Zemanta

Posted on September 18, 2008 
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Ok, I’ve checked out Apture and decided to use it because it’s pretty cool. I’d like to see what they have to offer in the months to come. Technologies like Apture have so much potential, lets hope they can improve on what they have.

So after my last post about Apture, I got a mail from another company, Zemanta who have also developed a semantic web enabling technology. I’ve given it a try and it seems ok so far, just a bit limited in the information it provides. It only gives you a limited amount of images, some relevant articles and some wiki definitions. Another difference is that Zemanta is available while you create your posts and Apture is only available after.

Using Zemanta is easy enough, you can download it for the browser you use (Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox) and there are also downloads for your blog or website platform, drupal included. It doesn’t really offer much configuration though. In drupal it only lets you select the content types and lets you specify where you want the Zemanta control panel to appear.

I think they are continually working on improvements and adding features and functionality but it doesn’t quite match up to Apture. I think Zemanta needs a more comprehensive and useful image gallery selection, a better selection of related articles, some video and an additional search feature and some other useful stuff. Also, it would be more user-friendly if you could easily delete something that you added to your content. It would also be more user-friendly for your website users if they could preview a teaser to the links added by Zemanta, perhaps in a pop up block or something.

You should check it out and decide for yourself though.

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Semantic Web enabling technology

Posted on September 5, 2008 
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The way we use the Internet has already changed… Web 2.0 is still talked about as if it’s something new… but it’s been around since just after the Web 1.0 bubble burst… perhaps even before.

Web 3.0 is all about a semantic web and how we use the web to access information. The web and some new web technologies have improved the way we do this.
With Semantic Web enabling technology like Apture, adding information is easier and enhances user experience to turn your website content into a hub of information. It lets content publishers find and incorporate information and multimedia directly into their web content. This is pretty useful and convenient.

But I think that a technology like Apture would be far more useful to users and a lot more effective in delivering information if the backend/admin interface was available to your website users but without the ability to add the content to your site. So if users on your website could use the backend interface for searching and accessing information by merely highlighting the text of interest then the user experience would be more comprehensive, convenient and useful.
Adding Apture to your website is easy enough. If you have a Drupal installation then you need the Apture module installed. If you have a WordPress site then you need the Apture plugin. I’m not gonna go into the specifics of setup and configuration because it’s pretty straight forward.

Once you have that installed/activated you need to register with Apture or login if you already registered to add your website/s where you would like to use the Apture technology. You will then get a bit of script that you need to include in the Drupal Apture settings if you are using Drupal or simply activate the plugin if you are using wordpress. That’s pretty much it to get you started with Apture.

The web is about access to information, whether it’s about something or someone, technologies like this will only make it easier and more convenient to access.

Double Century Training

Posted on August 19, 2008 
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Ok, so the double century is coming up. They’ve finally decided on a date, Saturday the 22nd November so lets hope the weather is nice. The start/finish venue will be at Swellendam Primary School and covers a distance of around 205km, so that’s the Argus cycle tour plus 100km or something like that…

We started training a bit earlier this year and have stuck to the program so far. So we should be well prepared on the day if we continue with our training plan.

Our training for double century 2008:
13 July – Strand – 90km
20 July - Stellenbosch – 90/100km
27 July – Melkbos – 80/90km
03 August – Gordons bay – 100km
10 August – Stellenbosch/wine route – 100km
17 August – Fisantekraal – 110km
24 August –Cape point/chappies/campsbay -120km
31 August – Stellenbosch/agterpaarl – 120km
7 September – Franschhoek – 150km
14 September – Durbanville/stellenbosch – 150km
21 September – Gordons bay/pringle bay – 130/150km
28 September – Stellenbosch/klapmuts/pniel – 140/150km
05 October – Bettys bay – 160km
12 October – Fisanterkraal/agter paarl/klapmuts – 180km
19 October- Cape point/chappies – 120km
26 October – Gordons bay – 100km
02 November – Stellenbosch – 90km
09 November – Durbanville/contermanskloof – 100km
16 November – Cape point – 80km

Then all that riding should prepare us adequately for the 205km on the 22 November.

