Dacapo Alfine

IPv6: Leidsche Rijn is alleen bereikbaar met elektrisch aangedreven auto’s?

2009-09-29T06:54:00.000-07:00

Wanneer IPv6?

Zouden we in Nederland toestaan dat een nieuwbouwwijk zoals Leidsche Rijn alleen maar toegankelijk zou zijn met elektrisch aangedreven auto’s?

Dat zou je denken als we de vergelijking zouden trekken met het internetverkeer. Nieuwe computers die we willen aansluiten en bereiken zullen binnen afzienbare tijd alleen nog maar bereikbaar zijn met het nieuwe internet protocol versie 6. Hoe zit dat dan precies?

Mensen gebruiken computers om met elkaar te communiceren. Ze versturen informatie in kleine pakketjes van de ene computer naar de andere via het internet. Mensen hebben geen weet van wat allemaal daarvoor gebeurt onder de motorkap. De informatiepakketjes zijn speciaal opgebouwd voor dit transport en bevatten informatie die aangeeft waar de informatie naar toe moet. Elke computer heeft uiteindelijk zijn eigen unieke adres en kan via een ingenieus stelsel van routering informatie naar andere computers sturen. Daarvoor is het Internet Protocol versie 4 (IPv4) in gebruik, een standaard bestaande uit 32 bits waaruit de adressen worden opgebouwd.

Genoeg IP adressen

Hoeveel computers kunnen uniek onderscheiden worden? In theorie zijn 4,3 miljard adressen aanwezig waarvan 3,7 miljard adressen bruikbaar zijn en nu nog maar 812 miljoen beschikbaar. De schattingen lopen uiteen maar om het eenvoudig te stellen is de kans aanwezig dat op 1 juli 2011 geen adressen meer kunnen worden uitgedeeld aan nieuwe computers. En dat terwijl we juist een grote toename mogen verwachten van op internet aangesloten computers. Elke nieuwe mobiele telefoon is immers een computer…..

Al in de beginjaren van internet (1990 en daarna) zijn mensen gaan nadenken over de manier van adressering en het aantal aangesloten computers. Nederland kent zijn IPv6 taksforce. IPv6 is de nieuwe 128 bits standaard voor het IP protocol en de adressering van computers. Hiermee kunnen we weer vooruit en alle nieuwe computers voorzien van een uniek adres. Dat is mooi maar om deze nieuwe computers te kunnen bereiken moeten de oude computers wel worden aangepast zodat zij toegang hebben tot de nieuwe adressen. Als dat niet gebeurt, zullen mensen die voor IPv4 geschikte computers blijven gebruiken niet de mensen met de nieuwe voor IPv6 geschikte computers kunnen bereiken.

Conclusie:

Laten we nu werk maken van IPv6 en zorgen dat onze klanten overstappen en klaar zijn voor de toekomst. Dan zijn we allemaal aangesloten op de nieuwe elektronische snelweg en kunnen we de toekomstige elektronische wijken bereiken!

Proximity is near by

2008-04-24T14:01:00.000-07:00

Final thoughts on Proximity Tour to Silicon Valley

Proximity is near by!

The tour ended with a visit to the city of San Francisco. What is special about the city? It is a typical American city (sirens, straight streets) but with an harbor, a mixture of cultures and it is hilly (an understatement). So, what brought this “proximity tour” to the group and me?

In Silicon Valley all conditions are fulfilled to entrepreneur. What are the characteristics?

Within the American culture you take risks
Foreign people feel comfortably in this multi cultural society
Entrepreneurs ask for money as easily as investors are prepared to supply it together with their advice
Knowledge is created, transferred into an entrepreneurial eco-system and applied to create new technologies using creative ideas
The entrepreneurial eco-system is built on those characteristics, however the basic mechanisms are networking established by professional institutions and personal relationships of people

We think that we can establish a start of a Silicon Valley like eco-system within the area of Delft. The ingredients we have are:

Knowledge institutes (TUD and TNO) that are willing to cooperate
The city of Delft that is willing to support the ideas with political engagement
A city with historical value that is known around the world
A network organization that is “alive and kicking” (ICT-Kring Delft) and could provide the start for the development of the Delft eco system
Other opportunities are the proximity of the harbor of Rotterdam (main port to Europe), telecom industry in The Hague

At the moment I act as the coordinator for innovation projects of nineteen members of the ICT-Kring. These projects stimulate cooperation between members and the transfer of knowledge. Subsidies of the ministry of economical affairs (a typical Dutch mechanism to facilitate entrepreneurs) are supplied for part of the innovation work done and the purchase of external knowledge. My challenge is to make a success of these projects for the reason of cooperation between the member companies. Of course the ultimate goals are the innovations resulting in new products, technology and services. My opinion is that cooperation between members and the transfer of knowledge between those members is conditional for their individual successes.

