Ice Princess's Tech Tips

Slim Living

2012-01-27T21:33:00.000-05:00

The Author of this post is Darius Boone

My husband was furloughed 10 days this year with his work. To say we took a big hit from that is quite an understatement. We have really had to cut back this year to make ends meet. I know, I know, we are lucky he even has a job still, blah, blah, blah. But come on, things could be better. With that said, we had to start going around our house looking for things to sell. After a very successful yard sale, we made back the money from 7 furlough days. The next thing we did, was go through our budget and see where we could cut back to make up the difference little by little every month. After looking at our cable bill and realizing our contract was up with them, we searched for other providers and looked at their deals. We came across www.Direct.TV and decided this was a better option for us. We also switched our internet and phone provider and are cutting back on our eating out at restaurants. With these changes, we should be able to swing everything financially.

Middle Eastern Search Engine Marketing Firm Levant Digital

2012-01-26T21:29:00.000-05:00

Online marketing has become a really hot area. Just about every business has a website. Marketing that website, so that it shows up in search results and people can find it, takes a lot of know how. Technology and online marketing techniques are constantly changing. Many businesses hire an employee whose sole purpose is to market the company website. Businesses also hire outside firms to help market their website.
People in countries outside of the United States are taking advantage of the technological revolution, particularly in developing countries with younger generations. The internet provides business opportunities that are not available in the real world. You can market an idea, skill or business to potentially everyone in the world. It's amazing how you can talk to someone on the opposite side of the world with just a click of a button.
The middle east is one particular area taking advantage of technology and the opportunities it offers. Middle eastern ppc management is one area of opportunity. Knowing the ins and outs of pay per click is a must for any business trying to succeed. One Middle Eastern search engine marketing firm is called Levant Digital. They are the #1 full-service digital marketing agency in the Middle East and North Africa. They offer services such as pay per click management, search engine optimization, social media advertising, conversion optimization, media buying and immediate crisis handling.
Middle Eastern search engine optimization firms like Levant Digital can provide short-term and long-term results for your business. They use many tools such as analytic systems and webmaster tools, use of effective keywords and placement, SEO-friendly titles and Meta descriptions, link building, social media and social bookmarking to help your site rise to the top of search engine results.
Learning how to market your website can be time consuming, so if you don't have a lot of time to learn the ropes of search engine optimization and website promotion, hiring an experienced professional might be a good idea.

O-rings and Custom Seals Parco

2012-01-24T21:00:00.001-05:00

I have a Doulton countertop water filter to filter out coliform bacteria. It attaches to the faucet and has a switch to redirect the waterflow to come out the filter instead of the faucet. When I want the water to come out of the faucet, I just change the switch back. Every few years I have to buy a new filter, which needs cleaning every so often. A few years ago, the switch attached to the faucet started leaking. The switch piece had never been cleaned and as a result the o-ring rotted. Just a simple little thing, but I had to buy a whole new switch costing $40 in order to get things fixed.
O-rings are pretty important little objects. If they go bad, leakage occurs and things break. There is a company called Parco that specializes in producing o-rings. They produce high performance seals for six different industries.
The first industry is the Oil Field Machinery industry. A faulty seal can cost more than $100,000 a day in downtime alone. Parco develops o-rings, back-up rings, packing elements, compensators, T-seals, rubber-to-metal bonded parts and other custom seals that can withstand caustic, high-temperature environments in wells as deep as five miles.
The second industry is the Aerospace & Defense industry. Parco produces o-rings and custom molded seals to meet various military and aerospace specifications. They are one of the few companies approved to supply Qualified Products List o-rings.
The third industry is the Water Filtration industry. Parco produces o-rings and custom molded parts resistant to swelling in chloramine-treated drinking water. They also have low compression set to ensure an extended life.
The fourth industry is the Motor Vehicle industry. Parco produces o-rings and custom molded seals for engines, transmissions and steering systems.
The fifth industry is the Farm & Construction industry. Parco produces o-rings, back-up rings, and T-seals that stand up to even the toughest of jobs.
The sixth industry is the Fuel-Dispensing industry. Parco produces o-rings, rubber-to-metal bonded parts and other custom seals for pumps that are resistant to gasoline. The seals have low compression set to help extend their life.
If you need help finding a seal, Parco offers a tool called the Compound Wizard. You enter information such as elastomer, durometer, color and key properties, and the Compound Wizard will provide you with a list of seals with those qualifications.
Parco has been in business since 1941. They were the first manufacturer to specialize in o-rings. They are based in Ontario, California.

EasyTether Review Laptop Cell Phone Share Data

2012-01-11T10:59:00.001-05:00

I finally upgraded my cell phone to a smartphone. I went with Verizon's Samsung Stratosphere because it has a physical keyboard and is 4G. Nice phone.
The only problem is I don't really use it for anything that requires large amounts of data. Having the internet with me at all times is great, but I prefer using my laptop to access the internet. It has a larger screen & keyboard.
My new cell phone contract includes 4GB of data per month. My home internet uses Verizon's mobile broadband mifi device and includes 3GB of data per month. Most months I stay under 3GB, but once in a while I do go over. I thought, it would be great if I could connect my laptop to my cell phone and use it's data plan if needed. Doing that through Verizon would cost an extra $20 per month. I would have to add a data plan that includes mobile hotspot. Apparently you can root your phone and then there are apps you can use to access the cell phone's data plan. Rooting your phone will void the warranty and may make your phone unusable if something goes wrong. Not really the route I wanted to go.
I came across an app in the Amazon app store called EasyTether. It does just what I want. It's normally $9.99, but I bought it for $4.99. You download it to your phone. Go to the EasyTether website and download software for your laptop. Hook your cell phone up to your laptop via USB. Right click on the easy tether icon on your laptop and click connect. Your laptop can then surf the internet using your cell phone's data plan. Pretty cool!
I have no idea if it is legal, but I did not find any reviews saying Verizon suspended anyone's account. The IP address on the laptop is the same as the IP address on the cell phone, so I don't know how Verizon would be able to know what you're doing. I don't know anything about networking though.
One thing to note is my cell phone seemed to get hot pretty quickly. Although, I guess it wasn't any hotter than my mifi device gets. The connection does time out quite frequently when it's cloudy outside. When it worked, it seemed fairly quick, but slower than my mifi connection. I can only get 3G at my house. When 4G comes, the connection will probably be pretty good.
EasyTether is an awesome app! No rooting, no extra $20 per month. It's a great, quick and easy way to connect your laptop to your cell phone's data plan. Now if there was a way to get my Amazon Kindle Fire to tether to my cell phone...

More Tethering

Technology Lawyer

2012-01-09T15:38:00.000-05:00

Since being laid off by a top defense company, who shall remain nameless, I've been working part-time as a contractor. I started off doing a month of work for a small, local computer vision company. After that, I started doing some web development work for a small, local web development company. For both companies, I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement, also known as a confidentiality agreement. Software companies are in a pretty competitive field, so they have to be careful that employees don't divulge all their secrets. I'm sure they have to be even more careful with someone they don't know who is just a contractor. The computer vision company even had their own lawyer draw up the paperwork. It was pretty official.
I never realized it, but there are lawyers who specialize in representing technology companies. Technology lawyers provide services in areas such as technology, internet, ecommerce and media law; media, technology and intellectual property transactions; technology and ecommerce start-up;, copyright issues; and trademark registration and disputes. One such company is called the Neff Law Firm. They are based in Manhattan Beach, CA.
For 12 1/2 years they were known as Neff Law Group LLP. Since 2004, they have been known as Neff Law Firm. Their practice consists of three attorneys: Richard Neff, Amanda Laura Nye and Daniel S. Latter. They also work with other lawyers to handle patent registrations and various kinds of issues and international requirements.
Neff Law Firm has handled cases for companies such as Informatica Corp., PriceGrabber.com, glu mobile, Logitech Inc., and Symantec Corp.
They have handled cases involving copyright disputes. Richard Neff headed an antipiracy cause in Latin America, which led to the reform of many national copyright laws. He has also helped studios, publishers and authors with the copyright do's and don'ts of film and video making.
Neff Law Firm can handle ecommerce issues and has helped a top Internet price comparison website.
They can help with trademark issues, such as selection, usage and registering of a trademark. They can also help protect your domain name from being stolen.
Everybody is on the internet these days. The majority of businesses have websites. Some people start businesses that are strictly online. I have a website where I sell back issues of magazines. My first website was focused on ways to earn money online. One time when I was reviewing it's stats, I discovered another website out there under a totally different domain name, but the same exact content as my website. It was really strange. I'm still not sure if I should have done something about it, or what I should have done. Cyberspace is a tough area to patrol as the whole world has access. There are no boundaries. People often don't even use their real names. The internet is still fairly new, so there are a lot of gray areas. If you have a website and want to protect yourself, in addition to making sure you are setting your business up properly and not infringing on anyone else's rights, it might be a good idea to hire a technology lawyer.

Genuine Ink Cartridges

2011-12-30T10:30:00.001-05:00

I have an HP Photosmart 2610 all in one printer. It prints photos/text, faxes, scans and copies. I love it! I bought it about seven years ago, so it's probably time for an upgrade soon. A couple of aspects I hope to improve upon are to get a printer that supports wireless connections. The other improvement would be to find a great printer with cheap ink cartridges.
I hate buying ink. One time I almost ordered ink from Amazon because they had a great price. After reading reviews I realized they were not genuine ink cartridges. I only buy original ink cartridges manufactured by HP. Every time I buy new ink cartridges, it costs me $70 for both the colored and black and white cartridges. They come as a set, which is cheaper than buying them separate. Genuine toner cartridges are also expensive. You definitely have to be careful when buying ink online if you are only interested in original ink cartridges. RetailBlue.com is an online retailer that sells only genuine ink cartridges.
I recently read an article in the newspaper by Al Fasoldt, who writes for The Post-Standard in Syracuse, NY, about printer recommendations. He offered a few tips to save on ink prices.
The first tip is to buy a cheap laser printer, if you are only going to print in black and white.
The second tip is to get an ink jet printer designed to use less ink than other printers, if you need a color printer. Apparently, Kodak ink costs about half the price as Epson or HP.
The third tip involves getting an ink efficient printer with Air Print capability, if you need to print from an iPad or iPhone.
Top brand printers include HP, Epson, Kodak and Canon. I may have to look into the second tip and check out the printers offered by Kodak. My brother has a Kodak and my mother has an Epson, both of which work good.

Watching tv online

2011-12-28T21:14:00.000-05:00

I appreciate the guest post, Emerson Moses

It is amazing what we have access to online. I am seriously considering canceling our cable service because all of the shows that I want to watch can be seen online for free. Many of the channels show most or all of their shows online, and for only a few dollars a month, we can have access to movies as well. With our internet provided through CLEARtvbundle.com, and with a membership to a website that shows movies, it would cost half of what we pay in cable alone. The truth is that my husband and I rarely watch television, and we spend most of our time together outside camping, hiking, etc. We both work full time, and his job is very stressful. My husband’s stress release is to go do something active, such as a bike ride. We have discussed for months the possibility of canceling our cable because we just never use it. The only thing that would be a problem would be major sporting events, such as the World Series, Super Bowl, and the major college bowl games. My husband is unwilling to miss these sporting events. However, I am going to try to convince him that we do not need cable television.

Data Storage Systems Nexsan

2011-12-19T10:55:00.000-05:00

It's amazing how cheap data storage is these days. Ten years ago I received a 64mb thumbdrive from my boss for Christmas. They were fairly new at the time, so it was a really big deal. It was a pretty cool little device to save a few files on. lol. Nowadays, thumbdrive sizes are in gigabytes rather than megabytes.
I have a 250gb external hard drive that I need to upgrade someday, since you can now buy one with available space in terabytes.
Cloud storage is a great storage option since you don't have to worry about having a physical device to store the data on. You can also access the data from any computer, provided you have an internet connection. There are quite a few web sites out there that offer a certain amount of free cloud storage. Amazon even offers 5gb of free cloud storage.
There is a company called Nexsan that offer huge amounts of high end storage. They sell Flexible Storage Platform systems which may contain between 14 and 60 drives and can be expanded with additional units. The NEXSAN E5000 family of data storage systems can hold up to 720tb. That's a lot of data. Drives use Nexsan's anti-vibration design, cool drive technology and active drawer technology.
Nexsan also offers web-based storage system software with features such as disk provisioning, RAID hardware management, host data path services and automatic RAID set rebuild.
Nexsan's storage application software includes features such as file services, snapshot, replication and archiving to storage system hardware. Archiving services id files for integrity, store two copies for added protection, continuously repair files, use WORM on disk, and provide data encryption and key management.
Nexsan was formed in 1999 and are based in Thousand Oaks, California.
Back up's are really important. You never know when a disaster might happen and your data will be wiped out.
The other day I was working on a file in PHP. An example file I was following contained a call to unlink. Unlink was an unfamiliar function to me, but I found out the hard way what it does. Since the example file I was using called it, I included it in my test file. I ran my test file, and it suddenly disappeared. Yeah, unlink deletes a file. Luckily I was able to recreate my test file without too much trouble. I also downloaded an application called Recuva. After doing a deep scan and running all day, Recuva found the unlinked file, and I was able to restore it.

Trade Show Displays Post-Up Stand Vinyl Banners

2011-12-15T16:30:00.000-05:00

Craft fairs are very popular in my area of upstate New York during the summer time. You can buy a lot of very nice handmade items ranging from towels to large wooden furniture. Crafters set up booths at county and state fairs, and fairs featuring crafters only. At the county and state fairs you can also find trade show booths set up. Some of the trade show booths involve politicians trying to get your vote, companies advertising their products or non-profit organizations advertising their cause. The trade show and craft booths are the only part of fairs I like. A lot of times you can pick up a bunch of free things too. Pencils are a big item. Last year I picked up a nice ruler with photos of all of the past presidents along with their names and years. I also picked up a notepad of pre-filled forms to use for child school absences. With the large crowds that fairs draw, setting up a booth to get your message out is a great way to advertise.
There is a company called Post-Up Stand that sells Trade Show Displays. They sell curved and straight trade show displays. The curved trade show display has three or four panels that piece together to form a curved display. The straight trade show display has three or four panels that piece together to form a large straight display. Prices for both the curved and straight trade show displays range from $980 to $1440. Trade show displays include a frame, three printed banners, two halogen lights and a hard shipping case. The displays are easy to set up.
Post-Up Stand also sells Vinyl Banners. A lot of the trade show booths also have these attached to tables or hanging up at the back of their booths to advertise who they are. Vinyl banners are also great for restaurants, lobbies, school events or to hang outside your business to advertise a big sale. Prices range from $12 for a 2'x2' banner to $192 for an 8'x8' banner. Grommets and sewing are included. Banner stands and table top displays are also available from Post-Up Stand.
Post-Up Stand is located in Cleveland, Ohio. They offer a 48 hour turnaround for custom banner stands, trade show displays, and vinyl banners. Orders are shipped via FedEx and UPS.

Systems Software Development Milestone Systems, Inc

2011-12-11T10:32:00.001-05:00

My real world job is as a software developer, an applications software developer. I develop applications for the desktop computer using programming languages such as C, C++ and Java. For the majority of the past year, I have been gaining experience in web development using PHP and MySQL. It is very interesting. With HTML5 you can do just about anything in your web browser that you can do with a desktop application. Mobile development is another direction I would like to move in. Learning to develop a mobile application is my goal for next year. I'm going to start out with Android, since the Java based sdk is free.
I prefer to write programs that perform a specific task. That is why I am an applications programmer. Another avenue of programming is systems programming. Systems programmers write programs to maintain and control computer systems software, such as operating systems, networking or compilers.
Cyber-security software is a hot area where I live in upstate New York. Local colleges offer degrees geared towards cyber-security development. Many of the companies in this area also specialize in cyber-security. It is not really an area I am interested in. However, the safety of your computers and networks is very important. With the increase in mobile internet usage, cyber-security is becoming even more important.
There is a company called Milestone Systems, Inc. that specializes in network security. They offer project consulting, installation and implementation, staffing, operational training, renewals service, and managed services.
One of their product partners is called F5 networks. F5 Application Delivery Controllers ensure that your application will not encounter downtime or loss of productivity. One service offered is F5 auditing to ensure all F5 devices in your network are running smoothly and efficiently. If any problems are discovered, Milestone Systems, Inc. will offer a solution.
Another product partner is Cisco IronPort. Cisco IronPort offers email security. It helps protect your network from within. You control access to networks, servers and applications based on certain criteria such as machine and user identities, while Cisco IronPort reports all successful access attempts.
Milestone Systems, Inc also offers many training courses, including many different F5 training courses, such as F5 Networks Global Traffic Manager, F5 Big-IP Essentials and F5 Networks Troubleshooting Big-IP LTM. Cisco IronPort training courses are also offered. Some of these courses include Securing Your Web with Cisco IronPort S-Series, Securing Email w/ Cisco Ironport C-Series Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3, Virtual Securing Your Web with Cisco IronPort and Cisco Advanced SSL VPN Administration.
If you are in need of systems software, Milestone Systems, Inc might be worth a look.

Warehouse Management Software 3PL

2011-12-08T10:51:00.000-05:00

I've been doing just about all of my Christmas shopping online. Orders I have placed have been mainly from Amazon and Walmart. When I order from Amazon, I prefer to order new items from Amazon themselves. They sell a lot of items from third party retailers. Sometimes the price is a little cheaper. I picked up a Star Wars Clone Trooper laptop for my seven year old for $26 through a third party retailer. Normally it sells for around $40. It was too good of a deal to pass up. I know my Star Wars fan will like it, so I took a chance and bought it from a third party dealer.
A few things to note when ordering from Amazon. If the description says "Ships from and sold by xxxxxx", the third party retailer sells and ships the item. They are just using Amazon as a platform to sell their product. If the description says "Sold by xxxxxx and Fulfilled by Amazon", the third party retailer sells the item, but has Amazon ship it. They have shipped the item to Amazon, who stores it for the third party in their warehouse. I discovered that when I clicked on the 'have one to sell' button.
I went through the process of listing an item, but didn't submit it. It seems like Amazon charges pretty high fees. I think you pay less fees selling on ebay. Amazon takes out .99 per item sold, a referral fee which is a percentage of the sale price based on what the item is, and a variable closing fee which is based on the referral fee. If I sell an item for $27, I will end up with $26.63 minus what it will cost me to ship the item. In the end what you make turns out to be slightly less than the sale price, plus whatever it costs you for shipping.
With their own inventory and inventory from third party retailers, Amazon must have quite a system of storing items. I've ordered from them for years and have only had one order with a problem. They sent the right item, but the wrong invoice. They must have some sort of warehouse management software that they use to keep track of all the inventory. One such third party logistics software is from a company called 3pl. They provide web-based warehouse management software to companies to help them run more efficiently. Since it is web-based, there are no installation fees, no software upgrades, no new hardware and no consultants. The software helps provide customers with real time information. Profits are increased thanks to the automated process. Billing is more accurate. The 3pl software costs less than $500 per month. You can pay for what you use with no long-term contracts. You can also add and inactivate customers and warehouses as needed. The software can be customized to use your company logo.
Even though I will be sticking with ebay for selling, I still prefer to buy from Amazon.

