Matt’s Blog of Truth

Obama has become an icon. Kenya, has declared Wednesday, the day after Obama defeated McCain in a ‘land slide’ victory, a National Holiday!

Obama is one smart cookie. He has made more people cry then any other president. I for one cried when he came on stage after defeating McCain on election night, 2008. This is a man for humanity and is for the people, at large.

Guess what software he used to power his campaign?

Obama used Open Source, across the board.

McCain used Closed Source.

This is not to say Obama won the election because of F/OSS and Linux running his campaign Web Sites — although it would be awesome to be able to make that claim — but the fact is he did.

Now, Open Source is being mentioned on CNN! The news reporter, one of their Tech News Guys, started to actually reference The Cathedral and the Bazaar. That is huge. Although, most people would not know what all this talk of Cathedral and Bazaar business was, but the fact it is self aware, at least by some of those that work in huge TV News stations, like CNN, that are seeing F/OSS spread like wild fire into even elections.

Check this article out, which includes the YouTube Video of the CNN clip.

Simply amazing, for all us F/OSS geeks.

In the era of social networks, twitter (the micro blogger), Word Press (blogging), blogger.com, Facebook, MySpace, Google Docs, RSS News Feeds, Flash based games, Buying and Selling online (endless e commerce going on), Wikipedia, Google.com and geez so much more.

The Web Browser, is by far, the most used software program of all time. The Killer App.

It is also the new dawning of Web Apps. With the maturing of JavaScript and tool kits like Dojo, JQuery, GWT, YUI and countless others, you can program your Web Browser to act like an application you installed locally on your computer. Yet, all of this is running inside, the once humble (Hyper Links, Images and Text), that the Web Browser once delivered. Web Apps still use traditional technology, but a simple addition to JavaScript, called AJAX, has transformed the Web Page from a static and non-interactive experience, into a lively and Dynamic experience.

This simple idea, of allowing a portion of the Web Page to update, without having to refresh the ENTIRE Web page, has spawned the Web App. It is always, the simplest concepts that make the HUGEST impacts. Ajax is a perfect example of this.

The Internet has exploded, people trust it for online shopping, via credit cards and merchants, like PayPal, Alertpay, 2checkout and more. Regardless, of a huge rise in credit fraud, mostly due to Spam and phishing for personal data, causing online fraud. But, the problems get fixed, the public gets informed to be more careful, and consumers keep on shopping.

TV media is now constantly mentioning Internet sites, and TV media is HUGE folks. I’ve heard the term, ‘just Google it’, on so many TV shows and in Block Buster films, along with, ‘I just updated my MySpace page.’.

In other words, the Internet has become tightly integrated in most aspects of life.

Gamers, that install their games locally on their machines, still refer to Internet gaming forums, to talk about their experiences. MMORPG’s, like Second Life, Ever Quest and EVE Online, all use the Internet to connect players, to interact as a single Gaming Universe.

OK, so what?

This is old news, right?

Well, the new big thing, taking advantage of this now, mobile reality, connected to the Internet, is a device called a Netbook.

A Netbook is a Laptop that is minified. It’s screen is usually, no bigger than 7-9 inches and about 2/3rds the size of a regular Laptop. Netbooks, run the Intel Atom CPU, which only used 2.5 watts of power. 2.5 compare that to a common laptops 25 watts.

• Desktop CPU - 65 watts
• Laptop CPU - 25 watts
• Netbook CPU - 2.5 watts!!!

What this means, is longer battery life, than a Laptop. I have heard reports, of the battery lasting an entire day of on and off use, without a recharge!

Netbooks also require less RAM, 500 megs average, with 1 gig tops. Compare that with typical Laptops, which universally come with 2 Gigs. The more RAM the more energy drain, on the battery.

A 16 gig hard drive, usually and SSD, or Solid State Disk, with NO MOVING PARTS. This means you can drop it on the floor, and the hard drive at least, will keep on ticking. We all known of the bumps and bruises, that our Laptops, on the go, receive on a daily bases. So, this is another huge selling point, for the Netbook. I have heard reports of people, typing away on their Netbook, while walking, because they do not fear the hard drive will crash, due to the installed Solid State Drive.

