Using CSS to Style for Web and Mobile

Found this post on bloop.co on how to style a site for desktop and mobile form factors. One set of CSS handles several different form factors. I can't say I understand all it, but I am excited to learn more. :)

So want to learn what a CSS Media Query is? Check out this tutorial on CSS Tricks.

Updating How To Pages

While creating the immutability content I realized that my How To templates were a little out of date. So I will be updating all the how to content to new templates over the coming days. Right now, only the Java How To topics have been updated. If you see anything out of whack please let me know. Just comment on this post. Thanks. Mike W.

Java and Immutability Explained

Immutability is a topic that has come up a lot at work in regard to threading. Since I really didn't understand what that meant in a programming context, I did what any aspiring developer should do. I wrote some code. So you can read my little write ups on the subject at the following links.

Java and Immutability Part I
Java and Immutability Part II

So what did I learn? That an immutable object is really just a read only object. But when it comes to reference variables, read only is a little tougher to achieve than one might think.

Source code is included. Please let me know if I screwed anything up. :)

W3C Creates a Logo for HTML 5

From Mashable, the WC3 has created a logo program for HTML 5. Anyone can use the logo to highlight HTML 5 development or features. In addition, they have stickers and t-shirts. I'll be using the logos for HTML stories I find and content I create.

Want the logo? Get it for yourself here.

Windows XP Environment Variable equivalents in Windows 7

Today I had to install some software that uses default Windows XP paths. However, I am running Windows 7 64 bit, so the locations are different. What are the new paths in Windows 7?

Doing a quick Google, I found this: Recognized Environment Variables

This is a Microsoft tech note that maps/translates default Windows XP paths to Windows 7 paths. Very, very useful.

In my case, I need to know what are the default paths for user templates and all user templates. Here is the scoop.

Templates for All Users
Windows XP Location: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Templates
Windows 7 Location: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Templates

Templates for a User Account
Windows XP Location: C:\Documents and Settings\username\Templates
Windows 7 Location: C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Templates

Verizon iPhone 4 Coverage

Hop on over to Engadget for full coverage of the Verizon iPhone 4.

The big news in my mind is support for iPhone 4 as a mobile hot spot. Me wants!!!! I have a Verizon Mifi, but it is very expensive to use.

My guess is AT&T will have to respond with feature parity on this one, or they are gonna lose a lot of customers (including me). If AT&T does come out with the feature, then why have they been waiting? To force the purchase of 3G iPads possibly? Hmm.

PowerPoint Crashes when Typing Anything on a Mac Running Windows 7 and Bootcamp

Problem: PowerPoint Crashes when Typing Anything on a Mac Running Windows 7 and Bootcamp 3.2

This problem is bizarre. About an hour ago, I tried to start working on a PowerPoint presentation I started on Friday. Whenever I type anything PowerPoint 2007 crashes. Everything worked fine on Friday. (Ahhh!!!! Sometimes I really hate computers.) I'm using a MacBook Pro running Windows 7 64bit and Bootcamp 3.2.

Solution:
The bug appears to be with BootCamp 3.2 and Windows 7. My HP laptop has no such problem. Only my Mac.

Thanks to some smart folks on the Apple forums, there are workaround solutions to this bug. The problem seems to be with Windows, Bootcamp, PowerPoint, and the keyboard driver.

PowerPoint 2007
For PowerPoint 2007 on Windows 7....

1. Open Control Panel
2. Press "Change keyboards or other input methods" from "Clock, Language, and Region"
3. Press "Change keyboards..."
4. Press "Add..."
5. Scroll down to and expand "English (United States)" (if it's not already expanded)
6. Select "US"
7. Press "OK"
8. Press "OK"
9. Press "OK"
10. Close the Control Panel

See Forum Post Here

PowerPoint 2010
Another user performed these steps to fix the problem on PowerPoint 2010.

In PowerPoint 2010..