Cymax Holiday Sales

2011-12-02T12:48:00.003-05:00

This time of year, all the retailers are trying to get your business. They are offering lots of sales. Many online retailers are also offering free shipping. I picked up seven bottles of cabernet at wine.com for $78 with shipping/handling fees of a penny.
I picked up the Samsung Stratosphere for free during Best Buy's Black Friday sale. My contract expired the day before, but I was going to wait until 4G is available in my area before upgrading to a new phone. Free was too good of a deal though, so I went with it. It would have cost me $149 to order the same phone from Verizon. The Stratosphere is Verizon's only smartphone with a physical keyboard. At the moment, that's a requirement for me. The virtual keyboard is ok, but the keys are kind of close together, so it's easy to tap the wrong key.
Another retailer called Cymax is offering a month long holiday sale of up to 50% off with free shipping and no sales tax (except VA). They sell furniture and home decor. They have been in business since 2004. In 2010, they broke the $100 million sales mark and were officially listed as one of the world’s Top 500 online businesses by Internet Retailer. They pride themselves on offering great customer service, a wide variety of items, and low prices. They carry only brand-new merchandise from top manufacturers. All brands carry a full manufacturers warranty.

Inertial Navigation System InnaLabs

2011-11-26T12:30:00.001-05:00

There is a company called InnaLabs headquartered in Dublin, Ireland that develops inertial navigation systems. At their research and design lab in the Ukraine, high performance inertial sensors are developed. InnaLabs produces high end, cutting edge accelerometers and gyroscopes. They are used in several industries for many different purposes, including aerospace and commercial aircraft, marine and land, oil exploration and energy, automation and robots as well as transportation markets.
Accelerometers are developed for use in inertial navigation systems, orientation, and stabilization systems. Accelerometers are used in aircrafts and unmanned vehicles, naval vehicles, and ships and orientation systems for the oil drilling industry.
Coriolis vibratory gyroscopes are available as 1, 2, or 3 axis gyroscope sensors. They use a vibrating quartz technology that uses the coriolis effect to measure the angular rotation rate. They are used for things such as platform stabilization, positioning and stabilized pointing, gyro-stabilized balls, railway tilt systems, sonar stabilization and autopilot sensing and control. They are also used in various unmanned vehicles such as automated guided vehicles, unmanned underwater vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles and remotely operated underwater vehicles.
A single quartz gyrospcope uses a monolithic quartz sensing element. It has internal power regulation and is used by original equipment manufacturers. They are used for antenna and platform stabilization, robotics and vehicle control and stabilization, low-cost inertial systems, such as inertial navigation systems and for measurement purposes in precision farming, factory automation, medical, and orthopedic areas.

High Efficiency Furnace

2011-11-26T11:53:00.003-05:00

We are lucking out weather wise this weekend in upstate New York. The past few days have been very early fall like. The sun is out and it's warm as in about 60 degrees. It is a welcome relief from all the rain we have had this fall. Unfortunately, the weather man thinks we may have a cold and snowy winter. The calm before the storm I guess.
I really hate the cold weather. It's a good thing we have a high efficiency furnace. It is almost nine years old. We had a few minor problems last year, so this year I will probably have it serviced to make sure it is in good running order. It is an oil furnace. Someday I would like to upgrade it to a more greener method. We also heat with a woodstove located in the basement. The basement is the warmest place in the house during the winter. The woodstove really does cut down on the fuel bill, which is great. I also try to cut down on the oil bill by keeping the temperature around 67 - 68 degrees. If it gets too cold, we just put on a sweatshirt. My grandparents keep their house at about 65 degrees. Now that I have to buy oil, I can see why. Any way to cut down on the dependency of buying oil is welcome.

Photo To CD Scanning Service ScanDigital.com

2011-11-25T16:07:00.001-05:00

Photograph and video technology has really come a long way. Twenty years ago, I got my first camera as a Christmas gift. It was a Kodak disc camera. I took lots of pictures with that, so I have a bunch of photo albums in storage along with a bunch of negatives. Photo scanning is a time consuming process I don't have time for right now.
There is a website called ScanDigital.com that offers photo scanning services. They will take those old photos and negatives and convert them to digital images. They first clean and prepare the photos with compressed air and a lint free cloth. Each picture is then scanned. Technicians will then repair each image by cropping, rotating, correcting the color and removing red eye. The photos are then put on a cd, dvd or external Hard Drive for you to enjoy. Using a photos to cd process protects your photos against dust, scratches, etc. You can also make extra back up copies and store them off site, so they will be safe.
ScanDigital.com also offers a video service. They will take old video tapes and put them on DVD. Formats they can convert include VHS, VHS-C, BetaMax, Hi8, MiniDV and Digital 8. That is a great service since VCR's are hard to find. I have a few old players, but the tapes usually play back all fuzzy. I've tried cleaning the heads, but that hasn't helped. DVD players are very reasonably priced nowadays. I have a few old VHS tapes from when I was in elementary school. Putting them on a DVD might be a good idea.
For both services ScanDigital.com has the following start to finish process in place once you place an order:
1. Your photos are sent to ScanDigital.com via UPS, which they monitor using tracking info
2. Once the order is received, they check it in and enter all contents into their system.
3. Orders are stored in labeled and sealed containers while waiting to be scanned.
4. Each photo is scanned.
5. Scans are reviewed for quality.
6. Editing staff optimizes each photo.
7. Editors review their work for quality.
8. A separate, third editor reviews the digital images for quality.
9. Files are copied onto a CD, DVD, or external hard drive.
10. Orders are finalized and billed.
11. Original photos, digital images and receipt are shipped to you.
12. Order is uploaded to an online gallery for sharing.
13. You receive your order.

Sounds like a great service that I may have to look into.

Free Download Design Patterns Gamma

2011-11-22T16:04:00.001-05:00

For a few years now I have been wanting to buy the object oriented book "Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software" by Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson and John Vlissides. It's one of those must have books for any software developer. It's pretty expensive though. A new copy is almost $50. The Kindle version is even $27. Used copies also average around $25. I did a search on Google to see if there are any free copies out there.
Yes, there are!!!! Go to 4shared.com. It's a file sharing site. First you have to download and install the software, which is free. Once installed, run the software and search for design patterns gamma. A list of available files comes up, select one and download. Apparently the hardcopy of the book is now available on cd, which is where the downloaded file came from. It seems to contain the full book, which I am now in the process of reading.
Thank you!

Finpo Printed Circuit Boards MCPCB

2011-11-18T16:03:00.000-05:00

In college, I majored in math. When I graduated, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I took a year off to do nothing, but work at a mindless job and relax. After the year was up, I sent out resumes and ended up with a job as a software developer, a perfect fit for me.
Computers are great, software developing is great, but the hardware aspect is beyond me. Taking apart the insides of a computer is not something I can do. All the little pieces inside look the same to me.
If you are gifted with understanding computer hardware, you might be interested in a company called Finpo. They sell printed circuit boards, PCBs. They are of high quality at a low cost. PCB supplies and services are also offered. Online instant quotes are available. Finpo offers rigid boards, flexible boards, MCPCB, rigid-flex boards and HDI boards with blind/buried vias. Specialized PCB's include probe card, load board, interposer (substrate), and burn-in boards. PCB production is strictly controlled under ISO9001:2008. Software is also used in the production process to ensure the highest quality PCB is produced.
A minimum of five panels is required for an order.
Damaged boards which are the fault of Finpo will be replaced. Refunds minus a non-refundable fifty dollar surcharge fee are available for orders cancelled before a confirmation is received. After confirmation is received, a non-refundable fifty dollar surcharge fee is available if the difference of the initial and final quote is greater than 20%.
Finpo has 33 years of experience in the PCB industry. Industries that use their products include the communications, industrial computer application and automobile industries.

Scheduling Software Empire Time WSG

2011-11-15T12:09:00.001-05:00

One software tool all companies need is scheduling software. There are a lot of different scheduling software options out there. During the time I worked at a large defense company, several different scheduling software tools were used. Back then, I just had dial up for my internet connection. It made it very painful to load a couple of the different systems. There was one system that loaded great. Unfortunately, towards the end, they reverted back to the slowest loading system they had ever used. It wasn't a very good idea. I always worried on time sheet submittal days whether or not I would be able to get in and submit the timesheet.
Scheduling software can be complex. Items it needs to keep track of include total number of hours worked, support for multiple projects, expense reports, vacation/time off hours used & available totals, and time sheet editing.
A company called WSG offers several different scheduling software tools. One tool is called Empire Time. It offers a simple user interface for project financial management with the ability to export reporting to an Excel spreadsheet or a PDF file. Using Empire Time allows for faster billing, financial period closures, and revenue recognition. It also allows for time and expense tracking, overtime and personal time off reporting. It has a high satisfaction rate among users. It supports multiple platforms, including a web based client for remote workers. Project assignments and holidays are automatically populated. It can also automatically import American Express expenses and automate expenses to payroll, so the employee can be quickly reimbursed. A special console is included for managers to use in approving timesheets.
If the Empire Time scheduling software sounds like it might be a good fit for your company, a demo is available at the WSG website, so you can try before you buy.

Engineering Software ZWSOFT ZWCAD ZW3D

2011-11-11T12:30:00.001-05:00

There is a company called ZWSOFT that produces and sells engineering software. They have 19 years of experience in the CAD industry with over 180,000 users worldwide and 150 research and design engineers.
One of their engineering software products is called ZWCAD. It is a DWG file format compatible CAD tool designed to create and edit 2D objects. It is also used for dimensioning, 3D modeling, plotting and file sharing. Customizable features include a design center, tools and API customization. The user interface is simple, allowing users to quickly learn how to use it. ZWCAD has over 180,000 users in over 80 countries.
ZW3D is another engineering software product available from ZWSOFT. It helps create a product from start to finish in an integrated, collaborative environment. It allows for reuse and design sharing through data exchange. A one of a kind Overdrive kernel provides for hybrid modeling. Cavity preparation tools and libraries allow for mold and die design. ZW3D also allows for 2-axis to 5-axis CNC machining. The ZW3D software is used in many different industries, including the automotive, consumer products, machine design, mold and die, and medical industries. It is available in 12 different languages.
Forums are available for users of the ZWSOFT engineering software. API resources are also available for developers. An extensive knowledge base, tutorials and tips and tricks are offered for the ZWCAD and ZW3D engineering software on the ZWSOFT website. Online training is also available.
ZWSOFT has locations in China and the United States. They can be followed via social media on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Natural Health Nutrition vs. Medical Industry

2011-11-07T17:27:00.002-05:00

Since being laid off back in February, I've had time to reflect on my career choice of software developer and whether I should stay on that path, or choose something else. I came to the conclusion that I want to continue on this path.
One area I have become interested in though is the natural health and nutrition field. It's an area I prefer to keep as a hobby, rather than a career choice. I started learning about nutrition when my oldest son was born nine weeks early seven years ago and have continued learning even more as the boys have gotten older. Two years ago I was diagnosed as being on the verge of diabetes, even though I wasn't overweight and didn't really have any risk factors. It forced me to apply my natural health and nutrition knowledge to myself though. There is a lot of information out there on the internet. Some useful, some not, but it all basically says the same thing: eat fresh, local, organic fruits and vegetables, a couple servings per day of whole grains, a little dairy and lean meats, exercise, get enough rest and cut out high fructose corn syrup and all other artificial sweeteners and chemicals. Focusing on low glycemic foods is also important for stabilizing the blood sugar. My point of view is that I would much rather spend money on healthy food, vitamins and feel better, than spend money on junk food, medication and feel like crap.
Since my low glycemic, mediterranean diet change, my cholesterol and blood sugar numbers are much lower. I have way more energy, my head is clearer and I feel much better. The advice all the health gurus give, actually works. Imagine that.
I hate doctors and hospitals. Spending a week in the hospital when my water broke ten weeks early when I was pregnant with my oldest son, and constantly being poked and prodded by doctors in their http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Men/ and nurses in uniform was enough for me.
Medications are also full of weird chemicals, have side effects and often lead to other illnesses that will require yet another type of medication, which in turn will lead to another illness and more medication. So far, I haven't had any weird side effects from eating fruits and vegetables.
If there's something I can do to avoid the medical industry, then I'm more than willing to give it a try.

Center Stage

2011-11-02T20:17:00.000-05:00

Guest written by our friend Gladys Fuentes

During the summer when all of my shows were just reruns, I would always check out www.direct.tv to see which movies were available. I had debated adding the movie channels to my cable package when I had it installed, but knew that I would need them during this time of the year. Not only was I able to watch newer movies without leaving my house to rent DVDs, but I would often times catch old movies that brought back so many memories. One of my favorite movies in college was Centerstage. My best friend and I would put this in our sophomore year when we needed a break from the studying and stress of our classes. It was a total chick flick, but we never seemed to get tired of seeing it. It was on TV the other day, so I left it on while I got some things done around my house. I definitely watched more of the movie than I had planned. Needless to say, some of the things on my to do list didn’t get done as quickly as I had hoped.

Test

2011-10-20T14:07:00.003-05:00

The suspicious exercise trails.

Dennis Ritchie Founder of C Unix Passes Away Steve Jobs

2011-10-14T12:12:00.000-05:00

The world has lost two geniuses in the past week:
Last week, Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple died of pancreatic cancer on Wednesday (October 5, 2011).
Over the weekend another lower key technology genius passed away, Dennis Ritchie, aka dmr. He was 70 and passed away after a long illness, reportedly of prostate cancer and heart disease, on Saturday (October 8, 2011).
Steve was the guy who brought the world Apple computers, iPod - 2001, iTunes - 2003, iPhone - 2007, App Store - 2008, and iPad - 2010.
However, none of that would have been possible without Dennis Ritchie. He was the founder of the C programming language along with being a key developer of Unix. Unix is the operating system that all of Steve Job's creations are built upon. Without Unix, there would be no Apple.
C is the programming language used to create Unix. It's also the language the majority of the web is based on. C++, Java, PHP are all based on C. Without C, programmers wouldn't have a job, the web, smartphones wouldn't exist. C is the founding father of programming languages.
C was the first language I learned when fate turned me from a math major into a programmer. Without it, I wouldn't be able to work at home.
Kernighan & Ritchie - The C Programming Language is the C bible Dennis Ritchie helped write and is a standard in a programmer's library.
It's too bad Dennis Ritchie won't be mourned by the millions mourning Steve Jobs. A Google search for Steve Jobs turns up 46,900,000 results. A Google search for Dennis Ritchie turns up 61,200 results. Truly sad. Steve Jobs was the face everyone knew, but Dennis Ritchie was the unseen guy in the back office making it all possible. RIP Dennis Ritchie...

#include "stdafx.h"

int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
printf("Goodbye World!\n");
return 0;
}

More Dennis Ritchie

Offshore Software Development Metrics BlueOptima

2011-10-12T11:21:00.000-05:00

A lot of companies outsource work overseas. It's cheap labor. If companies brought the work back here, it might help the economy a little. That will probably never happen though. It's much easier to pay someone $1.00 than $20.00 for the same work. The question is, is it really more efficient or does it just seem like it is?
There is a company call BlueOptima that helps companies determine if offshore software development is really worthwhile. They analyze data taken from the systems that developers use to manage the software development process. Metrics for offshore software development, which include analytics and graphs, enable companies to determine which teams deliver software at a higher cost per unit of effort and how to reduce that cost. Offshore software development metrics also enable companies to find key spots to work on in the software, so that they can improve the development schedule and make better design decisions. The quality of the software is also improved because the analysis allows companies to have a better understanding of the effort involved in producing the software. Problem areas and bug fixes can be addressed in order of importance, so that the software can be brought to a stable level for release.
To get started, BlueOptima offers a full set of training courses for users, administrators and developers. Courses are available in a class room or online in a webinar. Separate classes are available for managers, developers and administrators. There is also implementation support to quickly and easily deploy BlueOptima and understand the current status of your software development process.
BlueOptima is a good place to start if your company outsources work overseas and you want to verify that it really is cost effective.

How To Get Started Learning PHP Guide

2011-09-20T12:03:00.002-05:00

I'm always trying to learn new things. I get bored easily. One item on my list of things to learn that I can cross off is PHP.
PHP makes developing a website so easy. Much easier than using a combination of Javascript/Java/HTMl/Hibernate that I used on one project. I always thought PHP was a scripting language like Javascript, but it's not. It's a real programming language like C/C++ or Java. Only it's meant for the web. It's also installed on the server, so you don't have to worry if the user has it enabled, like with Javascript.

Here's what I did to go about getting my programming environment set up and the resources I used to learn PHP.

The PHP development environment I used is:

WAMP server - This installs PHP/MySQL/Apache all in one bundle. Much easier than installing and configuring each individual piece. It also installs phpMyAdmin, which is useful to view/edit/query a database. There's also an XAMPP server that I wish I had known about before installing WAMP. XAMPP is geared more towards developing and also includes a few extra pieces, such as PERL.

PHP Eclipse - Helios - This is the tool I used for developing with PHP. The debugger is a little tricky. You can also use Netbeans, which I kind of prefer, but Eclipse has a nice searching option. Debugging in Netbeans is much easier though.

