Bob's Blog http://balfes.net/blog// Computers, Education, Family and more en Copyright (c) Robert A Balfe http://balfes.net/images/b.jpg >Bob's Blog http://balfes.net/blog// 32 32 My blog has moved http://balfes.net/blog/info/My_blog_has_moved.html <bob@balfes.net> /info http://balfes.net/blog/info/My_blog_has_moved.html meta-creation_date: 01/24/2007 11:24:10 Don't get me wrong - creating/modifying your own blog software in Perl was fun but it became more of a pain in the butt after a while. This new PHP blog is much more up to date and will be easier to modify - if I have to. Sorry for the inconvenience but here are the new URL's:

http://blog.balfes.net

Atom: http://blog.balfes.net/atom.php
RSS 2.0: http://blog.balfes.net/rss.php
RDF: http://blog.balfes.net/rdf.php

Of course you can also access them below on the right.

]]> VB 6, Mashups, Comp Apps, and more http://balfes.net/blog/computers/eclipse/VB_6,_Mashups,_Comp_Apps,_and_more.html <bob@balfes.net> /computers/eclipse http://balfes.net/blog/computers/eclipse/VB_6,_Mashups,_Comp_Apps,_and_more.html meta-creation_date: 01/24/2007 01:33:23 Today was a lab day for me at Lotusphere and as always I love talking to customers, hearing their demands and attempting to give them some information that will help them out technically.  I was actually shocked to hear how many ISV's and business partners want to leverage Lotus Expeditor to surface VB 6 applications.  Apparently there is much concern about the move of MS to stop supporting VB6 and the applications need to be heavily modified to go to a .NET architecture.  The other main topic was surfacing anything and having the components "speak" with each other over the Property Broker.  I am really glad I got the opportunity to port the broker from portal to the client - it appears to be taking off like very well and people are really understanding it and its value.

I did however get to spend a couple of hours with the family and we did another trip to Universal Studios - this time taking on the Mummy!  This is a great ride and if you get to Universal make sure you hit it.

I just finished the Composite Applications and SOA birds of a feather - yes it is only 8:30am and yes it started at 7am and barely no one was coherent.  I certainly did not like closing Jellyrolls and getting 4 1/2 hours of sleep but hey - if you fly with the owls you need to sore with the eagles!

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]]> Tuesday and Lotusphere http://balfes.net/blog/computers/eclipse/Tuesday_and_Lotusphere.html <bob@balfes.net> /computers/eclipse http://balfes.net/blog/computers/eclipse/Tuesday_and_Lotusphere.html meta-creation_date: 01/23/2007 02:02:32 I will be in the meet the developers lab starting at 9am but I thought I would catch the start of "ID307 IBM Lotus Expeditor Looks to the Future (R1)" and I am extremely impressed with the turn out.  It is almost like there is a small group of attendees that are starting to understand what Expeditor is and what it means for the future of Notes and Sametime.  At the Open Source BOF last night we got a lot of "clarification" questions from the group.  People are starting to understand both the flexibility of Expeditor and the preservation of their existing Notes applications.  We got a lot of questions on composite applications and how Eclipse based components fit into the picture. 

Come to the lab and see some demos and code on the Expeditor samples.  I will be in the lab until 12:30 today.

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]]> Expeditor is taking off http://balfes.net/blog/computers/eclipse/Expeditor_is_taking_off.html <bob@balfes.net> /computers/eclipse http://balfes.net/blog/computers/eclipse/Expeditor_is_taking_off.html meta-creation_date: 01/22/2007 15:45:41 With a lot of sessions today on Lotus Expeditor, Composite Applications ,and Property Broker the word is definitely out on this programming model and platform.  I gave my talk today and it appeared to be well received by the Lotus Notes community.  This is a pretty large Lotusphere with 7K plus attendees the halls and functions are pretty swamped with people.  There is a lot of great interest in Property broker, declarative wiring, mash-ups and composite applications in general.  Some excellent feedback and desires have been around moving things like legacy VB 6 applications to Lotus Expeditor.  On more than one occasion in the first day in the labs this was brought up.  I am glad we can give VB developers a path to the future that appears to be more appealing to them than a re-write to .NET.

