Journalism!?
The Tablet PC is/is not doing just fine - Engadget - www.engadget.com
Hahaa.. Same news site, two contradicting report, same sources. WTF?
Hahaa.. Same news site, two contradicting report, same sources. WTF?
Friday, July 29, 2005
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Chinese Domain Name (Part 2)...
Seem my pre-judgement is wrong about Chinese domain name... Since a few years ago, I tried some Chinese domain name and they all failed so I then think all attempt to make a Chinese domain is useless. But I am wrong, those people in ICANN/IETF/IEEE have built a standard for it, it is called IDN (Internationalised Domain Name). IDN has been supported by Firefox, Mozilla, Safari quite a few times ago, and it also caused a security problem too (http://www.shmoo.com/idn/). But anyway, my argument about world-wide reach-ability is still standard for most IDN domains.
Hopefully, once IE7 is out, more websites may start to pickup IDN!
Hopefully, once IE7 is out, more websites may start to pickup IDN!
Chinese Domain Name.
Mr. JS sent me this today, http://cdntt.hkdnr.hk/, a Chinese domain trial in a more formal style. All over again, seem there were so many attempts for localised domain name and all of them failed miserably every time.
The reasons why they all failed mainly because technical reasons, they seem forgot Internet is Internet, not Interweb. It is not only HTTP/WEB protocol in Internet, we got email, FTP, RTSP.. so on so on. Most localised domain model/scheme need plug-in or specialised DNS server. We are still on our way from "Insert any encoding here" to Unicode. I think once we finished the transition, we may have little hope to adopt a localised domain name system, but still, the purpose of Internet is to reach as many as people possible, who want to setup a domain name as 鍷鏒鏈.公司?
But anyway, I registered one too, once I've got the confirmation, I'll post it here. ;)
The reasons why they all failed mainly because technical reasons, they seem forgot Internet is Internet, not Interweb. It is not only HTTP/WEB protocol in Internet, we got email, FTP, RTSP.. so on so on. Most localised domain model/scheme need plug-in or specialised DNS server. We are still on our way from "Insert any encoding here" to Unicode. I think once we finished the transition, we may have little hope to adopt a localised domain name system, but still, the purpose of Internet is to reach as many as people possible, who want to setup a domain name as 鍷鏒鏈.公司?
But anyway, I registered one too, once I've got the confirmation, I'll post it here. ;)
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Yahoo + Konfabulator...
The most shocking news in this months - Yahoo bought Konfabulator. For those who don't know what is Konfabulator (they call it "K"), K is a software that allows you to run many small program (aka Widget), they are very cool looking and generally serving a single purpose.
Someone called OS X dashboard is a rip-off of K, I don't want to bring up that discussion here. But K is really cool in a few years ago, even now in Windows Platform. One of the great thing about Yahoo bought K is Yahoo now offering K free to all users, that means, the user base of K may expend many folds after that. Many users (esp. Windows) may demand widgets now.
I believe I am one of the early user that use K since 1.0, their widget structure and API is not very friendly at that time, I tried to develop K widget but failed miserably (they don't support Unicode and BIG5 at that time), hopefully once K got more money injected, they can improve their API. Honestly, after seeing current K and Dashboard Implementation document, Dashboard is considerably easier to program and provide more structural interaction with Mac App.Well, hopefully, someone will come up with a Dashboard and K convertor, it'll save people some time if they want to serve both user based.
Someone called OS X dashboard is a rip-off of K, I don't want to bring up that discussion here. But K is really cool in a few years ago, even now in Windows Platform. One of the great thing about Yahoo bought K is Yahoo now offering K free to all users, that means, the user base of K may expend many folds after that. Many users (esp. Windows) may demand widgets now.
I believe I am one of the early user that use K since 1.0, their widget structure and API is not very friendly at that time, I tried to develop K widget but failed miserably (they don't support Unicode and BIG5 at that time), hopefully once K got more money injected, they can improve their API. Honestly, after seeing current K and Dashboard Implementation document, Dashboard is considerably easier to program and provide more structural interaction with Mac App.Well, hopefully, someone will come up with a Dashboard and K convertor, it'll save people some time if they want to serve both user based.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Oxford MatMat and iPod Speaker..
MatMat is going to Oxford today to visit some friends, she insists that I can not go with her as it'll just bored me because those she talks. So, fine! I am going to do some works and write some code. But before she left, she bought me a present, which is a iPod speaker which seem I saw it from Engadget before, too bad it is too late and my DC's battery is not fully charged. But I'll take some photos tomorrow.