To learn PHP programming, I used these resources:

ed2go.com - This site offers online courses that run 6 weeks and have 12 lessons each. 2 lessons are released each week with a final exam released at the end. There is a discussion board where you can communicate with the professor and other class members. Each lesson has an assignment and quiz. Each course costs around $89. If you can afford it, it's a good way to get started. They offer 2 PHP courses: Introduction to PHP and MySQL and Intermediate PHP and MySQL. The introduction course walks you through developing a recipe website. The intermediate course walks you through developing an online store. Taking these courses was easier, quicker and less expensive than going to an actual class at a college.

PHP and MySQL Web Developmentby Luke Welling, Laura Thomson - A must have. Good reference, very thick, great book. This is the book to get if you can only get one PHP book.

Programming PHP - O'Reillyby Rasmus Lerdorf, Kevin Tatroe and Peter MacIntyre - This is a good book to actually sit down and read through to get started learning PHP. Good reference, much shorter than the Welling/Thomson book.

PHP Solutions - Dynamic Web Design Made Easyby David Powers - Good reference for "how to do something" in PHP.

A few useful links:

http://www.php.net - PHP functions, manual
http://www.phpbuilder.com - tutorials, examples
http://www.phpfreaks.com/ - tutorials, examples
http://www.w3schools.com/php/ - beginner tutorial
http://www.jasny.net/articles/simple-single-sign-on-for-php/ - example to use as a baseline in creating a single sign on server, global login/registration site.

A few miscellaneous links:

www.mysql.com/ - Official MySQL site
MySQL Community Server/ - a tool to make database backups/import a database, edit/view a database
DbVisualizer - A free database tool

More PHP Resources

Learning About Busness

2011-09-07T16:43:00.001-05:00

Contribution by Stevie KirbyThere are very few things you actually learn about running your own business from sitting in a college classroom. When I graduated with my entrepreneurship degree I thought I would be all set to start my own paper company but boy, was I mistaken. Things like hiring workers, working with noisy neighbors and everything in between really makes stuff tough. I didn’t know about bank-card-processing.com when I first started and didn’t have any idea how to set up a credit card processor. I feel like what they need to do more of in college is out of classroom training and I wish I’d had more than one semester interning for a small business owner so I would know firsthand how things like this work. I’m learning on my own now but these are expensive lessons when you’ve got to come by them on your own and I wish I didn’t have to learn them when the stakes are so high! I loved college but I wonder if everyone feels like this about their degree.

Giving myself a chess gift

2011-07-09T20:18:00.000-05:00

Guest post written by Nate Gregory

I've loved playing chess for so long now. I started playing it with my grandfather when I was really young and he would even let me beat him. But then I got good enough to where I started playing a whole lot better and could actually give him a run for his money. Well, I've continued to play chess for fun for the rest of my life and I thought that maybe now since I'm an adult with a real job, I should probably graduate from the plastic and cardboard set that I got for a couple of bucks at Walmart.

So I went online to try and find some nicer chess sets for myself. As I was looking through all of the different chess blogs, I ran across the site WIRELESSinternet.net. After I looked through it for a little bit I decided to sign up for one of the internet packages that I saw on there.

I found some directions for this really cool DIY chess set. I think I may just make that instead of buying myself a really nice set.

HP MediaSmart Webcam Software Logitech

2011-07-08T21:02:00.000-05:00

My new laptop I ordered a few months back has a webcam built in. I looked all over my system, but couldn't find a program to run it. I went over to download.com and checked out any free webcam software they might have. Unfortunately, every time I would start looking, I would get interrupted by one of my sons and never got a chance to try anything out.
Last week, I took another look at the software on my system and actually found the webcam software. My laptop is an HP, and the pre-installed software is called HP MediaSmart Webcam. It's really hidden. I found it under the Start menu, HP, HP MediaSmart menu. Kind of out of the way, but glad I finally found it. It was the first time I've ever used a webcam.
It's kind of cool, but really strange, to observe yourself while you are working on the computer. You can use the webcam either as a video camera or a still photo camera. The software lets you enhance the photos or add effects. You can create an avatar. There are even share buttons to make it easier to email or share on Facebook, YouTube, Snapfish and Flickr.
Back before I bought this laptop with a built in webcam, I thought about buying a separate webcam. There are lots to choose from, different brands and models, different prices. Some of the popular webcam brands are Logitech, Microsoft and Gear Head. If I was going to buy one, I would most likely go with a Logitech, such as the Logitech HD Pro Webcam (C910).
I have a digital camera and a video camera, but I tend to use the camera and video camera built into my cell phone the most. To add photos to my Facebook, I just take a picture and send it off. I'll have to give my webcam Facebook sharing feature a try and see how that goes, now that I know how to operate my webcam.

Tick Removal Lyme Disease Nursing Scrubs

2011-06-20T20:06:00.000-05:00

I live in upstate New York and this time of year, ticks are running rampant. About two months ago, my oldest son found a tick full of blood in the back of his neck. A few weeks ago, I found one embedded in my side. It wasn't full of blood yet, so it hadn't been there too long. I'm guessing about 12 hours, so chance of lyme disease is slim since it takes at least 24 hours to transmit it.
I pretty sure my son's tick was in longer than that. His doctor put him on an antibiotic, just in case. I'm not a big fan of antibiotics for "just in case", but I guess it's the lesser of two evils. My father actually had lyme disease and was on very powerful antibiotics for 2 months, which made him very tired.
I was able to get both of our ticks out, but each one had a little piece left in. I took my son to the emergency room. While we were waiting, another mother came in with her son. She had a tick in her shoulder earlier in the day, and her son had a tick in the back of his head. The emergency room doctor removed the piece from my son without a problem.
With my tick, I decided to try a nearby urgent care to get the rest out. I waited 2 1/2 hours before I finally saw someone. They told me they weren't going to try and get the piece out. It would come out on it's own. Yeah, I wasn't too happy I wasted 2 1/2 hours and $20.00 for them to tell me they weren't going to do anything. I did learn that it's ok to leave a small piece of a tick in if you can't get it out.
After my son's tick, I bought a tick removal tool from amazon and a tick release liquid. I couldn't get my tick out using the key. Maybe I just wasn't using it right or maybe it was because the tick wasn't full of blood. I don't know. My son's father got 4 out of 5 ticks out of a dog using the tick key. I used the tick release liquid on my tick and I think it killed the tick. I don't know if that's good or bad.
To remove the tick, use a great pair of tweezers and squeeze as close to the skin as you can and pull straight out until the tick releases. Don't squeeze the sack. That could cause the tick to vomit more disease carrying bacteria into you, which is what I hope the tick release liquid did not do.
During my emergency room and urgent care visits, I noticed that the nursing scrubs, the nurses were wearing, are pretty boring. There are websites out there which actually sell scrubs. Nowadays, scrubs come in all sorts of different colors and patterns. If you are a nurse or doctor tired of wearing the same old scrubs, you might want to give http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Women/ a look, and if you go outdoors, watch out for those ticks.

PHP Web Development Advertising Agency

2011-06-19T19:57:00.000-05:00

I have a list of programming languages I would like to learn. On the list is PHP. If you take a look at the job listings on any freelance programming website, there are tons of openings for PHP programmers. I've dabbled with web programming using jsp, java, javascript and html, but no PHP.
One day I was checking out the available classes at ed2go and noticed there were two PHP courses. An introduction class and an intermediate class. Each one costs $89.00 and lasts 6 weeks. Over the duration of the course, 2 lessons are released a week, for a total of 12 lessons. One lesson is released on Wednesday and the other on Friday.
Last week I finished the introduction course and started the intermediate class this week. I must say, I learned quite a bit.
The introduction course took you from start to finish in the development of your own recipe website. A mysql database is used to hold the recipe data. On the website users can create an account, leave comments and search recipes. Pretty cool. I may have to find a way to may it live and integrate it into my recipes blog.
I can't wait to get more into the intermediate class. This one takes you from start to finish of a store, which should be useful for my magazine back issues website.
PHP seems to be a pretty powerful programming language. One thing I never realized is that it is object oriented. It seems to have support for doing just about anything you can do in programming languages like C++. PHP is much easier to use to build a dynamic website than jsp and javascript. Unlike javascript which is browser dependent, PHP runs on the server, which means it's always on, so you don't have to worry about whether or not the user has it enabled in their browser, like with javascript.
Once I make my way through the rest of the intermediate PHP course, I have to go back to a few of the freelance programming sites and see if I can pick up a side job.
I may set up a website and advertise my skills. These days there are lots of programmers out there, especially in the area of web development. I may even look into hiring an Advertising Agency. One that comes to mind is called ThatAdvertising Agency. They are an Advertising Agency made up of tech savvy people. They use all the latest online advertising techniques in addition to the old offline advertising techniques. Hiring an Advertising Agency that knows all the advertising tips and tricks might be just the key to promoting a website and helping a newbie break into the competitive web development field.

That Advertising Agency

2011-05-28T11:56:00.003-05:00

Starting a business, website, blog, etc is pretty easy compared to actually getting people to buy your product, visit your website, etc. Those are the key pieces needed to make money from your business, website or blog.
Nowadays there are two options to attract visitors: offline and online advertising.
Offline advertising involves the old traditional ways of advertising. These include things such as word of mouth, newspaper/radio/television advertisements, billboard ads, and/or passing out business cards.
In this day and age of technology we now have online advertising methods too. These include things such as setting up a website to advertise an offline business, use twitter/facebook/youtube/linkedin, email ads, visit forums, and/or place advertisements on other people's websites.
If you are not tech savvy, online advertising might be a little difficult. That's when it might be a good idea to hire an Advertising Agency to advertise for you.
There is an Advertising Agency called ThatAdvertisingAgency that specialize in advertising using all of the latest high tech methods in addition to the old traditional, offline methods. They are a very tech savvy group who have grown up in the digital age. They use special software to track the success of advertising campaigns to make sure you are getting the best return on your investment. They can set you up with your own twitter/facebook/youtube/linkedin accounts and website optimized so that people can find your site when performing searches. They can set you up with pay-per-click ads, videos, podcasts and write campaigns for you. You can customize which advertising methods you would like them to use. Customizable plans make it affordable, even if you have a small budget.
For any business to survive in today's market place, you have to be creative in attracting new customers. Hiring an Advertising Agency is a good place to start.

Woodworking

2011-05-05T09:29:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the post from Rashad Townsend

In high school, my dad taught me how to stain and varnish the back deck. Ever since that afternoon, I’ve had a passion for refinishing wood furniture and that’s the line of business I’m in today. I love working with wood and creating something beautiful with my hands, so this profession is right up my alley. I have a lot of talent, so I’m told, and I get great joy from what I do. I do a lot of furniture shows and work with some art galleries in the area to sell my pieces as they’re all relatively high end, so it’s important that I check my email often so as not to miss an opportunity. I recently got wireless in my shop from Wirelessinternet.net and it’s been really helpful since I can take it anywhere on the property and not lose signal. The best part of my job is that I get to set my own hours and hang out with my dog all day while doing something I love to do. What more could I possibly ask for?

Cyber Crime Protection ChicaLogic

2011-04-26T16:13:00.001-05:00

In this day and age anti malware software is a must. The more time spent online, the greater the chance of your computer becoming infected with malware. Malware, such as worms, viruses and spyware, can do serious damage to your computer, or identity theft can occur when your personal information becomes compromised.
There's tons of malware protection software out there. It's hard to know which one to choose. I came across a website called ChicaLogic, which might be worth a look. It is a unique website in that it is designed by women for women who are looking for technology info.
They sell several tools to help your computer.
One is a computer fixer tool, which helps keep your computer running like it's brand new. It includes a system cleaner and performance optimizer and sells for $19.95.
The other tool protects your computer against threats such as malware and spyware. It sells for $24.95. Both tools are very reasonably priced, compared to other malware software, which sometimes costs a couple hundred dollars.
Free trial downloads of both tools are available, if you want to try before you buy.
A tips and tricks section of ChicaLogic is also useful. It is chock full of computer information, such as recommended apps, how to info, technology news and computer term definitions described in easy to understand articles.
ChicaLogic is worth a look whether you are looking for computer information or cyber crime protection software.

Steam Cleaning The Steam Team

2011-04-25T14:44:00.001-05:00

Technology is really great. Many advancements have been made in areas from the medical field to home cleaning. Steam cleaners used these days are really cool. I have a Hoover F5914-900. If you are a do it yourself carpet cleaner, I highly recommend it. I have a 6 year old and a 3 year old. The 6 year old is learning not to ruin things, but the 3 year old has a long way to go. Dirty hands, runny nose, spills, the poor couch gets it all. I can't wait until they are older, so I can buy a new couch. In the meantime, my Hoover is keeping it from being totally disgusting.
I'm thinking about getting my couch professionally cleaned. Professional steam cleaners are very powerful. The advancements in technology keep improving them, so that they get all the deep down dirt out. I saw a commercial upholstery cleaning austin commercial for The Steam Team. Unfortunately, for me, I am not in Austin, but if you are, they might be worth a try. They do all sorts of cleaning: carpet, upholstery, leather, hardwood floor, air duct, water extraction, pet odor, oriental rug, drapery, smoke & fire, stone & ceramic tile and marble. They have specials available to help with the cost of professional carpet cleaning austin. One special is 3 rooms for $99.00. Not a bad deal.
The Steam Team also has a green cleaning service where they use 100% biodegradable, non-toxic, chemicals, which are safe for pets and humans. They are made of all natural ingredients. In this day and age, going green is very important. A 100% money back guarantee is offered, if not completely satisfied.

Free Online College Courses

2011-04-06T16:02:00.000-05:00

Two months into my job loss, thanks to the wonderful, poorly managed, big name defense company, who shall remain nameless, I'm getting a little bored. The first month wasn't so bad as I had some contract work to keep me busy. The second month I've had to keep myself occupied. Kind of relaxing and not so bad, but it would be much better if my time was being paid for.
I'm trying to keep my brain fresh by learning some new things. Turns out there are tons of free learning resources online. Colleges even offer free courses.
MIT has a whole bunch of free online courses ranging from economics to anthropology to chemistry to computer science. The courses offer lecture notes, assignments & solutions, online textbooks, exams & solutions, image galleries and/or mulitmedia content. Each course offers a subset of those features, so you don't get everything, but some of the courses do have a lot of useful information for learning.
Stanford has a few really great, free computer science/engineering courses online.
Another great site for free online courses is http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses. A lot of these courses are audio or video versions of course lectures. Some have transcripts of the lectures.
A list of several other colleges who offer free online courses can be found here and here.
Online courses are a great way to refresh your memory or learn something new, for free, at your own pace. So much to learn, so little time.

More Online College Info

Ubuntu or Windows, what to choose? The pros and cons

2011-03-29T11:56:00.000-05:00

Guest Post by Andy Groaning

The debate about which is better, Ubuntu Linux or Windows has existed for a long time. Windows fans hold on to their ground that Windows is the best operating system and that it doesn’t even have competitors. Linux fans keep saying Windows is only for people who don’t understand anything about computers.

To be fair both Operating Systems are good, but each of them has its pros and cons.

Well, let’s start from the beginning, namely the installation.

The installation of Windows 7 runs quite swiftly, especially if you follow the installation wizard. It performs the whole process automatically. With Ubuntu this process is different. You will have to mess around with a CD, ISO files and burning a disc. It’s not difficult at all, it’s just a different kettle of fish and might be unusual for people who are used to Windows and how that works. Ubuntu has its merits too in this case, though. The great feature about Ubuntu is you can try using this OS before completely installing it, you can do it with the Live CD utility. Ubuntu also has the feature where you can install it inside of your Windows OS as a dual boot and it will appear just like an application.

The speeds of both Operating Systems are the same, it’s great, you won’t complain about that.

Media support is pretty much the same however, if want to run a DVD format with Ubuntu you might have to resort to “Restricted” codecs.

The interface of Windows 7 is probably the more familiar for most people although, the Ubuntu’s interface is now very similar to what you’re used to using, so you won’t struggle to manage it either.

Customizing in Ubunta is a highly developed feature, you can easily perform this without any extra software or registries.

In respect of games Windows wins, simply because Ubunta is not suitable for them.

Software…now here we have something to discuss and to consider. Windows 7 provides a huge base of software, it’s definitely a positive feature of this popular OS. The thing is you can find only generic software with basic grounding for free. For something decent you will be charged good money. The second negative is Windows 7 is really prone to thousands of doubtful software and malware programs.
With Ubuntu this problems has been solved and also with the Ubuntu OS you get very easy access to a brilliant array of software. With Linux you may forget about licenses for software, it seems to be a free source.

As for safety, well here Ubuntu is the winner. This is the safest operating system money can buy, there are no viruses, no spyware, no doubtful advertisements. With Windows you can never be 100% safe, there is always a chance to you might catch a virus while you are checking e-mails, surfing on web sites or having adverts running all over your screen and following your mouse pointer.

Costs for these operating systems are not really competitive due to Ubuntu’s price which is zero. No matter how little you pay for Windows, if you pay anything at all then the Linux’s OS will still be cheaper.

Ubuntu community help is a very useful feature, it will help you to find answers on any questions you have, to share your Ubuntu thoughts and feelings or to find out other people’s experiences.

So now you can see from the list above both Operating Systems are good. Choose the one with the features which are important to you or you can even have both of them.

http://www.bravofiles.com/ Drivers and software downloads.

