No <BR /> tags were used in the making of this website. Innovative Studios promotes the removal of the <BR /> from HTML.
September 1st, 2008
“Broken Rhetoric” is the start page of Innovative Studios and displays the most recent content within the website. Subjects range from business development, & computer science, to salsa dancing. As of 2010 updates to this website will be posted on a weekly basis.
Don't oversimplify! Feedback can't be grouped in ‘GOOD’ and ‘BAD’ categories. - Daniel Burka
Daniel Burka is best known as the creative director for social news site website Digg. He is also a founding partner at the web design company Silverorange, based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. In 2007, Daniel co-founded the social networking service Pownce with Kevin Rose and Leah Culver. It was announced that Pownce was acquired by Six Apart on December 1st, 2008. In September 2009, Daniel announced that he was leaving Digg to join the gaming startup Tiny Speck, started by Flickr co-founder Stewart Butterfield.
or High performance Website tips from a Yahoo! developer
January 1st, 1970
All good goals are directly opposed to one another...nothing will replace the clever developer who makes a choice between two conflicting goals. - Nicole Sullivan
Synopsis
Website performance is a growing challenge for web developers and designers. The net effect of features like rounded corners and rich Ajax integration is slower performance. At Web Directions North, performance guru and former Yahoo! engineer, Nicole Sullivan, shared some of the tools and techniques she developed and used to maximize performance for Yahoo! sites and applications.
Whether you are a designer, developer, product or project manager, this session will help you improve the performance of your sites and applications.
About
A highly experienced web engineer, Nicole has until recently been responsible for international evangelism in the performance research team, whose role is to quantify and improve the performance of all Yahoo! products worldwide. This was a multifunctional leadership role which was equal parts engineering, research, project management, and evangelism. requiring solid communication with people who have different levels of performance expertise.
As part of these efforts Nicole shares the lessons Yahoo! has learned in improving the performance of their many sites and applications.
Hate is a lie! Hate is a lie you use to simplify the world around us. You use it because you want to make the world simple. You see something, it's disgusting, you don't want to see it anymore, you hate it! - Foy Savas
Summary
In this talk from FutureRuby, Foy Savas explains how to approach the concept of polyglot programming. Foy is an articulate bundle of intelligence. He brings a unique yet comical journey into the typical software developer's mind. Foy bases his presentation on the powerful emotion of Hate. There is something we hate in all of our lives. This is usually technology related as software developers. Toying around he creates a server application writen in C++ and Rack thus creating CRack! Hint: an open mind helps.
Bio
Foy Savas is the author of The Merb Way, a contributor to numerous open source projects, and the director of Assembly consulting.
About the conference
FutureRuby isn't a Ruby conference, but a conference for Rubyists. This is a call to order - a congress of the curious characters that drew us to this community in the first place. We have a singular opportunity to express a long-term vision, a future where Ruby drives creativity and prosperity without being dampened by partisan politics.
The future of web design is...the people that make the web happen. And that's YOU! - Mike Kus
Mike has a large body of work and most recently is responsible for the awesome redesign of the web conference team Carsonified site which has been highly praised within the web community. As well as being a talented web designer, Mike is a gifted illustrator and his work shows how accessible web design can still look beautiful. You can see more examples of his work at The Things We Make.
It was an honor to meet Mike and speak with him about what he believes to be the future of web design. Mike believes the web will be trailblazed by designers willing to take risks. Mike hopes that anyone who views his talk will leave refreshed with a newfound inspiration to revisit thier existing site to see where the envelope can be pushed.
or Food, Wine, and Web Semantics with Doctor Deborah McGuinness
November 27th, 2009
...I had domains that were very hard to explain. So I needed to come up with a domain that was accessible that I knew enough to be my own expert. I used food & wine. - Deborah McGuinness, Ph. D Tetherless World Senior Constellation Chair
Deborah Louise McGuinness is a computer scientist working in the field of artificial intelligence, specifically in knowledge representation and reasoning, description logics, the semantic web, explanation, and trust. She is a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where she holds an endowed chair and co-founder position in the Tetherless World Research Constellation. She is a leading expert in knowledge representation and reasoning languages and systems and has worked in ontology creation and evolution environments for over 20 years. Most recently, Deborah is best known for her leadership role in semantic web research, and for her work on explanation, trust, and applications of semantic web technology, particularly for scientific applications.
