The author of this blog, James Robertson, passed away in April 2014. This blog is being maintained by David Buck (david@simberon.com).
 
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All I can say is - wow! George Martin keeps his story moving, and keeps throwing curve balls at me. I was pretty well stunned by the final paragraph of the book A Storm of Swords
. I've ordered the next book, and I'm hoping that he gets the next few books out as soon as he can. |
Technorati Tags: fantasy, george martin
On of our car's has to get its emissions checked, and the deadline (before a fine) is Tuesday. So, I went down to the station this morning... only to discover that they are closed today and Monday for Martin Luther King observance.
Well, this is what I get for putting things off to the last minute, I guess...
 
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Ever since Christmas, my daughter and I have been spending a lot of time with EA's Dragon Age: Origins. It's a pretty immersive RPG we have on the XBox. The kid is positively obsessed with the game, and - I must say - I've spent a fair amount of time with it as well. I liked Modern Warfare 2 and Gears of War 2 well enough, but this is a much bigger game. I'm not even all that far into it - I'm dealing with the last battle in the tower of the magi right now. Speaking of which, I think the XBox is calling me... |
The stupidity is getting harder to keep up with:
A San Diego school vice-principal saw an 11-year-old's home science project (a motion detector made out of an empty Gatorade bottle and some electronics), decided it was a bomb, wet himself, put the school on lockdown, had the bomb-squad come out to destroy X-ray the student's invention and search his parents' home, and then magnanimously decided not to discipline the kid (though he did recommend that the child and his parents get counselling to help them overcome their anti-social science behavior).
I have a better idea: fire the idiot vice principal, congratulate the student for trying to build a cool science project, and send the entire staff at that school back to grade school. Or let them and the students swap places.
Seriously, what the heck is wrong with the staff there? Based on the reporting, it looks like the vice principal is listed here. After someone fetches him clean underwear, can they also hand him a remedial education course?
Technorati Tags: education
This week Michael and I spoke to Martin Kobetic - he's one of Michael's fellow Smalltalk engineers here at Cincom. The two of them have been working on Xtreams as a side project for awhile now; Xtreams is a "Streams library reboot", applying the lessons learned from the existing Smalltalk streams library after the many years of use across domains they weren't originally designed (for instance, network protocol work).
There's a bit of crackling in the audio whenever Martin talks, that I couldn't do a whole lot to get rid of. It's a bit annoying, but it's all easily audible.
To listen now, you can either download the mp3 edition, or the AAC edition. The AAC edition comes with chapter markers. You can subscribe to either edition of the podcast directly in iTunes; just search for Smalltalk and look in the Podcast results. You can subscribe to the mp3 edition directly using this feed, or the AAC edition using this feed using any podcatching software.
To listen immediately, use the player below:
If you like the music we use, please visit Josh Woodward's site. We use the song Effortless for our intro/outro music. I'm sure he'd appreciate your support!
If you have feedback, send it to smalltalkpodcasts@cincom.com - or visit us on Facebook or Ning - you can vote for the Podcast Alley, and subscribe on iTunes. If you enjoy the podcast, pass the word - we would love to have more people hear about Smalltalk!
I see the Times is leaning in a paywall direction again:
After a year of sometimes fraught debate inside the paper, the choice for some time has been between a Wall Street Journal-type pay wall and the metered system adopted by the Financial Times, in which readers can sample a certain number of free articles before being asked to subscribe. The Times seems to have settled on the metered system.
While I understand the need to make money, I'm just not sure this is going to work for them. The problem for the Times is that they desperately want to preserve their existing business model in an environment that will support a lot fewer employees nad overhead. Then there's the loss of influence problem - I ran across this commeneary from Ann Althouse:
For me, reading on line is tied to blogging. I'm not going to spend my time reading sites that I can't blog, and I'm not going to blog and link to sites that you can't read without paying.
Now, I'm a very small player, so the loss of links from me won't mean much, but I feel the same way. During the baseball season, I've often linked to stories about the Yankees (and the pennant races in general) in the Times. With this change? I can't link to stories that are going to be invisible to most people either,
Douglas Putnam is looking for a hosting solution to run Seaside:
I recently rented a 256MB slice from Slicehost for my SmalltalkTheGoodParts.com work. I have a Wordpress blog running there, and I'll be installing Smalltalk and Seaside as part of my self-taught Smalltalk course.
I can heartily recommend Slicehost, the service I use.
I know people are anxious to see the new releases - ObjectStudio 8.2 and VisualWorks 7.7 - and we should have them available soon. The holdup has to do with the commercial orders going out to customers - we didn't want to have a situation where paying customers were getting the product after non-commercial users.
