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HOWTO: Get rid of the Votes box in InstantSpot

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:08:00 GMT

The votes feature of the new InstantSpot is a cool idea. However, if you're like me and your blog doesn't get much traffic, it only helps to cement your own low self-esteem. Here's how to quickly turn it off.

Photo-a-Day Challenge

Thu, 15 May 2008 14:50:00 GMT

I'm challenging myself to take at least one good photo each day for the next 30 days. Here's the first.

IE for Windows Mobile Gets Flash Lite Support

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:48:47 GMT

So Microsoft has finally licensed Flash Lite for IE running on mobile devices. This is great news for Flash developers!

Microsoft bites bullet, licenses Adobe's Flash Lite for Windows Mobile - Engadget

Now if Adobe can get Flex running on Flash Lite, we'll be all set for a new wave of status-quo-busting apps!

HOWTO: Pay $20 for Unlimited Internet/Email for your Samsung BlackJack SmartPhone

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 18:59:00 GMT

Tired of getting screwed by AT&T Wireless (formerly Cingular)?

I can't help you there, but I can help you get a reasonable deal on Internet access for your Samsung BlackJack i-607 (or any other Windows Mobile SmartPhone device), in case you're already saddled with them, or heaven forbid, paying more for the same service you should be paying 20 bucks for!

There is a way to get unlimited Internet access on your BlackJack, BlackJack 2 or other Windows SmartPhone device for just 20 bucks a month (in addition to whatever your current calling plan costs). You can even tether your BlackJack to your laptop and get wireless Internet access from just about anywhere your phone works (like the car).

AT&T has a data plan specifically for Windows Mobile SmartPhone devices (like the BlackJack) that is not highly promoted or well-known, but is a legitimate, unlimited data plan for $19.99/month. I've gotten 1.4mB speeds out of my laptop tethered via the cable, and 400kB over bluetooth.

It's called the SmartPhone Connect Unlimited plan, and it's not easy to find on their website. But if you use the link I have provided, or ask a phone rep for it by name, you should be good to go!

Technorati Tags: Samsung BlackJack, i607, BlackJack 2, Motorola Q, Smartphone, Wireless Internet Access, AT&T, Cingular, Pantech C810

Review: Good-Bye NyQuil, Hello Tylenol Cold Multi-Symptom NightTime

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:46:00 GMT

Every once in awhile one "discovers" a product that is so good that one wants to tell everyone about it. So here we go.

I have been suffering from a miserable cold for the past few days, and the NyQuil that used to knock me blissfully unconscious for exactly 6 hours apparently now causes me to become a neurotic bundle of anxiety for about the same amount of time.

My pregnant wife suggested I try the Tylenol Cold NightTime that her awesome OB/Gyn approved for her use.

I was skeptical because it's Pseudoephedrine-free, and, well, how effective can it be if the active ingredient can't even be used to make crystal meth?

But the Tylenol Cold NightTime has worked a treat for the past few nights, so I'm giving it the thumbs up! No word on whether long-term use causes shrinkage or anal leakage, but I will try to post a follow-up once I'm better. :)

Feel free to share your comments below.

Don't Subscribe to This Blog!

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:13:00 GMT

In the past I have blogged a little about a variety of topics. This is about to change.

Installing Windows Mobile 6 on a Samsung Blackjack i607

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 13:58:00 GMT

I stumbled upon this by accident - apparently Samsung has "officially" released WM6 for the Blackjack. Not only is it stable, it's a recommended upgrade! Plus it only takes 15 minutes to install.

Is Adobe Going After Microsoft?

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 14:03:13 GMT

This article in Wired argues the point that having entered the desktop application market, Adobe could have Microsoft's suite of office products in it's sights...

...And Mike Downy's response...

"We want to build a platform that lets any corporation build applications in the browser and on the desktop, and just like any of our customers, Adobe is planning to take this platform and use it to build applications as well."

This could get interesting.

ColdFusion 8 - Now with 30% more functions!

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 13:51:56 GMT

ColdFusion 8 introduces 88 new functions to the 291 already in CF.

