Mozilla Eyes Hassle-Free PDFs on the Web
CNet (06/24/11) Stephen Shankland
Mozilla is developing pdf.js, a PDF reader that uses Web technology to render PDFs in the browser. Although Google is developing PDF software designed for a specific processor, Mozilla's system will use the browser's engine. "Our most immediate goal is to implement the most commonly used PDF features so we can render a large majority of the PDFs found on the Web," says Mozilla's Andreas Gal. The project uses JavaScript to interpret the PDF coding. Gal says it will result in a substantial usability increase as well as a security improvement for users, since pdf.js only uses safe Web languages and does not contain any native code pieces that attackers can exploit. Mozilla also could use a PDF renderer with Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) to overcome the shortcomings of Canvas, says Mozilla's Chris Jones. The Mozilla team wants to render a quick version using Canvas, then swap in a more sophisticated SVG-based version, according to Jones. Mozilla expects that pdf.js will improve user's experience with PDFs while slowly phasing out the technology. "We hope that a browser-native PDF renderer written on the Web platform allows Web technologies to subsume PDF," Gal says.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Blog: Mozilla Eyes Hassle-Free PDFs on the Web
Friday, June 4, 2010
Blog: Free, Open Virtual Laboratory for Infectious Diseases
Free, Open Virtual Laboratory for Infectious Diseases
ICT Results (06/04/10)
A European research team has developed a virtual laboratory designed to help doctors match drugs to patients and make treatments more effective. The ViroLab Virtual Laboratory uses machine learning, data mining, grid computing, modeling, and simulation technologies to convert the content of millions of scientific journal articles, databases, and patients' medical histories into knowledge that can be used for treatment. "ViroLab finds new pathways for treatment by integrating different kinds of data, from genetic information and molecular interactions within the body, measured in nanoseconds, up to sociological interactions on the epidemiological level spanning years of disease progression," says University of Amsterdam professor Peter Sloot. The system continuously crawls grid-connected databases of virological, immunological, clinical, genetic, and experimental data and extracts information from scientific journal articles. The ViroLab Virtual Laboratory also could be used to create personalized drug rankings to aid in the treatment of people suffering from diseases.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Blog: Grid Computing for the Masses
Grid Computing for the Masses
ICT Results (02/04/10)
A European research team has developed KnowARC, middleware that enables any computer running any operating system to access grid-based computers. The KnowARC project, led by the University of Oslo's Farid Ould-Saada, wants to make grid computing as easily accessible as information is on the Internet. "Getting access to the grid should be as simple as installing a new browser to get on the Internet," says Ould-Saada. "Only then will the survival and expansion of the grid be assured." KnowARC is based on Advanced Resource Connector (ARC) middleware, which provides interoperability between computing systems, architectures, and platforms. Ould-Saada says that ARC has great potential for wide deployment in new domains due to its ease of installation and interoperability. ARC middleware also is being used in grid computing for medical research, bioinformatics, and geographical data. "In a matter of years, I hope to see resources and storage being as easy to access remotely as information is on the Internet today," Ould-Saada says.