bada: Samsungs new phone OS

Just when I thought I had a handle on what was out there Samsung announced the bada operating system.

Apparently "bada" means ocean in Korean and is supposedly representative of the near boundless limits of the OS. Right, now that sounds familiar. Based on Linux and Enlightenment the general idea is that bada will take on Android and the iPhone. Competition is always good so this should get interesting. Especially if there's a new spin by implementing features core to Enlightenment such as window grouping, virtual desktops, etc.

Smamsung expects that the first mobile phone handsets based on bada will be on display in the first half of 2010, and to go on sale in the second half of 2010. There's certainly executive clout behind it, as up to a possible 50 million units are expected to be shipped in 2010.

Samsung also plans to open a bada application store. Now that's a surprise... Hopefully there are no plans to integrate it with Bing services and give it a name like 'bada - bing'

http://www.bada.com/developer/challenge/

Google Gears goes the way of the Dodo

HTML5-supported offline access handles basically the same functionality as Google's Gears browser plugin and that's a problem. Problems are best handled with quick and simple fixes and it looks like Google has opted for just that by "letting go" of Gears.

Of course now we just need to wait for the interim for the HTML5 spec to get out and running.

VirtualBox 3.1

Monday was a good day for VirtuaBox. With the 3.1 release, live migration and radically improved snapshot abilities amongst others confirm my confidence in this solution to which I migrated all my virtual machines to this year. I chose VirtualBox as my new preferred standard as it was simple, unbloated, and multiplatform.

Live Migration aka Teleportation in VirtualBox allows one to move virtualized guest environments from one physical computer to another while the guest environment is still running. Minor for desktop users, major for data centers as it allows on the fly physical resource workload management. Right now it is limited as:

1. It is only invokable via the command line
2. Disk images must reside on shared storage
3. Identical VM configurations must exist at source and destination
4. Intel to AMD chipset moves are a bad idea

Snapshots now supports branching. A massive convenience indeed...

Download the latest versionhere: http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

Handbrake goes 64bit with a 0.0.1 release

A minor thing for most but for those who care after a year without any updates, the developers responsible for the "mighty fine" video transcoder Handbrake have released version 0.9.4 of the open-source software. With such a small change in the version number, it would be easy to assume that there are not very many new things included, but that assumption really couldn't be further from the truth. In total, there have been over 1,000 changes since 0.9.3 and, while they might not all be life-changing, many of them make for a better user experience though the removal of the presets is a blessing/curse at times. The 64bit update apparently increases overall speed by 10%.

As with version 0.9.3, you still need to have VLC installed to rip video from a DVD

SharePoint 2007: How to show and link to an attachment in a list

Get to the field in the view and put this in. Should work without a hitch... The usual change from "<" to "< " has been made.

< name="SharePoint:AttachmentsField">
< name="runat">server< /xsl:attribute>
< name="ListId">
{LIST GUID HERE}
< /xsl:attribute>
< name="FieldName">Attachments< /xsl:attribute>
< name="ControlMode">Display< /xsl:attribute>
< name="Visible">true< /xsl:attribute>
< name="ItemId">
< select="@ID">
< /xsl:attribute>
< /xsl:element>

Consulting: It's just Common sense

Consulting is difficult. You have to know a couple of things to get it all to work properly.

• You have to know your "stuff"
• You have to know how to read peoples expectations
  
• You have to know how to communicate your stuff to people
  
• You have to know in what way you can trust those around you
• You have to know your own limitations
  
• You have to know when to call it a day on a "bad" project
  

The last one can be the toughest... Typically you get to this juncture from one of three paths

1. You can’t get them, the client, to their goal.
   
2. Focus is on cost rather than net results.
   
3. Nobody can see anything other than failure.
   

Seeing those points written down starts to make it all seem easy but real life really does make the water much more murky. It is no coincidence that each sentence starts with "You have to know". It is also no coincidence that these points apply equally to real life...

Success is measured as equally by inward as outward focus.

So, it is not easy but when any, or all, of these stars start to align it is best to bring the issue to front, acknowledge the possible mismatch, and if appropriate refer them to somebody else.

How to rename your iPhone application in Xcode...

To rename your application, modify the "Product Name" build setting, which is part of the Packaging build settings collection.

Follow these steps for changing an application's name in Xcode:

1. In Xcode, double-click the target's name under "Targets" in the Project window.
2. Choose the Build pane from the ensuing Info window.
3. Select "All Configurations," "Debug," or "Release" from the Configuration popup menu.
4. Note that the application's name will only be changed for the configuration you selected.
5. Select the Packaging collection and assign a new name to "Project Name."

How to Eat a Pomegranate Without Going B@tsh!t

This is something that routinely irks me. And you too if you eat these singularly awesome pieces of fruit! The solution is unbelievably simple.

1. Look for the roundest, deepest red pomegranates you can find.
2. Rinse it in water, as usual, and cut an X in the top down to about halfway down the fruit.
3. Set the pomegranate in a large bowl of water, and using your thumbs pry the peel apart from the center of the X outward.
4. Keeping the fuit submerged, use your fingertips to gently brush away the seeds from the white membrane. These seeds will sink to the bottom of the bowl and the resulting empty membrane will float.
5. Strain and enjoy!