Rahul Narula lists them - as an image...?

My First Flex App! Part 2

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 10:32:42 GMT

So, my first, "simple" Flex app has turned into my first major Flex project. Here are my observations so far...

Flex is NOT simple. Well, it can be, but in order to leverage the real power and flexibility of the platform, you want to develop loosely coupled components that communicate via events and pass entire objects to one another (as opposed to keys or identifiers, as most web developers are used to). DO NOT expect to learn it in a weekend.
Between being REALLY OO-architected and event-driven, there are many new concepts for a ColdFusion developer learning Flex to wrap their head around.
Flex's biggest strength (to me) is the rich interface widgets it offers. This is the payoff for the added complexity of the platform. I can create a rich, immersive interface that users (particularly decision-makers) LOVE, very quickly, without all the nasty cross-platform debugging and accessibility concerns I have faced in the past using DHTML and AJAX. I can see why some pundits refer to RIA's as "experiences" rather than interfaces.
FlexBuilder (ala Eclipse) is very cool. I find myself gradually making the change over from Dreamweaver for my CF code. With the integrated debugger in CF8, I would be suprised to see many CF developers using something other than Eclipse after CF8 drops. Like the paths in DW, the debugging is a pain in the ass to set up, but there are good resources on teh web that walk you through it.
The integrated help in FlexBuilder is very well done - the examples are invaluable.
I am finding more and more tutorials and how-to's every day online for Flex (thank God).

I'll be posting some "quick-tutorials" and links to valuable resources, so stay tuned!

Google Does it Again - Google Streets

Thu, 31 May 2007 14:58:39 GMT

Check it out - no love in H-town yet, but I'm sure it's coming.

http://maps.google.com/help/maps/streetview/index.html

I love how they used a developer as the host for the demo...

Google will also be announcing a new project today at Google Developer Day called Google Gears:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Stewart/?p=399

You can attend Google Developer Day sessions virtually, for free, here:

http://code.google.com/events/developerday/mv-home.html

After having a look at the session schedule, I can tell these guys have been busy!

How to install GPS on a Samsung BlackJack

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 17:58:00 GMT

So, it's been real difficult getting my Samsung Blackjack to talk to my Holux GPSlim240 Bluetooth GPS receiver. They seem to pair up just fine, but my GPS software is unable to see it.

Here's a step-by-step guide to setting up bluetooth GPS on the Blackjack. Note that this is based on my setup, your mileage may vary, and always back up your stuff before you monkey around with system settings. :)

What you'll need:

A registry editor for Windows Mobile. Total Commander for Smartphone is a nice, shareware 30-day fully functional trial.
Some kind of GPS software. Google Maps for Mobiles is free and cool as hell, but it does require an internet connection on your phone. If you don't have a data plan, you'll want to look into finding something else .
A bluetooth GPS receiver. I chose the Holux GPSlim240 because of the good reviews, the small size (about the size of a thumb drive), and the SiRFIII chipset. As an added bonus, it's quite sexy for an electronic gizmo.

Enough chit-chat, let's get started. Assuming you have all the things above available, and the GPS and Registry editing software installed, here we go.

Navigate to Start -> Settings -> Connections/Bluetooth. Make sure Bluetooth is set to "On".
Click Menu -> DevicesMenu ->New
Select your GPS device from the list and click Next.
Enter the passkey for the Bluetooth GPS. For example, 0000.
Next
You should get a message box saying "Your Smartphone has connected".
Click OK
Click Next
Check the "Serial port" checkbox.
Click Done
Click Done
Menu/COM Ports
Select your GPS.
Click Menu -> New -> Outgoing Port.
Choose your device and click Select.
A COM port has already been chosen for your GPS. For example, COM6.
Click Done.
Click Done.
Click Done.
Your GPS device should be running on COM6 now.
Start Total Commander.
Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\GPS Intermediate Driver\Drivers\My GPS Driver
Select CommPort, and change the value to the port you specified above (in this case COM6)
Click OK
Exit out of Total Commander.