Medicine and Technology Uniforms Scrubs Doctors Nurses

2011-03-20T15:57:00.003-05:00

For some reason I'm a big fan of all things technology. I liked math and science in school and majored in math in college. I write software, most recently in the geographic information systems (GIS) field. Nowadays, technology plays a big part in the medical field. I'm big on health and nutrition, so writing software to be used in the field of medicine would be really cool. Unfortunately, I live in a small town with not too many options.
Anyways, technology didn't start being used in medicine until the 19th century. It started out simply enough with devices to measure lung capacity and blood pressure. That evolved into thermometers, microscopes, xrays. Then doctors started to specialize in certain areas, such as eyes, nose/ears/throat, heart, lung, skin, etc. With that came even more complex machines and devices.
My eye doctor has a lot of cool machines that he uses to check the eyes. One machine checks for glaucoma and is used in place of eye drops, which make the eyes blurry. He takes the image from the machine and brings it up on the computer. He can then pan around and see what's going on inside the eye. He spotted a cataract I have that I was probably born with.
Today surgery is done using a laser. Robots are starting to be used for surgeries where doctors can perform a surgery from a remote location using a computer to guide the robot.
Technology has also helped doctors communicate with patients via email and the internet, which is a really great idea. I wish my doctor would do that as she's hard to get through to.
The internet has also made it possible to do shopping online. Doctors are very busy and going out shopping to buy medical uniforms takes away time that can be spent doing research and seeing patients. Buying online is also cheaper too, as you can compare prices and get the best deal on a doctor uniform. You can also compare styles and see the latest scrubs in fashion.
It will be interesting to see how even more advancements in technology will impact the medical field in the years to come.

Social Networks Google Circles

2011-03-15T11:40:00.001-05:00

Just read an article that Google has a social network site in the works called Circles. Ugh, not another social network. First I was on MySpace with a few relatives. All these other little networks kept popping up: Bebo, Friendster, CafeMom, Classmates.com, delicious, digg, LinkedIn, Twitter, Yuwie, etc. Then all my friends on MySpace migrated to Facebook, so I quit MySpace. I thought it was cool to be able to customize your background and add music to MySpace, but with a dial up connection, it started getting really painful to load profile pages, and it got kind of boring.
Facebook was clean, although boring compared to MySpace backgrounds, but it loaded quickly. The newsfeed was cool with everyone's updates all in one place and pretty much everyone I've ever known is on there.
Then I joined Twitter as part of how to drive traffic to my blogs. It's also a good way to keep up with people you'll most likely never meet, but share common interests with.
One functionality that Circles is supposed to have that Facebook and Twitter lack are creating circles of friends, so that you can create a circle of high school friends, work friends, drinking friends, etc. When you post an update, you can choose who sees it. You can sort of do this with Facebook, but it's painful. In Facebook, from status update box you can manually enter the names of who sees the status or doesn't see it by clicking the lock next to the share button. Very time consuming if you have a lot of friends. Facebook has a group option which is a similar concept which lets you send a status update to a group, but you have to go click on the group to enter it and then enter your status update. A little awkward. Would be better if you could select the group from the regular status update box on your profile.
With Twitter, you can't censor your status update at all. You can group people into lists, but tweets get sent to all of your followers. It would be nice if you could group people into lists and then select a list to send tweets to.
Google Circles might do great, but I'd just prefer that Facebook and Twitter add this additional functionality to their sites instead of having to join a brand new site, just so I can select who to send an update to.

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New Green Technologies - My Solar Flashlight

2011-03-05T21:20:00.000-05:00

Contribution by Jacques Carr

I really like all the new green technology items coming on the market. I had my eye on this solar powered flashlight I saw at a country store nearby. My fiance saw me looking at it, and I inadvertently said I would like to have one. Not thinking anything more about, I had forgotten.

A couple of months later, it was Christmas. Without me knowing about it, my fiance bought the flashlight for me as a gift. You can imagine that I was like a kid in a candy store. The mini solar panel was fascinating, and I marveled at how this little contraption worked. It has a clear case, so I can see all the inner workings inside. I do not know how it works, but I am glad someone has created this miniature version of a solar panel, and made it a flashlight. I can just keep it on a south-facing windowsill, and it will stay charged. No more batteries, at least for a while. Apparently, the small battery inside is a solar rechargeable one.

I am still quite impressed with it. It has a flashing red light for emergencies, a magnet, and a metal point to break glass. Now, I just need another one to keep on my dash. Well, I guess I can wait until next Christmas. In the meantime, I expect to see more home energysavings through new green technologies.

Beware Toast.net Review NetZero.net

2011-01-28T16:09:00.003-05:00

A couple of nights ago I had problems logging into my Toast.net account. I kept getting a bad username/password error. I called their technical support and discovered Toast.net is NOT a customer friendly company.
They said my account was exceeding normal usage, so they locked me out. At the end of the month, they would unlock it, but watch the usage very closely. Apparently, their terms of use say normal internet usage is 10 hours per WEEK. Who in this day and age only uses the internet for 10 hours a week? I work mostly at home and keep my internet connected for an hour or two at a time throughout the day. It's my lifeline. Dial up is all I can get for internet service. No internet or DSL is available. I think mobile broadband will work for me and I am getting close to signing up. I just don't really need the extra charge at the moment.
Well, once the Toast.net support guy told me about my excessive usage, I told him I was thinking of cancelling my account and signing up for Verizon's mobile broadband. You know what he said? He said ok, we can take care of that right now. lol. No trying to talk me out of cancelling. No offer to lower my monthly payment. Nothing. Let's just say I was in shock. Oh yeah. The best part. They refused to unlock my account. So glad I never used that Toast.net email address.
A few years ago I was using NetZero as my dial up internet provider. I got annoyed because it was just really slow. I did some research on dial up internet providers and signed up with Toast.net because they had good reviews for a speedy connection. Well, now I know why. They won't let anyone actually use the internet connection. You'd think they would be glad to have a dial up customer now that high speed internet is so widely available.
After I initially signed up with Toast.net, I called NetZero to cancel my internet service. You know what they did? They kept lowering my monthly payment until I agreed to not cancel my service. I had the NetZero High Speed service and was paying $14.95 a month. They lowered it to $6.95 a month. I never use it, but luckily I still have it.
After Toast.net was so kind to cancel my account, I downloaded the latest NetZero installer and got hooked back up. I've been using NetZero for a few days now and surprisingly enough it's not so bad. It seems faster than it used to be and it even seems faster than the Toast.net connection I had. I always had problems with Toast.net's accelerator turning off and on and sometimes having trouble connecting to it's server. NetZero's High Speed accelerator is great so far. NetZero even has a setting to reconnect if it becomes disconnected, so no issues with excessive usage when you connect to the internet using NetZero.
In the end, I guess Toast.net did me a favor in that I rediscovered NetZero. A company who cares about it's customers and also has a much faster internet connection. I do not recommend Toast.net. Go for NetZero instead.

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HP Pavilion dv5t Review

2011-01-16T17:48:00.001-05:00

My new laptop, 14.5" HP Pavilion dv5t, arrived 2 days ago. It's very nice, very sleek, very light. I like it.
It has Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-460M Dual Core Processor (2.53 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.8GHz, 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm), 500GB 7200RPM Hard Drive and webcam, bluetooth which works great sending pics from my cell phone.
The display is very clear and kind of shiny.
One major complaint and a few minor ones.
For the major complaint, I tried playing a Netflix dvd and got a message from the HP dvd software that the dvd player is set to region 0 while the dvd was region 1. I could change regions in order to play the dvd, but only 5 times. I guess I'll have to look into this to see if there is a way to override this region setting. For now though, Videolan's VLC Media player plays the dvd just fine.
For the minor complaints:
Audio is a bit low, even at the highest setting. Probably won't be cranking it up, so I can live with it.
On my old 14" Dell Inspiron 1405, the screen had 800 pixels in the height. The HP Pavilion dv5t only has 768 pixels. If I'd read the specs a little bit closer and done some comparison, I might have realized there were fewer pixels in the height. I checked the specs on a few other HP laptops and it looks like they are all like that.
The home, delete page up/down keys are on the side of they keyboard instead of at the top. Just takes a little getting used to.
The keyboard is layed out so that there are spaces between the keys. Apparently, it's similar to a Mac. I like it. Hopefully it will cut down on the amount of crumbs and dust which tend to collect if not cleaned regularly.
A lot of the reviews I read at the HP site complained about the touchpad being difficult to use. I do like the actual buttons better than the touch pad buttons. The touchpad with touch buttons isn't so bad now that I have figured out how to use it.
Here's a few tips on using the HP touchpad:
Tapping anywhere clicks links, puts the cursor where you need it. It's your basic left click.
To scroll or highlight text:
Put the cursor on the scroll bar, double click with one finger and don't lift it up, use another finger to actually move the scroll bar. If you double click in the left touchpad button area with the index finger and scroll with the middle or ring finger, it kind of simulates using a touchpad with a real button.
To right click:
Push down, not tap, on the right touchpad button area.
There's no modem, but the laptop works great with my Wiflyer. It was really slow when I first tried using it. I was pretty sure it had to do with the Norton antivirus. I poked around and discovered Norton had found a couple of problems already, tracking cookies from hp. Got rid of those and it's running great.
Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with the HP Pavilion dv5t laptop. Hopefully it will hold up better than my Dell Inspiron 1405.

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Verizon Ends New Every 2 Upgrades

2011-01-13T18:39:00.000-05:00

So Verizon announced the other day, it will be adding the Apple iPhone to its lineup. Cool!
However, there was a change in Verizon's upgrade policies that wasn't announced too loudly. With Verizon, every two years when your contract expires, you can upgrade to a new phone at a discounted price. These are very nice, deep discounts. Some users are also eligible for early upgrades at 13 months. Well, guess what? Verizon's getting greedy and doing away with the new every two upgrades and early upgrades starting January 16. My current contract ends in 10 months. I have the Samsung Alias 2 and was planning on going with a Droid. Now if I want to do that I'll have to shell out a couple hundred dollars. For someone who's cell phone has fallen into the toilet twice, I'm not sure I want to do that. I'm sure I will, but I really don't want to. I'm hoping by then, Verizon will realize their mistake and offer some sort of discount pricing.
As I write this, I just checked out this link at CNet and apparently Verizon will be announcing a new upgrade program later this year.
If Verizon is smart they will make it even better. A lot of people want the iPhone and a lot of people say Verizon has better service, so I bet a lot of people will be switching over to Verizon. Good deals will draw even more people over and make current customers even happier.

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How to Find Lost Cell Phone

2011-01-07T12:20:00.000-05:00

Tons of times I've misplaced my cell phone in the house. I usually call it from my land line phone or have someone else call it. Kind of sucks when I leave it on vibrate, but I've always been able to find it.
If you don't have a land line phone or someone who can call your cell phone, there is a website, at http://www.wheresmycellphone.com/, you can go to to call your lost cell phone. Just enter your phone number and listen for your lost phone to ring. It's all free too.

Dell Inspiron E1405 HP Pavilion dv5t Laptops

2011-01-05T20:59:00.001-05:00

3 1/2 years ago I bought my first laptop. A Dell Inspiron E1405. Nice, little portable machine. Intel Core Duo T2350 1.83GHz, 2gb RAM, 62gb hard drive, which pales in comparison to the disk space available these days. I mainly use it for blogging, updating websites, email, Facebook, Twitter etc. Once in a while I test some code on it. Only downfall is it came with Windows Vista, which was standard at the time. It still runs great, but hardware wise, it is falling apart. I'm missing 4 keys from the keyboard, the left click button for the touchpad lost it's spring a long time ago. The killer: now the display won't stay up. The hinge went. Really sucks trying to sit on the couch and type. At the moment I have it set on the counter with a pack of BBs propping it up.
Well, the hinge was the last straw. I sucked it up and bought an HP during HP's after Christmas red tag sale.
I went with the HP Pavilion dv5t because it has a 14.5" display. My Dell has a 14". I wanted something a little bigger, but not really as big as a 15.6" display. I got it for $806.45 with tax. There was a $100 instant rebate, free shipping and $25.00 off with HP Coupon code SVMB39487. I also saved an extra 5% by clicking through to HP using Ebates. That saved me another $40.32, bringing total cost down to $766.13.
It has Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-460M Dual Core Processor (2.53 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.8GHz, 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm), 500GB 7200RPM Hard Drive and webcam, bluetooth. Just Intel integrated graphics which is what my Dell has. Good enough for what I do since I'm not a gamer.
I'm a little uncertain as to how the HP's touchpad is going to work out though. Apparently it's a multitouch and lots of the reviews complained about it. The whole thing is touch, including the left and right click buttons. I guess it's more difficult to use than a touchpad with actual left and right click buttons.
After I ordered the HP, I had second thoughts. I didn't want another Dell since my old work one was a Dell that died and my home, falling apart laptop is a Dell. I went over to their site though and checked out what they had. Apparently, they no longer let you customize a system. They have a bunch of different machines, but you are stuck with how they are configured as far as processor, memory, hard drive size etc. One that came close to the HP I ordered was an XPS 14, but it costs more than what I paid for the HP, so I guess I'm satisfied with the HP I ordered. Hopefully it works out ok.
One thing I discovered though is laptops don't come with an internal modem anymore. Since most people are going wireless, the modems are no longer needed, except for us poor saps who live in a rural area and can only get dial up or satellite. I am going to look into Mobile Broadband. I should be able to get reception and it should be pretty fast. Verizon's 4G package is $50 per month with a cap of 5gb. It's more than the $10 a month I pay for my Toast.net dial up, but I think it will be worth it in the end to look into getting a faster connection. Until then, I can use my good old WiFlyer, which turns a dial up internet connection into a wireless dial up internet connection, or my Zoom bluetooth modem. I may look into getting an external modem too. You can pick one up fairly cheap on Amazon.com.

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More External Modem for Dial Up

Delete Pointer Passed to Function C++ Parameter

2010-12-31T13:57:00.000-05:00

I hate C++ pointers. I switch from C to C++ to Java a lot, so I tend to need refreshing once in a while when I go from Java to C++.
I was updating some old code the other day and came across a function which was supposed to delete a pointer passed to it and then set it to null. When the function returned, the pointer was deleted, but was not null. Reason why: the function had been set up wrong:

void deletePointer(XYZ* _xyz)
{
delete _xyz;
_xyz = 0;
}

void callDeletePointer()
{
XYZ* xyz = new XYZ();
...
...
...
deletePointer(xyz);
}

The way deletePointer really needed to be set up is like this:

void deletePointer(XYZ*& _xyz)
{
delete _xyz;
_xyz = 0;
}

Here's why:
The first deletePointer receives a copy of the pointer to _xyz, which allows the user to modify the object addressed by the pointer.
The second deletePointer receives the actual pointer to _xyz, which allows the user to modify the pointer itself.

Oh and one more tip:
When deallocating memory do this:

XYZ* xyz = new XYZ();
delete xyz;
xyz = 0;

instead of:

XYZ* xyz = new XYZ();
if(xyz != 0)
{
delete xyz;
xyz = 0;
}

Apparently, C++ guarantees operator delete() won't be called by a delete if the pointer is 0, so testing for null is not necessary. In fact, if you do include a pointer null test, the test will be done twice.

Source: C++ Primer, Third Edition, by Stanley B. Lippman, Josee Lajoie

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Verizon Wireless Rolls Out 4G

2010-12-03T11:53:00.000-05:00

So on Sunday Verizon Wireless is rolling out its 4G network to 38 select cities. You can go to: www.verizonwireless.com/4Glte, to see if your area will be covered. There seems to be a problem with the link at the moment though.
Initially 4G will only be available for laptops. Verizon's line of 4G smartphones will be revealed next month.
I'm totally looking forward to this. 4G is supposed to be 10x faster than 3G.
3G on my Samsung Alias 2 is pretty good. It's faster than my dial up. I live in a rural area, so dial up and satellite are my only options. At least I thought they were my only options until I saw an ad for AT&T's usb modem. I can use that modem to hop on AT&T's cell phone network with my laptop. Verizon Wireless has a similar modem. I would probably stick with Verizon. The plan I would choose runs about $60 per month. My dial up plan at toast.net is about $10 per month. I haven't been ready to spend that extra $50 a month, but with the 4G network I think I may be ready. The 4G plan is also cheaper than the 3G. The 4G plan is $50 a month for 5 gig of bandwith or $80 for 10 gig. Toast.net is not bad, but downloading and uploading anything larger than a few meg is painful. With 4G, you can download a 2 hour movie in 5 minutes. Watching videos and listening to music online with dial up is extremely painful. My favorite channel, SoapNet, will be no longer in 2012, so I may end up having to watch my soaps online.
When my cell phone contract is up a year from now, I think I'm also going to go for a smartphone, maybe a Droid. We'll see what's available at that point.

Consumer Reports Top Pocket Camcorders

2010-11-17T19:31:00.000-05:00

I've been browsing the camcorders on Amazon.com. Wow have they come a long way. About 5 years ago I picked up a Samsung SCD103 for about $300. Works great for everyday shooting of the kids. The LCD screen died on it though. It's still usable. I just have to look through the tiny little viewfinder now, which is annoying.
I was reading the December 2010 issue of Consumer Reports and noticed ratings for pocket camcorders. They look really promising for what I would use it for. Simple, affordable, portable, and pretty good quality.
I'm really liking the Kodak PlaySport Zx3. It is available at Amazon.com for $140 as a bundle with a 4gb sd card, tripod and remote control. Sweet little deal. It's the top rated pocket camcorder by Consumer Reports too.
The other 4 top rated pocket camcorders are:

1. Sony Bloggie MHS-CM5
2. Panasonic HM-TA1
3. Sony Bloggie MHS-PM5
4. Creative VF0624

All are available for under $200.

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That!AdvertisingAgency

2010-10-29T20:34:00.000-05:00

Advertising is a pretty important part of letting people know about your business, website, blog etc. There is a lot to learn when it comes to advertising. It's even more difficult now that there are so many different arenas that people get their news from. It is no longer just print advertising, such as the local newspaper. Now you have television, the internet, mobile phones, etc.
There is an Advertising Agency called That!AdvertisingAgency. As soon as you go to their website, you can tell they are not your typical Advertising Agency. They are a group of advertising specialists who are up to date on all the current advertising trends. Their mission is to ensure that the client is happy.
They specialize in internet marketing. They use search engine optimization and pay per click management to help bring visitors to your site.
Their PR Agency can help you develop a public relations campaign which reflects the current and future goals of your company.
That!AdvertisingAgency will work with your advertising budget, no matter how big or small, to bring you results. CallTrax technology is used to keep track of which advertising campaigns are working and which are not.
That!AdvertisingAgency can help you develop a marketing return on investment plan. They will give you real time data, so you can measure how effective a campaign is.
If you are looking for help to drive traffic to your website, enlisting the help of an Advertising Agency, such as.That!AdvertisingAgency, would be a great place to start.

