Search Results

Search found 5653 results on 227 pages for 'zero cool'.

Page 63/227 | < Previous Page | 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70  | Next Page >

• Surface and the Uphill Battle to Win Over iPad Users (Namely: Me)

  - by D'Arcy Lussier

  I went away this past weekend and decided to bring along the Windows 8 tablet from the Build conference last year – y’know, to give Windows 8 a try in a typical scenario. I also brought our iPad 2 along since I figured my wife would want to use that. I’d love to tell you how I found using my Windows 8 tablet but I can’t – I used the iPad exclusively the entire weekend. It was during this that I realized what Microsoft needs to do to win me over as an iPad user. As you’ll see, I’m left wondering what it is that Surface is meant to compete with: iPad and other tablets, or thin laptops like the MacBook Air or Ultrabooks. Device Size I really like the size of the iPad compared with the Build tablet. It’s not as long and the thinness/weight of the device makes it feel more like you’re holding a magazine than a computer. I’m pleased that Microsoft will be matching the thinness of the iPad with Surface, but I’m suspect as to what that actually means. The iPad’s edges slant inwards where the Surface has a thicker boxish look (similar to the iPhone 4S). So while they may have the same depth at the deepest part of both devices, I bet the iPad will come off feeling thinner. However, its not lost on me the number of external port options the Surface’s design provides over the iPad (Usb, etc.). With that said, I haven’t missed having a USB slot on my iPad. I’m not a fan of lengthening the Surface screen size to almost a full inch over the iPad, mainly because… Vertical Orientation Experience Did you notice at the announce event, in the images of the devices that have been released, and in any marketing for it, that the surface is always displayed in horizontal orientation. This is a huge beef I have with my Build tablet and why I prefer the iPad. Yes the iPad can do the wide-screenish mode, but the iPad is oriented to be vertical by nature. Don’t agree? Look at the button and camera placement – both on the shorter sides of the device. Compare that with the Surface, where the orientation for the button and camera is on the longer sides. To be fair, Blackberry and the horde of Android tablets out there haven’t gotten this either – since most monitors are widescreen nowadays tablets should be too right? Wrong. Widescreen is great for certain things, but tasks such as reading is not one of them – hence why monitor companies like Dell provide stands that allow you to flip your widescreen monitor to a vertical orientation. That Microsoft has chosen a horizontal orientation by default for Windows 8 is disappointing – hopefully hardware manufacturers will be given the option of a default vertical orientation. Fast Startup Time I like that I can turn off/turn on the iPad very quickly. Even from a true “off” mode and not just sleeping, the iPad boots up very quickly. Windows RT needs to have that same quick response. If I start finding that I’m waiting for the device to boot up for more than 30 seconds that could be a show stopper. No Heat I really hate that the Build tablet has fans that kick in to cool the procs, but its basically a slate computer and I get its part of that prototype build. For Surface, it needs to be the same type of experience as the iPad – no heat! I know Surface doesn’t have fans and uses some cool new vent system or something like that, but even then – I want to sit and read a book on my Surface without having to feel any heat coming from the device, which is the experience I have with the iPad now. What About Apps?! I am definitely not the target client when it comes to app stores. On my iPad I use: Safari Kindle Reader Twitter App Settlers of Catan TSN’s App And that’s it. So really, while its nice that some version of Office might be available, I’m not planning on utilizing a Surface for creating a PowerPoint or working on a Word document – that’s what my laptop is for. I want my tablet to be for information snacking or as an e-reader and occasionally an entertainment device. Surface vs iPad or Surface vs Air? The more that I read up on Surface, the more I wonder if it won’t be a touch-enabled MacBook Air competitor more than an iPad one. Also, I really question if Microsoft gets tablets – when one of your main selling features is a built-in physical keyboard it speaks more to a traditional laptop experience than a tablet one that’s entirely reliant on touch. Still, I really love the Windows Phone interface – way more than iOS – so I’m still very optimistic that the Metro experience on the tablet will be fantastic. I just worry that Microsoft has interpreted a tablet as a computer with a removable keyboard and a touch screen, and that’s not what tablet computing is about at all.