Da Capo al Fine is already part of the current eco-system in Delft. How can I further enroll my capabilities to establish a Silicon Valley like eco-system near by?

Golden Gate Bridge

2008-04-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

An impressive bridge

a spectacular view on the bay

and on San Francisco.

Ex’pression College is the result of entrepreneuring

2008-04-05T22:43:00.000-07:00

Ex’pression College for Digital Arts was founded by Gary Platt, a sound recording engineer and educator, and Eckart Wintzen, a Dutch venture capitalist and media arts enthusiast. A 65,000 square foot building was purchased in Emeryville, California to house a new school to be called “Ex’pression Center for New Media.”   Ex’pression hired preeminent media architect John Storyk , to help design the unique facility which houses the school. Building began in November of 1998.

Eckart died two weeks ago. Many people witnessed his excessive energy. You notice this energy as soon as you enter the doors of the building. Students are studying, coached by their teachers in workshops, staff is busy. Our guide, the former director Peter Laanen, is an enthusiastic storyteller. He shows all the models of animated figures that have been made by students in recent years. The school provides a bachelors degree. In April of 2005, the school became an accredited college and is now accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Since then more students arrive and is the school profitable.

Both Eckart and Peter are typical entrepreneurs. They do simply the things they believe in and work hard to reach success.

From the Differential Machine to VAX 780 and SaaS

2008-04-03T22:29:00.000-07:00

Computing is old. People have computed since ages. However the first machines to support computing were designed in the 19th century by Charles Babbage. At the end of the 20th century these machines have been built and appeared to work! The Differential Machine and many others (but dead) computing machines Enigma, Altair, Macintosh (of course), VAX can be seen in de computer museum here in Mountain View California.

Our day ended with a debate in the Churchill Club at the premises of the computer museum about enterprise software between Marc Benioff of salesforce.com and Hasso Plattner of SAP. In practice this was a debate between the old software industry model, the closed model with new versions and vendor lock in represented by SAP and the new model Software as a Service with loosely coupled services automatically updated and managed and hosted by an outside provider. Who won? Most of us prefer the new ideas of SaaS but SAP will be present for more years to come was promised.

During the day Microsoft showed us an overview of their research, which they particularly run as a computer sciences department. And they gave us some insight in their “TV from a Telco provider” product.

But we began the day very well with our visit to the Software Development Forum. This non-for profit organization exists for 25 years and organizes events for their member community on various technical subjects. They connect people such as engineers, entrepreneurs, business angels and alike. Many volunteers support them. We all got the feeling that we could envision the ICTkring in the far future as a kind of SD Forum organization in Delft.

On the picture: Susan of the SD Forum

"Last contribution of the USA to the world was the Internet"

2008-04-02T22:39:00.000-07:00

These are words of Joaquin Alvarado, Director of the Institute for Next Generation Internet INGI. He was rather provocative in his speech saying that “We are an old country with crumbling medical systems”. He argued that telephone, energy and education should be available to everybody in the US by law but often are not. On the other hand piracy is a great issue in the media space and the government cannot do anything about that.

He mentioned two examples of successful governmental regulation of infrastructure, namely the interstate highways and the Public Broadcasting System PBS proposed by the Carnegie Commission. So why not the next generation Internet? That reminded me on the succesfull SURFnet model we have in the Netherlands intended for Internet network facilities between the Universities. In the eighties it took a long time to convince the two ministers (Andriessen and Deetman) of the necessity and the funding needed. Nowadays we enjoy the advantages of this organization and the Internet facilities it hosts.

Joaquin thinks that the next generation of Internet must provide services for highly demanding social communities (consumers at home) and at the universities.

Dave McClure of 500 Hats showed us his model of five (5) AARRR stages a webpage visitor (say user) is going through:
• Acquisition; Users come to the site via various channels
• Activation; User enjoy the first visit, “happy” experience
• Retention; Users come back, visit site multiple times
• Referral; Users like product enough to refer others
• Revenue; Users conduct some monetization behavior

Dave argues that every startup company must be aware of its own metrics for these stages in order to operate the company and make conversions to the web application. His experiences look similar to those of Paul Graham. Focus on the customers and nearly daily builds are essential ingredients. See his interesting essay “How to be Silicon Valley” .