Dr. Deborah McGuinness was the former acting director and senior research scientist of (KSL), Knowledge Systems Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Stanford University. Deborah is also the co-author of OWL (Web Ontology Language). Deborah's main research thrusts there were in languages, tools, and environments for the semantic web.
or How to Expose Legacy Relational Data to the Semantic Web
November 27th, 2009
Ultrawrap will install in just two clicks expose your existing database to the web using existing database practices. Everything else...is magic! - Juan Sequeda Ph.D Candidate
At the International Semantic Web Conference I was able to speak with a bright man Juan Sequeda. Juan is currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Texas at Austin concentrating in Semantic Data and Relational Databases. His research has provided an innovative approach to taking legacy data stored in Relational Database Management Systems to create a queryable representation of the data in triple views. The objective is to have access to data in relational databases which can become interoperable with other linked data on the Semantic Web.
There is a huge gap between the Semantic Web and Database community. However in recent years, we are starting to see interest from the Database community in the data management aspects of the Semantic Web. The databases to manage Semantic Web data, called triple stores, can be created using relational databases as the backend. However current triple-stores with relational backend have poor performance. The research problem is to identify other ways to take advantage of the existing relational database infrastructure.
Juan and his team at The University of Texas at Austin have created a novel approach that exposes legacy data in relational databases as a triple-store without the need of replicating the data. Our approach demonstrated that existing commercial SQL query engines already subsume all the algorithms need to support effective query rewriting from the SPARQL language (query language for the Semantic Web) to SQL. Furthermore, our experimental results showed that our approach is better than all other existing triple-stores.
Step your video production game up! - Snuggs Innovative Studios
What would you do if you had some time to spare in Times Square New York? Get a good exercise in by dance. I always would jokingly say "I am a drummer so I always have a beat constantly playing in my head". Apparently I am not the only one who hears the beat judging by how many people contributed to this video production. I began with me, myself, and a tripod. Within minutes there were dozens of people who were entertained by my dance. I am not the best at the dance but can do a decent job of editing video. Then again, what on television or the internet is really as good of a production in real life as it is edited to be on the screen in front of you.
Being a running back in college (James Madison University Go Dukes!) allowed me to be light on my toes. For someone who deals with technology on a daily basis one has to realize the purpose is to get away from the monitor screen and go outside! Maybe catch a breath of fresh air for once. Dance off some of those calories before you cannot see the keyboard in front of you. Because everyone in New York has some jerk in them (And the kids love it).
Soundtrack Songs
Payso
At All
Lost Generation(feat. Drew E)
On Me
Respect (Companies)
Adobe Premiere(Editing system used to create this video)
or...How I thought I could get rich off mobile applications.
November 27th, 2009
When a rapper is writing an iPhone app...you've got something going here! - Dan Pilone Head First iPhone Development
iPhone development is free. Alot of money to be made. Billion dollar industry (businessweek) projected to go to $4 Billion by 2012. 100,000 apps growing by 25,000/month. Saturated by games and entertainment. It has hit the mainstream. Why is the money being made? Approval process is "fantastic" (being facetious). The secret; There is a distribution channel. Apple has taken all users used to buying 99 cent songs and can now buy an app. People buy an iPod touch to put apps on it. 75% of applications listed in the iPhone app store are paid. That is for a good reason. You can make money off of ad-based ventures but it is tough.
The user experience must be fantastic. 5% of your users come back to your application after 30 days. You've got about 6 minutes of time with your user. This has to happen to be successful within the iPhone application space. Dan walks us through the actual process by developing a Joel Spolsky app throughout the course of his presentation. Dan goes through the "gotchas" of interface builder, and the objective C programming language, and the iPhone simulator. 50% of the time you spend in developing an iPhone application will be in interface development for your users. Dan also discusses the monetary and emotional value of the creation process. The most popular apps tend to be 99 cent apps while the most grossing applications are the more expensive apps of $4.99 & up.
