2 July, 2008
Cable DVR
I'm meaining to blog about my recent upgrade to Verizon FIOS + Tivo HD at home. The overall conclusion - much better picture quality, and now I don't have to watch HD content live. But the following post has a great summary of how a TiVoO DVR is more functional than the vanilla DVR everyone else tries to push on you for the same monthly price. TV Board » Blog Archive » Whose Box Is It Anyway: ‘It’s Not A TiVo’
“I don’t need your DVR, I already have a TiVo,” she said. “Our DVR is the same as TiVo but it comes free with our service,” the sales rep adamantly replied. “Oh, really, well I have a lifetime membership with TiVo. Can you log on from any computer and schedule something to record?” she retorted.
1 July, 2008
Prototyping even more valuable with AJAX
This is something we're trying to help everyone at work realize. I think we've known this all along, clients don't ever fully understand wireframes. Plus, its more fun, and I think productive, to start building something that works early, gets your head out of the clouds and grounded in reality. A List Apart: Articles: Sketching in Code: the Magic of Prototyping
These shortcomings are difficult enough, but the situation gets worse when we start to consider not just design, but development as well. Development involving Ajax and RIAs requires closer communication between developers and designers, and this communication often has to be iterative. Tossing wireframes over the wall to developers doesn’t work. The critical information required for this interchange often can’t be captured in wireframes. Cross-discipline communication issues aside, attempts to use wireframes to explore tough interaction problems are problematic.
29 June, 2008
Tip: phpUnderControl on Ubuntu - use Sun JAva
If you're installing phpundercontrol / cruisecontrol and getting compile errors on the web front end, which render the app fairly useless, make sure you are using Sun's JVM. To do this on Ubuntu, follow the directions at Ubuntu Linux Install Sun Java Development Kit ( JDK ) and Java Runtime Environment ( JRE )
Q. How do I install Sun Java Development Kit (JDK) and Java Runtime Environment (JRE) under Ubuntu Linux? It appears that there are multiple JRE installed by default under Ubuntu. How do I select and use Sun JRE only? Can you explain steps required to set the environment to run java programs or apps?
24 June, 2008
You might want to Check your Pet Food
Mice got into food at a PETCO distibution center - might be worth some prevention if you think you might be affected. FDA seizes pet food at PETCO distribution center: Consumer Reports on Safety
The distribution center in Joliet, Ill., provides pet food products and supplies to PETCO retail stores in 16 states: Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.
Using Gmail filters to tame your inbox
I swtiched to Gmail at the end of last year, and am loving it. We did the same at work and we have a much better mail system for much cheaper. The filtering and labeling system is both powerful and easy to use, go learn some Tricks to improve your Gmail experience at Coen Jacobs
Besides it’s flexibility and being available via the web, the filters and labels are the greatest features in Gmail. The greatest thing about it, is that they work together like a charm.
20 June, 2008
Subversion 1.5 released
in Programming, Subversion
The feature I've been looking forward to the most, merge tracking, made it into the latest Subversion release. I'm not sure why, but branching/merging has been a conceptually scary thing for me for a long time. I'd always be afraid that somehow I'd mess up the merge and lose updates or somehow mangle my code beyond repair. Nothing that a little practice of late hasn't helped alleviate plus the following tidbits.
See what changes a merge will pull in between revision 150 and HEAD into the current working copy from another branch:
svn diff -r 150:HEAD file://var/svn/my_project/branches/new_feature
Make sure you have the merge command line right:
svn merge <b>--dry-run</b> -r 150:head file://var/svn/my_project/branches/new_feature
Submerged - Subversion Blog - Subversion 1.5.0 Released!...
I'd particularly urge you to checkout the training materials that have been created for this release. While Subversion 1.5 is compatible with older clients and servers, to take full advantage of all the features, particularly merge tracking, there are some steps you need to take. The training courses we have created cover these issues and can help guide you through the upgrade process.
Your papers please...
in Immigration
Note to self - renew US Passport and carry it everywhere I go. Also, stay out of Maricopa County. Lawman's raids on immigrants spark fury in Phoenix | U.S. | Reuters
Arpaio dispatches teams of sheriff's deputies into Hispanic communities where they stop people and arrest anyone who cannot prove he or she is a legal U.S. resident.
19 June, 2008
The dog is trying to tell you something
in dogs, Funny
I'm not sure what these people are doing to their dog, but it drove him to figure out how to leap a fence using a trampoline. Maybe he doesn't want to be reunited with them? Harvey the trampolining dog found - Telegraph
Miss Kidson said: "The fence isn't all that high, but he couldn't get over it on his own and must have used the trampoline to bounce himself into my neighbour's garden and got out.
