Archive for October, 2006
Quick Snippets: Lighten a Color
Posted on October 31, 2006, under Development.
I have been busy with work, and my side projects. I am working hard on getting a new version of NetGrid out the door. It will be the first major update in years, and it will include great features… just wait 
Here is a quick snippet on how to lighten a color with C++, actually needed it for NetGrid. Enjoy, and don’t eat too much candy.
[cpp]
// Lighten a color
COLORREF LightenColor(COLORREF cColor, double dFactor)
{
return RGB(
dFactor * 255 + (1.0 - dFactor) * GetRValue(cColor),
dFactor * 255 + (1.0 - dFactor) * GetGValue(cColor),
dFactor * 255 + (1.0 - dFactor) * GetBValue(cColor)) ;
}
[/cpp]
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How To Support Firefox
Posted on October 27, 2006, under Browsers, Development, Software.
Jamey, over at the Spread Firefox blog has a post about some new cool banners for Firefox. Those new banners parked an idea on how to help support Firefox. A lot of bloggers use Adsense, the reason I do is to help cover the cost of bandwidth for this blog. AdSense has a great feature where you can display other banner ads when Google has no banner ads to display. Why not give those unused impressions to Firefox? I have put together a little kit that easily allows you to do so. Here’s how:
Step 1: Download
Down the necessary files that I have thrown together.
Step 2: Upload
Upload the graphics found in the “/img/*.png” directory to your site, in addition “/spreadfirefox.php” file.
Step 3: Change Adsense Code
There is a one line change you need to make to our AdSense code:
[js]
google_alternate_ad_url = “http://www.YOURDOMAIN.com/spreadfirefox.php?fSize=120×240″;
[/js]
This should be put in with the other variables, to make your AdSense code look like this:
[js]
[/js]
There are several sizes included, and I will add more as time permits. Sizes are 120×240, 300×250, and 468×60.
Done!
That’s it. The PHP file includes easy variable changes if your images are located in a different directory, but most people have them in “/img” directory. Enjoy and share the code, and share Firefox!
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Firefox 2.0 vs. IE 7: The Install and Setup Process
Posted on October 25, 2006, under Browsers, Development, Software.
Firefox 2.0 and IE 7 are now released, and I have decided to upgrade my systems, and compare the install an setup of the two. I am a long time Firefox user, so I am a little bias. Fortunately, Microsoft didn’t let me down in confirming my reasons for using FireFox.
Internet Explorer 7
Microsoft is known for asking a ton of questions during installation, and never the correct questions either. The first question comes even before you download the setup file, where Microsoft asks you what O.S. you are running. One would think that this shouldn’t matter for a browser installation, or Microsoft should be able to tell that information. I guess when Internet Explorer is so far embedded into the O.S., this question is relevant. And if Microsoft detected this information, privacy advocates would go running for the hills.
The download from Microsoft comes in the form of 14.8MB executable. Much larger than Firefox, and in addition it has to download more data from Microsoft during the install process. I was concerned what lied ahead of launching this install process, and Microsoft didn’t let me down. One of the first screens you will see when installing IE 7 is validating your copy of Windows. I am just about sick and tired of validating my copy of Windows, I have done it over a hundred times and I would think by now that Microsoft would know I am not a criminal. In addition, I must ask why I need to validate my copy of Windows when installing a browser?
Shocker! I passed. On from that: After asking me another question, Microsoft needs to download some more stuff. I thought I already downloaded the install, but maybe I was wrong. So I wait for the download. Microsoft has put one of those progress bars that actually doesn’t tell you the progress, it just goes back and forth letting you know it hasn’t stopped responding yet. This will keep you entertained while you browse your web pages in another window with Firefox.
You done? Good. The actual install process happened so fast I actually didn’t notice it. Granted I was doing something else, but it was really short. I went back to the install window, and in true Microsoft fashion was prompted with a restart screen. Now I get to close everything else I was doing, save my progress, and restart. Yeah!
Once restarting, it was time to play clean up. Delete the Internet Explorer shortcuts from start menu, desktop, quick launch, and for some reason my language toolbar bar was present in the taskbar. It would have been nice if Microsoft had asked if I wanted these shortcuts, like EVERY OTHER INSTALLER DOES. The only thing I can guess is Microsoft developed the O.S. so they feel they can do what they damn well please. So I am ready to launch Internet Explorer for the first time, and the first screen I see is…
Granted this screen only came up because I have a homepage, and it’s probably meant for the less technical people. But as feared, Microsoft has included it’s love of prompting the user in Internet Explorer 7. I am sure I will spot more of these alerts from Microsoft as I continue to (rarely) use Internet Explorer. I had to play more clean up by removing the links that Microsoft loves to put into the users Favorites. A note to Microsoft, if the user doesn’t have these links there… it’s probably because they don’t want these links there… So over-riding them with an ever growing list of other Microsoft sites, probably isn’t the best approach.
