Installed the Netbeans Developer-Collaboration Module yesterday, and gave it a trial-run together with Jason. Wow!
The chat-client is pretty standard; not much to say there. The only thing we both disliked was that you have to use "Control-Enter" (or "Alt-N") to send your text rather than plain "Enter". Probably we could reconfigure the keybindings somewhere...
But! The ability to drag a file, folder, Java package or, indeed, entire project into the collab area, and then have both people (and presumably everybody in the chat session) simultaneously able to edit the same files, seeing each other's edits live,... pretty cool.
The real OhMiGod Factor was when Jason hit "compile" on the shared file, to have it compile on my PC (since the original file came from there,) with both of us seeing the compile output. Very, very cool!
We were speculating about some alternative form of development setup where all the code (and docs, web-pages, and other project components) get stored in a wiki-like (auto-versioned, of course) system so that its not just one developer's PC that gets to do the work... Just daydreaming, really. For now.
If you're working in Java, C/C++ or Ruby, and you work with other faraway developers (even occasionally -- the dowload is only a couple of meg) you owe it to yourself to explore the Netbeans Collab stuff. I am pretty sure that what we're seeing now is only the start.
26 April 2007
10 March 2007
Great Tools, Great Times
Just as much as some software is a pain in the arse to work with (even though it may be totally essential) on the other side of the coin we discover things like the CSS editor in the Firefox/Web-Developer Toolbar!
Working on a significant look&feel upgrade for the farm website, I tripped across this thing today. "Oh!" says Jason, "I've known about it for ages -- can't work without it. I thought you knew..." Well, call me Mr Slow...
Despite its few quirks and oddities, the ability to fiddle with CSS -- especially the somewhat complex CSS I'm working with, where there is a cascade of CSS files, each one overriding another -- and see the results as you type...
That rocks!
Working on a significant look&feel upgrade for the farm website, I tripped across this thing today. "Oh!" says Jason, "I've known about it for ages -- can't work without it. I thought you knew..." Well, call me Mr Slow...
Despite its few quirks and oddities, the ability to fiddle with CSS -- especially the somewhat complex CSS I'm working with, where there is a cascade of CSS files, each one overriding another -- and see the results as you type...
That rocks!
06 March 2007
Software That Makes You Angry
Isn't it peculiar? Some pieces of software are actually an almost physical pleasure to use. Others make one actively angry. Or is that just me?
I will refrain from mentioning a specific piece of software, here -- it would just be a distraction. The software in question has been pissing me off the whole afternoon. All I want is to make a simple change to some templates. But it turns into a huge bloody performance: hoop jumping, contortions, hystrionics and hysterics, all resulting in a Resort to Strong Drink.
The software itself is not such a terrible piece of work. In some places it is excellent, and the rest of it certainly gets the job done. But the thing taken as a whole just makes me angry. Microsoft Windows has much the same effect on me.
On the other side of the fence are pieces of software that just slide effortlessly into your life. When you stop and bother to notice them, they're just... effortlessly there for you. No muss, no fuss. They just get out of your way and work.
So what's the key? I would certainly only like to write the latter kind of software and avoid foisting the former on the world. I think it boils down to "Do things my way or else" vs. "Let me serve you; here's what I do... I'll stay out of your face, now."
What software pisses you off? What software do you love?
I will refrain from mentioning a specific piece of software, here -- it would just be a distraction. The software in question has been pissing me off the whole afternoon. All I want is to make a simple change to some templates. But it turns into a huge bloody performance: hoop jumping, contortions, hystrionics and hysterics, all resulting in a Resort to Strong Drink.
The software itself is not such a terrible piece of work. In some places it is excellent, and the rest of it certainly gets the job done. But the thing taken as a whole just makes me angry. Microsoft Windows has much the same effect on me.
On the other side of the fence are pieces of software that just slide effortlessly into your life. When you stop and bother to notice them, they're just... effortlessly there for you. No muss, no fuss. They just get out of your way and work.
So what's the key? I would certainly only like to write the latter kind of software and avoid foisting the former on the world. I think it boils down to "Do things my way or else" vs. "Let me serve you; here's what I do... I'll stay out of your face, now."
What software pisses you off? What software do you love?
