Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Implemented new Memoranda Features
Over the weekend I've added a couple of features in Memoranda, mostly stuff that I need for my own work. For the Task module, I've added an additional text field for task description and another for task duration (estimated effort in hours). Task duration can be potentially useful for tracking how time is spent on a project, and can even be used for "reality checks" to see if you can realistically achieve your deadline.
It took me longer than usual coz i'm not very familiar with Swing / AWT, but it's great fun mounting the learning curve and these development work will certainly help me out with my Developer Exam preparation!
Over the weekend I've added a couple of features in Memoranda, mostly stuff that I need for my own work. For the Task module, I've added an additional text field for task description and another for task duration (estimated effort in hours). Task duration can be potentially useful for tracking how time is spent on a project, and can even be used for "reality checks" to see if you can realistically achieve your deadline.
It took me longer than usual coz i'm not very familiar with Swing / AWT, but it's great fun mounting the learning curve and these development work will certainly help me out with my Developer Exam preparation!
Cyrus Woes
In Fedora Core 2, they have removed imapd and is instead offering cyrus-imap as the pop/imap server solution, and the main problem is that the authentication is way too hard to set up if you want to stick with plain text authentication and using the system username, password to login (as was done in imapd). There should have been an easier migration path especially since earlier OS versions used imapd.
For basic use, cyrus is way too hard to set up, especially for simple plain text authentication. Either that or good, straightforward documentation is really scarce. I've tried searching everywhere and found nothing really useful in this area. Most docs are way too complicated as they describe the many options that SASL can support etc.etc. I just need to POP my mail, why does it have to be so hard?
Eventually, I found out from a Fedora forum that Fedora Core 2 comes with dovecot, another free pop/imap server. Dovecot worked out of the box with a few changes to the config file. 2 hours of hair ripping with Cyrus was overcome with 5 minutes of easy Dovecot setup. Cyrus may be the a powerful imap server, but guess who won the day for me?
So if you're ripping your hair our over getting Cyrus to do something really simple for you, don't worry, just use dovecot
In Fedora Core 2, they have removed imapd and is instead offering cyrus-imap as the pop/imap server solution, and the main problem is that the authentication is way too hard to set up if you want to stick with plain text authentication and using the system username, password to login (as was done in imapd). There should have been an easier migration path especially since earlier OS versions used imapd.
For basic use, cyrus is way too hard to set up, especially for simple plain text authentication. Either that or good, straightforward documentation is really scarce. I've tried searching everywhere and found nothing really useful in this area. Most docs are way too complicated as they describe the many options that SASL can support etc.etc. I just need to POP my mail, why does it have to be so hard?
Eventually, I found out from a Fedora forum that Fedora Core 2 comes with dovecot, another free pop/imap server. Dovecot worked out of the box with a few changes to the config file. 2 hours of hair ripping with Cyrus was overcome with 5 minutes of easy Dovecot setup. Cyrus may be the a powerful imap server, but guess who won the day for me?
So if you're ripping your hair our over getting Cyrus to do something really simple for you, don't worry, just use dovecot
Thursday, July 08, 2004
Nightmare Wireless Router (SMC2804WBR)
I've used quite a few of SMC's products and liked them. So when I went to the shop and found this router to be 40% cheaper than the rest, it was a no brainer. Little did I know that this wireless router had a major, major problem. It would drop my connection very often! After trawling the web, there were some fixes that improved the situation, but did not make the problem go away (i.e. from dropping once every 5 minutes to about once every 15 minutes)
It was really a nightmarish experience, and I doubt I'll have confidence in SMC products again :(
I've used quite a few of SMC's products and liked them. So when I went to the shop and found this router to be 40% cheaper than the rest, it was a no brainer. Little did I know that this wireless router had a major, major problem. It would drop my connection very often! After trawling the web, there were some fixes that improved the situation, but did not make the problem go away (i.e. from dropping once every 5 minutes to about once every 15 minutes)
It was really a nightmarish experience, and I doubt I'll have confidence in SMC products again :(
I've got Starhub MaxOnline!