  Read the article

• Are 'edited by' inline comments the norm in shops which use revision control?

  - by Joshua Smith

  The senior dev in our shop insists that whenever code is modified, the programmer responsible should add an inline comment stating what he did. These comments usually look like // YYYY-MM-DD <User ID> Added this IF block per bug 1234. We use TFS for revision control, and it seems to me that comments of this sort are much more appropriate as check-in notes rather than inline noise. TFS even allows you to associate a check-in with one or more bugs. Some of our older, often-modified class files look like they have a comment-to-LOC ratio approaching 1:1. To my eyes, these comments make the code harder to read and add zero value. Is this a standard (or at least common) practice in other shops?

  Read the article

• Strategies for browser compatibility on web applications in a corporate environment

  - by TiagoBrenck

  With the new CSS 3 and HTML 5 technology, web applications have gained a lot of new tools for a better UI (user interface) interaction, beautiful templates and even responsive layout to fit into tablets and smartphones. Within a corporate environment, those new technologies are required so the company can "follow" the IT evolution and their concurrent, but they also want that those new web applications supports old browsers. How should I deal with this situation? By one side we are asked to follow the the evolution of technology, create responsive layouts and use a lot of cool jQuery plugins. On the other hand, we are asked to support old browsers that do not support those new responsive features, plugins or components. I would like advice and strategies on how to create "modern" web applications that are also supported on old browsers. How does your company deal with this situation? Is it possible to have the same web application run well and beautifully on old browsers, and be responsive and interactive on newer browsers?

  Read the article

• Bug! Slow Sums and Averages

  - by Paul White

  It’s a curious thing about SQL that the SUM or AVG of no items is not zero, it’s NULL. In this post, you’ll see how this means your SUM and AVG calculations might run at half speed, or worse. As with most of my blog entries though, today’s instalment is not so much about the result, but the journey we take to get there. Before we get started on that, I just want to mention that there’s a problem with the Google Reader feed for this blog, so those of you that use that will have missed two recent entries: Seeking Without Indexes and Advanced TSQL Tuning: Why Internals Knowledge Matters. Accessing the site directly always works of course :) Ok, on to today’s story. Take a look at this query:...(read more)

  Read the article

• Blender to Collada to Assimp - Rigid (Non-skinned) Animation

  - by gareththegeek

  I am trying to get simple animations to work, exporting from Blender and importing into my application. My first attempt was as follows: Open Blender at factory settings. Select the default cube and insert a location keyframe. Select another frame and move the cube. Insert a second location keyframe. Export to Collada. When I open the Collada file using assimp it contains zero animations, even though in Blender the cube animates correctly. On my next attempt, I inserted a bone armature with a single bone, made it the parent of the cube, and animated the bone instead. Again the animation worked correctly in Blender. Assimp now lists one animation but both key frames have the position [0, 0, 0] Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can get animated (non-skinned) meshes from Blender into Assimp? My ultimate goal here is to export animated meshes from Blender, process them offline into my own model format, and load them into my SharpDX based graphics engine..

  Read the article

• Marketplace to buy Templates for Twitter Bootstrap framework?

  - by Clay Nichols

  Are there any sites where I could buy a site template designed in Twitter Bootstrap (so that it's easy to modify)? I'm working on a site redesign and I think finding a template that looks close enough and modifying it is an economical way to go. (We're pretty niche so I don't need us to have a super cool website.) But folks I've talked to say that many of those templates are hard to modify. So I'm thinking that finding a template designed in a customizable framework would be easy to modify.

