a complete minimum to create a "clear architectural layer". It is 25megs big and runs on 40megs of memory. It actually is the core of Windows 7. The MinWin layer is part of the Windows 7 code base. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNsS_0wSfoU. Currently MinWin is referred to as "Windows 7 Core". The result. No more useless HD-activity. No more strange slowdowns in copying data. Etc...
So what is the kernel?
Well, that remains uncertain. Vista's version is "Version 6.0". The screenshots of Windows 7 builds show "Version 6.1" as the version. Not much of a 7 there. According to Eric Traut it should be Version 7.0. But maybe the early versions didn't include the new kernel, or maybe even the new core yet. We'll find out soon.
Is it Vista?
Yes it is. Windows blackcomb/longhorn (for those who still remember) was supposed to be a complete new Windows. The .NET runtime would be the core of a lot of applications. Avalon, Indigo. It al became part of the .NET Framework and was purged from the Windows project. Windows 7 is no different. Steve Ballmer said: "It's Vista, but a whole lot better".
Major differences with vista?
• No legacy User Interfaces anymore. Wordpad, Notepad and Paint get the ribbon interface instead of the file-edit-view bar. Even the UI of calculator is rewritten.
• The UAC interface will be optimized.
• Windows 7 will include multitouch. Asus is even going to release a multitouch EeePC by the end of 2009. (Woohoo!)
• Speed ups. A major feature (go figure) of Windows 7 will be that it will offer just as much (and more) as Vista, but with betters speeds and less clutter. This is still a bit "rumory", but the use of a new kernel, a Windows 7 Core and the Vista fail, we can safely say Microsoft wants to clean up a mess.
When?
Next week at the PDC, previews of Windows 7 will be released. According to softpedia, the release will be at July 2009. Sound pretty darn fast to me, but then again: maybe it's good to forget about vista and start incrementally update a system that is build with a vision and build to last. Who knows?
Final words
Be cautious with optimism. We must learn from the past. Microsoft did promise us a new world of personal computing before and Vista was the result. Gladly, Microsoft is being far more realistic about the future nowadays. http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/ is a nice blog by the Windows 7 team to keep up with their plans.
Google Chrome: A web browser by Google
Whether Google is "the chosen company" to bring happiness in software land or is Big Brother itself, we can discuss. But we can all agree on one thing: Google's business is in the web browser. Nearly all advertisements and other Google activities are build in web technology such as HTML. While they were supporting Firefox as an alternative to Internet Explorer, Google had a little secret, which came out just yesterday: Google Chrome. A web browser by Google. Read all about in their announcement: http://googleblog.blogspo...resh-take-on-browser.html.
A few highlights:
A few highlights:
- WebKit rendering engine. Used in different products such as Apples' Safari. Originally part of the KDE project. Becoming increasingly popular.
- Tab-sandbox. Each tab runs in a sandbox, which means that if one tab crashes, the others remain operational. Also, if you log in on one tab, you're not logged in on other tabs. Sessions are tab-scoped.
- Tabs are more than just a web site instance. They're a browser instance. Each tab has its own forward & back buttons, its own addressbar and so forth. We saw this design in early beta's of Internet Explorer 7.
- V8 JavaScript virtual machine. A JavaScript engine built from scratch. Supposedly to "power the next generation of web applications that aren't even possible in today's browsers". Sounds promising.