Overall, it could have been worse: Microsoft could have re-enabled Automatic Updates or Windows Firewall, or bundled Windows Defender in with Internet Explorer 7. Bottom line, Internet Explorer 7 may be the greatest thing in the world, but the fact that Microsoft’s products are getting more and more integrated with each other makes me go else where for solutions. In addition this is the first major update to Internet Explorer in five years, ever since they crushed the competition and decided they didn’t need to enhance or support the product anymore, until competition comes back around in the form of Firefox. Not only is this a huge let down for customers because they have invested interest in seeing a product updated and enhanced; but when that product is so far embedded into the O.S. and no major enhancements come out to ensure that someone is not going to violate my Windows Install… one really starts looking elsewhere for the browsing experience. I hope Microsoft stays on top of Internet Explorer 7. Yes, they have done a lot to it, and to a certain extent it’s good to see life back in it, but Internet Explorer really brings nothing new to the game.
Firefox 2.0
So if you made it this far, you might get an understanding on how user-unfriendly the Internet Explorer 7 install is. (Warning, Firefox pitch) So do yourself a and get Firefox, you will not be disappointed. The installer comes in the form of a lean mean 5.62MB file. No questions on the download page, just an easy to find download button.
The great thing about Mozilla, is they understand the two different users; ones who want to customize, and ones who just want the thing installed. They do not try to guess how you want things configured on your computer. Firefox prompts you for the standard or custom installation, I selected custom.
With the custom installation, (Microsoft, take note) you get to CHOOSE your shortcuts. I deselected them all because I already have shortcuts where I want them.
The install process was fast, and over before you know it. When launching Firefox 2.0 for the first time, everything was as it was before the update. In addition, the only prompt Firefox gave me was for the extensions that were no longer compatible with Firefox 2.0. With Firefox 2.0 comes a great new default theme, that looks sexy. New security features to prevent phishing schemes and advancements to password management. Some privacy enhancements in relation to cookies, history, and form data are also included. Firefox also took some extensions and made them a part of Firefox, like inline spell checking for forms. For me Firefox also seems to be a little bit faster, and better with memory management.
Conclusion and Recap
Firefox, hands down, wins once again for me. The install process was painless, in comparison to Internet Explorer. Firefox gives you choice, with extensions and themes that are supported by an army of loyal users and developers who are constantly innovating. Internet Explorer took off five years for any major enhancements, only after crushing the last of its competition. This is huge let down for those users who have vested interest in seeing Internet Explorer advance. In addition, when your browser dominates 85% of the market and is integrated so tightly with your O.S. that dominates the O.S. market; this leads to a security nightmare. With Firefox, I can safely say no one is going to violate my O.S. though Firefox. I am impressed with parts of Internet Explorer, and hope that Microsoft stays on top of releases and improvements. I would like to see Internet Explorer add extensions similar to Firefox, currently the search toolbars that are packed with spyware aren’t cutting it. Internet Explorer 7.0 was playing catchup, while Firefox 2.0 was enhancing the product… and it didn’t take five years.
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Ready For Firefox 2.0?
Posted on October 23, 2006, under Browsers, Development, Software.
Are you ready for the release of Firefox 2.0 coming bright and early tomorrow? If you can’t wait, you can download it from Mozilla; grab the source while your at it. You can also hit up a Firefox 2.0 release party, somewhere near you.
It’s going to be a great release, hats off to everyone who has had a hand in on the project. Firefox has done a great job of giving Microsoft a run for the browser market. Who knows, we probably wouldn’t have seen IE7 as soon (5 years) as we have if it wasn’t for Firefox. Great job guys!
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ezSQL
Posted on October 23, 2006, under Development.
ezSQL is a lightweight PHP class that makes it easy to work with databases suck as MySQL, Oracle8, InterBase/FireBird, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and MS-SQL. I has great debugging features that make it easy to look iside your SQL code. ezSQL aslo features disk caching to save on your database loads. There is a small learning curve with ezSQL, and it wil lcut down on you development time greatly. A great resource overall.
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Google Analytics, I Like It
Posted on October 20, 2006, under Development.
I have been using Google Analytics here at Code and Coffee and at BlueCrestStudios for the last week, and my initial impressions are it works well. I was not holding out much hope, because I have always favored web statistic packages that analyze log files, like AWStats which is the long time solution I have used.
I also thought that it would be annoying not having statistical information for non-HTML pages like RSS feeds, but since I use FeedBurner that’s not a problem. In fact I almost like this setup better because Google Analytics specializes in web traffic, and FeedBurner specializes in RSS statistics. I am not currently a paying customer of FeedBurner, so when Google gets Measure Map off of the ground I will be trying it out as well, as it will most likely be free.