  Read the article

• SCCM2012 R2 – How to integrate MDT with SCCM

  - by Waclaw Chrabaszcz

  Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/Wchrabaszcz/archive/2013/11/12/sccm2012-r2--how-to-integrate-mdt-with-sccm.aspxThere are two maybe not competitive but parallel products: Microsoft Deployment Toolkit and System Center Configuration manager. Few years ago I was wondering why they are separate, I why I cannot share Task Sequences between them. And how it usually happens in live, when I was focused on other technologies, MDT and SCCM became best friends. Let's integrate MDT with SCCM: If first step you need to download MDT http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=25175 Install MDT on your SCCM server boxaccept the EULA Join CEIP if you like  Once you completed the installation I would recommend you to complete MDT configuring before integration with the SCCM. Start the Deployment Workbenchinstall updatesyou will need to download and install WAIKcreate new deployment shareleave default values Create MDT databaseMake sure you will create separate database, DO NOT use existing SCCM DB Now we are ready to integrate MDT with SCCMthe Integration tool should discover your server automaticallyAfter reopening SCCM console in task sequences you should have new cool features: How to use them? That's another story …

  Read the article

• Java EE/GlassFish Adoption Story by Kerry Wilson/Vanderbilt University

  - by reza_rahman

  Kerry Wilson is a Software Engineer at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He served in a consultant role to design a lightweight systems integration solution for the next generation Foundations Recovery Network using GlassFish, Java EE 6, JPA, @Scheduled EJBs, CDI, JAX-RS and JSF. He shared his story at the JavaOne 2013 Sunday GlassFish community event - check out the video below: Kerry outlined some of the details of the implementation and emphasized the fact that Java EE can be a great solution for applications that are considered small/lightweight. He mentioned the productivity gains through the modern Java EE programming model centered on annotations, POJOs and zero-configuration - comparing it with competing frameworks that aim towards similar productivity for lightweight applications. Kerry also stressed the quality of the excellent NetBeans integration with GlassFish and the need for community self-support in free, non-commercial open source projects like GlassFish. You can check out the details of his story on the GlassFish stories blog. Do you have a Java EE/GlassFish adoption story to share? Let us know and we will highlight it for the community.

  Read the article

• Java EE/GlassFish Adoption Story by Kerry Wilson/Vanderbilt University

  - by reza_rahman

  Kerry Wilson is a Software Engineer at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He served in a consultant role to design a lightweight systems integration solution for the next generation Foundations Recovery Network using GlassFish, Java EE 6, JPA, @Scheduled EJBs, CDI, JAX-RS and JSF. He lives in Nashville, TN where he helps organize the Nashville Java User Group. Kerry shared his Java EE/GlassFish adoption story at the JavaOne 2013 Sunday GlassFish community event - check out the video below: Here is the slide deck for his talk: GlassFish Story by Kerry Wilson/Vanderbilt University Medical Center from glassfish Kerry outlined some of the details of the implementation and emphasized the fact that Java EE can be a great solution for applications that are considered small/lightweight. He mentioned the productivity gains through the modern Java EE programming model centered on annotations, POJOs and zero-configuration - comparing it with competing frameworks that aim towards similar productivity for lightweight applications. Kerry also stressed the quality of the excellent NetBeans integration with GlassFish and the need for community self-support in free, non-commercial open source projects like GlassFish.

  Read the article

• Dude, where is my list instance?

  - by MOSSLover

  I saw an MSDN Forum post today, so I looked for a ListInstance Hidden property in SharePoint 2007 features.  There is none, but interestingly enough there is one in 2010.  I wondered what would happen if you did this: <Elements xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/">   <ListInstance            FeatureId="00bfea71-de22-43b2-a848-c05709900100"            Title="Hidden List Test"            Description="Testing a hidden list."            TemplateType="100"            Hidden="TRUE"            OnQuickLaunch="FALSE"            Url="Lists/TestHidden" /> </Elements> It hides the entire list from SharePoint Designer and the browser, however you can hit the list by typing in the url in internet explorer.  Pretty cool stuff.  Enjoy guys. Technorati Tags: Feature,List Instance,SharePoint 2010