That speak is neat, very well built, use only 1 AAA battery for 10 hours and only cost £14.99 (included shipping already!) ! The speaker's sound is very nice, surely not excellent, but for such price and power, I can't ask for more, can I?
Thanks MatMat!
That speak is neat, very well built, use only 1 AAA battery for 10 hours and only cost £14.99 (included shipping already!) ! The speaker's sound is very nice, surely not excellent, but for such price and power, I can't ask for more, can I?
Thanks MatMat!
Friday, July 22, 2005
Idea Overflow..
(This post was mean to be posted in my personal blog, but somehow I messed it up!)
Sometime, when you sit, stand, drink, eat.. so on so on, you'll feel tons of ideas are coming at you. Seem I am experiencing this kind of phenomenal lately, I've got a few simple but interesting widgets idea in my head, they are not very difficult to program, but it'll be fun to them on Dashboard.
I am going to group these widgets in one big launch later, they are still HK-related, they are those "nice-to-have" than a "must-have" items. And I don't expect they are going to be as popular as HKNews or HKWeather widget, but sometimes you just want to make something funny!
Sometime, when you sit, stand, drink, eat.. so on so on, you'll feel tons of ideas are coming at you. Seem I am experiencing this kind of phenomenal lately, I've got a few simple but interesting widgets idea in my head, they are not very difficult to program, but it'll be fun to them on Dashboard.
I am going to group these widgets in one big launch later, they are still HK-related, they are those "nice-to-have" than a "must-have" items. And I don't expect they are going to be as popular as HKNews or HKWeather widget, but sometimes you just want to make something funny!
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Life back to normal & iBook & MacTel...
MatMat finished her holiday, my brother came back from his Europe Trip, everything seems go back to normal. Either a very early wake up or a very late(in some people's sense - early) sleep, no longer need to clean the dishes. Therefore, I can go to have a haircut, however, MatMat seem to suggest it is yet again a "冬菇頭" haircut, I don't mind, as it is summer, I don't really need to interact with many people or students.
There are some rumours in the "interweb" about Widescreen iBook, I am not really care about it is a widescreen or not, but I still have a strange feeling it'll be the first Mactel computer. And some websites also start reporting Mac Mini has a 5 - 7 days waiting time. Are we going to see a Mactel very soon? But on the other hand, seem no big developer has announce any Universal Binary product yet, so here is a chicken and egg question, a MacTel computer first or a Universal Binary big app first?
There are some rumours in the "interweb" about Widescreen iBook, I am not really care about it is a widescreen or not, but I still have a strange feeling it'll be the first Mactel computer. And some websites also start reporting Mac Mini has a 5 - 7 days waiting time. Are we going to see a Mactel very soon? But on the other hand, seem no big developer has announce any Universal Binary product yet, so here is a chicken and egg question, a MacTel computer first or a Universal Binary big app first?
Technorati Tags: Apple
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Goodbye Birthday...
These two days, I had wonderful time. Yesterday we tried to go to the Japanese Restaurant in Lancaster but to our surprise, it closed without any notice! Normally we would book a table before leaving home but we just thought it'll be fine, it is Monday Evening. So, we then try a French restaurant in that area, nope, they are fully booked on Monday either! So we retreat to the Mexican Restaurant just 2 block away from my home. Had a nice meal, some laugh, a wonderful night.
And today, MatMat had cooked all my favourite food for me (as well as a personalised Me 2 You Bear Birthday card which is very cute!) and it is really nice especially the scallops. It was fresh and tasty, thumb up to MatMat. Well, personally, I really enjoy these two days, rather than hanging out with others peoples, I prefer to have a home cooked meal with people I loved. Moreover, it is the CSI Season 4 Finale tonight, one of the best CSI so far. Too bad we have to wait another year for a new season. CSI is really the best TV show in this few years. In my opinion, X-Files and CSI are both great shows!
And today, MatMat had cooked all my favourite food for me (as well as a personalised Me 2 You Bear Birthday card which is very cute!) and it is really nice especially the scallops. It was fresh and tasty, thumb up to MatMat. Well, personally, I really enjoy these two days, rather than hanging out with others peoples, I prefer to have a home cooked meal with people I loved. Moreover, it is the CSI Season 4 Finale tonight, one of the best CSI so far. Too bad we have to wait another year for a new season. CSI is really the best TV show in this few years. In my opinion, X-Files and CSI are both great shows!
Monday, July 18, 2005
Half way through the Harry Potter Journey
After 2 days of reading, I am nearly half way through the book, I am also half way through implementing 2 widgets, it is also my birthday after 2 days. All this events have a common characteristic, I don't want to finish them. I am reading Harry Potter book in a 10x slower speed and only read it when I am tired of writing widgets, since if I finish it very soon, I have to wait more time for next one, I still remember the feeling when I finished Order of Phoenix.