Refrigerator Consumer Ratings

2010-10-01T13:16:00.000-05:00

About 2 weeks ago my beloved 7.5 year old, $1500 side by side Frigidaire refrigerator started making a buzzing noise when it turned on and food wasn't being kept cold. We cleaned out all the dust behind the fridge, which we'd never done, pretty disgusting, and the refrigerator seemed back to normal. No buzzing, cold food. Unfortunately, a week later the same thing happened. This time we turned the temperature setting to the coldest setting. Noise stopped and food was cold again. Despite this, I called a local appliance repairman. He said it sounded like the compressor. When the compressor goes bad, you need a new fridge. They are too expensive and just not worth it to fix. Wonderful, not what I wanted to hear, since I paid so much money for my fridge. I thought I had bought a good one.
Well, the repairman sent a guy out to take a look at the refrigerator. Definitely the compressor. The repairman said the average life of a refrigerator these days is 7 years. All brands last about the same length. It doesn't matter how much you pay either.
I got out the August 2010 issue of Consumer Reports and took a look at the refrigerator reviews. I really like the side by side refrigerators because they have more freezer space. Prices start around $800 and up. They are the most repair prone though. The French door/bottom refrigerators are priced even higher. With the freezer on the bottom, it might be a little hard to organize, although I'm sure I could manage. The top freezers are much cheaper, but also lack a lot of freezer space. None of the side by side or French door/bottom refrigerators jumped out at me as being "the one". I'm not willing to pay a lot of money, if I'm only going to get about 7 years out of it. I guess refrigerators are not a good investment.
I decided to go with a cheap top freezer refrigerator and buy a chest freezer to make up for the lack of freezer space. I've been wanting to buy one anyways.
I ended up buying the Maytag M1TXEMMWB, the black version of M1TXEMMWW. Maytag was bought out by Whirlpool, which Consumer Reports lists as the refrigerator models with the fewest repairs. Although the repairman said he works on a lot of Whirlpools. All of the reviews for the Maytag M1TXEMMWW were good. It's ranked 4.5 out of 5 stars at Home Depot. Has a lot of features, including an ice maker and adjustable shelving inside and in the door, is very energy efficient, and is cheap. Home Depot has it on sale for $630, free delivery/installation/haul away. After a $10 off promo code of THDSAVE27, 3% off from Ebates, I spent $650 total, which includes tax. New York also has an energy star appliance rebate program, so I may get another $105 off. If this fridge busts in 7 years, I won't feel so bad.

Here are the top 5 refrigerators for each refrigerator type from Consumer Reports:
Top Freezer Refrigerators:
1. GE Profile PTS22LHS[WW] - $1400
2. Kenmore 7930[2] - $960
3. Kenmore 7531[2] - $1250
4. Maytag M1TEXEMMW[S] - $750
5. LG LTC22350[SW] - $850

Bottom Freezer Refrigerators:
1. Whirlpool Gold GX5FHTXV[Q] - $1700
2. LG LFC25770[SW] - $1400
3. Samsung RF266AE[WP] - $1500
4. LG LFX28977[SW] - $2400
5. Samsung RFG298AA[WP] - $2500

Side-By-Side Refrigerators:
1. Whirlpool Gold GS5VHAXW[Q] - $1800
2. Bosch Linea 800 B22CS8OSN[S] - $2700
3. GE GSH22JFX[WW] - $1050
4. Samsung RS275AC[WP] - $1300
5. GE GSH25JFX[WW] - $1000

For the freezer, I'm going with a Kenmore from Sears for a little less than $400, but am waiting a few weeks before I buy that.

Consumer Search refrigerator picks

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RunIt

2010-09-23T16:16:00.001-05:00

My first programming job was for a company who's main focus was on their POS software, which is used by many companies in the fast food industry.
There is a company called RunIt who produces similar software only for the retail industry. They have been in business since 1995. They are based in New York, NY. In 1995, they released touch screen Windows based retail software. They were the first in the industry to see the potential of using Windows. The system provides data in real time and is web based, which is a cool feature. Being web based lets retailers access their data from anywhere. Retailers can process orders at tradeshows or at any mobile location with a web browser and internet connection. Business stats can also be viewed from anywhere. POS terminals are not required and on site implementation is not required. It will only take days to get up and running using RunIt, rather than weeks. Software updates and backups are no longer required, so no more having to deal with IT issues. All you have to do is use the software.
Data is managed through RunIt's state of the art secure data center. You can import your existing data and get copies of the backed up data.
The service is available for a low monthly subscription, which allows you to "pay as you grow". Unlimited support is included in the monthly subscription
RunIt is great for small companies or large companies, so if you are looking for a real time point of sale system, RunIt may be the answer.

Buying a new laptop

2010-09-17T14:41:00.000-05:00

I'm in the market for a new laptop. My current laptop is running Windows Vista. Guess that says it all. Vista is not the greatest operating system. It's slow and different applications are always crashing. I really want to give Windows 7 a try.
My little 2 year old started popping keys off my laptop one day. I popped them all back on except for the shift key, so I have no shift key at the moment and the little green push thing underneath the shift key fell off. At least I can still use the shift key though. Then I got a crumb stuck underneath the J key. I popped the J key off and the tab which holds the key in place broke off, so I have no J key too. My poor laptop is in rough shape.
For my next laptop, I have a bunch of options. I can go with a brand name like Dell, HP, or Gateway. I can head over to Walmart or Best Buy and get whatever they sell. I can also get a custom made laptop from an independent retailer.
Not sure yet which way I am going to go, but I was recently made aware of Howard custom computers. It is a US based, family owned company in Mississippi. In 1968 Billy Howard Sr. quit his job at General Electric to start his own company with his wife Linda, called Howard Industries. They sell custom computers along with other computer products from Panasonic, Fujitsu and Motion.
It looks like they have a good variety of products available. Besides computers they have storage devices such as hard drives, cd and dvd drives, flash memory etc., network devices such as modems, routers, network cards etc. and software such as operating systems, graphic design and games.
Customer service seems to be important too. Customer service is all based in the US to assist with technical training, support and networking.
Howard custom computers might be a good choice if I decide to go with a custom laptop.

Use the Internet to Comparison Shop!

2010-09-01T15:58:00.000-05:00

The Author of this post is Solomon Dejesus

I wanted to buy my husband Rich a new digital camera for Christmas last year, but I'm not the most tech-savvy person around, and I wasn't sure I could find exactly what he wanted in the stores. So I did some comparison shopping using hughes satellite internet service and was really pleased at how smoothly the process went. I finally decided on a FujiFilm FinePix camera -- it had a much longer battery life than our old camera, which was super-important, and it could store literally a thousand photos, which I knew would come in handy at our family reunion this year. :D

The best part was I found a deal on Amazon where I got not only free shipping on the camera, but they also threw in a free carrying case as well. So not only did I get Rich a camera he loved, but I didn't have to spend tons of money to do it -- I think the whole gift was under a hundred dollars.

I'm so glad we upgraded to hughes wireless Internet last fall -- I don't think there was any way I could have done that sort of research using our old super-slow dial-up, and I probably would have just gotten frustrated and given up on the whole thing.

ImTOO DVD Ripper

2010-09-01T14:36:00.001-05:00

Seems like everyone these days has some sort of portable electronics device like an ipod, smart phone or multimedia phone. I just have a Samsung Alias 2 multimedia phone, but when my contract with Verizon Wireless renews I'm most likely going to suck it up and go for a smart phone. I didn't really want to pay an extra $30 a month just yet. The Alias 2 gave me a taste of what I can do internet wise like check email, facebook and twitter. All I have is dial-up for my home internet connection, so a smart phone would be a great backup internet connection.
One cool option I did sign up for is Video on Demand. Now I can catch up on the CBS and NBC soap operas. If only ABC had their soap operas available on Video on Demand. With the smart phone I could probably just watch them on the networks websites.
There is also a tool called DVD Ripper by a company called ImTOO. It takes a dvd and converts it to different audio or video formats, including formats supported by the iPod, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, Apple TV, PSP, PS3, BlackBerry, iRiver PMP, Windows Mobile phone, Xbox, mobile phone, NDS, and Wii. If you have one of the supported cell phones, you can just rip dvd to the format you need, transfer the output to your phone and watch it wherever you go. That is another plus for upgrading to a smart phone. Technology these days is so amazing!
DVD Ripper will also rip dvd to hd, which is nice.
Another feature is it lets you edit the video and add effects.
There are 3 versions of DVD Ripper available: standard, platinum and ultimate. Prices range from $35.95 for the standard version to $45.95 for the platinum version and $55.95 for the ultimate version. A free trial is also available. A mac version called DVD Ripper Mac is also available.
ImTOO also produces a Video Converter for mac, which converts media files to other formats.
If you have a smart phone, or even an Xbox, Nintendo or Wii, DVD Ripper sounds like it would be a nice little tool to have to convert your dvds to a new format.

Hyundai Santa Fe

2010-08-28T18:52:00.001-05:00

About 6 years ago, I was on my way home from work and a car pulled out in front of me, totaling my car. It was my first brand new car, a white Grand Am, that I had planned on keeping forever. lol. I was very upset.
I ended up buying a brand new black Hyundai Santa Fe. The black signified that I was in mourning for my car. lol. I test drove a bunch of different SUV's, but that was the SUV I liked the best and that reminded me the most of how my car handled. It was a great choice. Not too bad on gas and handles very well. I definitely wouldn't want a bigger SUV though. The Hyundai Santa Fe has plenty of room on the inside and I just wouldn't be able to handle driving a larger vehicle. I'm not the greatest backer upper, so a bigger vehicle would be a little difficult for me to handle, as I'm not the biggest person anyways. Maybe if I had an auto backup camera, I could handle driving a bigger vehicle, and I wouldn't have so many blindspots when backing up. Someday when I retire I would like to invest in an RV, so I would definitely have to get an auto backup camera for that.
I have a mountain bike, so one thing I would like to buy for my Hyundai Santa Fe is a graber outback bike rack. I live in upstate New York and there are lots of biking trails throughout New York, New Hampshire and Vermont. Hopefully one of these days I will be able to take some time off and go check them out.
The unexpected event of totaling my car turned out to be a good thing. I totally love my Hyundai Santa Fe and highly recommend it.

Wireless Dial Up Internet Connection

2010-02-25T09:33:00.007-05:00

I have raved many times about the Wiflyer. The cool, little tool, which turns a dial up internet connection into wireless using wifi. I've used it every day for about 3 years now, and it's been great. Unfortunately, it's been acting flaky the past few months, so I started looking for alternatives.
Always On Wireless, the company who makes the Wiflyer, appears to have disappeared. The Wiflyer is still available on ebay.
There's a tool called Nebo Wireless, which uses 900Mhz FM cordless phone technology. It includes a base unit with a usb communicator. Looks kind of cool.
I could hook up a wireless router to my desktop and tap into the internet connection from my laptop. I decided this would be a last resort, since I don't want to leave my desktop on all the time. Too big of a waste of electricity. My laptop costs much less to leave on than my desktop.
The last option I discovered is a bluetooth modem. There appears to be several different brands, but the only one I could find a link to, to buy was from a company called Zoom Telephonics. The modem plugs into an electrical outlet and a phone jack. That's it. You then can connect to the modem using bluetooth. If your computer does not have the bluetooth capability built in, then you will need a separate bluetooth adapter, also called a bluetooth dongle. There are different classes of bluetooth: 1, 2 and 3. Class 2 seems to be the most common, but Class 1 provides the furthest range, 100m. The bluetooth modem from Zoom is a Class 1. Zoom also has several bluetooth adapters including a Class 1 adapter. A Class 2 bluetooth adapter will work, but your range will be limited to about 10m, so for a wireless dial up internet connection it makes more sense to go for the Class 1 bluetooth adapter to get the longer range.
Well, the bluetooth modem is the option I went with and it is AWESOME!! The Zoom bluetooth modem is very small, about half the size of the Wiflyer. The only thing missing is a volume control for the sound the modem makes when dialing up your connection. The Wiflyer had a volume control. The bluetooth modem comes with an installation cd that you put in your computer and install. Easy and went smoothly.
The bluetooth adapter I went with was the Class 1 Zoom bluetooth adapter. The bluetooth adapter is also great for connecting my cell phone to my laptop for transferring pictures. The bluetooth adapter also came with an installation cd. Installation of that also went smoothly, no problems. The software used is BlueSoleil. Not sure if that's good software, but it's been working well so far.
Once the software is installed, you search for bluetooth devices. Once the modem is found, you right click on the found modem icon and connect bluetooth dial up networking. A dial up networking box comes up where you enter your ISP username, password and dial up phone number. The only problem I've come across so far, is sometimes it takes a couple of tries for the connection to connect. Maybe it's just the ISP and nothing to do with the modem. The Wiflyer sometimes had problems. It's hard to tell.
Connection speed seems pretty good. I still need to find a good way to find out what my connection speed is. If anyone has any tips, please let me know. I also use Google Chrome, which definitely is the fastest browser I've tried. Browsers I've tried include Internet Explorer, Opera, Firefox and the classic version of Maxthon. Maxthon comes in second, with Firefox third.
Both bluetooth items are available at Amazon.com: Zoom bluetooth modem, Zoom bluetooth adapter.
If anyone has any other suggestions for creating a wireless dial up internet connection, please let me know.

SVG: Scalable Vector Graphics on the web

2010-01-27T14:23:00.003-05:00

The SVG Working Group is trying to increase the exposure of SVG, Scalable Vector Graphics. Definitely a good thing as that is what I am working with at the moment. Lots of uses, possibilities for SVG, but not many using it, so at times it can be difficult to find useful, real world information.
Anyways, the SVG Working Group is now on Twitter: http://twitter.com/svgwg.
They now have a blog: http://www.w3.org/blog/SVG.
They also have Identi.ca accounts: http://identi.ca/svgwg.

More SVG, Scalable Vector Graphics

How to Copy PDF Table to Excel

2009-09-02T10:52:00.007-05:00

I have a pdf file with a bunch of tables that I need to grab the content of and paste into an excel spreadsheet. One way to do this is to upgrade to Adobe Acrobat Professional and use the copy as table command. Who wants, or is able, to pay $450 for that though? Certainly not me.
Adobe Reader is free and came installed on my computer, so I was poking around a bit and discovered a work around. In Adobe Reader 7.0, first make sure the select tool is chosen. Next, move the cursor over the column header until a rectangle appears. Then highlight the column elements and press Ctrl+C to copy the column elements, paste into Excel with Ctrl+V.
If you are using Adobe Reader 9.0, press Ctrl+Alt while moving the cursor over the column header until a rectangle appears. Then highlight the column elements and press Ctrl+C to copy the column elements, paste into Excel with Ctrl+V.
Copying each column one at a time isn't quite as nice as the copy as table command. It takes a little bit more time, but it is definitely better than spending a couple hundred dollars if you really don't need to.

More Adobe Acrobat

Batch Convert SVG to PNG Raster

2009-08-19T10:07:00.010-05:00

Need to batch convert svg to png? I have a few thousand .svg files that I need to convert to raster, namely .png. I ended up using ImageMagick. Apparently it is the standard tool to use. However, Inkscape and Apache Batik are also capable of converting svg to a raster format.
ImageMagick has a convert tool and a mogrify tool which can convert svg to png.
What I want to do is covert my few thousand .svg files to .png files using the same file name as the .svg files, only with the .png extension.
For some reason, I couln't do that with the convert command. All of the output files needed to have part of the file name given, so that numbers could be appended to it, or a full file name given, in which case only one output file was created.
I poked around a bit and discovered the mogrify command would use the input file names to create the output file names, only with the .png extension instead of the .svg extension. I also needed the .png files to be a certain size, which mogrify also allows.
Here is the command I used:

mogrify -resize widthxheight -format png *.svg

where width is the desired width of the .png, ex: 100, and height is the desired height of the .png, ex: 100.
Worked great and I now have my batch of .svg files converted to .png files in the size I need.

More SVG

More ImageMagick

More Inkscape

More Apache Batik

Consumer Reports Top Security Software

2009-07-24T14:31:00.003-05:00

Security software was a topic in the June 2009 issue of Consumer Reports.
The top security software was Eset Smart Security. It costs a little bit more than other software but it offered the best possible virus detection. It's good if you have a computer user who clicks on suspicious email links or downloads files from unfamiliar sites.
McAfee Internet Security is next on the list. It offers good performance and the most features.
Symantec Norton Internet Security was the third recommendation. It was the best at finding badware. It also gives you information on possible threats.
No computer should go without security software. If someone hacks into your computer, personal information could be taken which could lead to identity theft. A hacker could also delete your files, take control of your computer, or render your computer useless. Hackers these days are very sophisticated, so installing good, trustworthy security software is an absolute must.

Consumer Reports Back Issues

Vector of pointers crashes on delete

2009-07-09T17:01:00.007-05:00

I have a java gui which calls a C++ dll which in turn calls another C++ dll. Both dlls are built using Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0;
Both dlls contain functions which take in 4 vectors. The first dll function calls the second dll function.
The first 2 vectors are source parameters and the last 2 are result vectors. All vectors contain the same number elements.
The function call in the first dll looks something like this:

convert(std::vector& firstVector, std::vector& secondVector, std::vector& thirdVector, std::vector& fourthVector)
{
thirdVector.reserve(10);
fourthVector.reserve(10);

C2DLL* c2dll = new c2dll();
c2dll->convert(firstVector, secondVector, thirdVector, fourthVector);

.
.
.
.
.
.
.

for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
delete firstVector[i];
}
firstVector.clear();

for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
delete secondVector[i];
}
secondVector.clear();

for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
delete thirdVector[i];
}
thirdVector.clear();

for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
delete fourthVector[i];
}
fourthVector.clear();
}

void C2DLL::convert(std::vector& firstVector, std::vector& secondVector, std::vector& thirdVector, std::vector& fourthVector)
{
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
thirdVector.push_back(new Class2()); /// Class2 is a subclass of Class1
fourthVector.push_back(new ClassA());
}
}

Everything was running great until I would get to deleting each element of the fourthVector. The application would crash. For the life of me I could not figure out why. I finally did some Google searching and figured out it was the compiler settings.
Each dll needs to be built with the /MD option. To set this, go to the project settings, C/C++ tab, Code Generation Category. Select Debug Multithreaded DLL.
Apparently this allocates the memory used in each dll on the local heap. Before changing this setting, I was using Debug Mutithreaded. Since the memory for the fourth vector was allocated in the second C++ dll, the memory was not on the local heap for the first dll, which was where the memory was being deallocated.
C++ Memory, what a pain in the butt.