Success Stories and Simple Mathematics (as of late 2009)
Classics - Book reading application by Tap Tap Tap
or...How I learned to stop worrying and advance the relational model.
August 21st, 2009
The days where the relational database is used for everything are over
- Emil Eifrem (C.E.O of Neo Technology)
ISWC (International Semantic Web Conference) allowed us to converse with Emil Eifrem (Swedish) C.E.O of Neo Technology. Emil is a pleasant man with whom I was able to capture his future vision of data storage and consumption. His capacity in this black hole of knowledge is actually complimentary contrary to opinion. Application data is becoming more and more ellusive and distributed and less tabular structured by nature. Emil has been working on a solution to this problem space since 2000 and has only been made public since 2007. The solution is a mathematical graph data storage interestingly named Neo4J.
The "J" in Neo4J is for Java. Contrary to opinion this does not mean Neo for Java the language. Rather this means Neo for Java the framework. Basically anything that runs on the JVM. Bindings are in place for Java, Scala, Clojure, Ruby, Python, (etc.) (but no COBOL).
Historically speaking with relational model purists such as Edgar F. Codd (R.I.P.) and C.J. Date one would assume the stereotypical data application was similar to be similar to a payroll system with extremely structured tabular data. These days the domain model is more ambiguous and "messy". The relational model is not sound for this type of immerging model. Here is the niché where Neo4J will sit.
"Polyglock Persistance" is a term thrown around by Emil in where we say "The day that the relational database is used for everything are over". In the future the relational model will be only a piece of the puzzle of data management. The foresight is to have a relational database system as well as a key value store as well as a graph database. The fields who gain from this hybrid approach range from wiki's to credit fraud protection algorithms.
The ORM (Object Relational Mapping) mismatch is nearly non-existant within the graph database space. This entire class of projects if not goes away then is extremely reduced. This is not true of the object-based database space.
P.S. You WILL NOT need a degree in Graph Theory, or Discrete Mathematics in order to functionaly use Neo4J.
This movement bridges all economic levels; this bridges all racial lines... - Bill Lucas (Producer of Skinny Jeans the movement)
It's bigger than dancing. The effect of technology on young adults.
What do you get when you cross, skating, Hip-Hop/Rock music, technology, skinny jeans, and a heaping pile of individuality?
The Jerk Movement. Looks like calisthenics mixed with the Sponge Bob dance (for those born after 1985). There is pure pleasure in youths finding their individuality at an early age. Maybe the stigma of Hip-Hop being about thugs in baggy clothes will finally revert back to it's original status of just being about the music, fashion, and culture.
This west coast movement has actually been around for a handfull of years but has recently strengthened throughout the nation. Caught attention when local youths in Los Angeles needed to vent their frustrations without having to succumb to a neighborhood gang...literally. The New Boyz, Pink Dolla$, The Power Ranger$, and Jinc Entertainment, Baby Dollz, The list goes on, and on, and on...These are all local individuals whom have created their own lane through their music. They do not feel the need to become a premature millionaire OR to sell a million downloads on i-Tunes (which is pretty much the same thing).
It is a movement that is rooted in individuality, and expressed through entrepreneurship. - Shariff Hasan (Film Producer)
Influences
Late 80's Early 90's Hip-Hop.
Youtube, Twitter, cheesesteaks, plaid colors, skinny jeans (and other clothes that actually fit), autotune, free downloadable music software, mp3 players, grilled lettuce (and cheese), Nike SB, Nike Dunks, Gazelle glasses (with no lenses), RUN-DMC, High-Top fades (the flat top), and of course skateboarding..
Throwback Thursday: "Rubber Band Man" - The Spinners
Hey y'all prepare yourself for the rubber band...MAN!
July 30th, 2009
"Who are The Spinners?" you may ask. These soul brothas were one of the first groups to make it out of detroit during the 60's and boy do these gentlemen have longevity. They still are selling out performances to this day. Some of the older heads out there before my time might remember the song "I'll Be Around".