Special thanks to Jason Fuller on the Windows Mobile Team blog for most of the info above, and to TransFXB for his post to the Google Mobile Help Group for the remainder.

If you have any corrections or additions, don't be shy, post a comment!

Syncing Lotus Notes with Google Calendar

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:34:00 GMT

I'm going to describe how to quickly and reliably synchronize your Lotus Notes and Google calendars without purchasing expensive, buggy software.

Until now I have not been able to get my Lotus Notes work calendar and my personal Google Calendar synced. Lotus Notes is a proprietary format, and will not by default import any standard calendar filetypes, so it's a no-go on all fronts.

So today I tripped across a page on IBM's website titled "Notes iCalendar Support ". Now, having worked with Notes for a few years, I know by now not to get my hopes up. But I downloaded and installed the app (it integrates into notes), and now have both calendars synced to each other. It's a manual process, but I'll take what I can get. Here are the steps I took:

Download Notes iCalendar Support from IBM's Lotus Sandbox site
Unzip and run the installer
Restart Notes

To add your Notes calendar entries to your Google Calendar :

Open Lotus Notes
- Hold down shift and click each calendar event you want to copy over
- Click Actions -> iCalendar -> Export
Open your Google Calendar
- Click "Manage Calendars" from the bottom of the left-hand navigation .
- Click the "Import Calendar" tab.
- Browse to your newly created iCal file (by default it is in your Notes install folder, under ' \data\iCalendar'.
- Choose the calendar to import your Notes events into. I created a new calendar to import into, in order to take advantage of GCal's multi-calendar overlay feature.
- Click the 'Import' button.
- Gcal will import your events and display a confirmation summary, and you're done!

To add your Google Calendar entries to Lotus Notes:

Open your Google Calendar
- Click "Manage Calendars" from the bottom of the left-hand navigation
- Click on the title of the calendar you want to export.
- Click the green ICAL button located in the "Private Address" region.
- Copy the link provided to your clipboard - rightclick on the link, then choose "Copy Shortcut" or "Copy Link Location".
Open Lotus Notes
- Click Actions -> iCalendar -> Import from the file menu
- Paste the url from your clipboard into the "File name:" box of the resulting dialogue box

And that's it, you're done!

Interesting Oracle Authentication Behavior

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 15:05:24 GMT

Oracle doesn't allow (by default) usernames that begin with a number, as well as certain special characters in usernames and passwords. After doing some research, I learn that Oracle will allow almost ANY username and password, as long as they are provided in quotes:

So, (in Java) this:
stmt.executeUpdate("alter user " + loginName + " identified by " + password);

Becomes this:
stmt.executeUpdate("alter user \"" + loginName + "\" identified by \"" + password + "\"");

No problemo. But there is a "gotcha"! When you add the quotes, usernames become CASE SENSITIVE!

Luckily for us, all of the usernames in this system are uppercase. so a quick addition, and you're good to go:
stmt.executeUpdate("alter user \"" + loginName.toUpperCase() + "\" identified by \"" + password + "\"");

I don't usually post Oracle stuff, but since there was so little information on this behavior, I thought I would share. Maybe it will help someone else out. :)

My First Flex App!

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 17:41:15 GMT

So I'm going to do it. Throw together a small, simple flex app.

I'll let y'all know if it's as easy and awesome as people are screamin'.

Mad Props to My Homies at the Big 'A'

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 23:25:02 GMT

(Or for you Canadians out there, the Big 'Eh'.)

Just a quick note to gush about how well Adobe has taken care of us attendees at this years' event.

The food is excellent; hot buffets of internationally themed meals (and dessert!), and they have been swinging us perks like a free cappucino bar and Häagen-Dazs ice cream.

The venue is outstanding, except for the fact that people are smoking in the hallways (it's Vegas, after all), and like Ben blogged, it's such a large event that improptu get-togethers are not really happening left and right. I have only run into a handful of people that I know, in fact!