The route:
From Swellendam we follow the R324 through Suurbraak and over Tradouw Pass towards Barrydale. A left turn onto the R62 takes us to the challenging 7km Op de Tradouw, before making our way to Montagu. We take on the the most challenging climbs, Tradouw and Op de Tradouw Pass within the first 60km of the ride. That’s gonna be fun…

The route then snakes through Cogmanskloof towards Ashton, turning left onto the R317 towards Bonnievale and back to the finish in Swellendam.

Bring it on! We’ll be ready…

Cyclist carnage

Posted on August 4, 2008 
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Cycling really has become an extreme sport…and I don’t mean mountain biking. Other road users never see road cyclist or just don’t care. Cyclists have to dodge potholes, pedestrians, parked vehicles, moving vehicles, dogs, bricks, logs, stones, glass, other cyclists, etc, etc…

Every time I go out cycling, either myself or someone else in the group has a close call with, in most case, a motorist - car vs bicycle, I think it’s very obvious who would win.

This weekend was my turn. I had to hit the brakes to avoid being pushed off the road by a motorist who saw me but didn’t care. Hitting the brakes resulted in the cyclist behind me smashing into my back wheel and hitting tar… never a pleasant sound but fortunately this time was at low speed so no injuries.

Then we came to the traffic lights less than 500m down the road. It went green for us as we approached and the cars on my right all came to a stop and the cars in the turning lane to my left came to a stop but one idiot on my left went straight through the red light. He only came flying through after I had already entered the intersection (which means the light was red for a while). I saw him quite late and had to hit the brakes again to avoid being run over by the idiot… I would not be writing this had I not seen him… I couldn’t have been much more than 2 meters away from being a weekend statistic.

There was at least one incident over the weekend that left 4 cyclists injured. A motorist smashed into a group of cyclist and then drove away!

When will the carnage stop?

In New York cyclists aren’t even safe from the police. During a Critical Mass ride in New York City on 25th July 2008 a cop body-slammed one cyclist and then lied about it… The incident was caught on film though, lucky for the cyclist not so lucky for the cop. You can read more about that story Here

John-Lee Augustyn Crash

Posted on July 26, 2008 
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The year was 2008, the event was the Tour de France stage 16, the team was Barloworld… The rider John-Lee Augustyn…

It was his 1st Tour de France and he was the youngest this year being just 21years old but he made quite an impression going up… and evidently down mountains.

This talented young South African rider showed them how to climb to the highest point of the 2008 tour. He was first to the top.. and very nearly first to the bottom… the quick way down… the side of the mountain. Now I know he’s a mountain biker as well but the Tour de France is a road race where cyclists are meant to stay on the road…


Watch out for this guy in future… I think he will win some Tour de France mountain stages in years to come… And I think it’s been proven that climbers usually do better overall… Go for yellow dude!

What happened to LightEdge Technology

Posted on June 23, 2008 
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I only read today, after trying to find them online, that they got placed into liquidation earlier this year. Wow, what a shocker! I thought they were doing so well. Actually they were for a few years.

So what happened? Some say it was BEE that lead to their demise but I think that’s just an excuse. It’s an excuse for poor financial management and a bad business model. Correct me if I’m wrong but they sold to registered dealers/resellers as well as direct to businesses and people who weren’t registered without adjusting prices for for unregistered customers. Why was that a problem?

Well, by doing that, they effectively shut out the resellers that were buying in bulk in favour of selling individual items to anyone, including their resellers customers. That was a move that created problems for resellers who lost out because customers went direct to LightEdge. So, resellers then went elsewhere and LightEdge lost out on bulk sales.

It had nothing to do with their BEE compliance or lack there of.

Function over Form

Posted on May 29, 2008 
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During the dot-com bubble, around 1995 – 2001 (crash started on 10 March 2000), Internet companies saw phenomenal growth with share prices hitting extraordinary highs. But it didn’t last because all bubbles burst as some point. There were just too many IT companies that tried to get big fast with a strategy of carrying sustained net losses with the hope of gaining enough brand recognition to turn that around to a profit later when they are the big players in the industry.

That was the first wave of the Internet, now referred to as Web 1.0 when websites were more about form, how good a website looked and how flashy and impressive it was. No wonder the dot-com bubble burst the way it did. Companies invested too heavily in web technology that gave them nice looking brochures that used the web to present those brochures to users.