The Network is the Platform

2008-04-01T23:23:00.000-07:00

PlugandPlayTechCenter

The day started with a meeting with the Dutch business community. They organized breakfast at the café of the Plug and Play Tech center. Immediately people are around you discussing their ideas and business with you. We listened to speeches made by

Cees Jan Koomen; he is establishing a silicon valley like eco system in the Netherlands

Prof Inald Lagendijk of our delegation talking about technology transfer starting at the Technical University of Delft

Carlos Gutierrez of the Larta institute; the Larta Institute is a professional services firm providing entrepreneur training, commercialization, and technology transfer services for governments, companies, and universities.

The center itself incubates 120 firms, some of them being startups founded by entrepreneurs who sold their companies for millions. They are situated on the first flour, the Venture Capitalists and business angels on the third. The working places look a bit dull but the atmosphere seems stimulating for the entrepreneurs. The owner is considering new centers in the region as well in other places in the world (Delft perhaps?).

Cisco
Cisco is known for its routes and switches, forming the basic components for the messaging on the Internet. Their strategy is expressed by “The Network is the Platform”. Ten years ago Sun used a similar expression “The Network is the Computer”. Both are right in the way that the network combines and rules, and provides the intelligence for nowadays services “over IP”. We had a real life teleconference with a Cisco employee in Amsterdam only using 15Mb per second. It really performed well and was very user friendly.

The San Jose Sharks
Is “Hockey” a sport or a show? I think it is the latter. I have never seen so many real life commercials in between the actions on the ice. 17000 People went crazy when they saw their team win the match against the Los Angeles Kings. How would it be to see a short track speed skating competition in such an ambiance?

Silicon Valley: the rules always change

2008-03-31T21:44:00.000-07:00

Today we had two interesting talks about the way of doing business in Silicon Valley. Barbara Wichman talked about do’s and don’ts in business and the art of networking. Here strong message was: Ask the question “what does it take for me to do business with you”? In other words: bring something interesting, e.g. the provision of a think tank as a sound byte may trigger the SV entrepreneur.

Paul Wiefels Managing Director,  The Chasm Group http://www.chasmgroup.com, stated that within SV “rules change all the time”. There is not one way and nowadays the focus on customer markets and products is certainly hot (See the change at Apple). And as an entrepreneur you are enjoying your passion and are allowed to fail! A badge of honor is given.

And in between the two presentations we drove to Intel and visited the Intel Museum. On the picture we see the first microprocessor 4004 on a chip.

The first impression of the valley is fine: all huge and super modern buildings with lots of space. But much office buildings can be leased. Where are all those companies gone?

Lower Yosemite Fall track

2008-03-30T23:33:00.000-07:00

This is the name of the track to the lower part of the big waterfall in Yosemite Park. Everything is big here in the USA: the coffee you order, the car you own and the meal you eat. And so is this waterfall. We climbed to a height of nearly 1500m to get to the middle of this waterfall. We had a beautiful view on this fall. The snow that fell during the walk made our trip difficult.

During the afternoon we traveled to San Jose. Tomorrow we start our visits to companies and institutions here in Silicon Valley.

Traveling t(hr)o(gh) California (Bintangs)*

2008-03-30T23:06:00.000-07:00

After a long flight of nearly 11 hours we landed on the International Airport of San Francisco. Customs was easy and staff was polite. First contact with home was made, Wi-Fi and Edge could not be used on my iPhone: the internet/telecom operators should improve this facet of living.

After collecting the four minivans we were heading for Yosemite Park, a nature park more than 200 miles from San Francisco. I got a typical stereotype image of the environment. The number of big gars is huge, old cars have been pimped up, old farms along the road, huge fields, old houses, caravans, thousands of wind mills on the hills. Using maps, Tom Tom and a bit of orientation and after a stop for some sandwiches we ultimately reached our motel Cedar Lodge in the village of El Portal on 9.15 pm. A quick meal was the end of a long trip.

*Bintangs: Dutch rock group in the sixties and seventies with a song titled Traveling in the USA. Name of the group derived from the brand name “Bir Bintang”, meaning star beer in Indonesian language.