  Read the article

• The clock hands of the buffer cache

  - by Tony Davis

  Over a leisurely beer at our local pub, the Waggon and Horses, Phil Factor was holding forth on the esoteric, but strangely poetic, language of SQL Server internals, riddled as it is with 'sleeping threads', 'stolen pages', and 'memory sweeps'. Generally, I remain immune to any twinge of interest in the bowels of SQL Server, reasoning that there are certain things that I don't and shouldn't need to know about SQL Server in order to use it successfully. Suddenly, however, my attention was grabbed by his mention of the 'clock hands of the buffer cache'. Back at the office, I succumbed to a moment of weakness and opened up Google. He wasn't lying. SQL Server maintains various memory buffers, or caches. For example, the plan cache stores recently-used execution plans. The data cache in the buffer pool stores frequently-used pages, ensuring that they may be read from memory rather than via expensive physical disk reads. These memory stores are classic LRU (Least Recently Updated) buffers, meaning that, for example, the least frequently used pages in the data cache become candidates for eviction (after first writing the page to disk if it has changed since being read into the cache). SQL Server clearly needs some mechanism to track which pages are candidates for being cleared out of a given cache, when it is getting too large, and it is this mechanism that is somewhat more labyrinthine than I previously imagined. Each page that is loaded into the cache has a counter, a miniature "wristwatch", which records how recently it was last used. This wristwatch gets reset to "present time", each time a page gets updated and then as the page 'ages' it clicks down towards zero, at which point the page can be removed from the cache. But what is SQL Server is suffering memory pressure and urgently needs to free up more space than is represented by zero-counter pages (or plans etc.)? This is where our 'clock hands' come in. Each cache has associated with it a "memory clock". Like most conventional clocks, it has two hands; one "external" clock hand, and one "internal". Slava Oks is very particular in stressing that these names have "nothing to do with the equivalent types of memory pressure". He's right, but the names do, in that peculiar Microsoft tradition, seem designed to confuse. The hands do relate to memory pressure; the cache "eviction policy" is determined by both global and local memory pressures on SQL Server. The "external" clock hand responds to global memory pressure, in other words pressure on SQL Server to reduce the size of its memory caches as a whole. Global memory pressure – which just to confuse things further seems sometimes to be referred to as physical memory pressure – can be either external (from the OS) or internal (from the process itself, e.g. due to limited virtual address space). The internal clock hand responds to local memory pressure, in other words the need to reduce the size of a single, specific cache. So, for example, if a particular cache, such as the plan cache, reaches a defined "pressure limit" the internal clock hand will start to turn and a memory sweep will be performed on that cache in order to remove plans from the memory store. During each sweep of the hands, the usage counter on the cache entry is reduced in value, effectively moving its "last used" time to further in the past (in effect, setting back the wrist watch on the page a couple of hours) and increasing the likelihood that it can be aged out of the cache. There is even a special Dynamic Management View, sys.dm_os_memory_cache_clock_hands, which allows you to interrogate the passage of the clock hands. Frequently turning hands equates to excessive memory pressure, which will lead to performance problems. Two hours later, I emerged from this rather frightening journey into the heart of SQL Server memory management, fascinated but still unsure if I'd learned anything that I'd put to any practical use. However, I certainly began to agree that there is something almost Tolkeinian in the language of the deep recesses of SQL Server. Cheers, Tony.