27 February 2007
The last 10% takes 90% of the Time
I guess its easy when it's a larger project. There's a Project Manager, there are Account Managers, there are User Representatives. They may or may not be actually doing much. But they're there, pushing for completion.
When it's only two developers working together, it's hard! How do you keep the focus, keep the energy going, especially on a short-term project that you have zero interest in...?
When it's only two developers working together, it's hard! How do you keep the focus, keep the energy going, especially on a short-term project that you have zero interest in...?
23 February 2007
Software Testing
OK, I confess: I'm a crap software tester. I totally lack the nit-picky, step-by-step, over-and-over, document-each-step patience and discipline needed for the task.
Jason and I are just trying to finish-off the last 3% of a project. You know! The 3% that takes 50% of the time. We're bored with the project, sour on the whole concept, and have much more exciting ideas we would rather be getting on with. My job is to drive the testing, and I'm having a rough time knuckling down to it. How I wish we had a good tester on the team!
Good testers are worth their weight in gold.
Jason and I are just trying to finish-off the last 3% of a project. You know! The 3% that takes 50% of the time. We're bored with the project, sour on the whole concept, and have much more exciting ideas we would rather be getting on with. My job is to drive the testing, and I'm having a rough time knuckling down to it. How I wish we had a good tester on the team!
Good testers are worth their weight in gold.
Old New Venture
Sometimes you just plain run out of energy.
That's what happened to us last year. Bruised and sore from the sheer amount of energy we put into Flightwish, only to be repeatedly turned down, we gave up. I even contemplated selling our domain names – a nice block of four closely-related names – on eBay.
But, as renewal date for the domains approaches, we have decided to give it a go once more. After all, before we got involved with business plans, venture capital companies, bullshit artists, prototypes and minds-games, the idea really was cool, and targets a real need. After all, the concept originated with my Dad -- a total non-techie, which gives it a lot more credibility than most of the web startups out there.
So we've started kicking the tyres again, and lo and behold! The fun is creeping back into it! We've no idea whether we can make any money out of this, now or ever. We don't care, right now. We have a cool idea for a web community that we want to put together with some help from our friends, and we're going to have some fun doing it for as long as we can keep the lights on. Drop me a line if you're at all interested...
We've put up a fun front-page so far, where we can drop a few hints as we work on the software.
That's what happened to us last year. Bruised and sore from the sheer amount of energy we put into Flightwish, only to be repeatedly turned down, we gave up. I even contemplated selling our domain names – a nice block of four closely-related names – on eBay.
But, as renewal date for the domains approaches, we have decided to give it a go once more. After all, before we got involved with business plans, venture capital companies, bullshit artists, prototypes and minds-games, the idea really was cool, and targets a real need. After all, the concept originated with my Dad -- a total non-techie, which gives it a lot more credibility than most of the web startups out there.
So we've started kicking the tyres again, and lo and behold! The fun is creeping back into it! We've no idea whether we can make any money out of this, now or ever. We don't care, right now. We have a cool idea for a web community that we want to put together with some help from our friends, and we're going to have some fun doing it for as long as we can keep the lights on. Drop me a line if you're at all interested...
We've put up a fun front-page so far, where we can drop a few hints as we work on the software.
16 December 2006
Technorati STILL sucks (and blows!)
In response to "The Technorati prism vs reality":
Technorati is a joke - a complete fucking waste of time.
As a source of statistics it is meaningless, inconsistent within their its own presentation, and takes forever to catch up with reality - sometimes months.
As a search engine it sucks. Google's blogsearch is way, way better at finding relevant blogs and articles.
And then Technorati have the gall to present Alexa stats on blogs, too, as if Alexa's stats were any better.
This has all been covered before. Ad nauseam.
Frankly, I'm not sure why we all keep using this piece of crap. Perhaps its time to build something that actually works!
Technorati is a joke - a complete fucking waste of time.
As a source of statistics it is meaningless, inconsistent within their its own presentation, and takes forever to catch up with reality - sometimes months.
As a search engine it sucks. Google's blogsearch is way, way better at finding relevant blogs and articles.
And then Technorati have the gall to present Alexa stats on blogs, too, as if Alexa's stats were any better.
This has all been covered before. Ad nauseam.
Frankly, I'm not sure why we all keep using this piece of crap. Perhaps its time to build something that actually works!
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