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Sweet Tools Listing Now Exceeds 700 Tools
7/15/2008 3:56:56 PM
This post was created by the WordPress SIOC Import plugin based on this SIOC RDF data describing a post located at http://www.mkbergman.com/?p=448.
AI3's listing of semantic Web and -related tools has now crossed the barrier to 702 tools in total. There are 10 new tools since the last posting on this listing, with a few older ones retired.
A parallel listing is maintained by the Semantic Web Company
with a very attractive presentation. They have also been aiding greatly in the general maintenance of the list.
Background on prior listings and earlier statistics may be found on these previous posts:
- Sweet Tools Updated, Opened for Collaboration (Mar. 31, 2008)
- Sweet Tools Updated to 650 Tools (Nov. 18, 2007)
- New Release: 578 Semantic Web and -related Tools (Sept. 16, 2007)
- 542 Semantic Web and -related Tools (Jun. 19, 2007)
- Listing of 500 Semantic Web and Related Tools (Mar. 11, 2007)
- Sweet Tools Updated to 420 Tools (Feb. 7, 2007)
- Converting 'Sweet Tools' to an Exhibit (Jan. 22, 2007)
- Permanent Sweet Tools Listing — 400+ Tools and Counting!< (Jan. 5, 2007)
- Comprehensive Listing of 250 Semantic Web Tools (updated) (Oct. 4, 2006)
- Comprehensive Listing of 175 Semantic Web Tools (Sep. 22, 2006)
- Current Listing of 70 Semantic Web Tools (Aug. 12, 2006)
With interim updates periodically over that period.
Please use ‘Comments' on this post for suggestions or additions to the listing.
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Announcing the 'Innovations in Information' Timeline
7/15/2008 3:44:50 PM
This post was created by the WordPress SIOC Import plugin based on this SIOC RDF data describing a post located at http://www.mkbergman.com/?p=421.
Breakthroughs in the Basis, Nature and Organization of Information Across Human History
I'm pleased to present a timeline of 100 or so of the most significant events and developments in the innovation and management of information and documents from cave paintings ( ca 30,000 BC) to the present. Click on the link to the left or on the screen capture below to go to the actual interactive timeline.
This timeline has fast and slow scroll bands — including bubble popups with more information and pictures for each of the entries offered. (See the bottom of this posting for other usage tips.)
Note the timeline only presents non-electronic innovations and developments from alphabets to writing to printing and information organization and conventions. Because there are so many innovations and they are concentrated in the last 100 years or fewer, digital and electronic communications are somewhat arbitrarily excluded from the listing.
I present below some brief comments on why I created this timeline, some caveats about its contents, and some basic use tips. I conclude with thanks to the kind contributors.
Why This Timeline?
Readers of this AI3 blog or my detailed bio know that information — biological embodied in genes, or cultural embodied in human artefacts — has been my lifelong passion. I enjoy making connections between the biological and cultural with respect to human adaptivity and future prospects and I like to dabble on occasion as an amateur economic or information science historian. 
About 18 months ago I came across David Huynh's nifty Exhibit lightweight data display widget, gave it a glowing review, and then proceeded to convert my growing Sweet Tools listing of semantic Web and related tools to that format. Exhibit still powers the listing (which I just updated yesterday for the twelfth time or so).
At the time of first rolling out Exhibit I also noted that David had earlier created another lightweight timeline display widget that looked similarly cool (and which was also the first API for rendering interactive timelines in Web pages). (In fact, Exhibit and Timeline are but two of the growing roster of excellent lightweight tools from David.) Once I completed adopting Exhibit, I decided to find an appropriate set of chronological or time-series data to play next with Timeline.
I had earlier been ruminating on one of the great intellectual mysteries of human development: Why, roughly beginning in 1820 to 1850 or so, did the historical economic growth patterns of all prior history suddenly take off? I first wrote on this about two years ago in The Biggest Disruption in History: Massively Accelerated Growth Since the Industrial Revolution, with a couple of follow-ups and expansions since then.
I realized that in developing my thesis that wood pulp paper and mechanized printing were the key drivers for this major inflection change in growth (as they effected literacy and the broadscale access to written information) I already had the beginnings of a listing of various information innovations throughout history. So, a bit more than a year ago, I began adding to that list in terms of how humans learned to write, print, share, organize, collate, reproduce and distribute information and when those innovations occurred.
There are now about 100 items in this listing (I'm still looking for and researching others; please send suggestions at any time. 