  Read the article

• Day 4 - Game Sprites In Action

  - by dapostolov

  Yesterday I drew an image on the screen. Most exciting, but ... I spent more time blogging about it then actual coding. So this next little while I'm going to streamline my game and research and simply post key notes. Quick notes on the last session: The most important thing I wanted to point out were the following methods:           spriteBatch.Begin(SpriteBlendMode.AlphaBlend);           spriteBatch.Draw(sprite, position, Color.White);           spriteBatch.End(); The spriteBatch object is used to draw Textures and a 2D texture is called a Sprite A texture is generally an image, which is called an Asset in XNA The Draw Method in the Game1.cs is looped (until exit) and utilises the spriteBatch object to draw a Scene To begin drawing a Scene you call the Begin Method. To end a Scene you call the End Method. And to place an image on the Scene you call the Draw method. The most simple implementation of the draw method is:           spriteBatch.Draw(sprite, position, Color.White); 1) sprite - the 2D texture you loaded to draw 2) position - the 2d vector, a set of x & y coordinates 3) Color.White - the tint to apply to the texture, in this case, white light = nothing, nada, no tint. Game Sprites In Action! Today, I played around with Draw methods to get comfortable with their "quirks". The following is an example of the above draw method, but with more parameters available for us to use. Let's investigate!             spriteBatch.Draw(sprite, position2, null, Color.White, MathHelper.ToRadians(45.0f), new Vector2(sprite.Width / 2, sprite.Height / 2), 1.0F, SpriteEffects.None, 0.0F); The parameters (in order): 1) sprite  the texture to display 2) position2 the position on the screen / scene this can also be a rectangle 3) null the portion of the image to display within an image null = display full image this is generally used for animation strips / grids (more on this below) 4) Color.White Texture tinting White = no tint 5) MathHelper.ToRadians(45.0f) rotation of the object, in this case 45 degrees rotates from the set plotting point. 6) new Vector(0,0) the plotting point in this case the top left corner the image will rotate from the top left of the texture in the code above, the point is set to the middle of the image. 7) 1.0f Image scaling (1x) 8) SpriteEffects.None you can flip the image horizontally or vertically 9) 0.0f The z index of the image. 0 = closer, 1 behind? And playing around with different combinations I was able to come up with the following whacky display:   Checking off Yesterdays Intention List: learn game development terminology (in progress) - We learned sprite, scene, texture, and asset. how to place and position (rotate) a static image on the screen (completed) - The thing to note was, it's was in radians and I found a cool helper method to convert degrees into radians. Also, the image rotates from it's specified point. how to layer static images on the screen (completed) - I couldn't seem to get the zIndex working, but one things for sure, the order you draw the image in also determines how it is rendered on the screen. understand image scaling (in progress) - I'm not sure I have this fully covered, but for the most part plug a number in the scaling field and the image grows / shrinks accordingly. can we reuse images? (completed) - yes, I loaded one image and plotted the bugger all over the screen. understand how framerate is handled in XNA (in progress) - I hacked together some code to display the framerate each second. A framerate of 60 appears to be the standard. Interesting to note, the GameTime object does provide you with some cool timing capabilities, such as...is the game running slow? Need to investigate this down the road. how to display text , basic shapes, and colors on the screen (in progress) - i got text rendered on the screen, and i understand containing rectangles. However, I didn't display "shapes" & "colors" how to interact with an image (collision of user input?) (todo) how to animate an image and understand basic animation techniques (in progress) - I was able to create a stripe animation of numbers ranging from 1 - 4, each block was 40 x 40 pixles for a total stripe size of 160 x 40. Using the portion (source Rectangle) parameter, i limited this display to each section at varying intervals. It was interesting to note my first implementation animated at rocket speed. I then tried to create a smoother animation by limiting the redraw capacity, which seemed to work. I guess a little more research will have to be put into this for animating characters / scenes. how to detect colliding images or screen edges (todo) - but the rectangle object can detect collisions I believe. how to manipulate the image, lets say colors, stretching (in progress) - I haven't figured out how to modify a specific color to be another color, but the tinting parameter definately could be used. As for stretching, use the rectangle object as the positioning and the image will stretch to fit! how to focus on a segment of an image...like only displaying a frame on a film reel (completed) - as per basic animation techniques what's the best way to manage images (compression, storage, location, prevent artwork theft, etc.) (todo) Tomorrows Intention Tomorrow I am going to take a stab at rendering a game menu and from there I'm going to investigate how I can improve upon the code and techniques. Intention List: Render a menu, fancy or not Show the mouse cursor Hook up click event A basic animation of somesort Investigate image / menu techniques D.

  Read the article

• What can Haskell's type system do that Java's can't?

  - by Matt Fenwick

  I was talking to a friend about the differences between the type systems of Haskell and Java. He asked me what Haskell's could do that Java's couldn't, and I realized that I didn't know. After thinking for a while, I came up with a very short list of minor differences. Not being heavy into type theory, I'm left wondering whether they're formally equivalent. To try and keep this from becoming a subjective question, I'm asking: what are the major, non-syntactical differences between their type systems? I realize some things are easier/harder in one than in the other, and I'm not interested in talking about those. And to make it more specific, let's ignore Haskell type extensions since there's so many out there that do all kinds of crazy/cool stuff.

