Dancing About Architecture

I just got a nice new notebook computer that should be very capable for Java development (an IBM Thinkpad T42, replacing the sweet but just-too-slow Fujitsu P2046 -- I'll miss you man) and I'm going through the process of installing all of the software I need. And, as I've done on every computer I've owned since 1994, one of the first programs to go on the new machine is Ecco.

What is Ecco, you say? It's a personal information manager that was discontinued by NetManage in 1997 that I simply haven't found a replacement for. I've tried a bunch of other PIMs (including of course Outlook) and nothing else matches the way I think. It's my address book, my calendar, my bookmarks list, and most importantly, my outlined task manager. It does the best job of synchronzing across multiple computers and devices of any program I've ever used. I've got the details for every project I've worked on for the past nine years in my workspace. It never crashes. It's a solid piece of programming.

I've thought about what impact this dependence on Ecco has had on my technology decisions. Well, I'm kind of stuck with a Windows desktop machine for everyday work since it won't run on any other platform (An aside: kudos to Microsoft for achieving this kind of backwards compatibility as detailed in the "The Two Forces at Microsoft" section of this article). Also, since Ecco originally supported synchronization with the U.S. Robotics Palm Pilot, I'm restricted to Palm-based PDAs/smartphones (currently sporting the Samsung i500, but might jump to the Treo 610 if it ever gets released on Sprint).

It's not that I'm not willing to switch. I keep watching the Ecco Yahoo! Group for a potential replacement solution, and I'm following the development of Chandler with some hope in my heart. Until the day comes that something comes along that works the way work, though, I'll keep dragging out that old Ecco CD and cross my fingers that the app still works in the latest version of Windows.

Posted by Eric at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

High Performance MySQL: Optimization, Backups, Replication, Load-balancing, and More
By Jeremy D. Zawodny and Derek J. Balling

Just the book I was hoping it would be. Thanks to this book, I've rethought how to handle database indices, implemented a master-slave topology (for both optimizing read-only transactions and backup purposes), and learned some great ways to monitor and tune MySQL over time. And FeedBurner is better for it. Thanks, Zawodny & Balling. This one will probably sit on my Safari bookshelf for a while, as it's useful as a reference as well.

Original Entry from 5/24:

I've just started reading this book in my Safari collection and it seems like it covers a wide breadth of topics with very knowledgable authors. I love reading advanced books like this that really communicate lessons learned from experts who have been through it.

Posted by Eric at 02:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, have you ever installed AOL instant messenger and tried out the "WeatherBug" application that puts a little temperature indicator in your Windows system tray? The thing is horrible: it pops up windows all over the place and the main window is so crammed with ads it's hard to find the information.

The best thing was when I uninstalled it. It popped up a window saying something very close to "Are you sure you want to uninstall WeatherBug? Please note that if you uninstall WeatherBug you will miss out on LIVE-SAVING alerts of severe weather in your area." That's right -- when I uninstalled WeatherBug it basically said "You might DIE if you uninstall me!!".

Yeah, that's the kind of company I want looking out for my rights as a user of desktop software.

Do yourself a favor and install Weather Pulse instead.

Source: WeatherBug Sets out Adware 'Bill of Rights' · MarketingVOX

Posted by Eric at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Yes, the syndication community is abuzz with the announcement that the next version of Apple's browser, Safari, will have RSS (and Atom) support built-in. There's a little Flash demo of how the feature works.

While things like the "article length" slider and the local search across feeds demo well, I don't think they'll be terribly useful. What is very useful, however, is the "RSS" icon that pops up in the location bar when the browser detects that a page has a feed associated with it. I hope that particular feature "plays well with others" like NetNewsWire, so you can enable other handlers for the feeds that have been detected.

Even though Apple has a relatively small user base, this has the potential to really elevate the awareness of syndication to the masses. Plus, now we get to see what IE will look like in 18-24 months.