Widgets, if I finish it, that mean I have to find another people to design UI for me and create a new prototype, as Chinese say "萬事起頭難", creating a new widget is quite tiresome. Since you got loads of ideas in your head, but you have to do it progressively, first the foundation, then the small functions, then main functions. I just like to improve current widgets, adding more funny and interesting features to it. That's fun!
Then my Birthday, 2 more days, I am one year older and I am still a student. 'Nuff said. sad.
Widgets, if I finish it, that mean I have to find another people to design UI for me and create a new prototype, as Chinese say "萬事起頭難", creating a new widget is quite tiresome. Since you got loads of ideas in your head, but you have to do it progressively, first the foundation, then the small functions, then main functions. I just like to improve current widgets, adding more funny and interesting features to it. That's fun!
Then my Birthday, 2 more days, I am one year older and I am still a student. 'Nuff said. sad.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
BDay..
We spent the day in reading Harry Potter and do some housekeeping things even-thought it was MatMat's Birthday. As we discussed it before, going out in Weekend is way too much hassle and effort, so we'll rather stay at home this weekend and celebrate my brother, matmat and my birthday in one go next Monday. I can't really ask for more from MatMat, she is really kind and understand me, I bet, if it was other girls, she must demand a full-on birthday celebration, parties, cake, flowers, gifts... etc etc.
This kind of 生活隨便 (not an English word is better than this Chinese word) is really the reason why we love each others so much! Not just this Birthday occasion, in X'mas, Valentine Day or any other days, we just want something less hassle and away from crowd atmosphere. We are as we are.
This kind of 生活隨便 (not an English word is better than this Chinese word) is really the reason why we love each others so much! Not just this Birthday occasion, in X'mas, Valentine Day or any other days, we just want something less hassle and away from crowd atmosphere. We are as we are.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
The Harry Potter Night..
As said in the last entry, we were planned to go to the store to get a copy of Harry Potter. Before we left the house, I was worrying what happen if there was NO BODY waiting/queuing/buying in those stores, then we would looks like a pair of idiot!
However, we were wrong, wrong, wrong! To my surprise, it is one of the longest queue I ever seen in Lancaster, much longer than the crepes stand in summer market. You can see the photos I attached here. We bought our copy from WHSmith as they advertised it is on sale for £9.95 but seem it is £11.95 at the store! Yuck! But, it doesn't matter, just I don't trust RoyalMail for a on-time delivery, so, here we go, a copy on my table! Yeah, time to dig into Harry's magic world and forget about Programming, Widgets, Papers, Thesis.. so on so on..
However, we were wrong, wrong, wrong! To my surprise, it is one of the longest queue I ever seen in Lancaster, much longer than the crepes stand in summer market. You can see the photos I attached here. We bought our copy from WHSmith as they advertised it is on sale for £9.95 but seem it is £11.95 at the store! Yuck! But, it doesn't matter, just I don't trust RoyalMail for a on-time delivery, so, here we go, a copy on my table! Yeah, time to dig into Harry's magic world and forget about Programming, Widgets, Papers, Thesis.. so on so on..
Technorati Tags: Harry Potter
Friday, July 15, 2005
Harry Potter's Magic happens again ..
Less than 24 Hours, the latest Harry Potter Book "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K.Rowling will go on sale around the world at Midnight (12:01am UKT) 16 July (MatMat's Birthday too YAY!). MatMat and I both decided to go to city centre to grab a copy, not only because we like Harry Potter series, it is also a rare sight for shops open at mid-night in here, as far as we know, WHSmith, Waterstone, a "I-forgot-its-name" bookstore are hosting parties during the mid-night period for HP-HBP, I am guessing except some children happily partying and wearing those thick glasses at those stores, some drunks may also join them as well! Afterall, it is a Friday night!
Anyway, I can't wait to see the book as well as to celebrate MatMat's Birthday, if you have time, please go over to MatMat's Weblog and say a "Happy Birthday", I still remember MatMat was so happy when she knew her birthday is same as HP-HBP a few months back! Haaa...
Anyway, I can't wait to see the book as well as to celebrate MatMat's Birthday, if you have time, please go over to MatMat's Weblog and say a "Happy Birthday", I still remember MatMat was so happy when she knew her birthday is same as HP-HBP a few months back! Haaa...
