<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434</id><updated>2012-01-25T15:07:57.888-07:00</updated><category term='processing'/><category term='disaster relief'/><category term='Jerusalem'/><category term='books'/><category term='collaboration'/><category term='Arabs'/><category term='dave ramsey'/><category term='Wave'/><category term='LXer.com'/><category term='Windows'/><category term='the empire strikes back'/><category term='Israel'/><category term='Comedy'/><category term='spelling'/><category term='investigation'/><category term='application development'/><category term='software development'/><category 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O&apos;Reilly'/><category term='columist'/><category term='funny pictures'/><category term='BSOD'/><category term='regular expressions'/><category term='kindle fire'/><category term='dvd training'/><category term='Movies'/><category term='cisco press'/><category term='prototype'/><category term='web designer'/><category term='gene robinson'/><category term='web design'/><category term='web browsers'/><category term='disqus'/><category term='Dojo'/><category term='cheat sheet'/><category term='yahoo'/><category term='comicbooks'/><category term='javascript'/><category term='Mahmoud Ahmadinejad'/><category term='sybex'/><category term='joomla'/><category term='dynamic'/><category term='congress'/><category term='news coverage'/><category term='change'/><category term='web development'/><category term='environment'/><category term='james pyles'/><category term='youtube'/><category term='TCP/IP'/><category term='star wars'/><category term='sudan'/><category term='mark summerfield'/><category term='developers'/><category term='graphic design'/><category term='animation.'/><category term='mcts'/><category term='python'/><category term='amazon'/><category term='electronic'/><category term='IPv4'/><category term='agile development'/><category term='internet'/><category term='python 3'/><category term='Product Review'/><category term='Special Olympics'/><category term='prayer'/><category term='database'/><category term='apache'/><category term='linux'/><category term='computer maintenance'/><category term='mootools'/><category term='computer science'/><category term='in-a-nutshell'/><category term='children'/><category term='American citizens'/><category term='computer repair'/><category term='author'/><category term='politics'/><category term='programming'/><category term='Films'/><category term='linux upgrade'/><category term='bear'/><category term='terrorism'/><category term='chart'/><category term='kindle'/><category term='terrorists'/><category term='computer technician press'/><category term='software architecture'/><category term='certification'/><category term='Data'/><category term='pragmatic'/><category term='Iran'/><category term='que publishing'/><category term='Ray Bradbury'/><category term='hard drive'/><category term='San Francisco'/><category term='ubuntu 10.04 lts'/><category term='search'/><category term='religion'/><category term='drupal'/><category term='microsoft'/><category term='lucid lynx'/><category term='web developmment'/><category term='digital'/><category term='financies'/><category term='wiredwriter'/><category term='scandal'/><category term='Palentinians'/><category term='hamas'/><category term='system administration'/><category term='money'/><category term='campaign promises'/><title type='text'>A Million Chimpanzees</title><subtitle type='html'>Proving bloggers write like a million apes pounding on keyboards. It's not Shakespeare</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><link rel='next' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default?start-index=101&amp;max-results=100'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>148</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-6037311025052361424</id><published>2012-01-21T13:37:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2012-01-21T13:39:56.506-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='command-line'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='linux'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bash'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='shell script'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='shell'/><title type='text'>A Book Review of The Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FKkPikCjCCE/TxsUXo1oCuI/AAAAAAAABEY/aVh3SAprH38/s1600/linux-cmd-line.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FKkPikCjCCE/TxsUXo1oCuI/AAAAAAAABEY/aVh3SAprH38/s400/linux-cmd-line.jpg" width="233" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Author: William E. Shotts Jr.&lt;br /&gt;
Format: Paperback, 480 pages&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: No Starch Press; 1st edition (January 14, 2012)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 1593273894&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-1593273897&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Linux has been struggling to become a "desktop darling" of the home and small office user for years and has yet to succeed. I don't know if it will ever succeed. One of the biggest hurdles Linux has to cross is its reputation as being command-line driven. Most people fear the command line and if you're old enough, you remember (with dread) the arcane DOS interface or struggling to remember what command syntax to use with the now ancient Apple IIe. Users love Windows because the GUI is easy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ubuntu, of all the Linux distros, is about the best in terms of a user-friendly GUI, and yet even when Windows users abandon the Microsoft "mothership", they almost always turn to a Mac and not to Ubuntu (or any other flavor of Linux). Face it. Linux may never succeed as a desktop operating system and may have to "settle" for being the king of the server and embedded device markets.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But is that such a bad thing?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ironically, the power of a Windows machine is on the command-line, but unless you're a system admin or network guru, that doesn't even occur to you. And absolutely, the power of Linux is in the command-line shell. Why fight the nature of what Linux is? Instead of trying to avoid shell commands, embrace them. That's where &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Linux-Command-Line-Complete-Introduction/dp/1593273894/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1327170424&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;The Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction&lt;/a&gt; comes in.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The hardcopy of this book should be on its way to me for my review right now, but I couldn't wait. The publisher kindly allowed me to also download a PDF version of the Shotts book, so here I am, tearing into it (metaphorically speaking) and getting ready to devour its contents. What secrets does it hold and for whom shall they be revealed?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Scrolling through the beginning of the PDF, I discovered the "Who Should Read This Book" section. According to the author, this book is for the rank beginner in the Linux world who is likely a Windows "power user" and who, for whatever reason, must learn Linux management skills. That's a rather amazing statement since, having scanned the table of contents on my way down to page 29, I discovered a rather impressive list of skills to be learned. Among them were "A Gentile Introduction to Vi" (my favorite editor), "Package Management", "Regular Expressions", "Compiling Programs", and "Writing Shell Scripts". Any one of these topics is worthy if its own book (and they're out there) and certainly they will be intimidating to the Linux novice.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But first things first.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The end of the introduction to the book gives rather brief instructions for how to install Linux on a computer or how to use a live CD, so the reader is presumed not to even use Linux on a regular basis (or at all). On the other hand, there are no links or instructions as to where to find a Linux ISO file for download or how to burn a bootable CD or DVD, so I guess the reader is expected to know something. Oh, in case you're wondering, I'm using Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) to write this review and practicing commands in the default bash shell.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The first section of the book is called "Learning the Shell", which is pretty basic. The first chapter, "What is the Shell" offers the reader a little bit of a history lesson on the shell and how to use very basic commands, such as "date", "cal", and "df". It's a very short chapter and fortunately gets the reader into opening and using the shell right away. It's a gentle beginning. When does the book get "rough?"&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Technically, the hardcopy of the book is only 480 pages long, so it's not an encyclopaedia (remember them?). Yet, for not being a massive tome, the Shotts book probably best works not only as a linear tutorial but as a reference. After all, even veteran shell users don't remember everything and I've seen Linux developers with decades of experience still have to look up commands they don't use very often (although they almost always do so using Google rather than grabbing a handy book). &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I called this book "a linear tutorial" because the first section is written in just that manner. One skill set builds on the previous ones presented and the more the reader goes through and practices what they're reading, the better they should get at navigating the directory tree, copying and moving files, locating files, and using man pages. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Although there are no exercises or labs at the end of each chapter, there are notes encouraging the reader to pause and to practice what they've learned as well as experimenting and adapting on commands they've been using. The reader is also encouraged to refer back to the help and man documentation on commands, which is a further exercise in using the shell, since these tools are the first ones a system admin or programmer turn to when they're trying to recall that rarely used command switch.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Actually, the book doesn't really need a separate section for exercises since each page in the chapters directs the reader to try out various commands. This is a book that needs to be opened alongside a Linux machine where the reader is simultaneously working in the shell. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KcWBCHB2HZQ/TxsVMIZwq1I/AAAAAAAABEg/97RYUF5hDLo/s1600/vi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="248" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KcWBCHB2HZQ/TxsVMIZwq1I/AAAAAAAABEg/97RYUF5hDLo/s400/vi.jpg" width="400" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;It would take too long to review the content in each chapter and section, but there are a few notable mentions. In Chapter 12 "A Gentile Introduction to Vi", the reader is treated to a Vi primer (sorry, Emacs users). It's probably just about as much as a new user will need to edit files on a Linux machine and if need be, books such as &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Vim-Editors-Arnold-Robbins/dp/059652983X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1327172781&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;Learning the vi and Vim Editors&lt;/a&gt; by Robbins, Hannah, and Lamb are always available.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I did wonder about introducing the reader to &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_expression" target="_blank"&gt;Regular Expressions&lt;/a&gt; in Chapter 19. For the average computer user, even the average Linux computer user, Regular Expressions can be a real "migraine maker". This may be your first clue that not everyone who will use this book will use all of it, at least not right away. Although this is a great skill to acquire, not everyone may be up to the challenge. When reading this book, assess whether or not you want or need to learn everything it has to offer.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Chapter 23: "Compiling Programs" is another chapter that may not always be useful to all readers. The content goes quickly from "What is Compiling" to downloading source code from the web (specifically ftp.gnu.org), examining the source tree, and building a program. Note that the reader isn't expected to know how to actually write a program, so the general purpose of this chapter is to introduce the power of compiling in the shell and, like vi and Regular Expressions skills, is something that can be built upon using other resources if the reader so desires. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
All of the fourth and last section of the book is devoted to "Writing Shell Scripts". If the hypothetical reader of this book is someone who wants or needs to learn Linux server management skills, everything presented in the book up to this point is not only useful, but required. Certainly writing shell scripts (and again, there are entire books available on this subject), is a necessary skill set for the Linux systems admin or even for people who just like to "get under the hood" a little.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After a brief introduction, the reader is lead through the "rudimentaries" of their first shell script which is about as basic as &lt;code&gt;echo 'Hello World!'&lt;/code&gt; The reader must dig back into what they've learned before about using vi or vim, creating a file in the desired directory, making it executable, and saving it (none of these instructions are presented again in the shell script chapter). The last bit in the chapter gives the reader a tip on how to configure vim for shell scripting by turning on syntax highlighting, highlighting search results, and using auto indent. The rest of the section takes the reader through building a scripting project and pulls together previously learned skills to develop more complex scripts, including teaching the use of loops and arrays.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The final note in the final chapter addresses the reader, &lt;i&gt;"Well, we have completed our journey. The only thing left to do now is practice, practice, practice. Even though we've covered a lot of ground in our trek, we barely scratched the surface as far as the command line goes."&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I can agree with that. There's a reason why the book's subtitle is &lt;i&gt;"A Complete Introduction."&lt;/i&gt; That's not a contradiction in terms, it's the literal truth. Part of the power of the shell is in its almost infinite potential, which most shell users never master, but if you buy and then use &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Linux-Command-Line-Complete-Introduction/dp/1593273894/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1327170424&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;The Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction&lt;/a&gt; to its fullest extent, your "introduction" to the shell will be very impressive.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-6037311025052361424?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/6037311025052361424/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2012/01/book-review-of-linux-command-line.html#comment-form' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/6037311025052361424'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/6037311025052361424'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2012/01/book-review-of-linux-command-line.html' title='A Book Review of The Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FKkPikCjCCE/TxsUXo1oCuI/AAAAAAAABEY/aVh3SAprH38/s72-c/linux-cmd-line.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-1873329029018592697</id><published>2012-01-21T09:39:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2012-01-21T09:39:08.016-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='kindle'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='comicbooks'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='web browsing'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Product Review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='marvel'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='kindle fire'/><title type='text'>Review: Kindle Fire Web Experience</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mhngZzX7rxM/TvTQHXG81LI/AAAAAAAABCQ/-ajixFKGhgo/s1600/kindle-fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mhngZzX7rxM/TvTQHXG81LI/AAAAAAAABCQ/-ajixFKGhgo/s320/kindle-fire.jpg" width="206" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;I've already reviewed the &lt;a href="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-kindle-fire-video-experience.html" target="_blank"&gt;video&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-kindle-fire-book-experience.html" target="_blank"&gt;book reading&lt;/a&gt; capacities of my Kindle Fire. Time to turn to the web experience. How is it?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
One of the things I was looking forward to when I got my Kindle Fire was being able to wirelessly surf the web while not being tied down to a desktop or laptop computer. I expected the experience to be somewhat slower but wasn't prepared for how much longer it seemed to take for a webpage to download into Kindle's Silk web browser. Not quite as bad as dial-up, but I wasn't used to waiting for (by today's standards) ages for a webpage to appear.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To get to a webpage, you can select &lt;i&gt;Web&lt;/i&gt; in the overhead menu or select &lt;i&gt;amazon&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;IMD&lt;/i&gt;b, or &lt;i&gt;Faceboo&lt;/i&gt;k from the shortcuts at the bottom of the main page. Selecting &lt;i&gt;Web&lt;/i&gt; opens the last webpage you visited, which in my case was &lt;a href="http://marvel.com/" target="_blank"&gt;marvel.com&lt;/a&gt;. I admit that one of the ideas I had was to be able to read comicbooks digitally using my Kindle Fire. I figured buying an annual subscription at Marvel would let me read all of the old comicbooks I loved as a kid but not take up any valuable storage space in the home (or costing me billions of dollars to replace everything I had when I was young).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But first, the general web experience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To go to another site by typing in the URL, tap the URL bar to make the keyboard appear. Depending on your relative "texting" skills (mine are awful), you can type in the address of the site you want to visit. There's even a &lt;i&gt;.com&lt;/i&gt; button so you are spared entering the suffix as individual characters. As you type, the history shows the URLs you've most recently visited, and you can select any of those if it's where you want to go.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While my fingers aren't overly fat, if there are a lot of links or buttons on the page I want to press, I tend to tap and miss the mark. Changing the orientation of the screen from portrait to landscape helps a bit, but of course, I sacrifice the length of the page. When I do "fat finger" the wrong link or button. I have to hit the back button, wait for the previous page to load, and then try again. I don't know if this is a problem in Silk, the website in question not being well designed for mobile web devices, or me being clumsy. It's just my experience. I do find that using a very gentle tap seems to work better in these delecate cases.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Now on to comicbooks at Marvel.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This one I blame on whoever designed Marvel's website.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I'd love to read 1960s vintage comicbooks. It was the silver age and my childhood and Marvel was just a lot of fun back then. You can read the first few pages of any comic for free, so I thought I'd try my Kindle Fire out by trying to read the beginning of an old Spider-Man comic. Here's what happened.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4QS74qin4Zg/TxromML_sPI/AAAAAAAABEA/xtu8pI80RCU/s1600/AmazingSpiderMan1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4QS74qin4Zg/TxromML_sPI/AAAAAAAABEA/xtu8pI80RCU/s320/AmazingSpiderMan1.jpg" width="211" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;When the cover of the comic loads into the browser, there are two green arrows (no reference to the comicbook character intended) at the bottom of the screen for forward and back. To advance to page one, I have to successfully tap the right arrow. But nothing happens when I do. Or I get a white screen with an exclamation mark in the middle and have to hit the browser's back button. Unlike a book on Kindle, I can't just use a sliding finger motion to move to the next page. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I tried changing to landscape orientation to see if that helped. After multiple taps, page 1 finally appeared. Changing back to portrait orientation makes the page readable. At this point, I can use my finger to drag the page and move to page 2, but there's an annoying tendency to snap back to page 1 when I remove my finger. Frankly, the entire experience is more frustrating than it's worth. I don't want to have to sit at my desktop to read comics. It's something best done sitting in a living room chair or reading in bed late at night.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I don't know if Kindle Fire could improve this problem or if it's something the folks at Marvel.com have to fix. However, the Silk web browser, though passable, still leaves a lot to be desired. Or maybe mobile web browsing still needs to be perfected. In any case, as of now, browsing the web with my Kindle fire is not the main reason I'll be using the device.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-1873329029018592697?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/1873329029018592697/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2012/01/review-kindle-fire-web-experience.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/1873329029018592697'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/1873329029018592697'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2012/01/review-kindle-fire-web-experience.html' title='Review: Kindle Fire Web Experience'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mhngZzX7rxM/TvTQHXG81LI/AAAAAAAABCQ/-ajixFKGhgo/s72-c/kindle-fire.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-4039396255753884363</id><published>2012-01-18T06:35:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2012-01-18T06:35:22.379-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='SOPA'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='blackout'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='censorship'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='internet'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='protest'/><title type='text'>SOPA Blackout</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q2tfrft0qI8/TxbKcRRNDFI/AAAAAAAABC0/jlneiLjrEqM/s1600/blackout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q2tfrft0qI8/TxbKcRRNDFI/AAAAAAAABC0/jlneiLjrEqM/s400/blackout.jpg" width="400" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-4039396255753884363?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/4039396255753884363/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2012/01/sopa-blackout.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4039396255753884363'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4039396255753884363'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2012/01/sopa-blackout.html' title='SOPA Blackout'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q2tfrft0qI8/TxbKcRRNDFI/AAAAAAAABC0/jlneiLjrEqM/s72-c/blackout.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-3052062414281290815</id><published>2011-12-26T09:50:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2011-12-26T09:52:06.293-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='treasure island'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='electronic'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='kindle'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='books'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='amazon'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='kindle fire'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='digital'/><title type='text'>Review: Kindle Fire Book Experience</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mhngZzX7rxM/TvTQHXG81LI/AAAAAAAABCQ/-ajixFKGhgo/s1600/kindle-fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mhngZzX7rxM/TvTQHXG81LI/AAAAAAAABCQ/-ajixFKGhgo/s320/kindle-fire.jpg" width="206" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;I like to read. To that end, I own a lot of books. My wife complains about the amount of space all my books consume in our home. Occasionally, this results in my having to clean out the shelves and remove the books I don't think I'll even read again. Trouble is, I think I'll always read them at some point in the future. Instead, I donate them to the local library. But then I get more books.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the Star Trek original series episode &lt;a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708425/" target="_blank"&gt;Court Martial&lt;/a&gt; (1967), Jim Kirk is facing a general court martial for apparently sending a fellow officer to his death in a non-emergency situation (it's a trick, since the officer faked his own death to implicate Kirk as revenge for a problem that happened between them years before). Kirk's attorney is one Samuel T Cogley (played wonderfully by the late &lt;a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0176879/" target="_blank"&gt;Elisha Cook Jr.&lt;/a&gt;) who has his own system of practicing law based on old fashioned, hardcopy books. When Cogley is explaining his system to Kirk, he asks, &lt;em&gt;What's the matter? Don't you like books?"&lt;/em&gt; Kirk's reply is, &lt;em&gt;"I like them just fine, but a computer takes less space."&lt;/em&gt; That's my theory behind reading on the Kindle Fire.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I'm actually a bit torn. Like Cogley, "I like books". I'm old enough to still think that a "real" book is better than an electronic copy, but I have to balance desire with practicality. The Kindle Fire will never be able to replace the feel or the smell of an old book, but the content and the magic will still be there on each page I swipe (instead of turn). The Kindle Fire has a 6.5 GB storage limit on its hard drive but Amazon offers free unlimited cloud storage for anything purchased at Amazon (you can store non-Amazon products in their cloud free too, but only up to 5 GB...to upgrade to 20 GB of storage for said-files costs $20.00 a year), so "book shelf" space doesn't seem to be a problem.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I was intriqued by &lt;a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/243097/amazon_prime_book_lending_your_faqs_answered.html?tk=rel_news" target="_blank"&gt;Amazon's free lending library&lt;/a&gt; for Amazon Prime users. Since I have a month's free trial of Prime, potentially, I have access to thousands of library books which I can borrow from Amazon for free. This sounded fabulous, but there's a catch. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I fired up my Kindle (pun not intended) and on the main page, tapped "Books" and then "Store". On the Books page, there's menu on the right side and I tapped "Kindle Owner' Lending Library". A list of various categories (Fiction, Nonfiction, Comics &amp;amp; Graphic Novels, etc...) appeared. Once I made a selection (Fiction) I saw a list of books, some available through Prime for free, but nothing to indicate that they could be borrowed. I selected one at random and when the book's "details page" appeared, there indeed was a button that said "Borrow for Free". I scrolled down for awhile but didn't find anything that looked appealing (in spite of the number of books I own, I'm actually picky about what I read). &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I decided to try "Comics &amp;amp; Graphic Novels" and received a bit of a shock. The "graphic" part has to do with sex. A huge percentage of this collection is virtual porn, with titles such as "Wicked Desires: Steamy Sex Stories Volume 1", "My Sister Bestfriend", and "Sex Messages, Social Networking, and BDSM". The actual comic books were neither DC nor Marvel and seemed to be rather seedy, off-brand tales from the 1950s and 60s. Anything worthwhile (Batman, Green Lantern, Watchmen) cost about $10.00 each. I also noticed DC but no Marvel titles, which was quite a let down.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ujs6Hv-TdJo/TvijRMFTIOI/AAAAAAAABCo/N0ZuxRZesZM/s1600/treasure_island.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ujs6Hv-TdJo/TvijRMFTIOI/AAAAAAAABCo/N0ZuxRZesZM/s200/treasure_island.jpg" width="144" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;I did discover one cool thing. Lots and lots of pre-1923 books that are out-of-copyright are available for free..not to borrow, but to own. I immediately downloaded a copy of Robert Louis Stevenson's &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JML7EC/ref=s9_al_bw_g351_ir04?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;amp;pf_rd_s=center-2&amp;amp;pf_rd_r=0CCFZF6PQ32PK7NEQ0J3&amp;amp;pf_rd_t=101&amp;amp;pf_rd_p=1291011202&amp;amp;pf_rd_i=2245146011" target="_blank"&gt;Treasure Island&lt;/a&gt; and burned through the first two chapters. And at the risk of sounding like a TV commercial huckster, that's not all. &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/b/?node=2245146011" target="_blank"&gt;Amazon&lt;/a&gt; also points you, via their website, to numerous library projects that offer over a million free titles. Projects such as &lt;a href="http://archive.org/details/texts" target="_blank"&gt;archive.org&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://gutenberg.org/" target="_blank"&gt;gutenberg.org&lt;/a&gt;, complete with instructions on how to access their content from Kindle Fire. I haven't tried this part out yet, but believe me, I will.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As with movies and TV shows, the number and type of books you can borrow or get for free through Amazon Prime or the Kindle Owner's lending library is limited. The comic book and graphic novel selection was particularly wanting and I was severely disappointed. I really think there needs to be an online archive project specifically for older comic books, since their physical copies won't last forever and the originals held by the publishers are reproduced and distributed at the mercy of those companies. I guess that's my problem, though and I suspect that availability of book and comic book titles is limited by licensing costs. Besides, Amazon and the various publishing houses have to make a buck somehow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In spite of the roadblocks I encountered, I still discovered that I have access to a large selection of reading material. Not everything I want, but books that I can't find, even at my local lending library. Speaking of which, I can't wait to see how to actually borrow a digital book from my public library for Kindle Fire. In the meantime, I'm going to be happily making my way through &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JML7EC/ref=s9_al_bw_g351_ir04?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;amp;pf_rd_s=center-2&amp;amp;pf_rd_r=0CCFZF6PQ32PK7NEQ0J3&amp;amp;pf_rd_t=101&amp;amp;pf_rd_p=1291011202&amp;amp;pf_rd_i=2245146011" target="_blank"&gt;Treasure Island&lt;/a&gt;. "Yo ho and a bottle of rum, mateys."&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Oh, and if you liked this review, make sure to catch my other &lt;a href="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-kindle-fire-video-experience.html" target="_blank"&gt;Kindle Fire review&lt;/a&gt; on my experiences with movies and TV shows.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-3052062414281290815?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/3052062414281290815/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-kindle-fire-book-experience.html#comment-form' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/3052062414281290815'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/3052062414281290815'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-kindle-fire-book-experience.html' title='Review: Kindle Fire Book Experience'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mhngZzX7rxM/TvTQHXG81LI/AAAAAAAABCQ/-ajixFKGhgo/s72-c/kindle-fire.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-2913718724782646669</id><published>2011-12-25T16:33:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2011-12-26T03:06:15.973-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Tutorial'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sams'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='24 hours'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='TCP/IP'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='IPv6'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='IPv4'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='networking'/><title type='text'>Book Review: Sams Teach Yourself TCP/IP in 24 Hours (5th Edition)</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KasUXTWefw0/TvexCMsx10I/AAAAAAAABCc/_qmy1I8_N6Q/s1600/tcp-ip-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KasUXTWefw0/TvexCMsx10I/AAAAAAAABCc/_qmy1I8_N6Q/s200/tcp-ip-5.jpg" width="153" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Author: Joe Casad&lt;br /&gt;
Format: Paperback, 544 pages&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: Sams; 5th edition (November 4, 2011)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 0672335719&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-067233571&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I've been spending a lot of time with TCP/IP and particularly IPv6 in the past few months (I can't tell you why right now, but soon). When I saw Joe Casad's book &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sams-Teach-Yourself-TCP-Hours/dp/0672335719/" target="_blank"&gt;Sams Teach Yourself TCP/IP in 24 Hours&lt;/a&gt; was in its fifth edition, I wondered how it compared to my experiences in researching various aspects of internetworking. One way to find out for sure is to request a review copy from the publisher, so here I am and here it is.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I'm a big fan of the "Sams Teach Yourself" books. I've had good experiences with them in the past and they usually offer just the right amount of learning, broken up into correctly sized bites. They also usually build one "hour" upon another so that by the end of the book, you really have learned something. There is no "who is this book for" section in the front matter, but this series is typically tailored for the beginner. How much of a beginner do you have to be? The first hour is called "What Is TCP/IP?". The first questions asked are, "What is a protocol?" and "What is a network?". Pretty basic stuff.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This series is designed, as I'm sure you guessed, to be a learning series. After the chapter's main content, there's a Q &amp;amp; A section and a Workshop section which is made up of a brief quiz (4 or 5 questions) and a short series of exercises. Appendix A in the back has all the answers, so you can check your work or have a peek if you really get stuck. Just for giggles, I went through the Workshop section of Chapter 14: TCP/Utilities and it seems like it's pretty standard material, if you know much about networking. Questions have to do with what commands you would use to view a computer's ARP cache or to see which hosts have made TCP connections to your computer (this all assumes a Windows PC) and exercises focused on ipconfig and ping. Not super challenging, but if the goal is to teach a networking newbie, this is at the right level. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that only one "hour" was dedicated to IPv6 (Hour 13) or that there were Exercises assigned to this chapter, but no answers for them in the Appendix. There are two good reasons for this. One is that a newbie will have their hands full with IPv4 and the other is that most folks still consider IPv6 really new (the "newness" is an illusion as IPv6 standards have been developing for years and many ISPs have accelerating their adoption of the next version of IP recently). The downside to this "neglect" in the book is that newbies are the perfect audience to learn IPv6 from scratch, at least at the level of concept. If you've got a couple of Windows 7 computers, you can ping their IPv6 addresses or ping your own localhost address (ping ::1).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On the up side, this TCP/IP book covers a lot more than TCP/IP at the level of the protocol including DNS, Routing, SOAP, Email, and "the Cloud". That sounds impressive and from the neophyte's perspective it is. However, because the book is addressed to the beginner, that's about as deep as you go into any of these topics. To be fair, that's a deep as this book should go, but that also means if you have any networking experience at all and you don't need a ground-level review, this book will be too light for you.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If you are a person who wants to learn basic networking (not particularly for how to set up two or three computers for wired/wifi in your home) with an eye on something a little more advanced like &lt;a href="http://certification.comptia.org/getCertified/certifications/network.aspx" target="_blank"&gt;CompTIA's Network+&lt;/a&gt; and a little later on &lt;a href="http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/le2/le0/le9/learning_certification_type_home.html" target="_blank"&gt;Cisco's CCNA&lt;/a&gt;, then Casad's book will certainly give you a leg up. If that's where you are or where you want to go, I'd recommend &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sams-Teach-Yourself-TCP-Hours/dp/0672335719/" target="_blank"&gt;Sams Teach Yourself TCP/IP in 24 Hours&lt;/a&gt;. If you have some experience and are looking for a book with more "meat" to it, you'll need to look elsewhere.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Addendum, 12-26-2011:&lt;/b&gt; Regarding IPv6 deployment, I just found this article at InfoWorld: &lt;a href="http://www.infoworld.com/d/networking/ipv6-due-wide-deployment-in-2012-experts-say-182497" target="_blank"&gt;IPv6 due for wide deployment in 2012, experts say&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-2913718724782646669?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/2913718724782646669/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/12/book-review-sams-teach-yourself-tcpip.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/2913718724782646669'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/2913718724782646669'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/12/book-review-sams-teach-yourself-tcpip.html' title='Book Review: Sams Teach Yourself TCP/IP in 24 Hours (5th Edition)'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KasUXTWefw0/TvexCMsx10I/AAAAAAAABCc/_qmy1I8_N6Q/s72-c/tcp-ip-5.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-8187036139139036252</id><published>2011-12-23T12:13:00.002-07:00</published><updated>2011-12-23T20:07:09.105-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Films'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='technology'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='tablets'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Movies'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='amazon'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='TV'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='kindle fire'/><title type='text'>Review: Kindle Fire Video Experience</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mhngZzX7rxM/TvTQHXG81LI/AAAAAAAABCQ/-ajixFKGhgo/s1600/kindle-fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mhngZzX7rxM/TvTQHXG81LI/AAAAAAAABCQ/-ajixFKGhgo/s320/kindle-fire.jpg" width="206" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Recently, I was given a &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Fire-Amazon-Tablet/dp/B0051VVOB2" target="_blank"&gt;Kindle Fire&lt;/a&gt; and after registering it and setting up WiFi at home, I decide to try it out. Since I've got a free month of Amazon Prime service with my new Kindle Fire, I thought I'd take the video experience for a spin last night. I found out that not all movies and TV shows are free with the Prime service (alas) but some really good ones are. All old &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twilight_Zone" target="_blank"&gt;Twilight Zone&lt;/a&gt; episodes are free with Amazon Prime. I watched the very first Twilight Zone ever, starring Earl Holliman (points if you know who that is without Googling). Steaming via WiFi was fast with no service interruptions, so I could really lose myself in the show. Image was crystal clear but you might want to keep low lighting in the room because reflections are a problem.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I made an interesting discovery watching that episode from 1959. It was filmed at the same Universal Studio backlot as the town square scenes from the &lt;a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088763/" target="_blank"&gt;Back to the Future&lt;/a&gt; (1985) films. The courthouse with the clocktower was a high school in the TV episode and Mel's diner (later a gym) was a police station. The incredible irony is Marty goes back to 1955 but the place existed for real as early as 1959 (and probably before). Great stuff for a trivia nerd like me. There's more tidbits I found in other episodes, but they're kind of obscure unless you're into old science fiction films.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The two other classic TZ episodes I watched starred the wonderful actors Burgess Meredith and Agnes Moorehead (one per each episode). Then I decided to watch the two-hour premiere episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which I haven't seen in years. I really had a lot of fun with the scenes I remembered and particularly with the scenes I didn't (I completely forgot Patrick Stewart guess starred).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The 7 inch screen is a little small, but the video experience was still OK. Sound via ear buds worked fine. I did notice feeling a little vertigo when I moved the Kindle closer and then further away from my eyes during the shows. I don't recommend walking around while watching as it gets to be disorienting. I finally put it on the bed so I had a stable platform for the Kindle.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Searching for shows and films worked well, The search feature has an auto-complete, so you don't have to do a lot of typing. I did notice that auto-complete would generate search results (such as "return of the creature", which I mistakenly thought was &lt;a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/88127/Revenge-of-the-Creature/" target="_blank"&gt;Revenge of the Creature&lt;/a&gt; [1955]) that when selected, produce no actual result (the film doesn't exist in the Amazon archives, apparently). &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I'm sure there's a reason for it, but I couldn't figure out why some shows were offered via Prime and others weren't (probably licensing, but who knows?). For instance, all old Twilight Zone episodes were available but no old &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outer_Limits_%281963_TV_series%29" target="_blank"&gt;Outer Limits&lt;/a&gt; shows were offered through Prime.  Just for giggles, I tried to find the original premiere episode for &lt;a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058824/"&gt;Lost in Space&lt;/a&gt; but it's not available through Prime, either.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Except for the small screen size and the need to keep the Kindle Fire pretty still while viewing, I can't complain about my video experience. You can control the volume of the show and pause and play at will, just by tapping the screen to show the controls. Despite the limitations on selection, I still found plenty of interesting viewing choices. Very nice for my very first tablet experience. I'll have to try out the lending library next.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Oh. Does anyone know a good way to read comic books on a Kindle Fire? Just asking.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-8187036139139036252?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/8187036139139036252/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-kindle-fire-video-experience.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/8187036139139036252'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/8187036139139036252'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-kindle-fire-video-experience.html' title='Review: Kindle Fire Video Experience'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mhngZzX7rxM/TvTQHXG81LI/AAAAAAAABCQ/-ajixFKGhgo/s72-c/kindle-fire.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-6044948780408143718</id><published>2011-12-03T17:34:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-12-03T17:34:05.900-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='ruby'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='javascript'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='web development'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='coffeescript'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='programming'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='jQuery'/><title type='text'>Review of CoffeeScript: Accelerated JavaScript Development</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EO1uqLNx1nI/TtqdBzOuXuI/AAAAAAAABB8/FbPviMrGlJI/s1600/coffeescript.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EO1uqLNx1nI/TtqdBzOuXuI/AAAAAAAABB8/FbPviMrGlJI/s200/coffeescript.jpg" width="166" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;It's been awhile since I've sunk my teeth into a good book review so I'm finally glad to get my appetite back and start consuming Trevor Burnham's &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/CoffeeScript-Accelerated-JavaScript-Development-Pragmatic/dp/1934356786/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1322946140&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;CoffeeScript: Accelerated JavaScript Development&lt;/a&gt; book. I'm actually just as interested in trying out CoffeeScript itself as in having a look at what the book has to offer. Well then, let's get started.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
First off, before even getting into the book, what is "CoffeeScript"? For a quick and dirty definition, I hit up &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CoffeeScript" target="_blank"&gt;Wikipedia&lt;/a&gt;:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;em&gt;CoffeeScript is a programming language that transcompiles to JavaScript. The language adds syntactic sugar inspired by Ruby, Python and Haskell to enhance JavaScript's brevity and readability, as well as adding more sophisticated features like array comprehension and pattern matching. CoffeeScript compiles predictably to JavaScript and programs can be written with less code (typically 1/3 fewer lines) with no effect on runtime performance. Since March 16, 2011, CoffeeScript has been on GitHub's list of most-watched projects.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;I suppose I could say that if you don't know what CoffeeScript is, you shouldn't be reading Burnham's book, but that's probably not true. According to the "Who This Book Is For" section in the Preface:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;em&gt;If you're interested in learning CoffeeScript, you've come to the right place! However, because CoffeeScript is so closely linked to JavaScript, there are really two languages running through this book - and not enough pages to teach you both. Therefore, I'm going to assume that you know some JavaScript."&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;The author goes on to say that even if you know just a bit of JavaScript, you should be OK, but rank novices at the language might want to get to know a bit of JavaScript before tackling CoffeeScript. Also, since Ruby inspired a lot of the features in CoffeeScript, having a bit of Ruby background is a plus.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A couple of other "support" features before diving into the book and CoffeeScript. The sample code used in the book can be found on the book's official page at &lt;a href="http://pragprog.com/book/tbcoffee/coffeescript" target="_blank"&gt;Pragmatic&lt;/a&gt; along with links to the errata, the &lt;a href="http://forums.pragprog.com/forums/169" target="_blank"&gt;discussion forums&lt;/a&gt; and of course, how to buy the book in hardcopy, ebook, or both formats.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
How to get CoffeeScript.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I chose to use Ubuntu for my "testing platform" but was running Ubuntu's last LTS version, which doesn't support installing CoffeeScript, even in an exceptionally painful manner. Therefore, I upgraded my Ubuntu box to 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot), opened the Ubuntu Software Center, and searched for CoffeeScript. It was discovered in no time and I installed it with no difficulty. Notice that this means I completely blew off the instructions for installing CoffeeScript as found in the first chapter, but since the book was published last August and the production version of 11.10 didn't become available until October, I figured, "what the heck". We'll see if my impatience will come back to bite me in the rear.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So now I have CoffeeScript. How am I going to use it? Oh, yeah. I have this book.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Anxious to "meet coffee", I opened a terminal window and just for giggles, typed "coffee -v" to see what version I had. So far, so good, I have version 1.1.1, the same version used in the book (the latest version as I write this blog post is 1.1.3).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
There are all kinds of text editors you can use with CoffeeScript, but the author, apparently being a Mac guy, prefers &lt;a href="http://macromates.com/" target="_blank"&gt;textmate&lt;/a&gt;. Fine and dandy, but I use Ubuntu and prefer Vim. Apparently, there are textmate plugins for a wide variety of text editors including Emacs, gedit, jEdit, and of course, Vim. You can choose to go through the time and effort of adding the plug-in but you don't have to. As it says in the book, any text editor will do.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I have to say two very good things about this book. First off, the author obviously knows CoffeeScript. This is evidenced by the apparent ease at which he explains the concepts and the whirlwind tour he takes the reader through. The whirlwind tour is the second good thing since the reader gets started programming right away and dives into a practical project. If you are a beginning web developer, this book is well suited to your experience level. Unfortunately, for the beginner (and probably more advanced readers), the book has some drawbacks. I'm not sure Burnham knew exactly who to write the book for. At some points, you need to understand some JavaScript to know what's going on and at others, the author goes to some length to explain aspects of HTML and CSS (which I would presume the reader should know if they're taking on a web development programming language). &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I don't mind books for beginners and in fact, I encourage them, and as an author, I can certainly understand when a publisher asks that you limit your page count to under 150 and thus limit the scope of your book, but it's as if Burnham couldn't decide how to best make use of his 138 pages. While it's good not to overwhelm novice programmers with a lot of details, beginners also tend to get confused easily if tasks and concepts are not sufficiently explored. Based on his writing style and presentation, it seems like Burnham is probably a very likable and knowledgable person, so I hate to give his book a less than stellar rating, but with CoffeeScript, JavaScript as well as jQuery, HTML, and CSS all tossed into the middle of the salad, it was hard to see the overall focus of this small text.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I do like that the book devoted itself to creating a single product (a simple game) throughout the chapters and allowed the reader to make and refine this game as a way to learn basic CoffeeScript, but in my opinion, the book is as frustrating as it is illuminating. If you're interested in learning CoffeeScript and you have at least a little programming experience, I won't say not to buy Pragmatic's &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/CoffeeScript-Accelerated-JavaScript-Development-Pragmatic/dp/1934356786/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1322946140&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;CoffeeScript&lt;/a&gt; book, but I would recommend also spending a lot of time at &lt;a href="http://coffeescript.org/" target="_blank"&gt;coffeescript.org&lt;/a&gt; which, in and of itself, isn't a bad way to learn this language.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-6044948780408143718?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/6044948780408143718/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-of-coffeescript-accelerated.html#comment-form' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/6044948780408143718'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/6044948780408143718'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-of-coffeescript-accelerated.html' title='Review of CoffeeScript: Accelerated JavaScript Development'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EO1uqLNx1nI/TtqdBzOuXuI/AAAAAAAABB8/FbPviMrGlJI/s72-c/coffeescript.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-5677744237526662301</id><published>2011-10-11T08:28:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2011-10-11T08:28:10.999-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='name resolution'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='dns'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review O&apos;Reilly'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bind'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='IPv6'/><title type='text'>Review: DNS &amp; BIND on IPv6</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IqPyqLRr68s/TpRRibXyvLI/AAAAAAAABAs/XKSX9SGGzDY/s1600/dns-bind-on-ipv6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="261" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IqPyqLRr68s/TpRRibXyvLI/AAAAAAAABAs/XKSX9SGGzDY/s320/dns-bind-on-ipv6.jpg" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Author: Cricket Liu&lt;br /&gt;
Format: Paperback, 52 pages&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: O'Reilly Media (May 27, 2011)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 1449305199&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-1449305192&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I have a relationship with a number of publishers whereby I can request review copies of their books and then, after going through them, write my reviews. This is a perfectly normal transaction and a win-win for both the reviewer and the publisher. The publisher gets some free marketing and the reviewer gets a book. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I requested Cricket Liu's &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/DNS-BIND-IPv6-Cricket-Liu/dp/1449305199/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1318341578&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;DNS &amp;amp; BIND on IPv6&lt;/a&gt; from O'Reilly...twice, along with several other titles. They never came and never came and never came, which is unusual, especially after they told me they'd sent the package twice.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ordinarily, I would have moved on, but I really have an interest in IPv6 and Liu is &lt;u&gt;&lt;i&gt;the&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/u&gt; DNS and BIND guru, so I did something I normally wouldn't have done. I bought the book. I had a gift certificate so technically, I wasn't out-of-pocket, but a little less than $30.00 for 52 pages is still a tad spendy (as you can tell, I live on a budget).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
All that aside, when the book came, I tore into it with a passion. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Liu's book, and a number of other similar "thin books" being put out by O'Reilly are really more of an appendix to larger tomes. Just imagine the content of &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/DNS-BIND-IPv6-Cricket-Liu/dp/1449305199/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1318341578&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;DNS &amp;amp; BIND on IPv6&lt;/a&gt; fitting into the back pages of &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/DNS-BIND-5th-Cricket-Liu/dp/0596100574/ref=pd_sim_b1" target="_blank"&gt;DNS and BIND 5th Ed.&lt;/a&gt; (2006). I can imagine when the 6th edition is published, the IPv6 book content will be folded in, but that's just my wishful thinking.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Don't expect a lot of background from the IPv6 book. It assumes that you are well versed in DNS and BIND and don't need a lot of hand holding. In fact, you are expected to know a fair amount about how IPv6 works before beginning to read as well. The "background to IPv6" part of the book is barely a page long, then you launch right into IPv6 forward and reverse mapping. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If you are a DNS administrator and just need to understand how IPv6 figures into your job, this book is a good introduction. Like the other books in this series (last August, I reviewed &lt;a href="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/08/migrating-applications-to-ipv6-review.html" target="_blank"&gt;Migrating Applications to IPv6&lt;/a&gt; which is only 50 pages), the limited page count allows the reader only a taste of the topic at hand. You're not going to dig very deep (slight pun there for &lt;a href="http://linux.die.net/man/1/dig" target="_blank"&gt;dig&lt;/a&gt; fans). Actually, a certain amount of the content can be traced back to &lt;a href="http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1886.txt" target="_blank"&gt;RFC 1886&lt;/a&gt; which is the &lt;a href="http://www.ietf.org/" target="_blank"&gt;IETF&lt;/a&gt; documentation for DNS Extensions to support IP version 6.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I was just a little disappointed that Liu didn't mention that RFC 1886 has been obsoleted by &lt;a href="ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc3596.txt" target="_blank"&gt;RFC 3596&lt;/a&gt;, especially since the latter RFC was released eight years ago. It may not have made any difference in how he wrote the book, but keeping up with standards is the lifeblood of understanding IPv6 implementation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Still, the book doesn't disappoint as long as you keep the intended audience and scope in mind. If you're a DNS/BIND administrator and you need a brief ramp up on IPv6 and name resolution, Liu's book is the source to check out.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-5677744237526662301?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/5677744237526662301/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/10/review-dns-bind-on-ipv6.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/5677744237526662301'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/5677744237526662301'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/10/review-dns-bind-on-ipv6.html' title='Review: DNS &amp; BIND on IPv6'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IqPyqLRr68s/TpRRibXyvLI/AAAAAAAABAs/XKSX9SGGzDY/s72-c/dns-bind-on-ipv6.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-4460483487530693479</id><published>2011-10-07T08:05:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2011-10-07T08:05:25.531-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='computer repair'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='study guide'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='A+ certification'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='comptia'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='A+ technician'/><title type='text'>31 Days Before Your CompTIA A+ Exams (2nd Edition)</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d1R8TQVEGH4/To8HC6WySII/AAAAAAAABAk/gfHhzlWUj6w/s1600/31-days.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="299" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d1R8TQVEGH4/To8HC6WySII/AAAAAAAABAk/gfHhzlWUj6w/s320/31-days.jpg" width="198" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;OK, I realize that the name on the cover says "Ben Conry" and he wrote the original content that was submitted to the publisher, but for unknown reasons he abruptly dropped out of the project. Meanwhile, the technical and production editors had marked up his content with a ton of questions and proposed changes and &lt;i&gt;somebody&lt;/i&gt; had to deal with them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Enter "me". &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If you go to page "v" in the frontmatter, you'll see "About the Author" which tells you about Ben and then you'll see "About the Contributing Author" which is my bio. I don't get "cover credit" because the primary content isn't mind and I was brought into the book late in the game, on the other hand (sorry, Ben), I had to "fix" a lot of the content so it would make sense in relation to the current A+ exam domains. Hopefully, this will make the book more successful on the market, but you, the reader, will have to judge that for yourself. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If you're studying for the A+ exams and you want to give yourself an intense 31-day review prior to exam day, please pick up a copy of &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Days-Before-Your-CompTIA-Exams/dp/1587132605/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1317995377&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;31 Days Before Your CompTIA A+ Exams (2nd Edition)&lt;/a&gt;, published by Cisco Press. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Please keep in mind that you &lt;i&gt;must&lt;/i&gt; do your primary studying from some tome like Mike Meyers's &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Seventh-220-701-220-702/dp/0071701338/ref=pd_sim_b3" target="_blank"&gt;CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Seventh Edition&lt;/a&gt; or the McGraw Hill book &lt;a href="http://www.mhprofessional.com/product.php?isbn=0071701451" target="_blank"&gt;CompTIA A+ Certification Study Guide, Seventh Edition&lt;/a&gt; (I wrote the companion to the McGraw Hill publication: &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Practice-220-701-220-702/dp/0071760180/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3" target="_blank"&gt;CompTIA A+ Certification Practice Exams&lt;/a&gt;).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After studying with one (or more) of these "big books" and then using the "31 days" book, take the exam, then let me know how you did by commenting on this blog. I also encourage you to post a review on &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Days-Before-Your-CompTIA-Exams/dp/1587132605/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1317995377&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;Amazon&lt;/a&gt; (be nice) to let others know how well the book helped you out.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Good luck to all A+ test takers. Cheers.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-4460483487530693479?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/4460483487530693479/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/10/31-days-before-your-comptia-exams-2nd.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4460483487530693479'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4460483487530693479'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/10/31-days-before-your-comptia-exams-2nd.html' title='31 Days Before Your CompTIA A+ Exams (2nd Edition)'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d1R8TQVEGH4/To8HC6WySII/AAAAAAAABAk/gfHhzlWUj6w/s72-c/31-days.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-1687290269547502563</id><published>2011-09-26T06:48:00.001-06:00</published><updated>2011-09-26T06:49:10.185-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='censorship'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='banned'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='read'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='books'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='libraries'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='reading'/><title type='text'>How Can These Books be Banned?</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LOJ328zoHQM/ToB0DSbvp_I/AAAAAAAAA-s/WlF7LLMKO7Y/s1600/read-freely.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="296" width="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LOJ328zoHQM/ToB0DSbvp_I/AAAAAAAAA-s/WlF7LLMKO7Y/s320/read-freely.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I know this is a little off topic for this blog, but when I "re-invented" it, my intention was to broaden its scope. I came across a link to &lt;a href="http://libraryland.tumblr.com/post/10679100709/this-week-is-banned-books-week-read-something" target="_blank"&gt;libraryland&lt;/a&gt; on &lt;a href="http://npr.tumblr.com/post/10685032158/libraryland-this-week-is-banned-books-week" target="_blank"&gt;NPR&lt;/a&gt; this morning and followed the link to the &lt;a href="http://www.mchsmedia.com/uploads/2/7/2/7/2727950/banned_books_list2011.pdf" target="_blank"&gt;2011 Banned Books List&lt;/a&gt;. I've read a lot of these books. I seriously doubt they're banned in the U.S (unless we're talking about public school libraries and such). or in many western nations. Too bad NPR or Libraryland failed to run even a small explanation about where these books are banned and under what conditions people are forbidden to read them.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-1687290269547502563?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/1687290269547502563/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-can-these-books-be-banned.html#comment-form' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/1687290269547502563'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/1687290269547502563'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-can-these-books-be-banned.html' title='How Can These Books be Banned?'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LOJ328zoHQM/ToB0DSbvp_I/AAAAAAAAA-s/WlF7LLMKO7Y/s72-c/read-freely.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-5815479402922770150</id><published>2011-09-14T11:04:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2011-09-14T11:04:56.435-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='windows 7'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='red screen of death'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='startup error'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='serious error'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='microsoft'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='computer maintenance'/><title type='text'>Recovering from the Windows 7 Red Screen of Death</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_CMDqMXSyds/TnDcTlRbpWI/AAAAAAAAA8k/5Pi5OpUlWec/s1600/rrod.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_CMDqMXSyds/TnDcTlRbpWI/AAAAAAAAA8k/5Pi5OpUlWec/s320/rrod.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;OK, this isn't really how my Windows 7 Professional screen looked last Sunday evening after "the disaster", but I'm not really an artist. The screen looked more or less like the usual desktop except everything had a reddish cast and it resembled an out-of-tune TV image from the 1960s (back in the day when you had to manually fine tune your TV to better pick up a local station). &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Here's the background.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I was doing some work in my home office under my desk in the nest of power and network cables when I accidentally hit the power switch to one of the surge protectors. Among other devices, my Windows 7 machine was connected to this unit. No big deal. I've done this a thousand times. I turned the surge protector back on, hit the power button on my Windows 7 machine, and figured all was well. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Wrong.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I got an message saying a serious error had occurred and that I should boot into system recovery using the Windows 7 install disc to repair the damage. Fool that I am, I just rebooted to see if that would fix the problem. It didn't. Since I could still get to the desktop, I accessed System Restore and rebooted back in time a couple of days figuring that would do it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Nope.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I broke down and got the repair disc and used it to reboot the machine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ovopQn8fJlo/TnDdBuK2hAI/AAAAAAAAA8s/_33w5Oya49o/s1600/repair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ovopQn8fJlo/TnDdBuK2hAI/AAAAAAAAA8s/_33w5Oya49o/s320/repair.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;When I got to the System Recovery Options screen, I clicked &lt;b&gt;Startup Repair&lt;/b&gt; as the most logical option. It went through its routine saying that it might fix the problem and reboot once or need to reboot several times before the error was fixed. After the first reboot, the problem was still with me. I tried again, but had no better luck. I was cursing the fact that I had no backups of my machine to restore it in case it was completely hosed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I powered the unit down and opened up the box. I made sure the SATA drive connections were solid and that all of the RAM sticks were firmly in place. This proved to be a vain effort, but it was worth a shot. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Rebooted using the disc and ran &lt;b&gt;Startup Repair&lt;/b&gt; again, looking for the &lt;i&gt;"Startup Repair could not detect a problem"&lt;/i&gt; message, but no such luck. Finally, at the end of the routine, I clicked the &lt;i&gt;"View diagnostic and repair details link"&lt;/i&gt;. All of the tests were OK except one. The machine couldn't find a valid boot partition. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Oops.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I copied the exact error message down and Googled it, which lead me to &lt;a href="http://www.sevenforums.com/hardware-devices/36367-invalid-system-partition.html" target="_blank"&gt;sevenforums.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Basically, forum user SIW2 saved my ass with this:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;Boot 7 dvd to system recovery options command prompt. Type:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;code&gt;Diskpart&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
