The BlackBerry-specific API exists because J2ME has traditionally been far too limited and incapable for what they want to do with the platform.
That being said, I just came from the BlackBerry Developer Conference and have an interesting tidbit to share...
Whenever they were implementing some new feature, whenever possible, they did it based on a JSR, and not their own home-grown API. Seriously, the presentations were littered with references to JSRs.
They're also serious about a new Eclipse plug-in, which is far more capable now in its second beta, with full build and debugging/profiling integration. (Seriously, no one actually uses their provided IDE)
Also, BlackBerry is a very open platform to develop for, in that you don't need anyone's permission to distribute your apps, and have a lot of power in what you can do on the device.
I just attended the BlackBerry Developer Conference earlier this week, and they are very serious about moving the platform forward. They also seem far more mature, secure, and integrated than these fashionable new platforms.
Also, any time someone mentioned developing for the iPhone when I was there, they said they weren't comfortable talking about it because of the NDAs and restrictions.
Because the LTO4 drive probably costs a heck of a lot more, and drive cost means something to anyone who isn't running a datacenter-grade solution. Also, there are reasons why you might want to use a non-volatile medium as opposed to something that could be wiped out by magnetic fields.
Of course, I'd argue that tape is always more practical as an actual reusable backup medium. But its been a long time since tape drives (with sufficient capacity relative to hard drives) were actually affordable by anyone but large companies.
I recently got the HL61A750 myself (after being jokingly prodded by a co-worker who eventually bought the 67" model), and that thing is incredible. I don't want to watch standard-def TV or regular DVDs anymore. Of course I did upgrade from a 27" Sony Wega CRT, so it was a huge step up.
Re:Selling you yesterday's future today
on
NASA Turns 50
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· Score: 1
Not sure if you implied this or not, but the US didn't develop the jet engine. It was simultaneously invented by independent teams in Great Brittan and Germany, around the timeframe of WWII. Of course the first operational jet fighter was the German ME-262, which even had a modern swept-wing design.
I did a whole master's degree through a distance program. When I had to take tests, I did need a proctor. Basically, you have someone who meets certain requirements fill out some paperwork, and then they manage the test administration stuff for the school.
For most of that, I used the testing center at the local community college, which did charge. Of course it could have been free, if I found some other impartial person willing to do it, but I liked the isolated independent environment.
Also keep in mind that when you look at a C# class declaration, it isn't obvious whether something is extending a class of implementing an interface. However, Java class declarations do make this obvious. So in C#, the naming convention is more important.
For example, in Java: public class Foo extends Foobar implements Stuff
But in C#, you'd have: public class Foo : Foobar, IStuff
Only 1.5 hours? You must not be installing on a laptop, and have a fresh CD that was cut last week.
Installing Windows XP without a pre-made image usually requires the following: 1. Install 2. Download drivers on another machine 3. Install drivers (about a half-dozen reboots by this point) 4. Install MS patches (reboot and repeat step 4 a couple times) 5. Now install base software, and its patches
Before you're done, we're talking almost a day of work for a laptop, perhaps half a day for a desktop. (laptops have more obscure drivers to install, and slower hard drives)
Anyone who says Windows is easy to install has either used pre-made image CDs, has only done upgrades, or has never actually installed it.
Yeah, I don't run any alternative firmware. However, I also don't have any problems. Why? Well, I'd rather spend extra on eBay for commercial-grade stuff at mostly-affordable prices than use consumer-grade garbage.
My "router" is a Cisco 3620 (4500 before that), and I never have to reboot it. (ok, I know its overkill, but it works.)
My WAP is *not*, I repeat *not* a router. It is, however, a Netgear ProSafe WG302. Definitely commercial-grade (~$300 retail, I got it off eBay for $100). It runs a Linux-based factory-provided firmware, supports multiple SSIDs via VLANs, and I have zero problems with it.
The key is to make your personal projects different enough from your work projects. To most "normal" people, the boatload of completely different computer-related things we all do is just "the same thing," and all they know to even think of when we mention what we do is their "stupid Windows problems." But we should know better.
For example, the vast majority of the code I write at home is C# for Windows. At home, I mostly do embedded Java for BlackBerry. Just keep what you do different enough that it broadens your skillset and doesn't feel like more of the same.
I also hate whiteboard coding. I love using whiteboards for drawing diagrams, though. Probably the only code I'll normally do on a whiteboard is an interface or syntactical illustration anyways.
