Linux Telephony: Not so short Overview
Google engEDU
1 hr – Jul 25, 2007

Google Tech Talks
July 19, 2007

ABSTRACT

I will talk about voice services in packet-switched (VoIP) and circuit-switched (traditional telephony) networks, using Linux and commodity hardware. This will include short introduction into telephony in general, VoIP and PSTN type of telephony, plus overview of VoIP services (and popular opensource software packages used to implement those services) and kernel interfaces that used in that packages. I will cover the topic of connection to the Public Switched Telephony Network using digital interfaces (E1/T1), kernel support for it in framework called "zaptel", and userspace integration issues. The conclusion is about current trends in Linux-based and open-source telephony.

This is a second run of my presentation which I gave on the Ottawa Linux Symposium’2007. Read the rest of this entry »

Hardware/Software Hacking: Joining the Real and the Virtual
Google engEDU
1 hr 6 min – Jul 31, 2007

Google Tech Talks
July 31, 2007

ABSTRACT

Software developers usually confine themselves to working entirely within the runtime environment of a computer just pushing around bits and pixels. Even virtual worlds such as Second Life exist only in the confines of our CPUs.

On the other hand, hardware hacking has really taken off in recent years and there are now magazines such as MAKE devoted to modifying everyday objects. It’s a lot easier than software jockeys may expect, and this talk will begin with an entertaining exploration of simple ways to get started with linking a computer to real-world objects.

But what happens when you knock down the boundaries between the real world and a virtual world? The talk goes on to show specific techniques and examples for linking real-world objects into the Second Life environment so that changes in the real world can be reflected in SL and vice versa.
Jonathan Oxer is founder of Internet Vision Technologies, author of "How To Build A Website And Stay Sane" ( www.stay-sane.com) and "Ubuntu Hacks" (www.ubuntuhacks.com), is currently President of Linux Australia, convened the last 5 Debian Miniconferences, and sits on various boards and advisory panels for groups including Swinburne University and the federal e-Research Coordinating Committee. Read the rest of this entry »

Is your RDBMS letting you down? Applications of TV Viewing Behavior
Google engEDU
45 min – May 23, 2007

Google Tech Talks
May 23, 2007

ABSTRACT

As commodity hardware becomes cheaper and more powerful it becomes tempting to reflexively use relational databases to track and report on large datasets. Rentrak argues the case that a pure-RDBMS solution can be counterproductive, especially for complex analysis of those datasets. I’ll describe an alternate approach we currently use to track and report on video-on-demand and linear television viewership. Read the rest of this entry »

Wikipedia and MediaWiki
Google engEDU
56 min – Apr 28, 2006

Google TechTalks
April 28, 2006

Brion Vibber
Brion Vibber has worked on MediaWiki and Wikipedia’s servers for four years, watching over its frightening growth from thousands to millions of pages, from dozens to thousands of hits per second.

ABSTRACT
Over four years, MediaWiki has evolved from a quick hack to run a little-known encyclopedia web site to the monster engine behind a heavily-used public site, while maintaining the simplicity needed for an entry-level intranet wiki. Brion reviews past and future directions for Wikipedia’s software and hardware, and how modern buzzword technologies could power and simplify the wiki world. Read the rest of this entry »

MobileQWERTY: A simplified universal keyboard for mobile and special needs
Google engEDU
44 min – Aug 27, 2007

Google Tech Talks
August 27, 2007

ABSTRACT

The current structure of computer keyboard is ideal for normal computer environments, which are normally practiced with both hands and ten fingers. It is considered, however, rather complicated and not suitable for use in mobile or handicapped environments. A simplified keyboard concept can be devised over a simple structure not only for text entry but also for as many functions as necessary from a typical keyboard. It is for the future of ubiquitous mobile life, and also for the ultimate IT practice by handicapped people, since it can easily lead to many kinds of natural and intuitive interfaces to general and diverse hardware in a unified way.

Speaker: Jaewoo Ahn

Jaewoo Ahn, CEO of Mobience, Inc.
Education: B.S. in Mathematics (KAIST), Ph.D. in Computer Science (POSTECH)
Experience: Senior Researcher (ETRI) Read the rest of this entry »