lis vol&lt;/code&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( find the vol letter e.g C or partition number e.g. 1 for the system partition )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;code&gt;sel vol C&lt;/code&gt; ( or sel vol 1 , obviously use the correct letter or number)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;code&gt;act&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
exi&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;I followed his advice step-by-step praying all the time that God would be merciful. After I was finished and closed the command prompt, I removed the disc and rebooted the machine. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ta-da!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It's alive!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Moral of the story is that bad things can happen under mundane circumstances and back up your frigging computer! The other moral of the story is never, ever throw away, lose, or misplace all of the discs that come with your computer. You never know when you'll need to lay your hands on them quickly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Oh, there really is a Windows 7 &lt;a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-5703006-7.html" target="_blank"&gt;Red Screen of Death&lt;/a&gt;, but it's not exactly what I experienced.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-5815479402922770150?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/5815479402922770150/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/09/recovering-from-windows-7-red-screen-of.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/5815479402922770150'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/5815479402922770150'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/09/recovering-from-windows-7-red-screen-of.html' title='Recovering from the Windows 7 Red Screen of Death'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_CMDqMXSyds/TnDcTlRbpWI/AAAAAAAAA8k/5Pi5OpUlWec/s72-c/rrod.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-5598034200015153004</id><published>2011-09-07T19:05:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2011-09-07T19:05:57.601-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review O&apos;Reilly'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='html5'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='audio'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='video training'/><title type='text'>Book Review: HTML5 Media</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wGumisBiOO0/TmgTfAcEdiI/AAAAAAAAA14/QSZaumnh39k/s1600/html5media.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wGumisBiOO0/TmgTfAcEdiI/AAAAAAAAA14/QSZaumnh39k/s200/html5media.jpg" width="151" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;By Shelley Powers&lt;br /&gt;
Paperback: 138 pages&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (August 17, 2011)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 1449304451&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-1449304454&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I understand that O'Reilly is publishing a series of hardcopy and ebooks that sport a rather modest page count in order to get the material to market very quickly. Shelley Powers' &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/HTML5-Media-Shelley-Powers/dp/1449304451/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1315440658&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;HTML5 Media&lt;/a&gt; is one of them. Please keep in mind this book isn't intended to teach you everything you want to know about HTML5 but rather, to show web developers how to insert HTML5 media elements into web pages using the new video and audio elements.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The book's front matter states that the target audience is web developers, authors, and designers who need to ramp up to using HTML5 video and audio elements fast. Hence the size of the book. No one wants to read through 800 pages when they need to do anything fast. Powers' book, with its scant 138 page count, is guaranteed to be a fast read...maybe. Actually, that depends on how much you already know. While the book doesn't require you have a lot of experience with actual video and audio files, you will need a background in CSS and JavaScript for this to make the most sense to you. Of course, if you are a designer or developer, that should go without saying.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While sample code is available, sample video and audio files are not. It's sort of a BYO...F (for files) affair. This is to keep the size of the downloadables manageable, so be prepared to have video and audio material of your own available (if you don't have much on hand, don't worry. Powers provides a number of resources where you'll be able to access what you need).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It's not just about the HTML...it's about the browsers. You can be fabulous HTML5 designer but if your browser (or your customer's browser) doesn't support the audio and video elements, you might as well not bother. IE9 or later is required, but you can also work with Firefox 3.5 or Chrome 6 and do just fine. If you keep your browsers current, you have nothing to worry about.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I got to work right away with what I learned on page 2, creating a basic audio page and, by adding the controls attribute to the audio element, I could play a sample mp3 I had on my computer (Sleep Away by Bob Acri using Chrome 9.0 on Windows 7, in case you wanted to know).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
With my first minor success completed, I decided to download the sample files for the book and went back to the preface to look for the link...and didn't find it. I found the usual boilerplate text under "Using Code Examples" and while Powers says in the "Examples" section that there is a downloadable, I couldn't see where she provided the URL. Fortunately, I had already looked up the book's site at oreilly.com and easily found the correct zip file (and remember, when you try to work with these files, you'll need to provide your own video and audio material &lt;em&gt;and&lt;/em&gt; change the default names to the names of the files you're working with in the sample code).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The book presents its content in four chapters which covers the default use of the video and audio elements, customizing the media elements (this is where CSS and JavaScript experience starts to come in handy), and other, more advanced material, including media elements in SVG documents. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Frankly, I found working with this book to be a blast. It's short enough to not be overwhelming to the reader and to impart a real sense of accomplishment very quickly, but dense enough to provide practical information that can be leveraged into actual, real-world web projects (not all books do this). Doing a bit of research, I took a look at some of the other books Powers has written including &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Learning-JavaScript-2nd-Shelley-Powers/dp/0596521871/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1315440724&amp;amp;sr=1-2" target="_blank"&gt;Learning JavaScript, 2nd Edition&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/JavaScript-Cookbook-Shelley-Powers/dp/0596806132/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1315440724&amp;amp;sr=1-3" target="_blank"&gt;JavaScript Cookbook&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/HTML5-Media-Shelley-Powers/dp/1449304451/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1315440658&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;HTML5 Media&lt;/a&gt; is another fine example of her writing and another fine book from O'Reilly. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If working with media files in HTML5 sounds like something you want or need to do, I'd recommend picking up a copy of this book.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-5598034200015153004?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/5598034200015153004/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/09/book-review-html5-media.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/5598034200015153004'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/5598034200015153004'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/09/book-review-html5-media.html' title='Book Review: HTML5 Media'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wGumisBiOO0/TmgTfAcEdiI/AAAAAAAAA14/QSZaumnh39k/s72-c/html5media.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-1420090827353346703</id><published>2011-09-06T19:53:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2011-09-06T19:53:32.254-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Tutorial'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review. O&apos;Reilly'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='learning perl'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='perl'/><title type='text'>Book Review: Learning Perl, Sixth Edition</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YmX4v9Cg94k/TmbNa98dQgI/AAAAAAAAA1w/2wVXSyWAfUg/s1600/perl6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YmX4v9Cg94k/TmbNa98dQgI/AAAAAAAAA1w/2wVXSyWAfUg/s320/perl6.jpg" width="244" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Paperback: 390 pages&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: O'Reilly Media; Sixth Edition edition (July 1, 2011)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 1449303587&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-1449303587&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It's been around awhile...the Learning Perl book I mean. Now in its sixth edition, this O'Reilly classic is still going strong. But first things first.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Who is this book for? You don't find out until the first page of Chapter 1, but it's called "Introduction", so I guess that's OK. Is this book for you? Depends. According to page 1, &lt;i&gt;"This is not a reference book. It's a tutorial on the very basics of Perl, which is just enough for you to create simple programs mostly for your own use."&lt;/i&gt; In other words, you'll learn Perl but not much more. The reader is presumed to know some programming and is someone who specifically needs to learn Perl. Beyond the basics, don't expect much out of &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Perl-Randal-L-Schwartz/dp/1449303587/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1315358468&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;Learning Perl&lt;/a&gt;, but that's not a fault of the book. That's its nature. Anything else you need to know, you'll have to get somewhere else. That said, you start learning Perl here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Why a Sixth edition? That's easy to find in the front matter of the book. The changes are all laid out in the "Changes from the Previous Edition" section. The book's been updated for Perl 5.14, but that's on the cover. Keep in mind that some of the book's sample code will only work with 5.14, so if something seems "broken", check the version of Perl you're using (this section in the book tells you how to do that). Not all of the sample code requires the latest version of Perl, though. A lot of it will work with older versions.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I loved the line in the Preface that said, &lt;i&gt;"We can't give you all of Perl in just a few hours. The books that promise that are probably fibbing a bit."&lt;/i&gt; That's the reality of learning how to program in Perl or any other language. I love the honesty. Like Edna says, &lt;i&gt;"I covered the basics."&lt;/i&gt; (If you don't know who I'm quoting, turn in your geek badge now).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Now that you know who this book was written for and what it won't teach you, what will it do for you? If you're at all familiar with the prior version, you can expect this book to maintain the same level of excellence as edition five. About the only complaint about that book was that it was too basic, but I've explained that already. The sixth edition is an update on a time-honored Perl book that is designed to just open the door to programming in Perl.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Each chapter provides the conceptual information for the topic at hand and ends with a set of exercises allowing the reader to practice what they've learned. The book doesn't leverage each chapter to allow the reader to build a larger project as they progress through the book. That's often the frustration when I go through beginners books, because I want the programming to actually &lt;b&gt;do something&lt;/b&gt;. If you get that feeling, remind yourself about the book's caveat and then keep going.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If you are an experienced coder, this book might seem a little elementary for you, even if you don't know Perl, so there may some parts you'll skim through, but if you need a ground level foundation, &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Perl-Randal-L-Schwartz/dp/1449303587/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1315358468&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;Learning Perl&lt;/a&gt; is the place to come.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not much more to say. What you see is what you get. If you want to learn Perl and already know a little about programming, buy this book. It's a good investment in your precious time and your hard earned dollars.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-1420090827353346703?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/1420090827353346703/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/09/book-review-learning-perl-sixth-edition.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/1420090827353346703'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/1420090827353346703'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/09/book-review-learning-perl-sixth-edition.html' title='Book Review: Learning Perl, Sixth Edition'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YmX4v9Cg94k/TmbNa98dQgI/AAAAAAAAA1w/2wVXSyWAfUg/s72-c/perl6.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-7473941374589878599</id><published>2011-08-31T20:49:00.004-06:00</published><updated>2011-09-01T08:19:15.312-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='javascript'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Tutorial'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='programming'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='review'/><title type='text'>Learn to Program Online at Codecademy.com</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rS_EwrxD0rc/Tl7yHyndNuI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/DSsGj94cXPI/s1600/ca1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="107" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rS_EwrxD0rc/Tl7yHyndNuI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/DSsGj94cXPI/s320/ca1.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;My friend Judah Himango suggested that I look at the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.codecademy.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Codecademy.com&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;site. It's just about the easiest way to learn JavaScript anyone could imagine, and it's relatively fun, too. There is a bit of a hook involved. Although you can start the lessons without creating an account, after a few lessons, you are offered the opportunity to either create an account (it's free) or lose your work to date.&amp;nbsp;I created an account.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Once I did, I could continue with the lessons, quit with I got tired/bored (my work was saved automatically), and then sign in later to continue with my saved work. On signing in, you are shown a summary of the lessons you've completed and which ones you have yet to start. After you successfully finish so many lessons, you "earn" achievement badges. For making it through the first four of eight lessons, I earned two achievements.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The lessons are fun, easy, but inflexible. If you deviate from the lesson in the slightest way, you will get an error message. While a hint is provided with different steps in each lesson, if you get stuck, you don't get any other help except to offer feedback about the lesson. There's no way to just get the full solution presented to you. That's good on the one hand, because you aren't tempted to give up too easily and it "forces" you to try and figure out what went wrong. On the other hand, it you truly get stuck...you're stuck. Lessons build on one another (which is a good idea) so if you can't figure one part of a lesson out, you won't be able to just skip it and move on.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The scope of the course, "Getting Started with Programming", only spans eight lessons, ending after the lesson on "while loops". There's no obvious way for me to tell after lesson eight if I'll be able to continue with what I've started to learn. I clicked the "Courses" link in the header menu expecting to see extended (possibly for pay) courses, but all that appeared was the eight lessons for the basic course. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Once you log out, you're returned to the start page. The other options on that page include subscribing to an email newsletter, and sharing your experience with your lessons on twitter and Facebook. Presumably, this is part of how Codecademy plans to market itself. Oh, there is a section called "Create a Lesson", so the Codecademy folks are interested in external participation in expanding their project.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Codecademy seems like it's a project in the making. Since they harvest your email address, both as a condition of creating an account, and during the pre-account lesson when you're asked to enter your email address, I expect that once Codecademy has a sufficient database of names, they'll advance to the next phase of whatever their plan happens to be. That could either mean further lessons will be for a fee or they may continue to offer more advanced lessons without charging.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z3C4TQ8JMsM/Tl7ycYWaiSI/AAAAAAAAA0g/JRzlk-FUIyE/s1600/ca2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="145" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z3C4TQ8JMsM/Tl7ycYWaiSI/AAAAAAAAA0g/JRzlk-FUIyE/s320/ca2.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
I'm hardly the first blogger to post a review. About two weeks ago, &lt;a href="http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/18/codecademy-a-slick-fun-way-to-teach-yourself-how-to-program/" target="_blank"&gt;TechCrunch&lt;/a&gt; published their write up on Codecademy, including a talking to Codecademy co-founders Zach Sims and Ryan Bubinski. Sims commented several times on the TechCrunch blog including, &lt;i&gt;"Hi everyone - we might be a little slow right now but we're working on getting things faster. Thanks so much!"&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Other thoughts:&lt;/b&gt; The "subtitle" of the course "Getting Started with Programming" is "Time to become a coding ninja". That sounds as if Codecademy's intent is to encourage its students to become proficient and even expert at coding. Three things will have to happen. The first one is obvious. They'll need more lessons. A lot more lessons. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The next two points I take from my own experience. You can't really learn something unless you do it all the time. People don't learn to read and write when they do it only occasionally. They need to practice reading and writing all of the time until it becomes second nature. Even if  you teach someone the basics of programming, if they don't have any way to apply it on a frequent basis, they'll lose those skills again. Building in some form of continual practice with periodic refreshers of material covered previously will help.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Finally, students will eventually have to learn to "build" something practical. Learning how to determine the length of a string is fine and dandy, but so what? How does that figure into writing a program that actually &lt;i&gt;does&lt;/i&gt; something? Lessons will eventually have to lead to practical projects so that at some point, the students will be able to program independently.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Of course, the real power in any programming language is its libraries, so learning JavaScript will have to turn into something like learning jQuery. Another things to consider is whether or not JavaScript will be the only programming language Codecademy chooses to teach. A lot can be done with JavaScript but hardly everything. A server-side language such as PHP might make a good addition. Beyond that, it just depends on what sort of long-term goals Codecademy has for its project.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Presently, although Codecademy has gotten a lot more attention than they expected in the short amount of time they've been online, I'm sure they'd love more. If you know little or nothing about programming but would like to learn in an interactive environment, go to &lt;a href="http://www.codecademy.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Codecademy.com&lt;/a&gt; and try it out.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-7473941374589878599?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/7473941374589878599/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/08/learn-to-program-online-at.html#comment-form' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/7473941374589878599'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/7473941374589878599'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/08/learn-to-program-online-at.html' title='Learn to Program Online at Codecademy.com'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rS_EwrxD0rc/Tl7yHyndNuI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/DSsGj94cXPI/s72-c/ca1.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-4677139096437862352</id><published>2011-08-13T20:28:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2011-08-13T20:28:02.493-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='application development'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review. O&apos;Reilly'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='IPv4 to IPv6 migration'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='IPv6'/><title type='text'>Migrating Applications to IPv6: A Review</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bO3fpa1zlsg/TkcwRB0yTNI/AAAAAAAAAzI/C2vVwy04h_Q/s1600/ipv4-ipv6-app.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bO3fpa1zlsg/TkcwRB0yTNI/AAAAAAAAAzI/C2vVwy04h_Q/s200/ipv4-ipv6-app.jpg" width="152" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Paperback: 50 pages&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: O'Reilly Media (July 7, 2011)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 1449307876&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-1449307875&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This wasn't what I expected.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I have an interest in migration from IPv4 to IPv6 for reasons I can't really explain right now, but I thought that reviewing Dan York's book &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449307876/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_g14_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;amp;pf_rd_s=center-3&amp;amp;pf_rd_r=0G965PFRCZB8KA957198&amp;amp;pf_rd_t=101&amp;amp;pf_rd_p=470938811&amp;amp;pf_rd_i=507846" target="_blank"&gt;Migrating Applications to IPv6&lt;/a&gt; would hone my thinking and expose me to a different way of looking at IPv6. After all, most of us think of implementing IPv6 on an internetwork. We think of the expanded IP address space and the changes in DNS records, how routing mechanisms will change in IPv6 implementations and so on. We don't really think about how the change will affect applications. You might not have thought that IPv6 would change anything about how you write applications. Dan York's book gets you to think again.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But in only 40 pages? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Actually, the content of the book is only 34 pages. That's like a short chapter in just about any other IT book I've ever read or reviewed. Something made me decide to check around at other books on IPv6 recently published by O'Reilly. There's a trend.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cricket Liu is something of a mainstay at O'Reilly in terms of her &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/DNS-BIND-5th-Cricket-Liu/dp/0596100574/ref=pd_sim_b_1" target="_blank"&gt;DNS and BIND&lt;/a&gt; book (in its 5th edition as of June 2006). Her &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/DNS-BIND-IPv6-Cricket-Liu/dp/1449305199/ref=pd_sim_b_1" target="_blank"&gt;DNS and BIND on IPv6&lt;/a&gt; book was published at the end of May this year. It's only 52 pages long with about 37 pages being actual content. &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Planning-IPv6-Silvia-Hagen/dp/1449305393/ref=pd_sim_b_3" target="_blank"&gt;Planning for IPv6&lt;/a&gt; by Silvia Hagen will be published at the end of August and it's a total of 82 pages long. If you put these three books together, you might have the start of an actual IPv6 book based on the most recent IETF RFCs for IPv6 implementation, but I'd certainly expect more to round out the subject.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Each of these three books runs a little over $25.00 each, but you could also buy Hagen's &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/IPv6-Essentials-Silvia-Hagen/dp/0596100582/ref=pd_sim_b_2" target="_blank"&gt;IPv6 Essentials&lt;/a&gt; book (published in 2006), with a full 448 pages of information, for only about ten dollars more. I looked through the front matter of York's book trying to find some reason for it's "mini-format". I couldn't find anything. I've never seen a complete book from O'Reilly before that was so thin on content. I had expected an in-depth treatment of the topic but what I found was a "pamphlet" of introductory ideas, tips, and tricks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
York's book does address, in a very compressed space, a number of issues that you will need to consider as an applications developer, and they all have to do with how your application accepts, manages, and stores IP addresses and DNS records. If your app requires that an IP address be input, does it do so allowing enough space for IPv6 addresses? If your app manages DNS records, will it be able to accomodate both A and AAAA records (IPv4 and IPv6 respectively)? Does your app expose any APIs that have an IP address format dependency? As a developer, if you haven't asked yourself those questions before, this book will help you find the answers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Is the information in this book useful? Yes. I found the content, what there was of it, well written, insightful, and knowledgable. Is it worth 25 bucks? That's hard to say. If I wanted information on application migration, DNS and BIND, and general IPv4 to IPv6 migration planning, would I pay over $75.00 (for the three books I just mentioned) for a total page count of only 174 pages, no matter how well written or useful, when a full-sized book of almost 450 pages is less than half that cost?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sorry, but I'm having a tough time trying to figure out what O'Reilly's strategy is here. When I requested a review copy of York's book from O'Reilly, I didn't give the page count a single thought. Now, it's all I can think about. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
What happened, O'Reilly?&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-4677139096437862352?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/4677139096437862352/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/08/migrating-applications-to-ipv6-review.html#comment-form' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4677139096437862352'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4677139096437862352'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/08/migrating-applications-to-ipv6-review.html' title='Migrating Applications to IPv6: A Review'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bO3fpa1zlsg/TkcwRB0yTNI/AAAAAAAAAzI/C2vVwy04h_Q/s72-c/ipv4-ipv6-app.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-4201004855949717625</id><published>2011-08-12T09:52:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2011-08-12T09:52:51.590-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Tutorial'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='True Image'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Acronis'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Disk Cloning'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='How To'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Cloning'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Product Review'/><title type='text'>Cloning a Hard Drive with Acronis True Image Home 2011</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hAQ6jZyL3gE/TkVEA4Mf20I/AAAAAAAAAy4/kwNzNeUH21o/s1600/sata1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="156" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hAQ6jZyL3gE/TkVEA4Mf20I/AAAAAAAAAy4/kwNzNeUH21o/s200/sata1.jpg" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;I bought a Windows 7 Professional 64-bit PC from Dell about a year and a half ago and made the mistake of choosing an OS drive with insufficient room. Needless to say, 18+ months later, it was filling up fast. Even storing all of my data and VMs on a separate (and much larger) drive didn't really help. Fortunately, the folks I work for in my day job had decommissioned a lot of hardware and computer parts and I was able to get my hands on a fairly good sized SATA HDD. Now all I had to do was figure out how to transfer Windows 7 from one SATA drive to another.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After doing a bit of research, including asking the fine folks at &lt;a href="http://www.certforums.co.uk/forums/hardware/45469-moving-windows-7-new-sata-drive.html" target="_blank"&gt;Certforums.co.uk&lt;/a&gt; for advice (one of the finest technical certification discussion forums on the planet), I chose &lt;a href="http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/" target="_blank"&gt;Acronis True Image Home 2011&lt;/a&gt; for the job. I had initially settled on Acronis' &lt;a href="http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/migrateeasy/" target="_blank"&gt;Migrate Easy&lt;/a&gt; product, since I didn't need all of the features offered by True Image, but True Image was $10 cheaper and I'm all about getting a bargain. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After stopping by my local &lt;a href="http://www.rjmpc.com/" target="_blank"&gt;computer parts and repair store&lt;/a&gt; to pick up a SATA data cable, I was ready to install the new drive and get to work. I reviewed both the &lt;a href="http://www.allacronis.com/step-by-step-2.php" target="_blank"&gt;online documentation&lt;/a&gt; and the &lt;a href="http://www.acronis.com/download/docs/atih2011/userguide" target="_blank"&gt;User Guide&lt;/a&gt;. I felt I was ready to proceed. The process seemed quite simple and I anticipated the whole thing being done in an hour or two at most.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Boy was I wrong.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Setting Up the Hard Drive&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After installing the drive, my PC didn't "realize" it was there (my bad), so I went into the BIOS and set the SATA channel the drive was using to Active. After booting into Windows, I used the native Windows Disk Management utility to set the drive to a simple NTFS volume. The computer could now "see" the new drive, so I was all set.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Downloading and Installing True Image&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I downloaded and installed a fully licensed version of True Image to my computer. This part was flawless and went just as anticipated. Nothing more to see here. Move along. Move along.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;My First Attempt&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OwsXmpE0zcg/TkVHUwc8SPI/AAAAAAAAAzE/hTilqv5UtS8/s1600/clone+disk+wizard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="250" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OwsXmpE0zcg/TkVHUwc8SPI/AAAAAAAAAzE/hTilqv5UtS8/s320/clone+disk+wizard.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;I opened True Image and, following the instructions, opened Tools and Utilities and then clicked on Clone Disk. The Clone Disk Wizard was easy enough to follow. I went with an Automatic clone mode, selected my source disk, my destination disk, and then started the cloning process. A notice balloon came up to confirm this, but a few seconds later, a second balloon said that I had to reboot or the cloning would abort in 10 minutes.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Like a good little drone, I rebooted my computer.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Nothing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I logged back in and still nothing. Task Manager confirmed that the application and its processes were not running. I repeated my original steps after checking the directions again and got the same result. I chose the Manual process which let me choose the "move method" (Proportional was recommended since the original disk contents are distributed across the entire, larger space of the new disk). I then started the cloning process and unfortunately, got the same results.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Needless to say, I was getting frustrated at this point.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I went to the Support area of the Acronis website and searched their discussion forum (it was getting late and I doubted anyone would be around at their help desk for live chat). I found the thread &lt;a href="http://forum.acronis.com/forum/23421" target="_blank"&gt;Clone Disk Utility Doesn't Work&lt;/a&gt; which had only been started a few weeks ago so it seemed to be a good fit for my problem.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The general consensus in the thread was that I should boot the computer from the Acronis recovery disc rather than the OS, and then perform the disk cloning from there. Please note that this was &lt;i&gt;&lt;u&gt;not&lt;/u&gt; &lt;/i&gt;mentioned in the User Guide PDF but was mentioned in the &lt;a href="http://www.allacronis.com/step-by-step-2.php" target="_blank"&gt;online instructions&lt;/a&gt;. I went back into Tools and Utilities to perform this action but here, I realized that my computer's DVD drive wasn't a burner. In fact, of all the drives on my PC, including removable drives that have since been removed, my DVD drive was the only one the Acronis disc making software didn't see.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The advice I got from the Acronis discussion thread was to download the ISO file and make a disc from that. Fortunately, I had access to a PC at work where I could easily (I love Linux) burn the ISO to disc. I figured I was ready to do this right. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;My Second Attempt&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
With recovery disc in hand, I got home after work. I changed the computer's BIOS boot settings to look at the DVD drive first, then booted from the disc I'd made that morning. The mouse becomes disabled when booting from the disc. There are some instructions that appear telling you how to use various key combinations in order to control the mouse using the numbers keypad. Unfortunately, they go by so fast that, by the time I could read them and attempt to follow the instructions, the computer booted into Windows.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q9n3XTbwtJU/TkVGYtfROQI/AAAAAAAAAy8/4FmoRI_-YWw/s1600/screen1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q9n3XTbwtJU/TkVGYtfROQI/AAAAAAAAAy8/4FmoRI_-YWw/s320/screen1.jpg" width="238" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;I rebooted with the disc again. Using my arrow keys, I could choose three options: Boot into Windows (the default), boot into the True Image Main Page, or boot into Acronis True Image Report. I tried the Main Page and after receiving a message saying Acronis was loading, a stream of different paths scrolled across my otherwise black screen ending with a blinking cursor. After the line &lt;i&gt;Using /lib/modules/nfs.ko &lt;/i&gt;, the computer simply hung with the cursor flashing at me, and leaving me hanging out to dry. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As I'm writing this blog, I found a separate &lt;a href="http://forum.acronis.com/forum/20106" target="_blank"&gt;Acronis forum thread&lt;/a&gt; that explains this error. The thread content also reminds me that the recovery disc should have had an option for True Image (Safe Mode) which was missing from the menu of options available to me when I used the recovery disc. This behavior was not reassuring.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I repeated the steps of booting with the disc using the True Image option and arrived at the same result. Just for giggles, I booted using the Acronis Report option, but nothing changed. At this point, I was nursing an increasingly dim view of Acronis, their software, and their dodgy documentation. Absolutely nothing is working out as Acronis has described.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I booted back into Windows to consider my options. Going back into the True Image menu in Windows, under Tools and Utilities, I saw an option to add a hard disk. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I "added" the new SATA disk to the computer. That part seemed to go fine and took just a few seconds. Then, just for the heck of it, I tried the cloning process again, duplicating the steps in the wizard that I took before, and using the manual option.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The notification appeared saying that the cloning process had started but then something different happened. A notice appeared telling me to reboot or the process would abort in 10 minutes, but it was a completely different balloon format, appearing in a different place on my screen. I thought this was oddly hopeful and I rebooted, removing the recovery disc before doing so.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Instead of the OS loading, a text-only screen appeared and information flashed by faster than I could read but stopping at &lt;i&gt;"Operation 4 of 5: Copying Partition"&lt;/i&gt;. Acronis was finally cloning the OS volume from the old to new disk and the information on the screen confirmed the disk types and sizes were correct. Two progress bars were slowly advancing (current progress and total progress). I sipped a glass of water and waited.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The User Guide for this product described the cloning process taking place entirely in the GUI, not in a text environment. The online help completely omits what happens after following the wizard instructions, so I had no idea if this was expected behavior or not. All I could tell was that the cloning seemed to be working.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVriRKRUiCs/TkVGshnvskI/AAAAAAAAAzA/lBHheCJhL98/s1600/acronis-clone-process-done-text.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="102" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVriRKRUiCs/TkVGshnvskI/AAAAAAAAAzA/lBHheCJhL98/s320/acronis-clone-process-done-text.jpg" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Once the process was completed, I was prompted to shutdown the computer by pressing "any key".&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Once the PC was powered down, I opened it up, removed the original OS hard drive and replaced it with the larger cloned drive. I booted the computer, got back into the BIOS, removed the option for the computer to recognize a third SATA drive on the channel I'd originally selected for the new drive, and then made sure the new hard drive would be the first boot order option.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Then I rebooted and Windows 7 came up beautifully.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After the OS and my desktop loaded, I checked in "Computer" and the OS drive was indeed the new one with plenty of room (the computer wouldn't have booted if it wasn't, but I wanted the satisfaction of seeing for myself). &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Conclusion&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I must say it worked, which is about the only positive I can write about Acronis at the moment. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While the discussion forum recommended performing the cloning process by booting from the recovery disc, this is absolutely not mentioned in their User Guide for the True Image product. There is also quite a bit of information that is assumed, including the fact that the user has to know to add the disk in the BIOS after installing it physically, and then how to format it in Windows.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After all of my failures, the "turning point" for me, was using True Image to add the SATA HDD. After I did that, the cloning finally worked. Neither the online nor hard copy documents mention adding the disk using the True Image tool at all. If, adding the disk using True Image is a required step, it should have been mentioned in the documentation. I ended up going through that step out of desperation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
My recommendation to Acronis would be to update their documentation to more accurately describe how their product works, including any caveats. It's either hopelessly out-of-date (sadly, documentation continues to be the left-handed, red-headed step-child of software companies), or it's just plain wrong. I write technical documentation for a living and the Disk Cloning section of the True Image User Guide could have been a lot better. If booting from the recovery disc is required, say so. If adding the new disk using True Image before trying to clone another disk to it is required, say so.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Please.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A process that should have taken an hour or two, took me two days. I don't have that kind of time to waste.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If Acronis wants some assistance writing help documentation, they can either hire me or they can find who wrote this tutorial for &lt;a href="http://computershopper.com/laptops/howto/how-to-upgrade-your-laptop-s-hard-drive-to-a-solid-state-drive/%28page%29/1" target="_blank"&gt;ComputerShopper.com&lt;/a&gt;, which does a fine job of explaining what really should happen, step-by-step (and alas, I found it after the fact), minus the apparent necessity of adding the disk using True Image.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cheers.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-4201004855949717625?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/4201004855949717625/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/08/cloning-hard-drive-with-acronis-true.html#comment-form' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4201004855949717625'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4201004855949717625'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/08/cloning-hard-drive-with-acronis-true.html' title='Cloning a Hard Drive with Acronis True Image Home 2011'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hAQ6jZyL3gE/TkVEA4Mf20I/AAAAAAAAAy4/kwNzNeUH21o/s72-c/sata1.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-3194447512660407941</id><published>2011-08-08T18:51:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2011-08-08T18:51:58.634-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='modules'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='developers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='python'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='programming'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='libraries'/><title type='text'>The Python Standard Library by Example: A Review</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9YlWahaWNCs/TkCB3OHu6RI/AAAAAAAAAy0/prrXKammvVs/s1600/python_library.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9YlWahaWNCs/TkCB3OHu6RI/AAAAAAAAAy0/prrXKammvVs/s200/python_library.jpg" width="155" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Paperback: 1344 pages&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; 1st edition (June 11, 2011)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 0321767349&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-0321767349&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Stop! If you are just beginning to learn the Python programming language, do not buy this book! This book was written for intermediate to advanced Python programmers who want to be able to put their hands on the Python standard library of modules (which is why I'd recommend buying the hard copy if you meet the qualifications). This is not a book that will teach you the first steps in programming in Python.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Another thing. Although the transition to Python 3 is coming along nicely, like the transition from IPv4 to IPv6, the future isn't here yet. This book was written showcasing the Python 2.7 library and this version of Python will likely be with us for some time. If you're looking for a Python 3 library resource, this book isn't for you.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I'm sure other books have been spawned from blogs before, but I can't recall any right off the top of my head. The book you're reading about has its origins in Doug Hellmann's &lt;a href="http://www.doughellmann.com/PyMOTW/" target="_blank"&gt;Python Module of the Week&lt;/a&gt; series, so you can always visit his blog to get an idea of how his book reads.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Like many other programming and technical books, it's not as if this information doesn't live elsewhere, but the information isn't particularly accessible in a single location. While every copy of Python ships with hundreds of modules that span a wide field of developers, tasks, and years, the documentation for these modules isn't particularly consistent. That's where Hellmann comes in. He provides one resource for Python module documentation in a consistent "voice", and demonstrates the how and the why of these modules in a straightforward, understandable way. If you've read Hellmann's blog (and if you're an experienced Python programmer, you probably have), you'll more than appreciate his book.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The vast arena of examples are clear but the sheer volume may be a little intimidating. Hellmann's book weighs in at a robust 1344 pages, but then it is "one-stop shopping" at its finest. Programming Python "from scratch" is fine and well when you're first learning the language, but the real power of Python is in the ease of use of its library. Having all that collected in one container is a terrific advantage and, not having to search the web for specific modules, you might just come across a few that you've never heard of before, inspiring you to take a different direction to solve a problem. If you're an experienced programmer, but not in Python, you could get by with going through this book to learn the language, but as I've already said, it's really written for people who already know Python.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This is another fine addition to the Addison-Wesley Developer's Library. If you're a Python programmer, you know you want this book. Go ahead and pick up a copy of Doug Hellmann's&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Python-Standard-Library-Example-Developers/dp/0321767349/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1312848632&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;The Python Standard Library by Example&lt;/a&gt;. You can't go wrong.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-3194447512660407941?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/3194447512660407941/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/08/python-standard-library-by-example.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/3194447512660407941'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/3194447512660407941'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/08/python-standard-library-by-example.html' title='The Python Standard Library by Example: A Review'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9YlWahaWNCs/TkCB3OHu6RI/AAAAAAAAAy0/prrXKammvVs/s72-c/python_library.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-3173503415835219298</id><published>2011-07-30T15:45:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2011-07-30T15:45:55.337-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='computer technician press'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='A+ certification'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='comptia'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='cisco press'/><title type='text'>31 Days Before Your CompTIA A+ Exams (2nd Edition)</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CRCDLw-X9cU/TjR6_E7-sAI/AAAAAAAAAyw/N5QiAa6FWwk/s1600/31days.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CRCDLw-X9cU/TjR6_E7-sAI/AAAAAAAAAyw/N5QiAa6FWwk/s200/31days.jpg" width="134" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;em&gt;Product Description: This is the only A+ exam preparation guide that is mapped to several study resources. This new edition includes references to but is not limited to just the Cisco IT Essentials v4.1 course material to prepare for the new CompTIA 2009 A+ certification exams. Like all Cisco Press "31 Days..." exam prep books, it is organized by day, starting 31 days before the exam. Short, low-cost, and exceptionally readable, it gives you a highly-structured, simple tool that tells you exactly what to study each day to be fully prepared. 31 Days Before Your A+ Exams, Second Edition also contains easy-to-understand information on how to sign up for the exam, detailed explanations about what to expect during the exam, time-proven test taking strategies, and a tear out visual aid calendar. With these features, it is a true exam prep guide in every sense.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_at_ep_srch?_encoding=UTF8&amp;amp;sort=relevancerank&amp;amp;search-alias=books&amp;amp;field-author=Ben%20Conry" target="_blank"&gt;Ben Conry&lt;/a&gt; authored the first edition and much of the second edition of this book, but he needed some "backup". That's where I came in. Inside the front matter, you'll see me listed as "Contributing Author". &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I'm no stranger to the CompTIA A+ exams and have previously authored &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Technician-Street-Smarts-Updated-2009/dp/0470486511/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1312061808&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;PC Technician Street Smarts, Updated for the 2009 Exam&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Practice-220-701-220-702/dp/0071760180/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_4" target="_blank"&gt;CompTIA A+ Certification Practice Exams (Exams 220-701 &amp;amp; 220-702)&lt;/a&gt;. This is my first outing writing for Cisco Press and I hope it's not my last.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Days-Before-Your-CompTIA-Exams/dp/1587132605/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1312061697&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;31 Days Before Your CompTIA A+ Exams (2nd Edition)&lt;/a&gt; will be available in October. Pre-order your copy now.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-3173503415835219298?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/3173503415835219298/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/07/31-days-before-your-comptia-exams-2nd.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/3173503415835219298'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/3173503415835219298'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/07/31-days-before-your-comptia-exams-2nd.html' title='31 Days Before Your CompTIA A+ Exams (2nd Edition)'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CRCDLw-X9cU/TjR6_E7-sAI/AAAAAAAAAyw/N5QiAa6FWwk/s72-c/31days.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-6702969449630430785</id><published>2011-07-28T11:14:00.001-06:00</published><updated>2011-07-28T15:51:38.330-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='relaunch'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='books'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='blogging'/><title type='text'>Trying to get a look and feel</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P7QPQUR_VY4/TjGYub78NeI/AAAAAAAAAyk/BGFVkD3UAWo/s1600/books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="155" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P7QPQUR_VY4/TjGYub78NeI/AAAAAAAAAyk/BGFVkD3UAWo/s200/books.jpg" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;I know, I know...it's been forever. I've been working on other blogs and have woefully neglected my first effort. I've also been trying to figure out exactly what content I want to feature here. For awhile, I was doing technical book reviews more or less exclusively here, but I ran out of bandwidth to do that kind of writing. I've been pining to get back to something like that lately, but maybe not with such an emphasis.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I love reading. I really enjoy it. I also like to write about what I read, but I read all kinds of books. The theological tomes I'm reserving for &lt;a href="http://mymorningmeditations.com/" target="_blank"&gt;another blog entirely&lt;/a&gt; so if that's not your cup of tea, you don't have to be concerned that such content will appear here. On the other hand, I'm having a lot of fun reading Ayn Rand's &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452011876/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&amp;amp;pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&amp;amp;pf_rd_t=201&amp;amp;pf_rd_i=0451191145&amp;amp;pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;amp;pf_rd_r=1HHS84F7T816F2PNG858" target="_blank"&gt;Atlas Shrugged&lt;/a&gt;. I have been trying to get together with a few other folks for a "book club" of sorts, but the priorities of the various members seem a bit scattered, so it's not as successful as I'd hoped. Even if the "club" doesn't continue, I now have the desire to expand my reading selections into other more "literary areas.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I've changed the theme and imagery of the blog significantly but I still don't know if I really like it. I'll probably keep tinkering with it, but expect new content to appear here pretty soon. I'll still review books on technical subjects I like, but I also want to talk about (even if it's just to myself) my other "biblio" interests.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Please stand-by. There is nothing wrong with your television set.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-6702969449630430785?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/6702969449630430785/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/07/trying-to-get-look-and-feel.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/6702969449630430785'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/6702969449630430785'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/07/trying-to-get-look-and-feel.html' title='Trying to get a look and feel'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P7QPQUR_VY4/TjGYub78NeI/AAAAAAAAAyk/BGFVkD3UAWo/s72-c/books.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-5691008292471069174</id><published>2011-03-10T15:15:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-03-10T15:15:14.105-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='cisco'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='computers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='A+ certification'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='+comptia'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Windows'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Network+ certification'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='microsoft'/><title type='text'>Book Review: Computer Structure and Logic</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S5x95tUzstc/TXlLzE9FDbI/AAAAAAAAAtM/yY2xWdK47QQ/s1600/computer-cover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S5x95tUzstc/TXlLzE9FDbI/AAAAAAAAAtM/yY2xWdK47QQ/s200/computer-cover.jpeg" width="161" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Author: Pearson Certification Team&lt;br /&gt;
Format: Paperback, 496 pages&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: Pearson IT Certification (January 28, 2011)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 0789747936&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-0789747938&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This is and isn't a book about computer hardware and software certification...sort of. OK, it's published by Pearson IT Certification and the authors are the Pearson Certification Team, but the content doesn't map to a specific certification or even a specific technology. That's a little unusual.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Most books on computer or IT certs focus like a laser on a particular exam. Often, but not always, technical certifications are tied to a particular company (Microsoft, Cisco...) and a particular technology (Windows, SharePoint...). However, the blurb on the back of &lt;i&gt;this&lt;/i&gt; book says:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;i&gt;Your first step toward certifications from CompTIA, Microsoft, or Cisco...absolutely no experience necessary!&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;Really?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The book has a certain logic to it and an assumption. The assumption is that there are people out there who are interested in information technology certifications and a career in IT who pretty much have no idea how computers and computing technologies work. Usually (but not always) people who self-select for a career in a technological field have some prior knowledge about it or at least some sort of aptitude. This book assumes a target audience that doesn't.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The logic of the book is to take the reader to an absolute in-the-basement starting point regarding IT, and to build them up one subsystem and one chapter at a time. This isn't a reference book. For the reader to get anything at all from what's written here (assuming the readers are the target audience), they will have to start at the beginning and move through each chapter in sequence. No short cuts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To that end, Chapter 1 is "Introduction to Computers". I'm not kidding. You start out with a high level view of the history of computing, beginning with the first computers created in the 1940s. That sounds as dry and moldy as week-old toast, but it's a necessary first step for a person who may not even know what makes a computer work on a fundamental level. What is a CPU? How does it interact with working storage (RAM) and input devices (keyboard and mouse)? Page 9, for example, includes a drawing of a cutaway view of an NMOS transistor. Now &lt;i&gt;that's&lt;/i&gt; basic. So is the Chapter 1 section called, "What is a PC?".&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Each chapter ends with a series of review questions immediately followed by an answer key that contains a brief explanation for each item. Chapters can contain one or more case studies and the solutions for each one can be found after the review questions and answers. This book reads less like a self-study guide for a computer certification and more like a beginning computing text book. I can see this book being marketed mainly to high schools, vocational schools, and possibly to universities with an eye on the very first freshman class teaching computer technology.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Chapters 1 through 6 are strictly focused on hardware (I/O ports, motherboards, CPUs) but Chapter 7 transitions the reader into the software part of the book by introducing BIOS and the boot process. After that, the remainder of the chapters cover operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and Mac, security basics, networking basics, and beginning troubleshooting skills. By the end of the book, the reader should have an elementary understanding of how modern computers work, including some networking fundamentals. This information can then be used to bridge the reader to further studies mapping to CompTIA A+ and Network+ exams (Linux isn't covered sufficiently to carry the reader into the Linux+ certification without a great deal of additional study).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