). Here are some of the current items in chronological order from upper left to lower right:
| cave paintings | codex | footnotes | microforms |
| ideographs | woodblock printing | copyrights | thesaurus |
| calendars | tree diagram | encyclopedia | pencil (mass produced) |
| cuneiform | quill pen | capitalization | rotary perfection press |
| papyrus (paper) | library catalog | magazines | catalogues |
| hieroglyphs | movable type | taxonomy (binomial classification) | typewriter |
| ink | almanacs | statistics | periodic table |
| alphabet | paper (rag) | timeline | chemical pulp (sulfite) |
| Phaistos Disc | word spaces | data graphs | classification (Dewey) |
| logographs | registers | card catalogs | linotype |
| maps | intaglio | lithography | mimeograph machine |
| scrolls | printing press | punch cards | kraft process (pulp) |
| manuscripts | advertising (poster) | steam-powered (mechanized) papermaking | flexography |
| glossaries | bookbinding | book (machine-paper) | classification (LoC) |
| dictionaries | pagination | chemcial symbols | classification (UDC) |
| parchment (paper) | punctuation | mechanical pencil | offset press |
| bibliographies | library catalog (printed) | chromolithography | screenprinting |
| concept of categories | public lending library | paper (wood pulp) | ballpoint pen |
| library | dictionaries (alphabetic) | rotary press | xerographic copier |
| classification system (library) | newspapers | mail-order catalog | hyperlink |
| zero | Information graphics | fountain pen | metadata (MARC) |
| paper | scientific journal | | |
So, off and on, I have been working with and updating the data and display of this timeline in draft. (I may someday also post my notes about how to effectively work with the Timeline widget.)
With the listing above, completion was sufficient to finally post this version. One of the neat things with Timeline is the ability to drive the display from a simple XML listing. I will update the timeline when I next have an opportunity to fill in some of the missing items still remaining on my innovations list such as alphabeticization, citations, and table of contents, among many others.
Some Interpretation Caveats
Of course, rarely can an innovation be traced to a single individual or a single moment in time. Historians are increasingly documenting the cultural milieu and multiple individuals that affect innovation.
In these regards, then, a timeline such as this one is simplistic and prone to much error and uncertainty. We have no real knowledge, for examples, for the precise time certain historical innovations occurred, and others (the ballpoint pen being one case in point) are a matter of interpretation as to what and when constituted the first expression. For instances where the record indicated multiple dates, I chose to use the date when released to the publlic.
Nonetheless, given the time scales here of more than 30,000 years, I do think broad trends and rough time frames can be discerned. As long as one interprets this timeline as indicative and not meant as definitive in any scholary sense, I believe this timeline can inform and provide some insight and guidance for how information has evolved over human history.
Some Use Tips
The operation of Timeline is pretty straightforward and intuitive. Here are a couple of tips to get a bit more out of playing with it:
- The timeline has two scrolling panels, fast and slow. For rapid scolling, use mouse down and left or right movement on the lower panel
- The lower panel also shows small ticks for each innovation in the upper panel
- Clicking any icon or label in the upper panel will cause a bubble popup to appear with a bit more detail and a picture for the item; click the ‘X' to close the bubble
- Each entry is placed in one or more categories keyed by icon. You may "filter" results by using keywords such as: alphabets, book, calendars, libraries, maps, mechanization, paper, papermaking, printing, organizing, scripts, standardization, statistics, timelines, or typography. Partial strings also match
- Similarly, you may enter one of those same terms into one of the four color highlight boxes. Partial strings also match.
Sources, Contributions and Thanks
For the sake of consistency, nearly all entries and pictures on the timeline are drawn from the respective entries within Wikipedia. Subsequent updates may add to this listing by reference to original sources, at which time all sources will be documented.
The fantastic Timeline was developed by David Huynh while he was a graduate student at MIT. Timeline and its sibling widgets were developed under funding from MIT's Simile program. Thanks to all in the program and best wishes for continued funding and innovation.
Finally, my sincere thanks go to Professor Michael Buckland of the School of Information at the University of California, Berkeley, for his kind suggestions, input and provision of additonal references and sources. Of course, any errors or omissions are mine alone. I also thank Professor Buckland for his admonitions about use and interpretation of the timeline dates.