More C++

Wireless dial up internet, Wiflyer disappears

2009-02-01T12:03:00.005-05:00

Looks like bad news for fans of the Wiflyer. The company, Always On Wireless, website was down for a while and is now completely gone. I did a little research on the web and others have tried to email or call the company/support with no response. No statement from the company as to why they are gone, just speculation they were another casualty of the bad economy. Too bad. I use my Wiflyer every day and just hope it never dies. For those of us stuck with dial up internet, the wiflyer made wireless internet possible. If you want wireless dialup and can find a Wiflyer, grab it. Apparently there is also a similar device called nebo wireless. It connects wirelessly like a cordless phone using microwave radio, while the wiflyer was a wireless router. Not sure if there are any other wireless dial up alternatives to the wiflyer out there. If anyone knows, please leave me a comment.

More Wireless

Canon PowerShot A560

2008-03-03T17:50:00.004-05:00

For Christmas I bought my mother a digital camera and printer. At first I was going to go with a Kodak bundle. The printers had good reviews, but the cameras didn't. Then I thought about an HP bundle. The cameras had good reviews, but the printers didn't. At that point I said skip the bundles and find a good printer and a good camera, separately. For the camera, I ended up going with a 7.1 megapixel, 4X optical zoom lens Canon PowerShot A560. It has very good reviews and I have a Canon PowerShot A610 which I've been happy with. Turns out I made a good choice. The Canon PowerShot A560 is a very nice camera. For a beginner photographer, the photo quality is excellent. The camera has 14 shooting modes, including 6 special scene modes. The various modes include night time, kids & pets who are moving, portrait, and an automatic feature. That is the setting my mother uses most often and the photos are very good. The camera automatically adjusts the focal length, ISO to take the best photo for the current lighting conditions.
The camera is about half the size of my older A610, which is nice.
The Canon PowerShot A560 takes 2 AA batteries, a step up from my Canon PowerShot A610 which takes 4 AA batteries and seems to eat them up very fast.
The Canon Powershot A560 uses a DIGIC III Image Processor to get the best image quality, so that the camera works efficiently and battery life is improved. Face detection and red eye correction features have also been improved.
There is a high-resolution 2.5-inch LCD to make viewing easy and there are four movie modes, including 30 fps VGA and 60 fps fast frame rate.
A Print/Share button makes it easy to print photos or transfer them to a computer. The Canon PowerShot A560 is PictBridge enabled.
The only complaint I have about the A560 and A610 is the lag time between shots. I used the A610 at a wrestling match and it wasn't the greatest for taking photos one right after the other. There was a bit of a pause between each shot while the camera refocused for the next shot. Afterwards, I played around with some settings and was able to decrease the lag time a bit.
So, if you are in the market for a good quality, reasonably priced digital camera, I highly recommend the Canon PowerShot A560.
Check out this link for my review of the printer I bought to go with the camera. It too is excellent.

More Digital Cameras

Epson Picturemate Dash

2008-02-16T15:27:00.006-05:00

For Christmas I bought my mother a digital camera and printer. At first I was going to go with a Kodak bundle. The printers had good reviews, but the cameras didn't. Then I thought about an HP bundle. The cameras had good reviews, but the printers didn't. At that point I said skip the bundles and find a good printer and a good camera, separately. For the printer I ended up going with an Epson Picturemate Dash. It's the latest in the Picturemate series, new for 2007. The printer was very easy to set up. It comes with an initial ink cartridge. It doesn't last very long though, so make sure to buy a spare one. It also comes with a packet of 4x6 paper. The printer has memory card slots on the front. The following memory cards are supported: CompactFlash® (Type I and II), Secure Digital (SD™), SDHC™, MMC, Memory Stick®, Microdrive® (Type M/H) and xD-Picture Card™. You just insert the ink cartridge, paper and memory card. Turn the printer on, go through some initialization steps and you're good to go. You can either print from the printer using the memory card or from the camera directly if it is PictBridge enabled.
The largest available print size is 4x6. If you want a bigger print size, it looked like you would have to go with a full sized computer printer. I wanted a printer which wouldn't require a computer. Other print sizes available include wallet size, mini-wallets, jumbo-wallets, U.S. passport size, 2" x 2" – 3" x 3" square photos, portrait packages (four per page and ten per page) and proof sheet.
The print quality is very good. I was quite impressed. I'm sure if you are a professional photographer you could detect flaws, but for a home photo lab, the photo quality is excellent.
I was also impressed with the size the printer. It is very small. I was surprised when I opened the box it comes in. The printer is half the size of the box. A very portable printer.
The LCD is huge at 3.6 inches which makes it nice to view images. You can even crop, remove red eye, add color effects all from the printer.
The printer is very fast. Apparently it takes about 37 sec to print a borderless 4x6 photo.
Photos are also supposed to be smudge, scratch, water and fade resistant for over 200 years.
Anyways, I highly recommend the Epson Picturemate Dash, if you are looking for a good quality, compact printer for a home photo lab, which does not require a computer. It sells for around $100.00. You can get it at Amazon.com, no tax, no shipping for $99.00.
Check out this link for my review of the camera I bought to go with the printer. It too is excellent.

my lot

2008-02-03T18:35:00.000-05:00

myLot User Profile

Toast.net vs. Netzero

2008-01-26T10:47:00.000-05:00

I live in a rural area, so I'm stuck with dial up. For over 3 years I've used Netzero 3G Highspeed. Worked good, but I decided to look into other dial up isp's to see if I could get a better speed. Toast.net had good reviews, so I gave them a try. I really like them. Their accelerator works much faster than Netzero's. If I was loading a couple different web pages and one had video or audio, Netzero would sometimes slow down or the accelerator would suddenly become unavailable. It got annoying after a while. Toast.net's accelerator must work differently because I have no problems loading multiple pages when one has audio or video. For dial up, web pages load very quickly.
With Toast.net, you have to make sure you disconnect from the internet when you're not using it though. They automatically disconnect you after 4 hours, but if you automatically keep reconnecting for most of the day, they will put your account on hold, so you can't login anymore until you contact them. That happened to me the other day. I like to leave my internet connected all the time. My account was flagged for excessive usage & I couldn't log in. I called them & they reactivated it as long as I disconnect when not in use. I don't like it, but I was thinking, maybe that is why their connection is so fast. They keep an eye on people's usage & make you disconnect when you're not using it, but that does free things up. I guess I can live with disconnecting in exchange for the faster speed.
BTW, I tried cancelling my Netzero service and they gave me 3 free months. After that, monthly payments are $6.95. Pretty good deal, so I'm keeping it as my backup ISP.
Toast.net is $9.95 a month. If you pay annually it is $7.95 a month. Toast.net does have a dedicated plan where you get disconnected after 8 hours, but it is $39.95. A bit steep for dial up.
If you need to call Toast.net for support, it is free. Netzero charges $1.95 per minute. That's a little ridiculous.

Can only get dial up and want to go wireless? Then check out the Wiflyer!

Amazon Kindle - A portable reading device

2008-01-21T15:00:00.000-05:00

I just discovered something really cool. The Amazon Kindle. It is a little portable reading device which lets you download and read newspapers, books, blogs and magazines wirelessly. There is no monthly fee. Amazon pays for the Kindle's wireless connectivity. You only pay for the device which sells for $399.00 and includes free two day shipping. The Amazon Kindle uses Amazon's optimized technology plus Sprint's national high-speed (EVDO) data network to enable you to wirelessly search, discover, download, and read content on the go, so you can use it anywhere. It's not WiFi, so you don't have to be near a hotspot which makes it nice for areas where wifi is not available.
The Kindle is light and thin, weighing only 10.3 ounces. Very portable.
Downloads are made right from the Kindle and prices are reasonable.
The Kindle has a QWERTY keyboard for doing searches etc.
You can add bookmarks and annotations just like with a real book.
There is a built in dictionary and you can wirelessly access Wikipedia from the Kindle.
Text size is adjustable.
The Kindle also has a long battery life. If left on, the battery will need to be recharged about every other day. Battery life does vary based on usage and coverage strength. Full recharging takes about two hours.
If you have a long commute or spend lots of time reading on the go, the Amazon Kindle sounds perfect. No bulky magazines or newpapers to drag along. Just a small little device where you can access just about anything you would like to read. Pretty cool.

No more analog television

2008-01-13T06:59:00.000-05:00

February 18 2009, television as we know it will end. There will be no more analog television. The FCC is requiring all television stations to air their broadcasts in digital format. What that means for the low-tech, common man is you either have to buy an digital tv or buy a converter box for your current analog tv. Either way, you have to spend money if you still want to receive a television picture.
The cheapest short term option is to buy a converter box. Supposedly they will cost $50 - $70, but wait, the wonderful government is giving away 2 free $40 coupons per household, which expire 90 days after you receive them. Each receiver will then cost $10 - $30. How generous. How about giving the first receiver free to each household and then a $40 coupon. No, that would be too generous. As usual the government is scamming the poor man over something which is completely involuntary. Oh and the coupons are only good towards certain gpovernment dictated converter box models, which are probably cheap and will bust after a year, so then you'll have to buy another converter box at full price.
If you are interested in applying for the television converter box coupons, you can get them here.
Check out this site for more info on digital television.

More Digital Television

HDTV

Dell laptop screen - vertical blue line

2007-11-29T18:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my Dell Precision M60 laptop suddenly developed a vertical blue line just to the right of the center of the screen. I did some research on the internet and searched Dell's forums to try to figure out how to get rid of it. Apparently you can't. According to this article, Dell has received many complaints about screens developing a blue line, so they are replacing the LCD of affected models, free of charge if purchased within the past 3 years. The affected models are:
Inspiron 6000 and 8600
Latitude D800 and D810
Dell Precision Mobile Workstation M60 and M70
They were shipped between December 2004 and December 2006.
I fired up Dell chat, talked with a service representative who had me connect my laptop to an external monitor to confirm it was the laptop's LCD which was bad. It was. He then sent my information to a technician who came to my house today and replaced the LCD. No more blue line. I was very surprised at the fast service and that a technician came right to my house to fix it.
I had debated as to whether or not I should just ignore the line or try to get it fixed. I figured I would have to send my laptop out for repair, which I didn't want to do, so I'm really glad I decided to get it fixed.

More Dell

LG VX8300 and car kit

2007-09-19T17:07:00.000-05:00

Just want to mention this cell phone tip. My cell phone is an LG VX8300. A few days ago the words car kit appeared on the display and I was unable to hear any sounds my phone made. The same thing happened a few weeks ago, but after several days my phone went back to normal. Well, it had been a couple of days & still nothing, so I did some research on the internet. I googled "lg vx8300" + "car kit" + remove and came across this site. I did the tip which involves clearing errors. Nothing, so I tried plugging in the charger and jiggling it around. Nothing. I don't have a car charger, so I tried plugging the phone into the data cable I use to upload photos to my computer. I jiggled the cable around & car kit briefly disappeared and then reappeared. I jiggled the cable some more & car kit disappeared again. It's been 6 hours and so far so good. Apparently the words car kit appear when the phone has been exposed to water. Have absolutely no idea how my phone may have gotten wet. Oh well. I'm just glad it's working again.

Cell phones

How to return multiple parameter values in Java

2007-08-17T16:59:00.000-05:00

Here's a java tip I discovered.
Java doesn't allow functions to return multiple parameters. You can't pass by reference like in C/C++.
Say you have this function in C or C++:

int get(int a, int* b, int* c)
{
*b = 2 * a;
*c = 3 * a;

return 4 * a;
}

Now you want to write that function in Java. One option is to create an object which stores 3 integer values and return that.
An option involving less work, is the following:
Java lets you pass in an object, to which you can modify the content of the object, so:
First create a java class which stores an integer:

public class _Integer
{
public int _integer;

public _Integer
{
}
}

Now pass this object to your java function whenever you need to return more than one value:

int a = 1;
_Integer bInteger = new _Integer();
_Integer cInteger = new _Integer();

int d = get(a, bInteger, cInteger);

int get(int a, _Integer b, _Integer c)
{
b._integer = 2 * a;
c._integer = 3 * a;

return 4 * a;
}

If you need to pass doubles, create a _Double class, etc.

I thought that was a pretty cool workaround I came up with and just wanted to share.:)

More Java Info

How to get user defined environment variable in Java

2007-08-10T16:55:00.000-05:00

I'm porting a C++ library over to Java 1.4.2 and I need to get the setting for a user defined environment variable. There used to be a very easy way, but it turns out some brilliant people decided to deprecate - get rid of - System.getenv for java 1.4. There must have been complaints because for Java 1.5 System.getenv is undeprecated. Unfortunately, I can't guarantee the users of my java software will be using java 1.5. Fortunately, there are people much smarter than I. I did some searching and found a website with some code which determines what system you are on and then calls the corresponding function to get all environment variables. You can then make a call to get the value of the environment variable you need. Here's the link to the site and the code itself:

import java.io.*;
import java.util.*;

public class ReadEnv {
public static Properties getEnvVars() throws Throwable {
Process p = null;
Properties envVars = new Properties();
Runtime r = Runtime.getRuntime();
String OS = System.getProperty("os.name").toLowerCase();
// System.out.println(OS);
if (OS.indexOf("windows 9") > -1) {
p = r.exec( "command.com /c set" );
}
else if ( (OS.indexOf("nt") > -1)
|| (OS.indexOf("windows 2000") > -1 )
|| (OS.indexOf("windows xp") > -1) ) {
// thanks to JuanFran for the xp fix!
p = r.exec( "cmd.exe /c set" );
}
else {
// our last hope, we assume Unix (thanks to H. Ware for the fix)
p = r.exec( "env" );
}
BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader
( new InputStreamReader( p.getInputStream() ) );
String line;
while( (line = br.readLine()) != null ) {
int idx = line.indexOf( '=' );
String key = line.substring( 0, idx );
String value = line.substring( idx+1 );
envVars.setProperty( key, value );
// System.out.println( key + " = " + value );
}
return envVars;
}

public static void main(String args[]) {
try {
Properties p = ReadEnv.getEnvVars();
System.out.println("the current value of TEMP is : " +
p.getProperty("TEMP"));
}
catch (Throwable e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}

Java Resources

Copper.net

2007-08-09T17:55:00.001-05:00

I think I've mentioned before that all I can get in my area for an internet connection is dial up. Really sucks, but maybe someday there will be a faster option. Anyways, I've been using NetZero's 3g high speed for the past 2 years without much of a problem. Lately though, the high speed part has been very flaky. It keeps disconnecting and speeds have been slow. The other day I got fed up and came across a couple of different providers with good reviews. One is Toast.net. I haven't tried it yet though. The one I'm trying now is Copper.net High Speed. They have a really good deal going on right now, which is why I tried it first. It's $1 for 3 months, after which you can cancel if not satisfied. So far it's not bad. Netzero would always take a long time to load certain sites, such as blogs, including this one. Copper.net doesn't seem to have that problem. My blog actually loads pretty quick. The only drawback so far is Copper.net's high speed also seems to have a problem staying connected initially. Once it gets going though it is fine. So far connection speeds seem a bit faster than Netzero.
Regular price for the high speed version is $14.95 per month. Without high speed, it's $9.95 per month. The customer service number is also free. Unlike Netzero, which charges $2 per minute. Most numbers are V.92. You get a free 25mb email address. There seem to be a lot of access numbers, although just 2 for my area, but it's rural. Copper.net connects faster than Netzero, since it uses the built in dial-up networking in Windows. Netzero has it's own java application, which is much slower. Copper.net also lets you stay connected for a maximum of 4 hours, whereas Netzero disconnects you after 3 hours. If you're looking for a new dial up isp or a backup internet connection, you might want to check out Copper.net.
BTW, Copper.net's high speed is also compatible with the wiflyer.

InstallAnywhere Now

2007-07-05T16:55:00.000-05:00

I've been tasked with looking into an installer, which is supposedly free, called InstallAnywhere. Well, apparently it's not free. The free version is only a 21 day trial. However, tucked away on the zerog.com site is a free version called InstallAnywhere Now. The Windows version is 40mb, so I haven't downloaded or tried it yet, but will post when I do. There are also Mac, AIX, Solaris, Linux and Hp versions available.

In need of a new cell phone? Check out this site for some of the newest phones on the market.

Have you ever tasted a good cup of gourmet coffee? Chances are you haven't!

WiFlyer

2007-06-28T21:00:00.000-05:00

I haven't mentioned the WiFlyer in a while, but I'm still amazed by it. It is so cool. I live in a rural area where the only internet connection I can get is dial up. I'm really glad I discovered the WiFlyer though. It is a small device which plugs into an electrical outlet and phone jack and turns a dial up connection into a wireless dial up connection. I finally bought myself a laptop, so now I can move all over the house and still be able to surf the web using a dial up connection. No more extra long phone wire and no more confinement to one spot. Very sweet. There is also a new version of the WiFlyer out. It has a few more features and has a longer range.
If interested, check it out here. There is also a promotional code to use on check out. For a standard WiFlyer enter: friendw and for a WiFlyer+v enter: friendv. If you're stuck with dial up, the WiFlyer is definitely worth checking out. BTW, it is also compatible with a broadband connection if you ever switch over. The WiFlyer is also ideal for those who travel frequently as it is very compact and some hotels only offer a dial up connection. It is very easy to setup and very easy to use. I am still amazed every time I use it.
Oh, and the WiFlyer works just fine with Windows Vista.