By the way, SSD drives are still very expensive, compared to traditional spinning platter drives (ATA, SATA, IDE, SCSI), but hopefully the Netbook will help bring down this cost.

Everything is just smaller, a bit more bump resistant, and less power (watts) hungry, on a Netbook.

Now, what does this all mean for Software makers, like Microsoft and Apple?

First Microsoft. Vista is so bloated, in every sense of the word. It simply can not run (very well), on a Netbooks minified hardware. Although, Microsoft will not be losing their tight lock on the whole Desktop Industry, anytime soon, it does allow Linux and Apple a chance to hop over Microsoft’s barbed wire, electrified fence, called a monopoly, and are installing alternative Operating Systems, on the Netbooks!

The release of Vista, could not have come at a WORSE time, than now.

Microsoft was betting on hardware just getting bigger and cheaper. Well, now that there are so many concerns about power consumption, a crashing global economy and a drain on earthly resources, industry is inventing new devices like Netbooks, to cope with the changing global outlook.

Netbooks, use less energy, less raw materials and are way cheaper than a modern laptop.

Netbooks, are now priced at $299 (down from $499) over at Dell and offered at Amazon.com. $299 for a laptop! That is less money than a Desktop! I would never have guessed, that laptops would become cheaper than a Desktop, literally out of the blue, with the arrival of the Netbook.

Netbooks were made popular by the arrival of the ASUS eeePC. Their default choice of Operating System, was Xandros. Xandros is a Linux Distribution. It is based on Corel Linux, a Debian-based distribution.

Seeing how well the eeePC was selling, in the millions, over night, sparked every other business to join in.

Now, Ubuntu’s Canonical has a Netbook, sold through Dell. Apple is announcing their own version. Microsoft has brought back XP, after announcing it’s retirement in July 2008, because Vista is simply too bloated to fit on the Netbook.

People, Business and individuals addicted to the Internet, are on the rise. You can add myself to the list of addicts. My whole life revolves around the Internet. I run a home based business, using Linux and the Internet. I read a lot of blogs and follow a lot of National and Global news. Ironically, I get my local news from my Wife’s dad (grandpa), that still reads the Newspaper! (OMG, he still reads the newspaper, I know!)

Anyways, I still prefer a regular sized Laptop. It is always plugged into the wall and generates ENORMOUS amounts of heat. A Netbook may be OK for using it to JUST browse the Web, which is a huge percentage of time spent, but for Development work, as a programmer, the Netbook might be a little TOO compact. It’s keyboard is very small, and takes time to get used it. It took me a while to get used to my HP Pavilion dv6000 laptop’s keyboard.

But, the reality is, the hardware, is finally giving Microsoft some competition, since it is introducing other Operating Systems, like Linux Xandros and Linux Ubuntu, into the Market, once dominated (and still is, and will be for a long time) by Windows only and the Microsoft World.

As, most of us know, competition is good, as it drives prices down, forces better quality products, fixes software bugs and benefits the End Users. Competition MUST exist, or the Market becomes corrupted.

Bottom Line — Netbooks are allowing alternative Operating System the ability to enter the Desktop Market.

UPDATE [Nov/6/2008]: An interesting article out of Australia. goes indepth on the netbook threat it plays to Microsoft. It is a two page article. On the second page, the last remark made was this…

Equipping Linux on a computer costs about $US5, compared with $US40 to $US50 for XP and about $US100 for Vista, according to estimates by Jenny Lai, a Taipei-based analyst at CLSA.

To cut costs, computer makers such as Acer and Asustek opted for slower processors and less memory. On these systems, Linux can boot up twice as fast as XP, according to Acer’s website.

‘’The engineers designing computers understand that if they want to cut costs, the only way to do so is to get rid of Microsoft,'’ IDC’s Chang said.

Many argue that the reason Linux and F/OSS fails — fails in terms of what? — is that the community is too fragmented.

