Access Grid 3.1

Access Grid 3.1 Release Available. This release includes new functionality, including the latest VIC (video) and RAT (audio) tools from the Sumover project, support for hierarchical venue data storage, improved bridging support, and certificate-based Venue access controls. Numerous bugs have also been fixed. — AccessGrid News (2007-Dec-21)

Install order:

1. Python 2.4
2. Python win32 Extensions
3. wxPython 2.6
4. Bonjour (optional)
5. Access Grid 3.1

3.1 changes

• Inclusion of media tools from Sumover project
• Improved bridging support
  • VenueClient displays full list of bridges (instead of limiting list to ten)
  • Maintains bridge cache in the background
  • User preferences for whether and how often to order bridges by proximity; for refreshing the bridge cache manually; and, for user-specified bridge ordering
  • Support for multiple bridge registries
• Supports organization of Venue data into folders
  • Users can create folders for organizing Venue data
• Displays timestamps in Jabber chat
• Support for SharedPresentation on Mac
• Support for user-specified multicast group for multicast connectivity detection
• Certificate-based Venue access control
  • Includes required client-side proxy certificate support
• Venue Client startup time significantly reduced
• Plugin support
  • New extensibility mechanism allows integration of client-side applications

– Access Grid 3.1 [1]

You might wonder why we are still following the Access-Grid software when we run a Polycom H.323 venue. The answer is that there is still a fair bit of interest in Access-Grid as outlined in the Wikipedia article;
The Access Grid has generated great interest and activity in Australia, where factors such as widely disparate geographic locations and relatively low population-densities have previously presented great obstacles to “in-person” collaborations. [4]

[1] AG 3.1 Release page [AccessGrid]
[2] Access Grid : Toolkit [AccessGrid]
[3] Access Grid 3.1 : Toolkit : Windows [AccessGrid]
[4] Access Grid [Wikipedia]

Jaguar XF

The Jaguar XF is the last “Ford Jaguar” as the Jaguar brand is sold off to Tata Motors. With Ford, Jaguar lost the Grace, Pace and Space that made the marque famous and opted for Design, Innovation and Performance

… But as I assessed the XF’s compromised curb appeal, what I saw was essentially a rebodied S-Type, the XF’s tired predecessor, with a new interior. The mechanical bits are familiar, having come for the most part from other Jaguars. So it is styling that will make or break the XF, the last Jaguar developed under the heavy thumb of Ford. Both Jaguar and Land Rover are now being sold to Tata Motors of India.
Tata inherits a diminished cat; the XJ sedan and the XK sports coupe and convertible are the only other viable Jaguars at present. The S-Type, and the widely unloved X-Type, based on a humdrum Ford, have been discontinued. … [1]

… Under Tata, Jaguar faces a new life and an uncertain future in which the XF will play a crucial part. Luckily, the new owners seem to have an appreciation for the brand’s cachet and heritage, as well as the commitment and resources that will be needed to restore Jaguar to its former glory. … [1]

As of March 26th 2008, Tata Motors reached agreement with Ford to purchase their Jaguar Land Rover operations for two billion dollars. The sale is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2008. [3]

Give me an E-Type Series I 2+2 any day

[1] Final Cat From Ford’s Litter (2005-May-04) [New York Times]
[2] Jaguar XF [Wikipedia]
[3] Tata Motors [Wikipedia]

Xobni

Xobni

Admit it: you’re treading water in the same sea of e-mail as the rest of us. Plenty of products from Gmail to Apple Mail purport to toss us a life preserver with better organization and search features, and a new plug-in for Microsoft Outlook, called Xobni, claims that it can help you “organize your flooded inbox.” It even offers contact management and discovery features, some of which led Bill Gates to call Xobni “the next generation of social networking.” Xobni’s been in private beta until this week, so Ars Technica waded out into treacherous e-mail waters with Xobni to see if it helps us to stay afloat. [1]

Xobni System Requirements:
* Windows XP or Vista
* Outlook 2003 or 2007
* Cached Exchange Mode
* 2 GHz processor
* 1+ GB RAM

• known issues
• EULA
• Xobni Blog

After less than 24 hours of testing I have had to uninstall, on my poor old Dell D810 Xobni is grabbing too many resources and using too much processor time. I shall test again when I move onto the new laptop later this month (?)

[1] Hands-on with Xobni: make Outlook more productive, social (2008-May-06) [ARS Technica]
[2] Xobni: Email organization, search, and navigation for your Outlook inbox [Xobni]