November 12, 2007 • 8:16 am
So I subscribe to a “customized” feed from InfoQ that targets (vaguely) stuff I’m interested in. Actually, InfoQ DOES target stuff I am interestsed in and regularly delivers nicely assembled summaries of useful information (it’s not a “repeater” blog!). Anyway, today it served up a great summary of a couple of articles talking about the current “issues” with Java server side technologies and things to do about it.
Blogged with Flock
Tags: webdev, java, enterprise frameworks, soa, ria
Filed under: techno-junk
October 26, 2007 • 2:37 pm
Well it happened: we ALMOST lost ALL our photos from before Hunter was born … in other words the first 2 years of Kylie’s life. Close to 3GB of digital memories. It turns out that several years ago when I built a new computer I didn’t have enough disk space, so I archived the first 2 years off onto CD (didn’t have a DVD burner at the time). My wife noticed that we didn’t have those photos anymore … I panicked … I searched every CD I had ever burnt. I even had to ask my mum (who I think is the only subscriber to this blog) if she still had copies. Anyway, thankfully Sharine had kept the CDs in a “safe place” and we found them. But this bring up an interesting point about archiving in the digital age. Here I am a tech consultant with more tech skills than the average bear and yet here I go almost kissing goodbye to things like Kylie’s first steps, and solid food …
So now I am rethinking my digital archiving strategy. We have > 35GB of photos of Hunter and Kylie already, I replicate the photos across two different life cycle disks (one old 160GB and one new 250GB disk). I think the chance of losing both is low. But I think I’ll have to buy an external hard disk for storage given that CD’s and DVDs have a lifespan of only a 4-10 years. The question is how big? How safe? Should I use an online service? What does the world think?
Filed under: digital archiving, family photos, happenings, kids, techno-junk
Some of you may know that I’ve been a Palm fan since I left New Zealand. ARL bought me a Palm Pilot (the original) as a going away gift and I have been hooked ever since. Now automation has progressed significantly since then and when Palm announced the Treo 700w with it’s Windows Mobile O/S with Palm extensions and tight Exchange/Outlook integration. I decided to get me one. Much to my horror I had no idea that the Treo didn’t really have enough program memory to do anything. Often it would crash with just ActiveSync and Messaging open! I found some great packages to make life easier: PocketBreeze, Pocket Informant, Mobile Office Communicator BUT running them on the Treo turned out to be impossible. Until now! Thanks to two great posts over at Treocentral I have solved the problem: Treo 700W Fix for low memory limits and Suggested Registry Tweaks. I can now have PocketBreeze running, fire off PocketInformant to do action items, calendaring, and run Office Communicator and Messaging the whole time. My phone is on, email is connected, and mobile IM is active with my office network. However to run all this all day with a bluetooth headset I also recommend the Seidio 3200mah extended battery (includes extended battery door). After all, you bought the phone as the ultimate office automation toolkit not as a wee light thing to sling in your purse …
Filed under: mobile, techno-junk, treo 700w
September 14, 2006 • 9:19 am
I came across a great article on Salon today regarding the decline of “prgroamming you can see”. I’ve often lamented that when I learned to program, machines were slow enough to see them doing stuff: iterating loops, optimizing code etc… Here’s an exceprt:
But all of this misses the point. Those textbook exercises were easy, effective, universal, pedagogically interesting — and nothing even remotely like them can be done with any language other than BASIC. Typing in a simple algorithm yourself, seeing exactly how the computer calculates and iterates in a manner you could duplicate with pencil and paper — say, running an experiment in coin flipping, or making a dot change its position on a screen, propelled by math and logic, and only by math and logic: All of this is priceless. As it was priceless 20 years ago. Only 20 years ago, it was physically possible for millions of kids to do it. Today it is not.
Filed under: techno-junk, techno-links
So this weekend I passed my PMP credential exam at the Prometric testing cetner in Bethesda. I've been wrestling with this one for a while now: should I formalize my project management experience? Last week a client asked me about it and I decided to bite the bullet … it's done, a quick investment in a PMP prep class, a lot of study, and a good passing grade. The next big question is: now what! In all reality it won't change what I'm doing or how I'm doing it, but something makes me think it'll make life more interesting
Filed under: Getting Things Done, consulting, techno-junk
I've been struggling with a good web services/spring integration for a while, and it appears something is finally coming into focus. While I have been looking at frameworks, I should have been looking at servers. Check out XFire and this article over at Logemann Blog on how they play together. This is a very interesting comparison.
Filed under: consulting, happenings, techno-junk
So my friend Danny has been pushing for a while to get my name out there in public and introduced me to a freelancer writer who often writes for FCW. He penned this article where I talk about IT review boards and how they function within the Federal Government.
“Without a solid IT review board, the project-selection process becomes a beauty pageant,” said Dean McRobie, a director at Sapient’s government services practice.
Filed under: consulting, happenings, techno-junk