Technorati Tags: Harry Potter
Thursday, July 14, 2005
The iPod shuffleboard USB 2.0 Keyboard
The iPod shuffleboard USB 2.0 Keyboard - Engadget - www.engadget.com
It is one of the weird yet cleverest iPod accessory in the world. A Keyboard designed for iPod Shuffle owner, wow! It would be better if they use the same kind of material on the keyboard (shinny plastic?).
It is one of the weird yet cleverest iPod accessory in the world. A Keyboard designed for iPod Shuffle owner, wow! It would be better if they use the same kind of material on the keyboard (shinny plastic?).
MacTel faster than PowerPC-based Mac?
Intel Developer Macs Outperform G5s - Slashdot
This is somehow I expected. I don't know, it is based on the feeling from Steve's last keynote demo and some benchmarks posted right after the WWDC. And something deep in my heart is telling me to hold back and wait for the first MacTel Powerbook instead of a PowerBook G4 or a could-be PowerBook G5. And I am also guessing we will see a MacTel sooner rather than later, as Steve only said they will be selling MacTel same time next year, it doesn't rules out a new MacTel will be launch in this year Paris AppleExpo (yeah, I am going to this year Expo!) or early next year Macworld. And I also believe the outlook of future Mactel may even blow our mind, as this time, I believe, not usual in Apple History, got a CPU manufacturer that happy to work with them, something small, sleek, sexy must be coming!
This is somehow I expected. I don't know, it is based on the feeling from Steve's last keynote demo and some benchmarks posted right after the WWDC. And something deep in my heart is telling me to hold back and wait for the first MacTel Powerbook instead of a PowerBook G4 or a could-be PowerBook G5. And I am also guessing we will see a MacTel sooner rather than later, as Steve only said they will be selling MacTel same time next year, it doesn't rules out a new MacTel will be launch in this year Paris AppleExpo (yeah, I am going to this year Expo!) or early next year Macworld. And I also believe the outlook of future Mactel may even blow our mind, as this time, I believe, not usual in Apple History, got a CPU manufacturer that happy to work with them, something small, sleek, sexy must be coming!
Technorati Tags: Apple
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
10.4.2 is out!
Let see if it will correct all My Problems.
The Widget Manager is cool, the scrolling speed is up to par with Windows, as well as windows resize, Quartz 2D Extreme is on at default, "outlook" (not the Windows / Office one!) is good, hope it will be the best Mac OS X point release ever! Finger crossed!
The Widget Manager is cool, the scrolling speed is up to par with Windows, as well as windows resize, Quartz 2D Extreme is on at default, "outlook" (not the Windows / Office one!) is good, hope it will be the best Mac OS X point release ever! Finger crossed!
Swimming..
Today MatMat and I went to swimming, we talked about swimming in Lancaster for over an year, we eventually went there and swim. The swimming pool is about 1/4 of normal standard swimming pool. But best of all, it has a jacuzzi, it is the first time I ever been on a real jacuzzi, the feeling is amazing, and I understand why some modern household install them in their conservatory or bathroom, the bubble, the pressure jet, real nice. After swimming, sauna and jacuzzi, we both feel refreshed (and of course a bit tired). We'll definitely go again, as it only cost £5 for me (MatMat got staff price, that means Free), it is similar to HK swimming pool, right?
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
OK! 10.4 is less robust than 10.3!
Yes, I've got a Kernel Panic today! This is the second time in my Mac-Life(tm), last time was in Jagaur while I am playing the USB BlueTooth dongle in my iBook, which was hundreds years ago. I really can't believe it! OK, Mac Troubleshooting Checklist:
1. Repair Permission (Done!)
2. Check/Verifiy Disk (Done!)
3. Try a new user with clean preferences (Done!)
4. Remove 3rd part RAM or any other RAM (Done!)
5. ??
6. Profit (yaya..no more Slashdot)
I have done all this since the lockups last time I experienced some lockups that never happened to me before. In case you missed the "last episode", the machine itself will lockup, mouse is ok, just a screen which I can't click anything! Luckily, I can ssh in and check any process dominated the system, but no, the system is fine, then a shutdown. But it doesn't help me to save my precious documents and codes, there is always a in-between time between last save.
Maybe, it is a hardware issue, I don't know. I will check all the fan tomorrow as well as do a hardware check. As it is the first time I see that Kernel Panic screen in a while. Maybe it is a coincident between Tiger, G5 and the hot British summer. I don't know, but I just genuinely disappointed about this Kernel Panic especially it is not the single occasion that my machine locked up on me since Tiger.
Hopefully I can find out more tomorrow if it is just a bad luck on me or 10.4.1 is the worst Mac OS X ever.
