Sky on Tech

My summary of interesting URLs from last week, including stories related to:

• SQL and DB2 - Customer feedback on DB2 LUW v9.7
• Software development - Joomla, Perl tutorials, ProjectZero, Software Carpentry
• Web tools and standards - CSS and SVG
• AI, Robots, and the Singularity - Living with Robots
• Articles I commented on - what our dishwasher knows
• TED talks - lots!

And for those of you on Twitter, the stories relate to: @robintransition @zurb @ProjectZero

(As always, most of the text is lifted directly from the related websites and isn't my own text.)

SQL and DB2

Jean-Marc Blaise on his experiences with DB2 v9.7 on Vimeo

Jean-Marc Blaise, IT Architect at Venedim in Paris, talks about his experiences with the new version of the IBM DB2 database. Jean Marc was one of the early beta testers of DB2 9.7 and he has put it through its paces with a number of the customers he has consulted with.

Delicious tags: IBM DB2 SQL Blaise

Software development

Joomla QuickStart videos

Videos by Michael Casha introducing various aspects of Joomla. Distributed under the Joomla! Electronic Documentation License

Delicious tags: video tutorial howto webdesign webdev quickstart joomla development

Wide range of Perl Tutorials | PerlMonks

A wide range of Perl tutorials, covering the basics, Modules, web programming and XML, regular expressions, database programming, Object Oriented Programing, User Interfaces, and so on.

Delicious tags: Perl perlmonks tutorial programming development

Project Zero - WebSphere sMash

Delivering the best of agile Web 2.0 with PHP scripting, REST and Dojo in an integrated runtime and tooling package: IBM WebSphere sMash

Delicious tags: ibm php ajax development web2.0 framework rest java sMash agile
Associated Twitter users: @ProjectZero

Wide range of Perl Tutorials | PerlMonks

A wide range of Perl tutorials, covering the basics, Modules, web programming and XML, regular expressions, database programming, Object Oriented Programing, User Interfaces, and so on.

Delicious tags: Perl perlmonks tutorial programming development

Software Carpentry course

Software Carpentry is an intensive introduction to basic software development practices for scientists and engineers, using Python. All of the material is open source: it may be used freely by anyone for educational or commercial purposes. The course was offered July 13-31, 2009, at the University of Toronto and the University of Alberta. Slides from the guest lectures on July 29 are available, as are the exercises the students did during the course.

Delicious tags: programming python tutorial software development education reference UofT

Web tools and standards

3 Ways to Add Depth to Any Website with CSS | ZURB

One technique we use regularly is adding depth to a design to give it that extra flair. Here are three ways to add visual depth to any website—with nothing but CSS.

Delicious tags: css webdesign tips design tutorial web
Associated Twitter users: @zurb

Using SVG For Flexible, Scalable, and Fun Backgrounds, Part I | A List Apart

In this introductory article, I’ll cover some important considerations for working with SVG, including browser support and accessibility. Read Part II to learn how to find and adapt SVG you can find online, or how to create your own SVG drawings and add them to your web pages.

Delicious tags: svg webdesign css javascript tutorial html vector graphics web

AI, Robots, and the Singularity

Asimo stars in Living With Robots (video) | Engadget

A short film that investigates "humankind's keen interest in robots and how robots can challenge the impossible by saving lives while also holding the promise to become more integrated and helpful in daily life."

Delicious tags: robots singularity Honda Asimo AI

Articles I commented on

TED talks

The TED talks I watched this week. They are all highly recommended