Jim Rapoza wrote an interesting article (SaaS Access in the 5 May 08 eWeek magazine pp35-43), that describes the next browser architecture as something very much like a remake of (IBM) 327x technology, with an additional  overhead layer. This, along with the adjacent article by Ryan Naraine on the Opus Palladium browser project at UI-Urbana-Champaign, suggests to me that one lock-in may be exchanged for another. Perhaps the devil we know isin’t so bad after all.

In 2004 Dan Herchenroether wrote a book named Selling Air (www.sellingair.com), a fictional account of a software company during the tech bubble, with much of the action taking place in Silicon Valley. This came to mind the other day when I read a piece (at www.eweek.com/c/a/Content-Creation/Adobe-Launches-Open-Screen-Project/) about the Adobe Integrated Runtime, or AIR for short. Seems to be a pretty good thing, but the acronym somehow doesn’t suggest stability and reliability. The name probably sounds good to the techies, but I’m not sure the suits will grasp what it all can mean. I enjoyed the book; hope the product doesn’t have a similar conclusion.

I play the jazz station KKJZ for background in my office, and occasionally hear something that is really intriguing. The latest is the album Imagina, Songs of Brazil, by Karrin Allyson (www.karrin.com), which I’ve added to my MP3 player that I listen to when exercising in the morning and taking occasional walks. The upbeat music certainly puts a positive sheen on everything. I don’t have a clue what the song lyrics are, but the Portuguese seems to add a special flavor of lightness and life. I’ve never been to Brazil, but have been to Portugal, which is decidedly European. Maybe the language as spoken (and sung) in Brazil has a special New World kicker that makes it different from the Mother country. Highly recommended for Jobim and jazz lovers.