1. Repair Permission (Done!)
2. Check/Verifiy Disk (Done!)
3. Try a new user with clean preferences (Done!)
4. Remove 3rd part RAM or any other RAM (Done!)
5. ??
6. Profit (yaya..no more Slashdot)
I have done all this since the lockups last time I experienced some lockups that never happened to me before. In case you missed the "last episode", the machine itself will lockup, mouse is ok, just a screen which I can't click anything! Luckily, I can ssh in and check any process dominated the system, but no, the system is fine, then a shutdown. But it doesn't help me to save my precious documents and codes, there is always a in-between time between last save.
Maybe, it is a hardware issue, I don't know. I will check all the fan tomorrow as well as do a hardware check. As it is the first time I see that Kernel Panic screen in a while. Maybe it is a coincident between Tiger, G5 and the hot British summer. I don't know, but I just genuinely disappointed about this Kernel Panic especially it is not the single occasion that my machine locked up on me since Tiger.
Hopefully I can find out more tomorrow if it is just a bad luck on me or 10.4.1 is the worst Mac OS X ever.
I Surrender and Mr. PriceCheck..
OK, after 2 months of insisting this summer is not going to hot enough for a fan, I surrendered today and got a cheap fan. This either means, Hotwave is going to end, or I made a very rare right decision! Let's see.
Another interesting thing happened today is Mr. PriceCheck, while I am carrying the fan to my car, one person who sitting in a car asked me how much did I paid for that fan? And I told him £19.99, and then he told me he got one from another store (which is in the same street) for £17.99, I should get a refund and buy the cheaper one.
I just said nevermind and he gave me a "Weird" look and we walked away. And while I am thinking what was just happened, MatMat told me, "no, we bought this fan for £16.99 not £19.99"! Arr.. Haha.. should we tell Mr. PriceCheck about this?
Haaa...
Another interesting thing happened today is Mr. PriceCheck, while I am carrying the fan to my car, one person who sitting in a car asked me how much did I paid for that fan? And I told him £19.99, and then he told me he got one from another store (which is in the same street) for £17.99, I should get a refund and buy the cheaper one.
I just said nevermind and he gave me a "Weird" look and we walked away. And while I am thinking what was just happened, MatMat told me, "no, we bought this fan for £16.99 not £19.99"! Arr.. Haha.. should we tell Mr. PriceCheck about this?
Haaa...
Monday, July 11, 2005
A Hot day...
It was very hot yesterday, no mood to do anything, like testing, coding or even sitting near the computer, just want to sit down on the sofa (a futon to be percise), watch a (couple of)good movie(s), TopGear and have a cold ice drink. So bad matmat had to work yesterday, otherwise we must went out to have a joy-ride around the lake-district! But luckily, matmat has a day off today, is it going to be the MatMat-Holiday-Curse or one fine day? we really have to wait and see, I think we'll stay at home anyway as she is really busy tweaking the CSS in her blog, if you have time, you should take a look at her blog!
A few interesting read about Apple
I found 2 interesting reads today, it is really useful if you want to understand Apple more.
First:
Apple to Adpot KDE's KDOM and KSVG2
Second:
Launchd in detail
I found the second one is particularly interesting, as a veteran Linux user, I still hate to decide should I bind this daemon to inetd or just run it as a daemon. Very confusing, they both have adv and disadv, but seem Apple created a balance between them and called it launchd. It is really a great read!
First:
Apple to Adpot KDE's KDOM and KSVG2
Second:
Launchd in detail
I found the second one is particularly interesting, as a veteran Linux user, I still hate to decide should I bind this daemon to inetd or just run it as a daemon. Very confusing, they both have adv and disadv, but seem Apple created a balance between them and called it launchd. It is really a great read!
Technorati Tags: Apple
Saturday, July 09, 2005
The Winning Feeling...
Yes. I won lottery again, this time is not the daily draw but Euromillions Lottery. Yesterday, the EuroMillions pot was £45m! So I bought 2 Lucky Dip tickets and 2 hand-pick number tickets. One of my hand-pack ticket won 2 numbers and 2 bonus numbers, it pays...... £21! Not bad...
Friday, July 08, 2005
Very useful tips: Change the default screenshot format
macosxhints - 10.4: Change the default screenshot format
YEAH! So now when I capture screenshots, I can choose to save as other format!!! YEAH!
YEAH! So now when I capture screenshots, I can choose to save as other format!!! YEAH!
Small Gmail enhancement...
I just found Gmail now supports "Allow Image from ...(address).." as well as the old Display Image Below. They should have added it the first day, now, no more clicked "Display Image Below" everytime (probably over a thousand time) when I receive the BBC Email, Mingpoa Email and Apple Email!! Yeah!