This could not be further from the truth, at the same time, is absolutely true.

On one front, they argue fragmentation leads to confusion and non cohesiveness. In other words, the big corporate computer companies like Microsoft, Sun, Apple and IBM, to name a few, are successful, because they operate under a single banner. Their own corporate banner. The ‘boss’, or Board of Directors, tells their employees what to do, and they do it. This leads to cohesive products that sell and get consumed — hopefully — by millions of people.

On the other front, this fragmentation is exactly the reason F/OSS is being adopted by millions of Internet Businesses and not just the Open Source enthusiasts. This fragmentation is F/OSS’s greatest strength and greatest weakness. Wrong. Anyone that claims this to be true, is mostly talking about MONEY and not much else. They are talking about Market Share, which translates into more money. Yes, when there are 500+ Linux Distributions to choose from, can become a bit bewildering.

But, that is all changing.

Ubuntu is making Linux Desktop ‘come together’ and Red hat has long offered a certified, Enterprise Level, Linux Server. The industry is only growing, month after month. If you read this recent article about Ubuntu’s continued success on the Desktop and Server fronts, you will see there is cohesion, thanks to Canonical. Canonical being the for profit company behind Ubuntu.

Now, F/OSS is strong on both fronts. Not only is it so fragmented, that it has so many contributors, that no ‘for profit’ corporation could match. The closest example of any corporation even coming close is Microsoft. But, now Linux and Open Source is developing, completely naturally with no pressure to do so, based on businesses backing the software. Examples include; Red hat, Novell/SUSE, Xandros and Canonical/Ubuntu.

This is not to mention smaller Linux backers like the company Everex, that produced the gOS. Linspire, which was acquired by Xandros. Let’s not forget Mandriva, formerly known as Mandrake Linux, a French Linux backer.

There are so many companies and individuals contributing to Free and Open Source, that it is nothing short of something special. Something unique and not seen before in humanity. All of humanity, connected through the Internet, breaks down the geographical and language barriers. American, Chinese, Japanese, Australia, United Kingdom, France, Spain and well, the entire world, contribute to GNU/Linux.

What this means, is that all this fragmentation benefits every Linux backer.

For instance, if someone contributes to the code base of the Linux Kernel, benefits every — all 500+ Linux distributions — that utilize the Kernel. If, someone contributes to any of the thousands of Open Source Projects, results in every Linux Distribution being able to update their software.

Now, you tell me, if fragmentation is a curse? It clearly is a blessing.

This is huge, huge, HUGE Linux lovers!

Dell has placed a multi-page Advert in many Sunday newspapers! The Ads are show casing Ubuntu running on their Dell Netbooks! No mention of Windows Vista as an alternative was present in the Ads.

This is a big deal, because Netbooks are currently the fastest growing sector in the Computer Sales Industry. Ubuntu, which is a derivative of Debian GNU/Linux, requires far, far less RAM, CPU and everything else than Microsoft Vista. In fact, you can’t get Vista to perform at all on these mini notebooks, called Netbooks.

If, you want to know the full story, read this article.

I love Linux and the Open Source Community. Smart, funny and best of breed.

Getting lost in the technical aspects, is how everything gets invented. All answers, lay in the details, of which, there are mountains of details, that can sum up a product, point or condition.

Terms like Web 2.0. First, there was confusion over this term and what it really meant. Fact of the matter, Web 2.0 is still a tough concept or notion to crack.

But, the latest term, to hit the streets, Cloud Computing.

The technical brain would say, “Cloud Computing is a term based mostly on hype, because if you have an email address, use the Internet or upload any personal data, you are using the Computing Cloud.”.

This is completely true, from a technical stand point. But, the term was coined by a Business Thinker, rather than a CTO or programmer. Cloud Computing, is directly related to Google. Google Docs to be exact, and with Microsoft’s Office software.

There is huge debate, over whether it is better to run your Office locally, by running Open Office or MS Office, on each computer. Or, use an Internet Application, such as, Google Docs to do the same work.

Hence, Cloud Computing is born.

