This Old Blog

And along with the new version of NetBeans is a new and improved website . The difference between the older NetBeans website and the new version is the difference between night and day. Navigation is a snap, and I love the overall look and feel. As for the IDE itself, I've been working with version 5.5 as well as the version 6 milestones. NetBeans continues to advance at a steady, rapid clip, both in terms of features and overall quality. It has become a formidable competitor to Eclipse 3.2.1 and should continue to be for quite some time to come. I'm sure that it required at this point to make an obligatory poke in the eye at Eclipse, but I won't. As I've said before, the developer community needs a strong and vital NetBeans and Eclipse. NetBeans was inferior for quite some time in comparison to Eclipse until NetBeans 4 was released. From that release up to 5.5, NetBeans has reached parity with Eclipse, and that's with Eclipse continuing to advance in its own lane....

Looking at the title you probably think this is a sarcastic joke. I've been a harsh critic of the 770 and more than complained about the Nokia 770's flaws and limitations . If I can't stand it, why I even bother to power it up, let alone use it? The reason I continue to use my 770 is the bundled browser, Opera . It showcases the best physical feature of the 770, its display. The 770 display is landscape oriented, 4 inches in size and has a resolution of 800 x 480 with 65K colors. It's large enough to easily read web pages, sharp as a tack and the colors are gorgeous. The only other application that comes anywhere close to Opera in quality and usability is, thank goodness, the wireless connection manager. Let's first start with the wireless connection manager. It has the ability to show every open Wi-Fi access point within range, and allows you to pick any of them to connect to the internet. If the connection needs an access key it will ask for it and save it...

There's a rant over on Linux Forums why Ubuntu got it wrong. I've used Ubuntu (and a few other distributions), and frankly, Ubuntu et. el. does get it right, if not right enough. So let's deconstruct the rant and see where the author got it so wrong. Unless you have been living in a cave somewhere in Redmond you would no doubt have heard of Ubuntu and its many derivatives, touted as 'Linux for human beings'. Ubuntu has become the darling of the Linux media and has stolen the limelight from other prominent distributions such as the stalwart Red Hat and, the now Novell owned, SuSE. The question is why? Ah. Nice inflammatory opening. A man after my own heart. Beautiful opening sentence equating Redmondites (and by association those who work for Microsoft) as cave dwelling troglodytes. In that same paragraph he goes on to impune the good fortune and reputation of Ubuntu, somehow implying that Ubuntu 'stole' something rather than working hard to obtain it: commu...

It's been over two months since I posted an entry. That last one was about the 770 (specifically its official software upgrade). I'm starting to post again with another article about two 770 applications, the Gizmo Project and the Nokia Media Streamer. The Gizmo Project The Gizmo Project is available for installation on the 770 by following a link off of the desktop's web links (right under the link for AccuWeather). Installation is simple and clean, with no problems. Operation, though, leaves something to be desired. I won't post pictures, since you can see all the eye candy you want on the Gizmo website. I will admit it looks pretty. It's just a shame that, combined with the 770, it doesn't operate as well as it looks. The two biggest problems are its interface and its operation. The interface, while pretty, is jumbled and out-of-order. After autologin, you're presented with a home page that includes, among other things, information identifying your ac...

Nokia's Tablet OS 2006 update was released July 1st. I've been waiting for the final release since upgrading to the beta release . As with all other upgrades to the Nokia 770's software, you have to replace the executable image that's on the 770. This is everything; the operating system, applications, and default data. In the process any installed applications or downloaded data are wiped. Upgrade To start the tablet upgrade I downloaded and installed the latest Nokia Windows upgrade wizard . After going through the upgrade process twice, this upgrade was the best to date. Nokia has improved the process to the point where it's short, clear, and error-free. The first screen of the wizard is a simple introduction. The next step gives simple directions. Differences I made: my tablet was plugged into the charger, and I made no backup. I had nothing to save. As noted above I did not have the charger disconnected. Never-the-less it found the tablet when connected and swi...

On June 9th the Internet Tablet OS 2006 edition Beta was announced on maemo.org . What follows is a quick review of some of the features. Remember when I said Nokia might be good for Linux ? If this beta is any indication then I might have been wrong. Let me state up front that once installed, you can't revert back to an earlier version of the software (or at least I can't). The clock is fixed again. It was broken in the May 2006 release, being off by -3 hours. Now it behaves correctly. I still find the world view a waste of an application. At the very least they could draw the cities of the world on the map. WiFi networking has changed. If an application such as the web browser is started and there is no WiFi connection, then a connection will be automatically made from the collection of WiFi connections that the connection manager already knows about. The flip side is that if the application is closed then the WiFi connection is closed. I'm assuming this is so that bat...

Tuesday, May 30th - Back to Salem We enjoyed the Monday evening in Salem so much we went back to really look around Tuesday. So we got on the road in the morning and headed back over to Salem. This time we parked along Derby Street, across from the Custom House. The girls split up from us, and we went our separate ways for most of the day. Megan and Lauran went up the street to the House of the Seven Gables. Before they got there they hit In A Pig's Eye for lunch and then Ye Olde Pepper Candy Co. for some sweets. Then they went across the street to the House and took the tour. Judy and I wondered around the surrounding streets, looking at the Scale House, the Narbonne House, the Hawkes House, and the Derby House. We also wondered around and just looked at many of the surrounding residences, just enjoying the look of the architecture. Judy and I also checked out the Orientation Center next to the Friendship of Salem. While there Judy picked up a small monograph about the Friendship....