We have lots of technologies and practices for remote communication.  Some examples from Java: RPC, home-grown sockets, serialization, RMI, CORBA, XML, REST, DTOs, SOAP, and many more.

What’s the one thing consistent about all of those?  99% of the time, I DON’T CARE! I want to be able to send data to and from a server quickly and consistently.  How the data gets de-rezzed and rezzed in the meantime matters to the end product only a tiny bit.  (sorry, only good video I could find, watch :10 through :45 for what I mean — and hope you like Depeche Mode)

These are really cool technologies, and fascinating to dive into for their own sake.  But when I’m trying to deliver software, I don’t want to worship at a particular altar, it just doesn’t matter.  You can typically accomplish any requirements using any of the technologies, but we so often just start waving techs around as a panacea instead of looking closely at the problem.

Example: We just had a client-server app using RMI with Spring Remoting‘s HttpInvoker.  Were we having troubles with too much data being sent from the server, and being tied to the same version of domain objects on client and server, having trouble with releasing.  (A Detailed analysis here, from a former architect on the team.)  We solved this by switching to RESTful web services all over.  We have specific data being sent down, and no longer depend upon the same module for domain objects.

Now, take a look at the problem and the solution.  We weren’t having a problem of how we sent the data over, we were having a problem of what we were sending.  We could have fixed that in place, using RMI, using a common module, with a couple of tweaks (managing serialization and not releasing domain, client, and server simultaneously).  Instead, we spent several man-months (I might dare to say close to a year of time) converting our modules, dealing with any RESTEasy quirks, and arguing over URIs.  And now we have 2-3 extra copies of objects in client, server, and web modules.

In the end, things are improved, and these problems are solved.  In fact, following REST patterns basically forced us to confront the problems.  I am glad we are where we are, we’ve gone to something more text- and test-friendly, all with just a browser.  But it wasn’t REST that fixed our problems — we did.

Documentation and Tutorials

What is Android? — Quick start on architecture .

Application Fundamentals — Terminology and Components

Hello, World tutorial — very basic tutorial

Notepad tutorial — nice tutorial with “problems” to work though, as well as a clear goal.  Demonstrates different parts of an app’s lifecycle.

Development Set-Up

You’ll have to go through several steps to get a fully working development environment.  Start with the Android SDK.  Download to somewhere reasonable, then cd into {android’s home}/tools and run android.  This brings up the SDK/AVD manager, which can pull down samples, documentation, and runtime environments for the different Android versions.  It also is where you set up and launch the device emulators.

Get the Eclipse plug-in for Android next, if you like that sort of thing.  Be sure to configure the SDK location in your preferences.  Note that you can launch the SDK/AVD manager right out of Eclipse, if you like.  If you don’t want to use the plug in, be sure to check the documentation for the command-line tools, which can do many (if not all) of the Eclipse plugin’s functions.

There’s a little agile in there, relating to software design minimalism.  That’s not what I’m getting at.  Whether you are developing something new, or fixing something broken, deliver the very least you must for the desired outcome.

I did not say to do the least amount of work required, I said deliver the very least required; go quickly and completely in the direction you must move.  Destroy that bug, hack that web page, do something terrible and glorious.  After getting it working, though, take that next step, and wash all the mud off what you just did.  That is, minimize the actual changes you’re about to apply.  Make sure every change makes sense and is required.  Don’t lump another change or some code reformatting in just for “because it needs to be done eventually”.  Focus on only what you are doing.

It is a massive accomplishment to delete code from a working system and still have a working system.  It is thrilling, and you’ve saved yourself and “the next guy” a lot of trouble in the future.  This applies whether you are fixing a bug or making something completely new.

A quick search revealed several hacky things, but when I read Rakesh Menon’s Always On Top post to the end, I found the tidbit I needed:  java.awt.Frame.getFrames().  It’s a static method that lists all AWT frames in use by the system.  So, for as long as JavaFX uses AWT/Swing (not too much longer, apparently), we can use that.  Here’s the code to get your Stage as a Frame, all above-board.  What you do with it is up to you.

function getFrame(frameName:String):java.awt.Frame {
    var frames = java.awt.Frame.getFrames();
    for(frame in frames) {
        if (frameName == frame.getTitle()) {
            return frame
        }
    }
    return null;
}

I’ve spent a lot of time on the boxes, and unfortunately, the time I spent fixing seems to have eclipsed the time I spent playing.