The holiday slowed that process down a bit, but things are getting back on track now. I'll make an announcement when it's good to go, so stay tuned.
Technorati Tags: non commercial, download
You can use Regex for searches in the Smalltalk browser (VW or OS) - to learn how, watch today's video.
You can download the video directly here. If you like this kind of video, why not subscribe to "Smalltalk Daily"?
Technorati Tags: search, code browser, regex
The new bundles of course don't skimp on the goodies, particularly with the 35Mbps up / 35Mbps down symmetrical service that should be a boon to HD video chats, big torrents and medium-sized torrents.
Looks like I have a phone call to make :)
After each of the upcoming Smalltalk Technology events (check the schedule here; the first one is in Seattle this Thursday), we'll be hosting a short live stream to talk about the event. If you can't make the events but would like to know a bit about what we're on about, head to our Ustream channel.
Technorati Tags: live stream
Apple is holding an event on January 27th to show off something the company is calling their "latest creation."
Unless a completely out of left field play on AppleTV is in the works, it looks like all the Tablet Rumors are going to converge into a real device. We'll know soon; I should be back from Toronto just in time to find out :)
The Gemstone folks and the people behind the PharoCasts keep pushing new stuff out.
Technorati Tags: video, screencasts
I've added a new link over in the sidebar - "Where in the World". I'll be listing upcoming events and places where I'll be. If I'll be where you are, and you would like to meet up, you can drop me a line via email, or message me on Twitter
That's also the best place to look for updates on all things Smalltalk that I'm involved in, because I can update it as I get confirmations. So - either keep track of that page, or subscribe to the feed.
Technorati Tags: travel
With the changes to the Cincom Smalltalk website, you might want to know how to keep track of the audio and video I produce there. On that front, nothing's changed - down the right hand side of the new site is a set of links pulled from the RSS feeds for the media products. To summarize all of that:
For the latest in events, you can check my "Where in the World" page here.
That should keep you up to date on the absolute latest on everything, as it happens :)
Technorati Tags: events
You could fail to see how the Samuel story on Heroes was going to end up if you haven't ever read or seen anything created in, oh, the last few millenia. It's time for this sorry mess to fold the tent and shuffle off the stage...
Here's Christian Haider at ESUG 2009, talking about ComplexValues. You can get his slides here, and watch the video below:.
You can download the video directly here. If you like this kind of video, why not subscribe to "Smalltalk Videos"?
It's been an awesome start to the day - didn't sleep well last night, and when I woke up, I immediately got sick. On the upside of that, I felt better afterwards. Then I had to take my wife's car to get its emissions checked, but it failed the test due to a faulty sensor - why they don't just test what's actually coming out of the tailpipe in that situation mystifies me. Let's hope that tomorrow's flight to Seattle goes better...
I'm heading to Seattle for our one day event tomorrow, but never fear - Smalltalk Daily will still be popping up. I have screencasts in the can and ready to go, so your daily Smalltalk fix should keep arriving in iTunes :)
So not only did I have to run the car to emissions check this morning while sick, now - still not feeling 100 percent - I need to take my daughter to the Orthodontist, get on a conference call, and then go to the Sorint store for her broken phone (or usb cable - it's one that doesn't match anything else we have, either).
Awesome day :)
The Non-Commercial Downloads for ObjectStudio 8.2 and VisualWorks 7.7 are available at last! There's a network installer for OS X, so things should be a bit simpler there. For ObjectStudio, it's a Microsoft MSI file, seeing as how ObjectStudio is the only Windows 7 Certified Smalltalk around.
Technorati Tags: non-commercial, cincom, download
David Putnam is getting started with a Seaside server on slicehost (the provider I use to host this blog). He's not running Seaside yet, but he did get Seaside running in a Pharo image, serving from his slice. Now all he has to do is create a Seaside app for it, and he'll be off to the races :)
Looks like he'll be charting his progress on his "Smalltalk the Good Parts" site, so go ahead and subscribe.
Spotted in PC World Latest Technology News
CEO of iPhone repair firm predicts Apple will reveal 7-inch tablet next Wednesday and a 10-inch model by the end of 2010.
Everyone is speculating about the Tablet - if Apple doesn't release one on the 27th, it might be the biggest let-down in the hstory of technology :)
And yes, we'll probably get one, although my wife seems more interested in the idea than the rest of the family :)
Today's Video looks at selectively renaming with the Refactoring Browser, rather than the "all or nothing" approach. After I recorded this screencast, Travis let me know that you can pick and choose renamings from the "Show Changes" option without the add-on covered here, so you should give that a try as well and see which you like better.