Program Proximity Tour Silicon Valley

2008-03-25T14:57:00.000-07:00

See the destinations on Google Maps

Saturday March 29
Morning departure (11.10u) from Amsterdam arrival at San Francisco (14.20u)
Transfer to Yosemite Park evening team building / dinner night [1] in Yosemite Park; Stay in the cedar Lodge Hotel http://www.bookinotel.net/yosemiteparkportal/cedarlodgehotel.htm

Sunday March 30
Visit to Yosemite park, afternoon transfer to San José evening night [2] in San José; Stay in the clarion Hotel in San Jose – http://www.clarionsj.com/

Monday March 31
Do’s and don’t’s in business and the art of networking. Barbara Wichman, Artemia Communications

Intel Museum, guided tour. See http://www.intel.com/museum/index.htm

Paul Wiefels Managing Director, The Chasm Group, LLC ; "As we see it: the Tech Market Landscape". See http://www.chasmgroup.com

Tuesday April 1
Meet the Dutch Business Community, Dutch breakfast @ PlugandPlayTechCenter; see http:/www.plugandplaytechcenter.com
Cisco
Evening Hockey Match San Jose Sharks see http://sharks.nhl.com/

Wednesday April 2 University Day!

Berkeley Wireless Research Center (BWRC) Meeting with Jasna Mrkic Director of Industrial research in the interest of Society see http://www.citris-uc.org/
National Public Lightpath: Policy and Technology Platform for Meeting the Connectivity Challenge in the U.S.Start: 12:00 pm
Visit Stanford Computer Forum see http://forum.stanford.edu/facebook/overview.php
Presentation Dave Mc Clure Persuasive Technology see http://captology.stanford.edu/facebook/overview.php

Thursday April 3

Meeting SD Forum see www.sdforum.org

Computer History Museum see http://www.computerhistory.org

Visit Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus see http://research.microsoft.com/aboutmsr/labs/siliconvalley/

Evening Churchill Club see http://www.churchilclub.org

Friday April 4

Franz Inc see http://www.franz.com

Expression College for Digital Arts see http://expression.edu/

Transfer to The Holiday Inn Golden Gateway Hotel see http;//www.goldengatewayhotel.com

Saturday April 5

We will visit San Francisco.

Sunday April 6

Departure from San Fransisco Airport 15.20u; arrival in Amsterdam Schilhol Airport on Monday April 7 10.30u.

Proximity Tour Silicon Valley

2008-03-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

Next week starting this Saturday I will join the Proximity Tour to Silicon Valley. This is an excursion organized by the ICT-kring Delft. This network of ICT companies in the Delft region celebrates its first lustrum with this tour and a symposium organized on the 22nd of May this year.

The theme of this tour is ‘Value by Proximity’ – how to create value by cooperation and using each other’s knowledge, network, innovative and creative power. Our goals are the exchanging of experiences, making foundations for cooperation, finding out which are CSF’s of big and so big companies, incubators, local entrepreneurial networks and governmental institutions and institutions such as universities.

The following post is the program, which still may be subject to change. I will publish every day a short story about my experiences during this weeks visit.

Christiaan Huygens Project

2008-03-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

Christiaan Huygens is één van de vijftig belangrijke Nederlanders. Maar wat weet de gemiddelde Nederlander van hem behalve dat hij de uitvinder is van het slingeruurwerk?

Dit project heeft tot doel het intellectuele netwerk van Christiaan Huygens te onderzoeken. Welke mensen hebben hem beïnvloed, welke heeft hij beïnvloed? Niet alleen de fysica en wiskunde zijn onderwerp maar ook andere wetenschap, het onderwijs dat hij genoot en de maatschappij waarin hij leefde. Op welke wijze hadden de mensen contact met elkaar en met hem, hoe zijn inzichten ontstaan en uitvindingen tot stand gebracht?

Het resultaat is kennis, deels bestaand en mogelijk deels nieuw die beschikbaar is voor de generatie van nu. Zowel de brongegevens alsmede de studies van de relaties, de analyses en conclusies zijn ontsloten via internet. Middelbare scholieren beschikken over onderwijsmateriaal waarmee zij fysisch inzicht kunnen opbouwen aan de hand van de wereld van Christiaan Huygens.

Het intellectuele netwerk vormt de rode draad. De al aanwezige kennis over en van Christiaan kan hierin zijn plek hebben. Maar ook nieuwe verbanden kunnen zichtbaar worden. Voor een groot publiek zal het inzicht groeien en overzicht ontstaan.