I guarantee you, that a technical person did not, and never would, come up with a term like, “Cloud Computing”. Just the thought of it alone is vague and, yes, Cloudy. But, it is a perfect term to sum up what Google Docs, could mean, from a non-technical point of view. The term will, of course, expand to other Web Businesses, that sell similar products and services.

In fact, Dell, tried to win the patent on Cloud Computing, which they did not receive. Too obvious a patent, for one party to have the rights to. Also, Microsoft’s next Operating System is rumored to being known as, get this, Cloud OS.

In fact, wasn’t Cloud Computing once called SaaS? Or, Software as a Service?

Maybe I am wrong and “Cloud Computing” is hype. But, it does sound more hip than SaaS or Software as a Service.

You decide.

Here it is, Linus Torvald’s Blog.

In case you don’t know, Linus is the father, creator, originator and maintainer (after 17 years) of the Linux Kernel.

In case you don’t know what the Linux KERNEL is… It is the hart of over 500 Linux Distributions or Linux Operating Systems. Such as, Red hat, Ubuntu, Fedora, SUSE, Puppy, PCLINUXOS and 500+ more. Linux Operating systems easily rank in there with Microsoft and Apple.

Linus is one of two key programmers, to have openly shared all knowledge about their software in the form of source code and ideas, to the world, without asking for anything, other than advise and code contributions to make their software better. That is a far cry from others in this industry, which see money as the motivation factor.

Another guy, Richard M. Stallman, about 6 years earlier, started the Free Software Foundation, which Linus Torvalds joined, by releasing his Kernel Source Code under one of the FSF’s License. Coincidently, the FSF or GNU foundation, was sorely lacking such a Kernel, for they had a compiler and the base tools for an operating system, just no Kernel.

After Linus provided a Kernel, using GNU software to complete the package, a Unix like Operating system was born. This kicked off a revolution in software creation that, since than, has gather millions of programmers, users and artists a like, to align and work together on Open Source Software.

That is to say, Software made without corporations or direct funding being the primary reason for writing the programs. Software made, for Software’s sake. This allowed innovation to freely proliferate into all areas of computing, from Desktops to Data centers.

Linus Torvalds and his Linux kernel (as well as the git revision system) truly has changed the world. I am writing this blog now, using a laptop running his Kernel. Including all the millions that volunteered their time, known as the Free and Open Source Community, to help him make it all possible on a grandiose scale.

So, go check it out! I’m sure we are all very happy to see him entering into the blogosphere.

About time, Linus!

The title says it all. The most populated country on the living earth, DEMANDS source code.

In case you need some statistics, China has 3.7 BILLION people, Second comes India, with 3 billion. Compare that with USA entire population of just 300 million. That makes China almost 11 times more populace, than the great energy drinker, of which the USA is. Also, USA is trying to get more rich by exporting jobs to China and India, which in turn makes China and India richer.

Now, this exporting is not the real concern here. The exporting to the Chinese gives their directors (dictators) and policy makers, IDEAS. Ideas of grandiose proportions, not unlike the USA. But, these ideas will be applied not on the scale of the USA, but on an 11 times scale, based on China’s population. China already has built the three gorges dame (the largest in the world) to power the rising cost of energy needs, which all ready indicates that China is ‘ON THE RISE’ in terms of fuel consumption, therefore GROWTH.

Why America is now concerned about China’s rise, as a threat, is so missing the point, because America is the one making the country rise beyond it’s deep traditional ways.

So, what does this mean for the Open Source world? A LOT my Linux friends.

It means that for one, China is tired of being suit by Microsoft, for pirating, of which, the Chinese government can’t stop. Windows XP, for example. However, Linux is free of charge AND Open Source, which the Chinese demands. Why? They want to make sure the USA government is not implanting software into Microsoft Windows, a USA company, ship them to China so the USA government can spy.

So, thank you Microsoft, out source away, because in the end China, a budding technological country of tradition has an eye for freedom and with mix of Communistic paranoid thoughts, they WANT TO SEE THE SOURCE CODE.