The Rubber Band Man reached #2 on the Billboard top 100s chart in 1976 but those of you who were not around during that time (such as myself) might remember a catchy Office Max commercial that played out to the same theme song. The history of the song originated when the producer of the song used to make his overweight son feel better about being taunted in class with a jingle called "The Fat Man". Change one word and the song becomes an instant hit. How amazing! Hey y'all, prepare yo'self!
10 Marathons, 12 Months, $100,000 to raise awareness of wounded veterans.
May 30th, 2009
I believe there has to be an omen of self sacrifice involved with this because the end game, the end beneficiary, the end recipient are these young men and women who are the definition of sacrifice. - Doug Eldridge
Doug Eldridge ( President, DLE Sports)is an entrepreneur from the Washington, D.C. area who is an inspirational role in regards to our wounded and fallen soldiers returning from the war in the middle east. Upon visiting his mother, Doug was able to converse with soldiers who were wounded from the war in Iraq. What struck him as a surprise, these brave soldiers were our youth in the 18-25 year old demographic. This was a completely humbling experience. Mr. Eldridge is running ten marathons over the course of 12 months to raise $100,000USD. He has dedicated his body, mind, and soul into this charitable conquest of the United States of America. Most noteworthy is the fact this all will be done on foot.
I have had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Eldridge very well in my collegiate days and I always remembered him to be a stand up gentleman. He was a touch eccentric like myself which is why I always understood his aura. We should all be so giving of our time and our bodies for the greater good. I will now go rest myself to run my five miles tomorrow. What an inspiration.
Shenandoah Ruby User Group InfoEther presentation Part I
September 1st, 2008
An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field. - Niels Bohr
Marcel Molina Jr. is a software consultant specializing in Ruby, Ruby on Rails and iPhone SDK development. Marcel discusses what makes code beautiful. This video was filmed at the Shenandoah Ruby User's Group (ShRUG) is an extension of Marcel's thought provoking RubyConf presentation(Courtesy of ConFreaks). How will your software solutions make you feel when you sleep at night. At some point in the exponential evolution of development and design, the solutions provider will need to evolve as well. How many abstraction layers will be needed to reach a Zen in programming? What holds us back from great software development? Watch as Marcel juxtaposes Saint Thomas Aquinas with sound API architecture discussing the definition of beauty using the following criteria:
proportion (economy of size: smallest size needed to do the job)
integrity (faculty of being well suited for its purpose)
Shenandoah Ruby User Group InfoEther presentation Part II
September 1st, 2008
Rich Kilmer co-founded InfoEther as a for-profit company to focus on applying Ruby in business. He also co-founded Ruby Central, Inc., a non-profit promoting Ruby, where he is an active board member today and a leading contributor in the Ruby open-source community. Prior to InfoEther, Rich founded and served as CTO of Roku Technologies, one of the first peer-to-peer solutions companies and an early adopter of Java. In his 20 years as a software technologist, he has been a sales engineer, designer, consultant and a systems security manager in the U.S. Air Force at the Pentagon. He is an internationally known speaker at software technology conferences.
Featured Topics
Mac Ruby, history, development, and beyond.
M.R.I. Matz's Ruby Interpreter.
The average Ruby-on-Rails development environment in Japan is...Windows?
Objective-C, Hot Coco and iPhone / OSX development.
"How I learned to stop worrying and love the moment!"
September 1st, 2008
Greetings! My name is Ra'Shaun “Snuggs” Stovall. I do alot of things related to web technologies and information systems. I also play drums for a church of a few thousand members. The love of my life is a fashion designer named Robin Luu. That is why I build automated systems to spend more time with her!
Daniel Burka is best known as the creative director for social news site website Digg. He is also a founding partner at the web design company Silverorange, based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. In 2007, Daniel co-founded the social networking service Pownce with Kevin Rose and Leah Culver. It was announced that Pownce was acquired by Six Apart on December 1st, 2008. In September 2009, Daniel announced that he was leaving Digg to join the gaming startup Tiny Speck, started by Flickr co-founder Stewart Butterfield.
