I am going coo coo for Popfly!!!

Tonight I went to my Popfly account and I was very impressed. Microsoft has added features which make it the best online Web 2.0 editor. They have added ways to add data sources. A pseudo database where you add a table using comma delimited syntax. Popfly has also added the capabilities of creating "blocks". Blocks are like components of software logic which can easily intergrate with other blocks or services. They have added features to the "block" where you can integrate it to web services by simply pointing to the Web Service Description Language (WSDL). You can write code for the block in C# or in a XML structured format. You can create mashups by simple drag and drop or write .net centric code. Like Google web pages, Popfly also lets you create web pages by simple drag and drop. I have to say that Microsoft has put alot of effort into this product compared to Google Mashup Editor or Yahoo! Pipes. Microsoft is probably eyeing this a possible collaborative programming IDE for the Visual Studio family. It is a not a bad idea.

FYI - Couple of weeks ago, Microsoft contacted me to see if I was interested in working for their Visual Studio line. With products like this and Google's snobby attitude towards folks with non IT degrees, I might have to reconsider. I enjoy programming, architecting systems and just being a technology geek. Is something wrong with me? Anyway in the next few entries, I might explore Popfly's capabilities in more in depth.

Microsoft Popfly and more

A few days ago I was granted access to Microsoft's new and dandy Mashup Editor called Popfly. Why did they call it "Popfly"? I have no idea. Popfly offers functionality like integration to their Visual Studio, the new Microsoft technology called the Silverlight plugin. I had high hopes for the Popfly technology since it is from Microsoft.

Unfortunately tonight I faced with the "Blue screen of death" in the Mashup editor world. I was working with the Popfly's Facebook block , which is like a Yahoo! Pipes widget, and I tried to get pictures of my friends from my network. Unfortunately it didn't work. Instead, I saw the default set of friends who looked like Microsoft employees. The only functionality that worked was that I could only see my information. The Popfly product has promise however it is still alpha. Unlike Google Mashup Editor and Yahoo! Pipes, Popfly offers UI aggregation interface as well as a .NET API interface. The competition has just begun between the major vendors in providing Mashup Interfaces. I am waiting for Oracle to join the party.

As I had suspected, Microsoft is slowing but surely integrating Facebook into its platform. Popfly is a great example of it. It looks like Microsoft and Google see immediate short term gains going the Web 2.0 route and not the Semantic Web route which seems to a better approach in the long term.