Archive for September 2004
Another cup of Java?
30 September 2004 in Code-ing | Comments (0)
Java version 5, or is it 1.5 — I’m not sure about Sun’s versioning scheme — has been released today. Code named Tiger (as Apple’s next version of Mac OS X for some reason) this update to the Java language brings some fixes to the language syntax and such. The more interesting ones in my opinion is that they finally use the normal Windows open/save dialogs and longawaited speed fixes to the JRE.
This is in overview nothing interesting and I don’t know if I dare to download the latest version of JRE, J2ME or J2SE or whatever the name is for the thingy-that-compiles-Java-on-my-computer. One thing is sure: Sun is too messy in their versioning schemes and naming schemes for their products. Even their website is hard to navigate, in one moment it is too oversimplifies, in the other it is too much at once. In conclusion, I burned my fingers on the previous versions of Java and I’m quite sure don’t think I’ll like this version either… 
( I think I’ll return to toying with Visual C# 2005 Express Edition Beta meanwhile… 
)
Firefox and Safari bugs fixed
29 September 2004 in Code-ing | Comments (0)
If you have previously visited my site using Mozilla Firefox/Netscape Navigator or Apple Safari aka. KDE Konqueror, then today my site should look better! (Some of the sub-pages, e.g. contact form, aren’t fixed yet.)
I got the bug fixed that Opera and IE didn’t care about: the table’s height got crappy in Mozilla and Konquerer rendering engines. To fix this I had to set the font and font size for the TD elements in my table using CSS. I think it is very strange that they do not follow the height setting that they should know to follow. 
Even weirder is that I have to set a font size to set the table height… 
Anyways, here is the piece of CSS code I used to fix the layout problem:
- TD{
font-family: Trebuchet MS, palatino, georgia, verdana, arial, sans-serif;
font-size: 5px;
}
Feel free to use it on your site and experiment with it to see if it helps you.
TimeContinuum update
28 September 2004 in Code-ing & Pocket PC | Comments (0)
TimeContinuum — the free time sync software for Windows Mobile platform — is close to public beta release! Here is an action-screenshot of the latest build running in landscape mode:
It now has got the possibility for you to add your own personal time server to the list and everything seems to work really stable at this stage! 
TC works well under Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition in portrait, landscape and VGA. Although, I haven’t optimized it for VGA specifically, WM emulator manages to adjust it for VGA screen. I might implement support for VGA resolution if I can ever get a Pocket PC with VGA screen (they are taking forever here).
Now you might be wondering when this will be ready. Soon, my friends, soon… (I’ve got a lot of work to do still: icons for TimeContinuum, a bunch of reviews and, naturally, my studies to do.)
Safety cars applied to everyday life
27 September 2004 in Root | Comments (0)
It was interesting to read in last weekends newspaper Pohjalainen about a new safety concept in road construction areas. We Finns being a motor-sports-country, we tend to press the pedal to the metal all too often near road construction workers. That, as you can imagine, isn’t safe for the guys working to keep the roads up to standard.
Enter the Norwegian idea to have a escort car that heads the car-line moving thru a construction area. It is very much like the idea of safety car in Formula 1 racing and other almost equal motorsport events — as CART (or whatever that is called nowadays). In Formula 1, however it is more than vital to have a safety car to navigate the approx. 300 km/h fast cars away from razor-sharp carbonfiber debris and clean-up crew. In real life, this idea shouldn’t have to be implemented but it seems that changing our racing-attitude amongst the male population is quite a complicated task to accomplish.
Thinking back, I can only wonder why this idea wasn’t implemented earlier…
Welcome to the new layout!
21 September 2004 in Root | Comments (0)
Welcome to the new layout of filips.net!
I’ve completely switched to a new open-source weblog sofware called WordPress. If you are considering a good pack of weblog software, then look no further than WordPress. WordPress works better than Movable Type and has already got a wide base of plug-ins that surely beats MT’s puny list. WP also supports importing from a number of other weblogging softwares (including MT) to help you switch to a better alternative. Hence, WordPress is much better and more versitile than Movable Type ever was. I recommend WordPress.
I will continue to update some of the CSS styles on my website as of this switch. I’ve noticed that Mozilla FireFox screws up the whole site (again! :evil:) and I have to tweak around to see what it can’t handle. Until I do that, I recommend that you use Opera.
German radio in Klingon
16 September 2004 in Root | Comments (0)
German broadcasting company Deutsche Welle has now added Klingon to their list of different languages that they broadcast their worldwide radio in. Or so it seems… Also, the history page is an interesting read in Klingon. It is just that one thing that stands out on that page, the date: 17.09.2379 (19th of September, 2379).
If you wonder why DW has gone star tekking, then you better read the BBC story on this phenomenon. Finally, if your Klingon needs some finetuning, a visit to the Klingon Language Institute can come in handy. 
Graphics flaw threatens Windows PCs again!
15 September 2004 in Root | Comments (0)
As reported in this News.com, the latest security problem is in the way Microsoft’s Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Internet Explorer, Office and other programs open JPEG (aka. JPG) images. An attacker could (in theory) create a malformed that can run a program when it is viewed on a computer.
However, if you have got Windows XP Service Pack 2 installed, then you are secure from this vunerability. Let’s hope that everybody have got enough time to download and install SP2 before this vunerability is beginning to be misused. If you want to download Windows XP SP2 full installation package fast, then see my old post on the subject.
Keeping on coding…
8 September 2004 in Code-ing | Comments (0)
What have I been doing lately? Well, fact is, I started (or rather resumed) my studies at University of Vaasa. Besides enjoying the view and weather over at the UoV campus, I’ve been killing time by programming some software for the Windows Mobile platform and another software for PC.