That was also a time when bandwidth was a limiting factor. Web 1.0 was a time of dial-up connectivity at 50 - 56k transfer rates. We now have better bandwidth with broadband being between 512Kb/s – 1Mb/s as the average. The better bandwidth opens the door for better functionality.

So Web 2.0 should provide improved website functionality that delivers better service to users, making it easier to turn users into customers. An increased customer base translates to increased turnover that increases net profit. Increased net profit indicates better return on investment.

So businesses should harness the power of web technology as a functional business tool rather than just to display electronic brochures.

A Bad weekend for Cyclists

Posted on May 26, 2008 
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It seems this past weekend was a bad one for cyclists… There were at least two incidents that involved a car and cyclists…

(Extracted from a story posted on http://www.thehubsa.co.za/)
Renaldo, with Fear in his voice:” Marius, you would not believe what just happened, I’m lying in the grass next to the road, please come fetch me, some one knocked me off my bike on purpose and is trying to kill me!” Those were the words of a cyclists who had to run and hide in the bush along the road after being knocked off his bike by a motorist…

This is his story:
“I was riding nearly on the edge of the road, I saw from the corner of my eye a White Open Kaddet coming into the yellow line close to me, I looked into the man’s eyes and could see he wanted to kill me. He drove into me, sending me flying over my handlebars into the gravel and grass on the side of the road. He stopped, Got out with a Panga and come for me. I run into the bush, through wired fences I don’t know what else, I just wanted to get away. The guy then loaded my bike into the car and drove off..I laid in the grass till now (when his friend fetched him) afraid he might come back to me.”

And in another incident taken from http://www.thinkbike.co.za/talk/phpBB2/index.php

Posted by ‘Big Blue’ “A friend of mine was cycling with 2 friends on Sunday morning when a car ploughed into them. One was killed on impact while the other 2 were admitted to hospital. My friend is at home today recovering from a Broken jaw, Broken cheek bone, torn ear and grazed over 30% of he’s body. This was a hit and run so I hope they catch the b%$#&^% who caused this senseless tragedy”

These are only two of the incidents over the weekend… how many more were there?

Cyber-Terrorism or Cyber-Paranoia

Posted on May 21, 2008 
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There’s been a growing concern about Cyber-Terrorism and Cybersecurity. No doubt that cybersecurity is an important issue that should be addressed. But does cyber-terrorism even exist? What would be considered a cyber-terrorist attack? And would such an attack be considered an act of terrorism?

So does that mean hackers are now considered terrorists? Isn’t there a life term prison sentence for convicted terrorists? So then does that mean hackers, if caught, will face life in prison?

The FBI defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.”

So is cyberterrorism or hacking really terrorism or is it just possible to use cyberspace as another tool for terrorist attacks?

Are they just using the term cyber-terrorism to instil fear and create paranoia among citizens? Would that not in itself be an act of terrorism? If so, then this attached video is an act of terrorism, isn’t? or does cyber-terrorism only exist to the extent depicted in the movies?

Double Century Time

Posted on May 20, 2008 
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So the weather is changing… no more hot sunny days, instead we have cold and wet stay indoors kinda weather… with “what’s on TV” days and “I’m sleeping late” weekends… ahhhhhhh the joys of winter…

Unless of course you’re one of the crazy people who plan on doing the Double Century cycle tour in November sometime.. I say November sometime because the date is still to be confirmed and so is the start venue and well… the route.

What we do know about the Double Century is that it’s a team cycle event reserved for the crazy people. It covers a distance in excess of 200km with a cut-off time of 10hrs 30mins and the terrain is Not easy… but with enough training it’s achievable by any keen cyclist. And Yes, I am one of those crazy people but I’m not That crazy because I’ve only done it 3 times so far…

It’s a fun (in a sadistic kinda way) event though and quite an achievement for most recreational cyclists… it’s like one of those “Every cyclist must do… before you die” kinda things. So get 6 to 12 cycling buddies together get training and do this milestone event…

And if you not crazy by the time you start the Double Century, you will be when you get halfway and realise that you still have in excess of 100km to the finish! So that’s like doing two Argus Cycle Tours in one day… it’s Madness I tell you!

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