UnsatisfiedLinkErrors with a jar file, JNI and C++

2007-06-21T17:07:00.000-05:00

I've been busy porting legacy C code to C++. Yeah, real fun. I also have a java gui which calls the C code using the Java Native Interface (JNI). This layer also had to be updated in order to use the C++ code. Everything worked great on windows. I then had to make sure everything built and ran correctly on linux and solaris. I am just not a linux or solaris person. Never have been, never will be. However, I did discover something useful.
I built my jar file and shared objects relatively easily. Next I tried running the jar file. The jar file linked to my shared object ok, but it couldn't find the function being called. I kept getting an UnsatisfiedLinkError. I guessed the reason was due to C++ name mangling.
Javah is used to create the jni header files. When the header files are created, javah automatically adds:

#ifdef __cplusplus
extern "C" {
#endif

to prevent C++ from mangling function names. I believe the command I used to look at the function names in the shared object was nm. Weird thing is, the names kind of looked mangled. I did some research on the internet, but found nothing useful. Everything worked fine on Windows, the header files use #ifdef cplusplus to prevent name mangling, so how could the function names be mangled? I don't know. I was desperate, so took the #ifdef cplusplus and put it in the C++ source file too. Right at the top, after the includes and before the first function. I ended the #ifdef cplusplus at the very end of the file. I recompiled and tried running the jar file again. What do you know? No more UnsatisfiedLinkErrors. The jar file found the functions in the shared object just fine. Thank goodness.

Dell, Ebates

2007-05-27T18:56:00.000-05:00

Finally broke down and bought a laptop. Won't get it for at least a week though. Dell's having a really good Memorial Day sale, ends May 31, 2007, 6am(CT). Here's the link if interested. Got the 14.1", Inspiron E1405, due to it's smaller size as I want something easily portable. Got it for $800 with another $60 in tax and 2% off from ebates. Saved a little over $400. The free 2gb of memory was the main draw for me. They also throw in the longer lasting 9 cell battery
Here's a tip if you're interested. The deal is only available from this link, so click on that, go configure your system. Sign in or create an account and save the cart or add to wishlist. Go to ebates, click on the dell link. That brings you to dell, sign in and check out the configured system to get the 2% discount. BTW,
I've been paid several times from ebates. Don't really do much shopping, mostly around the holidays, but when I do, I always go see if there is a discount available before placing an order.

Speed up windows part 5

2007-05-13T09:45:00.000-05:00

Next step in speeding up your Windows PC involves tweaking the registry.
First, you should create a system restore point, just in case something goes wrong:

Click Start and choose either Programs or All Programs.
Go to Accessories, then System Tools, and choose System Restore.
On the welcome screen, you’ll be asked whether you want to restore or create a restore point. Choose Create a Restore Point.
Name it something you’ll remember, such as “Before Changes.”
Click Create.
Now if something doesn’t work, you can repeat these steps and choose “Restore” instead, to return to the status you just saved.

Ok. Let's make some changes.

1. Make menus load faster:

Start regedit by clicking Start, Run and type regedit.
Navigate to the following key by clicking the plus signs next to the name of each level:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Control Panel
Click “Desktop.” A list of entries will appear on the right side.
Double-click “MenuShowDelay” and change the Value data to 0.
Click OK.

2. Free memory from closed programs. Windows sometimes keeps dll's in memory even after the application using the dll has been closed.

Start regedit, following the instructions in this lesson.
Navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SOFTWARE / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion
Under CurrentVersion, right-click on Explorer, then choose New->Key.
In the box that appears (”New Key #1″), change the name to AlwaysUnloadDLL.
Hit Enter. On the right side, double-click the word (Default).
For the value data, enter 1.
Click OK.

3. Speed up the startup of programs.

In regedit, navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SYSTEM / CurrentControlSet / Control / Session Manager / Memory Management / PrefetchParameters

When you click PrefetchParameters, the right side of the editor will display a list of entries.
Double-click “Enable Prefetcher” and change the value data to 5 (in decimal, not hexadecimal).
Click OK.

4. Reduce time Windows spends updating “last accessed” time for a folder and it's subfolders.

In regedit, navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / System / CurrentControlSet / Control
Under Control, right-click on FileSystem, then choose New, then DWORD Value.
Replace “New Value #1″ with NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate and hit Enter.
Double-click NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate and change the Value data to 1.
Click OK.

Close regedit.

5. Now let's use msconfig and do a final tweak to improve swapfile performance by telling Windows not to use the swapfile until the absolute last minute.

Click Start, then Run.
Enter msconfig in the box.
Click on the System.ini tab.
Click the plus sign next to 386enh.
Click New, then type “ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1″ in the box that appears.
Click OK.

All done. Reboot and see if you notice any speed improvements.

Speed up windows part 4

2007-05-02T19:04:00.000-05:00

Several more ways to speed up your windows PC include the following:

1. Delete unnecessary start up programs:

Click Start, then choose All Programs or Programs (depending on your setup).
Find the Startup folder on the list and hover your mouse over it.
The list of programs that automatically start will appear. Check this list, and if you see something you don’t want or need to start automatically--such as some Microsoft Office task--right-click it and choose Delete.

2. Stop programs which start automatically using EasyCleaner.

3. Stop services which start automatically - use caution as some services are needed in order for your computer to run.

To get to the list of services, click Start, then Run.
Enter services.msc in the box. The screen that pops up is a bit intimidating at first, but it’s actually pretty straightforward. It lists every service on your machine and tells you whether it starts automatically or manually, among other things.
Click the Extended tab on the bottom, which will create a space that will give you a description of each service.
Now click on the words “Startup Type” at the top of that column, which will sort the services. The ones that say “Automatic” are--obviously--the ones that start when Windows does. They’re the only ones you care about.

The following lists services you can probably do without. Of course, if you recognize one that you use such as Windows Messenger or Telnet, don’t turn it off.

Alerter
Clipbook
Computer Browser
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Error Reporting Service (if you don’t want to be asked to send error reports to Microsoft anymore)
Fast User Switching
Human Interface Access Devices
IPSEC Services
Messenger
NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
Portable Media Serial Number
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Procedure Call Locator
Remote Registry
Routing & Remote Access
Secondary Logon
Server
SSDP Discovery Service
Telnet
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Upload Manager
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Workstation

Pick one from the list and double-click it. You’ll see a drop-down menu next to “Startup type” that is currently set to Automatic.

Change it to Manual and click OK. This way the service will start only if it’s needed, not all the time.

4. Also considering disabling these services:

Indexing service - disable this if you don't use the Windows’ search function very often - Start, Run, enter services.msc -- see above), scroll down to Indexing Service, and set the Startup type to “Disabled

If you use the Windows Classic theme, free up some memory by scrolling down the list of services to Themes and set it to “Disabled.”

Convert FAT to NTFS, DMA

2007-04-24T18:59:00.000-05:00

2 more ways to speed up your computer are the following:

1. Convert your drive to NTFS, if it's currently FAT32:

Shut down any running programs.
Click Start, then choose Run.
In the box, enter cmd, which will bring up a black command-line window. You’ll see a prompt that says something like “C:\WINDOWS” with a blinking cursor. (If you’ve ever used DOS, you’ll recognize this.)
Enter the following: convert c: /fs:ntfs (If your hard drive isn’t drive C:, substitute the correct letter, and don’t forget the space between the colon and the slash.)
When you press Enter, you’ll probably see a message saying the conversion will take place next time you start Windows. So click Start, choose Shut Down, and choose Restart. Windows will convert your drive--and it will also reboot your computer twice.

2. Use DMA (direct memory access):

Go to your Control Panel and double-click System, then choose the Hardware tab. Click Device Manager. This will bring up a list of every type of hardware your computer has, from “Computer” to “Disk Drives” to “Monitors,” and more.
Click the plus sign next to “IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers.”
Double-click “Primary IDE Channel.” (If you have two of them, don’t worry. Just repeat this procedure.)
Click the Advanced Settings tab. You’ll probably see two devices listed (0 and 1).
For each one, click the drop-down arrow next to Transfer Mode and choose “DMA if available.” Then click OK. (If you have another Primary IDE Channel, repeat this procedure.)
Close Device Manager and reboot your computer.

C++ tagged unions continued

2007-04-19T20:59:00.004-05:00

I have received indirect confirmation that using structs with tagged unions in C++ is not object oriented, as I suspected, and is most likely a poor way of doing things. This is a C method, not C++. No objects, no encapsulation. Not my idea to do it like that anyways. My idea used nice C++ objects. Oh well. I'm just low man on the totem pole and do as told. lol.

Clean your hard drive tips

2007-04-16T21:06:00.000-05:00

One way to make your computer speed up is to clean your hard drive. Hard drives run faster & more consistently when there is free space. You can free up space on your hard drive by doing the following:

Eliminate software you don't use

Eliminate unused fonts - Create a folder and use Windows Explorer to go to your C:\WINDOWS\FONTS folder, and drag any fonts you never use into the new folder.

Use disk cleanup - From My Computer, right-click on your hard drive.
Choose Properties.
Click “Disk Cleanup.”

Clean the registry - Try EasyCleaner, it's free and easy to use. Once installed, click the Registry button. Click the Find button on the bottom. EasyCleaner will search your Registry for the leftovers of old programs. When it’s done, click the Delete All button. Click Yes to confirm you really want to delete the bad entries.

Defrag your hard drive, which helps your computer spend less time accessing files.

That's it. You should now have a noticeable amount of free space on you hard drive.

CNET, Speed Up Your Windows PC

2007-04-14T19:06:00.000-05:00

I mentioned a while ago how CNET has free online courses. Many different topics and the information provided is worthwhile. I'm currently taking two courses, HDTV 101 and Speed Up Your Windows PC. I'm a bit behind in both courses, but one tip to speed up your pc has worked pretty good.
I use Webshots for my wallpaper and screensaver, which reminds me, I need to download some new scenes. I'm really not willing to part with Webshots, but if you are, one way to speed up your PC is to do this:

Go to Control Panel and choose Display (you may have to click Appearance and Themes first).
On the Themes tab, change your current theme to Windows Classic, which uses fewer resources than the new look does. You can then click the Appearance tab and change that look to suit yourself.

The following tip I did use and it seems to have sped things up a bit:

Go into Control Panel and choose System (you may have to click Performance and Maintenance first).
Click the Advanced tab.
In the Performance box, click Settings.
You can now select Adjust for best performance, or you can choose Custom and play around with the settings. The more you uncheck, the less work your computer will have to do.

If you are interested in speeding up your file browsing, you might want to try this:

Open My Computer.
Click the Tools menu.
Choose Folder Options.
Click the View tab.
Uncheck “Automatically search for network folders and printers.”
Click OK.

This prevents Windows from automatically searching your network for folders and files, unless you ask it to.

C++, Java Native Interface (JNI)

2007-04-11T19:38:00.000-05:00

In my recent Java Native Interface (JNI) adventures, I have discovered that when calling the JNI function NewObject in C++, you need to cast the variables to their corresponding jni type. I didn't have to do this when using C and jni.
Example:
C++ struct ABC { double x, double y };

Using C++ create a jni object to pass to java:

jobject createABC( JNIEnv* env, jobject obj )
{
ABC abc;
a.x = 5.2;
a.y = 2.4;

jclass cls = env->FindClass( "ABC" ); // find the java ABC class

jmethodID mid = env->GetMethodID( cls, "", "(DD)V" );

jobject jabc = env->NewObject( cls, mid, (jdouble)a.x, (jdouble)a.y);

return jabc;
}

"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052354926391138034" />

C++ tagged unions

2007-04-09T19:56:00.000-05:00

Here's a question I posted at The Scripts Forum:

I have a class which does coordinate conversions.
I have several different data structures which are used to pass data in and out of this class.
I have a setCoordinate function which I use to pass one of these data structures in, to set the input coordinates.

Here's my problem:
How do I define these data structures? Should they be a class or a struct?
They need to have a base class in order to be passed into the set coordinate function. The base class doesn't have any parameters or functions for the derived data structures to inherit.

XXX Base:{};
XXX A: Base
{
int x;
int y;
}

XXX B: Base
{
double la;
double lo;
}

setCoordinates( Base* ba );

Next question: Should these data structures be included in the header file where setCoordinates is defined or should each one have its own header file.

If each should have it's own header file, then it should be a class, but should they be classes?
If this is an object oriented design, then it seems like they should be classes, but all they do is pass data in and out of the conversion class.

Unfortunately, I did not receive a response.
I poked around the web a bit and came across this link. http://java.sun.com/developer/Books/shiftintojava/page1.html, the Replace Unions with Class Hierarchies section. In C, this tagged union method makes sense. However, I'm programming in C++. C++ is an object oriented programming language. Tagged unions are not object oriented. Classes are object oriented. From what I've read structs only exist in C++ for backwards compatibilty with C.

Anyways, here's what I ended up doing:

typedef struct {
int tag;
union U
{
struct A
{
int x;
int y;
}a;
struct B
{
doublela;
double lo;
}b;

circleDimensions_t circle;
} u;
} Base;

Tagged unions in C++ condense things, but I don't like it.

SVG Logos

2007-04-03T20:53:00.000-05:00

If you work with Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), you might be interested to know there are now SVG logos. I believe they were created by Harvey Rayner. They are available here. Very cool!

Apache Batik 1.7beta1

2007-04-01T11:03:00.000-05:00

The latest version of Apache Batik has been released.
Here is the announcement I received:

The Apache Batik team is proud to announce the long-awaited release of
Apache Batik version 1.7beta1, a Java-based toolkit for processing SVG.

This is the first release of Batik in approximately two years, and
brings many new features and improvements over version 1.6. Notable new
features include:

* DOM Level 3 Core/Events/XPath support
* Improved WMF transcoder support
* Near complete SMIL Animation support
* A few SVG 1.2 features, such as:
* resource documents
* shapechange and RenderedBBoxChange events
* SVGGlobal startMouseCapture/stopMouseCapture methods
* handler elements

Batik can be downloaded from here:

http://xmlgraphics.apache.org/batik/download.cgi

For the full list of improvements and bug fixes over version 1.6, click
on the â€œrelease change logâ€ link from that page.

The reasoning behind having a beta release rather than a full release is
that there has been a great deal of changes since version 1.6, and while
we believe the code to be reasonably stable, it would be beneficial to
get feedback from users on any bugs that may have been missed. We plan
to have a full 1.7 release in a month or two.

If you find any problems, please file bug reports:

http://issues.apache.org/bugzilla/

And for more information, see the Batik project website:

http://xmlgraphics.apache.org/batik/

Java finalize function

2007-03-29T21:51:00.000-05:00

Using peer classes and implementation pointers to call C++ classes from java using JNI seems to work out ok so far. Forget the finalize function I talked about in my last post though. Apparently sometimes the finalize function is called and sometimes the finalize function is not called. It's very unpredictable. This behavior was verified when I did some debugging. My finalize function never got called, so the implementation pointer I created in the JNI was never released.
Instead you need to specify a Java function in your peer class to release the memory in the JNI and explicitly call it yourself. For my java application, I have a JFrame to which I added a windowClosing action listener:

addWindowListener(new WindowAdapter()
{
public void windowClosing(WindowEvent e)
{
// call the destroy method of the Java peer class
peerclassname.destroy();

System.exit(0); //calling this method is a must
}
});

This function is automatically called when the JFrame exits. The destroy function in the peer class calls the JNI destroy function which releases the C++ pointer.

JNI, C++ object instantiation

2007-03-27T17:37:00.000-05:00

So my next task is to create a java gui using a C++ library.
The library is pretty simple. There is one main class with a few supporting classes. The supporting classes are basically just structs which hold variables.
The first thing to be done is create a Java class similar to the main C++ class. This is called a peer class. The methods in the java class are native functions whose implementations will be done using the Java Native Interface (JNI).
In the java class constructor, a jni call to create the C++ class will need to be made. The java class will also need to override the finalize function in which it will have a jni call to delete the C++ class.
The java class also needs to contain a variable which will be used to contain the pointer to the C++ class.
Now my first problem: How do I implement the JNI function which creates the C++ class? If anyone knows the answer, feel free to leave me a comment.
According to this link, a reinterpret cast is involved.

C++ class:

#include "CPPObject.h"
#include

CppObject::CppObject(int aFoo) {
foo = aFoo;
}

void CppObject::printFoo() {
printf ("Value of foo is: %i\n", foo);
}

Java peer class:

public class CppObjectPeer {
static {
System.loadLibrary("cppobjects");
}
protected long ptr;
public CppObjectPeer(int aFoo) {
this.ptr = createCppObject(aFoo); //create object in native code
}
public void printFoo() {
printFoo(this.ptr); //print from native code
}
//native methods
private final native long createCppObject(int aFoo);
private native void printFoo(long ptr);
}

Jni implementations:

JNIEXPORT jlong JNICALL Java_CppObjectPeer_createCppObject
(JNIEnv *env, jobject obj, jint fooValue) {
CppObject *cppObj = new CppObject(fooValue);
return reinterpret_cast(cppObj);
}

JNIEXPORT void JNICALL Java_CppObjectPeer_printFoo
(JNIEnv *env, jobject obj, jlong ptr) {
CppObject *cppObj = reinterpret_cast(ptr);
cppObj->printFoo();
}

Well, it looks simple enough. Just not sure why the book: Essential Jni: Java Native Interface (Essential Java), by Rob Gordon doesn't use this technique. Is this a new technique?

The book uses a Registry class and a hash code function to store the pointer to the C++ object. This method seems like a lot of work for what I need. As an alternative, he suggests using get/setCID functions which call get/setLongField functions. The set functions requires an int val be passed in and I don't understand where the val comes from. I guess for now I'm going to try the reinterpret_cast method.
Stay tuned for how it works out.

Sketsa 4.2

2007-03-22T20:48:00.000-05:00

The SVG graphics editor Sketsa 4.2 has been released.
It includes the following updates:

- Add Dropper Tool
- Add Canvas PopupMenu
- Add Menu - File - Revert
- Small Text Tool improvement
- Some Optimisation
- Fix startup active TopComponent
- Fix DocumentLoader
- Fix some memory leak
- Other bug fixes and enhancements

You can download it here. In order to run Sketsa, you will need Java 1.5 installed.

AVG Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware

2007-03-19T19:29:00.000-05:00

My sister bought a new Dell desktop about 6 months ago. It came with free virus software for 6 months. 6 months is about over, so she was wondering where to get free unlimited virus software. I referred her to AVG Anti-Virus. I've been using it for a few months now and have had no problems with it. Daily updates are automatically done, so that's good.
I also use AVG's free Anti-Spyware software. Definitely a must have if you dowload and install files or even just surf the web.
Lots of MySpace profiles have comments about downloading profile watcher 2.0, which turns out to be spyware. You have to be careful, you just never know what you could be getting. The only place I trust to download programs from is download.com I've been using them for years without a problem.
Some of the best software is free.

