Continuing our conservation on things I learnt at FaceBookCampToronto… 

As it turns out, developers are responsible for providing their own server for their Facebook application. I had simply assumed applications would be hosted directly on the Facebook servers either in sandboxed partitions or on separate dedicated servers sharing the same high-speed network.  It appears Facebook has a BYOB policy (“Bring Your Own Box”).

In addition to APIs, the Facebook Platform allows developers to access user data using an SQL-like query language called Facebook Query Language (FQL). Compared with SQL, FQL has a number of noticeable limitations.

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Rav Ahuja has been posting video interviews with DB2 Viper 2 architects on YouTube.   This is part of his “Voice of the DB2 Community” podcast series. 

You can find all the videos on YouTube’s Channel DB2.  The videos are also available at the Channel DB2 social network.

The turnout for Toronto’s first FaceBookCamp was impressive. Based on the conference room capacity, I would estimate there was close to 400 people.

The event even garnered some mainstream media attention. A co-worker heard about it on CBC radio. Amber MacArthur produced a segment for CityNews International.

Here are some interesting tidbits:

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I just noticed this post from Paul Thurrott on WindowsITPro:

Microsoft this week quietly issued public versions of two Windows Vista software fixes which dramatically improve the reliability and performance of the company’s latest OS release.

Odd, the updates are currently not available on Windows Update. You can, however, download them directly using the links below:

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Torcamp is presenting FacebookCampToronto on Tuesday, August 7 at the MaRS centre in downtown Toronto.

FacebookCamp is an unconference for everyone with an interest in building on the Facebook Platform. FacebookCamp brings together developers, marketers, strategists, technologists, and students, in an open and collaborative environment of sharing and learning.

So far over 300 people have registered to attend.

WebbAlert – If you’re hankering for a tech news fix and you only have 5 minutes, check out Morgan Webb’s new video project, WebbAlert.

Slacker – A few months ago my favourite Internet radio application, Pandora, closed the box to non-US listeners. I suppose their partners didn’t believe all those users claiming their snail mail was delivered to the 90210 zip code.

Since then I’ve been experimenting with Slacker. Although persistent personalized radio stations are not available outside the US, the service is free and the default stations can be customized. 

According to CNET’s Crave blog, Slacker intends to differentiate itself from Pandora and LastFM by selling a portable device that will stream your personalized radio stations via Wi-Fi.