Linux and China equates to big markets for Linux adoption.

Imagine, your a programmer, and you release your very own code, under an Open Source License. Meaning, others are allowed to use, modify, share and contribute, to make it better. However, one can not use the same code and then market it, only to bill the original programmer(s), because of a sneaky patent being filed.

Well, this actually happened, which sounds absurd, but is true.

The software is used to control model trains. A hobbyists past time project, of which, there are many. However, another individual, that sells model trains, decides to file and gain a patent, regarding the model train controller ‘Free Software’, then attempts to bill the creator/programmer of the model train controller computer code! Wow!

The details can be read here.

Naturally, the programmer takes the person, trying to bill him, to court and wins!

This marks a major victory, regarding the protection of Open Source Developers/Programmers. Such a case had never been officially fought in a court system, only idle threats of it possibly happening. Case in point … For years, Microsoft has accused Linux, and the entire Open Source community, at large, that it too violates Microsoft Patents, of which MS refuses to fully disclose.

This small victory, can now be the foundation in resolving the FUD — Fear Uncertainty and Doubt — that large corporates are using, to deter would be businesses, from going the Open Source route, rather than the said corporation’s route. ‘OK, flat out… I am talking about Microsoft, being that corporation.’

It just keeps getting better, for the Open Source Innovators. It is a huge controversy to patent any kind of software process, because it’s a bit like trying to patent the English Alphabet, than attempting to ask for licensing fees for those that write books. Programming, has too many universally required algorithms and processes, that many computer program share. Attempting to patent a specific software idea simply is not rationale.

So, it will be interesting to see where all this takes Open Source, and hopefully will encourage other businesses that there are alternative software technologies out there, that are patent free.

Let me tell you a story.

Of a boy named, Matt. He came from a poor family, single mother of 3. Now, fast forward to his 26th birthday…

Hi, I’m Matt. I write this blog, and here is my Linux success story.

I primarily operate off an HP Pavilion dv6000 laptop, and primarily in bed. See, I run a HBB or HoSo, in other words, I work from home. I am my own boss. I can honestly say that Linux and GNU software has enabled a — than 26 year old aspiring programmer — to start my own business on the Web.

Linux and all of it’s wonderful software packages are so flexible, there are endless possibilities.

I duel boot, as I have Vista installed on my laptop as well. But, I probably boot into Vista, at most once a month, or less. The last reason was to try Google’s new browser, Chrome. Other than that, Ubuntu is my choice of Linux. I have tried others, like PCLinuxOS, Mandriva and a few others. I use Ubuntu, not because I’m a fanboi, but because I am really a Debian fanboi, and proud to admit that. However, I like to listen to mp3’s, watch DVD’s and Ubuntu Linux makes the ability to do this, as hassle free as possible. Yes, I know other Distro’s have similar methods for making the Linux Desktop as easy to use as possible.

You see, I run my Web business on Debian. I can not do without my apt-get and .deb package system. I have respect for Red hat and their RPM packages, in fact, Red hat spear headed the whole idea of a package system. So, what it comes down to, is that, I like to keep my Desktop as easy to use, as possible. But, I like my server’s, which run my business, as flexible as possible, which tends to mean more complexity, without all the GUI Desktop stuff.

I did not always use Linux. I originally, was a Windows user. I did not even know Linux existed, when I started my web businesses. It were my partners, that introduced me to Linux. I started out as a C++ Direct X game programmer. Very amature and programming games, to me, was a fun way to learn how to code. In fact, right before I met my business partners, I had just finished a one year contract as a beta tester for Windows 2000 as a beta tester, at Microsoft.

I operated, in 2001, on Windows 2000. I needed to find more work, so I decided to see if I could do some free lance Web Programming. Thus, began my journey off the Desktop and into the Cloud, so to speak. I looked at ASP, this was before there was .NET, but PHP seemed to be what everyone was using.