From the CompTIA A+ and Network+ exams, I can see the reader, building on what they've learned, moving into the entry-level Microsoft Windows and Cisco certifications, but you are talking about starting the journey at the very beginning of the trail. I'm not sure I'd recommend this book for a person interested in certification self-study unless they were very disciplined and enjoyed learning "textbook-style". The book seems a better fit for a group learning experience such as a traditional classroom, or as a supplement for on-line education. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If you've tried the CompTIA A+ exam and felt you were in over your head because you didn't understand basic computer concepts, &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Structure-Logic-Pearson-Certification/dp/0789747936/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1299792950&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;Computer Structure and Logic&lt;/a&gt; might be a good resource for you, but you should &lt;i&gt;really&lt;/i&gt; want to learn computing in order to benefit from this book. Otherwise, the rather dry presentation, especially in the beginning chapters, will stop you cold.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-5691008292471069174?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/5691008292471069174/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/03/book-review-computer-structure-and.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/5691008292471069174'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/5691008292471069174'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/03/book-review-computer-structure-and.html' title='Book Review: Computer Structure and Logic'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S5x95tUzstc/TXlLzE9FDbI/AAAAAAAAAtM/yY2xWdK47QQ/s72-c/computer-cover.jpeg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-2570105974132294243</id><published>2011-02-02T11:12:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-02-02T11:12:40.589-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='javascript'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Dojo'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='programming'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='mootools'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='prototype'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='jQuery'/><title type='text'>Pragmatic Guide to JavaScript</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TUmcsoJIgsI/AAAAAAAAArw/kVZVgR3pyao/s1600/prag_js.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TUmcsoJIgsI/AAAAAAAAArw/kVZVgR3pyao/s200/prag_js.jpg" width="133" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Author: Christophe Porteneuve&lt;br /&gt;
Format: Paperback, 150 pages&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: Pragmatic Bookshelf; 1st edition (November 22, 2010)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 1934356670&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-1934356678&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So there are just billions of JavaScript books on the market and if you are interested in this language, or learning more about this language, you probably own several. Why would you want to buy the Pragmatic version? What sets it apart from the rest of the herd? What does it bring to the table?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Good questions. But can Porteneuve's book provide the answers?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the blurb on the back cover, the &lt;i&gt;book will get you up to speed quickly and painlessly with the 35 key JavaScript tasks you need to know.&lt;/i&gt; Task-oriented is good. You can't learn to use a programming language without writing the programming language. I am concerned about the phrase &lt;i&gt;the 35 key JavaScript tasks you need to know.&lt;/i&gt; How does anyone know which tasks I need?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Often, my favorite part of a book such as this is the &lt;i&gt;Who is this book for&lt;/i&gt; section. Here is where you'll find the "official" mission of the book and sometimes where you'll find the inconsistency between the book's stated purpose and how it's actually written. Here's the first sentence:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;This book is not really intended to teach you "JavaScript the language". &lt;/blockquote&gt;What? That's not the impression I got from the back cover. As the "Who is this book &lt;b&gt;not&lt;/b&gt; for section continues, it says that the language is pretty easy on its own so, if you know any programming at all, learning the basics (loops, variables, and so on) isn't much of a chore. The book even recommends the "JavaScript Core skills" section of &lt;a href="http://www.opera.com/company/education/curriculum/" target="_blank"&gt;Opera's Web Standards Curriculum&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So who really should buy this book?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Apparently, people who already have a smattering of JavaScript knowledge (or more), but who need a set of specific solutions to common JavaScript tasks. The tasks are collected into six different parts in the book, including &lt;b&gt;Pure JavaScript&lt;/b&gt;, &lt;b&gt;The DOM, Events, and Timers&lt;/b&gt;, &lt;b&gt;UI Tricks&lt;/b&gt;, and more. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Each task is generally presented in a two-page spread, with the description of the task on the left and the code samples on the right. I say code "samples", because the "finished product" isn't presented on a silver platter for the reader, hence the need to not just know, but to be familiar with programming in general and JavaScript in specific right at the onset. Thus, you can think of this book as not for the JavaScript beginner, but as the next step in a JavaScript coder's progress in learning to apply practical solutions to JavaScript problems.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This is a good thing, since most beginner's JavaScript books focus on teaching the language but don't really teach you what to do with it. It would be really cool if a publisher like Pragmatic would publish a series of books on a language, starting with a complete beginner's primer, and then producing subsequent books aimed at different skill levels and applications for the language.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
JavaScript really isn't just about the language. Except for very minor tasks, in production, you almost always are using a framework such as jQuery, Dojo, or MooTools. Although this book advertises itself as "framework agnostic", it (and the author, I suppose) tends to favor ProtoType as a framework. That said, it's not an exclusive ProtoType tutorial and does offer creative solutions to what are considered common problems. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Every book has a website, and this one is no exception. The book's official site is &lt;a href="http://pragprog.com/titles/pg_js/pragmatic-guide-to-javascript" target="_blank"&gt;http://pragprog.com/titles/pg_js&lt;/a&gt;, where you can access the sample code, review the errata, and participate in forum conversations about the book's contents (though, there are only three threads, the most recent being November 2010 as of this writing).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Like all books that present specific tasks and solutions, &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1934356670/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;amp;pf_rd_s=center-2&amp;amp;pf_rd_r=01K3SA8X0SNW05MPRJE8&amp;amp;pf_rd_t=101&amp;amp;pf_rd_p=470938631&amp;amp;pf_rd_i=507846" target="_blank"&gt;Pragmatic Guide to JavaScript&lt;/a&gt; is limited by its own parameters. That is, it won't tell you how to solve problems beyond the 35 tasks presented in the book. However, the book also helps you learn different ways (hopefully) to solve problems you may have already confronted or with which you are currently struggling. Before buying, it's probably best to scan the table of contents and see if there are enough of the kinds of tasks that you need to explore. If so, pick up a copy and have at it...and have fun.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-2570105974132294243?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/2570105974132294243/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/02/pragmatic-guide-to-javascript.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/2570105974132294243'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/2570105974132294243'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/02/pragmatic-guide-to-javascript.html' title='Pragmatic Guide to JavaScript'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TUmcsoJIgsI/AAAAAAAAArw/kVZVgR3pyao/s72-c/prag_js.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-50934271019403118</id><published>2011-01-11T15:20:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2011-01-11T15:20:15.850-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pragmatic'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='subversion'/><title type='text'>Review: Pragmatic Guide to Subversion</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TSzW_0iSBwI/AAAAAAAAArk/cu3T3hjsIRQ/s1600/pg_svn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TSzW_0iSBwI/AAAAAAAAArk/cu3T3hjsIRQ/s320/pg_svn.jpg" width="213" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Author: Mike Mason&lt;br /&gt;
Format: Paperback, 150 pages&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: Pragmatic Bookshelf; 1st edition (November 15, 2010)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 1934356611&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-1934356616&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I really like this book. It fits my needs perfectly. Let me explain.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I use Subversion in my day job as a technical writer for a software company. I use Ubuntu (9.10 Karmic Koala) and connect to the subversion repository via the shell. This is pretty much how the book was written, so all of the commands and tasks really fit my personal situation. Not only that, but the level of complexity (or lack thereof, if you're a total subversion guru) is right at my level.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
OK, the book wasn't just written for me. Each task that is demonstrated in a bash shell is also presented in TortoiseSVN for Windows users and in Cornerstone for Mac OS X users. The book doesn't bias to only one interface, so a very wide subversion user base is served.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In general, a task is presented on two pages, both facing the reader, with the left page using narrative to describe the task, background information, and references to other relevant parts of the book, and the right page presenting the task. Each book section starts with a brief list of what it contains and provides the page numbers to how tasks are done in each of the interfaces, so you can easily skip over the bits that don't apply to you. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pragmatic-Guide-Subversion-Guides/dp/1934356611/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;s=books&amp;amp;qid=1294783266&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;Pragmatic Guide to Subversion&lt;/a&gt; won't teach you how to be an expert subversion administrator, but it will teach you plenty about the hands-on of using subversion. You even get lessons on installing subversion, creating a respository, projects, and managing trunks, branches, tags, and more.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You can create a lab environment on your local computer or use the book's material to smooth over any rough spots in working with a production repository in a software development environment (like me). The book is simple, easy to read, and practical. If you work with subversion and keep having to bug the developers about how to manage your work in svn, go by the book and, as they say, RTFM. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cheers.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-50934271019403118?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/50934271019403118/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/01/review-pragmatic-guide-to-subversion.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/50934271019403118'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/50934271019403118'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2011/01/review-pragmatic-guide-to-subversion.html' title='Review: Pragmatic Guide to Subversion'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TSzW_0iSBwI/AAAAAAAAArk/cu3T3hjsIRQ/s72-c/pg_svn.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-4352650102660578868</id><published>2010-10-14T15:34:00.001-06:00</published><updated>2010-10-14T15:43:10.558-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review. O&apos;Reilly'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='web design'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='html5'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='web browsers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='google'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='html'/><title type='text'>HTML5: Up and Running</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TLd1SeMF01I/AAAAAAAAApM/ZpyM8n6t-70/s1600/html5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TLd1SeMF01I/AAAAAAAAApM/ZpyM8n6t-70/s200/html5.jpg" width="152" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Author: Mark Pilgrim&lt;br /&gt;
Format: Paperback, 240 pages&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (August 25, 2010)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 0596806027&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-0596806026&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I became impatient with the history lesson in Chapter 1 and wanted to test drive HTML 5. What's different? What's new? Guess I'll have to work to find out. As the blurb I found at &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/HTML5-Up-Running-Mark-Pilgrim/dp/0596806027/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;s=books&amp;amp;qid=1287087300&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;Amazon&lt;/a&gt; said of HTML5, &lt;i&gt;It’s not one big thing&lt;/i&gt;. It's not a matter of learning a new markup language from scratch, which is both a good and bad thing. In fact, again to quote the author's blurb, &lt;i&gt;“Upgrading” to HTML5 can be as simple as changing your doctype...In HTML5, there is only one doctype: !DOCTYPE html&lt;/i&gt;. That's encouraging, but just how easy is it to learn HTML5 and how easily can you learn it from Pilgrim's book? I went in search of the answers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The first place I went was the book's Preface to see where I could find a link to the source code. I was pointed to the author's site &lt;a href="http://diveintohtml5.org/" target="_blank"&gt;Dive Into HTML5&lt;/a&gt;, which is the original book on which the book I'm reviewing is based, but it didn't have a clear cut link to anything called "source code". Maybe this is where &lt;i&gt;It’s not one big thing&lt;/i&gt; comes back to bite me. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Chapter 2: Detecting HTML5 Features&lt;/b&gt; introduced me to &lt;a href="http://www.modernizr.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Modernizr&lt;/a&gt; (yes, I spelled it right), which is a nifty JavaScript library that detects the HTML5 and CSS3 features your browser will support. It also creates a self-titled global JavaScript object containing the properties for each such feature. However, if your browser &lt;b&gt;doesn't&lt;/b&gt; support certain HTML5 features, Modernizr won't fix it. But what about learning HTML5? We kind of got away from that.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Oh wait! &lt;b&gt;Chapter 3: What Does It All Mean?&lt;/b&gt; helps. I found the link to a set of &lt;a href="http://diveintohtml5.org/examples/" target="_blank"&gt;code examples&lt;/a&gt; which got me started. Then, as I progressed through the book and through the author's site, which runs in parallel and often in duplicate, I realized how the book was organized. This is no small feat, but maybe it was my expectations that made the task difficult. I was expecting a front-to-back guide to getting started with HTML5 and what I discovered was a collection of loose pieces in a box.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Learning HTML5 from Pilgrim's book is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. When you first open the box, all you can see are a collection of jumbled pieces that, taken at a glance, don't make a lot of sense. If you had never encountered a jigsaw puzzle before, you might look, become confused as to what these pieces mean lying in such disarray, close the lid, and walk away looking for something more comprehensible.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
One missing pieces of the puzzle, so to speak, is a knowledge for HTML4. Imagine the raw code of an HTML4 web page. Now imagine that you are presented with a list of tags and other markup elements you're not familiar with. What are you supposed to do with them? How do they work? What do they replace (if anything)? Using &lt;a href="http://diveintohtml5.org/semantics.html" target="_blank"&gt;Chapter 3&lt;/a&gt; on his web site for an example, I tried to navigate around until I could find something I could sink my teeth into. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Got a lesson on DOCTYPE, history lessons on the root and head elements, lots of other stuff to scan past, a section called &lt;i&gt;A Long Digression Into How Browser Handle Unknown Elements&lt;/i&gt;, more stuff...more stuff...then it began to register. I started to hit spots on the pages that said stuff like, &lt;i&gt;this is how we used to do things&lt;/i&gt; (add example of old code) &lt;i&gt;and this is how you do it in HTML5&lt;/i&gt; (add example of new code). The information is there, it's just not organized and called out the way I wanted it. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I went back to the book, compared it to the same pages on the author's site and "got" the organization. It may be a matter of how I think vs. how the author thinks, but from that point on, it was easier to tease what I wanted to know out of the book's pages. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I think HTML5 is fabulous but I'm not sure that &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/HTML5-Up-Running-Mark-Pilgrim/dp/0596806027/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;s=books&amp;amp;qid=1287087300&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;HTML5: Up and Running&lt;/a&gt; is the best book to use as an introduction. It most definitely is not the best book to use for an introduction if you aren't familiar with HTML in general. I'd recommend navigating the &lt;a href="http://diveintohtml5.org/" target="_blank"&gt;author's website&lt;/a&gt; before buying the book. If you "get" the website, you'll "get" the book. They're pretty much the same thing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;!-- AddToAny END --&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-4352650102660578868?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/4352650102660578868/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/10/html5-up-and-running.html#comment-form' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4352650102660578868'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4352650102660578868'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/10/html5-up-and-running.html' title='HTML5: Up and Running'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TLd1SeMF01I/AAAAAAAAApM/ZpyM8n6t-70/s72-c/html5.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-2429186675756706930</id><published>2010-10-14T14:08:00.001-06:00</published><updated>2010-10-14T14:10:17.276-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='open source'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='gimp'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='james pyles'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='kindle'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='amazon'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='using gimp'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='ebooks'/><title type='text'>Using GIMP: Kindle Edition</title><content type='html'>It bothered me that all of my other books were available through Amazon except this one. Amazon is a nice place to point folks when they want to get a quick idea of my professionally published works. Finally, Amazon released the &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Z6QGU4/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d8_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;amp;pf_rd_s=center-3&amp;amp;pf_rd_r=0VQ0NZPFH8JBXT38RA3F&amp;amp;pf_rd_t=101&amp;amp;pf_rd_p=470938811&amp;amp;pf_rd_i=507846" target="_blank"&gt;Kindle Edition&lt;/a&gt; of &lt;a href="http://www.quepublishing.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=013217457X" target="_blank"&gt;Using GIMP&lt;/a&gt; (July 2010). Now all the Amazon page lacks are a few reviews (sigh).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/THfMVVM3W0I/AAAAAAAAAoo/oRubvPwvgxM/s1600/gimpbook_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/THfMVVM3W0I/AAAAAAAAAoo/oRubvPwvgxM/s400/gimpbook_cover.jpg" width="266" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-2429186675756706930?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/2429186675756706930/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/10/using-gimp-kindle-edition.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/2429186675756706930'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/2429186675756706930'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/10/using-gimp-kindle-edition.html' title='Using GIMP: Kindle Edition'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/THfMVVM3W0I/AAAAAAAAAoo/oRubvPwvgxM/s72-c/gimpbook_cover.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-1109074525532479287</id><published>2010-08-27T08:51:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2010-08-27T08:51:28.679-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sharepoint'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='collaboration'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='70-667'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sharepoint server 2010'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='mcts'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='certification'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='microsoft'/><title type='text'>Coming in November: MCTS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Configuration Study Guide</title><content type='html'>I hate keeping secrets, mainly because I'm no good at it, but when you sign an NDA with a publisher, you can't tell people what book you're writing until the publisher starts marketing it. Finally this one showed up at Amazon (I'm doing the copy edits now) so I can talk about it. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Need to know the ins and outs of SharePoint Server 2010? Considering taking (and passing) the Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 Configuration (70-667) certification exam? That's why I wrote this book: &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/MCTS-Microsoft-SharePoint-Configuration-70-667/dp/0470627018/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_5" target="_blank"&gt;MCTS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Configuration Study Guide (70-667)&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Expect to see it available November 22, 2010 or pre-order now and avoid the rush.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/THfQhsShvDI/AAAAAAAAAow/WZGe-VTH1zs/s1600/sharepoint_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/THfQhsShvDI/AAAAAAAAAow/WZGe-VTH1zs/s400/sharepoint_cover.jpg" width="321" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-1109074525532479287?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/1109074525532479287/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/08/coming-in-november-mcts-microsoft.html#comment-form' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/1109074525532479287'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/1109074525532479287'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/08/coming-in-november-mcts-microsoft.html' title='Coming in November: MCTS: Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Configuration Study Guide'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/THfQhsShvDI/AAAAAAAAAow/WZGe-VTH1zs/s72-c/sharepoint_cover.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-6843188801890661312</id><published>2010-08-27T08:33:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2010-08-27T08:33:31.051-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='gimp'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='image editing'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='james pyles'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='author'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='photoediting'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='opensource'/><title type='text'>It's Alive! Using GIMP is Now Available!</title><content type='html'>There were times when I thought I'd never see this day come, but my new book and my first eBook, &lt;a href="http://www.quepublishing.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=013217457X" target="_blank"&gt;Using GIMP&lt;/a&gt; is now available online.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I've never written a book like this before, so I'm a little nervous about how it'll be received. I'm sorry I don't have any "author's copies" to give out, but since everything is accessed online, QUE can't actually ship me any copies. Please give it a whirl and let me know what you think.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/THfMVVM3W0I/AAAAAAAAAoo/oRubvPwvgxM/s1600/gimpbook_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/THfMVVM3W0I/AAAAAAAAAoo/oRubvPwvgxM/s400/gimpbook_cover.jpg" width="266" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-6843188801890661312?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/6843188801890661312/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/08/its-alive-using-gimp-is-now-available.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/6843188801890661312'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/6843188801890661312'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/08/its-alive-using-gimp-is-now-available.html' title='It&apos;s Alive! Using GIMP is Now Available!'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/THfMVVM3W0I/AAAAAAAAAoo/oRubvPwvgxM/s72-c/gimpbook_cover.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-2276182330530678336</id><published>2010-07-09T12:37:00.005-06:00</published><updated>2010-07-09T16:26:10.533-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='graphic design'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='graphics'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='programming'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='processing'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='animation.'/><title type='text'>Review: Getting Started with Processing</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TDdr7zO16SI/AAAAAAAAAno/7jxqrWMmgww/s1600/processing_book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TDdr7zO16SI/AAAAAAAAAno/7jxqrWMmgww/s200/processing_book.jpg" width="129" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Authors: Casey Reas &amp;amp; Ben Fry&lt;br /&gt;
Format: Paperback, 208 pages&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: Make; 1st edition (June 17, 2010)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 144937980X&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-1449379803&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I return to the topic of "learning how to program" every now and again because I haven't found a truly painless way of teaching programming to people who aren't naturally wired for it. I don't know if &lt;a href="http://processing.org/" target="_blank"&gt;Processing&lt;/a&gt; is the answer, but it sure seems to be in the running. It has the benefit of being an open source program written to appeal to graphic designers who need or want to learn programming. Let me explain.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I've reanimated my interest in drawing and graphics recently (a long story) and am doing most of my work in GIMP, with which I'm fairly familiar. GIMP has a lot of wonderful features and a few drawbacks. I've tried to augment with &lt;a href="http://www.inkscape.org/" target="_blank"&gt;Inkscape&lt;/a&gt;, but I've got so many other projects going, it's hard to dedicate the time to really get familiar with Inkscape. Then I received an invitation to review &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Started-Processing-Casey-Reas/dp/144937980X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;s=books&amp;amp;qid=1278698948&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;Getting Started with Processing&lt;/a&gt;, written by the creators of the Processing program. I thought that was probably (hopefully) a good sign, so I jumped at it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At only 208 pages, it seemed like this would be a quick read (and my stack of books to review is growing rapidly, so I need to work through a few). Quick reading, yes. Quick to get through, no. Not with the practice this requires. Processing is an interface that uses common programming syntax to create static, 3D, and animated graphics. It doesn't look like much when you install it, but the potential of Processing is amazing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Installation though was the first of my concerns. If you have 32-bit Windows, it's probably your best bet, but the book said that trying to install Processing onto my 64-bit Windows 7 machine was chancy at best. Installing on Linux is fine if you are savvy enough to do the job manually and not with a package manager. While Processing is open source, you won't find it in the Ubuntu repositories so apt-get or aptitude aren't options. I only say this because more regular desktop users are gravitating to Ubuntu so the "average" Linux user may no longer be as comfortable in the shell. Oh, for the Mac users out there, there is an installation file for Processing that'll work for you.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TDdsCk1JDXI/AAAAAAAAAnw/q-_iKfUYG5I/s1600/processing1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TDdsCk1JDXI/AAAAAAAAAnw/q-_iKfUYG5I/s320/processing1.png" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;In some ways, the basic process is fairly simple. Input the proper code into the main input pane, click Run and your graphic appears. Yowza! Just like that. There are plenty of exercises to try out in the book, but I really would have liked it if the authors would have made the location of the code samples for the book more explicit. I visited &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You can find tutorials and code samples for Processing at &lt;a href="http://www.blogger.com/processing.org" target="_blank"&gt;Processing.org&lt;/a&gt; but I assumed the code samples would be included on the tutorials page. My fault. Click the image of the book's cover on the site's main page and go to the &lt;a href="http://processing.org/learning/books" target="_blank"&gt;books&lt;/a&gt; page to find the zip file containing the sample code. Of course, the site tutorials have a lot more examples of really spectacular work, so beyond the book, you can really have fun.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Yes, along with creating some really cool images, you will learn programming basics, or at least how to copy the examples of for loops and such that are presented. Also, having some basic idea of how web graphics work helps, particularly understanding RGB color, as you have to manually enter these values as part of the code.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I know Processing has been around for awhile but I would have appreciated a little more automation in the interface. It would be nice to click File -&amp;gt; Save As -&amp;gt; and save an image as a png or a tif, but it's a little more complicated than that. It's easier (for me, anyway) to export an image so that it can be uploaded to a web server than to create and save a simple static graphic.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
There are plenty of graphics engines out there, including open source solutions, but nothing is truly intuitive and everything requires quite a bit of practice to gain proficiency. Progressing is the pretty much identical, but the advantage is that you also learn programming basics at the same time. If you have even a little bit of a background in programming and algebra, you're that much further ahead.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TDdsJ76FIkI/AAAAAAAAAn4/lJBKs-CN3Hg/s1600/screenshot.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TDdsJ76FIkI/AAAAAAAAAn4/lJBKs-CN3Hg/s320/screenshot.png" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Comparing the book to the possibilities I discovered on the Processing site told me that the book only covers the basics. You won't be a Processing guru by page 206, but you will have the essentials of the language (which is very simple) and the interface, enough to make your own static and animated designs. The interface itself has examples (File -&amp;gt; Examples, and then choose the desired submenu), so you can see the code and the result of specific effects.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I'm probably not doing the book or the program sufficient justice in my review, and while most graphic designers will probably want to stick with PhotoShop and Illustrator (though they're hideously expensive), there's a lot to be learned and to be accomplished using Processor. If you don't believe me, go to the Processor &lt;a href="http://processing.org/exhibition/" target="_blank"&gt;exhibition&lt;/a&gt; page and see some impressive examples of work done exclusively in Processor.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Other value added pieces on the Processor site include a wiki and an active forum, so if you decide to take up Processor, you're certainly not alone.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Visit their site, explore the resources, get the book. With computer generated graphics and animations entering their mature stage in film and other venues, learning Processing could be a first step to a life long adventure. Enjoy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-2276182330530678336?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/2276182330530678336/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/07/review-getting-started-with-processing.html#comment-form' title='5 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/2276182330530678336'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/2276182330530678336'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/07/review-getting-started-with-processing.html' title='Review: Getting Started with Processing'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TDdr7zO16SI/AAAAAAAAAno/7jxqrWMmgww/s72-c/processing_book.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>5</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-6698190340216363108</id><published>2010-06-27T07:34:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2010-06-27T07:34:50.970-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='open source'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='gimp'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Windows'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='ubuntu'/><title type='text'>GIMP 2.6.9 Available for Linux..sort of</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TCdTYAbI2tI/AAAAAAAAAnA/8WS9HNaJSZI/s1600/frontsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TCdTYAbI2tI/AAAAAAAAAnA/8WS9HNaJSZI/s320/frontsplash.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;I was perusing the open source software related news this morning trying to wake up and came across an item at &lt;a href="http://www.techdrivein.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Tech Drive-in&lt;/a&gt; called &lt;a href="http://www.techdrivein.com/2010/06/install-new-gimp-269-in-ubuntu-1004.html" target="_blank"&gt;Install New GIMP 2.6.9 in Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx&lt;/a&gt;. I know that GIMP 2.7.0 is the next stable version to be released and understood that it wasn't going to become available until the end of 2010 or the beginning of 2011. What's GIMP 2.6.9 have to offer?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to the &lt;a href="http://www.gimp.org/" target="_blank"&gt;GIMP.org&lt;/a&gt; website:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;It's been a while since the last release. Quite a few bug-fixes have piled up in the stable branch, so here's another release in the stable GIMP 2.6 series.&lt;/blockquote&gt;There are just a ton of bug fixes included in 2.6.9 for a wide variety of languages. The full details are at &lt;a href="http://developer.gimp.org/NEWS-2.6" target="_blank"&gt;developer.gimp.org&lt;/a&gt;. Should you be concerned? Probably not. I haven't found GIMP 2.4.6 to be in such a condition that I've been dying for an upgrade. Also, the option to use synaptic (and thus apt-get) to perform such an upgrade on my Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Hardy Heron) computer doesn't exist (no, I haven't gotten around to upgrading to Lynx, yet).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Even for the Lucid Lynx, you have to jump through a few minor hoops to install &lt;a href="http://www.techdrivein.com/2010/06/install-new-gimp-269-in-ubuntu-1004.html" target="_blank"&gt;GIMP 2.6.9&lt;/a&gt; and unless you really need the bug fixes listed, it's probably not going to change your GIMP experience appreciably if at all.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not sure if I could make the 2.6.9 upgrade option available for my current version of Ubuntu or if I should care. I know I could download the 2.6.9 tarball and install that way, but I prefer to use apt-get/synaptic to manage my applications. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I checked and for Windows using the Windows installer, the latest version of GIMP available for immediate download is 2.6.8...close, but no cigar.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The interesting news is that 2.6.9 was released on June 23rd, making it the first release of any version of GIMP since last December. Looking forward to GIMP 2.7.0 in another six months.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-6698190340216363108?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/6698190340216363108/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/06/gimp-269-available-for-linuxsort-of.html#comment-form' title='7 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/6698190340216363108'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/6698190340216363108'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/06/gimp-269-available-for-linuxsort-of.html' title='GIMP 2.6.9 Available for Linux..sort of'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TCdTYAbI2tI/AAAAAAAAAnA/8WS9HNaJSZI/s72-c/frontsplash.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>7</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-3204150750217774885</id><published>2010-06-21T16:22:00.001-06:00</published><updated>2010-06-21T16:25:21.400-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='cheat sheet'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='image'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='computers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='hardware'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='chart'/><title type='text'>Hardware Cheat Sheet</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TB_l5lvO1aI/AAAAAAAAAm4/rSRqPQWgw0U/s1600/hardware.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TB_l5lvO1aI/AAAAAAAAAm4/rSRqPQWgw0U/s200/hardware.png" width="161" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Credit &lt;a href="http://www.geekologie.com/" target="_blank"&gt;geekologie.com&lt;/a&gt; for posting this one page PC hardware "cheat sheet" on the web. According to the Geekologie about page, &lt;i&gt;"Geekologie is a geek blog dedicated to the scientific study of gadgets, gizmos, and awesome. There are a lot of shiny new things out there, and Geekologie is dedicated to finding every last one of them for you."&lt;/i&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The blog tends to lean towards things Star Wars, but has plenty of other interesting tidbits, photos and videos. Oh. You probably want to see the cheat sheet (since I've written a &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Technician-Street-Smarts-Updated-2009/dp/0470486511/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;s=books&amp;amp;qid=1277158753&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;computer hardware related book&lt;/a&gt; or two, I'm naturally attracted to this sort of stuff). Here it is:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.geekologie.com/2009/07/22/computer-hardware-2.jpg" target="_blank"&gt;Computer Hardware Chart&lt;/a&gt;. After you click the link and the image loads, click the image to enlarge.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-3204150750217774885?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/3204150750217774885/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/06/hardware-cheat-sheet.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/3204150750217774885'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/3204150750217774885'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/06/hardware-cheat-sheet.html' title='Hardware Cheat Sheet'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TB_l5lvO1aI/AAAAAAAAAm4/rSRqPQWgw0U/s72-c/hardware.png' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-3455419419913502936</id><published>2010-06-10T09:51:00.001-06:00</published><updated>2010-06-10T09:52:45.942-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Using GIMP: It's Getting Closer</title><content type='html'>Not sure exactly when the eBook will be released. All of the deliverables are in and most of the editing is done. Going over the PDF pages now to make a final check of everything, so the book isn't 100% quite yet. Just to give you a taste though, here's some samples from the front matter. Enjoy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
I finally tried my ISP's DNS servers and that seemed to take hold, though I don't know why. It shouldn't make a difference but I've been surfing from my Lucid Lynx VM for two days now without a hitch. That leads me to my second problem.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I'm a big fan of Firefox so naturally, use it on all my Linux and Windows machines. I've tried Google's Chrome web browser on a Windows VM and like it, so I decided to &lt;a href="http://www.ubuntugeek.com/how-to-install-chromium-google-chrome-in-ubuntu-using-deb-package.html" target="_blank"&gt;install Chromium&lt;/a&gt; on the Lucid VM. Seemed to go great guns at first but then hit major snags.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Actually, I was having problems in both Firefox and Chromium which all seemed to be tied to my general networking problems for the VM. For the past two days, I've been surfing the web just fine with Firefox, though. Time to try Chromium.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For a minute or two, it seemed great. I thought I could give Chromium a real workout and see if it really was faster than Firefox, just as the &lt;a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10030888-92.html" target="_blank"&gt;speed tests between Firefox and Chrome&lt;/a&gt; suggest when run on Windows. I've got some bad news.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Firefox continued to let me surf the web at lightning speed, but after a few minutes, Chromium slowed down to a wounded crawl. I tried Googling the problem but only came up with a slow video playback problem in Chromium on Ubuntu reported at &lt;a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=9227936" target="_blank"&gt;ubuntuforums.org&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Admittedly, before I had the chance to investigate further, I had to leave for work, so I won't be able to make more tests until I get home tonight. I suspect the issue may still be tied to Ubuntu Lynx running as a VM and the associated networking problems, but I can't be sure. Until I get home and have a chance to look at this more completely, has anyone else had an experience with poor Chromium web browser performance in Ubuntu 10.04?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;!-- AddToAny END --&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-2488678537740239244?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/2488678537740239244/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/05/chromium-on-ubuntu-1004-slower-than.html#comment-form' title='20 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/2488678537740239244'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/2488678537740239244'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/05/chromium-on-ubuntu-1004-slower-than.html' title='Chromium on Ubuntu 10.04 Slower than Firefox?'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S_0qy943ZfI/AAAAAAAAAmM/A2u2WflRVuA/s72-c/chromium_icon.png' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>20</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-3367857257051069006</id><published>2010-05-22T09:47:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2010-05-22T09:47:47.924-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='star wars'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='george lucas'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='the empire strikes back'/><title type='text'>Happy 30th Anniversary "The Empire Strikes Back"</title><content type='html'>In honor of the 30th anniversary of the release of the Star Wars film &lt;a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080684/" target="_blank"&gt;The Empire Strikes Back&lt;/a&gt;, I'm posting a photo of a star destroyer. You are probably saying "So what?" but this photo is special to me. I bought it at a Science Fiction convention in Los Angeles a full month or more before &lt;a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076759/" target="_blank"&gt;Star Wars&lt;/a&gt; (1977) was released. It was my first real look at the world George Lucas created. Enjoy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S_f8a9wvHqI/AAAAAAAAAmE/HxXv6NI9rns/s1600/star_destroyer.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="271" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S_f8a9wvHqI/AAAAAAAAAmE/HxXv6NI9rns/s400/star_destroyer.png" width="400" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-3367857257051069006?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/3367857257051069006/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/05/happy-30th-anniversary-empire-strikes.html#comment-form' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/3367857257051069006'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/3367857257051069006'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/05/happy-30th-anniversary-empire-strikes.html' title='Happy 30th Anniversary &quot;The Empire Strikes Back&quot;'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S_f8a9wvHqI/AAAAAAAAAmE/HxXv6NI9rns/s72-c/star_destroyer.png' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-977882085377750197</id><published>2010-05-11T14:14:00.002-06:00</published><updated>2010-05-11T14:22:33.096-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='confidential'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='copying machines'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='hard drive'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='secure'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='information architecture'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='security'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Data'/><title type='text'>Copiers have hard drives?</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S-m6iCAlPGI/AAAAAAAAAl8/_01ZQojMS9A/s1600/harddrive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S-m6iCAlPGI/AAAAAAAAAl8/_01ZQojMS9A/s200/harddrive.jpg" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;I don't think much about copying machines. I just make my copies, print what I need to print, fax what I need to fax, and scan what I need to scan. What I didn't realize is that since about 2002, commercial copying machines have been built with hard drives that store as images &lt;u&gt;everything&lt;/u&gt; you have ever copied on your machine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Now imagine you manage the copying machines for a medical center, insurance company, police department, or other organization that routinely prints and copies secure and confidential information. Imagine if some of the machines you manage are getting older and you replace them, surplusing the old machines for resale. &lt;u&gt;Anyone&lt;/u&gt; who buys your old machines could potentially remove the hard drive and pull the data off of it; data that consists of all the documents ever processed through the machines. Am I being paranoid? Watch this:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;object height="385" width="480"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6pIFUOav2xE&amp;amp;hl=en_US&amp;amp;fs=1&amp;amp;"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6pIFUOav2xE&amp;amp;hl=en_US&amp;amp;fs=1&amp;amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="312" height="250"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Am I still being paranoid? Maybe your company should update its security plan to include how to dispose of copying machines. Just a thought.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
I'm aware that there's a &lt;a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=9267540" target="_blank"&gt;wireless networking&lt;/a&gt; problem associated with the Lynx, but I'm using a strictly wired LAN with a DSL connection to hit the Internet. I can "refresh" the connection by rebooting the Ubuntu VM, but as of today, the connection only lasts a few minutes before it starts acting dodgy again.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ubuntu itself is set to acquire a dynamic IP address and as a VM, it's network adapter uses NAT. The other VMs (Windows machines) aren't experiencing any similar problems. Also, my host PC and other computers on the LAN aren't having a problem. If it was just a Firefox issue, I'd suspect the problem listed at &lt;a href="http://www.ubuntugeek.com/how-to-fix-firefox-slow-problem-in-ubuntu-10-04lucid.html" target="_blank"&gt;Ubuntugeek.com&lt;/a&gt; might be it, but not with Chromium showing the same behavior.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Any ideas?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=Ubuntu%2010.04%20Update%3A%20Networking&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fubuntu-1004-update-networking.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="Ubuntu 10.04 Update: Networking";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/05/ubuntu-1004-update-networking.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-2256478770839299978?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/2256478770839299978/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/05/ubuntu-1004-update-networking.html#comment-form' title='6 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/2256478770839299978'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/2256478770839299978'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/05/ubuntu-1004-update-networking.html' title='Ubuntu 10.04 Update: Networking'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S-d8VB4aF3I/AAAAAAAAAl0/iApSIyQ30ok/s72-c/lucidlynx.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>6</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-8542896158932613327</id><published>2010-05-07T05:57:00.001-06:00</published><updated>2010-05-11T14:23:49.670-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Do Chimpanzees write The Great Gatsby?</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S-P_jBKTyjI/AAAAAAAAAls/PdzzE1Zdk4k/s1600/bizarro_chimps.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S-P_jBKTyjI/AAAAAAAAAls/PdzzE1Zdk4k/s400/bizarro_chimps.gif" width="335" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
I named my blog "A MillionChimpanzees" to illustrate the vast multitude of people on the web, all blogging about all things, great, small, and silly. It's as much a way to make fun of my own efforts as it is anyone else's. With that in mind, I read this comic this morning and absolutely had to share it as well as the link to &lt;a href="http://www.seattlepi.com/fun/comic.asp?feature_id=Bizarro" target="_blank"&gt;the original source&lt;/a&gt;. Enjoy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
First off, I was amazed by the fact that I could quickly and easily download the ISO for the 32-bit desktop. It was only about 24 hours after the initial release when I gave it a shot, and there were no delays at all. I find torrents obnoxious, so I did the straight download directly from &lt;a href="http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/" target="_blank"&gt;Ubuntu.com&lt;/a&gt;. No muss, no fuss. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I joke that I don't try a new Windows desktop OS until the first service pack is released. That's usually pretty good advice, but even with Linux, I don't download and install a brand new release of a distro on my production machine. In this case, I ran the ISO directly in VMware Workstation 7 to give it a shot. I used the easy install option just for giggles. This bypasses the manual configuration for the OS which isn't always a good idea, but I figured the worst that could happen is that I'd experience a major fubar and have to blow away the VM.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Everything worked well. Installation was quick and the current version of VMware Workstation automatically installs VMware Tools for Linux, so it's an almost totally hands off experience. Then, when the GUI came up, I hit a snag. The mouse worked fine, but the keyboard was totally non-responsive. This could have been an Ubuntu issue, a VMware issue, or maybe wireless Dell keyboards just don't work and play well with Ubuntu. I fired up Google and started my search.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I found just about a ton of posts in different threads at the Ubuntu forums including &lt;a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1466442" target="_blank"&gt;this one&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1466482" target="_blank"&gt;this one&lt;/a&gt;. They all give more or less the same advice about solutions, but I specifically referenced a thread dealing with &lt;a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1460860" target="_blank"&gt;Ubuntu 10.04 and VMware Player&lt;/a&gt;, which worked out for me just fine. After using the virtual keyboard option to enter my password, I was able to login and thereafter, my wireless keyboard behaved as expected.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I haven't had a lot of time to play with the Lucid Lynx VM as yet, but there were a few things I took care of right away. First, I installed &lt;a href="http://ubuntu-tweak.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Ubuntu Tweak&lt;/a&gt;, if for no other reason, than to be able to put a folder for my home directory on the desktop. It offers a lot of other great features as well, but it disappoints me that so many simple configuration options don't come with Ubuntu "off-the-rack". &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
There are a large number of "what to do after you install Ubuntu 10.04" blogs and tutorials around, and I chose the one featured at &lt;a href="http://www.my-guides.net/en/guides/linux/193-ubuntu-lucid-lynx-1004-post-installation-guide" target="_blank"&gt;my-guides.net&lt;/a&gt; because it seemed to be reasonably comprehensive and wasn't afraid to use the apt-get system to tweak Ubuntu.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I didn't follow most of the steps in the tutorial, at least so far, but I did run &lt;code&gt;sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras&lt;/code&gt; to enable Adobe Flash Player, JRE with Firefox plug-ins, and a few other things. I might even get around to installing the Google Chrome browser just to try it out on Linux, but Firefox serves me for now.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Oh, and I installed GIMP, which was a breeze using the Ubuntu Software Centre. I'll post more details as I get the chance to do something more substantial with the Lynx.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-5560332225954892644?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/5560332225954892644/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/05/ubuntu-1004-lts-lucid-lynx-first.html#comment-form' title='8 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/5560332225954892644'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/5560332225954892644'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/05/ubuntu-1004-lts-lucid-lynx-first.html' title='Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Lucid Lynx First Impressions'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S97kVn7-LSI/AAAAAAAAAlI/xd7jSWBB0oY/s72-c/lynx3.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>8</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-1865774667363355741</id><published>2010-04-30T15:57:00.009-06:00</published><updated>2010-04-30T16:22:14.138-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='windows 7'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='que publishing'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='gimp'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='cisco'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='using gimp'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='google'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='cisco press'/><title type='text'>The USING Series: More than Just a Book</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S9tRzOOuiEI/AAAAAAAAAk4/fZm5my6tzuA/s1600/using.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="176" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S9tRzOOuiEI/AAAAAAAAAk4/fZm5my6tzuA/s200/using.png" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;If you are into technical reading or writing, you've probably at least heard of &lt;a href="http://www.informit.com/index.aspx" target="_blank"&gt;informIT.com&lt;/a&gt;. Among other publications, they're responsible for the &lt;a href="http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1581426" target="_blank"&gt;Unleashed&lt;/a&gt; series, and their imprints include Cisco Press, IBM Press, Prentice Hall Professional, and QUE Publishing. While you may use books such as those published by &lt;a href="http://www.ciscopress.com/index.asp" target="_blank"&gt;Cisco Press&lt;/a&gt; without being overly concerned regarding the presence of a parent organization, you may also be unaware that changes are coming.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;I previously posted here in my blog that my eBook &lt;a href="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/04/using-gimp.html" target="_blank"&gt;Using GIMP&lt;/a&gt; was going to be released within a few months. What I probably didn't spell out, is that it's part of a newly launched book series called &lt;a href="http://www.quepublishing.com/imprint/series_detail.aspx?st=87407" target="_blank"&gt;Using&lt;/a&gt; under the imprint of the aforementioned &lt;a href="http://www.quepublishing.com/index.aspx" target="_blank"&gt;QUE Publishing&lt;/a&gt;. But why should you care?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;To quote the site's blurb notice: &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;USING is more than just a book: It's the fastest, easiest way to gain the technology skills you're looking for! Don't just read about it: See it, hear it, with step-by-step video tutorials and valuable audio sidebars delivered through the free Web Edition that comes with every USING book. For the price of the book you get online access anywhere with a web connection—no books to carry, content updated as the technology changes, and the benefit of video and audio learning. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;My book will be released as an eBook but not in print format, which is described as: &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;The Web Edition of every USING book is powered by Safari Books Online, allowing you access to the video tutorials and valuable audio sidebars. Plus, you can search the contents of the book, highlight text and attach a note to that text, print your notes and highlights in a custom summary, and cut and paste directly from Safari Books Online. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;Some of the upcoming titles include &lt;a href="http://www.quepublishing.com/title/0789744597" target="_blank"&gt;Using LinkedIn&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.quepublishing.com/title/0131388673" target="_blank"&gt;Using Google AdWords and AdSense&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;b&gt;Using Blogger&lt;/b&gt;. The whole point of the Using series is that the reader (and I use the term somewhat loosely) accesses the information using multiple media types, including text, video, audio, and web. Topics include a wide range of subjects, from &lt;b&gt;Microsoft Windows 7&lt;/b&gt; and &lt;b&gt;MAC OS X Snow Leopard&lt;/b&gt; to &lt;b&gt;Using Google Maps and Google Earth&lt;/b&gt; and the already mentioned &lt;b&gt;Using GIMP&lt;/b&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S9tR9fDALNI/AAAAAAAAAlA/sf3vH98euCk/s1600/gimpbook_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S9tR9fDALNI/AAAAAAAAAlA/sf3vH98euCk/s200/gimpbook_cover.jpg" width="133" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;Since this is a brand new series type, QUE wants to promote it as strongly as possible (which I suppose is part of why I'm blogging it). To that end, you've got a terrific opportunity to get a hold of and read these books for free by becoming a &lt;a href="http://www.quepublishing.com/promotions/promotion.aspx?promo=137693" target="_blank"&gt;reviewer&lt;/a&gt;. I may take advantage of this opportunity myself since I have a track record as a technical book reviewer.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"&gt;Many of these books are or will become available at &lt;a href="http://my.safaribooksonline.com/0131388673?portal=informit" target="_blank"&gt;Safari&lt;/a&gt;, so if that's your reading method of choice, you won't be left out. Stroll over to QUE's &lt;a href="http://www.quepublishing.com/imprint/series_detail.aspx?ser=335236&amp;amp;sorttype=2&amp;amp;dir=0" target="_blank"&gt;Using Series&lt;/a&gt; web page and see if you can find something that interests you.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S9mSQkxZGNI/AAAAAAAAAkw/yy20cYU38j4/s1600/lynx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S9mSQkxZGNI/AAAAAAAAAkw/yy20cYU38j4/s200/lynx.jpg" width="132" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Today is Thursday, April 29, 2010. It's almost half past six in the morning in the western United States where I live. I started looking about the web for announcements of the production release of Ubuntu 10.04. I didn't find them. Given the time difference between me and Canonical, I figured the mirrors for the production download would be available by now. I decided to go &lt;a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/" target="_blank"&gt;to the source&lt;/a&gt; but the Ubuntu Home page still announces &lt;a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download" target="_blank"&gt;Ubuntu 9.10&lt;/a&gt; as the latest production release. I double checked the &lt;a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases" target="_blank"&gt;release schedule&lt;/a&gt; and it does say the Lynx should be at final release on the 29th. Am I being impatient?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After I wrote the above paragraph on the news page at &lt;a href="http://www.linux-tutorial.info/news.html" target="_blank"&gt;the Linux Tutorial&lt;/a&gt;, I went to work, still thinking I was being impatient and that the announcement of the release could be forthcoming. I checked again when I got to my workstation and still no change of news. I fired up Google and started searching. Then I found a notice saying &lt;a href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-intel/+bug/568779" target="_blank"&gt;[i855] 10.04 rc boots into black/blank screen&lt;/a&gt;. I read a number of the comments associated with this announcement (they are legion, so I didn't read all of them. One of the latest, posted yesterday, revealed the following (and the spelling errors are the sole property of the comment writer:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;It is critical. People have a bricked laptop after the update. That´s the worst case scenario. Another console aware friend even called me since switchting to the terminal didn´t work as well and he´s a unix guy and had never heard of ubuntus safemode. It´s really pretty bad. Lucid is an aweseom release but this bug is a showstopper imho.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Let´s keep the fingers crossed someone has the balls to delay it. But I doubt it.&lt;/blockquote&gt;Searching for more information, I hit a page at &lt;a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=9192814#post9192814" target="_blank"&gt;ubuntuforums.org&lt;/a&gt; that seems to be more up to date. In fact, the thread is so active that all you have to do is refresh your browser every minute or so to see new posts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Amid the various posts are specific links to download Ubuntu desktop, both the &lt;a href="http://iso.qa.ubuntu.com/qatracker/test/4166" target="_blank"&gt;32-bit&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://iso.qa.ubuntu.com/qatracker/test/4165" target="_blank"&gt;64-bit&lt;/a&gt; flavors. Don't ask me why this information is so hard to find at &lt;a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/" target="_blank"&gt;ubuntu.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Just for giggles, I clicked the available link to download 32-bit Ubuntu desktop and of course, the page was amazingly slow to load, and when it did, I only saw this: &lt;b&gt;ERROR The requested URL could not be retrieved&lt;/b&gt;. In other words, any one with an Internet connection is trying to be the first to download the 10.04 ISO from the mirrors. Good luck with that.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A lot of the posts on the ubuntuforums.org thread dedicated to today's (pending) release state that the links for downloading both the 64-bit and 32- bit versions of Ubuntu keep timing out. Either there's a problem with the release and this is Canonical's method if dealing with it, or the release is available and too many people are trying to download at the same time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Guess we'll have to wait. The thread on the Ubuntu Forums about the Lucid Lynx release is up to &lt;a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1463554&amp;amp;page=63" target="_blank"&gt;63 pages&lt;/a&gt; as I write this, but another page is added every minute or so. If you want to keep up with the minute-by-minute developments, feel free to visit the thread and watch the progress. For all practical purposes though, you might want to wait and attempt to locate and download Ubuntu 10.04 LTS tomorrow or the next day.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Addendum:&lt;/b&gt; I also found some information of a possible release delay at &lt;a href="https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+milestone/ubuntu-10.04" target="_blank"&gt;launchpad.net&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-9010119231658866852?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/9010119231658866852/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/04/is-release-of-ubuntu-1004-delayed.html#comment-form' title='10 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/9010119231658866852'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/9010119231658866852'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/04/is-release-of-ubuntu-1004-delayed.html' title='Is the Release of Ubuntu 10.04 Delayed?'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S9mSQkxZGNI/AAAAAAAAAkw/yy20cYU38j4/s72-c/lynx.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>10</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-8417337845673491402</id><published>2010-04-28T15:53:00.002-06:00</published><updated>2010-04-28T16:03:58.331-06:00</updated><title type='text'>jQuery: Novice to Ninja</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S9iuVn0UbsI/AAAAAAAAAko/eAgbr_qR5hk/s1600/jqueryninja.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S9iuVn0UbsI/AAAAAAAAAko/eAgbr_qR5hk/s200/jqueryninja.png" width="165" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Authors: Earle Castledine and Craig Sharkie&lt;br /&gt;