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]]> Off to Disney for Lotusphere! http://balfes.net/blog/family/Off_to_Disney_for_Lotusphere!.html <bob@balfes.net> /family http://balfes.net/blog/family/Off_to_Disney_for_Lotusphere!.html meta-creation_date: 01/19/2007 01:34:12
In 9 years I have never taken my family to Lotusphere and this year is the first!  See you in Florida.

]]> Composite Application Draft RedPaper http://balfes.net/blog/computers/eclipse/Composite_Application_Draft_RedPaper.html <bob@balfes.net> /computers/eclipse http://balfes.net/blog/computers/eclipse/Composite_Application_Draft_RedPaper.html meta-creation_date: 01/18/2007 09:28:24 This is an IBM Redpaper (currently a draft) that I contributed to last year.  It shows really great examples of how to create composite applications using the Lotus Expeditor 6.1 client.

Building Composite Applications in Lotus Expeditor V6.1

Abstract
This redpaper covers composite applications for desktop solutions that require multiple types of applications to run in a Lotus Expeditor V6.1 collaboration environment by providing inter-communication between components. SOA composite applications deliver high levels of business services and this redpaper covers the architecture, available tools, component considerations, assembling, deploying and wiring components in Lotus Expeditor V6.1 composite applications. Lotus Expeditor is a client platform for end-to-end smart client application solutions. Expeditor provides services to install and manage these applications and to allow end-users to easily launch and switch among these applications. Expeditor leverages Eclipse technology to provide a client solution that runs on multiple operating systems. The benefits of composite applications include reducing the total cost of ownership for client solutions through reusability of existing components and the sharing of these components across applications, migrating existing applications to run on the client platform until such time as a business deems it necessary to fully exploit the client platform, controlling access to applications based on roles assigned to end-users and improving the end-user experience by allowing composite applications components to easily communicate between them. This redpaper is targeted to architects, developers and administrators who need to understand the implemented architecture to develop, assemble and deploy composite applications in Lotus Expeditor V6.1.



]]> Insidious Tight Coupling http://balfes.net/blog/computers/eclipse/Insidious_Tight_Coupling.html <bob@balfes.net> /computers/eclipse http://balfes.net/blog/computers/eclipse/Insidious_Tight_Coupling.html meta-creation_date: 01/17/2007 02:26:09 This months Dr Dobbs has an article written by Bill Lewis (Insidious Tight Coupling) where he explains the good programming practice of interface programming.  This should not be news to any developer with more than 6 months experience - or even graduated with a CS degree.  What I am hear to preach is there should be a further abstraction when dealing with cooperative components the user interacts with.  This abstraction I am referring to is the same one developed for Portal 5+, Lotus Expeditor 6.1 and the up and coming Lotus Notes 8.  The concept is simple, make your GUI components act like a well defined interface using WSDL.  This means if another component - or code for that matter - wants to interact with your component they only know about the interfaces exposed in the WSDL.

Why does this matter?
It matters because now we have given non-programmers a way to declaratively connect these components.  They can use a wiring tool - like the one in Portal or the up and coming Composite Application Editor - to create these applications and get these components talking to each other.  So we have not only implemented a good overall discipline but are giving that discipline to administrators and end users.

Take this basic scenario:
    We have a date picker control that we know published a Date object when a day is selected.  We can then wire that component to any other component that receives a Date object - like a weather report portlet, or a blog site.  This now allows a normal person - not a God like developer - to take these components and create new contexts (applications).  Think of this as a way for someone to create an interactive Portal where the components can drive each other for specific results.

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]]> The Mexican Jumping Bean http://balfes.net/blog/info/The_Mexican_Jumping_Bean.html <bob@balfes.net> /info http://balfes.net/blog/info/The_Mexican_Jumping_Bean.html meta-creation_date: 01/16/2007 08:48:44 Very interesting write-up in case you did not know about them.

They are a type of seed in which the egg of a small moth has been laid. It is the moth's larva which makes them "jump".

150px-JumpingBeanHatch.jpg



]]> New Outlook Won't Use IE To Render HTML http://balfes.net/blog/computers/New_Outlook_Won't_Use_IE_To_Render_HTML.html <bob@balfes.net> /computers http://balfes.net/blog/computers/New_Outlook_Won't_Use_IE_To_Render_HTML.html meta-creation_date: 01/16/2007 04:43:20 I don't know if this is true or not but if it is I find it pretty amazing MS would give Outlook this limitation.  I might have to run this by Ed.