  Read the article

• Web Camps by Microsoft

  - by Shaun

  Just knew from Wang Tao that Microsoft will launch the Web Camp event in many cities to share their technologies and experience on web application building. The topics of this Web Camps would focus on ASP.NET, jQuery and Entity Frameworks and how to build a cool web application based on them which I’m very interesting. And another reason is that, it’s FREE.   Please have the detail information and register at http://www.webcamps.ms/, which is built on Windows Azure. And the speaker in Beijing would be Scott Hanselam and James Senior – WOW!   Hope this helps, Shaun   All documents and related graphics, codes are provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind. Copyright © Shaun Ziyan Xu. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons License.

  Read the article

• WPF: Timers

  - by Ilya Verbitskiy

  I believe, once your WPF application will need to execute something periodically, and today I would like to discuss how to do that. There are two possible solutions. You can use classical System.Threading.Timer class or System.Windows.Threading.DispatcherTimer class, which is the part of WPF. I have created an application to show you how to use the API.     Let’s take a look how you can implement timer using System.Threading.Timer class. First of all, it has to be initialized.   1: private Timer timer; 2:   3: public MainWindow() 4: { 5: // Form initialization code 6: 7: timer = new Timer(OnTimer, null, Timeout.InfiniteTimeSpan, Timeout.InfiniteTimeSpan); 8: }   Timer’s constructor accepts four parameters. The first one is the callback method which is executed when timer ticks. I will show it to you soon. The second parameter is a state which is passed to the callback. It is null because there is nothing to pass this time. The third parameter is the amount of time to delay before the callback parameter invokes its methods. I use System.Threading.Timeout helper class to represent infinite timeout which simply means the timer is not going to start at the moment. And the final fourth parameter represents the time interval between invocations of the methods referenced by callback. Infinite timeout timespan means the callback method will be executed just once. Well, the timer has been created. Let’s take a look how you can start the timer.   1: private void StartTimer(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) 2: { 3: timer.Change(TimeSpan.Zero, new TimeSpan(0, 0, 1)); 4:   5: // Disable the start buttons and enable the reset button. 6: }   The timer is started by calling its Change method. It accepts two arguments: the amount of time to delay before the invoking the callback method and the time interval between invocations of the callback. TimeSpan.Zero means we start the timer immediately and TimeSpan(0, 0, 1) tells the timer to tick every second. There is one method hasn’t been shown yet. This is the callback method OnTimer which does a simple task: it shows current time in the center of the screen. Unfortunately you cannot simple write something like this:   1: clock.Content = DateTime.Now.ToString("hh:mm:ss");   The reason is Timer runs callback method on a separate thread, and it is not possible to access GUI controls from a non-GUI thread. You can avoid the problem using System.Windows.Threading.Dispatcher class.   1: private void OnTimer(object state) 2: { 3: Dispatcher.Invoke(() => ShowTime()); 4: } 5:   6: private void ShowTime() 7: { 8: clock.Content = DateTime.Now.ToString("hh:mm:ss"); 9: }   You can build similar application using System.Windows.Threading.DispatcherTimer class. The class represents a timer which is integrated into the Dispatcher queue. It means that your callback method is executed on GUI thread and you can write a code which updates your GUI components directly.   1: private DispatcherTimer dispatcherTimer; 2:   3: public MainWindow() 4: { 5: // Form initialization code 6:   7: dispatcherTimer = new DispatcherTimer { Interval = new TimeSpan(0, 0, 1) }; 8: dispatcherTimer.Tick += OnDispatcherTimer; 9: } Dispatcher timer has nicer and cleaner API. All you need is to specify tick interval and Tick event handler. The you just call Start method to start the timer.   private void StartDispatcher(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) { dispatcherTimer.Start(); // Disable the start buttons and enable the reset button. } And, since the Tick event handler is executed on GUI thread, the code which sets the actual time is straightforward.   1: private void OnDispatcherTimer(object sender, EventArgs e) 2: { 3: ShowTime(); 4: } We’re almost done. Let’s take a look how to stop the timers. It is easy with the Dispatcher Timer.   1: dispatcherTimer.Stop(); And slightly more complicated with the Timer. You should use Change method again.   1: timer.Change(Timeout.InfiniteTimeSpan, Timeout.InfiniteTimeSpan); What is the best way to add timer into an application? The Dispatcher Timer has simple interface, but its advantages are disadvantages at the same time. You should not use it if your Tick event handler executes time-consuming operations. It freezes your window which it is executing the event handler method. You should think about using System.Threading.Timer in this case. The code is available on GitHub.