The thing I’ve found most fascinating about the process is that, while buggy, the 360 hardware is quite resilient.  With enough twiddling of screws, I can get a box up and running quite consistently.

The Company was pleased with our performance last year.  So they went against everything we’ve been teaching our kids, and gave us candy pills.

That’s Jelly beans on the left, mints on the right.  Or so I hope.

One bad thing about Buzz: Those replies are on the Buzz server, not here.

I’ll try to scale back the user requirements for posting, as I have gotten complaints about that.  But if spam gets too high, I’ll have to turn it back on.

Another way of putting it is that I’m ashamed of the state of our industry, in these cases.  It may be inertia, or the teams I’m on, or anything, but I still have to fight it, understand it.  These things are what we should be laughing about, when talking about the bad old days.

I have some thing swirling in my head… part of this may be the continuation of the Java Build Systems posts I had earlier, and more.  Next two entries, I think: Java and ORM, Java and the Web.

• How Gamestop ruined my Valentine’s Day
• Gamestop Made Me Do It
• I’m an Idiot

The wife lovingly bought me a copy of Mass Effect 2 for Valentines Day.  In fact, she told me she was going to, hence my desire to get my Xbox working.  She gives it to me, and the first thing out of my mouth is “Oh, you bought this used?  I’ll have to pay $15 to be able to download the free stuff for it.”

I always do this.  My wife could buy me the coolest toy, phone, gadget, or netbook, and I’ll mention how much I like it, and oh did you see the deal on it last week where it was half off?  I make the lovely wife feel like an idiot, and the gift seem cheap and poorly thought-out.

That’s my personal demon to remove.  The real enemy here?  Gamestop, for knowingly selling my wife a game for $55 (a five-dollar discount off new retail price) without even mentioning this to her.  They made a ton of money off the deal, probably way more than they would have from selling the game new.  It was very well publicized in gaming circles that this was coming down the line, there’s no way they were innocent.

I’m putting them on my list of most hated companies.  Companies I won’t go to or buy from.  Congrats, guys — you just joined the ranks of Best Buy and Sony!

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.  First, the Amazon links:

1. The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman
2. Don’t Make Me Think!  A common sense approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug
3. The Non-Designer’s Design Book by Robin Williams

Everyday Things is actually about physical, industrial design, but a lot of the anecdotes, photographs, and diagrams seem to apply just as well to software design.  The Design Book steps a bit closer to my familiar software realms by covering general graphic design principles, largely for print media.  It covers the basics of Proximity, Alignment, Repetition, and Contrast, and a host of other things including color and type (font to us normals).  And lastly, Don’t Make Me Think! covers style and web patterns.  It has juicy bits on brevity, breadcrumbs, scanning patterns, and tons more.

I can’t wait!  Practical design has always been something I like.  I want to learn the best patterns.

Oops, it happened again.  There’s no free lunch this time.  Even if I paid the $100 to MS to repair it, they would only give a 90 day warranty on their work.  So, either buy a new one (with a massive extended warranty, of course) or try to fix it myself.  After attempting to buy a new Arcade unit for $200 at K-Mart twice, but failing both times because they were out of stock, I went the fix route.

Oooh, that’s a dark and scary part of the internet.  Everyone’s trying to sell you their $40 guide on how to fix it like the pros.  Plus they tout how their guides are not scams (a good indication of scamminess), and how they will make you a better person.  I kept digging, though, and found help on my brother‘s recommendation:

YouTube – How To Fix the Red Ring of Death #1 (Penny Trick)

It actually worked.  I used the video as a general guide.  The only thing I had to do “off the books” was convince the xbox to get out of the three red rings mode.  I’m not sure I did this the best way, but I unplugged the fan and powered up for about 2 minutes.  Even though the three red rings keep flashing, all the parts warm up decently (but can get too warm, that’s the part I’m not sure about). After a 30-minute cooldown, the xbox booted just fine.