]]> Jazz is not just a type of music http://balfes.net/blog/computers/IBM/Jazz_is_not_just_a_type_of_music.html <bob@balfes.net> /computers/IBM http://balfes.net/blog/computers/IBM/Jazz_is_not_just_a_type_of_music.html meta-creation_date: 01/16/2007 01:37:17 After reading the article "Knowledge-Centric Application Lifecycle Management" by Dr. Tieren Zhou I realized I am not so much in the know about collaborative development initiatives in the industry.  IBM's Rational has a project called Jazz - which is an Eclipse based extension for providing collaboration integration with the IDE.  You can search developer works for Jazz and find all sorts of hits.  The article also mentions Visual Studio 2005 and its team capabilities.  Of course I installed the XNA development kit - which is the express version and I really like it.  The article is interesting because while these enhancements to the IDE's are coming - or are out now - many IBM'ers have been doing this type of thing for years using Sametime and VNC.  I do like the integration - I just don't know if I want to know or care who is working on what piece of code any time of the day...


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]]> Collaborative Development Environments http://balfes.net/blog/computers/Collaborative_Development_Environments.html <bob@balfes.net> /computers http://balfes.net/blog/computers/Collaborative_Development_Environments.html meta-creation_date: 01/15/2007 02:59:35 If you are into collaboration and/or team development methodologies then this months magazine is for you.  It is filled with some very good articles.

grady_booch.jpgGrady Booch has a short article (page 10) in Dr Dobb's this month where he continues his evangelism in the collaborative development environments.  While I do not think the environment he suggests exists today, it is getting very close.  Eclipse is so open and having Lotus (and IBM for that matter) put most of their eggs on Eclipse you will see plugins that can and will capture collaboration at its best and be compatible with tools like basic Eclipse, Rational Software Architect and Rational Application Developer.  Of course some of the new tools coming out - like Composite Application Editor, Component Designer, etc will all be easily integrated into Lotus Notes 8.

The next articles that look very appealing - which I have already begun to read - are the ones in the section dedicated to Global Collaborative Development.  It has five short articles with some excellent material.  I will be commenting on them  little later.

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]]> XNA dev kit is pretty cool http://balfes.net/blog/computers/gaming/XNA_dev_kit_is_pretty_cool.html <bob@balfes.net> /computers/gaming http://balfes.net/blog/computers/gaming/XNA_dev_kit_is_pretty_cool.html meta-creation_date: 01/11/2007 12:59:44 I have been playing with XNA for a bit and I am very impressed with the SDK, IDE and ease of use.  The best thing I like is the starter kit game that is included with the product.  I have always liked MS development tools and the XNA C# based kit follows the high level of standard MS puts into their tooling.

Here is a screen shot of the different projects available - out of the box:

xna-projects.jpg

The great thing is, when you create the SpaceWar starter kit you can use this as a learning application by looking at the source and of course debugging it - excellent for beginners.  I have already started playing around with my own objects - created in TrueSpace 6 - with the SDK.  I honestly can not believe how easy it is.

Here is a screen shot of the sample game: (click the picture to see it larger)

xna-game.jpg


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]]> MS Loves Linux - yeah right http://balfes.net/blog/computers/MS_Loves_Linux_-_yeah_right.html <bob@balfes.net> /computers http://balfes.net/blog/computers/MS_Loves_Linux_-_yeah_right.html meta-creation_date: 01/11/2007 09:20:05 In the latest Dr Dobb's there is an article that just makes you want to puke.  It talks about how Microsoft has struck a deal with Novell where their clients (the ones who run SUSE Linux) will not sued by Microsoft for violation licensing fees.  What is funny is Microsoft is actually giving money to Novell so are we to assume MS is the one infringing on Novell's IP?  Anyway, interesting read and you will probably be more confused after you read it.


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]]> Introduction to OSGI http://balfes.net/blog/computers/eclipse/Introduction_to_OSGI.html <bob@balfes.net> /computers/eclipse http://balfes.net/blog/computers/eclipse/Introduction_to_OSGI.html meta-creation_date: 01/10/2007 14:57:03 Chris turned me on to a posting that is a pretty good introduction to OSGI and Eclipse bundles.  Check it out here.


