I occasionally start small projects for friends or family. I intentionally
use technology I have not used before in order to learn new things. The
client gets something, I learn something new. It's nice also, because it
forces me to finish the projects.
Last year, I started writing a small application using the Adobe Flex SDK,
(version 4, even though it was just beta when I started). The app simply
streams audio and flips slide images, a Flex/AS3 component, or a customizable
automatically-generated questionnaire/quiz at defined timestamps. All of this
is configured through a reasonably small XML file, all via the network.
The first problem I ran into was finding a decent development environment.
Adobe's Flex Builder, (based on Eclipse, now called Flash Builder), had few
nice features but also some things I couldn't live with. For what it provided
on top of basic Eclip... (more)
I have a first generation Macbook Pro (Core Duo 2.0 GHz, 2.0G, etc) with Mac
OS X 10.5.X. It's a really nice machine and has held up well for the past
couple of years. It works beautifully.
Everything works well, except Apple doesn't support Java 1.6 on 32-bit Intel
Macs, which applies to the Core Duo. My primary skillset, (other than
UNIX/Linux), revolves around Java. I admit, I was about to sell my laptop and
head to the Apple Store, when I found a few links that can ease the pain.
I found a link on Tomas Varaneckas', (Paranoid Engineering), blog about
SoyLatte , a Java 6 release... (more)
Junction Points in NTFS 3.0+ allow you to make one or more links to a folder
that acts like the folder itself.
As I must use Microsoft Windows at work, I have greatly missed the joys of a
UNIX platform. Until I started my present job, I was able to have a Linux or
Solaris computer as my main computer for work, (and home!).
Since I joined an enormous corporate environment, I must comply with the
corporate standards. Surprising to some of you, I can be compliant. Stop
laughing! It just means I need to sanity hack[1] at home.
One feature that was dear to me on UNIX was the symlink, (sym... (more)
In 2007, Scott Davis led one of the best NoFluffJustStuff keynote
presentations I have attended. It was an amazing collection of technology
wisdom, history and insight similar to watching episodes of Alton Brown in
Good Eats, but about hardware and software. I remember frantically writing
down all of the books, terms and references from his presentation. I followed
up on those references to learn more. Scott's sense of humor is excellent and
he is one of my favorite presenters.
Last night, Jared Richardson stood in front of a couple of hundred well-fed
geeks at the Columbus NoFlu... (more)
I received a obsidian black BBP Hybrid Messenger laptop bag for my birthday,
(thank you, parental units!). These are known for their urbanomics because,
as a backpack, the weight doesn't rest entirely on your shoulders.
Benefits:
First, as I have a macbook pro (15") laptop, I really can't afford to carry
it around in something where it can easily get damaged. They are pricey!
Second, I really like all of the pockets on this laptop bag. It is
inconvenient to dig through a pocket full of loose pencils, pens, change,
notes, usb drives, cell phone batteries, AA batteries, mp3 player and ... (more)
Unix Administrator for seven years. Software Developer for four years. Java, Groovy, Scala and more. Fan of the Pragmatic Bookshelf and continuous improvement.
Christopher Kenneally
Eddie Budgen
Helen Ching
Tomer Teller
Jason Venner
Steve Capoccia
Hans van de Koppel
Chris Rommel
Andreas Sundquist
Soumya Ranjan Das
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