Thursday, July 07, 2005
London under attack...
One day after their successful 2012 Olympic Bid, London is now under attack. Several Bus/Tube bombs have exploded in London, they halt the whole London Transport System. So far the casualty is unknown. But obviously, it is going to be another days to remember in London History.
Good luck to people in London.
Good luck to people in London.
Technorati Tags: London
XMLHttpRequest Hell...
Seem I've found out the reason why some people can't load my widgets. Today I brought my iBook to school, I don't usually do that as I use my PC at work and don't want to lose my beloved notebook, but there was a meeting yesterday, so it'll be better to have a notebook around to check paper online OR... surfing the web while some boring talks.. ;)
Well, ALL of my widgets can't work at school (behind some firewalls/NAT/compulsory proxies.. any security measure you can put in a places..), that's not really surprise, BUT, seem all Apple widgets is ok, Translation, Weather, all working fine. Then, my meeting today became my ultimate debug session. I first check the different between Apple's XMLHttpRequest Implementation and mine, honestly, I don't really think I should crack this bug as not many people behind a security mess like my school, but the more I digging in, the more I found the different ways of Apple's Safari/or Dashboard handling XMLHTTPRequest.
My widgets used:
req = new XMLHttprequest;
req.open("GET", "someURL", false); // async is false, this is a sync operation
req.send(null);
ALLMyGoodiesText = req.requestTxt;
// my code
The above statement basically powered all my widgets which a hitch for me, just some odds complains about can't load the widget. Since I am facing "can't load your widget" problem today, so I think it is just a great opportunity to find out more. OK, too far away, going back to Apple's implementation, their implementation was totally different, they use async operation like this:
req = new XMLHttprequest;
req.onload = someFunctionforOnloadOperation;
req.open("Get", "someURLagain") // async operation as default
req.send(null);
// NOTHING!
All their operations are inside someFunctionforOnloadOperation, their parsing, their code checking etc etc.. So the outcome between my implementation and their implementation in my school is:
My implementation, the script's stuck at req.send(null), I packet sniffed the interface and found the process received a PAC file (my school use PAC) and sit there.
Apple implementation, the script just keep going on after the PAC file (like normal) instead of stuck there!
Why o why? I checked quite a lot of XMLHttpRequest document but still can't find out the different between them, anyone knows why? So bad I am very tired today, I am sure I will rewrite all my widgets in the new way, since it won't block any widget operation at all..
One hell of a day...
Well, ALL of my widgets can't work at school (behind some firewalls/NAT/compulsory proxies.. any security measure you can put in a places..), that's not really surprise, BUT, seem all Apple widgets is ok, Translation, Weather, all working fine. Then, my meeting today became my ultimate debug session. I first check the different between Apple's XMLHttpRequest Implementation and mine, honestly, I don't really think I should crack this bug as not many people behind a security mess like my school, but the more I digging in, the more I found the different ways of Apple's Safari/or Dashboard handling XMLHTTPRequest.
My widgets used:
req = new XMLHttprequest;
req.open("GET", "someURL", false); // async is false, this is a sync operation
req.send(null);
ALLMyGoodiesText = req.requestTxt;
// my code
The above statement basically powered all my widgets which a hitch for me, just some odds complains about can't load the widget. Since I am facing "can't load your widget" problem today, so I think it is just a great opportunity to find out more. OK, too far away, going back to Apple's implementation, their implementation was totally different, they use async operation like this:
req = new XMLHttprequest;
req.onload = someFunctionforOnloadOperation;
req.open("Get", "someURLagain") // async operation as default
req.send(null);
// NOTHING!
All their operations are inside someFunctionforOnloadOperation, their parsing, their code checking etc etc.. So the outcome between my implementation and their implementation in my school is:
My implementation, the script's stuck at req.send(null), I packet sniffed the interface and found the process received a PAC file (my school use PAC) and sit there.
Apple implementation, the script just keep going on after the PAC file (like normal) instead of stuck there!
Why o why? I checked quite a lot of XMLHttpRequest document but still can't find out the different between them, anyone knows why? So bad I am very tired today, I am sure I will rewrite all my widgets in the new way, since it won't block any widget operation at all..
One hell of a day...
Technorati Tags: Apple, Dashboard, XMLHttprequest, Widget
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Cantonese Podcast..
Seem we are living in a parallel universe, Cantonese Podcast exists! Yes!