Use C++ to pass a function a base class and return a derived class, user defined variables

2007-03-16T20:46:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't had any new apache batik/svg updates.
I'm into some C++ work now and haven't had time to work on it.
Pointers, I hate them, definitely a pain in the butt.
I searched all day on the internet and couldn't find any examples showing me how to do what I wanted. I finally took a look at some old third party code I have & figured out what I needed.
So here's a rundown of what I was trying to do and what I figured out.
I have a base class A with an int x.
I have a bunch of derived classes of A, each with their own set of variables.
Let's work with derived class B, which has a double i.
I have a function which accepts an A and sets an array of user defined variables for each derived class.
The array type is a struct, part of which is a union made up of pointers to each derived class.
class A
{
int x;
}

class B : public A
{
double i;
}

union P
{
B* b;
.
.
.
.
}

struct Row
{
int status;
P p;
}

Row values[2];

void setInfo( int index, A* _a )
{
// just for this example, i know _a is a B
values[index].p.b = static_cast(B*)(_a);
}

I call setInfo like this:
B* b1 = new B( 4, 5.2 ); // 4 gets passed to base class A, so x = 4, i = 5.2
BTW setInfo lives in another class c, so
c->setInfo( 0, b1 );

Ok. Now I want a get function to return B, but I need it returned in the parameter list, not the easy way by using the function return value. The reason for this is in my real work, I have multiple values which need to be returned.
So here's what my get function looks like:

getInfo( int index, A& _a )
{
// just for this example, i know _a is a B
(static_cast(A&)(_a)) = (*values[index].p.b);
}

I call getInfo like this:
B b2;
c->getInfo( 0, b2 );

Beautiful.

So this is how I pass a function multiple base class parameters and return multiple derived class parameters containing user defined variables. Easy enough I guess. I still hate pointers though.

Firefox, FasterFox, Firetune, Maxthon

2007-03-13T17:52:00.000-05:00

Firefox is a pretty popular browser, but I've just never been able to use it. I only have a dial up connection and Firefox just goes too slow & sometimes it times out before it even loads the page. I did install FasterFox. It is a plug in designed to load webpages faster. I guess it makes a difference, but pages still tend to not load. The other day I came across another Firefox plug in designed to load pages faster. This one is called FireTune. I installed it and so far it does seem to have made a difference. I haven't had a page not load yet. The page loading speed is better than it was too. I'm probably still not going to use Firefox full time though.
It's just not as fast as the browser I currently use, Maxthon. Maxthon is based on the Internet Explorer browser engine, but has more features such as:

Tabbed Browsing Interface
Mouse Gestures
Super Drag&Drop
Privacy Protection
AD Hunter
RSS Reader
IE Extensions Support
External Utility Bar
Skinning

On the downside, Maxthon does have a tendency to crash once in a while.
On the plus side, the tabbed browsing alone makes it worth the switch, not to mention the faster page loading. Maxthon is free, so if you're looking for a different browser, you might want to give this one a try.

Winamp

2007-03-10T19:54:00.000-05:00

Well, if you took my advice and checked out Limewire, then you may need a media player. Windows comes preloaded with the Windows MediaPlayer. News Year Eve was the first time I actually used it in a few years. I was really surprised. It's come a long ways. You can create libraries, do sorting. A decent little app.
The reason for my non use of the Windows MediaPlayer, is because years ago I was turned onto another media player by a former coworker. What is this media player?
Winamp. It's very cool. It appears to be able to do all the things Windows MediaPlayer does and more. The part I like the best is you can change the skins. There are some really cool ones available.
Winamp can be broken down into 5 different sections.

Main Window:

Winamp 5 features our new Modern Skin that's easier to use and more powerful than ever
Easily access the Media Library (ML), Playlist Editor (PL), integrated Video or Visualizations (Video/Vis Drawer), or the EQ, Skin Options, and Color Themes (Config Drawer) from the Main Window
Includes over 50 color themes that suit nearly every mood or occasion!
Winamp 5 carries forward the unobtrusive "Window Shade"

Playlist Editor:

Drag and drop media directly into a Playlist from Windows Explorer or the Media Library
Jump directly to an item within the list by double clicking it or selecting the item and press Enter
Sort Playlists by title, file name, or path and file name
Easily Open and Save Playlists from the Manage Playlist button

Library:

Organize and find your favorite songs and videos in ONE place
Rip your favorite music CDs into AAC or MP3 (Ripping limited to 2x speeds for free users. MP3 encoding is only available in Winamp Pro)
Burn your favorite music compilations to CD (limited to 2x for free users)
Media Library "Views" allow you to easily create rule based lists of your media
Easily modify your music collections tags (Artist, Album, Song name, etc.)
Internet Radio and TV
Easily tune into user created Internet TV and Radio stations
Over 4000 Internet Radio stations and 40 Internet TV channels to choose from
Bookmark your favorite stations and channels for future access
Winamp Now Playing
View album art, artist biographies, discographies
Keep track of your favorite artists by browsing fan sites and news articles presented in the client
Easily buy your favorite CDs, memorabilia, or just sell your own

Video:

Play many major video formats (NSV, WMV, MPG, etc.) with ease
Easily resize video playback using the 1x, 2x, and Maximize window buttons
Watch your favorite videos in Full Screen mode
Quick access to dozens of Internet TV stations created by users
Detach the video window from the main player

Visualizer:

Winamp 5 comes bundled with the latest version of the ground breaking AVS (Advanced Visualization Studio) and Milkdrop visualizers
Enjoy over 100 bundled visualization presets created by users
Switch between presets manually or sit back and watch your presets on Random
Easily jump to Full Screen mode
Download new visualizations and presets from Winamp.com

Equalizer:

Shift the sound from both speakers to left or right using the Balance slider
Enable Cross Fading to transition the audio smoothly from one song to another
Select from the dozens of EQ presets to tune the sound
Create your own EQ settings and save them for future use

Version 5.33 has just been released. Did I mention you get this media player with all these features for free? Yup, Winamp is a free download, so check it out.

BTW, there is a pro version with even more features:

Unrestricted CD Burning

Winamp Pro enables you to burn your favorite music compilations at your computer's full potential. Once registered, Winamp Pro will allow you to burn your CDs at speeds up to 48x, 9 times the speed of Winamp 5! (Actual speeds may differ, depending on your computer's specifications.)

MP3 Encoding

With Winamp Pro, you can rip all your favorite music CDs into the industry leading MP3 format. When all your songs are encoded in MP3, it provides you the freedom to play them in all MP3 capable hardware and software media players.

Unrestricted CD Ripping

Buying Winamp Pro enables you to convert all of your favorite music CDs into digital files at your computer's maximum potential. Once registered, Winamp Pro can rip your CDs at speeds up to 48x, 9 times the speed of Winamp 5! (Actual speeds may differ, depending on your computer's specifications.)

Askville

2007-03-07T18:47:00.000-05:00

Amazon has just launched a new website called Askville.

"Askville is a place where you can ask any question on any topic and get real answers from real people. It’s a fun place to meet others with similar interests to you and a place where you can share what you know. You can learn something new everyday or help and meet others using your knowledge. It's new, and best of all, it's free!"

Lots of different categories with some good questions.

Daylight Savings Time

2007-03-04T22:14:00.000-05:00

Daylight savings time is 3 weeks early this year, March 11, and will last a week later, November 4. You know what that means? Potential computer problems, that's what. It could also affect VCR's, TiVo, Mac's & Windows PCs. Good news for Windows PCs. There is an update available. For Windows, go to: support.microsoft.com/kb/928388. Recently purchased Macs, should already have been updated. For all other devices, you will probably have to adjust the time manually. See the product website or manual for device specific info.
BTW, "this extra month of daylight is supposed to save energy by shifting the warmer part of the day an hour later".

Limewire

2007-03-01T19:57:00.000-05:00

Downloading free music. Yup, it's illegal, but people still do it. Once in a blue moon, I will download a song. New Year's Eve I was introduced to a file sharing application I had never heard of called Limewire. I tried it out & it works good. There is a free version & a paid version. I used the free version and was able to download songs relatively quickly, despite my dial up connection. You can also download other types of media, such as videos. It is also open source. Limewire contains the following features:

NO BUNDLED SOFTWARE OF ANY KIND!
No spyware. No adware. Guaranteed.
Firewall to Firewall Transfers.
Since about 60% of users are currently firewalled, this feature greatly increases the amount of content on the network.
Faster network connections.
Using new "UDP Host Caches", LimeWire starts up and connects faster then ever before!
Universal Plug 'N Play.
UPnP support allows LimeWire to find more search results and have faster downloads.
iTunes Integration.
Windows users can now take advantage of LimeWire's iTunes integration.
Creative Commons Integration.
LimeWire now recognizes OGGs and MP3s licensed under a Creative Commons License.
"What's New?" feature.
Users can browse the network for the most recent content additions.
Search drill down results.
Searches in LimeWire now immediately display the artists, albums and other information that fully describes files.
Proxy support.
Users can now use web proxies to route their downloads to protect their identity.
Support for International searches and International groups.
Users can now search in any language, and LimeWire ensures that a user will be connected to other users with their own language to aide international users to receive search results in their native language and to find content from sources that are close to home.
LimeWire still has the following great features:
Ease of use. Just install, run, and search.
Ability to search by artist, title, genre, or other meta-information.
Elegant multiple search tabbed interface.
"Swarm" downloads from multiple hosts help you get files faster.
iTunes integration for Mac users.

Unique "ultrapeer" technology reduces bandwidth requirements for most users.
Integrated chat.
Browse host feature. Even works through firewalls.
Added Bitzi metadata lookup.
International versions: Now available in many new languages.
Connects to the network using GWebCache, a distributed connection system.
Automatic local network searches for lightning-fast downloads. If you're on a corporate or university network, download files from other users on the same network almost instantaneously!
Support for MAGNET links that allow you to click on web page links that access Gnutella.

Netzero, Windows Vista

2007-02-26T20:51:00.000-05:00

If you use Netzero for your dial up internet connection and plan on upgrading to Windows Vista you may want to postpone the upgrade for a bit. As I talked about in my last post, upgrading to Windows Vista is causing all sorts of incompatibility problems. Apparently the Norton AntiVirus and Internet Security products are not compatible with Vista. The makers of Norton AntiVirus and Internet Security will be providing NetZero an updated version in the coming weeks, so if you do upgrade, send Netzero an email to request a CD with the updated security software.
I think I'm going to wait until at least the spring before I order my new laptop.
BTW, check out this blog for more Windows Vista woes.

Windows Vista

2007-02-23T18:45:00.000-05:00

I was thinking of buying myself a laptop when I receive my tax refund. Maybe I should have bought one before Windows Vista came out though. A recent review I read reports many problems with Vista. Apparently "upgrades can be a pain, games might not play properly, a financial software, Quickbooks, for businesses can fail, MP3 players might not work & even software architects use, CAD, may slow to a crawl". Hmmm, well that's not good.
Apparently Korea's banking system has already suffered sporadic computer failures. Vista's security restrictions are causing the gaming problems.
Microsoft took out an option allowing easy upgrades from one version of Windows to a newer version. Apparently now in order to upgrade to Vista, you need an old version installed first. So if your hard drive with XP crashes you can't just upgrade to Vista while you're fixing everything. First you have to reinstall XP & then upgrade to Vista. That's a pain in the butt.
Well, here's a link to a Vista guide if you do decide to upgrade. I may wait until the spring before buying my laptop. Maybe most of Vista's problems will be fixed by then. One can hope anyways.

SVG, Apache Batik

2007-02-21T18:21:00.000-05:00

The Java Drawing with Apache Batik tutorial book I ordered from Amazon arrived, very fast by the way. It seems pretty good. I think it is a must have for anybody starting out with batik. I'm only half way through, but so far I'm glad I bought it. Examples are good. Covers the main parts of Batik: Generator, Transcoder, PrettyPrinter, JSVGCanvas. Also covers DOM, how to save to a file. Doesn't seem to do much with glyphs though or get into how to use it in specific areas such as GIS. Although I'm not finished yet, so maybe in later chapters. Here's the table of contents:

Introduction

Chapter 1 Getting Started with Batik
Batik Overview
Batik in Real World Projects
Your First SVG Document
Using SVG Rasterizer
Using Pretty-Printer
What Else Comes with Batik?
Summary

Chapter 2 Creating SVG
Drawing in Java
Using SVG Creator
Other Features of SVG Generator
Summary

Chapter 3 Viewing SVG
Displaying Generated SVG Documents
JSVGCanvas Interactivity
Saving the Generated Document
Displaying an SVG File
Summary

Chapter 4 Working with Transcoders
The Transcoder API
Using Transcoders in Applications
Setting the Area of Interest
Using the SVGTranscoder for Pretty Printing
The Enhanced Version of the SVG File Viewer
Summary

Chapter 5 Document Object Model
SVG Document as a DOM Tree
Creating Documents with the DOM API
Building an SVG Document
Working with Gradients
Using the DOM API
Other Thoughts
Summary

Chapter 6 Working with Text and Fonts
Using the text Element
SVG Fonts
Using the Font Converter
Using SVG Fonts in a Document
Text Workbench: SVG Writer
Text Elements, Text Nodes, and Text Content
Characters Positioning
Using tspan elements
Text Layout
Text on A Path
Text Selection
Summary

Chapter 7 Batik on the Server Side
The SVG Graph Web Application
SVG Filter Effects
SVG Filters Web Application
Summary

Chapter 8 Batik Interactive
SVG and Scripts
Interactivity
Animation
Scripting Alternatives
Using Java for Scripting
Adding Animation 205 Summary

Appendix A Introduction to XML
Benefits of XML
Well-Formed XML Documents
Validating XML Documents
Related XML Resources

Appendix B Introduction to JavaScript
Your First Script
Variables
Arrays
Operators
Loops
Branching in JavaScript
Functions
Objects

and a description:
This guide to Apache Batik, the Java library that can be used to read SVG files and translate the instructions in the files into graphics, shows how Batik can also be used to save the graphics as JPEG, TIFF, PNG, GIF, and other formats, so that the graphics can be transferred. Using Batik to create animation similar to Flash movies and its use for creating a drawing program such as Corel DRAW are also covered.

Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is an XML-based language for describing two-dimensional vector graphics and vector/raster graphics. The SVG specification describes in great detail how different shapes can be created, manipulated, transformed, and animated. In particular, SVG 1.1 defines:
Basic shape elements such as rectangle, circle, ellipse, line, polyline, and polygon.
Basic data types, such as integer, number, length, and angle.
The structure of an SVG document.
How to apply styles in an SVG document.
How to deal with text and how to use fonts.
How to work with colors, gradients, and patterns.
How and in which order elements should be rendered.
Which filter effects should be available and how to apply them.
How to animate images.

Apache Batik is a free and open-sourced implementation of SVG. It comes with tools and sample applications that demonstrate the power of SVG and Batik. This book is an easy-to-read tutorial on Batik. It teaches you how to use the tools in Batik and gets you started with Batik programming. In addition, it explains the following topics:
Batik implementation of the SVG specification
Batik API
SVG viewer
Transcoder and image format transcoding
Rasterizer
Document Object Model API
Text and fonts
Using Batik on the server side
Interactivity
Animation
Gradients
Filter effects

This info was taken from here.

Yes, I was able to get batik to draw a polygon, using an svg as the stroke and to do it correctly, not with the fill setting.
What you do is, first create a skeleton svg which contains a script to get the paths, calculate each path length, get the width of the svg you want to use as stroke. Divide path length by that to get the number of glyphs & then do a loop creating the glyph string.

?xml version="1.0" standalone="no"?>
!DOCTYPE svg PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD SVG 1.0//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/2001/REC-SVG-20010904/DTD/svg10.dtd">
svg onload="load(evt)" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">

script type="text/ecmascript">![CDATA[

var svgNS = "http://www.w3.org/2000/svg";

function load(evt)
{
var doc = evt.target.ownerDocument;

var geometryGroup = doc.getElementById("geometryGroup");
var pathList = geometryGroup.getElementsByTagNameNS(svgNS, "path");
var numPaths = pathList.length;
for (var i = 0; i < numPaths; i++)
{
var path = pathList.item(i);

var pathLength = path.getTotalLength();
//var pt = path.getPointAtLength(dist);

var glyphDefs = doc.getElementById("glyphDefs");
var symbolSVG = glyphDefs.getElementsByTagNameNS(svgNS, "svg").item(0);
var widthAttribute = symbolSVG.getAttributeNS(null, "width");
var patternWidth = parseFloat(widthAttribute.substring(0, widthAttribute.length - 2));

var numGlyphs = Math.floor((pathLength / patternWidth) * 2);

var glyphsStr = "";

for (var j = 0; j <= numGlyphs; j++)
{
glyphsStr += "A";
}

var glyphTextPath = document.getElementById("glyphTextPath" + i);
glyphTextPath.appendChild(document.createTextNode(glyphsStr));
}
}

]]>/script>

defs id="glyphDefs">

font id="myFont">
font-face font-family="myFont"/>
missing-glyph/>
glyph unicode="A">
g>
use/>
/g>
/glyph>
/font>
/defs>

g id="geometryGroup">
/g>

Using batik, you create a group for each path, add that info to the skeleton svg using the dom, add the svg you want to use as the stroke to the defs section, fill in units-per-em & horiz-adv-x info & any other missing info. Add that to the canvas & draw. Very cool.
This site is also invaluable.

IrfanView

2007-02-19T22:28:00.000-05:00

IrfanView. This is a free image viewing program I have been using for a very long time. I mainly use it to crop and resize images and to batch convert one image form to another. Many image types are supported, too many to list. Apparently you can also create slideshows and use it as a multimedia player. Great product and it's free.

Here's a tip. See an image you like? Ctrl+prt screen will copy into memory the active window. Ctrl+V into IrfanView. will paste the active screen, allowing you to save or crop & edit as you wish.