Picking up and using PHP is very easy to do, especially when you come from a C/C++ world where there is no garbage collectors, memory mangement, easy string handling and less concern about data typing. PHP also adopted the general constructs that C uses. I started using PHP a year after version 4 was released. PHP 4, really exploded PHP’s popularity, even more, because they combined all these different modules, scattered over the net and collected them to form what PHP 4 became. Stuff like PHP Sessions and MySQL modules are essential for a Data driven, dynamic web page.

At the same time, learning CSS and Javascript was needed, if I was to become a free lance Web programmer. But, like most programmers at that time, I admitely was a cut n paste JavaScript programmer. In 2001, there were no JavaScript libraries like; Prototype, JQuery, MooTools and Dojo Toolkit. My favorite place to go for my JavaScript needs was at Dynamic Drive. I think many Web programmers, unfortunately, referred to this site and similar sites, to complete their JavaScript needs for their clients. However, after reading JavaScript: The Definitive Guide - Edition 5. This book, is so well written and accurate, that any JavaScript Programmer that does not read it, will be left in the dark as to what is really going on in the Web Browsers, and how JavaScript became some what fragmented, due to Internet Explorer’s lack of standard compliance.

One, fatefull day, while checking my email looking for interest in hiring me, I got the email that would change my life. I was from my partner — we no longer work together — around may 2001, from a guy from Australia. He said he needed a programmer to create his ideas and these ideas would make us rich, and it would be a 50/50 partnership. Well, Phil, was his name and he did in fact have a load of ideas. He opened up a whole new world to me, called Internet Marketing.

Phil was a battle hardened old man of 62 years of age. He also was a counceller and Train the Trainer, so he claims. He is also a master at sale copy. He really understood why people spend money and how to connect with them. He also believed in selling things that are of value.

So, that is how I got my first taste of Linux. Phil had a few Dedicated Linux Servers, and a friend that was the Admin of the Linux Servers. Phil, was in the process of reinventing himself or potentially going to jail. This shift he was under going, when he contacted me, was due to his past as an ex-spammer. He was learning to invent software systems that was spam free. Which, in fact, hundreds of others would mimic and copy. In fact, unknown to me, I would become part of this innovation of advertising using Email, but using legal methods like Double Opt in and adhering to strict guidelines, so people could easily Add and Remove themselves from the Programs.

So, the safe list host was born.

Not just a single safe list, but an entire system to allow the operator to create Multiple List owners, which in turn each List owner could create Multiple Lists. This was never before done. The reason for the shift, was because yahoo groups and tropicana, a popular email list service organized by topics, had kicked out the Net Marketers, because they did not like the material that was flowing through the lists. Material like Affiliate based Marketing, eBook sells.

This is what Safe Lists allow. They allow affiliates a conduit for this activity, in a spam free and purely come and go as you please method of dealing with memberships.

Linux, is so flexible, only it makes small businesses able to happen, because the ideas of people require software that can be configured anyway they like. In proprietary Operating systems, this is simply not possible. There is not enough flexibility in the Operating System to allow business ideas to flourish, simply because proprietary systems do not bend in directions that need to be bendable.

It was this flexibility that got me into Linux. If, you just need a machine to surf the net and check email, play a game or two, listen to CDs and watch DVDs, proprietary Operating Systems are fine. But, if you plan on starting a business, especially a Web business, Linux really is the only choice, including Unix BSD’s. Microsoft Small Business, simply does not have the deepth of choice in software and each software being completely customized to meet the needs of the Small Business Owner.

Why For Profit Corporations can’t achieve Technological Flexibility

I don’t think that any For Profit business could create such technology. Because, how could a for profit business know how to build a server that was able to know which way to flex and in what areas. It simply can’t. The reason, why I love Linux and Open Source method of software development is because, if you have an Idea, you can make it happen. There are no worries about Licenses or copyrights and even more important, you are able to do the customization because the source code is open.

My Linux success story is but one. There are, in my belief, tens of thousands of small businesses, that owe Linux, as a platform of flexibility, to allow their creators to be creative, and not restricted in any way. This really is a massive break through. It means that you do not need to go corporate, to satisfy a niche market or more.