Along the way, I came across these other reputable/useful links:

• Fixing without towels
• Llamma’s X-Clamp fix
• X-Clamp fix 2
• Mario’s Repair Guide

I played Gears of War 2 for 30 minutes, no problems.  It logs onto Xbox Live just fine.  And, we’ve gone through the movie Dinosaur today with no issues.  Perhaps it will live long enough for me to play up some Mass Effect 2!

Update:  Not long enough for all of Mass Effect 2… see also this new post.

This is my current gold-standard set of podcasts:

Podcast / RSS Link	Category	Average Length	Description
Major Nelson Radio	Gaming	1:15 - 2:00	Gaming podcast, focussed almost exclusively on the Xbox 360. Interviews and news.
IGN Games Podcasts	Gaming	0:40 - 1:15	I listen to the following podcasts from this RSS: Game Scoop (all around gaming news) Three Red Lights (ostensibly 360, often silly) Nintendo Voice Chat (Wii / DS) Command Prompt (PC Gaming)
IGN Entertainment Podcasts	Television / Movies / Technology	0:40 - 1:00	I only currently listen to Channel Surfing, but occasionally there are other interesting podcasts
Bungie Podcast	Gaming	1:30 - 2:00	Bungie studios talking mostly about Halo. Note: Not bleeped, not filtered.
Anger, Sadness, Envy	Gaming	1:15 - 1:45	Rampancy.net's podcast discussing all things halo. Fun deep dives into story and gameplay.
The Dealnews Podcast	Technology, Consumer News	0:40 - 1:00	A medium-length, somewhat lighthearted take on tech news and product deals.
The Java Posse	Programming	1:00 - 1:30	Java and JVM news and sessions

Here are some podcasts I’ve just started listening to and am still evaluating:

This could be a cool way to develop/test the GamesByEmail game I’ve been fiddling with, perhaps.  I don’t think code-completion is in there, yet, which will ultimately be a must-have, but I can play for now…

Big bonus:  the editor is high-performance, and is implemented with my favorite, the HTML5 Canvas tag.  See also my experiments right here (I’d recommend planetaryZ2, and don’t forget to mouseover/click a planet).

There is some work going on integrating eclipse with this… not sure exactly what, yet, though.  See Eclipse in the Cloud and E4/Bespin.

• buff
• debuff
• tank
• aggro
• DPS
• AoE
• Bonus:
  • Tapping
  • Untap

In some cases, you may even be fooling yourself that you’re playing a game.  Seriously, though, I’m a nerd, and listening to people talk like the above makes me want to take their lunch money.

The discussion that spawned this was an article on Slashdot about breaking up some of these concepts, so that MMOs don’t all end up the same.  I’m in full agreement… I want to have fun playing, and I want to at least pretend that it’s not all numbers in a computer somewhere.

(I had to throw in the M:tG terms just because playing that game causes you to talk especially nerdy.)

Buy.com recently had a great deal on some games and battery packs.  One of the games included was Crackdown.  Here’s a quick review, after playing about half the game.  I get the feeling that Crackdown is one of those games everyone’s heard of, but few have played.  It’s never had a mega promotional campaign, but it’s a solid, well put-together title.  To sum up my feelings about the game: it’s a blast.  And it gets blastier the farther along you get.

This is clearly an open-world title.  The city, its people, and its gangs and cars all go on without your intervention.  They even get into traffic accidents and pile-ups, all by themselves.  There is a light, guiding hand as to the first few missions to undertake, but the order of everything is optional.  You can go almost anywhere in the city right from the beginning, sort of… more on that in a bit.

What do you do?  Well, basically, you can drive, shoot, punch, detonate, and jump.  In fact, doing those five activities nets you better abilities resulting in a stronger ability.  For example, the more you drive a car, with drifting, stunts, and checkpoint races, the better the car handles and performs.  Likewise with shooting, punching, and explosives.  Higher skill levels will give you faster aiming, additional health, and larger blasts.