Format: Paperback, 300 pages&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: SitePoint; 1st edition (February 22, 2010)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 0980576857&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-0980576856&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I was first introduced to jQuery a year or so ago when I read David Sawyer McFarland's &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/JavaScript-Missing-David-Sawyer-McFarland/dp/0596515898" target="_blank"&gt;JavaScript: The Missing Manual&lt;/a&gt; from Pogue Press, which was more about jQuery than learning JavaScript basics (as I had originally assumed). It was a happy accident though, and I discovered how to get a lot more out of JavaScript by leveraging the jQuery framework making my efforts generally more quick and less painful (well, I'm not lightning fast, but I'm not an expert, either). I've been looking for a "pure jQuery" book for a while, but there really aren't a lot of good books on the topic out there. When I saw the Castledine and Sharkie book was available, I jumped at the chance to review it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Who should read this book? There was the usual blurb in the book's front matter about &lt;i&gt;"If you're a front-end web designer looking to..."&lt;/i&gt; which I expected, but what are the minimal qualifications the reader should have before shelling out his or her hard earned dough for this text? Actually, the authors don't come out and say &lt;i&gt;"you need to know JavaScript to such and thus level.."&lt;/i&gt; at first. On the other hand, they do say the reader should have intermediate to advanced HTML and CSS skill sets as well as stating some (ah, here it is) &lt;i&gt;"..rudimentary programming knowledge will be helpful."&lt;/i&gt; Folks assume that JavaScript is "programming light", but it has the same basic rules and structure as other languages such as Python and PHP, so possessing an understanding in that area would seem to be at least a plus if not something of a requirement. Before I get ahead of myself though, it's time to move into the book proper.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Chapter 1 is pretty much a combination high-level overview for jQuery and an advertisement selling the audience on its virtues. I don't disdain this. After all, if you aren't sold on the value of jQuery for your web designs, why buy the book in the first place, right? If you're at your favorite bookstore (do people still buy books at stores rather than online anymore?) and you're trying to make up your mind about jQuery (let alone this book), skimming the first chapter should help you with your decision.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I actually got a bit of a lesson on CSS and JavaScript in the second chapter as I came across bits about adding and removing classes, event handlers, if statements and such. Like any (more or less) beginning programming book, there's always a struggle in deciding how much to assume your audience knows vs. how much to teach them in the book's content. That often spills over into deciding the style of the book. Should it be heavier on concept or hands on? I usually prefer simple, straightforward numbered steps, but while that can get you creating stuff that works, it's also important to understand why it works. Otherwise, the only thing you've learned is how to follow a list of instructions to create a specific effect. This book seems to combine these two elements, presenting the "steps" as a narrative that also contains the conceptual data.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
About a quarter of the way through, I thought I'd see how much value the companion website added to the book. As usual, you can buy the book online from the publisher's site, download the sample code (so you don't have to keyboard all the code examples by hand), submit errata, and post questions on a discussion forum. I was looking for that magic combination between web and hardcopy that would make learning a new language or library streamlined. Unfortunately, I didn't find it. Let's face it, programming is hard for the beginner. I'm not trying to be discouraging, but it takes not only a lot of practice and dedication to learn programming, but you have to possess the ability to conceptualize problems as solvable using programming logic. Not everyone can do that, or at least, some people are better at it than others.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Learning from the book will be relatively easy &lt;i&gt;if&lt;/i&gt; you are an experienced web designer with knowledge of HTML, CSS, and some JavaScript (the more the better) and/or are reasonably proficient at web programming (or have the right wiring in your brain pan for this kind of learning). I wouldn't recommend tackling jQuery if you've never written in JavaScript at all before. One person's "easy" is another person's "this is really hard." Heading into this with your expectations grounded in reality will help. To its credit, the book does start you out with a vanilla web site and shows you how to augment it with jQuery, which is the way to do it. Build the structure first, then style it, and then add the action and interaction. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I didn't test the code, so I can't tell you how well it works (and I've encountered books before where it was impossible for the sample code to produce the effect described by the book's text). You probably want to hit the book's web site and review the errata section, making some notes in the book before performing the exercises, just to prevent a few minutes (or hours) trying to solve a problem that's already known and corrected. You can also visit the discussion forum to see if other readers have had common issues with specific areas of the book. Proficiency in learning is all about doing your homework, both within and outside the text.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A lot of people, even experienced developers, will just Google the effect they want to produce, find the relevant jQuery online, download, copy and paste, and then perform a little minor tweaking to get it to work on their site. This book proposes to actually teach you how to write your own jQuery, or at least, teach you how to understand the work of others that you want to use for yourself (with the permission of those "others", of course). Expect to get around halfway through the text before you've learned enough to get you to the point of starting to write your own original code.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Starting out as a jQuery novice is easy. We all start there (assuming we're all trying to learn jQuery). How far you get into the "ninja" range depends on how far you progress into the book and how well you integrate the learning into your programming activities. While I found the book a good jQuery guide for beginners, I don't think it's one-stop-shopping as far as turning the reader into a world-class jQuery guru...not unless the reader sticks with it, goes through the book, goes through certain portions of the book again, and keeps expanding his or her knowledge and experience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/jQuery-Novice-Ninja-Earle-Castledine/dp/0980576857/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;s=books&amp;amp;qid=1272487637&amp;amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;jQuery: Novice to Ninja&lt;/a&gt; may not actually make you the master of the art of invisibility, or even the art of jQuery, but it is a very slick book, and the best example of a jQuery book I've seen cross my path yet. If you're looking for jQuery "ninjahood", this book might not garner you that honor all by itself, but it should put you well down the right path to that destination.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-8417337845673491402?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/8417337845673491402/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/04/jquery-novice-to-ninja.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/8417337845673491402'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/8417337845673491402'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/04/jquery-novice-to-ninja.html' title='jQuery: Novice to Ninja'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S9iuVn0UbsI/AAAAAAAAAko/eAgbr_qR5hk/s72-c/jqueryninja.png' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-6552248712317392710</id><published>2010-04-22T14:01:00.000-06:00</published><updated>2010-04-22T14:01:32.061-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='art'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='family'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='boise'/><title type='text'>A Splash in Life's Pond</title><content type='html'>This small missive departs from my usual fare, but I just had to share it. My daughter is graduating from the University of Puget Sound next month with a degree if Graphic Design. Apparently, our local paper keeps track of such things:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;Art work by Jamie Pyles, daughter of Lin and Jim Pyles of Meridian, will be exhibited in the Kittredge Art Gallery during the University of Puget Sound Senior Art Show.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Pyles, a 2006 graduate of Capital High School, uses colored pencils, watercolor and India ink to shows the "personification of a human's impulses and emotions through fantasy-type characters," she said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"&gt;I'll get a chance to see her art show next month when the fam attends her graduation. Unless she's so embarrassed that the threatened me with severe bodily harm, I'll try to post some photos of her work.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="TixyyLink" style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"&gt;Here's the link to the original news story: &lt;a href="http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/04/16/1155288/art-exhibit-features-work-by-capital.html" target="_blank"&gt;Art exhibit features work by Capital High alumnus&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-6552248712317392710?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/6552248712317392710/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/04/splash-in-lifes-pond.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/6552248712317392710'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/6552248712317392710'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/04/splash-in-lifes-pond.html' title='A Splash in Life&apos;s Pond'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-5566772369557854390</id><published>2010-04-15T08:15:00.001-06:00</published><updated>2010-04-15T08:16:22.504-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='open source'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='gimp'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='digital photography'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='new book'/><title type='text'>Using GIMP</title><content type='html'>This is jumping the gun slightly, but look for this eBook, written by yours truly, to become available sometime in early Summer. I'll blog more details about the book in a bit.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S8cfUrny4yI/AAAAAAAAAkY/y2FERVfJ0hU/s1600/gimpbook_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S8cfUrny4yI/AAAAAAAAAkY/y2FERVfJ0hU/s400/gimpbook_cover.jpg" width="267" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-5566772369557854390?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/5566772369557854390/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/04/using-gimp.html#comment-form' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/5566772369557854390'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/5566772369557854390'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/04/using-gimp.html' title='Using GIMP'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S8cfUrny4yI/AAAAAAAAAkY/y2FERVfJ0hU/s72-c/gimpbook_cover.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-4152931325893414644</id><published>2010-03-17T09:17:00.001-06:00</published><updated>2010-03-17T09:18:35.817-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Search Patterns: Design for Discovery</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S6DyW6TDSTI/AAAAAAAAAjY/nObH6JJgUyU/s1600-h/search.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S6DyW6TDSTI/AAAAAAAAAjY/nObH6JJgUyU/s200/search.gif" width="152" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Authors: Peter Morville and Jeffery Callender&lt;br /&gt;
Format: Paperback, 192 pages&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1st edition (January 26, 2010)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 0596802277&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-0596802271&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whether you think "search" is sexy or not, you probably can't live without it. In fact, according to the blurb on the book's back cover, &lt;i&gt;"It (search) influences what we buy and where we go. It shapes how we learn and what we believe."&lt;/i&gt; That's a powerful statement, and probably more true than we realize (or we wish). While most of us experience search as users, Morville and Callender provide a practical guide that allows you to build your own search applications...but how good of a guide is it? I decided to find out (hence this review).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I'm a visual learner (who isn't) and this book fairly panders to my needs and desires as a student. The high quality glossy paper used in this book helps produce very slick and vivid graphics. The first page of the Preface even has a full color cartoon strip featuring the two authors, though Peter seemed to lack some "dimension" as a toon. I guess that's the difference between a graphic designer (Jeff) and an information architect (Peter).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Humor and personality wasn't limited just to the visuals of this book. The authors managed to project their personalities into their writing along with the technical aspects of search, right from page one. Search is immediately presented as a tool that needs to talk to and interact with human beings and adapt to who we are, rather than we adapting to the "needs" of an application.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not only is this a fun book to read, but it is really useful, particularly in communicating about both the conceptual and nuts-and-bolts aspects of search design. A great deal of information about "usability" is leveraged in the creation of this book since, without users, search is without a purpose. The whole idea of building search is building for people.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This creation is so effective that as you travel more into the technical aspects of the book, you may not notice. I got a distinct sense of being pulled along, page after page as I was reading. I can't say that I completely absorbed every single detail as I progressed, but that's more an effect of my need to understand search design better rather than any fault of the authors. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For the beginner interested in learning how to build search, &lt;i&gt;Search Patterns&lt;/i&gt; is an excellent introduction. Yet, the book was also written for designers and information architects (but not so much for developers as far as I can see) who need to learn more about not only the current state of search but its future implementation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The only criticism I can offer is that the book seems to be the proverbial "a mile wide but an inch deep". It is an introduction, but it won't tell you all you need to know about designing search. This book will get you started and enhance whatever knowledge you may already possess, but once your appetite is whetted, you'll want more.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-4152931325893414644?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/4152931325893414644/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/03/search-patterns-design-for-discovery.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4152931325893414644'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4152931325893414644'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/03/search-patterns-design-for-discovery.html' title='Search Patterns: Design for Discovery'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S6DyW6TDSTI/AAAAAAAAAjY/nObH6JJgUyU/s72-c/search.gif' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-1353429820334682703</id><published>2010-03-15T14:51:00.001-06:00</published><updated>2010-03-15T14:52:12.488-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Ubuntu 10.04: Waiting for the Lucid Lynx</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S56c51T0oQI/AAAAAAAAAjM/2aNqjEJvn7w/s1600-h/lynx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S56c51T0oQI/AAAAAAAAAjM/2aNqjEJvn7w/s200/lynx.jpg" width="132" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;This'll be short. I read a review of the current incarnation of &lt;b&gt;Ubuntu 10.04&lt;/b&gt;, code named "Lucid Lynx" at the &lt;a href="http://www.inatux.com/article?r=current-ubuntu-10.04-review" target="_blank"&gt;In a Tux&lt;/a&gt; blog this morning. The author pointed out a number of flaws, great and small, with the Lynx but finished up the review by saying, &lt;i&gt;"This version of Ubuntu 10.04 is not a stable or final release of Ubuntu, so some of these thing my change. Please do not judge them to soon"&lt;/i&gt; (and the spelling errors are the sole property of the &lt;i&gt;In a Tux&lt;/i&gt; author). &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Since the Daylight Savings Time change has "jet lagged" me into near-incomprehensibility (and that's hard to spell when you're really tired), I wasn't quite sure when the Lynx was to be released and I decided to look up the release schedule at Ubuntu.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to &lt;a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LucidReleaseSchedule" target="_blank"&gt;wiki.ubuntu.com&lt;/a&gt;, we've got a solid 6 weeks until the &lt;a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/FinalRelease" target="_blank"&gt;Final Release&lt;/a&gt; becomes available on &lt;b&gt;April 29th&lt;/b&gt;. In fact, the &lt;a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Beta1Release" target="_blank"&gt;Beta 1&lt;/a&gt; release is still four days (&lt;b&gt;March 18th&lt;/b&gt;) off as I write this. While some betas can function almost as well as the final product, you should expect a beta and particularly an alpha (and the best the &lt;a href="http://www.inatux.com/article?r=current-ubuntu-10.04-review" target="_blank"&gt;In a Tux&lt;/a&gt; author could have been working with is &lt;a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/lucid/alpha3" target="_blank"&gt;Alpha 3&lt;/a&gt;), to have a few, or more than a few, outstanding bugs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I'm not being critical of reviewing pre-release software and in fact, it's a necessary part of the development process, particularly in the open source world where all contributions are important. Yet, I agree that the Lynx shouldn't be judged too harshly while still in the womb, so to speak. You can find all of the currently known Lucid Lynx bugs at &lt;a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LucidLynx#Bugs%20in%20Lucid" target="_blank"&gt;wiki.ubuntu.com&lt;/a&gt;, so you'll know what bumps in the road to expect if you decide to sample the Lynx as it exists today.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I'm particularly interested in this particular release of Ubuntu since I've been using the previous &lt;b&gt;Ubuntu LTS 8.04 Hardy Heron&lt;/b&gt; and am looking forward to upgrading. For those of you in the same boat, if you want to keep current on the moment-by-moment (almost, anyway) changes to Lucid, you can sign up to receive &lt;a href="https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/lucid-changes" target="_blank"&gt;email notifications&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Waiting for something can be difficult and, after all, in the world of technology, six-weeks is almost an eternity. If patience is your virtue though, &lt;b&gt;April 29th&lt;/b&gt; is right around the corner.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-1353429820334682703?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/1353429820334682703/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/03/ubuntu-1004-waiting-for-lucid-lynx.html#comment-form' title='9 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/1353429820334682703'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/1353429820334682703'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/03/ubuntu-1004-waiting-for-lucid-lynx.html' title='Ubuntu 10.04: Waiting for the Lucid Lynx'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S56c51T0oQI/AAAAAAAAAjM/2aNqjEJvn7w/s72-c/lynx.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>9</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-3832170218967041957</id><published>2010-03-05T16:17:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2010-03-05T16:17:57.993-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Converting a PDF to a Word Doc with KWord</title><content type='html'>I was posed with a challenge yesterday and fortunately, the challenge was cancelled. Let me explain why I say "fortunately". At my day job, my boss wanted me to convert a document produced in &lt;a href="http://www.latex-project.org/" target="_blank"&gt;LaTeX&lt;/a&gt; to a Word document. I work with LaTeX in &lt;a href="http://kile.sourceforge.net/" target="_blank"&gt;Kile&lt;/a&gt; and this isn't an option that seems available. The native output of my little set up is PDF but the PDF to Word doc conversion options didn't look promising either.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As I said, the immediacy of the challenge was cancelled and another solution was found, but the request could come up again and I thought it would be nice to find an answer now while I have a bit of time on my hands. Long story short, I haven't found a way to convert LaTeX to a Word doc format, but there is a way to open a PDF and save it as a Word doc, using &lt;a href="http://www.koffice.org/kword/" target="_blank"&gt;KWord&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S5GNur16BQI/AAAAAAAAAik/lt6i34ONTV8/s1600-h/pdf_image1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S5GNur16BQI/AAAAAAAAAik/lt6i34ONTV8/s200/pdf_image1.png" width="163" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;I did a fair amount of searching and finally discovered an article at the &lt;a href="http://embraceubuntu.com/2007/04/10/convertimport-from-pdf-and-keep-the-formatting/" target="_blank"&gt;EmbraceUbuntu.com&lt;/a&gt; blog. It's older information...almost three years old, but I thought I'd see if the solution works, since it promises to be able to open a PDF, save it as an odt or doc, &lt;i&gt;and preserve the formatting&lt;/i&gt;. This last part is important, because I really need tables in the PDF to still be tables in the doc.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I dutifully installed KWord on my Ubuntu machine and gave it a shot. While the latest incarnation of KWord does a more or less OK job of preserving format, it is far from perfect. Here are my examples. The first image is the sample PDF page I chose to work with. No, it doesn't have tables, but I'll get to that in a minute.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S5GN6fXKTII/AAAAAAAAAis/fl0NyxqbhAk/s1600-h/pdf_image2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S5GN6fXKTII/AAAAAAAAAis/fl0NyxqbhAk/s200/pdf_image2.png" width="195" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;The second image is the same page opened in KWord. Not exactly a stunning likeness of the first image, but it is pretty good. That said, I tried it on the actual pages I had been asked to work with yesterday and the table formatting completely disappeared when imported into KWord.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I looked at the example of the process in the &lt;a href="http://embraceubuntu.com/2007/04/10/convertimport-from-pdf-and-keep-the-formatting/" target="_blank"&gt;2007 blog article&lt;/a&gt; vs. what I performed, and the steps and features seem identical. While it looks like KWord (as part of KOffice) is continuing to be developed and maintained, this particular feature doesn't appear to have changed much, if at all, in the past almost three years.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I guess I can't complain too much. This is the closest I've come to solving my little problem, but if converting a PDF to a Word doc is a task on someone's plate at KOffice, I humbly request that it get a little more attention. It would be a big help. Honest.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Afterword:&lt;/b&gt; I regularly use OpenOffice.org Writer to convert odt and doc files to PDF and it works just great. Too bad the abundant resources being fed into OOo development can't also be used to include reversing the process.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-3832170218967041957?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/3832170218967041957/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/03/converting-pdf-to-word-doc-with-kword.html#comment-form' title='12 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/3832170218967041957'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/3832170218967041957'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/03/converting-pdf-to-word-doc-with-kword.html' title='Converting a PDF to a Word Doc with KWord'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/S5GNur16BQI/AAAAAAAAAik/lt6i34ONTV8/s72-c/pdf_image1.png' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>12</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-5595410551442517793</id><published>2010-03-04T12:00:00.012-07:00</published><updated>2010-03-04T12:28:40.072-07:00</updated><title type='text'>When Did We Forget about Big Brother?</title><content type='html'>I remember a time when every criticism about Government surveillance invoked George Orwell's classic novel &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four" target="_blank"&gt;1984&lt;/a&gt; and the spectre of &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Brother_(Nineteen_Eighty-Four)" target="_blank"&gt;Big Brother&lt;/a&gt;. In Orwell's novel, Big Brother had sort of an appearance, but it was made deliberately vague and we couldn't be sure if he represented an actual character or was more a projection of "the Party". I don't hear much about Big Brother anymore, which is odd...but then again, maybe it's not so odd.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When's the last time you worried about your privacy? Sure, maybe you worry about it all the time, particularly when your very identity can not only be invaded, but &lt;a href="http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/about-identity-theft.html" target="_blank"&gt;stolen&lt;/a&gt; and used for all sorts of purposes, not the least of which is to buy just tons of stuff using your name and credit card number.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While we still register danger at the thought of identity theft for the purpose of fraud, when's the last time you considered just how many people and agencies have access to the most intimate details about your life? How many private and public databases contain your name, date of birth, social security number, and a raft of other sensitive information about you? I'm talking about those entities that you've authorized to possess such data, never mind Government security agencies and the like (as if the NSA really cares about what you say on your cell phone).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I was prompted to write this blog by the use of something with a rather benign name: &lt;em&gt;Einstein technology&lt;/em&gt;. More specifically, today's CNET.com article &lt;a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10463665-38.html" target="_blank"&gt;Feds weigh expansion of Internet monitoring&lt;/a&gt; in which Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano assures the American public that the DHS's proposed plan to extend the Einstein technology, now monitoring the public areas of the Internet, into private networks won't constitute an invasion of privacy. Really?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The Einstein technology is designed to &lt;em&gt;"detect and prevent electronic attacks, to networks operated by the private sector"&lt;/em&gt; and was created for use on federal communications networks, however, according to the CNET article, the latest version of Einstein can read email content and AT&amp;T has been asked to test its capacities on their system. In response to concerns about the proposed use of Einstein, Greg Schaffer, assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications warmed my heart by speaking thus:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;"I don't think you have to be Big Brother in order to provide a level of protection either for federal government systems or otherwise," Schaffer said. "As a practical matter, you're looking at data that's relevant to malicious activity, and that's the data that you're focused on. It's not necessary to go into a space where someone will say you're acting like Big Brother. It can be done without crossing over into a space that's problematic from a privacy perspective." &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;Nice to know my "old friend" Big Brother has been let out of history's basement for a breath of fresh air. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not that the boogie man of Cyberterrorism is anything to sneeze at (and it shows up often enough in fiction, such as the recent film &lt;a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337978/" target="_blank"&gt;Live Free or Die Hard&lt;/a&gt;). I fully believe that security must be established and maintained along our electronic and cybercommunications frontiers as well as any of our physical borders, and that insufficient protections invite attack, but there's always a price to be paid. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1968, the first &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt_legislation_in_the_United_States" target="_blank"&gt;federal seat belt law&lt;/a&gt; for motor vehicles (except for buses) came into being. Few people argue that seat belts save lives and provide a measure of protection in car accidents, but the cost of that protection is the loss of a certain amount of freedom within the interior of the car. Just ask any parent who's tried to turn around at the wheel (while the car was stopped, of course) to yell at misbehaving children in the back seat. Potentially save your life, vs. some lack of mobility. Seems like a reasonable trade off.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The trade off for having more (but is it enough?) security when flying on an airplane is to have you and your personal property scanned and searched by federal officials. Less likelihood of a terrorist planning a bomb on your flight vs. having your body wanded and your luggage ransacked. Do you consider that a tough choice?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
What is the trade off for protection against &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberterrorism" target="_blank"&gt;Cyberterrorism&lt;/a&gt;? What are the dangers and how much are we as citizens willing to surrender for protection from said-dangers? Are we talking about defacing the IRS website, a DDoS attack against the INS database servers, or what? How imminent is the threat?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Turns out this is nothing new. According to an example cited at &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberterrorism" target="_blank"&gt;Wikipedia&lt;/a&gt;:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;In 1999 hackers attacked NATO computers. The computers flooded them with email and hit them with a denial of service (DoS). The hackers were protesting against the NATO bombings in Kosovo. Businesses, public organizations and academic institutions were bombarded with highly politicized emails containing viruses from other European countries.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;1999? Certainly Governments have gotten better at protecting themselves against such intrusions since them. Yes they have. Enter Einstein. Of course, we have to assume the tools to create such attacks have gotten better, too. Still, is all this worth the possibility of having your private or business communications potentially accessed?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You can't really say that's a personal choice. The private sector is being asked to cooperate and to allow Einstein in the door, so to speak. It's not like wearing a seat belt where you could say "screw the rules" and take the risk anyway. It's more like getting on a commercial flight where you don't have a choice. You will be scanned and potentially searched. Well, yes you do have a choice. You can choose to drive or take a train (do they still have trains?) if you don't want to put up with the intrusion, but travel will take longer and getting from San Francisco to Tokyo is kind of tough by car without the world's longest bridge being available.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In your personal life, you probably spew just a ton of personal information in social networking venues such as Facebook and twitter, but we're not talking about Einstein peeping in your bedroom window...at least not at this point. In your business life, you are likely required or at least expected to use email and other forms of electronic information transfer and data storage. As far as the company is concerned, when you use their computers, servers, and email, the information that moves across belongs to them. Now, at least to some degree, security for your company is not just the business of your company, it's the business of the Federal government, too.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I Googled "cyberterrorism" to try to get a handle on just how real this threat is, but it's a topic presenting too much data, a lot of it being conflicting. Einstein and the DHS is a specific example of how Governments tend to operate. Like programs such as Health Care or the Stimulus, plans are created and then enacted upon masses of people, some who don't mind and others who object, and yet all experience the same impact. It's like turning on the lights in a bedroom. Maybe one person wanted to read a book but the other person wanted to go to sleep. In a house, the reader can go to another room, but a nation is just one big room. In effect, so is the Internet and so is Einstein's potential for peeking through your company's windows or mine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Despite everything I've just written, I don't wind myself up so I can't sleep at night worrying about this stuff. One of the reasons I figure Big Brother isn't talked about much anymore is that we've all gotten used to the idea that we don't have a great deal of privacy anyway as individuals or corporate entities. As long as it doesn't have a visible impact on our day-to-day lives, most people don't care what information is gathered about them. At this point, it's being proposed that Einstein enter the private sector but not the private home. Business is being asked to cooperate with the DHS to ensure the greater good, and whatever information is gathered, is to be squirrelled away behind the "national security" curtain for the country's protection. Is it worth the trade off?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Afterword:&lt;/strong&gt; While I was writing this article, I was struck with the urge to look up an old textbook I used back in the late 1970s, &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/American-Police-State-Government-Against/dp/0394724984" target="_blank"&gt;The American Police State: The Government Against the People&lt;/a&gt; by David Wise. As I recall, it's about the abuses of the Nixon administration against corporate entities and private citizens in the cause of suppressing dissent against the administration's interests. The &lt;a href="http://www.namebase.org/sources/BI.html" target="_blank"&gt;namebase.org&lt;/a&gt; site summarizes the book in part:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;This contribution to the spate of books to emerge out of Watergate was one of the better efforts. Two chapters concern the CIA -- one on domestic surveillance and the other on CIA involvement in Watergate. Additional chapters include the FBI and IRS and their role in suppressing domestic dissent, and the machinations of the CREEP plumbers, Kissinger, and black- bag jobs in general. His final chapter is an editorial against the official methods: "If we accept the values of the enemy as our own, we will become the enemy." &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;I wonder why I started thinking about Wise's book now?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=When%20Did%20We%20Forget%20About%20Big%20Brother%3F&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fwhen-did-we-forget-about-big-brother.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="When Did We Forget About Big Brother?";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/03/when-did-we-forget-about-big-brother.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-5595410551442517793?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/5595410551442517793/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/03/when-did-we-forget-about-big-brother.html#comment-form' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/5595410551442517793'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/5595410551442517793'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/03/when-did-we-forget-about-big-brother.html' title='When Did We Forget about Big Brother?'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-1382189412484735188</id><published>2010-02-10T20:49:00.002-07:00</published><updated>2010-02-10T20:51:32.638-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Google Buzz: First Impressions</title><content type='html'>I've been hearing a lot about Google Buzz lately and lo and behold, it shows up in Gmail this morning. Initially, I ignored it, but I visit my Gmail account quite often and so figured, "what the heck". As I was going through the set up process (which isn't really involved), I was inspired to open up Google Wave for the first time in more than a month. I saw a few new Waves, but nothing like the flood of unread messages I'd expect if I just ignored Gmail for about six weeks. I've written a couple of blogs on Wave, including an &lt;a href="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/11/review-goggle-wave-so-far.html" target="_blank"&gt;an initial review&lt;/a&gt; and an update called &lt;a href="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/12/why-hasnt-google-wave-gone-viral.html" target="_blank"&gt;Why Hasn't Google Wave Gone Viral?&lt;/a&gt; My interest in Wave has waxed and waned and now that Google has thrown Buzz into the mix, was I supposed to get excited?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Frankly, I feel like I must be missing something. I started following a few people on Buzz, particularly &lt;a href="http://www.google.com/profiles/jmnewhart" target="_blank"&gt;Jesse Newhart&lt;/a&gt;, and in reading the various discussions he's started, a lot of people seem completely thrilled about Google Buzz. I did some searching, trying to discover the Buzz potential and amazingly, I even found an article published at Business Insider called &lt;a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/is-google-buzz-a-facebook-killer--2010-2" target="_blank"&gt;Is Google Buzz a Facebook Killer?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Frankly, I find it difficult to keep up with Buzz, although I've gotten to the point where I'm on top of twitter. I use &lt;a href="http://www.twittergadget.com/" target="_blank"&gt;TwitterGadget&lt;/a&gt; in iGoogle, where I spend much of my time when I'm in front of a PC, so I can keep up on tweets and still do my other work. But I have to visit Gmail to find my new "buzzes", if that's the correct term. Not that I don't open Gmail a great deal as I mentioned, but I don't have it open constantly. If traffic in Buzz is supposed to be as frantic as in twitter, assuming a fairly large number of followers, then you'd have to keep an eye on it more or less all the time. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I found myself thinking of the famous quote from &lt;a href="http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/27743.html" target="_blank"&gt;Fellowship of the Ring&lt;/a&gt;:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;em&gt;One Ring to rule them all,&lt;br /&gt;
One Ring to find them,&lt;br /&gt;
One Ring to bring them all&lt;br /&gt;
and in the darkness bind them.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;Between just how many different interfaces must I bounce in order to satisfy my need to be social?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If Google could put Gmail, Buzz, and Wave in one place or at least make easy and quick connections between them, and then get them to all really talk back and forth to twitter, Facebook, and the like, and then give me one place to aggregate the whole thing, it might serve my needs. Of course, I don't know that's not what Google has in mind for all this; it just seems that with Wave not having "found it's feet" yet, so to speak, launching another big social networking app just for giggles is a tad much.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
OK, I'm not throwing the baby out with the bathwater (yes, that's an old cliche but the old curmudgeon in me made me say it) and I did title this article "First Impressions". Not dismissing Buzz completely out of hand, I haven't exactly fallen into "early adopters euphoria" over it either.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To give it a fair test, if you &lt;a href="http://www.google.com/profiles/james.pyles" target="_blank"&gt;follow me&lt;/a&gt; on Buzz, I'll follow you back...unless you're a slutbot (I had to block the first one in Buzz just a few minutes ago) or a spammer.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
What do you think?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=Google%20Buzz%3A%20First%20Impressions&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F02%2Fgoogle-buzz-first-impressions.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="Google Buzz: First Impressions";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/02/google-buzz-first-impressions.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-1382189412484735188?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/1382189412484735188/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/02/google-buzz-first-impressions.html#comment-form' title='6 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/1382189412484735188'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/1382189412484735188'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/02/google-buzz-first-impressions.html' title='Google Buzz: First Impressions'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>6</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-7097584181205144102</id><published>2010-02-09T08:33:00.003-07:00</published><updated>2010-02-09T08:48:01.884-07:00</updated><title type='text'>SourceForge Lifts the Block: The Power of Negative Publicity</title><content type='html'>I woke up this morning to &lt;a href="http://ostatic.com/blog/sourceforge-removes-blanket-block" target="_blank"&gt;Joe Brockmeier's blog&lt;/a&gt; and the happy news that SourceForge has decided to lift it's block against the various nations the United States has placed on its &lt;a href="http://www.bis.doc.gov/entities/default.htm" target="_blank"&gt;embargo list&lt;/a&gt;. I had &lt;a href="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/01/sourceforge-denies-site-access-to.html"&gt;blogged on the original ban announcement&lt;/a&gt; and was pleased to see further action had been taken. Actually, the entire matter is not quite as clear cut as it may seem. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
First, you'll recall the original announcement by SourceForge that it was establishing a &lt;a href="http://sourceforge.net/blog/clarifying-sourceforgenets-denial-of-site-access-for-certain-persons-in-accordance-with-us-law/" target="_blank"&gt;denial of site list&lt;/a&gt; in order to comply with United States legal requirements, banning nations such as Iran, North Korea, and Syria from being able to access any of the open source projects hosted at SourceForge. Of course, that didn't just ban the governments running various totalitarian regimes in these nations, but also every single citizen living in the banned countries. In essence, the United States, and by its legal compliance SourceForge, was restricting people from access to open source projects just because of where they lived.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I didn't blame SourceForge for this (although plenty of people did). When you get a legal order from an entity that has the right to issue and enforce legal orders, if you are law abiding in your nation of residence, you comply with the order. SourceForge had nothing to gain by "bucking the system" and could ultimately do more harm than good to the open source community by telling the U.S. Government to "go pound sand".&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Things have now changed. SourceForge has decided to lift its ban according to their announcement &lt;a href="http://sourceforge.net/blog/some-good-news-SourceForge-removes-blanket-blocking/" target="_blank"&gt;last Sunday&lt;/a&gt; but that doesn't mean it's "business as usual". SourceForge has put the responsibility to allow or deny access to projects in the hands of the individual project administrators. This makes a lot more sense when you consider that not all projects universally are banned from being disseminated by the U.S to embargoed nations.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Is full access to all the projects at SourceForge completely restored? No. Access is now determined on a project-by-project basis by the project administrators themselves. SourceForge is only involved to the degree that it has allowed project admins this level of control over project access on the SourceForge site. Most of the comments made in response to this action, at least from U.S. developers, are really positive. Non-U.S. folks tend to still slam the U.S. embargo list if not SourceForge, including one German fellow:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;em&gt;I am not an U.S. citizen, so I give a fuck on U.S. laws. We Germans are allowed to export anything to anywhere. Also our encryption mechanisms. So it’s all right for me.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;I guess you can't please everyone.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For instance, Brockmeier's blog included a link to &lt;a href="http://arabcrunch.com/2010/01/following-clintons-internet-freedom-speech-us-based-sourceforge-blocked-syria-sudan-iran-korea-cuba-is-open-source-still-really-open.html" target="_blank"&gt;ArabCrunch.com's&lt;/a&gt; take on the SourceForge matter (despite the fact that the embargo list doesn't affect just Arab nations). You can read first hand, the thoughts and particularly the emotions this entire incident has evoked, as written by Abdulrahman Idlbi, who &lt;em&gt;"is computer engineering master’s student at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals"&lt;/em&gt;, in his guest editorial. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Did SourceForge do the right thing? Yes. The overarching principle of open source is to be accessible to everyone, and I mean everyone. Politics, ethnicity, gender, and any other differences and divisions simply don't matter. Open source, at its finest, functions to unite people, or at least developers, all over the world, in a common and peaceful endeavour. OK, the real world doesn't work that way, but as I said, this is an ideal. I think we found out pretty quickly that political and ideological differences kick in with a vengeance (see the comment from the German fellow and the ArabCrunch article) when you throw a monkey wrench into the machine. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Open source is an ideal but this entire sequence of events has illustrated with great clarity that we human beings, all of us, have a long way to go before we even approach this ideal with how we think, feel, and live.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=SourceForge%20Lifts%20the%20Block%3A%20The%20Power%20of%20Negative%20Publicity&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F02%2Fsourceforge-lifts-block-power-of.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="SourceForge Lifts the Block: The Power of Negative Publicity";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/02/sourceforge-lifts-block-power-of.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-7097584181205144102?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/7097584181205144102/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/02/sourceforge-lifts-block-power-of.html#comment-form' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/7097584181205144102'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/7097584181205144102'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/02/sourceforge-lifts-block-power-of.html' title='SourceForge Lifts the Block: The Power of Negative Publicity'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-4700849073429194894</id><published>2010-02-05T09:05:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2010-02-05T09:05:57.890-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='San Francisco'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='o&apos;reilly'/><title type='text'>Fourth Annual Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco Focuses on Platforms for Growth</title><content type='html'>&lt;em&gt;This information appeared in my inbox a day or so ago, so I thought I'd pass it along. Feel free to do the same. Cheers.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;San Francisco, CA&lt;/strong&gt;, February 4, 2010 — O'Reilly Media, Inc. and TechWeb, producers of Web 2.0 Expo and Web 2.0 Summit, today announced the return of &lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zbo1afpl1laij67ku7k10l56jkhfsgtg8dmmq7b0" target="_blank"&gt;Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco&lt;/a&gt;, the annual event for designers, developers, entrepreneurs, marketers, business strategists, and venture capitalists building a web for the 21st century. This year, Web 2.0 Expo centers on the theme of "Power of Platforms," helping businesses choose and leverage the right web platforms for success. Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco is May 3 - 6, 2010 at Moscone West.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
"It's not just about how companies use the web as a platform," said Sarah Milstein, Web 2.0 Expo Co-Chair and TechWeb General Manager. "It's about how they fit into an ecosystem or create new, larger ones. What we're interested in this year is the new wave of companies that have the potential to build new economies and exploring exactly how that is done."&lt;br /&gt;
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Celebrating its fourth year, Web 2.0 Expo continues its tradition of inspiring and educating the tech industry by providing unparalleled educational programs and valuable networking opportunities. This year, the event launches One Day Intensives, "mini-conferences" that feature expert speaker panels in a participatory classroom experience. Web 2.0 Expo Intensives feature "Lean Startup" with Eric Reis of &lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zt1flqg1sqc8tuh6i4ii6hpochp3733k6m603f5o" target="_blank"&gt;StartupLessonsLearned.com&lt;/a&gt; and "Applied Communilytics" with Sean Power and Alistair Croll of &lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1z0sumus3r3ku2m2b9jf712cihthg0uep5sq49sig" target="_blank"&gt;WatchingWebsites.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
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Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco will consist of a multi-track conference, an "unconference" program called Web2Open, a major tradeshow and many networking opportunities and events. Conference tracks include: Strategy &amp; Business Models, Social Media Marketing, Design &amp; User Experience and Development with six focus tracks on Mobility, Community, Real-time, Analytics, Enterprise and Cloud Computing.&lt;br /&gt;
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Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco 2010 welcomes supporting companies, including Platinum sponsor Microsoft; Gold sponsors Adobe, Invest in Germany, and IBM; Silver sponsors Berlin Partner, blueKiwi, EffectiveUI, HP, Neustar, OpenSRS, OpenText, The Planet and SOASTA.&lt;br /&gt;
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To learn more about the 2010 Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco or register visit: &lt;a href="http://www.web2expo.com/sf" target="_blank"&gt;www.web2expo.com/sf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
For articles, blogs, photos, videos, and speaker presentation files from Web 2.0 Expo SF 2009, see: &lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zpsk4ntl0r5n4d23j6ml43h5kqvjrf2e17opebn8" target="_blank"&gt;www.web2expo.com/webexsf2009&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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To read the O'Reilly Radar, visit: &lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1z3ojde2ehj9thascsmgv9qm9nen1nbjcstr1cnho" target="_blank"&gt;radar.oreilly.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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If you have ideas about areas you'd like to see included at the conference, send a note to: &lt;a href="mailto:webexpo-idea@oreilly.com"&gt;webexpo-idea@oreilly.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If you'd like to stay up to date on information relating to Web 2.0, sign up for the conference newsletter (login required): &lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zeqblui8t9umlmf5posp01cblqqqcl5mqcmnkqn8" target="_blank"&gt;elists.oreilly.com/#conferences&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;strong&gt;About TechWeb&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
TechWeb, the global leader in business technology media, is an innovative business focused on serving the needs of technology decision-makers and marketers worldwide. TechWeb produces the most respected and consumed media brands in the business technology market. Today, more than 13.3* million business technology professionals actively engage in our communities created around our global face-to-face events Interop, Web 2.0, Black Hat and VoiceCon; online resources such as the TechWeb Network, Light Reading, Intelligent Enterprise, InformationWeek.com, bMighty.com, and The Financial Technology Network; and the market leading, award-winning InformationWeek, TechNet Magazine, MSDN Magazine, Wall Street &amp; Technology magazines. TechWeb also provides end-to-end services ranging from next-generation performance marketing, integrated media, research, and analyst services. TechWeb is a division of United Business Media, a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $2.5 billion. *13.3 million business decision-makers: based on # of monthly connections.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;About O'Reilly&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
O'Reilly conferences bring together forward-thinking business and technology leaders, shaping ideas and influencing industries around the globe. For over 25 years, O'Reilly has facilitated the adoption of new and important technologies by the enterprise, putting emerging technologies on the map. &lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;a href="http://conferences.oreillynet.com/?utm_content=PRC_W2ESF_EarlyReg&amp;utm_campaign=W2E+SF&amp;utm_source=iPost&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;imm_mid=054bc1&amp;cmp=PRC_W2ESF_EarlyReg" target="_blank"&gt;O'Reilly Conferences&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=Fourth%20Annual%20Web%202.0%20Expo%20San%20Francisco%20Focuses%20on%20Platforms%20for%20Growth&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F02%2Ffourth-annual-web-20-expo-san-francisco.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="Fourth Annual Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco Focuses on Platforms for Growth";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/02/fourth-annual-web-20-expo-san-francisco.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-4700849073429194894?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/4700849073429194894/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/02/fourth-annual-web-20-expo-san-francisco.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4700849073429194894'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4700849073429194894'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/02/fourth-annual-web-20-expo-san-francisco.html' title='Fourth Annual Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco Focuses on Platforms for Growth'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-2899736757209946546</id><published>2010-01-31T20:40:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2010-01-31T20:43:09.938-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='gimp'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='web 2.0'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='web design'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='photoshop'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='web designer'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='html'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='css'/><title type='text'>Book Review: Web Design for Developers</title><content type='html'>A Programmer's Guide to Design Tools and Techniques&lt;br /&gt;
Author: Brian P. Hogan&lt;br /&gt;
Format: Paperback, 300 pages&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: Pragmatic Bookshelf; 1st edition (December 15, 2009)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 1934356131&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-1934356135&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While there can be some overlap between web designers and web developers, they tend to define their own specific worlds. However, what if a programmer would also like to be better at design? Where does he or she go? Turns out Brian Hogan and the folks at Pragmatic thought in that direction as well and came up with &lt;em&gt;Web Design for Developers&lt;/em&gt;. I guess the title gives it away. But is this book just for programmers who want to learn design?&lt;br /&gt;
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On the surface, the answer to that question seems to be &lt;em&gt;"yes"&lt;/em&gt;. You've created a killer web app but the appearance of said-killer app looks lousy...or at least doesn't look as good as you'd like it to be. Of course, you probably know someone who could help out with the design, but it might be nice to be able to do the job yourself. How to begin? The blurb on the back cover mentions magic words such as &lt;em&gt;PhotoShop&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;CSS&lt;/em&gt; so I'm guessing that's where you'd start. I still can't imagine that a book like this is only for programmers, though. Let's dig a little deeper.&lt;br /&gt;
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Well I'll be darned (or something). As I began looking through the book, the target audience seems to be folks who are cracker jack web developers but who really don't have much of a clue about how to actually design a web site. I point you to &lt;strong&gt;Chapter 9: Building the Home Page with HTML&lt;/strong&gt; as proof of this. For people who've mastered the arcane intricacies of ASP, PHP, Python, and Ruby on Rails, I wouldn't think a simple markup language would be much of a chore, and for some programmers I know, it's not. Actually, for most programmers I know, it's not. On the other hand, while HTML might not be much of a basic challenge to a developer, creating a web site &lt;em&gt;and making it look good&lt;/em&gt; could be an uphill climb, as it requires something of an artistic way of viewing the web.&lt;br /&gt;
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That explains the earlier chapters in this book, which includes basics on style, color, fonts, and graphics. To my relief, Hogan did mention both GIMP and PhotoShop, so his book isn't a slave to proprietary software. That's good, because designing for the web can be done very expertly utilizing the world of open source tools. This also gets at what I was alluding to a few paragraphs ago. Do you have to be a programmer to benefit from this book? No.&lt;br /&gt;
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What do at least some web developers and any one else who wants to design web sites but have little or not experience with the job have in common? The question provides the answer. There's nothing in the book's presentation of the topics involved that can only be understood by programmers. If a developer can read and understand font and typographic basics, so can the non-developer. The would-be web designer picking up this book will likely get the same information and skills practice as the programmer thumbing through the pages.&lt;br /&gt;
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I particularly liked the section called Adding Graphics, which contained a number of chapters instructing the reader how to put together a mock-up site, focusing on structure and content. If you don't have experience making an image in your imagination turn into a real web site design, these chapters will help you operationalize your images and your dreams...and this comes before even one word about HTML and CSS. &lt;br /&gt;
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Another nice feature in the book that I rarely (but not never) see is how to design for web browsers. The author slams Microsoft's Internet Explorer, and rightly so, but also addresses what you have to do to design for IE's tendency to work outside of accepted standards, particularly IE6 (which should just plain be abandoned). From designing for people who are visually impaired to designing for mobile devices, Hogan hits all the areas someone building for the web in 2010 needs to understand.&lt;br /&gt;
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The mock-up site designed early in the book has a life throughout its pages and acts as an anchor for developing and refining all of the different tools and techniques practiced by the reader. Some content, such as testing and performance optimization (Chapter 20) might be more familiar to programmers than other folks, but, if you've gotten this far in the book, you'll probably be ready to tackle such tasks anyway.&lt;br /&gt;