What is making Linux even more appealing, is the fact, that Billion Dollar companies like Google, MySpace, FaceBook, Amazon and so many more, all run on Linux. All of these businesses, started out from college kids, having an idea and using Linux, as their platform, simply because it allowed them to be creative and make it happen. Imagine, entire industries born, because of a Free and Open Operating system, that no one has to pay for or worry about breaking a corporations licensing policy. All of these wonderful sites, would never have been conceived.

So, that is why I use Linux exclusively. It allows me to be as creative as I want to be. I think that is what it is all about, which ever way you want to look at it.

Web 2.0 Browser Desktop Toolkit…

Wow, now that is a mouthful.

First off, Web 2.0 is such a clique term, but really it can signify a greater movement of businesses that completely operate on the Internet, through a Web Browser. There are so many examples of this, I could fill a whole page. Here are a few, to jog your memory; Google, Facebook, MySpace and Flickr.

Next, did I say, a Browser Desktop? Or, did I mean to say, Desktop Browser? No, you heard me right. A Browser Desktop. Yes, a Desktop, sort of, that runs inside your browser. To call this a Desktop is a little over kill, but a great way to get readers attention. What it really boils down to is a Platform within a Web Browser.

Finally, Toolkit. Now, there are loads and I mean loads of JavaScript Libraries, collections, Toolkits, whatever you want to call them. But, Dojo truly is a Toolkit. It is more than a simple drop in JS script that simplifies typing long strings like document.getElementById and the like, sure it does that and then some. Dojo, also includes built in Dojo Widgets gleefully called dijits. Stuff like charts, Windows that mimic Desktop Applications, Sliders, Tree Folders, Layout Containers, Dialog Boxes, Buttons and more. You name a common GUI application widget, Dojo has em built in.

Dojo, takes it a step further, by giving you a complete framework, for creating your own custom widgets, which you can easily modify beginning from the Built in ones, or start one from scratch. And, to add these dijits (Dojo widgets) to your web page, you simply type a dojoType=”your.dijit.here” attribute, to say a div tag, and Dojo will magically, via it’s powerful parser engine, turn that div tag, into a Rich Text Editor or maybe just a simple dialog box.

There are arguments over at WaSP, about Dojo seemingly, making up their own HTML attributes, like dojoType. You are free to read the interesting arguments, on the WaSP site, which Alex Russell, tactfully handles well to their Web Standards Concerns. Note: The page is actually focusing on the IBM sponsorship of Dojo, but in the comments area, you can read the leaders of WaSP and Alex, respectfully, duke it out about HTML semantics.

Now, you might be thinking, that this is great and all, but the size of the .js files, and time it must takes to render and process all this JavaScript, must make the experience slow and rendered useless. But, this is not the case. Remember, this is a JavaScript Toolkit. For included in Dojo, are facilities to create custom builds of your Dojo creation. This includes; compressing, excluding everything, but what your Dojo Web Application needs and bundling it all up for the Web Browsers consumption. The build system, is based on Rhino, and contains an army of option tweaks and preferences, in how you want to build your Dojo Application. It is almost as if we are building or compiling a C and C++ application. But, JavaScript is still an interpretable language. Dojo’s build system simply tries to package it all up and make it as small and easy to download and deploy as possible.

Finally, Dojo Toolkit, contains a complete test harness, allowing you to stress test your product.

Dojo is a JavaScript Toolkit, in every sense of the word, ‘Toolkit’.

Now, the Dojo Project is a bit spoiled. It is backed by a Commercial company, Sitepen, a not for profit foundation. What more could an Open Source Project ask for? Not, to mention, one of the founders of Dojo, Alex Russell, a very well spoken dude. You can Google his name, and find loads of Pod and Screen Casts of him ranting on, presenting Dojo.

One of the ‘cooler’ things, I just found, is the Site Pen sponsored, Adobe AIR application, that includes the Dojo API, Resource Collection of Links and a point and click Dojo Build Suite. If you are on Linux, you need to install Adobe AIR, than go get this must have, Dojo Toolbox.