  Read the article

• Why don't more games use vector art?

  - by Parris

  It would seem to me that vector art is more efficient in terms of resources/scalability; however, in most cases I have seen artists using bitmap/rasterized art. Is this a limitation put on the artists by the game programmers/designers? As a programmer I think vector art would be more ideal, since it allows for scaling up resolution without having to recreate the art, creating really large graphics or causing graphics to become blurry. The questions: why aren't more people using SVG/AI to create 2D game art? Would it actually be preferred (and who prefers it)? Are bitmap graphics a standard or a limitation (or maybe neither)? Background: I am working on an engine, and I had some kinda cool ideas for vector based graphics; however, I don't want to piss off artists in the future. I guess this is more a question centered around pragmatism and developing games.

  Read the article

• What can Haskell's type system do that Java's can't and vice versa?

  - by Matt Fenwick

  I was talking to a friend about the differences between the type systems of Haskell and Java. He asked me what Haskell's could do that Java's couldn't, and I realized that I didn't know. After thinking for a while, I came up with a very short list of minor differences. Not being heavy into type theory, I'm left wondering whether they're formally equivalent. To try and keep this from becoming a subjective question, I'm asking: what are the major, non-syntactical differences between their type systems? I realize some things are easier/harder in one than in the other, and I'm not interested in talking about those. And to make it more specific, let's ignore Haskell type extensions since there's so many out there that do all kinds of crazy/cool stuff.

  Read the article

• Image libraries sites to download pro images with no credits expiration policy

  - by Marco Demaio

  I found professional image libraries sites like http://www.istockphoto.com or http://www.dreamstime.com are quite useful to add some cool images to a website either when filling its contents or when designing its graphic layout. Unfortunately both of the site I listed above use credits plans that expires after 12 months: you buy credits (using real bucks) and then you can download images, but if you don't use all the credits within 1 year, thay suck them out from your virtual wallet (I think it's really unfair, but too bad for you, that's their policy). Do you know about other good image libraries sites (from your real life experience) that use credits to download images, but thay don't expire after 12 months? Obviously I won't ignore your suggestions about any other image libraries sites.

  Read the article

• Massive Minecraft Creation Is a Functional Graphing Calculator

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  We’re no stranger to cool Minecraft creations, but this project takes Minecraft design to a whole new level. An industrious teen has built functional graphing calculator out of Minecraft blocks. It’s an absolutely enormous project that, if constructed in real life instead of in a virtual Minecraft space, would loom over a city. To fully appreciate how much ingenuity and effort went into the project, we’d suggest hitting up the comments over at Slashdot where commenters discuss the numerous obstacles and design tricks he would have needed to overcome and employ to pull the project off. [via Slashdot] What’s the Difference Between Sleep and Hibernate in Windows? Screenshot Tour: XBMC 11 Eden Rocks Improved iOS Support, AirPlay, and Even a Custom XBMC OS How To Be Your Own Personal Clone Army (With a Little Photoshop)

  Read the article

• DIY Standing Desk Sports Super Sturdy Galvanized Pipe Legs

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  If you’re looking for a standing desk sturdy enough you can tap dance on it this DIY creation features thick pipe legs and a solid oak desktop. Courtesy of designer Jessica Allen, this standing desk can easily support a bank of monitors, heavy equipment, and even your entire body if need be, thanks to a sturdy galvanized plumbing pipe undercarriage and a 1″ thick oak top. We love the clean lines of the desk but we’d be tempted to clutter them up a little with a tower-rack mounted under the desk or on the inside of the thick pipe legs. Hit up the link below to check out the full build log. Have a cool standing desk (or desk tutorial) to share? Sound off in the comments. Steel Pipe Standing Desk HTG Explains: Why Screen Savers Are No Longer Necessary 6 Ways Windows 8 Is More Secure Than Windows 7 HTG Explains: Why It’s Good That Your Computer’s RAM Is Full

