Category Archives: Technical

Quick Maven Primer for Java Development

I wrote this up for the NetRexx mailing list, but it’s a good basics article for anyone wanting to get a quick glance at Maven‘s operations.  I’m not , I’m just giving a quick description.

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Android Development Quick-start

I’m trying to pick up a bit of Android development experience. Here’s some tips for getting started from scratch.  I have a lot to learn…

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The Definition of Good Software

In my mind, the definition of well-made software is this:  The absolute minimum required to get the job done. There’s a little agile in there, relating to software design minimalism.  That’s not what I’m getting at.  Whether you are developing … Continue reading

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JavaFX: Getting the Frame of a Stage

The JavaFX Stage class, version 1.2 has some simple methods for dealing with focus, toBack() and toFront().  What it is lacking is a way of setting the “always on top” property, to force the window to the front. A quick … Continue reading

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Not fixing the Xbox 360?

I broke down and bought a new Xbox 360 Arcade unit to replace my variously failing boxes.  If you , I tried a couple of strategies to fix my machine.  They all worked — for a time.  The time the … Continue reading

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A good and bad thing about Buzz.

One cool thing about Buzz: I get more replies than before on my posts. One bad thing about Buzz: Those replies are on the Buzz server, not here.

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Design Work…

I just picked up three books on Design, based largely on the recommendations in the JavaPosse Roundup 09 sessions on the topic.  I haven’t read them yet, but just perusing them makes them look to be a lot of fun. 

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Fixing the XBox 360

I thought I was in the clear as far as the 3 red lights goes for the XBox 360… it happened, I was under warranty, Microsoft send a cardboard coffin, and I sent it back.  End of story. Oops, it … Continue reading

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Podcast Rotation

I just wanted to capture the current set of podcasts I listen to. I commute two hours a day, and this set keeps me lightly stocked — Sometimes I run out for a day or two, and I rarely fall … Continue reading

Posted in Entertainment, Games, java, Technical | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Coolish: Mozilla Bespin

I know I’m late to the game, but I was looking over Mozilla Bespin — a web-based IDE with a surprising amount of features, including source control and syntax highlighting.  Right now, it’s all about web techs, with a strong … Continue reading

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Googly Nexus One — Pricing and Plan breakdown

While looking around for an online loan amortization creator (nice one here), I came across a Google ad for the Nexus One, the “Google phone” that there’s been much buzz about.  Apparently, it just came out today, while the great … Continue reading

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Getting all of Ubuntu to talk through a NTLM proxy

NTLM proxies are relatively common corporate web proxy. It takes special software to pass through it, unfortunately. One must essentially log into an NT domain to get to the web past the proxy. By default, web browsers are the only … Continue reading

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Biting the bullet

Well, we’re going to try out the WildBlue through Dish Network for internet.  *Sigh*.  It feels like a defeat.  I have only heard good things about Satellite internet from one person, and all the anecdotes online are negative.  But at … Continue reading

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Java Build Systems, Part 2: Maven

Continuing the Java build systems discussion, today I want to focus on Maven, what it does well and what it does that frustrates.  We’ll get a little taste of the minimum expectations for a new build system as well.  Note:  … Continue reading

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Maven + OSGi + Spring + JavaFX (+Ant)

We had to go through a number of steps to support the combination of Maven + OSGi + Spring + JavaFX-1.1 in our Swing-based application. This document describes all the steps and technology we’ve gone through to get it working.

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Java Build Systems, Part 1: What they do

Two recent posts on the java-weblog circuit spurred me to motion: Maven Adoption Curve (Alex Miller, coworker at MetaMatrix) Maven and Ivy (Ryan Senior, coworker at BJC) I was trying to think of the ideal build system.  I won’t pretend … Continue reading

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Linked to LinkedIn

This is a silly, pointless blog post to see how LinkedIn deals with blog posts.

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Wit: A Programmer's Best Tool

I was humbled this past week.  I went to an interview at a game company.  But I didn’t have my most valuable asset.

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Internet 1, Pat 0

Of course, the $170/month internet doesn’t work. Turns out, Verizon claimed near 100% V-Cast (EVDO Rev.A) coverage of Sainte Genevieve county. They’re lying. While we were able to get a signal, we could never acquire a digital signal.

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Never underestimate the bandwidth…

I’m so excited. UPS says my Internet will arrive in a truck on Monday. It’s already at Nashville! Continue reading

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