Jason Alexander

I still get 45 minutes or so out of my 4+ year old battery. However, the one I bought to replace it, about 18 mo ago, it's now a brick. The worst value I've ever gotten out of a battery (33 cycles), and it started failing just around 13 mo, (right outside warranty). I just didn't... (more)

Ruby Koans I've gotten through more than half of the Ruby Koans in the past few weeks. Around the 174th test, the developer is asked to implement a method that solves a trivial problem. I would have liked to make the solution more simple, but this is what I could come up with, ba... (more)

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 writi... (more)

Essentially, MacHeist is a yearly Mac-themed software event. It starts out with some puzzles, or missions and ends with release of a bundle of shareware for the Mac, for a cost of around $40. A percentage of the bundle sales goes toward charity and some bundled apps are only unlo... (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 a... (more)

As I was editing a document today, I was reminded by how much I despise the operation of -, (paste), in Microsoft Word. Key shortcuts for paste (-) will always paste Formatted Text. But 99% of the time, I want unformatted text. Even if I wanted formatted text, w... (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 compute... (more)

I went shopping for my first electric guitar this year. I wanted something affordable but nice enough that I won't feel like I have to replace it if, or when, I actually learn to play well. I already have an acoustic guitar, the basic music theory and techniques to play chords an... (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 franticall... (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 reall... (more)

Intro: Cut down on the time and effort to track websites that post deals, coupons, etc. Rather than visiting a dozen deals sites, (such as SlickDeals, Dealmac, Techbargains, Fatwallet, Deals2Buy), you could monitor all deals posted to these sites from one place. Note: If you are ... (more)

Doctor Who Classic. Can you believe there were eight doctors!? I remember doctor number four the most. Now, years later, you can buy Doctor Who toys on ThinkGeek! Every kid should have a Dalek. Don't let me fool you, I am a horribly pathetic Doctor Who fan. I have had very little... (more)