Source: Apple - Mac OS X - Tiger Preview - Safari RSS

Posted by Eric at 09:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Better than your average action flick. Jason Statham (you've probably seen him in one of those Guy Ritchie films) is a great choice to play a morally ambiguous "transporter". He'll transport anything, no questions asked, for the right price: as long as you stick to the rules. The problem comes when he breaks his own rule on a run ("Never open the package") and starts to get involved. The plot is irrelelvant -- what makes this movie worth watching the is likability of the character that Statham creates, some sweet driving, and some very creative and entertaining fight scenes. I'm looking forward to "The Transporter 2" -- maybe they'll put him in a better story next time.

Transporter, The (***)

Posted by Eric at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by Orson Scott Card

This third book in Card's "Shadow" series has drifted a bit from the promise of the first book ("Ender's Shadow"). I shouldn't be surpised, though: the same thing happened in the initial "Ender" series. In this epsiode, we continue to follow the cabal of teenagers that pretty much run the world. We get pseudo-geopolitical intrigue, some moral wrangling between resposibility to self and to other, and (ugh) an examination into the true nature of love.

These books are quick enough reads that I'll probably read the next Shadow book when it comes out, but that's only because "I'm in". That's a bad strategy for investing in stocks, and probably an equally bad strategy for choosing books to read, but there it is.

Posted by Eric at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was afraid that this would be one of those stupid comedies where all of the funny parts were in the trailer. Well, I was half-right: this is a stupid comedy, but it ended up being wall-to-wall funny. I probably laughed out loud every couple of minutes, with plenty of chuckling going on thorughout. Ben Stiller is over the top as the overcompensating used-to-be-fat dumb jerk who owns the Bally's-as-projected-on-tv gym ... a refreshing change from that other one character he plays (you know, the "There's something about meeting Polly's parents ... & Hutch" guy). Gary Cole provides hilarious commentary as a sports announcer for ESPN 8 ("The Ocho"), and even Rip Torn gets a good turn here. Vince Vaughn is what really holds this movie together, though ... probably his best comedic role to date (yes, including Swingers and Old School). Great first effort for director Rawson Marshall Thurber, whose only other work is that hilarious "Terry Tate, Office Linebacker" commercial from a couple of years ago. Go for the laughs, enjoy the fun, and stay all the way through the credits.

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (***1/3)

Posted by Eric at 09:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bacardi is buying Grey Goose for $2 billion (!). Wow. Wow. There's a lesson for us all here (other than we're in the wrong business). As the article states:

It's a classic case of a small company getting a temporary market advantage in the market and then selling out to a company with major market presence.

That's an idea that'll work in any industry.

Source: Bacardi buys Grey Goose

Posted by Eric at 09:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This week I've started watching Jeopardy! to see Ken Jennings. Yesterday, he won in his 16th consecutive appearance, bringing his total winnings to $512,959. I predict this software engineer from Salt Lake City will quickly become a cultural phenomenon.

His breadth of knowledge is unreal. Set up a Tivo season pass, watch, and be amazed.

Daily Update: Ken Jennings Daily Update

Posted by Eric at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What a fantastic idea: Sony is developing a "black" projector screen that allows a regular projector to show a bright image without having to darken the room. Apparently, the screen doesn't reflect ambient light and only reflects the light coming from the projector. Brilliant! (Pun intended).

Source: WSJ.com - Sony's Black Screens May Brighten Business

Posted by Eric at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Wow, what a coup! The 21st century thrift shop, AuctionDrop, now accepts items to get eBayed at any UPS store. I know a lot of people (myself included) that use eBay to buy things, but avoid selling things because of the (perceived or actual) hassle. But if it's this easy, I might dig through the big bag of misfit technology at my house and drop some things off.

Oh, horrible use of javascript on the website, so I can't link to the actual press release. Bad bad bad use of HTML, AuctionDrop.

Source: AuctionDrop: drop-off at The UPS Store

Posted by Eric at 09:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RSS + BitTorrent + MythTV = Torrentocracy. It's a way to share rich media (that's the BitTorrent part) using a feed as the transport mechanism (that's the RSS part), fully integrated into your PVR (that's the MythTV part). It's all coming together now.