1. Go to "File", "Options", "Language"
2. Under a the heading "keyboard layout" note the hyperlink which says "not enabled".
3. Click on the hyperlink and select a keyboard layout and the keyboard's language.
4. Once you complete the process it will say "enabled" under the keyboard layout heading.

This should fix the problem.

I can confirm the PowerPoint 2007 fix worked for me. Given the Posts date back to late November it appears this bug has been around a while.

Verizon iPhone will have Unlimited Data Plan

All Things D is reporting that the Verizon iPhone will have an unlimited Internet data plan. This differs from the AT&T which now as a monthly cap of 2G.

This will be another reason for the AT&T haters to make the switch. On the flip side, maybe AT&T will change its plan back or increase the data cap a bit. One can hope. :)

Practically speaking, it is actually pretty hard to reach that 2G cap. My iPhone is almost always on Wifi and I have found my usage is normally under 100 Megabytes. I supposed if you streamed music and video all the time, you could eat that up pretty fast. But I think you would be recharging your iPhone all the time if that were the case. Anyway, I'm sure the free market will figure out an appropriate data cap.

Setting up IMAP for Yahoo Mail

Did you know you can access your Yahoo Mail via IMAP? Well you can. You just need to know the mail server names. With this information, mail programs like Thunderbird, Outlook, or Mac Mail can be used to read and manage your Yahoo mail account. Here are the details.


IMAP Server: imap.mail.yahoo.com
Port: 993

SMTP Server: smtp.mail.yahoo.com
Port: 465

Both servers use the default ports for SSL. So when configuring the mail client, just select SSL as the encryption method and the ports values will default to the above. When asked for a user name, use your Yahoo mail address, e.g., yourname@yahoo.com. Use your regular password to log in.

That's it. Just fill in the information when asked and you can read mail, manage folders, and do anything you normally would using with e-mail.

Make an Android App for your Web Site

Read Write Web has this story on feed.nu. This a web site you can use to build your own Android app for your web site. Pretty cool. I haven't tried it yet, but I intend to.

The Future of Twitter

Dave Winer has an interesting take on the future of twitter. I tend to agree that some sort of more open solution will eventually win out.

Frankly, I still don't get twitter. I only see two uses. If you are famous and want to communicate with your fans, I get that. Or if you want to setup a live global chat about something, you can use the hash tags to do that. Beyond that, it seems like such a huge fire hose, I don't see how its useful. Just a huge time waster. What am I missing?

Facebook seems much more useful.

World Clock for Windows 7

Today I was looking for a World Clock application or Gadget for Windows 7. Much to my surprise, again, it is built in.

Details for setting up 2 additional clocks or clock gadgets can be found at windows7themes.net.

Get Yourself a DropBox in the New Year

Do yourself a favor this new year and get yourself a Dropbox.

What is Dropbox?

Dropbox is a virtual hard drive that lives on your computer and in the cloud. If you download and run the installer, a My Dropbox folder is added to your My Documents directory on Windows. Once created, copy and create files in the folder just like any other folder on your system. Your files are automatically synced to the cloud.

That is interesting, but where is the coolness factor? Well if you only have one machine, it is not that exciting. But if you have more than one machine, an iPhone, and an iPad, things get really cool. With Dropbox installed on each of your computers and devices, the files are automatically synced between each computer and device. This is immensely useful for someone like me with a bunch of devices and computers.

Where can I use Dropbox?

Dropbox can be used on pretty much anything. Installers are available for Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android, and Blackberry. By default you get 2GB of disk space for free. For $99 a year, you get 50GB of disk space. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Sites that Landed Jobs at 37 Signals

The original post dates back to before Christmas, and shows some of the sites created by 37signals job applicants.. The design of these job applications and some of the reference sites deserves a look. Simple, clean, elegant, clear would be just some of the adjectives to describe the links. Definitely the sort of end product we should all strive for. Grats to 37 Signals and the new hires.

Would anyone consider a paper resume after looking at these?

Contact Me

If you need to contact me for any reason, just add a comment to this post. Please include contact information if you need me to get back to you. I will not post any personal information to this thread.