Having gotten a notebook, one of the most important things to do was to set up a wireless network at home! Setting up Starhub MaxOnline was really easy. Go down to Starhub store, sign contract, pick up free Cable Modem, plug it in at home, and viola! It's working!
Can't say the same for ADSL connections.....
One thing to note was that Starhub's website didn't explain their promos very well. (i.e. what freebie came with what package etc.) Hence I had to go down to their shop to get it all sorted out.
Having gotten a notebook, one of the most important things to do was to set up a wireless network at home! Setting up Starhub MaxOnline was really easy. Go down to Starhub store, sign contract, pick up free Cable Modem, plug it in at home, and viola! It's working!
Can't say the same for ADSL connections.....
One thing to note was that Starhub's website didn't explain their promos very well. (i.e. what freebie came with what package etc.) Hence I had to go down to their shop to get it all sorted out.
Eclipse CVS Issue
Well well, it seems that the CVS module in Eclipse 2.x has a problem with some sites. With Memoranda at Sourceforge, I wasn't able to see any files at all, even after I have logged in successfully. I downloaded and installed Eclipse 3.0 and it worked perfectly fine!
Well well, it seems that the CVS module in Eclipse 2.x has a problem with some sites. With Memoranda at Sourceforge, I wasn't able to see any files at all, even after I have logged in successfully. I downloaded and installed Eclipse 3.0 and it worked perfectly fine!
Finally gotten started on Open Source
I've wanted to be involved in Open Source projects for the longest time but with my super busy schedule and almost no time for anything that wasn't possible. Well, I'm still as busy as ever having bought a notebook now means that I am able to have more time working on stuff!
For my new notebook, I wanted a productivity tool to go along with it, and I picked Memoranda because it was simple to use and had a feature that allowed me to keep journals. It has its raw edges but the best part is, it's written in Java. This means that I can work on it and add features to it and make my improvements available to others!
Well, I did exactly that and I got my first ever commit rights to a sourceforge project. Sheesh, that's almost 3 years after I first got my sourceforge account!!
I've wanted to be involved in Open Source projects for the longest time but with my super busy schedule and almost no time for anything that wasn't possible. Well, I'm still as busy as ever having bought a notebook now means that I am able to have more time working on stuff!
For my new notebook, I wanted a productivity tool to go along with it, and I picked Memoranda because it was simple to use and had a feature that allowed me to keep journals. It has its raw edges but the best part is, it's written in Java. This means that I can work on it and add features to it and make my improvements available to others!
Well, I did exactly that and I got my first ever commit rights to a sourceforge project. Sheesh, that's almost 3 years after I first got my sourceforge account!!
I've Got Gmail!!
I've been wondering how to get "invited" when I logged into blogger and viola! I'm invited too!
It's the best webmail I've used. What I love about it?
- Fastest Webmail I have ever used (for once, the speed difference between fat email client and webmail is almost unnoticeable)
- Keyboard shortcuts makes it so easy and fast to use
- Threads!
Gripes:
- Doesn't have save draft
- Doesn't let me save my mails for offline reading
I've been wondering how to get "invited" when I logged into blogger and viola! I'm invited too!
It's the best webmail I've used. What I love about it?
- Fastest Webmail I have ever used (for once, the speed difference between fat email client and webmail is almost unnoticeable)
- Keyboard shortcuts makes it so easy and fast to use
- Threads!
Gripes:
- Doesn't have save draft
- Doesn't let me save my mails for offline reading
Saturday, July 03, 2004
Linux Gaming Getting Better All the Time!
I have been using Linux for a few years now and I must say virtually of the Linux games really got me excited. Freeciv was the only game that got me hooked once in a while but nothing more. Recently, however, I discovered 2 games that really knocked me out of my socks.