Here is the URL for a list of Cantonese Podcasts, http://pigazine.blogspot.com/2005/05/podcast.html, the list is small but it's growing strong (hope!). I just subscribed to a few of them, all of them are not "broadcasting" quality, otherwise, they would already became a proper radio DJ, and it is the idea of Podcast, a amateur broadcast. But just a tiny comment to Pigcast, it is really not necessary to tell people you local weather when you are now fishing in International territories, how about some weather report for my area, Lancaster, UK! Haha, but honestly, they are brilliant. Love'em
One more thing, as I am not a musician, so my point of view is ... absolutely biases. Should they charge royalty when people using their music in Podcast for non-profit purpose, is there some space for improvement? Afterall, we won't listen to that particular music in a Podcast-qaulity (22khz?) mp3 file. In a digital world that we are living in now, maybe they shouldn't charge royalty for lower quality sample i.e. 64k Mp3?
Here is the URL for a list of Cantonese Podcasts, http://pigazine.blogspot.com/2005/05/podcast.html, the list is small but it's growing strong (hope!). I just subscribed to a few of them, all of them are not "broadcasting" quality, otherwise, they would already became a proper radio DJ, and it is the idea of Podcast, a amateur broadcast. But just a tiny comment to Pigcast, it is really not necessary to tell people you local weather when you are now fishing in International territories, how about some weather report for my area, Lancaster, UK! Haha, but honestly, they are brilliant. Love'em
One more thing, as I am not a musician, so my point of view is ... absolutely biases. Should they charge royalty when people using their music in Podcast for non-profit purpose, is there some space for improvement? Afterall, we won't listen to that particular music in a Podcast-qaulity (22khz?) mp3 file. In a digital world that we are living in now, maybe they shouldn't charge royalty for lower quality sample i.e. 64k Mp3?
10.4 Tiger is less robust than 10.3?
More and more I getting in touch with other Mac users by reporting their widget problems, I started to few it is somehow true. Personally, I had far more crashes after upgraded to Tiger than my whole Mac-Life(tm). They are not Kernal Panic, the screen just frozen, only mouse was able to movie, I can ssh into the machine, tried to see if any App is hanging or using up resources, no! Everything looks normal and it just ... hang.. Very very weird, this behaviour is inconsistent, that means, I can't really predict when will it go wrong.
I tried to fix it by doing Disk Check (yes, it found some slightly volume problem and fixed it), I tried to fix the permission (again, something is fixed). Seem the result is improving but still there are still quite alot of inconsistency in others' 10.4. According to many rumour sites, 10.4.2 suppose to due in LAST week, I wonder where did it gone. I was hoping the "over-80" bugs fix will somehow do the magic for me..
As I always say to people recently, it is a 1.0 version afterall (not counting the 10.4.1, emergency fix).
I tried to fix it by doing Disk Check (yes, it found some slightly volume problem and fixed it), I tried to fix the permission (again, something is fixed). Seem the result is improving but still there are still quite alot of inconsistency in others' 10.4. According to many rumour sites, 10.4.2 suppose to due in LAST week, I wonder where did it gone. I was hoping the "over-80" bugs fix will somehow do the magic for me..
As I always say to people recently, it is a 1.0 version afterall (not counting the 10.4.1, emergency fix).
Assorted Apple News..
While I am busy writing widgets (seem after I launched WithoutWidget, my leisure time is now dominated by writing widgets..) and after-holiday mood-recovery, there are a few Apple news worthy to talk about while/after I came back from hoilday.
First, Apple iTunes 4.9, Podcast seem becoming more and more popular after the rise of RSS. iTunes 4.9 now supports Podcase downloading but like usual Apple's product release, there is no any Chinese Podcase channel, not even mandarin. I am so interested to see Chinese Podcast, but unlike widget, I don't think I am really the person who can "cast"..
Second, Motorola iTunes Phone, there are a few photos around the web now claiming "that's it". But seem most of them are not really appealing, and I have no idea why anyone want to download MP3 to their phone when most phone is still using SD/MMC or even smaller media, which are only from 128M to 512M. I believe Motorola must have something in their sleeves, as Apple usually surprise people hard. Finger crossed, please not that iTunes phone we are seeing now.
Third, REAL Mac OS X Intel leaked, according to a few website, the real one is really around torrent network, however, the "source" only copied /Library /System and some other folder, which mean it is not really useful for most people, and it doesn't have the most "demanded" aqua as well. Well, it is a first sight of Mac OS X Intel, there must be more coming soon. Whatever method use to protect Mac OS X Intel, there always ways to break it. But just how easy/hard can a ordinary PC install Mac OS X, this is the question.
First, Apple iTunes 4.9, Podcast seem becoming more and more popular after the rise of RSS. iTunes 4.9 now supports Podcase downloading but like usual Apple's product release, there is no any Chinese Podcase channel, not even mandarin. I am so interested to see Chinese Podcast, but unlike widget, I don't think I am really the person who can "cast"..