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]]> The Bloggies are back! http://balfes.net/blog/info/The_Bloggies_are_back!.html <bob@balfes.net> /info http://balfes.net/blog/info/The_Bloggies_are_back!.html meta-creation_date: 01/06/2007 16:06:42 Feel free to nominate my blog for the 2007 Bloggies.  I didn't place too well last year (actually not at all) so I am really stepping up the advertising.  I am really trying to get recognized in the following categories for the following reasons:

Best Web Application for Weblogs - Blosxom is awesome and there are not many who use it any more
Best Australian or New Zealand Weblog - I mentioned Steve Irwin's death - God I miss that show.
Best Asian Weblog - I like Pokemon!
Best African or Middle Eastern Weblog - I know many African Americans, I even had one in my wedding party
Best European Weblog - One of my favorite movies is European Vacation
Best British or Irish Weblog - I have both British and Irish heritage
Best Latin American Weblog - I read Latin in Church many times
Best Canadian Weblog - Bob and Doug McKenzie were my childhood heroes
Best American Weblog - Do I really have to say?
Best Photography of a Weblog - There are tons of photos on this site
Best Craft Weblog - My wife thinks I am pretty crafty
Best Food Weblog - No reason outside of I eat a lot of it
Best Sports Weblog - Go Bills!
Best Weblog About Music - I had four postings with the word music in them.
Best Entertainment Weblog - The vote is not out on whether this is entertaining
Best Weblog About Politics - I love Bush!
Best Web Development Weblog - This site has been a pain in my ass with all of the perl and Javascript
Best Computers or Technology Weblog - Need I say more?
Best Topical Weblog - I probably have the most topics!
Best GLBT Weblog - Giving Losers Bottled Tequila was my passion 10 years ago
Best Teen Weblog - I know my site has thousands of teens subscribing
Most Humorous Weblog - Is this funny?  Probably not...
Best Writing of a Weblog - I have gotten better...
Best Group Weblog - I think of it more as a community
Best Community Weblog - It is more like a group to me
Best-Designed Weblog - Come on, Blue - how can I go wrong?
Best-Kept Secret Weblog - I still believe my blog is the biggest secret on the Internet
Best New Weblog - It is new - I might actually qualify for this one
Lifetime Achievement - Married 13 years, 3 kids, a dog, a bird, two cats - I think I deserve it
Weblog of the Year - Wooo Hoo, this is what I am aiming for!


]]> XNA is launched http://balfes.net/blog/computers/gaming/XNA_is_launched.html <bob@balfes.net> /computers/gaming http://balfes.net/blog/computers/gaming/XNA_is_launched.html meta-creation_date: 01/06/2007 15:41:36 For all of the game creator enthusiasts out there XNA is now launched.  I am not sure of the exact date it launched but it is also mentioned in this months gamedeveloper on page 5.

From the XNA Faq:

XNA Game Studio Express is a new game development solution targeted primarily at students, hobbyists, and independent game developers. XNA Game Studio Express is based on Visual C# Express 2005 and lets developers create games for both Windows and Xbox 360. XNA Game Studio Express contains the following:
  • The XNA Framework, a set of managed code development libraries that make it possible for game developers to be more productive when creating games for Windows and the Xbox 360.
  • The XNA Framework Content Pipeline, a set of tools that allow developers to more easily incorporate 3D content into their games
  • XNA Game Studio Express also contains a full set of documentation, how-tos, and starter kits that demonstrate how best to use the content pipeline and XNA Framework.
  • XNA Game Studio Express runs side-by-side with other versions of Visual Studio without interference
  • XNA Game Studio Express has now been released, and can be found here. It supports both Windows and Xbox 360 game development.




]]> Translate your site http://balfes.net/blog/info/Translate_your_site.html <bob@balfes.net> /info http://balfes.net/blog/info/Translate_your_site.html meta-creation_date: 01/06/2007 14:16:29 You can use the Google tool to translate any site to your native language. It has some cludges but does a pretty good job.

German
French
Spanish
Italian
Japanese

]]> One of my favorite pictures http://balfes.net/blog/family/One_of_my_favorite_pictures.html <bob@balfes.net> /family http://balfes.net/blog/family/One_of_my_favorite_pictures.html meta-creation_date: 01/05/2007 07:58:21
NathanChoc-800x600.jpg

This is an oldy but it popped up in my screen saver, you've got to love him.




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