Ondernemen is Topsport

2007-10-28T05:46:00.000-07:00

Deze uitspraak las ik onlangs in de krant. Ik kan mij hierin volledig vinden. Om een paar parallellen te trekken:
• Je bent met veel zaken tegelijkertijd bezig
• Het is meer vernieuwen dan bijblijven
• Excelleren vereist discipline en toewijding
• Eigen ontwikkeling en verbetering van techniek zijn voorwaarden

Da Capo al Fine is door haar sponsorschap verbonden met de Topploeg Shorttrack van Zuid Holland. Dat is een groep van shorttrackschaatsers die zich gekwalificeerd hebben voor de Europese competitie (Starr Class) en speciale voorzieningen genieten voor deelname aan deze toernooien en aan trainingskampen. Op 11 oktober is in de Silverdome van Zoetermeer hiertoe een nieuwe overeenkomst getekend.

Shorttrackschaatsen heeft alles in zich wat het ondernemen ook zo’n uitdaging maakt. Snelheid, techniek, behendigheid en beheersing liggen voor de hand. Maar wat te denken van dipjes, blessures en andere teleurstellingen die overwonnen moeten worden?

Physics of Particles

2007-05-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

Woensdag 23 mei was ik deelnemer aan een seminar met bovenstaande titel van Arago, de studievereniging van technische natuurkunde op de Universiteit Twente. Je denkt, oef, een seminar onder die titel, ik heb nooit geweten dat ze daar dergelijk onderzoek deden!

Het bleek een gemeenschappelijk thema waar alle onderzoeksgroepen hun onderzoekswerk aan vast konden koppelen. Uiteindelijk is alles een deeltje, niet altijd even elementair maar toch. Zo zijn niet alleen atomen maar ook elektronen, positronen, fotonen, moleculen, eiwitstrengen, en zelfs luchtbellen in turbulente stromingen te beschouwen als deeltjes. Soms manifesteren deeltjes zoals elektronen zich als golven, soms zien we in experimenten met lichtbundels een deeltjeskarakter terug.

Verrast was ik door het verhaal van Alexander Brinkman van Lage Temperaturen Fysica dat met elkaar verstrengelde elektronen indien je ze weet te scheiden, de één een spin up en de ander een spin down heeft. Of te wel, als je van de één bepaalt wat de spin is, dan is daarmee ook bekend wat de spin van de ander is. Terwijl die andere elektron op een heel andere plaats zich bevindt! Dat impliceert ‘teleportatie’ van informatie!

Van sport tot ontwikkelingshulp

2006-12-15T05:32:00.000-08:00

Succesfactoren voor prestaties:

• Materiaal – Fiets & Outfit
• Prijs – Cup & FFR
• Fans – Support
• Sponsor – Vertrouwen
• Team – Teamwork
• Coach – Aanwijzingen

Right To Play

Right to Play Johan Olav Koss

NY marathon 2006

Conrad Alleblas: Kofi Annan onderkent de doelstelling van Right to Play als onderdeel van de millennium doelstellingen van de VN

Wat is shorttrack?

2006-12-15T05:19:00.000-08:00

Shorttrack is more than only speedskating

Tactiek
Snelheid
G-krachten
Materiaal
Behendigheid
Lef
Conditie
Acceleratievermogen

Motivatie voor Ingmar van Riel (zie foto) en Rudy Koek:
Olympische Spelen van Vancouver 2010

Paganini's vioolcaprices op saxofoon?

2006-12-12T13:36:00.000-08:00

Raaf Hekkema speelt ze op virtuoze wijze....

Passie voor software

2006-12-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

LD A3, 4, A6
LD A3, 10, A3
RF(N) ERR:2
CWK A3, MAXSEC
RF(G) ERR:2
LDR A2, A3
MUK 3
ANK A2, /F
LDR A1, A3
ANK A1, /10
ADR A2, A1

Ook in assembler taal kun je modelleren!

Programma evenement 22 november

2006-12-06T13:54:00.000-08:00

17.30u Opening

17.35u Da Capo is software passie
17.55u Paganini’s vioolcaprices op saxofoon
18.05u Shorttrack sportshow
18.20u Van sport tot ontwikkelingshulp
18.40u Woekeren met de middelen
18.50u Prestaties, frustraties en mutaties
19.10u Paneldiscussie
19.40u Minder is meer
19.45u Borrel, hapjes en netwerken
20.15u Rondleiding Huygensmuseum
20.50u Caprice nr. 24 de laatste
20.55u Afsluiting

Van Constantijn Huygens tot Kofi Annan en verder....