The other benefit I like to Google Analytics, is it’s a no hassle setup and I control the pages it monitors. With my AWStats, it would report page hits to everything, including administration pages that only I use. If I didn’t want to mess around with config files, I would have to exclude those pages from reports I run. Another benefit is all of the data is on Google’s servers, yes this can be a bad thing as well; however I like to keep my statistical information and currently AWStats is using up a good chunk of disk space. What is Google going to do with all of that data? I don’t know, but hopefully it will be protected by their “Do no evil” policy. Maybe in the future we will see something similar to Alexa come out of Google, but a bit more accurate. Google also has great features like site overlay that will tell you where people are clicking on your site, as in the physical place on the page that visitors are clicking. This is great if you tweak your designs a lot, you now know how users are interacting with your site layout. Google Analytics also includes Geo targeting, which is a pain to setup with our own statistical package because of all of th IP Address ranges and locations on a map. Infact, I never got it setup with AWSats currectly. For those who do not know, this is where Google will break down where your visitors are coming from in a neat little map of the world.
So yes, there were benefits; now come to disadvantages. Obviously first and foremost: it uses JavaScript, meaning if someone has it turned off I am not going to see them as a visitor. The good news to this, is most everyone has JavaScript turned so they can enjoy all of the AJAX goodness out there. Yes it also might be viewed as a negative that all of the data is stored on Google’s servers. If it’s not because you think Google is slowly taking over the world, then maybe it’s because now you now have to include this in your privacy policy. But who knows, the data is probably safer on Google’s servers, than it is on yours.
Overall, I am impressed. I think Google Analytics can be used by the any site with any amount of traffic, and be very helpful. It is a great free solution, and does more than most statistical packages do out of the box. Incredibly easy to setup, and never have to touch it once it’s completed. I will continue to use it, and maybe in the near future discontinue use of AWStats.
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bbPress
Posted on October 18, 2006, under Development.
Those fine folks over at WordPress have done it again, this time in the form of forum software called bbPress. The software, much like Wordpress, is simple, elegant, easy to install, and overall solid! It includes great features including: search engine friendly URL’s, plug ins, easy to integrate with WordPress, and more.
Depending on how I feel, I might setup a forum here at Code and Coffee; but for sure will be using at BlueCrestStudios when we get the new company WordPress blog setup. I recommend checking it out!
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Why I Will Never Use IE Again!
Posted on October 17, 2006, under Browsers, Development, Software.
I have used FireFox for over a year, and have been very, very, very pleased. I have also been enjoying the release candidates for the new upcoming version. Today I had an experience that reminded me why I use Fire Fox and why I will never use IE again.
I installed Windows 2000 on my Virtual Machine for testing purposes. The O.S. was installed for literally two seconds; and I had to open up IE to get a copy of a DLL. I didn’t want to install Fire Fox yet, because I usually get the O.S. setup to the bare minimum and then take a snapshot with VM. That way when I am testing applications I start with a clean slate every time. Anyway, I did a search in Google and visited a webpage, and all of a sudden was bombarded with popups and downloads and spyware. I admit, I clicked on the wrong search result link… but the fact that I was able to get all that crap installed in a matter of seconds boggles my mind. I don’t care how good IE 7 is, I am not going back. I have forgotten how bad IE was after switching to the good life, and this trip down memory lane was a nice reminder on why I will not be going back. Any application that can make you that vulnerable in with one click of the button is an application I can live without. I know IE7 will have a lot of improvements, but it is too integrated into the O.S. which leads to a series of problems.
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BackupSQL Studio Sports Lower Price
Posted on October 16, 2006, under Development.
BackupSQL Studio now has a lower price at $25 a seat. We feel this is a better price fit for our audience, and there is no plans to increase the price for future feature enhancements. Grab your copy today at our secure online store and keep your data safe!
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When is it Time to Stop Support of an O.S.?
Posted on October 13, 2006, under Development.
So Microsoft’s Windows Vista is nearing it’s release date, and it has me once again asking what Operating Systems I want to support for further product development. This has been a back and forth question for me, that has a lot of deciding factors.
Testing, Testing, Testing
The more Operating Systems you support, the more you have to test and have on hand for bug fixes and releases. Software like VMWare make testing easier, but you still have account for different service packs and other factors for each Operating System you support.
Audience
Looking at your audience and what Operating System they will most likely have installed is another important factor. If you have a program that is geared more toward technology savvy end users, than chances are they are not running Windows 98 or ME.
Do They Support It?
If a company, like Microsoft, stops support of their own Operating System; should you still continue to support it? If an Operating System has reached the end of it’s life, I find it hard to support products on that Operating System.
Platform Specific
A major decision point on Operating System support is if you are using an API or feature that is only available in a certain platform. I come across this a lot with NT based systems. There are a lot of features and functionality in the Windows API, that are only available for NT based Windows system.
Conclusion
Obviously, there are a lot of factors that go into deciding what your new killer product is going to support. No matter what decision I make, there always seems to be one or two end users that end up out of luck because they are still on an unsupported Operating System. I would be interested in hearing how you decide what platforms you will support.