Of course another issue I have is that I tend to get quite nervous during interviews, whether or not I have a reason to be, and that probably makes matters worse. Standing up there shaking while sweating in a suit and trying to code something on a whiteboard... Lets just say I'll come across like a stumbling idiot on something I could do trivially in a normal environment.
Of course it can go both ways... You might not be able to spend as much time polishing up the code to your side projects as you can on something you do all day long at work.
However, in the end, I think having side projects is extremely useful for exactly this purpose. (Probably extra points if its some open-source project that people actually use.)
Those are already making their way into other operating systems, including F/OSS ones. Just not Linux, because they're under GPL-incompatible licenses.
The only thing they haven't provided is a 64-bit web browser plugin. (And believe it or not, these days applets are probably the vast minority of where Java is actually used.)
I don't know if Mono can ever catch up to the whole mountain range that.NET has bundled in. Especially since its taken far less seriously than Java by this community.
I used to work for a PEO, which makes it even worse. They never admitted they had the employment strategy you describe, but that was definitely what would happen anyways. It works for most people, since most people aren't really passionate about their field.
Every day I'd come home from work all depressed and utterly terrified of the atrophy you describe. I'm just grateful that I managed to escape after only 1.5 years, and now actually use my technical skills for a living.
The gov't does have perks, though, like a seemingly unlimited travel budget.:-)
This is what most people here simply don't know about DoD/Gov't employment. The people who work for the gov't in that world aren't doing interesting technical work. They're managing projects at a high level, sifting through requirements, sitting in meetings, and setting up contracts.
Oh, and they've also taken lots of excruciatingly boring courses on understanding this process. (ok, DARPA gets an exemption from that, but everyone else doesn't)
Whenever you hear about a cool new DARPA/DoD project, its not the DARPA/DoD folks who are actually doing the cool work. Its non-gov't people working for some company the gov't has a contract with that actually have all the fun.
But was Windows ME really much of a change feature-wise from Windows 98SE? To me it felt like they just took Win98, then spent a couple months adding as many bugs as they possibly could, then released it.
Meanwhile, Windows 200 was a decent and usable OS, but never marketed to home users.
Wait, you mean there were usable.NET IDEs besides VS that got kicked out?
Ok, what real options have I ever heard of? Well, there's SharpDevelop (but its windows-only, and why not just use VS.Net then), and there's MonoDevelop (which is an unusable pile of garbage, but at least it runs on Linux).
This is really my main beef with.NET. As a programming language, I like C# better than Java. But as a complete environment+tools, I'll pick the Java ecosystem just about any day without a second thought.
And if the F/OSS alternative isn't 100% compatible with the commercial product everyone else is using (and you don't work in a vacuum), then it simply isn't worth the time and effort to use.
Of course there is also the mindshare problem, where outside of Slashdot and the LUG universe, no one has ever seriously heard of F/OSS. If they have, it doesn't make any sense to them.
Overcoming mindshare is probably the biggest problem, after all. Most people don't think there is any alternative to the PC (where PC == Windows, *only*) besides the Mac. Heck, I've still encountered the occasional person who thinks the only alternative to MSIE is "Netscape".
Because the majority of content that I would want, is *not* available on these eBook stores.
CDs are a different case, because of two reasons: 1) Everything does now come out on CDs. (before it did, they were too expensive and everyone didn't own them)
2) Its very easy to convert an auto cassette into a CD.
Regardless of how nice the reader is, its worthless to me as long as I can only get something from "their online store of X number of books". Until I can find any random book (yes, including all the zillion tech books we all collect) in eBook form, the device serves no purpose to me.
Yes. Many of the current eBook readers use a different display technology that doesn't require any power to hold its image. Power is only used for refresh (page turning). They really look much closer to a permanent printed image than a screen. (and should be fine in sunlight or under a lamp)
Actually, when you see a demo unit in the story, it looks like a mock-up screen until you start pressing buttons.
Slashdot Mirror
The BlackBerry-specific API exists because J2ME has traditionally been far too limited and incapable for what they want to do with the platform.
That being said, I just came from the BlackBerry Developer Conference and have an interesting tidbit to share...
Whenever they were implementing some new feature, whenever possible, they did it based on a JSR, and not their own home-grown API. Seriously, the presentations were littered with references to JSRs.