You can download the video directly here. If you like this kind of video, why not subscribe to "Smalltalk Daily"?
Technorati Tags: renaming, refactoring, code browser
When the White House pushes out an iPhone app to "keep you in touch with the Administrayion", you know the device has gone completely mainstream. I think that handhelds are to the field what PCs were back in the early 80s - the next thing. Mainframes never died, but they are no longer front and center, either. Over the next few years, mobile devices will go the same way. I suspect that sometime very soon, most smart phones will start supporting Bluetooth keyboards, and will also be hookable to a display, or able to project a display themselves (like onto a wall).
Instead of carrying a full laptop, we'll have roll up keyboards and project onto the wall....
Technorati Tags: iPhone, mobile computing
My cab will be here to pick me up in a few minutes, and then it's off to Seattle. You can find out where I'll be in the next few weeks and months with the handy "Where in the World" link over in the sidebar. See you in Seattle!
I thought there was a problem with the network installers, but it turns out it was a directory naming problem I created myself. My apologies - you can get going with the installers now.
Technorati Tags: network installer, visualworks, cincom
I know that the Times is trying to shore up revenue, but their problem is more basic: their newspaper minded business model is dead, and they just don't realize it yet:
Starting in early 2011, visitors to NYTimes.com will get a certain number of articles free every month before being asked to pay a flat fee for unlimited access. Subscribers to the newspaper's print edition will receive full access to the site without extra charge.
The problem with that is simple: if I (or anyone else, for that matter) links to a NY Times story, we have no way of knowing whether any given reader will be able to read the story. Far safer and simpler to just find another source, because that's a problem. As Jeff Jarvis likes to say, links are the currency of the net - and the Times is pushing a wall in front of theirs.
And yes, there is irony in this including a link to a Times story - but it's free for now :)
Technorati Tags: paywall, business model
... I must be delayed. I haven't been on a plane since I returned from ESUG, and the first flight (BWI to Chicago) went off without a hitch. Now, however, I'm sitting in a lounge at ORD with a mechanical delay - which translates to "some random interval of time before you go, and possibly never".
Looks like I'll miss dinner with the crew in Seattle :/
As most of you know, I have been posting notifications of live streams (for the podcast) to the Cincom Smalltalk events page (on the old site). The new events page will still have the best information for all things Cincom, but - it may not have the most up to date info for things like live streaming when I get a confirmation outside of normal working hours (which happens a lot).
So, if you want to be notified of that happening, check here for posts, or the Twitter feed, or my "Where in the World" page. For the big stuff from Cincom, of course, check the new site.
Technorati Tags: events
How to work with ZIP files in Smalltalk - there's a library for that :).
You can download the video directly here. If you like this kind of video, why not subscribe to "Smalltalk Daily"?
I may well be offline much of the day - the room where our event is being held probably has no internet access. If only ATT had gotten their act together and supported thethering by now...
Technorati Tags: seattle
It turns out that there is net access here, just not "open for all" net access. Since I paid for access in my room though, I'm all set. I'm shooting video for all of the presentations, and I'll be posting that over the next few weeks. The downside is, it looks like the brightness of the screen is putting the speaker somewhat in the dark; we'll see how that turns out.
Technorati Tags: seattle
Looks like that "Gemstone in Eclipse" project is making progress - check it out here.
Hat tip Torsten Bergmann
We took a lot of photos today - I'm sure a bunch of them will find their way to the Cincom Smalltalk site. In the meantime, here's a small selection:
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Technorati Tags: seattle, conference
One thing I thought I should point out about the upcoming Baltimore/DC event: it's being held near the BWI airport, within a short cab ride of the airport or rail station. So if you have been thinking of coming, but were worried about traffic down near DC, don't - the roads near BWI are almost never jammed, and it's an easy trip by rail from as far away as NY and Richmond. It's even a short trip by air (and inexpensive) from Boston. So come on down - you can register (and get the specific location details) here.
Technorati Tags: baltimore, washington, events
Michael just explained how to create new return semantics from a BlockClosure in Smalltalk - or, to use his explanation:
Of course, the usual pat on Smalltalk's back is required here - we've just done some very simple stack manipulation, extended a kernel class and all without breaking a sweat to give ourselves a completely new control structure.
Technorati Tags: closures
Here's a recording of the live stream we did earlier today, after our Seattle event - we'll be doing this again after the rest of the events we have scheduled as well.