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Good Domain Names for sale
7/15/2008 4:58:36 AM
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Domain Name: chinesevisaapplication.com China Visa
FuturePolice.com Domain Name — Future Police .com –
Weefs.com ~ Unique 5 Letter .com Domain Name
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RSS Mashup Tip
7/14/2008 11:16:17 PM
RSS Mashup
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Image of Popeye Enters Public Domain In the EU
Several readers wrote in to mention that the copyright on the image of the character Popeye expired in the EU as the year began, 70 years since the death of its creator Elzie Segar. The US will have to wait until 2024, 95 years after Segar's death. Only Popeye's image is free of trademark in the EU; the name "Popeye" is still under copyright by King Features Syndicate. Popeye made his first appearance in a comic strip in 1929 and became hugely popular in the 1930s. The Times claims that Popeye now moves $2.8B of merchandise per year. Le Monde's coverage (in Google translation) mentions the real-life people in Segar's early experience who inspired some of the Popeye cast of characters. Popeye himself was based on the prize fighter Frank "Rocky" Fiegel.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Developing "Eyes-Free" Gadgets and Applications The New York Times is running a story about Google engineer T. V. Raman, who lost his vision at age 14 but didn't let that stand in the way of his interest in technology. In addition to modifying a version of Google's search engine to give preference to pages that were more compliant with accessibility guidelines, Raman is now working on making cell phones easier to use without needing to look at them. "Since he cannot precisely hit a button on a touch screen, Mr. Raman created a dialer that works based on relative positions. It interprets any place where he first touches the screen as a 5, the center of a regular telephone dial pad. To dial any other number, he simply slides his finger in its direction — up and to the left for 1, down and to the right for 9, and so on. If he makes a mistake, he can erase a digit simply by shaking the phone, which can detect motion." Raman and a co-worker, Charles Chen, are also attempting to extend various phones' ability to read back scanned text to include signs that are anywhere in the phone's field of view.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Universities Patenting More Student Ideas theodp writes "Working as a NASA intern, grad student Erez Lieberman had a eureka moment, resulting in an algorithm that detects whether a person is standing correctly or is off balance. Unfortunately, MIT liked it so much they decided to patent it. Seeking permission to use his own idea for his iShoe startup, which develops products like insoles to address the problems of seniors, Lieberman was told no problem — as long as he promised a hefty royalty and forked over a $75,000 upfront payment. Whether or not students are aware of it, the NYTimes reports that most universities own inventions created by students that were developed using a 'significant' amount of schools resources. Colleges and universities once obtained fewer than 250 patents a year, but that was before the Bayh-Dole Act gave them ownership of inventions developed through federally financed research. Now they acquire about 3,000 a year, and in 2006 licensing fees and equity in spinoff companies totaled at least $45B — research powerhouses like Stanford and NYU pocketed $61M and $157M, respectively."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
32bit Win7 Vs. Vista Vs. XP An anonymous reader writes "ZDNet's Adrian Kingsley-Hughes tested the latest Win7 build against XP and Vista and came to a surprising conclusion: Win7 performs better than the other 2 OSs in the vast majority of the 23 tasks tested. Even installation. 'Rather than publish a series of benchmark results for the three operating systems (something which Microsoft frowns upon for beta builds, not to mention the fact that the final numbers only really matter for the release candidate and RTM builds), I've decided to put Windows 7, Vista and XP head-to-head in a series of real-world tests...'" This review shows only a 1-2-3 ranking for each test, so there's no sense of the quantitative level of improvement.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
It's Not Just About Twitter... and How I Bought a Kodak Camera. by Paul Jahn
So, Twitter happens to be huge right now. There are a ton of articles, Blog posts, and even PDF books on how to use it correctly for different industries. I don't think there's one definitive answer on how to use Twitter, although I can safely say it's important to
not forget about other social media options. The whole mix is what can build consumer relationships.
Around nine months ago, I started a Blog project at work that had me looking for different office supply manufacturers who utilize social media options such as Blogs, Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
I wound up finding Kodak. Only a small part of their product lines involve office supplies, and that's fine. I even wound up buying a Kodak camera because of it (more on that below).
They do have a few Twitter accounts, including one for Kodak's Chief Blogger, Jenny Cisney at http://twitter.com/kodakCB. This is great, but they also utilize other forms of social media. They have their own YouTube channel which they consistently keep up to date. Their public Facebook page is equally as active. Since Kodak sells cameras, it also makes sense that they would have a Flickr photostream.
Jenny also runs a Kodak blog and I was in awe of a panoramic shot from a post at the Beijing Olympics. I commented, and she commented back mentioning that their M1063 has panoramic options. I thought that was cool and connected with her on Twitter and Flickr. Add their YouTube channel and Facebook page and these social media avenues combined helped me purchase the Kodak M1063. Other manufacturers had what I was looking for too, but the interactivity from Kodak gave me personal trust.
I'm only one person and the camera only cost $150, but it's money I probably would have otherwise spent with either Nikon or Canon. It turns out that the purchased camera works great for my needs.