Source: torrentocracy - home

Posted by Eric at 01:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A freaky zombie movie where the zombies know how to sprint. Director did a good job of creating a creepy, threatening environment, where London has been emptied of almost everyone because of a "rage virus" that's extremely contagious. I thought the last act (er, I guess technically the next-to-last act) with the soldiers was a really strange direction to take the movie ... it might have been a more satisfying movie if they didn't take that turn. But it is what it is: a good survival horror flick that could have been better, but could have been a lot lot worse.

28 Days Later... (***)

Posted by Eric at 10:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by Orson Scott Card

Well, if you liked Ender's Shadow, you'll like this book. I mean, who else is going to be reading this, right? You still have to accept the premise that the world is run by insanely intelligent teenagers sometime in the not-so-distant future. There really aren't many "sci-fi" ideas presented in this book: it's really more like the author is just using the environment he has established from the previous books as a backdrop for various moral and political quandries.

The main character, Bean, continues to be intriguing: he's a unique enough character to justify continuing reading this series. So, I'll probably move right along to reading Shadow Puppets as my next book.

Original Entry from 6/11:

I read the books from the Ender series a few years ago and, for the most part, enjoyed the series. Then a couple of years ago I read the first book in the "parallel" series, Ender's Shadow, and it was surprisingly good. I figured it was time to finish reading the Shadow books, and I hope the quality is maintained (unlike the original series, which got pretty weird towards the end).

Posted by Eric at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A really, really good article on how some of the decisions that Microsoft has made in the past 5 years could adversely affect their future. It's a long article, but it's worth reading if you're at all involved in software development.

Source: Joel on Software - How Microsoft Lost the API War

Posted by Eric at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was in Las Vegas for a couple of days last week and had the best steak dinner I've ever had. I live in Chicago, so I know my steakhouses.

The place is Del Frisco's and it wildly exceeded all of my expectations. It was recommended to us by a cabbie earlier in the day and it's off the Strip, so we were a little skeptical at first, but this place delivered in every way. Perfect martini, amazing fresh-baked bread, excellent wine list, and a 12 oz. medium-rare filet that was the same perfect shade of pink all the way through. I'm starting to salivate again just thinking about it, even though it was a week ago and it's 9:30 in the morining right now. I even received a hand-written thank you note from our server in the mail yesterday. Nice touch.

Anyway, next time you're in Vegas and you want steak, go to Del Frisco's. And trust your cabbies.

Posted by Eric at 09:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've read all of the books, so I'd consider myself a fan, and I think that this is by far the best of the Harry Potter movies -- in this movie, the characters actually seem alive rather than robots mechanically acting the scenes from the book. There's a real sense of humor and humanity with these familiar personalities, and the special effects create an appropriate backdrop instead of taking center stage. I'm anxious to see where they're going to take this franchise -- the actors playing the characters are getting pretty old now.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (***1/2)

Posted by Eric at 04:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey, this could be cool: write multi-platform screensavers using Java. I think I'm going to have to check this out.

Source: SaverBeans Screensaver SDK Readme

Posted by Eric at 09:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

by Mark Haddon

A moving story told from the perspective of a 15-year-old autistic boy striving to achieve in this world. The author does an excellent job of conveying the terror and almost inconceivable hardship the narrator has in navigating everyday social situations. We really feel for this boy, even if he himself cannot feel.

This book reminded me of a couple of different books I've read this past year: The Dogs of Babel (which also uses a mysterious murder as a backdrop to an interesting character study) and The Corrections (which does a fantastic job of taking you inside the mind of someone suffering with Alzheimer's). It's a quick read, but a memorable one. Recommended.

Original entry from June 6

I'm not quite ready to start reading The Confusion ... I need something lighter (both in weight and subject matter), something I can read poolside. I'm going to give this book a try.