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I can't say the book is revolutionary or that I haven't seen its content in other books, but taken all by itself, &lt;em&gt;Web Design for Developers&lt;/em&gt; is a good primer for anyone who would like to learn web design from a global perspective. From graphics, to color, to fonts, to HTML/CSS, and onward, Brian Hogan has written a solid little book that should get you off the ground and into web design, whether you're a programmer or not.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=Book%20Review%3A%20Web%20Design%20for%20Developers&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fbook-review-web-design-for-developers.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="Book Review: Web Design for Developers";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/01/book-review-web-design-for-developers.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-2899736757209946546?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/2899736757209946546/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/01/book-review-web-design-for-developers.html#comment-form' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/2899736757209946546'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/2899736757209946546'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/01/book-review-web-design-for-developers.html' title='Book Review: Web Design for Developers'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-3519426688504404437</id><published>2010-01-27T08:13:00.011-07:00</published><updated>2010-01-27T15:08:34.446-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='open source'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='embargo'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='north korea'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Iran'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sourceforge'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='barack obama'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='syria'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sudan'/><title type='text'>Sourceforge Denies Site Access to Comply with US Law</title><content type='html'>Is open source all that open anymore? That's probably an unfair question. By definition, open source products are available to everyone without discrimination...at least from the open source community's point of view. But what about the U.S. Government's?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I was inspired to write this little missive by reading the Dana Blankenhorn and Paula Rooney blog at &lt;a href="http://www.zdnet.com/" target="_blank"&gt;ZDNet.com&lt;/a&gt;. This morning, I took a look at their article &lt;a href="http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=5698" target="_blank"&gt;Obama enforces trade embargo against open source&lt;/a&gt;. This means, among other things, that people from certain countries visiting &lt;a href="http://sourceforge.net/" target="_blank"&gt;Sourceforge&lt;/a&gt; will not gain immediate access to the open source projects contained therein, but rather, will receive a "nastygram" in the form of a &lt;em&gt;403 forbidden&lt;/em&gt; message.&lt;br /&gt;
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Why would President Obama, the "transparent" President, do this? I thought he was reaching out to all the communities of the world, including nuclear weapon building Iran. Turns out there are certain countries the U.S. just doesn't do business with. They include Cuba, North Korea, the Sudan, Syria and yes, Iran. &lt;br /&gt;
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You can have a look at the Bureau of Industry and Security U.S. Department of Commerce &lt;a href="http://www.bis.doc.gov/entities/default.htm" target="_blank"&gt;Entity List&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://www.bis.doc.gov/dpl/default.shtm" target="_blank"&gt;Denied Persons List&lt;/a&gt; to discover the details, or just visit &lt;a href="http://sourceforge.net/blog/clarifying-sourceforgenets-denial-of-site-access-for-certain-persons-in-accordance-with-us-law/" target="_blank"&gt;Sourceforge's explanation&lt;/a&gt; regarding how it is complying with U.S. law by denying access to their site from these countries. In other words, we don't do business with terrorists or other like "entities".&lt;br /&gt;
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Is Sourceforge happy to comply with the Obama administration and federal restrictions? Heck, no. This flies in the face of everything open source is supposed to stand for. Reader comments at &lt;a href="http://sourceforge.net/blog/clarifying-sourceforgenets-denial-of-site-access-for-certain-persons-in-accordance-with-us-law/" target="_blank"&gt;Sourceforge&lt;/a&gt; pretty much reflect this attitude. For instance, someone named &lt;strong&gt;pyalot&lt;/strong&gt; commented:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;Sourceforge, you suck! You suck so badly, I’ll hereby guarantee you that I’ll not only recommend *anybody* stay the heck away from you scumbags, I’ll actively let everybody know that you’re the scum of the earth. Shame on you! Shame!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;Another, more measured response, from &lt;strong&gt;dutchuncle&lt;/strong&gt; states:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;SF is between a rock and a hard place on this. Law on many subjects tries to spread the responsibility around to involve more people in enforcement, whether they wanted to be or not. For example, think about how many people in business wind up collecting government taxes. Even though SF is “just” a file cabinet, not a creator, they become the first point of contact in any trail of export-controlled information, and so would be the first ones in line to get in trouble. SF is trying to make the best of bad choices, and I agree with their choice while being unhappy that they had to make it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;Bottom line is that Sourceforge must comply or break the law, but as some of the commenters at Sourceforge have noted, maybe it's a law worth breaking in order to uphold an ideal.&lt;br /&gt;
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That said, we don't live in ideal world and no body of laws, no matter how just the intent of the lawmakers, is completely perfect or fair. Another thing to consider is whether preventing people from these countries from accessing Sourceforge is punishing the governments who are "evil" or the citizens who likely are not (at least some of them)? A person may live in Iran, North Korea, or Syria, but that doesn't make them automatically bad. Plenty of people around the world don't think much of America, but that doesn't mean every citizen of our country supports our nation's policies. Your country of origin does not automatically dictate your intention or behavior.&lt;br /&gt;
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Who is the Federal Government punishing in compelling Sourceforge to comply with the law; totalitarian regimes who are working to promote violence and oppression in their nations and around the world, or innocent men and women who, like those of us in freer nations, just want to enjoy the work and benefits of the open source world?&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
I know, I know. Change is inevitable. At least that's what I keep hearing. Our current President was elected on the platform of &lt;em&gt;Change&lt;/em&gt;, although Washington seems to still be up to its same old tricks. I saw a tweet by &lt;a href="http://twitter.com/GuyKawasaki" target="_blank"&gt;@GuyKawasaki&lt;/a&gt; where he passed on a link to an article called &lt;a href="http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/ways-to-embrace-change-00000000023073/index.html?" target="_blank"&gt;10 Ways to Embrace Change&lt;/a&gt;. My spider sense immediately started tingling. My first thought was to re-spin the title &lt;em&gt;"10 ways for someone to force change down your throat and make you feel guilty about it if you complain"&lt;/em&gt;. Not all change is bad, but not all change is good, either.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As I was reading the list, I started applying the advice to my own life. The catalyst for the article was the author's prior job loss and how she managed it. I know plenty about job loss and unemployment, having worked in the world of temporary contractors for a number of years and I can tell you, losing your job can be completely disheartening, particularly if you've got a family to support. Also, as much as I hate to say it, there's just something about the male viewpoint of the world that totally interprets unemployment as utter failure.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Nevertheless, I continued to press on through the list of "10 ways", finding myself "rewriting" each of them as I was reading. Hence this blog article was born. The idea here is for me to quote the original piece of advice and then to post my take on it. Some of it is tongue-in-cheek with an underlying layer of searing pain. Deal with it as you will.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
First off, here's the link again to the original &lt;a href="http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/ways-to-embrace-change-00000000023073/index.html?" target="_blank"&gt;10 Ways to Embrace Change&lt;/a&gt; article written by Katherine Russell Rich. Read it completely, and then come back here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;1. Don't just do something; sit there.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Katherine:&lt;/strong&gt; If you're facing a massive rescaling of your life, your first impulse will be to go into a whirring spin of activity, which is exactly what I did right after I was fired. I later discovered there's a lot of value to sitting quietly instead. In the realm of language learning, there's a stage called the silent period: Adults may try to avoid going through it, but if you take a kid and plop her down in Paris for a spell, she'll naturally clam up for a few months. When she opens her mouth, her French will have flowered. Making sense of a major change is a lot like that. You need to allow yourself a fallow period before you can blossom.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Me:&lt;/strong&gt; When I've suddenly lost employment for any reason, while I didn't become a chatterbox, the urge to immediately launch into frantic job-search action is overwhelming. It's the only way to deal with the crushing weight of shock and depression that just hit you (me) like a ton of concrete and rebar. Also, if you're "married with children", you are expected to &lt;em&gt;"DO SOMETHING"&lt;/em&gt; right away. No job, no income, no medical insurance, no adding to the 401K for impending "retirement", no self esteem, no rest. Spending time observing "the situation" only seems to increase self-loathing, depression, and the sense from your spouse that you're being lazy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;2. Mother yourself a little.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Katherine:&lt;/strong&gt; When familiar routines suddenly dissolve, it can seem as if all your supports are gone. For a while after I lost my job, I had the sense that I was in free fall. It's crucial, while absorbing the shock of the new, to make yourself feel well taken care of. Prepare nutritious meals for the week ahead. If you can spare the cash, have someone come in and clean the house. Yes, you need to take some time for yourself, but don't let the pizza boxes pile up.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Me:&lt;/strong&gt; First off, there is not &lt;em&gt;"if you can spare the cash"&lt;/em&gt;. You can't if you don't know when your next real paycheck is coming in (unemployment doesn't count...it's just there to keep you from having to eat cat food for awhile). My wife is the keeper of the family budget and she's done a really good job at keeping us out of debt, which has saved our collective ass when I've been out of work. Don't plan on asking your spouse if you can prepare special meals or hire in a housecleaning service. It's not happening. I know all the books on this say to do things like exercise, do yoga, relaxation techniques, and I've done at least some of that, but as Katherine says, Mother yourself &lt;em&gt;a little&lt;/em&gt;. Once the "little mothering" is done, you still have a lot of work to do.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;strong&gt;3. Ignore your inner reptile.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Katherine:&lt;/strong&gt; There's a part of the human mind that is often referred to as the "lizard brain," because it existed in even the earliest land animals. The lizard brain is concerned with survival; it likes the tried and true, so it's likely to pipe up right now, flooding you with adrenaline warnings of "Danger!" as you veer off course. This was a handy function to have when deviating from the familiar path to the watering hole may have led to an encounter with a saber-toothed tiger. But in the modern world it's like a misfiring car alarm: pointless and annoying. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Me:&lt;/strong&gt; My "lizard brain" is more like the Robot in &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_in_Space" target="_blank"&gt;Lost in Space&lt;/a&gt; screaming, &lt;em&gt;"Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!"&lt;/em&gt; Ignoring a survival instinct is about as easy as ignoring being on fire. The other part of it isn't just the "I must survive" alarm but, "I've got to make sure the family survives" alarm. Again, fortunately, I don't have car payments, house payments, boat payments, and we try to keep the credit card debt down to as close to zero as possible, so it's not like unemployment means instant homelessness for us. That said, everything still feels totally and completely up in the air with no bottom in sight when you get your job knocked out from under you. The lizard brain is only satisfied when you start establishing a new routine and will never completely leave you alone until you (at least me) have a "real job".&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;strong&gt;4. Silence your inner know-it-all, too.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Katherine:&lt;/strong&gt; When I interviewed the eminent linguist Alton Becker, I asked what makes someone good at languages. It helps not to be too smart, he said, explaining, "Smart people don't like having their minds changed, and to learn a language, you have to change your mind." If you're so smart that you can't rethink your positions, all your IQ points won't do you much good when your life is turned upside down. Becker's advice applies across the board.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Me:&lt;/strong&gt; I never feel "too smart" when I'm unemployed. Quite the opposite. I feel really, really dumb. After all, if I was so smart, I'd have a job, wouldn't I? If I was so smart, I'd have a good job, with a high income and lots of cool benefits, wouldn't I? I've always said that one of the main reasons God created marriage was to keep men humble. In unemployment situations, I can end up feeling extremely "humble", even when my wife tries to tell me I'm "smart".&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;strong&gt;5. Seek out new perspectives.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Katherine:&lt;/strong&gt; Zen practitioners cultivate the "don't know" mind; they work to assume they don't know anything and in that way see the world fresh. This is a great way to approach change - as an opportunity to start anew, to consider all possibilities. Ask naive, wide-eyed questions of anyone who is doing anything you might be interested in trying. Listen seriously to arguments you might once have dismissed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Me:&lt;/strong&gt; I suppose this works if you've got enough cash squirrelled away to live on for six-months or a year and feeling relatively secure, but when you are feeling really insecure due to lack of income, and are desperate for a security fix, rethinking your philosophy on life really takes a back seat to the job hunt. I read about some sort of hierarchical scale one time that said starving people do not engage in philosophy. Philosophers are those people who are well-fed and have the time, energy, security, and luxury to "ponder deep thoughts". Sudden unemployment and the job search is a drive, like hunger, sleep, or sex. It isn't just a splinter in the mind, it's a railroad spike. I've tried to explore new options when unemployed, learn new technologies and skill sets, but the job search ends up taking over again. I've never been attracted to the "Zen thing", especially in a crisis. Just seems too "abstract". I end up learning more new skill sets when I'm in a job that requires I ramp up to them. Give me a challenge attached to a paycheck and I'm all over it, but that's the survival instinct again.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;strong&gt;6. Try something new and slightly scary.&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Katherine:&lt;/strong&gt; Why? Because now is the time to explore what it is that you really like. Catch yourself off-guard and see what happens. At a time when I was feeling most stuck, I spontaneously volunteered to get up onstage at an open-mic storytelling evening in New York City. The experience was elating and terrifying and showed me that I wanted to lead a more creative life.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Me:&lt;/strong&gt; Huh? If losing your job isn't scary enough for you, then try base jumping. If watching your wife twist herself into the ground with anxiety and tension at the thought of the loss of family income and security isn't disheartening enough, then you're the Tin Woodsman. Women are all about &lt;em&gt;security&lt;/em&gt;. Take that away from them and they go nuts. If you're the husband/father and you take security away from them (it doesn't matter if you were fired or laid off...you've taken away the security...rational thought goes out the window...her lizard brain fully engages and then it engages you), you damn well better let "scary" motivate you to get another job fast!&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;strong&gt;7. Be skeptical of common wisdom.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Katherine:&lt;/strong&gt; It's dangerous to live in the aggregate, especially when you're trying to figure out your next move. One year, everyone knows you need an M.B.A. to succeed at anything. The next, they're saying that there are no jobs out there anyway, so don't even try. In my case, everyone but I knew that you can't learn a language at age 43. But since no one alerted me to that fact, that's what I set my sights on. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Me:&lt;/strong&gt; OK, I can do this one. I'm not a big fan of "common wisdom" anyway and find that a lot of people (me included sometimes) don't know what the heck they're talking about. The one "wise person" you end up having to deal with though is your spouse. In my case, she had all kinds of ideas of what I should try to get a job. Some of them were actually pretty good if generic, but some weren't when she tried to address the technical specifics of my job/career. OK, to be completely honest, sometimes she suggested things that just scared the socks off of me and I pretended she didn't know what she was talking about. The reptile in me either wants to go out and make a fast "kill" or slither into a dark hole and hide. Oh, and at 55, I'm learning Biblical Hebrew, but it has nothing to do with being in a crisis. I can only afford the luxury of this activity now that my family's survival needs are taken care of.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;strong&gt;8. Learn to live with uncertainty.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Katherine:&lt;/strong&gt; When I began learning Hindi, my teacher encouraged me to get out and practice with native speakers in New York. I wound up asking a waiter for love (pyar) when I'd meant to request a cup (pyala). But in that way I inched into a new language. That anxious feeling does not signal that you're doing something wrong, only that you're trying something new. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Me:&lt;/strong&gt; Actually, I wonder if asking for love (but not from a waiter, necessarily) is such a gaffe. You won't get it of course, because the insecure people around you who normally would give you "love" don't feel safe. On the other hand, that sort of reassurance would certainly be nice to have, when you feel like you're one of the apes hiding in a cave at the beginning of the film &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_(film)" target="_blank"&gt;2001: A Space Odyssey&lt;/a&gt;, listening to the cry of the predators in the night and knowing they're coming for you. All of life is uncertain, whether you're gainfully employed or not. We create the illusion of security so we don't panic at just about any sort of change and we refuse to acknowledge the hurricane on the horizon. I know. I sound cynical. I once heard &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_Ellison" target="_blank"&gt;Harlan Ellison&lt;/a&gt; say that &lt;em&gt;"There's no security this side of the grave."&lt;/em&gt; As a person of faith, I am supposed to place my ultimate security in God, but being human, when stressed, my faith sometimes fails. I'm not proud to admit that, but it happens. So far, God has been merciful and when the going got tough, He provided.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;strong&gt;9. Say "really?" a lot.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Katherine:&lt;/strong&gt; When you start to turn this sudden shift in your life to your advantage, you might shake up a lot of people, especially the ones who aren't happy with how they're living. To them, your efforts to move forward may feel like a glaring searchlight that needs to be switched off and fast. To their descriptions of the terrible fates that will surely befall you if you dive headlong into a new life, respond with "Really?" Alternatively, "Oh, yeah?" works, too.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Me:&lt;/strong&gt; Really? To quote the Lost in Space Robot again, &lt;em&gt;"That does not compute."&lt;/em&gt; I really didn't notice this effect when "between jobs", but maybe that's because I wasn't learning Hindi, Zen, or "getting up onstage at an open-mic storytelling evening in New York City". I'm on the Internet searching for jobs, on the phone searching for jobs, posting my resume everywhere I can, bugging, begging, and pleading to get some sort of income going, and nurturing those part-time projects that always seem to come my way at the right time to help fill the gap. Being a guy, I may just have blocked out this sort of response in my environment. Desperation can give me a heck of a case of "tunnel-vision".&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;strong&gt;10. Shed your old skin.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Katherine:&lt;/strong&gt; Discard physical clutter, tired ideas, old routines. Seeing things through another's eyes can help. I had that chance when the Hindi school I enrolled in asked me to list my daily requirements. I could honestly have said, "For the past 62 days, I've eaten pineapple sandwiches for breakfast: toast, butter, canned pineapple (sliced, not crushed). Bedtime: white-noise machine (surf, not rain), four pillows (two hard, two soft)." Instead I wrote, "None." It's only when you have cast off what has been weighing you down that you can finally move on.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Me:&lt;/strong&gt; OK, that sounds a little too much like the "Zen thing" again. Usually, when people feel insecure, they'll do anything to try and crawl back inside their "old familiar skin" and if possible, slam the door shut behind them. You can only job hunt so many hours in the day. You can only endure the pained silence from your spouse so many hours in the day. Eventually, you need to retreat into something that takes the pain away for a little while. That may be a book, music, a movie, surfing the web, and so on. Sometimes it's booze or drugs, but that's not only maladaptive, but costs money you can't afford. Familiarity in a crisis isn't evil, it's necessary. My favorite line from the film &lt;a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076489/" target="_blank"&gt;Oh, God!&lt;/a&gt; is &lt;em&gt;"Sometimes when you don't feel normal, doing a normal thing makes you feel normal. Here...start shaving."&lt;/em&gt; In the film, the main character, a guy working at a grocery store, encounters God, played by George Burns and the guy is more or less asked to be a "latter-day prophet". I actually remember the quote as &lt;em&gt;"When you're feeling crazy, do something normal."&lt;/em&gt; The grocery guy (played by John Denver) must have shaved a dozen times a day to try and stave off feeling crazy. When I feel crazy, I really need to feel "normal". Getting rid of my "old skin" would make me feel way too vulnerable in a crisis situation. Change is forced upon you in a crisis but much more plan-fully accomplished when you're secure.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I don't disdain Katherine Russell Rich's advice because I'm sure it worked...for her. She doesn't mention spouse or kiddies in her advice, so I can only believe that when this job loss occurred, she was unattached. When you're attached and frankly, when you're a guy, the rules are different. Over 45 years of feminism aside, women still expect men to fulfill certain roles in their lives. One of those roles is to get a job, work, and bring home money. Not because women are greedy, but because women need security. Men need security too, but for women and especially women with children, it's the single driving force in life. &lt;br /&gt;
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I know I've made my wife sound terrible. She isn't. They say behind every successful man is a woman and I believe that. Men, while goal oriented, tend to achieve goals and then coast for awhile. Women see a wider range of needs and out of that, impress those needs on their husbands, even when we guys don't understand what our wives are seeing or feeling at all. However, when a guy loses his job, several basic personality and maybe even built-in genetic factors come into play:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
1. The guy feels like a failure, even if losing the job was not his fault (and heaven help him if it was).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2. His wife feels like her husband is a failure because he failed to provide continual security (even if it's an illusion) for &lt;em&gt;the family&lt;/em&gt;, and security for the family is, for most women, the single most important thing in life.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
3. If the wife feels her husband isn't doing enough to re-establish security fast enough, she will move heaven and earth to make sure he starts generating that effort...mothering and trying new philosophies just don't cut it.&lt;br /&gt;
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This sort of crisis can either strengthen a marriage or destroy it. Even if everyone is doing everything right, the stress experienced by each person in trying to deal with the crisis can just rip the fabric of the relationship to shreds. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Even if they manage to stay together and stability eventually returns, closeness and intimacy can be damaged, at least in the short run and maybe permanently. Once you've (the guy) even temporarily interrupted security in the family's life, and somehow managed to restore it, it's possible she'll never quite trust you again. Intimacy doesn't exist without trust, so that's down the tubes, too. The husband too may lose trust in his wife if she's had to do things that hurt him during the crisis to get him (at least from her point of view) to re-establish security. Once hurt, the man too may believe he can never count on his wife to "understand" and will fear another lay off for the rest of his life. He'll never be able to "relax" around her, especially if there's even a hint that the economy is bad and layoffs are looming.&lt;br /&gt;
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Under ideal circumstances, the relationship will become stronger out of the crisis. If the couple can talk to each other and suppress their lizard brains while doing it, there's hope. The lizard brain in both the man and the woman is very self directing in a crisis though, and two crocodile's fighting to survive, especially when there's even the perception of competing priorities, can be a very ugly thing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I'm not resistant to change. I'm resistant to "unanticipated crisis change". I love learning new things and periodically get the urge to go back to school and take another degree. That only works, at least comfortably, when you feel secure though. It feels like hell when it's forced on you.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;strong&gt;Afterword:&lt;/strong&gt; In 1999, I lost my job and my first career. Everything, and I mean everything, went into a tailspin. I ended up getting a temporary job with the Postal Service that kept the family in Cheerios and Ramen while I went back to school and took another degree. It took years and years and years for us to recover and much of the time, it was extremely painful, especially in the beginning. I don't know that we ever really recovered...at least not completely. The whole thing has been complicated by life stage changes, with our children growing up and transitioning into adulthood (like the bumpy, fiery re-entry of a space capsule into Earth's atmosphere). I've got a "real job" again with an income and benefits, but life still isn't "secure", especially in the current economy. I feel like I could become unemployed again at any time and the whole nightmare would just begin again. That probably isn't true, but that's how I feel. I rely on God, but I also have the scars. I don't think they ever really heal.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=10%20Ways%20to%20Embrace%20Change%3A%20Why%20this%20Doesn%27t%20Work%20with%20(Married)%20Men&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F01%2F10-ways-to-embrace-change-why-this.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="10 Ways to Embrace Change: Why this Doesn't Work with (Married) Men";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/01/10-ways-to-embrace-change-why-this.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-1278512702937165152?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/1278512702937165152/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/01/10-ways-to-embrace-change-why-this.html#comment-form' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/1278512702937165152'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/1278512702937165152'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2010/01/10-ways-to-embrace-change-why-this.html' title='10 Ways to Embrace Change: Why this Doesn&apos;t Work with (Married) Men'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-6626296021924491779</id><published>2009-12-29T16:34:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2009-12-29T16:39:58.195-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='system administration'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='linux'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='programming'/><title type='text'>Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming</title><content type='html'>Author: Mark G. Sobell&lt;br /&gt;
Format: Paperback, 1080 pages&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR; 2nd edition (November 29, 2009)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 0131367366&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-013136&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The reviews on the first edition of this book were overwhelmingly favorable, so you'd expect Sobell's second edition to be at least on par. What I want to know before handing over my hard earned green, is why I should buy the second edition? What has changed so much in the world of Linux in 4 or 5 years that makes a difference? With those questions in mind and tome in hand, off I went in pursuit of the answers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The back cover blurb touts the advantages of this book, including the fact that it includes both system administration info and programming data; material that is usually archived in two different books (with the idea that system admins and programmers don't live in the same universe). Another advantage is that the book is "distro agnostic", meaning that it doesn't favor Ubuntu and other Debian-esque flavors vs. Fedora and other Red Hat variants. Surprisingly, though I suppose it shouldn't be, info on Mac administration is also included (and why not...go back far enough and the common ancient ancestor is UNIX). But what's new?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Gold dust was discovered in the Preface in the &lt;em&gt;New in this edition&lt;/em&gt; section. Turns out, Mac OS X CLI info is brand new in this edition, so if you love Linux and Mac, or at least you have to administer them, you're in luck. Also, there's a new chapter on Perl, new rsynch secure copy utility material, and content covering 15 new utilities that weren't included in the first edition. There have also been some organizational changes. Three indexes have been added to make it easier for the reader to find specific information, including an index just for Mac OS X.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The first five chapters or so bring the reader up to speed on Linux and Mac (mostly Linux) in general, including a basic overview of the operating systems and where to find things. Common utilities, file system basics, and an introduction to the shell are all available. Up to this point, you don't have to be much of a guru in anything or even much of a power user, so students who want to be admins and shell programmers are welcome here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
They say there are two types of people in the world; vi people and emac people. I happen to be the former but understand (reluctantly) that there are plenty of folks out there that prefer the latter editor. Sobell serves both populations with a chapter devoted to each editor. Keep in mind there are entire books written on these editors, but you may not have the desire or time to buy and read them. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The book then moves the reader on to more detailed information on the shells. The bash (bourne again shell) shell is included as well as the TC shell, which is the expanded version of the C Shell (csh and yes, it's pronounced "sea shell"). I've never worked with a Linux system that didn't have the bash shell as the default, but if you really want something "completely different", here's your opportunity to learn about the TC shell.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The next part of the book: "Programming Tools" includes some of the main changes in this edition. The brand-new Perl chapter is inserted here, as is the chapter on rsync. Don't expect to learn Perl from scratch by reading a single chapter in this book, but if you have a background in Perl or just in general scripting, it will help in Linux shell programming. My personal preference is Python, but you can't have everything. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The last main section is the command reference and it is basically a long list of man pages. The twist is that some of them (they're marked) are commands specific to Mac. I'm not sure if it would be faster for the experienced Linux user to just read a man page in the shell or to look it up on Sobell's book, but they're here, anyway. That said, there are additional details present, as least for some of the commands, including examples, discussion areas, and the occasional diagram you won't find on a man page.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I probably could have lived without the Glossary in the Appendix section, but if the book is supposed to speak to newbies as well as power users and admins, then it makes sense. As I previously mentioned, one index includes nothing but Mac OS X notes, which is a nice plus, but I suppose it assumes you're working in a mixed Linux/Mac environment. If you administer just Macs, I can only imagine you have the required Mac-oriented texts on your bookshelf.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The main advantage of this book and others like it, is not that it contains any radically new information or that it's put together in a unique way. The reason you want to buy this book is that all this information collected entirely between two covers. The entire body of Linux administration data is more or less easily located on the web and is no more than a search string in Google away, but the Internet is a lousy library. By comparison, Sobell's &lt;em&gt;Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming&lt;/em&gt; is a model of organization.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The second edition of this successful book does what it's supposed to; update information for a changing technology landscape, add a few new bits for spice, and otherwise maintains the original level of quality. You could read it cover-to-cover, but something this size works better as a reference for the learner or the experienced person who needs a quick reminder (you can't remember everything). If you administer Linux, program Linux, or both, this book most likely has what you need. If those roles are your goals, then this book will carry you to the target. Enjoy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You can find and purchase Mark Sobell's book at &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Guide-Commands-Editors-Programming/dp/0131367366" target="_blank"&gt;Amazon.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=Practical%20Guide%20to%20Linux%20Commands%2C%20Editors%2C%20and%20Shell%20Programming&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fpractical-guide-to-linux-commands.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/12/practical-guide-to-linux-commands.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-6626296021924491779?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/6626296021924491779/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/12/practical-guide-to-linux-commands.html#comment-form' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/6626296021924491779'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/6626296021924491779'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/12/practical-guide-to-linux-commands.html' title='Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-9186772156341504732</id><published>2009-12-24T19:11:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-12-24T19:11:36.723-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='james pyles'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='author'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='wiredwriter'/><title type='text'>Wiredwriter.net has Changed</title><content type='html'>I've never mentioned my original website on this blog before, mainly because it had aged badly and I never found the time to pay any attention to it. That all changed a day or so ago and I got the bug to completely revamp it. Fortunately, I decided to lean towards the simple side of things. The site has a temporary home on a small server appliance sitting on my desk, but I'll eventually let it live at a proper web host.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Reintroducing &lt;a href="http://www.wiredwriter.net/index.html" target="_blank"&gt;Wiredwriter.net&lt;/a&gt;. Let me know what you think (and I haven't forgotten about the programming tutorials...maybe over the holiday break, I'll do more).&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-9186772156341504732?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/9186772156341504732/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/12/wiredwriternet-has-changed.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/9186772156341504732'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/9186772156341504732'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/12/wiredwriternet-has-changed.html' title='Wiredwriter.net has Changed'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-7895846011202397282</id><published>2009-12-15T09:27:00.008-07:00</published><updated>2009-12-15T09:55:03.093-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='web 2.0'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='google'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='web applications'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Wave'/><title type='text'>Why Hasn't Google Wave Gone Viral?</title><content type='html'>I received an invitation to get Google Wave and, with serious intent, decided to give it a whirl. After all, I had initial misgivings about Facebook and twitter, but now you can't blow me off of either one with a stick of dynamite. I figured (reluctantly...how many ways to communicate do I really need?) that Wave would be the next big app in my life to consume what little time I don't have. I even wrote &lt;a href="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/11/review-goggle-wave-so-far.html" target="_blank"&gt;a review on Wave&lt;/a&gt; a few weeks ago, so I was on my way, right? Wrong. What happened?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I logged into Wave for the first time in three days this morning and found a "wave" from someone making the same statement I just did. She said:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;em&gt;I know! That's what's "un-useful" about it - I always forget to check mine to so I just revert back to Twitter and email - you know - those "oh so out of date" tools! ;-)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
I don't get it. I remember when Gmail was "by invitation only", and now every one has Gmail and I use it as my default webmail. I've pimped my Google home page with a customized theme and all manner of gadgets I use to keep track of my social networking. Google has me hooked as far as that part goes, so what's the problem with me extending my "addiction" to Wave?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The question that seems to come up from the people I do use Wave with is "what am I supposed to use this thing for?" I managed to add about a dozen people to my Wave address book, but conversations have stalled. I've started following a few public Waves to see if I could join in on a conversation, but they're hard to follow. Nothing seems linear. When a new contribution has been made to a Wave, it isn't at the top or bottom of the stream as you'd expect (as in a "conversation" in Gmail, for instance), nor does the Wave automatically focus on the new addition.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I think part of the problem is in trying to find information to make practical use of Wave. For instance, in attempting to do the research for this blog, I did some Google searches (what else?), but searching for "why hasn't Google Wave gone viral" doesn't yield a great deal of useful data. I managed to locate the article &lt;a href="http://gigaom.com/2009/05/29/why-we-are-cautious-about-google%E2%80%99s-wave/" target="_blank"&gt;Why We Are Cautious About Google's Wave&lt;/a&gt;, but frankly, it didn't do much to answer my question. It was written soon after Wave was first introduced, so the information has "aged" somewhat (at least in Internet time).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Next, I tried searching Wave itself. I figured if anyone would be talking about the use of Wave, or lack thereof, it would be Wave users. Am I wrong? Facing the Wave UI, I realized I'd forgotten how to search for public Waves. A little Googling later, I found &lt;a href="http://smarterware.org/3536/the-first-google-wave-search-you-must-know" target="_blank"&gt;The First Google Wave Search You Must Know&lt;/a&gt; and with a mere &lt;code&gt;with:public&lt;/code&gt;, pulled up an endless list of public Waves. Gee, how unique. Now how do I find the one I want? I don't want to read a book and I don't want to scan a 14 page web guide. Like most people in our Microwave oven, Google search engine, instant gratification world, I want to ask a quick question and get a quick answer.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I don't remember having this sort of problem getting on board with twitter, and realistically speaking, I haven't been using twitter all that long. Sure, Tim O'Reilly and Sarah Milstein wrote &lt;a href="http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596802820" target="_blank"&gt;The Twitter Book&lt;/a&gt;, but I didn't use it to "learn twitter" (it actually wasn't a really great book, and I ended up donating it to my local public library after reviewing it). When I needed to know something about twitter, I either asked another twitter person or Googled it. I usually found the little tidbit I needed (who has time to read a whole "dissertation" like this blog?) and away I went.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I have an interest in Microsoft's SharePoint platform (don't ask...it's a long story), and am following a few public Waves on the topic. This is a frequently asked question: "Is Wave a SharePoint killer?" and the general consensus is "no" (despite &lt;a href="http://gigaom.com/2009/05/29/why-we-are-cautious-about-google%E2%80%99s-wave/" target="_blank"&gt;Om Malik's&lt;/a&gt; prediction in his previously mentioned blog). Sure, Wave is extendable with just oodles of APIs, but in what direction does one "extend" Wave to make it usable and (dare I say it) intuitive? Why does it seem so hard to use Wave?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It occurred to me that either Google never intended Wave to be particularly useful to the average end user crowd, or they initially targeted the wrong audience. Speaking of SharePoint, I find myself wondering if Wave is intended (or should be intended) for the business, rather than the general public space? Everything else is going into the cloud, why not enterprise collaboration? This seems to be the thought of David Cook at &lt;a href="http://www.theshinywave.com/collaboration/where-is-google-wave-going/" target="_blank"&gt;The Shiny Wave&lt;/a&gt; blogspot. Perhaps my failure to launch, relative to Wave, is due to my being the wrong person to use it, or at least my using Wave in the wrong context.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Of course, I've tried &lt;a href="http://delicious.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Delicious&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://friendfeed.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Friendfeed&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.plaxo.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Plaxo&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="http://www.plurk.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Plurk&lt;/a&gt;, and other online social apps and promptly walked away, not feeling "the hook" sink deeply into my flesh, so maybe Wave is just another passing fancy that didn't take hold in my life. Then again, I didn't bother to review any of those apps and or dedicate two (so far) blog articles to them, so Wave &lt;em&gt;must&lt;/em&gt; have made some sort of impression on me.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It can't be lack of information. Doing a general search on Google Wave produces a ton of results, including guides at &lt;a href="http://mashable.com/2009/05/28/google-wave-guide/" target="_blank"&gt;Mashable&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://lifehacker.com/5370738/google-wave-first-look" target="_blank"&gt;Lifehacker&lt;/a&gt;, so quality tech affectionados feel Google Wave is worth spending time and resources on. On the other hand, getting a specific piece of information seems excessively difficult, such as how to find a specific public Wave discussing why Wave hasn't "gone viral", so is that it? What's the problem? Is it Wave or (gulp) is it me?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Afterword:&lt;/strong&gt; I just added a public wave: "Why Hasn't Google Wave Gone Viral" and made it accessible to everyone (Thanks for the tip, &lt;a href="http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/wave/thread?tid=3069b241f612e1ba&amp;hl=en#all" target="_blank"&gt;Google&lt;/a&gt;). Let the games begin.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=Why%20Hasn%27t%20Google%20Wave%20Gone%20Viral%3F&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fwhy-hasnt-google-wave-gone-viral.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="Why Hasn't Google Wave Gone Viral?";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/12/why-hasnt-google-wave-gone-viral.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-7895846011202397282?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/7895846011202397282/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/12/why-hasnt-google-wave-gone-viral.html#comment-form' title='5 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/7895846011202397282'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/7895846011202397282'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/12/why-hasnt-google-wave-gone-viral.html' title='Why Hasn&apos;t Google Wave Gone Viral?'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>5</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-8540662817722774083</id><published>2009-12-10T10:03:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2009-12-10T10:04:50.714-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='hamas'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Gaza'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='plo'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='terrorists'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='political prisoner'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='human rights'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='gilad shalit'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Israel'/><title type='text'>Human Rights Day: Free Gilad Shalit</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://giladshalit.blogspot.com"&gt;&lt;img alt="Gilad Shalit banner" align="right" src="http://tolerantnation.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/gilad_shalit.jpeg" width="150" height="90"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;I saw a "tweet" on twitter originally posted by &lt;a href="http://twitter.com/nonprofitorgs" target="_blank"&gt;Nonprofit Orgs&lt;/a&gt; and retweeted by &lt;a href="http://twitter.com/P_Compassion" target="_blank"&gt;Pursue Compassion&lt;/a&gt; announcing &lt;a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/Pages/HumanRightsDay2009.aspx" target="_blank"&gt;Human Rights Day&lt;/a&gt; and promoting the &lt;a href="http://havefundogood.blogspot.com/2009/12/write-letter-make-video-embrace.html" target="_blank"&gt;Have Fun, Do Good&lt;/a&gt; blog. I spent a little time reviewing the list of rights being promoted, but didn't see one that said &lt;em&gt;"The Right to be Released from Illegal Captivity"&lt;/em&gt;. I know that &lt;a href="http://www.amnestyusa.org/" target="_blank"&gt;Amnesty International&lt;/a&gt; generally champions the cause of political prisoners, but I wasn't sure they included &lt;a href="http://giladshalit.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Gilad Shalit&lt;/a&gt; in their list.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilad_Shalit" target="_blank"&gt;Wikipedia&lt;/a&gt;, Gilad Shalit is an Israeli soldier who was captured by Palestinians during a border crossing raid on June 25, 2006. He was just 19 years old at the time and has been illegally held by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas for almost three and a half years. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
On February 10, 2009, Hamas released a &lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDAsGS_gOeI" target="_blank"&gt;video of Shalit&lt;/a&gt; showing a gaunt but otherwise apparently healthy young man. Hamas required the release of 20 female Palestinian prisoners just for making the Shalit video available to the Israeli authorities and the world media. While there has been recent news of an "imminent" release for Shalit, most likely mediated by Egypt, there have been no tangible results. Each side says that the other is to blame, according to a December 3rd news story by &lt;a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1203/p06s16-wome.html" target="_blank"&gt;the Christian Science Monitor&lt;/a&gt;, but in the end, this 23 year old man is still in the hands of terrorists, with no end in sight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Hamas generally demands the release of a large number of prisoners from Israel in exchange for a single Palestinian captive. There's an unconfirmed story online stating that Israel has &lt;a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2397850/posts" target="_blank"&gt;agreed to release almost 1000 terrorist prisoners&lt;/a&gt; in exchange for Shalit. Whether this is true or not, it's understandable that Israeli authorities would balk at putting such a large number of terrorists back on the street to do more harm. On the other hand, if Israel levies sanctions on Gaza, where Hamas is headquartered and where Shalit is being held, "world opinion" is likely to again paint Israel as aggressive and hostile in their response, and said-response could include withholding food supplies and electricity from Gaza and even a military solution.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This last viewpoint of the world towards Israel is especially puzzling on &lt;strong&gt;Human Rights Day&lt;/strong&gt;. Gilad Shalit is a human being. He has the same rights as any other human being. He is being held against his will. He committed no crime. He is &lt;em&gt;NOT&lt;/em&gt; a prisoner of war, at least as evidenced by Hamas and their total and complete failure to comply with the conditions for the treatment of prisoners of war as per the Geneva Convention. Putting a rather fine point on the situation, Gilad Shalit is in the hands of a criminal gang whose sole purpose seems to be the extermination of the Jewish people.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the spirit that Britt Bravo has attempted to create with her &lt;a href="http://havefundogood.blogspot.com/2009/12/write-letter-make-video-embrace.html" target="_blank"&gt;Have Fun, Do Good&lt;/a&gt; blog, I have taken up a cause. She encourages each person to do something to promote human rights, such as &lt;em&gt;"Write a Letter, Make a Video, Embrace Diversity"&lt;/em&gt; for Human Rights Day on December 10th. For the occasion, I'm writing this article on my blog. I don't know that it's "fun", but I believe I am doing good. I'm embracing the human rights of Gilad Shalit, held captive illegally by Hamas in Gaza for 1264 days as of this writing. Gilad Shalit is a soldier, an Israeli, and a Jew. He's also a human being. Promote his human rights. &lt;a href="http://giladshalit.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Free Gilad Shalit&lt;/a&gt;! Free him now!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=Human%20Rights%20Day%3A%20Free%20Gilad%20Shalit&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fhuman-rights-day-free-gilad-shalit.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="Human Rights Day: Free Gilad Shalit";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/12/human-rights-day-free-gilad-shalit.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-8540662817722774083?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/8540662817722774083/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/12/human-rights-day-free-gilad-shalit.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/8540662817722774083'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/8540662817722774083'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/12/human-rights-day-free-gilad-shalit.html' title='Human Rights Day: Free Gilad Shalit'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-4259679545315372094</id><published>2009-12-09T15:31:00.009-07:00</published><updated>2009-12-09T15:47:43.650-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='ruby'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='javascript'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Tutorial'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='python'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='programming'/><title type='text'>What do Interpreted Programming Languages have in Common? Part II</title><content type='html'>I begin this tutorial a few weeks ago with &lt;a href="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/11/what-do-interpreted-programming.html" target="_blank"&gt;Part I&lt;/a&gt; and received some very nice comments correcting my (fortunately) minor errors. This isn't a tutorial about how to program in a specific language or even really about how to program. I wanted to show the common structure of interpreted programming languages in the hopes of revealing some common threads, rather than focusing on the ins and outs of one language. I've heard it said that if you learn one langauge, it makes learning the next one easier. My problem is I get lost in the nuances of the language in question and lose track of the basic structure of programming. I've created this tutorial series to try and correct that. This tutorial is for my education as much as anyone else's so I welcome comments but, as I said before, be polite. This is about learning.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Speaking of Languages, code examples are presented in &lt;strong&gt;JavaScript&lt;/strong&gt;, &lt;strong&gt;Python&lt;/strong&gt;, and &lt;strong&gt;Ruby&lt;/strong&gt;. I figured this represented a healthy cross-section of commonly used interpreted languages. Now, on with the show.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Controlling Program Flow, Part I&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In our last episode (sorry, couldn't resist), we left off with &lt;strong&gt;Arrays&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;Booleans&lt;/strong&gt;. The tutorial picks up with methods of flow control. According to &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_flow" target="_blank"&gt;Wikipedia&lt;/a&gt;, flow control is &lt;em&gt;"a statement whose execution results in a choice being made as to which of two or more paths should be followed. For non-strict functional languages, functions and language constructs exist to achieve the same result, but they are not necessarily called control flow statements."&lt;/em&gt; In other words, it's a way of making decisions within the program given different conditions. Speaking of which:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Conditions:&lt;/strong&gt; These statements in a program act as a decision tree or like a set of intersections in a city. The decisions or route are dependent on what conditions are or are not true (speaking of &lt;strong&gt;Booleans&lt;/strong&gt;) or where you're trying to go. The basic structure of a conditional statement looks something like this:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;pre&gt;if (condition)
{
     conditional code;
}&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
That's a very general example, of course, but it gives you a place to start.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;if statements:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
If statements are more or less the same in all three of the languages we've been working with:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;JavaScript Sample Code:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;var value = 0;
if (value &gt; 0)
{
     alert("Greater than zero");
}&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Python Sample Code:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;n = 0
if n &gt; 0:
     print ("Greater than zero")
&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ruby Sample Code:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;n = 0
if n &gt; 0
     return "Greater than zero"
end
&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;Of course, that's not much of a decision tree. Each program has different conditional statements that are similar but not exactly the same, to deal with a decision that is either this or that: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;if-else statements:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The following examples are equivalent and look almost the same, but not quite:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;JavaScript Example Code:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;var name = "Jim";
if (name == "Jim")
{
     alert("Your name is Jim.");
}
else {
     alert("You are not Jim.");
}&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Python Example Code:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;name = "Jim"
if (name == "Jim"):
     print ("Your name is Jim")
else:
     print ("Your name is not Jim")
&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ruby Example Code:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;name = "Jim"
if name == "Jim"
     print "Your name is Jim"
else
     print "Your name is not Jim"
end&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;That takes care of "the fork in the road", so to speak, but what if there's more than one decision to make? It can't be just "Jim" or "no Jim" all the time. What about Jim, Bill, and Heather, for example?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;else-if statements:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Depending on the program, this statement is called else-if, or elif, or elsif, but you get the idea.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;JavaScript Code Example:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;if (name == "Jim")
{
     alert ("Good Morning, Jim.");
}
else if (name == "Bill");
{
     alert ("Good Morning, Bill.");
}
else if (name == "Heather");
{
     alert ("Good Morning, Heather.");
}
else
{
     alert ("You're not on the list.");
}&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Python Example Code:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;if (name == "Jim"):
     print ("Good Morning, Jim.")
elif (name == "Bill"):
     print ("Good Morning, Bill.")
elif (name == "Heather"):
     print ("Good Morning, Heather.")
else:
     print ("You're not on the list.")
&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ruby Example Code:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;if name == "Jim"
     return ("Your name is Jim.")
elsif name == "Bill
     return ("Your name is Bill.")
elsif name == "Heather"
     return ("Your name is Heather.")
else
     return ("You're not on the list.")
end
print name&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;As you can see, there really isn't much difference between now each language expresses conditional statements. The details are quite minor and I hope this all illustrates the common factors in such statements, which is the important piece to learn in this lesson.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Time limitations are forcing me to make Part II shorter than I originally intended, but at least I've got it up and on the blog. Pick through everything and see if I left any holes. If so, let me know. If not, then all is good, at least for Part II. See you next time for &lt;strong&gt;Part III: Loops&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=What%20do%20Interpreted%20Programming%20Languages%20have%20in%20Common%3F%20Part%20II&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fwhat-do-interpreted-programming.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="What do Interpreted Programming Languages have in Common? Part II";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-do-interpreted-programming.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-4259679545315372094?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/4259679545315372094/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-do-interpreted-programming.html#comment-form' title='11 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4259679545315372094'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4259679545315372094'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-do-interpreted-programming.html' title='What do Interpreted Programming Languages have in Common? Part II'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>11</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-2261695678366059090</id><published>2009-11-27T10:29:00.017-07:00</published><updated>2009-12-09T19:59:14.651-07:00</updated><title type='text'>What do Interpreted Programming Languages have in Common? Part I</title><content type='html'>&lt;strong&gt;Update, December 4, 2009:&lt;/strong&gt; I took the two comments I received an incorporated the appropriate changes. If anyone else sees corrections that need to be made, please (politely) let me know. I've been really busy lately, but I'll try to write and publish Part II soon. Thanks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Foreword:&lt;/strong&gt; I'm writing this particular blog as much for my own education as for yours. I'm sure I've made a mistake or two here and there, and if so, I don't mind you pointing them out. I would appreciate it however, if you at least tried to be civil if not polite when making corrections. I want this to be a friendly atmosphere where education is encouraged, not fear of mistakes. Thanks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
One of the frustrating things about learning how to program is that you have to start somewhere. I know there's no way of avoiding this, but when you learn your first programming language, you are also learning the basic structure of how to program in general. It's easy to get mixed up at this stage and lost in the details of a particular language, losing sight of the overall goal. I've tried, but there are few, if any, guides available online that present the general structure of an &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpreted_language" target="_blank"&gt;interpreted language&lt;/a&gt; (as opposed to a &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compiled_language" target="_blank"&gt;compiled language&lt;/a&gt; which we won't be discussing here), without referencing one specific language. With that in mind, I thought I'd try to put together an outline of what interpreted languages seem to have in common as far as a basic structure. My specific examples will be JavaScript, Python, and Ruby, so you can see how different languages are expressed within this structure. But first, some basic definitions:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;The Purpose of a Program:&lt;/strong&gt; In general, any computer program is supposed to take a large problem, and solve it by breaking it down into small, bite-sized bits or steps.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Syntax:&lt;/strong&gt; This is the rules about how to write in a particular programming language. While interpreted languages in general use the same "parts" or structure, how each language is expressed within that structure varies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Statements:&lt;/strong&gt; A statement in a program is like any other statement, such as a person making a verbal statement or writing a sentence in an email. In a program, a statement is s step that defines a particular action that's taken in the program. Statements are written, regardless of the language, in a way that the computer, but not necessarily people, can understand.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;pre&gt;Statement one&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;pre&gt;Statement two&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;JavaScript Sample Code:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;
var i=0;
while (i&lt;=5)
  {
  document.write("The number is " + i);
  document.write("
");
  i++;
  }
&lt;/script&gt;
&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Python Sample Code:&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;bunnies = 3
while bunnies &gt; 0:
    print bunnies
    bunnies -= 1