  Read the article

• Hot: Pre-built Developer VMs from OTN

  - by Justin Kestelyn

  For those of you who haven't already played with it, Oracle VM VirtualBox is an awfully cool desktop virtualization tool. Even better, it's free. We OTN-ers like it even more than you will though because it allows us to freeze-dry entire software stacks into VM images. Developers can simply download a few files, assemble them with a script we provide, and then import and run the resulting pre-built VM in VirtualBox. Voila, instant (insert name here) stack. These VMs are particularly handy in support of in-person workshops, but there's no reason we can't make them available for everyone. Which we have done, in Java, database, and SOA/BPM flavors. (All "ingredients" are listed at the referenced link, and they are extensive.) Now that we have the kinks worked out, other flavors are sure to become available in 2011. Now go get 'em!

  Read the article

• Orlando .NET Code Camp 2012 - total success..

  - by mrad

  Their site is www.orlandocodecamp.comThis year's camp was held at Seminole State College.It was well worth it.. Took a chance at going.. by getting up at 5am and driving from Jax to Sanford for 2+hr..Run into some old friends and bunch of new ones. Coders are not really good at networking.. but they sure did show up.. attendance was solid 500+ geeks and some sessions were standing room only. MVP John Papa had the room packed out on his every session. Really enjoyed great and inspiring WP7 presentations by MVP Atley Hunter from Canada.. And of course the MVP legend Joe Healy was everywhere encouraging and promoting cool stuff, hopefully we'll get him back to present at JaxDUG and/or bring back Microsoft workshops to Jax area.

  Read the article

• NightHacking Tour: Join the fun!

  - by terrencebarr

  My colleague and esteemed JavaFX hacker Stephen Chin is currently on the road on his NightHacking Tour through Europe, geeking with toys and projects, hacking code, and interviewing Java luminaries along the way. You might know the guy on the left – James Gosling was the first stop of the tour. What’s more, you can follow live on UStream at each stop along the way. Very cool! To learn all about the NightHacking Tour, check here.  Stephen will swing past my place in Freiburg, Germany, on Saturday (Nov 3). We’ll be chatting about all the stuff that’s happening in the embedded space these days and play with the latest small Java – if the demo gods allow For the latest UStream schedule and past recordings, go here. And follow #nighthacking on Twitter. Cheers, – Terrence Filed under: Mobile & Embedded Tagged: embedded, Java, Java Embedded, nighthacking

  Read the article

• Java - learning / migrating fast

  - by Yippie-Kai-Yay

  This is not one of those questions like "How do I learn Java extremely fast, I know nothing about programming, but I heard Java is cool, yo". I have an interview for a Java Software Developer in a couple of weeks and the thing is that I think that I know C++ really good and I am somewhat good at C# (like, here I can probably answer on a lot of questions related to these languages), but I have almost zero experience with Java. I have a lot of projects written in both languages, I participiated in several open-source projects (mostly C++, though). Now, what should I do (in your opinion) to prepare myself for this Java interview. I guess migrating from C# to Java should be kind of fast, especially when you know a lot about programming in global, patterns, modern techniques and have a lot of practical experience behind you. But still two weeks is obviously not enough to get Java in-depth - so what should I focus on to have the best chances to pass the interview? Thank you.

  Read the article

• How does a website like Mathway work?

  - by Bob

  I recently found a website called Mathway Basically, it works by allowing you to choose your "level of math" (which it uses to determine what tools it should provide to you) and then allows you to input a math problem which it then solves for you, and gives you detailed solutions (you have to try it, it's really cool). I was wondering how it worked on two levels. First off, how would they parse the math problem (and all the sometimes foreign mathematical operators)? How do they get from text to numbers, variables, and operators? Second, how do they generate the explanations? While you have to pay for the detailed solutions (which are explanations of how they solved the problem), I've seen their preview screenshots, and it looks very detailed. The explanations are given in full, accurate sentences. How would they generate something like that?

  Read the article

< Previous Page | 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70  | Next Page >