From a consumer point of view, this is a great example on how to utilize many social media opportunities. For SEO, all of the above social media options are crawled by Google. A lot of search engine real estate can be achieved here.
As a consumer, have you made buying decisions based on social media? We'd love to hear your story!
Check out our small business news site.
UK: Private firm to guard database of every phone call, e-mail A UK plan to create a database of metadata about every phone call, text message, and e-mail has become even more controversial in the wake of reports that maintenance of the system may be outsourced to private firms.
Read..
University publishes 15 words we <3 to hate for 2009 Every year, a handful of words and phrases ride the pop culture rollercoaster into our vernacular, only to arrive at the short end of our tolerance once December rolls around. Lake Superior State University has a list of the worst offenders to avoid for 2009.
Read..
Ars Technica's most viral stories of 2008 Here are the top tech news items published by Ars that "went viral" this past year. GTA, spam, scams, and even some iTunes caught our readers' attention.
Read..
Time Warner Cable could lose all Viacom channels tonight MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and more could soon by pulled from Time Warner Cable's lineup after Viacom demands an extra quarter per month for its channels. The current contract expires at midnight tonight.
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Ars raises $12,000 to become a Child's Play platinum sponsor Today is the last day of our Child's Play drive, and we have wonderful news: so far, we have raised over $12,000. That makes Ars Technica a Child's Play platinum sponsor, having given over $22,000 across two years.
Read..
China licenses (non-Chinese) 3G wireless standards After several years of trying to develop its own national 3G standard, China has announced that it will license both WCDMA and CDMA 2000. Work continues on its own TD-SCMA initiative, however.
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New microphone improves Rock Band, portable drums less so Mad Catz is supporting Rock Band with an entire line of peripherals. Ars reviews the company's microphone/controller and the ultra-convenient Portable Drum Kit. Do the products deserve a spot beside your home theater?
Read..
Grim tidings stalk online holiday sales Online sales may not have dropped as much as retail this holiday season, but they still fell significantly. Six years of solid overall growth has ended.
Read..
Theoretical attacks yield practical attacks on SSL, PKI A paper published in 2007 describing a way of attacking a widely-used cryptographic function was widely dismissed as "theoretical." Now, a team of researchers has shown why that was a foolish thing to do, and why you can't trust your browser's padlock icon any
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30GB Zune apocalypse arrives as devices enter digital coma (Updated 4x, now w... Judgment day has arrived for owners of 30GB Zunes. The music player inexplicably entered a worldwide coma last night, and players are completely nonresponsive. Whoops.
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Keyword Research Tool | Semantic SEO
4/14/2008 9:43:21 PM
When it comes to Search Engine Marketing and Keyword research, nothing is more important than knowing the ‘neighborhood'.
We think we've made it easy with our latest offering: Touch Cloud
I used to find it difficult, using the usual SEO Tools, to determine which anchor text best reflected the website when building links . So, probably the way most SEO solutions start, we set out to solve this problem as well as build something that was both effective and intuitive.
Quick Keyword Research Tool
It's simple … if you are optimizing a website, then you must find all competing and supporting keywords. In other words, get to know the neighborhood. We've made it easy, Just enter your keyword phrase to instantly produce beautiful Clouds AND link structure, then generate content from the cloud (information pulse - not available with free edition). Click inside the cloud to investigate the neighborhood and produce spectacular relevant keyword phrases as tagged links.
What is Microformating?
Microformating provides a method of decentralized Tagging … are you tired of visiting dozens of social networking sites to bookmark your favorite pages?
There are things on this page that you will not see unless you have the Firefox Microformat extensions installed.
tag cloud
microformats folksonomy tools and analytics emerging practice tagging business tools_and_analytics bookmarking microformat tags
This fast new solution generates Microformatted ‘clouds of relevance' and … stay tuned as we continue to support Semantic Web initiatives such as SIOC and Scot Ontology's. Every day, we contemplate ways to accurately present the true meaning of a site, without major investments from webmasters. Most web sites are not Semantic Web friendly or even aware but clearly all web sites contain Domain specific ‘knowledge', the recent debates suggest that most will not bend to the requirements of coding meta-data into their pages. This is why we decided to pursue a ‘Top Down' Semantic Web Application approach.
Organic Search has been completely nuts lately, with reports that the top SE has lost control of its data, a reminder that the search paradigm is liquid. There are a few impressive trailblazers in the Semantic Web solution space but SemWeb still is a bit too much science for most. Nobody can really dispute the value of a web that can perform some level of Artificial Intelligence, still few are willing to accomodate it.
At RSS, we say, Bring on the ‘Intelligent web' … we are ready . Are you?
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