&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ruby Sample Code:&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;input = ''
while input != 'bye'
   puts input
   input = gets.chomp
end
&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;The statements in the previous examples don't quite do the same thing, but you can get the idea of how statements are similar and different across three separate languages.

&lt;strong&gt;Comments:&lt;/strong&gt; Since statements are always understandable by human beings, comments are often written in human-readable language so that people can understand what a statement is supposed to say and do. It's not only a note from to programmer to himself or herself, but to any other programmer who may later need to understand and perhaps modify the code. Using a &lt;em&gt;while&lt;/em&gt; statement as an example, a statement in general looks like this:

&lt;blockquote&gt;

&lt;strong&gt;JavaScript Sample Code:&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;Statement one; // This is the first statement&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Python Sample Code:&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;Statement one #this is the first statement&lt;/pre&gt;In Python, you can also create a comment that spans multiple lines like this:
&lt;pre&gt;Statement one """this is a multi line comment
about the first statement"""&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ruby Sample Code:&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;Statement one #this is the first statement&lt;/pre&gt;There's also a way to make a comment that spans multiple lines in Ruby:

&lt;pre&gt;Statement one =begin
this is a multi line comment
about the first statement
=end&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Variables:&lt;/strong&gt; In a program, variables are used to store information, however as the name implies, the value of the information stored isn't static. It can be changed depending on the requirements of the program. Usually variables are assigned values as in the following examples.