2006-12-06T03:27:00.000-08:00

Afgelopen maand organiseerde Da Capo al Fine voor haar klanten en relaties in het Huygensmuseum Hofwijck onder bovenstaande titel een netwerkevenement. Mensen uit de verschillende netwerken waarin Da Capo actief is luisterden naar bijdragen van sprekers, sporters en een muzikant die op hun eigen wijze ingingen op het thema “Wat drijft ons tot het leveren van topprestaties?” Een onderdeel van het programma was een debat naar aanleiding van de presentaties die betrekking hadden op vragen over gedrevenheid, passie, prestatie, talent en ontwikkeling. In de volgende bijdragen volgt een sfeerimpressie van deze bijeenkomst.

Constantijn Huygens

Sponsorcontract Topploeg Shorttrack Zuid-Holland getekend

2006-11-02T13:03:00.000-08:00

Op 31 oktober hebben Da Capo al Fine in de persoon van Hans van Oosten en de Topploeg Shorttrack Zuid Holland een sponsorcontract getekend. Da Capo al Fine sponsort de bijzondere activiteiten van deze ploeg in het seizoen 2006 - 2007 met een vast geldbedrag. Als tegenprestatie zet de Topploeg zich in bij promotionele activiteiten van Da Capo.

Van software een succes maken

De wereld om ons heen verandert. IT en software dringen steeds meer door in ons dagelijks bestaan. Bedrijfsvoering zonder software is ondenkbaar. Een moderne TV bevat honderdduizenden regels programmacode. Elektronisch bankieren is de gewoonste zaak van de wereld, evenals gratis bellen met Skype. De wereld van de software verandert mee.

In dit werkveld is Da Capo al Fine actief als kleinschalige en persoonlijk betrokken intermediair. Software een succes maken voor de organisatie, belanghebbenden én gebruikers staat voorop. Da Capo voert onderzoek en auditing opdrachten uit, helpt visie en beleid te ontwikkelen, leidt projecten, voert regie en bemiddelt bij geschillen.

Topprestaties

Om van software een succes te maken zijn techniek, organisatie, discipline en mensgerichtheid van belang. Dat zijn juist de aspecten die ook in de sport een rol spelen en samen moeten komen om topprestaties te leveren. De Topploeg Shorttrack Zuid Holland en Da Capo al Fine hebben elkaar gevonden in deze overeenkomst en versterken zo elkaars doelstellingen.
Meer weten?
Kijk op de website http://www.shorttrackzuidholland.nl/topploeg/

25 years of standstill in ict?

2006-06-28T02:51:00.000-07:00

Standstill is fall they say. Is this also the case for ICT? I attended a symposium on this subject. The massage we got is: proven and successful methods are available but still they are not applied. We were invited to assist in answering the question: which methods are successful and why aren’t they applied?

Personally I am in favour of applying methods and techniques. However I do not believe that they count for the major part of a possible success. Management factors are of more importance as is suggested by Capers Jones and mentioned during the symposium. We have the management of the project and the management of a company or group, and we face the cultural aspects of organisations and the personal style of the top manager. And we manage of course ourselves. These factors really count for success.

Unfortunately we see many managers inexperienced in software and ICT on positions where they may influence a lot. A solution might be to manage the fulfilment of these positions with qualified people as suggested in one of the workshops. Or help the inexperienced to overcome their shortcomings by smart and good advice. That is my job.

But to answer the question on fall of ICT: I do not think so. It has been proved (by measurements and I refer to the work of Lawrence Putnam) that productivity of software processes slowly increases during the years even when the size of software systems are growing. So we are getting better al the time (speaking with the Beatles) and must admit that the reason for this is a mix of factors. Methods and techniques count for a small part of this success I believe.

Ambiguous software

2006-05-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

Is software ambiguous or relative?
This question may sound strange - since one or both of these descriptions may, wrongly or rightly, be applicable. We just don’t know yet - because software is still not fully understood.

ref.: Measures for Excellence, L.H. Putnam and W. Meyers

Therefore, the question, as such, is a valid one.
It forms the central theme for a workshop I am organising for physics students from the University of Twente.
The aim is to explore with them the similarities and differences between software and physical models and processes. In the course of my career, I have noticed many similarities - such as the principle of separation of concern or the measurement of software properties.