The BlackBerry code signing key is now only $20.
They're also serious about a new Eclipse plug-in, which is far more capable now in its second beta, with full build and debugging/profiling integration. (Seriously, no one actually uses their provided IDE)
Also, BlackBerry is a very open platform to develop for, in that you don't need anyone's permission to distribute your apps, and have a lot of power in what you can do on the device.
I just attended the BlackBerry Developer Conference earlier this week, and they are very serious about moving the platform forward. They also seem far more mature, secure, and integrated than these fashionable new platforms.
Also, any time someone mentioned developing for the iPhone when I was there, they said they weren't comfortable talking about it because of the NDAs and restrictions.
Because the LTO4 drive probably costs a heck of a lot more, and drive cost means something to anyone who isn't running a datacenter-grade solution. Also, there are reasons why you might want to use a non-volatile medium as opposed to something that could be wiped out by magnetic fields.
Of course, I'd argue that tape is always more practical as an actual reusable backup medium. But its been a long time since tape drives (with sufficient capacity relative to hard drives) were actually affordable by anyone but large companies.
I recently got the HL61A750 myself (after being jokingly prodded by a co-worker who eventually bought the 67" model), and that thing is incredible. I don't want to watch standard-def TV or regular DVDs anymore. Of course I did upgrade from a 27" Sony Wega CRT, so it was a huge step up.
Not sure if you implied this or not, but the US didn't develop the jet engine. It was simultaneously invented by independent teams in Great Brittan and Germany, around the timeframe of WWII. Of course the first operational jet fighter was the German ME-262, which even had a modern swept-wing design.
I did a whole master's degree through a distance program. When I had to take tests, I did need a proctor. Basically, you have someone who meets certain requirements fill out some paperwork, and then they manage the test administration stuff for the school.
For most of that, I used the testing center at the local community college, which did charge. Of course it could have been free, if I found some other impartial person willing to do it, but I liked the isolated independent environment.
Also keep in mind that when you look at a C# class declaration, it isn't obvious whether something is extending a class of implementing an interface. However, Java class declarations do make this obvious. So in C#, the naming convention is more important.
For example, in Java:
public class Foo extends Foobar implements Stuff
But in C#, you'd have:
public class Foo : Foobar, IStuff
Just join the IEEE. Their monthly magazine (Spectrum) tends to have interesting tech-related articles that aren't dumbed down.
Only 1.5 hours? You must not be installing on a laptop, and have a fresh CD that was cut last week.
Installing Windows XP without a pre-made image usually requires the following:
1. Install
2. Download drivers on another machine
3. Install drivers
(about a half-dozen reboots by this point)
4. Install MS patches
(reboot and repeat step 4 a couple times)
5. Now install base software, and its patches
Before you're done, we're talking almost a day of work for a laptop, perhaps half a day for a desktop. (laptops have more obscure drivers to install, and slower hard drives)
Anyone who says Windows is easy to install has either used pre-made image CDs, has only done upgrades, or has never actually installed it.
Yeah, I don't run any alternative firmware. However, I also don't have any problems. Why? Well, I'd rather spend extra on eBay for commercial-grade stuff at mostly-affordable prices than use consumer-grade garbage.
My "router" is a Cisco 3620 (4500 before that), and I never have to reboot it. (ok, I know its overkill, but it works.)
My WAP is *not*, I repeat *not* a router. It is, however, a Netgear ProSafe WG302. Definitely commercial-grade (~$300 retail, I got it off eBay for $100). It runs a Linux-based factory-provided firmware, supports multiple SSIDs via VLANs, and I have zero problems with it.
The key is to make your personal projects different enough from your work projects. To most "normal" people, the boatload of completely different computer-related things we all do is just "the same thing," and all they know to even think of when we mention what we do is their "stupid Windows problems." But we should know better.
For example, the vast majority of the code I write at home is C# for Windows. At home, I mostly do embedded Java for BlackBerry. Just keep what you do different enough that it broadens your skillset and doesn't feel like more of the same.
I also hate whiteboard coding. I love using whiteboards for drawing diagrams, though. Probably the only code I'll normally do on a whiteboard is an interface or syntactical illustration anyways.
Of course another issue I have is that I tend to get quite nervous during interviews, whether or not I have a reason to be, and that probably makes matters worse. Standing up there shaking while sweating in a suit and trying to code something on a whiteboard... Lets just say I'll come across like a stumbling idiot on something I could do trivially in a normal environment.