&lt;blockquote&gt;

&lt;strong&gt;JavaScript Sample Code:&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;var color = "blue";&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Python Sample Code:&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;color = "blue"&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ruby Sample Code:&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;color = "blue"&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;


&lt;strong&gt;Variables Types:&lt;/strong&gt; Variables can be used to store different types of information. Depending on the programming language involved, the variable types may be either strictly typed, which means you must tell the program specifically, what type of data is to be stored, or loosely typed, which means the language doesn't really &lt;em&gt;care&lt;/em&gt; what is contained in the variables. That said, you as the programmer must know what type of data you want stored in a variable. Variable types include:

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Numbers&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Strings&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Arrays&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Booleans&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Numbers:&lt;/strong&gt; Numbers are what you imagine them to be: 1, -2.2 3.14159265, and so on. Actually, there are two different ways of expressing a number within a program: Integers and Floats. Both Integers and Floats can be expressed as positive or negative values.

&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;An Integer or int is a whole number such as 1, 5, -123, 345698, and so on.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;A Float or Floating point number is a number expressed with a decimal such as 1.3, -33.7, 8.5678906556, and so on.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Mathematical Operations are what you might have learned as "signs" as a child when studying basic math. The most commonly used mathematical operators are addition (+), subtraction (-), multiplication (*) and division (/).&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;Numbers can be added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided. This is unlike the next variable type.


&lt;strong&gt;Strings:&lt;/strong&gt; A string is a series of characters that can be of any length, from zero (an empty string) to infinity (though you'd never finish writing an infinite string). Strings aren't just letters such as "dffvsdftgojpgbjdfe" but can be any type of character, including letters, numbers, and symbols. Usually a string is contained between two single or double-quotes to distinguish it from a part of the program. I also mentioned that numbers can be included in a string but a number in a string is not the same as a number in an integer or float. Strings cannot be added, subtracted, multiplied, or divided (except under certain circumstances).

&lt;blockquote&gt;


&lt;strong&gt;String Operations:&lt;/strong&gt; I mentioned that strings couldn't be added, subtracted, etc... but that's not entirely true. If 2 + 2 is expressed as integers, the result will be 4, but if "2" + "2" is expressed as strings, the result is "22". Confused? When you add two strings, performing "2" + "2" is no different than performing "a" + "8". The operation doesn't perform mathematical addition but rather concatenation. In this case, "a" + "8" concatenates to "a8".
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Arrays:&lt;/strong&gt; While the variable types presented thus far store individual pieces of information, arrays are designed to store groups of values, such as a list of names or a series of numbers. An array provides an ordered structure for storing a group of values. When my kids were in elementary school, as they entered their classroom from outside, they could store their backpacks in individual cubbyholes or "cubbies" in &lt;a href="http://common2.csnimages.com/lf/1/hash/1033/538789/1/Cubby+Hole+Storage.jpg" target="_blank"&gt;storage racks&lt;/a&gt;. This is the same principle as an array, with each "cubbyhole" representing a "slot" or element in the array.

Each element position is represented by an index. Children always start counting with the number one (1) and go up from there. so the first cubby on the left on the top row would be "one", and next cubby to the right would be "two" and so on. In an array, the index of the first element is "zero" (0), the next is "one" (1) and so on.

So an element's position in an array is represented by an index, but the element isn't very useful unless it contains a value.

(example of how to write an array)

So, for example, the element in this array with the index of "one" (1) contains the value "second".

Arrays can contain numbers, strings, or a combination as follows:

&lt;blockquote&gt;


&lt;strong&gt;JavaScript Sample Code:&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;var cubby = [];
cubby[0] = "First";
cubby[1] = "Second";
cubby[2] = "Third";
cubby[3] = "Fourth";
&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Python Sample Code:&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;cubby = ["First", "Second", "Third", Fourth"]
&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ruby Sample Code:&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;cubby = ["First", "Second", "Third", Fourth"]
&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Associative Arrays:&lt;/strong&gt; This is just like any other array except that the indexes are switched out for "keys". In a standard array, you need to remember that a particular index, such as 4, contains the value "Sailor Moon backpack". The computer doesn't have a problem with that, but you might. If you, for example, wanted to &lt;em&gt;associate&lt;/em&gt; a child's name with a backpack type in an array, you could create that connection in an associative array as in the following:

&lt;blockquote&gt;

&lt;strong&gt;JavaScript Sample Code:&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;var backpacks = [];
backpacks["Jamie"] = "Sailor Moon";
backpacks["David"] = "DragonballZ";
backpacks["Michael"] = "Batman";
backpacks["Jim"] = "Jonny Quest";
&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Python Sample Code:&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;backpacks = { "Jamie" : "Sailor Moon", "David" : "DragonballZ", "Michael" : "Batman", "Jim" : "Jonny Quest" }
&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ruby Sample Code:&lt;/strong&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;backpacks = { :Jamie =&gt; 'Sailor Moon', :David =&gt; 'DragonballZ', :Michael =&gt; 'Batman', :Jim =&gt; 'Jonny Quest' }
&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;These are called key-value pairs with, for example "Jamie" being the key (formerly the index) and "Sailor Moon" being the value. So, going back to our elementary school example, we know that Jamie's cubby contains a Sailor Moon backpack (I know I'm dating myself, but it's been awhile since my kids were little).


&lt;strong&gt;Booleans:&lt;/strong&gt; Simply put, a boolean is a value that can contain one of two positions: true or false. There are only three operators to work with when using booleans: and, or, and not. Booleans are used to evaluate statements to determine if they're true or false. If true, then one thing happens. If false, then another thing happens. It gets more confusing if one thing happens if A &lt;em&gt;and&lt;/em&gt; B are true, and another thing happens if A &lt;em&gt;or&lt;/em&gt; B are true.


Booleans work more or less the same way in all three of the languages. A common way to use a boolean in any of these languages is to evaluate a loop (we'll get into loops in Part II) in a while statement. While a condition is true, continue going through the loop. When the statement is false, exit the program. For instance, you may have created an array of products your business sells. A customer may be searching your site for products you have in stock. While the customer continues to enter the names of products you have in stock, the search returns a web page for the desired product. When the customer searches for a product name out of stock, the search returns the "not in stock" page.

Long, drawn out blogs are a bore to read, even if the content isn't. I'm going to cut the tutorial off here. Part II will continue with the lesson, by explaining conditions, loops, functions, and objects. Stay tuned.



&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=What%20do%20Interpreted%20Programming%20Languages%20have%20in%20Common%3F%20Part%20I&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F11%2Fwhat-do-interpreted-programming.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="What do Interpreted Programming Languages have in Common? Part I";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/11/what-do-interpreted-programming.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-2261695678366059090?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/2261695678366059090/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/11/what-do-interpreted-programming.html#comment-form' title='6 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/2261695678366059090'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/2261695678366059090'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/11/what-do-interpreted-programming.html' title='What do Interpreted Programming Languages have in Common? Part I'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>6</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-4034771919974827584</id><published>2009-11-24T11:40:00.013-07:00</published><updated>2009-11-25T15:50:36.315-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='google'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='web'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Wave'/><title type='text'>Review: Goggle Wave so far</title><content type='html'>I got this in my Gmail inbox the other day:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;"Thank you for signing up to give us early feedback on Google Wave. We're happy to give you access to Google Wave and are enlisting your help to improve the product".&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Since I'm all about making improvements, I clicked the link to accept my invitation to Google Wave. Once I signed in with my handy dandy Google account (OK, so I'm going a little overboard here), Google Wave opened in my Firefox browser.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I clicked on the first welcome message (there were two) and got this:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;em&gt;Google Wave is more fun when you have others to wave with, so please nominate people you would like to add. Keep in mind that this is a preview so it could be a bit rocky at times.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Invitations will not be sent immediately. We have a lot of stamps to lick.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Happy waving!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Gee. Who would I wave with? I took a look at my contacts and saw that four of them were already on Google Wave. Still, I should read the other welcome message before continuing (linear or anal, I don't know which).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The second message lead me to a YouTube video of "Doctor Wave". Volume was up full blast, so it almost blew my head off. Took me on a nice tour on the GUI, just to orient me (all of us who are using Wave so far). The video is a sparse 2 minutes, 12 seconds, just enough to point out all of the major areas of the UI but not enough to bury the audience in details. Below the playback, is a small group of links that lead to further content.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Now I felt free to check out my Contacts to see if anyone was around I could "wave" with. I clicked on a name and the YouTube video in the wave panel vanished and was replaced by a text editor. I created the message, clicked "Done" and waited. Nothing happened, but then, I didn't know what to expect. Also, all of the nifty links that were below the YouTube video on the wave panel vanished, and I had no idea how I can get them back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Thought I'd try out the navigation panel and clicked from Inbox to All. More messages became available, including two unread ones; more introductory material. I clicked on the "Welcome to Wave" message again, and the YouTube video and the aforementioned links came back to the wave panel.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I must say, I'm probably the perfect person to try this out and review it. I'm experiencing Wave from a total "end user" perspective, having not read up on it previously, so the whole thing is new. Also, I'm still working on my morning coffee, so I can't promise my brain is as agile as it should be if it were fully caffeinated.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I sent out a cry on twitter for more Wave people and then continued to explore. One of the messages in the "All" folder (already read) listed Extension Settings, which I could uninstall or remove. Basically, these are Google Gadgets, like the ones I used to pimp out my Google home page. I looked around, but the "under construction" message from Google let me know that more Gadgets for Wave weren't available yet, so the pimping would have to be postponed. The noticed "Unfollowed" appeared by the message title. Apparently, you can follow and unfollow specific waves. I found an unfollowed wave that said &lt;em&gt;Profile&lt;/em&gt; and decided to "edit" my Google Wave identity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I was surprised that it wasn't imported from Google proper. My Google av was as I could see it in the Contacts box and by all of my waves, but it wasn't available in my actual profile. Nevertheless, I clicked Edit Profile and see what was what. I inserted the URL to my blog and updated my av photo and that was about it. There was a field for "status" but I have no idea what it's used for. Is it like updating one's "status" in twitter or Facebook?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Just for giggles, I followed the "unfollowed" waves in my All box, then continued to explore Navigation. The rest of the folders were not surprising. By Me is like a "sent" folder, Requests was empty and must contain waves relative to receiving invitation requests. Spam and Trash are self explanatory and Settings held the waves related to the customization of my Google Wave.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
No responses to my message that I possess Google Wave invitations yet (has it become that passe' already?). Doctor Wave was right. Without someone to Wave with, this isn't much of a power surge. Of course, if a new message arrives, will I know? My Google page automatically refreshes, and so does Gmail, but I don't know about Wave. I did notice that the number of messages changed in my Inbox from time to time. I don't mean that new messages arrived, but that the messages disappeared and reappeared. Sometimes they all vanished and the all returned. Then, about half of them vanished. Of course, this is a beta, so you can expect the occasional glitch.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While waiting for anyone to respond or to care, I continued to nose around. Under Navigation, you can expand Searches and Folders. Folders just lets you make more you-know-whats and Searches is like searching Gmail, only with a few more options. You can also search your Contacts, though with only four registered in Wave, that's hardly a chore. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Within the Wave window itself, you can click Reply, Playback, Unfollow, Archive, Spam, and Read (which is only active for an unread Wave. It's nice to finally have the option to Unfollow an Gmail/Wave, since an unending conversation in Gmail can sometimes get annoying. Playback?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When you click Playback on a Wave that's not a video or audio file, you get the controls but they affect nothing. I found myself wondering if the Playback button shouldn't also be inactive on all Waves that don't actually play. A minor point, but Google is asking for suggestions.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While waiting, I decided to see if my Google Wave profile was able to work and play well with &lt;a href="http://www.credme.com/home/" target="_blank"&gt;CredMe&lt;/a&gt;. I found out that not only it did, but there were a set of instructions (apparently written by a developer and not me) telling me how to insert the CredMe URL code. I've been playing with CredMe for awhile, so I didn't really need to RTFM. I quickly verified my Google Wave profile with CredMe and was back to the Wave.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Oh, I did get a reply from a friend of mine in the UK. His new job won't let him get online as freely as he could in the past, so I had to wait for the workday to end in that part of the world. Message arrived automatically. When I revisited Wave on a break from my own job, it was just there. Somebody please tell me how this is an "email killer". It's nice, it's smooth, it's slick...it looks like the next generation web-based email interface...but it's email. What makes it "Wave"?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To be fair, I've only been on Wave for a few hours and have only exchanged messages with one person. Probably not a fair test of Wave's abilities. While I'm going to post this article now, I'll be back with updates on Wave as (or if) they develop.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Oh. One more thing. You can reach me on Google Wave at james.pyles AT googlewave.com.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=Review%3A%20Google%20Wave%20so%20far&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F11%2Freview-goggle-wave-so-far.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="Review: Google Wave so far";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/11/review-goggle-wave-so-far.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-4034771919974827584?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/4034771919974827584/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/11/review-goggle-wave-so-far.html#comment-form' title='8 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4034771919974827584'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4034771919974827584'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/11/review-goggle-wave-so-far.html' title='Review: Goggle Wave so far'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>8</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-8496199619324343656</id><published>2009-11-18T14:50:00.008-07:00</published><updated>2009-11-18T15:07:18.621-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Lunch in Boise: Sweetwater's Tropic Zone</title><content type='html'>I know...I don't usually review restaurants, but it's my blog and I figured, what the heck.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I probably wouldn't have eaten here, but my friend &lt;a href="http://twitter.com/ryancoates" target="_blank"&gt;@ryancoates&lt;/a&gt; said he'd heard it was good. Actually, I was the one who invited him out, which is probably a surprise to most of you who know me. I don't "get out" much for lunch, but I had something specific I wanted to talk with Ryan about (which is another story...nothing bad, though).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I looked up the address online and according to Google Maps, it's an 18 minute walk from where I work. Beats looking for parking downtown, which I detest, so at about 11:40 a.m., I set out to hoof it to Sweetwater's. I have to say that the smell of barbecue as I walked past &lt;a href="http://www.cottonwoodgrille.com/" target="_blank"&gt;The Cottonwood Grille&lt;/a&gt; on 9th was just intoxicating, but I pressed on (I love the carbon monoxide smell of charcoal briquettes).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I encountered a few of those new "timed" electric crosswalk signals. Instead of just holding up a blinking red hand to indicate the traffic light is about to change against you, it presents a countdown from about 18 seconds (I think) down to zero, letting you know if you should walk or run or not attempt to cross the street. A minor distraction, but like I said, I don't get out much.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I love downtown Boise. Whenever I have a reason to, I really enjoy the area on foot. At least during a weekday and during daylight, it's kind of peaceful, old fashioned in a brickwork sort of way, and the way every city's downtown should be. If I had the whole afternoon to kill, I'd slow up my pace and just explore, but not today. I was on a mission.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I arrived at the restaurant just a minute or two before twelve and could see Ryan approaching. Our timing was right in synch so neither of us had to wait. The air had a bit of a snap to it when I was walking, but by the time I got to 205 N. 10th, I was warm enough. Ryan and I said our hellos and then followed the directions to enter via the lobby of the entrance next door. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sweetwater's was very lightly attended, which is good for service but not necessarily good for business. We were seated right away and attended to in every little detail. We were given the lunch menu, plus a beverage and some other menu (I didn't look at it) to review. I'd already selected the &lt;em&gt;Curried Avocado &amp; Jasmine Rice&lt;/em&gt; salad from the online menu, and Ryan had some sort of blackened chicken (sorry, I didn't listen very well when he was ordering).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Service was swift, but I probably wouldn't have noticed that much, since Ryan and I were already deep in conversation (64-bit hardware at this point, but moving into Artificial Intelligence). My salad was excellent and a big plus, the portion was just right. I usually either come away from lunch stuffed or starving, but this sat with me just right. Our wait staff (and probably the manager) provided us with a bottle of hot sauce euphemistically called "The Inferno" and I tried a bit on my salad. I guess either the hot sensing part of my tongue died with age, or a lifetime of eating hot foods has made me immune, but I thought it rather tasty.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I only had water to drink, so can't testify to any of the beers they serve. I didn't have to wait, once I put out my credit card, to have it run and have the receipt for signature returned to me (waiting to settle the bill is a pet peeve of mine). Lunch customer activity had only marginally picked up by the time I was ready to pay the bill, and service was still lightning quick. It would have been interesting to have eaten there during a rush to see if this would have been affected at all.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I have to give &lt;strong&gt;Sweetwater's Tropic Zone&lt;/strong&gt; top marks. Food was exotic without being overpowering and service was swift and straightforward. Exactly how I want it when I lunching with a friend and conversation turns to politics (both American and UK), religion, and driving on ice.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Sweetwater's Tropic Zone&lt;/strong&gt; is located in downtown Boise at 205 N. 10th Street, between Bannock and Idaho. They're open Monday through Saturday, starting at 11:30 a.m. I couldn't find their closing time online. You can get to their website at &lt;a href="http://www.sweetwaterstropiczone.com/index.html" target="_blank"&gt;http://www.sweetwaterstropiczone.com&lt;/a&gt; and follow them on twitter at &lt;a href="http://twitter.com/SweetwatersBOI" target="_blank"&gt;@SweetwatersBOI&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=Lunch%20in%20Boise%3A%20Sweetwater%27s%20Tropic%20Zone&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F11%2Flunch-in-boise-sweetwaters-tropic-zone.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="Lunch in Boise: Sweetwater's Tropic Zone";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/11/lunch-in-boise-sweetwaters-tropic-zone.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-8496199619324343656?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/8496199619324343656/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/11/lunch-in-boise-sweetwaters-tropic-zone.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/8496199619324343656'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/8496199619324343656'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/11/lunch-in-boise-sweetwaters-tropic-zone.html' title='Lunch in Boise: Sweetwater&apos;s Tropic Zone'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-7029681883652892395</id><published>2009-11-01T10:34:00.006-07:00</published><updated>2009-11-02T10:03:35.454-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='o&apos;reilly'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='linux'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='in-a-nutshell'/><title type='text'>Linux in a Nutshell, 6th Edition</title><content type='html'>Authors: Ellen Siever, Stephen Figgins, Robert love and Arnold Robbins&lt;br /&gt;
Format: Paperback, 942 pages&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 6th edition (September 30, 2009)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 0596154488&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-0596154486&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I was going to swear that, with each successive edition of this book, the page count got larger and larger, but I checked, and it's stayed almost the same over the last three editions. O'Reilly says that the 4th edition was 944 pages long, but the 5th and 6th editions (the 6th being the latest) are both 942 pages. When I got my review copy in the mail and opened the box, the book seemed larger than I expected for some reason. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But if the book isn't getting larger and thus, filled with more recent and updated information about Linux, why publish subsequent editions? For that matter, can you call a book that's approaching 1000 pages a &lt;em&gt;"Desktop Quick Reference?"&lt;/em&gt; To try and answer my first question, I took a look at the back cover and saw, &lt;em&gt;"This updated edition offers a tighter focus on Linux system essentials, as well as more coverage of new capabilities..."&lt;/em&gt; Yes, the Linux kernel continues to evolve and thus, what you need to know about Linux system administration continues to change as well. While most of the common shell commands won't change, there are new ones that you'll need to know (and if you've bought this book or are intending to, you belong to that class of person who needs to know). Also, virtualization is huge these days and you can now manage Linux servers via Xen and VMware.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596154493" target="_blank"&gt;Linux in a Nutshell&lt;/a&gt; is considered a classic by anyone's standards, so it's expected to review well. In fact, the prior editions have reviewed extremely well so, in this case, turning in a bad review on the latest edition would mean that the authors and publisher must have completely rewritten the book and done a poor job of it. Fortunately, that's not the case here. &lt;em&gt;Linux in a Nutshell, 6th Edition&lt;/em&gt; is a worthy successor to those editions that have come before it. You have three main reasons to buy it. First, you have the reason I've already mentioned; keeping up to date on the latest changes to Linux. Second, you've completely worn out your older copy of the book and need something that isn't hanging in rags. Third, you are new to Linux and need to buy a reference guide for the first time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In a literary sense, some books are considered classics and almost legends. That may be a bit more rare in technical circles (is there such as thing as the equivalent of &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tale-Two-Cities-Signet-Classics/dp/0451526562" target="_blank"&gt;A Tale of Two Cites&lt;/a&gt; or &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kill-Mockingbird-Harper-Lee/dp/0446310786" target="_blank"&gt;To Kill a Mockingbird&lt;/a&gt; when it comes to Linux?), but it's not entirely unheard of. If the world of Linux has such a book, it's probably &lt;em&gt;Linux in a Nutshell&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
All that said, you will be disappointed in this book if you don't know what to expect, and I've read comments from people who were quite disappointed with this book. Hence writing reviews. Here's what not to expect. This is &lt;em&gt;not&lt;/em&gt; a tutorial. It will not explain, step-by-step how to use Linux, particularly for the home or office desktop user (and with &lt;a href="http://releases.ubuntu.com/karmic/" target="_blank"&gt;Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala)&lt;/a&gt; having just been released, a large number of people are thinking of the Linux desktop). If you try to read this book cover-to-cover, you won't find it amusing or entertaining. It would be like trying to read an encyclopedia set or dictionary from A to Z. Yes, it would be very informative, but organized in a very rigid manner, and it will &lt;em&gt;not&lt;/em&gt; read like a narrative.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This book is a reference in the same manner as the aforementioned encyclopedia and dictionary. You look up only what you need to know. It presupposes that the reader have some familiarity with Linux, at least enough to understand what information they require and how to use the book to find it. The list of shell commands runs from page 33 to page 503, for instance and is in alphabetical order. On the other hand, chapters such as &lt;em&gt;The Bash Shell&lt;/em&gt; do contain narrative and explanatory components, so you do get more than raw shell commands and arguments. Still, it is not a good book as your first exposure to Linux documentation or as an introduction to topics like the bash shell, the vi text editor, or the gawk programming language. It would be like trying to learn English by reading a dictionary. A dictionary is better utilized once you know at least the basics of the language and want to pick up something specific.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Both Git and Subversion version control system commands are well covered in the later chapters, but as I said, you'd better know the basics first, rather than expect to learn them for the first time here. As promised, &lt;em&gt;Virtualization Command-Line Tools&lt;/em&gt; sits in the last chapter of the book, giving you fingertip access to the commands and options involving KVM, VMware, and Xen virtualization tools.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This book's 6th Edition is indeed a worthy inheritor to those that have come before it and carries on the tradition of providing &lt;em&gt;A Desktop Quick Reference&lt;/em&gt; for Linux shell commands and utilities. If you've owned a prior edition, this update is now available as a replacement. If you are learning Linux administration for the first time and have the basics down, you're ready to buy this edition as your first experience to &lt;em&gt;Linux in a Nutshell&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=Linux%20in%20a%20Nutshell%2C%206th%20Edition&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F11%2Flinux-in-nutshell-6th-edition.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="Linux in a Nutshell, 6th Edition";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/11/linux-in-nutshell-6th-edition.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-7029681883652892395?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/7029681883652892395/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/11/linux-in-nutshell-6th-edition.html#comment-form' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/7029681883652892395'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/7029681883652892395'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/11/linux-in-nutshell-6th-edition.html' title='Linux in a Nutshell, 6th Edition'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-8324866973330013317</id><published>2009-10-27T15:12:00.007-06:00</published><updated>2009-10-27T15:36:55.571-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Ray Bradbury'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Fahrenheit 451'/><title type='text'>Fahrenheit 451 Revisited: Do Firemen Still Dream of Igniting Books?</title><content type='html'>&lt;img src="http://eplteen.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/bba9eb6709a07ade93423110-l.jpg" width="141" height="230" border="1" align="right" hspace="15" alt="Fahrenheit 451" /&gt;&lt;em&gt;"One last thing," said Beatty. "At least once in his career, every fireman gets an itch. What do the books say, he wonders. Oh, to scratch that itch, eh? Well, Montag, take my word for it, I've had to read a few in my time, to know what I was about, and the books say nothing! Nothing you can teach or believe. They're about nonexistent people, figments of imagination, if they're fiction. And if they're nonfiction, it's worse, one professor calling another an idiot, one philosopher screaming down another's gullet. All of them running about, putting out the stars and extinguishing the sun. You come away lost."&lt;/em&gt; -From &lt;strong&gt;Fahrenheit 451&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Last July, after reading a notice of an American classic to be re-published as a graphic novel, I wrote a bit of commentary on Ray Bradbury's novel &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fahrenheit-451-Ray-Bradbury/dp/B000TZ19TC/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1256672667&amp;sr=1-18" target="_blank"&gt;Fahrenheit 451&lt;/a&gt; called &lt;a href="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/07/fahrenheit-451-digital-is-fire-in-which.html" target="_blank"&gt;Fahrenheit 451: "Digital" is the Fire in Which we Burn&lt;/a&gt;. I was lamenting the day when books were a serious form of entertainment and source of information, even during the advent of the age of television. Then I chanced upon Bradbury's novel at my local library and found myself wondering if I'd ever read it. I assumed I had, but I couldn't really remember. Well, there was one way to fix the problem.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This work was first published as a novel in 1953, the year before I was born. More than half a century later, this work still stands on solid legs, but perhaps not quite the legs that Bradbury first built for his book. The book isn't so much about censorship or even about television replacing books and other print media, as it is about the dumbing down of humanity. If the world of ideas and debate make people unhappy, take them away and replace them with the equivalent of Prozac for the masses. Let the government do the worrying. You don't have to concern yourself about a thing. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fifty-six years later, the government isn't burning books, but there's a question as to whether or not they've been marginalized. While Bradbury unsuccessfully predicted interactive television in the home, with screens on all four walls (he did seem to capture flat-screened TVs, though), he couldn't have possibly imagined Cable and Satellite TV, iPods, eBooks, blogging, twitter, texting, YouTube, gaming, and the Internet (and on and on). We haven't replaced print with TV, we've replaced few information sources with many, and with sources that produce content in all its myriad forms, at a rate that accelerates faster than the dizzying velocities of the cars and jets of Montag's (the book's protagonist) world.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Whenever I go to the gym to work out, music is blaring, a dozen TV sets are tuned to a dozen TV channels, almost everyone working out is listening to their iPod, and in the midst of all that, some people are either talking or texting on their mobiles. I go to the gym to try and coax my middle-aged body into continued activity for an hour or so a day, and people can't seem to unplug for even that brief a period of time. If we aren't constantly bombarded with information and entertainment every waking second of the day, what would become of us? Would we actually have to suffer alone with our own thoughts? Would we actually have to relate to other human beings? Is this the "real" Fahrenheit 451?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Print isn't dead, it's just been transformed. This blog is one incarnation...one descendant of the magazine article or the newspaper editorial. The difference is that anyone can blog for little or not cost and for some, with little or no effort. When I want to write a book (yes, I still write &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/James-Pyles/e/B001IQXL38/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1" target="_blank"&gt;real books&lt;/a&gt;), I have to write and submit a proposal to a publisher through my agent. The publishing staff evaluates my proposal to determine if it's worth their time and money to turn my idea into a book. That is, they have to decide if there are enough people who'll pay good money to buy what I want to write. Even if the proposal is approved, the book turns out to be a collaboration between me and the various editors I work with, so it's not just all my bright ideas on paper or in eBook format.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
With blogging, anyone can write anything at anytime. Of course, no audience is guaranteed, but anyone might surf onto your blog and read whatever you've written. Feedback is instantaneous via the commenting system. The main reason I named my blog &lt;em&gt;A Million Chimpanzees&lt;/em&gt; was out of the horrible thought that writing as an art has been reduced to the lowest common denominator because there's no limit to who can blog or what can be blogged. Of course, this is also the realization of freedom of speech. Any citizen can, at any time, without limitation, post his or her ideas and statements to the Internet where anyone with access can read them. Reduce the ideas to 140 characters at a time, and blogging becomes twitter. Digitally film them, and you've got YouTube. Podcast and streaming video them and, putting it all together, you've got the cacophony I was describing a few paragraphs back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I'm still trying to decide whether this is a good thing or not, but from the point of view of &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fahrenheit-451-Ray-Bradbury/dp/B000TZ19TC/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1256672667&amp;sr=1-18" target="_blank"&gt;Fahrenheit 451&lt;/a&gt;, I think it is. To write (or otherwise create), we are compelled to think. This is the antithesis of Montag's world, where his wife Mildred spends all day pretending to be a part of a fictional, interactive "family" on her favorite TV shows (and adding 21st century technology to the mix, the "family" could well have been computer generated, rather than real, human actors). When the day is done, she wanders off to sleep with her iPod in her ear (not really, but the way Bradbury presents it, the device might well have been an iPod). Entertainment parks abound, and schools are not to educate, but to indoctrinate the next generation into a population of entertainment junkies, even as the country is on the verge of nuclear war.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In Montag's world, people are moving in a single direction; from more to less complex thoughts and ideas. Reading and education are not only discouraged, they're illegal. Humans are not only encouraged to be mindless TV junkies, it's almost the only choice they're offered. We, on the other hand, seem to be going both ways simultaneously; a culture addicted to entertainment, and obsessed by information. What do we really want, a lobotomy, or a PhD? Then again, how much reading to we actually do on a single subject, before we bounce to the next input, and the next and the next and the...You get the idea. If it isn't short and it isn't fast, it isn't compelling enough to stick with. Change the channel or click the next link (does this sound cynical?).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
One of the best parts of reading this book was reading Bradbury's commentary. He wrote about how he managed to write the novel, the origin of the ideas and the mechanics of the writing itself. He didn't own a typewriter (no PCs and word processors the 1950s), so he found what amounted to a "typewriter lab" in the basement of a building at UCLA. He could rent typewriter time for ten cents a half-hour and, with not so much as a spell checker or even a bottle of &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_Paper" target="_blank"&gt;liquid paper&lt;/a&gt;, he set about to create his masterpiece. It's in the context of the early 1950s that Bradbury wrote the book, and being able to step outside the book itself, and into the motivation of the writer, I found another dimension to the story and some of the history of where we come from.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ray Bradbury grew up in a world of books, in a world before television and, even though the film industry was thriving, in a world where the moving image couldn't displace the world of imagination contained within the printed page. I'm old enough to still prefer a "real" book over an eBook, and will still close my web browser to thumb through pages and enter the realm of print, on occasion. That's part of the allure, both of checking out books at the library and of reading books. Fortunately, I'm not alone. A few days ago, I came across a blog article at PBS.org called &lt;a href="http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/10/kicking-ink-the-guilty-pleasures-of-print295.html" target="_blank"&gt;Kicking Ink: The Guilty Pleasures of Print&lt;/a&gt;. I couldn't help but see the parallels between the blog article and the future Bradbury imagined. Books aren't forbidden and burned in our world, but we are made to feel a little guilty about reading them because of the "carbon footprint" they leave behind. Political correctness and the advance of technology take the place of the firemen and their kerosene.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
No, we don't burn books, and we don't necessarily disdain thinkers and writers, but is what we're writing (including this blog) worth reading? I hope at least some of it (including this blog) is, but what we produce is in danger of buried in the screaming snowstorm of all the digital content we're generating at warp speed and beyond. Ray Bradbury's novel, over fifty years old now, still has something to tell us. It might not be exactly the same as the original message, but it's close enough to be chilling, or maybe ironic. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
All that said, time marches on, and so does the book's creator. You can even go to &lt;a href="http://www.raybradbury.com/" target="_blank"&gt;raybradbury.com&lt;/a&gt; these days and find out what he's &lt;a href="http://www.raybradbury.com/books/now_forever.html" target="_blank"&gt;currently writing&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Endnote:&lt;/strong&gt; On a whim, I crafted part of the title of this article on Philip K Dick's book title, &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Androids_Dream_of_Electric_Sheep%3F" target="_blank"&gt;Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?&lt;/a&gt;...another novel where humanity, at least as we know it, is an endangered species.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=Fahrenheit%20451%20Revisited%3A%20Do%20Firemen%20Still%20Dream%20of%20Igniting%20Books%3F&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F10%2Ffahrenheit-451-revisited-do-firemen.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="Fahrenheit 451 Revisited: Do Firemen Still Dream of Igniting Books?";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/10/fahrenheit-451-revisited-do-firemen.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-8324866973330013317?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/8324866973330013317/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/10/fahrenheit-451-revisited-do-firemen.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/8324866973330013317'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/8324866973330013317'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/10/fahrenheit-451-revisited-do-firemen.html' title='Fahrenheit 451 Revisited: Do Firemen Still Dream of Igniting Books?'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-665452812936488297</id><published>2009-10-25T16:17:00.003-06:00</published><updated>2009-10-26T09:09:22.835-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='open source'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='MySQL'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='joomla'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='PHP'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='apache'/><title type='text'>Joomla! 1.5: A User's Guide plus Fundamentals of Joomla! Video</title><content type='html'>Author: Barrie M. North&lt;br /&gt;
Format: Paperback, 480 pages plus DVD edition&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR; 2nd edition (June 1, 2009)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 0137012314&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-0137012312&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Update:&lt;/strong&gt; I just got a heads up from Heather Fox at Prentice saying that &lt;a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Fundamentals-of-Joomla-Video-Training-Users-Guide-Package/Prentice-Hall/e/9780136113140/?itm=2&amp;USRI=joomla" target="_blank"&gt;Fundamentals of Joomla Video Training &amp; Users Guide Package&lt;/a&gt; (which includes the subsequently mentioned book and DVD training video) is still available exclusively at Barnes and Noble. After January 1, 2010, the bundle will become generally available. Please disregard any contrary bits of information in the original review. Thanks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I think this bundle (the book and DVD) was a limited offer and unfortunately, it's taken me just a bit too long get to my review to take advantage of the package. Nevertheless, the products are still available individually, and are both written and presented by Barrie North. But let's back up a bit.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to &lt;a href="http://www.joomla.org/about-joomla.html" target="_blank"&gt;joomla.org&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;em&gt;"Joomla is an award-winning &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_management_system" target="_blank"&gt;content management system (CMS)&lt;/a&gt;, which enables you to build Web sites and powerful online applications. Many aspects, including its ease-of-use and extensibility, have made Joomla the most popular Web site software available. Best of all, Joomla is an open source solution that is freely available to everyone."&lt;/em&gt; Between those two links, if you didn't have an idea of what Joomla was before, you do now.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Like a number of other Joomla books on the market, Prentice Hall's offering is tailored for the novice, but promises enough sophistication to take the reader up to at least a "quasi-professional" level. The Preface of the book states in part, that the reader isn't assumed to have any programming or even CSS experience. It's "easy to read" and "low on technical jargon", telling me that North wrote the book for the non-web designing business professional who wants to take advantage of CMS in general and Joomla in specific, to further their business purposes and goals.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
That said, the book does teach the technical aspects of how to create a Joomla site from scratch but you start out at ground zero by being introduced to the concepts of web pages, CSS, and Joomla itself. Depending on your level of experience, the first chapter may be something you want to bypass, or at least just skim through. If you have web experience but no Joomla experience, Chapter 2 will tell you where to go to find and download Joomla, then how to install it. You are wisely directed to the &lt;a href="http://apachiefriends.org" target="_blank"&gt;XAMPP&lt;/a&gt; site to take care of the Apache, MySQL, and PHP side of things, but other options are also presented. Of course, you are also provided with links to acquire the required Joomla installation software.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While I don't consider the Chapter 2 instructions to be outside of a reasonably intelligent person's ability to comprehend, if you really are a completely non-technical person, you might want to take some time to read through the chapter and make sure you have all the steps down, before going through the installation process for both XAMPP and Joomla. This should save you a bit of time and frustration. However, for those with "power user" and up skill sets relative to web design or development, this shouldn't be too much of a chore.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Beyond this point, the book is fairly linear as far as assisting the reader in building the various skills required to create and manage a Joomla site, from basic administration, to organizing content, to creating menus, and so forth. Chapter 10 pulls together all that you should have learned in the prior chapters by letting you build a trial site. In this case, it's a school site, complete with content for students, parents, teachers, other staff, and so on. I suppose this would be the cherry on the cake if you're a school administrator in need of a website, but if you're not, the practice you gain can be applied to just about any organization with a bit of tweaking. If you really need another example, Chapter 11 teaches you how to build a restaurant site. The appendixes offer additional resources, including where to get help, case studies of actual commercial sites powered by Joomla, and more. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Joomla-Video-Training-Barrie/dp/0137017812" target="_blank"&gt;Fundamentals of Joomla!&lt;/a&gt; video training DVD and 128 page study guide is based on North's &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Joomla-1-5-Building-Successful-Powered/dp/0137012314/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1256506235&amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank"&gt;Joomla! 1.5: A User's Guide&lt;/a&gt; so, if you have the book, you have all the content the DVD and accompanying booklet contains, just in a different form. On the one hand, this can seem redundant, but if you learn best by accessing more than one learning mode (text and video, for example) using them together will be especially handy. This method could be used either by the individual, or in a school classroom or business training venue. The video content itself might seem a little "light", especially if you have no familiarity with Joomla at all, but coupled with the 480 page primary text, it is a golden learning opportunity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=Joomla!%201.5%3A%20A%20User%27s%20Guide%20plus%20Fundamentals%20of%20Joomla!%20Video&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F10%2Fjoomla-15-users-guide-plus-fundamentals.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="Joomla! 1.5: A User's Guide plus Fundamentals of Joomla! Video";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/10/joomla-15-users-guide-plus-fundamentals.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-665452812936488297?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/665452812936488297/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/10/joomla-15-users-guide-plus-fundamentals.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/665452812936488297'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/665452812936488297'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/10/joomla-15-users-guide-plus-fundamentals.html' title='Joomla! 1.5: A User&apos;s Guide plus Fundamentals of Joomla! Video'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-5389768677096063900</id><published>2009-10-20T13:41:00.004-06:00</published><updated>2009-10-20T13:44:16.297-06:00</updated><title type='text'>Web 2.0 Expo New York Announces 2009 Keynotes and Event Program</title><content type='html'>&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Me:&lt;/strong&gt; Not that O'Reilly needs my help in promoting their conferences, but I did receive this in my email from &lt;a href="mailto:maureen@oreilly.com"&gt;Maureen Jennings&lt;/a&gt; and I thought I'd pass it along. Who knows? Maybe a trip to New York will be on your schedule next month.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Sebastopol, CA&lt;/strong&gt;, October 20, 2009 &amp;#8212; Today Web 2.0 Expo New York announced this year's keynotes and new program elements. O'Reilly Media, Inc. and TechWeb, co-producers of Web 2.0 Expo and Web 2.0 Summit, welcome a lineup of distinguished keynote speakers including Jay Adelson, Chris Brogan, Caterina Fake, Jascha Franklin-Hodge, Beth Novak and Kevin Rose, in addition to an expanded program with first time sessions and a New York Launch Pad. Web 2.0 Expo New York returns on November 16-19, 2009 to the Javits Convention Center. More information is available at &lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1z1bhq1afempaq2mv6qakr25osc7oqnik19jc2q2o"&gt;ny.web2expo.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
"The Power of Less is about how the principles of Web 2.0 can turn constraints into opportunities and drive innovation," said Jennifer Pahlka, co-chair of Web 2.0 Expo. "We are inspired by the canonical examples of this power, such as Twitter's character limit, but also by the products and services launching now, in a time of less, that will change the world."&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Web 2.0 Expo New York 2009 brings Launch Pad to New York for the first time and adds a series of new sessions to the program including a track on the topic of Government 2.0. On the heels of a successful Gov 2.0 Summit, the Gov 2.0 sessions will further illuminate how transparency, participation and collaboration can break down silos and increase efficiencies on the government level. In addition, the event presents a brand new Bootcamp program. These full day intensive programs, taking place Monday, November 16, are titled "Good Design Faster," "Search as Strategy" and "Communilytics: Applied Community Analytics" and will further cover design and online communities, respectively, as they relate to successful business practices.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Web 2.0 Expo New York will feature influential keynotes and speakers, detailed workshops, a multi-track conference, an "unconference" program called Web2Open, a first-time New York Launch Pad start-up program, a major tradeshow and many rich networking opportunities and events. Conference tracks include: Landscape &amp; Strategy, Design &amp; User Experience, Social Media, Development, Fundamentals, Web 2.0 at Work, Government 2.0, Mobile, Performance and Analytics. The event targets developers, designers, entrepreneurs, marketers, and business professionals embracing Web 2.0 technologies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Web 2.0 Expo New York 2009 welcomes industry leading companies that are participating and exhibiting in this year's show including Diamond sponsors: IBM and Microsoft; Silver sponsors: Awareness, blueKiwi, Jive Software, Layered Technologies, Inc., Neustar Inc., OpenText, Opera Software, Overtone, Qtask, Rackspace, and Sony Ericsson.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To learn more about the 2009 Web 2.0 Expo New York or to register, visit: &lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1z1r1khgibp5d92hfoo9g3hiciva5pmo4hpg49278"&gt;http://www.web2expo.com/ny&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
View selected presentations from Web 2.0 Expo New York 2008 at: &lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1z84bj9he7p0f76hru16vmdb7pm3bnptmb9nmb7bo"&gt;http://www.web2expo.com/webexny2008/public/schedule/proceedings&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To see articles, blogs, and other coverage of last year's event, visit:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zsi7os171am0hv60f55223fhksa7j0ml584jhbvg"&gt;http://www.web2expo.com/webexny2009/public/content/news-coverage&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For a look at photos from New York 2008, see:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1z3vra900f8mnms0frf34sajd4b97e2a0eo25j4ko"&gt;http://www.flickr.com/photos/x180/sets/72157607322639138/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To apply for a media pass, visit: &lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zqrt74iblf8sshc6d0nuupac68bdj2koam95t3dg"&gt;http://www.web2expo.com/webexny2009/public/content/media&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To read the O'Reilly Radar, visit: &lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zf3e89k0vmuvs98jcs5678mv9r0phqf3n4fjqc58"&gt;http://radar.oreilly.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If you have ideas about areas you'd like to see included at the conference, send a note to: &lt;a href="mailto:&amp;gt;webexpo-idea@oreilly.com"&gt;webexpo-idea@oreilly.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If you'd like to stay up to date on information relating to Web 2.0, sign up for the conference newsletter (login required): &lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zfkuna79milpcjgignpasjehec1op5vifarv53tg"&gt;http://elists.oreilly.com/#conferences&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;About TechWeb&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
TechWeb, the global leader in business technology media, is an innovative business focused on serving the needs of technology decision-makers and marketers worldwide. TechWeb produces the most respected and consumed media brands in the business technology market. Today, more than 13.3* million business technology professionals actively engage in our communities created around our global face-to-face events Interop, Web 2.0, Black Hat and VoiceCon; online resources such as the TechWeb Network, Light Reading, Intelligent Enterprise, InformationWeek.com, bMighty.com, and The Financial Technology Network; and the market leading, award-winning InformationWeek, TechNet Magazine, MSDN Magazine, Wall Street &amp; Technology magazines. TechWeb also provides end-to-end services ranging from next-generation performance marketing, integrated media, research, and analyst services. TechWeb is a division of United Business Media, a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $2.5 billion. *13.3 million business decision-makers: based on # of monthly connections.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;b&gt;About O'Reilly&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
O'Reilly conferences bring together forward-thinking business and technology leaders, shaping ideas and influencing industries around the globe. For over 25 years, O'Reilly has facilitated the adoption of new and important technologies by the enterprise, putting emerging technologies on the map.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-5389768677096063900?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/5389768677096063900/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/10/web-20-expo-new-york-announces-2009.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/5389768677096063900'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/5389768677096063900'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/10/web-20-expo-new-york-announces-2009.html' title='Web 2.0 Expo New York Announces 2009 Keynotes and Event Program'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-36367732054047834</id><published>2009-10-11T18:02:00.003-06:00</published><updated>2009-10-12T05:35:25.528-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Tutorial'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='python'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='programming'/><title type='text'>Python: Converting from one temperature scale to another is easy, but what about eight?</title><content type='html'>In just about any class or set of tutorials involving beginning programming, there's usually a problem or set of problems having to do with converting temperatures. Just about everyone has had to write a wee bit of code to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius or vice versa. That's not much of a chore. However, there are eight major temperature scales available (though some are around now only for their historical value), according to &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperature#Comparison_of_temperature_scales" target="_blank"&gt;wikipedia&lt;/a&gt;. What if you had to write a program that let a user convert a temperature &lt;em&gt;from&lt;/em&gt; any of these scales &lt;em&gt;to&lt;/em&gt; any of these scales?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Do you have any idea how many if statements you'd have to write? On the previously referenced wikipedia page, there are eight tables (one for each temperature scale) so converting from any of scales to any of scales would, in theory, require 8 times 7 or 56 if statements (it wouldn't be 8 times 8 because you wouldn't convert from a scale to itself). That's an awful lot of coding and there's got to be an easier way.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Actually, there's more than one way to make it easier, but this is a tutorial that is, or should be, within the grasp of a relative newbie to Python. I took a stab at it and came up with what I think is a pretty straightforward bit of programming that doesn't require a lot of typing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Oh. I forgot. There is a specific requirement for the solution to the problem. The code must convert from the source scale temp to central or canonical scale, such as Celsius, and then must convert that value from Celsius (for example) to the target scale temp. Here's what I came up with. I don't claim this is the best possible solution, but I don't think there's anything fundamentally wrong with it, either (I checked with a higher power to be sure). See what you think. Here it is:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;t = float(raw_input("Please enter the temp: "))
source = raw_input("Please enter the source temp scale: ")
target = raw_input("Please enter the target temp scale: ")