So thanks Adobe for doing such a great job on the conference. Now if you can get the kinks out of the registration process by next year, you should be good to go...

PS: There is a rumor going around that a certain band that is near and dear to my heart is going to be playing at tonight's event at the Palms. It may be time to get ill this evening if the rumors are true...

Notes from MAX, Tuesday, Oct 23

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 20:42:28 GMT

So, it was an exciting general session this morning. Blue Man Group was the suprise opening act, they put on a great 15-minute condensed version of their stage show.

Some exciting stuff on the horizon!

Photoshop and Fireworks will both continue to be developed, and it looks like Adobe will market Fireworks as the layout/interactivity tool for web designers, and will push Photoshop as the high-end graphic design and production tool.
Adobe is releasing an audio editing tool.
The next version of Acrobat will load faster and be less of a resource hog. Yay! It will also support loading and saving data from PDF forms using web services. It will ALSO have a tool that can 'intelligently' convert a scanned-in paper form to a database-driven, fillable PDF!
Flex 2 is FREE. Nobody seems to know this. Download it now. How is it free, you ask? Because Adobe will make money selling their FlexBuilder IDE (which is NOT required in order to develop Flex apps - you can use Dreamweaver, notepad, whatever.. Just like CF), and it's charting plugin. Adobe will also sell 2 versions of a highly optimized Flex Data Services 2 add-on. Flex Data Services 2 Express Edition is free however.
ColdFusion MX8 (Scorpio) will support interfacing with .NET components NATIVELY. This is freaking huge. It basically means you will be able to leverage a vast majority of new code being written on EITHER MAJOR PLATFORM - Java and .NET! For those of us that have had the misfortune of leveraging .NET web services using CF in the past, this will be greatly eased as well!
The new Jaguar (not sure which model) has a 'command console' (temperature, gps, all that good stuff) that runs Flash. It was demoed live and in person at the General Session this morning. Cool Stuff!
A few Apollo apps were demoed. I didn't really "get it" until this morning, but here's the bottom line: Apollo will allow you to develop flex apps that run on any platform (PC, MAC, Linux, Solaris) without any modification. It will leverage each operating system's standard interface. Awesome! It will also allow you to build apps that run online as well as off-line. An demo of an RSS reader that downloads videos for later off-line viewing drove the point home. Keep your eyes on Apollo, it's going to be HUGE.

Stay Tuned!

Adobe MAX 2006 Las Vegas Survival Guide

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 07:38:02 GMT

Just a few quick tips on Adobe MAX 2006, from a Vegas veteran. :)

Check out the monorail. It's reasonable ($10 per day) and will get you all over the place.
If you like table games (BlackJack, etc.) but don't like playing $15 per hand, take the rail down to The Sahara. They have $3 BlackJack tables 24-7. It's an old place, but they've just finished remodeling, so it's not bad, and the dealers are friendly.
If you're in one of the hotels near the Venetian, use the back entrances (parking garages, etc.). The conference center is in the rear of the Venetian, and is quickly accessible from most nearby hotels.
Mind the gap(s)! If you take the rail somewhere and decide to do some walking, make sure you're not more than a mile from the next rail stop. I took the rail down to the Sahara today, and walked back to Imperial Palace, and it took a long-ass time! And there is NOTHING interesting between the Sahara and the Wynn, which is a couple blocks away from IP.
Hawkers and Flickers. The Hawkers are these nice people that usually open by asking if you're going to be here through tomorrow. The Flickers are folks who snap cards with nudie pictures about 2 inches from you (waaaaay inside your personal space) when you're walking by. The hawkers want to sell you a time share. It's not a good deal, trust me. If you want to buy a timeshare, get it on the resale market, people are giving them away. The flickers want to sell you a hooker. Not a good deal unless you have an affinity for exotic diseases. Don't look either of them in the eye, pretend like they're not there. If they sense any interest or curiosity on your part, they will figuratively (maybe literally too) hump your leg until you can shake them off and make a run for it.
Things to see. Yes, Las Vegas is a tourist town. It's kitschy, and sometimes tacky. There are also some legitimately awesome things to see and do here, too. Here's my list of things that I think everyone who comes to Vegas should do:

See the fountain show in front of the Bellagio. Twice. Once during the day and once after dark. Eac show is amazing and spectacular in it's own way. PRICE: FREE
Have dinner in the Eiffel tower at Paris casino across the street from the Bellagio. It's expensive, but if you go at night and palm the Maitre De 10 bucks, you can get a window seat overlooking the Bellagio Fountains, and kill two birds with one stone. The food is first class, and the view is stunning. PRICE: $30-75 per person (worth every penny though - think of it as a 'once in a lifetime' opportunity)
The architecture here is outstanding. See New York, New York, The Venetian, The Wynn, and The Mirage, in particular, but if you have the time, walk the strip and visit them all! PRICE: FREE
Free shows: The Fountains at The Bellagio (see above), The Pirate Show at Treasure Island, The singing gondoliers inside the Venetian (near the turnaround in the canal), The Lions at the MGM, The Carnival In the Sky at Rio (There's a free shuttle from Harrah's), The Lion Exhibit at The Mirage. PRICE: FREE

That's all for now. Let me know if I missed anything, and I will get this updated!

MiniMAX 5 Recap

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 05:29:00 GMT

Last night was MiniMAX 5 here in beautiful and extremely weird Las Vegas, NV., and I thought I'd do a quick recap for those of you who wanted to come but couldn't make it. So here it is. :)

Greg Hamer opened the non-conference with an introduction of the upcoming speakers, and then presented on using ColdFusion to develop Rich Internet Apps, the options available, and covered some of the advantages and disadvantages of each approach.
"Never Bet on The Philadelphia Eagles." Adam Bell showed how to quickly produce 3D Flash animations using Illustrator, while wearing only his man-panties, which was perhaps the most terrifying thing I've seen in my life. Seriously, it was an enlightening presentation, even if over my head, and I learned that sometimes the best way to produce Flash animations is by using something other than Flash.
Stephanie Sullivan followed with an almost-presentation about "creating lean, creative sites with CSS" using Dreamweaver, which did not materialize because of some technical issues (hint: "I'm a Mac!", LOL). Stephane nonetheless earned her keep by setting the tone for the rest of the event by warming up the crowd. Which is probably pretty easy when you're an extremely attractive, athletic brunette surrounded by 50 geeks. To say that she had the audience's attention would be an understatement! Stephanie, you still owe us a presentation, so cough it up!
Scott Fegette from Adobe also had some technical difficulties (of which I don't think it's necessary for me to mention the nature) giving his preso on animating a green screen still using After Effects, but he recovered while Adam worked the crowd to stall (adding a boa and a red teddy to his ensemble). His presentation was worth the wait, and it was mind blowing to watch him create a beautiful, compelling, HDTV-ready animation in the space of about 10 minutes. Again, outside my realm of expertise, but still extremely cool!
Tom Green stepped up to the plate next, with his assistant ~~(whose name I forgot, sorry, I suck)~~ Tiago demonstrating how to wrap a video around a textured object using Flash and After Effects. This was very neat stuff, and it amazed me that anyone could produce these kind of special effects using any cheap-o PC from Wal-Mart or Dell with a very small investment in some special software. It seems like just a few years ago (maybe more, think 'Video Toaster') it cost thousands, if not 10s of thousands of dollars, to achieve a much, much less convincing but somewhat similar effect.
Todd Sanders wrapped up the show by cranking out a web 2.0-styled web layout using Photoshop in just a few minutes. I wish I had it recorded so I could play it back in slow-mo a few dozen times. Another amazing demo of some skills I wish I had. :)

All and all it was a very good night, definitely worth the money.

I'm at MAX 2006...

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 16:23:14 GMT

...in Las Vegas!

I'm going to try to make a few posts about what's going on here, so stay tuned.

I have a good feeling about this trip.. There have already been some good omens.

I got a fortune cookie last night that says

Also, check out my room number... :)

w00t! Stay tuned.. :)