Of course it can go both ways... You might not be able to spend as much time polishing up the code to your side projects as you can on something you do all day long at work.
However, in the end, I think having side projects is extremely useful for exactly this purpose. (Probably extra points if its some open-source project that people actually use.)
...and only runs on Windows... So why bother when you have VS.Net for a reasonable price, and VS.Net Express for free?
On Linux, we have MonoDevelop, which was an early fork of SharpDevelop, and IMHO, a complete joke of an attempt at an IDE.
At least with Java you have several first-class IDEs to choose from.
This one of the reasons why, when asked, I'll say the following: .NET
C# is a better language than Java
Java is a far more versatile platform than
(and yes, I regularly use both.)
Those are already making their way into other operating systems, including F/OSS ones. Just not Linux, because they're under GPL-incompatible licenses.
(MacOS 10.5 has DTrace, FreeBSD 7 has ZFS, etc.)
Java has had 64-bit support for a very long time.
The only thing they haven't provided is a 64-bit web browser plugin. (And believe it or not, these days applets are probably the vast minority of where Java is actually used.)
But at least its only a mountain :-)
.NET has bundled in. Especially since its taken far less seriously than Java by this community.
I don't know if Mono can ever catch up to the whole mountain range that
I used to work for a PEO, which makes it even worse. They never admitted they had the employment strategy you describe, but that was definitely what would happen anyways. It works for most people, since most people aren't really passionate about their field.
:-)
Every day I'd come home from work all depressed and utterly terrified of the atrophy you describe. I'm just grateful that I managed to escape after only 1.5 years, and now actually use my technical skills for a living.
The gov't does have perks, though, like a seemingly unlimited travel budget.
This is what most people here simply don't know about DoD/Gov't employment. The people who work for the gov't in that world aren't doing interesting technical work. They're managing projects at a high level, sifting through requirements, sitting in meetings, and setting up contracts.
Oh, and they've also taken lots of excruciatingly boring courses on understanding this process. (ok, DARPA gets an exemption from that, but everyone else doesn't)
Whenever you hear about a cool new DARPA/DoD project, its not the DARPA/DoD folks who are actually doing the cool work. Its non-gov't people working for some company the gov't has a contract with that actually have all the fun.
But was Windows ME really much of a change feature-wise from Windows 98SE? To me it felt like they just took Win98, then spent a couple months adding as many bugs as they possibly could, then released it.
Meanwhile, Windows 200 was a decent and usable OS, but never marketed to home users.
Wait, you mean there were usable .NET IDEs besides VS that got kicked out?
.NET. As a programming language, I like C# better than Java. But as a complete environment+tools, I'll pick the Java ecosystem just about any day without a second thought.
Ok, what real options have I ever heard of? Well, there's SharpDevelop (but its windows-only, and why not just use VS.Net then), and there's MonoDevelop (which is an unusable pile of garbage, but at least it runs on Linux).
This is really my main beef with
And if the F/OSS alternative isn't 100% compatible with the commercial product everyone else is using (and you don't work in a vacuum), then it simply isn't worth the time and effort to use.
Of course there is also the mindshare problem, where outside of Slashdot and the LUG universe, no one has ever seriously heard of F/OSS. If they have, it doesn't make any sense to them.
Overcoming mindshare is probably the biggest problem, after all. Most people don't think there is any alternative to the PC (where PC == Windows, *only*) besides the Mac. Heck, I've still encountered the occasional person who thinks the only alternative to MSIE is "Netscape".
Because the majority of content that I would want, is *not* available on these eBook stores.
CDs are a different case, because of two reasons:
1) Everything does now come out on CDs.
(before it did, they were too expensive and everyone didn't own them)
2) Its very easy to convert an auto cassette into a CD.
Regardless of how nice the reader is, its worthless to me as long as I can only get something from "their online store of X number of books". Until I can find any random book (yes, including all the zillion tech books we all collect) in eBook form, the device serves no purpose to me.
Yes. Many of the current eBook readers use a different display technology that doesn't require any power to hold its image. Power is only used for refresh (page turning). They really look much closer to a permanent printed image than a screen. (and should be fine in sunlight or under a lamp)
Actually, when you see a demo unit in the story, it looks like a mock-up screen until you start pressing buttons.