Posted by Eric at 10:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is the story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that stunned the world with their upset victories over the U.S.S.R. and other world-wide powerhouses. I saw the coach Herb Brooks and several other players from the 1980 team at a U.S. hockey game in the 2002 Olympics, so I had a special interest in seeing what direction they were going to take this movie. With such a naturally compelling underdog storyline, I'm pretty surprised that this movie hadn't been made previously. I like how they didn't deify the coach Herb Brooks, but instead portrayed him as a stubborn perfectionist that cared more about winning than being liked. Kurt Russell did a good job of owning the Brooks character, even if the Minnesotan accent wasn't quite as consistent as his overall performance. There's quite a bit of hockey in this movie, especially the last fifteen mintues, but you don't have to love hockey to like this movie. A decent movie appropriate for the whole family.

Miracle
(***)

Posted by Eric at 10:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A good movie with some good performances (yes, even by Brendan Fraser), but a little too slow for my tastes. Sure, there's some interesting character development and a some deft handling of moral ambiguities, but I guess I just wanted more.

The Quiet American (***)

Posted by Eric at 10:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
by Michael Lewis

This might be the greatest business book I have ever read. I haven't had this much fun reading a book in a long time, and I attribute almost all of my enthusiasm to Michael Lewis' talents as a writer.

So, just to set the record straight, I don't really like baseball. Sure, I enjoy going to a Cubs game occasionally, but following the game is just not something that gets my blood flowing. Yet, this book is all about baseball and I can't stop raving about it. Why? Because it's not about baseball -- it's about challenging "conventional wisdom". It's about how market inefficiencies beget opportunities for those clever enough to recognized them. It's about the search for truth in the face of mocking disbelievers. It's about the courage to put your beliefs to the test no matter how unpopular or misunderstood your beliefs may be.

Read this book. You won't be sorry.

Original Entry from June 2:

I really enjoyed both Liar's Poker and The New New Thing, so I figure I'll like this book even though I'm not really a baseball fan.

Posted by Eric at 09:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just when you thought that the RSS 2.0 spec was a dead document, we get this nice little present late on a Friday: a clarification for encoding HTML in the <description> tag in an item. While it used to be ambiguous, the proposed clarification now states that the <description> tag will always contain entity-encoded HTML.

This one little change will help out a lot. Thanks to the group of people that contributed to this clarification.

(Yes, it was done behind closed doors, renders some number of previously valid feeds "invalid", and opens the door to other changes to a supposedly frozen spec, but I still welcome the change.)

Source: Proposed clarification for RSS 2.0 spec

Posted by Eric at 04:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As a follow-up to my earlier posting "Using P2P for RSS Distribution", there is now a plug-in for Azureus (the BitTorrent client of choice) that watches an RSS feed and slurps up any torrent files that are mentioned, subject to filters that you establish. I can't wait to see how people use this capability.

Source: Azureus : Java BitTorrent client - RSS Import Plugin

Posted by Eric at 09:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason

I read this over the Memorial Day weekend on recommendation from my father-in-law. The plot summary immediately brings to mind The DaVinci Code: the adventures of four Princeton seniors trying to unravel the mysteries of the (actual) 15th-century text, the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. Mystery! Intrigue! Mur-derrr!

I liked this book a lot, for several reasons. First and foremost, all of the action takes place on the Princeton campus (my alma mater), which brought back some great memories. One of the authors attended Princeton, so the book does a very good job of describing a number of locales on campus, and I was able to follow along in my head when they talked about the different dorms and eating clubs.

Secondly, it's a genuine page-turner, and the air of mystery that surrounds this real book (the Hypnerotomachia) is fascinating. The means by which the main characters decode the riddles encoded into the text is plausible, and the conclusions they draw are equally believable.

Finally, the writing is erudite: several steps above Dan Brown, but not to the level of Umberto Eco (much to my relief). The authors prove themselves to be up to the task of tackling a wide variety of Renaissance topics in a very readable manner.

Sure, I have a number of criticisms about the book (one-dimensional characters and ungrounded abrupt plot jumps to name a couple), but on the whole this was a very enjoyable book made doubly so for me because of its setting.

Posted by Eric at 09:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)