UPDATED- AIR vs. Silverlight vs. Prism

So Mozilla announced a new product recently: Prism.  Prism, as noted by the devs, is designed to compete with Microsoft’s Silverlight and Adobe’s AIR.  What are these obscurely titled things you ask?  Well as far as my neophyte ass can tell both Silverlight and AIR are plug-ins/development platforms used for web applications.  Web applications, like gmail, are the current internet development craze.  Finding new ways to deliver content to a population spending increasing amounts of time living in their browser.  The difference between the two programs being developed by evil corporate society Microsoft and Adobe and Mozilla’s Prism are hard to spot out of the gate (and with no experience with any of the aforementioned platforms).   As best I can tell the differences lay in the fact both Silverlight and Air are separate tools for delivering content.  Web apps are developed straight into and delivered directly by Air and Silverlight.  The advantage of Prism, as far as I can tell, lays in its ability to take already established web applications and wrap them in code that allows them to be directly accessed via one’s desktop using a browser stripped of unnecessary accouterments (navigation bar, etc.).  In other words allowing one to access web applications as if they were simply desktop applications and thus better integrating the desktop experience with the web itself.  Interesting stuff.

Of course I could completely wrong about how any of this stuff works, at least until I try it.

EDIT:  Thanks for the comments below.  For others curious I found an article from Infoworld that describes AIR a little better for us unititated types. 

Also, from Microsoft’s Scott Guthrie comes a good blog post with some more good information about Silverlight.

The Late Great Robert Jordan…

I’ve put off discussing Jordan’s death for a while now.   He is, in effect, the author that started this whole mess.  My first fantasy novel was Eye of the World and I have since devoured just about anything in the genre since.  Admittedly Jordan’s work was the center of a lot of joking amongst friends, especially during the later volumes,  but his work has always, and will always, retain a special place in my heart.  I have grown up alongside Rand al’Thor, Perrin Ayabara, and Matrim Cauthon and going back to Jordan’s work is like coming home again.  I have ceased trying to explain to others quite how I feel about the Wheel of Time series, it’s hard explaining how you view a writer, characters, and a world you’ve been around for more than a decade but I do know that Jordan being unable to complete his tale and that leaves a rather large vacancy in the world of fantasy at large and in my reading life.  So Mr. Rigney:  “May you shelter in the palm of the Creator’s hand, and may the last embrace of the mother welcome you home.”

For a far better articulation of what Jordan meant to us “hardcore” fantasy fans check out Fantasy Book Critic’s post.

Fox douchbaggery

Somewhere, in their hollowed out volcano lair, the RIAA rejoices at someone else ascending descending to their level of evil.

Fox Cancels All BUFFY Screenings

Can we get a response from Whedon? Why, yes we can, thanks to the kind folks over at Whedonesque:

Hi.

This is hugely depressing. I will do everything in my power to find out the exact reasoning for this and try to convince those responsible what a mistake it is. Of course, the words “my power” might confuse my gentle readers into believing I have any. I don’t know what I’ll be able to do, and I’ve no idea even where to start. Nor do I think this was done maliciously or capriciously. But it’s lousy news and it’s bad business. I’m hoping the latter element might prevail. I’ll keep you posted.

As ever, -j.

Review: Bright of the Sky by Kay Kenyon

Bright of the Sky by Kay Kenyon

Pyr, 2007

Review: Kenyon is a veteran science fiction author but, since this is my first time reading her work, I won’t be commenting on any of her previous writing. I will start by saying that Bright of the Sky is an intellegent, finely crafted, meaty read that fans of science fiction, and even more than a few fantasy fans, will enjoy. It should also be noted that this is the first book in a series (The Rose and the Entire) and while it mostly well by itself it also leaves much unanswered. The plot centers around former star pilot Titus Quinn who finds himself grounded after a routine trip through a black hole caused the destruction of his ship. He claims, and is believed by noone, that he and his wife (Johanna) daughter (Sydney) were sent to another world where they spent years together; despite having been gone from the real world for considerably less time. Fired by his employers for his outrageous claims he lives alone struggling with his fading memory and his guilt over his still missing family. Everything changes when the company he used to work for discovers that the world he claims to have visited is in fact real. I won’t discuss too many plot details beyond that as too much more risks spoilers.

The main action of the novel focus on the political, personal and economic goals of various parties both in our universe and in the Entire; the universe that exists parallel to our own. The bulk of the narrative deals with Titus’ juggling act of managing his own personal goal (rescue his wife and daughter no matter the cost) with the business designs of his employers (secure a means of a safe transit route through the entire) while at the same time reclaiming his lost memories of his previous stay in the Entire and navigating the rather sticky political mire of this new world. At the same time we have another narrative thread detailing the experiences of his daughter who is now living amongst a group of sentient horse/bull quadraped creatures (the Inyx), another thread back home on Earth discussing Titus’ trip from his employer’s perspective, and late in the novel another narrative dealing with political machinations of the human like ruler of the Chalin who seeks to subvert the arrogant and technologically advanced Bright Lords (the Tarig). If that sounds like a lot to manage then you are absolutely right but Kenyon, despite the shifting narrative, does a masterful job juggling the various narrators and making each interesting and insightful in their own right. Titus isn’t the most likeable of characters but his zelous drive to reclaim his family makes him grow on you and his guilt over his own actions in the past has a palpable weight that influences the reader and, for better or for ill (his reaction to Small Girl comes to mind), serves as a driving force behind his own actions. Sydney (Titus’ daughter) and the Inyx (the strange creatures she lives with) provide some of my favorite interactions in the book and are some the only human/alien interaction we see and includes some of the best hints about what is to come in future volumes of the series.

The book isn’t prone to fast-paced action but Kenyon manages to generate interest via the interactions between characters and societies that excell in keeping the readers interest. Her characters, while not wholly original (Titus reminds me in many ways of Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant), are fleshed out and really come alive in their dealings with one another (an excellent example being the relationship between Titus and his sister-in-law). In the end this was a worthwhile read and is highly recommended to fans of alternate world stories from either side of the sci-fi/fantasy fence.

Final Grade: B+

My heart just died a little when I read this….

EA Acquires BioWare

The thought of seeing an EA logo anywhere on a Bioware made games leave a sour taste in my mouth.