Thirty years ago, I received an education in physics. Nowadays, I am a software consultant - yet my background in physics provides me with a broad, basic knowledge and insight.

I hope that the answer to this question will go some way to improve our understanding of software, which still remains ‘patchy’.

Reflections on Document Management

2006-05-02T23:07:00.000-07:00

A document can look deceptively simple: a piece of paper with some text and perhaps figures, presented in a certain layout and style. However, the need for management becomes abundantly clear when you have more of them, tens, hundreds, thousands, maybe millions! How do you arrange them in such a way that someone can find what he or she is looking for?

The first idea is to logically file them in cabinets, drawers and binders. But how long can you or your organisation summon up the self-discipline to file them in this way? When do you want to change your way of filing? Is a change even possible, after your original method of filing has become deeply entrenched? A somewhat revolutionary idea is to collect your documents, without sorting, into one big container, only organising them when they are needed.

As far as the management of electronic documents is concerned, this idea is indeed revolutionary but also eminently applicable. Internet and search engines allow us to quickly scan numerous documents and find the ones we are looking for. So why not apply this idea to electronic documents within an organisation or on your own computer?

Shorttrack

2006-04-21T03:47:00.000-07:00

More information about shorttrack soon.

leon van Oosten

Christiaan Huygens

2006-04-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

Christiaan Huygens, Software and Physics

This is my first contribution since quite a while. You haven’t missed anything in the intervening period! Have you ever been struck by the similarities between the engineering of software systems and the application of physics? I learned to write a program in Algol 60 and to program the IBM 360 series in assembler. During my studies, it was quite natural to use mini-computers to control and verify experiments. After my studies, I started working in the field of production automation in the Philips’ factories.

In the course of my career, I noticed that I could put my knowledge of physics to good use. Thinking in terms of service applications (which is nowadays very popular in the context of Service Oriented Architecture) is a natural way of establishing systems in physics. Measuring properties of subjects and processes is also a common practice. Although unfamiliar to most software practitioners, one can measure characteristics such as complexity and size (and much, much more).

In the coming contributions to this blog, I will elaborate further on this subject, as well as on Christiaan Huygens. Yes, he was the great Dutch physicist, who lived in the 17th century - yet he was alas not very well respected! As a matter of fact, he happened to live very close to the place where I do now. Most people are aware that he invented the pendulum clock - but few know that he also categorically & clearly stated that motion is relative! Christiaan would have been overjoyed if he could have seen the rings of Saturnus, as viewed by the Hubble satellite or as a piece of software animation, portrayed on an Apple computer.

Mediation and Politics

2006-01-01T09:38:00.000-08:00

As an avid reader of my weblog, you are no doubt aware, that one of the services I offer my customers is mediation in software conflicts. Together with my colleague mediators, I recently visited the first & second chambers of the Dutch houses of parliament, the so-called: “Eerste Kamer” and “Tweede Kamer”. We held a mediation event in the meeting room of the “Eerste Kamer” and discussed our plans for the coming year.

On our tour of the buildings, we were shown the ‘bolt hole’ passage that our Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, takes to cross over to the second chamber, thus avoiding awkward questions from journalists!
If only politicians had realized that there were so many mediators gathered under one roof, capable of solving social conflict and confrontation, they would have immediately returned from their holidays, with the firm resolve to mediate for a satisfactory solution to the conflict, concerning the imminent Dutch military mission to Afghanistan!

Innovation with the music of Calefax

2005-12-23T01:55:00.000-08:00

This week I attended with friends a birthday celebration of the Calefax (www.calefax.nl) reed quintet. I like their music; I enjoy their style, which I call surprising and innovative. They had invited several friends from the world of music and arts to perform on their 20th birthday. We listened to Cora Bruggraaf, who sung Kurt Weils Surabaya Johnny, accompanied by the 5 reed players. We viewed on a big screen a story of 'Keepvogel' with his dog 'Tungsten', accompanied by Raaf Hekkema on saxophone. When you can create music with living human instruments (Instrumen) you must be a genius and an artist.

The whole evening was an excellent example of how both logical and illogical elements of art, music and instrumenta can come together.

Welcome

2005-12-23T01:53:00.000-08:00

Hello,

This is my first entry on the Da Capo al Fine Blog. I will be touching on subjects related to software, music, sport and much more. Lets get started!

Hans