To listen now, you can either download the mp3 edition, or the AAC edition. The AAC edition comes with chapter markers. You can subscribe to either edition of the podcast directly in iTunes; just search for Smalltalk and look in the Podcast results. You can subscribe to the mp3 edition directly using this feed, or the AAC edition using this feed using any podcatching software.
To listen immediately, use the player below:
If you like the music we use, please visit Josh Woodward's site. We use the song Effortless for our intro/outro music. I'm sure he'd appreciate your support!
If you have feedback, send it to smalltalkpodcasts@cincom.com - or visit us on Facebook or Ning - you can vote for the Podcast Alley, and subscribe on iTunes. If you enjoy the podcast, pass the word - we would love to have more people hear about Smalltalk!
Technorati Tags: seattle, conference
Here's today's video screencast - opening TAR archives in Smalltalk:.
You can download the video directly here. If you like this kind of video, why not subscribe to "Smalltalk Daily"?
Lately, if I do a demo, something has to go wrong. Yesterday was no exception - I was sitting in the back, showing Arden my demo in the Windows 7 VM I use in Parallels, and everything was working great. I suspended the VM, and waited, then fired it back up just before we were about to head up - the plan was for him to show slides off my machine, and then go to my demo, so we didn't have to flip devices.
And.... Windows 7 suddenly lost its mind, and decided that it couldn't see the internet, or my Mac. This was a problem, as I was loading things from a database on the Mac side. So... Arden did slides while I panicked. Fortunately, my XP VM was behaving, and the demo went off without any trouble.
This is getting to be tiresome though :)
the latest idea being thrown around is to charge a $5 per month subscription for access to older shows. A quick search of Hulu just showed that only the past four or five episodes of newer shows are currently available, so charging for older shows means new access to additional content. We have to say that offering additional programming above and beyond what is currently free is a pretty good strategy, but the other one we'd like to see is a premium option to view content commercial free
I like the idea of making older stuff available for a fee - there are plenty of shows I'd consider watching - but I just can't get back to episode 1, so "why bother" is my response. If Hulu made it easy and affordable to go back and start from the beginning, that would be great.
For that matter, I'd love it if older shows that aren't on Hulu (like Buffy) got there too, even for a fee. There have been times that I've had a hankering to see the finale of season 5, or the "Bored Now" Willow episode :)
Leaving Seattle and sitting on my flight, a few random thoughts popped up. I
t's nice that the new 737s American has have standard 110V power plugs - but did they have to be so hard to plug into from your seat when the seatbelt sign is lit?
Out jogging yesterday, the scar that is the interstate running through the heart of Seattle really struck me. It cuts the city clean in half, making areas that were formerly easy to walk in a long trip. Seems to me they should have tunneled, or just gone with a beltway.
I saw a brief tweet from Mathew Ingram just before we left - apparently, the new paywall the NY Times is building won't apply to any readers coming in from outside links (like from blogs, or, presumably, aggregators like Google News). So... the purpose is, what, exactly? To punish loyal readers who don't subscribe?
When is going to occur to the TSA that the huge waiting lines they create with the security theater screening process is itself a security problem? Will we have to wait for a someone with a strap on bomb to show up at a crowded airport for them to figure this out?
I stayed up a bit late on Wednesday (making late changes to my demo), and then got up early yesterday (to fly home). I had been a little sick before the trip, and not sleeping well - which all became apparent when I awoke this morning after 11 hours :)
Technorati Tags: sleep
JQTouchis a jQuery plugin for mobile web development, optimized for the iPhone and iPod touch. Among the other alternatives, this one has a nice design and uses the popular jQuery framework. In this post, I am reporting about my efforts to use this library from Seasidewhich is a component-based Web application framework for Smalltalk. It has great support for jQuery in the sense that the developer is presented with an elegant abstraction layer to do all the fancy selection and Ajax stuff.
The code is in the public store repository, so you can try it out yourself - follow the link to see a screen capture of an app running (via the browser, obviously) on the iPhone.
This sounds good:
More specifically, people familiar with Friday's beta say it includes an update to QuickTime X that, when finalized, will improve security and compatibility while simultaneously enhancing overall reliability. The release will also include tweaks that aim to enhance the performance of Apple's 64-bit Logic pro audio suite. Other planned improvements include better compatibility with third-party printers and OpenGL-grounded applications, those same people say.
The bigger question for me is this: will they restore the export capabilities that 7.6.x had? I still use that version because it's better than the new one.
Technorati Tags: qtPro
