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oli.lu BETA 1.0 has been releasedNovember 15, 2011Today we've released the first public beta of the www.oli.lu, an e-learning website that you can use to learn, practice, share, communicate and collaborate. oli.lu is the localized version for Luxembourg, while the international site is called morzino.com. We're now looking for beta testers from all over the world, and the next step will be to fix some of the remaining problems and bugs. Some features didn't make it to this release, including the advanced wiki APIs and the new PDF API. These modules will probably become available with BETA 1.5 in March or April 2012. The current release also features our latest load balancing technology (we call it the "load limiter"), which will become available as free software very soon (along with the next CorneliOS/CIOS update). Next week we'll also start work on the new code for Galaxiki 3.0, which shall become available in early 2012.
0 Comments - Read comments - Leave a comment The man who really invented the iPodOctober 23, 2011Ten years ago today, Apple introduced the first iPod, marking an incredible comeback for the the company that was still stuggling after massive problems during the late 1990s then. With the iPod, Apple entered the consumer market and started a real revolution that changed the entire music industry.  The idea to create the initial iPod goes back to hardware engineer Tony Fadell, who also brought up the idea to ship an MP3 player along with a music distribution service that should become iTunes. Tony Fadell and Michael Dhuey were responsible for the hardware while Jonathan Ive created the unique design (Ive is also responsible for most other Apple product designs). The iPod used an ARM processor and an operating system created by Pixo.  But did Apple and Tony Fadell really invent iPod and iTunes? Well, there was a man who already described and patented a digital music player and a digital music service via telephone line back in 1979!Kane Kramer, a British inventor and business man, invented and designed this unique player called the "IXI" during the late 1970s, and the device even looks a bit like the original iPod from 2001. The device featured both an LCD screen and the iPod-typical control features, although you can't really compare it with a clickwheel. Kramer even thought of downloading software updates thought the phone line. Today, Kane Kramer is still active in the technology sector, you can visit his page at www.kanekramer.com.
0 Comments - Read comments - Leave a comment Morzino BETA 5September 01, 2011We've just launched Morzino BETA 5, which will be the last test version before the official release in October 2011. This version will be mostly about adding some last missing features, fixing bugs and filling in some more content. Preview 4 introduced the first releases of the new Library Manager and the new Wiki Manager, as well as a (nearly) final version of the new Virtual Class API. Last week we started testing the new CorneliOS Web Publisher, which now also includes the new Wiki Manager. CorneliOS already offered built-in wiki tools, inspired by MediaWiki and used by Galaxiki and the Joopita IBS for example. The new Web Publisher however uses a triple-layer design featuring projects, pages and objects/paragraphs. It offers an "orthogonal" design which means that projects, pages and objects share the same basic feature set, making it very easy to develop reusable management tools. There is a common API responsible for the management of all objects while "viewer extensions" are responsible for displaying the content. Using these extensions we'll be able to create all kinds of wiki based apps in future. Most of the core stuff is already working fine, but some features are still missing although we're sure they'll follow soon. Missing parts include custom ACL entries, moving objects between projects or fully implemented backups for example. The new Web Publisher will be used on morzino.com and oli.lu, but it probably also make it to several other projects including the Joopita IBS and the Jamplifier CMS. For the moment we don't plan to use it on Galaxiki however. Demos will follow soon, stay tuned...
0 Comments - Read comments - Leave a comment Just a short updateAugust 19, 2011Don't have much time to write as I'm currently working on the latest Morzino BETA, it now looks like the final release will be ready for october this year. There will be some awesome new apps and changes, including a new media manager and an updated version of the web publisher. The final version will also be able to create connections between virtual classes. Unfortunately my new music album project won't come out this year, I won't find the time to finalize it as work on Galaxiki 3.0 will probably take more time than originally expected. Most of the songwriting has been completed, and I think this will become a really cool CD. Not this year, but next year for sure. It looks like I'll contribute to another CD project that will become available later this year, but I can't talk about this yet. There will also be an updated version of the Jamplifier CMS very soon. Before I forget: we've now officially killed the OLMO CMS project. I didn't find the time to work on this, and I also think there's no real market for it. Some of the ideas and concepts will probably make it to CorneliOS and Morzino one day.
0 Comments - Read comments - Leave a comment New Library ManagerAugust 08, 2011Yesterday we installed our new library management app on morzino.com and oli.lu. It's a powerful and easy to use tool that allows to manage your books. It can be used by individuals, students, teachers, classes or school libraries, and it's completely free.  It's been exactly 10 years since I developed the OLEFA library management system, and the new software shares some of the initial concepts of the OLEFA solution. The main screen even resembles the original OLEFA layout. But this app is a complete redesign, based on the latest CorneliOS/CIOS technologies and developed using our latest agile development methods. The current release still lacks some features, and it's not yet possible to print barcode stickers. We're currently working on a new PDF API and some of the missing features will only become available *after* work on this new API has been completed. The entire Library Manager API will be released under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) which means that you'll also be able to build your own library solutions with it for free. We hope the enitre API will be available under the terms of the GPL by the end of the year, including all features that are currently still missing. Check it out here: http://www.morzino.com/community/library/ http://www.oli.lu/community/library/
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