And lots of jumping gets you, well, nothing, by itself.  Jumping is improved by picking up Agility orbs, placed all over the city.  With some clever jumping, you can pick up a ton of orbs.  Once you have enough for the next level, you are rewarded with a major boost to your jumping height and running speed.  After a couple of levels, you are crossing the city by leaps and bounds.  You might find yourself orb hunting rather than playing the game.  It’s almost peaceful… until you miss that jump and land on the highway and get run over.  Such is life, though.

Taken all together, you have a pretty fun game.  You begin to feel like a superhero, throwing barrels, jumping to the top of tall buildings, punching guys into next week.  And you have guns and cars, which make everything better.  And, you can play two-player co-op.

This is a violent game — you’ll be running people down, punching guys off buildings, and lighting people on fire via explosives.  The game has some minor flaws, and archaic-feeling menu system, some odd button choices for actions, and targeting and camera issues.

• How much would I pay for the game? Despite its second-generation mistakes and issues, I can say this game would be worth buying at least $50, possibly a full retail of $60.  The fact that I paid about $6 for it is just gravy.
• How many times would I replay it? I’m absolutely going to play this one through to the end, and gather all 800 orbs if I can.  I could see myself playing it again, especially if I can find a co-op buddy to do it with.

I had just been pricing out Android phones at T-Mobile last month, so I was a bit interested.  Here’s a quick breakdown of the options, buy-first, or 2-year contract:

You’ll notice the subsidized plans are not the same — the Nexus’ plan includes unlimited text messages.  If they allowed you to drop that, the subsidized Nexus 2-yr price would be about $1860, not too bad.  I kinda doubt they’d let you drop that, though.

Also, I’m a bit curious what the plans look like family-style.  Again, can you change the Nexus plan to be a family plan?  A casual glance generally shows a 750 minute minimum, and another $20 baseline, and $10 per extra phone.

And finally, some crazy folks propose dropping voice altogether, and going data-only, for an apparent $40 / month + a Skype subscription for $3 a month.

Recently, our AT&T GSM reception at home has improved from 0 to 1 or 2 bars… I wonder how T-Mobile would perform?

One solution: ntlmaps — NTLM Authorization Proxy Server. Roughly following the guide here, it’s pretty quick to get done. You will want to replace the URL in “Step 1″ with a recent one, such as (for 9.10) http://packages.ubuntu.com/karmic/all/ntlmaps/download.

The beauty of this is that, since Firefox can get past the NTLM proxy, you can download the ntlmaps package directly and install it. After it is set up, reconfigure System > Preferences > Network Proxy to localhost:5865, restart all apps (including terminals), and everything should be ready to go.

The one concern I have is that it stores my password in plain text at /etc/ntlmaps/server.cfg — granted, you must have sudo access to read it. You can apparently have it prompt when it starts up, but I’m not sure how this impacts the UI.

From reading the config file, it appears you can at least use the browser to store the password, in the basic auth scheme. It is possible you could even use the system preferences to do so, which is at least a bit more user-friendly. You will still have to remember to change the password, though.

Chickens are delicate creatures, sometimes dying for no good reason.  Unfortunately, they are also delectable creatures, and find themselves in harm’s way.

Our chickens have been cooped up in their, er, coop for several days now.  We’d lost 1-2 chickens a day last week.  Several of the abductions seem to happen during the middle of day, unusual for us.  Raccoons and possums (technically, Opossums, but that’s beside the point) are nocturnal, and do their worst work if we haven’t locked up the coop by 10 PM.

So that probably leaves a dog.  Not ours — they’re cooped up in the house while we’re gone.  A month ago, though, we had a couple of dogs in the yard; maybe they’ve returned.  We haven’t seen the afternoon striker yet, though, so it is hard to tell.

I’ve put up live no-kill traps, and after 2 apparent escapes and one time catching our out cat, I got a racoon last night.  Adorable little guy.  We’ll give him to someone in the country who doesn’t much like his neighbor, so it should have a happy life elsewhere.

We saw a possum two nights ago, but the dog let it run off somewhere… perhaps we’ll get it next time.  And no ETA on the dog thing, either.  But at least one perp is out!  Thanks, wikipedia, for the image!

This game makes me so happy.  Did I mention that I got all 1250 achievement points in Mass Effect?