Well, I'd like first emphasize that a good game doesn't mean a game that stretches a system's graphic rendering or processor capability to the max, but games that are really enjoyable to play, and sometimes simplicity matters a great deal! Simplicity, in fact was the key reason why these 2 games were so fun.
The first game is Chromium. It's a vertical scrolling space shooter that's really fun because of its simplicity and sheer pace. Your ship moves really fast and so do enemy beams/bullets. In fact, the enemy's beams/bullets are just as fast as you (I've played many shooters where enemy bullets travelled unrealistically slowly). The key to survival is not letting any enemy ships get past you. For each of them that gets past you, you lose a life. I haven't played many shooters that are so fast pace and yet still easy enough to do well in. The speed of the action got me hooked! You can go to the Chromium Home Page for more details on the game.
The second game is The Battle for Wesnoth. Again, this isn't a very complex game, but it's really fun. It's fun because it's challenging, and it's fun because there are just so many new and unexpected things. The plot, game objectives and the gameplay are very rich and yet much of it is really simple. Wesnoth is a turn-based strategy game similar to Final Fantasy Tactics. You lead an army through a campaign and your units gets more experience and upgrades the higher levels. Sounds simple? Wait till you start playing the game! The level/scenario designs are fantastic with lots of surprises and really interesting and challenging maps where you really had to crack your brains over what the winning strategy is. Yes, strategy is key!! The website for this game can be found here
I look around and I see a lot of other games in the pipeline as well! Looks like Linux users are in for a treat!
I have been using Linux for a few years now and I must say virtually of the Linux games really got me excited. Freeciv was the only game that got me hooked once in a while but nothing more. Recently, however, I discovered 2 games that really knocked me out of my socks.
Well, I'd like first emphasize that a good game doesn't mean a game that stretches a system's graphic rendering or processor capability to the max, but games that are really enjoyable to play, and sometimes simplicity matters a great deal! Simplicity, in fact was the key reason why these 2 games were so fun.
The first game is Chromium. It's a vertical scrolling space shooter that's really fun because of its simplicity and sheer pace. Your ship moves really fast and so do enemy beams/bullets. In fact, the enemy's beams/bullets are just as fast as you (I've played many shooters where enemy bullets travelled unrealistically slowly). The key to survival is not letting any enemy ships get past you. For each of them that gets past you, you lose a life. I haven't played many shooters that are so fast pace and yet still easy enough to do well in. The speed of the action got me hooked! You can go to the Chromium Home Page for more details on the game.
The second game is The Battle for Wesnoth. Again, this isn't a very complex game, but it's really fun. It's fun because it's challenging, and it's fun because there are just so many new and unexpected things. The plot, game objectives and the gameplay are very rich and yet much of it is really simple. Wesnoth is a turn-based strategy game similar to Final Fantasy Tactics. You lead an army through a campaign and your units gets more experience and upgrades the higher levels. Sounds simple? Wait till you start playing the game! The level/scenario designs are fantastic with lots of surprises and really interesting and challenging maps where you really had to crack your brains over what the winning strategy is. Yes, strategy is key!! The website for this game can be found here
I look around and I see a lot of other games in the pipeline as well! Looks like Linux users are in for a treat!
I Bought a Notebook! Dell Inspiron 600m
Wow, the past few months has really been a bit of a whirlwind. So many things going on and I've really been working super long hours and watching the months rush past me without me realizing. I've been itching to get myself a notebook because I couldn't do any computing outside of office at all, and I finally scratched that itch. Been following the Dell adverts in the papers and I decided that the Dell Inspiron 600m was a good buy, so I went to the website, ordered all the extras I think I would need. A nice touch was that they had a form field asking for special requests, and they had someone call me to entertain those requests. Anyway, I asked them to get the notebook shipped to me quick and they did it within 4 days of ordering (which I thought was pretty good, considering some people had to wait for weeks)
The notebook did not disappoint. A 1.5Ghz Centrino, it didn't seem to lack any horsepower for running my applications, and it was really feature packed and had most of the things I needed. Wireless came built in thanks to the Centrino platform, standard 14.1" XGA screen (these days it's standard but a few years ago when I was reviewing notebooks for CNET, they were reserved for the premium models). I packed it with 512MB of RAM with a little extra cost (512MB is the sweet spot, it costs much more to go up to 1GB). RAM was critical because I needed to run Eclipse for my development work, which takes up a lot of memory. I also upgraded to a CD-RW which I haven't used to date, upped the warranty to 3 years, and the best upgrade I did was to purchase the modular battery that slots into the modular bay. With the main battery and the modular battery, I can have close to 10 hours of battery life!