if t &lt; 1000000.0:
    if source == "k":
        cel = t -273.15
    elif source == "c":
        cel = t
    elif source == "f":
        cel = (t - 32) * 5.0 / 9.0
    elif source == "r":
        cel = (t - 491.67) * 5.0 / 9.0
    elif source == "d":
        cel = 100.0 - t * 2.0 / 3.0
    elif source == "n":
        cel = t * 100.0 / 33.0
    elif source == "re":
        cel = t * 5.0 / 4.0
    elif source == "ro":
        cel = (t - 7.5) * 40.0 / 21.0
    if target == "k":
        answer = cel + 273.15
    elif target == "c":
        answer = cel
    elif target == "f":
        answer = cel * 9.0 / 5.0 + 32.0
    elif target == "r":
        answer = (cel + 273.15) * 9.0 / 5.0
    elif target == "d":
        answer = (100.0 - cel) * 3.0 / 2.0
    elif target == "n":
        answer = cel *  33.0 / 100.0
    elif target == "re":
        answer = cel * 4.0 / 5.0
    elif target == "ro":
        answer = cel * 21.0 / 40.0 + 7.5

print answer
&lt;/pre&gt;
I found all of the formulas for conversions at &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_temperature_scales" target="_blank"&gt;wikipedia&lt;/a&gt;, too. You can copy this code into a text editor and save it as something like &lt;code&gt;covert.py&lt;/code&gt;, then run it to see how it works for you.

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&lt;br /&gt;
I encountered a lesson that teaches storing conditionals using booleans. The code was presented like this:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;pre&gt;young = age &lt; 45 

slim = bmi &lt; 22.0 
if young and slim: 
risk = "low" 
elif young and not slim: 
risk = "medium" 
elif not young and slim: 
risk = "medium" 
elif not young and not slim: 
risk = "high"
&lt;/pre&gt;
Of course, you can't really run this. If you try, you get this:
&lt;pre&gt;Traceback (most recent call last): 
File "assign_bool.py", line 1, in &lt;module&gt; 
young = age &lt; 45 
NameError: name 'age' is not defined 
&lt;/pre&gt;
I figured the solution was to modify the program to let me input the age and bmi, then print the results. I modified the code like this:

&lt;pre&gt;age = raw_input("Please enter your age: ")
bmi = raw_input("Please enter your bmi: ")

young = age &lt; 45
slim = bmi &lt; 22.0
if young and slim:
    risk = "low"
elif young and not slim:
    risk = "medium"
elif not young and slim:
    risk = "medium"
elif not young and not slim:
    risk = "high"

print risk
&lt;/pre&gt;
Like I said, if you have any real programming experience at all, you can already see my mistake. If not, read on.

My modified code happily returned prompts for my age and bmi. Being scrupulously honest, I entered my correct age. I have no idea when my bmi is, so I made up a value. When I pressed enter, the value returned was "high". Just to make sure the program was working properly, I entered a young age and a low bmi. Egad! The return value was still "high". In fact, no matter what values I entered, "high" was always returned. This wasn't right.

On the fly, I tried this change:

&lt;pre&gt;age = input("Please enter your age: ")
bmi = input("Please enter your bmi: ")
&lt;/pre&gt;It seems very simple (and it is). Using &lt;code&gt;raw_input&lt;/code&gt;, the data is always interpreted as a string, rather than the INT type I needed for the program to work. Since strings, rather than integers where input, Python worked it's way through the various tests and, since none of the other conditions matched, printed the result of the final clause which of course, was "high".

&lt;code&gt;input&lt;/code&gt; interprets what you enter as a python expression, which works, but isn't the best solution, since it can return a wide variety of object types. What's really needed is a way to input something that's always interpreted as a number. I did a bit of research and came up with the following solution, changing the first two lines of my program accordingly:

&lt;pre&gt;age = int(raw_input("Please enter your age: "))
bmi = int(raw_input("Please enter your bmi: "))
&lt;/pre&gt;Now the program will always expect integers to be input for age and bmi. If you try to enter a string now, you'll get something like this:

&lt;pre&gt;Please enter your age: Fred
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "assign_bool.py", line 1, in &lt;module&gt;
age = int(raw_input("Please enter your age: "))
ValueError: invalid literal for int() with base 10: 'Fred'
&lt;/pre&gt;Play with the different input types and see for yourself.


&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=Python%3A%20input%2C%20raw_input%2C%20and%20inadvertently%20treating%20integers%20as%20strings&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F10%2Fpython-input-rawinput-and-inadvertently.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="Python: input, raw_input, and inadvertently treating integers as strings";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/10/python-input-rawinput-and-inadvertently.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-1337357706185625428?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/1337357706185625428/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/10/python-input-rawinput-and-inadvertently.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/1337357706185625428'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/1337357706185625428'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/10/python-input-rawinput-and-inadvertently.html' title='Python: input, raw_input, and inadvertently treating integers as strings'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-617913928579590333</id><published>2009-10-04T19:23:00.001-06:00</published><updated>2009-10-04T19:28:41.736-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='MySQL'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Tutorial'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='PHP'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='book review'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='apache'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='web applications'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='video training'/><title type='text'>Sams Teach Yourself PHP and MySQL: Video Learning Starter Kit</title><content type='html'>Author: Sams Publishing&lt;br /&gt;
Format: Paperback: 80 pages/ DVD&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: Sams; 1st Paperback/DVD edition (March 6, 2009)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 067233027X&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-0672330278&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Frankly, I'd prefer to work with a book or in a classroom setting. I can read faster than a person can speak in a video. OK, that contradicts my preference for the classroom, but in a class context, I can also directly interact with the instructor and the students. I can't exactly do that using a video. I know I keep telling everyone that I'm a visual learner, so you'd think that a DVD would be just about perfect, but I've always found them something of a problem. This isn't to say that video learning is bad in general or that this product is bad in particular. I'm just expressing my personal opinion before I move on.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I was initially excited to discover that I could use the DVD on any Windows, Mac, or Linux computer with a DVD drive. I've had problems with previous video tutorials that included movie files only readable on Windows. The Quick Start Guide reassured me that I wouldn't have a problem using Linux. Then, as I was about to rip open the packaging around the disc itself, I saw a piece of contradictory information. Specifically, the text on the packaging read, &lt;em&gt;All the contents of the PHP and MySQL Video Learning Starter Kit are accessible on any DVD-equipped &lt;strong&gt;Windows or Mac OS X&lt;/strong&gt; computer&lt;/em&gt; (emphasis mine). What?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It gets worse (from my point of view, at least). There are instructions on how to install PHP, Apache, and MySQL on both Windows and Mac but not on Linux. This seems rather mysterious considering we're talking about technologies that just thrive on Linux. Of course, if I have the need to install Apache/MySQL/PHP on Linux, I can just use &lt;a href="http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html" target="_blank"&gt;XAMPP&lt;/a&gt;, but that's besides the point. I suppose Sams is playing to the majority desktop market, but that doesn't speak to those of us who spend the vast majority of our time using Linux for work and play. In fact, the vast majority of web developers and database people I work with in my "day job" use Linux on the desktop. Oh well. I still need to evaluate and review the content. Firing up one Windows XP computer.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I slipped the disc in my Windows PC and Adobe Flash Player 9 fired up flawlessly. The TOC is divided into Parts I through IV and each part contains various chapters or lessons. Part I for instance, contains the introductory lessons you'd expect, such as Getting to know PHP, Variables, Flow Control, and so on. Each lesson is divided into Lesson, Lab, and Quiz. I chose Flow Control to start with, just to get an idea of how things were presented.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The lesson on Flow Control honed in on conditional statements and loops. I'd recommend taking notes during the video lesson. I need to take notes, even when I read a book, because it's one of the ways I learn and remember the content, besides actually practicing the relevant tasks. The woman's voice reciting the lesson reminded me somewhat of those instructions airline attendants give when telling you, before your flight takes off, what to do in case the aircraft explodes or sinks into a lake. Actually, I felt fortunate that the visual content didn't include the author's appearance, which most of the time, is totally irrelevant. What I did see was pretty much a PowerPoint presentation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lesson 3 was fairly short, maybe five minutes or so long. This is another reason to take notes, since the content goes by very fast. To advance to the lab section, you are required to click the available link. This is also a slide show of sorts, but you click through manually, and there's no accompanying voice. Notes come in handy again since, unless you have a perfect memory, you'll need to refer to something as you're solving each problem. Once you complete each lab, you are able to click to see the output. At the end of a lab session, you can either click the link to repeat, or advance to the Quiz. In the quiz, you select an answer, but can't advance until you get the correct one. The quiz wasn't particularly extensive, which is good if you want to focus on material rather than tests, and bad if you need or want to test your memory of concepts and details.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The general formatting of the disc is good; that is, it's logical. I can see this content being used in the classroom to augment a standard curriculum, but I can't imagine learning these technologies using the DVD and Quick Start Guide (90 page mini-book) alone. I guess I'm old fashioned (which you must have guessed by now) in that I need to have access to more detailed content and/or something or someone I can query about what I'm trying to learn. That said, I can see the video answering questions I sometimes have about ambiguous content I've found in books. Having the same content presented in two different ways can fill occasional gaps. That means I'd need to have the full text book to accompany this DVD.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The content is appropriate for beginning students with little to no prior programming and database experience. For me at least, I'd need to have a platform running actual PHP and MySQL to practice on. Getting my hands dirty is the only way I'm able to learn this sort of material. I recommend setting up your system so you can do a little more than the labs suggest, but remember, the instructions for how to do that only cover Windows and Mac computers. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If you explore the disc, you'll find the eBook &lt;em&gt;Teach Yourself PHP in 10 minutes&lt;/em&gt; by Chris Newman in PDF format. The book was published in 2005, but is still relevant to PHP 5.0. The eBook also includes some MySQL content, so it'll take you further than the flash material and the mini-book. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For the programming and database beginner, who may eventually want to get into putting together at least some basic web applications, this product should fit the bill. If you get to the point where you've become familiar with, if not mastered the content, I'm sure you'll want to pursue more advanced resources.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=Sams%20Teach%20Yourself%20PHP%20and%20MySQL%3A%20Video%20Learning%20Starter%20Kit&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F10%2Fsams-teach-yourself-php-and-mysql-video.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="Sams Teach Yourself PHP and MySQL: Video Learning Starter Kit";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/10/sams-teach-yourself-php-and-mysql-video.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-617913928579590333?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/617913928579590333/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/10/sams-teach-yourself-php-and-mysql-video.html#comment-form' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/617913928579590333'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/617913928579590333'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/10/sams-teach-yourself-php-and-mysql-video.html' title='Sams Teach Yourself PHP and MySQL: Video Learning Starter Kit'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-3112464274458950404</id><published>2009-10-02T06:48:00.002-06:00</published><updated>2009-10-02T08:23:24.019-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='A+ certification'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='comptia'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='A+ technician'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='books'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='certification'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sybex'/><title type='text'>It's Here!</title><content type='html'>&lt;img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51XqnvHQ-qL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg" alt="new book" align="right" border="0" hspace="5" /&gt; I came home last night and my daughter-in-law mentioned that I'd gotten a UPS delivery. She said the box was heavy and felt like books. Sure enough, my author's copies of my new book &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470486511/ref=s9_simz_gw_s0_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;pf_rd_s=center-2&amp;pf_rd_r=1TSZY74PKXCJ1WVGA8AZ&amp;pf_rd_t=101&amp;pf_rd_p=470938631&amp;pf_rd_i=507846" target="_blank"&gt;PC Technician Street Smarts, Updated for the 2009 Exam&lt;/a&gt; had arrived. I know it's technically available (in the U.S. at least) in just a few days, but having a copy in my hands makes the book seem so much more real.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Now, I need to line up my "usual suspects" and ship off a few copies for review. I encourage anyone out there who's reading this &lt;em&gt;and&lt;/em&gt; who is either planning on taking the A+ exams or is a newbie PC or desktop support tech to have a look. Please review on Amazon or your blog (or where ever). If you do, let me know or post a comment here. I'd really like to know what folks think of the second edition.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cheers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=It%27s%20Here!&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F10%2Fits-here.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="It's Here!";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/10/its-here.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-3112464274458950404?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/feeds/3112464274458950404/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/10/its-here.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/3112464274458950404'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/3112464274458950404'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/10/its-here.html' title='It&apos;s Here!'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-4302531370936612591</id><published>2009-09-24T09:32:00.008-06:00</published><updated>2009-09-30T09:34:26.917-06:00</updated><title type='text'>O'Reilly Media and Microsoft Announce Plans to Expand Microsoft Press</title><content type='html'>I just got this press release from Sara Peyton, one of my contacts at O'Reilly, this morning via email. Thought I should pass it along. Read it and let me know if you have any feelings or opinions on the topic:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;O'Reilly to Distribute Microsoft Press Titles and Launch New Ebook Initiatives&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Seattle, WA—September 24, 2009&lt;/strong&gt; — &lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zqet57jg7v7n5iqu3fg3crmftr27t7q409epvu6g" target="_blank"&gt;O'Reilly Media, Inc.&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1z9t963mjajjt247h024rqhgb2glh6vssd51luf50" target="_blank"&gt;Microsoft Corp.&lt;/a&gt; today announced a joint arrangement to support and expand Microsoft Press from production through distribution, co-publishing and content development, marketing and management. Through this strategic relationship, on November 30, O'Reilly will become the distributor of &lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zt1b7q0s4451gtt4gcsh8moo8b5oip1rhjvii8i8" target="_blank"&gt;Microsoft Press&lt;/a&gt; titles in North America with a global roll out in a phased approach. Both O'Reilly and Microsoft will develop Microsoft Press titles. &lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1zcm91o75j7nd5ei03bcvvsv812901dnk60cq5368" target="_blank"&gt;O'Reilly&lt;/a&gt;, publisher of the iconic "animal books" for developers, has been at the forefront of online publishing and is the host and founder of several conferences for developers including the popular Tools of Change for Publishing Conference.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This collaboration takes advantage of O'Reilly's groundbreaking digital publishing innovations and social media know-how to increase Microsoft Press' reach and develop its content for multiple, multimedia channels. Microsoft Press books have helped millions of people understand and use Microsoft technologies. By bringing that content to digital and mobile devices and platforms worldwide, millions more will have access to that same great content.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
"The publishing industry is rapidly evolving, embracing the new and interesting ways that people are consuming information, and using personal technology. By working together with O'Reilly Media, Microsoft authors will have greater opportunity for exposure, and readers will have more access to author content," said Walid Abu-Hadba, corporate vice president, Developer and Platform Evangelism, Microsoft Corp. "This is an opportunity to give our customers a broader and more robust portfolio that is more responsive to their needs."&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Microsoft will continue to produce training content and will optimize efficiencies through O'Reilly's expertise in global manufacturing, distribution, sales, and marketing. This will fuel market potential for Microsoft Press and greater responsiveness to new opportunities while allowing customers to continue buying books through current online and retail channels. Microsoft continues to keep customers apprised of current books about Microsoft technologies on &lt;a href="http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1z2po0k1hlgob9k68dkl7vimo4jm7ss0dfbakr0i8" target="_blank"&gt;www.microsoft.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
"There are more than 40 million people walking around the world with a mobile phone or digital device which essentially gives them a bookstore in their pocket. That's an enormous opportunity for publishers today," said Tim O'Reilly, founder and CEO of O'Reilly and an influential leader in the Open Source and Web 2.0 communities who has over one million Twitter followers. "We are no longer a print publisher that happens to sell digital books too. We're a digital publisher that also sells print books. All publishing is now digital publishing, and all writing is writing for the web. Books must behave like the web they're now a part of."&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
"We will apply the lessons we've learned and the knowledge we've gained about digital publishing," added O'Reilly. "And we will remain true to our own values. All the derivative content from each Microsoft Press title--whether it's an ebook, app, webcast or an interactive video--will be issued DRM-free, because that's what we believe in doing."&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Partnering with O'Reilly provides the following key benefits:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Marketplace agility. O'Reilly's digital publishing innovations and multiple media channels will deliver Microsoft Press content to users and readers when and where they want to consume it--whether it's in a book, on their computer, or on their mobile phone.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;li&gt;Increased visibility. Access to O'Reilly's social media tools, webcast program, and online portals and websites will expand the reach of Microsoft Press' titles and content worldwide.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;li&gt;New opportunities for authors. O'Reilly's Author Portal will give Microsoft Press authors immediate access to an array of marketing and social media tools to help them promote their books and themselves as experts in their fields.&lt;/li&gt;

&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
"O'Reilly is doing this because we believe in the future of Microsoft Press," said Laura Baldwin, COO and CFO of O'Reilly Media. "We're thrilled to collaborate with Microsoft and we're excited about working with Microsoft Press. We've built an infrastructure that maximizes the value of technical content through both digital and print publishing, and we're delighted to extend that value to Microsoft."&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
About Microsoft&lt;br /&gt;
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
About O'Reilly&lt;br /&gt;
O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
# # #&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
O'Reilly is a registered trademark of O'Reilly Media, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkname=O%27Reilly%20Media%20and%20Microsoft%20Announce%20Plans%20to%20Expand%20Microsoft%20Press&amp;amp;linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmillionchimpanzees.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F09%2Foreilly-media-and-microsoft-announce.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark"/&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;a2a_linkname="O'Reilly Media and Microsoft Announce Plans to Expand Microsoft Press";a2a_linkurl="http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/09/oreilly-media-and-microsoft-announce.html";&lt;/script&gt;&lt;script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.addtoany.com/menu/page.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7933794355391496434-4302531370936612591?l=millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4302531370936612591'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7933794355391496434/posts/default/4302531370936612591'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://millionchimpanzees.blogspot.com/2009/09/oreilly-media-and-microsoft-announce.html' title='O&apos;Reilly Media and Microsoft Announce Plans to Expand Microsoft Press'/><author><name>james.pyles</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11424800834517755783</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kpPB4OkUQdM/TC0nA5XIyfI/AAAAAAAAAnI/S-R5oAFAFBg/S220/james1-blue.jpg'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933794355391496434.post-4214132506549113004</id><published>2009-09-23T08:41:00.019-06:00</published><updated>2009-09-30T09:36:13.676-06:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='computer repair'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='computers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='A+ certification'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='A+ technician'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='+comptia'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pc'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='technician'/><title type='text'>PC Technician Street Smarts, Updated for the 2009 Exam: A Real World Guide to CompTIA A+ Skills</title><content type='html'>Author: James Pyles&lt;br /&gt;
Format: Paperback, 480 pages&lt;br /&gt;
Publisher: Sybex; 2nd edition (October 5, 2009)&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-10: 0470486511&lt;br /&gt;
ISBN-13: 978-0470486511&lt;br /&gt;
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This is one book someone else is going to have to review. I can't, since I wrote it. I'm really excited because this is the first book I've written that's gone into a 2nd edition. To give you some background, I was originally approached a few years back by Sybex to write a "lab manual" of sorts, for a new series they were launching called "Street Smarts". The book was required to map to &lt;a href="http://www.comptia.org/certifications/listed/a.aspx" target="_blank"&gt;CompTIA's A+ Certification&lt;/a&gt; test domains. The format of the Sybex "Street Smarts" series is focused on the defining and executing of specific tasks as related to the exam objectives &lt;em&gt;and&lt;/em&gt; actual technician practices. It's billed as a "year in the life" of a computer technician. What I really liked about writing the book is that the tasks didn't have to be slavishly chained to exam domains. This let me create tasks that technicians actually face in the real world, rather than just in the pages of a textbook.&lt;br /&gt;
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To provide and document real world exercises, I foraged through my own records of jobs I did as a freelance hardware and desktop support tech. I worked for the IT department of a small, local city for a number of months, and kept all of my trouble tickets. As it turns out, those tickets became my primary source material and, as far as I was concerned as a writer, they were made of gold. The original Street Smarts book provides tutorials for jobs I've never seen in another, similar book. That was and still is the unique value in the series and in my book.&lt;br /&gt;
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While my days of doing desktop support are behind me, I like to keep my hand in, and leveraged my more recent (informal) experiences to insert updated content for the 2nd edition. I also belong to a number of technical forums and user groups, and was allowed to mine the wisdom of many other students, teachers, and techs in the service of the new book. I think you'll like the result, which is completely updated for Vista and Windows Server 2007 (the latest Windows OSes tested on the exam), as well as other recent changes and updates in the world of computing.&lt;br /&gt;
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The key in deciding if this book is for you, has to do with your level of experience. The book assumes that the 