Second, Motorola iTunes Phone, there are a few photos around the web now claiming "that's it". But seem most of them are not really appealing, and I have no idea why anyone want to download MP3 to their phone when most phone is still using SD/MMC or even smaller media, which are only from 128M to 512M. I believe Motorola must have something in their sleeves, as Apple usually surprise people hard. Finger crossed, please not that iTunes phone we are seeing now.
Third, REAL Mac OS X Intel leaked, according to a few website, the real one is really around torrent network, however, the "source" only copied /Library /System and some other folder, which mean it is not really useful for most people, and it doesn't have the most "demanded" aqua as well. Well, it is a first sight of Mac OS X Intel, there must be more coming soon. Whatever method use to protect Mac OS X Intel, there always ways to break it. But just how easy/hard can a ordinary PC install Mac OS X, this is the question.
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Monopoly Live - No Update..
Oh, too busy, I've to stop to play Monopoly Live for a while. But honestly, the style of game didn't change once since it launch, I basically explored the winning combination, but people just got more money from sending TEXT to Monopoly Live for a Chance card. It is really not that fun anymore. It is really good for first few days, but it just gets bored.
Monopoly if you are listening, add something new! change the rules. At lease show people's ranking...
Monopoly if you are listening, add something new! change the rules. At lease show people's ranking...
Technorati Tags: Monopoly, Monopoly Live
Winning Solution...
OH.. what a tired week 
, first IoM, then Manchester to shop for clothes and today Haydock for watching horse racing. Since we expected to dress smart for horse racing so we have to go to Manchester to get some better summer clothes, that's why it is a non-stop week for us.
Talking about horse racing, to my surprise, we won over £90
today (with about £30 seed money). I am a newbie in Live horse racing but my dad is a veteran gambler in horse racing, this is the first time I bought a few ticket and won money. Seem most UK people don't like to see the horses that they are buying, and me, I like to see if the horses looks happy or lively. But anyway, we won £70 that is totally by accident, since we want to bet in a horse called Traytronic, which is a underdog for 16/1 (that mean if you buy £1 you get £16 if you won). Normally, we prefer to buy eachway (To win and place, 1st, 2nd and 3rd), but accidentally, matmat bought ToWin only! Ar.. I though we just gave the bookie a nice £5 notes 
but surprise, surprise, Traytronic came out first with 2 horses length! 
Unbelievable! Which gave us the large potion of winning money. I can say my first horse racing experience is excellent and fun. I've got to do it sometimes soon again!
I still need to sort out IoM photo, reply some emails and fix some bugs in my widgets... ar...
, first IoM, then Manchester to shop for clothes and today Haydock for watching horse racing. Since we expected to dress smart for horse racing so we have to go to Manchester to get some better summer clothes, that's why it is a non-stop week for us.Talking about horse racing, to my surprise, we won over £90
today (with about £30 seed money). I am a newbie in Live horse racing but my dad is a veteran gambler in horse racing, this is the first time I bought a few ticket and won money. Seem most UK people don't like to see the horses that they are buying, and me, I like to see if the horses looks happy or lively. But anyway, we won £70 that is totally by accident, since we want to bet in a horse called Traytronic, which is a underdog for 16/1 (that mean if you buy £1 you get £16 if you won). Normally, we prefer to buy eachway (To win and place, 1st, 2nd and 3rd), but accidentally, matmat bought ToWin only! Ar.. I though we just gave the bookie a nice £5 notes but surprise, surprise, Traytronic came out first with 2 horses length! Unbelievable! Which gave us the large potion of winning money. I can say my first horse racing experience is excellent and fun. I've got to do it sometimes soon again!I still need to sort out IoM photo, reply some emails and fix some bugs in my widgets... ar...
Friday, July 01, 2005
Home Sweet Home
We are home! First, I will fix the typo first in the few posts below, as it is not easy to type in mobile, and then upload the images in my DC to Webpage. If I have time after shower, I will start to reply a few email in WithoutWidget email box, as they really gave me some good idea to work with. Then, get some rest!
Back to normal day tomorrow... omm..
Back to normal day tomorrow... omm..
Day 3 summary...
We r waiting in the departure lounge. Today we went to the snealfell mountain, but the weather was... Omm .. Foggy.. We can barely see 2 meters ahead. Later this afternoon the weather became clear, so we went back to Laxey for the big wheel... Photos will be upload later.. We will arriving Heysham at eleven pm.. hopefully the weather on the sea will be better or we may got seasick....ommm