Weight-wise it was also reasonably light, but I tend to travel heavy coz of the modular battery (the trade-off is more than worthwhile i guess). With this kinda battery life, I don't have to bring the power cord home during weekdays at all.
Having reviewed notebooks with CNET a few years back and having tested most of the notebooks in the market at that time, I can say that Dell made HUGE improvements in the quality of their notebooks. In the past, Dell notebooks were functional, heavy and the way it was built didn't really feel robust at all. The Dell 600m felt a lot more solid that the Dell notebooks I had reviewed before. If I were to review this notebook, it would've been a strong contender for editor's choice! After all, it scores on the price front as well! I got it for about SGD 2,800, had a bunch of freebies thrown in (USB memory key, pretty good bag etc.) and I order ed a lot of extras.
All in all, this notebook is an all-rounder. It has all the features and strengths that good notebooks should have, and I can't really find many faults. No regrets whatsoever!
Wow, the past few months has really been a bit of a whirlwind. So many things going on and I've really been working super long hours and watching the months rush past me without me realizing. I've been itching to get myself a notebook because I couldn't do any computing outside of office at all, and I finally scratched that itch. Been following the Dell adverts in the papers and I decided that the Dell Inspiron 600m was a good buy, so I went to the website, ordered all the extras I think I would need. A nice touch was that they had a form field asking for special requests, and they had someone call me to entertain those requests. Anyway, I asked them to get the notebook shipped to me quick and they did it within 4 days of ordering (which I thought was pretty good, considering some people had to wait for weeks)
The notebook did not disappoint. A 1.5Ghz Centrino, it didn't seem to lack any horsepower for running my applications, and it was really feature packed and had most of the things I needed. Wireless came built in thanks to the Centrino platform, standard 14.1" XGA screen (these days it's standard but a few years ago when I was reviewing notebooks for CNET, they were reserved for the premium models). I packed it with 512MB of RAM with a little extra cost (512MB is the sweet spot, it costs much more to go up to 1GB). RAM was critical because I needed to run Eclipse for my development work, which takes up a lot of memory. I also upgraded to a CD-RW which I haven't used to date, upped the warranty to 3 years, and the best upgrade I did was to purchase the modular battery that slots into the modular bay. With the main battery and the modular battery, I can have close to 10 hours of battery life!
Weight-wise it was also reasonably light, but I tend to travel heavy coz of the modular battery (the trade-off is more than worthwhile i guess). With this kinda battery life, I don't have to bring the power cord home during weekdays at all.
Having reviewed notebooks with CNET a few years back and having tested most of the notebooks in the market at that time, I can say that Dell made HUGE improvements in the quality of their notebooks. In the past, Dell notebooks were functional, heavy and the way it was built didn't really feel robust at all. The Dell 600m felt a lot more solid that the Dell notebooks I had reviewed before. If I were to review this notebook, it would've been a strong contender for editor's choice! After all, it scores on the price front as well! I got it for about SGD 2,800, had a bunch of freebies thrown in (USB memory key, pretty good bag etc.) and I order ed a lot of extras.
All in all, this notebook is an all-rounder. It has all the features and strengths that good notebooks should have, and I can't really find many faults. No regrets whatsoever!
