An example multi-file, Web-based presentation (click to start)

ENCENTLY, I have being passively swayed (“forced” rather) towards using WYSIWYG applications for composition of a presentation. I have done that as a teenager, but I sure know the issues associated with the paradigm. I use OpenOffice at the moment, in conjuction with colleagues who stubbornly stick to PowerPoint.

As sad as this may sound, it seems obvious that, judging by the large, conferences do not accept presentations in formats such as HTML, even if they are as advanced and rich as S5 (exemplified above). Many conference them make PowerPoint the sole option, thus snubbing anybody who does not use Windows or is unwilling to invest in expensive licences that lead to vendor lock-in. Fortunately, I work in O/S-tolerant environments, so I rarely need to suffer from such narrow-mindedness.

WYSIWYG is a good paradigm in principle. Alas, as explained several times in the past (e.g. Dangers of Abstraction), WYSIWYG tends to be lossy. Also, re-use becomes as serious problem; searching and indexing likewise. The idea of encapsulating objects like arrows and circles in a single file, along with videos, images and text is ‘unhealthy’ to say the least. A binary presentation is not one which is open for standards-based tools to interpret. It is also poorly-structured.

OpenDocument does not make it trivial for one to extract individual objects unless various tools are used. Therefore, I am reluctant to ever use OpenOffice and yet I recommend and promote it. Hypocrisy? I say “nay”. Its entry barrier is low, and if not the cost, then open formats should make the difference and end the vendor/product dependency. OpenOffice will never suffer from the same pitfalls Microsoft vainly ignore.

An HTML presentation has its text stored separately (under e.g. index.html). Additionally, there are videos and graphics as individual files in their own isolated directory. The technology which drives S5, as in this particular case, involves a collection of stylesheets which are easily exchangeable, interchangeable, and are stored aside, together with their associated graphics. Lastly, there is JavaScript to integrates this technology and make keyboard navigation, buttons and the like a practical reality.

To finish off with a rant, why is it that ‘simplicity’ ended up attaining a huge tar-like file which is obscure in terms of its content? If it were not for Microsoft Office, would somebody else have done the same? Some time ago I heard that Office files were bound to become a compressed files which contain all the peripheral files, e.g. images and graphs, completely apart. XML is frequently echoed by the media in this context. Could this be related to Microsoft’s recent proposal to open up their formats?

The famous E=mc^² equation finally see its centenary.

Physicists are celebrating the centenary of Albert Einstein’s best known equation: E=mc².

[...]

It seems so simple: three letters standing for energy, mass, and the speed of light, brought together with the tightness of a soundbite.

Related item: Einstein Manuscript Archives

An academic study suggests that long-standing habits are difficult to break for a reason. It attributes this chronic and dangerous entity to physiology. This might, at least in part, explain why so many of us struggle to change recurring activities or rid ourselves from addictions.

Old habits don’t die. They hibernate.

Habitual activity–smoking, eating fatty foods, gambling–changes neural activity patterns in a specific region of the brain when habits are formed.

A week back I became familiar with the World Community Grid. Described in their own words,

World Community Grid’s mission is to create the world’s largest public computing grid to tackle projects that benefit humanity.

Our work has developed the technical infrastructure that serves as the grid’s foundation for scientific research. Our success depends upon individuals collectively contributing their unused computer time to change the world for the better.

I am hoping for my medical imaging research to become part of a localised research grid. Fortunately, this may actually happen sooner than I had anticipated. Yesterday I handed over C/C++ code to become a Web service.

I also have particular intersting in the way grid computing can assist the Web. My recent initiative called Iuron, once resumed, might rely on available, idle computer resources.

As an arbitrary set of useful links:

• An academic homepage provides a description and listing of mathematical symbols in HTML.

Nice examples like the following equations have been put together:

∆u  =  Δu  =

n ∑ i = 1

∂2u/∂xi2

+∞ ∫ −∞

exp(−x2) dx

=  √π

The above is valid HTML, but as expected, it makes heavy use of tables although data is not truly tabular. From a standards perspective, this may be frowned upon.

While on the issue of rarely-used symbols, below lie my related ‘pocket links’:

• HTML accents table
• HTML symbols

An older Web-based presentation (April 2005, London)

received some encouraging news last night. My submission to the MIAS-IRC annual symposium has been accepted for an oral presentation. To make matters even better, a paper of my colleague, in which I am among the authors, has been accepted as well.

This maintains a good record of consecutive oral presetations (rather than posters). At the moment I continue working towards two looming deadlines for international conferences. I have also begun to prepare the upcoming presentation, the Ph.D. thesis and I foresee the possibility of supercomputing in the near future.

Appearance model of the brain, ±2.5 standards deviations shown

T is difficult to submit a reasonably decent paper to an international conference. It is also rather unfortunate when two papers need to be completed before strict submission deadlines that are only one day apart.

I am planning to submit a paper on image registration assessment to ISBI 2006 and another on appearance model evaluation to CVPR 2006. Both deadlines have been set to the beginning of next week. That possibly, if not probably, warrants scarce blog activity. Both conferences will take place in the States and I will wind up attending at least one of the conferences.

As the documents adhere to IEEE-styled templates, I have finally descended to the level of raw L^AT_EX. I preferred to have avoided it for the past 4 years as I discovered the front-end L_yX, which has its pros and cons. L^AT_EX. feels like a step back nonetheless as failed attempts to compile a document are time-consuming. This is just one among the many deficiencies I could list.